eurekapd Chapter 245 The Contempt of the Holy Land's Prodigies
Chapter 245 The Contempt of the Holy Land's Prodigies
Inside the Imperial Treasure Pavilion.
Manager Du Peng hurriedly pushed open the door and rushed in, saying urgently, "Sect Master, Miss Murong, in the suburbs... Young Master Li is about to face off against Yang Qiong of the Tianxuan Holy Land!"
The teacup was slammed down, making a crisp sound.
Xiang Leping suddenly stood up: "Really?"
A strange light flashed in Murong Qinglan's eyes. She put down her teacup, her skirt swaying slightly: "Let's go!"
The two exchanged a glance, said nothing more, and their figures transformed into streaks of light as they sped out of the pavilion.
Meanwhile, at a guesthouse, in an upper room.
"boom!!"
The door was flung open, and a disciple of the Li Huo Sect rushed in, panting: "Senior Brother Fei! The kid who injured us is about to fight the people from the Tianxuan Holy Land! It's in the outskirts of the city!"
"Snapped!"
Fei Han slammed his hand on the table and stood up, his face beaming with elation. "Is the news confirmed?"
"It's absolutely true! The whole city has heard it!"
Luo Xinrou sneered, a glint of pleasure in her eyes:
"No matter how talented that kid is, he's still a frog in a well. What kind of figures are the geniuses of the Holy Land? He's bound to lose this battle! It saves us the trouble of waiting for our master to arrive..."
Fei Han smiled sinisterly, his eyes gleaming with venom: "Junior Sister is right, let's go! Let's go and see for ourselves how he's being trampled underfoot!"
The members of the Li Huo Sect burst out of the inn, laughing and gloating.
The same news quickly spread among the Biyun Sect and other forces lingering in the imperial city.
Some people watched coldly, while others secretly harbored expectations.
Because of this battle, the entire capital city's attention was drawn to it, and Li Wudao and Yang Qiong instantly became the focus of everyone's attention.
........
Suburbs, wasteland.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, it dyed the sky a blood-red hue.
The wild grass swayed in the warm breeze, like golden waves surging.
At this moment, this usually deserted wilderness has been overwhelmed by crowds.
A dense crowd of people, numbering in the tens of thousands.
Martial artists, commoners, scions of powerful families, spies from various sects…
Whether standing on high ground or squeezed into the crowd, everyone's eyes were drawn to those few figures in the arena like magnets.
On one side, Li Wudao stood tall, his high ponytail swaying gently in the wind, his expression calm, indifferent and casual.
Shen Ming and Li Nanzhi stood slightly behind him, their expressions solemn.
The green-haired turtle lay lazily to one side, its small eyes half-closed, seemingly asleep but not quite. Its tuft of green fur looked slightly messy and conspicuous in the wind.
On the other side, Yang Qiong, dressed in white, exuded an otherworldly air, with a gentle smile on his lips, as if he had not come to a duel, but to attend an elegant gathering.
Behind him, Shi Mao stood like a mountain, his muscles bulging and his breath heavy like a wild beast; Qiao Yuan, on the other hand, was like a withered tree, his aura cold and gloomy, hidden in the shadows.
"Brother Li—" Yang Qiong closed his folding fan lightly, raised his hand slightly, and said with an elegant demeanor, "Today we finally have a battle. Please."
Li Wudao was about to speak.
"and many more!"
A low, thunderous roar erupted as Shi Mao took a step forward, causing the earth to tremble slightly.
His eyes widened as he pointed at Li Wudao, his voice booming:
"Brother Yang is a man of high status; he's not some nobody who's qualified to fight him!"
"Want to fight Brother Yang? You'll have to get past me first!"
His words were laced with undisguised provocation and resentment.
Clearly, he was still upset about Li Wudao breaking his promise.
Shen Ming frowned, took a step forward, and said in a clear and firm voice, "If you want to fight my senior brother, you'll have to ask me first if I agree!"
The wind rustles through the wild grass, leaving a desolate silence.
Their eyes met in mid-air, as if sparks were flying.
Shi Mao grinned, revealing his gleaming white teeth, and sneered, "If Brother Yang hadn't stopped me that day, I would have shown you what true arrogance is!"
“You…” Shen Ming’s face darkened, and anger surged in his chest.
