Bang!
Just before their fists collided, a glimmer of appreciation flashed in Cao Qingyang’s eyes.
The sound of their fists meeting was crisp. Xu Qi An’s body tilted backward, seemingly about to fall when suddenly, the muscles in his waist and abdomen rippled like water. With an unnatural exertion of force, he pulled himself back upright.
Cao Qingyang retreated several steps, dissipating the force while shaking his aching arm.
On the periphery, the tense atmosphere suddenly froze.
Chu Yuanren and Li Miaochen, having avoided the blade energy, stopped in their tracks. They neither went to rescue nor counterattack, staring at Xu Qi An in astonishment.
No way…
Tianji and Tianshu were both shocked and angry. They stared intently at Xu Qi An, observing his every move and the subtle changes in his body.
An unbelievable thought surfaced in their minds.
The demon cultivators of the Earth Faction narrowed their eyes, glaring at Xu Qi An with malice. The Blue Lotus Daoist’s eyes flashed with a murderous glint as he sneered, “Cao Qingyang, how much longer are you going to play around?”
From their perspective as cultivators, it seemed that Cao Qingyang had once again shown mercy, deliberately holding back.
“That punch just now…”
The experts of the Martial Arts Alliance looked at each other in bewilderment.
As high-level martial artists, they had much more insight than the Earth Faction Daoists.
The impact of that punch, Guild Master Cao’s sudden retreat, and his continuous subtle movements to dissipate the force all confirmed that he wasn’t acting. He had genuinely been forced back by Xu Qi An’s punch.
Exhaling deeply, Xu Qi An suppressed the wild joy in his heart, not letting the elation show on his face. Maintaining his cool demeanor, he slowly said:
“I’ve reached the Fifth Realm!”
In truth, what he wanted to say was: I’ve become a Terrestrial Immortal!
However, even this statement caused a huge commotion among the “audience.”
He really had reached the Fifth Realm. He had mentioned earlier that he wanted to take this opportunity to advance to the Fifth Realm… Li Miaochen’s emotions were extremely complex. She was happy for him, yet also felt a sense of loss.
She was the Holy Maiden of the Heaven Faction. What did it mean to be a Holy Maiden? Among peers in the Heaven Faction, only the most outstanding in talent and potential could become the Holy Maiden.
The Heaven Faction’s status in the jianghu was lofty and looked up to by all. Every disciple of the Heaven Faction, when placed in the jianghu, was considered a heavenly chosen one.
Li Miaochen was the chosen one among the chosen ones.
At just over twenty years old, she had already reached the Fourth Realm. By the time she became a voluptuous begonia flower, what level would her cultivation reach?
The leader of the Heaven Faction had once said that this generation’s Holy Son and Holy Maiden had a great chance of advancing to the Third Realm, transcending the mortal realm.
Li Miaochen had been proud for twenty years until she met Xu Qi An. Suddenly, she realized that the talent she had been so proud of seemed merely decent in front of him.
“A prodigy, a true prodigy…”
Yang Cuixue said excitedly, her tone filled with admiration: “This old woman has seen countless talented youths, as numerous as fish crossing a river, but Constable Xu stands out among them. His talent is truly astounding.”
“Breaking through in the heat of battle, advancing to the Fifth Realm, Constable Xu is indeed extraordinary. The rumors in the jianghu that his talent is no less than the Northern Frontier King’s are not exaggerated,” Xiao Yuerou sighed.
With her face veiled, her expression couldn’t be seen, but her autumn-water-like eyes suddenly sparkled with starlight.
Joining the Night Watchmen at the end of the imperial examination year, he was then only at the peak of Qi Refinement. In less than a year, he had advanced from a top-tier Ninth Realm runner to a Fifth Realm force transformer…
Tianji and Tianshu, the two top-tier secret agents, couldn’t help but recall Xu Qi An’s profile in their minds.
This level of talent surpassed even Chu Yuanren’s.
