Outrageous

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions tore through the sky alongside splashing torrents of chaotic energy—the fourth form of the Emperor Seal Art, the Heaven Annihilating Seal!

Gu Yao steadied his slightly ragged breathing. Before his smug smile could surface, he heard a series of sharp gasps.

"How is that possible? Has that guy gone mad?"

"He's only a Dou Master, and he actually dares to use the Heaven Annihilating Seal?"

"That's not the issue! Damn, he's actually about to succeed?"

"Way, way too fast!"

With that cry, an aura belonging to the Heaven Annihilating Seal surged out. A deafening blast followed, though its force was far weaker than everyone else's.

After all, Gu Fang was only a Dou Master!

Yet his strength was not what shocked the others most. What truly stunned them was...

Time!

Gu Fang had wasted some time because of his breakthrough.

By all logic, he should have been unable to catch up. Yet the impossible had happened—Gu Fang had caught up!

Though no one said it aloud, everyone understood what this meant...

Gu Fang's mastery of the Sea Turning Seal, Earth Overturning Seal, and Heaven Annihilating Seal within the Emperor Seal Art had reached perfection, perhaps even surpassed it.

Perfect mastery meant pushing a battle skill to its absolute limit. Transcendent mastery meant developing one's own understanding of the skill, even allowing it to unleash power beyond its original level. That was transcendence!

"How can this be? How can this be?"

Gu Yao watched Gu Fang perform the Heaven Annihilating Seal, and a profound sense of unreality rose from the depths of his heart. He did not want to believe it, nor did he dare believe that Gu Fang could wield the Emperor Seal Art to such a degree.

But after his cry of shock, Gu Yao let out a heavy breath and forcibly withdrew his senses.

"He's just a Dou Master. Just a Dou Master. So what if he has mastered the Emperor Seal Art? This is a contest of quantity and quality. You're merely a Dou Master...

How can you compete with me in the number of battle skills?"

With that thought, Gu Yao's throat moved. A medicinal pill slipped into his stomach, transforming into pure medicinal energy that replenished his Dou Qi.

Since this was a contest of battle skill quantity and quality, pills were permitted!

Feeling the Dou Qi within him become abundant once more, Gu Yao changed his hand seals. The heavenly phenomenon behind him began to shift, its colors changing...

A heavenly phenomenon—another Earth Rank battle skill!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions erupted across the testing platform as heavenly phenomena of every color churned and flowed.

Because Gu Fang had opened with the Emperor Seal Art, the test had developed differently from usual. Everyone was using Earth Rank battle skills; anyone without one would have been too embarrassed to make a move.

And for that very reason, the gap between them was revealed with terrifying speed!

Near the edge of the platform,

A handsome young man in green robes stood at his position. His face was flushed, but he was clearly running out of strength. More importantly...

Just as the heavenly phenomenon behind him was about to emerge, the golden light figure opposite him had already finished condensing its battle skill!

"Earth Rank Mid-level battle skill, Heavenly Fiend Qi Shattering Claw!"

The emotionless voice rang beside the green-robed youth's ear. His expression changed sharply, and his eyes swept toward the golden light figure before him.

A massive black claw of energy, as though it could devour all things beneath heaven, pierced through the air and came crashing down upon him!

"I'll stake it all."

The green-robed youth gritted his teeth and hurled out the same battle skill, which he had mostly finished condensing in his hand!

Bang!

The battle skills collided. After a thunderous detonation, the battle skill condensed by the green-robed youth shattered.

The towering energy claw pressed down. The youth looked up at it, and just as it neared his face, it suddenly broke apart, as though the claw had been nothing more than a dream!

"Yang Hao, Heavenly Fiend Qi Shattering Claw, mastery level: beginner."

Hearing the cold voice, the green-robed youth shook his head. "So it really wasn't enough?

