143: Chapter 143 This king can lead you all to sweep the top three!

Xia Jin leapt directly out of the pit, landing steadily on the edge. He looked at the still-desolate surroundings, the corners of his mouth curling upward slightly.

"Plans? Hmph! Since I have participated in this Temple assessment, my goal is naturally not just to simply survive these three days."

Xia Jin stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at the two people with immense confidence.

The Grey-robed Swordsman and Venerable Miaodi exchanged a glance, both seeing a trace of shock in the other's eyes.

Venerable Miaodi jumped up, looked at Xia Jin, pressed his palms together, and asked earnestly, "Amitabha. It seems Benefactor Xia has grand designs. If this old monk is not mistaken, Benefactor Xia wants… to rank in the top three of the assessment, right?"

"No, old monk, you are wrong!" Xia Jin sneered, his eyes filled with dominance. "What is the top three? If I am to do it, I will be the number one!"

"Number one?!"

Even though Venerable Miaodi had cultivated his heart for many years and his inner peace was as still as an ancient well, he was shaken by Xia Jin's words! Meanwhile, several sword marks appeared on the ground beneath the Grey-robed Swordsman's feet the moment Xia Jin said those words.

They were very clear that in this ancient battlefield, experts from the seven continents were as numerous as ox hair. The Eastern Profound Continent was originally at the bottom, and this time, only the three of them were participating.

Merely surviving for three days was already difficult, yet Xia Jin actually wanted to take the top spot?

To put it nicely, this was confidence; to put it bluntly, it was arrogance!

Seeing the shock on their faces and the doubt flashing in their eyes, Xia Jin sneered, completely unconcerned. "Does this surprise you so much? If you two are willing to cooperate with me fully, perhaps… not only can I take that first place, but it is not entirely impossible for you two to also rank in the top three, with the three of us sweeping the top three spots."

"You say… we can sweep the top three?" The Grey-robed Swordsman frowned, then shook his head.

He did not believe these words.

"You don't believe it? Then you can wait and see the final result."

Unlike the Grey-robed Swordsman's skepticism, Venerable Miaodi remained silent for a moment, Buddhist light faintly circulating in his eyes as if he were weighing the options.

A moment later, he looked up and smiled at Xia Jin. "Amitabha. Benefactor Xia has amazing spirit; this old monk… is willing to accompany you in giving it a try."

"Venerable, are you serious?" The Grey-robed Swordsman looked at Venerable Miaodi, who was actually willing to believe Xia Jin, and immediately looked at him with suspicion.

But then he saw Venerable Miaodi nod at him. After hesitating for a moment, he also looked at Xia Jin. "Fine! Since the Venerable dares to gamble, how can I shrink back? This top three… I will fight for it with you!"

"Rest assured, in the future, you will be glad that you made the right decision today!" A meaningful smile appeared on Xia Jin's face. "In that case, for what comes next, I may have to temporarily wrong you both… by having you serve as bait."

"Bait?" The Grey-robed Swordsman raised an eyebrow.

"Correct." Xia Jin nodded and said no more. He closed his eyes slightly, and his Divine Sense spread rapidly in all directions!

A moment later, Xia Jin opened his eyes abruptly, a sharp light flashing in them. "Alright, our first target has appeared. Northeast, about a hundred miles away… let's go!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he glanced at the two of them and immediately transformed into a streak of light, rushing out.

"Then let's go too!"

"Right!"

Venerable Miaodi and the Grey-robed Swordsman exchanged a glance and followed closely behind.

A hundred miles was reached in an instant for cultivators of their level. However, the closer they got to the direction Xia Jin pointed, the more the three of them felt something strange.

The pressure falling on them seemed to be getting stronger and stronger; they even left deep footprints on the path they walked.

"The force field in this place is not right!" The Grey-robed Swordsman frowned. The rusty sword he was carrying seemed to feel the pressure too, emitting a hum.

"Caution is paramount. This old monk can feel that thing is not simple…" A faint Buddhist light appeared on Venerable Miaodi's body, resisting the omnipresent pressure.

Only Xia Jin remained unchanged, his gaze fixed intently ahead.

In the Void Realm ahead, a nearly transparent, slug-like creature seemed to have sensed the aura of Xia Jin and the others, and its slowly wriggling body suddenly stopped.

Its pair of glass-like eyes landed on the three of them.

An invisible ripple instantly swept over the three of them!

"Not good!" Venerable Miaodi's expression changed. "Be careful! This ripple is targeting our Divine Soul!"

