Chapter 326: Scheming in the Floating Traces, Taking the Stage in Greasepaint (Ten-Thousand Character Chapter)

"So, what is the relevant intelligence?"

Du En, already within the space of the Floating Pillar Wilderness at this moment, simply asked this key point calmly.

"The appearance of the Dragon Palace near the South Azure Sea is actually not some accidental coincidence, but rather because it is being echoed and drawn by the resentment-monstrosity conceived a hundred years ago; that is why it began to emerge several decades ago, and has gradually become explorable in the last ten years."

"There is one more point: among this Great Competition, those geniuses and elites who ultimately died of incurable wounds—their corpses are currently being secretly transferred to the South End."

"They might be buried in that wasteland, or they might be thrown toward the outpost camp, or even more likely, thrown directly into the South Azure Ruins. In short, the Senior Brother has effectively lost track of them; we only know they were transferred there, and they might be, are about to be, or have already been fed to the resentment-monstrosity."

Mentioning these circumstances, Meng Changqing felt even more worried, along with other negative emotions.

"Died of incurable wounds"—when one looks closely at this phrasing, it is truly chilling!

Because even if these geniuses and elites suffer heavy injuries after a bout, they usually need to spend decades or a century to recover, and after returning, they would inevitably face various changes in their status and standing due to this situation.

However, it could not possibly be such an end!

First of all, they are not fools. When receiving the notification to participate in the Great Competition, most people would surely take out their life savings at the first opportunity and spend them on items for life-preservation and healing.

Being even more cautious, they would hide them separately and make multiple preparations. In short, they are just waiting for the moment they are defeated and injured and thrown back, so they can activate and use them as quickly as possible to stabilize their injuries.

Secondly, because of the special nature of the Thousand-Day Great Competition, the great cultivators and True Ones from various regions cannot possibly engage in petty tricks or wait for opportunities to take revenge at this juncture. Those Nascent Soul stage cultivators are also all in danger themselves, and even feel a sense of shared grief for the dying; they would never act rashly.

Therefore, the status and standing of the defeated will not be directly impacted for the time being; there is a window of time here that allows them to recover in time.

But now, it is like this, the situation of dying from incurable wounds has appeared...

"For instance, in this session, do those who were defeated all end up dying of incurable wounds?"

"That is not the case. In previous Great Competitions, although many people died one after another due to various reasons—especially in the twenty years after the competition, the survival rate would plummet, and the corpses of those who died in hatred would also quietly disappear, making it hard to trace their whereabouts."

Meng Changqing provided his detailed explanation, "We believe this is one of the main purposes for the 'Old Immortal' establishing the Thousand-Day Great Competition. But this time it is especially peculiar; it is not just that the defeated die rapidly of incurable wounds, but after verification, it is not all the defeated who are like this—only a little over fifty-two percent of them have met this end."

Their common characteristic, which needs no further words and has already been determined, is that they died harboring resentment and hatred!

This is the core design of the Thousand-Day Great Competition: to take elites from the masses who have climbed up from the bottom through great hardship and already see the dawn of life, make them experience the pain of powerlessness once again, and press them back into the position of ants. Naturally, they will be incomparably resentful due to the drastic disparity, yet they can only bottle it up in their hearts.

This accumulated and fermented resentment erupts at the moment of death.

What the Falling Feather Supreme needs is precisely this kind of resentment.

Resentment-monstrosity, resentment-monstrosity—it is very obvious that it is related to resentment!

To speculate even more boldly, the reason the form within the main territory of the Falling Feather Immortal Sect is the way it is now is actually because it is a "multi-layered fermentation tank" that the Supreme needs and has set up!

"But having said that, this time we actually have to thank your gradual efforts for being able to maintain the overall atmosphere, unlike in the past where there were two cliff-like drops. Their mindset is still quite good now, it's just that it seems to have gone a bit astray?"

"Is this really something worth rejoicing over?"

"..."

Meng Changqing, who originally wanted to use such words to ease the atmosphere and avoid bringing the pressure down and placing unnecessary burdens on Du En, was suddenly left speechless when facing the other party, who did not care at all and was only direct, sharp, and calm.

Because as Du En pointed out, one situation was already very obvious.

That Supreme seems to no longer need so many resentful, wrongly-dead people!

Otherwise, all those defeated in this Great Competition would not be able to escape; there are plenty of ways to make them ferment and change into the state that meets their needs!

