His Might Shook the Outer Courts

"Hahaha, rest easy, Senior Brother Fang. We'll spread the news far and wide. When the time comes, even if they don't want to fight, they'll have no choice but to."

Fatty Han was naturally delighted to hear this. He knew Fang Xiao's strength well, not to mention that Fang Xiao had already broken through to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer and possessed the rumored Sword Energy Thunderous Sound. After Fang Xiao declared absolute confidence, they ultimately agreed that Fang Xiao would take forty percent of the Spirit Stones earned from the betting pool. After all, aside from organizing people, spreading the news, and gathering intelligence, they also had to shoulder the risks. Once the earnings were divided up, there would not be much left.

Fang Xiao believed those people would return eventually. People only believed what they saw with their own eyes. They would only think that his title as a genius was merely a way to build his own reputation. Perhaps he had some strength, but the Qi Refining Seventh Layer still lagged behind their Qi Refining Ninth Layer, or even peak-level cultivation. All they cared about was stepping on the reputation of a genius Sword Cultivator to win the attention of the higher-ranking cultivators.

"Then I'll leave these matters to you. Remember to gather and send over information on opponents who have reached the Qi Refining Ninth Layer. Only by knowing ourselves and knowing our enemies can we remain invincible."

Sure enough, only a few days later, they returned. Most of the challengers were at the Qi Refining Seventh or Eighth Layer. Several Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivators had withdrawn, leaving only three: Chen Jiuling from Yun Jing Outer Court, Xu Qing from Tian Lin Outer Court, and Zhao Yunlong from Shang Yuan Outer Court.

Fatty Han soon delivered the intelligence reports. After reading them, Fang Xiao was somewhat surprised.

Of the three, only Xu Qing was an ordinary Law Cultivator. The other two were rare, unconventional cultivators in the Cultivation World.

Chen Jiuling was skilled in music and was a rare Sound Cultivator. The power of his sound waves was average, but their attack frequency was extremely high, and they carried Mind Attacks as well. Opponents were often exhausted from dealing with the sound waves, only to be injured by the Mind Attacks lurking within them. They were impossible to guard against.

Zhao Yunlong, meanwhile, came from a Martial Dao family. Before entering the sect, he already possessed a solid Martial Dao foundation. After joining, he had followed the path of a Spear Cultivator. His spear techniques were fierce as the wind and swift as a dragon. Though his path was uncommon, he was no weaker than other cultivators.

After giving it some thought, Fang Xiao came up with a plan.

As agreed, they all brought their Contracts. Their contents were largely the same. In Fang Xiao's eyes, every one of them was Spirit Stones and Merit Points. He carefully signed each Contract.

The date was set for three days later, and the location was Mingxuan Outer Court Square. Afterward, they only needed to send the Contracts to the person in charge of the Outer Court.

Inside one of Mingxuan Outer Court's great halls, a middle-aged cultivator listened to a report from someone below. This man was the middle-aged cultivator who had stood in the square when Fang Xiao first entered the sect: Li Daoyuan, the head of Mingxuan Outer Court and a late Golden Core stage cultivator.

"These little fellows are certainly full of energy. How long has it been since the Sect Minor Competition ended, and they're already causing another stir?"

"Then, Headmaster, should we stop them?"

"Why stop them? Without competition, how can they improve? Go keep watch over them personally when the time comes. They are all the sect's future."

"Yes, Headmaster."

In the blink of an eye, the day of the duel arrived. The number of disciples gathered in the square to watch surpassed even that of the Sect Minor Competition. This was because the External Affairs Halls of the Eight Outer Courts had teleportation arrays. Traveling to another Outer Court cost only three hundred Merit Points for ten people, which came to merely thirty Merit Points per person when split between them.

Fang Xiao was already standing atop the Dueling Platform, waiting only for the challengers to assemble before beginning.

According to the agreement, he would first duel the Qi Refining Seventh Layer challengers, followed by those at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer. This suited Fang Xiao perfectly. He had to leave the spectators some time to place their bets.

Seeing that no one else was coming, Fang Xiao decided to begin and signaled for the matches to start.

Facing Qi Refining Seventh Layer opponents now gave him the feeling of bullying the weak. Fang Xiao therefore tried his best to suppress his strength, giving the spectators the illusion that he was strong, but only strong to a limited degree.

Once all the Qi Refining Seventh Layer challengers had been defeated, Fang Xiao finally began to put on a serious performance.

Against every Qi Refining Eighth Layer opponent, he had to fight to a standstill before narrowly gaining the upper hand. Then he had to spend some time pretending his spiritual power was exhausted and that he needed to meditate to recover. In truth, with Fang Xiao's reserves of spiritual power, it would not have been much of a problem even if he did not rest.

After finally grinding through all the Qi Refining Eighth Layer challengers, Fang Xiao knew these last three were the real heavyweights who would contribute Spirit Stones to him.

The first to step up was Chen Jiuling. This fellow was completely countered by him, yet he had even taken the initiative to come up first and cooperate with him. Fang Xiao was practically moved to tears.

