NOVPUBThe Ice Emperor was a supreme existence in the previous great era, capable of challenging the highest heavens. Even when scouring ancient history, his strength absolutely ranked among the top. If he existed today, he could almost certainly have been invincible across the 3600 realms of the upper world.
Yet, such a great and legendary figure appeared before Gu Chen, at the same realm, engaging him in a fierce battle.
Such an encounter was truly beyond belief, astonishing to the extreme.
At the same realm, a being as mighty as the Ice Emperor naturally bulldozed through his opponents without any competition. Today, in battle with Gu Chen, they fought as if they were true dragons ascending from an abyss, their combat intensely breathtaking to say the least.
After exchanging more than a thousand moves, neither could gain the upper hand. Their battle remained in a deadlock.
In the final moments, Gu Chen activated his unique holy domain, and from the outset, pushed its might to the limit. Even the Ice Emperor, at the same realm, was momentarily immobilized by Gu Chen.
And it was this moment that sufficed to decide the outcome.
Unmatched in fist technique, Gu Chen’s blow sent the Ice Emperor’s body flying across the distance, tumbling far away.
At this moment, those silver-white pupils turned to look at Gu Chen, containing a trace of surprise.
The unique holy domain was the internal effort of Gu Chen mastering his own body, the fusion of two domains, within and without, in a life-and-death situation. Even the Ice Emperor from countless ages ago felt astonished.
Boom!
In the next instant, a surging divine power emerged from the Ice Emperor, and within the boundless void, snowflakes began to fall. A giant azure hand formed of ice crystals, shaking heaven and earth, struck down at Gu Chen.
"Time for a contest of magical power, then?" Gu Chen looked up at the approaching hand, unafraid. Light blazed forth from each of the 108,000 pores on his body.
Bang!
Without hesitation, Gu Chen immediately used a great technique. Sun-true fire gathered, forming a pale golden hand wreathed in roaring flames, which collided with the Ice Emperor’s crystal handprint, producing a thunderous noise.
The next moment, a blinding light and earth-shattering vibrations erupted. Countless sparks and ice crystals exploded, then scattered down.
"Roar!"
Suddenly, a high-pitched dragon’s roar echoed, and golden dragons emerged around Gu Chen, carrying immense authority. At this moment, he resembled an emperor on an expedition!
It was the Emperor’s Extreme World-Shaking Secret’s imperial dragon aura!
Whether it was the Divine Sun World Illumination Sutra, the Emperor Extreme World-Shaking Secret, the Reincarnation Seal Technique, or Soaring Over Void, all were martial arts skills that Gu Chen had created by fusing all of Jiuzhou’s martial arts into one within the spatial passageway, having spent countless merit points.
Even in the upper world, these four techniques were among the topmost. They were, after all, the foundation of an entire world, with the addition of panel bonuses. The power was incredibly formidable, by no means inferior to those sacred land techniques.
"Roar!"
The dragon roared as imperial draconic auras enveloped Gu Chen. His black hair cascaded like a waterfall, his eyes deep and profound, his gait as majestic as a dragon or a tiger, exuding great authority and grandeur, that kind of powerful aura suffocating!
For the first time since coming to the upper world, Gu Chen used all of his cultivation, causing the very void around him to tremble, as if it couldn’t bear this force and was about to collapse.
Rumble!
The Ice Emperor too unleashed tremendous force, as extreme cold burst forth, filling the vast void, transforming this place into a purely icy and snowy world!
At this instance, the great being from the endless ages had his white hair flailing, his pupils shimmering silver, devoid of any emotion, as if he were a sculpture of ice, his powerful aura overwhelming as it surged. 𝑛𝘰𝘷𝑝𝘶𝑏.𝑐𝘰𝘮
Thump!
In the next moment, their collision was like a deluge breaking, an ocean bursting its dyke, with blinding radiance engulfing everything, and the terrifying energy waves appeared as though they would penetrate this world.
Both Gu Chen and the Ice Emperor were extraordinary entities, their cultivation reaching the pinnacle of what could be achieved in the Earth realm within the martial domain, achieving true perfection!
Gu Chen executed the Emperor’s Extreme World-Shaking Secret, every move possessing earth-shattering power. The Ice Emperor, employing his own methods, spread extreme cold across icy fields, capable of freezing everything!
They were like the tip of a needle against the point of a wheat husk, their magical powers clashing fiercely.
Following that, Gu Chen switched techniques. The domineering aura around him vanished, replaced by burning pale golden flames. At this moment, he seemed to transform into a divine sun, radiating endless light, illuminating the heavens and the earth.
Another great collision occurred, this time between ice and fire, even more intense by several factors than before. The Ice Emperor’s extreme cold force collided with Gu Chen’s sun-true fire, akin to the polar opposites of Yin and Yang. The clash unleashed a devastating tidal wave of destruction, as if to return everything to its origins, turning this place into chaos.
At this moment, the heavens and the earth "lost their voice". The collision of the two energies was silent, yet possessed the sublime power to obliterate all!
As the two continued to exchange blows, the Ice Emperor’s silver-white pupils also surged with new waves. Of course, he couldn’t possibly be his true self, but merely an ancient avatar left from countless ages past.
Only he understood what it meant for Gu Chen to clash with his avatar to such an extent.
Because, when he left this avatar, his cultivation realm had reached the peak of the heavens, and each rigidly realized realm was perfected to the utmost, stronger than the foundation he had in the martial domain back in the day.
