Before Ye Xuan could speak, Zhao Wuji continued, "I’ve heard a bit about your exploits. I know you want to enter the top three and gain access to the three-star Secret Realm. But I’m sorry to say your luck is bad since you drew me in the lots. I admire you, but I must make it into the top ten. Therefore, I won’t hold back. I will use my true strength. You should go all out as well, even though you still won’t be able to defeat me."
His words were plain, yet they carried a hint of dominance.
Ye Xuan suddenly smiled. These were the exact words he usually said to others. Shaking his head, he replied, "Then I will grant your wish and let you witness my true strength."
As Ye Xuan spoke, the Divine-Demonic Overlord Body materialized once more. Compared to the massive phantom, Zhao Wuji’s figure seemed incredibly insignificant. Yet, his gaze remained steadfast and fearless, burning with the absolute conviction of victory.
"Ye Xuan, let me show you my full strength as well. HAAH!"
Zhao Wuji suddenly let out a cold shout. His clothes shattered inch by inch, revealing his explosive muscles to everyone present.
GASPS!
Everyone at the scene drew in a sharp breath of cold air. However, it wasn’t because of Zhao Wuji’s muscles, but the scars covering him. There wasn’t a single patch of intact skin on his chest or back. Some were blade wounds, others were sword cuts, and some were burn marks. His entire body was riddled with scars, making his skin look less like flesh and more like rough, weathered mountain rock. After his clothes shredded away, all of his Spiritual Qi completely retracted, flowing only across the surface of his body.
"This is... the Spiritual Qi Body Refining Technique," Gongsun Wenjin said, his pupils shrinking.
The Spiritual Qi Body Refining Technique was a type of Body Technique. It actually shared a similar principle with the Divine-Demonic Overlord Body. In this technique, Spiritual Qi only served as a supplement; the true source of power was the physical body. However, cultivating the Spiritual Qi Body Refining Technique was exceptionally harsh. Refining the body with Spiritual Qi was an agonizingly slow process. While others might cultivate for ten years, one would need a hundred years to achieve the same progress with this method.
To increase the cultivation speed, there was only one way: to temper the flesh in a hellish, extreme manner. Very few people ever attempted such a twisted cultivation method because the pain was simply unbearable. For Zhao Wuji to achieve his current level of success, he must have endured excruciatingly painful training. Anyone without immense perseverance would have given up entirely.
"Ye Xuan, come!" Zhao Wuji let out a low roar and charged at Ye Xuan to strike him down, looking like an overlord among men.
Ye Xuan’s eyes were cold. The sword in his hand swept out, bringing with it a sky full of sword shadows that slashed toward Zhao Wuji. Since his opponent was so confident, he would no longer show any mercy. Going all out was the greatest respect he could offer him.
CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG!
In the next moment, sparks flew everywhere. Zhao Wuji’s body was like a wall of iron and bronze; the mid-grade Ghost-tier weapon in Ye Xuan’s hand actually couldn’t leave a scratch on him. Ye Xuan had only seen such a monstrous physique on Blood Princess before. Of course, his own body was equally freakish, but because every enemy he encountered was always a major realm higher than him, he had never been able to fully display his monstrous physical strength.
In the span of a few breaths, Ye Xuan and Zhao Wuji exchanged over a hundred blows. With his mastery of Horizontal Refinement, Zhao Wuji remained completely unharmed.
At this moment, the entire martial arts arena fell dead silent. The only sound present was the heavy swallowing of saliva. Everyone, especially the younger generation, stared in dumbfounded awe.
What the hell, was this guy even human? He was blocking the might of a mid-grade Ghost-tier weapon with nothing but his bare flesh! Yet, why did such a brutal display of combat make their blood boil with excitement? This was exactly what a true man should be like! His physique was simply too tyrannical.
"Zhao Wuji, you can do it!" a woman from the Direct Lineage shouted, cheering him on. His strength had already earned her absolute approval. Her eyes practically sparkled with stars, looking at him with pure adoration. Although Zhao Wuji’s appearance was very ordinary, Cultivators only ever cared about strength.
