Although he couldn't understand the reason behind Cao Ling's actions, Jiang Chen was certain that defeating an outer disciple of the Holy sect at full strength as a peak rank 1 Nascent Soul stage cultivator was already impossible.
After all, before they sealed their cultivation levels at the start of the test, even the weakest of the Holy sect's disciples had already reached the early rank 4 of the Nascent Soul.
At that moment, Jiang Chen had already expected that the 'blue-robed young man' would start to despair after hearing Cao Ling's words, and would either show fear, anger or unwillingness.
And yet, Shun Long's expression was actually the complete opposite.
Despite hearing Cao Ling's order, Jiang Chen noticed that the look on his face was still calm, as Shun Long continued to stare at the white-robed Dao Emperor in the sky who was looking back at him with a smile.
At the same time, the yellow-robed, long-haired young man couldn't believe his ears.
He -a peak rank 4 Nascent Soul stage cultivator who was already an outer disciple of the sect- was going to fight all-out against a peak rank 1 Nascent Soul stage rookie?
However, despite staring at the white-robed Dao Emperor above the arena for nearly a minute, the long-haired young man from the Holy sect noticed, that Cao Ling's smile didn't fade.
The white-robed Elder didn't even spare him a glance as he continued to stare at his opponent instead.
Understanding that he couldn't change the Elder's mind, the long-haired young man turned his attention towards Shun Long and shook his head in a dissatisfied manner, before the look in his eyes finally turned serious.
His cultivation that was previously restricted at the peak of rank 3 of the Nascent Soul abruptly started to rise at an alarming rate, as it reached the peak of rank 4 in the Nascent Soul in one go!
Staring at the 'blue-robed young man' in front of him, the long-haired young man from the Holy held his sword tightly with both hands, before he said with a resolute voice
''This is pointless. Let's end this quickly.''
Without waiting for a response from Shun Long, the yellow-robed young man's body instantly blurred as he looked to close the distance between the two of them and end this fight in a single strike. The young man from the Holy sect obviously intended to end this fight as quickly as possible!
Shun Long's gaze immediately turned serious when he saw this, and without any hesitation, he circulated his 'Monarch's Hourglass' and activated his second 'Monarch's Domain'.
The invisible figure of an hourglass expanded from his body, while his eyes instantly turned golden as well.
Seeing the yellow-robed young man from the Holy sect running at him at full speed, Shun Long didn't hesitate any longer, as he waved his hand and took out a black-colored sword with mysterious patterns from his spatial ring.
He knew that concealing his strength and the black sword was useless.
And yet, Shun Long's golden eyes suddenly narrowed when he saw the long-haired young man's sword appearing in front of him almost instantly, and was ready to pierce a hole through the right side of his chest.
Holding the star-rank sword horizontally in front of him with both hands, Shun Long circulated the full strength of his 'Monarch's Eternal body', as he met with the long-haired man's attack head-on.
Since he didn't have enough time to inject his qi inside the black sword and activate the runes on its surface, he could only use the strength from his 'Monarch's Eternal's body' to block the sword strike.
At that moment, the long, silver-colored sword that was about to pierce through his chest was perfectly blocked as it landed on the black sword's surface, while Shun Long felt a nearly unstoppable force entering his body at the same time.
For a moment, he thought that he was about to lose his grip on the black sword, as his body was instantly swept off the ground and was sent flying backwards for more than 30 meters until he finally stopped.
''Eh? You really blocked it?''
The yellow-robed young man from the Holy sect exclaimed in disbelief, unable to realize how Shun Long had managed to block his attack.
Although his attack wasn't going to kill Shun Long, he knew very clearly that he hadn't held back at all.
At the same time, he had noticed that although Shun Long was extremely fast and his speed probably rivaled that of a middle rank 4 Nascent Soul stage cultivator, the long-haired young man was still slightly faster than him. As for the difference in strength, that was even more obvious.
Even if Shun Long could really jump levels and battle a peak rank 3 Nascent Soul stage cultivator with his cultivation at the peak of rank 1 in the Nascent Soul, the long-haired young man still believed that he could take care of him in a single strike.
This was the reason why he couldn't believe that Shun Long had actually managed to block this sword strike of his.
Of course, what the yellow-robed young man didn't know was that Shun Long's hands had already been injured, despite perfectly blocking the attack.
Even the bones in his hands had started to crackle, barely able to handle the pressure from this sword strike.
At this point, Shun Long was certain that he would be unable to block a second sword strike.
After all, his 'Monarch's Eternal body' was still at the peak of the fourth stage. Facing against the full-powered attack of a peak rank 4 Nascent Soul stage, it was already a miracle that he had managed to block the first attack already.
Finally, the look in Shun Long's eyes slowly changed as if he had just made a decision.
His right hand slightly relaxed on the grip of the black sword as he allowed it to touch the ground, while he stared at the long-haired young man opposite to him and mumbled in a low voice
''I really didn't want to use this.''
As he finished his words, Shun Long closed his eyes with a resolute look on his face, before the blood inside his heart started to wildly churn.
Suddenly, a terrifying aura erupted from his body, like the awakening of a horrifying magic beast, immediately enveloping every corner of the Holy sect's arena.
At that moment, regardless of whether it was the disciples of the Holy sect in the air, those sitting in the audience seats, or the white-robed Dao King and Dao Emperor in the sky, everyone who sensed this aura felt a chill from the bottom of their hearts, as they all turned their attention towards the blue-robed young man at the center of the arena.