Even more terrifying and despairing is that even the final winner could be struck into a hell of despair at the moment of victory, and then have the most succulent fruit of resentment plucked!

"Indeed, the Old Immortal's focus seems to have changed somewhat. It has become picky; it doesn't need so many dead people. This might be because this time it involves the Dragon Palace, so it still needs to dig into certain characteristics possessed by those who have already died unjustly."

"Then, what will happen to those who are defeated next?"

"Those who are defeated next, according to their factional alignment, will be transferred to their respective mountains. Those without factions will be the responsibility of the Senior Brother. If the Old Immortal wants to snatch people, hmm, I fear they will be released without any obstruction, just to compare and verify what those characteristics actually are."

"Then, why don't you want me to go to the Dragon Palace?"

Judging from Meng Changqing's tone, the True Lords should be aligned on this, so it seems rather strange that a True Lord would suddenly obstruct Du En from entering the top twenty.

"Heh! What other reason could there be?"

Meng Changqing suddenly sneered and said, "The Old Immortal is indeed the primary culprit, but the other guys also have their own purposes and schemes regarding that resentment-monstrosity, and have been tossing and turning in the dark—who knows how much. This time, it's nothing more than wanting to see if they can snatch chestnuts from the fire and attempt to plot to seize the Old Immortal's results, so naturally, they won't allow us, who would only put out the fire, to set foot there."

Even if Du En is all alone.

To be safe, it is better to have him eliminated!

"I see, I understand."

"... Are you confident?"

"I suppose so."

"That's good, this time we must give them a surprise!"

Although he said so, Meng Changqing actually just didn't want to add more pressure to him. In fact, he felt it was extremely difficult and arduous, with very low odds of winning, but he could only sigh to himself and then withdraw his attention, focusing on the ongoing discussion among the upper echelons here.

Du En, for his part, naturally returned to his daily grind of cultivation.

These hidden matters and the like could not affect his pace and rhythm at all; his state of mind was as calm and waveless as ever.

Therefore, he was not completely addicted to the grind; he still took some time every day to watch the battles.

It was mainly because the few laborers under him needed time to catch their breath.

He, who bore the most burden—both cooking and refining—had no problems so far, but these few who helped out with the preparations were quite weak.

Du En even wanted to summarize and refine the cultivation method of the Inexhaustible Azure Spirit Body to properly increase their intensity.

Although when he mentioned this idea, they all showed fear, refused repeatedly, and feared it like a tiger—it was completely an instinctive struggle.

So he had to give up.

The Great Competition continued in full swing.

When this round reached the eighth day, Lou Shuyue, one of the candidates for the championship, was the first to appear to participate.

Just as the geniuses feared, facing this beautiful and pitiful Junior Sister Fanghua, the genius who was her opponent, even though he had been prepared, was still directly stunned on the spot, feeling that every smile and frown of the other party was so beautiful and so pitiful.

Then, when the methods he had prepared prompted him to come to his senses, he had already covered himself in wounds. In his daze, he only remembered that it seemed to be to prove his true feelings, which was why he had done so.

Facing the gazes of all the genius peers, although there was no mockery, only deep wariness and even fear toward Lou Shuyue, he still couldn't help but feel ashamed and unable to face anyone, so he immediately closed his eyes and lay down to play dead.

He won very easily.

Lou Shuyue, with her charming smile, did not find this strange; after all, even among geniuses, and even with both at the Nascent Soul Perfection stage, there is still a huge gap between each other!

Simply put, an ordinary genius is someone who has at least one talent that meets the passing standard; that is enough to be called a genius.

Then, by gradually filling in the gaps in various major shortcomings and taking a step further from an already high position, if one has specific strengths that break into the category of a formidable genius, they can be called a strong genius.

In other words, she, who is already a strong genius, not only has a prominent main strength, but her other high-weight secondary talents are also at the ceiling level of other geniuses!

Therefore, only those top-tier ordinary geniuses who are complete and full in both main and secondary talents are qualified to cross hands with them.

And that is only crossing hands!

But if one has not met the standard, or even has a single talent at the level of a mere standout or a weak genius, then I am very sorry, as long as one is targeted, the result is basically an instant kill!

On the surface, it is only a difference of one hurdle, but in reality, it is two or three hurdles, or perhaps even more!

Lou Shuyue felt that victory was a matter of course and did not take it to heart; now she only looked forward to the very last bout of this round, that dog-eat-dog fight.

