Chapter 354: Chapter 353: Divine Martial Platform
However, this time Shen Haoran didn’t activate his Chaos Heaven-Dominating Technique. He merely released the aura of a Tier Two Spirit Marquis, and when it met Hua Zhiming’s black energy, it was instantly shattered and dispersed.
"Hahaha... A deathmatch! You actually want to fight me in a deathmatch?" Hearing Shen Haoran’s words, Hua Zhiming clutched his stomach and roared with laughter, his oppressive aura vanishing completely.
The onlookers stared at Shen Haoran as if he were an idiot. "Has this kid been scared stupid by Hua Zhiming?" one said sympathetically. "Why would he be the one to propose a deathmatch? Doesn’t he know there’s a gap of six whole Small Realms between them?"
"I think he knows he’s offended the Hua Family and just wants a quick death!"
"What a pitiful kid!"
The surrounding Martial Artists all looked at Shen Haoran with expressions full of pity.
It wasn’t just the Martial Artists. When Luo Xiaowen heard him, her body trembled. She quickly grabbed Shen Haoran and scolded, "Are you insane, proposing a deathmatch? Have you already forgotten the promise you made me? In three years, you’re supposed to come with me to the Imperial City!"
Seeing the worry on Luo Xiaowen’s face, Shen Haoran patted her delicate hand gripping his arm. "Don’t worry," he said soothingly, "I..."
But before Shen Haoran could finish, Luo Xiaowen forcefully cut him off. "Don’t worry? How am I supposed to not worry? That Hua Zhiming is six entire Small Realms above you! Even the geniuses in the Imperial City wouldn’t dare challenge someone so many ranks higher. Do you have a death wish? I refuse to agree to this. You hide behind me; I’ll sort this out for you!"
With that, Luo Xiaowen moved to stand in front of Shen Haoran again, intending to shield him. Luo Cheng, however, merely watched from the side with a cold expression. "Hmph. All brawn and no brains," he said scornfully. "Someone like him doesn’t even deserve to be called trash. How is he qualified to hold our Luo Family’s Fusheng Token? Before you go off to get yourself killed, I suggest you hand over the Fusheng Token first!"
At these words, Shen Haoran gave Luo Cheng a cool glance and spoke in an icy tone, "A dog’s mouth can’t spit out ivory. Whether I hold the Fusheng Token is none of your damn business. Besides, who ever said I’m guaranteed to lose? Once I’m done with him, I’m coming for you. And one more thing: if I hear the word ’trash’ from your mouth again, believe me when I say I’ll beat you so badly your own mother won’t recognize you!" As he spoke, a tangible glint flashed in Shen Haoran’s eyes, and a dense killing intent flared for an instant, making Luo Cheng’s heart tremble. The retort Luo Cheng had prepared was instantly choked back down his throat.
Once Luo Cheng fell silent, Shen Haoran turned his gaze back to Luo Xiaowen and said softly, "Sister Xiaowen, please, don’t worry. Don’t you trust me? I’m not an impulsive person. I only said it because I’m confident. Think about it—I made it out of the Spirit Emperor’s Tomb alive. Can one little Hua Zhiming really kill me?"
Hearing Shen Haoran’s words, Luo Xiaowen was still reluctant. Her delicate brows furrowed. "But this time is different!"
"Sister Xiaowen, relax," Shen Haoran assured her. "In this deathmatch, I simply won’t give Hua Zhiming an opportunity to attack. That way he can’t hurt me, right?"
"Not give him an opportunity to attack?" Luo Xiaowen was utterly confused. ’What is he talking about? His power is far weaker than Hua Zhiming’s. How could he possibly prevent him from even getting a chance to attack?’
"Oh, Sister Xiaowen, just you watch!" Murong Wanqing stepped forward. While Luo Xiaowen was still dazed, she quickly pulled her aside. ’In my opinion,’ Murong Wanqing thought, ’this Hua Zhiming isn’t even on the same level as Niu Ben from the Celestial Spirit Sect!’
"But..." Luo Xiaowen started to say, but she trailed off after seeing the unyielding determination in Shen Haoran’s gaze.
Seeing Luo Xiaowen’s worried expression, Shen Haoran felt a headache coming on. ’She still doesn’t trust me. Looks like I’ll just have to show her what I can do.’
"Hey, you brat, are you done saying your goodbyes?" Hua Zhiming sneered at Shen Haoran. "When you are, follow me. To actually challenge me to a deathmatch... you truly don’t know the meaning of the word ’death’!" With that, he turned and headed for the Central Square of Divine Martial City.
In the Central Square of Divine Martial City stood the Divine Martial Platform. Legend had it that this stone was brought back from the Outer Realm Space by the Divine Martial Venerable himself. It was incomparably hard; no one had ever been able to leave a single scratch upon it. Back in the Divine Martial Venerable’s era, his disciples used it as a weight for strength training, but it had since become the city’s official Martial Arts Arena.
By now, countless Martial Artists had gathered before the Divine Martial Platform. Hua Zhiming had secretly spread word of the fight, drawing a large portion of the city’s Martial Artists to watch.
"You’ve gathered quite the audience. It seems you’ve gone to a lot of trouble," Shen Haoran said softly, his eyes sweeping over the sea of people filling the square.
"Hmph. I want every single one of them to see the price for offending the Hua Family," Hua Zhiming said, licking his lips with a savage grin. "I won’t be holding back. But don’t worry, I won’t let you die easily. I’m going to make you understand that sometimes, death is not the kindest escape!"
"Hold back? No, no, no," Shen Haoran said with an innocent smile. "I don’t intend to give you a chance to attack, so you won’t have an opportunity to hold back. And don’t worry, I won’t kill you either!"
Hearing Shen Haoran’s words, the Martial Artists below the platform froze for a second before bursting into laughter. "Haha, has this kid lost his mind? He won’t give Young Master Hua a chance to attack? Please, Young Master Hua is leagues ahead of him! And he has the audacity to claim *he* won’t give *Young Master Hua* a chance to attack? That’s hilarious!"
"Young Master Hua, show him what you’re made of! See if he still dares to talk so big!"
"Young Master Hua, beat him down!"
An uproar came from the crowd below. Young Master Hua’s lips twisted into a cruel smile. "Brat, you’ve managed to piss me off. Now, I’m going to show you exactly what Hell looks like!"
BOOM!
As he spoke, a formidable aura exploded from Hua Zhiming, revealing the undeniable power of a Tier Eight Spirit Marquis. The potent shockwave whipped at Shen Haoran, making his robes billow violently and his long, dark hair stream in the wind.
Despite the powerful gale blasting toward him, Shen Haoran’s expression remained completely unchanged. Instead, he commented lightly, "Mm, not bad. But still... you’re a long way off."
BANG!
As Shen Haoran spoke, his wind-whipped robes suddenly fell still. In the next instant, a white cyclone exploded outward with him at its epicenter. The full aura of a Tier Two Spirit Marquis had been completely unleashed!
Seeing Shen Haoran release his own aura, Hua Zhiming let out a cold laugh. But just as he was about to taunt him, he saw the white cyclone around Shen Haoran abruptly change color. Pitch-black flames erupted from within Shen Haoran’s body, instantly dyeing the cyclone black. A terrifying pressure descended upon the Divine Martial Platform, causing Hua Zhiming’s heart to pound and his pupils to constrict!
"Now," Shen Haoran sneered at Hua Zhiming, "this is what real Hell looks like!" In an instant, his body vanished from the spot...