But this should be enough. Four seals of the Emperor Seal Art, fifteen Earth Rank Low-level battle skills, five Earth Rank Mid-level battle skills, and two Earth Rank Advanced battle skills—enough to enter the top eight!

I still have dozens of Advanced Profound Rank battle skills, but there's no need..."

As one of the ten strongest members of the Ancient Clan's younger generation, every one of them had their own pride. Gu Fang, a mere Dou Master, had been using Earth Rank battle skills from the start.

How could they use Profound Rank skills just to pad the numbers?

With those words, Yang Hao stepped back half a pace and left the testing area. The instant he did, he sensed that three others had already withdrawn.

So I'm eighth after all!

Yang Hao thought to himself. Like the other three, he turned his gaze toward the few people at the very center.

Especially...

Gu Fang!

Even now, Yang Hao could hardly believe it. Gu Fang, whom he had assumed was only here to make up the numbers, had actually persisted until now without showing the slightest sign of decline.

Great swathes of heavenly phenomena rolled behind Gu Fang. His steps circled, and his figure gradually faded...

It was an afterimage!

In the next instant, Gu Fang slowly appeared behind the golden light figure, his palm pressing down.

Bang!

With a tremendous crash, the golden light figure shattered.

"Earth Rank Advanced battle skill, Dragon Snake Evasion Technique—another Earth Rank Advanced battle skill!" Just as Yang Hao was staring at Gu Fang, a startled voice sounded behind him.

"What do you mean?" Yang Hao turned and asked.

Seeing Yang Hao question him, the speaker immediately replied, "Do you know that, in just the time since I left the test, Gu Fang has performed three battle skills?

All of them were Earth Rank Advanced battle skills."

As his words fell, a shout suddenly rang out below. "The twenty-ninth move—still an Earth Rank Advanced battle skill!"

At once, uproar broke out below.

"A monster! Even if he stops now, he has to be first place, right?"

"Twenty-nine Earth Rank Advanced battle skills in a row—has anyone ever managed that in past tests?"

"Gu Fang, you're my god!"

"Could there really be an upset this time?"

"Who knows? It might really happen. Twenty-nine Earth Rank Advanced battle skills—what the hell kind of person is he?"

"It feels like only Heaven Rank battle skills have strict physical requirements. Otherwise, this guy might actually pull out a Heaven Rank battle skill!"

"The thirtieth move! I know this one—Earth Rank Advanced battle skill, Blazing Fire Sky-Covering Palm!"

The voices below could not disturb Gu Fang. His performance of battle skills continued.

At this moment, Gu Fang was completely immersed in his own world.

There were only battle skills and the golden light figure before him in his heart and eyes. This, too, was a gift of the Emperor Bloodline—it allowed Gu Fang to calm himself whenever he wished,

And devote one hundred percent of his focus to accomplishing a single task!

But the others around Gu Fang felt the exact opposite. Every one of them was deeply shaken, especially Gu Yao...

Gu Yao was filled with disbelief. He simply could not imagine that a Dou Master could perform so many Earth Rank Advanced battle skills.

Gu Yao knew very clearly that even if Gu Fang stopped now, he had already lost!

Lost completely!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Thunderous explosions echoed...

One person after another withdrew from the trial. In the end, Gu Yao, Gu Hua, Gu Xing, and Gu Qingyang withdrew in turn.

Each time one of them stepped out, they glanced at Gu Fang's testing position as though looking at a beast. Still, they were fortunate that...

Gu Fang had finally stopped using Earth Rank Advanced battle skills!

"The thirty-third move, an Earth Rank Mid-level battle skill!" someone muttered.

"The thirty-third move, an Earth Rank Low-level battle skill!" another person muttered.

"Ninety-nine Earth Rank battle skills. Did this guy move the entire Battle Skill Pavilion here?"

"Madness! Madness! Have I gone mad, or has the world gone mad?"

One cry after another rang out, all filled with disbelief. Gu Qingyang stared fixedly at Gu Fang. Now, he truly understood what Gu Fang's earlier words had meant!

