Chapter 166: The Mountains Respond, the True Immortal Descends!

Above the venue, countless gazes turned in unison toward the viewing pavilion.

Then, the true master of the current Jin Dynasty, Empress Dowager Xici, and the mascot-like Xuantong Emperor appeared on the viewing platform, surrounded by all the princes, ministers, and guards, and took their seats one after another.

A eunuch immediately stepped forward and respectfully asked for instructions: "Your Majesty, Old Buddha, may we begin?"

The Xuantong Emperor glanced at Xici, and only after she nodded slightly did he grant permission:

"Begin."

After Xici and the Emperor arrived, the entire venue fell silent. Immediately, a middle-aged eunuch on the viewing pavilion stepped forward and shouted in a resonant voice:

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: the world today is filled with myriad nations, a hundred boats racing in the current. Shenzhou has been the source of the Dao of cultivation since ancient times. Today, we specially invite the heroes of the world to come here to meet friends through Martial Arts."

This eunuch clearly possessed no weak Martial Arts; his voice rolled and echoed throughout the entire venue, clearly audible both inside and out.

However, the hundreds of flowery words were nothing but empty nonsense. The three great powers and the various national delegations in the viewing seats looked on with arrogance and contempt, all scrutinizing Lu Yuan on the stage, with not one of them listening seriously.

Among the seats below, experts from Jinjin who had come to support, such as Wu Yixian and Cao Futian, scanned their surroundings vigilantly. Li Junxian, Lin Xingchao, Gu Kanshan, and their disciples were also sitting in the same area. The one-armed Lin Xingchao and his disciples could not even spare a thought for their enemy Xici; they all watched the ring with nervous expressions, sweating for Lu Yuan.

Soon, this opening sequence concluded.

Sitting to the side, Xici remained expressionless, showing no intention of stepping into the spotlight. On the dragon throne, the Xuantong Emperor announced the start of the Martial Arts Tournament. Immediately, in the viewing seats closest to the ring, Nayancheng and the various foreign ministers stood up and announced loudly:

"This Martial Arts Tournament shall have the Jinjin Grandmaster and master of the Guangwu Hall, Lu Yuan, as the ring master."

"Participants from other nations may draw lots to determine the order of ascending the stage. Whoever can stand on this ring until the end, until no one remains to challenge them, shall be the final winner of the World Martial Arts Tournament!"

"The drawing process will be witnessed by myself, Nayancheng, and the ministers of all nations to prevent any cheating. Participants from all nations, please come here to draw lots!"

As the words fell, the entire venue buzzed, and the masses were filled with anticipation.

Immediately, Hellers and Abraham of the Shenluo Holy See; Alexeyevich and Julius of Sha'e; Ueda Masaaki and Miyamoto Shinichi of Rizhao; as well as ten other powerhouses from West Asia, Indu, and other nations stood up from their seats and walked toward the stage.

These people were all top-tier powerhouses of the current age, each with an aura as heavy as a mountain and as deep as the sea. They approached Nayancheng and the others with postures that were either calm, arrogant, or indifferent.

A sealed iron box had already been placed on the table, with only a single hole left. Among the arriving participants, a dark-skinned, barefoot old man dressed in what looked like a burlap sack laughed and reached out first:

"Let me, Garava, do it—"

However.

Before he could even touch the iron box, a sharp sword light struck like lightning. The barefoot old man pulled his hand back and dodged abruptly, then looked to the side in shock and anger:

"What are you doing!?"

The one who had struck was none other than Hellers of the Shenluo Holy See. He held a rapier with exquisite patterns, staring at the barefoot old man with a contemptuous and mocking gaze:

"Indu is a colony of my Shenluo Empire. Garava, who gave you the courage to dare to snatch the lead before us?"

Now that the entirety of Indu had long since fallen into a colony of Shenluo, and even their language was primarily Shenluo, Garava, having his sore spot exposed, was instantly enraged.

Yet, just as he was about to respond with a fierce expression, a brilliant golden light arrived in an instant from the ring, shattering the iron box Nayancheng was holding for the draw before anyone could react.

Hmm!?

At this, the entire venue was shocked. All the participating powerhouses turned their heads abruptly, their eyes cold as they looked toward the source of the golden light—the ring behind them:

"Scoundrel!"

"What do you want to do?"

"Despicable Jin Dynasty man, are you trying to ambush us?"

The one who had struck was none other than Lu Yuan.

Realizing that it was Lu Yuan on the stage who had attacked and broken the drawing box, Nayancheng stood stunned on the spot, cold sweat pouring down:

"Hall Master, what is the meaning of this? The Emperor, the Old Buddha, and the whole world are watching; you must not act recklessly!"

