The atmosphere in the area immediately grew tense following Liang Chen's words, the six people behind the avatar of the Sky-Piercing Sparrow flaring up due to the provocation. But the light blue avatar gave a soft wave of his hand and held them back, his nearly non-existent facial features seemingly shifting slightly as his voice turned a bit lower.
"You reject my reasonings but also state that you wish to fix the state of the universe, but tell me, which one do you think is worse? I won't deny it, following along with the state of the universe hurts more than a few people, there is no denying that fact. But how many people would be hurt, utterly ruined, by trying to change the universe? How many people will you have to kill to change the universe as a whole? How many people would lose their livelihood? At that point, just how are you any different from every other evil in existence? Your words are nice and grand, but they disregard nearly every cultivator in the universe, they are the epitome of selfishness and hypocrisy. Of course, that is only if you don't plan on changing the universe and saving everyone at the same time, at that point, they become the height of foolishness."
The avatar's words weren't incorrect, changing the universe was impossible while it was in its current state, nearly all cultivators had become too accustomed to how it was. So if one actually wanted to change the universe, the most realistic way of doing so was by killing all those cultivators and people who had become used to the usual state of the universe, preparing a clean slate whose direction of growth you could control. The avatar only spoke to poke at Liang Chen's heart and mind, testing to see if he couldn't poke a little hole in them, but little did he expect Liang Chen to actually agree with him.
"You're right, I'm selfish and a hypocrite, continuing down my desired path will surely cause countless people to label me as a grand evil. But so what? My friend once told me that there is no shame in following one's heart and acting as you pleased, so I'll do just that. My wife once laid it out quite simply for me, I am not a god. I can't save everyone, nor should I attempt to do so. I will live as myself, for myself. I will walk down the path I have chosen even if I am deemed evil, even if it turns out to be wrong, for it is the path I have chosen for myself."
Not once, not for a single moment, had Liang Chen forgotten the words told to him by Yan Ling or the now deceased Lei Qiang. They had always stuck with him and resonated around within him. It didn't matter if he was selfish, it didn't matter if he failed or stumbled, they would be there to support him through it all. The avatar didn't seem too bothered by Liang Chen's statement, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.
"As expected, didn't work. Then again, I doubt you would have received a lord title if your determination was that weak. I'd ask you to move aside, but seeing as you seem determined to save these weaker beings, you aren't likely to comply. This avatar only has the energy of someone at the early stage of the Primordial Immortal realm so I hope you won't mind me using numbers to make sure that there don't end up being any unexpected results."
The avatar had clearly given up on talking with Liang Chen, it was already rather surprising that it had bothered to chat with him for so long. The six people behind the avatar understood his intentions, preparing their weapons and stepping forwards so that they could assist the avatar in taking down Liang Chen.
But Liang Chen remained perfectly calm and gave his interspatial ring a slight swipe, nine people appearing at his side. The nine people were the blue-haired and green-eyed Yi Xue, the black-haired and bronze-eyed Liu San, the brown-haired and yellow-eyed Tien Cui, and six of the other people that had become his disciples. Yi Xue had just entered the Soaring Immortal realm while Tien Cui and Liu San were at the late stage of the Heaven's Gate realm, the last six people were all between the early and middle stage of the Heaven's Gate realm.
These nine people were the strongest amongst the new members of his Storm Wolf sect and this would be the first time that they got to fight after joining Liang Chen. But they were quite a bit weaker than their opponents so Liang Chen gave Yumao a slight tap on the head, gesturing towards the nine people with his chin.
"Keep an eye on them. Don't help them too much, but make sure that none of them die. As for you guys, look at the two people behind you, you are fighting to protect them so that they don't get sold into slavery. The enemy is stronger than you so you'll have to fight smartly if you want to defeat them, don't get careless."
Liang Chen's gaze swept over the group as he reminded them, his gaze momentarily stopping on Yi Xue's right elbow. It had been shattered when he first met her, it was a wound that he guessed should take at least three or so weeks to heal properly. But as he looked at it right now, there wasn't the slightest trace of its previous state left, it was in pristine condition. From the looks of it, whatever bloodline she had was geared rather heavily towards self-healing.
The expressions of the nine people hardened when they realized what sort of situation they were in, some of them feeling like cursing at Liang Chen for just dropping them into a situation like this without warning. But there was no time for words, Liang Chen's body vanished from sight as he shot forward, Yumao staying behind to keep an eye on the weaker disciples.
Liang Chen shot past the group of six people and arrived directly behind the light blue avatar, his gray dragon-mawed spear appearing in his grasp and stabbing out. But despite his tremendous speed, the avatar actually managed to seemingly leisurely turn his head to look at Liang Chen, glancing at his spear without making a move.
Liang Chen's spear stabbed forward like a bolt of lightning, but it actually started curving strangely just as it got close to the avatar. The entire spear ended up bending to the left away from the avatar, had it not been for his solid grasp on it, both Liang Chen and the spear would have spun to the left so hard that they might have turned in a full circle. Liang Chen's eyes narrowed slightly as he exerted his strength, forcing the spear to turn back towards the avatar in a sideways sweep.
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But once again, just as the spear was about to reach the avatar, the entire thing changed direction and ended up smashing into the ground next to the avatar. The earth was shattered and thrown into the air, but all the fragments changed direction unnaturally and headed directly for Liang Chen.
