Qin Ming stood with his left hand clasped behind his back, serene and profound as an abyss. He decided to display what true patriarch-level depth was!
Even after landing, Ling Yu stumbled back several steps. Every footfall produced a crisp cracking sound, fracturing the lapis lazuli floor that was as tough as iron.
Tang Jun stared blankly. Ling Yu was a front-page figure in the recent night papers, a Young Ancestor setting out to test his sword against the world. How had he been driven back so far by a single palm strike?
Cheng Rui's expression froze. This was Ling Yu, someone even more formidable than her childhood sweetheart. Moreover, he hadn't been ambushed this time—and yet, the moment the exchange began, he had been sent flying.
Qian Chuan desperately wanted to say: *No one understands the truth better than me!*
As someone of the same caliber, Xin Youdao deeply understood the sheer weight of that palm strike. It was an upright, straightforward push that simply rolled over an opponent, bearing truly domineering power!
"Gah..." Master Wu had been in mid-sentence, but the sound cut off abruptly.
Tang Jin had once lectured Ling Yu that even if Feixian Mountain deep within the night mist collapsed before his eyes, his expression shouldn't change in the slightest. Yet right now, she couldn't manage that herself.
"Such a youth... must be protected!" One of the two old men actually shuddered, his sparse strands of hair fluttering upward.
"Minghui, that child cultivating in the immortal land hasn't started seeing anyone yet, has she?" the other old man secretly transmitted his voice.
Zhao Minghui was taken aback. The elder held immense status within her clan. To think that seeing this youth deliver just one palm strike would stir such intentions in him?!
Of course, she was thoroughly shaken as well. Who was Ling Yu? He was hailed as a Young Ancestor. With him serving as a contrast, the other youth's unfathomable depth stood out even more.
Ling Yu was dazed, lost in disbelief. He looked down at his own hands. Was this still him? Could he no longer deliver an invincible fist seal? In the next instant, he charged forward again, faster than before. The heavenly light surrounding his body burned like a starlit river, accompanied by miraculous phenomena as it crashed toward the youth in the arena.
Under normal circumstances, such a sight would have drawn marvels and genuine praise from everyone. But now, they could only remain silent. The other youth was simply far too absurd!
Qin Ming remained rooted to the spot, his azure robe snapping fiercely in the wind whipped up by his opponent's heavenly light force. Still, he delivered a flat, forward palm strike.
*Thud!*
Ling Yu was sent flying backward, a trace of blood appearing at the corner of his mouth. He was proud and refused to employ power from the Outer Sage tier.
Right after, he launched another attack, soaring into the air and swooping down. It was profoundly sacred and pure, like an untarnished solitary moon suspended in the sky.
Yet, as if bound by an inescapable fate, he was once again pushed back through the air by the immovable youth in the center of the arena. His clothes hung in tatters, his mouth frothing with bloody foam.
No one made a sound. It was truly impossible to evaluate this.
Was Ling Yu not strong enough? Of course not. He had once stood under the spotlight of myriad gazes, acknowledged by every faction, and hailed as an extraordinary natural talent. It could only be said that the other youth was an utter monster, defying all conventional reason!
"Three palms... three thousand day gold," Xiao Wu muttered under his breath, barely audible as an insect's chirp amid the heavy silence.
Tang Jin wanted to call a halt, but Ling Yu in the arena showed no sign of stopping. This time, he mobilized his conscious spiritual light.
Earlier, knowing that Qin Ming walked the Newborn path, Ling Yu had restricted himself to methods of that path upon taking the field. He had wanted to compete on his opponent's strongest ground and defeat the youth from Black-White Mountain there.
Now it seemed he had been overthinking. The gap between them on the Newborn path was... vast! If he was a Young Ancestor, then the other was a founding patriarch!
Alas, even though Ling Yu now drew upon Fangwai methods, he still couldn't alter the outcome. This time, he flew back even farther.
Qin Ming's palm force seemed to grow stronger the stronger his opponent became!
With his robes billowing, Qin Ming's right hand glowed with dazzling brilliance. It was a power of supreme yang and supreme hardness that could scorch conscious spiritual light. As it blasted the opponent away, it seemed poised to ignite him as well.
