Once cracks appeared in one's Dao Heart, the Yin-Yang Long Whip's defense would naturally develop cracks as well.
And Jiang Chen's attacks seemed to have eyes of their own—they always found the weakest point and madly accelerated their slashing strikes.
Yang Sheng was thoroughly terrified. He could feel that the defensive wall of the Yin-Yang Long Whip was already on the verge of collapse. Although the terrifying sword qi hadn't broken through yet, a bone-chilling killing intent was already seeping through uncontrollably.
For a moment, Yang Sheng's blood ran cold.
He knew all too well that his physical body's defenses were rather ordinary. If that terrifying sword qi flooded in, his body could very well be cleaved in two by a single stroke.
"Yang Sheng, you've reached the end of your rope. Surrender already—what are you waiting for?" An authoritative voice suddenly rang out through the void.
It was the Peacock Emperor!
At the sound of his voice, thunderous applause erupted around the arena, followed by frenzied cheers.
The Peacock Emperor had spoken personally—and in public, no less, asking Yang Sheng to surrender! After all, Yang Sheng was none other than the Peacock Emperor's own direct disciple!
When Jiang Chen heard the Peacock Emperor speak, he could only smile wryly.
"So the bond between master and disciple runs deep after all." A helpless, bitter smile flashed through Jiang Chen's mind. He understood the deeper meaning behind the Peacock Emperor's words—on the surface it was asking Yang Sheng to surrender, but in truth, wasn't it also a plea for Jiang Chen to show mercy?
Jiang Chen's martial understanding was truly exceptional. His eye for combat was so sharp that it surpassed even many Emperor-level powerhouses.
After only a brief exchange, Jiang Chen had already spotted the flaw in Yang Sheng's defense.
This defense consumed far more energy than offense. So Jiang Chen seized upon this weakness, continuously increasing the frequency of his attacks and accelerating his striking speed.
Once a flaw was found, Jiang Chen would exploit it to the fullest. He focused his attacks on that single weak point relentlessly, and with his terrifying control, he further accelerated Yang Sheng's energy drain.
So when the Peacock Emperor said Yang Sheng had reached his limit, it was perhaps a slight exaggeration, but at the very least, Yang Sheng was barely holding on.
Even if his situation wasn't quite critical yet, it could absolutely be called extremely dangerous.
When Jiang Chen slightly eased his sword pressure, Yang Sheng, his face ashen, staggered and tumbled off the arena. All the strength seemed to have been drained from his body as he collapsed onto the ground below the platform, his face deathly pale, gasping for breath.
He had lost!
He had ultimately lost. But now, in Yang Sheng's eyes, there was nothing left but exhaustion and emptiness. The spirited demeanor he once wore was gone for good.
Jiang Chen did not kick a man when he was down, nor did he mock Yang Sheng. Instead, he waved to the crowd around the arena, basking in the cheers from all directions.
Yang Sheng watched this scene with unfocused, glazed eyes, feeling a mix of frustration and deep helplessness.
He was not a man without ambition, but at this moment, a familiar feeling arose in his heart—the same one he had felt years ago when facing Young Master Fan.
Yes—unreachable, unfathomable.
In this Alchemist Zhen, Yang Sheng had sensed something truly unfathomable.
This mystery was in no way inferior to what he had sensed in Young Master Fan back then. Perhaps the Fan of those days had been somewhat higher in martial cultivation than this Alchemist Zhen.
But when it came to potential and unpredictability, this Alchemist Zhen was absolutely superior to Young Master Fan.
Of course, no one cared much about the loser's feelings. Everyone was now curious about one question—would Alchemist Zhen continue to challenge?
According to the rules, every genius on the Young Lord Ranking had three challenge opportunities.
Jiang Chen had used only one so far, defeating Yang Sheng who ranked seventeenth, meaning he still had challenge opportunities remaining.
Moreover, with his next challenge, he could leapfrog six more positions.
It should be noted that Jiang Chen had now replaced Yang Sheng as the seventeenth-ranked genius on the Young Lord Ranking. If he leapt six more spots, that would mean challenging the eleventh-ranked genius.
Eleventh place—that was the strongest existence outside the top ten. It could even be said that whoever ranked eleventh was absolutely qualified to challenge the top ten.
Below the top ten, the eleventh-ranked was the one who held the line.
"Will Alchemist Zhen continue to challenge?"
"Challenging the eleventh—that would be absolutely extraordinary!"
"If he has the strength to challenge the eleventh, then perhaps he has the strength to break into the top ten!"
"What's impossible for Alchemist Zhen? With him, even if he challenged first place, I'd believe anything was possible!"
"Haha, I'm truly looking forward to that scene. If Alchemist Zhen challenged the very top—it would be absolutely astonishing! First place on all three rankings, rising from the very bottom—that would be an unprecedented legend in the Glazed Royal City, wouldn't it?"
"The very top? That's far too difficult. I've heard that in the upper half of the Young Lord Ranking, each position higher is exponentially harder. Let's just see whether Alchemist Zhen will continue to challenge, and which position he'll go for."
"I'm betting it'll definitely be the eleventh! Alchemist Zhen would never pass up the chance to maximize his challenge opportunities!"
It had to be said that every move Jiang Chen made now drew immense attention and became the center of everyone's interest. Especially in a setting like this, everyone was filled with anticipation regarding him.