Burning Battle Intent

"Shuitu Clan, you've really embarrassed yourselves this time..."

More people crowded around, craning their necks to look into the Shuitu Clan's quiet room, each with a schadenfreude grin. "The Shuitu Clan has really kicked a hornet's nest, hurting their toes so badly they're swollen. These guys bullied their way to Elder Pu's doorstep, only to provoke a Flood Dragon-like brute of a Body Refiner."

"That Zhongshan Clan member isn't just a Body Refiner; his Qi Refining skills are definitely more advanced than these Shuitu Clan disciples!"

A disciple from the Lishan Clan shook his head, defending Zhong Yue. "Although the battle in the quiet room was short, Zhongshan Clan mixed the Thunderclap Sword Art into his Body Refining Method, channeling lightning as sword Qi into the Flood Dragon Totem. The Thunder Totem and Flood Dragon Totem combined to sweep through the Shuitu Clan disciples, showing how profound his Qi Refining attainments are!"

Upon hearing this, many secretly nodded.

After all, the core disciples of the Lishan Clan were personally trained by the Lishan Clan's Qi Refiners. Their vision and knowledge surpassed that of ordinary Upper Court disciples. Most Upper Court disciples believed Zhong Yue won solely through his Body Refining Method, and few could discern that he had incorporated a Qi Refining Method into his Body Refining.

This was somewhat unbelievable. Body Refining and Qi Refining were essentially contradictions. If too much time and energy were spent on Body Refining, Qi Refining cultivation would lag. If too much effort was put into Qi Refining, the body couldn't be too strong. Trying to cultivate both simultaneously would lead to little progress in either, resulting in lower overall strength.

Yet, Zhong Yue defied this common sense, combining Body Refining and Qi Refining, advancing in both!

"The Shuitu Clan has so many disciples following Qi Refiners, yet they summoned Junior Sister Shui Qingyan to the mountain to be possessed by the Heavenly Phenomenon Mother. This shows that even if the Shuitu Clan's core disciples haven't defected to the Demonic race, their parents and elders most likely have!"

Zhong Yue felt no guilt for injuring the Shuitu Clan's core disciples. These disciples were simply too weak. Even with true inheritance, even with Soul Weapons and Totem Pillars, their strength was pathetic, making him doubt the teaching abilities of those Qi Refiners.

He had, however, wronged the Shuitu Clan's Qi Refiners. Their disciples were already among the top in the Upper Court. If not, Ting Lanyue and He Chengchuan wouldn't have been defeated.

However, even with the Shuitu Clan's Qi Refiners diligently training their disciples, how could they compare to Xin Huo?

With Xin Huo's guidance and over ten days of life-and-death trials, Zhong Yue's cultivation and strength increased significantly. Furthermore, his control over his body, spirit, and soul reached the pinnacle level among Upper Court disciples.

This wasn't even the most terrifying aspect. The most terrifying aspect was his incredibly explosive power!

Perhaps Zhong Yue's cultivation couldn't rank first or second among Upper Court disciples, as he had truly only been cultivating for a short time. However, his explosive power was definitely on a level that others couldn't hope to reach!

Xin Huo always said he hadn't reached his satisfactory level, but how high were his standards?

By those standards, Zhong Yue's explosive power might not be astonishing, but among this group of Shuitu Clan disciples, he was a hungry tiger, and everyone else was a lamb!

A hungry tiger entering a flock of sheep would naturally slaughter many, leaving the remaining sheep bleating pitifully!

In the upper levels of the Scripture Hall, several Qi Refiners leisurely sipped tea, watching the duels of the disciples below. As Zhong Yue emerged from the Shuitu Clan's quiet room, a middle-aged Qi Refiner suddenly stood up, his face filled with anger. It was Shui Anshan, a Qi Refiner of the Shuitu Clan.

Just as Shui Anshan was about to descend, a gray shadow flickered, and an elder with white hair and a white beard blocked his path. Upon closer inspection, he sneered, "Elder Pu is quite the protector! It's one thing for your disciple to injure my Shuitu Clan disciples, but to speak so arrogantly shows a lack of discipline."

