Chapter 176 - 89: Spirit Core Perfection, Cloud Sea White Whale

Chapter 176: Chapter 89: Spirit Core Perfection, Cloud Sea White Whale

BOOM!

The sudden appearance of Yun Shengjie from Zi’s Daoist School and the overwhelming aura erupting from Jiang Xuan created a standoff that affected the rest of the battlefield.

The Cultivators from the Chen Daoist School and the students from the Yin Daoist School, all locked in a life-or-death struggle, turned to stare in astonishment at Jiang Xuan and Yun Shengjie.

Clearly, none of them had expected such a twist in the trial.

No, that wasn’t quite right. Someone had anticipated this.

"Hahaha, well said! So what if they’re from Zi’s Daoist School? It’s not like they’ve never lost before. I’ve been building up my strength this whole time just to take them on!"

The one laughing with such wild abandon was, of course, Chen Qianjun of the Yin Daoist School.

With the top combatants of the Rooster Daoist School drawn away by Jiang Xuan, and the reinforcements they’d hired now at loggerheads with him, the man publicly acknowledged as number one in the three-school joint exam finally dropped his disguise.

WHOOSH...!

A savage and ancient blood-red Battle Banner materialized above his head, unfurling to flap loudly in the wind. Bathed in its sanguine glow, Chen Qianjun’s wounds began to heal at a rate visible to the naked eye. His depleted Blood Qi was also being continuously replenished by the banner.

In the blink of an eye, he went from being severely injured and weak back to his absolute peak.

Even his nearby teammates began to recover rapidly under the influence of the blood-red Battle Banner.

The sight caused the color to drain from Qin Feng’s face.

But Chen Qianjun completely ignored his terror. His gaze shifted, locking onto a figure beside Fang Xiao. His voice was cold, as if he could see through all deception.

"Stop hiding. With an aura like yours, you can’t possibly be a nobody in the Chen Daoist School. So tell me, which one from Zi’s Daoist School are you?"

At these words, the Cultivator beside Fang Xiao removed the Magical Artifact concealing their appearance.

What made Chen Qianjun raise an eyebrow, however, was that the person revealed was not a man, but a graceful young woman in a simple, elegant green dress.

As she revealed herself, the young woman shook her head. "Sorry to disappoint you. I’m not from Zi’s Daoist School. My name is Xu Tang, and for now, you can consider me a Cultivator of the Chen Daoist School."

Chen Qianjun sneered at her words.

"The Si Daoist School. The Xu Family. I’ve heard your name before. You’re here for that Treasure Level Treasure, aren’t you?"

Hearing this, Xu Tang didn’t bother to deny it. She wasn’t the least bit embarrassed, simply nodding in frank admission.

"What can I say? A Treasure Level Treasure is too tempting. Besides, the Sect permits transfers, and my name is officially on the Chen Daoist School’s roster now." After saying this, she even smiled at Chen Qianjun. "When you put that thing up as a prize, you should have been prepared to be ganged up on."

"I was. So, is there anyone else?" Chen Qianjun glanced around, his expression haughty. "You alone are no match for me."

"No one else." With that, Xu Tang turned toward the tense standoff between Jiang Xuan and Yun Shengjie, her voice ringing out with a proposal.

"Brothers, we have a powerful enemy before us. Why don’t we set aside our grievances for now, team up to eliminate Chen Qianjun, and then settle our own dispute?"

Rationally speaking, the weak uniting to fight the strong was the best strategy.

Unfortunately, Yun Shengjie was an incredibly arrogant man.

Hailing from the Daozi Courtyard, he considered his status superior to any Cultivator from the Lower Courts. Moreover, he was still enraged by Jiang Xuan. With fury blazing in his heart, he had no intention of stopping the fight to form an alliance.

"Team up? Heh, ridiculous. Chen Qianjun might be a strong opponent for you, but not for me. After I kill this arrogant bastard, I’ll make sure that other one knows his place too. For all his swaggering about as a king in the Lower Courts, he’s nothing in the Daozi Courtyard."

He refused, and so did Jiang Xuan—though if it had been a moment sooner, Jiang Xuan might have been more cautious.

But just a few breaths ago, the one hundred and eight acupoints of his First Spirit Core had finally reached Perfection, refined by the automatically circulating Nine Breath Qi Ingestion Technique.

Although Jiang Xuan had only opened a few more acupoints compared to the day before, by shoring up this final weakness, his Flesh Body had become whole.

In the later stages of cultivation, one’s capacity is like a wooden bucket: the amount of water it can hold is determined by the shortest plank, not the longest.

By patching that final hole, the enhancement to Jiang Xuan’s Flesh Body wasn’t a mere few percentage points. It was a complete metamorphosis, more than doubling his power.

And that was just the baseline enhancement.

On top of that, he had awakened a Divine Power Seed that was a perfect fit for him.

With the dual boons of his strengthened Flesh Body and new Divine Power, not to mention a Nether Abyss Dharma Eye he could now partially unleash, Jiang Xuan had all the confidence he needed to sweep aside his peers and crush any opposition. A man like that no longer needed to rely on caution or strategy.

’Strategy? Wisdom? My super brain is telling me it’s time to solve everything with super strength.’

"No need. If I’m going to take first place, I should have the strength to reach the top on my own."

Their refusal made Xu Tang sigh, a faint trace of frustration flickering across her features.

"I knew it would be like this. All you geniuses have outstanding Talent, but you’re also arrogant to the bone."

Despite her words, her expression didn’t show any despair, only mild frustration.

Clearly, she had some trump cards of her own to have dared enter this contest.

But Jiang Xuan was no longer paying her any mind.

Following the refusal, Yun Shengjie could no longer restrain himself. With the Magical Artifact, the Canglang Cloud Sea Flute, in hand, he unleashed his Technique—the Cloud Heaven Cyan Dragon Patrol Song.