NOVEL WEB Chapter 0722: A Dark Horse
"Chen Yu, you shameless thief! How dare you steal the cave treasures while Mr. Sun led away that stupid bear!"
Hearing that voice, Chen Yu guessed that the newcomer was Sun Xin Hao, ranked seventieth on the Heavenly Pride List.
However, he had not revealed himself.
How then did the other party know that Chen Yu had entered the cave and looted the treasures after he led away the Golden Armored Giant Bear?
Whoosh whoosh!
The fierce wind howled like sharp blades, slicing through the trees, which were uniformly cut down, leaving behind a swath of slicing marks on the ground.
Boom!
A tree behind the small-eyed man collapsed with a thunderous crash, and he immediately jumped up to dodge, narrowly avoiding being crushed beneath it.
"Who's this now?"
Still unsettled, the small-eyed man watched the distance and saw a figure in grey robes swiftly approaching, wielding a large, ferociously shaped blade in hand.
"Chaotic Breaking Mad Blade, Sun Xin Hao!"
The small-eyed man's heart jolted, his face turning deathly pale.
Chen Yu, ranked ninety-fourth on the Heavenly Pride List, had defeated him with just a single move, whereas Sun Xin Hao's ranking was over twenty places higher than Chen Yu's.
On the entire Heavenly Pride List, there were only one hundred spots, making this twenty-spot difference quite significant.
"No, wait, Sun Xin Hao is here for Chen Yu's problem; I can take this opportunity to escape."
A realization broke through the small-eyed man's fear.
Sun Xin Hao was strong, but he was after Chen Yu.
With Chen Yu's strength, he should be able to exchange a few moves with Sun Xin Hao, and that could be his chance to run away.
Suddenly, Sun Xin Hao arrived, hovering behind Chen Yu.
In the woods, a green snake slithered over, hissing its cold tongue at Chen Yu.
Although the snake had changed color, Chen Yu recognized it at a glance as the same one he had encountered in the canyon.
He suddenly had a realization and understood why Sun Xin Hao had left, yet knew he had slipped into the cave afterward.
"Chen Yu, hand over what you stole and your marks, and Mr. Sun may spare your life,"
Sun Xin Hao said, his disdainful gaze falling on Chen Yu, commanding in a very domineering tone.
Then, he turned to the small-eyed man, his tone even more scornful, "Give your marks to Mr. Sun, and then get lost."
"It's over."
The small-eyed man fell into despair once again.
Sun Xin Hao did not directly attack Chen Yu, instead opting to first clear him, an outsider, from the equation.
Just as the small-eyed man was about to hand over his marks, Chen Yu suddenly spoke up, "Your marks are mine!"
The small-eyed man froze, and upon realizing what was said, looked at Chen Yu as if he were looking at a fool.
Chen Yu was in grave danger and was still thinking about the marks in his hand.
Even if Chen Yu took the marks, wouldn't he still have to obediently hand them over to Sun Xin Hao? Why bother?
Behind them, Sun Xin Hao's gaze flickered, and a sharp, strong aura spread out.
"Interesting, Chen Yu, do you really think you can escape from Mr. Sun's grasp?"
Sun Xin Hao asked with interest, a cold smile curling at his mouth.
"Escape?"
Chen Yu turned to look at Sun Xin Hao, similarly revealing a slight smile.
His next words left the small-eyed man dumbstruck and caused Sun Xin Hao to pause a beat, "Hand over your marks, or I, Chen Yu, won't let you leave easily."
"Hahaha, bold words, but let's see if you have the strength to back them up,"
Sun Xin Hao laughed heartily as a wild wind rose around him, countless blade edges whirling at high speed, turning everything within tens of feet into dust.
"Too terrifying, these two lunatics."
The small-eyed man shivered all over, no longer daring to stay.
The white pentagon on the back of his hand floated out, twinkling faintly in the air.
Swoosh!
Sun Xin Hao's figure flashed like a tornado charging forward to grasp the mark.
But Chen Yu was closer to the mark, reaching it first and grabbing hold of it!
Buzz~
Instantly, the pentagon mark broke into tiny flecks of starlight, merging into the triangle on Chen Yu's hand, making it shine a few shades brighter.
"Courting death!"
When Sun Xin Hao failed to snatch it, his brows twitched, and he slashed out with his blade.
A startlingly bright blade light appeared.
Before the blade light reached him, several twister-like winds cut through the air.
Chen Yu stood his ground, motionless, as True Yuan and Demonic Qi converged around him, forming layers of black waves to block the assault.
Hiss!
In the next moment, the blade light descended, instantly splitting the black waves into two halves.
Almost simultaneously, Chen Yu's fist swung up, his power erupting. His pale skin glowed with swirling Demonic patterns, exuding a heart-palpitating presence.
Against Sun Xin Hao's extremely strong strike, Chen Yu suddenly made his move, with just a simple punch.
Boom!
The black fist collided with the white blade light, unleashing an unrefined and overpowering force, causing the void to tremble violently.
If Chen Yu's Secret Pattern Demon Body had not reached the peak of the Early Sky Sea Realm, he wouldn't have dared to take such a risk, especially since his opponent was a prodigy from the Heavenly Pride List.
On the other hand, before the start of the first round, he had witnessed the strength of various prodigies, his emotions peaking as he set his goals even higher.
The seventy-second rank on the Heavenly Pride List was merely a stepping stone for him!
Crack~
The blade light shattered, turning into countless tiny white blades that shot to the sides.
A surge of brute force mixed with Demonic True Essence blasted out, heading straight for Sun Xin Hao!
"What?"