"Zhao Wuji, defeat Ye Xuan! Show him that even the Side Branches of our Gongsun family are stronger than a country bumpkin like him!"
"That’s right! Zhao Wuji, defeat Ye Xuan!"
"Zhao Wuji! Zhao Wuji!"
At this moment, many people were cheering wildly for Zhao Wuji. The only reason some hadn’t joined in wasn’t because they favored Ye Xuan, but because their cultivation bases were too weak. The oppressive aura radiating from Ye Xuan made them so uncomfortable that they couldn’t even squeeze out a shout.
"They’re... cheering for me..." Zhao Wuji thought, completely stunned.
He had never imagined that there would come a day when the descendants of the Direct Lineage would support him so passionately. Fueled by this, his strength actually increased by another notch.
His fists collided with the longsword, sending sparks flying like a blacksmith striking an anvil. It was as if fireworks were blooming in broad daylight within the arena. The sword in Ye Xuan’s hand grew thinner and thinner, its chips and cracks widening with every strike. Meanwhile, Zhao Wuji only gained a few more superficial cuts. He looked like he was dripping with blood, but none of the attacks had touched his vitals.
"This won’t do. If this continues, the sword will break," Ye Xuan thought. He knew he couldn’t let the stalemate drag on. As a Body Cultivator, Zhao Wuji possessed astonishing stamina that was absolutely not much weaker than his own.
Without hesitation, the Golden Snake wrapped around the Divine-Demonic Overlord Body, and at the same time, the giant figure ignited with golden flames. Ye Xuan unleashed his ultimate strength—the Fire Divine-Demonic Overlord Body, fully augmented by the Dragon Soul Power.
"Zhao Wuji, you said you must enter the top ten. Well, I’m sorry to say this, but so must I," Ye Xuan declared. "Divine-Demonic Slaying!"
The Divine Demon Statue suddenly raised both of its hands. The golden Great Sword and the Black Reaper’s Scythe viciously slashed downward. Divine-Demonic Slaying was the most powerful attack of the Divine-Demonic Overlord Body.
A gold-and-black Spiritual Energy Bullet violently took shape. The terrifying power radiating from it instantly affected everyone fighting in the adjacent rings. This gold-and-black Spiritual Energy Bullet emitted a bone-piercing chill.
Opposite him, Zhao Wuji furrowed his brows. The Divine-Demonic Slaying was simply too fast; he didn’t even have time to dodge and could only raise his fists to meet the attack head-on. His tiny fists clashed against the gold-and-black Spiritual Energy Bullet. In an instant, he was entirely enveloped by the golden aura.
A deafening explosion followed as the gold-and-black energy instantly detonated. The terrifyingly powerful surge of energy forced everyone to shut their eyes tightly. Shockwaves swept in all directions like rampaging wind dragons.
It took the combined efforts of the Elders stepping in to prevent the people in the other combat rings and the spectating clan members from being swept away by the shockwaves. Otherwise, this explosive tempest would have been more than enough to kill every Cultivator below the Demon Spirit Realm.
"My god, what kind of Martial Technique is this?! It can actually shoot out a Spiritual Energy Bullet! Is Zhao Wuji even alive?"
"I doubt it. Just the aftershocks alone made me feel like I was going to be ground into dust! Thank goodness the Elders stepped in, or we’d be doomed."
"To think Ye Xuan still had such a deadly trump card hidden up his sleeve..."
The surrounding young spectators watched with their eyes practically popping out of their sockets. They knew Ye Xuan was strong, but they never expected him to be this monstrously powerful. Wasn’t his Divine-Demonic Overlord Body a Body Technique? Although Body Techniques could be used for offense, they weren’t supposed to be this exaggerated, let alone capable of firing Spiritual Energy Bullets! Furthermore, the sheer destructive power of that Spiritual Energy Bullet was utterly ferocious.
At this moment, all eyes were glued to ring number ten.
The brilliant light generated by the explosion of the Spiritual Energy Bullet was finally beginning to dissipate. Everyone held their breath, their gazes fixed unblinkingly on the arena. They all wanted to know whether Zhao Wuji was still alive.
Was he able to withstand such a catastrophic strike?