“This is clearly First City's mistake, Sect Leader Chu, so how about this? We will compensate the Black Heaven Sect with half a billion top-tier soulstones for all the trouble. What do you think?” The First Prefect proposed.

Everyone was a little shocked when they heard that.

'If he can start with half a billion top-tier soulstones as compensation, I bet the First City must truly be extremely rich.'

“Sure.” Chu Kuangren nodded. “Other than that, I hope you guys can quickly get the public apology done as well.”

The First Prefect went silent for a while. “Sect Leader Chu, half a billion top-tier soulstones are a gracious amount even for a sage orthodoxy. I hope you'll be content with what you get.”

“What do you mean?” Chu Kuangren's gaze turned cold.

“Sect Leader Chu, I hope you'll stop mentioning the public apology once and for all. The half a billion top-tier soulstones are the most the First City can offer.”

The First Prefect replied.

“I understand.”

Chu Kuangren chuckled.

His words took everyone aback.

Was Chu Kuangren going to stop just like that?'

Then again, half a billion soulstones were already considered a large amount. This was such a great benefit, so there was no reason for him not to pull back his attack.

Even so, the crowd of Sages did not loosen up. Instead, they all felt aggrieved.

Not only could they not defeat Chu Kuangren with six of them, but one of them even got killed in the process. On the contrary, Chu Kuangren was left unscathed, and he gained half a billion soulstones as well.

After that battle, the image and reputation of these Sages were in the mud.

“I'm very pleased to know that Sect Leader Chu could see the bigger picture.”

The First Prefect nodded lightly.

However, a dumbfounded look then appeared on his face.

Opposite him, Chu Kuangren's guqin, the Lingering Song floated in the air. As he placed his fingers on the guqin strings, he casually said, “After you, City Lord.”

Everyone gasped.

Chu Kuangren did not intend to pull back his attack at all!

He was going to fight against the First City until his death!

A public apology must be made, or the First City would risk being torn apart. Other than those two outcomes, he would not compromise at all!

The First Prefect's expression turned extremely grim upon seeing Chu Kuangren's unrelenting behavior. “Sect Leader Chu, half a billion soulstones is a hefty amount, so why are you still at our tail over this matter?”

“Does the Black Heaven Sect look like we're short of soulstones to you?”

Chu Kuangren uttered.

'Is this a joke?'

'You think I'll let this slide just because of that meager half a billion soulstones?'

Just by betting twice alone had won him a total of five billion and seven hundred soulstones from fifteen sage orthodoxies. Did he still need half a billion soulstones?

“If that's the case, then I guess we're destined to fight today, Sect Leader Chu,” the First Prefect replied coldly.

“Just apologize if you don't want to fight.”

“Hmph, I'll be frank with you, Sect Leader Chu. The First City won't be responsible for anything that happens to you in our battle today.”

Even the First Prefect was enraged at Chu Kuangren.

“Hmph, feel free to try me, City Lord!” Chu Kuangren replied.

Now that his Immortal Body had reached its third state, his opponent could not kill him even if he stood still.

“You insolent young man, I shall show you that no matter how powerful you are, there's always someone stronger than you out there!” The First Prefect uttered coldly as an extremely powerful surge of Sage Daoist Rhyme suddenly erupted from his body.

That surge of Daoist Rhyme was much stronger compared to the other Sages.

Even Chu Kuangren was forced back a few steps because of it.

The other Sages' expression changed at this sight.

“This aura of his… A Great Sage!”

“The First City Lord is already a Great Sage!”

“Only a few of the known sage orthodoxies have a Great Sage among them, and the First City Lord has hidden that fact well.”

Everyone was shocked except for the fearless Chu Kuangren.

He had already known about the First Prefect's cultivation level when he first showed up. Since Chu Kuangren dared to challenge his opponent, it meant that he already had something up his sleeve that would ensure his victory.

He placed the guqin before him and asked, “The first four movements of the Eight Celestial Demonic Chords were already enough to immobilize six Sages. City Lord, would you like to hear the last four of them?”

“Be my guest!”

