147: Defeating the enemy in one move

Yang Dan scanned the woman in red, feeling a bit of pity. After thinking for a moment, he spoke up to warn her, "I advise you to surrender early. I'm not one who likes to show no mercy to a beautiful woman."

In the past several Heavenly Selection Grand Ceremonies, the Cultivators of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion always held the top spot on the rankings. This time, however, they were pushed down to third place by that man named Long Lie and the group from the Dao Seeking Sect.

For Yang Zhou, the Holy Son of Tianji Pavilion, this was undoubtedly a disgrace.

When he heard that his opponent for the first round was from the Dao Seeking Sect, he felt a bit of joy. It was the perfect chance to show these onlookers what a true Prodigy was.

But he hadn't expected that the one stepping onto the stage wouldn't be one of those three men, but rather this woman of extraordinary beauty.

This made him very frustrated.

Xiao Lingxian's expression was cold as she said, "Let's begin. It's hard to say who will win or lose."

Yang Dan sighed softly, "Good advice is hard to give to a ghost bent on dying!"

As he finished speaking, his sleeves fluttered, and ripples of Spiritual Qi surged around him like spreading waves. Three Water Arrows formed from Spiritual Qi shot out from his palms, heading straight for Xiao Lingxian's face.

Xiao Lingxian's expression remained cold. Facing the incoming Water Arrows, she shifted her steps, her body moving as lightly as willow catkins to avoid them.

Pale golden flames quietly ignited around her body, and the faint cry of a Phoenix could be heard within the fire as a wave of scorching heat instantly spread out.

Yang Dan saw his first wave of attacks easily evaded, and a flash of impatience crossed his eyes; he immediately increased his spiritual power output.

He formed hand seals, and the water ripples in front of him converged into a massive Water Shield. Then, the shield split into dozens of small Water Blades, raining down upon Xiao Lingxian.

"I'd like to see just how long you can keep dodging!"

But at the very moment the Water Blades were about to touch Xiao Lingxian, the golden flames around her suddenly surged, transforming into the phantom of a Fire Phoenix with its wings spread.

The Fire Phoenix flapped its wings, and golden flames poured out like a torrent. At the moment of collision with the Water Blades, a "sizzling" sound erupted; the Water Blades were all evaporated by the flames, leaving not even a trace of water vapor.

Before Yang Dan could react, an indescribable, scorching power instantly surged through his entire body.

The Fire Phoenix swept past, and Yang Dan was sent flying off the Arena Stage like a broken kite, crashing to the ground as blood slowly leaked from the corner of his mouth.

"How... how is this possible?"

Xiao Lingxian's cold voice drifted over, "You lost!"

Not only was Yang Dan stunned by this scene, but even the Cultivators preparing to watch the battle were dumbfounded.

What on earth? A Golden Core Cultivator fighting a Foundation Establishment, only to be knocked off the Arena Stage in a single move?

Coming back to his senses, Yang Dan felt incredibly aggrieved. He had lost because he underestimated the Dao Seeking Sect. He had thought his opponent was just an ordinary Foundation Establishment Eighth Layer Cultivator and intended to deal with her casually.

But he hadn't expected her Divine Ability to be so profound. Before he could even resist, he had already been sent flying off the Arena Stage.

Many of the methods at his disposal hadn't been used at all, and he hadn't even used a single earth-rank magic treasure!

After a moment of silence, the surroundings erupted into earth-shattering laughter.

"Is this Holy Son of Tianji Pavilion here to be a joke? A dignified Golden Core Realm, yet he was defeated by someone in the Foundation Establishment across Realms. Even if he lost, to be defeated in a single move—that's just too pathetic."

"To think I was looking forward to this for so long. If I'd known it would be like this, I would've been better off watching the Profound Moon Palace's match."

"At this rate, the Dao Seeking Sect is definitely going to win the Heavenly Selection Grand Ceremony. Just as well, I'll get to go to the Profound Realm and see what it's like."

The other two Saints of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion had faces as dark as water. They glanced at the returning Yang Dan and cursed in low voices.

"Useless trash. You've thrown away all the Sect's face."

