Chapter 273: Triple Dose of Astonishment

As Chu Liang faced the silent crowd, he placed his finger down and cleared his throat. “Everyone, be quiet for a second and listen to me...”

"Recently, I've noticed some gift boxes of spirit fruit claiming to be specialty products of Mount Shu circulating in the market. We're not prohibiting others from selling fruits.

"However, the gift boxes of Golden Vein Berries that the Eminent One robbed from those travelers were exclusively supplied by the Silver Sword Peak. You can’t buy these gift boxes elsewhere. Please make sure to check that the berries are Golden Vein Berries to avoid being scammed.

"Make sure they’re the Golden Vein Berries from the Silver Sword Peak! Don’t let them trick you!"

Chu Liang repeated the warning. "Make sure they’re the Golden Vein Berries from Silver Sword Peak..."

Hearing this, the entire crowd felt speechless.

For some reason, when he was done shouting, the crowd became even quieter.

So that’s what you wanted to say?

What was with the arrogant posture then? What was the point of making that expression?

Seriously...

"Hahaha," Scholar Sun, who was watching the arena, couldn't help but chuckle. He then remarked, "This young fella does show the recklessness of Ah Feng, except that he is a bit more cunning."

Elder Huang, however, looked cautious and murmured, "This fella will surely become a major problem in the future..."

He seemed to have envisioned some catastrophic scenarios.

A strange expression even appeared on the face of the supervising elder standing in the center of the arena. He urged, "Stop talking. Just start already."

"Alright." Chu Liang nodded hastily.

When he arrived in the morning, he discovered several gift boxes of other spirit fruits being sold, taking advantage of the fame of their own berry gift boxes. They probably saw that their berries were popular and wanted to jump on the bandwagon.

But Chu Liang, who was building his brand value, had painfully decided not to restock. How could he let others profit off his reputation? Naturally, he needed to seize this opportunity to promote his berries.

He didn't dare to say much more.

Getting a few dozen seconds of advertising on the main competition stage, with all eyes watching, was already a big win. It was best to stop while things were still good.

Then, the Supervising Elder shouted, "Chu Liang from Silver Sword Peak versus Xu Ziyang from Jade Sword Peak, begin!"

Immediately, the supervising elder soared into the air.

At that very moment, Chu Liang locked gazes with Xu Ziyang.

Boom.

It was as if there was an explosion in the air!

The explosive energies from both sides were about to clash!

"Wang Xuanling, you won't be the grand peak master tomorrow. Do you have anything to say?" Di Nufeng loudly taunted from the spectator stand.

Beside her, Wang Xuanling, the master of Jade Sword Peak, frowned and retorted, "You should say your goodbyes to the Phoenix Spirit Blood Jade first."

Di Nufeng sneered and said, "Don't worry. It's impossible for you to win it. To be honest, my disciple is already analyzing the opponent for the finals."

Wang Xuanling snorted and couldn't be bothered to respond.

It wasn't the first day he knew he couldn't beat Di Nufeng in trash-talking.

As for the outcome of the competition, he wasn't too worried.

He had absolute confidence in his beloved disciple.

How could Xu Ziyang lose? Wang Xuanling simply couldn't imagine it happening.

"I simply can't imagine how Xu Ziyang could lose," Elder Huang said with a smile. His tone carried a hint of contempt as he discussed the potential outcome of the battle.

"Oh?" Scholar Sun also smiled. "Elder Huang, are you really that confident in Xu Ziyang?"

"Based on their previous performances, the gap between them is as vast as the difference between heaven and earth," Elder Huang said, shaking his head. "A true expert should be daring enough to make judgment. As long as Xu Ziyang is mindful of Chu Liang's little tricks, Chu Liang won't stand a chance of winning."

"Although I also think Xu Ziyang has a great chance of winning, I still hope Chu Liang can put up a good fight," Scholar Sun said. "After all, my bet is on him."

"

Heheh

," Elder Huang chuckled smugly, "Sorry, but I'm certain I'll win."

...

Xu Ziyang stared at Chu Liang, who stood before him, reminiscing about how he was just a minor disciple in the Spiritual Awareness Realm when they first met.

Back then, he seemed smart, but he wasn't powerful.

Who would have thought that in such a short time, Chu Liang would form an ultimate-tier Golden Core and now stand opposite him on the semifinals stage?

In reality, he had already approved of Chu Liang.

So when he made his move, he didn't hold back at all, launching a Heavenly Sword Seal as his initial attack!

Boom—

Among the techniques ranked below immortal arts, the Heavenly Sword Seal was the strongest sword technique!

A massive sword beam swept towards Chu Liang with overwhelming force!

Like everyone else, he believed that as long as he watched out for Chu Liang's schemes, there would be no issue.

Therefore, he opted for a powerful and direct divine technique as his opening move, intending to overpower Chu Liang head-on!

He intended to give Chu Liang no chance to play any tricks or schemes.

In the face of this powerful move, Chu Liang simply smiled.

Did he have any tricks up his sleeve?

The answer was no.

Chu Liang swiftly drew the Dustless Sword and, with a similar hand gesture, raised his flying sword high!

Boom—

A massive platinum sword beam roared forth with equally majestic momentum!

It was also a Heavenly Sword Seal!

The two massive sword beams collided in mid-air!

Jiang Yuebai, who had just won her match, sat in the spectator stand. She had intended to watch them calmly as they fought for the chance to face her, but a flicker of surprise crossed her face.

Most of the divine techniques that Chu Liang knew were the result of her teaching. They hadn't had much contact recently, so she assumed that Chu Liang had not learned any new divine techniques.

But now, it seemed he had been secretly learning!

Boom!

