Chapter 328: The Champion Decided (Ten-Thousand-Character Chapter)

Rumble—

The thousand miles of rivers and mountains painted in ink and wash disintegrated in an instant, emitting a sound like thunder, as if the landscape were truly collapsing and being destroyed.

"Ah!"

The painting cultivator let out a miserable shriek that made people sigh, but in truth, he felt a faint sense of relief; because if it were only this, his foundation had not suffered any heavy damage, and the problem was not significant at all.

It was an act!

Seeing his own natal magic treasure lifted so easily and unable to trap the opponent at all, he realized that he was completely outmatched and had no chance of victory, so he made a prompt decision to go with the flow, attempting to secure a better outcome for himself.

Yet, what he never expected was that after Jiang Ying smashed that thousand miles of rivers and mountains, she only felt it was all for show and was not satisfied in her heart; furthermore, looking at the guy opposite, his shriek sounded quite full of vigor?

Forget it, never mind, after all, she still had to...

Thus, right amidst the lingering aftermath, Jiang Ying charged forward once again.

?!

The painting cultivator watched in shock as she pursued him and arrived right before his eyes; before he could even move, he saw a slap come flying over, which he could not avoid at all, and it sent him spinning in place for thirty-six thousand revolutions.

By the time he stopped, not only was his entire cultivation base lost, but even the blood in his body had been flung dry; he was now a dried corpse with only one breath left, a sight that made the external spectators' temples throb incessantly.

Whoever runs into her is out of luck!

The talented elites felt their scalps go numb, already treating her entirely as a peerless demoness!

And this peerless female demon, after appearing, subconsciously looked toward the neighboring small world.

Even though the ranking of the winner there was already determined and would no longer hinder or affect the normal duels here, she had already quickly developed this habit.

Having paid attention for so long, she could not miss the moment the outcome was decided!

The others were actually the same; after their shock, they turned their heads one after another.

Then, they saw that people here were chatting.

"Brother Du, if you were to face Junior Sister Jiang, how many moves do you think you could last?"

Sheng Zhaoshui asked a question he believed Du En would respond to; this side was indeed quite concerned about this, after all, even if they didn't meet in the Grand Competition, they might face each other later.

And that female demon's methods were truly ruthless; once she made a move, she wanted to kill or maim people, appearing purely terrifying.

Thus, Du En pondered slightly and his voice came out: "A supreme physical body, well-deserved of its reputation, and it is not pure brute force; that performance of easily shattering space should have other divine manifestations added to it, so, I am not sure."

Because Jiang Ying had only displayed these things so far, especially since that thousand miles of rivers and mountains just now was quite all for show, he could not accurately judge the specific situation of this woman.

But it didn't matter; Sheng Zhaoshui only worried that he wouldn't speak, and since he had spoken, he could naturally helpfully supplement the information to continue chatting and relieve boredom.

"They are very leisurely!"

Watching Sheng Zhaoshui chatter on and dig up her background, Jiang Ying's two little eyebrows knit together, feeling somewhat unhappy, but at the same time, she was very interested in how Du En would answer after hearing it, so she temporarily hung in the air, enduring it and listening.

"... Basically, that is how it is; her supreme physical body can achieve these things at present."

After Sheng Zhaoshui finished speaking, he looked expectantly at the opposite side.

"Not sure."

Du En's answer had not changed at all.

Because he was indeed not sure.

Admittedly, Sheng Zhaoshui knew quite a lot, but it was only a verbal description without actual manifestation, not something seen with one's own eyes; moreover, there was still the consideration of whether she had yet to make a breakthrough or was hiding some trump cards, so in reality, he still could not judge accurately.

After giving this answer, Du En closed his eyes again, looking as if he were going to race against time to cultivate once more.

"Hey! Don't be like that! At least say something; just based on my description of her, how much of a chance of winning do you have!"

"That's right, that's right, that was basically my full strength just now; you can answer directly, I won't blame you, really!"

Sheng Zhaoshui's words did not make Du En answer.

Jiang Ying's words, however, could not get in.

So, there was still no answer.

"Wow! Grandpa Buyi, hurry up and open a connection for me!"

Jiang Ying immediately made a ruckus, but the only answer she got was deathly silence.

She froze for a moment, then actually went back obediently.

Flashing by in an instant, was there also a trace of deep fear?

"She is actually not bad by nature; her only mistake is that she was born in the North."

"Is the situation in the North that bad?"

Du En chose to respond again.