One is that lecherous, dissolute fellow who directly exposed her secrets; although he also offered pointers, the more she thought about it afterward, the more wrong it felt, as if her side had been completely dug out, and perhaps that pervert might have actually secretly followed or peeked at her in the past.

And the other is even more infuriating; he is so blunt, speaking without any tact or circumlocution, and even if they were mortal enemies, one wouldn't usually be so cutting. Although the two sects do indeed have deep conflicts, she doesn't care; anyway, she just wants to kick him while he is down and mock him to her heart's content.

Carrying this anticipation, Lou Shuyue went down to the arena.

Next was the twelfth day, and Jiang Ying, who was taking the stage for the twelfth bout.

At this moment, she was still struggling with the railing of the white iron floating pillar when the railing suddenly retracted, catching her off guard and causing her to stumble and fall out.

She couldn't help but pout, looking pitiful and making one want to cherish her.

Then, she finally gave up the idea of struggling and turned her attention to the bout.

She entered the arena, and while her opponent was nervous and launched a fierce attack first, she directly plunged her little hand into the ground, then lifted and heaved upward, causing a massive, ten-mile-long stretch of mountain land and forest to be grabbed and flipped over with extraordinary ease.

"Ah?"

The opponent was flying in the air, watching the shadow that suddenly covered them, looking at their own attack being swept away in the process, only blowing up some mud, stones, and trees, and for a moment, their expression became somewhat dull.

The crowd outside the arena twitched their lips even more, almost opening their mouths wide as they looked at that small, cute figure, and then looked at the ten-mile landmass she was holding.

She bounced it!

She actually bounced it with one hand!

What kind of monster is this!

Because the contrast was too abrupt and the scene too horrifying, this kind of strength was simply too strong, which stunned everyone outside the arena.

Then.

"Go!"

Like throwing a ball, she violently threw the ten-mile landmass out.

Boom!

The pure sonic boom and turbulence echoed for hundreds of miles, bringing up a level-seventeen gale that raged in all directions!

As for her opponent, their vision went dark for a moment, and their divine sense was horrified to capture that the ten-mile landmass had already arrived in front of them!

Thought moves, body arrives.

Spatial movement.

Oh, oh, oh!

In this instant, they did not disgrace the name of a genius; under a wild eruption, spatial movement had almost no gaps or pauses, and they retreated straight back for dozens of miles, only to watch in despair as the ten-mile landmass continued to fly toward them; the distance had not widened, but had instead become even closer.

Ah, ah, ah!

They continued to scream in their heart, pouring out various spells and life-bound artifacts, determined to pierce through the ten miles!

In the past, such things were actually very simple, but now this ten-mile landmass was moving at a super-high speed, far exceeding the speed of sound, stirring up spatial sonic booms as it rushed toward them. It was more like a meteor than a meteor, because the friction with the air and Qi was so intense that not only had the outer shell begun to melt, but the periphery was even emitting the light of electric arcs!

What kind of monster is this?

Is she really human?

Could it be some Soul Formation great demon disguised as a human?

After the crowd was horrified, their minds were filled with various doubts, and the moment the direct target's offensive touched it, they immediately spat three liters of blood, because before the spell could even take effect, it was shattered first, bringing about no small amount of backlash.

Fortunately, after this cushioning impact, the life-bound artifacts and such finally took effect, and they gritted their teeth and punched through it—or rather, the two collided so rapidly that it was instantly pierced.

"Ha! Ha! Hahaha!"

Seeing the light again, although panting, they still couldn't help but laugh.

"What are you laughing at?"

Jiang Ying's voice rang out, not far in front, eager to try, pinching her little pink fist, and directly space-moved in front of them. In the eyes of their ghost-seeing despair, it looked like a light tap, just like a little girl from the neighbor's house acting spoiled.

You, you don't come over here!

This person's soul fled in terror; they braced a spell, the spell shattered; they brought up an artifact, the artifact shattered; they wanted to use spatial movement, but before the thought could move, the little pink fist was already pressed against their face.

Consciousness vanished instantly, and the whole person shot out, their speed several times faster than that ten-mile landmass that hadn't even landed yet, directly smashing through it, then plowing through the earth and flying straight out for over a thousand miles, breaking rivers and shattering mountains along the way, leaving an extremely ugly scar in this small world, and finally creating a collapsed basin.

