Chapter 120: Chapter 118: Battling the 2nd on the Celestial Pride List

"Your goal is far too obvious."

Su Qing didn’t quite know what to say.

’This guy is clearly after my Ten Thousand Tribulations Divine Body.’

"Yes, my goal is obvious. I want to befriend you, a possessor of the Ten Thousand Tribulations Divine Body."

"With my talent, I will definitely reach the Nascent Soul Realm, barring any accidents!"

"So, I want to be your friend. I don’t care what it costs, as long as you help me just once!" Cyan Flame Heaven was very direct, and also very confident.

"Hahaha, that’s not out of the question." Su Qing was no stick-in-the-mud.

Help him once. Su Qing knew what this guy wanted.

He also knew what kind of Cultivation Technique the Ten Thousand Tribulations Divine Body was.

It feared no Thunder Tribulation.

So, this guy wanted Su Qing’s help to withstand his Thunder Tribulation.

What did Su Qing have to fear? Not with the power of his Synthesizer.

Helping someone pass their Thunder Tribulation was a simple matter for him.

"As for what I want in return, I don’t have anything in mind right now. And this deliberate forfeit doesn’t count."

Su Qing wouldn’t accept such a thing. For a favor to be owed, the other party had to accept it first.

’Just a moment ago, I was planning on summoning the Blade of Wholeness and using the Nine Swords Demon Shadow and Geng Metal Demon Sword Intent to finish him in one move.’

"Of course. I don’t really care about the Sect’s reward anyway," Cyan Flame Heaven said with a smiling nod.

At the very least, he had earned Su Qing’s goodwill. In the future, when he needed to ask for a favor, the conversation would be much easier.

The Ten Thousand Tribulations Divine Body was extremely difficult to master.

After all, it required Crossing the Tribulation.

"Match 5, Su Qing wins."

"Contestants for Match 6, to the stage."

"..."

Su Qing left the stage. This time, he hadn’t consumed any Magical Power at all.

This meant he didn’t need to recover his Magical Power either.

Soon, the winners and losers were decided.

During the drawing of lots, Su Qing got a close look at Bai Jiangxue. She was indeed a beauty, just a little too tall.

Her expression was also a bit icy.

Her pupils were green, like a touch of verdant life blooming in the snow. They were full of vitality, and Su Qing found them somewhat appealing.

But he had no desire to possess her; his was purely an aesthetic appreciation.

If they ended up facing each other, Su Qing certainly wouldn’t hold back.

Soon, it was Su Qing’s turn to draw.

Number 2.

The first match was Bai Jiangxue against a Demon Cultivator from the Foundation Establishment Realm who was ranked somewhere in the twenties on the Celestial Pride List.

The second match.

It was Su Qing’s turn.

"The True Disciple of Cold Extremity Peak, Su Qing."

"Ranked thirteenth on the Celestial Pride List, Si Bailiu." Si Bailiu wore a green robe, his hair hanging loose. He looked at Su Qing with a gaze of faint indifference and contempt.

He felt that Su Qing had only made it to this round of the competition through sheer luck and connections.

Cyan Flame Heaven had clearly thrown the previous match against Su Qing on purpose.

But now that he was facing Si Bailiu, things would be different.

The two bowed to each other. As he did, his opponent unleashed a burst of aura characteristic of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

"Alright, you may begin."

Si Bailiu shot into the air. He knew Su Qing’s Physique was powerful and that even a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator would have a hard time, so flying into the sky would make it easier to wear Su Qing down.

In an instant, Si Bailiu was already more than ten meters in the air. A stream of water transformed into an Ice Arrow and shot forward.

In that same instant.

Su Qing summoned his Blade of Wholeness.

The Nine Swords Demon Shadow, the Geng Metal Demon Sword Intent, and the Meaning of the True Flame of the Great Sun on the Blade of Wholeness all erupted at once.

Nine sword shadows reached Si Bailiu in a flash. The Ice Arrow had already been obliterated by Su Qing’s terrifying assault.

The Sword Intent, which Su Qing had nurtured for several years, exploded with its rightful, terrifying might. A grim Demonic Qi, infused with Sword Qi, enveloped the sky above the arena.

More than half the sky was blotted out.

By the time Si Bailiu realized something was wrong, it was too late. His True Essence could hardly resist the corrosion of the Sword Intent and the Meaning of the True Flame of the Great Sun.

The terrifying attack, a fusion of light and dark, of crimson flames and grim cold, instantly stunned the entire audience.

And then—

"Stop!"

"Su Qing wins!"

With a single hand, the Steward Elder unleashed a torrent of Magical Power, forming a massive palm that suppressed all of Su Qing’s attacks.

Si Bailiu, who had been caught in the assault, was in a miserable state.