Sheng Zhaoshui's spirit was instantly lifted, and he began to blather on again.

In his description, the appearance of the Luoyu North, governed by True Monarch Buyi, slowly unfolded.

In short, it was a brutal beast-fighting arena!

Under the existing general framework of rules, it followed the person's extreme minimalist philosophy: a small competition every five days, a big competition every ten days; Qi Refining stage against Qi Refining stage, elites cross ranks, geniuses cross ranks fiercely, tossing and turning endlessly beneath the Great Cultivators.

The population is withering!

This is the current situation.

Clearly, like the South, they did not face the front lines directly, but the South had three hundred and sixty cities, while the North only had a mere thirty, all of which appeared dilapidated and scarred.

Because the Limitless Immortal Sect of the North could often easily infiltrate, and True Monarch Buyi would provide convenience, letting them serve as an external pressure.

Even if the Limitless Immortal Sect did not come, he would go to them himself, always sending out small groups of elites to carry out missions from which there was no return, which basically resulted in total casualties.

"However, it is worth noting that True Monarch Buyi has many supporters in the sect, and the North is like an iron barrel; it is very difficult for other True Monarchs to infiltrate. Do you know why?"

"Because those who survive under this high pressure eventually become the vested interests, able to divide the various resources from the small surplus of people, and it is also easier to obtain merit."

"Exactly! Through the survival of the fittest, there are always talents like Junior Sister Jiang who can resist pressure and grow, and they..."

"Compared to this, I am more concerned about the Limitless Immortal Sect."

Du En directly interrupted his rambling.

Sheng Zhaoshui did not mind, and directly changed his tone: "The Limitless Immortal Gate, ah, things are a bit different over there. Should one call it hidebound and conservative, or should one call it mysterious and unfathomable?"

"In short, it dominates a vast territory further north, bordering Mucang to the west and Fudong to the east, with our sect in the south in between. As it stands, they have two frontal battlefields with Mucang, fighting to a white-hot intensity, and their relationship with Fudong is relatively good, similar to the relationship between our sect and the Rotten Forest. As for their relationship with our sect..."

He left his words unfinished, shrugged his shoulders, and the meaning was self-evident.

Perhaps it was considered good in the past; after all, the Limitless Immortal Gate did not want to bear extra pressure for no reason, preferring to concentrate their energy on crushing the Mucang Immortal Gate before considering anything else. However, they could not stand True Monarch Buyi constantly taking the initiative to send people to infiltrate and harass them.

One thing led to another, and it became what it is now: Great Cultivators and above do not enter the fray, there are no established frontal battlefields, the borders between them are slightly loose, and they engage in small-scale skirmishes, back and forth, resulting in the suffering of the common people.

"Is that so."

Du En said, and was about to cultivate again.

This time, he was truly going to cultivate.

Sheng Zhaoshui grew anxious.

"Don't, I already regret making that move. Who knew your Endless Life was actually related to mana? So, let's continue talking about the current state of the Immortal Gate hegemony!"

He truly regretted it a little.

It was very difficult for Du En's Endless Life to become a divine ability; it was a very one-sided situation, but before, he did not know it was on the mana side, and had thought it was related to the physical body and spiritual body.

It was mainly because he had been deceived by the performance of the Inexhaustible Azure Spirit Body under the previous death rays.

As it turned out, it was actually on the mana side, already beginning to transition from substantial to ethereal, able to persist out of thin air even without external spiritual Qi. Although it was still far from being a continuous, inexhaustible stream, continuing to wear him down like this would clearly be very easy.

Completely unexpected that it would take so long... such words were just for listening; Du En basically did not believe them.

"Come, come, come, let's start the lecture!"

"I've already spoken about the Limitless Immortal Gate, then there is our sect. North and South have ceased war, focusing on East and West, each with one frontal battlefield. Next is the Mucang Immortal Gate, which is at war with both our sect and the Limitless Immortal Gate, having three frontal battlefields. Fudong is similar to them, having two frontal battlefields with the Rotten Forest Immortal Gate and one with our sect. The Rotten Forest Immortal Gate only has two frontal battlefields, but across the sea from the Mucang Immortal Gate and the Limitless Immortal Gate, they also have some disputes..."

"And there's more, there are actually secondary, indirect battlefields, which are in that starry sky, in the various star realms outside the main territory, where they are intertwined like dog's teeth, often infiltrating and sabotaging each other..."

No matter what Sheng Zhaoshui said, Du En simply did not open his mouth again.