When Chu Yuanren resigned from his official post to practice martial arts, he had already passed the most suitable age for martial arts training. No one thought he could achieve anything in the martial way.
But he had risen unexpectedly, slapping everyone in the face.
In just a few short years, he openly challenged a Fourth Realm Golden Gong, causing a huge sensation in the capital at the time. Wei Yuan praised him as the capital’s number-one swordsman.
The reason lay in this.
Xu Qi An’s talent was even stronger than Chu Yuanren’s.
If such a person wasn’t killed, he would surely become a great threat in the future.
Qiu Chanyou’s nose and eyes were red, her cheeks still wet with tears. At this moment, her small mouth was slightly open, lost in great shock.
“Thank you, Guild Master Cao, for your guidance,” Xu Qi An sincerely expressed his gratitude.
Cao Qingyang nodded and said, “Your Golden Body is at its last gasp. Without this protective divine technique, even though you’ve entered the Fifth Realm of force transformation, for me, it’s still just a matter of one punch. Surrender.”
Physical defense was the foundation of close-quarter combat for martial artists. Without a body of bronze and bones of iron, how could one withstand an opponent’s attacks?
Xu Qi An didn’t surrender. “How will we know if we don’t try?”
Cao Qingyang said gravely, “This time, I won’t hold back anymore.”
As his words faded, his body seemed to be torn apart by the wind, leaving only an afterimage. The purple-robed guild master flashed in front of Xu Qi An, throwing a straight punch at his face.
Xu Qi An’s figure dispersed, reappearing on Cao Qingyang’s left side.
“Has Guild Master Cao forgotten my unique skill?”
Xu Qi An engaged in close-quarters rapid strikes, his fists and palms creating resounding impacts on Cao Qingyang’s body.
He disappeared again, avoiding Cao Qingyang’s back attack, and reappeared on the other side of the purple-robed guild master, ready to launch another round of close-quarters rapid attacks.
But Cao Qingyang’s martial intuition was equally sharp. He reached back to grab Xu Qi An’s wrist while tilting his body, transforming himself into a collapsing stone pillar.
Xu Qi An withdrew his hand first, his fists alternating in strikes, pushing back this collapsing stone pillar.
Bang bang bang! Slap slap slap!
Relying solely on martial techniques, the two created a heart-stopping spectacle for the onlookers. Their moves were unceasing, without any openings, both fierce and violent.
If it were others of the same realm but from different systems, they would have been killed ten or eight times over in such intense hand-to-hand combat.
The spectators outside the arena were surprised to find that at some point, it was actually Constable Xu who was suppressing Guild Master Cao.
Constable Xu seemed to have the ability to foresee the future, always managing to avoid or intercept Guild Master Cao’s attacks first, then delivering a set of vicious strikes.
Although Guild Master Cao, relying on his indestructible physique, could to some extent ignore Constable Xu’s attacks, the fact that he was at a disadvantage was undeniable.
If this was Constable Xu at full strength, with his Golden Body Technique intact, Guild Master Cao might have been completely overwhelmed… Many couldn’t help but think.
At this moment, Xu Qi An’s face suddenly flushed red, his movements becoming sluggish. Such a huge opening couldn’t be ignored. Cao Qingyang seized the opportunity, landing a punch on Xu Qi An’s chest, making him stagger backward.
Then came a series of attacks without pause – a punch followed by a flying kick, then pulling back for a series of short punches, followed by elbow strikes and whip kicks, pulling back again for another set of powerful outputs.
Bang!
The golden light flickered violently, then completely dissipated.
The Golden Body Technique was broken.
Xu Qi An slapped Cao Qingyang’s chest with one palm, twisting his wrist so his palm faced upward, then sliding it up along the other’s hard chest to strike Cao Qingyang’s chin.
Thud thud thud… Guild Master Cao retreated several steps, feeling as if his jaw had nearly been dislocated.
Xu Qi An ended the contest, cupping his fists in salute: “I’ve lost.”
Just as everyone thought that Guild Master Cao was still superior in skill, they heard Cao Qingyang say:
“You’re injured. At your peak condition, I might not be your match.”