The sword beams clashed with a thunderous roar, causing the tips of the swords to disintegrate. Soon, both swords shattered into bright dust in the air, and scattered sword qi filled the surroundings.

The clash of the two swords left everyone gaping in astonishment, their mouths hanging open!

They couldn't believe that Chu Liang knew how to execute the Heavenly Sword Seal!

His execution of the Heavenly Sword Seal, being on par with that of Xu Ziyang, was enough to shock everyone.

Before this very moment, their impression of Chu Liang had always been that of someone who lacked real strength and fought relying on tricks and schemes!

This was exactly what Chu Liang wanted them to think!

Like how Senior Sister Jiang had used the Flow of Time in her previous match and caught her opponent off guard, achieving the effect of defeating the opponent with just one strike.

If Ling Ao had known she could use that immortal art, would he have been so unprepared and fallen for it?

Certainly not.

A duel between masters of equal skill was like a game of cards. The one with more hidden trump cards stood a better chance of winning. Considering Xu Ziyang's higher cultivation level, he needed to conceal even more of his strength.

The clash of the Heavenly Sword Seal had yet to finish when Chu Liang swiftly dashed towards Xu Ziyang.

Xu Ziyang, being at the fifth realm of cultivation, was physically strong. However, in terms of endurance and sheer physical prowess, Chu Liang outmatched him by a significant margin.

With the Power of Ten Tigers and the enhancement of the Secret Dragon Blood Technique, his strength had reached a level beyond the imagination of others at his cultivation level.

This scene resembled what happened in Jiang Yuebai's fight.

Chu Liang dashed forward to close the distance, while Xu Ziyang attempted to block his advance.

However, his move was completely different from that of Jiang Yuebai. Jiang Yuebai used the sword qi from the talismanic character for ice to obstruct Ling Ao's movement. On the other hand, Xu Ziyang was summoning the sword and unleashing the sword qi from the geng metal!

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The first level of the Realm of the Five Elements was the geng metal phase[1].

Xu Ziyang had completed the integration with this level. Currently, his sword qi was far sharper than that of any normal cultivator at the fourth realm! At this moment, if he used the Ten Thousand Swords Seal, the multitude of sword shadows, if grazed or touched, would result in death.

Furthermore, countless sword shadows formed a cage-like wall, leaving no chance for anyone to dodge!

As Chu Liang faced the barricade formed by the myriad of sword shadows and sword qi, he didn't hesitate. With two swift movements, he disappeared into the air.

He used Dimension Compression!

Even if Xu Ziyang had a very solid and tough barricade, it couldn't stop the Dimension Compression from shortening the distance between him and Chu Liang.

"This dude is able to perform Dimension Compression?" The spectating crowd gasped in shock.

What surprised them even more was yet to come. Chu Liang's figure flickered twice in succession, appearing in mid-air in front of Xu Ziyang.

However, when he flickered out, it was as a single shadowy figure, but upon landing, it multiplied into five.

Five Chu Liangs surrounded Xu Ziyang in an instant!

Simultaneously, they began to swing their fists and feet.

All five of them were poised to kick as they encircled him.

"Clone technique?" Elder Huang hesitated for a moment, but then his expression changed as though he had witnessed something extraordinary. "No! It's the Army of Beans!"

"His qi is different now. He is at the middle stage of the Golden Core Realm. He had been concealing his strength all along!"

He had concealed both his divine techniques and cultivation levels remarkably well all this time!

If it were just an ordinary clone technique, the clones wouldn't exude such a powerful aura.

If it were the Immortal Art: External Manifestation, and Chu Liang generated five clones, he should have had the ability to fly as well, which clearly wasn't the case.

In addition to those two, there was another immortal art called the Army of Beans!

This immortal art allowed the cultivator to transform any refined tiny objects into puppets that could be manipulated. Unlike the Immortal Art: External Manifestation, the advantage of this technique lay in its ability to create a greater quantity of clones. Additionally, compared to the typical clone techniques, the clones generated by this immortal art were more complete and individually more powerful.

With proficient mastery, one could even turn a handful of beans into an army of celestial soldiers!

Chu Liang can use immortal arts!

And he knows two!

And he used both in succession!

Heavenly Sword Seal... Dimension Compression... Army of Beans... A combination of moves that sounded almost extravagant. In an instant, Chu Liang completed the encirclement of Xu Ziyang.

From the audience's perspective, Chu Liang had clearly gained a significant advantage!

This was beyond everyone's expectations!

Within moments, everyone in the arena was repeatedly stunned. The feeling of surprise hit them again and again—a triple dose of astonishment!

With this, it was no longer surprising that Xu Ziyang seemed unprepared. Anyone who had to counter this series of moves by Chu Liang would have undoubtedly suffered.

Even Wang Xuanling on the high platform looked shocked and puzzled as he turned to glance at Di Nufeng.

It wasn't unusual for Di Nufeng's disciple to possess formidable cultivation energy, as this could be attained through independent cultivation.

However, mastering immortal arts was an entirely different challenge. Without guidance, learning immortal arts on one's own would be even more challenging than reaching the heavens.

Wang Xuanling was familiar with all the cultivators capable of performing the Army of Beans immortal art. If any of these cultivators had taught Chu Liang, there was no way he wouldn't have heard about it.

Where did Chu Liang learn this immortal art?

Di Nufeng had no clue about this either. Nevertheless, as she met Wang Xuanling's gaze, she smirked knowingly. Her expression seemed to imply, "See? I knew it all along."

1. Geng Metal is one of the five elemental phases and represents the metal element associated with the Chinese zodiac. It is characterized by attributes such as strength, resilience, and sharpness. ☜