Yang Dan's lips parted slightly, but in the end, he couldn't say anything. That Divine Ability from before was simply too mysterious, causing him to accidentally fail in such a humiliating way.

Mu Wanqing's eyes were full of smiles as she looked at her Junior Sister and praised, "As expected of my Junior Sister, defeating that Holy Son of Tianji Pavilion in a single move."

"Actually, it's mainly because that man was too arrogant, and I took advantage of that. Otherwise, even if I could win, it certainly wouldn't have been this easy," Xiao Lingxian explained with a faint smile on her cold face.

Just as the two were talking, a voice rang out again!

Arena Stage Two: Xie Xingchen of the Dao Seeking Sect versus Feng Chenxiao, the Saint of the Myriad Manifestations Holy Land.

"It's another Dao Seeking Sect match. I have to watch closely this time."

"That one from the Myriad Manifestations Holy Land is said to already be at the Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer and has even mastered the Diamond Indestructible Body. I wonder if he can withstand one move from the Dao Seeking Sect."

"I wonder where this Dao Seeking Sect actually is? If they win this match too, I'm going straight to their mountain gate to seek discipleship."

On Arena Stage Two, the sturdily built Feng Chenxiao was already waiting.

"Good luck, Junior Brother!" Mu Wanqing encouraged him.

Xie Xingchen smiled slightly and responded with a proper attitude, "Thank you, Eldest Senior Sister. I will certainly do my best."

As he spoke, Xie Xingchen's toes lightly tapped the bluestone, and his figure arrived on the Arena Stage.

Feng Chenxiao glanced at the man who looked somewhat like a frail scholar and praised with a friendly smile, "As expected of a Fellow Daoist from the Dao Seeking Sect, you truly have an extraordinary bearing."

"During the match in a moment, I hope you'll show some mercy and look after me a bit."

While he spoke, he was circulating the Spiritual Qi within his body.

Xie Xingchen responded warmly, "You flatter me, Fellow Daoist..."

Before he could finish, a figure abruptly vanished. A right hand suddenly formed a claw, striking directly at Xie Xingchen's throat as if intending to take his life in a single move.

Fortunately, Xie Xingchen had long heard of the deeds of this Saint of the Myriad Manifestations Holy Land and had been on guard from the start.

A wooden sword, emerald green throughout, appeared out of thin air in his hand, held horizontally to block the claw.

"Clang!"

The sound of clashing metal was deafening, and sparks exploded between the two.

Feng Chenxiao's strike missed, and a look of pity appeared on his face. "Why must you put up such a pointless resistance, Fellow Daoist? If I landed that move, you wouldn't have felt a thing, and the match would be over."

His smile remained unchanged as his body suddenly expanded by half an inch. His skin took on a dark golden luster, and his muscles knotted like the roots of an old tree.

This was the manifestation of the Diamond Indestructible Body at Major Achievement!

Even if he stood still, a powerhouse below the Golden Core—even if they bombarded him with techniques for the time it takes an incense stick to burn—would find it difficult to harm him in the slightest.

Immediately after, Feng Chenxiao secretly channeled spiritual power through his feet. His body suddenly shifted sideways, and his left fist, carrying a fierce wind, smashed toward Xie Xingchen's waist. The dark golden luster on his fist intensified, clearly intending to use his Diamond Indestructible Body for a direct clash.

Xie Xingchen's eyes suddenly narrowed. The Emerald Green Wooden Sword in his hand traced three arcs, and the stardust-like glow on the blade suddenly surged, transforming into three cold streaks of Sword Qi that sliced toward Feng Chenxiao's fist like meteors chasing the moon.

This Sword Qi carried the chilling cold of the stars, leaving faint silvery-white trails as it cut through the air.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Three crisp sounds rang out in quick succession as sparks exploded between the fist and the sword.

Feng Chenxiao only felt a wave of numbness in his fist, but he hadn't suffered the slightest injury. He sneered, "A grain of rice daring to compete with the sun and moon?"

Before his voice had even faded, his right fist followed immediately. The momentum of the punch was even fiercer than before, letting out a whistling sound as it broke through the air, heading straight for Xie Xingchen's face.