Chapter 0857: The Ninth Floor

Chapter 857: The Ninth Floor

Qin Yun cautiously ascended the staircase, pausing after each step to look around.

He dared not move too quickly, fearing a sudden attack.

Earlier, he had thought the Nine-Dragon Demon Prison Tower was truly terrifying, but now that he had reached the eighth floor, it seemed less so.

The guardians from the first to the seventh floors were easily dealt with. Only the late-stage Martial King on the seventh floor was somewhat challenging, but with his Pain Divine Arts martial soul, he could defeat the opponent in one go.

Now, having arrived at the eighth floor, there was not even a single figure in sight, yet he did not let down his guard.

On one hand, he was wary of the Heavenly Dragon Sect playing tricks, and on the other, he feared some hidden mechanism.

The staircase leading to the ninth floor was not long, but Qin Yun took nearly half an hour to climb it!

After successfully reaching the ninth floor, he let out a long sigh of relief, feeling somewhat foolish for taking so much time on the staircase when no danger had arisen.

The ninth floor was also spacious.

There were two people on this floor: one was an old man in a gray robe, and the other was a young man in golden robes.

The young man's face was full of innocence, yet he was tall and well-built. From his youthful and handsome features, he appeared to be only fifteen or sixteen years old.

The old and young man were surprised to see someone reach this place, as it had been a long time since anyone had made it to the ninth floor.

"Greetings, I wish to challenge the guardian!" Qin Yun said politely, his tone calm.

"I am the guardian of the eighth floor, Wulong! This is the guardian of the ninth floor, my grandfather, Longbei!" The young man approached, sizing up Qin Yun with a slightly disdainful gaze, and said, "Although you have reached the ninth floor, you must still fight me, the guardian of the eighth floor!"

Qin Yun had thought the eighth floor was empty, but it turned out they had moved to the ninth floor, and they were even a grandfather and grandson pair.

"Alright, let's start then!" Qin Yun said, feeling pressed for time.

"You managed to reach this floor, which means you've defeated all those guys on the lower floors! I can see you have some skills!" Wulong sneered, "But, you can only defeat those guys, don't mistake me for one of those weaklings!"

"I know! Let's get started!"

Qin Yun was growing impatient. On his way up, each of the guardians had been arrogant, acting as if they were invincible.

"What do you mean? Are you looking down on me? I'm just kindly warning you that you're no match for me! What's that look on your face? Impatient?" Wulong suddenly flew into a rage, his voice cold, "You bastard, you really are detestable! I can't understand how someone like you could make it to this floor!"

"I need to get out in a hurry, so can we start now?" Qin Yun said, truly eager to leave to participate in the competition.

"Ridiculous! Do you really think you can defeat me? Even if you could beat me, what about my grandfather?" Wulong laughed loudly, mocking him, "You arrogant fool, I could crush you with one hand!"

Qin Yun was really losing his patience, saying, "Are we fighting here or on the eighth floor?"

Seeing Qin Yun's calm expression, Wulong felt even more uncomfortable, thinking Qin Yun was looking down on him.

"I can defeat you anywhere!" Wulong took a few steps back, keeping his distance from Qin Yun, and added, "You're in a rush to leave? Humph, you'll never get out of here in your life!"

"Whether I can leave or not isn't up to you or me; it's up to my fists!" Qin Yun said.

Wulong stomped his foot hard, causing the ninth floor to rumble. He shouted angrily, "Are you challenging me? You insolent brat, I've never met anyone as arrogant as you! You fool, don't you know who I am?"

Qin Yun thought for a moment, shook his head, and said, "I don't know who you are, and I don't care. I just want to get out quickly! Can we start now?"

If it weren't for the old man standing there, Qin Yun would have already gone over and given the young man a good beating.

The old man named Long Bei had remained silent, his aura calm and unassuming, making it impossible to discern his cultivation level, yet he exuded an overwhelming sense of dread.

If Wu Long didn’t announce the start, Qin Yun wouldn’t dare act rashly, fearing that Long Bei might use it as an excuse to attack.

"Grandfather, you announce the start! I’ll knock him down right from the beginning!" Wu Long shouted with great confidence.

"Wu Long, that man is not easy to deal with; don’t be complacent!" Long Bei spoke, calmly cautioning Wu Long.

"Grandfather, are your eyes failing you? How could this guy possibly be my match? I’m at the late-stage Martial King realm, while he’s only at the early stage! He’s no match for me at all; I can beat him with one hand!" Wu Long said, clearly annoyed.

"He’s not an ordinary Martial King; you can’t judge him by conventional standards! He managed to make it this far, so his strength must be considerable. If you underestimate him, you will surely suffer a great loss!" Long Bei warned again.

