Time passed, and the grand competition entered its middle to late stages.
As the tournament progressed, one highly anticipated powerhouse after another took the stage, while the disciples of the Immortal Spirit Sacred Ground repeatedly shattered everyone's expectations, delivering shock after shock.
Especially when figures like Jiang Che, Han Yu, Ji Lingxiu, and Lu Xiaoluo made their appearances.
One crushing victory after another landed like resounding slaps, waking up those sects and cultivators who still harbored doubts about the Immortal Spirit Sacred Ground's strength or who had overestimated themselves.
Only then did people discover in horror that the overall strength of the Immortal Spirit Sacred Ground had, unbeknownst to all,拉开ed an insurmountable dimensional gap from the other sects of the lower realm!
This was not merely a gap in top-tier combat power, but a comprehensive transcendence spanning from the backbone forces to the new generation of disciples!
A certain theory began circulating quietly among the crowd, rapidly gaining acceptance from nearly every spectator:
"This Tianmeng Alliance Leader Grand Competition may appear to be open to the entire Xuan Ying Continent, but in reality... it will likely end up being an internal contest among a few core disciples of the Immortal Spirit Sacred Ground!"
"The others? The others should consider themselves fortunate just to step on stage and showcase their sect's strength! Contending for Alliance Leader? Don't even think about it!"
"Indeed, Alliance Leader Xiao, Elder Han, City Lord Ji... and that unfathomable Elder Jiang Che... whoever among them becomes Alliance Leader makes little difference, since they're all from the Immortal Spirit Sacred Ground anyway."
This understanding carried a hint of helplessness, but more than that, it was a reverence and recognition of absolute power.
Finally, the competition reached its sixteenth day.
On this day, the sunlight seemed especially intense, and the atmosphere at the venue reached a new peak.
For today would bring a highly anticipated focal battle—the Immortal Spirit Sacred Ground's Holy Maiden, Chen Xingcai, against the dark horse prodigy who had suddenly emerged during this competition with unmatched dominance, Hong Longxiang!
One was a Holy Maiden of unparalleled popularity, profound background, and unfathomable strength; the other was a fist-shattering, imposing, mysterious yet immensely powerful rogue cultivator prodigy (or so everyone believed). The collision between these two was undeniably full of highlights.
Yet no one knew of the intricate sibling relationship between these two—they were only seen as a destined duel between two supreme geniuses.
What surprised people even more was that the Immortal Spirit Sacred Ground had, for this battle that should have belonged to the B-rank cultivator category, exceptionally activated the highest-specification A-rank arena!
When that colossal arena, covered in flickering runes and surrounded by barriers strong enough to withstand brief exchanges between Saint realm cultivators, slowly rose from the center of the square, it drew countless gasps of astonishment.
"A-rank arena! They actually used an A-rank arena!"
"It seems the Immortal Spirit Sacred Ground values the Holy Maiden to the extreme!"
"Of course, her opponent is Hong Longxiang after all. That fellow's fists are too terrifying—if he can't hold back..."
"This battle will be earth-shattering! What a treat for the eyes!"
Amidst the万众瞩目 and deafening cheers, Chen Xingcai in moon-white martial attire, her figure valiant and spirited, and Hong Longxiang, his form burly, his complexion swarthy, his gaze sharp as a beast's, simultaneously flew onto that vast A-rank arena.
The two gazed at each other across the distance.
Chen Xingcai's eyes held the excitement of eager anticipation and a trace of complexity not easily detected.
Hong Longxiang's eyes burned with pure, blazing fighting spirit, along with a determination to prove something.
...
Two figures crossed, collided, and separated at extreme speed on the enormous arena!
Chen Xingcai pushed her movement technique to its limits—the Graceful as a Startled Goose Art beneath her feet seemed to come alive. Her entire form became an elusive moon-white trace, sometimes like a startled goose dancing gracefully, ethereal and elegant, avoiding Hong Longxiang's mountain-splitting, earth-shattering fist force; sometimes like a wandering dragon threading through, cutting into the weaknesses of his offense at the slightest margin, her slender jade fingers or palms striking, patting, cutting, or guiding, each attack imbued with refined yet boundless spiritual power, every strike aimed at vital points!
Hong Longxiang, meanwhile, was like a humanoid tyrannosaurus, steady and immovable as a mountain. His fist technique had no flourishes—only the purest power and speed!
Every punch he threw carried the roaring of dragons and elephants, his qi and blood power surging like a tide, causing the barrier light screens around the arena to ripple violently.
He used force to overcome skill, simplicity to defeat complexity—often a single punch forced Chen Xingcai to shift her movement technique multiple times just to neutralize it.
"BOOM!"
"BANG!"
The explosive sounds of qi clashing were incessant.
After one straightforward, unadorned exchange, the two figures suddenly separated, each sliding back over a dozen zhang before stabilizing their stance.
