Zou Feng wasn’t sure if this "Thunderbolt Sword" would just disregard all rules and attack him after some showy display of power, but he truly wasn’t intimidated by some Second Grade expert.

In fact, because his recent fight with Chen Jun hadn’t helped him achieve a breakthrough at all, Zou Feng was practically begging for this guy to come at him for another round.

Unfortunately, Biyou Palace would certainly not stand by and do nothing while "Thunderbolt Sword" Zhao Lihai behaved so lawlessly...

"So what if you’re the Thunderbolt Sword? You think you can just break the rules?"

The next moment, Bai Chen appeared before Zhao Lihai as if he had teleported, blocking his path.

When he saw that the person blocking him was none other than the Vice Palace Master of Biyou Palace, all of Zhao Lihai’s simmering rage was instantly doused, as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on his head. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

With a cold snort, Zhao Lihai turned and left with a flick of his sleeve, not even bothering to utter a threat.

He had backed down so quickly for two reasons. First, even though Bai Chen had been easily defeated by the Sword Saint Jing Huaisong, he was still a First Grade powerhouse—not someone a Second Grade like Zhao Lihai could trifle with.

Second, the Sect Leader of the Celestial Essence Sword Sect had repeatedly emphasized before their arrival that they were not to engage in any large-scale conflicts with the Evil Sects until the battle between Su Qingyu and Gongsun Xiang was decided.

Although many people expected Su Qingyu to win this battle, the upper echelons of the Righteous Sects, such as the Celestial Essence Sword Sect and the Xuanhuang Sect, clearly held a different opinion.

This was especially true for Wu Wei, the Sect Leader of the Xuanhuang Sect, who was proficient in Divination and the Stargazing Skill. According to his multiple calculations, he felt this duel would be full of variables, but in the end, Gongsun Xiang’s chances of winning were slightly greater...

Of course, for beings of their Realm, being able to calculate that Gongsun Xiang had a greater chance of winning was already the absolute limit of what their Inference Skills could achieve.

It was simply unrealistic to expect one hundred percent accuracy.

But a prediction to this degree was sufficient.

For these leaders of the Righteous Sects, even if the prediction was wrong and Su Qingyu ended up winning, it would only be a pyrrhic victory.

Su Qingyu would sustain extremely troublesome injuries, with no chance of a quick recovery.

At that point, Biyou Palace would have effectively lost its greatest pillar of support. Therefore, they could simply wait and see how things played out, then decide whether or not to have the Sword Saint Jing Huaisong make a move...

With the "Thunderbolt Sword" Zhao Lihai’s retreat, the other True Qi Realm powerhouses from the Celestial Essence Sword Sect had no choice but to back down as well, though they all glared daggers at Zou Feng.

Their thinking was naturally the same as Zhao Lihai’s: once the outcome of the next battle was decided, there would be plenty of opportunities to avenge Chen Jun.

Zou Feng welcomed all their hateful stares.

’Such good big brothers, all scrambling over each other to get on my list.’

After descending from the city gate and returning to the Biyou Palace camp, Zou Feng was naturally greeted by a wave of flattery.

Several other True Qi Realm masters from other Evil Sects also made a special trip over to get acquainted with Zou Feng.

As they were chatting, a colossal, dragon-shaped mass of True Qi spiraled into the sky from the distant Imperial Palace, accompanied by waves of roaring sounds.

This True Qi Giant Dragon was on a completely different level compared to Chen Jun’s earlier Sword Qi Giant Dragon.

In terms of sheer presence alone, never mind its form, it made Chen Jun’s Sword Qi Giant Dragon look like a common lizard by comparison.

As this giant dragon flew rapidly toward the Celestial Sacrifice Platform, it seemed to stir some invisible power in the surroundings, which continuously converged upon it.

Although Zou Feng could sense this power, which was different from True Qi or the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, he had no idea what it actually was.

"The Power of Destiny of the Great Yan Royal Family. It seems this recent turmoil hasn’t depleted much of it..." Bai Chen had clearly also sensed that intangible power.

He spoke up, obviously having noticed that Zou Feng, Teng County, and the other True Qi Realm newcomers were quite puzzled by it.

’Power of Destiny?’

’That’s so mystical... How is Su Qingyu supposed to contend with that kind of power?’

As if he knew what Zou Feng and the others wanted to ask, Bai Chen continued, "The Great Yan Royal Family’s destiny is nothing special. It’s not that much stronger than our Biyou Palace’s ’influence’!"

Hearing this, Zou Feng began to understand.

When Martial Artists cultivated to the highest level, the enhancement from their "influence" was a power that could not be ignored.

To put it bluntly, it meant holding a high position with the backing of a massive organization.

The "influence" derived from the backing of a powerful organization was a form of great destiny, one that could tangibly serve as an intangible force to empower oneself.

Therefore, the destiny, "influence," and so on that Su Qingyu carried as the Palace Master of Biyou Palace wouldn’t be much weaker than Gongsun Xiang’s.

"Gongsun Xiang has already shown himself, so where is the Palace Master?" Teng County looked around, but he couldn’t find any sign of Su Qingyu.

A moment later, Gongsun Xiang, riding the True Qi Giant Dragon, landed steadily upon the Celestial Sacrifice Platform.

The True Qi Giant Dragon then rapidly descended, plunging into Gongsun Xiang’s body.

The moment it made contact with him, the True Qi Giant Dragon transformed back into the purest True Qi and was completely absorbed by Gongsun Xiang.

To be able to project True Qi and then retract and reabsorb it so freely and perfectly was clearly a feat only a supreme First Grade Powerhouse like Gongsun Xiang could accomplish with ease.

Following Gongsun Xiang’s grand entrance, numerous experts from the Royal Family also revealed themselves, gathering around the Celestial Sacrifice Platform.

Before long, figures began to appear one after another on the rooftops of the taller buildings surrounding the Celestial Sacrifice Platform.

Even a number of Gang Qi Realm Martial Artists had come to join the spectacle and witness this pinnacle battle that would decide the future of Great Yan.

However, no Inner Qi Realm Martial Artists were foolish enough to court death here. After all, if even the slightest bit of power overflowed from the clash between Su Qingyu and Gongsun Xiang, an Inner Qi Realm Martial Artist would most likely be shaken to death on the spot.

Besides, with so many True Qi Realm powerhouses present, if an Inner Qi Realm Martial Artist got too close, it would be like entering a special space where the very air seemed to have solidified. It would be unbearably uncomfortable; just standing still would be a struggle.