Ren Ooyung.

Liang Chen's pupils contracted as he looked at the picture, the faint thumping in his veins not showing any signs of stopping, proving to him that it wasn't just a hallucination on his part. His bloodline had been pretty quiet ever since the massacre on the third floor, not showing any movements or further signs of awakening, so why was it reacting now? Yan Ling was reading up on the information about the two challengers, but she still noticed the change in Liang Chen's expression, tilting her head at him.

"What's the matter, did you notice something?"

Liang Chen didn't immediately respond, taking a few seconds to give his own body a quick check. After not finding anything out of the ordinary while checking his body, he gave a light shake of his head, pointing at the image of Ren Ooyung.

"I'm not sure, but I can feel my blood thump slightly when I look at him, he might have some connection to my bloodline."

Other than the remnant spirit that had helped awaken his bloodline, Liang Chen had never met anyone who had any connection to his Sebettu bloodline. Yan Ling nodded her head slightly in understanding, placing her palm on the orb and immediately accepting the challenge, setting the day of the battle for the following day.

"We'd best go meet him then, who knows what he can teach you about your bloodline."

Liang Chen had the memories and information that his parents had sealed up in him before throwing him into the time rift they had created, but they had no way of knowing if that information was all there was to know about Liang Chen's bloodline. If this Ren Ooyung truly had some connection to the Sebettu, they had to see if they could learn something new from him.

Liang Chen nodded his head and sent a slight grateful smile at Yan Ling, her habit of swiftly springing into action was very helpful to someone like him, who could easily get lost in his thoughts and worries. He then turned his eyes onto the partner of Ren Ooyung, finally realizing why the name sounded so familiar.

"Ohh, that's who you are, I expected you to be stronger."

Yan Ling tilted her heads after hearing the unexpected words, Liang Chen swiping his interspatial ring and taking out the map they had acquired when they killed Shi Longyu. Engraved at the bottom of the circular metal disk were the names Qian Liao and Shi Tengriu. Seeing the name, how could Yan Ling not connect the dots?

"So that's the brother he told us about. I'll be honest, I expected him to at least send a goon or two before coming after us himself. Maybe he doesn't have all that many goons he can order around as he pleases?"

According to Shi Longyu, his brother was a friend of Qian Liao, who was on the verge of entering the eighth floor of the tower he was in, a very fearsome man who could use the law of death. Compared to him, this Shi Tengriu had only reached the late stage of the Soaring Immortal realm, he could at best enter the sixth floor. If the two truly were friends, it meant that they either shared some history together or that Shi Longyu was in fact just a subordinate of Qian Liao's. Liang Chen shrugged his shoulders at Yan Ling's question, no way of having an answer.

"No idea, I guess we'll learn tomorrow. It doesn't say anything about him wanting a non-lethal sparring match, so I'm guessing he's aiming for a more standard life and death battle. Well, that's to be expected really."

It would have been stranger if Shi Tengriu came here just to spar with them, they had killed his younger brother after all, he was probably dreaming of tearing the two of them apart with his bare hands. Yan Ling removed her hand from the orb, heading back to the couch with light steps and a light smile on her lips. It had been a month since their last battle, she was looking forward to seeing if the two of them had managed to make some improvements over this one month.

Liang Chen followed Yan Ling back to the couch, the two of them sharing a meal and some drinks while chatting, Yumao taking this chance to carefully sneak back into the room. Neither of them was interested in cultivating right now, it was better to rest up on the day before a battle, it made certain that they would be in peak condition.

The day quickly passed in peace, the time of the battle coming closer and closer. Yan Ling and Fang Ying left the house the moment the sun rose, making their way through the streets as they headed for the location where the battle would take place, an arena on the other end of the floor. It was quite far away from their own house, requiring them to walk for over two hours before they reached the coliseum-like arena.

The thumping Liang Chen felt in his veins grew stronger the closer they got to the arena, his bloodline slowly starting to move on its own, seemingly excited. Ren Ooyung was already waiting for them on the stage, Liang Chen could feel it. And sure enough, when they crossed the hallway that led to the square stone stage, they saw the three-armed Shi Tengriu and the white-haired Ren Ooyung waiting for them on the stage.

