A Crushing Defeat

Great Ming Civilization Academy was vast. There were plenty of places suitable for combat. However, its martial atmosphere was not nearly as intense as that of Great Xia Prefecture. Sparring was actually quite rare on ordinary days, mostly consisting of students comparing technical skills. Baiji Court was the site of the academy's largest arena. A place for testing a hundred arts and techniques. At this moment, a colossal arena had already been cordoned off. Surrounded by water, the platform sat beyond a circular corridor designed like a bagua diagram, with connecting walkways bridging the outer perimeter to the central stage. That circular corridor was now packed to the brim with onlookers. "I heard Su Yu went into secluded cultivation. Has he come out yet?" "He won't just fail to show, will he?" "In arena challenges, people stand each other up all the time!" "..." When outsiders overheard these remarks, they were completely dumbfounded. So... in Great Ming Prefecture, standing people up for arena challenges was actually the norm? Didn't they care about honor at all? "I heard Shan Xiong ran off to Baidao Pavilion. He was still there yesterday and cleared up to the fiftieth level! Nobody knows if he went any higher, but his name definitely showed up on the fiftieth!" "Fiftieth level? Seriously?!" Several people gasped in astonishment, clearly having not yet heard the news. Levels forty through sixty of Baidao Pavilion were the domain of the Lingyun Realm. The fiftieth level was generally a watershed—the dividing line for the seventh layer of Lingyun. Last time, Su Yu had given up at the forty-ninth level. Wu Qi had also made it to the forty-ninth level on her previous attempt. And Wu Qi had already entered Lingyun! The assessment at Baidao Pavilion was calibrated against ordinary Lingyun practitioners rather than peerless geniuses, but even so, for a ninth-layer Tengkong cultivator to reach the fiftieth level was utterly appalling! That was a leap of seven minor stages! "Su Yu should be able to do it too, right? Last time, he made it to level forty before he even broke through to Tengkong. Now that he's in Tengkong, if he challenged it again, wouldn't he have a shot at fifty?" "Who knows? They're both monsters. Ah, geniuses really are formidable. Compared to them, our Eight Steeds of Tiandu don't measure up at all!" "Exactly. Great Ming Prefecture doesn't seem to produce any particularly terrifying geniuses, unlike Huang Teng from Great Xia, Qin Fang from Great Qin, or Shan Xiong from Great Zhou..." "Nonsense! Isn't Su Yu from our Great Ming Prefecture?" "He's... fine, you're right, count him if you want. But it doesn't matter anyway. The experts of our Great Ming Prefecture live long lives. We'll just outlive those geniuses!" "..." The students chattered incessantly, debating back and forth. Meanwhile, on the other side of the circular corridor... In a circle of slightly higher-status youths, Zhu Hongliang, Zhu Qingyan, Shang Tianjiao, Bai Junsheng, and Wu Lan were all gathered together. Here, the air was thick with the smell of gunpowder. Shang Tianjiao glared angrily at Wu Lan. "Did you deliberately spread the rumor that Brother Shan Xiong defeated Huang Teng?" Wu Lan ignored her. She was a bit taller than Shang Tianjiao, and with her chin held high and her gaze fixed straight ahead, she acted as though Shang Tianjiao did not even exist. As for the girl being King Dashang's great-granddaughter... what difference did that make? She had only just entered the Tengkong Realm herself! She was even a year older than Wu Lan! A year from now—no, if not for holding back to practice the Primordial Spirit Cultural Art, Wu Lan could have broken through to Tengkong already. What was there to be smug about? Wu Lan had always treated anyone she deemed inferior with this lofty indifference. It wasn't as if she had never seen descendants of Invincible experts before. Xia Chan and Xia Huyou were both Invincible descendants, and she had never put them on a pedestal either. Right now, Xia Huyou was standing not far away. Seeing Wu Lan's reaction, Xia Huyou clamped his mouth shut, suppressing a chuckle. When meeting Wu Lan, unless you gave her a sound thrashing, she could infuriate you to death. In Great Xia Prefecture, more than a few had nearly suffered that fate. His younger sister, Xia Chan, had been in a dreadful depression lately. Before Wu Lan left, she had ambushed Xia Chan. Naturally, there had been no hair-pulling or clothes-shredding, but Wu Lan fought viciously; a punch had left Xia Chan's nose gushing blood, nearly turning it permanently upturned. Even after so many days, Xia Chan felt like murdering someone whenever Wu Lan was mentioned. It was fortunate she was in secluded cultivation this time. Otherwise, had she come, an all-out brawl would have been inevitable. There were quite a few descendants of Invincible experts present here, and the rest were either academy elites or descendants of the Sun Moon Realm. Wu Lan's status was hardly distinguished in this crowd. Yet the woman was the same as always: if she looked down on someone, she disdained to pay them any mind. After Shang Tianjiao snapped another question, Wu Lan finally looked down on her from her superior height, pausing for a long moment before saying, "You talk too much! Once I reach Tengkong, I'll challenge you to a duel. If I can't kill you in