Selfless Realm

"Why is Luo Zheng so foolish? How could he accept Xu Lie's challenge? If it were me, I'd keep my mouth shut tight and refuse no matter what!"

"Heh heh, he probably just passed the trial assessment and became an Outer Sect Disciple, so he's arrogant and thinks he's invincible. Guys like him usually have to pay a bloody price."

"I heard it's not like that. That Luo Zheng is too overbearing! He actually took the initiative to challenge Xu Lie!"

News of Luo Zheng challenging Xu Lie quickly spread throughout the Outer Sect of Little Rain Peak, becoming the biggest hot topic there during this time.

As one of the protagonists of the arena match, Luo Zheng sat calmly on his bed, continuing to meditate and cultivate the Spirit Shocking Thrust.

There were still a few days until the arena match. Since he had already agreed, he would definitely not be a coward.

If he could master the "Transform Soul into Thorn" technique within the Spirit Shocking Thrust, his chances of winning in the arena would be much higher.

Transform Soul into Thorn...

How exactly does one transform their soul into a sharp thorn?

The soul is formless and intangible. Under normal circumstances, it maintains its original appearance.

This is because when people meditate, they unconsciously project their true self into it.

Therefore, Luo Zheng's soul appeared in Luo Zheng's own likeness.

As long as he didn't forget himself, Luo Zheng's soul would always maintain his own appearance. It was impossible for it to transform into other forms, let alone transform his soul into a thorn.

Only by completely forgetting oneself could one possibly transform into other forms.

Thinking of this, a flash of inspiration struck Luo Zheng.

"I understand. The key to achieving this step is selflessness!"

How can one enter the Selfless Realm? Completely forget oneself? How is that possible?

Luo Zheng furrowed his brows.

He closed his eyes, trying to forget who he was.

After more than half an hour, apart from waves of fatigue washing over him, there was no effect whatsoever.

Luo Zheng couldn't help but feel a little anxious. He felt somewhat depressed because he had chosen two high-grade cultivation techniques, but due to his dull aptitude, he couldn't comprehend either of them. For Luo Zheng, this was indeed a blow.

Feeling extremely frustrated, Luo Zheng left his room and walked up the steep mountain path of Little Rain Peak.

Outside, it was still the fifth watch of the night. The sun had not yet risen, and everything around was quiet.

After walking about six or seven zhang along the mountain path, there was a steep cliff face extending outwards, forming a natural viewing platform.

The craftsmen within the Azure Cloud Sect naturally didn't neglect this spot and built a delicate small pavilion on the viewing platform.

At this moment, there was no one in the small pavilion.

Luo Zheng strolled up and stood in the pavilion, gazing into the distance. The continuous mountain peaks in the distance were all immersed in a vast sea of clouds.

The nearby mountain peak was Sky Jade Peak, ranked twenty-first, while the one further away was Spirit Ring Peak, ranked fifth...

These mountain peaks stood between Heaven and Earth, perhaps for millions or tens of millions of years. Even the most talented and enchanting disciples were like a fleeting white horse to them.

Standing among these majestic mountain peaks, Luo Zheng felt as insignificant as a grain of sand in a great river.

Facing this grand spectacle, a chord in Luo Zheng's heart was suddenly struck.

He slowly closed his eyes and imagined himself becoming even smaller. Smaller than a grain of sand was dust, and smaller than dust was...

So small as to be negligible, so small as to be nothingness...

With a boom, a golden giant door seemed to open in Luo Zheng's mind.

At this moment, Luo Zheng, using his own method, entered the realm of nothingness, allowing himself to completely disappear, to completely not exist. This was the Selfless Realm!

Although his eyes were open, everything before him was not in his eyes. It was as if he could transform into a tree if he thought he was a tree, or into grass if he thought he was grass. He could transform into anything in the world.

As for the "Transform Soul into Thorn" in the Spirit Shocking Thrust, Luo Zheng's thoughts moved, and a hazy, translucent thorn suddenly shot out from between his eyebrows.

He finally succeeded!

He successfully released the Spirit Shocking Thrust. This translucent thorn was a manifestation of Luo Zheng's soul. Apart from Luo Zheng, no one else could see it, making it completely impossible to guard against!

Although he had only been cultivating the Spirit Shocking Thrust for a short time, this thorn could only attack a distance of about one meter, which was far from the "impossible to guard against within a thousand meters" described in the technique. However, now that he had comprehended the "Selfless Realm," he had built a bridge to cross the river, and the path ahead would be much easier.

A smile appeared on Luo Zheng's face. Originally, he had some worries about the arena match three days later, but now he felt a faint sense of anticipation.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

In Little Rain Peak, going to the arena had always been a highly anticipated event.

In the arena, one could observe real combat and experience things that were difficult to experience during normal cultivation.

Many Outer Sect Disciples gained insights through observation, integrated them with their own cultivation methods, and thus achieved breakthroughs.

