Chapter 626: Long Haotain’s Power
Long Haotian’s grip on his sword tightened until his knuckles turned white.
Give up?
Those words burned through him like acid.
Long Haotian of the Long Clan.
A recognized genius of the Central Glorious Continent.
Someone who had comprehended Half-Step Sword Intent at an age when most cultivators were still struggling with the foundations of their Dao.
He had never surrendered.
Not once in his entire life.
The word simply did not exist in his vocabulary.
"Don’t... patronize me!"
He roared.
Qi erupted from his body in a violent torrent.
Every last bit of his cultivation surged forward without restraint.
The two old men behind him tensed instinctively, yet neither moved.
The first old man’s hand rose halfway.
Then stopped.
The second old man glanced at him.
A silent exchange passed between them.
Then the second old man exhaled and settled back where he stood.
( Let him fight! )
It wasn’t indifference.
Quite the opposite.
They had both lived long enough to recognize something important.
Long Haotian’s greatest flaw had never been his talent.
His talent was extraordinary.
His technique was refined.
His cultivation, backed by the Long Clan’s resources, was formidable.
The flaw was his fragile heart.
In moments exactly like this one.
When the world refused to bend to his expectations.
When something stood before him that he could not simply overpower.
Long Haotian’s heart cracked.
And a cracked heart, left untempered, would one day shatter completely.
Every path beyond the Immortal Realm required a Dao Heart that could not be broken.
Until now, Long Haotian had never encountered anyone who could surpass his talent the way Bai Zihan did.
The first old man thought that Bai Zihan from a remote empire is the whetstone Long Haotian has always needed.
Perhaps today’s humiliation would become the most valuable lesson the Long Clan could ever provide him.
Thus, they remained where they stood.
Meanwhile, Long Haotian roared again and charged.
Whoosh!
He crossed the distance instantly.
Golden Immortal Qi ignited around his body like a second skin.
His sword swept downward in a vicious arc.
"Heaven Sundering Blaze—First Form!"
Boom!
The technique erupted.
A Mid Heaven Grade Martial Art!
One of the Long Clan’s most prized sword techniques.
The air itself seemed to ignite as a pillar of blazing golden sword light descended toward Bai Zihan like a falling sun.
The surrounding Heaven Sword Sect disciples scrambled backward.
The heat alone was enough to burn their robes.
Even several elders straightened slightly.
That was genuine power.
The full force of an Immortal Realm cultivator unleashing a Mid Heaven Grade technique was not something just anyone could receive head-on.
Bai Zihan tilted his head slightly.
His expression remained unchanged.
Then he raised the Eternal Spirit Sword.
Clang!
The impact was enormous.
The arena floor cracked beneath Bai Zihan’s feet.
Not because he had been pushed back.
But because he had absorbed the force and redirected it downward.
The blazing golden light split around him like water flowing around a stone before dispersing into the air.
Long Haotian landed several paces away.
His teeth clenched tightly.
(He blocked it? That technique had been blocked?)
Whoosh!
He circled left.
Then slashed right.
Two feints.
One killing strike.
"Heaven Sundering Blaze—Second Form!"
Three waves of sword light erupted.
Each one stronger than the last.
Each one faster than the previous strike.
Each one carrying greater destructive power.
The second old man’s eyes widened slightly.
Regardless of the outcome, Long Haotian’s mastery of Heaven Sundering Blaze was undeniably exceptional.
Bai Zihan watched the three sword waves approach.
Then he moved.
Whoosh!
One smooth step.
The first wave passed harmlessly beside him.
A slight twist of his wrist redirected the second wave.
The attack spun sideways and crashed into the arena wall.
Boom!
A massive crack spread across the stone.
The third wave arrived.
Clang!
Bai Zihan met it directly.
Not with brute force.
But with the Eternal Flowing Water Sword Art.
His blade curved like flowing water.
The incoming force was swallowed whole.
The attack vanished as though it had fallen into a bottomless river.
Long Haotian stumbled forward.
The rebound from his own strike nearly disrupted his footing.
He recovered instantly yet his breathing had become heavier.
Not from exhaustion. His Immortal Realm cultivation possessed more than enough endurance.
No! It was something else.
He stared at Bai Zihan.
At the calm eyes looking back at him.
There was neither contempt nor excitement.
Only amusement.
It was as though this battle wasn’t even worth taking seriously.
As though Bai Zihan could end it whenever he wished.
"How dare you look down on me!"
Long Haotian lunged forward again.
This time, he abandoned Heaven Sundering Blaze entirely.
The Immortal Qi surrounding his body changed.
Long Haotian planted his feet firmly.
His sword slowly rose before him.