In an instant, all the spectators outside the arena, whether they were candidates for the championship or ordinary geniuses, only felt that their own faces hurt a little.

Looking closely again, that unlucky fellow only had one breath left, and everything else—the divine palace, the crimson palace, the sea of Qi, and even the Nascent Soul—was shattered to pieces.

If it weren't for the rule of not killing anyone on the spot during the grand competition, this unlucky fellow would have already exploded into pulp on the spot, instead of still having a breath left.

Seeing this, Lou Shuyue could no longer hold back and turned to ask Sheng Zhaoshui: "Senior Brother Sheng, is she really not a Soul Formation stage expert in disguise?"

"It is precisely because she isn't that it makes people feel so troublesome!"

Sheng Zhaoshui only gave a bitter smile, but also offered comfort: "However, because her supreme physical body is too overbearing and formidable, it is actually quite difficult for her to succeed in Soul Formation. After all, starting from the Soul Formation stage, one must enter the stage of turning the substantial into the void, and as you have all seen, her physical body is exaggerated to the extreme, just like a sun star core, firmly trapping her on the side of the substantial."

"So that's it; she came to participate in the championship, wanting people to break her physical body so she can take the opportunity to reach Soul Formation!"

Nangong Sheng's eyes were bright, seeing a hunt and feeling delighted; he couldn't help but be eager, making people's scalps tingle.

Jiang Ying performed so terrifyingly, yet he still dared to be so battle-hungry and eager; there must be only one reason!

He is fully confident!

The next seventeenth bout of this round was confirming this point!

"If you want me to make a move, first get past this beginner-level spell of mine."

Nangong Sheng appeared to take it for granted, speaking as if it were a matter of course. He did not care about his opponent's thoughts or feelings, and did not even bother to look clearly at the other person's face; he simply raised his hand and unleashed a spell to test their mettle.

Ten Thousand Armies Conquest!

A dense, murderous aura of slaughter soared into the sky, transforming into the hazy phantoms of a thousand armies. Just as he had said, it was indeed only a beginner's attempt; the phantoms were not clear at all, appearing quite superficial.

However, one had to consider its scale and magnitude!

Dense and packed, as if responding to the move Jiang Ying had just used, it directly covered a radius of fifteen miles, leaving the opponent dumbfounded.

Then, they were submerged!

Every foot soldier possessed the strength of the Golden Core stage, every centurion had the strength of the Nascent Soul stage, and every commander, every thousand-man guard, every lieutenant general... their strength stacked layer upon layer, dense and countless.

It was like setting off a small firecracker in a pond; with a light "gurgle," the opponent vanished without a trace.

The other geniuses outside looked at one another, and for a moment, only one thought remained.

Are we even worthy of being called geniuses?

Consequently, both inside and outside the arena, there was a momentary silence.

Then, Lou Shuyue could not help but speak to Sheng Zhaoshui again: "Senior Brother Sheng, what is going on? Didn't you say before that he is sincere in combat and disdains superficial displays of conquest?"

"It's very simple; just go to the Blood-Colored Desert a few more times."

Sheng Zhaoshui spoke casually, yet his tone hid a layer of solemn admiration.

The Blood-Colored Desert, the frontline battlefield between the Falling Feather Immortal Sect and the Twilight Azure Immortal Sect—the intensity and ferocity of the slaughter there could be imagined.

And Nangong Sheng had gone a total of thirteen times, and had been on the verge of death thirteen times!

"You don't need to feel that you aren't geniuses; it is just because my positioning is different from yours, that is all."

At this moment, having stepped off the dueling arena, Nangong Sheng spoke directly, filled with a sense of inevitability.

Ordinary geniuses only need to cultivate silently, advance silently, spend a hundred or two hundred years filling in their shortcomings as much as possible, try a few times, realize their talent, and break through to the Spirit Severing stage.

If they still cannot break through after two hundred years, then there is no point in continuing to nurture or wait for them; it is most straightforward to send them directly to the battlefield, which counts as them finally shining for the Immortal Sect, and perhaps they might even find life in the midst of death.

But he is different; his goal, his positioning, is to push the Falling Feather Immortal Sect toward hegemony!

Therefore, being a genius is only the starting point; being a strong genius is a matter of course, and a heaven-gifted prodigy will eventually break through the gate and continue to forge ahead toward the pinnacle!

