A Dish Best Served Cold (The Man In Rage)

"The loser dies, and the winner ascends to immortality!" The majestic and ethereal voice reverberated for a long time, shaking the heavens and earth. Ye Fan stopped in his tracks. He stood with his sword in hand upon hearing Chu Qitian's words. A hint of determination appeared on Ye Fan's attractive face.

"Sure! Why not?" It was in Ye Fan's intention to do so anyway. Chu Qitian was right. It would only be a waste of time and energy if they continued.

In the end, no one would be able to reach the summit of the Celestial Road. It would be better to decide their fates there and then. Despite the uncertainty of whether he would succeed or if his life was on the line, there was still, at least, the possibility of victory. Moreover, even if it was not for the sake of the Celestial Road, Ye Fan was still adamant about settling grudges between him and Chu Qitian. After all, Chu Qitian was the one who took Angie's Jade Eyes back then. Ye Fan wanted to reclaim them for Angie.

"Very well! You do have some guts, Chu Tianfan. I thought you would be too much of a wimp to fight! It seems that you do possess some of Chu Yunyang's traits."

Symborsus was undoubtedly overjoyed upon seeing Ye Fan agreeing. Although Symborsus was now just a remnant of a soul, he managed to survive by borrowing Chu Qitian's body. However, he only dared to spend these years in recovery and cultivation. His strength had undoubtedly recovered quite a bit. Unfortunately, in comparison to his perfect state back then, there was still a significant difference.

Yet, Symborsus was more than confident that he would be able to deal with a mere Chu Tianfan. A loud boom was heard as Symborsus finished his words. The surrounding heaven and earth energy immediately began to surge. The crimson-red radiance then condensed into beams of light swords before him.

"Crimson Slash!" Without any hesitation or delay, Chu Qitian launched his strongest attack right from the start. In an instant, millions of crimson blades were all over the place, covering everything in sight. From afar, it looked like a river of swords and a net of blades woven together with a vigorous blood-red Qi. Despite the hindrance and oppression of the laws of heaven and earth on the Celestial Road, the speed of the crimson blades remained incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, they surrounded Ye Fan. Ye Fan dared not slack off.

With the Sword of Yunyang in hand, he unleashed a series of ferocious slashes. A surge of sword energy then filled the air. However, wielding a sword there felt different from wielding one on Earth. The gravity on the Celestial Road was dozens of times that of Earth.

The Sword of Yunyang in Ye Fan's hand suddenly became incredibly heavy. As a result, Ye Fan's swordsmanship lost its original agility and elegance. His several attempts only appeared obscure and hindered Even the effectiveness of the Cloud and Mist Sword Technique was greatly diminished. Under such circumstances, how could Ye Fan possibly be a match for Chu Qitian?

Everyone witnessed the first face-to-face confrontation between the two. In the end, Ye Fan was utterly defeated. The crimson blade kept slashing across Ye Fan's body relentlessly. Despite the protection provided by the Raijin Thunderdrake, traces of blood could still be seen on Ye Fan's body. Ye Fan was once again knocked off the Celestial Road by Chu Qitian's overwhelming power.

"Ha ha ha! You finally know how powerful I am, brat. Even your mentor Chu Yunyang couldn't defeat me back then. The most he could do was seal me away. Needless to say, you weren't even an option as my opponent."

After landing a successful hit, Chu Qitian stepped onto the long staircase and launched another attack. As Chu Qitian descended along the Celestial Road, the pressure lessened, and his speed increased rapidly. In a flash, Chu Qitian's figure appeared right before Ye Fan. As the saying goes, strike while the iron is hot. Chu Qitian's attack rushed at Ye Fan again like a strong storm, mercilessly pounding upon him before he could gather himself from the earlier strike. The attacks were inclusive of fists or palms, chopping or slashing.

At that moment, Chu Qitian was seen repeatedly throwing heavy punches at Ye Fan's abdomen. The deep rumble from the consecutive punches thundered like an explosion. In just a few moments, Chu Qitian had already thrown nearly a hundred heavy punches.

