Chapter 277: Pillar Supporting the Sky, Boundless Angry Sea

Liao Xin had integrated two types of implants, and both had already triggered core-level extraordinary abilities, so he was a Dao Foundation stage powerhouse of the 3rd tier.

Added to the top-tier inheritance of the Yuhua Sect and his own talent, he possessed combat power of about the 3.5th tier.

As a result, he was taken out in one move!

Such a result surprised everyone present.

Compared to the composure of Gan Jingcheng letting Wang Fengqing use all her means, the power of Ming Qi resolving his opponent in one move was even more impressive!

"A bit tricky."

On the spectator stand, Gan Jingcheng rubbed his chin and muttered.

"Very good!"

Ning Chuan on the opposite spectator stand was full of fighting spirit and felt very excited.

Li Fei recalled the move Ming Qi had just unleashed and asked Qin Zhen beside him:

"Professor Qin, is what he mainly cultivates the 'White-Pure Water Jin Gang Method' from the 'Eight Sections of Jin Gang'?"

Qin Zhen nodded.

The "Red-Sound Fire Jin Gang Method" and the "White-Pure Water Jin Gang Method" were two cultivation methods in the "Eight Sections of Jin Gang" specifically used for offense—one water, one fire, one yin, one yang.

Subduing the Tiger nurtures fire, and Subduing the Dragon nurtures water, so those cultivating the 【Subduing Tiger Jin Gang】 Dao Foundation are suitable for the "Red-Sound Fire Jin Gang Method," and those cultivating the 【Subduing Dragon Jin Gang】 Dao Foundation are suitable for the "White-Pure Water Jin Gang Method."

The Dao Foundation Li Fei cultivated was 【Hunyuan Heavenly Gold】; the Jin Gang Strength he cultivated had a Hunyuan attribute and simultaneously fused yin and yang, not leaning toward either side, so he was suitable for cultivating both the "Red-Sound Fire Jin Gang Method" and the "White-Pure Water Jin Gang Method."

Moreover, when Shi Caiming was guiding him in cultivating the "Red-Sound Fire Jin Gang Method," he had specifically mentioned:

"In the future, if you have the opportunity to learn the 'White-Pure Water Jin Gang Method,' gathering both the water and fire methods will be more conducive to your realization of the yin and yang natures, thereby completely mastering Hunyuan!"

It was just a pity that when Pudu Temple handed over the "Eight Sections of Jin Gang" to the imperial court back then, they had deliberately held something back; among the four cultivation methods handed over, there was only the "Red-Sound Fire Jin Gang Method," and no "White-Pure Water Jin Gang Method."

Pudu Temple intended to separate "water and fire."

If Li Fei wanted to gather both "water and fire," it would be very difficult unless he became a monk and also became a contemporary Buddha-son.

Li Fei certainly didn't want to be a monk, so seeing Ming Qi use the "White-Pure Water Jin Gang Method," he paid extra attention.

Even if he couldn't learn the specific cultivation method, watching more and carefully sensing the Dao Strength the opponent unleashed would also be helpful to him.

Seeing Ming Qi walk off the competition ground and the last match of the morning end, Li Fei intended to stand up and return to his room to continue his cultivation.

"Wait a moment."

Qin Zhen suddenly spoke up.

"Hmm?"

Li Fei looked at Qin Zhen in confusion.

This professor had never interfered with any of his actions before.

Qin Zhen stood up, leaped off the spectator stand in one step, and then walked into the competition stage.

At this time, the tens of thousands of spectators at the scene were already preparing to stand up and leave; not many people noticed Qin Zhen, who had suddenly entered the arena.

"Professor Qin Zhen of Wu'an University, I request to spar with Professor Kou Fa of Tianqu University!"

Qin Zhen's voice resounded throughout the arena.

"Hmm?"

The spectators who were preparing to leave stopped one after another and turned to look into the arena.

"There's another match?"

And among the martial artists present, the vast majority showed looks of excitement.

Qin Zhen was second on the Feng Province Wind and Cloud List and was on the candidate list for the overall Wind and Cloud List.