In the end, he could only sigh.

"The way you are, it makes me want to terminate this duel right now!"

Hearing these words from Sheng Zhaoshui, the people outside the arena who had been listening to his rambling for quite a while were suddenly jolted with energy.

Was it coming?

Was the winner about to be decided?

Unfortunately, it was not.

Seeing that he had not startled Du En into opening his eyes and speaking, Sheng Zhaoshui sighed immediately and went back to staring blankly in boredom.

Boo!

If it weren't for the need to maintain their decorum, the people outside the arena would have wanted to boo in unison.

After all that time, it was all thunder and no rain, which was truly disappointing to the extreme.

And so, the duel returned to its original rhythm.

The top eight decided the top four, four days passed, and the eighth round ended.

Once finished, everyone immediately looked to the neighboring arena; the focus was actually entirely over there, as if the outcome here was unnecessary.

"This is simply outrageous!"

Jiang Ying was indignant. Knowing that the people next door were definitely watching and listening, she immediately scolded in a sharp, angry voice: "Du En, hurry up and give me your answer! I know you are listening right now, and in fact, you can transmit sound over here. Last time I was here, I heard that uncle's rambling!"

She disregarded her own opponent, wanting only to know one answer.

This made the expression of Lou Shuyue opposite her appear somewhat stiff.

That's right, in the first match of the ninth round, the lucky Lou Shuyue from last time appeared unlucky this time.

If it were under normal development, the four candidates for the champion should have occupied the top four, paired off to decide two, and finally, the strong would collide to produce the champion.

But now, Nangong Sheng was visibly sweeping through his opponent in this round with ease, while she had to face this female devil first. Not only did she possess terrifying brute strength, but she also struck with extreme ruthlessness; losing meant being crippled!

The key was that her demeanor was incredibly terrible; either she was limp all over, just short of exploding on the spot, or she was shriveled all over, dehydrated into a dried corpse. She simply could not accept it!

Therefore, endure it a little, let her be distracted, so I can...

Lou Shuyue feigned a stiff expression, but was actually secretly brewing and preparing based on the background of Jiang Ying that Sheng Zhaoshui had previously revealed. At this moment, the longer Du En dragged things out, the more favorable it was for her!

Then.

"Can you withstand the devastation of the Phoenix Remnant Hatred on your divine soul?"

"I have the Supreme Hegemony Body, which can protect my divine soul!"

"In other words, you cannot?"

"... Gritting my teeth, I should be able to hold on for a little less than half an hour, that shouldn't be a problem."

"Then there is no problem."

Du En's answer was simple and crisp, and in the blink of an eye, Jiang Ying was satisfied and extinguished her fire.

Because there was no need to say much more.

She could only hold on for that amount of time, so the outcome of their match was actually quite obvious.

Either, while Du En had not yet taken out the Phoenix Blood Spear, or before it burned her, she would seize the opportunity to charge in and crush him, quickly achieving victory.

It was just that the possibility was very small.

Or, let him light it successfully, then avoid his edge, turn around and run, and not engage in a frontal battle.

Relying on that spatial movement which had almost no gaps, appearing like a spatial escape technique, running everywhere in a small world that was large enough, like the surface of a star, was enough to drag it out until she could not hold on and collapsed!

Of course, Jiang Ying naturally still had her own chance for a comeback, which was to be able to catch Du En in the middle of this, force him into a frontal battle, and then beat him to a pulp.

However, this actually still needed to take into account his Inexhaustible Azure Spirit Body.

In a frontal battle with her, although he had no direct advantage, his tolerance margin was clearly far higher than others.

After all, it was a new spirit body that even the Extinction Death Ray could not destroy.

"Finally, add that deep-scheming, yet thick-skinned personality that can remain expressionless—eight-two or seven-three odds? Tsk, with that spear, he is practically cheating, but since he is an Artifact Master, it seems one cannot say he is cheating. Hmm, forget it, haha, I'll go challenge him later; Granduncle Buyi should agree."

The young girl was quite cheerful; once her confusion was cleared, she was immediately delighted. She didn't dwell on anything and focused solely on the opponent before her.

How much time had passed since then?

Not even a single breath...

"Forget it, I actually wanted to have a proper head-on spar with Junior Sister."

"Oh? Don't count on your face, though. After all, you look far worse than me. My face is purely natural, and it will grow even prettier as I get older!"

"..."

A single sentence left Lou Shuyue silent.

