Eternal Heavenly Emperor-Chapter 456 - 446 Old Rival

"Let the battle begin!" Chu Hao said calmly as he lunged forward, unleashing his ultimate moves from the start and fully stirring his combat power.

Starlight and Elemental Transformation—he brought all his strongest abilities into play.

Sadly, Lin Wunian was also a descendant of the Gu Clan, with the ability to perform Elemental Transformation with ease, breaking through the defenses formed by Chu Hao’s Elemental Transformation. Thankfully, Chu Hao had the Flame Furnace, which greatly mitigated the impact of Lin Wunian’s strikes. Otherwise, a single counterattack might have been enough to kill him.

After launching ten consecutive attacks, Chu Hao decisively admitted defeat.

Although Lin Wunian won, his face was shrouded in gloom.

Winning was expected; a War King against a War General was an absolute domination, not winning would have been a shocking anomaly. The problem was, Chu Hao had started with an aggressive offense, combining Starlight and Green Flame. In just a few breaths’ time, he had managed to press Lin Wunian on the defensive.

Ten moves passed, and just as Lin Wunian was about to counterattack, Chu Hao conceded.

It seemed like a win, but Chu Hao held the initiative, leaving Lin Wunian feeling frustrated.

Though Chu Hao was defeated, a smile played upon his face. They had only exchanged ten moves, but the intense pressure from the War King was immense, stirring something deep within him, waiting to break free.

"This is still not enough. I need more pressure!" he said to himself inwardly.

Su Wanyue, likewise a War King, could not give Chu Hao the same kind of pressure because he didn’t feel any intent to kill from her. Lin Wunian was different, however—if given a chance, the other would certainly not hold back.

The next day’s battle arrived, and the trio led by Su Wanyue continued to surge ahead, claiming another ten victories. However, Chu Hao faced Lin Wunian’s formidable strike once more and was stopped at nine wins. As for Gu Qingcheng... she clearly had no interest in partaking in such bloody conflicts.

There were many who achieved ten consecutive victories on the first day, but on the second day, the number of people reaching twenty consecutive victories was halved. Some were defeated by experts from the tribes, while others were defeated by outlanders like themselves.

"I’m still so close yet so far." Chu Hao continued to rely on his explosive first ten moves to push Lin Wunian into defense, swiftly conceding after the initial rush, leaving Lin Wunian fuming with anger.

A seed had begun to sprout within him, always missing just by a sliver.

"What exactly is it?" Chu Hao couldn’t figure it out.

He failed to notice that Fat Cat’s eyes were wide open.

"Gosh, this kid’s talent definitely surpasses that of the Great Emperor back in the day. To think he’s already realized it so soon..."

The battles at the Iron-blood Field raged on. By the third and fourth day, more and more contenders saw their winning streaks snapped. Among the trio led by Su Wanyue, Fu Xue was the first to stop, with a streak of 39 victories, followed by the Barbaric Girl with 49, both taken down by tribal experts at the milestones.

Even Su Wanyue’s streak ended on the seventh day, at 69 consecutive victories.

Once defeated, one had to start all over, and only the initial winning streak counted for military merits. Further streaks of ten or twenty also granted a bit of merit, but it was pitifully little.

Not a single outsider achieved 70 consecutive victories, and moreover, the tribal side didn’t deploy any War Venerates to crush them, making it relatively fair.

On the seventh day, Chu Hao managed to extend his onslaught against Lin Wunian to an astonishing thirteen moves!

That’s because he had advanced to the Third Tier!

This was a natural progression for Chu Hao; with his Dual Cultivation with Su Wanyue, he was almost breaking through a minor realm every ten days. But to Lin Wunian, it was an astonishing revelation.

He had fought Chu Hao continuously for seven days—in fact, he had been on the defensive against Chu Hao’s assaults for seven days. As a War King-level expert and a genius, he naturally had a comprehensive understanding of Chu Hao’s strength.

Once reaching the Middle Three Realms, even geniuses like them wouldn’t advance as quickly. If one could break through a minor realm in half a year, that would already be a formidable feat!

But still, Chu Hao’s advancement was way too fast, wasn’t it?

At first, he hadn’t taken it seriously, assuming Chu Hao had long since reached the Second Tier War General. However, in subsequent battles, he could clearly sense Chu Hao’s strength increasing significantly every time.

Another ten days passed, and Chu Hao stepped into the Fourth Tier War General.

Lin Wunian was going crazy. This time, he had witnessed Chu Hao’s transition from an early Third Tier War General to a Fourth Tier War General—in just ten days.

Now, Chu Hao could even launch an attack for twenty moves.

Although it was still insufficient to topple a War King, Lin Wunian was genuinely afraid.

In two months’ time, this guy could potentially break through to War King, sitting on equal footing with him. With the same major realm, anything could be possible for a genius.

Now he regretted clashing with Chu Hao; after all, they had no quarrels or grudges. Why bother? But then his murderous intent flared even more. Having already established enmity, he resolved to eliminate Chu Hao!

Besides, the final step of the relic was the Heaven Talented Ranking Battle, and he was destined to face Chu Hao in order to become the strongest Heaven Talented.

Better to remove the potential threat early than to suddenly face a powerful enemy later!

Lin Wunian resolved that in the battle tomorrow, he would not give Chu Hao the opportunity to concede. He intended to obliterate this potent adversary with a swift, overwhelming force.