Kou Fa was the first on the Cang Province Wind and Cloud List and had previously been ranked ninth on the overall Wind and Cloud List.

Later, the Green-Faced Ghost suddenly ascended to the overall Wind and Cloud List, ranking ninth, which pushed Kou Fa to tenth place.

Qin Zhen and Kou Fa were both true Dao Foundation stage peak powerhouses; such a duel was even more heavyweight than the duel of the younger generation!

"No wonder Professor Qin was asked to lead the team this time."

On the spectator stand, Li Fei was lost in thought.

The other universities all had vice-principals or martial arts masters leading the teams; only Wu'an University had Qin Zhen, a Dao Foundation stage expert, leading the team.

At first, Li Fei thought it was because Vice-Principal Fang Guan had matters to attend to and couldn't get away; now it seemed it was Shi Caiming who had specifically arranged it this way.

Qin Zhen leading the team to Tianqu University was precisely to challenge Kou Fa!

Li Fei looked toward the main spectator stand and saw that the high-level officials of Tianqu University did not show any looks of surprise.

It seemed this was something the two universities had communicated about beforehand.

Sure enough, a figure soon leaped down from the main spectator stand and walked into the competition stage.

This person looked to be in his forties, holding a long spear, with an obvious battlefield aura, as if he were an old general who had fought on the battlefield for many years and had returned to his fields after removing his armor.

This Professor Kou Fa of Tianqu University had indeed been on the battlefield when he was young; in the battle over a decade ago when the Seven-Nation Allied Forces invaded, Kou Fa had personally led troops to fight against the foreigners.

He broke through to the Dao Foundation stage at thirty-seven and was sixty-one this year, having stayed at the Dao Foundation stage for over twenty years, cultivating step by step to the peak of the Dao Foundation stage.

Compared to those peerless prodigies who went on stage today, Kou Fa's cultivation speed could only be considered "a turtle crawling."

But the opponent had been able to constantly move upward while maintaining this speed, eventually becoming the strongest Dao Foundation stage expert in the entire Cang Province and ascending to the overall Wind and Cloud List!

"Senior Kou, please."

Qin Zhen saluted Kou Fa.

He was thirty-one this year, several generations younger than Kou Fa.

Although he couldn't be counted as a peerless prodigy, in the stage between thirty and forty years old, he was definitely one of the most outstanding prodigies!

"Good!"

Kou Fa didn't waste words; he picked up his spear and went for it.

Just like when he led troops back then, he fought as soon as he said he would!

The long spear was covered in azure strength, carrying an unparalleled momentum, pressing forward without hesitation.

Wow—

The sound of the ocean's waves rang out.

When Wang Fengqing unleashed the Dao Strength 【Angry Sea Raging Tide】 previously, it had made the spectators in the front rows near the competition stage hear the sound of sea waves, as if they were by the side of the ocean.

And at this moment, all tens of thousands of people present were influenced simultaneously!

Kou Fa thrust his spear out, as if carrying the angry waves of the ocean, sweeping over.

Dao Strength—【Angry Sea】!

The azure strength instantly covered the entire arena, transforming into surging waves.

Wild winds roared, and waves surged.

Just like Hao Yi's "Heaven and Earth Single Saber" back then, this move of Kou Fa's also created a near-real illusion!

Qin Zhen was submerged by the ocean.

The next second, a giant stone pillar broke out of the sea!

The stone pillar constantly rose and ascended; in the blink of an eye, it reached the clouds, level with the sky!

Of course, it was impossible for such a stone pillar to really appear; this was also an illusion caused by the power of intent.

This was the Dao Strength Qin Zhen unleashed—【Pillar Supporting the Sky】!

On the spectator stand, Li Fei carefully sensed the clash between the two.

Compared to Gu Yuefeng before he broke through the realm, the Dao Strength of these two was even more powerful and soul-stirring!

Boom—

With a thunderous explosion, the ocean and the Pillar Supporting the Sky dissipated almost simultaneously.

In the center of the venue, Qin Zhen held his saber with both hands, slashing at Kou Fa's long spear.

With the two of them as the center, the mud within a range of dozens of meters all collapsed downward!

