Chapter 497: The Power of Bonds

That figure was none other than the Sect Master of the Thunder Fire Sect. He stepped forward, concerned for Su Mo, and asked, "Master, are you alright?"

"Master?"

Mo Wenli was baffled, unable to grasp what had just happened.

"This is my master, your grandmaster," the Thunder Fire Sect Master explained via voice transmission to Mo Wenli.

"Grandmaster? Didn't you say Grandmaster was dead?" Mo Wenli was shocked; his attitude toward Su Mo just moments ago had been far from friendly.

"That was the story for the outside world. In truth, your grandmaster dispersed his cultivation to restart, aiming to break through to the Tribulation Transcendence stage. Your grandmaster had several enemies from his earlier years; after dispersing his cultivation, he didn't dare make it public, fearing retaliation, which is why he announced he was dead."

"Then, I was about to fight Grandmaster, and you didn't even tell me..." Mo Wenli looked at the Thunder Fire Sect Master with some resentment. If the Heavenly Court Sect hadn't intervened, they really would have fought.

The Thunder Fire Sect Master scolded, "It's because you can't keep anything to yourself, and I was afraid you'd give the game away on the arena stage. That young Sect Master Lu was right—look at the state of your lightning techniques, they're as scattered as a stream of urine. Go back and enter seclusion; you aren't coming out until you've achieved results!"

Mo Wenli's face turned ashen.

"Alright, alright, don't scare the junior. Little Mo is actually quite strong; it's just that his opponent this time was stronger. How about this, I'll give you some pointers after we return." Su Mo stepped in to smooth things over; he was quite satisfied with Mo Wenli, who was a talent worth molding.

The Thunder Fire Sect Master watched them gloomily.

"You weren't like that with me back then."

Below the arena, the five Guardian Heavenly Kings radiated an aura that warned others to keep their distance. People dared not approach, yet they couldn't suppress their curiosity.

"Those five Heavenly Kings are terrifying. Just being near them makes me shiver."

"Who's to say otherwise? These are ancient major powers. The ancient times were chaotic, and human lives were as cheap as grass. Who knows how many lives these Heavenly Kings have on their hands!"

"Hush, don't let them hear you!"

"We're using voice transmission, they can't hear us, right?"

"Better safe than sorry. Who can guarantee there aren't ancient secret techniques for eavesdropping? Look at these five; their baleful aura is so thick it's almost tangible. They must be the type to hold a grudge for the slightest offense. If they set their sights on you, do you think you'll have any good days left?"

"But what you're saying sounds even more ruthless than them."

The five Guardian Heavenly Kings stood like stone statues, their minds free of distractions, ignoring everything, devoid of joy or sorrow.

"You have to admit, the Acting Sect Master's idea is good. By using the home-field advantage to let the Heavenly Court Sect make a flashy entrance, we've established our brand. I don't believe the demonic sects and ancient cultivators won't take the bait."

The Great Elder transmitted happily. He had seen the shock, terror, and panic on everyone's faces when they first appeared, and it felt great.

"Do you think we'll be exposed?" Grandpa Ba asked nervously. It was fun, but he feared the day the truth came out.

This time was different from the past. Previously, they only scammed people of the same realm, but this time, they were even scamming Tribulation Transcendence stage seniors.

If they were exposed, it would be dangerous to go out in the future.

They weren't afraid of Body Integration stage cultivators—no one could beat them—but if a Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivator attacked, they could only pray that Master would arrive in time to save the day.

The Third Elder felt his second brother was overthinking it: "That won't happen. Junior Niece Yun gave us her word; she guarantees we won't be exposed."

"And even if we are exposed, it's no big deal. I've prepared a backup plan."

The four were very surprised. Old Third could actually prepare a backup plan?

"What backup plan?"

"I went to the Chamber of Commerce and bought insurance for the five of us. Even if something goes wrong, we can get a large sum of spirit stones... but let's not talk about that. My disciple is on stage."

"Congwendao Sect, Meng Jingzhou."

"Longteng Village, Long Huo!"

Longteng Village was a very special power. It belonged both to an administrative unit of the Great Xia and to the sphere of influence of the Long family, a noble clan.

Eight thousand years ago, a powerful figure with the surname Long settled in an uninhabited area of Jizhou, bringing his wife, concubines, and servants. No one knew the origins of this powerhouse; it was as if he had appeared out of thin air. Some said he came from the East Sea and was a Dragon-man.

