In Cyan Moon City, Jiang Jichen's crippled Spirit Cultivation and the four beauties who broke off their engagements with him had long been the biggest jokes and topics of gossip. It was a story almost everyone knew.
Even so, he switched to Body Refining and remained undefeated. In fact, he became even more dominant and overbearing. No one could challenge his status as the number one young expert in Cyan Moon City.
"That little bastard switched to the Body Refining Dao and is still this strong... But the Dao of Body Refining is broken. He'll never amount to anything in the end."
In the distance, Granny Liu couldn't help but sigh.
Princess Qing Ling, who was beside her, breathed a sigh of relief and retorted bluntly, "That's not necessarily true. The man I have my eye on is not someone you old, dim-sighted folks can possibly see through."
Granny Liu did not get angry at Princess Qing Ling's sarcastic words. Instead, she said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, "The little bastard's combat power is indeed beyond my expectations. But so many young experts have gathered here. Their years of practice and Realm Cultivation are far superior to his. No matter how strong he is, I refuse to believe he can defeat all the young experts of Cyan Moon City by himself!"
Hearing Granny Liu's words, the relief Princess Qing Ling had just felt vanished, replaced instantly by anxiety. In the end, all she could do was curse hatefully, "Shameless!"
Further away, Lü Yinghao wore an ugly expression. The defeat of those three had cost him a great deal of face, and the loss of two thousand First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills made his heart ache.
"What a bunch of trash. They can't even take care of a cripple. Do I, this Young Master, have to act personally?!"
Lü Yinghao cursed angrily. He couldn't care less whether those three lived or died; he only cared about the result.
He took a step forward, directly using the Spirit Cultivation Step Technique to cross several meters and stand face-to-face with Jiang Jichen.
"Jiang Jichen, what's there to be arrogant about after beating a few losers? I'll be the one to defeat you!"
Lü Yinghao shouted coldly, ready to strike.
Jiang Jichen's expression and posture didn't change. He didn't even look at Lü Yinghao, as if ignoring his very presence. He just said faintly, "Fighting me is no problem, but it seems you've forgotten something?"
"What might that be?"
Being so blatantly ignored by Jiang Jichen, Lü Yinghao was on the verge of exploding. Suppressed fury laced his voice.
"Two thousand First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills. Of course, you can use something else of equal value as collateral. A Mid-Level Storage Bag, for instance."
Jiang Jichen smiled faintly. Having just acquired two thousand First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills had put him in a much better mood.
What he lacked most right now were cultivation Spirit Pills. The resources required by both the Undying Scripture and the Ancient Source Character Scripture were unimaginable—a true bottomless pit.
Two thousand First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills might be enough for other Mortal Warrior Cultivators to reach the Ninth Level Mortal Realm, but for Jiang Jichen, it was merely a drop in the bucket.
"First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills are just Low Level Spirit Pills. Only lowly people like you would treat them as treasures. Here are two Second-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills. They're more than enough to cover those two thousand First-Grade ones!"
Lü Yinghao took out two crystalline pills that glowed with a faint Spiritual Light and announced arrogantly.
Seeing the two Second-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills, the crowd couldn't help but gasp.
A Second-Grade pill was worth a thousand First-Grade ones. The exchange rate was common knowledge, and they were often priceless because you couldn't find them on the market. However, when they remembered that Jiang Jichen had put up a Mid-Level Storage Bag as collateral, it didn't seem so hard to accept.
Jiang Jichen's eyes lit up. "Hand them over!"
As he spoke, he took a step and lunged forward, intending to take the Second-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills.
Second-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills were essential Spirit Pills for Spirit Cultivators trying to break through to the Innate Realm, as well as for cultivating below the Innate Ninth Realm.
The Cultivation Techniques Jiang Jichen practiced were simply too heaven-defying. The Undying Scripture was one of the three great Ancient Scriptures, and the Ancient Source Character Scripture was even more profound. Therefore, even though he was only in the Mortal Realm or Body Warrior Realm, he could easily refine Second-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills.
Other Cultivators, however, could only barely manage to refine them after reaching the Eighth-Grade Mortal Warrior Realm. Take Lü Yinghao, for example. He didn't lack Second-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills, but even with his father's help, he had only managed to refine half a pill. The other half was still sealed inside his body. If he could completely refine the rest, he would be able to advance to the Eighth Level Great Perfection Mortal Realm.
Seeing Jiang Jichen attack so proactively and powerfully, Lü Yinghao was startled, and his mind went blank for a moment.
But he was a Late-stage Eighth-level Mortal after all. He executed his Spirit Cultivation Step Technique and gracefully dodged aside.
However, Jiang Jichen's attack stuck to him like a shadow. For a moment, he found he couldn't get away.
'A Body Refiner has such a fast Body Technique?'
A look of astonishment flashed in the eyes of Murong Hee, Shen Yuqing, and the others on the side.
"It's pure physical strength, without the slightest fluctuation of Spiritual Power. If the Dao of Body Refining weren't broken, Jiang Jichen would definitely be a body refining genius."
Someone sighed. To think that after his Spirit Cultivation was crippled, Jiang Jichen became even stronger by embarking on the Body Refining Dao. He seemed to have an aura of invincibility.
"If he reaches the Ninth-level Body Refiner Realm, I'm afraid he'll be unrivaled below the Innate Realm!"
Such a thought even surfaced in some people's minds.
Lü Yinghao, being in the thick of it, felt it most profoundly. Jiang Jichen's speed was not the least bit slower than his, and in close quarters, a Spirit Cultivator was bound to be at a disadvantage against a Body Refiner.
"Jiang Jichen, if you think you can fight me up close, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed!"
As he spoke, Lü Yinghao flicked his wrist. A talisman paper exploded, transforming into a curtain of light that blocked his front.
