Both Dugu Ran and Dugu Mo practiced the Nine Swords of Dugu sword technique, and both had reached the Peak Perfection of their skills. Coupled with their own Super-First-Rate cultivation, the two of them, when they joined forces, could even contend with ordinary Grandmaster Realm experts.
Unfortunately, they were facing Zhu Ruoxue. Back then, Zhu Ruoxue was able to fight against First-Rate martial artists with her weak cultivation. Now, her physical foundation has been basically restored, and she is cultivating the Foundation Establishment Sword Art specially developed by Wang Hao. Her strength has undergone a tremendous improvement.
Moreover, the Old Zhu Household spared no effort in cultivating Zhu Ruoxue during this period. Even Zhu Yuanzhang himself appeared to teach her, enabling the girl to comprehend Sword Intent at a young age.
Although her Sword Intent cultivation was still weak, having only condensed a trace of Sword Intent, it was still a fundamental improvement.
With all these advantages combined, Zhu Ruoxue managed to suppress Dugu Mo and Dugu Ran to a disadvantage for a time.
Even though Dugu Ran and Dugu Mo realized something was wrong and switched from a three-way battle to a two-on-one fight against Zhu Ruoxue, they still couldn't gain the upper hand.
Strangely, due to the characteristics of the Nine Swords of Dugu, the two's attacks were only aimed at the weaknesses in Zhu Ruoxue's own moves. Therefore, in the fight so far, the three's swords had not clashed many times.
"That girl has a good foundation, but more importantly, her temperament is truly rare. I wonder where that kid Zhu Yanzu found her."
Outside the battle, Wang Hao was very satisfied with the performance of his adopted daughter Zhu Ruoxue, and expressed his appreciation in the tone of Ximen Chuixue.
Of course, Zhu Ruoxue's advantage stems not only from her own formidable strength but also from her understanding of the Nine Swords of Dugu. Knowing oneself and one's enemy naturally gives one a significant advantage.
In comparison, although Dugu Mo and Dugu Ran had witnessed the Foundation Establishment Sword Art, they had never practiced it and did not understand its mysteries, which put them at a significant disadvantage in battle.
This increase and decrease has led to the current war situation.
Wheel-Turning King smiled without saying a word, but Dugu Shang, the elder of the Dugu Family, looked quite grim.
You should know that he was very confident that his two juniors would win, but now they are being suppressed by that little bastard. What makes him even more depressed is that the little bastard himself comes from their Dugu Family, but now he has become a disaster for their Dugu Family.
Having witnessed the fierce battle between Ximen Chuixue and Dongfang Bai, Dugu Shang understood the weakness of the Central Plains and realized the importance of joining overseas martial arts circles, let alone becoming a peerless genius like the Sword God Ximen Chuixue.
Once you become his disciple, achieving the Xiantian Grandmaster Innate Realm is almost a certainty, and even reaching the legendary Celestial Person Realm is not impossible.
Unfortunately, their opportunity is now being thwarted by a pawn they once discarded, how could he not be furious?
However, he remained calm, because he still had one last card to play.
Dugu Ran and Dugu Mo, who were completely suppressed in the battle, exchanged a glance, joined forces to unleash a move, and then circulated their internal energy to expel a wax pill from their stomachs.
They had made contingency plans for all possible scenarios, including the current one. Therefore, before coming here, they had taken two pills that their clan had spent a great deal of effort to refine. Once activated, the medicinal power would be enough to allow them to advance to the Grandmaster Realm.
However, they had only recently broken through to the Super-First-Rate realm and had not yet reached the peak of their current level. A hasty breakthrough would have a significant impact on their future development.
Therefore, the pill was sealed with a wax coating, and they would not use it unless absolutely necessary.
Unfortunately, this is now a last resort; they must win this battle, they absolutely cannot afford to lose!
The pills refined by the Dugu Family with their accumulated resources were indeed powerful. Before long, the auras of the two began to surge wildly, and their internal energy also increased wildly, which then surged Lower Dantian, preparing to transform into Acquired True Qi.
The transformation of Acquired True Qi is rapid. In the blink of an eye, the two of them have changed dramatically and have advanced to the Acquired Grandmaster Realm.
This change was naturally noticed by the four people watching from the sidelines. Wheel-Turning King glared angrily at Dugu Shang, while Wang Hao gave him a deep look but didn't say anything.
Wang Hao did not intervene to stop the fight, nor did Wheel-Turning King, because they both knew very well that this was Zhu Ruoxue's battle, and only through this battle could they vent the resentment they had been holding in.