The First Prefect stood with his hands behind his back.

Since things were already at this point, there was no way he would back down now!

Clang!

Guqin music reverberated in the air.

The Boundless Overworld intent was immediately unleashed towards the First Prefect, and countless guqin-formed razor-sharp blades followed!

Boom!

A horrifying sound wave surged toward the First Prefect.

Boundless Overworld, Endless Torrential Gale, Profound Carillon Resonance!

The first three movements of the Eight Celestial Demonic Chords rang out at once.

The First Prefect simply took a step forward and Daoist Rhyme that was on the level of a Great Sage surrounded him, forming an invisible forcefield around him!

The boundless intent did not affect him. In fact, the guqin music blades only created some ripples as it struck the forcefield.

When the musical sound waves from the third movement, Profound Carillon Resonance came, the First Prefect simply raised his hand and a horrifying surge of spiritual power erupted from the palm of his hand.

With a bang, the void was ruptured, and shockwaves swept out dozens of meters away.

However, the First Prefect was standing on the same spot, unmoved!

The other Sages could not help but feel amazed by what they saw.

“We got to hand it to the Great Sage. His power is undoubtedly immense.”

“I agree. We're helpless in the face of Chu Kuangren's guqin music, but the same cannot be said for a Great Sage. Although the difference between a Sage and Great Sage is in that one word, the strength difference between the two is sky high.”

“Hmph, even if Chu Kuangren is powerful, what can he possibly do in the face of a Great Sage?”

Graygrill Sage snorted coldly.

However, not far away, Chu Kuangren continued to pluck the strings of the guqin, not bothered that his previous attacks were ineffective against the First Prefect.

Countless types of Daoist Rhyme surrounded his body as an extremely mysterious surge of Transcendental Energy was imbued into the guqin music's Daoist Rhyme.

It was the Transcendent Coalescence Daoist Physique!

Chu Kuangren's guqin music became even more powerful with the Daoist Physique's help.

Suddenly, the sound of an army marching resounded between the heavens and the earth. It was as if the surrounding area had turned into an ancient battlefield. That was the fourth movement of the Eight Celestial Demonic Chords, the a.s.saulting Convergence!

The guqin music from that attack had a distracting effect, so the First Prefect focused and steadied his mind before he rushed towards Chu Kuangren.

With a raise of his hand, he unleashed a mighty palm strength.

However, Chu Kuangren immediately upped the tune of his music drastically. Then, an unmatched surge of guqin music Daoist Rhyme which could sweep through and engulf everything within hundreds of meters instantly erupted!

“Fifth movement of the Eight Celestial Demonic Chords, Unending Voracious Vigor!”

The overbearing guqin music exploded, and the whole area trembled.

The First Prefect's palm strength was shattered in an instant!

One after another, the waves of guqin music forced him back. Its power was so menacing that his expression turned grim.

“What terrifying guqin music.”

The First Prefect steadied himself as the spiritual energy surged wildly within him, forming an extremely dense and st.u.r.dy spiritual energy blockade around him!

As the blockade resisted the guqin music attack, the First Prefect raised his hand in the air. He then started to gather the heavenly and earthly spiritual qi in the palm of his hand to form a gigantic spiritual qi vortex that was a hundred feet in diameter.

“Congregating Spiritual Blast!”

The First Prefect shot out a spiritual qi vortex.

That vortex carried a power so strong that it could destroy everything around it. Before the palm qi had reached him, Chu Kuangren could already feel its tremendous pressure.

“Sixth movement of the Eight Celestial Demonic Chords, Devastating Cyclone Barrage!” Chu Kuangren uttered as the sound of his guqin music reverberated through the air. A sound that resembled a raging cyclone resounded in the void, which rumbled violently under the might of the guqin music.

When the guqin music and the palm qi clashed, their collision immediately sent countless shockwaves out in all directions, dispersing all the clouds within the hundreds of meters radius. Even the onlooking Sages could not help but fall back as well.

Spat…

At this moment, Chu Kuangren could not help but cough up a mouthful of blood.