[A/N: I apologize for the mistake in the previous chapter. The unedited version was mistakenly uploaded. Please re-read it if you have already read it, so that you can continue reading from the correct version.]
Yue Jang muttered under his breath, "I really hope the Fire Emperor's inheritance has some treasure that can help me stabilize myself." He pushed through the door and stumbled a bit as he tried to move his aching body.
"Ugh, this pain is killing me," he cursed under his breath.
As he looked around the room, his eyes fell on a stone tablet with a storage ring and a book with a beautifully intricate royal blue design. He approached the items, already making a mental note to check the book later, and grabbed the storage ring, hoping to find something inside that could relieve his pain.
Yue Jang's hand was about to touch the storage ring when he suddenly felt an intense pain in his back, as if an arrow had pierced through him.
"An attack, damn it," he muttered through gritted teeth, trying to move but finding that he couldn't budge. The shock of it all made him wonder if the weapon that hit him was laced with poison.
"Who are you?" he demanded, trying to turn around and face his attacker. But before he could even catch a glimpse of the culprit, his robes were grabbed and he was thrown out of the room, suspended in mid-air.
He couldn't see the face of his attacker as he was still facing the opposite direction. All he could sense was a sudden slash coming towards him, ready to strike.
Yue Jang became horrified as he recognized the attack. "This slash? It's the Thunderbolt Blade slash," he thought. The Thunderbolt Blade was his family's heirloom weapon, and he knew its power all too well.
As the attack hit him, he was thrown back with great force, crashing to the ground. He felt an intense pain in his back, realizing that he had been seriously injured as he had let his guard down earlier and couldn't move to defend himself.
Slowly, the effects of the poison weapon wore off due to Yue Jang's high cultivation, and he was able to regain his ability to move. He tried to stand up, but was suddenly struck with a powerful kick to his abdomen, He had not even sensed the enemy's approach. The pain was so intense that he cried out in agony, and was sent flying into the wall.
As he struggled to focus his eyes, which had gone blurry from the impact, he saw the attacker approaching him. His vision gradually cleared, and he could make out the blood-red robe of the attacker. "Blood Fang Sect?" he muttered in disbelief, recognizing the emblem on the robe.
He tried to get up, but pain shot through his body, reminding him of the severity of his injuries. The Thunderbolt Blade Slash, his family's heirloom weapon, had struck him hard, and the effects were taking a toll on him. He gritted his teeth and focused his mind, knowing that he had to be on guard against further attacks.
Yue Jang's eyes narrowed as he caught sight of the weapon that had struck him earlier. "That's the Thunderbolt Blade! It should be in the hands of Yue Mingluan. What is it doing here? And who gave it to you?" he demanded, But his questions went unanswered as the opponent attacked him once again with a powerful slash from the Thunderbolt Blade. Acting quickly, Yue Jang drew his own Yang sword and countered with a Sandstorm Blade slash.
As the two blades clashed, Yue Jang could feel the strength of his opponent's cultivation. It was not as high as he had expected, which gave him hope that he might be able to hold his own in the fight.
Despite the pain from his earlier injuries, Yue Jang focused all his energy on the battle at hand. He moved quickly and gracefully, dodging the enemy's attacks and striking back with his own fierce blows.
Yue Jang's mind was in a state of confusion as he tried to piece together the puzzle of how a Blood Fang Sect disciple managed to find their way to this hidden location. He knew for a fact that the only reason he knew about this place was because of Yideng's help.
Su Chen had only stumbled upon it accidentally when he killed members of Yue Jang's faction and stole their orb. He had wanted to prevent a massacre within his own faction and this location had appeared as the nearest red dot on his map.
How had this other sect disciple come to know about it? Yue Jang knew that there were several guards along the way, and some were still climbing the ladder. He couldn't fathom how this mysterious man had arrived undetected. Furthermore, why had he shown up at such an opportune time when Yue Jang was weak?
