Chapter 498: Breaking the Seal

Long Huo was fed a few life-saving elixirs and rescued by the referee.

Meng Jingzhou won.

A cool sensation filled Long Huo's throat; the elixirs were taking effect. He slowly regained consciousness, his mind blank, and it took a while for him to realize he had lost.

"Are you alright? You fought well."

Meng Jingzhou reached out and pulled Long Huo up.

Long Huo shook his head with a bitter smile: "A loss is a loss. I'm not someone who can't accept defeat."

Worried that Long Huo would be devastated after losing, Meng Jingzhou said kindly: "I'll wait for you to beat me next time."

Long Huo fell silent for a moment, then nodded: "Alright."

The two exchanged a few brief words. Long Huo walked off the arena and saw the village chief waiting for him below. The chief was a stern middle-aged man.

"Village Chief... I have failed the village's expectations."

A smile appeared on the village chief's lips as he patted Long Huo's shoulder: "To be able to fight like that is already quite remarkable. Meng Jingzhou is no simple person; he is both the eldest young master of the Meng family and a disciple of the Congwendao Sect. The Meng family is the number one noble clan in the world, and the Congwendao Sect is the number one sect in the world. With the backing of these two identities, he is enough to sweep through all his peers."

"Also, look who's here."

Long Huo looked up and saw the village chief step aside, revealing two beautiful figures: one was his childhood sweetheart, and the other was his foster sister who treated him like a younger brother.

"Brother Long Huo, you were already amazing!" The childhood sweetheart was a little girl radiating vitality.

"Long Huo, you fought well. It wasn't in vain that I taught you all those days." The foster sister had a proud figure and a capable demeanor.

"Everyone..." Long Huo's eyes welled up with tears, and he sobbed uncontrollably, swearing that he would return and continue to cultivate diligently so as not to fail everyone's expectations.

Meng Jingzhou, not far away: "..."

Can we have another match? I want to hit this brat with a set of Single-Curse Fists.

Under the gaze of the masses, the second match of the arena tournament was about to begin for the young Sect Master Lu.

"Heavenly Court, Young Sect Master."

"Flying Waterfall Sect, Kong Hao."

The second-grade Flying Waterfall Sect had a shallow foundation, and its Sect Master only had Void Refinement stage cultivation. Even among second-grade sects, the Flying Waterfall Sect was an obscure existence, very inconspicuous.

Bai Ming had specifically looked into several opponents before the battle: "This Kong Hao is no simple person. Look at how quiet he is, like a Confucian cultivator, but when he fights, he's more like an untamed beast. Even before the battle begins, his crazy demeanor makes his opponents shudder."

The Flying Waterfall Sect Master stroked his beard, watching the attention-grabbing Kong Hao on the arena with satisfaction.

It was thanks to Kong Hao that he was qualified to attend the celebration and see so many big shots.

"This brat Kong Hao really was hiding his strength."

Kong Hao was taciturn, rarely spoke to others, and kept a low profile. Whenever there was a sect competition, Kong Hao would always win first place by a hair's breadth, as if the gap with the second place wasn't large, but no matter how the second-place contestant chased, they could never beat Kong Hao.

He had suspected Kong Hao was hiding his strength, but he hadn't expected him to hide so much.

The young Sect Master Lu drew his precious sword; this was a sword temporarily borrowed from the sect's treasury.

The Green Peak Sword and the Dark Moon Sword had both appeared at the Qingzhou Celebration; he couldn't use them as the Young Sect Master, or his cover would be blown.

Lu Yang had used his powerful connections to have the Decayed Fairy step forward and borrow a sword from the treasury.

Facing Kong Hao, Lu Yang frowned slightly. This person actually gave him a very dangerous feeling, a feeling that even the great cultivators who had dispersed their cultivation to restart hadn't given him.

"Hidden dragons and crouching tigers..."

Kong Hao knew the strength of the opponent before him; only by fighting with all his might would he have a hope of winning.

He held two fingers to his lips and exhaled cold air. The temperature on the arena gradually dropped. Lu Yang lifted his feet slightly, feeling sluggish, as if he had fallen into a quagmire.

"Ice-attribute techniques are rare..." Then Lu Yang suddenly realized something was wrong. "No, it's not just cold air; there's poison mixed in with the cold air!"

If one mistakenly thought it was just cold air and used cultivation to disperse it, it would only draw the poison into the body, absorbing it even faster. By then, one would be on the defensive.

