CHAPTER 1580: CHAPTER 1580: FORMIDABLE RIVAL

"You are Lin Chen?" Yun Xinrui stared intently at Lin Chen and spoke with surprise before Lin Chen could respond to his previous question.

He was extremely confident in his own strength. Under his punch, even a typical Creation Realm Expert might not be able to withstand it.

However, the young man in front of him was merely at the Eighth Layer of the Nirvana Realm, yet he could take his punch. Clearly, his strength could not be merely described as ’terrifying’.

In his understanding, only someone with such heaven-defying strength could be the recently famed Lin Chen from Yunlong Heavenly Palace.

Yun Xinrui, being the top figure of the Yunlong Heavenly Palace’s Outer Sect, initially dismissed Lin Chen’s reputation, thinking that he was just somewhat known outside the Heavenly Palace and didn’t take him seriously. After all, in Yunlong Heavenly Palace...

However, today, after witnessing the power Lin Chen displayed, Yun Xinrui had no choice but to change his attitude toward Lin Chen.

Lin Chen’s performance was too amazing, leaving him deeply shocked. Lin Chen’s prowess completely exceeded his realm of understanding, forcing him to take Lin Chen seriously.

Yun Xinrui thought to himself, if he were at Lin Chen’s level of cultivation, enduring his punch would have left him completely pulverized.

But Lin Chen not only resisted it but appeared unscathed.

Evidently, Lin Chen’s cultivation talent far exceeded his own, and he must have quite a few trump cards.

"I am indeed Lin Chen. I didn’t expect Senior Brother Yun had heard of me, which truly makes me feel flattered." Lin Chen looked at Yun Xinrui, wiped the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth with his fingertips, and spoke with a calm demeanor.

"You may leave; I don’t want to kill you." Yun Xinrui looked at Lin Chen and spoke in a flat tone.

Hearing Yun Xinrui’s words, it was Lin Chen who was surprisingly astonished. He had never heard before that Yun Xinrui was a kind-hearted person.

Considering the current situation, the other party actually showed mercy to him. But it’s important to know Lin Chen had no backing.

However, the situation of Zhang Lin, Zhang Caiyun, Zhang Hongying, and others was completely different, as the Zhang family was one of the Eight Great Noble Families of Yunlong City. The opponent didn’t hesitate to kill even someone like Zhang Lin, yet now showed mercy to him, which made Lin Chen suspicious.

"Why don’t you kill me?" Lin Chen looked at Yun Xinrui and calmly asked.

"With your talents, you will undoubtedly become a formidable force for our Cloud Dragon Kingdom in the future. If I were to kill you, it would mean the loss of a strong player for my Cloud Dragon Kingdom, which would be a huge loss for us." Yun Xinrui looked at Lin Chen and spoke unhurriedly.

Though he was ruthless, as a member of the Royal Family, which of them wasn’t?

But Yun Xinrui had his own principles. He always acted in the interests of the Cloud Dragon Kingdom.

Therefore, from the standpoint of Cloud Dragon Kingdom’s interests, he wouldn’t act to kill Lin Chen.

Cloud Dragon Kingdom and the Dark Dynasty had been in a state of hostility for tens of thousands of years, and in the future, only one could survive.

For a celestial prodigy like Lin Chen, he would undoubtedly become a powerful force against the Dark Dynasty in the future. Yun Xinrui naturally wouldn’t obliterate such a prodigy.

Wiping out such prodigies would be tantamount to weakening the Cloud Dragon Kingdom, inadvertently assisting the Dark Dynasty.

The growth of any celestial prodigy could change the situation between Cloud Dragon Kingdom and Dark Dynasty.

And an unrivaled prodigy like Lin Chen was an enormous variable.

Perhaps the stalemate of tens of thousands of years between Cloud Dragon Kingdom and Dark Dynasty might be broken with the emergence of Lin Chen.

It was precisely for this reason that Yun Xinrui wouldn’t kill Lin Chen.

Most importantly, Yun Xinrui felt that with his current strength, he might not even be able to kill Lin Chen.

This young man was astute and strategic; if he didn’t have some trump cards, how could he appear before him and block his path?

Judging by how Lin Chen blocked Yun Xinrui’s punch just now, this young man’s combat strength was severely disproportionate to his level of cultivation.

This young man’s defensive power was incredibly astounding. If Yun Xinrui turned him into an enemy but couldn’t kill him, it would mean offending a potentially extremely powerful existence in the future, which was certainly not a good thing.

So, it would be better to sell Lin Chen a favor and let him leave.

"Hehe, in that case, I must thank Senior Brother Yun. So, why not sell me another favor and let go of the Zhang family people?" Lin Chen looked at Yun Xinrui, gaining a new perspective on this prince. Though he was ruthless, that was typical of the Royal Family, but unlike Yun Kaige, he didn’t seem to harbor any envy towards talented individuals.

"Hmph, don’t push your luck. I spared you, considering your exceptional talent. In the future, you will become a formidable force for my Cloud Dragon Kingdom, capable of resisting foreign enemies, so I don’t want my Cloud Dragon Kingdom to lose a strong player in the future that easily."

"But who do you think you are? Now you want me to spare them? Don’t provoke me, otherwise, even if you are a once-in-a-millennium unmatched prodigy, I won’t hesitate to kill you." Yun Xinrui looked at Lin Chen and said coldly.

Upon hearing this, Lin Chen immediately showed a troubled expression.

"In that case, there’s no choice. I still have some acquaintance with Zhang Hongying from the Zhang family, and there’s a treasure transaction between us. She is a financial backer of mine, and I wouldn’t want to lose such a good business partner, so I can’t let Senior Brother Yun pass." Lin Chen looked at Yun Xinrui and spoke calmly, then prepared for battle.

"I thought you were a prodigy with some abilities, a man, but turns out you’re just a guy living off of others."

"With just you, you think you can stop me? I’m afraid you can’t." Yun Xinrui looked at Lin Chen and spoke coldly, then moved to strike Lin Chen again.

Upon hearing Yun Xinrui’s words, Lin Chen’s face instantly darkened. What does it mean that he was living off others? He earned money by selling his own talisman inscriptions with his skills, so how was that living off others?

As Yun Xinrui and Lin Chen clashed, the onlookers around them observed.

None of them intended to intervene in the conflict between the two.

Seeing Yun Xinrui swing his fist again, Lin Chen knew he had a robust physique but the power disparity between him and Yun Xinrui was too substantial. Lin Chen didn’t intend to rely on his physical strength to resist.

Immediately, Lin Chen raised his hand, and a half-step Seventh Rank magic treasure appeared in Lin Chen’s hand, immediately followed by a sword strike.

Boom—

With a loud bang, Yun Xinrui’s fist collided with Lin Chen’s sharp sword, instantly unleashing explosive energy.

Crack—

Yet, in this exchange, the half-step Seventh-Rank Lower Grade Treasured Sword in Lin Chen’s hand was shattered by Yun Xinrui’s punch.

"Such powerful strength!" Lin Chen looked at the shattered sword in his hand and immediately lamented his carelessness.

Yun Xinrui was no ordinary person; his strength was stronger than any half-step Creation Realm or even Creation Realm experts Lin Chen had encountered before.