Elder Pu chuckled, "Junior Brother Shui, you misunderstand. This Zhongshan Clan member is not my disciple. He offended the Tian Feng Clan, so who would dare take him in? He merely listened to a lecture under my tutelage and received the true inheritance of the Thunderclap Sword Art. He has nothing to do with me."

Shui Anshan smiled, "Since he is not Elder Pu's disciple, then I shall discipline him. Elder Pu should not interfere, right?"

Elder Pu shook his head and chuckled, "Junior Brother Shui, the disputes between young disciples are ultimately minor squabbles. If adults jump out to hit children fighting, it would be laughable. What do you think, Junior Brother Shui?"

Shui Anshan looked around. Other Qi Refiners were present in the tea room, drinking tea and chatting, but their peripheral vision was cast this way, with many anticipating a spectacle with schadenfreude. He let out a dry laugh, "Elder Pu speaks wisely."

Despite his words, Shui Anshan was displeased. This Elder Pu claims he doesn't play favorites, but if he didn't, why would he come out and stop me, sacrificing his dignity... Good! My Shuitu Clan's prodigy has finally arrived. The shame I've suffered can finally be redeemed!

Zhong Yue was walking towards He Chengchuan and Ting Lanyue when he suddenly heard a gentle voice chuckle, "Wait a moment, Junior Brother. You injured our Shuitu Clan disciples and think you can just leave so easily?"

Zhong Yue stopped and turned around. Waves surged down the mountain from outside the Scripture Hall, crashing with a roar like a great river in reverse. A disciple stood atop the crest of the waves, his body supported by the spray as he walked with unhurried grace.

With every step he took, waves spontaneously generated beneath his feet, lifting his body. He didn't touch the ground, exuding an air of elegance and charm!

His appearance was dazzling, drawing the attention of countless people. Even Zhong Yue had to admit that this person was indeed extraordinary, a rare talent.

"Senior Brother Qinghe!"

In the Shuitu Clan's quiet room, disciples struggled to their feet and looked out, exclaiming with joy. "Senior Brother Qinghe is here! Senior Brother, this person trespassed into our Shuitu Clan's quiet room, injured our people, please, Senior Brother, uphold justice for us!"

Shui Qinghe's expression was gentle. He nodded in acknowledgment and stepped forward, the waves supporting his body as he arrived outside the Scripture Hall. The great river beneath his feet flowed, transforming into fish, dragons, and giant pythons – the manifestations of totem patterns. Within the river, one could vaguely see ice swords floating and sinking; these were strands of profound ice sword Qi condensed from totem patterns!

Cultivating to this extent was indeed rare in the Upper Court!

Shui Qinghe looked at Zhong Yue, his gaze warm, and said with a smile, "Zhongshan Clan? Junior Brother, when fellow disciples spar, your heavy-handedness is a bit excessive."

Zhong Yue shook his head, "The Shuitu Clan disciples also struck heavily, injuring Senior Sister Ting and Senior Brother He. Was that also a bit excessive?"

Shui Qinghe looked at Ting Lanyue and He Chengchuan. Seeing their severe injuries, he frowned slightly before relaxing his brow. "In a spar between fellow disciples, an accidental injury is normal. The Shuitu Clan's reputation must not be tarnished. Today, I must also act to regain some face for my Shuitu Clan. Junior Brother Zhong, you cultivate both Body Refining and Qi Refining? Since that's the case, I won't bully you and will use Body Refining methods to duel you."

Whoosh!

The surrounding water condensed, various totem patterns combined. Shui Qinghe's feet disappeared, transforming into a fish tail. His entire body was enveloped by Spiritual Power, gradually transforming into a towering, otherworldly being. He had a fish tail and a human body, with white hair and silver eyes, exuding a wild and ferocious aura!

He was originally about the same height as an ordinary person, but now he stood over thirteen feet tall, his muscles bulging, filled with explosive power!

