"I concede!"
"I concede!"
Time slowly passed in the examination hall of the thirty-third floor.
Most of the cultivators entering thereafter had just stepped into the Small Realm. Upon seeing the motionless figure of the red-robed Daoist Soldier, they paled and loudly conceded.
They didn't dare to delay, fearing they might end up like the earlier Thunder Cultivator, who was turned into a mist of blood with a single palm strike from the Daoist Soldier.
There was a mid-stage Divinity Transformation cultivator who intended to hold on for a moment. But just as he had summoned his defensive magical treasure, it cracked under the wind from a casual palm strike by the Daoist Soldier, scaring him into tumbling out of the Small Realm.
Standing at the end of the crowd, Chen Sheng watched this scene and couldn't help but frown, thinking to himself:
"If they select a thousand people this way, the worth of this quota is indeed too low."
Some cultivators clearly have strong power and dare to confront the Daoist Soldier but find the outcome decided in an instant.
Some, lacking strength but blessed with good luck, manage to hold on longer and achieve results better than many powerful cultivators.
This strange situation was not unique to the thirty-third floor. On the ninety-nine light screens in the viewing area, most displayed similar scenes. Occasionally, a cultivator dared to make an attempt but could not last beyond ten breaths before conceding in embarrassment.
The cultivators watching went from initially shocked to gradually losing interest, with only a few light screens still attracting attention.
The sixty-sixth floor was one such screen, as it was about to feature the Xihua Sword Cultivator, who had once fought Venerable Wuyue to a draw.
"Seventy-ninth, Venerable Xihua, enter!"
Up To and Including Death: Get These Plants Out of the HouseOpen
As the voice of the Black Armor Commander of the sixty-sixth floor fell, a cyan grey figure emerged from the group of cultivators.
Chen Xihua, dressed in a cyan grey Daoist robe, carried an ancient longsword on his back. The sword scabbard was engraved with intricate void runes; it was his lifebound sword, the "Taiyue Void-Slaying Sword."
His steps were steady, surrounded by faint void ripples. Though he did not intentionally release his aura, it made the surrounding cultivators subconsciously hold their breath.
"It's the Xihua Sword Cultivator!"
"It's said he fought Venerable Wuyue to a draw!"
"Finally, something worth watching. I want to see if he can last two incense sticks!"
Not only was there a buzz among the cultivators on the sixty-sixth floor but a crowd also quickly gathered before the light screen in the viewing area.
Even the Refining Void Great Powers in the Observatory Hall at the top of the tower directed their attention to the sixty-sixth floor, with a hint of anticipation in their expressions.
As soon as Chen Xihua stepped into the Small Realm, the red-robed Daoist Soldier abruptly opened his eyes. His golden rune-filled eyes locked onto Chen Xihua's figure as golden light surged around him, clearly regarding him as a formidable enemy.
Before the Daoist Soldier could act, Chen Xihua moved first, his figure flickering into several cyan grey shadows. The void dao principle was operated to the extreme, causing the shadows to flicker continuously in the Small Realm, sometimes solidifying, sometimes vaporizing, engaging in a high-speed skirmish with the Daoist Soldier.
The Daoist Soldier concentrated golden light in his palm and continuously struck out with palm winds like thunder, sealing all the escape routes.
Yet Chen Xihua's figure always managed to merge into the void at the last possible moment, causing the palm winds to strike empty air, stirring only the clouds and mist of the Small Realm.
Occasionally, he would counter with a sword stroke, slicing through the void with cyan grey sword qi aimed at the Daoist Soldier's vital points. Although blocked by the golden light, it slowed down the Daoist Soldier's offensive for a moment.
"Impressive!"
The cultivators on the sixty-sixth floor watched, dumbfounded, while exclamations of amazement erupted in the viewing area.
In the Observatory Hall at the top of the tower, Fire Cloud Ascendant put down the spirit fruit in his hand, a glint of light flashing in his eyes:
"Combining the Void Destruction Dao Principle with the Sword Dao in such harmony, he has already reached the Third Realm Perfection of the top-level dao principle. With such talent, whose disciple is he?"
