Chapter 1026: The Nearly Unstoppable Ma Chao

At this moment, the position of Qiang King was just a step away for Ma Chao. Likewise, for the entire Qiang people, the hope of unification rested upon his shoulders.

"Come at me, all of you!" Ma Chao roared, his body erupting with an aura no weaker than that of the Qiang Tribe's Head Elder. "I won’t hold back against you. You’re different from the others. Submit or die! The King has the right to strip you of everything. Now, fight!"

Ma Chao’s voice echoed for miles. The elders who had been about to reprimand him for killing the Third Elder remained silent as they looked at Ma Chao, who was emanating an overwhelming, murderous aura. The Qiang King battle did not distinguish between life and death! Walking the path of kingship inevitably meant trampling over countless corpses.

Just like the path Chen Xi walked was without error, but even he was well aware that it was paved with countless bodies. The road to a king’s throne was a road of bones, and it was an unchangeable truth.

The Second Elder and Fourth Elder exchanged a glance and shouted, "Everyone, retreat a thousand paces! Anyone who stays—life or death matters not!"

Ma Chao’s imposing manner declared to all a simple truth: his strength had already surpassed the limits of ordinary men. No human could match him now. Naturally, the Qiang chieftains, upon hearing the command from the elders, quickly retreated, creating a wide space to witness a real battle.

As more than ten thousand people withdrew, the previously scattered formations dissipated. The cloud energy that had been suppressing Ma Chao quickly dispersed. With no more restrictions, Ma Chao no longer needed to hide his power. He began releasing his inner energy wildly. With the clouds gone, fully unleashing his strength to defeat his opponents as swiftly as possible became his best option.

Soon, only seven people remained in the arena: the Qiang Tribe’s Head Elder, the Second and Fourth Elders, Yan Xing, Dian Wei, and Xun You. In truth, Xun You had planned to retreat, but Dian Wei stopped him. Dian Wei was now very interested in Ma Chao. In such a short time, Ma Chao had improved far beyond his expectations.

The Ma Chao who had returned swollen and bloated was long gone. Now, Ma Chao had complete control over every ounce of strength in his body. This was true mastery. True perfection wasn’t just mastery of one’s body but also mastery of mind, spirit, and essence.

Only through perfect control could one release astonishing power when needed. Using the same amount of strength could yield results far beyond its initial potential—like the principle of leverage, maximizing effect with minimal effort.

Ma Chao had now reached this state. Not only had he mastered his inner energy, but he had also fully harnessed the power of the lightning within him. He was even working on completely merging that lightning with his inner energy.

"Yan Xing, I thought you’d try to ambush me. Since you’re standing here openly, I’ll spare you this time!" Ma Chao said, glancing at Yan Xing. He hadn’t expected Yan Xing to stand out like this—it didn’t match his usual sneaky behavior.

"Though I have Qiang blood, I’m still a warrior. On the battlefield, I won’t hesitate to use any means to kill you. But here, I won’t act that way," Yan Xing replied coldly.

During their last battlefield encounter, Yan Xing had shown no hesitation. In a life-and-death situation, he would never hold back. Killing his opponent to survive was the most important thing.

But he was still a warrior, a top-tier one at that. He had his own principles, though they only applied to those he considered "his own." In this case, both he and Ma Chao fell into that category.

Although Yan Xing found this arrangement a bit awkward, as a disciplined soldier, he kept his feelings to himself and did what needed to be done. Of course, if one day Han Sui and Ma Teng fell out, Yan Xing wouldn’t hesitate to take action against Ma Chao again.

Yan Xing was like a blade, never resisting the hand that wielded him. He followed orders without hesitation.

"..." Ma Chao was momentarily stunned by Yan Xing’s response. But in that brief moment, a gleam of light shot toward him. Ma Chao dodged, but his chest plate still ended up with a deep scratch.

"Hmph!" Ma Chao was furious. He stopped talking to Yan Xing and immediately charged at the Second Elder, who had attacked him. His spear crackled with violent energy as he transformed into a golden blur.

"Clang!" A loud clash followed as Ma Chao’s spear thrust toward the Second Elder’s chest, only to be blocked by the Fourth Elder’s halberd. Ma Chao flicked his wrist, causing a storm of spear shadows that engulfed the two elders.

The violent clashing sounds and the wind from their strikes were so intense that it seemed the air itself was being torn apart. Then, in a brief moment of silence, Ma Chao unleashed an overwhelming surge of energy, sending both elders flying.

The two elders flew back, touching the ground lightly and retreating almost a hundred paces. They stood beside the Head Elder, their expressions solemn as they watched Ma Chao. The pressure they felt now was something they had only experienced before from the Head Elder.

In their words, it was the power of a near-god, and now it appeared in this young man. Even if he had been training since birth, this level of mastery seemed impossible!

"The warm-up is over. Head Elder, if you don’t step forward now, this fight is mine," Ma Chao declared, exhaling heavily as his eyes gleamed with a sharp, radiant light.

Ma Chao was getting excited. As for the Qiang King title, he had already set that aside. He realized that, although he felt pressure fighting two internal energy masters, he could handle it. In fact, every part of his body was starting to feel more alive!

"I’m stepping back from this fight. I just wanted to make it clear that I’m not your enemy right now," Yan Xing said calmly, raising his hand before leaping back.

"Let’s step back too," Dian Wei muttered as he stroked his rough beard. Like picking up a small chick, he grabbed Xun You and leaped back as well. Despite his massive bear-like frame, Dian Wei’s movements were surprisingly agile. Even the usually expressionless Head Elder of the Qiang couldn’t help but acknowledge him as a formidable opponent.

Of course, this was only because the Head Elder hadn’t yet fought Dian Wei. Had they exchanged blows, he would have realized that "formidable" wasn’t enough to describe Dian Wei. As someone capable of hurling multi-ton boulders at supersonic speeds, anyone who underestimated Dian Wei in close combat was risking their life.

Ma Chao’s eyes flickered with surprise. Yan Xing’s withdrawal eased the pressure on him considerably. Though he had been prepared for a four-on-one battle, facing four internal energy masters, one of whom was at the pinnacle of mastery, was a daunting challenge. Even with their internal energy depleted, Ma Chao wasn’t entirely confident of victory.

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