Atop Moonwatch Mountain, on the arena.
The energy around Qi Chong surged wildly, and signs of his steadily rising power appeared, drawing every eye in the venue.
Moments earlier, everyone had been focused on the brutal duel. Seeing Qi Chong grievously wounded, his clothes stained with blood and his body swaying, they had all believed the outcome was already decided.
Everyone could see that Qi Chong's lamp had run out of oil. Like an arrow at the end of its flight, he could last only a few more exchanges before falling to Huang Han.
Yet no one had expected Qi Chong to unleash such an inconceivable transformation in the depths of despair.
For one fleeting instant, the entire mountaintop plaza fell silent. Countless spectators froze, bewilderment and disbelief on their faces.
The next moment, they realized something was wrong.
His internal qi, which had been growing increasingly chaotic and nearing exhaustion, had not merely stabilized. Instead, it soared at an almost frenzied pace. Air currents whirled and howled around him, faintly forming vortices around his body.
His feeble, declining aura vanished, replaced by a powerful, boundless force. Even from far away, everyone could clearly feel that terrifying energy climbing higher and higher, on the verge of breaking through its barrier.
Ordinary spectators could only vaguely sense something unusual, but the discerning, experienced leaders and the foremost heavenly prodigies instantly widened their eyes, their pupils contracting in unconcealed shock.
Someone in the crowd let out a horrified cry, breaking the silence. "He's attempting a breakthrough?! Grievously wounded, in the middle of a fierce arena battle, he's forcing his way into the True Qi Realm?!"
Those words struck like a thunderbolt, instantly setting the entire venue ablaze!
In an instant, everyone was shaken to the core.
Waves of uproar rose from every