<h4>Chapter 1456: A Good Test</h4>
The night sky morphed into a raging sea. Waves surged forward, sounding like peals of thunder, like stampeding hooves. The universe itself seemed to shake, as though the stars were shifting positions.
The surface of the ster sea frothed with waves,yering and texturing it. Auroras hung in the air, veiling the night sky.
From afar, ster dragons seemed to roar. The pitch-ck dragons were like the night sky made manifest. Thunder and lightning crackled in the air.
Dragons unfurled their wings amidst a storm of lightning. The auroras stretched on for thousands of miles, so beautiful they captivated the gathered hunters.
Zhang Lie struck. An underworld river hurtled into existence, roaring into the sea. The sword energy roiled like ck waves, like a meteor shower, causing the very stars to shake.
The entire night sky shifted as a thousand ster dragons descended, as though a crack had broken in firmament. A flood that could destroy the world itself rained down on theva.
The sea had morphed into a boundless battlefield. The sea breeze was as a horn to action, and the serpents, thousands of courageous soldiers heeding its call.
Theherworld seapletely suppressed the nascent greenery and melted it all.
Grass and wood interwove to form a huge tree zing with lightning and fire, a bulwark against theherworld sea, but it was quickly destroyed. Sword energy whittled at it; ster dragons tore and bit at it.
The medemon cultivator screamed in agony.
Zhang Lie''s starlight manifested as pinpricks of light in the air all around him like fireflies. Vitality condensed from theherworld sea and formed trees of starlight. The ster dragons wrapped around them and shrouded the bark in a ster veneer.
The roots of the ster trees extended throughout the battlefield, draining away the vitality of the fallen medemon cultivators.
If Chi Lingkong were still alive, he would surely have regretted pursuing Zhang Lie and chasing him into the pce, confident in his superiority and ability to take Zhang Lie''s life. However, not only had he fallen, his kin and brethren had paid a heavy toll on his behalf.
None of the medemons could have expected that they, who had the power to control life and death within the trial grounds, would have ended up the inferior party, humbled by this young man. The hunters became the hunted.
The two medemons brandished their weapons for a final showdown.
"[The Boundless de: Dragon''s Wrath]!"
Guicang unleashed a barrage of sword energy in the form of a ster dragon.
A dragon''s howl shook heaven and earth, shattering the medemons'' advances and destroying their weapons.
One medemon transformed into a stork with scarlet feathers, zing with firelight, but it was useless.
"[First Form: Parting the River]!"
Bright sword energy radiated from Zhang Lie like brilliant rays of sunlight, illuminating the entirety of the world.
A frightening force descended, energy rumbling and rippling around him. As Zhang Lie swung the de in his hand, he tore apart the roaring mes.
The oue of this battle was not in any doubt. With a clean snick, the final medemon was beheaded in a roar of despair.
No other cultivator remained in the arena. Zhang Lie''s gaze swept proudly over the young proteges atop the nine holy mountains, all of whom subconsciously retreated upon meeting his gaze.
Some of the proteges were angered by their own subconscious response. They were the most brilliant members of their n, and their pride and arrogance refused to submit to another. They had to be the strongest no matter where they were.
One cultivator gritted his teeth and descended onto the battlefield, furious because of his embarrassment.
He was soon joined by more and more of the cultivators atop the mountains. Unlike Zhang Lie, who had ughtered mountains of corpses to make his way through the realms of the dimensional world, these young proteges had led sheltered lives free of despair and failure.
None could climb above them; the top was reserved for them and them alone!
Cultivators descended on the stage, intending to challenge Zhang Lie for dominance.
Zhang Lie raised his sword up high, unconcerned about the challengers. He would be able to clear the chaff with just a single swing.
Just then, golden light filled the air. The pce where Sun Xiaowu had been meditating waspletely overwhelmed by the golden light, which cast a burnished tint on all nine of the holy mountains. A golden fist mmed into the arena from the pce, sending all the cultivators who had been rushing onto the arena flying.
Sun Xiaowu appeared beside Zhang Lie.
"You''ve worked hard, Captain."
Sun Xiaowu shone in dazzling golden light. A denseyer of runes surrounded him like a suit of battle armor. Above his head shone aplicated golden rune, itself formed of dense runic script. It was abstruse and difficult toprehend. Zhang Lie didn''t know what Sun Xiaowu had intuited.
On the other hand, Yang Ze, who was almost finished dealing with his opponents, was startled to see Sun Xiaowu appear.
"Where did youe from, Sun Xiaowu? With all these special effects radiating off you, too..."
Sun Xiaowu ignored Yang Ze. "Let''s attack together. I''d like to test out my newfound strength."
"Very well!"
Time suddenly sped up in the vicinity of Zhang Lie as he thrust forward with Guicang.
"[Shadow and Light]!"
Zhang Lie''s body split into hundreds of thousands of afterimages. The sword strikes bloomed like rain, like vibrant silver flowers.
Sun Xiaowu raised his right hand. Golden runes spun more and more quickly all over his body.
"[Goldenscale Palm: Split]!"
Golden radiance struck. Sun Xiaowu''s palms brimmed with golden light as a denseyer of golden scales covered his skin.
Sun Xiaowu''s right arm glowed with resplendent light, shocking all the cultivators in the vicinity.
An aura of intense strength emanated from Sun Xiaowu''s body.
Sun Xiaowu took a step forward, then punched with all his might, generating a dominating wave of gic energy. The heavens themselves shook from the blow, and the arena almost copsed. A wave of golden light swallowed up all the cultivators in sight.