Chapter 104: The Rules, The Eighteenth Birthday

Looking at his trembling doppelganger, Xu Chen felt a bit embarrassed.

"Let me pass; there is no point in us fighting," Xu Chen said, scratching his head. With his current strength, the doppelganger was not even worth considering a mere grunt in his eyes.

"You are being such a bully," the doppelganger said aggrievedly, and the entire world collapsed instantly.

His soul was dragged into an unknown space, where Xu Chen inhabited the body of a legitimate son of a great family, showered with endless affection. He had parents in the Soul-Nurturing Realm guiding him every single day. In less than a month, he had cultivated the Web-Binding Force to the realm of Form and Intent in Unity.

The world shattered, and Xu Chen returned. It took him only half a quarter of an hour to digest the insights of the Web-Binding Force. As his consciousness returned to his original body, a phantom of a spiderweb appeared behind him. Sensing that his blood-energy had not changed in the slightest, Xu Chen wore an expression of expectation.

"It really doesn't add a single bit of blood-energy. It seems that my previous plan to continue cultivating this basic foundation-building method to stack blood-energy is no longer viable."

Standing in the training hall, his force spread in all directions like a spiderweb. "The Earth-Listening Thousand-Illusion Force can capture sounds and vibrations in the earth, but there is a slight delay in the transmission of sound and vibration. If I combine it with the Web-Binding Force, it would be perfect."

By now, the web-like force had spread a hundred feet out, centered on Xu Chen, allowing him to perceive anything that came into contact with it.

"Only a little over a month left until it begins," Xu Chen said, thinking of the golden door within the holy white space. "The Holy Sun Treasure Physique has the strength of eight dragons, but with the special effect of the Holy Sun Fire, I wonder if I can defeat it."

As night fell, Xu Chen pushed open the golden door in the holy white space. Stepping into a sea of holy sun fire, he immediately felt an intense, scorching sensation—a dual burning of both flesh and soul. Pushing his Vajra Nine-Turn defensive force to its maximum, he could barely manage to stand in the sea of fire.

In the center of the flames, the doppelganger stood with his back to him.

"You never speak whenever I come in. And now that I'm here, you're still turning your back on me," Xu Chen said, his tone rather resentful.

Three red dragons emerged from the fire, rushing to devour him. But Xu Chen was no longer the weakling he once was. A phantom of a Vajra protected him, and the three red dragons dissipated upon impact.

"Not bad. You can finally stand before me." The doppelganger turned around, revealing a face imbued with a divine indifference toward all living things. Although it was his own face, Xu Chen felt as though he were looking at a god.

"Your aptitude is mediocre, and the foundational methods you practice are chaotic and disorganized. The only redeemable quality is your combat talent, but unfortunately, it has already formed its own system; there is no way to mold it further. If you were in my world, you could be a centurion, fighting for me across various realms," the doppelganger said calmly.

"A centurion? Such a low evaluation," Xu Chen said, feeling unconvinced. "Let's just fight; chatting with you is no fun."

Xu Chen unleashed the Fish-Dragon Transformation secret technique, his strength instantly soaring to the power of seven dragons and eight tigers. Endless web-force spread out from him, seizing control of the area.

"A centurion is already a high evaluation." The doppelganger extended a finger and tapped the void. A massive lotus of fire enveloped Xu Chen. In an instant, a scorching Holy Sun energy pierced through his protective force, burning his physical body directly. An unbearable searing sensation washed over his soul as well.

Having experienced this many times, Xu Chen was well-prepared. "Rather than waiting to die in humiliation, I might as well go all out."

A phantom of a Dragon Gate appeared behind him, and a giant whale leaped over the gate, transforming into a dragon. "Break for me!"

Xu Chen forcibly increased his strength by another dragon's power, instantly shattering the Holy Sun fire lotus. This action exhausted his internal vitality, leaving him with less than half a quarter of an hour of strength remaining.

"Looking at your divine face, I’m actually quite happy thinking that I might one day become like this," Xu Chen said. After breaking the lotus, a fifteen-foot-tall phantom of a Star Giant appeared behind him, striking toward the doppelganger with all his might. "But now, you’re starting to get annoying."

"Boom!"

The doppelganger looked indifferently at the incoming palm. A sword of Holy Sun appeared in his hand, and he slashed it casually. The sword light destroyed the Star Giant phantom, striking directly at Xu Chen. His massive blood-energy formed a Vajra phantom to protect him, but even so, the scorching sword light passed through the barrier without resistance, severing Xu Chen's left arm.

The doppelganger unleashed a second strike. Even with his speed pushed to the limit, Xu Chen could not dodge it, and his right arm was severed as well.

"This is wrong. Why is your swordsmanship so powerful?" Xu Chen had been shrouded in a powerful sword intent that made it impossible to escape.

"The Dao is the rule. I have spent my whole life fighting against these rules. Although this space is marvelous and its Great Dao rules are incredibly strange, so what? Everything always has a sliver of life or a flaw."