His gaze was piercing and devoid of fear; he did not pay attention to the two who appeared sneaky, ignored Du En for the moment, and looked directly at Jiang Ying.

You want to break the supreme physical body, right?

I will be the one to fight!

Facing his piercing gaze, Jiang Ying only looked hesitantly at the railing in front of her, appearing restless and stubborn, and did not respond at all.

The atmosphere suddenly fell into an awkward silence.

Lou Shuyue raised her delicate eyebrows, her beautiful eyes bright, and stared at Sheng Zhaoshui, speaking with ill intent: "Senior Brother Sheng, I wonder, if you were to face Senior Brother Nangong or Junior Sister Jiang, how much chance of winning would you have?"

Hearing this, Nangong Sheng turned his head back.

Although he did not want to admit it, this annoying guy was indeed someone he could not see through!

Even Jiang Ying, who still wanted to remain in a stalemate with the railing, secretly pricked up her little ears.

"Haha, look at how Junior Sister Caiwei asks..."

Sheng Zhaoshui answered with a smile, his gaze lowering slightly, "Of course, it is a ten-out-of-ten certainty."

He was not joking, nor was he boasting; he was merely stating a fact, plainly.

Nangong Sheng's cheek twitched, and Jiang Ying silently looked up.

You really dare to say that!

Lou Shuyue's smile did not change, but her heart sank; at the same time, her tone remained light, like a lark, as she continued to push the matter: "Forgive this junior sister for being dull-eyed, I truly cannot see where such confidence comes from."

"This, how should I put it? Hmm, right, rather than saying I came to win the title, it's more like I came to just drift along. If the True Monarch has a place for me to be used, naturally I will be sent to the arena; if not, drifting into the top twenty is about enough. That's right, it's just that kind of arrangement."

Sheng Zhaoshui stated his own positioning.

Unlike the other three candidates for the title, and unlike the positioning of this dark horse, Du En.

As for why he was also a candidate for the title?

Naturally, it was because as long as he came to participate, he would automatically obtain this status—a very incidental, minor detail.

His gaze shifted, seemingly changing gradually, and he continued in a low, slow voice: "The three of them each have their strengths, and it is not just their main specialty that is outstanding, but I am sorry to say, I actually belong to the type of strong genius who is outstanding in all aspects."

Once these words were spoken, people fell silent.

Does this not mean that he is about to step onto the threshold of a heaven-gifted prodigy?!

Is he suppressing his cultivation realm to gain more advantages, intending to become a heaven-gifted prodigy before breaking through to the Spirit Severing stage?!

No one doubted that he was lying, because there was no need, and besides, his match was coming up soon.

The duel against Du En!

Everyone was nervous and expectant, while also sighing with regret from time to time.

Du En's chance of winning was too low, and regardless of who won or lost, a great Buddha would be removed from the Dragon Palace exploration, which was invisibly a huge reduction in their side's strength!

The Rotten Forest Immortal Sect was not an easy opponent.

It was a pity; they had no influence over this and could only sigh repeatedly in their hearts.

Then.

A total of nineteen days passed by rapidly.

Just as expected, Du En accumulated enough once again and completed a breakthrough in his cultivation.

Late Nascent Soul stage!

Following the union of intent and spirit, the soul also walked out of the Spirit Palace and fell into the lower dantian sea of Qi.

The Nascent Soul, wrapped and surrounded by groups of flames and flowers, opened its eyes at this moment and met the gaze of the soul descending from the sky. They were one person, with a single consciousness, and without the slightest obstacle, they directly touched and merged.

The Phoenix Blood Spear erupted with crimson flames; the mad lingering hatred of the phoenix wanted to intervene and stop it at this moment.

However, neither Du En paid it any mind, letting it burn; it was as if they were being reborn through fire—the more it burned, the faster they fused, and the more thorough the union became.

Amidst the scorching firelight, the Nascent Soul grew rapidly; while its stature remained three inches, its proportions and form adjusted to that of an adult.

Its eyes closed and opened again, revealing crimson irises and golden pupils; its expression was upright and serene, and the Azure Crimson Palace rose in rank simultaneously, its green waves profound and its flame-flowers clustered, drifting out dreamlike starlight as if it had suddenly come completely alive, causing this dantian to sway with splendor and flow endlessly, as if eternally shining and eternally burning.

However, although his soul had already merged with the Nascent Soul, it was actually only a preliminary change; the subsequent late-stage cultivation would be to continue this change, thereby completing the thorough evolution of unification and reaching that realm of Nascent Soul Perfection.

