Dragons unfurled their wings amidst a storm of lightning. The auroras stretched on for thousands of miles, so beautiful they captivated the gathered hunters.

Zhang Lie struck. An underworld river hurtled into existence, roaring into the sea. The sword energy roiled like black waves, like a meteor shower, causing the very stars to shake.

The entire night sky shifted as a thousand stellar dragons descended, as though a crack had broken in firmament. A flood that could destroy the world itself rained down on the lava.

The sea had morphed into a boundless battlefield. The sea breeze was as a horn to action, and the serpents, thousands of courageous soldiers heeding its call.

As the stellar dragons launched a bombardment, the chimera stared at Zhang Lie with cold eyes. Its crystalline, resplendent body hurtled back. The entire world seemed to shift with its movements. A true dragon's mark appeared on its scarlet tail, imbued with the essence of the arcane, of mysteries beyond measure.

For a moment, a divine chanting could be heard from the skies, shaking the heavens as all things hummed in resonance. Boulder after boulder exploded, even those tens of thousands of tons heavy. The ripples that emanated from the chimera's keening easily sparked a resonant decomposition.

The stellar dragons exploded in a burst of starlight.

"[The Boundless Blade: Dragon's Wrath]!"

Guicang unleashed a barrage of sword energy in the form of a stellar dragon.

The dragon's howls shook heaven and earth. The stellar energy that filled the battlefield transformed into a massive stellar dragon that took to the skies. Its body was too large even for the trial world.

The chimera roared in outrage, and its aura strengthened even further. Its 108 blades gleamed with killing intent, swamping the battlefield in white light. It clashed against the stellar dragon in ripples of energy. Starbursts cracked a hole in the firmament.

The two combatants shattered mountains and destroyed spires with every blow.

Light covered heaven and earth, frightening in its intensity.The two combatants fought like ancient beasts, tearing apart mountain and landscape, heaven and earth. The world itself quivered as it observed their battle.

They were radiant in their might, surrounded with glowing runes that burned incandescent, so brightly that no one would be able to observe the scene directly.

The chimera roared in outrage, spitting out a ball of hazy light, charged with skeins of radiant energy so bright they were evaporating in the air.

A thousand rays of rosy light, in an endless stream, enveloped all that lay below.

"[First Form: Parting the River]!"

Bright sword energy radiated from Zhang Lie like brilliant rays of sunlight, illuminating the entirety of the world.

A frightening force descended, energy rumbling and rippling around him. As Zhang Lie swung the blade in his hand, a huge slash of sword energy shot downward.

With a huge rumble and crash, a scarlet claw struck the ground with the force of a mountain range. Light flooded heaven and earth.

Zhang Lie roared, his eyes glowing with light.

"[Shadow and Light]!"

Zhang Lie whirled around. Time suddenly sped up in his vicinity. As his sword slashed across the skies, the buds on the chimera's back fell to the ground in a shower of purple petals.

The chimera sent its tail sweeping forward like a steel whip, causing the void itself to creak. The runes surged forward like waves, astoundingly strong.

Zhang Lie leapt up and dodged the blow. He struck with Guicang, sending out a slash of chilling light.

The chimera allowed its claw to be cut by Zhang Lie's sword as it prepared to launch an attack. It swooped across the horizon, its wounds healing faster than did the golden roc's. It struck with its other claw, attempting to catch Zhang Lie directly. Its eyes glimmered with intelligence and sharpness. A terrifying wildness suffused its actions.Hanguang appeared in Zhang Lie's other hand. As he swung down toward the chimera, a severe wound appeared on its body.

The chimera roared in outrage, then immediately retreated. A wave of energy swept past the chimera, who was forced to loosen its hold on Zhang Lie's foot.

Zhang Lie took the advantage to give chase, resulting in a strange formation.

"[Syzygy]!"

A pitch-black sun appeared behind Zhang Lie, and a blood moon by his feet. His aura was magnified tenfold, and a halo of black sun appeared above his forehead. Natural law seemed to warp around him. Runes likewise appeared on the bloody moon by his feet, forming an intricate array.

The disaster-grade chimera's energy was drained as Zhang Lie's energy was magnified.

Zhang Lie crossed his twin blades. The blood moon resonated with the blade in his left hand, and the black sun with the blade in his right.

The black sun's flames strengthened Zhang Lie's attacks and burned away Li Feng's. As the realms of reality and illusion inverted, Zhang Lie simultaneously slashed forward with both blades, forming a huge celestial web.

The chimera smashed into the ground, which cracked apart. A plume of dust rose into the air.

Sword slashes criss-crossed in the air as bloody moonlight and black solar fares shot toward the chimera.

The ground burst apart. The disaster-grade chimera was in a sorry state, its chest having been torn open, sword scars criss-crossing its body.

A frightening burst of energy erupted from the lifeform. Bloody moonlight and black solar flames were emitted from its body.

Under this high-pressure environment, it had identified and evolved from Zhang Lie's attacks, the whitegold tiger's preternatural ability to adapt and emulate its opponents' techniques. Its claws flashed with bloody moonlight, and its wings lit up with black flame. The weakness inflicted by [Syzygy] was completely dispelled as it rushed toward Zhang Lie with a whir.

Zhang Lie met the chimera head-on. He swung down with Guicang, but the chimera dodged and sent its tail whipping out, lashing around Zhang Lie like a serpent winding its body around a mountain peak.

It opened its bloody maw wide, its teeth sharp and white, as it bit down on Zhang Lie with the intent of swallowing him whole.

He activated his mistmeld clam soulshard, his eyes gleaming in all colors of the rainbow. The chimera was dazed for a moment. It recovered quickly, but that temporary distraction had been the key to victory.

Zhang Lie leapt up and freed himself from the chimera's tail.