Chapter 16: Thriving on the battlefield

Witnessing such a bloody sight was foreign to him, especially seeing the person's still beating heart outside of its owner's body.

Feeling almost overwhelmed by his emotions, he quickly put such distracting thoughts away, right now was not the time to have those. 

Shifting his gate to Yinling, he saw her focused and ready to pounce which reduced the pressure on him, he wasn't alone in this after all. As for Li Chen, he will stick to him for now.

Right now, in just the vicinity alone were thousands of cultivators with cultivations exceeding him ready to move at any second. With Li Chen, although he may be taking a risk, it's best to stick with him since even after such restrictions were in place, he was still one of the top combat powers here.

Turning on his epiphany phase, soon everything around him seemed to slow down immensely and his thoughts became clearer. With this came an exciting conclusion, this phase was not just for breaking down things in a safe place, the battlefield is where it lives and thrives.

Silence reigned, broken only by the fading beats of the heart. As its rhythm ceased, a voice erupted.

"DAMMIT!! I'M NOT GOING TO DIE TODAY"

That single outburst broke the damn holding everything back. Roars filled the air, vibrations rippling through the ground.

Seeing everyone take out their weapons Jun quickly called out "Yinling! You cover me, and I'll cover you!"

Yinling hearing this quickly nodded and turned to Li Chen who upon meeting her gaze nodded. Knowing he was willing to cooperate made them feel better at ease since it meant one less angle to watch.

Taking out his trusty Midnight Shadow Sword, he quickly felt the ground trembling before his feet at the sheer number of attacks being released.

Unknown to others, these attacks were quickly improving his swordsmanship at an alarming rate that even shocked him. 

Quickly focusing back, he noticed dozens of men charging at him, some had swords while others just used their fists. 

"Come here pretty little ladies, I promise I will be gentle hehe..."

"If you join me I can protect you for a price"

Not bothering to check their cultivation levels, all he knew was that they were attacking him and he needed to retaliate. Readying his sword he performed one of the moves he learned when he was promoted called Speed Slash, a yellow-top technique.

In a blinding display of speed, an arch of pure swordsmanship razed through the crowd leaving limbs and blood in its path.

Looking at all the corpses caused by his hand left a bitter feeling within him. Although he felt a little frightened, he felt an even more prominent feeling, excitement at the power he just displayed.

He quickly found all the flaws in his attack and improved his technique from a yellow top rank to a black rank intermediate.

Feeling confident, he wanted to just rampage and go all out but knew if he did, he would die of exhaustion instead. 

Seeing the people around him a little hesitant to attack relieved a lot of pressure on him. No one wanted to be the unfortunate person to try out the unknown abilities of this woman and die.

Loosening the grip on his sword a bit, he didn't realize that such a move was a fatal mistake on the battlefield.

A shadow darted from the crowd, instantly rushing Jun at full speed with a sword in hand, slashing up almost knocking the sword out of Jun's hands.

Feeling his hand go into the air, he couldn't pull it back from the sheet power and momentum from this person.

"Damn I won't make it in time" thought Jun while looking at the blade tinted with blood headed his way, in desperation, he used his hand to block, normally this wouldn't do a thing but Jun covered his hand in his energy utilizing his newfound energy control.

SLAM

Seeing his hand intact covered in red energy relieved him, turning his eyes he could see the shock and fear building up in his eyes.

"IMPOSS-"

Without giving him the chance to answer he kicked the guy's throat in causing him to go flying, crashing into dozens along the way.

"That was close" thought Jun. This was his very first time brushing so close to death. When he left the sect, he encountered animals that could tear a normal person in half but they were weak in comparison.

Once on the battlefield, he realized just how truly insignificant his life was here. One small move like previously could cost you your life. 

Checking in on his teammates, he noticed them also nearby forming a triangle formation which surprised him at the speed they managed to cooperate. 

Seeing more and more limbs falling to the ground, he kept trying to observe sword attacks, he felt himself on the verge of realizing something profound.

Seeing the crowd slowly become less made for a better open area which meant fewer chances for a sneak attack. 

"Yinling! Our best option right now would be to avoid conflict and let themselves take each other out"

Yinling didn't need to be told twice, she had been busy, her sword singing a silent song of death as it claimed throat after throat, head after head for anyone that came near her or Jun.

This was her baptism by fire; the protective shield of her youth in the secret realm was a world away. With each life she took, her aura morphed, shedding its gentle calmness for a chilling tinge of bloodlust.

Li Chen, in contrast, exuded an eerie calmness, he had long been used to such a scene. As the future patriarch of Sky Palace, he has been trained since young to be able to inherit such a position.

Yet, amidst the wails and screams of terror, he found himself intrigued by these two women. Unlike Jun thought, the only reason he stuck with them was because the line for the elevator there was shorter and he was bored. 

He previously thought the people he talked to were a little odd but nothing special, but once witnessing their feats he quickly changed his mind.

"How are they doing it?" he marveled silently, watching them outmaneuver and outfight opponents of higher cultivation levels with an almost eerie ease. They seemed inexperienced at first but were adapting at a monstrous pace.

Especially the one called "Boss" who was growing at a pace that made him wonder If this is what a true genius is like. Every second he looked away, she somehow managed to become stronger and more experienced.

If that were him, he would have been overwhelmed by the sheer number of enemies rushing him.

For this reason and more, his interest in both of them had reached its peak. But if he knew one of the women he had taken an interest in was secretly a man, would he still say such a thing?

Suddenly, the air grew dense, a palpable darkness enveloping the battlefield. Weaker cultivators buckled under the oppressive aura and were quickly finished off by others.

"What the hell is that?" Jun exclaimed, his eyes widening in horror at a new, terrifying sight.

Yinling and Li Chen turned to see a colossal prehistoric mammoth rampaging through the arena sending scores of people flying through the air, its tusks impaling victims in a grotesque display of raw power.

"Dammit, a beast tamer! Keep your distance!" Yinling yelled, leaping back with a swift grace, Jun and Li Chen following suit.

Jun's gaze fixated on the monstrous mammoth, his mind racing to size up this new opponent.

[

Owner: Jin Yun

Name: Xiao Mammoth

Age: 28

Bloodline: none

Cultivation: Core Formation 7th level

Energy manipulation: 7%

Skills: 

Tusk Impale (high, earth-low), 

Rampage Charge (high, earth-high),

Giga Stomp (high, black-top)

Description: Food! Kill! Food! 

]

Looking at the sheer size of this thing, he knew right now there was no way to confront it head on but why would he? It's currently attacking others.

With his epiphany phase on, he quickly came up with a plan in case it were to attack him. Frankly speaking, it was a very simple plan but it would require them to use their fire attribute and high energy control.

The best part, no one would notice him using his fire attribute but this was just in case it attacked.

He could already imagine everyone's reaction to such a simple move killing this giant mammoth on the spot.