Amidst the uproar of the entire venue and the cold, sharp gazes of the powerhouses from various nations, Lu Yuan, who had not made a sound since the beginning, smiled on the stage. He slowly opened his arms, and his ethereal voice spread throughout the entire venue:

"Apologies, I suddenly feel that letting you ascend the stage to challenge me one by one is too much of a waste of time."

"You people are truly too weak. A group of ants taking turns challenging an elephant has no meaning, nor does it have any spectacle. So, I have decided to change the method of the challenge."

"From now on, there will be no limit to the number of people on this ring. All of you may ascend the stage at the same time. You may join forces, you may surround me. Whoever can defeat me shall be called the number one in the world."

What!?

Allowing everyone to ascend the stage together to join forces and surround him?

As soon as the words fell, a heaven-shaking uproar erupted throughout the venue. All the spectators were shocked and incredulous at Lu Yuan's words.

The participating powerhouses in front of the drawing table had their expressions change in unison, as if they had been subjected to a great insult, their anger burning and their murderous intent fully revealed.

Led by the two nations of Shenluo and Sha'e, Hellers, Abraham, Alexeyevich, and Julius were the first to issue a grim and sharp rebuke:

"Audacious! What are you, to dare to be so arrogant!"

"Are you insulting us? What qualifications do you have to make us join forces to deal with you?"

"The sick man of the Jin Dynasty actually dares to say we are weak, that it is ants challenging an elephant—it is simply the biggest joke in the world!"

"Interesting. This is the first time I have seen such a conceited Jin Dynasty man. When I cut off your head later, let's see if you can still be so arrogant!"

In an instant, many top powerhouses shouted sharply. Their massive auras, and even their baleful energy and killing intent, boiled over, sweeping out like a tsunami. Even the thousands of spectators around, despite being so far away, felt a sense of oppression and alarm.

Whether it was the expectant commoners inside and outside the venue, or Li Junxian, Wu Yixian, and others in the arena, all of them changed color and spoke urgently:

"What is going on? What does A Yuan mean by this!?" "With the great powers and other nations present, there are at least a dozen peak Grandmaster-level powerhouses. How could he possibly defeat them!?"

"This, what exactly is Hall Master Lu trying to do!?"

Before this, Lu Yuan had never mentioned to them his plan to change the rules of the Martial Arts Tournament.

Originally, those participating in this Martial Arts Tournament could be said to be the top powerhouses of their respective nations. Even if not one of them had stepped into the Eighth Realm like Xici, those who could represent a nation in battle inevitably held hidden trump cards and were absolutely not easy to deal with.

Originally, if they had challenged him one by one, Lu Yuan would have had a significant chance of winning given his strength to trade blows with Xici. But with over a dozen peak Grandmasters surrounding him, even a Heavenly Gang Grandmaster would likely meet his end!

And at this moment, as the entire audience was terrified and boiling over, and the powerhouses of various nations were filled with soaring anger and killing intent.

"Very good."

"Since that is the case, let me let you realize the gap between you and me."

Lu Yuan on the stage did not say much more; he simply smiled and suddenly extended his palm, pressing it into the empty air toward Abraham and the others.

Hum—!

In the blink of an eye, the air within a radius of over ten zhang instantly transformed into a boundless tidal wave, surging, roaring, churning, and thundering.

In less than a tenth of a breath, Lu Yuan's palm bloomed with brilliant golden radiance, expanding and spreading, and then a Golden Light Giant Palm covering an area of over ten zhang—a palm so vast it blotted out the sky and filled everyone's field of vision—suddenly thrust out from the roaring, boiling air wave!

What!?

Events beyond cognition were unfolding right before their eyes; the moment this Golden Light Giant Palm appeared out of thin air, every one of these powerhouses—who were all dominant figures in their own nations, whether from the Holy Roman Empire, Russia, or Sunlight Country—was struck with wild terror, their hair standing on end!

Rumble.

After the Golden Light Giant Palm took form, it struck down, pressing upon the crowd as if crushing ants; everyone's vision was completely occupied by this giant palm, and they could clearly hear a series of explosive sonic waves sweeping through, the air emitting a groan of unbearable strain, creating a sensation of extreme suffocation as if their lungs were about to be crushed!

"Not good!"

Facing this inconceivable, unimaginable attack, the Holy Roman Empire's Knight King Abraham and the Inquisition Blade Hellers roared in alarm, their bodies erupting with holy aura; the Knight Sword and Knight Dagger at their backs and waists bloomed with cruel, cold light, and like wild dragons, they struck and thrust together toward the giant palm.

The Russian Empire's peak Title War God Alexeyevich and Julius roared, their military sabers unsheathing with ferocity; as their blades slashed, the air emitted sharp, mournful cries, even producing visible ripples of blade Qi as they met the giant palm.

