Chapter 757 - One Punch

The Heretic Blade drew a crimson arc in mid-air when it left the scabbard. The charging Fire Demonic Bull froze midway, killed with one strike. Though the Heretic Blade wasn’t an origin artifact, it was comparable to one.

With a loud rumble, the Fire Demonic Bull collapsed to the ground. Liu Wuxie had successfully killed it and retrieved the reward of one hundred high-grade spirit stones.

His second challenge would be another profound beast if there were no surprises.

Fiery hopped out from Liu Wuxie’s clothes and began to tear the Fire Demonic Bull’s abdomen with its sharp claws, retrieving a crimson beast core. It didn’t hesitate to bite it, producing a crunching sound. It wasn’t long before the fist-sized beast core was completely devoured.

After finishing its meal, Fiery burrowed back into Liu Wuxie’s clothes to sleep.

Meanwhile, Liu Xing was excited as he stood at the betting station. The victory in the first challenge had doubled Liu Wuxie’s wager of ten thousand to twenty thousand high-grade spirit stones. Even Liu Xing’s wager had doubled and risen to ten thousand. He didn’t hesitate to go all in on Liu Wuxie again.

Liu Wuxie’s killing of the Fire Demonic Bull with one strike left a deep impression on the spectators. Aside from Liu Wuxie, challengers were present in the first, ninth, and fifteenth arenas. However, Liu Wuxie’s spectacular performance instantly drew more than half of the crowd’s attention to him.

“How intriguing for someone in the eighth level of the Astral River Realm to slay a pinnacle eighth-grade profound beast with one strike.” They weren’t shocked by the challenge as they had already grown accustomed to it. Instead, what left them astounded was the overwhelming visual impact of Liu Wuxie’s might.

A thunderous roar echoed across the arena as a profound beast over three meters tall emerged.

“The Earth Demon Bear!” Liu Wuxie was taken aback. Although the Earth Demon Bear was a pinnacle eighth-grade profound beast, it was over a dozen times stronger than the Fire Demonic Bull.

Despite the same cultivation realm, their strength differed extensively based on their bloodline and innate talent.

The Fire Demonic Bull had low intelligence and an impure bloodline. But the Earth Demon Bear possessed a wisp of the Bear King’s bloodline, which granted it immense strength and an impervious body to ordinary weaponry. Every step it took caused the ground to shake violently.

“This Earth Demon Bear killed a challenger at the first level of the Nascent Transformation Realm earlier!” an exclamation came from the surroundings because the thick fur of the Earth Demon Bear was stained red with dripping blood.

When the Earth Demon Bear emerged, it began to pound on its chest, letting out an earth-shattering roar. Its fists were the size of a basin each, capable of crushing a man with a single blow.

Suddenly, Liu Wuxie sheathed the Heretic Blade with a smirk. His physical body, having reached its peak after the cleansing of the seven-colored radiance and the tempering on the gravity platform back in the Liu Clan, made this the perfect opportunity to test his limits.

Liu Wuxie’s objective in coming here wasn’t solely to earn resources; tempering himself was the priority. The Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy’s assessment valued more than just talent—physique, cultivation, and potential were equally crucial.

As Liu Wuxie sheathed the Heretic Blade, the Earth Demon Bear snarled, malice gleaming in its eyes. It had sensed a threat from the blade, a threat that vanished once Liu Wuxie put it away. In the beast’s view, fighting an unarmed human was child’s play.

The Earth Demon Bear was infuriated by Liu Wuxie’s apparent arrogance in not using the blade. It let out a roar before lunging forward, throwing a punch at his challenger.

The bear had learned a few human martial techniques, most likely from years of fighting challengers in the arena. This shocked Liu Wuxie and heightened his vigilance. He immediately channeled his true essence throughout his body.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

“What is he trying to do?” The audience rose to their feet in disbelief. They couldn’t believe Liu Wuxie was attempting to meet the Earth Demon Bear’s attack head-on. Their eyes widened in shock and fear as they exclaimed, “Is he insane? He plans on fighting the Earth Demon Bear barehanded?”

Even Liu Xing, watching from the sidelines, felt a chill run down his spine, nearly causing him to lose his balance. After all, it was no different from courting death for a human to pit their body against a demonic beast. But when he recalled Liu Wuxie’s monstrous physique, he quickly wiped the cold sweat off his forehead.

Under the gaze of thousands, Liu Wuxie’s figure vanished and streaked toward the Earth Demon Bear like a shooting star.

With a thunderous collision, Liu Wuxie and the Earth Demon Bear clashed, both retreating over ten meters.

The Earth Demon Bear howled in agony as Liu Wuxie’s true essence coursed into its body, ripping through its meridians and causing blood to drip from its lips.

Meanwhile, Liu Wuxie merely shook his arm, feeling nothing more than numbness from the impact.

“H-He took the Earth Demon Bear’s attack head-on! That punch from the bear earlier was powerful enough to rival a cultivator in the Nascent Transformation Realm!” This drew more attention to Liu Wuxie’s arena. While the fight wasn’t the most exciting, it was the most brutal.

In addition to the first, ninth, and fifteenth arenas, more challengers began taking on the other arenas.

“What a powerful physique!” Many cultivators among the spectators were body-refining practitioners themselves, and they were left shaken by Liu Wuxie’s display. It wasn’t simple to temper one’s physique to Liu Wuxie’s level.

Enraged, the Earth Demon Bear roared and hammered its fists on the ground, shattering it and sending stone shards flying toward Liu Wuxie.

