A Clean Sweep

Lingxi judged herself outmatched and did not intend to step onto the stage? As for this decision... The other true disciples could not find fault with it. Allowing an inner disciple like Yaoguang to achieve the feat of "sweeping the Eighty-Eight True Disciple Peaks" would indeed strip them of all face. But in his clash with Zhang Qing, he had already proven his immense strength. True disciples were thoroughly pragmatic. Face sometimes translated to tangible interests, but compared to offending a prodigy of boundless potential blessed with a special constitution, they naturally chose the lesser of two evils. In the end, Lingxi's decision was beyond reproach. Had the rest of them not harbored the exact same thought? For a moment, all eyes turned toward Yan Huang. Everything now rested on the acknowledged foremost true disciple of the Heavenly Dao Sect. "It's all up to Eldest Senior Brother." "Sigh, where on earth did this Yaoguang crawl out from? How did he suddenly become renowned across the world? He isn't even a true disciple yet, but he can actually threaten Eldest Senior Brother!" "According to Jiang Tianzun, he is a prodigy from beyond Beihai Star... Though Beihai Star gathers countless powerhouses, the world outside also teems with geniuses. Every once in a while, one or two peerless figures always emerge to stir up storms across Beihai Star." "Geniuses truly cannot be judged by common sense. Years ago, I fought tooth and nail to claim first place in the inner sect, then challenged the true disciples to earn my position. Over all these years, I have cultivated diligently without daring to slack off in the slightest, yet... my highest aspiration was merely to break into the top ten true disciples. In my heart, Eldest Senior Sister Lingxi and Eldest Senior Brother Yan Huang have always been invincible, peerless paragons. As for the mantle of Eldest Senior Brother and Eldest Senior Sister they represent, I thought I could only dream of reaching for it after they broke through to Void Piercing and vacated their seats. And yet... this Yaoguang, who appeared out of nowhere, is so terrifyingly powerful that even Eldest Senior Sister doesn't dare face him. And now... he's about to fight the invincible Eldest Senior Brother of my heart... It truly feels like a dream. Unbelievable." Amid the mounting murmurs, the weight of immense pressure fell squarely onto Yan Huang. It was not just the disciples; even the Void Piercing Elders focused their gazes upon him. Some even cast subtle glances toward Sect Master Zong Wenxian. Yan Huang was radiant in his brilliance. In his most glorious days, three Supreme Elders had expressed their desire to take him as their disciple, yet he had declined them all, choosing instead to enter the tutelage of Sect Master Zong Wenxian, the leader who governed the Heavenly Dao Sect, becoming the Sect Master's personal disciple. That was another reason why everyone acknowledged him as Eldest Senior Brother. Lingxi feared Yaoguang's strength and chose to forfeit without fighting, but Yan Huang... He had no right to avoid the battle. Feeling the eyes of the crowd, the true disciple took a deep breath. In a flash of escape light, he appeared directly atop the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform. "Come! Defeat me, and you shall become a true disciple!" Even as Yan Huang spoke, his figure rapidly expanded. Red-gold flames blazed fiercely across his body, and a pair of wings woven entirely of flame unfurled behind his back. The Red Gold Divine Phoenix Body. At the same time, he grasped the empty air, and a massive war sword wrapped in arcs of lightning and radiating an aura of destruction materialized in his hand. The destructive might pulsing from the blade and the palpable Dao charm all testified to the rank of this war sword. A quasi-Dao artifact! Moreover, it was not the type designed for contemplating the Great Dao, but a quasi-Dao artifact tailored specifically for amplifying combat strength! Behind him, three pillars of spiritual light spread out. This was another supreme divine ability—the Three Origins Spirit Gathering Technique. Once his internal energy was depleted, it could rapidly replenish it. Furthermore, mysterious light flickered within his flame-engulfed eyes. This was yet another supreme divine ability—the Black Pupil Treasure Art, said to see through the workings of any divine ability. Three supreme divine abilities, one quasi-Dao artifact! Such a foundation... This