God Emperor
chapter-712

Qi Yun was under 100, hence considered relatively young among other saints.

Half-Saints lived to be at least 200. Accomplished Half-Saints could even live up to 270 years.

A white holy cloud was floating above Qi Yun. A long river of Holy Qi merged from the cloud and condensed into a fist mark.

The fist strength flew across the sky, stirring up a powerful Qi force that shook up the surrounding air for a dozen kilometers.

Qi Qiankun nodded and showed a look of approval. He muttered under his breath, "Qi Yun do not treat this battle lightly just because of your opponent's cultivation. He is wielding a hundred percent of his strength. Looks like he has a rather steady disposition."

It was good practice not to treat one's opponent with contempt.

Qi Yun wielded a Ghost Level mid-class martial technique, condensing a hundred percent of his fist strength. It swept up several tombstones, weighing over a hundred thousand kilograms each, into the air in a whirl.

"A Half-Saint's power is indeed terrifying."

Zhang Ruochen wore a severe expression on his face. He took a deep breath and started injecting Holy Qi into the two Golden Snake Divine Rapiers. Immediately, the inscriptions in the swords appeared and began emitting two beams of glaring sword Qi light.

The two Holy Swords broke out all their power.

Before his breakthrough into the Seventh Change of the Fish-dragon Realm, there was no way Zhang Rouchen could have stimulated all of the Golden Snake Divine Rapiers' power. He was truly excited and looking forward to the outcome of this battle.

"Break!"

A 30-meter illusory image of a Golden Snake appeared on the surface of each of the two Golden Snake Divine Rapiers. Swirls of sword Qi circled around the two Golden Snakes.

Zhang Ruochen performed the Sword Defending Technique. The two swords flew up toward Qi Yun and the fist mark.

A "boom" went off.

The power from the Golden Snake Divine Rapiers was so strong that it broke the fist strength.

Everyone watching was taken aback.

Who would have thought a monk at the Seventh Change of the Fish-dragon Realm could emit such powerful strength?

Qi Yun looked astonished. "Now I get it! You were the one who blocked my Sword Wave."

Although he was taken aback, there was no time to dwell on this matter. The other golden Holy Sword was about to hit him.

"Sky-sealing Mark."

Qi Yun extended one hand to strike out.

A chilling force rose from below the ground like fog. At the same time, a lightning column descended from heaven and surrounded Qi Yun.

A scarlet Flame Pillar shot forward from his palm.

The three great forces--Icing cold, burning flame and thunderbolt--overlapped to form a 3 meter wide circular mark in front of his palm.

Now only did the Sky-sealing Mark, a Ghost Level Superior class martial technique, possess great defensive power, it also possessed great destructive power in its attack.

"Boom!"

Zhang Rouchen's Golden Snake Divine Rapier struck the center of the Sky-sealing Mark. The powerful defensive layer of Icing air shook violently and tore.

Qi Yun's expression changed. He had not expected Lin Yue to be powerful enough to penetrate the Icing cold defensive layer.

As Zhang Ruochen punched forward, the Sword Comprehension power struck the hilt of the Golden Snake Divine Rapiers, propelling them forward with a wham.

With a loud boom, the second layer of the Sky-sealing Mark's flaming defense, was broken instantly.

Fist-sized fire balls flew out in all directions. They left a giant gaping hole when they hit the ground.

The Saint Lady's eyes were sparkling and she could not help but smile as she thought to herself, "This guy is surprisingly powerful. He's only reached the Seventh Change of the Fish-dragon Realm and already he can cross swords with a Half-Saint. I supposed he must have broken through to the Ultimate Realm at least twice, perhaps three times."

Even if Lin Yue did not defeat Qi Yun in this battle, it would still appear on the front page of the Eastern Region Report. If he could take three to five moves from Qi Yun, he would become one of the most talked about characters at the Sword Technique Conference.

The Saint Lady ran her fingers through her hair. She was looking forward to this battle. What other surprises would Lin Yue bring?

"You are quite capable."

Qi Yun's eyes appeared to be burning with rage. He struck out both palms. All his Holy Qi gushed out from his Yin and Yang Holy Meridians.

The Sky-sealing Mark rotated once very quickly. It gave out a powerful force that shocked the Golden Snake Divine Rapiers and sent them flying.

"Rise!"

Qi Yun leaped upwards, lifting the Sky-sealing Mark 30 meters off the ground.

Then he pushed the Sky-sealing Mark down on Zhang Ruochen in an attempt to suppress him.

The three sources of power from the Sky-sealing Mark were like three gigantic rotating wheels. They surrounded Zhang Ruochen completely. It looked like they were crushing him to death.

Zhang Ruochen could feel extreme pressure pressing down as well as the blackflow of his Holy Qi and Qi Pool. Even his breathing became laborious.

"Such great power! If it was directed at my body, it would have killed me," Zhang Ruochen muttered to himself.

Zhang Ruochen clenched his teeth. The Heart of the Sword between his brows spun at a high speed and began to emit a strong Sword Comprehension.

Several swords flew out from his glabella, making swishing sounds. They gathered towards the Golden Snake Divine Rapiers and overlapped with them.

"Sword One."

As the sword thrusted forward, powerful sword Qi penetrated the Qi field of the Sky-sealing Mark. Zhang Ruochen and the Golden Snake Divine Rapiers transformed into a stream of sword Qi and charged towards Qi Yun.