At the same time, the Divine Palace—this palace of the soul—would normally be temporarily left vacant, waiting for the day the Deity Transformation stage arrived, when the Primordial Spirit transformed from the Nascent Soul would once again take residence and become the center of subsequent cultivation.

But at this moment, an ominous sign appeared on Du En's body.

Rumble, rumble, rumble~

The Divine Palace, under the influence of a pull—or rather, the Divine Palace was pulling the lower dantian Qi sea, dragging it to begin soaring, intending to go to the very center of the head, the place of the Purple Mansion and Heavenly Spirit, to converge and become one with the Divine Palace.

The merger of the three palaces—this is of the highest quality, something to be encountered but not sought!

This was originally an excellent situation that would only occur when breaking through to the Deity Transformation stage.

But now, with Du En having just reached the late Nascent Soul stage, the Divine Palace was already impatient to merge the three palaces and respectfully welcome him back to his rightful position.

Regarding this, he naturally directed the Azure Crimson Palace to begin exerting force, like a rocket igniting for takeoff.

There were gods in the firmament, stretching out their hands to welcome and support it as it rose.

There were spirits in the azure sea, taking the initiative to soar and reflect as they went.

At the current rate of progress, by the time he breaks through to Nascent Soul Perfection, it will be the moment the three palaces become one!

Stimulated by this, his divine sense surged, climbing until it covered a hundred miles.

At the same time, his thoughts became clear, as if aided by the divine; in his cultivation, the number of times he could circulate his energy increased directly to one hundred and fifty times per day!

As for what else there was, the Inexhaustible Azure Spirit Body became stronger, the power of his spells increased accordingly, his lifespan limit increased by fifty years, and various other detailed changes.

He opened his eyes and looked at the panel.

【Age: 47/1283】

【Spirit Root: Low Grade】

【Cultivation: Late Nascent Soul (0/100)】

【Cultivation Method: Azure Yellow Canon (Mastery 16328/50000)】

【Spells: Meteor Rock Technique (Proficient 85480/300000), Sandstorm Technique (Elementary 12500/20000), Ice Breath Technique (Perfected), Profound Armor Giant Statue (Elementary 12500/20000), Ten Thousand Defense Technique (Elementary 1000/20000), Phoenix Red True Flame (Proficient 32/300), Grass and Trees Become a Forest (Elementary 1500/20000), Devour Law Pluck Spirit (Elementary 1500/20000)】

【Divine Ability: Bury Death Flourish Life (Proficient 0/300)】

【Hundred Arts: Appraisal (Mastery 0/500), Culinary Cooking (Mastery 355/500), Spirit Seeking (Proficient 0/300), Artifact Refining (Proficient 0/300)】

There were changes, but they were not actually large, especially in terms of spells; even if he were to use both hands at once and apply various augmentations, it would be difficult to have a significant breakthrough in a short time.

As for this improvement in realm, although it had begun to show the start of a qualitative change, it was still just taking its first steps, and the finish line still seemed unreachable.

But the duel with Sheng Zhaoshui was about to begin.

Du En slowly stood up, calm and waveless.

Even seeing the events before this, and even though the changes were not large, it did not cause his tranquil, still water to produce any ripples.

In short, he would just do his best.

He had no blind confidence; he simply assessed the situation calmly and reached his own conclusion.

And so.

The Thousand-Day Grand Competition, sixth round, the final match.

Amidst the gaze of the five decision-making superiors of the sect, the nineteen surviving geniuses, and the four elites of his own side, this duel, which would decide the final candidate for the subsequent trip to the Dragon Palace, slowly began.

"Ha~"

Sheng Zhaoshui yawned and blinked his eyes, looking sleepy and very indifferent; wearing his loose, multi-layered robes and with his unkempt, sloppy appearance, he stepped through the air out of his white iron floating pillar.

Then, looking at the still-calm Du En opposite him, he greeted him with great familiarity: "Good morning, Brother Du. But having said that, I actually still envy you all. You see, only now have I finally been able to leave this cage and come out for some air."

He spoke quite casually; it sounded like sarcasm, but it was indeed his own genuine sentiment.

That white iron floating pillar was indeed a cage, a prison.

Du En did not pay attention to such idle chatter and was the first to step into the small-world arena.