The disdain the other person showed when we first met still stings me like a fishbone stuck in my throat.
"What, you're not convinced?" Shi Mao crossed his arms, his posture arrogant. "Do you dare to continue the battle that wasn't finished the other day?"
“Why wouldn’t I dare!” Shen Ming raised an eyebrow, his hand already resting on the hilt of the black and gold battle sword at his waist.
As one of the top core disciples of the Xuantian Sect, how could he tolerate being provoked repeatedly?
The two were ten feet apart, but their auras clashed in the air, stirring up dust and sand on the ground.
On the desolate plains, tens of thousands of people held their breath.
"You'd better use your full strength, I won't hold back!"
Shi Mao roared and shot out like a cannonball.
His movement was completely unpretentious; he simply broke through the air with his physical body!
Enveloped in earth-yellow aura, he charged straight at her like a primordial bull awakening.
Wherever it went, it carved deep furrows into the ground, and scattered gravel everywhere!
Shen Ming's pupils contracted slightly, and instead of retreating, he advanced, unleashing his full combat power.
"Qiang——!!"
The black and gold battle sword was drawn, its sound like a dragon's roar echoing across the wasteland.
On the blade, lightning and fire spirit patterns suddenly lit up, bursting with dazzling light. The energy of lightning and fire intertwined and rose, and the blade intent was as fierce as the north wind of winter!
There were no fancy martial arts techniques, only a pure black blade of light wrapped in the power of thunder and fire!
Wherever the blade's edge passed, the air was torn apart with a piercing shriek, and the ground was plowed into a bottomless ravine.
One of the Seven Wonders of the Xuantian Sect: Overlord Blade!
With a single slash, it charges forward relentlessly, unstoppable and devastating.
"Well done!"
Shi Mao laughed loudly and, instead of dodging, took the initiative to meet him.
He crossed his arms to protect his head, and his earth-yellow aura solidified into a tangible form, transforming into an ancient, giant shield phantom above his head. The shield's surface was covered in ancient patterns, vaguely resembling the shape of mountains.
Earthen Guardian Shield!
One of the inner sect secret techniques of Tianxuan Holy Land, it is a mid-grade King-level martial skill with extremely strong defensive capabilities.
boom! !
The blade struck the giant shield, unleashing a deafening roar!
A blinding light exploded, and the two forces tore and annihilated each other in a frenzy.
The violent surge of spiritual energy instantly transformed into a ring-shaped wave of energy that swept across the area, shaving the ground within a ten-foot radius down by three feet.
Dust billowed into the sky, obscuring the sun!
Even those watching from a hundred feet away were pushed back by this shockwave, and those with weaker cultivation levels suffered blood turmoil and turned pale!
"So strong!"
"Is this the strength of a top genius...? Even the aftershocks of the collision are so terrifying!"
The spectators gasped in amazement, their eyes filled with shock.
The smoke and dust gradually dissipated.
In the arena, Shen Ming staggered back three steps, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, his face turning slightly pale.
Shi Mao, however, only took one step back, his sleeves ripped open, revealing his bronze-colored, bulging muscles. Although there were several scorch marks, his aura was three times stronger!
"That's it?" Shi Mao wiped the blood from his arm, grinned, and said sarcastically:
"I heard you're a core disciple of the Xuantian Sect this generation? I didn't expect you to be so weak that you can't even beat an inner disciple like me. It's truly disappointing."
Shen Ming's face darkened, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Again!"
The next instant, his spiritual energy was visibly drained and poured into his back.
There, a phantom figure intertwined with lightning and fire was slowly solidifying.
The phantom was over ten feet tall, with lightning crackling around its left arm and flames raging around its right, radiating a terrifying aura of destruction!
"Fire and thunder scorch the heavens!"
Shen Ming roared, his entire body merging with the illusory figure behind him, transforming into a blazing meteor of lightning and fire, crashing into Shi Mao once again.
"A dual-spirit body technique... This move has certainly impressed me..."
Shi Mao's pupils contracted, and he finally stopped being so arrogant.
He let out a low roar, and his earthen-yellow aura erupted from his body.
A thick, rock-like armor materialized on his body, quickly covering his entire body.
Its fists transformed into millstones, their surfaces bearing ancient patterns, exuding a heavy, mountain-like sense of oppression as it fiercely met the attack.