During the fight with Chen Jiuling, Fang Xiao controlled his Top-grade Flying Sword and held back throughout. Only when Chen Jiuling revealed his trump card and unleashed a sea of sound-wave attacks in an attempt to crush him outright did Fang Xiao pretend to panic and counter with Soaring Sword Energy. As for Chen Jiuling's prized Mind Attack, it was shattered by Fang Xiao's protective Spiritual Sense before it even caught sight of his soul. Yet Fang Xiao pretended from beginning to end that his face was turning pale and he was about to collapse. When Chen Jiuling was defeated by the Sword Qi, Fang Xiao even gave him the comforting illusion that they had both suffered severe losses. If Chen Jiuling, after leaving the platform, had known about Fang Xiao's crafty Sixth Brother tactics, who knew whether he would have coughed up blood in rage.

Yet to Fang Xiao's surprise, Zhao Yunlong took the initiative to leap onto the Dueling Platform. Fang Xiao had originally intended to save him for last.

"Your acting may fool the others, but it won't fool me. You haven't used your true strength at all."

A sharp gleam flashed in Zhao Yunlong's eyes as he spoke solemnly.

"Bring out your true strength and defeat me."

Fang Xiao was rather speechless. This fellow was different from the rest. He was not here for fame at all—he was simply a battle maniac through and through. Since Zhao Yunlong wanted to see it, Fang Xiao would grant his wish.

After saying those words, Zhao Yunlong's entire aura surged. He gripped the Top-grade magic tool, the Silver Gallbladder Spear, and an invisible field seemed to form around him. The spear intent radiating from his body was as savage and violent as a flood dragon, carrying the sensation that it might choose someone and devour them at any moment.

Fang Xiao immediately put away his previous bedraggled appearance, and sword intent spread from his entire body as well. At a certain moment, that pervasive sword intent suddenly condensed and shot straight into the heavens. The sword intent soared into the sky, directly scattering the clouds above Fang Xiao's head. Zhao Yunlong's spear intent showed signs of collapsing before it could even reach him.

Zhao Yunlong's expression changed at once. He immediately abandoned the clash of intents, swung the Silver Gallbladder Spear in his hand, and merged man and spear as one, transforming into a silver dragon that shot straight toward Fang Xiao.

Wanting to test the power of the Great White Sword Pellet, Fang Xiao also reined in his sword intent. The Twin Sword Art circulated silently as endless Soaring Sword Energy condensed. Like ten thousand rivers flowing into the sea, the Sword Qi poured into the Great White Sword Pellet and merged with the Great White Sword Qi within—Great White Soaring Sword Energy.

The moment the Sword Qi took shape, it left his body alongside the Sword Pellet and hovered over Fang Xiao's sword fingers. A hazy glow radiated from the Great White Sword Pellet. As Sword Qi surged and flickered, Fang Xiao pointed both his sword fingers and the Sword Pellet directly at the charging Zhao Yunlong. With a thunderous boom, furious lightning exploded. A blurred streak cut through the air, and the Sword Pellet had already collided with the Silver Gallbladder Spear.

The Great White Sword Pellet met no resistance, pulverizing the Silver Gallbladder Spear into scraps with the force of dead wood and rotten twigs. Having lost his spear, Zhao Yunlong faced the Great White Sword Pellet pointing directly at his heart. In but an instant, Zhao Yunlong would have fallen. The supervising cultivator had already appeared behind him, and a treasure pagoda entwined with Gang Sha energy instantly blocked the Great White Sword Pellet's attack.

Seeing this, Fang Xiao immediately dispersed his attack and circulated the Sword Art to recall the Great White Sword Pellet into his body.

The supervising cultivator was named Yan Tingyun. He was a False Core cultivator who had already completed Condensing Sha and Refining Gang. Once he achieved Gang Sha Fusion and formed a Divine Ability Seed, he could attempt Core Formation and attain divine abilities.

Yan Tingyun's eyes were filled with shock. Fang Xiao's strike just now would have killed not only Qi Condensation Stage cultivators—even ordinary Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivators would have struggled to escape death. Was this fucking the strength a Qi Refining Seventh Layer cultivator should possess? This was no genius. This was a monster.

"Martial Uncle, this disciple still has one match left to fight."

Seeing that the other man remained unresponsive on the platform, Fang Xiao spoke to remind him.

Yan Tingyun came back to his senses. He had been so consumed by shock that he hurriedly lowered his head to look at Zhao Yunlong, who lay on the ground coughing blood, then quickly crouched down to examine him.

He had not been struck directly, but the force of the Great White Sword Pellet had still injured his internal organs. He needed careful recuperation. Yan Tingyun immediately carried Zhao Yunlong off the Dueling Platform.

Everyone present stood frozen in shock. Was the gap really this vast? If he was this strong, was it really appropriate for him to pretend so much? So they had all come just to deliver Spirit Stones to him.

"Cough, cough. Senior Brother Xu Qing, aren't you coming up?"

Only then did the crowd react. Aside from Chen Jiuling and Zhao Yunlong, Xu Qing was the remaining Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivator who had yet to fight.

Xu Qing's face was as white as paper, sweat streaming down his back. Inwardly, he cursed Zhao Yunlong furiously. If Zhao Yunlong had not been so eager to take the stage, he himself would definitely have gone second. With his mediocre strength, at the very least, perhaps, probably, he should have been able to leave the platform safely like Chen Jiuling, right?

If he went up, he feared Fang Xiao would give him that same strike. If he did not go up, it would be humiliating.

In the end, Xu Qing could not gather the courage to step onto the platform. He admitted defeat and slunk away from the square in disgrace.

The disciples from the various Outer Courts gradually dispersed amid their shock. Thus ended this duel aimed at Fang Xiao.