At Will

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Chulan pushed his speed to the limit and charged at Shen Ye like a bolt of lightning.

With a thought from Shen Ye, the golden barrier enveloped him once more.

Zhang Chulan's incomparably fierce punch slammed heavily into the shield. The barrier trembled slightly, and an invisible shockwave rippled outward from the two of them.

The next instant, jagged earthen spikes forced Zhang Chulan back again.

Just as everyone thought the two were reenacting the previous match, a bolt of white lightning shot skyward beneath Shen Ye's feet.

Yet the golden light was like an unyielding stone in a riverbed. No matter how the white lightning surged against it, it could not shake the barrier in the slightest.

"Even attacks from underground are blocked? You really aren't leaving me any openings!" Zhang Chulan dodged the earthen spikes while his mind raced.

Time was running out. He had to find a way to break the deadlock as quickly as possible.

"I need enough power to shatter his shield in one blow, but my current strength is already the absolute limit of what I can reach!" As Zhang Chulan thought this, he suddenly caught sight of some pits at the edge of the arena where Yin Five Thunders from the previous battle still remained. Inspiration struck him at once.

"That's right. I only need to break his shield. It doesn't matter whether the power that breaks it is mine!"

With that thought, Zhang Chulan pushed his speed to the limit again, darting back and forth through every corner of the arena to gather all the remaining Yin Five Thunders into his hands.

"So this is the power of Yin Five Thunders? It corrodes bone and heart, sapping one's courage!" Feeling the mass of lightning fluid constantly eroding his strength, Zhang Chulan had no time to think further. He rushed toward Shen Ye at top speed, Jiang Gong in his left hand and Shui Zang in his right, fused them together, and hurled them out fiercely.

"What was this supposed to be? Buddha's Wrath Lightning Lotus?" Shen Ye chuckled inwardly. Zhang Chulan's little tricks naturally could not escape his eyes, but he was more than happy to see them succeed.

If Zhang Chulan could not even break this golden barrier, then who would Shen Ye reveal his later trump cards to?

The two bolts of lightning, utterly opposed in nature, collided. Brilliant light burst forth, thunder roared, and the surrounding rubble accelerated and shot outward like bullets.

Terrifying energy aftershocks ravaged the arena wildly. Even the surrounding walls were shattered by the surging blasts, sections of them being ripped up and hurled away!

"He won! The golden barrier broke!" Xu Si was ecstatic. Though his view was obscured by the dust cloud filling the air, he could sense that the shield had vanished.

"Did he really win?" Xu San's expression remained grave. "So far, he hasn't displayed any close-combat ability. But is that because he can't, or because he never needed to?"

Xu Si's expression changed as realization suddenly dawned on him. From the first match until now, Shen Ye seemed not to have moved even a single step!

The dust gradually dispersed, revealing Zhang Chulan frantically attacking Shen Ye from all sides—only for Shen Ye to fend him off with ease!

Zhang Chulan had already exceeded the limit of what the naked eye could follow. All they could see were several streaks of light flashing continuously.

Yet to everyone's astonishment, they could clearly see Shen Ye's footwork. His movements were obviously casual and slow, yet he always evaded Zhang Chulan's lightning-fast attacks at exactly the right moment!

The sight of slow overcoming fast was so mystical that it created an almost jarring sense of dissonance.

"Alas, the gap is too great!" In the stands, Zhang Zhiwei sighed. "Even if we look only at hand-to-hand combat, Chulan has no chance of winning!"

"This is the realm of responding to movement with stillness, isn't it?" Rongshan exclaimed admiringly. "Even on Wudang Mountain, very few people can reach such a realm!"

"It isn't responding to movement with stillness. It is the realm of doing as one wills!" Zhang Zhiwei sighed as he stroked his beard. "Fast and slow as one, motion and stillness in harmony—the marvel of its use exists solely within the heart!"

Rongshan's eyes widened. "This kind of realm... could he be some old senior who rejuvenated himself and came out just to toy with us?"

"Is this guy some kind of all-around war god? He doesn't have a single weakness or shortcoming. This is ridiculous!" Zhang Chulan gritted his teeth. His aura suddenly weakened, and he cried out miserably, "Oh no, the minute is up!"

Before anyone could react, however, he abruptly accelerated and charged toward Shen Ye again.

"Temporary membership renewed!"

But what greeted him was a chop of Shen Ye's hand.

Retracting his right hand, Shen Ye smiled. "I told you, I never let down my guard!"

After being knocked flying, Zhang Chulan climbed up from the ground and gloomily spat out a breath of stale air. "What kind of person are you? Not only are you absurdly strong, but you stay on guard every second. You're not giving anyone a chance to live! Fine, fine, I concede!"

Seeing Zhang Chulan surrender, Rongshan solemnly announced, "The final victor of the Grand Heavenly Offering Ritual: Shen Ye!"

As soon as the words fell, the entire venue erupted in cheers!

No one had any doubts about this outcome.

The difference in strength was simply too vast—so vast that they could not even feel jealous.

Amid those cheers, Feng Baobao sighed listlessly. "Lost, huh."

Xu Si comforted her, "Baobao, don't blame Chulan. The opponent really was too strong. Even if the two of us took the field, we'd probably end up the same way!"

Xu San, however, pondered with a solemn expression. "City of Flowing Moon... what kind of place is it? If City of Flowing Moon emerges into the world, what impact will it have on today's world of cultivators?"

Xu Si lowered his voice. "Rather than worry about that, we should think about how to deal with those All-Encompassing maniacs!"

Xu San swept his gaze around, seemingly trying to identify which people were disguised members of All-Encompassing. "Little Brother Shen Ye wiped out the Four Maniacs and dealt them a crushing blow. Those All-Encompassing people must have been unable to hold themselves back for a long time now."

Xu Si continued, "Little Miss Hua Yue helped Baobao yesterday. Today, it's our turn to repay the favor!"

That afternoon.

After the Grand Heavenly Offering Ritual ended, quite a few people left the stands, but many still chose to remain and watch the final ceremony.

At the center of the arena, Zhang Zhiwei stood in an open area with several members of the Ten Elders. A Taoist priest stood attentively to one side, holding talismans in his hands.

When Shen Ye approached, Zhang Zhiwei asked solemnly, "Little layman, I will ask you one last time. Do you truly intend to join Longhu Mountain and inherit the position of Heavenly Master?"

Shen Ye's gaze was firm. "That's right. I apologize for causing the Heavenly Master trouble!"

Zhang Zhiwei shook his head. "What trouble is there? This was the very purpose of the Grand Heavenly Offering Ritual."

Lu Jin stood nearby, his tone slightly sour. "The Old Heavenly Master truly is fortunate. Every one of his disciples is gifted, and now a genius like Little Brother Shen Ye has joined them. The Great Dao has a promising future indeed!"

As he spoke, he took the Heavenly Ascension Talisman from the young Taoist priest beside him and looked at Shen Ye. "According to the agreement made before the event, this Heavenly Ascension Talisman now belongs to you!"

Shen Ye accepted the talisman. "I came for the position of Heavenly Master and should not have accepted such a generous gift. But one does not dare refuse what an elder bestows, so I will accept it despite my unworthiness!"

Lu Jin burst into laughter. "Not bad. You're far more straightforward than those other little Taoist brats!"

Thanks to reader Zuimeng Lingxu for the 1,000 tip, and thanks to reader Piaoliu for the 500 tip.

Of course, he would not truly join the sect. The main purpose of coming to this world would be explained tomorrow.