Sovereign of the Three Realms

Jiang Chen was entirely calm as he glanced at the frenzied Mad Fiend. None of his opponent’s scary expressions and gestures disturbed his heart.

“Eat this, kid!” The crazy old man produced a golden walking staff in his hand. On one side was a crescent, the other a square spade. Both ends were as untamed as the weapon’s owner.

A wave of the staff produced a burst of light, almost blinding Jiang Chen with radiance. However, he was quite familiar with this kind of dazzling attack. His magnetic golden mountain could do something quite similar. In fact, it could blunt all of someone’s senses.

Because of this, the attack barely did anything to him.

At his level, he didn’t need his senses to catch an opponent’s attacks anymore. He instinctively used his Kunpeng Meteoric Escape, vanishing on the spot by turning into a streak of light.

Mad Fiend cackled. “Fast one, are you? The Kunpeng Meteoric Escape? What a shame that you’re fighting me!”

True to his name, he was a complete madcap after going berserk. He brandished the staff about, leaving a flurry of countless afterimages that seemed like a golden airborne windmill. Following this, he gave chase in a burst of golden light.

Jiang Chen saw no reason to fear Mad Fiend.

Yes, the old man was crazy, but he had kept his promise of keeping his strength at the young man’s level.

Harrumphing, the youth clapped to bring a golden bell into being. It grew in the wind from its already huge size into something even bigger, a sudden obstacle between Mad Fiend and himself.

The bell flew with tempestuous strength, ringing in no time at all.

Jiang Chen made a hand seal. “By the glorious might of heaven, let the thunder of this bell quash mine enemy!”

As an unrivaled tool for defense, the bell was also pretty decent on the attack. In particular, it excelled at catching and imprisoning its prey. When its power was invoked, the mouth of the bell became an abyssal maw, filled with endless terror.

The golden bell shrieked like a ferocious beast, casting itself with an ear-piercing wail at the approaching fiend.

Though Mad Fiend’s madness was true to his name, he knew that his opponent was quite the competent rival. In particular, the treasure before him could deal a serious blow.

Alas, the bell’s momentum and spatial attribute meant that it was an all-consuming maw that stopped at nothing to swallow its target.

The old codger didn’t expect Jiang Chen’s real purpose in using the Kunpeng Meteoric Escape. Rather than actually escaping, he had been trying to lure the old man into a trap.

This golden bell looked like the trump card Jiang Chen was relying on to turn the tables. Therefore, Mad Fiend saw good reason to respect the treasure’s power.

Mad Fiend’s hairs stood on end as he took in the gluttony and thirst of the bell.

“Nice moves, kid! No one who gets to the fourth palace can possibly be a pushover.” In the heat of the moment, he perceived that he wouldn’t have time to move out of the way.

Thus, he performed a vicious thrust with the staff almost without thinking.

The staff shimmered with an agonizing radiance. The two superb weapons both reverberated with a mournful wail.

Mad Fiend shook all over. He looked incredulously at the staff in his hand, still ringing at the impact. Although it had fended off the maw of the golden bell, the staff’s spirit was dampened considerably for the time being.

The golden bell was clearly an ancient treasure. Forefather Goldenbell wouldn’t possibly have been able to achieve such heights with it otherwise. The bell alone had been responsible for propelling him to demi-godhood.

In other words, the golden bell was every bit as potent as Mad Fiend’s staff. In fact, it was superior in some respects. Any other opponent would’ve retreated at the bell, but not Mad Fiend.

The old man cracked another toothy smile. He glanced at his staff, noticing its fading light, then cackled. "A remarkable treasure alright. But do you think you'll be able to match me with just a bell? Dream on!"

He swung his staff with renewed frenzy, unleashing a flurry of blows in Jiang Chen's direction. So ferocious were his strikes that the golden bell rang discordantly without rest. Staff and bell were evenly matched.

As befitting of his name, Mad Fiend fought with a crazed delirium that made him imposingly ferocious.

The bell contained offense within defense, while the staff was just the opposite. The two treasures were nearly evenly matched.

Though it was hard for the bell to overwhelm Mad Fiend, the golden staff could hardly overcome its opponent either. For a time, the two combatants were locked into a standstill.

Jiang Chen took out other pieces of equipment at this time, his Holy Dragon Bow among them. Alas, he was unable to actually take aim or fire.

Mad Fiend fought in such a ridiculous manner! His favored method of engagement was a brawl in close melee.

This was as simplistic as fighting could get. Still, someone on Mad Fiend’s level could unleash incredible power, especially if he did so with no regard for himself.

Mad Fiend was smart enough to notice he couldn’t let his young enemy take the initiative and settle into a rhythm.

Otherwise, the Holy Dragon Bow’s long-distance attacks alone would be extremely difficult to handle, to say nothing of if the young genius found an optimal attack position. 

As an experienced veteran of countless battles, he was more than capable of reading the state of the fight.