Villain: After I died, all the heroines cried themselves to sleep.

Using the Heavenly Lock Sword Formation as cover, supplemented by divine fire as a feint, the Moonlight Sword was used as a surprise killing move.

The moonlight, purifying the world, burst forth from the sword, dispelling the gloom of the underworld.

However, this deadly sword strike only moved forward half an inch before it could no longer move an inch further.

"Boy, is it because you fought against a lower-level martial artist that you became so arrogant and developed the illusion that you could fight a seventh-level Martial Grandmaster?"

The gaunt old man stared coldly at Luo Chuan.

With one hand, he firmly locked Luo Chuan's Heavenly Dry Sword, and with the other hand, he immediately slapped towards Luo Chuan's head.

But Luo Chuan would never abandon his sword and flee.

Not to be outdone, he formed a hand seal with one hand, and a crimson-gold rune appeared between his eyebrows.

"The Twelve Divine Fiends—Qiang Liang!"

Click!

In an instant, a bolt of lightning struck down from the sky.

Rumble!!!

An extremely terrifying aura of destruction, as if acting as divine retribution, crashed down on the ground in an instant, enveloping Luo Chuan and the withered old man, forming a massive pillar of lightning that shot straight into the sky.

The raging lightning tore through space, raging in all directions as if it pierced through heaven and earth.

All the ghostly claws of the underworld couldn't even hold out for a moment before they were all destroyed.

whoosh-

Suddenly.

A figure flashed out from the pillar of lightning.

The lingering arcs of electricity flickered as the withered old man stared grimly at his ghostly hand.

A faint scorch mark appeared on his hand.

The power of this lightning bolt was unexpectedly terrifying.

It's unbelievable that he, a dignified seventh-level Martial Grandmaster, was injured by a mere fourth-level martial artist.

"No wonder you dared to fight me. The power of this thunder and the raging fire just now far exceeded the limits of S-rank. Is this your trump card?"

The gaunt old man looked towards Luo Chuan.

By this time, the thunder of Qiangliang had dissipated, leaving only a bottomless hole in the ground.

Above the hole, Luo Chuan, dressed in rags, was covered in electric arcs, with hot, burnt air constantly rising from him.

The injuries looked much more serious than those of the emaciated old man.

Despite this, Luo Chuan still managed to force a smile.

"You don't even know this, yet you dare claim to know my intelligence? As for whether this is my trump card, you guess?"

"So what if you have such a powerful talent? You're just a fourth-level martial artist; you simply don't have the ability to control this talent."

The withered old man dismissively waved his sleeve.

"Faced with an absolute difference in realm, even if you use all your skills, you can only cause me a negligible minor injury, while you yourself suffer a more severe backlash."

"If I can withstand the backlash and survive, then it'll be you who dies, won't it?"

Luo Chuan grinned.

"Daydreaming is nothing but empty talk."

The gaunt old man's eyes flashed with a fierce light. He stopped arguing with Luo Chuan and decided to use all his strength to kill him.

"Being able to exchange a couple of blows with a seventh-tier Martial Grandmaster is already something to be proud of, so you can die now!"

His figure moved like a ghost, disappearing in the blink of an eye from Luo Chuan's sight.

The speed of a seventh-level Martial Grandmaster far exceeds the visual perception of a fourth-level Martial Master.

However, Luo Chuan was no ordinary fourth-level martial artist.

A silver glint appeared in his eyes, and Dijiang activated his spatial vision, instantly pinpointing the location of the withered old man.

Without the slightest hesitation, Luo Chuan turned around and slashed.

"Frontline!"

Clang!

The sound of metal clanging rang out.

Before the gaunt old man appeared, Luo Chuan had already unleashed a sword light that pierced through the void.

The gaunt old man lagged behind Luo Chuan by half a beat and crashed directly into Luo Chuan's sword strike, but with his superior speed, he managed to withstand the blow.

He swung his claw out with a backhand motion, creating countless afterimages as he struck Luo Chuan's vital points.

Luo Chuan immediately switched from offense to defense and unleashed a new sword move.

"Aurora Dance!"

The sky was filled with sword light, which clashed fiercely with the ghostly claws.

In each clash, swathes of sword light were torn apart by the ghost claws, and the entire space was occupied by the ghost claws at a visible speed.

In the critical moment, strange crimson-gold runes kept flashing between Luo Chuan's brows.

The silver glow in his pupils gradually faded, turning into a pale white radiance.

Everything around you is moving in slow motion.

Luo Chuan stared at the ghostly claws filling his field of vision, then swiftly swung his sword and slashed them away.

If one strike isn't enough, then add another, using a faster pace and more strikes to close the huge gap in power between the two sides.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang...

Sword light and ghostly shadows clashed, unleashing a series of sharp sounds.

The withered old man grew increasingly alarmed as the battle progressed. He clearly sensed that at a certain moment, Luo Chuan's speed suddenly increased countless times.