Of course, the most important thing is that Zhu Ruoxue's cultivation level has been stuck at the Peak Second-rate, and her Foundation Establishment Sword Art has also reached a bottleneck. She needs a real battle to stimulate her potential and help her break through.
In their previous states, Dugu Mo and Dugu Ran were simply not enough to put pressure on Zhu Ruoxue, let alone unleash her potential.
So it's just as well that those two guys managed to force their way through using some method, but this also completely eroded any remaining goodwill Wang Hao had towards the Dugu Family.
"These guys really will stop at nothing!"
Wang Hao glanced deeply at Dugu Shang beside him, then said nothing more, his gaze returning to the three people fighting ahead.
Dugu Shang, seeing Wang Hao look away, finally felt relieved, his back soaked with cold sweat, and then secretly pleased.
Since this official hasn't spoken, it means he's tacitly approved of their actions, and victory is surely theirs now.
After their breakthrough in cultivation, Dugu Mo and Dugu Ran experienced a surge in strength. Although their swordsmanship level didn't improve much, their internal energy was transformed into Acquired True Qi, resulting in a significant improvement in quality.
The emergence of Acquired True Qi provides a comprehensive boost to combat power, greatly enhancing the attack strength and speed of both individuals. This also puts immense pressure on Zhu Ruoxue, who is temporarily suppressed and forced into a disadvantageous position.
However, the Foundation Establishment Sword Art is both offensive and defensive, capable of both attacking and defending. Zhu Ruoxue unleashed her defensive moves and managed to barely withstand the attacks of the two.
Not to disappoint Wang Hao and Wheel-Turning King, Zhu Ruoxue, who was already stuck at a bottleneck, finally unleashed her potential after being suppressed for a period of time. Not only did her Foundation Establishment Sword Art reach a new level, but her cultivation also broke through from the Peak Second-rate to the Early First-Rate.
The situation, which had initially been one of being on the defensive, was instantly reversed, returning to its previous state.
"That's impossible!"
Dugu Shang could no longer sit still; his old face was filled with disbelief.
"Hmph! You think you're the only ones who can use drugs to help someone break through their cultivation level? Ruoxue's body has accumulated far more medicinal power than any of the pills you've used."
With a cold snort, Wheel-Turning King showed disdain.
How could he not see that those two boys had broken through using drugs? But compared to these external methods, the Old Zhu Household would never belong to anyone.
During this period, in order to nurture Zhu Ruoxue, they have invested a lot of precious spiritual medicines, and they have used countless external medicinal baths and internal decoctions.
At this moment, the medicinal power accumulated in Zhu Ruoxue's body is unimaginable to ordinary people. However, this method is gentler. The medicinal power that could not be absorbed at that time is stored in the body and transformed into her own potential.
Given the right opportunity, this potential can be unleashed.
Because this power has been completely integrated into her body, it belongs to her own body and will not pose any hidden dangers once it is activated.
In comparison, the methods used by Dugu Ran and Dugu Mo to directly break through using drugs carry far greater risks, not to mention the risk of directly breaking through an entire realm.
Of course, the most important thing is that these two foolishly tried to break through using the Internal Force and True Qi System, which is simply cutting off their own future!
"As expected, they are a small, insignificant family with insufficient foundation!"
With a cold laugh, Wheel-Turning King looked at Dugu Shang, whose face was filled with disbelief, with pity.
The hidden dangers of the Internal Force and True Qi System are known to any power that has been passed down for thousands of years. Therefore, even if they borrow from it, they will only integrate the most essential part, but in essence, they still mainly follow the path of Qi Refinement in the pre-Qin period.
The core Innate Qi of pre-Qin Qi Refinement can only be generated and nurtured when breaking through to the Grandmaster Realm. These two are now breaking through with internal force, which has severed this opportunity. Even if they abandon their cultivation and start over in the future, they will not have the chance to nurture Innate Qi.
Dugu Shang was somewhat puzzled by the Wheel-Turning King's pity, but he was in a bad mood and had no time to think about it. His old eyes were fixed on the three people fighting fiercely in the arena.
All three in the arena were quite exhausted and slightly out of breath. Even Zhu Ruoxue could only barely suppress the two, while Dugu Mo Dugu Ran, who had been suppressed the whole time, looked more and more frantic.
"This duel ends here. The winner is Zhu Ruoxue!"