Every cultivator present felt something tighten in their chest.
An instinctive warning.
A primal sense of danger.
The technique had not even been released.
Yet the pressure gathering around Long Haotian’s body surpassed anything seen previously.
The two old men remained completely still.
No surprise appeared on their faces.
Only recognition.
The first old man exhaled softly.
(So he’s using that.)
They had wondered whether he would.
Part of them had hoped he wouldn’t need to.
Yet here it was.
Dragon Burial Slash!
The Long Clan’s most closely guarded Technique.
A technique only taught to those who had made great contributions to the clan Or to the Clan Leaders.
Long Haotian had received it personally on the day his father acknowledged him as the heir of the Long Clan.
A Saint Grade Technique!
The only Saint Grade Technique possessed by the Long Clan.
The first old man glanced toward Bai Zihan.
Although Bai Zihan had impressed them greatly, he knew this was the end.
Even Earth Immortals would suffer if struck directly by this attack.
Let alone Bai Zihan, who was only in the Great Ascension Realm.
The fight was over!
And with it, Long Haotian’s Dao Heart would be restored.
The humiliation.
The struggle.
The doubt.
The eventual victory.
A complete tempering.
Everything they could have hoped for.
Long Haotian’s eyes blazed with confidence.
"I want to see how you block this!"
Long Haotian declared.
Bai Zihan looked at him calmly.
He could feel it.
The technique had not even been released yet, yet he could already tell how powerful it would be.
(If I take this head-on...)
His grip on the Eternal Spirit Sword shifted slightly.
Even with his physique, if the attack landed directly, he might suffer serious injuries.
He wasn’t completely certain.
But one thing was obvious.
This attack was on an entirely different level from anything he had faced before.
At last, Long Haotian had finally demonstrated something worthy of being called a genius of the Central Glorious Continent.
With this technique alone, Long Haotian could walk sideways among his generation without fearing many opponents.
A smirk appeared on Bai Zihan’s face.
"Nine Shadows Flowing Light Sword!"
Whoosh!
Nine afterimages erupted outward simultaneously.
Nine identical figures appeared.
Each carried the same aura.
The same Qi signature.
The same presence.
Nine Bai Zihans.
Long Haotian’s eyes snapped left then right.
He immediately released a pulse of Immortal Qi.
Nothing!
All nine felt identical.
His expression changed.
Previously, when he had seen Bai Xueqing use this technique, he hadn’t thought much of it.
He believed that with his divine sense, he could easily identify the real body.
But now?
He couldn’t tell them apart at all.
Then they moved.
All nine figures stepped outward simultaneously.
Each moving in a different direction.
Within moments, they had spread throughout the arena.
Some stood near the walls.
Some near the arena’s edge.
Some halfway up the stone steps.
All nine perfectly spaced apart.
Long Haotian’s eyes swept across the battlefield.
His grip tightened.
The Dragon Burial Slash was still building within him.
But the targets had multiplied.
And he had no idea which one was real.
The nine figures watched him with identical expressions.
Then one tilted its head.
"What happened?"
The voice came from the left.
Long Haotian spun around.
"Couldn’t tell us apart?"
Another voice sounded behind him.
"You were so confident a moment ago."
This one came from above.
One shadow leaned casually against a railing with his sword resting on his shoulder.
"I want to see how you block this."
Another one repeated Long Haotian’s earlier words mockingly.
Long Haotian’s eyes twitched.
"You—"
"Still charging up?"
One shadow asked conversationally.
"Take your time. We’re not going anywhere."
"Well," another shadow said thoughtfully, "some of us might be going somewhere. It’s getting a bit crowded here."
Long Haotian’s Qi surged violently.
"Stop talking!"
"All of us?" one asked.
"Or just some of us?" another added.
"He might need to be more specific," a third remarked.
Long Haotian stood frozen at the center of the arena.
A Saint Grade Technique coiled within him like a loaded crossbow without a target.
Nine identical Bai Zihans surrounded him.
Leaning against walls.
Standing on steps.
Watching him as though he were a mildly interesting insect.
Bai Zihan’s calculation had been simple from the very beginning.
A Saint Grade Technique from someone at Long Haotian’s cultivation level could only be used once.
Maybe twice if he was willing to pay a severe price afterward.
So don’t get hit.
It was that simple.
The moment Long Haotian revealed a technique capable of genuinely threatening him, the answer became obvious.
Make him unable to use it.
Then wait.
One figure near the arena wall examined his fingernails idly.
"Anytime now."
Long Haotian’s jaw clenched so tightly that it was a miracle his teeth hadn’t shattered.
But no matter how angry he got, there was no way for him to differentiate those Nine Shadows.