Wu Long was still a young man, his heart filled with rebellion.

The more his grandfather urged him to be cautious, the less he listened, growing increasingly angry, thinking his grandfather didn’t believe in him and was praising the opponent instead.

Qin Yun grew even more concerned, as Long Bei was no simple figure, clearly very powerful.

Wu Long’s eyes were filled with intense killing intent as he glared at Qin Yun: "Grandfather, you say he’s strong, but I will definitely defeat him and cripple him! I am the strongest!"

It’s understandable for young men to be competitive.

But this Wu Long took competitiveness to an extreme, bordering on obsession!

Qin Yun was suddenly startled, sensing that Wu Long was almost deranged!

"Wu Long, just be careful!" Long Bei sighed helplessly, then called out: "Begin!"

The duel began!

Wulong roared, like the furious cry of a dragon, and a surge of aura erupted from his body, carrying a strong dragon qi.

His body trembled, sending out a wave of force that pushed Qin Yun back several steps.

Qin Yun was also stunned by the powerful dragon force!

In an instant!

Wulong's body transformed into a streak of golden light, rushing forward with lightning speed.

Qin Yun could clearly see Wulong's steps and the techniques he used when striking out; they were indeed fast and powerful!

"Die!"

Wulong roared in anger, delivering a powerful palm strike aimed at Qin Yun's head. The golden arm, like a massive golden cleaver, slashed down forcefully from above.

Qin Yun dared not meet such force head-on and quickly dodged to the side.

Wulong's palm struck empty, the palm force hitting the ground and creating a violent explosion, along with a blade-like golden gale.

The golden force surged within the area, like countless blades slashing through the air.

If one's strength was insufficient, they would surely be torn into pieces by the violent wind force.

Qin Yun was shaken by the power and hurriedly released his Dragon Shield to protect himself.

He felt that Wulong's strength far surpassed that of Longchuan Wu!

"What is this guy's background? How can he be so powerful?" As Qin Yun was startled, Wulong shot towards him as a streak of golden light.

As he approached, the furious fists erupted with a low dragon's roar!

Seeing those trembling fists, Qin Yun was filled with dread!

Wu Long’s speed increased even more, leaving Qin Yun no time to dodge, and his body was struck by those fists!

Boom!

Qin Yun’s chest was slammed by Wu Long’s fists, sending him flying backward to collide with the wall, causing the entire Nine-Dragon Demon Prison Tower to tremble.

Though he could see fast-moving objects, Wu Long’s speed was too great, allowing him only to see but not react in time.

Fortunately, he had the Dragon Shield on his body, which had deflected part of the force just now!

“You’re in a hurry to get out? Don’t be ridiculous! No one who enters the Nine-Dragon Demon Prison Tower has ever passed me!” Wu Long shouted in laughter as he saw Qin Yun crash into the wall, then charged forward again.

Wu Long’s attack speed was very fast, and his explosive power was terrifying.

He could generate a formidable force in the shortest time while moving at high speed, then unleash that force.

Qin Yun, enduring the pain, quickly released tree claws to grab Wu Long’s legs.

Wu Long, as he charged forward, also burst with immense strength and defense.

The tree claws Qin Yun released!

After being caught, Wu Long instantly broke free and continued charging forward.

Boom!

The mad fist of Wulong, roaring like an enraged dragon, lunged forward but missed its target, striking the wall instead. The impact sent out a terrifying shockwave that directly hurled Qin Yun away.

The walls of the Nine-Dragon Demon Prison Tower were incredibly strong; despite the immense force of Wulong's punch, it failed to damage them.

Though Qin Yun's tree claws were broken free from, they still served their purpose by slightly delaying Wulong’s speed, giving him a moment to dodge. Even if it was just a split second, it was enough for him to evade.

Otherwise, another blow to his body would have left him unable to continue fighting.

"Even in front of me, you dare to act so arrogantly? My grandfather said you were strong, but I see nothing but weakness! Weakling, have you seen how terrifying I can be?" Wulong laughed loudly, his eyes bloodshot, the surging power from his body stirring up violent storms and thunder, enveloping the entire ninth floor.

Qin Yun had just dodged to a corner, putting considerable distance between himself and Wulong.

Wulong had pushed his strength to its peak, which was truly frightening!

Qin Yun felt that if this Wulong went all out, even a Martial Emperor would struggle to withstand such power.

Wulong attacked again, with the same speed as before!

With the experience from the previous two encounters, Qin Yun quickly reacted, releasing several tree claws to bind Wulong's body.

"Damn it!" Wulong roared, his attack disrupted by the numerous tree claws.

Although he could still charge towards Qin Yun, his speed was slowed by those few moments!

And those few moments were enough for Qin Yun to counterattack!