three moves, I'll apologize!" "..." Shang Tianjiao's face flushed crimson. "I'm asking if you did it on purpose..." Wu Lan thought about it, then nodded. "On purpose!" "..." There was nowhere to take the conversation from there. "Wu Lan, don't push it too far..." Wu Lan kept her nose pointed up at the sky, peering down at her. "You're crazy. You were the one boasting about how amazing your Brother Shan Xiong was. If he's so amazing, but couldn't even beat Huang Teng, how does that count as amazing?" "He's younger than Huang Teng!" "Well, Su Yu is younger than him!" Wu Lan curled her lip. "And you're older than me. You're already so old, yet you don't even dare accept my challenge. Once I enter Tengkong, I'll kill you in three moves. Do you dare accept the match?" "..." The others kept silent, instinctively stepping a few paces back from the two. These two were not on the same wavelength at all. Both were masters of unreasonable badgering! The real issue was that neither of them was someone to provoke lightly. Although the Wu family was considerably weaker, having only a single Sun Moon expert, their connections were complicated. On one hand, they were close to Great Xia Prefecture; on the other, they were descendants of King Dawu. Even though King Dawu had fallen in battle, Great Wu Prefecture's strength remained formidable, lacking only an Invincible of its own. Wu Lan claimed King Dawu was eight generations back, which seemed distant, but trace it back to her great-grandmother's generation and the connection was not so far off. The current Manor Head of Great Wu Prefecture maintained cordial ties with this branch of the Wu family. Serving as liaisons, the Wu family helped keep Great Wu Prefecture and Great Xia Prefecture closely aligned. As the exchange went on, Shang Tianjiao was repeatedly angered to the point of nearly coughing up blood. She considered herself arrogant enough, being an Invincible's great-granddaughter. Yet she had run into someone even more arrogant than herself! What did Wu Lan have to be arrogant about? Whether in background or strength, Wu Lan was inferior to her in every way. Where did she get off being so proud? The surrounding geniuses ignored the pair. Zhu Hongliang had drifted over to Xia Huyou at some point. Both were plump, but in comparison, Xia Huyou hardly looked fat at all; without contrast, there was no harm, and Zhu Hongliang was far heavier. "Brother Huyou, I hear you're on good terms with Su Yu?" Zhu Hongliang chuckled under his breath. "Did you come this time of your own accord, or on behalf of Great Xia Prefecture?" Xia Huyou smiled amiably as well. "No hidden motive at all. I just came to watch. Two top geniuses clashing, both from our generation—it's a chance to broaden my horizons. Aren't you curious who will win, Brother Hongliang?" "Curious, but not overly so. It wouldn't be surprising either way." As they chatted, the geniuses around them strained their ears, but after listening for a while, they gleaned nothing. The two fat men were just spouting nonsense! As they were talking, Shan Xiong, clad in green robes, strode over from the distance. Jiang Tao walked beside him, murmuring something, before swiftly departing. Shan Xiong did not linger, heading straight toward the arena in the center of the lake. Dressed in green, Shan Xiong looked sunny and handsome. Stepping onto the arena, he glanced around, cupped his hands slightly, smiled, and began to wait. "He's so handsome!" "And so powerful! Did you know he made it to level fifty in Baidao Pavilion? That's the strength of a seventh-layer Lingyun cultivator. He's way too formidable!" "If he weren't formidable, how could he have defeated Huang Teng and Qin Fang?" "True enough!" All around, students of Great Ming Prefecture whispered among themselves, many of them young women. In the elite section, Shang Tianjiao gave Wu Lan a smug look. Wu Lan continued to ignore her, casting a brief glance at Shan Xiong and muttering inwardly: *He doesn't even look as good as Su Yu. Shang Tianjiao must be blind!* While the crowd murmured, Su Yu, dressed in white robes and exuding a touch of scholarly elegance, walked over at an unhurried pace. Across the distance, he spotted Shan Xiong. Shan Xiong looked toward Su Yu as well. The whispered conversations around them died down. Su Yu gave Shan Xiong a slight nod, a smile lingering on his face. Those unfamiliar with him thought nothing of it, but those who knew him, like Xia Huyou, felt an ache in their teeth the moment they saw that grin. The brighter that guy smiled, the more ill-intentioned he was. What an utter scoundrel! ... To one side of the arena, a partitioned section of the circular corridor stood reserved. Several powerful figures stood within. Niu Baidao sat leisurely with a teacup in hand, chuckling. "Both of these lads are fine talents! Whichever of them gets hurt or killed, it's a loss. What do you all think?" Jiang Tao, who had just hurried over, smiled faintly. "Head Niu speaks reasonably. Junior Brother Shan has always been kindhearted. When he sparred with others in recent days, he merely wounded them without doing permanent harm. Junior Brother Shan rarely kills, and when he does, it is only enemies from all races." As for Su Yu, he did not elaborate. Yet everyone knew that Su Yu had killed plenty of people, and all of them were humans. Among them were even a few geniuses, like