The long spear in Kou Fa's hand shook, deflecting Qin Zhen's saber, and then he simply thrust out a middle-level spear strike.

When he practiced the spear in his youth, he pursued complex changes in strength; the seemingly simple spear strike actually had an incomparably complex internal circulation of strength, capable of completing dozens of changes in an instant, striving for precision in the grasp of every bit of strength.

But now, his moves had completely abandoned precise control and complex techniques; they were just simple, straightforward, and a return to simplicity.

But it was precisely this simple middle-level spear strike that contained the power of the ocean, like a tsunami disaster, wanting to crush everything!

Qin Zhen did not avoid its edge, swinging his saber in a horizontal slash, the saber edge striking the front half of the long spear, slashing the thrusting long spear aside.

At the same time, a powerful strength was born out of thin air beneath Kou Fa's feet, fiercely striking his protective strength, knocking him into the air!

Kou Fa took advantage of the momentum to turn in the air, swinging his spear in a horizontal sweep; the azure strength was like a tide on the vast sea, pushing horizontally.

Qin Zhen followed his saber, a rolling saber move carrying a deep black saber aura crushing the "tide" to pieces!

Immediately following, before Kou Fa could land, mountain peak after mountain peak erupted from the ground, range upon range of summits, ancient trees reaching toward the sky, while a majestic force like a gale echoed incessantly between the peaks, washing over Kou Fa time and time again.

Dao Strength—【Echoing Peaks】!

Kou Fa was in the air, constantly washed back and forth by Qin Zhen's strength, unable to land.

He danced his long spear, every strike raising a roaring sound like sea tides; the ocean waves reappeared, colliding between the mountains.

And so, leaves were pulverized, ancient trees snapped, and mountain peaks shook.

It was still the Dao Strength 【Angry Sea】!

Kou Fa only cultivated this one Dao Strength, but this Dao Strength contained infinite changes, enough for him to deal with all moves and enemies.

The mountain peaks repeatedly broke through the sea tides, but would soon be covered by layers upon layers of waves, worn away completely.

Just like that, saber and spear constantly collided, mountain and sea contended with each other!

These two—the Dao Foundation Qin Zhen cultivated was named 【Heavenly Pillar Mountain】, a soil-attribute Dao Foundation.

The Dao Foundation Kou Fa cultivated was named 【Angry Sea Tide】, a water-attribute Dao Foundation.

Originally, according to the principle of the five elements generating and overcoming each other, soil overcomes water, so Qin Zhen should have had more of an advantage.

But when they reached their realm, the five-element-attribute implants had all been gathered, and their own strength simultaneously accommodated the innate primordial Qi of the five attributes, so the overcoming relationship of the five elements was no longer so obvious to them.

The vast sea's raging waves swallow everything, and also accommodate everything.

The vast sea raging wave strength Kou Fa cultivated also integrated the soil-attribute innate primordial Qi, so there was no obvious disadvantage when facing soil-attribute strength.

If Qin Zhen wanted to suppress his strength, he could only rely on even more powerful force!

The two Dao Foundation stage peak powerhouses fought with great momentum on the field, frequently using Dao Strength to bombard each other.

Dao Strength was a high-level fusion of "essence, Qi, and spirit," which should have been a trump card, a "big move," for Dao Foundation stage martial artists.

But at this moment, Qin Zhen and Kou Fa's utilization of Dao Strength was round and smooth, not feeling the slightest bit of strain.

This was already very close to the realm of a Martial Arts Master!

Besides possessing martial arts supernatural powers, the most obvious point of a Martial Arts Master was that the use of Dao Strength could be picked up at will; every strike was a perfect unity of "essence, Qi, and spirit," and every strike was Dao Strength!

"Qin Zhen and Kou Fa's combat power should both be above Gu Yuefeng's."

On the spectator stand, Li Fei made his own judgment.

Back when Gu Yuefeng left seclusion, he was rated by Wangyue Tower as above the 7th tier and listed in the ranks of Dao Foundation stage peak powerhouses.

Later facts proved that the opponent had indeed reached the peak of the Dao Foundation stage, only a line away from breaking through the realm.