Ye Fan's Raijin Thunderdrake was brutally pierced through by Chu Qitian. Ye Fan's abdomen caved in, and a mixture of blood and organs was spilled all over the ground. Chu Qitian gave a final kick, sending Ye Fan flying. As Ye Fan's body rolled down the celestial stairway, the Sword of Yunyang, too, was knocked out of his hand. Like a withered leaf in the rain, Ye Fan lay silently on the Celestial Road. "How... How could this..."

The battle both began and ended in a flash. For a moment, the entire world seemed to fall silent. Ye Qingtian, Aaron, and the others were dumbfounded. Far away in Jiangdong, Tang Yun was filled with worry. Chu Lin, on the other hand, could not help but shed tears. Xu Lei's heart ached so much that it was hard to breathe. She closed her eyes, unable to look any longer. Although the fight happened in a faraway land, the Celestial Road seemed to possess a unique magic that magnified the happenings at the said location, allowing half of the world's population to see it. That was why Xu Lei, Junie, and the others, who were nearly ten thousand miles away from Mount Kransbay, could see Ye Fan so clearly.

"It's too big."

"The gap is too big."

"There's absolutely no hope of winning at all." At the foot of Mount Kransbay, Ye Qingtian and the others had already lost hope. All along, Chu Qitian had been controlled by Moryana and others, so no one knew the true extent of his abilities. Yet, he managed to pierce through Ye Fan's Raijin Thunderdrake after merely one confrontation with the latter. The power of Symborsus was truly terrifying. In that situation, no one held any hope for Ye Fan anymore. In fact, many people thought that Ye Fan might have already been beaten to death just from this one confrontation.

"Hmph, such an overconfident fool," Chu Qitian scoffed as he glanced at the bloodied man beneath his feet.

Then, he turned around and continued his journey up the Celestial Road. However, before Chu Qitian could even take a single step, faint laughter was heard from behind.

"What's the rush, Chu Qitian? We're not done yet." There stood Ye Fan, a streak of fresh blood flowing down his forehead. Although slightly disheveled, Ye Fan's eyes remained bright and spirited. Like the lights on the horizon, which never go out, his gaze was far away and profound. Chu Qitian's face darkened upon seeing Ye Fan standing again.

"You sure are a persistent brat. Believe it or not, I'll freaking beat you to death!" With a roar of fury, he charged once more. Suddenly, Chu Qitian's hands curled into claws as if they were venomous snakes ready to attack. They then lunged fiercely toward Ye Fan's chest.

Ye Fan, however, was already on guard. Using the Nine Steps of Yunyang, he avoided the attack. He then picked up the Sword of Yunyang and fiercely slashed toward Chu Qitian's wrist!

Clang!

The long sword descended, striking Chu Qitian's wrist with unwavering precision. Yet, the unexpected was that even though it was a body of flesh, it somehow felt as if the Sword of Yunyang was striking steel. A shower of sparks burst amidst the resonating clash. Although Ye Fan's sword did not manage to cut off Chu Qitian's arm, the gravity of the Sword of Yunyang ultimately forced the latter's hand to retreat. The immense force caused Chu Qitian to furrow his brows in pain.

"You brat! Again!"

Chu Qitian did not feel discouraged after his attack was blocked. Instead, it led him to relentlessly release even more ferocious attacks. "Sky Hammer!"

"Stygian Palm!"

"Power Split!" The attacks came unceasingly, like a raging storm, pouring down on Ye Fan. In the beginning, Ye Fan fumbled as he was unable to handle the situation. He was left a blood-splattering mess and could only retreat after being repeatedly hit by Chu Qitian.

Nevertheless, as the battle progressed, the situation was gradually improving. As the fight went on, Ye Fan still lacked the strength to fight back. However, he was almost able to hold out against the other! "Goodness gracious!"

"He's learning to fight through fighting!"

"His learning ability is insanely good!"

"No wonder the Chu Sect had been fighting with him for so many years, only to be ultimately overthrown by him!"

The battle on the Celestial Road continued, shaking the heavens and the earth. Meanwhile, Ye Qingtian and the others at the foot of the mountain were watching the battle with trepidation.