Shui Qinghe's appearance changed drastically. As this combat form emerged, the air seemed to become exceptionally humid, as if one could wring water out of it.

"Water God River God!"

Zhong Yue's expression became solemn. He had already seen the technique Shui Qinghe was using earlier in the Shuitu Clan's quiet room. A Shuitu Clan disciple had performed the River God Totem Visualization Art, visualizing the River God and forming the River God Totem with Spiritual Power to aid in combat.

However, the River God Totem displayed by that Shuitu Clan disciple was merely an empty form, lacking flesh and bone, far from the reality of Shui Qinghe's.

Furthermore, Shui Qinghe wasn't simply visualizing the River God; he was transforming into the River God, using his terrifying Spiritual Power to become the River God's body!

The River God was the Water God. The Shuitu Clan's totem was the Water God River God, the Totem Spirit left behind by the ancestors of the Human race when they opened up the Great Wilderness ten thousand years ago. Many within the Shuitu Clan visualized the River God, but few had cultivated it to this extent!

He had already cultivated the River God visualization to have flesh and bone, like a true Water God!

The River God Totem Visualization Art, cultivated to this degree, had become extremely terrifying. It not only compensated for physical deficiencies but even provided an unparalleled advantage in close-quarters combat against Body Refiners!

Fighting like a god, the power was imaginable!

"Kid Yue, this guy is a formidable opponent."

In Zhong Yue's Sea of Consciousness, the Kindling Child's voice suddenly became somewhat grave. "His foundation is extremely deep. As soon as he enters the Spirit Void Hall, he can immediately become a Qi Refiner. His Spiritual Power is too strong, even stronger than yours, nearing that of a Qi Refiner. He can achieve the transformation of the virtual into the real. He is likely one of the most powerful individuals among the Upper Court disciples!"

"Turning the void into reality?"

Zhong Yue's heart grew solemn. This was a technique of the Qi Refiners!

Qi Refiners could achieve the "turning the void into reality" state, such as in the battle between Zuo Xiang Sheng and the elder from the Tian Feng Clan in the Azure Sky Hall. That elder used wood as sword qi, combining his spiritual power with the wood-element sword qi to manifest giant trees weighing tens of thousands of pounds, forming the Myriad Wood Sword Formation. This was "turning the void into reality," solidifying spiritual power as if it were real wood.

Of course, this wasn't truly turning spiritual power into wood, but rather a manifestation of solidified spiritual power, not much different from real wood. However, if the spiritual power dissipated, the wood would also vanish.

Shui Qinghe had also achieved "turning the void into reality." He condensed his spiritual power into the Water God, River God, demonstrating a level of spiritual power resilience that had already reached the Qi Refiner stage!

Among all the disciples in the Upper Court, this was the first time Zhong Yue had encountered such a powerful individual!

"Turning the void into reality, solidifying the River God, making it real, is enough to increase his physique tenfold, even dozens of times, turning him into a Body Refining expert, even stronger than my physique!"

Zhong Yue's expression was grave. This Shui Qinghe was very strong, much stronger than Yu Feiyan, terrifyingly strong, and far beyond what the core disciples of the Shuitu Clan he had just encountered could compare to!

Yu Feiyan had cultivated to the point where her Fish Dragon possessed flesh, blood, and bones, appearing lifelike, but she was still a sliver away from achieving "turning the void into reality." The main reason was that her spiritual power wasn't strong enough. The Fish Dragon she visualized was clear, but still lacked a bit of true realism.

Zhong Yue took a deep breath. Not only was he not afraid, but he was even somewhat excited, excited to duel with such a master!

"Little Yue, are you getting excited?"

In his Sea of Consciousness, the Kindling Child looked at the turbulent Sea of Consciousness and asked in surprise, "This Shui Qinghe's strength is greater than yours. You should be fearful."

"No!"

Zhong Yue's chest surged with fighting spirit. "The stronger the opponent, the more excited I become! To duel with such a powerful opponent, to defeat him, crush him, trample his body, shatter his confidence, and trample his dignity – can you understand this sense of accomplishment, Kindling?"