Shi Tengriu was observing both of them with narrowed eyes, a baleful light swimming within his pupils. Ren Ooyung, on the other hand, was looking at Liang Chen with a mixture of curiosity and confusion, seemingly not quite sure about what he was seeing. Both of them stepped onto the stage and faced the two enemies, Shi Tengriu breaking the silence with a gravelly voice.

"So you're the ones who killed Lil' Yu. I always did tell him that he should just leave the tower, that this wasn't a place for the likes of him. I know that the two of you are strong, but I will still take revenge for my little brother here today, even if I must abandon my own life to do so."

Shi Tengriu's voice was heavy with conviction, he was truly ready to sacrifice everything just so that he could get revenge for his younger brother. Neither Liang Chen or Yan Ling knew, but Shi Longyu had been the last of Shi Tengriu's family, their parents and older sister had died several years ago when their city was razed by a group from the Undead race. Shi Tengriu had never found himself a lover, nor did he have any friends that were as close to him as brothers. With the death of Shi Longyu, Shi Tengriu was now practically all alone.

Neither Liang Chen or Yan Ling said anything, there was no point in it, there was nothing to say in a situation like this. A few seconds of silence followed Shi Tengriu's statement, a loud clap from Ren Ooyung breaking the silence.

"Right, that's all well and good, but I would like to make it out of here alive at the end of the day. So Scourge King, Wolf Queen, I would like it if the two of you signed this Soul Oath before we start the battle."

Ren Ooyung swiped his interspatial ring and took up a rolled-up scroll, tossing it to Liang Chen. Liang Chen unfurled the scroll, he and Yan Ling giving the contents a thorough read-over. A Soul Oath was a rather special type of item that was practically an array in writing form, drawing upon the power of the heavens. Anyone who signed such a Soul Oath would be bound by it, their souls destroyed by the heavens if they were to go against what was written in the contract. The only way to safely escape such a Soul Oath was to either complete it or getting the help of someone who had transcended the heavens.

The Soul Oath that Ren Ooyung threw them was very simple, only stating that they weren't allowed to truly attempt killing him, and that he was forbidden from killing them. As accidents could always happen, the Soul Oath specifically mentioned that it would be void if either side accidentally killed the other.

It was very loose, so neither Liang Chen or Yan Ling had a problem with signing it, using their Qi to write their names, or in this case their titles, on the bottom of the scroll and tossing it back to Ren Ooyung, who quickly signed it upon receiving it.

Shi Tengriu would of course not sign the Soul Oath, so he was not part of it, they were free to do their best in killing him. The signing of the Soul Oath was taken as the start of the battle, both sides starting to observe the other, Yan Ling moving her gaze between the two opponents.

"So, how do you wanna split them up this time? Want to keep Ren Ooyung to yourself?"

Liang Chen gave it a bit of thought but eventually ended up shaking his head and giving his shoulders a light shrug, glancing at Yan Ling out of the corner of his eyes with a light smirk.

"Nah, let's do it like a proper tag team for once, we'll take em both on together."

Their enemies were getting stronger and stronger, it would be easier for the two of them to keep an eye on each other if they were to work together rather than splitting up the enemies. Yan Ling's lips curled into a smirk of her own, her sword appearing in her grasp.

"I like the sound of that, you'd best not fall behind then."

Yan Ling activated her bloodline and shot forward the moment she finished her sentence, the only sign of her passing being a soft breeze that was so sharp it left marks on the stone stage. Liang Chen let out a light chuckle when he saw how eager she was, bringing out his own spear and activating his own bloodline, quickly following behind Yan Ling, a thunderous roar resounding over the arena as he dashed forward, arcs of emerald lightning trailing in his wake.

Shi Tengriu had a stoic expression on his face, stepping forward to face the two of them. He didn't bring out any weapons, but a strange sheen covered his entire body as he stepped forward, the stage beneath his feet sinking downward as he grew heavier and sent out a punch with his sole left arm. Ren Ooyung also stepped forward, a whip made from a type of scaly-leather appearing in his grasp, his eyes fully focused on Liang Chen.

Liang Chen could feel his blood thumping and rushing faster than ever before, but he didn't immediately head for Ren Ooyung. He stepped in front of Yan Ling and intercepted Shi Tengriu's punch by sending out a downwards punch with his left arm, his fist connecting with the top of Shi Tengriu's fist and directing it downwards.