She suddenly realized that this bunch of candidates for the championship were truly more annoying than the last.

Then, she gave a gorgeous smile.

"What is 'Plucking Vetch'?"

"Plucking soybeans!"

"Right, plump beans—this is vetch."

?!!

Jiang Ying instinctively wanted to stop her, but the moment she moved, she suddenly discovered that she was being firmly restrained from all directions, making it difficult for her to break through and intervene; she could only tear the restraints apart first.

First space, then air, and even the earth, trees, and rivers—all sorts of things.

By the time she was finally about to finish tearing them away, she only saw Lou Shuyue smiling radiantly, placing a verdant bean into her own red lips.

Clang!

An invisible aura expanded outward. Her hair danced, her appearance was gorgeous, and the pitiful look was gone, replaced by a full-bodied heroic spirit; her figure seemed to have become much taller and more upright.

"This is Junior Sister Plucking Vetch. Although she walks into the superficial, it is hard to continue with normal subsequent methods, but she has formed her own school. She can pluck the essence of vetch for her own use, and since Junior Sister Jiang is extremely singular, it is even simpler; there will be no difficulty in choosing."

As Sheng Zhaoshui sighed with such emotion, the two women were already fighting head-on.

Jiang Ying's strength was brute and unrefined, her supreme physical body invincible.

Yet Lou Shuyue was unexpected, possessing close-quarters combat techniques sufficient to run rampant on the battlefield. Paired with the plucked supreme physical essence, although her hard stats were still slightly inferior, she used technique to compensate for her clumsiness, actually managing to fight to a draw head-on.

Mountain peaks collapsed, the ground shattered, rivers snapped, the sky trembled... In the blink of an eye, completely beyond the expectations of those watching from the outside, it had actually turned into this state.

Su Wanhe could not help but sigh at her own inferiority, looking as dejected as a defeated peacock.

"Perhaps Junior Sister Plucking Vetch is your greatest enemy, Brother Du. As for me..."

Sheng Zhaoshui shook his head.

Since the opponent's cards were so clearly exposed, and she had a divine ability like 'Flowers and Leaves Never Meet', which could be said to restrain the opponent's Plucking Vetch method, Lou Shuyue was indeed destined to lose.

Du En did not refute his words, but in reality, he did not agree either.

Lou Shuyue would never dare to pluck away the 'Phoenix Remnant Hatred', as that would only be inviting fire to burn herself; it is easy to invite a spirit but hard to send it away. Therefore, she would likely only pluck the strengths of his Dao heart to forcefully withstand the Phoenix Remnant Hatred.

This point was indeed enough to smooth out the advantages and disadvantages in this regard. Furthermore, even if she could simultaneously pluck away other externalized advantages like the 'Inexhaustible Azure Spirit Body', to be honest, Du En still had one trump card of conventional means left.

Therefore, relatively speaking, Lou Shuyue's 'Code of Fragrant Prime', which she wore as a shell, could also reach a state of great completion, forming charm and control over various things and drawing them for her own use. She could even briefly trap Jiang Ying; this aspect, for him, might be the true point of trouble.

After all, his current weakness was insufficient hard power!

"Good, good, good!"

Jiang Ying was fighting with exceptional pleasure and could not help but let out a silver-bell-like laugh, because it had been a long time since she had encountered such an evenly matched opponent.

Volunteering to come and participate in this Grand Competition was truly not in vain.

After all, the Nascent Soul geniuses of the Northern Lands had already been wiped out by her, and over at the Stop-Boundary Immortal Sect, the moment they saw her, Great Cultivators would secretly intervene to sweep her out the door; they would never let geniuses of the same rank come to fight her.

If they really fought like that and one died, the matter would never end.

After all, heaven-favored seeds of this level could basically be treated as Great Cultivators.

So she was very happy now, becoming more excited the more she fought. Then, Lou Shuyue discovered with horror that this sharp-tongued, savage little demoness's supreme physical body had not actually been developed to the limit of her current realm and could continue to climb in strength!

What kind of monstrous constitution is this?!

But thinking about it carefully, it was normal. Jiang Ying was currently only a 'strong genius'; above her were 'heaven-favored', and above them were 'supreme'. For a constitution publicly acknowledged as supreme, how could it not have the potential to climb to such a level?

Consequently, Lou Shuyue discovered that her matchup against Jiang Ying was actually a major disadvantage.

Because it came from 'Plucking Vetch', it was not truly possessed.