Sheng Zhaoshui did not mind either; looking indifferent, he actually stepped in with him without the slightest delay.

Both sides officially entered the arena, and the hearts of the onlookers were shaken.

Then.

Du En directly took out the Phoenix Blood Spear; it still appeared ordinary, like a long tree branch wrapped in a pitch-black shell, as if hatred had solidified and covered it, with wisps leaking out from within the shell to form gaps of flowing flame, emitting a scorching light.

Invisibly, everyone felt dazed, as if a pair of ferocious, crazy eyes were staring at them through those gaps, and they couldn't help but shiver in unison, feeling their hair stand on end.

"Wow! Scary, scary!"

Sheng Zhaoshui's demeanor appeared exaggerated, yet it was also sincere, "This spear is truly not easy to deal with. Not to mention me, even the one above me would find it somewhat troublesome. Brother Du holding it can truly be said to be invincible among those of the same rank!"

"Is that so? Why do I look at you and only see that you are full of confidence and have victory in your grasp?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"What do you think?"

And so Sheng Zhaoshui sighed, grabbed his somewhat messy hair, and spoke quite seriously: "If possible, could I ask you to surrender yourself, Brother?"

Du En did not answer.

He continued to speak to himself: "Look, the nature of this grand competition of ours is actually very malicious. Even if we fight to the death, it is just a waste of life, acting as a performance for those above; it has absolutely no meaning at all!"

You really dare to say that out loud!

The participants outside the arena, except for the three candidates for victory, all thought this in succession.

They actually shared a unanimous feeling of resentment, but they were helpless and didn't even dare to voice a word of it, for fear of being noticed and targeted.

"What you say is not wrong, but since that is the case, why don't you admit defeat? That way, we also don't have to keep fighting; everyone can have a good ending without having to fight to the death."

"You saying that is very boring."

Sheng Zhaoshui's expression collapsed, and he couldn't help but mutter: "Do you think I want to come here, be locked in a cage, and have to go on stage to fight people to the death? It's all because of the orders from above! I also want to cultivate peacefully and ordinarily, living my past life; how carefree that would be, drinking a little wine and listening to music every day..."

This nagging, it was endless.

Du En just watched him silently, not rushing to do anything, just standing there in the air, as silent as a suspended human-shaped relief.

The Phoenix Blood Spear itself seemed unable to hold back any longer; the firelight flowing within the cracks of its shell grew increasingly bright and piercing, and faintly, the screech of a Zhen Phoenix drifted out from within.

Thus, it was maintained for a moment.

Sheng Zhaoshui could not help but shake his head in frustration: "There's no helping it, you really are the most troublesome one among those participating in this competition."

Because Du En did not fall for it.

His combat style had always been to strike only after the enemy had struck, not favoring preemptive action.

"You flatter me."

Du En spoke calmly, frankly admitting his own shortcomings: "Unlike the four of you, my cultivation realm is only at the early Nascent Soul stage, my techniques are barely mastered, and I have old wounds that are hard to heal. Right now, I'm just relying on some tricks in artifact refinement to be able to compete on the same stage as you."

"... Your skin is even thicker than mine!"

Sheng Zhaoshui couldn't help but exclaim.

Being heavily wounded and hard to heal was barely plausible, but early Nascent Soul and techniques barely mastered—who are you trying to fool?!

The corners of the geniuses' mouths outside the arena twitched; the elites on their own side felt somewhat embarrassed and all showed slight changes in expression, completely unable to speak as naturally, truthfully, and realistically as Du En.

"Are you two still going to fight or not? This one is looking forward to a dragon-and-tiger battle~"

Lou Shuyue watched these two stand there for half a day and chat endlessly, unable to help but urge them on.

She still wanted to see these two guys fight like dogs, ending up both defeated and crippled, to vent the spite in her heart!

Her tone swayed with charm and naturally carried a provocative quality, making the hearts of the geniuses outside the arena beat faster, subconsciously wanting to be the first to speak up to cheer or curse.

However, they were, after all, figures who had stepped into the top twenty, so they could still resist such small tricks; thus, they did not fall for it, reacting in time to curb their impulses and feeling secretly alarmed.

On the other hand, in Du En's own small group, the two female cultivators had slightly higher resistance and were not being specifically targeted, so they were able to quickly regain their senses.

Then, seeing their companions still looking like lecherous fools, so obsessed they forgot to cheer for her, they did not hesitate and immediately slapped them one by one, waking them up from a distance.

