Chapter 39 Surprise Attack and Counterattack

"It's fine, cough, cough. You're the real monster here, haha." Mengyao was still able to hold on, unable to resist letting out a soft, faint smile.

"Haha, Zero Domain: Silence!" Mo Xuan felt slightly embarrassed. He knew Mengyao was a spirit beast, but this endless entanglement simply wouldn't do. Therefore, just to be safe, he used the Zero Domain first to temporarily freeze these people in place.

This was a Domain!

The moment Mo Xuan's Domain opened, it immediately drew the attention of everyone around. The pitch-black Domain gave off a profound sense of mystery.

Especially the three Heavenly Third Realm experts maintaining the arena.

A Domain was something unique to the Heavenly Third Realm. For someone below the Heavenly Third Realm to cultivate a Domain required an astronomical stroke of fortune.

Mengyao understood Mo Xuan's intention, so she immediately sat down to regulate her breath and recover her vital energy.

In less than three minutes, a shadowy figure glided through the frozen crowd like a ghost.

It was Chen Pengfei.

His Stasis Domain collided with Mo Xuan's Domain.

The attacks canceled each other out, but his Stasis Domain didn't stop there. Before he knew it, a strange spatial force swept him away to the side.

"Not good!" Following that, the cultivators who had originally been frozen swarmed forward like bees, all attacking Mo Xuan. There were eight of them in total, every single one at the Spirit Gathering Realm.

After regaining their senses and realizing they had been played by Mo Xuan, these people were furious.

Meanwhile, Chen Pengfei began to approach Mengyao. He expanded his Stasis Domain once more, enveloping Mengyao within it. A cold sneer flashed across the corner of his mouth as he commanded, "Attack!"

Following him were his three teammates: Chen Xingcai, the eldest young master of the Chen family; Chen Biezhi, the second young master; and Feng Xiaoxiao.

The strength of these three was slightly inferior, though Feng Xiaoxiao's was a bit higher.

However, Mengyao was not completely helpless just because she had been frozen. Her strength remained, and relying on her willpower, she condensed a spiritual barrier to block the joint attack of the two.

Even so, Mengyao was struggling immensely, her face turning pale under the successive assaults.

Feng Xiaoxiao, on the other hand, seemed reluctant to do such a thing, hesitating and not striking immediately.

Seeing this, Chen Pengfei directly reminded her: "This is a competition, nobody's going to die! Hurry up and attack!"

With Feng Xiaoxiao joining in, Mengyao could no longer hold on. Her defense shattered, and a cultivation technique struck her squarely in the back.

Ah!

Mengyao let out a cry, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of her mouth.

Chen Pengfei couldn't help but sneer, "Haha, you brought this entirely on yourselves!"

"If this lady doesn't show her might, do you really think I'm easy to bully? Sword Domain, open!" Within Mengyao's eyes, a fierce, blazing flame slowly rose, tinged with a reddish-purple hue amidst a brilliant gold.

It was yet another Domain.

Mengyao's Domain was composed of countless illusory swords, which suddenly began to spin violently.

Hiss, hiss, hiss!

The Stasis Domain trapping Mengyao suddenly shattered apart.

The powerful flame vortex forcefully blasted away the three approaching attackers. Feng Xiaoxiao fared slightly better, suffering only internal injuries, while the other two instantly lost their combat capability.

Originally, this move was meant to be used for a surprise victory in a duel against Mo Xuan, but she had no choice but to use it now; otherwise, she ran the risk of being knocked out of the arena.

Given her personality, that was naturally something she was unwilling to see.

"Interesting!" Chen Pengfei hadn't expected Mengyao to possess such a formidable trump card either, which genuinely caught him off guard.

The carefully laid-out plan was completely disrupted in an instant.

At this moment, Mo Xuan was also growing anxious. He unleashed his full power, fully releasing the maximum condensing force, rivaling the peak of the Spirit Gathering Realm. Countless sword blades rained down in a barrage. The remaining eight individuals were utterly speechless, completely unable to parry. Realizing the situation looked ominous, some of them simply turned tail and fled.

Those who didn't run ended up collapsing to the ground.

Just as he finished knocking down the last roadblock, he saw that Mengyao had already handled things herself, prompting a look of pleasant surprise.

"Sigh, I worried for nothing!" Next up, the only one left to face was Chen Pengfei.

"Do you two want to take me on two-on-one?" Chen Pengfei wasn't actually afraid. Even if it was a Domain, he had one of his own, and he held an absolute advantage in raw strength.

"One of us is enough," they both said at the same time.

"I'll take him." Mengyao glared fiercely at Mo Xuan.

"Then I'll watch your back." Mo Xuan knew Mengyao had always harbored competitive feelings regarding the strength he had displayed. She was also a prideful girl, so he knew he couldn't win this argument and voluntarily stepped back.

Moreover, Mo Xuan was very eager to see just how far Mengyao's swordsmanship had progressed.

What was supposed to be a multi-party melee had now unexpectedly evolved into a spectator-sport battle, with a crowd gathered around watching Chen Pengfei and Mengyao fight.

Of course, there was still mutual hostility lingering among the onlookers.

If it were in the past, Mengyao would have had no way to fight back within this Stasis Domain without relying on external artifacts.

It was different now. She had obtained incredible fortuitous encounters within the Sword Saint's legacy, and this Sword Domain was undoubtedly the most crucial part of it.

Otherwise, Mengyao would certainly not have had this level of resolve and strength.

Seeing that his Domain was no longer effective against Mengyao, Chen Pengfei had no choice but to rely on brute force and skill.

"Haha, you asked for this!"

Fighting two-on-one earlier, the maximum power of his single Domain was roughly on par with Mo Xuan's, leaving him with a shred of apprehension. Now that they were foolishly choosing a one-on-one fight, he no longer had any reservations.