If one could truly steal it, then it wouldn't be a high-grade technique, and even a top-grade technique couldn't do it.

Therefore, at the moment, if she wanted to recover from the gradually exposed disadvantage, she could only stop and perform a re-plucking update.

But Jiang Ying, who went crazy once she started fighting—not caring if her face was ruined, if she vomited blood, if her hand was broken, or if her chest was crushed—had blood glowing with gold. Her magic power was flowing directly through her blood and flesh like a great river, flowing more fiercely as it went. External things were hard to block, and she had no intention of giving her that kind of opportunity.

Terrible!

Careless!

So, is it about time?

Lou Shuyue thought to herself.

In fact, because of the accident caused by Sheng Zhaoshui, or rather, the intervention from the side of True Monarch Cheng Ru, True Monarch Regret-Love immediately adjusted her strategy.

Thus, having received her instructions, Lou Shuyue was permitted to choose the right moment to concede if she encountered other championship candidates during the final four matchups.

Preserve her means, sit and watch them fight, understand their foundations, and then, plot again!

She was naturally happy about this situation.

Because the reason she took the initiative to participate in this Grand Competition actually carried some helplessness.

Within her faction, there were too many competitors of the same rank and level, and she had encountered a bottleneck in her cultivation.

Even if she didn't take the initiative this time and chose to try to break through to the Deity Transformation stage to avoid it, if she failed to break through, she would suffer a backlash even if she didn't die. Moreover, she would likely be called over anyway to cut in line and participate in this Grand Competition.

In that case, it was better to be proactive!

And now that the Grand Competition had reached this point, many competitors within her faction had been eliminated, especially with the White Bone Daoist killed and the peerless sword talent Ye Buhei crippled; her competitive pressure had been greatly reduced. She had also been pointedly and rudely told her problems by Sheng Zhaoshui, and she could try to change her technique and switch cultivation paths later.

In short, thanks to the two of you, this is the best ending for me!

Thinking this, Lou Shuyue suddenly invigorated her Dharma power, though on the surface she restrained her heroic bearing, returning once more to a pitiful and helpless appearance.

Jiang Ying didn't care what she looked like; she kept attacking regardless!

But just at this moment.

"At it again! You sissy, you only know how to use these kinds of tricks, right? If you've got the guts, keep fighting!"

Jiang Ying saw that her opponent seemed to have the intention to retreat and was using that previous trick of the Alluring Fragrance Charm to block her, then began to retreat gracefully; she immediately mocked her thus.

But Lou Shuyue only whispered softly and charmingly: "Little sister, you're wrong there. Big sister is a woman after all; the description 'sissy' is truly not quite right, oh."

I say you are, so you are!

Jiang Ying was already about to tear the confinement apart, her speed three parts faster than before.

Seeing this, Lou Shuyue grew secretly grave, while simultaneously speaking lightly: "This slave admits defeat. After all, if we keep fighting, little sister is naturally barren and petite, so you might not feel anything, but this slave's Alluring Fragrance, which I consider quite full, is about to be ruthlessly destroyed by little sister's cruel hands!"

Saying this, she intentionally spun around in the air, truly looking alluring and beautiful, causing a couple of people in the audience to stare secretly, only to be noticed and beaten by their companions beside them.

Lou Shuyue seemed to see it, only covering her mouth and chuckling, then like a willow in the mist, she swayed with the wind and vanished.

A pink fist struck empty air, bringing about a rumbling sound; even space was shattered by the blow.

"Wah wah wah! You want to run? It's not that easy! Once I take the crown, I'll come find you to settle the score!"

Jiang Ying was furious and immediately declared this.

Sheng Zhaoshui suddenly breathed a secret sigh of relief.

Go find her, go find her, just don't come find me!

"And you, that smug uncle senior brother from before, don't think you can run either!"

As if sensing the thoughts over here from afar, Jiang Ying added another sentence.

Sheng Zhaoshui couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Just as he wanted to vent his grievances to Du En, he discovered that the latter had long since silently closed his eyes and continued to cultivate.

In an instant, his bitter smile deepened; feeling as if he were being targeted by everyone, he couldn't help but sigh slightly, appearing resentful and mournful.

Hm?

Du En's heart couldn't help but stir, keenly sensing a subtle change from within.

He hadn't actually been immersed in cultivation just now; he was merely closing his eyes to rest his mind. After all, it was impossible to cultivate from start to finish; one still needed a moment of leisure to relax in order to maintain an optimal state and guard against any unforeseen events.

