Chapter 603: Come Down And Join Your Beloved!

In the eighth round, Yun Xiao was the first to enter the fray.

After his battle, there was still some time left, so Yun Xiao found a quiet corner. Under the icy gazes of the masses, he silently practiced the Primordial Void Technique, enhancing his spiritual and celestial power with the Origin Orbs and Tri Heaven Sariras.

"Why is it that in the blink of an eye, so many despise you?" Blue Star asked, puzzled by the 1,000,000 furious glares. "Is it because you're so talented and arrogant?"

"Their hatred isn't for my abilities or my character," Yun Xiao said softly, his eyes closed in meditation.

"What then?" Red Moon asked, his tongue lolling from his mouth, bored.

"They hate that I am not one of their own and that I stand with the opposition," Yun Xiao explained.

It meant that if he switched sides now, rejected the Moon Sword Goddess, and rejoined the Thunder Department, those 1,000,000 angry glares would instantly transform into beams of honor.

The truth was that simple. But those who truly despised Yun Xiao were the high officials of the Thunder Department and their progeny. The common folk were merely led by the nose by their own interests.

"Establishment Divine Self Realm."

Soon, Yun Xiao reached the final stage of the Divine Self Realm. Though he had broken through, he felt a tinge of regret.

"It seems difficult to reach the Celestial Expanse Realm before the final battle," Yun Xiao mused.

Speaking of which, Yun Xiao couldn’t help but complain, "You're telling me after advancing only one realm, the 1,000,000 True Immortal Jades are all gone?"

"Indeed, the path of Immortality consumes greatly, money flowing like water," Blue Star coughed.

"Tell me, how much did you skim this time?" Yun Xiao asked, resigned.

"Shush, we're bros, don't sweat the small stuff..." Blue Star sheepishly replied.

"Get lost." While it pained him, Yun Xiao could do nothing but silently curse them as skinflints. "So, I have to give my all for this final battle."

If Yun Xiao won, the skies and seas would be wide open to him. If he lost, he’d blow up the Thunder Department and become a fugitive of the Celestial Court.

It seemed he had nothing to lose!

With this thought, Yun Xiao's spirits lifted. So, even as he faced 1,000,000 cold stares and jeers, his heart remained undisturbed.

When He Buhuo, unable to contain his scorn, came forth to insult Yun Xiao, his death sealed Yun Xiao's reputation for disregarding the celestial laws and regulations. His end naturally stirred greater waves of animosity!

The question on everyone’s lips was why wasn't this man dead yet? Many were losing their composure over it. They cursed and waited, and finally, the eighth round came to an end.

The selection for the Thunder Department was reaching its climax, about to begin the final round!

Yun Xiao's antics had drawn an immense crowd; now, 1,500,000 Immortals from the Thunder Department packed into the arena, bringing the Nine Thunders Arena to its most tumultuous peak.

The crowd was overwhelming!

Cao Shuo, worried, disguised herself and blended in, unnoticed by anyone. In that dense crowd, she watched the young man in white at the center of the storm, her gaze filled with concern.

“How can he be so boldly defiant?” Cao Shuo couldn’t understand it, but she found herself drawn to it. His personality and appearance struck directly at her heart, making it hard for her to look away.

“That bastard brother of mine, he must have tampered with the combat sequence.” Cao Shuo looked towards the Thunder Rankings, which now displayed only 18 golden names.

The final round was about to display the list of combatants for the final round!

Afterwards, each honored name would shine in the Nine Thunders Arena until the next selection.

Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the Thunder Rankings, hardly daring to breathe. Because it was a brutal elimination battle, the sequence of combat was crucial!

Suddenly, the Thunder Rankings rumbled, and two names in shining gold appeared on it.

「

Feng Qi and Lu Yao, proceed to Thundercloud 1!

」

These two names stirred the crowd into an uproar. The former was regarded with respect and sympathy, the latter with disdain and trampling.

History showed that only the good and the wicked left their names behind; the mediocre were just making up the numbers.

“Lu Yao has been the first to battle since the seventh round!”

What did this mean?

Everyone understood.

This young man was being set up by the high officials!

And the high officials were blunt about it, openly admitting they had orchestrated it!

This sent a clear message to the people of the Thunder Department; the high officials had completely abandoned Lu Yao! Once this was understood, who would hold back their jeers?

"Thundercloud 1!"

Each battle melded two thunderclouds together, making Thundercloud 1 now impressively large!

From the seventh round, Yun Xiao had dominated this stage.

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Even up to this moment, the roiling thundercloud, like a miniature sea of lightning, surged with endless electricity, its cracking sounds assaulting the ears!

Millions of eyes were focused on this thundercloud, including from the Celestial Thunder Platform, where the gaze of one was as heavy as 100,000 others.

In such a moment, anyone with lesser mental fortitude stepping into this place would likely find themselves kneeling.

However, the moment the battle sequence was announced, a flash of white sword light shone brilliantly, as if to say to all, "Don't waste my time, let's finish this quickly!"

This person was Yun Xiao.

As Feng Xuan had said, no more buildup was necessary—the atmosphere was already explosive!

Upon his entry, Yun Xiao held his three-foot azure sword, his face wearing a carefree smile. The youth held a jug of wine, took a hearty swig, and then with his sword pointed towards the Celestial Thunder Platform, he loudly declared, "Feng Qi, come down and join your beloved!"