The powerhouse fathered several sons and daughters before passing away. Before he died, he left behind massive amounts of cultivation resources, and his children stayed there, continuing to multiply.

Thanks to the resources left by the powerhouse, and the fact that his children had decent talent, they didn't squander the wealth.

Through generations of inheritance, the outside world called them the Jizhou Long family, and they became a noble clan.

Gradually, the place grew in scale. Local officials came to inspect it, deemed it met the standards for a village, and reported it up the chain. The authorities designated it as a village and, respecting the Long family's wishes, named it Longteng Village.

And the village chief of Longteng Village was the head of the Long family for each generation.

Long Huo was the son of the previous Long family head. Although he was suppressed by the current head when he was young, as he began to stand out and show his brilliance, becoming the most talented person in Longteng Village, the current head could no longer suppress him.

Long Huo channeled his Jin Dan, coating his body in a thin film of water that could block attacks to a certain extent. His was a water-attribute Jin Dan among the first-grade Golden Cores.

"Roaming Dragon Strike!"

Long Huo moved like a roaming dragon, moving at high speed across the arena. His speed was terrifying, leaving behind afterimages, making it difficult even for spiritual sense to pinpoint his location.

He circled behind Meng Jingzhou and, taking advantage of Meng Jingzhou's inability to react, delivered a fierce hand-blade strike to his neck.

"Got him!"

He felt a surge of joy; his opponent had been careless.

Unexpectedly, Meng Jingzhou swayed his body slightly and dodged the sneak attack.

"What!"

He shouldn't have been able to see him.

Meng Jingzhou yawned boredly; this opponent wasn't much.

Long Huo refused to give up and unleashed the Roaming Dragon Strike again. A continuous stream of attacks came from all directions, all of which Meng Jingzhou dodged with ease.

Below the arena, the young Sect Master Lu clapped, his eyes revealing an excited expression, as if he had seen a long-awaited opponent.

"Good, he is worthy of being a disciple representing the Congwendao Sect. If I'm not mistaken, he has already reached the 'Selfless and Forgetful' realm of body cultivation. Even among the ancient prodigies, no one has been able to step into this realm while only in the mid-Jin Dan stage!"

The Heavenly King of No-Breaking nodded: "It looks like he has just stepped into the Selfless and Forgetful realm. In this realm, there is no need to think; the body can automatically dodge attacks that pose little threat."

Little threat didn't mean no threat; if one could dodge, one naturally should.

After the young Sect Master Lu said this, the prodigies below the arena realized what a powerful body cultivator Meng Jingzhou was at this moment.

Meng Jingzhou nodded with satisfaction; that brat Lu Yang was actually quite decent.

Bang—

Meng Jingzhou unleashed the Six Styles of Heaven-Shaking, took a sudden step, exerted force with an inch-strike, and used the triple-layered fist force to send Long Huo flying!

Long Huo continuously dissipated the fist force on his body, retreating until he was half a foot from the edge of the arena before steadying himself.

Meng Jingzhou was slightly surprised: "Not bad, to be able to withstand that punch. Come again!"

Meng Jingzhou stopped holding back and continuously unleashed the Six Styles of Heaven-Shaking, driving Long Huo back. But every time he thought he could knock Long Huo off the arena, Long Huo would unexpectedly catch the punch.

Yet even so, Long Huo was gradually unable to sustain such high-intensity attacks.

"You can't win against me. Admit defeat."

Should he admit defeat?

Long Huo realized the gap between them and closed his eyes in frustration. He was tired after fighting for so long; continuing to fight would be futile, and the outcome was already set.

Was the gap between him and a true prodigy really this large?

"Brother Long Huo, you have to keep going!"

"Long Huo, don't admit defeat!"

"You're the man who beat me and represents the village in battle; how can you lose here!"

Images of his companions appeared in Long Huo's mind: his childhood sweetheart, his best friend, the clan head's son who was both friend and foe...

They seemed to appear before his eyes, calling his name in his ears.

"I cannot admit defeat!"

He carried the high hopes of the village and was representing the Long family in battle; how could he admit defeat here!

The referee walked over and looked at Long Huo, who had fallen to the ground.

"A life-flashing-before-your-eyes moment already? The winner of this match is Meng Jingzhou." ===== CHAPTER 498 =====