Chapter 157

Chapter 157: You Are Not Qualified

"Senior Brother Li, how does this junior’s strength compare to yours?" Within the Holy Sect of Transformation, a woman in simple robes looked towards the tall man, her expression inquiring.

"Not as good as mine." Li Xieyun laughed. "But it should be comparable to yours."

"The two of you both have the capability to vie for the top twenty."

"You have such confidence in him?" The man from Empress Nuwa Palace said lightly. "He’s just newly entered the Saint realm. Even with the bloodline of the ancestral dragon, it’s nothing special."

"Who among our group is not a genius?"

"I’ll wait and see." Li Xieyun didn’t argue with him.

"Number Five, Number Six."

As Yang Xuanzhan’s voice sounded, two more geniuses stepped onto the battle platform for their fight.

However, in the eyes of the crowd, they were just ordinary.

The spectators, the weakest of them being at the peak quasi-emperor level, considered only those like Meng Baiyu as true geniuses.

"Number Twenty-One, Number Twenty-Two."

Finally, Nangong Zhandao slowly stood up. His afterimage remained in place while he himself was already upon the battle platform.

The crowd’s spirits stirred.

First on the Hidden Dragon List!

It was finally Nangong Zhandao’s turn to act.

"My respects, Senior Brother." His opponent was a disciple of the Holy Sect of Transformation. The man wore custom-made golden robes, possessed mid-level Saint realm cultivation, and exuded a sinister, unsettling aura—clearly an expert of the demonic path. This person was courteous, but Nangong Zhandao looked indifferent, seemingly unwilling to waste words on him.

"Brother Jin, be careful." Li Xieyun frowned slightly, offering a warning.

"I know." The man surnamed Jin laughed.

"Everyone, how about we make a wager?" suggested the Third Prince, Xuan Yu, of the Holy Ancestor Dynasty, looking around with a light chuckle. "How many moves will it take Nangong Zhandao to win this round?"

"Two moves." Qi Wuhen spoke up.

"Two is too many. I say one move." The lightly veiled woman from the Mystic Law Sect looked somewhat languid, her tone indifferent.

"I think the same." Bu Linglong said lightly. "With my cultivation, killing this junior disciple would take at most one move. If it takes Nangong Zhandao two moves to win, he really wouldn’t live up to our expectations."

"That makes sense."

The top geniuses from the Holy Mother Palace and the Little West Heaven Temple voiced their agreement one after another.

"Gentlemen, discussing this right in front of me shows far too little regard for me," Li Xieyun said with a darkened expression, unable to conceal his anger.

Third Prince Xuan Yu gave a light laugh, a trace of indifference flickering in his eyes. "Brother Li, there’s no need for anger. We were merely discussing and meant no insult to the Holy Sect of Transformation."

The Holy Ancestor Dynasty ruled a territory, its strength no less than that of the Holy Sect of Transformation, so he feared Li Xieyun not at all.

"Hmph!"

Li Xieyun snorted coldly. Though he too thought Brother Jin couldn’t withstand a single move from Nangong Zhandao, the discussion managed to pierce his defenses.

"Begin."

Yang Xuanzhan declared gravely, his eyes brimming with intense anticipation.

"Senior Brother, I’ve heard your dagger technique is divine and unfathomable. I wish to witness it. Please draw your dagger," Brother Jin stared fixedly at Nangong Zhandao, wary to the utmost.

"You lack the qualification."

Nangong Zhandao shook his head.

"…"

Brother Jin flushed with humiliation and fury. Within his sect, he was a renowned, once-in-a-century genius. Yet in Nangong Zhandao’s eyes, he wasn’t even worthy of making him draw his dagger?

"Senior Brother is far too arrogant."

"As expected of an opponent I, your lord, took note of—more arrogant than I am!" Qi Wuhen roared with laughter.

"He has the capital."

Meng Feixian shot him a sidelong glance. "You don’t."

"Sister Meng, how can a man be told he’s incapable?"

Qi Wuhen retorted indignantly. "I’m utterly changed now—no longer the Qi Wuhen of seven days ago."

