Peak Showdown! The Ultimate Collision of Strength and Technique!

The entire arena once again fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone stared with wide eyes, looking at the figure kneeling on one knee and gasping for air as if he were a monster.

He won...

He won again!

Facing Shi Lei from the God of War Academy, who was known for his "Absolute Defense."

Ye Xuan had actually, once again, used the most violent and unreasonable method to forcibly shatter the opponent's barrier and claim victory!

Is he even human?!

He is simply a young demon god born for battle and destruction!

"He... he won! Ye Xuan won again!"

"Oh my god! He shattered Shi Lei's King of Light Glazed Body! That is Shi Lei's unique and rare constitution!"

"A miracle! This is absolutely the greatest miracle of this tournament! Ye Xuan was born to create miracles!"

After a brief silence came cheers and shouts more fanatical than any before!

Countless people stood up in excitement.

They waved their arms frantically, screaming the name "Ye Xuan" at the top of their lungs!

In the eyes of these people, Ye Xuan was no longer just a contestant, but a living legend!

One who rose from the bottom to challenge everything impossible...

A myth!

However, amidst this endless glory and cheering, only Ye Xuan himself knew clearly just how terrible his current state was.

His meridians felt as if they had been scorched by fire, sending waves of tearing pain through him.

His internal organs felt as though they had been displaced; every breath pulled at an unbearable agony.

The spiritual energy within his body had been completely drained by that earth-shattering punch, leaving behind only a trickle.

Just then, in his sea of consciousness, the voice of the Extreme Dao Ancestor, filled with intense anxiety and gravity, rang out urgently.

"Kid! Enough! Stop now!"

"You forcibly pushed your cultivation technique just now and have already damaged your foundation! If you continue like this, your path of martial arts will be completely ruined!"

"Listen to my advice! You have already proven yourself! Concede now; with your record of defeating Shi Lei, securing a top-three spot will be no problem at all!"

"The rewards for the top three are already generous enough! They are sufficient for you to mend your damaged foundation and even advance further! There is no need to risk your life for a mere empty title!"

The voice of the Extreme Dao Ancestor was filled with an unprecedented gravity.

However, upon hearing these words, a savage and paranoid smile appeared on Ye Xuan's pale face.

"An empty title?"

He roared in his heart, How can first place be an empty title?!

"I, Ye Xuan, either don't do something, or I do it as the strongest! Why should I settle for being behind others?!"

"Teacher! Didn't you say it yourself? As long as there are enough heavenly treasures, the backlash from this cultivation technique is nothing to fear!"

"As long as I take the championship! The champion's rewards, combined with the benefits promised by the Huangfu Family, are enough to push my strength to a whole new height! When that time comes, what is a little damage to my foundation compared to that?!"

His frantic will was like a raging fire, causing even the Extreme Dao Ancestor in his sea of consciousness to feel a hint of alarm.

"Foolish!"

The Extreme Dao Ancestor shouted angrily, "The Burning Blood Dragon Transformation Technique is a forbidden secret art! It burns not only your spiritual power but your very Life Origin! Your luck! Your Future!"

"Heavenly treasures can indeed make up for your deficit! But that is merely drinking poison to quench thirst! The more fiercely you burn, the greater your reliance on resources becomes! Unless you reach Perfection in your cultivation, if this continues, you will be completely devoured by this technique and become a walking corpse that knows only how to kill!"

"A walking corpse is still better than being a piece of trash stepped on by others!"

Ye Xuan suddenly raised his head.

His scarlet gaze stared fixedly in the direction of the VIP boxes.

"I must win the championship! I must take everything that should have been his, right in front of him!"

"I won't just win; I will win more gloriously and more dazzlingly than he ever could!"

Within the sea of consciousness, the Extreme Dao Ancestor fell into a long silence.

In the end, only a helpless and complex sigh remained.

Sigh...

The reason he urged him so was naturally due to his own selfish motives.

He had been trapped in this remnant soul state for far too long.

The only hope for him to break free, or even reshape his physical body, rested entirely on his host, Ye Xuan.

He needed Ye Xuan to keep growing stronger, but he absolutely did not want Ye Xuan to die young due to his eagerness for quick success.

But looking at it now, this kid, stimulated by hatred and victory, has completely fallen into a state of demonic obsession.

His originally resilient Dao heart is being eroded, bit by bit, by arrogance and madness.

Is this a blessing, or a curse?

For the first time, a trace of uncertainty arose in the heart of the Extreme Dao Ancestor.

Just then.

The host's impassioned voice rang out through the arena once again!

"Let us congratulate contestant Ye Xuan on successfully advancing to the final battle of the Grand Finals!"

"Next, we will proceed to our final semi-final match!"

"Please welcome—"

"From the Imperial Military Academy, Qin Zhan!"

"Facing off against—"

"From the Capital Martial Arts Academy, Gu Ningxue!"

As the host's impassioned voice faded, the atmosphere in the Dragon's Nest stadium was pushed to its peak once again!

"It's here, it's here! The match I've been looking forward to the most!"

"Qin Zhan's Dragon Elephant Subduing Prison Technique is peerlessly domineering, using raw power to overcome ten thousand techniques! Gu Ningxue's Glazed Snow Heart Sword Technique is as swift as a startled swan, agile and elegant! This is simply a collision between extreme power and extreme technique!"

"Who do you think will win? I feel like Qin Zhan has a better chance; after all, he is at the eighth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm! He's a whole minor realm higher!"

"That's not necessarily true! Goddess Gu's sword is unpredictable to both gods and ghosts!"

Amidst the discussions filling the arena.