In the monotonous cultivation life, these arena battles filled with grievances and emotions were inherently quite entertaining.

Moreover, this battle was between a Viscera Refining Realm and a Half-Step to the Innate Realm!

If the Half-Step to the Innate Realm Xu Lie was a lion, then the Viscera Refining Realm Luo Zheng was like a mouse. The two were completely not on the same level.

Most people predicted that the arena match would be very short, and the outcome was obvious: Xu Lie would completely crush Luo Zheng.

Xu Lie and his group arrived at the arena early and were waiting there.

Today, beside Xu Lie, there was an additional middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man wore a square scarf on his head and a gray cloth robe, looking like a servant.

But when the many Outer Sect Disciples on Little Rain Peak saw the eight trigrams pattern embroidered on the middle-aged man's gray cloth robe, no one dared to look down on him.

That eight trigrams pattern was the family crest of the Zhuge Clan, one of the Seven Great Clans.

Although this person looked like a servant, he was ultimately from the Zhuge Clan. The Seven Great Clans were prominent powers throughout the entire Empire, not someone an Outer Sect Disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect could look down upon.

"Our young master said that this person must die today, no matter the cost," the servant's tone was unambiguous. Even when facing Xu Lie, who was at the Half-Step to the Innate Realm, he was full of arrogance and didn't put Xu Lie in his eyes at all.

Cultivators who could step into the Half-Step to the Innate Realm would more or less develop some arrogance in their hearts. However, despite his displeasure, Xu Lie's future path still depended on the "young master" the servant mentioned. Therefore, he suppressed his temper, nodded, and said, "That is certain. On the arena, fists and feet have no eyes. For a mere Viscera Refining Realm cultivator to dare accept my challenge, he is already doomed to die."

The servant nodded, "That's good. Haven't you always wanted to be promoted to an Inner Sect Disciple? The young master said that once today's matter is resolved, he will transfer you to Black Rock Peak next month and make you an Inner Sect Disciple!"

When Xu Lie heard the servant's words, he was immediately overjoyed and repeatedly said, "Then I thank the young master in advance."

Becoming an Inner Sect Disciple was a very easy matter for Aristocratic Clan Disciples, but for Xu Lie, who came from a humble background, it was extremely difficult.

Xu Lie had been in Little Rain Peak for over five years. During these five years, his strength had made significant progress, and he was determined to become an Inner Sect Disciple.

Regardless of the peak, the difference in treatment between Inner Sect Disciples and Outer Sect Disciples was very large. Once one became an Inner Sect Disciple, the medicinal pills used for cultivation, various monthly allowances, and the provided cultivation grounds all saw significant improvements.

However, to enter the Inner Sect, one had to stand out among tens of thousands of Outer Sect Disciples. Although Xu Lie's strength was good, ranking around thirtieth among the Outer Sect Disciples of Little Rain Peak, every time he competed for a spot as an Inner Sect Disciple, he fell short.

After five years of waiting, Xu Lie's patience had finally run out. Now, someone was telling him that if he killed Luo Zheng, he could be transferred to Black Rock Peak, which ranked second, and also be promoted to an Inner Sect Disciple of Black Rock Peak. This was definitely a huge temptation.

It was impossible for Xu Lie not to be moved.

As for Luo Zheng, who had just entered Little Rain Peak, his life was merely a stepping stone for his own future. Who would care?

Thinking that he was about to make it, a hint of excitement couldn't help but show on Xu Lie's face.

He waited here for half an hour. The impatient Xu Lie felt that time was passing too slowly. At the same time, he felt a sense of doubt. Could it be that the kid regretted accepting the challenge?

The crowd waiting here to watch the fight was also discussing amongst themselves.

As a large collective, the reputation of every Outer Sect Disciple on Little Rain Peak was very important. If Luo Zheng agreed and then went back on his word like this, it would be a considerable blow to his reputation.

"This Luo Zheng probably doesn't dare to come. He talked big but then chickened out at the last minute. This kind of person is destined to have no future!"

"Let's go, let's go, there's nothing to see. It's better to use this time to cultivate. I knew our Little Rain Peak had produced another good-for-nothing!"

An hour later, many people had lost their patience and were preparing to leave.

Xu Lie was originally impatient. After waiting and waiting, Luo Zheng still hadn't arrived, and Xu Lie was also very annoyed.

"Xu Lie, you said Luo Zheng would accept the challenge today, so why hasn't he appeared yet?" the servant from the Zhuge Clan asked.

Xu Lie put on a smile and said, "Don't worry, Steward Zhu, that kid wouldn't dare not come!"

Steward Zhu snorted coldly and said, "That's good. I hope you don't waste my time and fail to live up to my young master's instructions."

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare!" Just as Xu Lie was speaking, he saw Luo Zheng's figure flash and stride over from the entrance.