Come

Zhao Teng frowned slightly, about to channel his spiritual energy to completely scatter the eyesore of a flame.

But at that very moment, an extremely sharp chill pierced his lower back without warning.

It felt as if an emperor on a grand parade had suddenly been slapped in the face by a toad leaping out of a mud pit.

It wasn't fear; it was pure disgust.

Before Zhao Teng could even think about where the attack came from, his battle-hardened instincts reacted first.

His posture, originally straight as a pine, suddenly tilted, and his entire body shifted sideways to the left by several dozen feet.

It was precisely this distance that saved him.

Boom!

A crimson streak of light, wrapped in a mournful dragon's roar, brushed right past him.

That was the Fallen Dragon Spear!

Su Ji's first surprise attack was actually throwing his own weapon.

And this vicious weapon did not fall. Instead, it carved an extremely tricky arc in the air, riding the momentum of the sky-filling scorching winds, and struck back fiercely like a poisonous dragon turning its head to rip out a heart!

Although it failed to pierce Zhao Teng's kidney, the violent baleful flames attached to the spear shaft scorched a large patch of clothing on his waist, even leaving a charred red mark on his originally flawless, jade-like skin.

Smack.

A bloodstained hand steadily caught the returning spear shaft.

Su Ji's figure emerged from the sea of fire.

He was smiling.

He smiled brazenly, revealing a mouthful of ghastly white teeth illuminated by the firelight.

"If your reaction had been a bit slower, you wouldn't be much of a young master anymore."

Zhao Teng slowly straightened his back.

He looked down at the charred hole on his waist, then reached out to touch the burning scar.

A slight sting came from his fingertips.

The pain was not intense; it could even be called insignificant.

But Zhao Teng's expression darkened completely at this moment.

It was an ugliness he had never shown since the day he was born.

Ultimately, he had underestimated his enemy.

Ever since he could remember, his life had been like an exam paper with the standard answers already filled in.

No matter the problem, it was easily solved in his hands.

Cultivation bottlenecks? Nonexistent. He would break through after a good night's sleep.

Sparring with peers? Boring. He could sweep them away with one hand.

Secret realm expeditions? That was just restocking inventory; he got whatever he wanted.

Everyone around him called him a genius, a monster, a child of destiny.

Over time, he grew accustomed to this setup.

In his eyes, his victory was a matter of course, and others' defeat was the natural order of things.

It was a universal truth of this world, just like the sun rising and rivers flowing.

So, when Su Ji, an ant in his eyes whom he was about to crush with a press of his finger...

Suddenly pulled out a needle and pricked his finger...

This extreme contrast made him feel an unprecedented sense of absurdity.

Zhao Teng's eyes now gleamed with golden light, entirely devoid of pity.

"It seems treating you as an ant is an insult to ants."

"You are... a disgusting bug."

Before his voice faded, Zhao Teng flipped his wrist.

A radiant golden talisman shattered in his palm.

Buzz!

Blinding golden light erupted instantly. A suit of golden battle armor, covered in profound runes, materialized out of thin air and instantly covered his entire body.

Clad in golden armor.

At this moment, Zhao Teng exuded an imposing heavenly majesty. Just the aura spilling from him forcefully pushed the surrounding sea of fire back by thirty feet!

He was truly enraged now, intending to use the most thunderous methods to completely erase this stain that had brought him shame.

"Die!"

Zhao Teng wasted no words. His figure blurred, directly transforming into a bolt of golden lightning. He instantly crossed dozens of feet and appeared right in front of Su Ji!

He threw a punch!

There was nothing flashy about it, just a simple punch.

Yet it condensed terrifying spiritual energy sufficient to shatter mountains, making even the space wail under its overwhelming weight.

Su Ji's pupils contracted sharply.

Too fast!

So fast that even his divine sense could hardly capture it!

Was this Zhao Teng going all out?

Su Ji's body had already reacted a step ahead.

He didn't dare to take it head-on. Pushing off the ground, he shot backward while frantically wielding the Fallen Dragon Spear in his hands, turning it into an airtight curtain of spear strikes.

Bang!