Shi Tengriu's punch connected with the stage, thick cracks immediately spreading over the entire five-kilometer wide stone stage as it threatened to immediately fall apart. Liang Chen's own fist ached slightly after coming into contact with Shi Tengriu's fist, which had been harder than any steel Liang Chen had ever seen.

A gust of icy energy headed towards Liang Chen's head while he was bust redirecting Shi Tengriu's fist, the tip of Ren Ooyung's whip speeding towards him. Yan Ling slashed out with her sword, the blade colliding with the tip of the whip and stopping it from moving further. She then quickly reached out with her free hand and grabbed onto the whip, pulling on it with all her migth.

As someone who cultivated her body, she had far more physical strength than Ren Ooyung. He managed to hold onto his whip, his hand frozen to the handle, but his feet lost contact with the ground, his entire body pulled head first towards Yan Ling. It was at this moment that Shi Tengriu's fist crashed into the stage, Yan Ling and Liang Chen exchanging a quick glance.

The two kicked off the ground, switching spots at their fastest speed and launching their attacks. Yan Ling sent a stab towards Shi Tengriu's left arm while Liang Chen moved his spear from his right hand to his left, his right fist tearing through the air and heading directly for Ren Ooyung's face, a white mist seeping out from the skin on his fist.

Ren Ooyung's pupils contracted sharply when he saw the white mist, quickly punching out with his free left arm. A dazzling blue flame appeared on his hand as his fist collided with Liang Chen's, the poison mist quickly evaporating under the heat. Liang Chen felt a searing pain coming from his hand, but his eyes opened wide, an excited light flashing past his pupils.

The moment his fist made contact with Ren Ooyung's, his bloodline started to move again. The gray scales on his body started to slowly grow again, finally making their way down his legs, the last place on his body that remained uncovered by the scales.

Ren Ooyung flicked his right wrist, causing his whip to coil around Liang Chen's left leg, and then gave it a strong pull to destabilize him. Liang Chen's left leg was pulled to the side, ruining his balance and causing him to fall towards the ground. But Liang Chen quickly took advantage of the situation and retaliated.

He grabbed onto the whip and leaned to the right while falling towards the ground, he then spun his body to the left and unleashed all his physical might, flinging both the whip and Ren Ooyung over his body, directly towards Shi Tengriu, who had just raised his body into a handstand to dodge Yan Ling's stab and was currently in the process of slamming his heel towards Yan Ling's head.

Yan Ling quickly took a step to the left and then put all her power into her right shoulder, delivering a shoulder slam to the side of the foot that had come for her head. A gust of wind so powerful that it unleashed a howling screech exploded out from her shoulder, Shi Tengriu's foot pushed to the side so fast it practically became a kick, one that was headed directly for the incoming Ren Ooyung.

Ren Ooyung ignored the pain from his left hand and stretched it out once more, grabbing onto Shi Tengriu's leg and vaulting over it. He pushed off with his hand as he vaulted over the leg, launching himself at Yan Ling and delivering a strong kick to her abdomen, a strong burst of fire and ice exploding forth from his foot, scorching the robe covering her stomach and sending her flying backward.

Shi Tengriu pushed off the ground with his left arm and jumped up, his body still spinning for a short second before he landed on his feet, the stone beneath his feet turning to dust from his current weight and force. The two parties observed each other in silence for a few seconds, each of them fully aware of the strength that the others possessed.

But while Shi Tengriu was staring at them with hate and Ren Ooyung looked at Liang Chen with the same curious and confused expression he had at the start, Yan Ling and Liang Chen were looking at them with excitement. Yan Ling was excited at the prospects of having a fierce battle where she could further perfect her new law and Liang Chen was excited at the prospect of being able to awaken his bloodline.

Just that short touch had made it awaken a bit further, so there was no reason why it should be impossible for him to fully awaken his bloodline in this fight, he just had to come in contact with Ren Ooyung a few more times. With these thoughts in mind, Liang Chen put away his spear and cracked his knuckles, the air around him starting to tremble as his energy got restless. Today he would fully awaken his bloodline, even if it meant entering a brutal melee with Ren Ooyung.