Zhai Feng from Great Xia Prefecture. Aside from Zhai Feng, Su Yu had also slain others, such as students from the Myriad Races Academy and people like Zhou Pingsheng. That guy was no benevolent soul. By comparison, Shan Xiong seemed far more merciful. Niu Baidao chuckled and chose not to respond. At the side, Wen Zhong said softly, "Assistant Instructor Shan is indeed kindhearted. In a normal challenge, defeating those junior brothers and sisters of the Multiple Divine Characters Faction would be a good thing, teaching them that there is always someone greater. However... sometimes, what is far worse than killing people is crushing their spirits." He did not say more. Yet Shan Xiong's challenges were never pure to begin with; kicking people while they were down, leveraging the prestige of Great Zhou Prefecture to force multiple divine character factions into disbandment, effectively eliminating them from the factional struggle. Wen Zhong did not know Shan Xiong's true intent, but Shan Xiong was the blade thrust forward by the Single Divine Character Faction—a spirit-crushing blade. Jiang Tao said indifferently, "If not Junior Brother Shan, it would have been someone else. When your skills fall short, what talk is there of crushing spirits? Years ago, when the Multiple Divine Characters Faction was dominant and defeated countless experts from the Single Divine Character Faction, no one spoke of crushing spirits then." Wen Zhong said nothing further, merely smiling and nodding to let the matter rest. ... Approaching the arena, Su Yu paid no mind to what others were discussing. Stepping slowly onto the stage, he stopped about a dozen meters from Shan Xiong and smiled. "Greetings, Senior Brother Shan!" "Greetings, Junior Brother Su!" Shan Xiong returned the courtesy, looking at Su Yu before saying, "Junior Brother Su, have you thought about the rules of our match?" Su Yu smiled. "What does Senior Brother suggest?" "Shall we stop when a point is made?" Shan Xiong looked at Su Yu with a smile, proposing a friendly spar. Su Yu's smile remained broad. "Stopping at a point? Isn't that a bit too tame? That would be boring, and neither of us would be able to display our full strength. How about we add some stakes? Previously, whenever Senior Brother Shan defeated someone, multiple divine character factions across various regions were disbanded. How about this: if I lose this time, I will disband the Primordial Spirit Research Institute?" Shan Xiong raised an eyebrow slightly. "Junior Brother, the disbandment of those factions was not..." Su Yu held up a hand. "Senior Brother, we're both straightforward, sensible people. No need to explain. You are strong, and when you defeated them, they felt humiliated and disbanded their factions. That is your capability, and I have no interest in standing up for them. However, your original plan was likely to head to Great Xia Prefecture and challenge my teacher, Bai Feng. Am I correct?" Shan Xiong nodded slightly. "Senior Brother probably intended to completely erase the Multiple Divine Characters Faction in Great Xia Prefecture as well. Since that's the case, there's no need for hypocritical pleasantries." Su Yu smiled. "I cannot make decisions for Great Xia Prefecture; the only person I can make decisions for is myself. Senior Brother, care to make a wager?" Shan Xiong fell silent. Right at that moment, Jiang Tao's voice carried over from the distance: "Su Yu, since you are so confident and willing to wager, why not raise the stakes? There is no need to disband the Primordial Spirit Research Institute. If you lose, how about handing over the divine character battle technique stele you took away?" Su Yu turned his head to look over, smiling. "Senior Brother Jiang, what divine character battle technique stele?" Jiang Tao said placidly, "Since you said yourself that there is no need for hypocritical words, then there is no need to deny it. Otherwise, that stele is with Chen Yong, and Chen Yong is currently outside in no small danger." If the stele was with Chen Yong, those seeking to kill Chen Yong would be all the more resolved. Su Yu went quiet for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "Senior Brother Jiang makes a good point. If the stele were with my martial uncle, it would indeed bring him trouble. So let's say it is with me. And if I win, what can you offer?" Jiang Tao was silent for a breath before asking, "What do you want?" Su Yu laughed. "I want a great deal, but I'm afraid you can't afford it! However... since Senior Brother asked, I'll state my price. I believe Senior Brother knows what the divine character battle technique stele in my hands signifies. A hundred drops of Sun Moon Realm god and demon essence blood, a thousand drops of Shanhai Realm, and ten thousand drops of Lingyun Realm will suffice!" The moment those words were spoken, an uproar broke out in all directions. Su Yu truly dared to ask! Ten Sun Moon, a hundred Shanhai, a thousand Lingyun! All from gods and demons! That was the price he demanded! Was that battle technique stele really worth so much? Every academy had one! Jiang Tao furrowed his brow slightly, pausing before saying, "If we do not restrict it to gods and demons, then it's acceptable!" Those words triggered another collective gasp. Even without restricting it to gods and demons, it was still terrifyingly steep. It would require slaying many Sun