Chen Xingcai's breathing was slightly rapid, and a strand of hair at her temple had been severed by the fist wind, quietly drifting down. Her arms were somewhat numb, her qi and blood somewhat turbulent.
On Hong Longxiang's chest, however, a clear palm print now marked his moon-white martial attire, the palm force penetrating his body and causing him some dull pain as well.
It was... a draw!
After a brief silence, the crowd erupted into even more enthusiastic cries of surprise and commotion than before!
"He held his ground! Hong Longxiang actually held his ground against the Holy Maiden!"
"And it seems... they're evenly matched?!"
"Heavens! Finally someone who can contend head-on with a core disciple of the Immortal Spirit Sacred Ground!"
"Hong Longxiang! Truly a heaven-gifted prodigy! Now this is getting interesting!"
Everyone marveled at Hong Longxiang's power, seemingly seeing hope of breaking the Immortal Spirit Sacred Ground's "undefeatable golden body."
Yet on the arena, Hong Longxiang showed not the slightest joy from this temporary draw. He stared fixedly at Chen Xingcai, his brows tightly knit, his eyes filled with puzzlement and a trace of anger at being slighted, his voice low and suppressed as he roared:
"Why?! Why won't you use your true power?!"
"Where is your 'Supreme Blood'?! Bring it out and fight me!"
His questioning, like a boulder thrown into a lake, sent tremors through the hearts of the very few high-ranking cultivators who knew something of the truth.
Chen Xingcai's eyes dimmed slightly upon hearing this, then were quickly covered by even more blazing fighting spirit.
She shook her somewhat numb arm, her tone carrying unquestionable determination:
"Less nonsense!"
"Defeat me as I am now, then we'll talk!"
Below, in the optimal viewing seats, Chen Chang'an watched his daughter's stubborn figure and sighed softly in his heart.
No one knew that this was actually a knot Chen Xingcai had buried deep in her heart for years.
As her cultivation grew increasingly profound, she had long since transformed beyond recognition. The "Supreme Blood" that had been extracted back then had actually regenerated within her body on its own, and due to her unique constitution and Chen Chang'an's discreet nurturing, its quality even surpassed the past.
This was one of the most heaven-defying constitutions in existence—if she could fully fuse with and control it, her strength would instantly surge to an unimaginable level.
Yet Chen Xingcai stubbornly and with immense perseverance sealed this vast, matchless power in a corner of her body, never actively using a fraction of it!
This heaven-defying constitution had not become her aid, but rather a enormous burden—to seal the constantly regenerating Supreme Blood power, the true essence she could normally utilize was at most half her total!
She seemed to be using this method to punish herself, or to silently sever ties with that unbearable past.
At this moment, facing Hong Longxiang's questioning, she still chose to face this formidable younger brother with only "half" her strength.
...
"Good! Since you insist on this, don't blame me for not holding back!" Hong Longxiang's eyes flashed with a trace of anger and resolve. He respected his opponent, and even more craved a truly uninhibited duel to prove himself! Chen Xingcai's self-imposed limitations were, in his view, nearly an insult.
Before his words fell, the qi and blood around Hong Longxiang suddenly surged again!
An ancient, vast, and domineering aura, far more powerful than before, erupted like a slumbering volcano!
"ROAR—!!!"
A dragon-elephant roar that seemed to come from the depths of the primordial wilderness pierced through the barrier, making countless people's eardrums ache!
Countless dark golden, complex and mysterious patterns emerged on his skin's surface like natural armor. Within his eyes, his pupils seemed to transform into molten gold vertical pupils, filled with endless power and majesty!
Tongtian Sacred Body!
This was the supreme battle body he had awakened through life-and-death tempering, purely relying on himself after abandoning external karmic ties! It was also his greatest reliance for daring to declare "The path to Tongtian is already an invincible road—what need is there to borrow another's blood?"
The moment the Sacred Body activated, Hong Longxiang's aura instantly broke through a certain critical point, as if a humanoid primordial beast had completely awakened, his pure physical power even causing slight distortions in the surrounding space!
"What terrifying aura!"
"What... what constitution is this?!"
"It feels even more fearsome than the sect-guarding techniques of many body-tempering sacred grounds!"
"This... this is the legendary Tongtian Sacred Body!"
Gasps rang out from below the stage, everyone shocked by Hong Longxiang's sudden eruption.
Chen Xingcai's face instantly became incomparably grave. She could clearly sense that her opponent's power, speed, defense, and even qi mechanism had all undergone a qualitative leap at this moment!
"BOOM!"
Hong Longxiang moved!
His speed was more than double what it had been before!
Only the echo of a sonic boom remained in his original position, and his entire form appeared before Chen Xingcai as if teleporting, throwing a simple, direct punch!
No technique, no flourishes—only absolute power and speed!