In other words, if the Ice Emperor at the peak of the Earth realm completion from the distant past crossed the river of time to this point, the encounter with Gu Chen might not be the same as it is now.
If Gu Chen could today defeat this avatar of his, to call him the strongest Earth realm entity of all times wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
"Reincarnation!"
At this moment, Gu Chen let out a great roar, his eyes emitting light and transforming into two vortexes, seeking to disrupt the opponent’s spirit.
The reason for this was because he saw a flicker of light on the Ice Emperor’s brow, indicating that the battle of spirits had already begun.
In this way, through alternating contests of flesh, cultivation, and spirit, they still hadn’t entirely determined a victor.
What followed was an extreme eruption of power as both individuals propelled their essence, qi, and spirit to the peak, resulting in an unparalleled great clash at this location.
The terrifying fluctuations emanating from their exchange had absolutely transcended the realm of martial arts; there wasn’t a single warrior in the Sky realm capable of reaching this level!
Across the entire Upper realm’s three thousand six hundred domains, you wouldn’t find a Sky realm battle of this magnitude.
When the battle reached over three thousand moves, even Gu Chen with his abundant energy felt a wave of exhaustion. The Ice Emperor, truly a paramount being of the last great era, possessed strength far too overwhelming. No matter what Gu Chen employed, he couldn’t defeat his adversary.
"Is this the foundation of a being who has surpassed the strongest?" muttered Gu Chen. He never imagined that someone in the same realm could match him blow for blow, fighting to such an extent where victory was difficult to discern.
"However, it’s time to end this!" At that moment, Gu Chen suddenly lifted his head, his eyes fiercely bright, like two suns burning intensely!
"Hmm?" Seeing this, the Ice Emperor felt an inexplicable sense of foreboding.
The next moment, his silvery pupils contracted slightly as he gazed at Gu Chen, as if witnessing something utterly unbelievable, beyond his expectations.
For the first time since the battle began, the Ice Emperor’s expression changed, showing a completely different demeanor than before.
"Nine Heavens Thunder Movement!"
Gu Chen’s expression was commanding as he word by word declared this, and with the utterance of these four words, instantly above the infinitely high sky, countless thick bolts of lightning, like roaring dragons, bore down adorned with brilliant flashes, descending from above.
"Divine power!"
The Ice Emperor was naturally very familiar with this divine ability but had never imagined that, ultimately, he would be defeated by the Nine Heavens Thunder Movement.
With this thought, the Ice Emperor couldn’t help but feel poignant and shook his head.
Boom!
In the next moment, the dragons made of lightning struck, completely obliterating the figure of the Ice Emperor who had battled with Gu Chen for over three thousand moves.
In face of divine power, even someone as powerful as the Ice Emperor was unable to resist in the realm of martial arts.
"Am I ’cheating’ by doing this?" Gu Chen mused calmly, catching his breath. After all, it is universally acknowledged across the ages that divine powers are beyond the domain of martial arts.
But the Ice Emperor’s strength was just too potent; without employing divine power, no matter how fiercely the battle raged on, they would never be able to decide a victor.
The best outcome would only be mutual destruction.
Therefore, in the end, Gu Chen resorted to using the Nine Heavens Thunder Movement, which he had barely mastered to the ninth grade, to put an end to this grand battle.
"However, I have gained a lot from this battle," reflected Gu Chen silently, reviewing the details of the fight while also gaining a clearer understanding of his own strength.
In the Upper realm’s three thousand six hundred territories, within the sphere of martial arts, he truly was invincible.
Gu Chen did not believe there was anyone else who could battle him to such an extent as the Ice Emperor.
Even in the previous era, the Ice Emperor was among the most distinguished beings; it was not realistic for the younger generation of the Upper realm to compare with him.
Hum!
The next moment, as the great battle concluded, the scene before him transitioned, and Gu Chen found himself back in the grand hall. Not far away stood a high platform with two items upon it.
"Is that the legendary Breakthrough Pill?!"
Upon clearly seeing the pill that emitted a divine glow and was the size of a longan fruit, Gu Chen was immediately stunned and immensely shocked.
True to its name, the Breakthrough Pill was able to help beings ascend; once consumed, any bottleneck would be immediately removed, allowing one’s realm of cultivation to advance, stepping into the next greater realm without any side effects.
This was a genuine divine elixir!
Such divine-level pills were exceedingly rare throughout the Upper realm’s three thousand six hundred domains; the quantity of Breakthrough Pills was scarce, and it was even dubious if they existed.
"Even an Earth realm cultivator seeking to break through to the Sky realm and become a Great Power, a single Breakthrough Pill would suffice. I never imagined I would be able to obtain one," Gu Chen gazed at the pill before him, his eyes shimmering with myriad radiance.
Even for Saint Lord level beings wanting to make a breakthrough and be ranked among the strongest in the Upper realm, the Breakthrough Pill couldn’t guarantee a 100% success rate, but still provided a considerable boost.
"If this pill were to be taken to the outside world, surely it would create an uproar throughout the Upper realm. Countless Saint Lord-level figures, and possibly even the strongest, would take action," Gu Chen thought to himself.
Of course, he wasn’t foolish enough to sell such an invaluable divine pill; naturally, he would keep it for his own future use.
Immediately afterward, Gu Chen’s gaze shifted, looking towards another item not too far away. He knew that this, among all the treasures, including the Extreme Ice Island, was the most precious item left behind by the Ice Emperor.
