44: The Poseidon Grand Competition? No, it's a bodybuilding competition!

Inside the giant arena at the Star City Central Square, which was large enough to hold a hundred thousand people, a sea of people had gathered, and the clamor reached the heavens.

Today was the opening day of the Sea God Tournament, a decennial grand event of the Chaotic Star Sea. It was a crucial moment for major Sects to showcase their foundations, divide resources, and even determine the power rankings for the next decade. Countless Cultivators had rushed from all directions just to witness this Peak confrontation in the cultivation world.

On the rostrum, several Nascent Soul Stage Old Ancestors from top Sects sat amidst the clouds, surrounded by Auspicious Beasts and the sounds of immortal music. They chatted and laughed, commenting on the young talents of each Sect with an air of immortal elegance.

"Look to the east! That's the Heavenly Sword Sect's team!"

A Loose Cultivator pointed at the sky and exclaimed, "They are treading on flowing cloud Flying Swords, each dressed in robes as white as snow. Their sleeves flutter in the wind, and the spirit swords on their backs reflect a chilling light under the sun. Their Sword Qi reaches the heavens, like a group of sword immortals about to achieve Ascension. They are truly role models for our generation!"

"To the west are the Fairies of the Myriad Sound Sect! In their pink silk skirts, lotuses bloom with every step, and illusory colorful butterflies dance around them. So beautiful! If I could win the favor of one Fairy, I would be willing to lose ten years of my life!"

Bursts of warm cheers and screams erupted from the audience. The atmosphere was lively and harmonious, filled with the ethereal and otherworldly grace unique to the cultivation world.

However, just as everyone was immersed in this immortal atmosphere...

A dull and rhythmic series of terrifying footsteps, sounding like the march of giant beasts from an ancient battlefield, abruptly echoed from the square's entrance.

Thump! — Thump! — Thump!

Each heavy thud felt like a giant hammer striking everyone's heart, heavy and rhythmic. The Water Mirror technique screens suspended in mid-air to project the match were trembling violently, sending ripples through the images. Even the spiritual tea in the cups of the Cultivators in the audience splashed out.

The entire venue fell silent instantly. The cheering stopped abruptly as everyone turned their heads in confusion toward the entrance.

In the next second, countless people gaped, their eyes nearly popping out. They even wondered if they were under an illusion or if they had walked onto the wrong set and ended up in a primitive tribe.

A team with an extremely bizarre art style, completely out of place with the surrounding immortal atmosphere, marched in with an arrogant, swaggering gait.

It was a group of entirely bald, burly men, numbering at least a hundred. They were bare-chested, wearing only tight-fitting beast-skin shorts, revealing muscles so exaggerated they were hair-raising.

Every muscle looked like it was carved from granite, with sharp edges and veins coiling like hornless dragons. Even more ridiculous was that they were covered in shiny oil (rumored to be Gu Yang's specially made "Sunscreen Tanning Oil"). Under the midday sun, they reflected a piercing golden light that nearly blinded everyone.

Each of them carried strange "Magical Artifacts" on their shoulders—some carried massive stone locks, some held the thigh bones of unknown Yao Beasts, and some even carried half-broken stone tablets.

As they walked, they struck various narcissistic bodybuilding poses to show off their muscles: side bicep, back lat spread, crab pose... and they shouted rhythmic, deafening slogans:

"One, two! Heave-ho! One, two! Get stronger!"

Leading them was none other than Gu Yang.

Today, he had specially changed into an even flashier crimson dragon hide shorts. His bare upper body shimmered with a glazed golden luster, and every muscle seemed to contain the power of a nuclear explosion, perfectly interpreting what "violent aesthetics" meant. He held a giant flag with seven glittering golden words written in wild cursive:

**[Giant Spirit Fitness Club]**

"Wha... what Sect is this?"

"So... so greasy! My eyes! My Dao Heart is damaged!"