"Is she brewing some other means?"

Thinking this, Du En raised his vigilance.

At the same time, he couldn't help but feel some regret.

Sixteen days at most.

If nothing unexpected happens, Sheng Zhaoshui will only drag it out with him until that day, the day the grand competition decides the champion—which is the day after tomorrow.

Such a good state of cultivation; it is truly a pity.

Amidst their respective thoughts, time flowed on once more.

The next day, Nangong Sheng's duel appeared unremarkable.

Even though his opponent was finally able to avoid being crushed by the 'thousands of troops and horses' and successfully survived his strike, it was just a strike.

Once his natal Dharma treasure, the Battle Spear, was brought out, the enemy could not withstand the move at all; their fighting spirit collapsed, and they knelt on the ground begging for mercy!

"Sigh~"

He couldn't help but sigh a little.

Originally, this ninth round of the top four duels should have been a clash of the strong, where they would begin to determine who was superior.

Especially regarding the dark horse Du En, who had risen suddenly; seeing his abilities, Nangong Sheng felt an irrepressible excitement, a joy of finding a worthy opponent, and only wanted a head-on collision and slaughter.

But what was the result?

Unexpected events one after another; it was exceptionally dull!

Thinking this, after leaving the arena, he subconsciously turned his head to look at the neighboring one.

He immediately couldn't help but fall silent.

"Tsk!"

The focus was entirely over there, making the duel here seem like an afterthought!

Nangong Sheng, who already felt dissatisfied, thought this way at the moment and couldn't help but feel depressed.

Especially when he discovered that the two people inside were very silent this time and hadn't commented on or watched his duel, his mood grew even more agitated, and he scratched his hair in frustration.

Each holding a state of mind that wasn't quite right, even the four outstanding figures who were purely spectators had become somewhat numb.

In short, time quickly arrived at the second day.

The tenth round of the grand competition, the day the champion is decided.

I wonder if the twentieth place can be decided after we finish our match?

Nangong Sheng and Jiang Ying thought this simultaneously after entering the arena.

This final battle should have been highly anticipated and ready to erupt at any moment, but at this moment, they both fell into silence, unable to help but doubt the meaning of their participation.

They took the initiative to participate and were determined to take the crown; naturally, there were reasons.

First, it was naturally due to the demands of their faction leaders, who wanted them to suppress all the heroes and demonstrate the strength of their factions to the True Person great cultivators who would know and were currently paying attention to this matter.

Second, it was also for themselves; if they could win first place, they could obtain a tilt of resources within the faction and further regard from the True Monarchs, thereby laying a better foundation for their subsequent path.

Third, it was naturally to covet the best and most optimal opportunity for a breakthrough, so as to have more certainty in successfully reaching the Deity Transformation realm in one go, gaining more accumulation of foundation, which was also to prepare and lay the groundwork for the future!

Don't look at how they are already strong geniuses now, only one step away from Deity Transformation, and could already attempt to break through; the success rate is actually not small.

But in reality, the gap between a genius and a heaven-gifted prodigy far exceeds the gap between a genius and an outstanding figure!

In the ten thousand years of the Falling Feather Immortal Sect, there have actually been quite a few strong geniuses; it can be said that every few decades or every century, there are always a few, but the sect still only has those few True Monarchs.

In other words, it can be said that they all ended in obscurity; either they perished on the path of challenging themselves, or after cultivating to the level of a Void Refinement True Person, they could make no further progress and were stuck outside the door of the heaven-gifted prodigies.

Just like ordinary geniuses, who are very often stuck at the Spirit Transformation stage, at most only able to remain at the Perfection of Spirit Transformation for their entire lives, the further one goes, the harder it is to break through to a major realm; at the same time, the gap between realms becomes increasingly vast, gradually becoming like a chasm between heaven and earth.

Therefore, they also need to strive and struggle.

Yet as a result, the focus of the entire arena is now on that pair next door, making them appear ignored, and in terms of the first two purposes of the competition, it has already greatly diminished.

"Sigh~!"

"Sigh~!"

"..."

"Why are you mimicking me?"

"Hmm?"

"You just admitted it, right?"

Facing Jiang Ying's words, Nangong Sheng could not help but be stunned, and then became annoyed.

"What a brain-dead little girl!"

"Ouch! You dare call me simple-minded? Believe it or not, I'll beat your head until it explodes!"

"If you can do it, then come!"

"Bring it on!"

Disagreeing in a single word, the two sides fought together.