Moon and Shanhai experts; whether gods and demons or not, it represented an astronomical fortune! Niu Baidao and the other seniors remained silent. Su Yu, however, chuckled. "If it's not restricted to gods and demons, then the quantity must be doubled. Otherwise, the value doesn't match! I think Senior Brother Jiang understands what I mean!" Just as Jiang Tao was about to speak, Shan Xiong sighed softly from across the stage. "Wouldn't a match without wagers be purer?" Su Yu smiled. "Is the match between you and me pure? Senior Brother Shan, are you deceiving yourself, or do you genuinely believe that ever since you journeyed south, your challenges were merely for the sake of sparring? If that were so, defeating one person would have been enough. Why go prefecture to prefecture? Neither of us would be boasting to call ourselves geniuses. Since that's the case, after defeating someone in the same realm, was there any need to hunt down other same-realm members of the multiple divine character factions? Wouldn't fighting Huang Teng or Qin Fang have been more interesting? If not them, wouldn't fighting primordial gods and demons have been more worthwhile?" Was it pure? Shan Xiong fell silent. After a long pause, he nodded. "You are right. I was never pure to begin with." Su Yu smiled and looked toward Jiang Tao in the distance. "Well? Do you agree?" Before Jiang Tao could speak, Niu Baidao cleared his throat. "Su Yu, do you even have such an item? Don't go fooling people carelessly; everyone is watching." Did he have it? Obviously, Niu Baidao knew Su Yu had it, but using it as a wager required careful consideration. What if the kid actually lost? That would be a massive disaster! Su Yu was formidable, but Shan Xiong had fought his way to the fiftieth level. Such strength was equally staggering. Victory was by no means guaranteed! Of course, if Shan Xiong had been guaranteed to win, Jiang Tao wouldn't have dared bring up the wager so readily either. Su Yu smiled. "Head Niu, even if I said I didn't have it, nobody would believe me. So I might as well say I do." "You rascal!" Niu Baidao laughed. "Little Jiang, it's just a match between juniors. Don't go making it too grand. Are you trying to empty out Great Zhou Prefecture's treasury? If you truly lost... wouldn't that cause a huge mess?" With that, he smiled and added, "Small bets bring joy, big wagers bring harm! How about this: once the victor is decided, the two of you can bet a hundred merit points just for fun." Su Yu couldn't help but laugh, and Shan Xiong chuckled as well. Shan Xiong looked at Su Yu and said mildly, "Head Niu is right. There's no need to play for such high stakes. How about this: if I lose, I will go to the All-Heavens Battlefield and slay ten Lingyun Realm gods and demons on your behalf. If you lose, you do the same for me." Su Yu sneered. "Shan Xiong, do you find this amusing?" Shan Xiong remained silent. Su Yu said calmly, "You can go, but can I? There are far more people who want to kill me than there are people who want to kill you... very few want your life, I'd wager." Shan Xiong fell silent once more. "Since you don't dare wager big, let's wager something else!" Su Yu said teasingly. "You don't dare bet resources, so bet reputation! You don't need to do much. If you lose, provided you aren't dead, you will announce it to the entire Human Realm, going from academy to academy, standing before their gates to tell everyone that single divine characters are inferior to multiple divine characters." "I cannot represent the Single Divine Character Faction!" Shan Xiong refused. He could not speak for the whole faction. Su Yu scoffed. "Then forget it. You can't do this, you can't do that. It seems... you're only fit to be a hired thug. For anything else, you're useless! Living like this, no better than a puppet—what's the point?" "Are you that much better off than me?" Shan Xiong asked with a smile. Su Yu said indifferently, "Of course. I am far better than you. I only do what I am willing to do; if I am unwilling, no one can force me. Can you say the same?" Shan Xiong thought for a moment, then chuckled self-deprecatingly. "It seems you're right." After a few words, Su Yu seemed to lose interest and said directly, "Let's not bother discussing life or death. The match ends when one side admits defeat. If neither concedes, it's a battle to the death; if someone concedes, it decides the winner!" At these words, Shan Xiong hesitated a moment, then nodded. "Agreed!" "As for the wager, since you are unwilling to represent the Single Divine Character Faction, then bet what you can bet. If you lose, I will strip away your divine characters. If I lose, all my divine characters belong to you. How about that?" Su Yu said calmly, "Without divine characters, there will naturally be no talk of which faction is stronger. If you lose, you are no longer part of the Single Divine Character Faction. If I lose, I am no longer part of the Multiple Divine Characters Faction. Perhaps this is also a fine opportunity to break free from this factional struggle." Shan Xiong looked deeply at him. "Your divine character battle technique consists of quite a few characters, doesn't it?" "It's alright, just eighteen." "Since you say so, I accept." When those words landed, the expressions of the surrounding experts grew complicated. Wagering life, wagering divine characters. Even if they