Translator: Lordbluefire Editor: Lordbluefire

  There were many first-level immortals participating in today’s combat. However, a majority of the experts partaking in combat were all at the second or third level. Naturally, this was because the holy maidens wanted better battle achievements. If Nanfeng Yunxi fought all her battles by herself, she would only end up exhausted and this would be extremely dangerous.

  "Initially, I thought that you, Yunxi, would be able to make it into the ancestral lands too. However, it seems that I was mistaken." Nanfeng Aoxue turned her gaze to Nanfeng Yunxi. Nanfeng Yunxi’s talent was excellent, and she had established a high-grade immortal foundation. Despite only recently ascending to immortality, her strength made many elders in her clan nod in approval. A majority of them hoped she’d be able to make it into the ancestral lands and become the Holy Successor.

  Instead, she invited Qin Wentian, a character whose cultivation base was only at the first level.

  Since Qin Wentian was the top ranker of the Immortal Ascension Rankings, it probably meant that his talent was also excellent. However, he was someone who had only just established an immortal foundation, and he had no way to borrow power from the formation. He wasn’t suitable to contribute to an assisted battle at all.

  The geniuses here were all extremely talented individuals from the Southern Region. Their combat prowess was extraordinary, so it wouldn’t be so simple for a first-level immortal to jump levels and fight on the same level as the others.

  "Senior Brother, let me fight one round." Jun Mengchen was extremely eager. After stepping into immortal foundation, he hadn’t had an opportunity to fight a good battle. Now, an opportunity had presented itself. Since he was standing on one of the platforms at the Phoenix Arena, this meant that he was a helper. Each holy maiden could have up to a maximum of three helpers, and anyone beside Nanfeng Yunxi could fight if they want to. If they won, it would count towards Nanfeng Yunxi’s record of battle achievements.

  "Brother Qin, did you know that you’d definitely lose and that’s why you’re sending another person to replace you?" Rong Xiao continued to provoke Qin Wentian. After that, Rong Xiao glanced past Purgatory, and his eyes fixed on Nanfeng Yunxi as he smiled. "Holy Maiden Yunxi actually invited Brother Qin to help you for the trials? That seems like a somewhat unwise decision."

  "Mengchen, since this man wishes to fight against me so much. Let me grant his wish. Don’t worry, there will be other opportunities for you to fight later on," Qin Wentian said to Jun Mengchen.

  "Okay." Jun Mengchen nodded. "Senior Brother, show him his place."

  "Mhm." Qin Wentian stepped out and appeared on the arena. A bright light flashed as the screen of light activated once more, enveloping the entire arena. Rong Xiao’s immortal foundation erupted forth with might as his constellations manifested in the air. Law energy flowed around him as the immortal might from his immortal foundation gushed forth unceasingly. In just an instant, Rong Xiao’s immortal might shrouded Qin Wentian.

  "What energy is this?" Qin Wentian stared at the law energy surrounding the area. They had manifested into numerous knights seated atop war horses, equipped with armor and white lances that shimmered with immortal might. Behind Rong Xiao, a gigantic phantom of a knight appeared. Rong Xiao had also mounted an astral war horse and he soared up into the sky.

  "Die!" Rong Xiao shouted coldly. After which, the horses started to gallop, the force of their strides causing the space to tremble. A countless number of war horses rushed towards Qin Wentian with lightning speed, intending to bury him within. Their terrifying long lances and metal hooves were powerful enough to pierce through Qin Wentian and trample him to pieces.

  These warhorses were no ordinary horses. Thunderclaps boomed whenever they stomped through the air with their metal hooves. They were incomparably majestic and extremely speedy, and possessed an overwhelming attacking strength.

  Qin Wentian soared through the air. His immortal foundation thrummed as a startling pressure gushed forth from him. In that instant, Rong Xiao felt his own immortal foundation trembling, as though something was suppressing it an innate level. The pressure felt like the blows from a hammer blasting into his immortal foundation.

  Qin Wentian threw out a punch. The instant the punch manifested, it shimmered with boundless runic light, transforming into a beam of light that could shatter everything apart. Thunderous sounds of explosions rang out, and the war horses were completely exterminated under the brilliant beam of his fist light.