One side wielded a ten-mile radius in each hand, the other cast spells to summon thousands of troops and horses.

They struck first with moves meant for mutual destruction, without any probing or nonsense, as if they wanted to vent the frustration of these past days onto the opponent, directly beginning a white-hot close-quarters duel.

"One has a supreme physical body invincible in the world, the other has a high-spirited fighting spirit that never fails; they are truly evenly matched, a real case of six of one and half a dozen of the other. The fight is majestic, causing mountains to collapse and waters to break, space to shatter, and all flowers, plants, and trees to turn to ash!"

"Hey! Look, that battle spear hard-clashed with a small pink fist, and with a 'snap', it broke!"

"But it's no big problem; who says a broken spear cannot kill an enemy?"

"Sigh! The little girl has no sense of aesthetics; her already barren figure is now concave like a deep valley, truly adding insult to injury!"

"Oh, oh! Worthy of being a descendant of the battle tradition, she has already revealed her own fighting heart; a broken spear is no hindrance, just continue with fighting spirit!"

"Oh my! It really is a supreme physical body, with unfathomable potential, and with a beauty feeding her moves, now is the time for it to shine anew!"

"This one is a simple, unadorned, and petite devil."

"That one grows braver with every fight, truly never retreating!"

Sheng Zhaoshui's emotions were even more high-spirited than the two fighting, with a series of commentaries popping out; he was just a low-quality storyteller.

Blathering on, he repeated the duel that Du En was watching all over again.

In fact, the battle situation was actually very simple.

Those two simply threw away all the fancy tricks and were single-mindedly determined to overwhelm the other in their own area of expertise!

Thus, one had a supreme physical body, and the other fought without end!

Both sides fought until the sky went dark and the earth went black, and even the environment within the small world was worn away!

Therefore, they had no time to think about anything else right now, but Sheng Zhaoshui did, so he continued to narrate vividly, thinking he was being kind and helpful, so that the four outstanding figures watching the battle besides Du En could have a better understanding and immersion.

"Thirteen times returning from the brink of death, Nangong Sheng is as his name suggests!"

"It is just a pity that, growing braver with every fight, defeated and fighting again, fighting without end, it still cannot compare to those decades of returning from death!"

"Think of that little sister Jiang, who began cultivating the Dao at three, had to participate in the slaughter of the Northern Lands' Qi Refining stage at five, and at ten was ruthlessly thrown into a bloodthirsty, starving wolf pack of the Foundation Establishment stage, only able to walk out of the cage after killing every single one of them."

Sheng Zhaoshui stared at Jiang Ying's struggle, watching as each punch was fiercer than the last; her head had already been pierced through by the battle spear, and her body had long since become tattered, but her Qi and blood still flowed like a wild river, with her magic power only causing ripples within it.

To an outside observer, one could not tell if she had been pierced and wounded by the battle spear, or if she had been brought down by her own seemingly excessive ferocity.

He could not help but carry a touch of obscure pity, and continued faintly: "Even a supreme physical body requires tempering; over decades, having experienced countless life-and-death battles, she had to face the pressure of all peers of the same rank at the early Nascent Soul stage, and even after breaking through to the Spirit Transformation stage, she will only repeat these encounters, with no possibility of cessation."

Because the True Monarch Bu Yi would not indulge her, but would only keep throwing her into various situations on the edge of life and death, letting this supreme physical body, rarely seen in thousands of years, truly become the supreme hegemony body he recognizes.

He had never praised or admired her, because possessing such a constitution, being able to do it is a matter of course, and being unable to do it is worthless!

"She dares not stop, and she dares not lose."

After saying this, Sheng Zhaoshui stopped speaking.

Because that duel was just about reaching its finale and was about to end.

Nangong Sheng, at this moment, once again reconnected the battle spear, as always, using the desperate momentum of the battlefield to lift the spear and directly point-blank explode Jiang Ying's head, without holding back at all.

And she, on the opposite side, only thought in her heart: what does it matter if I lose my head?

It's not the first time this has happened!

Thus, the river of Qi and blood gathered in her fists, surging out with extreme precision, directly imprinting onto Nangong Sheng's body, intending to explode his invincible persistence and crush his tenacious fighting heart.

He naturally could not admit defeat like this, repeatedly defeated and repeatedly fighting, repeatedly fighting and repeatedly defeated, then repeatedly defeated and repeatedly fighting, finally seeking victory, winning through fighting; if he does not win, then it is meaningless, and he cannot break through!