They can even be compared to themselves without being inferior.

"impossible!"

Clang!

The gaunt old man suddenly struck out with his palm, sending Luo Chuan flying.

He stared intently at Luo Chuan, about to question him, when he saw Luo Chuan suddenly spurt blood and his aura weaken considerably.

The gaunt old man immediately let out a cold laugh.

"So that's how it is. You were just forcing yourself to stay alive, burning your life force to prolong your existence."

"Cough... How can we win if we don't fight with all our might?"

Luo Chuan coughed up a mouthful of blood and struggled to raise the sword in his hand.

The gaunt old man was right; Luo Chuan was indeed recklessly activating the power of the Twelve Divine Fiends.

He had even used Zhu Jiuyin's time-manipulation power to contend with the withered old man.

The cost is that the bones and cells throughout the body are overwhelmed, resulting in severe necrosis and tearing.

But there's nothing we can do about it.

It's impossible to win a normal death match against a seventh-tier martial artist.

His only chance of winning, as I just mentioned, is to exert force beyond his body's capacity and withstand the backlash to avoid death.

"Are you trying to stall for time and wait for rescue?"

The gaunt old man squinted his eyes.

Seemingly realizing that he had seen through Luo Chuan's intentions, his expression grew even more sinister.

"You can give up now. I anticipated this, so I distorted everyone's perception. They won't be able to detect the battle here in a short time."

"Don't get me wrong, I just want to kill you, or be killed by you."

Luo Chuan barely managed to raise his sword finger and summon the twenty-four ether swords again.

"..."

The gaunt old man grew increasingly impatient with Luo Chuan's stubborn and unyielding demeanor.

Although he was almost unharmed, his opponent was already at his last gasp.

As a seventh-level Martial Grandmaster, he has enabled a fourth-level martial artist to persevere to this day.

It is a disgrace in itself.

The gaunt old man, somewhat enraged, launched a series of attacks on Luo Chuan without regard for the consequences.

"A Night Parade of One Hundred Demons!"

The sounds of ghosts wailing and wolves howling echoed throughout the world.

Countless vengeful ghosts and spirits surged forth like a tidal wave.

"Heavenly Lock Sword Formation - Modified"

"The Twenty-Four Sea-Stabilizing Sword Formation!"

Luo Chuan used the Dinghai Sword Formation for defense.

Immediately afterwards, he formed a hand seal, and the rune between his eyebrows flickered.

"The Twelve Divine Fiends - Gonggong".

In an instant, the water god Gonggong unleashed the power of the four seas to strengthen the Dinghai Sword Formation.

boom!

The Dinghai Sword Formation shattered, but it also blocked the ghostly attack of a hundred demons.

The gaunt old man launched a series of attacks, and Luo Chuan continued to rely on the Twelve Divine Fiends and the Heavenly Lock Sword Formation to fight back.

The two fought back and forth, each using their unique skills. Although the withered old man had the upper hand, Luo Chuan was able to use various spiritual techniques to break through his attacks, thus maintaining the stalemate.

Seeing that his spiritual skills were no match for Luo Chuan, the withered old man pressed closer and engaged Luo Chuan in close combat.

But the more they fought, the more frightened they became.

He realized that if it weren't for his high level of skill, he probably wouldn't have lasted many rounds against the opponent's swordsmanship.

This is absolutely an incredible, monstrous monster!

The emaciated old man quickly withdrew.

"Cough, how come you can't beat me now?"

As Luo Chuan was talking and laughing, he coughed up another mouthful of blood. He really looked like he was only one step away from death.

But he still managed to stay upright and didn't collapse.

Why?

The emaciated old man finally couldn't help but ask a question.

"You're a fourth-tier martial artist, yet you've unleashed power far exceeding your own level, and your body has still managed to hold on until now. Even if your body can withstand the backlash, why hasn't your spiritual energy been depleted?"

The ranking of martial artists is largely based on the amount of spiritual energy within their bodies.

The more powerful a spiritual technique is, the greater the consumption of spiritual energy it generally requires.

Therefore, in theory, a fourth-tier martial artist could not possibly have enough spiritual power to contend with a seventh-tier martial artist for a long time.

Why is it that this fourth-tier brat, who seemed to be at his limit for a long time, is still able to keep going until now?

"...Are you familiar with the tortoise and the hare paradox?"

A meaningful smile appeared on Luo Chuan's lips.

"Every time I unleash my talent and spiritual skills, I get closer and closer to physical collapse or spiritual exhaustion. But getting close is just getting close; I haven't really reached my limit, have I? It's like helping someone bargain on a shopping platform. The number of decimal places is infinite; if you can't get the discount, you just can't."

"What does this mean?"

The gaunt old man frowned in bewilderment.

For some reason, I had a very bad feeling.

"It means I have an invincibility cheat, you idiot."

As Luo Chuan spoke, he activated the long-prepared technique, completing the final closed loop.

"Soul Spell: Requiem!"