"Shut up."

Meng Feixian pinched her temples as if plagued by a headache.

Boom!

On the battle platform, Brother Jin channeled his spiritual power. A golden dagger appeared in his hand, his aura instantly turning razor-sharp, like a divine dagger unsheathed.

"Nangong Zhandao, I too train in dagger techniques. Among peers, I’ve met none equal. Let me see the gap between your skill and mine?"

Klang!

Brother Jin surged with spiritual power and swung his dagger at Nangong Zhandao.

In that instant, sword energy detonated across the heavens and earth, boundless and endless, inundating the spot where Nangong Zhandao stood.

His dagger technique excelled at unpredictability and speed, merging the three great laws of space, darkness, and annihilation—elusive and indefensible.

Against this strike, even cultivators in the same realm would be instantly torn apart.

"He truly had some skill. Pity he encountered Nangong Zhandao."

Third Prince Xuan Yu remarked indifferently.

Clang!

Blades of sword energy rained down from the sky, engulfing Nangong Zhandao. He stood motionless, allowing the energy and light of the blades to pierce his body, yet not a single hair on him was harmed.

A few breaths later, the blade light dissipated, and Nangong Zhandao reappeared before the crowd completely unscathed.

"How is this possible?"

Brother Jin’s pupils abruptly contracted. He had used seventy percent of his strength in that strike, while Nangong Zhandao hadn’t employed even a trace of magical power from start to finish. The difference was starkly clear.

"Well done."

Xuan Yu applauded.

Everyone felt the pressure of Nangong Zhandao’s power.

Yet Xuan Yu wasn’t the slightest bit afraid. Instead, his fighting spirit soared.

A chance to cross blades with Nangong Zhandao made this journey entirely worthwhile.

"Fancy nonsense."

Nangong Zhandao remarked coldly.

"Nangong Zhandao, I refuse to believe you won’t even draw your blade!" Brother Jin was also enraged. He activated the profound art, causing Nine Dao Palaces to manifest, within which nine different laws began to brew.

A colossal primordial spirit descended into one of the Dao Palaces, and Brother Jin unleashed his full power.

Boom!

The primordial spirit wielded the blade, merging nine laws together. With a mighty roar, divine patterns coiled through the void. The golden dagger sliced across ten thousand feet, causing wind and thunder to roar and space itself to shatter!

Rumble!

A blinding golden light coalesced upon the divine dagger as it hacked straight toward Nangong Zhandao.

Clang!

The blow struck, the power of the laws crashing against Nangong Zhandao’s body. He remained motionless, as if Invulnerable to all laws.

As the golden dagger descended, Nangong Zhandao lightly pinched it between two fingers, halting the weapon and shattering all of Brother Jin’s offensive momentum.

Brother Jin was utterly stunned.

His proud swordsmanship and talents were utterly insignificant before Nangong Zhandao.

His Dao heart shattered.

"Brother Jin, concede! Quickly!"

Li Xieyun bellowed.

The contest wasn’t over yet. If Brother Jin refused to surrender, Nangong Zhandao had every right to kill him.

Nangong Zhandao cast him a distant, impassive glance.

"I’ve lost."

Brother Jin collapsed limply onto the ground, his expression utterly defeated.

Totally crushed.

Hearing this, Nangong Zhandao released the golden dagger with his fingers, letting it fall to the ground. Without another word, he slowly descended from the battle platform.

The crowd looked on, dumbfounded.

Xuan Yu, Qi Wuhen, Meng Feixian, and others were left in a state of prolonged, unsettled turmoil.

They had guessed that Nangong Zhandao would need at least one move to win the contest.

Yet, from the moment Nangong Zhandao stepped onto the platform to the moment of his victory, he hadn’t lifted a single finger to achieve his win.

How was this even possible?

"That man’s level of terror far exceeds anything I anticipated."

Even in Xuan Yu’s heart, a sliver of fear arose, though it was vastly outweighed by boiling combativeness.

"I wonder… do I possess the qualifications to make you draw your blade?"

Ao Lie murmured to himself.