Wang Hao suddenly announced the end of the battle. Upon hearing this, Zhu Ruoxue quickly withdrew from the battle, wiped the fine sweat from her fair forehead, and stood back beside Wang Hao.
" Sword God Senior, we can fight again!"
Dugu Ran and Dugu Mo were very unwilling to give up and wanted to fight Zhu Ruoxue again to win.
They have paid too high a price for this victory, and they must not give up halfway at this final moment.
"Hmph! Two grown men teaming up couldn't even defeat a woman whose cultivation level was two realms lower, and you two have the nerve to say you want to fight again?"
Wheel-Turning King snorted coldly in dissatisfaction, looking down on the two boys.
These two individuals would have been considered exceptionally talented in the past, perhaps even having the potential to reach the Half-step Innate Realm, but that's no longer the case in this era.
Now that the two of them have joined forces to break through to the Grandmaster Realm, they still cannot defeat Zhu Ruoxue, First-Rate cultivation. They are truly utterly useless.
These words made Dugu Ran and Dugu Mo blush, but they couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.
Because what they said was true. Even when the two grown men joined forces to attack a woman whose cultivation level was two levels lower than theirs, they couldn't gain the upper hand. The gap between them was simply too great.
With such a huge gap, how could they possibly compete for the opportunity to become Ximen Chuixue's disciple?
But they were still unwilling to give up!
That's just a lowly bastard, how did he become so strong?
"I believe the reason you failed was not due to a lack of ability, but because you gave up!"
Shaking his head slightly, Wang Hao revealed the most fundamental reason. Before the three Dugu Family could speak, he continued, "The main body of our overseas martial arts follows a path similar to that of the Qi Refinement of your Central Plains homeland in the Central Plains during the pre-Qin period. The core is Innate Qi. In order to achieve victory, you two used drugs to break through with internal force and achieve acquired Acquired True Qi."
The birth of Acquired True Qi will damage the body's primordial qi, making it impossible to cultivate Innate Qi for the rest of one's life, and naturally, one cannot inherit my Sword Dao."
Wang Hao glanced discreetly at a dilapidated courtyard wall, a slight smile playing on his lips, and continued his explanation, "I have heard of the name of your Dugu Family's ancestor, the Sword Demon, in the family records. His talent was unparalleled. If he hadn't chosen the dead-end path of cultivating the Internal Force and True Qi System, he would definitely have had a chance to break through to the Shattering Realm."
Unfortunately, even such an unparalleled genius ultimately failed on the dead end of the Internal Force and True Qi System. Otherwise, he wouldn't have stopped at the Peak Innate, only cultivating the potential of the Celestial Person Realm, but unable to truly step into the Celestial Person Realm.
After saying that, Wang Hao ignored Dugu Shang and the other two, turned around and walked outside. Wheel-Turning King, Xie Feng, Zhu Ruoxue and the others followed closely behind, leaving only the three of Dugu Shang with ashen faces.
"Pfft!"
Unable to withstand the blow, Dugu Shang immediately coughed up a mouthful of blood, and said with a bitter smile, "We were wrong, we were all wrong!"
They were really wrong!
Dugu Ran and Dugu Mo, standing beside them, were also dumbfounded, their hearts nearly breaking. They could barely accept being defeated by others, but this defeat was of their own making, and it had ruined their own future.
How could they possibly accept this?
What Dugu Shang and the other two did not know was that eight figures were hidden behind the other courtyard wall; they were the eight patriarchs of the Confucian School.
They had secretly crept over as soon as they learned that Wang Hao had emerged from seclusion, and they had secretly hidden to the side to try and eavesdrop on some secrets. And they did indeed overhear a secret.
"So the strange power that the Sword Demon possessed back then was the aura of the Celestial Person Realm?"
The Confucian School patriarch at the head of the group seemed to be deep in thought, as did the others.
They had all read in the classics the records of the great battle between the Sword Demon and their ancestor from the previous generation of the Confucian School, which highlighted a special power used by the Sword Demon.
It was precisely because of that special power that even the combined efforts of their Confucian School ancestors from the previous generation failed to secure a victory, and they could only manage a draw.
They didn't understand that power before, but now they know that it is the power of the Celestial Person Realm.
Upon realizing this, the eight men's eyes lit up, and their desire for the Celestial Person Realm grew even stronger.
If a mere half-finished Celestial Person Realm expert could fight to a draw with eight ancestors from the previous generation, one can hardly imagine how terrifying a true Celestial Person Realm expert must be.
The Confucian School absolutely must have this Celestial Person Realm!