As these movements outside the arena reached the inside, Sheng Zhaoshui just shrugged and said, "So, shall we begin?"

"Hasn't it already begun?"

"That's not wrong either, in that case..."

Before the words had faded, the person had already arrived.

He appeared quietly behind Du En, and with a lift of his finger, a horizontal ring-shaped wind swept out violently, cutting everything it touched in half, whether it was air or space.

"Wind-Severing Ring, the name I gave it; it's quite fitting, right?"

"It is indeed fitting."

Du En nodded, his person already moved to the sky, aiming the tip of his spear at Sheng Zhaoshui.

Vegetation forms a forest, devouring laws and inserting spirits.

Two spells were unleashed, piling up magic power without regard for consumption, directly and forcibly boosting their power, causing lush trees, flowers, and grass, along with small, hidden spirit-inserting needles, to emerge continuously, intending to trap the opponent and pin them firmly to one spot.

"Green and yellow connecting, enduring and lasting; this is the essence of the Green-Yellow Canon. In other words, it inherently aligns with the principles of the Wood element, that principle of endless life."

Sheng Zhaoshui was located amidst the vegetation and spirit-needles, walking calmly and completely unconcerned, not a single leaf touching his body, and he even had time to evaluate and describe the technique of the Green-Yellow Canon.

Seeing that his methods were useless, Du En immediately changed his line of thought.

He moved far away, and falling rocks descended.

With his technique mastery at the level of thorough integration and his cultivation actually controlled at the mid Nascent Soul stage, he disregarded consumption within this interval and forcibly piled up a falling rock nearly a hundred zhang in size, carrying the overwhelming, space-suppressing momentum as it descended directly from the sky!

Yet in the eyes of those outside the arena, there was another situation: above the hundred-zhang falling rock, directly at the top, there were dozens of zhang-sized falling rocks in a string, one after another, six layers deep, quietly wrapped in ice, silent and extremely insidious!

He was clearly shockingly strong, yet still insidious and cunning!

"At the same time, that Phoenix's lingering hatred is endless and inextinguishable, so it can be connected to your Green-Yellow Canon; it can truly be called green and yellow continuing, endless and unceasing, which is why your magic power far exceeds those of the same rank."

Sheng Zhaoshui continued to talk to himself, still not caring about the falling rock above his head.

Then, the falling rock crashed down, yet he remained unharmed, walking out of the dust and smoke casually, appearing very strange, which immediately left everyone astonished, puzzled, and suspicious.

How on earth was this done?

Du En's brows lifted slightly, finally seeing a bit of the trick.

Thus, he increased the distance further, ready to use space movement at any time.

"A truly powerful spell; although it relies on magic power to be forcibly piled up, because it conforms to the fundamentals of the technique and has an advantage in the quality and quantity of magic power, there are actually no obvious loose weaknesses, far surpassing ordinary situations."

Sheng Zhaoshui evaluated this point, while simultaneously turning his head to look at the falling rocks that had piled into a pillar, smashed a giant crater into the ground, and sent shockwaves scattering, and couldn't help but pretend to be surprised and wipe his sweat: "Do you have to do this? Sneaking an attack while being upright and bright?"

So composed!

So careless!

But, Du En only silently adjusted his strategy.

Ordinary moves were indeed completely meaningless!

He thought this calmly.

Sheng Zhaoshui saw that the other side still wouldn't fall for it or take the bait, feeling only trouble in his heart; he turned back around and said: "You said in your fight with Wang Gu before that a cultivator's battle is a battle of magic power and cultivation, but in fact, this cannot be considered accurate, because after reaching the Spirit Severing stage, a cultivator must begin to manifest principles and manipulate rules."

Cultivation naturally can influence and determine this, but magic power no longer acts as the primary factor.

This was the meaning he wanted to express.

Du En just calmly retorted: "That is a fallacy. So-called magic power does not refer solely to magic power of a specific form and substance, but should be a kind of internal driving force obtained through cultivation. Therefore, being so rigid about external forms can only be called too shallow."

Take him for example: his current magic power now manifests a large-scale endlessness and is combined with his natal artifact; its overall form is gradually detaching from material appearance, becoming a flourishing of flame-flowers and drifting star-fire dreams that tend toward virtual essence and internal logic.

This was the best evidence to refute Sheng Zhaoshui's words.

(End of this chapter)