Did Guild Master Cao mean that in terms of pure martial arts, he couldn’t beat Xu Qi An?
Strange gazes fixed on Xu Qi An.
Just then, from the Cold Pool, the nine-colored lotus flower shot up a brilliant aurora that pierced the clouds.
After a few breaths, the aurora dissipated, and the nine-colored flower bud floating on the pool’s surface slowly unfurled, petal by petal.
Gazes shifted from Xu Qi An to the lotus flower. In an instant, countless people’s breathing quickened.
Suddenly, from between Blue Lotus Daoist’s eyebrows, a waterfall-like, massive amount of black mist gushed out.
The black mist condensed into a human form with blurred features. Seeming slow but fast, it rushed towards the Cold Pool and the nine-colored lotus flower before anyone could react.
The avatar of the Earth Faction’s leader had been hidden in Blue Lotus Daoist’s body all along, deceiving everyone.
He wanted to snatch the lotus flower with lightning speed, escaping quickly before that powerful expert who had appeared in Chu State could react.
Yes, from beginning to end, the Earth Faction’s leader believed that the mysterious strong person was hiding nearby.
Cao Qingyang’s hand formed a blade, slashing out a blade intent that easily cut through the black mist, but the mist quickly reunited, not sustaining any substantial damage.
By the pool, Golden Lotus Daoist, who had been sitting cross-legged with closed eyes, finally opened them.
“Black Lotus, I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”
As he spoke, Golden Lotus Daoist’s brow collapsed, like a black hole. A swirling vortex of energy appeared out of nowhere, sucking in the avatar of Black Lotus, the Earth Faction’s leader.
Golden Lotus Daoist immediately closed his eyes again, becoming as motionless as a stone statue.
He needed to fight the avatar of the Earth Faction’s leader on another battlefield.
Golden Lotus Daoist had resolved one threat but had also handed over the lotus flower to the Martial Arts Alliance.
The Lotus Daoists of the Earth Faction, the spies of Duke Huai, and various other forces all moved to seize the lotus seeds.
Faced with the threat of these “minions,” Cao Qingyang countered with a slash. His blade intent swept across the entire field.
“Puff…”
Everyone present, except for those at the Fourth Realm, spat blood under the sweep of the blade intent.
Only one person dared to stand in his way.
Cao Qingyang narrowed his eyes, staring at this young man who was pushing his luck, and said coldly:
“Constable Xu, our duel has ended. This time, I won’t show any mercy. I’ve given you all the face I could. From now on, even if I kill you with one slap, no one in the jianghu can say I’m wrong.”
Tianji and Tianshu, who were both shocked and angry, suddenly felt that the development of events was incredibly in line with their wishes when they saw this scene.
The two had been worrying about how to kill Xu Qi An, with the Yue Clan Villa protecting him and some self-proclaimed righteous people from the Martial Arts Alliance shielding him.
Suddenly, the situation took an unexpected turn.
Cao Qingyang was determined to obtain the nine-colored lotus flower. He had already conceded earlier, giving Xu Qi An enough face. Now it was Xu Qi An who wasn’t giving face, repeatedly obstructing him. Even if Cao Qingyang were to harm or even kill him, the outside world couldn’t say anything.
The disciples of the Tiandihuì grew anxious and shouted:
“Young Master Xu, you’ve already done your best. There’s no need to guard the lotus seeds anymore.”
“Young Master Xu, please step back quickly, step back!”
They truly felt it was enough. Constable Xu had already done his utmost, giving ten thousand percent effort. The Tiandihuì disciples even felt that compared to Constable Xu’s safety, the lotus seeds were no longer important.
Xu Qi An ignored them and looked at Cao Qingyang with a smile, saying, “It’s not that I want to obstruct you, but that someone else does.”
He reached into his bosom and pulled out a yellow protective talisman, igniting it with what little qi he had left.
He shouted, “Imperial Tutor, save me! I am Xu Qi An!”