The golden phantom fist slammed into the spear curtain.

Su Ji felt as if he had been hit head-on by a rampaging wild bull. His arms instantly lost all feeling, and he was blasted away like a cannonball, smashing fiercely into the rock wall.

Rubble flew, and dust filled the air.

But the next second.

"Cough, cough..."

From the pile of rubble, Su Ji crawled out once again.

His injuries weren't actually too severe.

The red light in his eyes burned even brighter.

"Again!"

Instead of retreating, Su Ji actually advanced, initiating a charge!

Pink streams of light and dark red baleful aura intertwined on his body, pushing his speed to the absolute limit.

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

At the bottom of the abyss, the sound of metal clashing rang out continuously, and sparks flew like rain.

The more Zhao Teng fought, the more alarmed he became.

Is this kid really only at the Golden Core stage?

His combat intuition... is far too sharp.

Several times, he had clearly locked down Su Ji's escape routes and prepared a fatal blow, only for the boy to narrowly avoid taking a lethal hit in the most unimaginable ways.

He could even find openings to bite back!

If they were fighting at the same realm...

He would probably be slaughtered like a pig or dog...

No...

He must be relying on external power...

It had nothing to do with his cultivation realm anymore.

Forget it, stop overthinking.

Win first, talk later!

Boom!

Another violent collision.

The two clashed and instantly separated.

Zhao Teng hovered in midair. His golden armor remained bright and pristine, though his breathing was just a fraction more hurried.

Su Ji, on the other hand, was half-kneeling on the ground, leaning on his spear. He was gasping heavily for air, blood dripping from his chin onto the floor.

"I have to admit, you do have some skill."

Zhao Teng looked down at him from above, a bit more seriousness in his eyes. "To survive a hundred exchanges against me without dying is something you can be proud of."

"However..."

Zhao Teng changed his tone, a mocking smirk curling his lips. "Is this your limit?"

"Right now, you are like a taut string that could snap at any moment."

"What do you think your chances of winning are?"

In the abyss, the wind howled mournfully.

Su Ji slowly raised his head.

He wiped the blood from his face and grinned, revealing bloodstained teeth.

"Fifty-fifty. Half and half."

Su Ji's voice was very light, yet it carried a chilling calmness.

"Heh."

"Fifty-fifty?"

"Did I beat you stupid?"

"I am completely uninjured, while you are already showing signs of exhaustion."

"I imagine the power you borrowed is about to wane as well?"

Su Ji shook his head.

"You don't understand."

He looked at Zhao Teng.

"For a man with no way out,"

"It's just like flipping a coin."

"Either it's heads: I win, you die."

"Or it's tails: I lose, I die."

"Aside from these two outcomes, there is no third possibility."

Su Ji raised the long spear in his hand once more, the tip pointing directly at the center of Zhao Teng's brow.

"So..."

"I either live, or I die."

This kind of logic was absurd, laughable even.

But only someone truly driven to the absolute brink, with no other choice but to lay their life on the line, could possess such a borderline insane optimism.

Because if they did not think this way, the crushing weight of despair would have broken them long ago.

Zhao Teng looked into Su Ji's blood-red eyes, the smile gradually vanishing from his face.

He suddenly felt that this bug before him was actually becoming a bit... troublesome.

Not troublesome in terms of raw power.

Rather, it was that death-defying madness that made a genius like him, accustomed to elegance and composure, feel a flicker of instinctive discomfort.

"Since you want to gamble..."

Zhao Teng slowly raised his right hand. Within his palm, a golden longsword gradually condensed into form.

The blade radiated a suffocating, imperial aura of suppression.

"Then this young master will grant your wish."

"I will show you the true meaning of..."

"Despair!"

Boom!

A golden sword light erupted into the heavens, illuminating the entire abyss as bright as day.

Zhao Teng moved.

This time, he held nothing back. Sweeping up a terrifying might capable of sundering mountains and rivers, he slashed down directly at Su Ji!

"Come!!!"

Su Ji let out a furious roar of his own. Refusing to dodge or evade, he charged headlong into the sky-filling golden light and slammed fiercely against it!