Liang Chen breathed out a white mist that gathered in front of him, the shards of fragmented earth melting upon coming into contact with the mist. He then took a quick step back, his eyes remaining narrowed as he looked at the light blue avatar. The avatar didn't move to pursue him, looking at the small crater in the earth next to him before giving a soft clap of his hands.
"You actually managed to get your spear that close to me, I'm impressed, you deserve a bit of applause. Don't take it the wrong way, I really do mean it when I say that. This avatar might only have the strength of someone at the early stage of the Primordial Immortal realm, but it can use at least 50% of the full strength of my laws. Most people having a lord title wouldn't even be able to get close to me, they would simply be twisted to pieces once they got within 10 meters. But here you are, your spear only a few centimeters away from me, you are worthy of admiration. Of course, that also means that you are worthy of a touch of fear. You can get so close while only at your current level, I actually slightly dread what you might become capable of if you can get a bit stronger. What sort of realm would you reach if I gave you another 100 years to grow, perhaps your fangs might already be able to reach me then? Luckily, there is still a vast disparity between us now, so let me finish you off before we end up becoming proper enemies."
The avatar's words were spoken from the heart. Only he knew what sort of realm he had really reached, it was nothing short of a miracle for Liang Chen's spear to nearly reach him. The avatar fully turned his body and faced Liang Chen, sliding his left leg back slightly as he raised both fists into a boxing position.
Liang Chen's eyes remained narrowed as they roamed over the avatar, a slight glimmer flashing through his eyes. The avatar spoke highly of him, but he could still feel that it had yet to bring out all the energy that it contained, it still seemed to underestimate him slightly. With that being the case, Liang Chen knew that there was still a way for him to win, he had to kill the avatar in a single attack that it wouldn't expect. A thought flashed past his mind, the corners of his lips curving up slightly as he bent his body while grasping his spear, resembling a cheetah just before it sprung forth.
"Proper enemies? I have an enemy that's so far above me that it's suffocating just thinking about it, so I'm sorry, but I can't afford to think of you as an enemy, only a stepping stone. As such, I guess it's about time I gave this one a name. Fourth Step Pierces the Sparrow."
The earth beneath Liang Chen's feet ruptured the moment his voice dropped, his body vanishing from sight as he shot directly at the avatar. The avatar responded by punching out with its right fist, the air, earth, and even Qi directly in front of it starting to twist and contort into a maelstrom that swallowed everything.
Liang Chen charged directly into the maelstrom and stomped the ground with all his might to prevent himself from getting swept off his feet. The earth beneath his foot sank downwards as if it had been hit by a small meteor, the earth pulverizing as arcs of brown lightning containing faint tinges of violet shot skyward, tearing through the maelstrom while his law of time slowed down what remained of the maelstrom. His spear stabbed forwards like a violent dragon, Liang Chen wantonly unleashing the law of the void and his lightning, a dim gray bolt of lightning shooting forward while flickering in and out of existence.
Liang Chen had activated the improved version of the Dragon Lord's Three Steps just now, unleashing the previously unnamed fourth step. As such, the strength of his attack was greatly improved, to the point that the maelstrom prepared by the avatar was unable to halt it in the slightest.
The avatar couldn't help but stop in slight surprise when he saw the power that Liang Chen unleashed, his head tilting slightly as he wracked his mind in an attempt to figure out what caused the strength to increase by so much. Even with the attack directly in front of him, he didn't think that it would reach him, his defense only grew stronger the closer you got to his body. It was this train of thought that had supported him through the years, and now it would be this train of thought that would cost the Sky-Piercing Sparrow this avatar.
The dim gray bolt of lightning veered slightly off course in front of the avatar, but it only changed direction so much that it pierced through the avatar's left lung rather than his heart. And the moment the lightning pierced through the avatar, the laws within the lightning burst out like ravenous beasts. The law of time invaded the avatar and slowed down its perception while the law of death, poison, and rot, all assaulted the small piece of the Sky-Piercing Sparrow's soul that was used to control the avatar.
The law of lightning and wind weren't able to produce too great of an effect against the avatar, it was just a body made up of energy after all, but the law of the void was more than just effective. The entire left side of the avatar's chest vanished the moment the lightning pierced it, the law of the void rapidly corroding the rest of the avatar's body. The Sky-Piercing Sparrow had never encountered the law of the void before so he didn't even know how he should go about defending himself from it, resulting in the body of the avatar rapidly vanishing in front of Liang Chen's eyes. The avatar had clearly lost and was going to vanish, but since it was just an avatar it didn't even panic, only calmly looking at Liang Chen.
"Hoh? Time, poison, death, lightning, wind, and even another law that I can't make heads or tails of? So many laws in one little body, what a strange sight? Oh well, seems like I'll have to accept this loss right here, I guess that's what I get for being careless and underestimating my enemy. But don't celebrate too quickly, I am a rather vengeful person who will avenge even the smallest grievances. I will come looking for you, and I will find you, mark my words."
The avatar dissipated once it finished its words, the Sky-Piercing Sparrow likely abandoned it after realizing that there was no longer a point in sticking around. With the avatar vanishing, Liang Chen spat out a deep breath, his face growing pale from having to exert nearly 80% of his energy for that one attack. But just as he was about to turn his head to check how Yi Xue and the others were doing, a slightly stiff and mechanical voice he hadn't expected to hear again resounded in his head.
"Congratulations, you've been acknowledged by the Bloodwind Code and have been granted a Ruler rank and title on the Multiverse Bloodwind List. You will replace the Lord of the Wrathful Abyss, please choose a title."