  "Not bad." A voice rang out in Qin Wentian’s ear. Rong Xiao then sped forth, his silvery lance piercing straight at Qin Wentian’s throat with a speed too fast for the eye to follow.

  Qin Wentian’s palm slammed out, but before it hit Rong Xiao, Rong Xiao’s silhouette was already flickering with a white light, and he reappeared in another location. He was still seated on his war horse—his speed was too incredible.

  —RUMBLE!— Rong Xiao transformed into a white shadow. Thousands of war horses galloped towards Qin Wentian in that instant, wanting to overwhelm him in a stampede. Qin Wentian frowned. His immortal sense gushed out, and as the stampede of horses rushed at him, he slammed out with another palm strike while simultaneously dodging to the side. His senses were sharp enough to discern Rong Xiao’s location. A silvery lance narrowly missed him, and with another flash of white light, Rong Xiao appeared behind Qin Wentian.

  "Your attack power isn’t bad. But your speed is too slow. A first-level immortal foundation cultivation can only amount to this much after all. There’s no way for you to mitigate the difference in cultivation. Even if you once had the position of top ranker on the Immortal Ascension Rankings, it’s useless," Rong Xiao said with arrogance. He then continued, "I won’t be playing around with you anymore."

  —BOOM!— As the sound of his words faded, Qin Wentian took a step out, and a terrifying formless might bore down on his immortal foundation. Rong Xiao furrowed his brows, and in the next instant, he saw Qin Wentian radiating with immortal light as the might of Qin Wentian’s immortal foundation permeated the surroundings.

  "Hmph." Snorting coldly, Rong Xiao’s body vanished once more, appearing directly before Qin Wentian at an inconceivable speed. Qin Wentian didn’t bother looking at him. Relying on instinct, he immediately threw out a punch that shone with a scintillating inky-black light—the law energy from the law of destruction.

  With a deafening blast, the spectators saw Rong Xiao’s silvery lance snap in two. Rong Xiao flung back through the air and slammed onto the floor of the arena, coughing out fresh blood.

  "Your combat prowess is merely at this level even though you’re at the second level of immortal foundation? Aren’t you a little too useless?" Qin Wentian stepped forward. Rong Xiao’s countenance turned ashen. Qin Wentian’s words were too face-smacking. Who was playing around with who?

  Earlier, he’d stated that he would no longer play around with Qin Wentian, yet he sent him flying with a single punch right after that. In that moment, he’d felt his immortal foundation suppressed and his immortal energy hadn’t flowed smoothly, as though the pressure had disrupted it. That space around him seemed to have solidified due to the suppressive pressure as well, and he couldn’t shift his body to evade even if he wanted to. He could only respond head-on with an attack, and hope that he could negate the power. However, he’d ended up the injured party instead. How could someone at the first level have such power?

  "You lost. You can’t even withstand a single strike," Qin Wentian said as he walked to the front of Rong Xiao.

  —BOOM!— Rong Xiao’s immortal foundation manifested out in the open. Instantly, the skies changed as the phenomenon of a pegasus adorned with silvery wings appeared, blotting out the sun. An incomparable might bore down on Qin Wentian. Rong Xiao slowly floated up into the air as he unleashed his strength to its limits.

  —bzz!— The wings of the pegasus flashed as a beam of white light shot towards Qin Wentian, instantly arriving before him, ignoring the vast distance between them. Such speed basically gave the opponent no chance to react.

  —BOOM!— Qin Wentian’s immortal foundation released a heaven-startling might. His entire body was akin to a fiend-god, flowing with fearsome runic light. Rong Xiao’s terrifying lance smashed forward to pierce Qin Wentian’s body. But at this very moment, a gigantic shadow of a Xuanwu Turtle enveloped Qin Wentian completely. The long lance continued to pierce forward, but Qin Wentian’s defense was now insanely high—the lance rebounded from the toughness of his flesh.