Sun Xin Hao's expression changed drastically, that blow had been exchanged in an instant, and he had not expected that Chen Yu would possess such strength.
And the small-eyed man, who had just left, suddenly found himself being chased by a flurry of snowy-white knife blades, which scared him into hopping up and down and dodging repeatedly.
He turned around and saw a scene that shocked him so much that he almost crashed headfirst into a tree ahead.
"It looks like number ninety-two on the 'Talent Ranking' does not reflect your true strength."
Sun Xin Hao's eyes gleamed slightly with interest, and a surging True Yuan poured out, funneling into the big blade in his hand.
With a single slash, he produced hundreds of blade shadows that crisscrossed and shattered the residual force of Chen Yu's punch.
Chen Yu did not respond--the only way to make Sun Xin Hao hand over the seal was to beat him into submission.
Swish!
His feet burst with True Yuan, transforming into a black light as he dragged a dark dragon tail behind him, closing in on Sun Xin Hao.
"Hehe, I, Chaotic Breaking Mad Blade Sun Xin Hao, am not afraid of close combat."
Sun Xin Hao sneered, his blade dancing in his hand.
"Wind-breaking Blade!"
Boom!
A snowy-white blade light suddenly flashed, and a tornado rose all around, containing countless snowy blade shadows within. If one carelessly approached, they would likely be sliced into countless pieces in an instant.
"Break!"
Chen Yu let out a low shout, and an astonishing demonic intent suddenly erupted, with pitch-black Demonic Qi rolling around him.
Amidst the black Demonic Qi, a huge shadow of a Demon Fist and a ferocious, ancient Demon Claw struck out together.
Bang!
A thunderous explosion resounded as the tornado formed by the countless snowy blade shadows was abruptly blasted apart.
Sun Xin Hao, who had been hiding within it, was suddenly exposed in front of Chen Yu.
"This…"
Sun Xin Hao saw Chen Yu and looked as if he had seen a ghost.
His own killing move had been so easily broken by Chen Yu!
At that moment, he finally realized that he had paid too much attention to Chen Yu's ranking on the 'Talent Ranking' and consequently underestimated him.
Sun Xin Hao immediately slashed out with his blade. The snowy-white blade light formed countless edges around him, striking towards Chen Yu.
He himself retreated immediately.
"He is a Body Cultivator and is even better at close combat. I'll distance myself from him for now. If I can exhaust and wound him from a range, then I still have a chance to win."
Sun Xin Hao had a plan in his mind.
Being ranked seventy-two on the 'Talent Ranking,' which was much higher than Chen Yu's ranking, he wouldn't run away easily.
However, as Sun Xin Hao retreated, he suddenly sensed something and hastily dodged.
Puff!
It was a step too late—a dark red, cold flame-like energy drilled into his back.
"What is this?"
Panic began to stir in Sun Xin Hao's heart.
He felt as if a frigid flame had entered his body, spreading rapidly, wandering along his meridians, devouring his vitality.
Sun Xin Hao, who had originally planned for an attrition battle, suddenly looked distressed.
If he didn't take time to expel the cold flame from his body, his vitality would continue to be consumed, and there would be no point in fighting a battle of attrition.
After exchanging two more moves with Chen Yu, Sun Xin Hao felt the formidable ferocity and strength of his opponent.
Swish!
He abandoned his original plan and turned to flee directly.
Behind him, Chen Yu blocked all of Sun Xin Hao's blade attacks and immediately gave chase.
"Hand over the seal, or don't blame me, Chen Yu, for being ruthless."
Chen Yu would not let Sun Xin Hao escape and, employing Demon Dragon Shadow Control, he immediately burst forth.
Meanwhile, the small-eyed man had only managed to escape a few hundred yards.
"Is it over?"
Seeing the storm of battle behind him suddenly disappear, the small-eyed man couldn't help but feel puzzled.
Swish!
He flew up, looking out into the distance.
He saw two figures—one chasing, the other fleeing—growing further apart.
The small-eyed man blinked his small eyes vigorously, wondering if he was seeing things.
"Sun Xin Hao is actually being chased down!"
...
In an ancient and desolate mountain area, a round building a thousand yards wide was surrounded by countless flying artifacts, along with numerous onlookers.
"In the first round, there was actually a formidable ancient beast from the Late Stage Sky Sea Realm!"
Shortly after the start of the first round, two disciples accidentally wandered into danger and angered an ancient beast from the Late Stage Sky Sea Realm level, which crushed them to death.
"Look quickly, Absolute Sword Immortal Guan Aoxue has already defeated five people and seized five seals!"
"Apart from Fallen Moon Venerable, she ranks second in the number of seals."
When mentioning Fallen Moon Venerable, people around sighed continuously, wishing that such a talent had come from their own family or faction.
"Eh, Chen Yu, ranked ninety-four on the 'Talent Ranking,' is actually chasing down Sun Xin Hao, who is ranked seventy-two!"
"How is that possible? The two differ by twenty-two ranks."
The 'Talent Ranking' only had one hundred spots, and a difference of twenty-two ranks was already quite significant.
For example, Sky Dragon Spear Shangguan Feiyun, within ten moves, could defeat a talent ranked in the forties.
But now, Sun Xin Hao, who was ranked even higher, was actually being chased down by Chen Yu!
"This could be considered a dark horse."
Every time when the 'Talent Ranking' is contested, dark horses emerge; sometimes, even two or three.
Without a doubt, Chen Yu was the first dark horse to emerge in this 'Talent Ranking' competition!
Seeing Chen Yu's performance, the high-level members of Black Demon Valley were also astonished, obviously not expecting Chen Yu to have such strength.