Ling Yu was far too proud. Even though he couldn't hold his ground, he still refused to draw on the power of the second realm, the Yellow Court. For his fifth strike, he blended a wisp of pure yang spiritual light into his heavenly light force and blasted forward.
Alas, defeat in this battle was his foregone conclusion. In an instant, he coughed up a mouthful of blood and crashed to the ground, staggering. His face was deathly pale, and he could barely remain standing.
The onlookers should have applauded in admiration. Qin Ming's performance was utterly breathtaking. Yet to do so would be too cruel to his opponent. From beginning to end, the youth standing serenely in the ring hadn't moved his feet an inch, facing his adversary with a single hand. Just what tier of monster was he?
Everyone wore strange expressions. After serious reflection, they realized... this was likely true patriarch-level potential!
"Five palms... five thousand day gold, fully settled," Xiao Wu murmured considerately in a low voice, refraining from shouting to avoid provoking the person involved. The nearby onlookers were left speechless.
Tang Jin, in particular, glared daggers at him.
Qin Ming looked across at his opponent and said, "I told you, you may use your full strength and unleash the power of the second realm to give me a true fight."
Ling Yu pressed his lips together in silence, his fists clenched until his knuckles turned white. He was deeply unreconciled. As a young man who had recently ridden the crest of success, who didn't harbor the ambition to look down upon the world?
Yet here he was, suffering a crushing defeat within the same realm, as if confronting an insurmountable mountain. He couldn't even tell how high this mountain reached!
This was an experience he had never felt before, shaking his very soul.
"Call him back," the purple-eyed crow spoke up. If this went on, it would no longer be a matter of untying a knot in his heart.
"Come back," Tang Jin said.
She naturally recognized that if the fight continued, the knot in Ling Yu's heart would likely become an intractable knot that could never be untied.
"Actually, you don't need to take it to heart," Qin Ming said. "On this path, victory and defeat are entirely normal. No one dares claim they can sweep aside every opponent."
Was he comforting his opponent? The two old men nodded, their faces carrying relieved smiles.
Yet the young people present felt his humble words lacked sincerity—because through his actions, he was demonstrating precisely what it meant to sweep aside everything in his way.
Tang Jin's expression grew increasingly cold and aloof. She noticed Qin Ming glancing at her. Had he not given up his audacious intent, still wishing to challenge her?
"I..." Ling Yu spoke up, sweat drenching his brow as if he were struggling through a grueling inner trial, trying to make a momentous decision.
His fists clenched and relaxed in turn. His expression shifted repeatedly, cycling from tension to release, and back to taut strain.
Finally, exhaling a long breath of turbid air, he said, "In this first realm, I am not your match. In my understanding, you stand among the very best—you should be considered a legendary patriarch-level talent!"
Having uttered these words, his spirit seemed slightly subdued, but his entire posture relaxed, as though he had crossed a major threshold in his heart. Ling Yu had acknowledged that he was inferior in the first realm, preventing the earlier knot from tightening into an intractable dead knot.
Then he raised his head, his gaze flashing like lightning. "I am willing to fight you with all my power!"
Even though no intractable knot had formed in his heart, repeatedly hearing the other youth tell him to use his second-realm strength still left him indignant!
He refused to believe anyone could cross realms to defeat a Young Ancestor!
Even if his title of Young Ancestor had been largely inflated by various factions and had yet to be fully validated.
Qin Ming smiled. "Splendid. I'm actually quite looking forward to seeing how strong your lineage's dual system of the immortal path and the Newborn path truly is, and what unique methods it holds."
When he finished speaking, not only did Ling Yu's fighting intent surge, but even Tang Jin outside the arena experienced a shift in expression. Having been challenged, was this youth now turning around to test their entire system?
Tang Jin secretly transmitted her voice: *Ling Yu, since you are stepping into the second realm to fight, give me one hundred and twenty percent of your power. Unleash everything—you are not allowed to lose!*
*Understood, Senior Sister. I won't allow him to challenge you!* Ling Yu replied secretly.
At the same time, he wanted to know just how terrifying this youth with patriarch-level talent truly was, and how insurmountable this mountain really stood!
Qin Ming said, "Recover first. I hope you can show me your strongest state."
"You!" Ling Yu's black hair whipped wildly as his already boiling fighting intent was thoroughly ignited!
