A Duel of Blood and Shadows

The arena thrummed with silence as Li Jiang and his rival floated into the sky, their eyes locked with a tension that stretched like the taut string of a bow. Their previous duels had been fierce, each battle only deepening the grudge between them, sharpening their skills and their hunger for victory. Today, it would be no different.

In a blur of motion, they charged at each other, qi igniting around them in a fiery display of power. They collided midair, their fists meeting in a rapid succession of bone-shattering blows. Each strike echoed across the stands, shaking the very earth below. They moved like thunderclouds in a storm, weaving and clashing, their forms barely visible against the speed of their attacks. Waves of qi crackled from every collision, spreading outward in a barrage of energy that scarred the ground beneath them, tearing up stones and leaving fissures in the arena floor.

Suddenly, Li Jiang's opponent was forced backward, narrowly escaping a powerful qi-infused strike. He hovered at a distance, his eyes narrowed as his hands rose, weaving intricate symbols in the air. With a guttural roar, a faint crescent blood moon appeared behind him, a dark red aura casting an eerie light over the battlefield. The blood moon flickered ominously before condensing into a tangible, pulsating crimson blade that he grasped firmly in his hand.

"Take this, Li Jiang!" the man bellowed, hurling the crimson blade forward with devastating speed. It cut through the air like a comet, leaving a trail of dark energy in its wake.

Unfazed, Li Jiang summoned a smooth black jade that hovered above his head, radiating an intense aura. From the jade, a wide field of black light surged forward, meeting the incoming blood moon head-on. The two forces collided in a blinding explosion of color and energy, creating a shockwave that rippled through the stands. Struggling against Li Jiang's shield of black light, the blood moon wavered, yet its sinister glow persisted, casting crimson reflections across the arena.

Despite Li Jiang's defenses, the blood moon blade deflected off the black jade, veering downward in an uncontrollable spiral before smashing into the coliseum floor. The impact shattered the ground, sending fragments of stone and dust into the air and leaving a massive crater in its place. The crowd gasped as debris scattered, while Li Jiang's opponent seized the moment to prepare his next move.

With a wave of his hand, the man tore open a shimmering rift in the air and stepped through it, vanishing only to reappear directly behind Li Jiang. In an instant, a lotus flower of radiant qi bloomed around Li Jiang, its petals encircling him in a tight, shimmering prison.

"Try escaping this!" his opponent sneered, fists flying forward with a series of crushing punches, each one landing with a force that echoed across the coliseum. The petals of the lotus quivered, absorbing the full weight of his assault. He leapt backward, his gaze sharp and calculating, then channeled his qi outward until it bled from every pore, forming into a massive, blood-red blade. The blade pulsed with a visceral energy as he swung it down, slashing the lotus in a bid to cut Li Jiang in half.

But the lotus shattered into fading petals, and Li Jiang was no longer within it. He stood on the ruined floor below, his gaze focused and unwavering. He raised two fingers, concentrating his qi into a single, brilliant point at their tip. With a silent flick, he shot the beam forward, a streak of raw energy that crossed the distance in an instant, piercing his rival's chest and searing a hole clean through him. His opponent's form dissolved, his flesh scattering like dust, and silence fell across the arena.

Yet before the dust had settled, the blood-red blade on the ground began to stir. Flesh reformed around it, reconstructing his opponent's body as the blade transformed back into his human shape, now standing defiantly, entirely whole. His face twisted into a mocking grin, his eyes gleaming with malice as he glared at Li Jiang.

"Is that all you have?" he sneered, his voice laced with venom. "You may be the Holy Saint, but you're nothing to me! You don't deserve Liu Yanmei; she should be mine!" His words were barbed, aiming to chip away at Li Jiang's composure.

Li Jiang's expression remained serene, his gaze as calm as ever, refusing to give his rival the satisfaction of a response. His silence only seemed to fuel his opponent's rage. In a fit of anger, his opponent gathered his qi, and blood began to seep from his skin, pooling around him before morphing into the form of a massive crimson serpent. Its scales shimmered with a dark luster, its eyes gleaming with malevolence as it coiled around him, its head rising to match Li Jiang's height.

The serpent let out a deafening hiss, its tail lashing out in a blur, aiming to smash Li Jiang into the ground. In a split second, Li Jiang dodged upward, ascending further into the sky. He looked down at the serpent and the man below, his eyes narrowing as he called out his opponent's name in a voice that echoed across the arena, resonating with a deep, unyielding resolve.

"Face me with all you have!" Li Jiang's voice rang with authority, his figure glowing as he summoned his ultimate technique. The black jade once again floated in front of him, emanating a dark aura that fused with a lotus of pure, condensed qi. The combined power of the jade and lotus coalesced into a single, concentrated point, a pulsing core of devastating energy that gathered at the center of his being, ready to unleash his might.

Below, his opponent's eyes widened, recognizing the threat of Li Jiang's technique, but his pride kept him rooted in defiance. His own power flared, his blood-red serpent expanding even larger as it readied itself to counter Li Jiang's attack.

But before Li Jiang could release his final strike, a sudden, unnatural darkness spread across the sky. The air grew thick with a suffocating energy, and a hush fell over the crowd. Shadows gathered above, blotting out the sun, casting an eerie gloom over the coliseum. The audience whispered in confusion and fear as they looked up, eyes straining to discern the source of the darkness.

From the sky, a booming voice called out, echoing across the silent arena. It was a deep, powerful voice, laced with an authority that demanded obedience. It spoke only one word, a name that carried with it a weight of history and judgment:

"Jin Chen."

The silence that followed was absolute, broken only by the soft murmurs of astonished onlookers. The serpent froze, and its master, the man who had so brazenly taunted Li Jiang, looked up, his face paling as he registered the source of the voice. The arrogance that had filled his expression moments before vanished, replaced by a look of pure dread.

Li Jiang, too, lowered his hands, his attention drawn to the darkened sky. The black jade dimmed, returning to its neutral state as he, along with everyone else, stared upwards, searching for the one who had summoned such a dark and formidable presence.

But there was nothing to see, only shadows twisting in the sky, as if reality itself had become a canvas of darkness, with a single, omnipotent voice piercing through. The tension in the air grew thick, and a feeling of inevitability hung over the arena. It was as if the heavens themselves had intervened, demanding judgment.

The chapter ended with Li Jiang, his opponent, and every spectator below locked in anticipation, waiting for the next move.