Boom! !
This collision was truly earth-shattering.
The barren ground undulated like waves, cracking open countless deep ravines!
The crowd was thrown about by the shockwave, and those with weaker cultivation levels even had blood coming from their mouths and noses and fainted on the spot!
It took a full five breaths for the blinding light and violent shockwave to gradually dissipate.
The scene on the field made everyone gasp in shock.
Shen Ming knelt on one knee, his robes torn, his body covered in charred black and bloody stains, his breath weak, clearly at his limit.
Opposite him, Shi Mao, though also ragged and with blood at the corner of his mouth, still stood steadily.
Although its rock armor was covered with cracks, it had not completely collapsed.
The winner has been decided.
"Cough cough..." Shen Ming coughed up blood, struggling to get up, but he staggered and could not stand.
Shi Mao spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, and his gaze toward Shen Ming became less contemptuous and more solemn.
"You're not bad for forcing me to use 'Rock Armor Possession,' but unfortunately... your talent is lacking."
Upon hearing this, Shen Ming frowned, his eyes filled with resentment.
Shi Mao saw his dissatisfaction and shook his head, saying:
"In the Xuantian Sect, you may be a top genius. But in my Tianxuan Holy Land, there are at least eighty or a hundred dual-attribute spirit bodies like yours. There's really nothing to be proud of."
He paused, a hint of self-mockery in his voice: "Let alone you, even I, among my peers in the Holy Land, am barely in the middle ranks..."
As soon as this statement came out, the whole audience was in an uproar!
Everyone was stunned, feeling that their understanding had been shocked like never before.
Such a powerful Shi Mao was no match for even the core disciples of the Xuantian Sect.
A genius like him would only be considered average in the Tianxuan Holy Land.
Then what kind of terrifying existence must the white-clad youth, whom he serves as a god and obeys without question, be?
What unfathomable secrets does the Tianxuan Holy Land behind it hold?
Faced with Shi Mao's denigration, Shen Ming was powerless to refute. He clenched his fists tightly, letting his nails dig into his palms and blood drip down.
He turned his head with difficulty to look at Li Wudao, his expression one of defeat and bitterness: "I'm sorry, Senior Brother Li... I... lost... I've brought shame... upon the sect..."
"It's alright, you already have an injury, just do your best."
Li Wudao stepped forward, supported his shoulder, and channeled a gentle spiritual energy into him, his voice calm and composed.
He glanced at Shi Mao and continued, "Besides, his cultivation level is deeper than yours, and the martial arts he cultivates are also inherited from the Holy Land. Losing to him... is not shameful."
Upon hearing this, Shen Ming nodded, feeling a slight relief from his inner turmoil.
"It seems your Xuantian Sect truly has no one left..."
At this moment, Shi Mao sneered, making no attempt to hide his cold mockery:
"No wonder the Seven Sects have always come in last place in the martial arts tournament over the past century, and in recent times they haven't even had the courage to participate!"
"In my opinion, it's better to fall out of the top-tier sects as soon as possible, so as to avoid making a fool of themselves!"
"How dare you speak like that..." Li Nanzhi's pretty face turned red with anger, and she couldn't help but scold her.
Even the usually aloof Qiao Yuan frowned and whispered a reminder: "Shi Mao, that's enough."
"What's wrong?" Shi Mao pouted, looking displeased. "Can't I even talk about the dishes? I'm just stating the facts!"
Shen Ming's face was ashen, his chest heaving violently, but he was speechless.
Every word the other party uttered was like a knife stabbing into Xuan Tianzong's sore spot, and also into his heart.
"enough."
Yang Qiong, who had been observing quietly, finally spoke.
His voice remained gentle and calm, yet carried an undeniable authority, like a clear spring cascading over a rock, instantly silencing all the noise.
Upon hearing this, Shi Mao froze, his arrogant demeanor instantly vanishing.
He felt as if he had been doused with cold water, and he shut his mouth in a huff, but his face was still full of resentment.
Yang Qiong turned to Li Wudao's side, cupped his hands slightly, and said apologetically, "Brother Li, Brother Shen, the servant spoke without thinking. I apologize on his behalf and hope you will forgive him."
Li Wudao remained calm and waved his hand, saying, "It's alright."
But his gaze toward Shi Mao had subtly turned cold.