The Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng Pill melted in Hao Meng's mouth, its vast medicinal power surging straight into the meridians throughout his body and widening them by more than fifty percent.
Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi was the foundation of cultivation. Whether one formed a Core Formation, birthed an infant soul, or opened up an Immeasurable Sea, all of it resulted from accumulating Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi within the body to a certain degree. Thus, the dantian and meridians that carried yuan qi became exceptionally important.
Under normal circumstances, a person's meridian width never changed. This determined that many cultivators, from the moment they were born, were destined never to reach higher realms. Not everyone possessed a Simulation System like Ling Mu's, allowing them to broaden their meridians and raise their potential simply by adding Talent Points.
Yet the vast world held all manner of wonders. Powerful alchemists extracted the essence from rare medicinal herbs and ultimately refined the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng Pill. It could increase the toughness and width of one's meridians for an hour. Put simply, Martial Skills one normally could not control could be wielded with ease during that hour. Though it was effective only for cultivators below the Core Formation Realm, it was still a miracle that seized the fortune of heaven and earth.
As the pill entered his stomach, Hao Meng's aura gathered once more, visibly becoming heavier and more powerful. The rise in his potential brought his control over his own yuan qi to a new height. The Glazed Gauntlets on his hands once again radiated waves of white light, tiger phantoms flickering around his fists as intense battle intent poured from his entire body.
"Junior Brother Fang, please attack with everything you have. Let us fight to our hearts' content."
Hao Meng was high-spirited and full of vigor, his condition already elevated to its absolute peak. For many years, he had studied and trained diligently without relaxing for a single day, yet he had always remained just inches away from that transformation.
But today, beneath Fang Yan's blade, he felt the blood and qi throughout his body stirring restlessly. The Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi that had once lain lifeless in his dantian began to circulate madly. That sliver of opportunity seemed to be right before his eyes. Though he still did not know what it was, all he could do now was fight, fight, fight!
Seeing that Hao Meng had no intention of giving up, Fang Yan said no more. The blood qi energy around his body surged again, swelling at a visible rate. What had originally been a thin layer instantly became more than an inch thick. His eyes grew ever redder, blood qi and killing intent spilling from his body and spreading across the entire arena.
Hao Meng showed no fear. He stepped into a bow stance and charged straight in. Those who trained in fists excelled most at close combat. With an opponent of such astonishing strength, only by drawing him into the field where he was most at ease could Hao Meng play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses.
Fang Yan understood Hao Meng's intentions perfectly. When the two were three steps apart, he drew his blade. It was still that blood-red blade light, only now it was even more scarlet. The eighty-foot blade phantom split into three in midair, directly sealing off Hao Meng's path forward.
A sharp gleam flashed through Hao Meng's eyes as the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi within him was frantically mobilized. A white tiger phantom actually enveloped his entire body. Unlike Fang Yan's blood qi armor, Hao Meng seemed to have fused into one with the white tiger.
He took another two steps forward, then suddenly drew his arms back. Two white wings abruptly appeared at the sides of the white tiger phantom, and Hao Meng's speed surged explosively. In the flash of lightning and spark of flint, he broke through Fang Yan's heavenly-net-like web of blade shadows. This was the fourth stance of the Dragon Tiger Fighting Saint Fist—Tiger Grows Wings.
"Brother Mu, these two students of yours are truly formidable, especially that boy who uses fists. His foundation and aura are profound, his Movement Technique and speed are no weaker, and his explosive power is impressive as well. How is he in the Profound Tier Class?"
Watching the fierce battle on the arena, Elder Qin could not help asking Mu Bai beside him, who was equally absorbed in the match, about Hao Meng's circumstances.
"Brother Qin, you do not know this, but Hao Meng was once a genius of the Heaven Tier Class. He has studied at our academy for more than five years, yet he has been unable to break through to Core Formation. Two years ago, he voluntarily came to the Profound Tier Class. But rather than give up on himself, he cultivated even more diligently. It is only..."
Mu Bai had worried over this eldest son of the Hao Family for many years. His talent was clearly outstanding, yet he remained unable to take the most important step on the path toward immortality, which was truly regrettable.
"Oh? Such a thing happened? His accumulation is deep, and his temperament transcends the ordinary. Once this child breaks through, he will sweep through others of the same realm. Few will be able to stand against him."
Elder Qin watched Hao Meng on the arena thoughtfully. His opponent in this battle was powerful, and it could basically be confirmed that Fang Yan bore the bloodline of that lost clan. If Hao Meng could defeat him, perhaps that would be the moment of his breakthrough.
Once Hao Meng closed in, he immediately unleashed a fierce offensive. In the blink of an eye, his fists struck several hundred times, white fist phantoms continuously slamming into Fang Yan's body. But what happened next was beyond Hao Meng's expectations.
The blood qi energy covering Fang Yan's entire body was like a thick, muddy swamp, swallowing every fist phantom without exception. Hao Meng felt as though his hundreds of punches were iron oxen entering the sea—gone and never returned. Under such heavy blows, the blood qi armor merely rippled faintly before returning to normal. This ability left Hao Meng at his wits' end.
His barrage of fists could not breach the blood qi armor's defenses, while he also had to constantly evade and block the incoming blood-red blade shadows. Gradually, Hao Meng fell into a disadvantage once more and could only begin defending passively. Meanwhile, Fang Yan's blade momentum grew fiercer and fiercer, striking repeatedly at Hao Meng's vital points. Though Hao Meng narrowly defused each attack, the Profound Tier Class students present were all sweating bullets for him.
Only Ling Mu was not overly worried. Of the three pieces of equipment he had given Senior Hao, both the Marauder Wisteria Armor and the Radiant Mercury Belt possessed active skills, yet Senior Hao had not used either of them. This showed that the situation was still far from his limit. He was waiting for an opportunity—an opportunity to kill with a single strike.
From the very beginning of the battle, this Senior Hao of his had never lost his composure. He advanced with every step carefully calculated, every move already within his plans. With such combat strength and such a temperament, he was more than worthy of being called Qinglan Academy's number one.
As he continuously defended against blade shadows slashing at him from all directions, Hao Meng already seemed to Fang Yan to be scrambling for his life. Defeat was certain. No one noticed that the blood qi armor, originally more than an inch thick, was gradually thinning, while the blood qi coating Fang Yan's longsword grew denser and denser, its blade momentum ever more violent.
"Pfft!"
Another slash broke through Hao Meng's defense and struck directly across his chest. Though the Marauder Wisteria Armor's effect halved its power, it still left behind a long gash, blood gushing out once more.
Just as everyone believed Hao Meng was about to be defeated, a hand gleaming with white light suddenly seized the blade rolling with violent blood qi. Fang Yan was greatly shocked and tried to pull back his longsword, only to find that he could not move it at all. Then another burst of dazzling white light erupted. A ferocious tiger appeared out of thin air, and in an instant, the white tiger phantom transformed into a massive white dragon. With a dragon's roar, it lunged toward Fang Yan's head.
The fifth stance of the Dragon Tiger Fighting Saint Fist—Dragon Races, Tiger Charges.
Fang Yan wanted to mobilize his blood qi energy to defend, but it was already too late. The thinned blood qi armor shattered directly before the giant dragon, and Hao Meng's long-prepared punch landed squarely on Fang Yan's face.
"I fell for it..."
That was Fang Yan's final thought before he was blasted away.
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