Lu Chen and Song Ping swung their weapons and clashed with their full power for the first time. A deafening boom erupted as the powerful shockwave blasted the two backward. The Hunyuan Greatsword left a long scratch along the shaft of the Ice Soul Spear. Song Ping stared blankly at the mark. "Your sword... how is it this sharp?" "I told you, this sword lives up to the name Hunyuan." "Heh, it's indeed a fine sword. But my spear isn't bad either." He channeled spirit qi over the scratch, and in an instant, the mark on the shaft vanished. Song Ping gripped the Ice Soul Spear with both hands, then used his movement technique to charge straight at Lu Chen. "Come." Lu Chen shouted back, "Come!" He rushed forward, and they collided in a storm of movement, continuously maneuvering and dodging with their techniques while relying on the most basic attacks with their weapons, continuously slashing and thrusting them at each other. Two hundred rounds later. Another loud boom resounded, forcing the two apart once again. Their bodies were already covered in cuts and gashes. The Ice Soul Spear trembled in Song Ping's hands. Cracks had begun to spread from the tip, spiderwebbing down the shaft. "This is... my spear is cracking? Impossible!" He hastily infused the weapon with spirit qi to nourish it, but the fractures only grew larger and more widespread. A sharp snap rang out. The Ice Soul Spear shattered into hundreds of tiny fragments. "No... impossible! My life-bound spear is broken!" Song Ping dropped to his knees, eyes empty with shock as the shards lay scattered across the ground. For more chapters visit novèlfire.net The cultivators below the arena were stunned by the sight of the shattered weapon and fell silent. Lu Chen looked around at the gathered cultivators. His display had already left them in awe. He grinned, brimming with excitement. "This whole showing off thing... It brings me pure joy. Every flashy move I use feels thrilling, and the more I do it, the better their reaction gets. Each one is sweeter than the last one."[1] Three seconds later, a trembling voice broke the silence. "That... that was Senior Martial Brother Song's life-bound spear. It actually broke?" Murmurs erupted through the cabin. "Senior Martial Brother Song lost? Impossible!" "He's the chief disciple of Serene Void Academy! He can't lose!" Nantian Wan'er frowned at the commotion and asked Jun Wudi, "Uncle Jun, what do we do now?" A glimmer of delight flashed in Jun Wudi's eyes as he glanced at the broken spear. "It's fine. We anticipated this. Just keep watching." He gave a subtle signal to the Godslayer Squad. Still puzzled, Nantian Wan'er nodded. "Alright, Uncle Jun." Lu Chen walked toward Song Ping and looked at the shattered fragments. "I didn't mean to... I didn't expect your spear to be so... fragile." "How can you say that?!" Song Ping lifted his bloodshot eyes and roared at Lu Chen like a madman. "What do you mean, fragile? This is my life-bound spear, nurtured since I was a child. How could it not be strong? Do you know how much effort I've poured into it? Do you even understand what this spear means to me?" With a furious shout, spirit qi surged wildly through Song Ping. No one knew if it was intentional, but Jun Wudi's seal on him began to crack. His cultivation aura spiked multiple levels as spirit qi gushed from his pores. Song Ping began showing signs of succumbing to his inner demon. Dark energy seeped from his pores, growing denser as it mingled with his spirit qi. Lu Chen tried to calm him. "Brother Song, I really didn't mean it. There must be a way to repair your spear. You have to hold onto your heart. Once you succumb to your inner demon, there's no coming back." Song Ping knelt and carefully gathered the shattered pieces, his actions and tone growing increasingly unstable. "What do you know? To repair an Earth Tier weapon, you'd need countless rare treasures and nearly a hundred years to nurture it again." Lu Chen kept trying to make him see reason, his voice tinged with urgency. "There will be a way. Senior Martial Brother Song, you must not succumb to your inner demon!" Song Ping's roar tore through the air, and black qi erupted violently from him. In an instant, his mind was consumed by his inner demon, and his cultivation surged to the peak of the Qi Regulation Realm. He stood, madness burning in his eyes, and bellowed at Lu Chen, "The spear can be repaired, but the decades we spent together... How do you make up for that? If you want to settle this, use your life to do it!" With another furious roar, the demonic qi shattered the last remains of Jun Wudi's seal. Song Ping's cultivation instantly returned to the first level of the Qi Condensation Realm. He shouted like a madman as he charged at Lu Chen, "Lu Chen! Die!" The oppressive force of his restored cultivation crashed down like relentless waves, striking at Lu Chen over and over. Lu Chen's spirit qi flow slowed under the crushing pressure, forcing him to lift the Hunyuan Greatsword and brace himself with all his strength. "I can't hold on much longer. I need to think of a way." Lu Chen turned and looked at Jun Wudi, hoping he would stop Song Ping from going completely berserk. The cultivators beneath