As for Sunlight Country's Great Priest Ueda Masaaki and Ninja King Miyamoto Shinichi, one of them, amidst a clear, metallic ringing sound, sent two crescent blades flying from his sleeves, transforming them into a whistling, spinning moon-wheel; the other drew his katana with an eerily strange technique, the blade seemingly vibrating thousands of times in an instant, causing the very light along the trajectory of his strike to appear as if it were being split apart!

It was not just these powerhouses from the three great powers; other experts from various nations also struck at the same time, some bare-handed, some wielding Black Iron Staffs, others holding Snake-shaped Weapons, all attacking the giant palm descending from above with fierce roars, and finally—

Boom—!

Under the strike of the giant palm, the expressions of the many top experts changed wildly, and they let out muffled groans; then, it was as if an magnitude-eight earthquake had occurred, or as if countless earth dragons hidden beneath the ground had all turned over at once, and countless huge cracks spread rapidly in all directions with the Golden Light Giant Palm as the center.

A destructive wave beyond description collided, and a visible, massive ripple force field suddenly erupted in the arena.

This ripple force field covered over ten zhang and flashed for only an instant before expanding like a bursting bubble; then, unimaginable power violently tore through the air, as if another massive explosion had occurred, with gale-force winds and energy scouring everything in all directions!

Nayancheng and the various foreign envoys who were closest, along with tables, chairs, and benches, were blown away fiercely by the impact of the gale, unable to stand their ground at all.

And in this scene where over ten peak Grandmasters joined forces—a collision like Mars hitting Earth—the Golden Light Giant Palm that had suppressed the powerhouses of various nations also shattered in an instant, turning into specks of golden light rain that splashed in all directions.

However, in this scene of total silence and breathtaking beauty, one could clearly see that more than half of the dozen top experts who had intercepted the Golden Light Giant Palm were now in tattered clothes, kneeling on the ground, with blood flowing incessantly from their bodies, mouths, and noses, as if they had suffered heavy injuries.

Even the six powerhouses who were a cut above the other contestants—Abraham, Hellers, Alexeyevich, Julius, Ueda Masaaki, and Miyamoto Shinichi—were now pale-faced, their breathing unsteady, with blood visible at the corners of their mouths, appearing extremely disheveled.

"Not bad, not bad."

On the arena, Lu Yuan, who had only lightly struck one palm from start to finish, smiled slightly:

"To still be standing after taking my palm, the six of you combined have finally earned the qualification for me to get slightly serious."

His laughter echoed.

The rumbling echoes had not yet completely faded, and the entire venue was still trembling slightly; one could clearly see a massive, sunken palm print on the ground around Abraham, and the millions of spectators looked on in terror, completely struck dumb.

Because that palm just now had completely transcended the scope of Martial Arts, as if a god had grown angry and unleashed divine punishment.

A Golden Light Giant Palm ten zhang in size—no one could imagine that a mortal body could display such a soul-shaking, god-like method!

"You..."

At this moment, the six powerhouses, who were barely maintaining a standing posture, looked up at Lu Yuan with eyes full of horror and shock:

"Condensing Life Essence into form, killing from a distance—this is the Eighth Stage of cultivation, the realm of the Human Saint!?"

"Impossible, impossible... the world environment has degraded; in this era, no one can reach this stage at this age, not even a once-in-a-century genius..."

"Who exactly are you!?"

No words could describe the shock in their hearts at this moment.

Condensing Life Essence into Qi, manifesting it into substance, and killing across the air—this was the hallmark of an expert in the Eighth Legendary Realm.

They never imagined that Lu Yuan, who looked so young, could actually display the methods of an expert in the Legendary Realm; it simply overturned everyone's cognition.

Moreover, to condense such a massive palm of Life Essence—they suspected that even an Eighth Rank Legendary expert might not be able to do it!

"Who am I?"

Facing their horrified gazes, Lu Yuan laughed aloud:

"In Heaven, the White Jade Capital, twelve towers and five cities. An Immortal strokes my crown, binding my hair to receive eternal life."

The laughter echoed throughout the entire venue and even over Xiantai Mountain, and the mountains responded in kind.

Under the blank stares of the myriad spectators, Lu Yuan's body seemed to be surrounded by a light breeze, slowly floating off the ground and rising into the air;

At the same time, brilliant light bloomed and condensed on his body; first, a halo like the great sun appeared behind his head, casting down incomparably ethereal and radiant immortal light;

Then, a robe purely condensed from golden light took form, with ribbons of immortal light swirling and dancing, making him appear as if a true Immortal had descended into the human world...!