Chapter 924: The Strongest vs. The Strongest

Boom!

Fist met fist. Power clashed against power. The two figures staggered back, each retreating several steps.

Xuanyuan Pozhen's expression darkened as he locked eyes with Ling Feng. "Looks like you held back when fighting Yan Jinghong!"

"He wasn't worthy of my full strength."

Ling Feng raised the Eradicator of Realms, his gaze sharp and unwavering. This opponent was terrifyingly powerful.

Even then, Xuanyuan Pozhen had yet to reveal his true capabilities.

"You're an interesting one." Xuanyuan Pozhen's aura surged, rising steadily like a gathering storm. "Under different circumstances, I might have called you a friend. But you have your unshakable resolve, and I have mine. The Royal Sword Team's undefeated legacy will not end by my hand!"

"Then one of us falls here today!"

Ling Feng exhaled slowly, circulating his true qi. Their earlier exchanges had been mere probing. Now, the true battle began.

"Good. I respect a direct opponent."

Golden light erupted from Xuanyuan Pozhen's greatsword, swirling around him before coalescing into a colossal blade of radiance behind his back.

"My soul manifestation, the Golden Edge Profound Sword. A metal-attributed sword soul manifestation." His voice was calm, but his sword qi grew fiercer, sharper. "I will hold nothing back now."

Ling Feng took a deep breath. The soul manifestation of the Sword of Attribute was an exceptionally powerful one, especially for a swordsman who focused solely on the sword dao. Possessing such a soul manifestation almost guaranteed a foundation for dominance in the sword dao.

A razor-sharp pressure erupted. A thin cut appeared on Ling Feng's cheek, blood welling where the sword qi had grazed him.

"Sword will!"

Ling Feng's gaze sharpened. This Xuanyuan Pozhen was, without a doubt, the most skilled opponent he had ever faced in the sword dao among his peers. His sword will had actually reached the level of minor perfection.

Even Ling Feng himself, after tempering his sword will with evil spirits inside the Four Spirits Divine-Sealing Tablet, had only achieved the advanced level of dual sword wills.

Of course, both his Reincarnated Sword Will and Slaughterous Sword Will were exceedingly rare across the world. The difficulty of refining them naturally far surpassed that of ordinary sword wills.

"Well then."

Ling Feng slowly unsheathed the Eradicator of Realms. His body trembled, not from fear but from exhilaration. Two clear sword chimes rang out, one sharp and piercing, the other smooth and flowing. Their auras intertwined like coiling dragons and surged skyward.

This was the clash between the Tianfeng Sword Team's strongest and the Royal Sword Team's mightiest.

The strongest versus the strongest!

The crowd sensed it too. The real battle had just begun!

Cheers and roars split the air, thunderous waves of sound crashing through Tianwei Square like an unstoppable eruption.

"Ling Feng, you stand no chance against Xuanyuan Pozhen!"

The Fourth Prince's earlier composure had returned, his lips curling into a smirk. So what if Tianfeng Sword Team had surprised him time and again? Once Xuanyuan Pozhen crushed Ling Feng, the rest would fall like wheat before a scythe.

Hell, he hadn't even needed to lift a finger yet!

"Come. Show me everything you've got!"

Xuanyuan Pozhen's body blazed with golden light, his greatsword radiating a sinister aura as its tip scraped the ground.

Faintly, the audience below seemed to see a sinister illusion forming around Xuanyuan Pozhen. A wicked king appeared, draped in a python robe and crowned as if he ruled the world. It looked as though a single wave of his hand could flood a thousand miles with blood and wipe out all living beings.

"This blade is the Sword of Startling Evil. A weapon of the evil dao, yet tamed by my hand!"

His sword trembled, as if sharing its master's fervor.

Ling Feng tightened his grip on the Eradicator of Realms, feeling the suffocating pressure radiating from his opponent. It was awe-inspiring.

"Sky Breaking Transformation!"

His body surged with power, muscles expanding as he activated the fourth stage of the Eight Desolations Body Refinement Art—Sky Breaking Transformation.

Only by mastering this final form could the first layer of the technique be considered complete. At this level, a single punch could shatter the heavens.

"Interesting! But not enough!"

Xuanyuan Pozhen didn't attack. He waited, as if demanding Ling Feng reveal even greater strength.

"As you wish!"

Ling Feng smiled faintly. His aura skyrocketed as meridian gates burst open one after another, each unleashing a terrifying wave of energy.

"One, two, three..."

Spectators from the various academies gaped, fingers counting in disbelief. Finally, a horse-faced youth choked out, "Ninety-nine... Am I seeing things? Ninety-nine meridian gates!"

"I counted past ninety too! But how?!"

"Is he even human? Even Yan Jinghong, with his innate Sacred Body, only has eighty!"

The crowd erupted.

A martial artist with fifty meridian gates was already considered a genius. Yet Ling Feng had ninety-nine.

(And that was with him deliberately hiding the hundredth. Revealing it might have shattered minds.)

"Ninety-nine meridians!"

"NINETY-NINE!"

Even the high judges, the Three Lords, ministers, and academy directors froze in shock. Yue Zhonglian, a man unshaken even if Mount Tai crumbled before him, stared wide-eyed.

In all of the Tianbai Empire's history, had there ever been a monster with ninety-nine meridian gates?

No. Not one!

Not even ninety meridian gates. Such prodigies were myths, legends from ancient times!

"Ninety-nine meridians... A heaven-sent genius!"

The Tianbai King himself rose from his seat, heart heavy with regret.

Why had such a monster not been born of the royal bloodline?

"Hanyang... So this is your grandson."

The Empress Dowager's delicate fists clenched. The face of the only man who had ever stirred her heart flashed in her mind. Her eyes gleamed with unreadable emotions.

"Damn it! DAMN IT!"

Yan Jinghong's entire body shook with rage as he watched Ling Feng's ninety-nine meridian gates blaze like stars across the sky. Every shred of glory that should have been his was being stolen away.

"I am your opponent!"

Crack!

Another thunderbolt struck. Li Bufan's killing move was already upon him.

"GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"

Blinded by fury, Yan Jinghong's attacks grew more vicious, more reckless. But in his madness, the seeds of defeat had already been sown.

The moment he lost control was the moment his downfall began.