Qin Zhan, dressed in a black combat suit with a cold expression, and Gu Ningxue, wearing a matching black martial arts uniform and radiating a heroic spirit, stepped onto the arena simultaneously.

The two stood facing each other from a distance. Invisible battle intent collided fiercely in the air, even sparking crackling electric arcs!

"Gu Ningxue."

Qin Zhan looked at the woman before him. There was not a hint of contempt in his eyes, only pure battle intent for a worthy opponent. "Your sword is fast. I am looking forward to this."

Gu Ningxue gripped the hilt of her sword, her beautiful eyes cold and clear.

"Your fists are quite heavy, too."

"Then, let us fight!"

The referee gave the signal, and the match officially began!

"Roar--!"

Qin Zhan had no intention of testing the waters; he unleashed his full power right from the start!

He let out a roar toward the sky that sounded like the bellowing of a dragon-elephant. His muscles knotted, his veins bulged, and his entire frame seemed to grow taller by a head.

A savage, domineering, and terrifying aura that seemed to suppress everything swept across the arena with a boom!

"Dragon Elephant Stomp!"

Boom!

He slammed his foot down onto the ground!

The incredibly sturdy alloy arena was actually dented by the force of his step.

Crack, crack, crack!!!

Fissures spread out from the point of his impact, racing wildly in every direction!

He transformed into a cannonball fired from its chamber.

Carrying the peerless momentum to crush mountains, he charged ferociously toward Gu Ningxue!

Before he even arrived, the terrifying wind pressure from his fist caused the air to emit a piercing shriek!

Facing this world-shattering strike, Gu Ningxue's eyes remained as calm as still water.

Just a split second before Qin Zhan was about to make contact, her figure suddenly turned illusory.

Like a reflection in water, she split into three, then into nine!

Startling Swan-Goose Movement!

Qin Zhan's punch, which possessed enough power to shatter an armored vehicle, slammed into empty air. The violent gale pulverized one afterimage after another!

But Gu Ningxue's true form appeared behind Qin Zhan's flank like a ghost!

"Clang!"

A cold flash of sword light, like a startled swan in a snowy night, moved silently yet with extreme speed, thrusting straight toward the vital point of Qin Zhan's back!

However, Qin Zhan's combat instincts were equally terrifying to the extreme!

Without even turning his head, he threw a backhanded elbow strike!

"Dragon Elephant Tail Whip!"

Bang!

The tip of the sword and the point of his elbow collided with precision!

An irresistible, overwhelming force surged from the blade!

Gu Ningxue felt her hand go numb, and she was sent flying backward uncontrollably. After a graceful flip in the air, she landed steadily on the other side of the arena.

What immense strength!

A mere hurried elbow strike was enough to nearly make her lose her grip on her sword!

Qin Zhan, however, was not having an easy time either.

A faint white mark had been left on his elbow.

Wisps of icy sword qi were attempting to bore into his meridians.

Although they were quickly crushed by his domineering Dragon Elephant True Qi, that bone-chilling cold still made his heart shudder.

What a fast sword!

What eerie sword qi!

"Again!"

Qin Zhan's fighting spirit surged, and he launched another storm-like, ferocious assault!

For a moment, the entire arena was filled with flying fist shadows and crisscrossing sword light!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Every punch from Qin Zhan seemed capable of piercing the void, smashing terrifying craters into the sturdy arena floor!

Gu Ningxue, meanwhile, was like a butterfly weaving through a meteor shower, her movements elegant and fluid.

Time and again, she narrowly dodged those lethal attacks by a hair's breadth.

At the same time, the longsword in her hand always managed to strike at Qin Zhan's openings from the most inconceivable angles!

The two sides traded blows, their battle shaking the heavens and earth, dimming the sun and moon!

The entire audience was mesmerized, their blood boiling with excitement!

"This is incredible! This is a true peak showdown!"

"Qin Zhan's strength is unsolvable! Gu Ningxue doesn't dare to clash with him head-on at all!"

"But Gu Ningxue's movement techniques and swordsmanship are too strong! Qin Zhan hasn't even touched her clothes yet!"

Just then, Qin Zhan, having failed to break through after a long assault, seemed to have run out of patience!

"Gu Ningxue! What kind of skill is it to just hide and dodge!"

"If you have the guts, take this move of mine!"

He suddenly stopped in his tracks, took a deep breath, and unleashed his spiritual energy without reservation!

"Dragon Elephant Subduing Prison!"

ROAR--!!!

A massive phantom of a dragon-elephant, formed from golden spiritual energy, slowly coalesced behind him!

A terrifying pressure capable of suppressing the heavens and crushing all things instantly enveloped the entire arena!

Gu Ningxue felt her entire body sink, as if she were carrying an ancient divine mountain on her back, and even her movements became sluggish!

"It's over!"

Qin Zhan roared.

Merging with the dragon-elephant phantom behind him, he transformed into a golden torrent of destruction, crashing down directly toward Gu Ningxue!

This strike sealed off all her paths of retreat!

There was nowhere to hide!

Inside the VIP box, Lin Yuan watched this scene, finally putting down the Spirit Fruit in his hand and, for the first time, sitting up straight.

HUM--!

Gu Ningxue's eyes erupted with an unprecedented, brilliant radiance!

The longsword in her hand let out a clear, resonant phoenix cry!

"Earth-grade High-tier Sword Art—Ice Phoenix Descends to the World!"

A more sacred, more noble ice-blue phoenix phantom soared into the sky from within her body.

It spread its massive wings and let out a piercing cry capable of freezing the soul!

Under the stunned gazes of everyone, whose worldviews were being overturned.

The ice-blue phoenix and the golden dragon-elephant collided violently!

BOOM--!!!

The entire Dragon's Nest shook violently!