But even though they were all at the peak of the Dao Foundation stage, everyone's peak was different.

There were a total of twenty Dao Foundation stage peak powerhouses on the overall Wind and Cloud List and the candidate list, and the combat power of these twenty martial artists also had high and low distinctions.

Gu Yuefeng, whose combat power was not as good as Qin Zhen and Kou Fa's, was able to break through the realm in battle; if he hadn't been interfered with by Li Fei back then, he would already be a new Martial Arts Master now.

Qin Zhen and Kou Fa naturally also possessed the qualifications to break through the realm.

The reason they had never broken through the realm was just that they were constantly polishing themselves, striving to make their own "peak" higher, and even higher!

The construction of a martial arts foundation only had one chance in a lifetime.

So for the sake of their future Great Dao, Qin Zhen and the others would rather spend a few more years or even over a decade, just to make their realm more complete when constructing their martial arts foundation.

Gu Yuefeng sought to break through the realm just as he reached the level of the peak of the Dao Foundation stage; it wasn't that he had no pursuit, but that he considered himself to have reached his own limit in this realm, and there was no need to continue polishing.

"Could it be that these two..."

A guess suddenly arose in Li Fei's heart.

Gradually, the momentum of the two people fighting on the field began to constantly rise!

Seeing this scene, many martial artists present also realized it belatedly, understanding a bit:

"Are they going to break through the realm?!"

The opportunity for a martial artist to break through the realm was usually obtained in battle, and it was always in battle against strong opponents.

Back when Gu Yuefeng went to Datong Prefecture to challenge Qin Zhen, it was to seek an opportunity.

Now Qin Zhen challenging Kou Fa was also the same.

It was just that this time, it wasn't just one person who was going to break through the realm, but both of them were going to break through!

On the main spectator stand, Xuan Chen of the Shangqing Sect narrowed his eyes, and the expression of True Person Qingxia of the Daluo Sect changed.

Grandmaster Qi Zhou, the principal of Tianqu University, glanced at the leaders of the three Daoist sects and smiled.

In this Martial Arts Exchange Tournament, the three Daoist sects and Pudu Temple could be said to have stolen the limelight, with results significantly stronger than those of the universities.

This result was also something that could be anticipated beforehand; after all, it was somewhat unrealistic for universities established for less than twenty years to catch up to these top-tier Jianghu sects.

So after Grandmaster Qi Zhou discussed it with Shi Caiming, there was this current arrangement.

Qin Zhen's polishing at the Dao Foundation stage had almost reached its limit, and Kou Fa was the same.

Since that was the case, it was better to arrange for the two to spar and sharpen each other.

If things went smoothly, both of them could break through the realm!

Originally, Grandmaster Qi Zhou intended to arrange for the two to fight on the day of the finals.

This could suppress the "heat" of the finals and let everyone shift their attention.

But now that Li Fei had unexpectedly made it into the top four, Qin Zhen had proposed the challenge in advance.

Qin Zhen didn't intend to steal the limelight from his own students.

On the field, the momentum of the two had climbed to the limit; the powerful pressure made martial artists below the level of Martial Arts Master feel somewhat suffocated!

On the contrary, ordinary people didn't feel much.

Crash!

The ocean reappeared, covering the entire venue.

Immediately afterward, the stone pillar broke out of the sea, heading straight for the clouds.

Subsequently, the ocean began to gather and collect toward the center.

The stone pillar constantly rose, and rose again.

It seemed as if it wanted to pierce the sky!

At a certain moment, all momentum and power were completely converged together.

The illusions on the field disappeared simultaneously.

Qin Zhen and Kou Fa stood opposite each other, looked at each other, and smiles appeared on both their faces.

"Thank you, congratulations."

Qin Zhen cupped his hands to Kou Fa.

Thanking the opponent for sharpening his martial arts for him, and congratulating the opponent on successfully breaking through the realm!

"Thank you, congratulations."

Kou Fa also cupped his hands and said to Qin Zhen.

From this point on, there were two more Martial Arts Masters in the world.

Family dinner for Mid-Autumn Festival, just one chapter today~

Wishing everyone a happy family reunion.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 278 =====