"But it doesn't matter."

As a frequent visitor to the Pill Cauldron Peak, Lu Yang had resistance to ordinary poisons. He wouldn't be affected in the short term. With a light spin of his sharp sword, he cleared an empty space around him, free of cold air and poison.

Lu Yang's various spells were too iconic; anyone could tell it was him at a glance. When he was the young Sect Master Lu, he could only use sword techniques.

But fortunately, he was a sword-attribute spiritual root user with superb sword skills.

Taking advantage of Lu Yang clearing the cold air and poison, Kong Hao let out a low roar, his muscles bulging like a crazed beast, but his eyes were cold, clearly maintaining his sanity.

He rushed forward, his nails lengthening like the sharp claws of a demonic beast, colliding with the sword without breaking.

Lu Yang narrowed his eyes. The solid foundation Kong Hao displayed didn't look like something a second-grade sect could cultivate. This couldn't be summarized by just saying he was naturally gifted.

Watching the two fighting with clangs on the arena, the crowd below gasped slightly. Compared to the first battle that ended quickly, this battle was evenly matched.

Only those Body Integration stage cultivators could see that the young Sect Master Lu had the upper hand. The two sides seemed to be exchanging attacks and defenses, but in reality, Kong Hao had been led by the nose by the young Sect Master Lu from start to finish.

"Just this alone is not enough to pose a threat to me." Lu Yang thought to himself, deciding to use his full strength.

Lu Yang turned his wrist, the tip of his sword tracing an arc in the air. Every pore erupted with sword Qi as fine as cow hair, which surged and gathered on the blade.

The sword Qi crisscrossed like smoke and clouds, like a vast ocean, sweeping across the world and swallowing the heavens.

Chi—

Kong Hao took the sword strike head-on. Even though he had blocked it with both arms in advance, it was useless. His arms were dripping with blood, his aura withered instantly, and he gasped for breath, having been seriously injured.

"Brat, are you going to lose?" A voice echoed in his mind, low and slow; one could imagine what a behemoth the existence speaking was.

"None of your business?" That sword strike just now made Kong Hao realize the gap between himself and Lu Yang. This was a gap in talent that couldn't be made up for by hard work.

He stared at the behemoth through the iron bars in his mind.

The behemoth sneered, mocking Kong Hao's arrogance: "Be more polite, you arrogant brat. Without me, could you have today?"

"I've been in your body since you were born. You know what a difficult person you are. You seem low-key, but in which battle have you ever admitted defeat? Your desire to win is stronger than anyone else's. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have looked down on you either."

"What do you want to do?"

"Power. What you lack is power. I'll lend it to you."

Kong Hao watched the behemoth silently. Admittedly, even a tiny bit of power leaking from the other party's fingers would be enough for him to turn the tables and win.

But to use its power, one layer of the seal needed to be broken.

Should he break it?

The behemoth grinned, its huge beast eyes reflecting Kong Hao's conflicted expression. Once you use my power and truly realize that this is a way to make you stronger quickly, you will actively break the seals one by one. By then, I will be able to come out.

Kong Hao gritted his teeth. The behemoth was right; he didn't want to lose, he wanted to be the champion.

One layer. Just break one layer. He wouldn't break the remaining eight layers.

The behemoth laughed silently. One layer of the seal was broken, and ominous power drifted out through the iron bars, attaching itself to Kong Hao.

"Hmm?"

Outside, Lu Yang watched Kong Hao in surprise. He felt a force surging from within Kong Hao, continuous, carrying ferocity and blood aura, very ominous.

Kong Hao's body underwent changes. His injuries recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye. His originally severely injured body was now healed. His pupils stood upright like a mad lion or a fierce tiger. A layer of beast fur sprouted on his skin; for a moment, it was impossible to tell if it had grown out or was formed by spiritual energy.

"Roar—"

Kong Hao let out a roar that shook the heavens.

Lu Yang's hair stood on end; this was the source of the danger he had sensed!

But he quickly felt that Kong Hao's state was somewhat familiar, as if he had borrowed power that didn't belong to him and was temporarily possessed.

Lu Yang slowly raised his hand, watching Kong Hao vigilantly, and used his trump card.

"Referee, I report him. He's cheating."

The second update will be at eleven o'clock.

(End of chapter)

. ===== CHAPTER 499 =====