Even with only the strength of a Dou Master, Gu Fang had both the strength and the right to say, "Give me some face."

Just as Gu Qingyang was marveling inwardly, four figures suddenly appeared before him—

More precisely, beside Gu Fang!

Gu Qingyang was startled and focused on the four figures... Though he could not see their faces, anyone capable of controlling space to such an extent had to be a Dou Saint-level expert. But...

Why would experts of that level come to the testing platform?

The test was still underway. No one was allowed to interfere with it. Such a rule held absolute binding force even over Dou Saints!

Filled with doubt, Gu Qingyang lifted his gaze over the four figures' faces. The moment he saw them clearly, he swallowed hard.

He heard the shocked cries of the others beside him. "The Three Immortals and the Clan Leader?!"

Why? Why had they come?

The Clan Leader was Gu Fang's father. To avoid suspicion, he should not have come here at all!

But in the next moment, Gu Fang's actions made clear why they had come. That familiar opening stance, that familiar circulation of Dou Qi, the churning phenomenon in the sky...

"The final form of the Emperor Seal Art—the Ancient Emperor Seal?"

Gu Yao spoke from behind Gu Qingyang, his voice full of disbelief.

It was no wonder Gu Yao was so horrified. Though the Emperor Seal Art was also an Earth Rank Advanced battle skill, its power could not be compared with other Earth Rank Advanced skills!

Yet the greater its power, the greater the strain it placed on the body. Especially the final form, the Ancient Emperor Seal—it was a move even they had not used!

One reason was that lacking familiarity with it meant they could not pass the golden light figure's test. But the more important reason was the burden it imposed on the body!

If it was so taxing even for Dou Wangs and Dou Emperors like them, then for Gu Fang, who was only a Dou Master...

What Gu Qingyang and Gu Yao could think of, the Three Immortals and Gu Yuan naturally understood even more clearly.

At this moment, invisible Dou Qi surged around the Three Immortals and Gu Yuan as they prepared to interrupt Gu Fang's performance.

If a Divine Grade bloodline were injured during such a test and precious future cultivation time were wasted because of it,

It would be utterly absurd!

But Gu Fang knew nothing of the situation outside. At this moment, he was immersed in his own world, his entire mind focused on the final seal of the Emperor Seal Art—the Ancient Emperor Seal!

Gu Fang circulated his Dou Qi. The Dou Qi within his cyclone gathered toward his palms as though it cost nothing, and the terrifying amount of Dou Qi battered against his meridians.

The Ancient Emperor Seal truly deserved to be the final seal of the Emperor Seal Art. Halfway through its performance, the skin across Gu Fang's body had already begun to crack, with threads of blood seeping out.

This was something none of the other Earth Rank Advanced battle skills had caused!

Pain battered Gu Fang's nerves, but there was not the slightest trace of panic on his face. He separated strands of soul power and guided his bloodline into his skin and meridians...

As the Bloodline Power arrived, his cracked skin and damaged meridians gradually recovered, even gaining a faint crystalline sheen.

Gu Fang had discovered this while using his previous battle skills. His Bloodline Power could rapidly heal bodily injuries and even strengthen his body and meridians.

Of course...

Such recovery and strengthening did not come without a cost. It consumed Bloodline Power, and the consumption was not small. But...

That was only significant to others. Given the grade of the Bloodline Power within Gu Fang's body, he had no fear of such expenditure.

Its daily growth was enough to offset that little consumption!

"Like this? No, not like this. I should change the approach!"

Gu Fang muttered. He made a slight adjustment to his hand seals, and the trembling seals instantly stabilized, becoming heavy and steady. The Ancient Emperor Seal had reached its final stage of formation!

"It should work. It can be done!"

Gu Qingyang swallowed hard and said in utter shock, "I never expected him to be so familiar even with this."

As Gu Qingyang stood stunned, a silent exchange of souls took place between the Three Immortals and Clan Leader Gu Yuan!