Accompanied by this divine voice, the doppelganger unleashed a third strike. Xu Chen felt the world spinning and lost consciousness.

His consciousness re-formed in the holy white space, and he reviewed the battle. "No chance to fight back," he said after a long silence. From the moment they met until the end, the doppelganger never once looked at him properly. There was only the condescending air of someone who had taken a momentary interest in chatting with an ant.

"Tricky. Even with all my strength, my blood-energy exceeds his, yet I have no chance of winning. Do I need to learn another blood-energy foundation-building method in the meantime?" Xu Chen looked toward the golden door of the Holy Sun Treasure Physique. "I'll finish the business at the Desolate Ancient Battlefield first. Once I have enough human contribution points, I'll find a blood-energy foundation-building method that can counter the Holy Sun energy."

"There's only one month left before entering the Desolate Ancient Battlefield of All Saints. I should take a break during this time."

His consciousness returned to his body, and Xu Chen realized he had spent the entire night in the holy white space. Stepping out of his cave dwelling, the morning sun shone upon him. He suddenly realized that since he joined the Daxi Sect at the age of twelve, he had never truly rested. It was always cultivation or missions, and at most, he only took short breaks when tired.

"Before I knew it, I’m already eighteen."

A delivery crane appeared in the sky, and a delicately wrapped space box landed before him. "I told my parents not to send anything." But receiving a gift from them still made him happy.

Opening the box, he found several sets of finely woven silk clothes and a few pairs of perfectly sized boots in various styles and designs. There was a note on the clothes: "Son, happy eighteenth birthday."

"Is it my birthday again?" Xu Chen felt a touch of sentimentality. Every year on his birthday, his parents would send him gifts. "It's my birthday; I might as well give myself a day off."

He headed to his old courtyard. Xu Chen first saw Fox Moon and Fox Yang sparring. Fox Yang was still suppressing her, but Fox Moon now had the strength to fight back.

"Brother Xu, you're back?" Seeing Xu Chen, Fox Moon ran over eagerly, abandoning the spar.

"Not bad, you've improved quickly. I can see you’ve been practicing hard." Xu Chen watched the three tails behind her wagging rapidly; he could truly feel how happy she was to see him.

Fox Yang walked over from a distance, looking at Xu Chen with some displeasure.

"I just came to see how you two were doing. Where is Brother Niu?"

"Brother Niu went to the trial realm with his kin. By the way, Brother Xu, will you come back to live here? Can you continue to guide me in the future?" Fox Moon asked, looking at him with her large, watery eyes.

"I will come back. You and your sister continue your spar; I'm going to look around elsewhere." Xu Chen raised his disciple token and summoned a cloud-lark.

"Are there any fun places in the sect?" Xu Chen asked as the bird flew through the sky.

"My lord can visit the market of the Spirit Flower Clan to enjoy tea and watch dancing," the bird replied. "For a few spirit coins, you can have a woman of the Spirit Flower Clan sit by your side and chat. The women of the Spirit Flower Clan are intellectual and gentle, accompanied by the scent of flowers. Amidst tea and dancing, you can pour out your troubles to them."

"If you don't like that style, you can go to the Three-Colored Fox Clan's market. There, you can enjoy banquets and exotic dances, and have female disciples of the Three-Colored Fox Clan accompany you. Since you are handsome and have an extraordinary air, you might even get their company without spending a penny. There are also hot springs there, with the women of the Three-Colored Fox Clan providing full-body massages."

Speaking of this, the cloud-lark slowed down, its expression growing excited.

"Anywhere else?" Xu Chen was slightly tempted. He was eighteen now, and some places were finally accessible to him.

"Of course, there is the Music Hall in the human market. They have even more ways to play. Regardless of which of these three you choose, I’ll waive the commission for this trip."

Xu Chen was stunned; it seemed the commission for such referrals was quite high, and it was clear that the Spirit Flower Clan offered the most lucrative cut. Thinking that going alone was no fun, he wondered if his senior brothers were free.

Inside the largest human market of the Daxi Sect, the Music Hall was located at the very center. At the entrance, Xu Chen saw Li Chengfu and Zong Changshou waiting.

"You two are quite fast."

"We just came out of the Ancient Battlefield and saw your message, Senior Brother Xu, so we rushed over," Li Chengfu explained.

"You went to the Ancient Battlefield without calling me?" Xu Chen was surprised.

"With your strength, Senior Brother, you have nothing to worry about even in the Desolate Ancient Battlefield of All Saints. We didn't want to hold you back, so we've been training in the Ancient Battlefield," Zong Changshou said solemnly.

They both had a premonition: the stronger their younger brother became, the greater his gains would be in the Desolate Ancient Battlefield. If they couldn't keep up with his pace, it would be a huge loss to be eliminated there. Changing their fate and proving themselves depended on this moment, so neither dared to slack off.