Chapter 297: Chapter 297: Who is Master’s Favorite?

The Perfection effect of the Pure Yang Qi Skill—Pure Yang Piercing the Crown—activated!

Blood beads seeped from every pore, only to be absorbed an instant later by the golden threads of his Dragon Scale Armor, dyeing its scales a deep crimson.

In that instant, the heavy mace became a crimson rainbow as it smashed down.

Bai Zhi raised his sword to meet the blow, but the Divine Weapon was hammered into the shape of a bow, the body of the blade slamming into his own chest.

The crack of bone was clear, and his white robes were instantly dyed red with blood.

As Bai Zhi knelt, coughing up blood, the tip of Xu Yunfan’s mace came to a halt three inches from his brow.

Steam wreathed Xu Yunfan’s body. His aura continued to climb rapidly as he stood as immovable as a mountain.

You could hear a pin drop in the spectator stands.

At some point, Chu Cangming had risen to his feet, his expression one of utter shock.

Below, Lu Wuchen’s expression was grim. He had clearly seen the muscular changes in Xu Yunfan at the final moment—they were the distinct Blood Qi muscle patterns of the Nine Luminaries Swallowing Qi Technique.

’This kid came out of nowhere, yet he’s managed to forge so many top-tier Cultivation Techniques into one!’

"The winner is Xu Yunfan."

The voice of Cui Yu, the leader of the Punishment Hall, was as cold and hard as iron. But if one listened closely, they could detect a nearly imperceptible ripple in his otherwise placid tone.

His withered fingers unconsciously caressed the hilt of the longsword at his waist. Having sensed the clash of the two Divine Weapons on the arena stage, this long-dormant blade was now humming softly as Cui Yu soothed it.

In all his memory, this was the first time a Marrow Cleansing Realm Martial Artist had ever sent a tremor through him.

On the high platform overlooking the arena, a fine fissure split across the teacup of Daoist Purple Mirror, the Peak Leader of Liuyun Peak, with a soft CRACK.

This old master, who had once shaken the world with his Celestial Net Profound Nether Sword Technique, was now staring intently at Xu Yunfan’s right arm. The Pure Yang True Qi was slowly receding, and upon the corded muscles beneath, he could faintly make out the unique Blood Qi fluctuation characteristic of the Jiuyao Sect’s secret Nine Luminaries Swallowing Qi Technique.

Even further away, the duster held by the Peak Leader of Jade Balance Peak stirred without a wind, its three thousand silver threads standing ramrod straight as if facing a formidable enemy.

A soft chuckle from the high platform suddenly broke the dead silence.

"A fine ’Ten Thousand Laws Melting Furnace’ indeed, to have mastered the Ultimate Skills of so many different houses."

Vice Sect Leader Shen Wuya clapped his hands in admiration, his eyes flashing with a sharp light from beneath his long, snow-white brows.

This expert—the only person to have escaped unscathed from Bi Yuan’s sword during the Qingwei Hall incident—pressed five deep finger marks into the back of his chair. "This boy’s ruthlessness, changing his tactics mid-fight... it reminds me of a certain someone’s valiant stand against the Thirty-Six Peaks thirty years ago."

As he spoke, he glanced sideways at Bi Yuan, his eyes narrowed, making it impossible to discern his thoughts.

Bi Yuan heard this and clapped his hands, laughing heartily. He boomed, completely unconcerned.

"The boy certainly has a bit of my flair from back in the day."

He could see more clearly than anyone that Xu Yunfan’s final Dragon Raising Its Head was not a move recorded in the Eight Desolates Dragon Fall Mace Technique.

At the exact moment Bai Zhi’s Sword Momentum was about to break, the boy had relied on pure muscle memory, forcefully twisting at the waist and hips to incorporate the force-generation technique of the Mountain-Collapse Form from the Thousand-Pound Mountain-Shaking Hammer Technique.

When facing a powerful enemy, he didn’t blindly rely on some sublime Martial Arts. Instead, he used a move that was already an instinct, one he had mastered to Perfection.

This fighting style, driven by near-bestial instinct, could turn the mundane into the miraculous. It was something that could never be achieved through ordinary, arduous training!

This was talent!

The disciples below the stage were in an uproar.

Lu Wuchen had already slipped away to the edge of the crowd and departed without a word.

"A monster!"

The snow began to fall harder, but Xu Yunfan only felt his blood burn hotter.