The surrounding Refining Void Great Powers shook their heads, their gazes involuntarily turning to Mansion Master Bai at the main seat—if there was a background, they would need to make greetings with the mansion master.
However, Mansion Master Bai merely held his teacup peacefully, without responding.
"Could he possibly be a Loose Cultivator?"
A Great Power speculated in a low voice, only to be rebutted immediately:
"How could a Loose Cultivator train a top-level dao principle to such a realm? Perhaps he's a cultivator who ascended from the Lower Realm."
Upon this statement, the eyes of several early-stage Refining Void Great Powers began to flicker.
At this moment, Inspector Guan He suddenly snorted coldly, his voice carrying a faint pressure:
"Everyone, stop imagining things! Venerable Xihua is now a participant of the Dao Assembly, under the protection of our Antarctic Immortal Mansion. Anyone who harbors ulterior motives is an enemy of the Immortal Mansion!"
Saying this, he retrieved a gilded token from his storage ring, engraved with four ancient characters, "Jiuli Mansion," circled by the official insignia of the mansion.
Motioning to his attendant beside him, he said in a deep voice, "Send this token down as a gift to Venerable Xihua and enlist him in the mansion's key cultivation list."
With the token released, the expressions of the Refining Void Great Powers in the hall immediately turned respectful—this openly marked Chen Xihua as part of the mansion's protection, leaving no one daring to have improper thoughts.
Meanwhile, within the Small Realm, Chen Xihua and the Daoist Soldier's confrontation had lasted for three incense sticks.
He was acutely aware of the Daoist Soldier's strong defenses and the futility of prolonged battle, focusing his gaze as he finally prepared to unleash his finishing move.
"Void Inversion, Strike!"
The void within the Small Realm suddenly roiled violently, with cyan grey void power surging like tidal waves, sometimes contracting like needles, sometimes expanding like the sea.
Chen Xihua's longsword slashed out, integrating sword qi into the void tide, transforming it into a long river of the Void Destruction Sword Dao across the Small Realm.
As the river surged forth, countless small void rifts appeared, sweeping toward the Daoist Soldier—this was the finishing move he comprehended from the "Four Seas Void Atlas"!
Sensing the lethal threat, the Daoist Soldier's golden light burgeoned to the extreme, forming seals with both hands, attempting to resist.
Yet the void river embodied the power of destruction. Under its wash, the golden light barrier first developed fine cracks, then shattered like glass.
The river engulfed the Daoist Soldier unimpeded, eroding his body bit by bit. For the time it took to burn ten incense sticks, the golden runes flickered uncertainly in the void tide before finally dissipating utterly.
"Well done!"
Inspector Guan He's eyes lit up, unable to resist applauding and praising.
The other Refining Void Great Powers also collected their thoughts—able to defeat a Nine Refinement Daoist Soldier with a finishing move head-on.
This level of strength could definitely break into the state competition, with even a chance to join an Immortal Mansion, implying limitless future prospects, no longer daring to harbor any trace of disregard.
The projection of General Tu Lie appeared in the center of the Small Realm, his voice echoing throughout the ninety-nine-floor tower:
"On the sixty-sixth floor, Venerable Xihua defeated the Nine Refinement Daoist Soldier, completed in thirteen incense sticks and seventeen breaths! Record set, currently ranked first!"
"He really defeated it!"
Thunderous cheers erupted in the viewing area, and the news shook the participating cultivators across the floors.
On the thirty-third floor, Chen Sheng heard the news and a smile curved at his lips.
And in the forty-ninth floor, Venerable Wuyue watched Chen Xihua's figure on the light screen, muttering to himself:
"Fellow Daoist Xihua's progress is not minor."
When the two fought decades ago, neither he nor Chen Xihua could defeat a Daoist Soldier.
"But my progress is even greater!"
The news of Chen Xihua defeating the Daoist Soldier reverberated through the ninety-nine-story tower, only to be followed by new shock.