was what had forged Yan Huang's terrifying reputation as the Eldest Senior Brother of the Heavenly Dao Sect and the sixth-ranked figure on the Void Piercing Reserve List. Yet, as Yan Huang unleashed one divine ability after another, Yaoguang did only one thing. Relying on his talent as a Child of the Void, the terrifying quality of his Deep Blue Golden Core, and a comprehension of spatial force rivaling that of a Void Refining Peak Master, he instantly stirred a horrifying void tsunami. The Swimming Dragon Sword swept through the void tsunami, whipping up a Sky-Cleaving Strike that came crashing down with thunderous fury. The Black Pupil Treasure Art activated. Yan Huang swiftly identified the optimal intercept point in this attack. "Break for me!" Blazing flames erupted from Yan Huang's Red Gold Divine Phoenix Body and clung to the war sword in his grasp. Raising the blade high, he slashed directly against the crashing Sky-Cleaving Strike. The might of his divine constitution and the destructive power within the quasi-Dao artifact erupted simultaneously, completely shattering the ripples of space churned up by the Sky-Cleaving Strike. "Good!" Seeing this, many true disciples who resented Yaoguang's arrogance in challenging them all could not help but shout in approval. Eldest Senior Brother had indeed not disappointed them. His golden body of invincibility was certainly not something an upstart opponent from who-knew-where could shatter. Yet, before their excitement could linger for more than a breath, the Swimming Dragon Sword, having failed to secure victory with one strike, swerved its blade and swept up a fresh Sky-Cleaving Strike from the void tsunami, continuing to hammer downward. Having just shattered Yaoguang's first strike, Yan Huang felt his Red Gold Divine Phoenix Body shudder. He had no choice but to activate the power of his divine constitution once more and raise his sword to retaliate. A new round of collisions detonated over the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform, visible spatial ripples sweeping outward in all directions, warping space itself. Fortunately, this sword platform was the very battleground where Void Piercing Elders resolved their disputes on ordinary days. Its grand formation was extraordinarily profound; when the ripples of space—capable of leveling half a prefecture city—collided with the glowing barriers of the surrounding formation, they melted away at visible speed without causing the slightest damage to the platform. In this second clash, Yan Huang, the foremost true disciple of the Heavenly Dao Sect, shattered Yaoguang's Sky-Cleaving Strike once more. Yet he had already realized that continuing like this was unsustainable. As a ray of spiritual light from the Three Origins Spirit Gathering Technique sank into his body, he struck back almost the instant he broke Yaoguang's attack. His hundred-meter-tall form suddenly condensed a hand of blazing fire, which clamped down savagely toward the space where Yaoguang stood. Its ferocity surpassed even the Xi family's Great Qiankun Hand. However, standing within the surging void tides, Yaoguang's sensitivity to spatial force was not inferior even to that of a Void Piercing cultivator. The Two Realms Ruler combined with the Nine Heavenly Transformations allowed him to shift his form effortlessly, appearing dozens of li away in the blink of an eye. Even as he evaded the blow, the Swimming Dragon Sword wasted not a moment. A third Sky-Cleaving Strike crashed down immediately after. ... "A movement-type supreme divine ability." Below the stage, Lingxi recognized it at once. Not only was it a movement-type supreme divine ability, but he also possessed a matching spirit treasure. At this moment, the Eldest Senior Sister of the Heavenly Dao Sect unmistakably understood the truth. "Senior Brother Yan Huang... is in trouble." Just as she could see the turn of the tide, so too could Yuan Miaoyi and the Void Piercing Elders. "Divine abilities, spirit treasures..." Yuan Miaoyi recalled the underlying implication in the Sect Master's words. *This Yaoguang was sent directly into the heart of our Heavenly Dao Sect by the Dao Lord of the Penglai Immortal Sect. He clearly shares an ambiguous relationship with her. Regardless of what her ultimate goal is, or whether she harbors schemes against our sect, as long as Yaoguang is prevented from becoming a true disciple and denied the opportunity to enter our core circle, her ambitions and plots will never bear fruit!