"Perfect timing!"

Unshaken by the attack, Qi Yun calmly put his palms together.

A 27 meter high Fire Titan stood behind him. The Fire Titan was wearing armor and chains coiled around him. His arm was thicker than a pillar and his body exuded an aura of great power.

The Fire Titan put his palms together and struck out towards Zhang Ruochen's head.

"Holy Blood Booster."

Zhang Ruochen was out of breath. He did not expect Qi Yun to go all out.

He did not dare to take the Fire Titan on head on. He stepped to the left and transported himself 99 meters away to dodge the Fire Titan's attack.

"Rumble!"

The Fire Titan's fists struck the ground, crushing thousands of skeletons and bones along the river bank to pieces. A huge gap was torn in the Corpse River.

A billow of flaming Qi shot out from both his fists towards Zhang Ruochen. His Spiritual Blood was shaken up. He flew backwards and landed a few kilometers away.

Zhang Ruochen quickly ran exercises through the Meridians in different parts of his body, trying to calm his aura.

Only a Half-Saint could perform the Holy Blood Booster. He would burn one drop of his Holy Blood, then his Spiritual Blood and Divine Soul would be united to perform the twelve-fold attack.

One drop of Holy Blood enabled him to display one attack.

He needed to burn a second drop of Holy Blood in order to wield a second attack.

A Half-Saint would exhaust his principal Qi if he burned too much Divine Blood. Therefore a Half-Saint would not perform such a move unless he was left with no other choice.

However, the situation now was a little different.

Qi Yun wanted a quick battle. This was why he wielded the Holy Blood Booster.

It would not do him much harm to burn a few drops of Holy Blood.

The Saint Lady gave out a cold laugh. "Why would you need to wield the Holy Blood Booster in a duel between a Half-Saint and a Fish-Dragon Realm Monk? Have the capabilities of a Half-Saint of the Qis come to this?"

"Your Excellency Saint Lady, your statement is flawed. What difference does it make what method I use. It doesn't make any difference, as long as I win the battle," Qi Qiankun laughed and touched his beard.

In fact, Qi Qiankun was stunned by Lin Yue's capabilities. It had far surpassed his expectations.

However, it was a good thing that Lin Yue had such high capabilities.

Once he seized Lin Yue, he could use him to negotiate with the Yin and Yang Sect. The Yin and Yang Sect would not abandon an outstanding talent like Lin Yue.

How many more moves could Lin Yue avoid if Qi Yun continued to wield the Holy Blood Booster?

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

...

Qi Yun controlled the Holy Blood Booster and attacked Zhang Ruochen again and again.

The deeper Qi Yun got into the battle, the more he was stunned.

The force emitted by the Holy Blood Booster was indeed very powerful. Lin Yue could only dodge the attacks, he couldn't fight back.

Yet, the speed he displayed was amazing. Somehow, he was able to escape every attack. Qi Yun estimated Lin Yue was just slightly faster than himself, a Half-Saint.

No one would believe that a Monk at the Seventh Change of the Fish-dragon Realm could surpass a Half-Saint in speed.

Qi Yun wielded a total of 19 attacks in a row by burning 19 drops of Holy Blood.

Although having exhausted this much Holy Blood would not really harm his principal Qi, he was uncertain as to how much more he needed to bring Lin Yue down.

By the time he finally retrieved the Holy Blood Booster back into his body, he was panting profusely.

He had exhausted a fair amount of Holy Qi.

Qi Yun began to be more vigilant. "There is no Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi here to recover my Holy Qi. I will be at a great disadvantage if I continue to use it up. I have to change my tactic."

Qi Yun finally realized that this Monk at the Seventh Change of the Fish-dragon Realm was fully capable of crossing swords with him.

Zhang Ruochen brushed the dust off his body and looked at Qi Yun. "The so-called legendary Half-Saint is just so-so."

Qi Yun let out a cold laugh. "The greatest advantage of being a Half-Saint is that we can mobilize huge amounts of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to our advantage. If we were outside of the Deceased God Cemetery, I could break you into pieces with one strike."

Zhang Ruochen retorted, "Are you making excuses for your failure, Half-Saint? Honestly, you have disappointed me in your capabilities."

In actuality, Zhang Ruochen had exhausted all his strength. There were even two occasions when he had almost not escaped Qi Yun's attacks.

His intention in making such a statement was not because he despised Qi Yun, but rather, he wanted to provoke his anger.

Qi Yun's state of mind had been calm in the beginning.

However, he was now infuriated because he could not take down his opponent fast enough.

How could a great and mighty Half-Saint let a Fish-Dragon Realm Monk scoff at him? Even if Qi Yun had started off with a calm state of mind, at this moment, he was completely enraged.

"It's time for you to experience my real power, Junior."

The Sacred Mark appeared between Qi Yun's brows.

A flaming Sacred Falchion emerged from his Qi Pool and flew towards Zhang Ruochen.

The burning Qi it emitted turned the entire heaven and earth scarlet. The corpses on the river banks started burning.

Zhang Ruochen's expression turned solemn. He mobilized all his Holy Qi and struck out his two Golden Snake Divine Rapiers to receive Qi Yun's Holy Sword attack.