Where the fist wind passed, the air was extremely compressed, emitting a shrill scream!
Chen Xingcai's pupils contracted slightly as she instantly pushed her Graceful as a Startled Goose Art to its limit, her figure moving like a startled goose's shadow, retreating at the narrowest of margins, narrowly avoiding this pulverizing punch.
However, Hong Longxiang's attacks came like a storm, without pause!
One punch missed, and the second, third punches followed in quick succession!
His fist force enveloped all directions, as if transforming the entire arena into his domain of power!
Chen Xingcai pushed her movement technique to its peak, like a small boat shuttling through stormy seas, narrowly avoiding fatal attacks time and again.
Her moon-white figure left countless afterimages in the arena, dazzling to behold, breathtaking to witness.
But anyone with discerning eyes could see she had fallen completely into a passive position!
Hong Longxiang's offense was too fierce, too rapid, too wide-ranging, forcing her to constantly evade, leaving her almost no opening to counterattack!
Occasionally, several sharp finger winds or palm strikes landed on Hong Longxiang, striking his dark golden Sacred Body, but only produced "ding ding dang dang" sounds like metal clashing, unable to break his defense!
"This won't work! The Holy Maiden is completely suppressed!"
"Hong Longxiang's Sacred Body is too abnormal! Power, speed, defense—almost no weaknesses!"
"Why hasn't the Holy Maiden used her trump card yet?"
Just as everyone was discussing, Hong Longxiang's eyes flashed with light, seemingly catching an extremely subtle pattern in Chen Xingcai's movement transitions. One punch sealed her retreat while another, like a lurking dragon emerging from its abyss, struck at an extremely tricky angle directly at a point she must defend!
No way to avoid it!
Chen Xingcai's gaze sharpened, her retreat halting abruptly!
She formed her fingers like a sword, and the half of her true essence she could use poured out without reservation!
"HMMM—!"
An incomparably condensed sword gang, seeming capable of severing causality and isolating heaven and earth, suddenly stretched before her!
Heaven-Blocking Sword!
One of the Immortal Spirit Sacred Ground's strongest defensive sword techniques—not for attacking enemies, but specialized in defense. When cultivated to perfection, it was said to be able to block the collapse of heaven!
"BOOM—!!!"
Hong Longxiang's punch, containing the full power of his Tongtian Sacred Body, slammed heavily onto the brilliant sword gang!
Terrifying energy shockwaves instantly exploded, crashing like solid substance against the A-rank arena's barrier, producing a teeth-grinding groan as the light screen flickered madly, as if it might shatter at any moment!
The sword gang trembled violently, its light unsteady, yet it stubbornly withstood this earth-shattering punch!
However, a "just as expected" expression appeared on Hong Longxiang's face.
He took a deep breath, his chest heaving like a bellows, the dark golden patterns all over his body erupting with piercing light, the fighting intent in his molten gold vertical pupils burning to the extreme!
"BREAK FOR ME—!!!"
He let out a heaven-shaking dragon-elephant roar, his other fist arriving later but faster, like a comet striking the moon, with power and speed surpassing everything before, fiercely striking the same node of the sword gang!
"CRACK—!"
A crisp, heart-wrenching sound of shattering rang out!
That seemingly indestructible Heaven-Blocking Sword gang, like shattered glazed glass, violently collapsed, dissolving into countless points of light!
The fist force continued unabated, like an unbridled primordial beast, heavily imprinting on Chen Xingcai's hastily crossed arms!
"THUD!"
A dull impact sounded.
Chen Xingcai groaned, her face instantly turning pale white.
Her entire body was sent flying uncontrollably as if struck by a primordial giant hammer, flying back dozens of zhang before stumbling to land, then retreating another dozen steps with "deng deng deng" sounds, each step leaving a deep imprint in the hard arena ground before she barely managed to stabilize her stance.
The martial attire at her right shoulder had already shattered, revealing an inner armor with dimming spiritual light beneath. Her shoulder was swollen and red—clearly she had suffered no light injury. Her qi and blood surged, and a sweet taste rose in her throat as a trace of blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.
Hong Longxiang did not press his advantage.
He stood in place, the surging qi and blood around him slowly calming, his molten gold vertical pupils returning to normal, though the dark golden patterns still flickered faintly.
He looked at the injured Chen Xingcai, his brows tightly knit, his voice grave, carrying a final trace of expectation and puzzlement:
"Now... will you still not use the Supreme Blood?"
...
[
Want more chapters? Now you can get 30 advanced chapters instantly for the same price as the old 20-chapter tier.
Joining Patreon also gets you:
- Ongoing monthly chapter releases
- Bonus content and extra drops
patreon.com/Alex_Cruise
I won't sugarcoat it—I'm struggling financially right now, and your support directly determines whether I can keep writing consistently. If this story has hooked you even once, consider backing it. Every bit helps.
Thanks for reading.
]