* Guided by this thought, the Lineage Master of the Immortal Lineage swiftly transmitted his divine mind to nearly all the true disciples. Upon receiving the message, some of the true disciples frowned slightly, but the third-ranked true disciple, Liang Lin, barked without hesitation, "For years, only the first among the inner disciples has held the right to challenge true disciples! If every inner disciple disregards the rules and directly petitions the Golden Book of the Great Dao to challenge us, we won't even be able to cultivate anymore—we'd be pestered to death by endless challenges every day! This corrupt practice must be stamped out to protect the sect's order!" His figure soared into the air, manifesting a supreme divine ability as well. "Everyone, let us strike together to aid Eldest Senior Brother! He wanted to sweep through the Eighty-Eight True Disciple Peaks, didn't he? Let us see if he actually has the capability!" "Hahaha, in all my life, I have never seen anyone so arrogant! I don't deny this Yaoguang is powerful, but if he wants to challenge all eighty-eight peaks of us, he isn't qualified!" "Dare to challenge all of us and step on the names of our eighty-eight peaks to rise? Then be prepared to be besieged! Kill!" His call quickly drew the support of more than half the true disciples present. Though some might have been reluctant at heart, not everyone possessed the confidence or standing to refuse a demand from the Lineage Master of the Immortal Lineage. In an instant, more than half of the true disciples on the field surged onto the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform. This spectacle... It complied with the rules of the challenge. Venerable Golden Book did not stop them. Nor did anyone else. A few elders secretly felt a twinge of regret. Yaoguang's exceptional talent was beyond doubt; if he could be brought into the sect and nurtured properly, attaining Void Piercing would be easy, and even stepping into Void Refining would not be an extravagant dream. Unfortunately, he was connected to that Dao Lord from the Penglai Immortal Sect. That terrifying entity had single-handedly beaten the Tianhai Sword Pavilion into locking its doors and retreating from the world, yet she had personally gone out of her way to deliver him to the Heavenly Dao Sect. No one knew what purpose she held. If she harbored malice toward the Heavenly Dao Sect, the consequences would be catastrophic. Where that Dao Lord was involved, no amount of caution was excessive. The sect's upper echelons had clearly adopted the stance that it was better to be overly cautious than let an infiltrator slip through, deciding to shut Yaoguang out. Conveniently, Yaoguang had chosen to sweep the eighty-eight peaks to claim the status of a true disciple, so they simply pushed the boat along with the current. This way, they could drive him away without insulting that Dao Lord's dignity, leaving her with no pretext to stir up trouble. "Heh." Yaoguang cast a cold glance toward the Lineage Master of the Immortal Lineage. Soon, he enacted the mind-type supreme divine ability, Taishang Emotion Severing. "Insignificant fireflies dare contest the heavens." His Deep Blue Golden Core operated at full capacity, sending concentric ripples through the void across all directions. Under the state of Taishang Emotion Severing, his perception of battle was sharp to the utmost limit. With a single glance, he saw right through the rabble-like nature of these true disciples. Though they all honored Yan Huang as Eldest Senior Brother, each true disciple ruled their own faction. How could they possibly coordinate flawlessly under Yan Huang's command to besiege him? Relying on the Two Realms Ruler and the Nine Heavenly Transformations, he pushed his mobility to its absolute zenith. Confronted by their overwhelming numbers, he avoided clashing head-on with Yan Huang entirely. Instead, he locked onto the ordinary true disciples, crushing them one by one, watching as Venerable Golden Book swept them off the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform in beams of golden light. This sight instantly caused the face of Yuan Miaoyi, the Lineage Master of the Immortal Lineage, to turn as dark as charcoal. In mere dozens of breaths, every single one of the true disciples who had just taken the stage had been blasted down by Yaoguang. For a time, golden light radiated across the sky, and stars rained down in endless showers.