"Scandalous! It's simply an insult to refined culture! They've thrown away all the dignity of Cultivators!"

Many female Cultivators blushed and covered their eyes, but their fingers were spread wide as they peeked at those masculine bodies, their hearts racing for some reason.

Gu Yang didn't care about the strange looks from the surroundings; he even felt it was an endorsement of his aesthetics.

He leaped and jumped directly onto the highest arena stage. His heavy body landed with a thud that made the arena's protective shield hum. He snatched the amplification Magical Artifact from the host and shouted loudly:

"Dear audience members! Are you still troubled by physical weakness and being one-shotted in close combat? Are you still worried about your Flying Swords being too brittle and breaking at the slightest touch?"

"Giant Spirit Fitness Club makes you a real man!"

"No Spiritual Qi needed, no Magic Treasures needed. As long as you're willing to train, your fists are the ultimate truth!"

"Sign up now on-site and get a free jar of 'Giant Spirit Muscle Growth Powder'! Twenty percent off personal training for the first month! Limited slots available, first come first served!"

"Kick them off! Hurry and kick these lunatics off!"

The referee presiding over the tournament (a Heavenly Sword Sect Elder) roared with a dark face, his beard twitching with rage. How did a perfectly good cultivation tournament turn into a marketplace sales pitch?

But under the threat of Gu Yang's 'kind' gaze and his pot-sized fists, the referee eventually held his nose and let them participate. After all, nobody wanted to be hit by that stone tablet that looked like it could crush someone to death.

The competition officially began.

In the first match, the Heavenly Sword Sect True Disciple "Floating Cloud Sword" Zhao Wuji (Foundation Establishment Late Stage Peak) faced off against the Giant Spirit Sect's eldest Disciple "Iron Bull" (formerly a death-row prisoner in the slave fighting pits, now trained by Gu Yang into a human tank with a Foundation Establishment Perfection Physical Body).

"I am Zhao Wuji of the Heavenly Sword Sect. Please advise!"

Zhao Wuji's white robes fluttered as he gracefully flourished his sword. Several sharp streaks of green Sword Qi whistled out, weaving into a dense sword net in the air, aiming directly at Iron Bull's vital points.

This Sword Qi was incredibly sharp, part of the Heavenly Sword Sect's ultimate technique, the "Floating Cloud Sword Manual." Even a piece of refined iron would be instantly sliced into powder.

However, Iron Bull on the opposite side didn't dodge at all.

He took a deep breath, and his muscles instantly tightened like iron. A bronze luster surfaced on his skin, and one could even see his membranes vibrating slightly, emitting a metallic low hum.

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

Dense sounds of clashing metal rang out, with sparks flying everywhere as if in a blacksmith's shop.

The Sword Qi, capable of cutting gold and jade, struck Iron Bull's body but only left a few shallow white marks. It didn't even break the skin!

"What?!" Zhao Wuji was stunned, nearly losing his grip on his sword. The audience was also shocked, and the entire venue fell silent.

He didn't even open a protective spiritual shield? He tanked the Sword Qi with his pure Physical Body? Is he even human?

"That's it? Just an itch for me?"

Iron Bull grinned, revealing a mouth of yellow teeth. He suddenly struck an extremely embarrassing "Hercules Cup" pose, showing off his mountain-like biceps and even provocatively twitching his pectoral muscles twice.

"Since you haven't eaten, it's my turn!"

"Ora ora ora!"

Iron Bull strode forward, the ground cracking under his feet as he charged like an out-of-control tank.

Zhao Wuji hurriedly controlled his sword to block, trying to pull away.

But it was already too late.

Bang!

Iron Bull threw a simple, unadorned straight punch, the wind from the punch even creating a sonic boom.

The High Grade Magical Artifact Flying Sword in Zhao Wuji's hand instantly bent ninety degrees. Immediately after, he and his sword were sent flying, drawing a beautiful parabola in the air before finally hitting with a "splat" and becoming embedded three inches deep into the protection Formation at the edge of the arena, so stuck he couldn't be pulled out.

