"Ten days, the longest anyone has ever lasted in a spiritual source baptism is twelve days!"

"Even among other top-tier forces, the maximum time for a spiritual source baptism is about the same."

"No wonder this guy was able to beat Hu."

"All we can do now is wait. I figure it’ll be another two days before we have a winner."

...

The crowd once again turned their eyes to the jade platform, all full of amazement.

The number ten alone was enough to make them feel intimidated!

"Yu, congrats on your breakthrough."

Shi Haoting walked over to Stone Jade and whispered his congratulations.

Stone Jade glanced at Shi Haoting and frowned slightly, "And you?"

Other than her, Shi Haoting was the one in the Shi Family with the greatest talent and potential at the Myriad Phenomena Realm.

This time, Shi Haoting was uncharacteristically serious, his face solemn as he said, "In about three months, I should be able to make my breakthrough."

Stone Jade’s eyes lit up at his words.

But Shi Haoting’s next statement made Stone Jade’s pupils shrink.

"After the spiritual source baptism ends, I plan to go out with Mr. Xu for a bit."

Shi Haoting grinned, "The challenges Mr. Xu faces are no joke. Who knows, maybe I’ll gain even more from the excitement."

This was downright shocking to Stone Jade.

Shi Hu beat him up every day and never managed to make him change this much—what the hell happened all of a sudden...

Could it be because of Xu Yang?

"Fine by me." Stone Jade nodded firmly.

"Yu, I’ve got this weird feeling about Shi Hu this time." Shi Haoting stared at Shi Hu, frowning.

"You’re damn right!"

Stone Jade squinted her eyes, letting out a cold laugh, "He got his hands on a Heaven Origin Spirit Mark while he was out and used it."

"A Heaven Origin Spirit Mark? Holy shit!"

"That bastard’s playing dirty!"

Shi Haoting blurted out.

"Not exactly," Stone Jade replied, "Sure, he used the Heaven Origin Spirit Mark, but honestly, Xu Yang is a hell of a lot stronger than him."

"But this is Mr. Xu’s first time experiencing spiritual source impact!" Shi Haoting muttered, sounding disgruntled.

"Whose side are you on, Shi Family or Xu Family?" Stone Jade glared at Shi Haoting.

"Ahem, obviously Shi Family!"

Shi Haoting gave an awkward laugh.

He didn’t really care about anything else, he just wanted to see Shi Hu’s pained expression after losing the Cyan Flame Boat.

Just thinking about it was pure bliss!

Time slipped quietly by.

In a blink, it was already the twelfth day.

At that moment, the two figures overhead trembled constantly under the surging spiritual source.

Clearly, they were both close to their limit.

Then, all of a sudden.

Shi Hu let out a muffled groan, stumbling off the jade platform in a miserable heap.

Just before he hit the ground, he swayed, finally landing solidly. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Shi Hu’s aura was turbulent, roiling for a moment before gradually settling down.

Above his body, his spirit mark appeared, crisp and clear.

Two feet, five inches!

"Damn, Hu actually raised his spirit mark by a full six inches!"

"Two feet, five inches spirit mark—he’s practically at the peak of True Monarch Realm."

"Plus, Hu’s spirit mark is even stronger than most at the same level!"

"Wait, Hu’s the first to come down..."

Gasps echoed everywhere.

Shi Hu’s expression instantly darkened.

"How can this be?"

He stared up disbelief at the figure still holding on above, eyes full of astonishment.

That guy’s his first time enduring this, how the hell is he lasting so long?

"Hu, haha, you used a Heaven Origin Spirit Mark and you still can’t beat Mr. Xu," Shi Haoting muttered beside him, unable to resist.

This time Shi Hu flat out ignored Shi Haoting, glaring at Xu Yang, unable to accept what had happened.

In reality.

Xu Yang was at his absolute limit too by now.

But with the boost of the Celestial Divine Heaven and the stabilizing power of the Celestial Refining Divine Tripod, he could keep going a little longer.

Not only that, but the Celestial Refining Divine Tripod was actively absorbing spiritual source!

This was the kind of golden opportunity you couldn’t buy—he’d store it inside the tripod first, then slowly refine it later.

So, the thirteenth day, the fourteenth day, all the way to the fifteenth day.

The spiritual source slowly faded away.

