The Gourmet had once been the hope of his family, but he'd left them because of love.
Now, after so many years, it wasn't that he didn't want to go back, it was that he didn't have the face to do so.
After Chu Cheng's explanation and his own investigation, the Gourmet had come to understand that he'd fallen into someone else's trap. His family hadn't done anything to hurt him.
Now, though he was a Paragon, he couldn't abandon his life and return to his family. He'd lost the drive he'd once had.
All of the family's hopes rested on Chu Cheng. How far his nephew could go would determine if the Hades Bloodline could ever regain control of the world of darkness.
That had been the Gourmet's goal. Now, it was Chu Cheng's turn.
The rain of golden swords weakened. The golden swords were like fish stuck in water. They were as sharp as ever, but they couldn't advance any further.
Standing there, Chu Cheng's aura continued to rise, giving off a vague feeling that he was about to burst through the arena's protective barrier.
Chu Dong had moved to the edge of the ring, pouring his power through the power gems into the barrier.
Like the Gourmet, he was watching with rapt attention.
As the head of the Hades Bloodline, no one paid more attention to this fight than he did.
What the Gourmet could see, he could see as well.
As a father, he knew Chu Cheng's abilities better than anyone else.
He rarely gave his son face, but in his heart, Chu Cheng was his pride.
How could he not know about Chu Cheng's antics?
Of course he knew.
However, he was even more aware of how much effort his son had put into cultivation since he was young.
Some were tight, some were loose.
This was Chu Cheng's grandfather.
The previous head of the family had ordered him to do so.
In truth, Chu Cheng had never disappointed his family.
So.
Chu Dong would only turn a blind eye if his son didn't go too far.
Chu Cheng had drawn a pharmacist in this round. Chu Dong's brows were furrowed at first, but it didn't take long for him to realize that this was an opportunity.
As he watched his son walk to the ring, his first reaction was to smile.
Because he saw it.
It was High Fighting Spirits' son.
In that instant, he was satisfied. He was proud, proud of his son!
As the successor of the Netherworld King's bloodline, he was fully deserving of this title.
At this moment, the power of the Hades King's bloodline that Chu Cheng had displayed made his heart clench.
He'd seen the Pharmacist's previous matches. Chu Dong didn't know the full extent of the Pharmacist's power, but he understood.
In today's battle, my son might very well be facing the strongest opponent in my life.
To what extent could he do it?
It would affect when Chu Cheng would be able to prove his Law in the future.
It was about to move!
Chu Dong felt his son's power build up. It was as if he himself were in the middle of it all.
Suddenly, Chu Cheng's body seemed to become transparent. In that instant, the gray color on his body became completely transparent. It was as if his entire body was carved out of transparent crystal.
There was a flash of grey light, and in a flash he broke through the net of swords. He was in front of the Pharmacist.
Only a few could see the short sword in Chu Cheng's hand. It looked like it had been sculpted from grey crystal.
At this moment, all of his essence, Qi, and spirit were completely concentrated on the short sword.
The Pharmacist was still standing in the same spot. Her golden dagger was still in her grasp.
The Pharmacist had always stood motionless and relied solely on her flying sword to win. Today was the first time she'd allowed anyone to get close to her in the tournament.
Clang! The sound of the collision was a hundred times more deafening than before.
Chu Cheng's grey form was sent flying.
His right arm, which he used to stab with the dagger, rose up, and the dagger let out a violent buzzing sound. He was desperately holding onto the dagger, not letting it fly out of his hand. The webbing between his thumb and forefinger had already been split open, and fresh blood flowed out of his gray wrist, appearing exceptionally distinct.
Almost no one saw clearly what had just happened. Even Chu Cheng himself was shocked.
From the moment he knew his opponent was the Pharmacist, he had been building up his strength.
Lan Jue's words had inspired his fighting spirit. From the moment he stepped onto the stage to the moment he did so, his aura grew stronger and stronger.
If a person's energy was the number one, then in actual combat, under normal circumstances, it was already very difficult to display 70% of it.
To reach one hundred percent required unparalleled concentration and a perfect unity of mind and spirit.
If he wanted to unleash 120% of his power, he would need to make special adjustments.
When Chu Cheng had thrust his dagger out, he'd felt like he was in a state he'd never been in before.
How could he have imagined that such a blow would only cause his opponent to sway slightly? She didn't even take a step back, while he himself was sent flying?