As another day passed, the Iron-blood Field once again welcomed countless challengers.

Although it was now practically impossible to earn military merits through consecutive victories, everyone had made a fair amount of profit earlier, and betting was now widespread—keeping the Iron-blood Field’s popularity at a high.

Chu Hao stepped into the combat zone just like he always did, waiting for his opponent to appear.

After so many days of battle, the seed in his heart had become clearer and clearer, ready to break through the soil at any moment, yet it still lacked a sliver of opportunity.

"Perhaps, the pressure is still not great enough," he muttered to himself because whenever he faced Lin Wunian he would burst forth with full strength, then retreat right after the burst, seemingly in intense combat with the War King, but in reality, he was never in any danger. The real pressure actually came from the War King’s killing intent.

But mere killing intent was far from enough.

"I must linger between life and death; only that kind of pressure will suffice," Chu Hao resolved, deciding to fight with Lin Wunian for a bit longer this time.

After nine consecutive victories, the tenth battle inevitably brought him face to face with Lin Wunian.

The two had been fighting for seventeen days straight, and the audience had grown tired of it. Hence, their interest significantly waned, except for the four women from Su Wanyue who watched attentively.

"Chu Hao, are you still going to be a coward today?" Lin Wunian huffed coldly.

Chu Hao smiled faintly, knowing well that a fight between a War General and a War King was inherently unfair; it had nothing to do with courage. He took a deep breath, waiting for the fight to begin.

Klang!

A gong sounded, signaling the start of the battle.

This time, Chu Hao did not launch a preemptive attack as usual, but instead quietly waited for Lin Wunian to make his move.

Lin Wunian was momentarily taken aback, as he had grown accustomed to Chu Hao’s aggressive starts. But after waiting for a full three seconds with no sign of Chu Hao’s move, he found it quite odd. However, he immediately displayed a cold smirk; this was exactly what he wanted.

He intended to unleash thunder-like attacks and deny Chu Hao even the chance to concede, crushing him outright.

To an ordinary War General, he could easily obliterate with a flick of his fingers, but Chu Hao was different, being a Body Cultivator. Even with an entire Realm’s advantage, it was difficult for him to deliver a one-strike kill.

Therefore, he had to execute an Ultimate Move.

But Ultimate Moves required the gathering of power, which was exactly why he was previously caught off guard by Chu Hao’s attacks, unable to complete his power buildup before Chu Hao disengaged, leaving him immensely frustrated.

His hands morphed into claws, his eyes emitting a chilly glint. His flesh and blood hands actually turned golden, and his ten fingers sharpened like knives.

This was an Ultimate Technique of the Lin Family, inherited through their bloodline, known as the "Golden Wolf Claw," renowned for its ability to break through any defense. Coupled with his advantage of being an entire Realm stronger, it was enough to tear apart Chu Hao’s Physique.

Chu Hao felt a chill crawl over his entire body as the opponent’s killing intent felt tangible, and he could sense a strong danger; the other’s attack could indeed obliterate him.

Yet such pressure only served to calm him more, and excitement rose in his heart, as if craving the tension of hovering on the brink of life and death.

"Die!"

Lin Wunian lunged forward, his golden claws whirling, tearing the air apart. The War King’s speed exploded, and as soon as he moved, he dove in front of Chu Hao, slashing with a claw aimed at Chu Hao’s throat.

This was one of the human body’s most vulnerable points, and Body Cultivators were no exception.

Chu Hao hastily dodged with a spring in his step, but even the burst speed of a Body Cultivator was notably slower compared to a War King. The claw almost grazed Chu Hao’s neck, and the gust it created left three scratch marks on his neck.

Keep in mind that Chu Hao was a War General level Body Cultivator!

The potency of those claws was truly terrifying.

"Hahaha, how many moves can you dodge?" Lin Wunian roared in laughter, unaware of what had gotten into Chu Hao today, but he would not miss this excellent opportunity.

Swish, swish, swish, he continued his onslaught, a flurry of golden claw shadows filled the sky, and Chu Hao’s body increasingly became stained with spurts of blood.

After all, a War King was a War King, and all the more so when the War King was a talent like Lin Wunian.

Fortunately for Chu Hao, the adversary had not practiced Dual Cultivation of Body Techniques; otherwise, he would have stood no chance in a head-on encounter and would have been crushed to ash within minutes.

Chu Hao kept getting injured, and even the Physique of a Body Cultivator could not heal the damage immediately, turning his appearance into something quite ghastly.

"Why is he still fighting?" Gu Qingcheng exclaimed anxiously. The gap between a War King and a War General was simply too large; why was Chu Hao pushing himself so hard?

"It seems like he wants to use this kind of pressure to break through some kind of constraint," Su Wanyue, not only a War King but also possessing a martial arts talent surpassing Gu Qingcheng, spoke, adding that she understood Chu Hao’s changes better as she practiced Dual Cultivation with him daily.

"But he shouldn’t throw his life away!" Gu Qingcheng stamped her feet repeatedly.

"Relax, the lad knows what he’s doing," Fat Cat interjected from the side, its eyes wide open with excitement.

"Hahaha, you have nowhere to run!" In the arena, Lin Wunian laughed heartily, cornering Chu Hao into a dead end.

Boom, he swung both claws.

Just at that moment, a terrifying premonition streaked across his heart, causing his attack to halt involuntarily, and cold sweat rolled down his forehead. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)