Chapter 213
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Chapter 213: Battle
Xu Gang lay in a pure white world, his body fully restored by a mysterious power.
This was the reason the fourth floor of the Illusion Heart Tower cost five hundred thousand spirit stones per day—after every battle, a magical force would heal the injuries of the combatants.
As Xu Gang’s wounds completely healed, he slowly sat up and began meditating to replenish his spiritual energy.
"I still want to challenge myself," Xu Gang said.
At that moment, a puff of smoke appeared, and a black-clad figure resembling Xu Gang stepped out.
"Still not giving up?"
"You have all these abilities, but you don’t know how to use them properly. You just hide in the shadows and attack mindlessly."
"You might seem invincible, but once your enemy finds your true self, the battle is over."
"You rely too much on your spells."
As the black-clad Xu Gang spoke, a thousand-hand illusion rose behind him, followed by a torrent of spells hurtling toward Xu Gang.
Hearing the words of the illusionary Xu Gang, Xu Gang suddenly looked up and said, "This just shows I haven’t mastered my training yet."
A similar thousand-hand illusion appeared behind Xu Gang as well.
In an instant, the small world where Xu Gang stood trembled under the clash of spell torrents.
Meanwhile, Ye Xiaoyao arrived at Heavenly Refining Fairy City.
"What a grand Heavenly Refining Fairy City—truly impressive," Old Sword remarked in Ye Xiaoyao’s mind.
"What’s so special about it?" Ye Xiaoyao asked, curious, while admiring the snowy scenery around him.
"The entire fairy city is a Quasi-Immortal artifact. While these are common in the Thousand Worlds, seeing one in a middle thousand world is quite rare," Old Sword explained.
"A Quasi-Immortal artifact!" Ye Xiaoyao exclaimed, looking down at the street beneath him.
"Yes, but it’s mainly used for transportation. Its defensive strength is only enough to withstand a Quasi-Immortal," Old Sword added.
"If it can block a Quasi-Immortal’s attack, doesn’t that make it invincible in this realm?" Ye Xiaoyao asked, surprised.
"In your realm, things are more complicated than they seem."
"If the beast race wins, even this won’t hold," Old Sword said.
Ye Xiaoyao glanced around and soon spotted the Illusion Heart Tower at the center of the fairy city.
"There’s still some time before the Talented Battle Strength Competition. Let’s check out the Illusion Heart Tower first," Ye Xiaoyao said, then called for a beast cart to head toward the distant tower.
As the talents from various sects arrived, the Illusion Heart Tower buzzed with activity.
Just as Ye Xiaoyao entered the main gate of the tower, he happened to cross paths with a weary-looking Xu Gang. The two exchanged a glance, each feeling a strange sense of familiarity.
They passed each other without a word, neither turning back.
Xu Gang adjusted the mask on his face as a voice echoed in his mind.
"Ye Xiaoyao, former disciple of Que Tian Gate, danger level marked as five stars."
"Master’s protagonist friend?" A flicker of recognition crossed Xu Gang’s eyes, and he quickly sent a message to Xu Fan about the encounter.
Not long after, he received a reply advising him to ignore Ye Xiaoyao and avoid any interaction.
Half a month later, Xu Gang watched the simulated version of himself in the distance, which appeared helplessly before him, and smiled.
"Not bad, you’re improving fast. You’ve actually grasped a hint of the path of disaster in such a short time."
"Now you can integrate all your powerful techniques."
"Next is to surpass yourself. Do you want to keep going?" The black-clad Xu Gang looked at Xu Gang, his eyes cold and unfeeling.
"The Talented Battle Strength Competition is coming up. I’ll return after the tournament."
"Finally, try this move of mine."
The thousand-hand illusion behind Xu Gang began forming seals alongside him, and a strange chill crept into the heart of the black-clad Xu Gang. Suddenly, the surrounding space filled with blue ice capable of freezing the very air, spreading throughout the entire area.
Then, the small world where Xu Gang stood froze solid.
"Technique: Frozen Void!"
*Bang~~*
The blue ice that encased the frozen space shattered, and along with it, the black-clad Xu Gang broke apart.
As the black-clad Xu Gang vanished, the entire space turned back into a pure white world.
Seeing his success, Xu Gang unceremoniously plopped onto the ground, then sprawled out like a starfish, his whole body completely drained.
A green light shone from the sky onto Xu Gang, healing his injuries.
"Finally managed to pull off one of the master’s special skills," Xu Gang said, staring at the white ceiling while lying on the ground.
Having unleashed his ultimate move, Xu Gang was now completely spent, unable to do anything but lie there and wait for the Illusion Heart Tower to restore him.
"Frozen Void, Wood Realm Descending, Golden Dawn Arising, Extreme Gravity, Golden Crow Descending. Master any one of these five techniques, and you should have no problem making it into the top three."