PUFF!
Jiang Jichen slammed a fist into the curtain of light formed by the talisman paper. The immense Fist Power shattered it, but his advance was momentarily halted. Lü Yinghao seized the opportunity to drift over five meters away, putting distance between himself and Jiang Jichen.
The Light Wall Talisman, despite being the lowest-level defensive Spirit Talisman, was a rare trump card for Cultivators in the Mortal Realm. In a fight against peers, it could play a crucial role.
After shattering the light curtain, Jiang Jichen looked at Lü Yinghao calmly and said, "And what does that change?"
His aura was immense and his dominance, unrivaled. Jiang Jichen continued to step forward, raising his fist to attack.
In the autumn wind, the only thing that seemed to exist was the silhouette of the young man striking like a tyrannosaurus.
When had Lü Yinghao ever been so disdained? Being forced to use a Light Wall Talisman was already a great humiliation. If he continued to just run away, his very dao heart would likely be shaken.
"Jiang Jichen, you cripple! Just die for me!"
After creating some distance, Lü Yinghao stopped evading and faced Jiang Jichen head-on.
He pushed his Spirit Vein to its absolute limit. Eight pale-cyan Spiritual Power Lines coiled unceasingly between his palms, emitting a faint cyan glow that illuminated the area.
"Such profound Spiritual Power! It's actually glowing and illuminating a ten-foot area! Lü Yinghao must be deliberately suppressing his Realm to refine his Spiritual Power. Otherwise, he could have already broken through to the Eighth Level Great Perfection Mortal Realm."
Seeing Lü Yinghao's outburst, the crowd exclaimed in amazement.
At that moment, Lü Yinghao raised his palm and repeatedly struck out at Jiang Jichen from a distance. In an instant, several pale-cyan Palm Seals, like floating azure clouds, drifted through the air toward Jiang Jichen.
"Thirteen Shocks of Clouds!"
Lü Yinghao bellowed, striking out thirteen times in succession. Thirteen pale-cyan Palm Seals drifted toward Jiang Jichen from different angles.
They were like floating clouds, their movements erratic and their trajectories impossible to predict.
This was one of the Lü Family's signature skills. For Lü Yinghao to have cultivated it to the Qingyun Floating Sky Realm as a Late-stage Eighth-level Mortal was already extraordinary.
According to rumor, the Grand Chancellor had already cultivated the Thirteen Shocks of Clouds to the realm of "Unfixed Floating Clouds, Freely Scattering." With a single palm strike, the very mountains and rivers would pale, the entire area filled with unpredictable, drifting Palm Seals, making it impossible to defend against.
Right now, Lü Yinghao could only conjure thirteen of these floating cloud Palm Seals even by striking thirteen times with all his might. But for a Cultivator in the Mortal Realm, this was already a powerful and terrifying Killing Technique.
"The Thirteen Shocks of Clouds is the Grand Chancellor's ultimate technique. If even we were to face it, our only option would be to first avoid its cutting edge."
Murong Hee lamented.
Shen Yuqing nodded. "Indeed. It looks like Jiang Jichen is going to lose!"
Although Jiang Jichen's performance had been astonishingly dominant, seeing Lü Yinghao use his family's signature technique, they believed that Jiang Jichen, who couldn't use Spiritual Power, had no choice but to fail.
In the arena, Jiang Jichen faced the thirteen incoming floating cloud Palm Seals with no intention of retreating. Instead, he continued to stride forward toward Lü Yinghao. As he moved, he executed the Seven Stars Sky-Breaking Fist, relentlessly striking at the Palm Seals drifting toward him.
If Ouyang Xue had been here, she would have surely noticed that the Seven Stars Sky-Breaking Fist Jiang Jichen was using this time was vastly different from when he fought Murong Qingshu.
When fighting Murong Qingshu, his Fist Power had been fierce and domineering, his aura like that of an azure dragon emerging from the sea.
Now, although the moves were still from the Seven Stars Sky-Breaking Fist, the nature of his fists had changed. They were a blend of hard and soft, like the mingling of fire and water. His Fist Power was both continuous and forceful.
For a Cultivator at the Mortal Realm, the trajectory of the floating cloud Palm Seals was profound and impossible to predict. But for Jiang Jichen, who possessed a powerful Spiritual Sense, this was naturally not a problem.
As the floating cloud Palm Seals drifted in, Jiang Jichen could always instantly discern their trajectory and then use the soft power of the Seven Stars Sky-Breaking Fist to knock them aside.
He threw a total of thirteen punches, batting away all thirteen floating cloud Palm Seals. By then, Jiang Jichen had already strode to within one meter of Lü Yinghao.
"How is this possible? You... How did you do that?"
Though it takes time to describe, everything had happened in an instant. When Jiang Jichen appeared right in front of him, Lü Yinghao was so shocked that he cried out involuntarily.
At that moment, a sense of unease bloomed in his heart. The fact that his opponent could pass through his floating cloud Palm Seal blockade completely unscathed was far beyond his imagination. This was simply not the kind of combat power a Junior Cultivator who had just started on the Body Refining Dao should possess.
"If you want to do it, you do it. Victory and defeat need no reason!"
Jiang Jichen said faintly, then flashed forward and slammed a fist into Lü Yinghao's stomach.
WHAP!
Lü Yinghao was sent flying several meters away. An unbearable pain radiated from his stomach, and his Spiritual Power was scattered, making it impossible to gather.
Jiang Jichen flashed forward again and snatched the Second-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills. Without a second glance at Lü Yinghao, who was curled up on the ground like a shrimp, he swept his gaze coolly over Murong Hee, Shen Yuqing, and the others. "Anyone else?"
In that instant, everyone was stunned. Some were so intimidated by his aura that they took a step back!
A youth, unrivaled. This was it...