didn't lose their lives, losing their divine characters would be catastrophic. For Su Yu to lose eighteen divine characters, trying to outline them again would be monumentally difficult. Even if he could outline them, how long would it take to raise them to Tier 2 or Tier 3? Stripping away divine characters severely damaged vitality and the sea of will, perhaps even crippling a cultivator entirely. In the future, one of these two geniuses would likely only be able to walk the path of the physical body. For geniuses like them, that might be harder to bear than betting their lives. Jiang Tao frowned slightly. He had genuinely wanted to obtain the battle technique stele, but... Niu Baidao had intervened. The chances of getting the stele were slim, and the cost of losing would be far too high. Yet wagering Shan Xiong's divine characters instead was also a massive problem. If Shan Xiong truly lost, even if he didn't die, the special divine characters he had nurtured would be gone. Even if he outlined characters again in the future, his path as a cultural researcher might be utterly ruined. Jiang Tao was just about to speak when Shan Xiong turned toward him and smiled. "Senior Brother, can you let me make my own decision just this once?" Jiang Tao looked at him, sighed softly, and held his tongue. ... The atmosphere gradually turned heavy. Neither Su Yu nor Shan Xiong spoke again. Niu Baidao glanced at them and called out, "You two are both geniuses of the human race, the pride of heaven. I hope you will still stop when a point is made. When truly outmatched, there is no shame in conceding! Who can go undefeated? No one is invincible! Even as mighty as King Daqin is, he suffered defeats when he first proved his Dao to become Invincible!" "To rise in adversity and stand back up from defeat is far more important than a momentary victory!" "A hundred paths and a hundred arts; every path can lead to the Dao!" "I hope you two take this to heart." Niu Baidao could not judge who would win either. At this moment, these words came from the bottom of his heart. Both were rare talents of humanity; if either were to die, it would be an immense loss. With that, Niu Baidao declared, "Both of you are experts, so there is no need for a referee. Since you wish to spar, let it begin!" ... The moment his words faded, their auras erupted terrifically! *Boom!* The lake water boiled, waves surging into the sky. Like two blazing suns, their blood qi scorched the surroundings as Yuan Qi swept outward! With a thunderous crash, the two collided on the arena and instantly separated. Su Yu took a few steps back, while Shan Xiong retreated seven or eight meters, his golden left hand bruised with a purplish tint. "Junior Brother's physical body... is truly powerful!" Shan Xiong marveled, though inward vigilance and shock filled him. His body was truly tough! At least considerably stronger than his own! One had to remember that Shan Xiong had opened 144 apertures and undergone 18 body cast cycles, making him top-tier even among warriors. Yet the instant their flesh collided, he was clearly inferior to Su Yu. A collective gasp rippled through the spectators. In this initial probing clash, it was actually Shan Xiong who had fallen into a disadvantage. Su Yu's physical body was terrifyingly robust. "Senior Brother flatters me!" Su Yu smiled, and in the next instant, the two collided again. Thunderous booms echoed continuously in the air at astonishing speed! At this moment, most Tengkong cultivators could not even make out their silhouettes. Only those at Lingyun, Shanhai, and above could see clearly. A few Lingyun cultivators felt their teeth ache. *Damn it, why does the momentum of their clash feel even more ferocious than an ordinary Lingyun cultivator's? How is this a clash between Tengkong cultivators, let alone Civilization Masters? In physical strength alone, these two are comparable to Lingyun experts!* Roars and booms resounded without pause! In the blink of an eye, the clash of physical bodies reached its conclusion. With a dull *thud*, Shan Xiong plummeted from the radiant blur, blood spilling from his lips. Su Yu, hovering calmly in midair, said, "Senior Brother, your physical body falls short. You had better let me witness your divine character dao instead!" Shan Xiong took a deep breath. His physical body truly wasn't enough. He had thought his body was plenty strong, but reality proved the gap was significant. His martial techniques were also not as potent as Su Yu's! "Then as you wish!" At that moment, a powerful wave of willpower swept out. A longsword appeared in Shan Xiong's hand, and his entire demeanor transformed. Formidable! Battle intent boiled! A golden gleam appeared in his eyes, and his flesh-and-blood body suddenly became ethereal. It was the effect brought about by his divine characters. Right now, Shan Xiong seemed not to belong to this world, drifting through an alternate dimension. His speed this time was even faster—inconceivably fast! Flickering out of sight, he materialized directly before Su Yu. A single thrust! Su Yu threw a punch, but it struck empty air. With a soft *squelch*, the longsword pierced right through his fist. Blood dripped down! Su Yu retreated swiftly, the flow of time shifting beneath his feet as his expression changed slightly. *What a peculiar divine character!