"Clan Leader, are you certain this is Gu Fang's first time performing the Ancient Emperor Seal?" Gu Dao asked solemnly.

"I'm certain. I know the power of the Ancient Emperor Seal better than anyone. How could I let him practice it casually?"

Gu Yuan replied, "Besides, Elder Gu Dao, you should be able to see it as well. That tiny adjustment—how could it look like someone who had practiced it many times?"

"I simply can't believe it!"

Gu Dao's mind was shaken. After speaking, he continued with a sigh, "Is this the Divine Grade bloodline? It's terrifying!"

As Gu Dao spoke, he could not help recalling the time he had practiced the Ancient Emperor Seal. It had taken him nearly ten days to go from knowing nothing to forming it successfully!

And he possessed a Ninth-grade Bloodline!

Ninth-grade and Divine Grade—only one grade apart, yet the gap was this enormous?

Just as Gu Dao was reeling in shock, a cracking sound suddenly rang out from the testing area... A massive crack appeared across the golden light figure's body!

The moment they saw that golden crack, everyone present focused their gazes on Gu Fang!

The Three Immortals and Gu Yuan also tensed to the extreme.

The golden light figure replicated Gu Fang's physical condition. In other words, when they began performing the Ancient Emperor Seal, the golden light figure and Gu Fang should have possessed the same physical constitution.

The golden light figure had suffered irreversible damage while performing the Ancient Emperor Seal and was already on the verge of collapse.

Gu Fang surely could not escape unscathed either.

Everyone searched for possible injuries, but there were none. They found nothing at all.

The only change...

Was that the Ancient Emperor Seal had already formed!

As that peculiar, profound fluctuation swept forth, Gu Fang slowly opened his eyes. A trace of strange profundity flickered through his gaze as his hand seals shifted once more.

With a gentle push of his arms, the seal left Gu Fang's palms and expanded against the wind, drawing the surrounding Dou Qi energy into itself in a mad rush. The heavenly phenomenon transformed on its own, gathering into a shape similar to the Ancient Emperor Seal.

Invisibly...

A wondrous connection had already formed between the phenomenon and the Ancient Emperor Seal.

It linked with the laws—the image of the Heavenly Rank!

Although the Emperor Seal Art was Earth Rank High Grade, its final seal had actually reached a level close to the Heavenly Rank.

The golden figure shattered inch by inch. The incomplete Ancient Emperor Seal condensed in its hand was thrust forward, colliding with Gu Fang's attack!

Bang!

With a thunderous boom, energy surged as the golden figure shattered.

"It worked—it really worked!"

These shocked words burst heavily from everyone present.

The Three Immortals and Gu Yuan looked at one another. They could tell one thing: Gu Fang's Ancient Emperor Seal had not truly surpassed mastery and reached the perfected level.

It was only because the golden figure's body could not withstand it, causing it to condense a few moments too slowly!

However...

They had no intention of canceling this move, because Gu Fang had used a combat technique that was beyond what his current strength should have allowed him to perform.

Successfully executing it was already a success, let alone shattering the golden figure!

Gu Fang looked at the shattered golden figure, then lowered his head to look at his hands. A trace of dissatisfaction lingered at the corner of his eyes as he softly said, "This time wasn't perfect. Next time, I should be able to reach the perfected level!"

Hearing Gu Fang's words, Gu Dao's state of mind, tempered over centuries of cultivation, suddenly trembled. He immediately turned to leave!

You're still dissatisfied after doing this on your first try? Why don't you just ascend to heaven?

If the others found out this was your first time and not something you were already experienced at, wouldn't they all go mad?

As Gu Dao grumbled inwardly, Gu Fang had already stepped out of the trial area. His black eyes swept over everyone before settling precisely on Gu Yao.

With a faint smile, he asked, "Brother Gu Yao, how did I perform this time?

Setting aside my father's status, am I still qualified to continue with the following tests?"