Jun Moxiao checked the system notification:
Congratulations on checking in at the famous gathering of prodigies in Sunset Glow Garden. Your strength has increased to 100% of the array formation realm. Rewards: Quasi-Immortal Emperor Weapon, the Immortal Slaying Sword; 100 Great Nirvana Pills; and the Pill Formula.
Holy shit! What a haul. Hmm! What the hell was this Great Nirvana Pill? Was it an upgraded version of the Lesser Nirvana Pill Shi Hao had refined in the original storyline?
"Thanks, Meng Die," Jun Moxiao said. "But what's this Nirvana Pill for? I don't need it!"
"This Great Nirvana Pill is an upgraded version of Shi Hao's Lesser Nirvana Pill," Meng Die said. "It works for anyone below the void dao realm, but the lower their realm, the stronger its effects! In other words, it works best in the formation arrangement realm, and so on. Anyone below that should use it with caution. The energy is so immense it could ruin them."
"Nice!" Jun Moxiao said. "I can give these to other people. Anything the system produces is guaranteed to be top quality."
Just then, a young man from the Heaven Severing Sect approached Witch and whispered, "Holy Maiden! The sect master has a message for you. Let's talk over there."
Witch and several young men from the Heaven Severing Sect went to a corner. "Senior Brother!" she asked. "What instructions does the sect master have?"
The young man conveyed the Heaven Severing Sect's wishes. "The sect master said that from now on, no one in the sect will dictate your life. You may make your own decisions, Holy Maiden, and the entire sect will support you. As for your relationship with Invincible Handsome Guy, the sect master and all the elders raise both hands and feet in approval."
"Our Heaven Severing Sect has made a wise decision for once," Witch said happily. "Thank you for delivering the message, senior brothers."
While everyone was discussing Shi Hao and Qingyi, an arrogant voice rang out. "You're that Marquis of Desolate Heaven, Shi Hao? Are you really as incredible as the rumors say? Come fight me. I heard the legend of the Void God Realm, Invincible Handsome Guy, is here too. Is he really that amazing? Let me put him to the test."
Along with the voice, several figures with powerful auras appeared in Sunset Glow Garden.
Someone immediately recognized the newcomer and exclaimed, "It's Commandery Princess Qianqian's madman cousin! He joined the Western Heaven Sect and cultivated an indestructible vajra body. Despite his youth, he's already at the mid formation arrangement realm. They call him the Madman. He's a violence fanatic."
"But I think the Marquis of Desolate Heaven is stronger," someone else said. "He's at the mid formation arrangement realm too. I wonder what will happen when they clash."
Commandery Princess Qianqian immediately approached him and urged, "Cousin, you came too? Don't be rash!"
"Cousin! You're here too," the Madman said. "Stay out of this! I just love fighting, especially against Heavenly Prodigies. I love trampling them underfoot."
Shi Hao spoke from the platform. "You're that Madman? If you want to fight Invincible Handsome Guy, you'll have to get past me first. I heard you cultivated an indestructible vajra body. I wonder if it can withstand these sandbag-sized fists of mine?"
The Madman immediately stepped onto the arena platform. "So you're the Desolate Heaven Marquis, Shi Hao. You're the one who defeated Shi Yi with the double pupils."
"Shi Yi? He wasn't good enough," Shi Hao said. "Let's not talk about him during our match. You're strong too, so let's have a good, exhilarating fight!"
"Good!" the Madman said at once. "That's just how I like it."
"I heard your body is powerful and you've cultivated an indestructible vajra body," Shi Hao said. "My own physical strength is pretty decent too. So let's forget precious techniques and divine abilities and compete purely with physical strength. We'll trade blows head-on. How about it?"
The Madman roared with laughter. "Great! That'll feel good. I love the feeling of every punch striking flesh."
The two began fighting at close quarters on the platform, trading punches amid a barrage of bangs.
Shi Hao felt that his opponent's body was comparable to Shi Yi's before their fight, and Shi Yi had used golden body liquid. It seemed these Heavenly Prodigies from beyond their region had genuine skill, unlike those earlier weaklings whose boasts had shaken the heavens.
But this Madman's physical toughness was still far below his own. Shi Hao had reached a strength of 130,000 jin in the blood moving realm. Only that absurd freak Jun Moxiao was stronger than him.
The Madman was shocked as well. This Marquis of Desolate Heaven really was as strong as the legends in the Void God Realm claimed-perhaps even stronger! His body was tougher than the indestructible vajra body the Madman had cultivated. Even fierce beast cubs weren't this strong.
The longer they fought, the more alarmed the Madman became. If Shi Hao, the Marquis of Desolate Heaven, was this strong, wouldn't Invincible Handsome Guy be even stronger? How laughable that he had just boasted about trampling him underfoot!
After exchanging dozens of rounds of close-quarter blows with Shi Hao, the Madman voluntarily withdrew from the fight. "You're very powerful," he said in shock. "You're the strongest opponent I've ever met. I'm no match for you. Farewell."