* At this moment, Shan Xiong seemed not to exist in this spacetime! "Yuan Qi is useless. In my current state, only willpower can break through—or your Yuan Qi must be several times more powerful than mine. Junior Brother, as you are right now, you cannot do it!" Su Yu understood in an instant. Faintly, Shan Xiong broke somewhat into traits akin to the little fur ball. It was as if he had transformed into a divine character himself! Unless one's Yuan Qi was overwhelmingly powerful, it could not breach his special domain. In this way, Su Yu's physical advantage vanished instantly! ... All around, the spectators were shaken as well. What kind of divine character was that? Su Yu's physical body was immensely strong, as everyone could see. Yet his punch had hit nothing but air. None of them had ever witnessed such a phenomenon before. Didn't that mean against warriors, unless the warrior was vastly superior to him, Shan Xiong could slaughter them at will? This was simply terrifying! Su Yu's strength lay in his body; how could he cope going forward? "Interesting!" Su Yu let out a low chuckle. This was more like it. For Shan Xiong to sweep through the multiple divine character factions of over a dozen prefectures, he truly had real skill. "Comparing divine characters, is it?" Su Yu wasted no words. A saber appeared in his grasp, and divine characters instantly merged into it. Eighteen divine characters fused and converted, transforming into an eighteen-base-character divine character battle technique saber. The Five Elements traits erupted! Water and fire surged like a tempest! In the next instant, both seemed to step into a unique domain, instantly clashing together in fierce combat. *Rumble!* The shockwaves rippled outward, the lake water boiling furiously. Around the perimeter, students were forced backward in retreat; those lacking sufficient cultivation were directly knocked off their feet by the blast waves! The experts made no move to intervene. There was no lethal danger yet, so intervention was unnecessary; it was good to let these students see the sheer gulf between themselves and true prodigies. Above the arena, two shadowy figures crossed paths repeatedly. Blades and swords flashed in collisions that were often completely silent yet extraordinarily brutal. ... Within the void... Su Yu wrapped himself in a shadow barrier, holding his long saber as he clashed ceaselessly against Shan Xiong's sword. Willpower severed space, and divine characters collided. Faintly, Shan Xiong's willpower seemed even more formidable than his own, likely having reached the equivalent of normal Tier-3 willpower. His divine character was also exceptionally peculiar, possessing numerous traits. Su Yu couldn't tell whether it was a single divine character or multiple characters combined. As they fought, Su Yu's long saber suddenly shuddered as an oscillating force transmitted through it. At that moment, his sea of will turbulence surged. Su Yu let out a low grunt, instantly vanishing into the void! The wind arrived! A fierce astral gale swept through, carrying immense destructive force. Amid tearing sounds, Shan Xiong's figure flickered briefly into view, bloodstains marking his body as he said in surprise, "A martial technique?" It didn't look like an innate talent technique; Su Yu didn't seem to have consumed essence blood. Then how had he transformed into wind? A special martial art? Just as he spoke, a hammer materialized in Su Yu's hand. Su Yu reappeared and swung it down with all his might! With a massive *boom*, the longsword in Shan Xiong's hand vibrated violently. His willpower wavered into daze, but he snapped awake in an instant, erupting with oscillating force to forcefully resist the Mind Expansion Hammer's reverberation. Back and forth they traded blows, waves of divine character power and willpower shockwaves expanding outward, continuously stacking and vibrating! The surrounding space began to ripple. At this moment, Niu Baidao and the others frowned slightly. In the next instant, Niu Baidao stepped forward, casting a barrier of light to envelop the surrounding walkway! These two were stacking shockwaves upon shockwaves; if this continued, the surrounding students would suffer. The students didn't understand at first, only to watch wide-eyed as the arena platform beneath the two fighters was reduced to powder by those oscillating shockwaves. Soundlessly, the massive platform vanished completely from the surface of the lake. Su Yu wielded his hammer, striking again and again! Shan Xiong raised his sword in continuous defense. The divine characters of both men trembled, their seas of will churned, and waves of willpower erupted relentlessly. The arena was gone. In the next instant, down in the lake waters, a massive turtle's shell suddenly cracked, and it burst out of the water to flee through the air. A Lingyun Realm great turtle! If that weren't enough, in the blink of an eye, another colossal aquatic beast resembling an octopus breached the surface, fleeing into the distance at top speed. Its tentacles were dripping with blood. The surrounding students and instructors were utterly stunned. They had no idea there were great demons dwelling beneath the water. Not only were they great demons, their auras placed them in the Lingyun Realm, yet under the relentless shockwaves generated by these two, they had been forced to abandon their lair and flee for their lives. Wave after wave of willpower shockwaves pulsed outward! *Rumble!