First on the seventeenth floor, Venerable Shang Yuan of Guanghan Daoist Academy took the stage. He exerted his top-level Primordial Cold Dao Principle to the extreme, performing a Daoist Skill that transformed into an ice-sealed galaxy, sweeping through the Small Realm. With absolute cold power, it froze and shattered the Daoist Soldier's golden light, taking four incense sticks' time to break through.
Next, on the twenty-ninth floor, Venerable Cheng Kong acted, with a treasured moon hanging in the void. Its clear radiance fell and froze the Daoist Soldier's movements, extinguishing it in the process.
Finally, on the forty-ninth floor, Venerable Bai Feng, having cultivated the Path of the Three Flavors Divine Wind, forcibly sliced the Vajra Body of the Daoist Soldier into pieces, taking only two incense sticks' time, temporarily ranking first.
All three were native geniuses of Jiuli Mansion, of extraordinary backgrounds, consecutively defeating the soldiers.
In contrast, foreign geniuses like Fairy Taiyin and Venerable Shang were repeatedly defeated.
The latter were only at High Grade Dao Principles, not to mention, and though the former had top-level Dao Principles, they had only barely comprehended the Second Realm, far from adequate.
The consecutive victories of the three local geniuses set off a blaze of excitement in the previously subdued atmosphere, while Chen Xihua's ranking unsurprisingly slipped to fourth.
Amidst the rising exclamations from various floors, the Black Armor Commander on the thirty-third floor finally called Chen Sheng's number:
"Number three hundred ninety-nine, Venerable of Life-Annihilating, enter the arena!"
A figure in white responded to the call. Chen Sheng stepped forward with folded hands, his pace seemed slow, yet with one step he entered the Small Realm's light curtain.
His aura remained as restrained as that of an ordinary cultivator, only occasionally revealing traces of Yin-Yang Dao Principle through the flashes of black and white spiritual light at his brow.
"Who is this? Never heard of him!"
"Late-stage Divinity Transformation Cultivation, he should last a few breaths at best."
The "Lazy" Way to Lose Weight by SummerOpen
The cultivators at the sidelines buzzed with discussions, mostly filled with curiosity and disdain—after all, many with Divinity Transformation Perfection had been defeated, what storm could a late-stage cultivator stir?
"Begin!"
The Black Armor Commander gave the order, and the red-robed Daoist Soldier in the Small Realm immediately opened his eyes. His golden rune eyes locked onto Chen Sheng, and his body erupted in golden light. His right palm, imbued with powerful golden force aiming to suppress the void, struck towards Chen Sheng's face.
This palm mirrored the one that previously sent Venerable Blooddrop flying, with no reduction in speed or strength.
Facing such a swift onslaught, Chen Sheng remained calm.
He opened his mouth, shooting out a cyan-white sword light. The sword, three feet and seven inches long, was inscribed with fine Yin Yang Fish patterns, precisely his lifebound sword "Cyan Nether."
"Slay!"
Chen Sheng softly commanded, raising his right hand with fingers together like a sword, pointing remotely at the Cyan Nether Sword.
The Cyan Nether Sword hummed resonantly, its sword light swelled suddenly, splitting into three seemingly unremarkable sword threads.
The sword threads, as thin as hair, interwove in black and white, showing no earth-shattering might, not even slicing through the air, they silently shot towards the Daoist Soldier.
"Is that all?"
A cultivator at the sidelines sneered, but in the next instant, his laughter abruptly ceased.
The three sword threads landed accurately on the palm of the Daoist Soldier, where they struck. Without earth-shattering collision, the golden halo in the Daoist Soldier's palm melted away like ice meeting fire.
Subsequently, the sword threads pierced the Daoist Soldier's red robe, lightly slicing across his Vajra-like body, leaving three deep bone-revealing sword marks, as black Daoist Soldier liquid dripped along the sword marks, sizzling.
"What!"
"It actually hurt the Daoist Soldier!"