But reality did not give Nangong Sheng the leeway or opportunity to repair his fighting heart and repeatedly fight again, because the headless, broken-bodied Jiang Ying continued to swing her fists; with one punch, one of his arms turned directly into blood foam, and it also turned half of his body into powder.

With these two punches traded for one body, only a tattered, unyielding Nascent Soul remained.

Thus, she lifted her foot again, already extremely practiced and carved into instinct, and stepped heavily into the air.

Under the two feet, the Nascent Soul shattered.

Jiang Ying, also left with only a blood-blurred torso, fell powerlessly to the ground, having achieved victory in this match.

It left the four of them, Ying Dongqing and the others, dumbfounded, and left them feeling naturally horrified.

What it means to have no fear of death—they originally thought they understood and knew how to express it, especially those three including Xiong Fa, who had hearts full of hot blood; even if they had to sacrifice themselves, they wouldn't frown, but watching this now, they couldn't help but feel terrified!

Because in the past, in their eyes, the enemy was a bunch of people who clung to life and feared death, only acting for profit, but now, the bloody reality was placed before them.

How could things be so simple!

These enemies, for their own goals, for their own persistence, for their own will, or perhaps even just purely because of fear or profit, could be more fearless of death than them and better at fighting for their lives!

Thus, just as the outstanding figures outside the arena were silent and unable to extricate themselves, Sheng Zhaoshui looked toward Du En and slowly asked: "What do you think?"

"Nangong Sheng is not dead yet."

"Uh, that's not what I'm asking."

"Jiang Ying actually doesn't want to break through to the Deity Transformation stage."

"Right, right, right, it's exactly that aspect, so, what is your take on it?"

"Why don't you come over to the resolution side?"

"……"

Du En's counter-question left Sheng Zhaoshui silent.

After a long while, he gave a mocking laugh at himself: "Forget it, I'm not exactly a righteous gentleman anyway, just a vulgar person who occasionally gets sentimental."

Then it was Du En's turn to be silent.

Because once it reached this point, there was nothing left to say, and Sheng Zhaoshui did not harp on the previous topic, appearing to have a tacit understanding.

At the same time, in the small world next door.

Jiang Ying's broken body had already fallen to the ground, looking as if dead, but how could that be; so, after a short while, a three-inch Nascent Soul, petite and cute, and even wearing a green lotus dress, climbed out from the severed neck with practiced ease, its entire body unstained by blood.

That dress was her life-bound artifact, primarily used to protect the Nascent Soul, because relatively speaking, her Nascent Soul was actually quite a major weakness, so at this moment, it was also appearing quite strenuous as it treated the physical body.

Simply put, it was shoving a specially made, secret medicinal pill into that supple and tough esophagus; because the Nascent Soul's arms were too short and its strength was clearly insufficient, and its magic power was mostly exhausted, she had to struggle and fuss for a while before finally getting the pill into the body's stomach, which was practically crying out to be fed.

"Phew~ saved!"

Jiang Ying let out a sigh of relief, looking triumphant, then immediately composed herself and turned to look at the opposite side.

Nangong Sheng, whose Nascent Soul—which had already merged with his soul—had been shattered to pieces and should have been dead through and through, was at this moment unexpectedly manifesting a trace of presence again; the Battle Spear fell while spinning and was caught directly by an invisible hand.

"No way, you didn't die from that?"

Jiang Ying was momentarily stunned.

"Hahaha, my fighting spirit remains, my true spirit is not destroyed, naturally I am not yet dead!"

Nangong Sheng had fought a great battle; although he lost, he was convinced of his defeat and felt very gratified, vibrating the air as he continued to speak: "Although I was defeated this time, it doesn't matter, there will be a next time, and, once I reshape my physical body and Nascent Soul, I will be able to reach an even higher level; this is what it means to fight without end!"

That Battle Victory was actually the content of the Battle Canon, therefore it is difficult to break through without winning.

And the Battle Code is walking on the path of battle; in fact, one does not need to be constrained by winning or losing, because this is just a stage of being on the road—stumbling along is walking, jogging is also walking; as long as one can take a step forward, one can naturally grow by a fraction.

"Wow! You are such a disgusting person!"

"……"

Watching Jiang Ying, who was once again hurling insults without any self-awareness, Nangong Sheng upheld the idea of yielding to a young junior sister and did not hold it against her at this time.

Furthermore.

"It's about to begin."

(End of chapter)