Xiaoyaozi was just as dumbfounded. This strike had carried eighty percent of his spiritual power, yet Yang Chengzhi had blocked it with a single finger. More importantly, that finger seemed incredibly powerful. It had not only forced him back three steps, but the immense force had also left the hand holding the Red Sickle numb.
Xiaoyaozi discreetly loosened his grip and shifted to a different sword hold.
"What kind of martial art is that?" Xiaoyaozi asked.
"It's called the Six Meridian Divine Sword." Yang Chengzhi pointed at his cloak. "I learned it at this bookstore."
"Preposterous!" Xiaoyaozi snapped. He thought he could learn such a high-level martial art at a bookstore? Did Yang Chengzhi take him for a fool?
"I'd like to see just how powerful your Six Meridian Divine Sword is." Xiaoyaozi's palm quivered, and the Spirit Sword Red Sickle flew from his grasp, hovering in midair. Then nothing happened.
But Yang Chengzhi suddenly began channeling spiritual power. It rose from his heart, went up to his lungs, then down beneath his armpit. From there, it traveled along the back of his inner arm, through the Taiyin and Pericardium meridians, down to the inside of his elbow, along the back of his forearm, to the pointed bone behind his palm, into the inner edge of his palm, and along the inside of his little finger, before emerging from its tip.
"Whoosh!" A beam shot from the little finger of his right hand. It was the Shaochong Sword, one of the Six Meridian Divine Sword's techniques.
"Clang!"
The Shaochong Sword struck something in midair with a loud crash. The beam turned into spiritual energy and dissipated.
A moment later, a crimson sword appeared in midair. It was the Spirit Sword Red Sickle in Xiaoyaozi's hand.
What shocked everyone was that another Spirit Sword Red Sickle was still hovering in front of Xiaoyaozi! Two identical Spirit Sword Red Sickles had appeared at once.
Only after five seconds did the Spirit Sword Red Sickle in front of Xiaoyaozi gradually fade away, vanishing into thin air. The one in midair was the only sword left.
"Sixth-tier martial art: Afterimage Rainbow."
This martial art was designed to be used in conjunction with the Spirit Sword Red Sickle. It was renowned for its speed, and together with the sword, it could kill an enemy in an instant, without a trace.
Yet Yang Chengzhi had still blocked it. Neither a seventh-tier spirit sword nor a sixth-tier martial art had gained the upper hand against the Six Meridian Divine Sword!
Xiaoyaozi's face darkened. Yang Chengzhi's strength was far beyond what he had expected.
"I'd like to see how long your spiritual power can last." Xiaoyaozi flew into a rage and launched a relentless assault on Yang Chengzhi, putting all his strength into every strike.
Since neither martial arts, cultivation techniques, nor even spirit weapons had given him an advantage, his only option was to wear Yang Chengzhi down. Xiaoyaozi was confident that Yang Chengzhi, who was only at the second stage of the Spirit Sect realm, could not surpass him in spiritual power reserves. After all, Xiaoyaozi himself had reached the fourth stage.
Xiaoyaozi's frenzied fighting style steadily drained the spiritual power of both men. As Spirit Sect cultivators, they could draw on only a limited amount of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy. With their spiritual power being depleted so rapidly, the energy around them could not replenish it fast enough.
So at this point, it came down to cultivation level.
After all, any martial art or cultivation technique—even a defensive move—consumed spiritual power. Once one side ran out, all the martial arts and cultivation techniques in the world would be useless.
And so, with nothing but his Six Meridian Divine Sword, Yang Chengzhi held Xiaoyaozi to a stalemate, leaving the spectators stunned.
"Tch, I never expected Yang Chengzhi to have a high-level martial art up his sleeve."
"That martial art is incredible. It can even fend off a seventh-tier spirit sword."
"Do you think Yang Chengzhi was telling the truth? Did he really get that high-level martial art from the Mysterious Bookstore?" One of the spectators was skeptical. This was a high-level martial art! Anyone who got their hands on one would keep it under wraps. Who would tell everyone where they'd found it?
"We'll find out after the Dragon Ranking Tournament. Someone's bound to go to Dubian Town and look for that Mysterious Bookstore."
"True."
The tournament was not yet over, but the spectators at Jiaolong Plain had already committed the name of the Mysterious Bookstore to memory. After all, it offered high-level martial arts and could even boost one's cultivation. Anyone would be curious.
The longer the fight went on, the more alarmed Xiaoyaozi became. He realized that Yang Chengzhi's spiritual power seemed bottomless. Xiaoyaozi had almost run out of spiritual power and was starting to tire, but judging by the strength of the beams Yang Chengzhi fired, his power had not weakened at all. Each beam remained just as deadly.
"Whoosh!"
Another beam shot toward him. It was too fast for Xiaoyaozi to keep up with, and he barely managed to turn aside. The beam grazed his face, leaving a mark. Blood welled up immediately.
"He's been hurt!"
The spectators cried out.
No one had expected Yang Chengzhi to not only emerge unscathed from Xiaoyaozi's attacks, but also inflict a real injury on him.
"You're dead!" Xiaoyaozi touched his face. Seeing the blood on his hand, he glared at Yang Chengzhi, his eyes turning savage.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, a powerful shock wave burst outward from Xiaoyaozi. A fierce gale swept across Jiaolong Plain. Some of the weaker cultivators could not withstand it and were sent flying.
Xiaoyaozi's aura surged to its peak. His long hair stood on end, and his robe burst apart, exposing his chest. He grew more than a foot taller in an instant, like a giant.
"War God Art!"
The ancestral cultivation technique of the War Emperor Clan!
This was an eighth-grade cultivation technique. Its greatest effect was to unleash one's latent potential for a short time and raise one's cultivation. Its power was so extraordinary that it had been named the War God Art.
War Emperor Xiaoyao Zizai had reached the status of a Spirit Emperor by relying on this ancestral technique.
As it happened, Xiaoyaozi was Xiaoyao Zizai's son.
Xiaoyaozi was at the fourth stage of the Spirit Sect realm. No one knew just how high his cultivation would rise after he used the War God Art.
Faced with Xiaoyaozi's sudden transformation into a giant, Yang Chengzhi grew solemn. He could feel the terrifying aura radiating from Xiaoyaozi—a fierce fighting spirit, like that of a god of war.
Yang Chengzhi stood still, arms spread wide and eyes closed. His hair, robe, and cloak billowed as if caught in a gale. Strands of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy gathered around him. This time, they did not flow into his body, but instead swirled around him.
As more and more spiritual energy gathered, the strands around Yang Chengzhi slowly joined together into a thin line.
The line grew thicker, and the pure Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy began to shimmer with golden light.
"This is—"
On the viewing platform, the Three Saints of Chu, Yan, and Zhao cried out in unison, staring at Yang Chengzhi.
More precisely, they were staring at the golden line around him.
"Holy crap!" Ma Feifei gaped.
Yun Qingyang, who had been silently standing nearby, was now staring intently at Yang Chengzhi as well. An oppressive aura radiated from her, seemingly without intent, making the powerful figures around her feel uneasy. They had to dispel it by force with their spiritual power.
"Who is she? How can her aura be so powerful?" Everyone tried to guess Yun Qingyang's identity.
"Roar!"
A long, resonant roar rang across Jiaolong Plain and drew every eye. On the arena, a golden dragon coiled around Yang Chengzhi and carried him into the sky, heading straight for the top of the Ascension Stele.
"Ancestor Dragon!"
"A dragon!"
"My heavens!"
"..."
Before you continue