The cultivators at the sidelines collectively exclaimed, faces filled with disbelief.
Mind you, even the full-strength kill move of Venerable Blooddrop barely left a mark on the Daoist Soldier.
Yet this white-clothed cultivator's three sword threads so effortlessly broke the defense!
Atop the tower in the Observatory Hall, the previously relaxed Refining Void Great Powers instantly sat upright, eyes alight with intense interest.
Fire Cloud Ascendant leaned forward abruptly, staring intently at the light curtain:
"This is... Yin Yang Annihilation Dao Principle! Third Realm Perfection! Another top-level Dao Principle accomplished Sword Cultivator! When did Jiuli Mansion have such a person?"
"No, this aura feels young!"
A Great Power in a green robe suddenly spoke. He specialized in the Life and Death Dao Principle, being extremely sensitive to a cultivator's lifespan aura:
"The aura of this Venerable of Life-Annihilating is as pure as one new to Divinity Transformation, with very low lifespan consumption, probably not even a thousand years old!"
"Not even a thousand years old?"
A series of gasps echoed in the hall; it's known that top-level Dao Principles are abstruse and hard to understand. Ordinary cultivators being able to reach the Third Realm before three thousand years is already a mark of a genius.
To achieve it before a thousand years is terrifying!
Mansion Master Bai set down his teacup, eyes showing a hint of surprise. He flicked his finger, sending Yang Spirit Power into the mansion's registration book. Moments later, he nodded to confirm:
"Registered age is eight hundred eighty-one, with 'Loose Cultivator' noted in the origin column."
Inspector Guan added:
"Moreover, he is a clansman of Venerable Xihua!"
"Venerable Wuyue previously mentioned to me that this Venerable of Life-Annihilating's strength surpasses even Venerable Xihua."
Upon hearing this, those Great Powers who harbored previous thoughts about Chen Xihua instantly cut off all those errant ideas.
Such brothers, both have cultivated top level Dao Principle to Third Realm Perfection. Such talent is impossible for loose cultivators with no background.
Even if they truly have none, with the potential they've shown, it won't be long before major sects fight to take them as disciples. Offending them now is undoubtedly seeking one's death.
The Great Powers within the hall restrained their Heart Spirits, their gazes fervently directed at the thirty-third layer's light screen.
Fire Cloud Ascendant stroked his beard, his smile full of anticipation:
"A Yin-Yang Annihilation Sword Cultivator under a thousand years old... I must see what other techniques he has!"
...
The humming of the Cyan Nether Sword continuously echoed within the Small Realm, in a blink, half a stick of incense had passed.
Chen Sheng's figure incessantly flickered around the Daoist Soldier, the black and white interwoven Sword Light like a shadow following the body. Every slash left sword marks deep to the bone on the Daoist Soldier's Vajra indestructible body.
Yet the golden runes at the Daoist Soldier's wounds kept circulating madly, and those deep bone-visible scars were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"This isn't going to work."
Chen Sheng's thoughts spun, his peripheral vision catching the golden brilliance re-condensing in the Daoist Soldier's palm, his gaze focused.
He had already sensed that the Daoist Soldier's recovery was continuously consuming its inner essence.
But his own consumption wasn't small either. If this grappling continued, he might be exhausted before his opponent.
The cultivators watching also noticed, the murmur among the audience growing anxious:
"This recovery ability of the Daoist Soldier is too abnormal! Although the Venerable of Life-Annihilating can injure it, he simply can't kill it!"
"If this drags on, he might lose."
Chen Sheng's heart stirred, after half a stick of incense entanglement, he already understood the Daoist Soldier enough. Now, five-colored Spirit Light suddenly emanated from his body.
He formed seals with his left hand and firmly grasped the Cyan Nether Sword with his right, the black and white Qi surged through his meridians into the sword, intertwining with the Power of the Five Elements within the sword body.
In these seven years, with the Yin Yang Divine Soul synchronously comprehending the "Great Five Elements Ultimate Sword Manual," the ultimate principles within the Sword Manual perfectly matched his Dao Principle.