He immediately unleashed his full strength. Wielding a long spear and combining it with a secret technique, his power instantly surged to the seventh level of the Earth Soul Realm.

Mo Xuan's expression furrowed slightly; it turned out the man hadn't even used his full strength during their previous encounter.

A trace of worry welled up inside him. To be honest, even he couldn't counter this without using the Zero Domain.

Could Mengyao really handle it?

To unleash his full power right from the start—it seemed this fellow wanted a quick battle to preserve his strength. But was it really going to be that easy?

Was this still supposed to be a newcomer tournament? This level of power was almost comparable to the elders of the Luochuan City clans.

Meanwhile, Mengyao's sword technique had also fully unfurled. Dense clusters of swords gathered around her, forming a sea of fiery blades that faintly emanated the primal breath of heaven and earth.

Mo Xuan had encountered it before, so he could sense it clearly.

"Sea of Fire Sword Intent!" Mengyao shouted in a deep voice.

In an instant, flames soared into the sky as the sea of fire churned. The densely packed sword-formed flames rolled forward, every single thread of sword intent imbued with a scorching force. This oppressive power forced the surrounding contestants to scramble out of the way in panic, terrified of being caught in the fallout.

"What?!" Chen Pengfei had still underestimated Mengyao's strength. Confronted with sword intent of this caliber, he instantly panicked. His only thought was to somehow weather this single blow; the thought of launching a rapid counterattack to finish her quickly was instantly discarded.

He didn't dare to meet it head-on.

With nowhere to hide, Chen Pengfei was completely submerged within the fiery sea of sword intent.

Because her cultivation was incomplete and she had forced out such a massive move, Mengyao drained almost all of her spiritual energy in one go.

As the sea of flames gradually weakened, Chen Pengfei seized the opportunity and thrust his spear straight at Mengyao.

This move was truly dazzling, and the timing was impeccable.

As a result, Mengyao was caught off guard, and her right hand wielding the sword was pierced. With a metallic clatter, her sword slipped and fell to the ground.

Yet Chen Pengfei was in no better shape. His entire body was slashed open by strands of sword intent, oozing blood, accompanied by the searing heat of the flames. He looked utterly wretched.

If the Sea of Fire Sword Intent had lasted just a moment longer, he definitely wouldn't have been able to hold out.

"Haha, out of spiritual energy, aren't you?!" Seizing the moment without a shred of courtesy, he condensed a tiger-shaped fist imprint and smashed it fiercely toward Mengyao.

However, the blow landed on nothing more than a phantom image.

As the phantom vanished, Chen Pengfei knew the situation was extremely dire, realizing that Mo Xuan must have already made his move.

By this time, Mo Xuan had already deployed the Three-Heart Illusory Realm, his sole purpose being to prevent Mengyao from losing.

"You still don't trust me," Mengyao pouted, letting out a soft sigh.

"I believe you could beat him, but not when you have less than thirty percent of your strength left." Mo Xuan gently bandaged Mengyao's injured arm. "Leave the rest to me!"

With her spiritual energy completely depleted, Mengyao had no choice but to hand the reins over to Mo Xuan. She obediently lay down on the ground, her eyes occasionally drifting back to watch him.

"Wrath of the Storm!"

The Domain expanding from the Three-Heart Illusory Realm transformed the surroundings into a desolate wasteland. A tempest born from the convergence of heaven and earth energy abruptly materialized. The momentum was colossal, its swirling vortex resembling a miniature sandstorm.

It suddenly erupted across the arena, leaving everyone around utterly speechless. First came the Sea of Fire Sword Intent covering a massive area, and now here came another bizarre technique with an equally massive range. It looked like it would be hard for anyone else to have a normal match until he finished.

At this point, Chen Pengfei had virtually no combat capability left, making him even less capable of resistance. The moment they clashed, he was instantly shoved toward the edge of the barrier, slamming hard against it.

Wherever the storm passed, the ground cracked open layer by layer. The formidable might of heaven and earth was truly awe-inspiring, stunning the entire audience.

No one expected such a spectacle to unfold, instantly drawing the attention of an elder seated on the VIP platform: "These two youths are truly remarkable!"

Ripples spread across the barrier with Chen Pengfei at the center.

Even the three Heavenly Third Realm experts present furrowed their brows, finding it difficult to fathom.

Especially Xueyue—this was her first time witnessing Mo Xuan make a move firsthand, and her expression turned exceptionally solemn.

Given the sheer force of the attack, Chen Pengfei wouldn't have been able to withstand it even at full strength, let alone in his current state.

He was eliminated.

With Chen Pengfei's elimination, the surrounding crowd erupted into an uproar, filled with disbelief.

Logically, those who remained until the end should have been the strongest, yet the seemingly strongest among them, Chen Pengfei, had been knocked out.

It was truly the first time they had encountered such a scenario. It served as a living lesson that some people simply shouldn't be provoked carelessly.

Of course, some who looked down on him openly revealed Chen Pengfei's background, after which no one felt any pity for him anymore—after all, he was a disciple of the Shangqing Sect.

The Shangqing Sect was a superpower ranked among the seven great sects of the Hongmeng Continent, an influential faction even greater than the four major academies. How shameless of him to come and snatch their slots? Getting kicked out served him right.

Some even began cheering and shouting words of encouragement for Mo Xuan and Mengyao.

Indeed, from this perspective, the actions of Mo Xuan's team were entirely justified.

However, from the perspective of the four major academies, it was somewhat regrettable, as they had ultimately lost a genius.

Even if such a person might not necessarily choose to study at the four major academies, having their name affiliated with one was beneficial; if they achieved greatness in the future, they could still be claimed as alumni of the academies.