He stared at his hands. That last-second, brilliant maneuver felt as though his body had reacted before his mind. In a daze, he thought he could hear a resonance like a dragon’s roar echoing from the depths of his marrow...

Feeling this, Xu Yunfan looked down at his Red Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace. The heavy mace was humming softly, as if in response to the roiling Blood Qi in his body.

The Red Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace in Xu Yunfan’s palm began to hum joyfully. Its dark red patterns swirled as if alive, and it began to actively draw in and expel his boiling Pure Yang True Qi. After just one cycle, the returning Pure Yang True Qi was visibly more powerful.

This rebellious Divine Weapon usually required the brute force of the Marrow Cleansing Realm to be suppressed. Yet now, it was as docile as a spirit hound acknowledging its master. The pulsations from the mace’s shaft even began to synchronize with Xu Yunfan’s heartbeat.

Xu Yunfan couldn’t help but laugh. "You snob," he chided the mace. "To think you’d finally submit to me today."

He flicked a finger against the mace’s edge, producing a clear, ringing tone like a dragon’s cry. "Now you know who the real True Dragon is, huh?"

Meanwhile, the roiling Blood Qi around him hadn’t diminished from the fierce battle. On the contrary, as his Yijing Marrow Cleansing Skill circulated and his Golden Marrow breathed in the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, it only grew brighter.

Below the stage, six Daoist Children of the Organ Cultivation Realm stared as Bai Zhi was carried away. The sternum of Liuyun Peak’s top True Inheritor was completely shattered, and his Frost Sword had cracks melted into it by the Pure Yang True Qi.

The gruesome sight made their sword hands break out in a cold sweat. What will to fight could they possibly have left?

Cui Yu’s Judge’s Pen struck the Bronze Chime for a third time. The clear ring, like a stone dropped into a cold pool, spread in ripples over the Martial Arts Arena.

The Punishment Hall leader’s graying hair and beard stirred without a wind, and a sharp light flashed in his cloudy eyes. "Are there any other True Inheritors from the Thirty-Six Peaks who wish to take the stage?"

The wave of sound carried the might of a Ninth Realm Grandmaster, sweeping across the entire arena and shaking the snow from the pine branches in a cascade.

The disciples of the Thirty-Six Peaks bowed their heads like a field of wheat in the wind. Even the few Daoist Children from the Organ Cultivation Realm subconsciously took half a step back.

Just as the echo began to fade, a sword cry like a dragon’s roar erupted from the northeast corner of the Martial Arts Arena.

Chu Cangming’s longsword transformed into a black rainbow arcing through the air. The moment its tip plunged into the center of the arena stage, the entire platform seemed to tremble.

The instant the black rainbow streaked across the sky, the expressions of the three Ninth Realm Grandmasters on the high platform shifted subtly.

A sharp glint flashed in Bi Yuan’s eyes. He stared at Chu Cangming’s unyielding back, finally shaking his head with a slight sigh. "Cangming, that boy..."

Shen Wuya raised an eyebrow. He was well aware that Chu Cangming was Bi Yuan’s disciple—and his chief True Inheritor at that.

He couldn’t help but chuckle.

"The chief disciple against the de facto second. If that Xu Yunfan wins..."

Shen Wuya turned to Bi Yuan, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "Sect Leader Bi, will you be shuffling the rankings then?"

Bi Yuan said coolly, "This is no concern of Vice Sect Leader Shen."

The disciples of the Thirty-Six Peaks around the arena surged back like a tide, giving the stage a wide berth of thirty feet.

On the stage, Xu Yunfan was also surprised. ’I really didn’t expect Chu Cangming to challenge one of his own.’

Before he could speak, Chu Cangming said coolly, "Junior Brother Xu, do you know why I’ve taken the stage?"

Xu Yunfan raised an eyebrow, a teasing smile on his face. "Senior Brother, surely you didn’t come up here to fight over who’s Master’s favorite, did you?"

After all, in his time at the Taoist Sect, the resources he’d been given had already far exceeded those of the chief True Disciple.

The corner of Chu Cangming’s eye twitched. Xu Yunfan’s words had completely ruined the atmosphere. His expression remained unchanged as he said, "Master has not yet designated the Daoist Child. It is my duty to strive with all my might."

Xu Yunfan said, "Then please, enlighten me, Senior Brother."