Not only did it fully unleash his Sword Dao Genius talent, it also naturally advanced his Yin Yang Annihilation Dao Principle into Third Realm Perfection.
What he was about to display was not a single killing move, but a complete Swordsmanship — a Swordsmanship gradually comprehended by himself.
"Jointly comprehending Yin and Yang, to be the Great Dao!"
As Chen Sheng's thoughts arose, his form suddenly blended into the void. The next moment he appeared behind the Daoist Soldier, his Sword Techniques unceasing yet seamless.
His figure constantly shifted in the Five Elements Spiritual Light, sometimes fierce like armies of gold and iron, sometimes eerie like plants growing wildly, each transformation seamlessly connected.
The black and white Qi constantly lingered outside the Sword Light, firmly binding the Power of the Five Elements, not only amplifying the Five Elements' lethality but also integrated the Dao Rhyme of Annihilation.
In mid-air, the five-colored Sword Light intertwined into a brilliant Sword Net, countless specks of sword flowers scattered from the net, appearing beautiful and magnificent yet exuding a terrifying aura capable of ending all life.
On the viewing platform, an experienced Sword Cultivator cried out in shock:
"This is... a complete Swordsmanship!"
"Yin Yang Annihilation Dao Principle perfectly integrated, every move concealing subsequent transformations; this level of Sword Principle attainment is beyond our reach."
The surrounding cultivators nodded one after another, their eyes fixed on the light screen, afraid of missing even the minutest detail.
Within the Small Realm, the Daoist Soldier's golden runes were burned dim by the Five Elements Sword Light, the healing speed increasingly slow.
When the ninety-ninth Sword Light shone, Chen Sheng's figure suddenly hovered above the Daoist Soldier's head, the Cyan Nether Sword gathering all the power of Yin-Yang and Five Elements, transformed into a black and white interwoven five-colored Sword Rainbow, slashing down like a meteor.
"Puff," a light sound, the Sword Rainbow penetrated the Daoist Soldier's head unimpeded, the golden runes instantly shattered, the Daoist Soldier's massive body froze at its spot.
Then, like weathered rock, it crumbled inch by inch, finally dispersing into countless golden light dots.
Chen Sheng sheathed his sword, his white attire like snow, surrounded by Five Elements Spiritual Light and Yin-Yang Qi slowly retracting, apart from his breath appearing slightly steadier, there was not a hint of fatigue from the intense battle.
He walked out of the Small Realm at a leisurely pace, his form upright like a pine, eliciting a thunderous cheer from the onlooking cultivators.
At the top of the tower within the Observatory Hall, Mansion Master Bai suddenly slapped the armrest, his eyes blazingly bright:
"Interesting! So very interesting! This set of Swordsmanship is simply tailor-made for him! Based on Yin-Yang to evolve the Five Elements, then with the Annihilation Dao Principle, resolves to the end."
"Every step is treading on the key nodes of Dao Principle evolution, if he continues on this path, achieving Dao Domain and attaining Refining Void, there's at least an eighty percent chance!"
"He is definitely not self-taught, must have guidance from a famous teacher."
The surrounding Refining Void Great Powers nodded in agreement, looking at Chen Sheng's figure within the light screen, their eyes full of admiration.
Moments later, General Tu Lie's voice reverberated through the ninety-ninth level tower:
"Thirty-third level, Venerable of Life-Annihilating, defeated the Nine Refinement Daoist Soldiers, time taken half a stick of incense plus twenty-eight breaths! Record refreshed, ranks first!"
"Half a stick of incense! Faster than Venerable Bai Feng!"
"Who is the Venerable of Life-Annihilating? Never heard of him before!"
Both the participating cultivators and the audience in the viewing stand were shocked by this astounding result, the discussion like a tidal wave, unable to calm for a long time.
On the forty-ninth level, Venerable Wuyue stared at the "Life-Annihilating" characters on the light screen, his eyes burned with fighting spirit — this is a worthy opponent for him to go all out in battle!