Yue Jang sensed that something was off about the Blood Fang Sect disciple, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Nevertheless, he knew he had to be on high alert and focus on taking down his opponent before he could unravel this mystery. After all, what good is curiosity if you're dead? He decided to save his questions for later when he could ask them while sipping tea and not while dodging potentially fatal attacks.
Yue Jang was certain that his adversary would have been a pushover without the Thunderbolt Blade, given the opponent's lower cultivation level. However, with the blade in hand, the fight would not be so simple. As they clashed, it became evident that Yue Jang and his opponent were evenly matched, and the battle quickly grew intense.
Meanwhile, as Wang Chen fought, he couldn't help but think to himself, 'Although I know I could easily defeat a 3-stage Core Formation Realm Cultivator with this sword, my cultivation level is not high enough to unleash its full potential.'
However, as the fight dragged on, Wang Chen couldn't deny the fact that Yue Jang was no ordinary opponent. 'This guy's combat power exceeds even that of a 5th stage Core Formation Realm Cultivator. He is truly worthy of being the protagonist of his own story,' he admitted to himself.
The fight continued as they clashed inside the hall. Yue Mingluan, frustrated with the ongoing battle, thought to himself, "I'll use my whole hand and show him what I'm made of!" He then unleashed his strongest blow towards Wang Chen.
Wang Chen, sensing the danger, quickly took out a storage bag and retrieved something from within it.
As Yue Jang's attack hit, there was a loud boom as the force of the blow destroyed the ceiling, causing dust to fly around the room. Amidst the chaos, he thought he saw blood fly out, and believed he had injured his opponent. He began to taunt and walked towards the dust, eager to see his opponent injured.
However, as the dust began to settle, he saw a body lying on the ground. His heart sank as he realized it was not his opponent but his own brother's body. "No, this can't be happening," he murmured in disbelief.
Suddenly, he felt a powerful punch land on his face, knocking him back. He realized that his guard was down, and he had left himself open to attack while he was distracted by his brother's body.
He was knocked back, staggering towards the entrance of the hall. As he stood up, his vision was blurred from the impact of the blow. He struggled to regain his balance, his mind reeling from the shock.
In that moment, he saw his opponent wielding the Thunderbolt Blade, its crackling energy arcing menacingly towards him. Yue Jang realized he didn't have enough energy to block the attack head-on, so he stepped back, hoping to evade the lethal slash.
'Hehehe Finally got it.' Wang Chen smirked as he held a storage bag in his other hand, which he had snatched from Yue Jang during the fight.
But as Yue Jang stepped back, he lost his balance and fell on the tenth ladder, which caused him to feel sudden pressure on his body. He then realized that the opponent had planned this and deliberately led him to this spot. Yue Jang's Qi was already exhausted from the battle and the previous strong blow, so he had fallen into a trap.
Suddenly, a thunderslash was coming towards Yue Jang. With the added pressure from the ladder, he couldn't dodge it, and taking it head-on would cause more damage to his already seriously injured body.
Gritting his teeth, he ran down towards the 9th ladder, hoping to put some distance between himself and Wang Chen. Each ladder was a hundred meters long, and he couldn't tell if his opponent was following him or not. All he could do was run for his life, as he was in grave danger. Even Yideng, who could have helped him, was recovering and in a deep sleep state.
As Yue Jang continued down the ladder, he soon reached the sixth ladder. It was there that he saw his faction members engaged in a fierce battle against the followers of Su Chen. He didn't know what to do anymore. He thought that it would be helpful if he could aid his fellow faction members against Su Chen's followers and then bring all his followers to the top of the ancient ruin. That way, he could still have a chance to obtain the Fire Emperor's inheritance and exact his revenge on that Blood Fang Sect disciple.
However, before he could continue to ponder his next move, he suddenly sensed a murderous aura emanating from behind him. When he turned around, he was shocked to see that it was none other than Su Chen. "Not good," he muttered to himself, realizing that if Su Chen had recovered from the previous attack, he would most likely seek revenge. With Yideng currently sleeping and him being seriously injured, Yue Jang knew that he wouldn't be able to face Su Chen in his current state.