Below the cliff, dead silence.

Everyone was stunned.

Fifteen days!

He lasted all the way until the spiritual source baptism ended!

"What the hell kind of freak is this?"

Shi Hu was even paler than a ghost.

When he’d just come down, he figured Xu Yang could last for maybe half a day or one more day at best.

Never expected him to go three more days!

On top of the jade platform.

Xu Yang slowly opened his eyes.

"Don’t mind me saying—this is one heck of a boost!"

Feeling the transformation inside, Xu Yang could barely keep the grin off his face.

Reborn from the inside out!

He’d already gone through a rebirth when he broke through to the True Monarch stage.

And this one came just a short time after, another round!

His whole power level jumped by leaps and bounds!

As for his spirit mark...

Xu Yang looked carefully—then his face turned dark.

"One foot, nine inches..."

"His spirit mark’s just one foot, nine inches—what the hell?"

"It used to be one foot, five inches, and after all that, only four inches more?"

"Damn it, are you kidding me?"

The crowd saw the spirit mark and instantly went nuts, looking like they’d seen a ghost.

If it were them up there, would fifteen days really net only that tiny increase?

Listening to the chatter below, Xu Yang shook his head and sighed softly.

No way, Heaven Locking is just too damn strong!

He was starting to have a hunch about where all these strange opportunities came from.

Most likely, it wasn’t an inheritance from the Spirit Dao!

Otherwise, there’s no way it’d be this hard to get stronger!

Just think about it, the Battle King Clan is a top power with thousands of years of legacy—the Battle King’s battle will is off the charts, right at the top.

And even then, Shi Hu lasted twelve days and managed to boost his spirit mark by six whole inches!

If he’d gone another three days, he’d probably hit seven inches!

But Xu Yang’s spirit mark—only four inches up!

The contrast was clear as day.

"But... does that count as a win or a loss?"

"When did that guy come down, anyway?"

Xu Yang looked down at Shi Hu, then leapt down himself.

"So who’s the winner?"

Shi Haoting honestly had no idea how to judge this.

Right then, Shi Feng and the others dropped down from the sky.

The Grand Elder glanced at the pair, then said in a deep voice, "I’ve heard about your wager. Xu Yang lasted fifteen days, Shi Hu lasted twelve. On that front, Xu Yang wins."

"But in spirit mark growth, Xu Yang got four inches, Shi Hu got six—so Shi Hu takes that round."

"Why not call it a draw?"

He smiled warmly.

To his mind, a draw was the perfect way out.

No hard feelings!

No need for blood and thunder over this.

Shi Hu took a deep breath, forced a wry smile, "Guess it’s a draw, then."

Not what he’d hoped for, but at least he wouldn’t lose the Cyan Flame Boat—he could live with it!

Xu Yang just nodded, indifferent.

Though inside, he was a bit disappointed!

"Hold up."

Shi Feng suddenly spoke up.

Everyone looked over, curious.

Shi Feng smirked, teasing, "No need to settle for a draw. Before you went up, Xu Yang’s spirit mark was one foot, five inches. Shi Hu’s was one foot, nine inches!"

"The strength of spirit mark growth isn’t just in the size; neither of you use your own power, just clash your spirit marks and whoever’s stronger is the winner."

Everyone instantly realized, eyes wide.

Yeah!

That’s totally fair.

No one could find fault with that!

They’d started out with a four-inch gap, and now it was two inches.

But just like Shi Feng said—if the other guy’s spirit mark is special, you absolutely can’t judge by size alone!

Just clash spirit marks; strongest wins!

"I’m in!" Xu Yang said with a small smile.

Shi Hu suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

He genuinely hadn’t considered this before. After all, sure Xu Yang was good, but he came from Daqian and had beef with Can Sutian—even with some inheritance, how could he compare?

But thinking it over now, his gut suddenly lurched.

What if?

Fifteen days—it doesn’t make sense to improve so little.

Still, even if his spirit mark is weird, I’ve got a full six inches on him!

No way I’m losing!

Shi Hu perked up, stared at Xu Yang, flashed a cocky grin, "Let’s do this!"

Whoosh—whoosh!

The two of them summoned their spirit marks: one foot, nine inches versus two feet, five inches!

All around, people held their breath, staring without blinking, scared to miss even a single detail.