the stage had also noticed Song Ping's abnormal state, turning their gaze to Jun Wudi. Yet Jun Wudi made no move to intervene. Instead, he waved his hand, signaling them to continue watching. "Uncle Jun... What's the meaning of this? Could it be..." Lu Chen couldn't fathom Jun Wudi's intentions, but he was sure that Song Ping had already fallen into a demonic frenzy and expected Jun Wudi to call the fight off. Just as he turned back to speak, Jun Wudi rose to his feet and walked to the edge of the arena. "Continue. Everything will be fine once Song Ping's aura steadies." Jun Wudi then contacted Lu Chen through voice transmission, explaining what was happening. "Song Ping needs this battle to change his state of mind. It's also a good chance for you to test your peak strength." Lu Chen was still puzzled. "Hm?" He stared at Jun Wudi, hesitant to move. Nantian Wan'er's voice rang in his mind. "Lu-gege, Uncle Jun let him succumb to his inner demon on purpose. There's no time to explain in detail now. I'll tell you after the fight. Uncle Jun has already arranged people to back you up. Just fight him directly." "In that case... Bring it on!" Lu Chen turned back, nodded to Jun Wudi, and said, "Uncle Jun, I'm going in. But... must he really succumb to his inner demon? What exactly is going on?" Lu Chen gripped the Hunyuan Greatsword and drove it firmly into the ground before him, fixing his gaze on Song Ping. The turbulent fluctuations in Song Ping's aura began to settle. The overwhelming pressure slowly receded. A two-meter-long ice spear condensed of spirit qi formed in Song Ping's hand. Its shaft was carved in the shape of a massive frost dragon, with its open jaws at the spear tip. Wind Dragon's phantom emerged from the Hunyuan Greatsword, fixing his gaze on the spear in Song Ping's hand. "Little Lu, I think I understand why he needs to succumb to his inner demon.I suspect Jun Wudi intends to take this chance to help him reforge his weapon." Lu Chen glanced at Wind Dragon. "Huh? What do you mean?" "Song Ping's talent is extraordinary, but his life-bound weapon was still just a mortal-grade piece. It only managed to reach the Earth Tier after decades of nurturing. "Without a special condition, this weapon has little chance of advancing further." Lu Chen eyed the ice spear, thinking, "A life-bound weapon... And how does that relate to him succumbing to his inner demon?" Wind Dragon coiled around the Hunyuan Greatsword. "Listen first, and you'll understand. A life-bound weapon grows alongside its cultivator, resonating with their heart. In essence, it becomes part of them. That ice spear is the result of Song Ping's resonance with his weapon." He pointed at the spear. "A weapon formed this way has a high chance of developing a spirit of its own." "A weapon spirit? I think I get it now," Lu Chen said, looking at the spear. "So it's like you. If I succumb to my inner demon, my bond with you will break, making it easier to reforge the weapon." Wind Dragon turned to face him. "Smart boy. That's exactly right." Lu Chen frowned. "Why not wait for a better time? Doing this now seems sudden... and risky." Wind Dragon flicked his tail, pointing it at the shattered remains of the Ice Soul spear on the ground, now gathered in a small pile. "Smashing a weapon is easy. But if the owner is prepared, they won't lose themselves when it breaks. In that case, the object manifested during the resonance might even dissipate entirely." "I see!" Lu Chen's eyes sharpened as Song Ping's aura steadied. He wrenched the Hunyuan Greatsword from the ground. "Then let's help him." "To help him, you just need to bind the spear and use Spirit Light Chains to seal its spirit." Wind Dragon went back into the Hunyuan Greatsword. "Let's go, little Lu." Lu Chen popped two Spirit Gathering Pills into his mouth, and waves of spirit qi from the arena surged toward him. "With my current reserves, I can unleash two Dao techniques. In that case, I might as well make this fight more spectacular."[2] He looked at Nantian Wan'er, conveying his plan to assist Song Ping. Pressing his middle and index fingers together, he formed a hand seal and swiftly channeled his spirit qi. Nantian Wan'er gently pulled Jun Wudi's sleeve. "Uncle Jun, Lu-gege is getting serious." Jun Wudi patted her head lightly. "I see." He continued to observe Song Ping, ready to step in at any moment. Nantian Wan'er noticed he hadn't grasped her meaning and stepped directly in front of him. "I mean, Lu-gege is really getting serious. Uncle Jun, you should be careful." Jun Wudi, puzzled by her earnest tone, was about to ask more when a loud boom erupted from the arena. He snapped his head toward the fight. On the platform, black demonic qi leaked out from Song Ping. Spear in hand, he let out a roar and charged straight at Lu Chen. 1. For those of you who like to check the raws and don't see this in the original, this sentence was moved here from the following chapter. You'll hopefully see why it made no sense at all in there. ☜ 2. Dao Art refers to the entire system or discipline as a whole, while Dao technique refers to the individual skills or spells within it, such as Spirit Light Chains, Stone Wall Formation, or Earth-Splitting Curse. ☜