Between Raising Hands

Shui Qinghe's body transformed into the form of the River God. His movements were grand and sweeping, advancing and retreating with powerful force. He stood alone on the high platform as numerous Upper Court disciples attacked him from all directions. Many possessed Soul Weapons, but they were utterly incapable of reaching the platform. Some who managed to ascend were immediately sent flying!

The core disciples of the Shuitu Clan, one of the Ten Great Clans, were personally tutored and taught by Qi Refiners. They were like fierce tigers and flood dragons. While there were many formidable individuals among the Upper Court disciples, they were no match for such caliber of people.

Up to this point, Shui Qinghe had not even used his Soul Weapon. He alone could suppress dozens of people below the platform, clearly indicating he still had strength to spare!

"Zhongshan Clan's Zhong Yue!"

Shui Qinghe stepped on the water, causing it to flood the high platform. Suddenly, his gaze swept over the crowd and landed on Zhong Yue. His eyes lit up. "Junior Brother Zhong, there's no need to wait for our three-move agreement. You can come up with them. Please!"

His fighting spirit soared. Suppressing the crowd gave him unprecedented confidence and belief. Now, Shui Qinghe had the conviction of invincibility, confident that he could defeat any enemy!

This sense of invincibility would allow him to completely cast aside all restraints, elevating his Spiritual Power, thus making his moves more fluid and his attacks more powerful, ultimately making him stronger!

This was the state of mind of invincibility.

Previously, Li Xiuniang had actively sought out Zhong Yue for the same reason – to achieve this state of invincibility and maintain a momentum of overwhelming force all the way to the finals. Unfortunately, the Zhong Yue she had anticipated was vastly different from the Zhong Yue she actually fought, leading to her bitter defeat.

"Xin Huo said you don't even qualify to carry Heavenly Phenomenon Mother's shoes..."

Zhong Yue narrowed his eyes. He stopped about twenty zhang away from the high platform and slowly raised his right hand, fingers spread wide, palm facing the platform. He thought to himself, If you don't qualify to carry Heavenly Phenomenon Mother's shoes, then you don't qualify to carry mine either!

There was no fighting spirit emanating from him, no flow of Spiritual Power, nor any aura blooming. The sword box on his back remained as calm as ever. Only the palm of his hand faced the high platform and Shui Qinghe standing upon it.

Crackling lightning surged in his palm. Streams of thunderous power, held back but potent, as fine as silk threads, writhed between his fingers, appearing as lively as minuscule flood dragons.

However, upon closer inspection, these tiny lightning bolts were composed of Lei Thunder Totem Patterns and Flood Dragon Totem Patterns.

But this was merely an illusion. What truly formed these lightning bolts was the Sword Pattern from "Great Freedom Sword Qi"!

The fine lightning threads in his palm were a fusion of twelve Lei Thunder Totem Patterns, eight types of Flood Dragon Totem Patterns, and that single Sword Pattern, transforming into Lei Sword Qi. It was no longer a simple Thunderclap Sword Art!

"Kid Yue, show me now if you've achieved brittleness, ferocity, and hardness!"

His Sea of Consciousness rippled gently. Zhong Yue's mental fluctuations were not significant, but Xin Huo was exceptionally excited. Standing on Zhong Yue's Soul's shoulder, the little flame flickered and bounced, shouting, "Smash him! Smash him in one go!"

"Xin Huo, watch if this strike of mine is ferocious enough."

Zhong Yue's expression was as calm as an ancient well. He gently shook the hand he had raised and whispered, "Lei..."

CRACK!

A thunderous explosion echoed. The dozens of Upper Court disciples besieging the high platform were stunned, their minds going blank. Almost all of their visualizations were shattered. One sound, a single burst, was enough to leave one disoriented and unable to visualize!

All the attacks surrounding the high platform and aimed at Shui Qinghe shattered. Soul Weapons clattered to the ground. The Upper Court disciples stood there blankly, unaware and unfeeling.

"ROAR--"

A long dragon's roar resounded. The lightning threads in Zhong Yue's palm shot out. Covering twenty zhang in an instant, their speed was almost imperceptible to the eye!

As these lightning threads flew halfway, they transformed into flood dragons, each ten to twenty feet long. By the time they reached the high platform, they had grown to over twelve zhang!

In this single palm strike from Zhong Yue, there were twelve flood dragons, corresponding to the twelve forms of the Thunderclap Sword Art. It appeared to be a combination of the Thunderclap Sword Art and the Dragon Totem Body Coiling Art, but the technique employed was genuinely "Great Freedom Sword Qi"!

Those lifelike flood dragons were, in reality, streams of Lei Sword Qi!

The movements and transformations of the flood dragons were the movements and transformations of Sword Qi!

At this moment, the water dragons, water swords, and ice swords surrounding the high platform shattered. Water pillars collapsed. As the dragons surged forward, the Totem God Pillars cracked one by one. The formations laid out by the Totem Pillars were like a herd of dragons trampling them, disintegrating instantly, falling apart completely!

Shui Qinghe's expression changed drastically. The speed was too great. From the moment Zhong Yue raised his hand, to the lightning erupting into dragons from his palm, to the dragons charging towards the high platform, it was only a fleeting moment, just enough time for him to blink.

In that blink of an eye, the formations he had set up on the high platform had been dismantled!

Before his eyes, twelve ferocious evil dragons bared their fangs and claws, their dragon heads terrifying and ferocious, each displaying a unique posture and embodying the profound mysteries of divine abilities, lunging at him from different directions!