The warning had just left his lips when a powerful impact hit them.

"Hum!"

The Grey-robed Swordsman let out a muffled groan, feeling everything go black before his eyes. When he opened them again, he was shocked to see that his Divine Soul had already left his Physical Body.

On the other side, Venerable Miaodi's Divine Soul had also been forced out of his Sea of Consciousness by this impact.

Only Xia Jin's figure swayed slightly; a Sun Mark faintly appeared on his forehead, and he forcefully withstood this wave of Divine Soul impact.

"This is the first time I've seen these two guys' Divine Souls!" Xia Jin observed the Divine Souls above Venerable Miaodi and the other with interest.

The Grey-robed Swordsman's Divine Soul was like him, radiating sharp Sword Intent throughout its body, and it was also holding a small, one-foot-long sword in its arms.

Venerable Miaodi's Divine Soul had a touch of the true Buddhist flavor, and the Buddhist light emitted by the Eight-Grade Golden Lotus Platform beneath it could unintentionally dissolve the baleful Qi in others' bodies.

Seeing the manifested Divine Souls of the two, the slug-like creature's glass-colored eyes seemed to rotate.

Immediately, it suddenly opened its large mouth, and a white beam of light shot directly towards the Divine Souls of Venerable Miaodi and the Grey-robed Swordsman!

"Evil creature!" Venerable Miaodi shouted sternly. The Eight-Grade Golden Lotus Platform beneath his three-foot Divine Soul shone brightly, and layers of Buddhist light transformed into a semi-circular light shield, protecting all three of them.

However, when the transparent beam of light struck the Buddhist light shield, Venerable Miaodi's expression became somewhat ugly.

The golden light of the lotus platform beneath his Divine Soul began to slowly dim.

"Attack quickly! This old monk… can only hold on for five breaths at most!" He glanced at the Grey-robed Swordsman beside him, a trace of anxiety flashing in his eyes.

"Five breaths? Enough!" A fierce look flashed in the eyes of the Grey-robed Swordsman's Divine Soul, and the one-foot small sword in the Divine Soul's hand erupted with blinding brilliance.

"Slash!"

A thin strand of Sword Qi flew out from his hand. During its flight, it continuously grew larger and larger. By the time it slashed onto the slug's body, this Sword Qi had grown to several dozen meters!

However, the scene that followed left the Grey-robed Swordsman and the other dumbfounded.

The Sword Qi targeting the Divine Soul slashed onto the slug's body, but it was like a clay ox entering the sea!

Although the opponent's thick body indented inward and was almost pierced through by the Sword Qi, a vortex suddenly appeared on the surface of its skin. With a flicker, the Sword Qi was forcibly absorbed.

"How is this possible? This guy's body can actually absorb my Sword Qi!?" The Grey-robed Swordsman's expression was as ugly as if he had eaten rat feces.

"Let me handle it."

Xia Jin glanced at the two of them and walked directly forward.

A Sun Mark slowly appeared on his forehead.

The next moment, his figure suddenly disappeared.

Three Feet to the Horizon!!

When he reappeared, he was already above the slug's head.

Looking down from above, Xia Jin's eyes were cold, and he struck down with his palm without hesitation.

A terrifying white flame erupted directly from his palm, instantly covering the massive slug completely.

"Wuu!"

The slug-like creature let out a sharp screech for the first time. Its nearly intangible body seemed to have met its nemesis.

In just two or three breaths, it completely vanished into nothingness within the white flames.

Xia Jin landed gracefully, the Sun Mark on his forehead slowly fading away, his aura as steady as before. He glanced at the place where the flames had dissipated and sneered, "Didn't expect that, did you? My white flame doesn't just target the Physical Body; it also targets the Divine Soul."

With the death of the slug-like creature, the binding force targeting their Divine Souls also vanished.

Venerable Miaodi and the Grey-robed Swordsman's Divine Souls immediately returned to their Physical Bodies. They exchanged a glance, and then looked at Xia Jin with eyes full of shock.

Strong, too strong!

This kind of method seemed… simply not on the same level as theirs!

It seemed that what Xia Jin had said earlier about "sweeping the top three" was, in their hearts at this moment, no longer just bragging, but had gained an extra layer of conviction.

Just then, dozens of firefly-like light spots drifted out from the place where the slug creature had dissipated, all pouring into the token at Xia Jin's waist.

The surface of the token flashed with a faint light, and the original number '0' on it suddenly changed to '15'.