  Qin Wentian’s hand stretched out and grabbed Rong Xiao’s body. His right hand turned inky-black in color and erupted forwards in a punch, causing terrifying rumbling sounds to ring out. Rong Xiao’s immortal light dimmed, and his immortal foundation felt as though it were about to shatter.

  —BOOM!— Another terrifying punch pummelled its way over. Rong Xiao screamed as he coughed out blood from the impact. Slumping to the ground, the phenomenon in the sky dispersed as his immortal light completely dissipated.

  When Qin Wentian saw this scene, he retracted his aura as well. Lowering his head to stare at Rong Xiao lying on the ground, he said, "You’re at the second level of immortal foundation, yet you can’t even break my defense? Aren’t you simply courting death by choosing me?"

  After that, Qin Wentian turned and walked down the arena.

  Everyone’s eyes gleamed sharply when they glanced at Qin Wentian. This fellow had such overwhelming combat prowess. It looked like Nanfeng Yunxi understood his strength despite his status as a first-level immortal foundation expert. This was the reason why she’d chosen to invite him for help.

  As for Rong Xiao, he’d suffered such a miserable defeat. Everyone could only look at him with eyes full of pity. He, a person who had come here to act as a helper, could be said to have lost his face completely. Earlier, after his first defeat, he shouldn’t have insisted on continuing the fight.

  "I’ve accomplished my task," Qin Wentian announced in a low voice, smiling as he returned to Nanfeng Yunxi’s side. Now, Nanfeng Aoxue’s camp had two victories and one defeat, while Nanfeng Yunxi’s camp had one victory.

  Nanfeng Aoxue turned and glanced at Nanfeng Yunxi’s camp. Her expression was extremely cold. She initially wanted to enter the ancestral lands with zero defeats, but it was impossible now. And with Rong Xiao current state, he wouldn’t be able to continue assisting her in the other battles.

  Rong Xiao climbed up with much difficulty. He stared coldly at Qin Wentian before lowering his head and walking down the platform. His face had been completely thrown away.

  "You still dare to act so arrogantly with that mere level of skill?" Jun Mengchen mocked. And this fellow wanted Purgatory?

  "Let’s continue." The beautiful middle-aged woman standing in the air spoke. Next, it was Nanfeng Qingruo’s camp’s turn. Nanfeng Qingruo had two helpers. One of them was Jiang Ziyu from the Jiang Clan. The second helper was also an outstanding genius among the younger generations.

  Nanfeng Qingruo chose a holy maiden and defeated her. After that, her two helpers also secured their victories with ease.

  Qin Wentian observed Jiang Ziyu’s fight with interest. The Jiang Clan was the same as the Southern Phoenix Clan— they were one of the three ancient great clans of the Southern Region. Similar to him, Jiang Ziyu had once obtained the position of the top ranker in the City of Ancient Emperors. He naturally wouldn’t be an ordinary character.

  When Jiang Ziyu attacked, the vastness of his strength was simply terrifying. He effortlessly defeated his opponent with such swiftness that no one could accurately gauge his strength. However, it was clear how powerful he was. Evidently, this Jiang Ziyu was extraordinary even among members of the Jiang Clan. He must be a supreme genius that the clan had nurtured heavily.

  Qin Wentian’s senses were extremely sharp, but even he had no way to see through Jiang Ziyu. It was just as Nanfeng Yunxi said—the people of the Jiang Clan were all extremely mysterious.

  "What skills or powers are the Jiang Clan proficient in?" Qin Wentian looked to Nanfeng Yunxi and asked. An ancient great clan of the immortal realms should have a special type of energy they were proficient in. For example, the Southern Phoenix Clan had the bloodline of the ancient phoenix, and had the ability to undergo nirvana.

  "You can’t see through him, right? The Jiang Clan are extremely mysterious and their techniques diverse. But according to our Southern Phoenix Clan’s records, the people of the Jiang Clan cultivate buddhist techniques—they follow the path of the Buddha," Nanfeng Yunxi transmitted her voice over. Qin Wentian glanced at Jiang Ziyu. He was handsome and extraordinary; he didn’t seem to be someone who cultivated the buddhist path.