Chapter 176: Clash! Wu Yuan’s Might (2)

This sight caused the hearts of all the Grandmasters and Savant experts from the three teams to tremble violently, leaving some struggling to believe what just happened. Chu Ping, a powerhouse that had shaken the world for two decades, met his end in such a manner? But even as they struggled to wrap their heads around it, the decapitated head drenched in blood lay right before their eyes.

Clashes between martial artists were as such. Irrespective of whether one was a king, a lord, or a renowned figure across the land, life and death hung by a thread in every battle.

"Grand Elder is so strong!"

"Slay them all! Kill!" Amidst the shock, the experts in Great Jins team were mostly overcome with excitement.

Even Chu Ping, one of the top powerhouses in the Former Chu Alliance, had perished in the blink of an eye. Who could stop Jin Qing?

"Your Highness!"

"This is bad, what do we do now?" Whether Grandmasters or Savant experts, fear filled the expressions of the Former Chu Alliance team. Furthermore, all Grandmasters present, even Li Yan, Song Guang, and Tie Tuo standing at a distance, could tell that Jin Qing was abnormally powerful.

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

The clash between Chu Ping and Jin Qing undoubtedly showcased Chu Ping's strength, but it paled in comparison to Jin Qings, who utterly dominated the battlefield. Was this the same Jin Qing who failed to make it into the top ten of the Land Rankings in his prime?

"The force he exerted exceeds 800,000 catties! Even the number one Land Ranker cannot be this strong." Li Yan's eyes turned frosty, a chill coursing through his veins. "Could he be a quasi-Heavenly Ranker?"

A wave of shock rippled through everyone. With the speeds Grandmasters could reach, the first fight ended in just seconds. Jin Qing took Chu Ping's life with three swift strokes of his sword.

Despite enduring a brutal blow from Chu Ping's saber, Jin Qing appeared unharmed and proceeded to glide towards Bu Yu, who was attempting to escape.

Just moments ago, Bu Yu and Chu Ping had come to a tacit understanding and planned to encircle Jin Qing. But to their surprise, Chu Ping fell in just a few exchanges.

Run!

Bu Yu was shaken to the core. Countless brushes with life and death had honed her instincts to a razor edge. In an instant, she realized she stood no chance! From Jin Qing's attacks, she glimpsed a shadow of her junior brother quasi-Heavenly Ranker!

Furthermore, Jin Qing emerged unscathed after taking the brunt of Chu Ping's saber strike with his body alone. This confirmed Bu Yu's suspicions that he was indeed wearing the legendary spirit battle armor!

Whoosh~

Jin Qings sword moved in a silent arc.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

As Bu Yu backpedaled, sword lights bloomed and whistled through the air. It resembled moonlight, dazzling and intoxicating. It was the first-grade divine weapon, the Moontide Sword!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The clash of weapons reverberated in a deadly symphony, as the two powerhouses clashed nearly ten times in an instant, exhibiting incredible swordsmanship.

Even as Bu Yu retreated, she understood that engaging in direct combat would surely result in her death, as evidenced by Chu Ping's fate. Thus, she focused all her efforts on defense the moment their blades clashed.

With each clash, she expertly leveraged the force to beat a swift retreat, allowing her to both deflect and evade her opponents moves, effectively buying herself more time.

However, Jin Qing's swordsmanship not only surpassed Bu Yus in power, but also speed. His spirit battle armor allowed him to dedicate his focus solely to offense, and he rained attacks on her like a ferocious storm. After exchanging around ten blows, Bu Yu found herself caught in a treacherous position, with death lurking at every turn.

At that moment, a figure streaked through the sky.

"Move!" a fierce roar echoed through the air.

Swoosh!

An incandescent crimson blade ray silently emerged from the shadows, its presence leaving no trace in the air, mercilessly targeting the armored titan.

This saber technique? It's that man in white!

Jin Qing's eyes narrowed, but without hesitation, he raised his sword to meet the incoming blade. Despite his spirit armor's protection, he had no desire to withstand a hit unless absolutely necessary.

One of them was a quasi-Heavenly Ranker, his bodys constitution raised past its limits with heaven and earth's power, boasting a single-arm strength nearing 290,000 catties, and was capable of unleashing 860,000 catties after Threefold Power Surge!

The other possessed a single-arm strength of 240,000 catties, but channeled the power as a unified force, equally terrifying when coupled with Threefold Power Surge!

Boom~

As sword met saber, another devastating shockwave erupted, surpassing all previous collisions as it expanded in all directions.

Hm?

Jin Qing's pupils contracted as he felt the formidable power behind the slash. It carried an eerie, penetrating force, causing his skin to tingle with pain. Against his will, his body was violently thrown backward.

Whoosh!

The young man in white robes came charging in, wielding a flaming red battle saber that emitted an ominous aura. But as they clashed, his momentum abruptly halted, as though he had collided with an impenetrable wall of steel.

Bu Yu's eyes narrowed as she focused on the fiery-red saber, her gaze inadvertently shifting to the white-robed youth. She instantly recognized him. It was Wu Yuan!