Only the two Paragons were able to see what the Pharmacist had done.
The Terminator's eyes were frozen, while the Gourmet's were filled with shock.
The Pharmacist hadn't had enough time to pull back her dagger, but from beginning to end she was calm. She watched as Chu Cheng closed in, and the crystalline dagger was right in front of her. Suddenly she opened her mouth, and a beam of light shot forth.
Yes, it was a beam of light.
Even the Terminator and the Gourmet couldn't tell what it was, because they were too far away.
It was this beam of light that had forced Chu Cheng back, and caused the web between his thumb and forefinger to split open.
There was finally some emotion in the Pharmacist's eyes. Tendrils of grey energy swirled around her, as if trying to draw out her life and inject it with death.
But the Pharmacist remained where she was, unmoved. Her golden sword flew back to her, and in the blink of an eye she slashed out eight times. Eight beams of golden light swept away the grey energy, leaving not a single trace behind.
Chu Cheng landed on the ground. His body swayed for a moment before he steadied himself.
He took a deep breath, and the grey in his eyes swirled like two whirlpools.
The tip of his left foot touched the ground, and the entire arena grew cold and gloomy.
His body flashed again, and in the same manner as before, he was right in front of the Pharmacist.
There was a flash of grey light, and it was still headed for the Pharmacist's throat.
The golden dagger flashed, and collided with the grey dagger.
In the blink of an eye the golden dagger turned grey, and lost all its luster.
Chu Cheng's body froze for a moment, and then a grey shadow separated itself from his body. It looked exactly like him, except it was a bit translucent. It pounced straight for the Pharmacist.
As for himself, he followed closely behind and chased after them.
Strangely, just as he was about to reach the Pharmacist, his body merged with the grey shadow. His aura doubled, and the dagger in his hand flared with grey light. Suddenly it was in front of the Pharmacist's body.
The Pharmacist's face twitched. She waved her right hand, and the golden dagger disappeared without a sound. When it reappeared it was in her grasp.
The dagger vibrated, and emitted a draconic roar. Then, in a flash of golden light, it grew until it was a longsword in the Pharmacist's hand.
All of this took a long time to describe, but it actually happened in the time it takes for a spark to fly off a flint.
The Pharmacist pointed her longsword forward, and the tip of it met the tip of Chu Cheng's dagger.
This time, Chu Cheng wasn't sent flying. Instead, it was the Pharmacist who was knocked off her feet by the force of the blow.
The grey of the dagger began to spread towards the golden dagger.
It looked like the dagger was about to be swallowed up by the grey.
For the first time, the Pharmacist's eyes changed. There was a strange light in her eyes, as if her pupils were covered with a special sheen. Her entire body glowed with a golden light, and the longsword in her hand trembled. The draconic roar that had been heard before filled the air.
The longsword transformed into a dragon of ancient China, and its jaws clamped down on the grey dagger.
Finally, the Pharmacist made her move. She took a single step forward, and managed to escape from Chu Cheng's attack. Then she took six more steps. Seven as one, it was like she was teleporting. Suddenly, there were seven Pharmacists in the arena.
Chu Cheng lost his target, but he didn't change his direction. He threw his head back and howled. His body shone with the same grey light, and in the blink of an eye, he and his sword became one. His entire body disappeared, and the dagger in his hand grew in size until it was an enormous grey longsword. He slashed it through the air.
This sword was filled with a terrifying aura. It was as if there was a huge gray hand holding this sword that was filled with the aura of death.
This sword seemed to separate life and death, cutting open the boundary between life and death.
Past life, present life, everything was separated by this strike.
Hell, heaven, both were on earth!
The Pharmacist had taken the Perfect Seven Steps, and wasn't in the range of the attack. However, when it came down, she was right in front of the blade.
The Pharmacist smiled, and the golden longsword in her hand dissolved into specks of golden light. The specks merged into a single golden star. Six more specks of light flew out from her body.
The seven stars scattered in the air, forming the Big Dipper. The world seemed to spin around her. She was dressed in a qipao, and she looked like an immortal. White clouds rose up around her.
The grey greatsword in the sky couldn't come down. Grey and white faced each other.
The Pharmacist lifted a hand in front of her chest, and began to mutter something.
Suddenly, the seven stars shone brightly, and transformed into seven golden longswords. The seven swords became one, and the Big Dipper shone on their blades.
The tip of the sword rose, and touched the tip of the grey greatsword.
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