Recalling Xu Fan’s words before he left sent a tingling sensation through Xu Gang’s scalp, the kind that comes from being utterly impressed.
Once he unleashed this move, no number of Nascent Soul Stage opponents would stand a chance.
At that moment, in four other private rooms, Xu Lingtai, Xiong Li, Xiang Yun, and Zhou Tong had also defeated their own avatars.
Half a month later, the Talented Battle Strength Competition began, with the words "Talented Battle Strength Competition" floating above the Illusion Heart Tower.
Early in the morning, after finishing his training in the inn, Xu Gang opened his eyes and looked out the window.
The large words above the Illusion Heart Tower caught Xu Gang’s eye.
"The competition’s at the Illusion Heart Tower?"
Just then, Xu Gang felt a disturbance coming from his space ring.
A jade slip glowing with spiritual light appeared in Xu Gang’s hand.
"At noon, the Talented Battle Strength Competition begins," Xu Gang read from the jade slip.
Meanwhile, the other four disciples of the Hidden Spirit Sect received the same message.
The square outside the Illusion Heart Tower was packed with talents from various sects, all there to compete.
Since the entire square was covered by a spiritual prohibition Formation, all the sect talents had to rely on their physical strength to push through.
At the entrance of the square, Xu Gang watched people entering the Illusion Heart Tower in the distance, then turned to Xiong Li and said, "Xiong Li, it’s your turn to step up."
"Got it," Xiong Li nodded.
Like a strong man stepping into a flock of chickens, Xu Gang effortlessly led the four little chicks to the entrance of the Illusion Heart Tower.
The five of them handed in their registration jade slips and were each given a crystal jade pendant engraved with the number of their private room.
Xiong Li and the others, who were at the Foundation Establishment Stage, were assigned to the second floor, while Xu Gang was placed on the fourth floor.
Following the flow of people, Xu Gang found his private room.
As soon as he stepped inside, an Electronic Voice began explaining the rules of the Talented Battle Strength Competition.
"This competition format is no good; a free-for-all battle is just not interesting," Xu Gang commented.
After a short wait in the private room, the space around him began to shift.
Meanwhile, outside the Illusion Heart Tower, five enormous light curtains appeared, with one large curtain splitting into thousands of smaller ones, each displaying the battlefield for the melee.
As the participants entered the battlefield, a surge of spatial force teleported Xu Gang to a vast island.
Feeling the cool, slightly salty sea breeze, Xu Gang muttered, "Where have I been sent?"
At that moment, a blue light column enveloped Xu Gang, and over a thousand other moving light columns appeared across the island.
"This small world battlefield hosts a total of 1,500 sect talents. To advance, you must eliminate two other talents."
"Those who are defeated will respawn in their private rooms, so don’t worry about life and death—fight with all you’ve got," the Electronic Voice announced from the sky.
Instantly, all the light columns in the sky began moving rapidly.
Xu Gang noticed five light columns charging toward him from a distance and shook his head, saying, "Do I look like an easy target?"
"Anyone who makes it here is not to be underestimated."
"But you seem honest and kind—surely you’re a good person."
"So, how about I use your life to secure my advancement?" a young cultivator with a sinister grin said.
"You five are from the same sect, aren’t you?" Xu Gang asked lightly, a flicker of anger in his eyes.
Being called "honest and kind" by outsiders was no compliment—it was practically an insult, no better than being compared to a horse.
"So what? It won’t change the fact that you’re about to be eliminated."
The lead cultivator with the sinister look and his four companions had already surrounded Xu Gang.
"I don’t like the term ‘honest and kind,’" Xu Gang said, his usually calm face twisting into a faintly menacing smile.
"Attack!"
The sinister cultivator sensed danger and immediately activated the Five Directions Killing Formation, sending five streaks of sword light slicing toward Xu Gang.
"Since you’re all from the same sect, let’s make this orderly," Xu Gang said coldly.
Behind him, a hundred-meter-tall thousand-hand illusion materialized, all ten hands forming seals simultaneously.
"Technique: Frozen Void!"
A speck of blue ice appeared, and like a spark igniting a flame, it rapidly spread, freezing the surrounding space.
Everything within a three-mile radius was encased in blue ice.
"Honest and kind, huh?" Xu Gang muttered with a smirk.
Xu Gang’s figure appeared at the edge of the blue ice, gently touching it with his finger.
“Crack~~”
The blue ice shattered like broken glass, with cracks spreading across its surface.
The powder from the blue ice swirled in the air.
On the other side of the island, a young monk with a thunder god illusion behind him gazed intently in Xu Gang’s direction.
"I’m getting excited about the Talented Battle Strength Competition."
A spark of lightning flashed in the young man’s eyes.