He was merely at the Fifth-Layer Foundation Establishment and couldn’t possibly withstand the terrifying power of Su Qing’s Magical Treasure and his chilling Swordsmanship.

The Meaning of the True Flame of the Great Sun emanating from the Magical Treasure was even more frightening.

His body was covered in sword gashes and burn marks.

Even his hair had been singed into a curly frizz, with only a little left.

Seeing these injuries, even Ouyang Mingming on the platform was shocked, gripping the armrest of her Elder’s seat.

’The power of that Magical Treasure... that Sword Intent...’

"Hahaha!"

’I really picked the right disciple!’ Ouyang Mingming laughed inwardly, but her beautiful face remained perfectly calm, as if she were pretending she’d known all along just how powerful her disciple was.

"He’s fighting above his level!"

"That’s what it means to fight above one’s level! The gap between a True Disciple and the rest of us is just that huge."

"It’s too terrifying."

Many in the audience began to feel a sense of dread. They hadn’t expected that the Su Qing they’d seen before hadn’t been displaying his true strength.

Not until they saw the nine sword shadows and the Magical Treasure in the sky.

They had been too shortsighted.

Su Qing cupped his hands in a salute and left the stage, where disciples from the Holy Pill Hall were attending to the severely injured Si Bailiu.

Su Qing ignored the clamor from the crowd.

His current strength was far, far greater; he just didn’t want to show it all.

As a dignified cultivator in the Acupoint Realm, or at the very least, the Pseudo Third Realm, why would Su Qing care about the noise from below?

Su Qing knew his own worth.

’Fighting above my level?’

’My current level is probably even higher than Si Bailiu’s.’

This was the quarterfinals, the round of eight advancing to four.

It was over quickly.

Next up were the semifinals, four advancing to two.

If any of the contestants were dissatisfied with the top ten rankings, they could issue a challenge.

After all, the rewards for each of the top ten spots were completely different, getting progressively better with each rank.

The first-place winner would get to enter the true Inheritance Book Pavilion and choose one Technique.

There were also a number of Spirit Fruits and Treasure Materials.

Su Qing had to fight for it.

After a short wait, the matches were over.

Su Qing drew his lot.

Number 1.

There were only two numbers to draw.

Su Qing went up on stage.

"Bai Jiangxue."

"Su Qing!"

The two gave each other a brief, formal salute.

"Begin."

The Steward Elder said softly.

A sword shadow flashed past.

An icy chill instantly swept across the entire arena. If not for the Elders’ intervention, even the area outside the hundred-meter stage would have been affected.

’So cold!’

Su Qing’s breath turned to mist as he exhaled.

It was a probing exchange.

Surprisingly, Su Qing’s Swordsmanship wasn’t as effective as usual.

"Nine Heavens Cold Ice."

Without another word, Bai Jiangxue summoned a fierce, cold wind, and a huge block of ice condensed from Magical Power appeared in the middle of it.

BANG!

The ice exploded, and its shards shot forward like cannonballs.

"True Meaning of the True Flame of the Great Sun!" Su Qing’s Blade of Wholeness instantly shattered into a thousand tiny fragments.

Each fragment radiated the searing aura of the True Flame.

After blocking Bai Jiangxue’s attack,

"Five Elements Tribulation Thunder Seal."

A Soul Attack shot out from between his eyebrows.

Bai Jiangxue had already taken notice of Su Qing’s Five Elements Tribulation Thunder Seal. Her green eyes slowly began to turn white.

"Ice Cold Realm."

The surroundings were already frigid, but the Ice Cold Realm instantly plunged Su Qing into an environment so cold it chilled his very soul.

Su Qing felt as if a Divine Being stood behind her.

It was staring coldly at him.

But the Five Elements Tribulation Thunder Seal still struck.

It caused her to tremble violently, but she blocked it.

"Thousand Frost Cold Wind."

"Concentrating Finger."

An Immortal Dao Killing Technique and a Soul Killing Technique appeared at the same time.

The cold on the stage began to spread to the surroundings.

At the same time, Bai Jiangxue vanished from sight.

The cold was bone-chilling, and Su Qing was surrounded by a wind that scraped painfully against his skin.

He couldn’t even open his eyes, and his entire body ached from the scraping wind. One could only imagine what an absurdly powerful Magic this was.

An ordinary Cultivator would have likely been turned into an ice sculpture long ago.

Su Qing was struck by the Concentrating Finger. The image of the Visualization Map in his mind trembled a few times before settling down.

’I blocked it.’ ’That was close,’ Su Qing thought. ’Soul Attacks are truly difficult to defend against and almost impossible to dodge.’

"Five Thunders Technique, Departing Fire Thunder!"

Su Qing didn’t want to drag this out any longer.

’If you want to play, let’s play for keeps.’

He consumed ten percent of the Five Elements Divine Origin Qi in his body.

The sky turned pitch-black.

"RUMBLE!"

...