The entire venue was dead silent.

Everyone gaped, their jaws dropping to the floor.

"Wha... what kind of fighting style is this?"

"A Foundation Establishment Late Stage Sword Cultivator couldn't even break his defense? Just how hard is that Physical Body?"

"A one-punch kill? Is this really a Cultivator? This is a freaking human-shaped Yao Beast!"

The next few matches completely turned into a personal show for the Giant Spirit Sect.

No matter if the opponent used fire, lightning, or poison, this group of muscular men followed one rule: tank it!

Once they withstood the attack, it was a brutal beating.

The arena was littered with thrown Magical Artifacts and weeping Cultivators. What was originally an elegant tournament of fluttering immortals and clashing Spells had been forcefully turned into a brawling convention by these muscle-heads.

Gu Yang sat in the contestant's seat, munching on spiritual melon seeds while nodding in satisfaction. He said to the Old Blacksmith beside him:

"Not bad, not bad. It seems the special training was effective. These boys' skin and flesh are getting tougher. I'll reward each of them with ten pounds of Yao Beast meat later."

Just then, a Killing Intent-filled, cold gaze as sharp as a physical substance pierced through the noisy crowd and locked onto Gu Yang's waist.

In the VIP seats at the highest part of the stands.

A woman in a light blue palace dress, wearing an exquisite dragon horn hair accessory, with a beautiful yet heroic face, was staring fixedly at the crystal-clear belt around Gu Yang's waist that emitted a faint red light.

She was the Third Princess of the East Sea Dragon Palace—Ao Li. She was here to observe the ceremony on behalf of the Dragon Palace. Her status was so high that even Nascent Soul Ancestors had to show her some respect.

"That aura... there's no mistake!"

Ao Li's delicate nose wrinkled slightly as she took a deep breath, as if identifying a familiar Bloodline scent in the air. Her eyes instantly turned red, filled with tears and fury.

"That's... Cousin Ao Lie's aura!"

"Cousin Ao Lie was banished to the mortal realm a hundred years ago for peeping at the Peacock Princess bathing. Since then, there has been no news of him. My father sent people to search for a long time without success... To think, his dragon tendon was actually extracted and made into a belt?!"

Although that cousin was an ignorant scoundrel and a nuisance in the Dragon Palace, he was still of the Dragon Clan! He was her own cousin!

Extracting dragon tendons and skinning dragon hides was the greatest insult to the Dragon Clan!

Even more so, it was a provocation to the East Sea Dragon Palace!

"Unforgivable! Absolutely unforgivable!"

Ao Li slammed the table and stood up, the top-quality spiritual wood table in front of her instantly shattering. A terrifying deep-blue demonic power surged from her (Late Golden Core Stage Peak), and the surrounding air instantly became humid and heavy.

"That bald guy! Give me your life!"

Boom!

A water-blue dragon-shaped ripple crashed down from the stands, carrying the weight of ten thousand tons of seawater, aiming straight for Gu Yang's head.

Gu Yang was just about to sell his "Giant Spirit Muscle Growth Powder" to a dazed female Cultivator nearby when he suddenly felt a chill down his spine and his hair stood on end.

"Hmm? Killing Intent?"

He reacted extremely fast. Without even turning his head, he reached back and grabbed.

Snap!

That dragon-shaped ripple, which was enough to heavily injure a Golden Core Cultivator, was actually caught directly in his glazed red-gold hand and then crushed with a light squeeze!

Water splashed everywhere, but Gu Yang remained bone-dry (because the high temperature of his body surface evaporated the water instantly).

Gu Yang looked up at the blue-clothed beauty descending from the sky, her robes fluttering but her face full of Killing Intent, looking completely bewildered.

He scratched his bald head and asked in confusion:

"Beautiful, are you also here to buy a course? Don't start a fight if you're not buying; I'm very expensive."