With that, he immediately fled, moving as though he were running for his life.
"You're pretty good too," Shi Hao said. "Don't leave yet! Weren't you going to challenge Invincible Handsome Guy? He's right here. Look over there-the handsome guy beside Commandery Princess Qianqian. That's him. You can challenge him!"
The Madman glanced at Jun Moxiao and told Shi Hao, "There's no need. I'm no match for you, so there's even less chance I'm a match for him."
With that, he left without looking back.
Everyone stared in bewilderment. "Why has the Madman lost his nerve?" they asked. "Doesn't he usually love picking fights whenever he sees an expert?"
"Look at who he was fighting just now," one prodigy said. "I even saw cold sweat breaking out on his forehead."
"So we should stop looking down on others," another reflected. "We need to know our own limits."
Jun Moxiao turned to Commandery Princess Qianqian beside him. "Your cousin certainly knows which way the wind is blowing, Princess!"
"Although that Madman loves fighting, he's no fool," Princess Bingqing said beside them.
"My cousin isn't really a bad person," Commandery Princess Qianqian said. "He just liked fighting people, so they called him the Madman. He'd never run into a genius like the Marquis of Desolate Heaven before. He should rein himself in a little now."
"That Madman is just like Mo Shang, the Sea God's descendant," Witch added. "Another violence fanatic."
"I think the Madman is a little better than Mo Shang," Jun Moxiao said. "That descendant of the Sea God is addicted to killing. He's far too vicious."
Just then, four experts entered through the estate's gate: two middle-aged men, a young man, and an old man with a powerful aura.
One of the middle-aged men, who had reached the perfected formation arrangement realm, spoke. "Who struck the Heavenly Prodigy of our Immortal Mountain's Qin Clan earlier? Step forward. I'll break his limbs and cripple his cultivation."
Hearing that they were experts from Immortal Mountain, everyone said something big was about to happen.
Jun Moxiao looked at them. Wasn't that the lecher called Qin Shou from earlier? Shi Hao had beaten his face beyond recognition. It looked like he'd gone to fetch reinforcements for revenge.
Seeing Shi Hao on the arena platform, Qin Shou hurriedly said, "Uncle, it's him! That Marquis of Desolate Heaven, Shi Hao."
"So it was that brat called Shi Hao," the middle-aged man said. "He even has some ties to our clan."
"Uncle, kill him!" Qin Shou screamed. "He insulted me before!"
The middle-aged man stepped onto the arena platform and addressed Shi Hao. "You're Shi Hao? You insulted a Heavenly Prodigy of our Immortal Mountain's Qin Clan earlier. I am Qin Shouyi, and today I'll cripple you."
Shi Hao had just learned about his parents' circumstances from Yun Xi. His mother's branch had failed in its bid to seize power and had been suppressed by the other branches of the Qin Clan. Now his parents were imprisoned on Immortal Mountain. They had also given him a younger brother named Qin Hao, who was being raised by the Qin Clan.
The news left Shi Hao with a bitter feeling. His parents probably thought he was dead! They had named his younger brother Qin Hao, likely to commemorate him!
He had also learned from Yun Xi that his grandfather had gone to Immortal Mountain, only to be persecuted by the Qin Clan and forced to flee.
Filled with fury, Shi Hao said to Qin Shouyi, "That's right! I'm the one who beat that beast. Got a problem with it? If you want to cripple me, come at me."
Seeing that Qin Shouyi was at the perfected formation arrangement realm, Jun Moxiao darted onto the arena platform with a whoosh. "Hao Tian! He's at the perfected formation arrangement realm. Cripple him and show him what a savage beating from the real world feels like."
"Don't worry," Shi Hao said. "As long as they're in the same realm, I'm not afraid of anyone. Let me deal with him first."
Qin Shouyi looked at the young man who had suddenly appeared. More importantly, he couldn't discern his strength at all; he seemed like an ordinary person. Startled, he asked, "Who are you? Don't you know the consequences of offending our Immortal Mountain?"
Jun Moxiao chuckled. "Uncle, this is a gathering of Heavenly Prodigies. At your age, what are you doing joining the fun?"
Just then, a guard beside Huo Ling'er spoke. "Aren't you going too far, fellow Daoist? This is a gathering for the younger generation. It's inappropriate for us of the older generation to interfere!"
The Qin Clan's sole old man below the platform said, "Your Fire Kingdom has no right to interfere in Immortal Mountain's affairs."
"Fine!" Jun Moxiao cut in. "Then fight. Whether you live or die is up to fate."
Jun Moxiao transmitted his voice to Shi Hao. "Hao Tian, unleash your full power and beat him hard, but don't kill him. After all, this is the Fire Emperor's territory. Don't make trouble for him."
Shi Hao nodded to show he understood.
Before you continue