However, Jin Qing was someone who had effortlessly slain Chu Ping in just three strokes. How did Wu Yuan send him flying with just one slash?

Although amazed by Wu Yuan's extraordinary power, Bu Yu didnt forget the youths thunderous roar.

Swoosh!

With a swift swing of her sword, Bu Yu darted sideways like an arrow, evading Jin Qing's charge and meeting the approaching figure of Yue Shanzhong.

The hierarch has left.

Wu Yuan felt the tension in his heart relax slightly. Then, he turned his gaze toward the towering figure adorned in battle armor.

His strength surpasses 800,000 catties! In this Chu-Jiang Immortal Realm, we are unable to tap into heaven and earth's power, causing the overall power of first-grade divine weapons to diminish significantly. The power we can unleash predominantly stems from physical strength.

According to my intelligence, Jin Qing is over 90 years old. Yet in his prime, he was never this strong.

Wu Yuan's mind raced.

In the end, there was only one possibility that Wu Yuan could conceive quasi-Heavenly Ranker! Once a Great Grandmaster attained Unity, the process of entering the Heavenly Rankings could take as little as several months to as long as three to five years. During this process, their physical constitution continuously improved and their strength escalated. This phase was called quasi-Heavenly Ranker.

"You clearly wield a saber, yet you disguised it as a sword. And the moment I attacked an expert from the Former Chu Alliance, you immediately tried to stop me. Are you Shadow Blade of the Cloudstride Sect?" His words reverberated across the training ground as he stared intently at Wu Yuan.

Without waiting for Wu Yuan's response, Jin Qing darted toward him, his divine sword slicing through the air with a chilling gleam. Whether or not he was Shadow Blade didn't concern Jin Qing. But since Wu Yuan dared to intervene, he had to die!

How fast! Im no match for Jin Qing in pure physical strength alone. I must focus on my other abilities.

As he retreated, Wu Yuan's saber flickered, effortlessly blocking the black divine sword. And just as quickly, he counterattacked with his own saber.

What a strange saber technique.

Jin Qing felt a strange discomfort as his powerful strikes seemed to dissipate into nothingness like he was hitting cotton, unable to find their mark.

Ah! Damn it! Just die already!

Frustration mounting, Jin Qing channeled his qi and unleashed a secret art, instantly increasing his speed and strength, although not significantly.

Secret art? I know some secret arts too.

Unfazed, Wu Yuan responded in kind, employing Thousand Mountains and Ghostwalk. His strength and speed both experienced a huge boost.

"How can this be?"

"That white-robed youths secret arts seem more powerful than Jin Qings." The Grandmasters looked on in astonishment.

In his heart, however, Wu Yuan knew that his secret arts were inferior. The stronger one's physical constitution, the weaker the effects of secret arts. For those who had yet to reach their human limit, like himself, the boost was significant. The closer one was to their human limit, the weaker the effects of the secret art.

For Heavenly Rankers, secret arts were practically useless. Jin Qing, though not a Heavenly Ranker yet, was gradually nearing that level, thus the effects of his secret arts were naturally reduced. Wu Yuan, on the other hand, possessed a robust physical constitution, but he still had a ways to go before reaching his human limit.

And so, as both of them utilized their secret arts simultaneously, Wu Yuan managed to mount a surprising comeback despite his initial disadvantage.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The two powerhouses went head to head, shockwaves reverberating with each exchange. Jin Qing charged toward his opponent like a bull, pursuing Wu Yuan who deftly evaded his fierce attacks like a graceful white butterfly.

"I dare you to stop running!" Jin Qing roared. His spirit armor slightly hindered his agility, which wasnt a big deal when facing other Grandmasters due to his high martial skill level. But when his opponent was Wu Yuan, someone of the same skill level, this flaw was magnified.

I dare you to take off that tin can! Wu Yuan coldly taunted, though his speed didnt slow in the slightest.

The head-on battle truly opened Wu Yuans eyes to how fearsome spirit armor was. Anyone who equipped one was practically invincible. At one point, Wu Yuan's saber hit Jin Qing's arm, but it didn't budge an inch, almost resulting in Wu Yuan's head being sliced off by Jin Qing's counterattack. This sobered Wu Yuan up, prompting him to switch to full-on defense.

Jin Qing could make mistakes over and over again. But Wu Yuan could not afford a single one! One misstep and he was dead!

My strength is lacking. If I could unleash a force of millions of catties with each swing, the continuous collisions would rattle Jin Qing to death.

Wu Yuan felt incredibly stifled throughout the match. He hadn't encountered such a frustrating battle in years.

Yet, he had no idea that the intense battle between him and Jin Qing had left the Great Grandmasters and experts in complete awe. Bu Yu, Yue Shanzhong, Chu Jun, and Chang Dong, and even the spectators like Li Yan, Song Guang, and Tie Tuo stood there, mouths agape. No one had expected that Wu Yuan, despite being at a clear disadvantage, could hold his own against Jin Qing.