"Zhongshan Clan, do not underestimate me! I originally thought I would have to wait until the decisive battle with the core disciples of other clans to unleash my ultimate technique, but I didn't expect to use it on you first!"

Shui Qinghe roared, his voice exploding from his throat like a detonation. His Spiritual Power was almost exploding as well. His River God form instantly became incredibly stable and robust. Shui Qinghe seemed to transform into a ten-zhang-tall divine being, the River God. A sizzling sound emanated from his body as scales emerged from beneath his skin, as if he were clad in scale armor!

Upon closer inspection, each scale overlapped with the others, meaning the scale armor had two layers of defense.

Not only that, but each scale was a shield, displaying defensive totem patterns, equivalent to a small defensive formation!

And the River God form Shui Qinghe had taken was ten zhang tall. How many scales did he have? How many defensive formations were on his body? How strong was the defensive power of this scale armor?

The reason he had the courage to contend with other Upper Court disciples, including Li Xiuniang and Yu Zhenglong, the core disciples of the Ten Great Clans, was precisely this scale armor.

Furthermore, beneath the scale armor, the River God's skin had another layer of totem patterns, overlapping with the defense of the scale armor. With such defense, who could break it?

If his opponent could not breach his defenses, he would be in an invincible position. Since he was invincible, his opponent would be the one to be defeated!

The twelve flood dragons descended. Strangely, there was no sound of impact. The sound emanating from these dragons was the sound of sword qi cutting through the air.

These were not pure flood dragons, but dragon-shaped sword qi, and sword qi mixed with lightning.

The instant the twelve flood dragons descended and collided with Shui Qinghe, the high platform trembled violently. A figure was sent flying backward. The flood dragons writhed and followed, striking the figure one after another, sending it flying for several miles from the mountaintop before it began to fall!

This figure sent flying backward was Shui Qinghe. His scale armor was already riddled with holes. With the last flood dragon coiling around his body, the scale armor shattered, and his River God form disintegrated, breaking into countless pieces.

BOOM!

Shui Qinghe landed at the foot of the mountain, tumbling and crashing through a swath of trees, an astonishing sight!

Zhong Yue strode forward. Under the watchful eyes of the Upper Court disciples surrounding the high platform, he slowly ascended.

On the high platform, Shui Qinghe was nowhere to be seen. Only he stood there.

In the distance, on Five Pine Peak, the Elders and Qi Refiners who witnessed this scene nearly jumped out of their skin.

With a mere raise of his hand, the high platform changed owners. Zhong Yue chose this path. They had originally thought Zhong Yue's judgment was poor, that he had foolishly picked Shui Qinghe, a core disciple of the Shuitu Clan. They never expected that with just a distant wave of Zhong Yue's hand, Shui Qinghe would be blasted away, yielding the high platform!

An Elder murmured, "Could this Zhongshan Clan member be a natural Spiritual Body, possessing the same physique as Fang Jiange, Feng Wuji, and the others?"

"Senior Brothers, would you like to come up and spar?" Zhong Yue stood on the stage, his voice calmly echoing down.

Below the stage, dozens of Upper Court disciples exchanged glances, fine beads of cold sweat forming on their foreheads as they felt the pressure emanating from the platform.

The youth on the stage hadn't unleashed any astonishing aura or displayed extraordinary Spiritual Power cultivation, yet simply standing there exerted an invisible pressure on them, daring them not to make a move.

With a single raise of his hand, he had blasted Shui Qinghe off the stage. In the hearts of these Upper Court disciples, Zhong Yue was ferociously overwhelming. Shui Qinghe's strength hadn't yet made them feel despair, but Zhong Yue's strength made them feel utterly hopeless!

"Kid Yue, your strength and aura have achieved fierceness. Like a hungry tiger descending the mountain, charging into a flock of sheep; like a venomous dragon emerging from its abyss, leaving a thousand miles barren. This is the kind of ferocity, the feeling of power crushing and strength overwhelming! Your Soul is also strong, like the Heavenly Emperor seated in the main hall. For your current realm, it's already impeccable."

In his Sea of Consciousness, Xin Huo suddenly shook his head again. "But I didn't see brittleness. What is called brittleness is power that can break anything – smash mountains, destroy gods. Use one part of your strength to unleash ten parts of its effect, blooming the power of your strength without reservation!"

Zhong Yue frowned slightly, feeling something was amiss in his heart. "Xin Huo, I understand what you're saying, but that's for killing!"

One part of strength unleashing ten parts of its power requires perfect coordination of every limb, every meridian, bone, muscle, blood, and organ. It requires unifying one's Spiritual Power and Soul with the body, transforming it into a pure force, and releasing it in an explosive manner, unleashing it to its fullest!

This is what Xin Huo called brittleness!

However, this was a killing technique, a pure killing technique. It was easy to imagine what would happen to Shui Qinghe when this power erupted. The moment Zhong Yue's strength touched him, his entire body would explode, disintegrating, leading to a swift death!

Although Zhong Yue was displeased with the Shuitu Clan, he didn't believe Shui Qinghe was involved in the Heavenly Phenomenon Mother incident to the point where he deserved to be killed.

"Xin Huo, I will show you that I have already met your requirements. My strength is sufficiently brittle, my Soul sufficiently strong, and my aura sufficiently fierce."

Zhong Yue stood on the stage and looked towards the other mountain peaks. He finally found Shui Qingyan's whereabouts and said quietly, "However, Shui Qinghe is not worthy of it."