A towering beam of guiding light enveloped Xu Gang, pulling him back to his original private room.
At this moment, Xu Fan, who was crafting artifacts while watching the battle live broadcast in the underground space of Hidden Spirit Island, said with satisfaction, “This silly boy is finally starting to get it.”
Sha Diao, watching Xu Fan multitask, frowned.
“Grand Elder, are you sure this is okay?”
Sha Diao was referring to Xu Gang’s divided attention.
“It’s basic practice, no need to worry,” Xu Fan replied, turning to smile at Sha Diao while the Five Elements Spirit Fire in his hand continuously adjusted its temperature. He also used spiritual energy to control the spirit ore’s rotation, ensuring it was evenly refined.
When it came time to merge with other spirit ores, he would change the hand seal, urging the spirit fire to burn more fiercely.
Seeing this scene, Sha Diao sighed and said, “If I were like you, my master would beat me eight hundred times a day.”
Sha Diao’s face revealed a nostalgic expression, as if recalling the happy times when he first learned artifact crafting.
“That’s why you’re not me.”
“By the way, how is your master doing these days?” Xu Fan asked.
“Recently, he’s been fully focused on crafting a Star Ship for the Heavenly Refining Sect, so we don’t chat much.”
“My master also said that after he finishes this Star Ship, he’ll come find me and chat with you,” Sha Diao mentioned, his tone formal when speaking about his master.
Hearing this, Xu Fan perked up and said to Sha Diao, “Can you convince your master to retire with us at Hidden Spirit Sect?”
Sha Diao shook his head and replied, “I doubt it. My master is crafting that Star Ship to deal with the beast race.”
“It concerns the fate of the human race and the merit power involved, so my master won’t agree,” Sha Diao explained.
“I understand,” Xu Fan nodded and didn’t bring it up again.
At this time, in the small square before the trial tower, most of the sect’s disciples had gathered.
“No wonder Senior Brother Xiong Li is the center of attention wherever he goes,” one disciple remarked while watching the light curtain showing Xiong Li being surrounded.
“Your focus shouldn’t be on the other sect talents attacking Senior Brother Xiong Li.”
“With that fighting strength, I feel like I could handle it too,” a first-generation disciple said disdainfully, watching the Foundation Establishment cultivators surrounding Xiong Li.
“There are strong and weak; Senior Brother Xiong Li is just facing a bunch of scrubs,” another first-generation disciple calmly remarked.
At that moment, the light curtain showed Xiong Li seemingly losing his patience, unleashing a punch at the surrounding crowd.
Soon after, the battle ended.
The other three participating disciples had also finished their fights.
In the underground space, Xu Fan saw the battle conclude and immediately called for Grape to close the light curtain, turning his focus back to artifact crafting.
In the square outside the Illusion Heart Tower, the five gathered together.
Looking at the satisfied expressions of the four, Xu Gang smiled and said, “The competition has just begun; there will definitely be satisfying opponents for you later.”
At that moment, Xu Gang spotted Ji Muhua and the others in the distance.
Seeing Xu Gang, Ji Muhua bid farewell to his fellow disciples and walked toward Xu Gang.
Despite wearing a transformation mask, Xu Gang was instantly recognized by his good friend.
“Taoist Friend Zhang, I didn’t expect to see you again so soon,” Ji Muhua greeted warmly.
“Could I miss such a grand event?” Xu Gang was pleased to see his good friend remembered his alias, feeling their relationship had deepened.
“I look forward to meeting Taoist Friend Zhang in the finals.”
“Haha, that’s a bit unnecessary; you should trust in my strength,” Xu Gang laughed.
“You all count as the hosts; why not treat us to a meal?” Xu Gang suggested.
“That’s no problem at all.”
In the private room on the top floor of the Hundred Treasures Restaurant, Ji Muhua and the five sat down.
“This is my sect’s establishment; the food served here ranks among the top five in Heavenly Refining Fairy City.”
“The specialty here is the Qianling Feast,” Ji Muhua said.
Before long, the servant outside the gate started bringing in dishes.
“Taoist Friend Ji, are there any powerful individuals among the talents that came this time?” Xu Gang asked while eating.
“Absolutely, there are many; let me introduce you to one who is quite famous,” Ji Muhua replied.
“Chen Beihan, a top-tier talent from Qianling Sect at the Nascent Soul Stage, uses ice attribute techniques with incredible skill, said to have already grasped a sliver of the Ice path.”
“Hua Qianrou, a Golden Core disciple from Joyful Union Sacred Land, can use illusion techniques that even Nascent Soul Stage cultivators can’t resist.”
“Su Luo, a Nascent Soul Stage disciple from Divine Wood Sacred Land, boasts the strongest record of defeating ten talents from our Qianling Sect, myself included.”