BUZZ!

Atop the Celestial Thunder Platform, a storm of thunder serpents roared to life, a cyan light like a tornado howling down onto Thundercloud 1.

BOOM!

Wind and electricity wildly danced around him.

The young man before Yun Xiao lifted his head, the cyan vortexes in his eyes already blood-red.

A fire of hatred that could not be shared under the same sky!

His spiritual power was now uncontrollable, forming a vortex more than 30 meters in diameter behind him, swirling with spiritual blades and lightning snakes!

All this divine might was proof that he was a supremely talented and powerful Anima Immortal with a boundless future!

For the Thunder Department, Feng Qi was an absolute necessity, far more reliable than Bai Ling'er.

In the Celestial Court, it was well known that among the four major Immortal systems—martial, sword, sigil, and spirit—Anima Immortals were often the strongest at the same level!

This was because, at stages where the spirit was weak, the Anima Immortal's ability to damage and restrict the manifestation of the spirit was hard to counter!

Spirit killing was often faster than a Flying Sword!

At that moment, Feng Qi spread his arms wide, conjuring a soul storm of immense fury. The storm's power resonated with the stinging thunder, creating a peculiar sound that made everyone's scalp tingle!

Fueled by rage and hatred, he reached the apex of his killing intent.

Without uttering a word, his body swirled with a vortex of cyan lightning, bearing down on Yun Xiao!

"Spirit type Seed of Creation, Cyan Burst Lightning Spirit," Blue Star remarked.

This Seed of Creation was unique to Feng Qi's spirit, quite different from the Nine Suns Dantian or the Nine Heavens Star Meridians.

Within the fierce storm unleashed by his opponent, Yun Xiao could sense the potency of the Cyan Burst Lightning Spirit, a talent that allowed Feng Qi’s spirit to manifest in more ways, elevating him to the rank of an Anima Immortal.

"But why doesn't he manifest his spirit before attacking?" Yun Xiao frowned.

In truth, an Anima Immortal could attack without manifesting their spirit, though it would diminish the strength of the attack.

Facing such an unfamiliar and powerful adversary in this critical battle, Yun Xiao dared not take any chances!

As the opponent pressed with a fierce attack, Yun Xiao countered just as fiercely!

Ascend the Heavens, Frostfall!

This was a Flying Sword technique, named after the seasonal frost. It combined thunder and frost in a single strike, like a sudden descent of heavenly frost. When unleashed, the sword froze everything in its path, while thunderbolts and icy blasts mingled for a fiercely cold assault!

Beneath this Frostfall, there was another sword—the sword of Yun Xiao's manifested spirit!

This phantom Frostfall also replicated the Heaven Burial Sword Soul, sending forth a spirit-charged Flying Sword!

With one sword above and one below, the twin swords formed a dual assault on both flesh and spirit!

Of course, Yun Xiao had modified these twin swords with many of his own ideas, making Frostfall even more formidable. What was merely a Flying Sword seemed like a whole realm of ice and snow, engulfing Feng Qi!

"Die." Feng Qi fixed his gaze on him! He showed no reaction to Yun Xiao's sword, focusing solely on his own anima techniques.

He stirred up a storm of cyan wind and thunder, drawing on his spirit power to condense the swirling cyan vortex behind him into a colossal lightning eye!

This was the anima technique Wind God Lightning Eye!

Supported by a stronger celestial power, the Wind God Lightning Eye was even more formidable than Yun Xiao's Frostfall. As it advanced, it blinked repeatedly, each blink unleashing a storm of electric bursts infused with overpowering spiritual waves, causing everyone who heard it to wince in pain!

In an instant, this Wind God Lightning Eye swallowed Yun Xiao's Frostfall, suppressing the icy electric assault of the Flying Sword!

The Flying Sword struggled as it moved through the Wind God Lightning Eye, which was amplified with spiritual power.

"Hmm?"

In their first confrontation, Yun Xiao noticed that the Flying Sword replicated by spirit disintegrated fastest under the Anima Immortal's attack.

The mere touch shattered the sword's shadow, and Yun Xiao's manifested spirit felt a sharp pain!

This was the formidable power of an Anima Immortal!

Fortunately, the Heaven Burial Sword Soul's attack wasn't completely suppressed. It pierced through the Wind God Lightning Eye and struck close to Feng Qi!

But he was not afraid! His fierce gaze seemed to challenge Yun Xiao—let's see who dies first!

Indeed, Feng Qi's Wind God Lightning Eye, undiminished in the slightest, burst forth like a net that could blot out the sun, flashing right before Yun Xiao’s eyes!

Anima Immortal or Sword Immortal, both were aggressors!

Who would die first?

Feng Qi was ferocious, but Yun Xiao remained calm throughout. He entered a cold state of combat readiness. Facing the Wind God Lightning Eye, he stepped back with elegance while an umbrella sprouted from his hand, its spokes formed from nine dragon heads!

BUZZ!

With a flick of his wrist, the Runic Umbrella began to spin.

The Prison Warden Sigil also had an effect on the spiritual level.

BOOM!

The Wind God Lightning Eye exploded on the umbrella, tearing the unprotected Life Sigil to shreds on the spot and forcing Yun Xiao to keep retreating!

These stormy blasts of cyan electricity tore at the Creator Immortal's spirit, inflicting damage on Yun Xiao!

This strike showcased Feng Qi's genius!