"Come back and rest a moment," Master Wu said.
Ling Yu cast all hesitation aside. On the spot, he snapped open a piece of high-grade crystal and drank the silver liquid sealed inside, completely healing his injuries in an instant!
Afterward, he changed out of his tattered black clothes into a set of gleaming silver armor. It wasn't an extraordinary treasure; he simply didn't want to fight in rags.
"I am ready. Let me see how you manage to cross realms against me in the second realm!" Ling Yu strode forward.
This time, his aura transformed entirely. Heavenly light radiated outward, pristine and divine, illuminating the area as if he stood in the heart of a sacred moon.
Mists swirled, flames intertwined, and brilliant colors blossomed. All of this stemmed from his execution of an uncanny art.
Yet this was merely a feint. Ling Yu immediately brought out another trump card of his lineage, determined not to suffer another defeat.
*Rumble!*
Deafening thunder roared through the martial arena, filling the air with a faint scent of scorching.
Qian Chuan, Tang Jun, and Cheng Rui felt their minds go blank, their souls threatening to be jolted straight out of their bodies. A chill ran down their spines in sheer terror.
If even spectators outside the ring were affected to such an extent, one could only imagine how breathtaking the clash was within.
Outside Martial Arena No. 1, many passing students of Shanhe Academy paused in bewilderment. Was it thundering? The roar was overwhelmingly loud, and their souls felt unstable, their consciousness growing drowsy as if about to drift away.
Inside the arena, the two elders marveled.
"Your lineage is truly remarkable. After your modifications, disciples at the Outer Sage level can actually cast the legendary Soul-Suppressing Thunder!"
In the arena, Ling Yu's eyes were profound, his black hair loose and his silver armor clanking with radiant brilliance, giving him a heroic air. He unleashed streak after streak of crimson lightning that wove through the air, converging upon Qin Ming.
Qin Ming showed no fear. Heavenly light force circulated around his body, and layer upon layer of five-colored luminous mist materialized, hazy and indistinct. He seemed impervious to all arts; even the crimson lightning failed to penetrate it.
That five-colored mist could actually block Soul-Suppressing Thunder!
Ling Yu relentlessly summoned the legendary thunder. Normally, a single strike would blast an opponent's conscious spiritual light out of their physical shell to be annihilated.
He didn't expect that much; he merely wanted to shake the other's soul enough to show signs of separating from the body. After all, he was executing a chained lethal strike of his dual-path system.
Ling Yu's own conscious spiritual light surged forth, radiating brilliant divine radiance.
With his talent, he could temper a wisp of pure yang conscious spiritual light on his own, and this one had been tempered with the assistance of his senior martial brother and sister, making it all the more dazzling.
In a flash, this blaze of sunlight shifted shape, flattening and coalescing into a mirror that shone directly at Qin Ming.
"Pure Yang Soul-Illuminating Mirror!" an elder praised. This was originally an advanced technique of the immortal path, yet through simplification and refinement by the grandmasters of their lineage, even those in the Yellow Court realm could now unleash it.
At this moment, Ling Yu shook his opponent's soul with Soul-Suppressing Thunder while simultaneously illuminating it with the Pure Yang Soul-Illuminating Mirror. Each was a deadly trump card, and combined, their power was peerless.
Any other opponent would have succumbed, their conscious soul-light forced out of the body. Yet Qin Ming's soul remained as solid as a boulder, unshakeable in the slightest.
He was enveloped in five-colored clouds, and with a sharp metallic ring, a faint, five-colored blade materialized in his hand.
"How... how is this possible?!"
Everyone present felt it defied reality. In the Newborn realm, how could heavenly light take physical form?
Though the blade was unstable, its tip resembling smoke and mist, it had indeed coalesced.
"That's the Five Elements Blade! He has actually mastered five uncanny arts of different attributes!" Zhao Minghui gasped in astonishment.
Like a ghost strolling across the night mist sea, Qin Ming shifted unpredictably from left to right. The blade tore through the Soul-Suppressing Thunder, shattering the crimson lightning woven around him into scattered sparks. Then, like a rainbow piercing the sun, the five-colored blade lunged straight toward the Pure Yang Soul-Illuminating Mirror!
Chapter 198