* With a deafening explosion, Su Yu's shadow barrier shattered, exposing his physical body to everyone's view. Fissures appeared across his skin, his white robe stained with blood. Meanwhile, Shan Xiong fell from that special ethereal state as well, the clothes on his upper body tearing to shreds to reveal his cracked torso. With a dull *thud*, Su Yu was pushed back, while Shan Xiong was sent flying, crashing into the water and instantly dyeing the lake's surface red with blood. "Brother Shan Xiong..." Around the perimeter, Shang Tianjiao cried out in shock! The combat had unfolded at blinding speed. In the blink of an eye, Shan Xiong had plunged into the water, his blood staining the lake, while Su Yu appeared to have suffered only minor cracks on his skin, largely unharmed. Had Shan Xiong lost? Shang Tianjiao couldn't believe it! Impossible! The moment her cry rang out, a sword ray broke through the water, shooting straight toward Su Yu. Su Yu snorted coldly, holding nothing back now. The hammer expanded to immense proportions! Unleashing his full power, he slammed the hammer down toward the water with a thunderous roar! *Boom!* Water sprayed in all directions like flying blades, striking the defensive barrier Niu Baidao had erected and producing metallic clangs! Beneath the surface, there was no sound, only sword gleams flashing with immense ferocity. Sword ray after sword ray burst forth without end. And Su Yu brought hammer after hammer crashing down, making the entire lake tremble violently. A moment later, a figure flashed up from the lake. Bare-chested with hair flying wildly and eyes cold as ice, Shan Xiong disregarded everything to thrust his sword straight toward Su Yu's head. "Get lost!" Su Yu bellowed, his Yuan apertures erupting with power. His golden body gleamed, his willpower surged in its entirety, and thunder roared alongside raging flames, engulfing them both amidst nonstop cataclysmic booms! In less than three seconds, the two separated once more. Shan Xiong's sword was snapped, his hands coated in blood, yet he vanished from everyone's sight again in an instant! Hovering in the air, Su Yu gripped his giant hammer and said coldly, "Petty tricks. I thought you were formidable, but it seems you aren't as strong as I imagined—just possessed of a few more tricks!" Around them, several Lingyun experts clicked their tongues. Not strong enough? If it were them, anyone below the seventh layer of Lingyun might very well have been killed already! Just moments ago, a Lingyun cultivator had secretly reached a hand outside of Niu Baidao's protective barrier, only for the stacked willpower shockwaves of the two combatants to instantly shatter his hand bones. Were these two really in Tengkong? Mere residual shockwaves had instantly shattered the bones of a third-layer Lingyun expert. Shan Xiong did not reply. Right then, Su Yu stomped downward, sending shockwaves through the air, and Shan Xiong's silhouette was forced back into view. Retreating swiftly, Shan Xiong's physical form solidified. He looked toward Su Yu with a complicated gaze. What sharp combat instincts! Against Su Yu, all of his techniques felt countered. Because Su Yu possessed even more methods than he did! His shockwaves, his willpower domain, his shadow escape—none of them worked against Su Yu. Instead, he had been gravely wounded by Su Yu! At this moment, the Shanhai and Sun Moon experts felt it as well, a subtle, indescribable sentiment welling within them. For these prodigies to be born in the same era was both a blessing and a curse. Both possessed the power to slay Lingyun cultivators, yet clashing here, Shan Xiong was noticeably outmatched, falling short of Su Yu. Inferior in physical body, inferior in divine character techniques. While these thoughts ran through their minds, Shan Xiong let out a low roar. In the next instant, he transformed into a beam of light, piercing through the void in a flash. With a soft *squelch*, a bloody gash appeared on Su Yu's neck! Blood sprayed outward! Yet Su Yu countered with a backhanded swing of his hammer. The figure in the air paused for a fraction of a second, and Su Yu drove a backhanded punch downward. With a dull *bang*, flesh and blood exploded! In the blink of an eye, Shan Xiong pulled away, his back now a mangled mess of blood and flesh. Looking toward Su Yu, the onlookers felt their teeth ache once more. The sword wound on Su Yu's neck, which had been gushing blood just a heartbeat ago, healed instantly as Su Yu circulated several apertures. Flesh and blood regenerated! Not just the wound on his neck—at this moment, all the wounds across his entire body vanished completely. What was more, even the bloodstains on his white robes disappeared in an instant. "Is that all you have?" Su Yu was completely composed! That sword strike just now had been extraordinarily swift; an ordinary Lingyun cultivator would likely have had their head lopped off in one blow. But it wasn't enough. "Then it's my turn!" In that instant, the giant hammer in his hands vanished, turning into a curtain of light as the eighteen divine characters dispersed. In the blink of an eye, the area where the two stood transformed into a small realm. A shadow barrier! Outsiders could not see within, only hearing muffled grunts an instant later, seemingly from Shan Xiong. Inside the shadow