However, Liu Wuxie was like a phantom. The stone shards only brushed past his body before embedding themselves in the surrounding walls, leaving behind honeycombed holes.

“Berserk bloodline!” the spectators exclaimed as the Earth Demon Bear began to transform. The bear grew in size with its bloodline boiling, and its power soared to match that of a ninth-grade profound beast.

This sight made Liu Wuxie narrow his eyes as the Earth Demon Bear’s strength doubled instantly. He murmured, “This is interesting!”

He didn’t back down and stepped forward with excitement in his eyes. He had only used thirty percent of his strength in the earlier collision, and it was time for him to unleash his full strength now.

Liu Wuxie’s true essence began to gush out with terrifying true dragon’s power burrowing into his bones, and faint dragon scales shimmered on his arms. The sheer power emanated caused the surrounding air to vibrate.

When Liu Wuxie brought out the true dragon’s power, the Earth Demon Bear’s aura began to decline with a flicker of fear in its eyes. After all, dragons were revered and undisputed rulers of demonic beasts.

But it was too late to retreat as the Earth Demon Bear had already accumulated its strength, and there was no way it could stop now. It could only kill Liu Wuxie to seize the latter’s true dragon bloodline.

If it could consume Liu Wuxie and devour the true dragon’s bloodline, it could advance to a ninth-grade profound beast.

With renewed determination, the man and beast clashed once more like two meteors. The sheer force of their collision sent shockwaves rippling outward, shaking the surrounding buildings.

“How is this possible?” everyone asked, standing up on the stage and frozen in disbelief.

The Earth Demon Bear was sent hurtling through the air and crashed to the ground with a loud thud. Its flesh had split open with blood pouring out, and Liu Wuxie killed it with one strike.

When Liu Wuxie descended to the ground, his face was expressionless. It would be weird if he couldn’t kill such a low-level demonic beast even after bringing out the true dragon’s power.

If he had merged the ancient deity’s power into that punch earlier, the Earth Demon Bear would’ve been blown to smithereens.

After claiming the reward for the second round, Liu Wuxie won five hundred high-grade spirit stones.

In the betting station, Liu Xing’s spirit stones had doubled in value once more. The sight of Liu Wuxie killing the Earth Demon Bear with a single punch had caught the attention of the One Sword Shakes Mount Spirit’s higher hierarchy. A young attendant in azure robes dashed into the courtyard and whispered something in the ear of a middle-aged man.

After Liu Wuxie killed the Earth Demon Bear, he continued his challenge to the third round, and he didn’t know what would await him. If there were no surprises, his next opponent would likely be a human.

Roughly three minutes later, a figure was seen in the dark passageway. Before he fully emerged from the passageway, a powerful wave of sword aura surged through the dim corridor and spread across the battlefield.

Liu Wuxie stood motionless as he gave off no discernible aura, and the incoming sword aura parted after reaching him as if it had met an invisible barrier.

“He’s comprehending his dao!” This time, eighty percent of the spectators fixed their eyes on him.

Half of the challengers here came for the reward, and the other half came to temper themselves, teetering on the edge of life and death to seek a breakthrough.

However, Liu Wuxie aimed for both; he came to earn resources to fund his cultivation and deepen his comprehension of his dao technique.

A youth in his early twenties emerged from the shadows. He was no older than twenty-four or twenty-five and carried a longsword with fresh blood dripping.

He must’ve slain another opponent recently and only briefly rested before returning to the fray.

“An opponent in the first level of the Nascent Transformation Realm. Let’s see how this boy meets his end. I’m betting five thousand spirit stones on the defender,” someone muttered. Not many were optimistic about Liu Wuxie.

“I’m betting ten thousand spirit stones on the challenger. Who knows, that boy might create another miracle,” countered another spectator. Though only a few believed Liu Wuxie had any chance against his opponent, there was no shortage of people bold enough to take the risk for the slim chance.

Liu Wuxie was the challenger, which meant the youth was the defender. Whoever won could take the reward and the other party’s interspatial ring. This was the charm of the arena, where killing and plunder were woven into survival.

“My sword has claimed five lives, and you will be the sixth,” the young man said coldly, his expression devoid of emotion.

“Bring it on,” Liu Wuxie replied flatly. He had no intention of engaging in idle banter, as this was a life-and-death duel. They were strangers to one another and had crossed paths only due to fate, so there was no need for pleasantries.

The young man raised his sword to the sky and unleashed a boundless surge of sword aura that spiraled outward into a vortex, enveloping the entire arena.

On the other hand, Liu Wuxie didn’t dare to be careless either. He had been cautious even when facing a demonic beast, not to mention against a human. After all, every cultivator in the Central Plains was blessed with extraordinary talent and formidable combat prowess. Not to mention, his opponent had fought several rounds and killed all his challengers.

The youth's murderous intent had become so intense that it was almost tangible. If his opponent had a weaker will, they would have succumbed to fear and lost their composure by now.

Without hesitation, Liu Wuxie drew the Heretic Blade and pointed it to the sky, going directly into True Strike’s stance. This technique lacked any ostentatious display, its brilliance lying in its boundless versatility. It encompassed countless variations, each containing thousands of subtle moves, capable of filling the sky with blade images and ensuring his opponent’s demise upon unleashing.

The moment Liu Wuxie drew out the Heretic Blade, the youth furrowed his brow and felt a twinge of pressure for the first time. He could sense an invisible aura had formed even before Liu Wuxie struck out.