barrier, the apertures in Su Yu's legs erupted with power. Time circulated, the "Slow" divine character's trait dragged down his speed, the "Calamity" character exerted intimidation, the "Blood" character created illusions to disrupt him... In terms of traits, did Shan Xiong have more than him? In terms of martial arts, did Shan Xiong know more than him? Since Shan Xiong had neither, what was there to compete with! Within the barrier, Yuan Qi was sealed, willpower was suppressed, and Su Yu swept his legs out. In a flash, Shan Xiong's vision turned stark white, and in the next moment, Su Yu drove a fist into him, shattering another portion of his flesh. Su Yu pressed his advantage relentlessly. His Yuan Qi was immensely dense, his willpower extraordinarily potent; Shan Xiong counterattacked continuously, only to be thoroughly suppressed by Su Yu's assault. Thunderous booms rang out without pause! After a long while, Shan Xiong roared in fury, his willpower erupting in full force. With a loud *boom*, the barrier shattered. Shan Xiong's face was deathly pale, blood dripping unceasingly from his mouth and the wounds across his body. Su Yu remained unperturbed. At this point, everyone could see the disparity. Shan Xiong was inferior to Su Yu. He had been completely suppressed! Su Yu smiled faintly. "Senior Brother Shan, if you have any other signature moves, you'd better use them now. Otherwise... you won't get another chance!" Shan Xiong was pale as paper. He glanced at Su Yu, and in the next instant, his blood qi suddenly surged violently! "Junior Brother!" Jiang Tao roared in alarm from the sidelines! This was a method of burning essence blood! Doing so might grant a temporary explosion of power, but afterward, one's physical body would suffer severe damage, potentially even causing his cultivation realm to drop. Shan Xiong was putting his life on the line! Shan Xiong's blood qi erupted, growing stronger and stronger! In the next instant, he lunged forward, charging toward Su Yu, his explosive power momentarily appearing to eclipse Su Yu's. "Detonating essence blood?" Su Yu's eyes flickered, various thoughts flashing through his mind. In the next moment, under the shocked gazes of everyone present, though Su Yu could easily have engaged in a prolonged battle of attrition, he chose not to! At this very moment, Su Yu's 360 apertures suddenly separated. The instant they decoupled, 144 of the Yuan apertures—the apertures belonging to the Heaven Cleaving Saber—instantly shattered, unleashing an overwhelming, terrifying might! In that split second, Su Yu self-detonated 144 Yuan apertures. Under Shan Xiong's shocked, disbelieving gaze, a heaven-defying blade light flashed and vanished! *Pfft!* Shan Xiong's figure froze, moving no more. Behind him, Niu Baidao's protective barrier ruptured with a tear as a stray wisp of blade qi instantly obliterated a pavilion several thousand meters away. Blood trickled from the corner of Su Yu's mouth. He didn't look at Shan Xiong again, quietly closing his eyes to savor the fleeting sensation that had flashed through him during that instant when 144 apertures erupted. The yang aperture! He had found it! As for self-detonating 144 Yuan apertures, it wasn't a major issue; a month or two of recuperation would suffice. He had no shortage of essence blood or Heaven Yuan Qi. What outsiders saw as a grave injury was, in his eyes, merely a minor scratch. He simply hadn't felt like tangling with Shan Xiong any longer. If this fellow wasn't dealt with decisively in one blow, he would remain a troublesome nuisance. After silently savoring the insight for a moment, a faint smile appeared on Su Yu's face. He opened his eyes. Ahead of him, Shan Xiong remained motionless, staring at Su Yu in disbelief. In the next moment, with a dull *bang*, his physical body completely blew apart! A divine character emerged! Right at that instant, Jiang Tao acted in a flash, grabbing the divine character and pulling it back toward himself. He looked at Su Yu, his expression intensely complicated! Defeated! A crushing defeat! His physical body was pulverized, his sea of will likely shattered, while the price Su Yu paid was the rupture of 144 Yuan apertures. Yet... even without paying such a price, everyone could see that Su Yu was destined to win. As for why he had chosen to rupture his apertures... none of them understood. In the crowd, the elder brother of the Bai family seemed to grasp something. He glanced at Su Yu, filled with surprise and awe. This fellow was truly ruthless. Had he discovered something and simply used Shan Xiong as a target to test it out? Su Yu smiled faintly, not minding in the least, and said placidly, "Senior Brother Jiang, his divine character is mine!" Jiang Tao gritted his teeth, his voice deep and raspy. "Whatever treasures you want, we will give you. His body has blown apart; if his divine character is given to you... he will die!" "The divine character is mine!" Su Yu remained calm. Since the wager had been established, the divine character belonged to him. As for whether Shan Xiong died or not, what did that have to do with him? At this moment, complete silence fell over the surroundings. Shan Xiong had suffered a crushing defeat, beaten utterly and completely! The divine character... belonged to Su Yu. If it were surrendered, Shan Xiong would undoubtedly die, without even a chance at recovery.