Divine King of Honour

As Xu Nian ascended the battle platform, the entire arena had completely erupted into excitement.

The peak battle, where the victor would be the first-place winner of this academy competition and would also become the top talent of East Field County, renowned throughout history.

How could such an important battle not be thrilling?

"Brother Yun, defeat him, you're number one!"

"Brother Yun, you're the strongest, I want to have your babies!"

…

The female students of Tianhen Academy continuously shouted, cheering for Ji Yun with great vigor.

There were also some who supported Xu Nian, but their voices were completely drowned out by those in support of Ji Yun.

On the battle platform, Ji Yun looked at Xu Nian and said indifferently, "Draw your sword, relying only on fists and feet, you can't possibly be my opponent."

"Is that so? Why don't we try?" Xu Nian retorted with a cold laugh.

"Hmph, it seems you won't shed tears until you see the coffin. Well then, let me show you the power of a One-star Body Sect." Ji Yun scoffed coldly, then his figure shot out like thunder, shattering the ground underneath his feet.

Fist wind like a tiger, Gang Qi swirling furiously, his aura supremely domineering.

The crowd on the field was all amazed; such a casual punch from Ji Yun had such formidable force, even stronger than when he previously used Gang Skill as a Nine-star Body Cultivator.

Yet, Xu Nian's expression remained unchanged, his fist instantly clenched, meeting Ji Yun's punch head-on.

"Boom!"

A loud explosion.

Xu Nian was forced back eight steps, while Ji Yun was also pushed back six steps by the powerful force.

"How is this possible?" the audience exclaimed in surprise.

If it were said that before Ji Yun's breakthrough, Xu Nian might still have forced Ji Yun back with a punch, but now Ji Yun had advanced to the Silver Moon Body Sect realm, and Xu Nian was still able to stand his ground, which was indeed shocking.

On the high platform, Prefectural Governor Chen Tiansheng also displayed a surprised expression, clearly puzzled.

Of course, the most shocked was Ji Yun; he had used seventy percent of his strength in that punch. Not to mention a Nine-star Warrior, even a Nine-star Body Cultivator wouldn't dare to face it.

Xu Nian looked at the stunned Chen Tiansheng and smiled slightly, "I forgot to tell you, apart from being a Nine-star Warrior, I am also a Nine-star Body Cultivator."

Having said that, an incredibly powerful Gang Qi burst forth from Xu Nian's body, surging within him like a roaring dragon.

From the beginning until now, he had only been using Spiritual Energy in battle, and had not employed Gang Qi, thus no one on the field knew except for a few like Leng Yanran that Xu Nian was also a Body Cultivator.

With this declaration from Xu Nian, the entire venue went completely still.

Spirit Body Dual Cultivation, both at the Ninth-star of Star Realm, an Artifact Master, and also his swordsmanship had reached the realm of Man and Sword as One.

What kind of talent was this?

The entire venue fell silent, no one spoke.

Even Prefectural Governor Chen Tiansheng on the high platform was momentarily dumbfounded, his heart tremendously shaken.

Spirit Body Dual Cultivation, Man and Sword as One, Artifact Master – Any one of these features concentrated on a young person would be an immensely dazzling halo, but now all were combined in one person, how terrifying and defiant of the heavens was that?

Ji Yun, too stunned to speak, stared at Xu Nian with a face full of disbelief.

Suddenly, he seemed to think of something and asked a question that everyone in the venue was curious about, "How old are you?"

Indeed, the entire audience was curious about Xu Nian's age.

The academy competition rule stated that anyone below twenty-four years old could participate in the competition, and Ji Yun was exactly twenty-four this year, while Xu Nian appeared somewhat younger; Ji Yun guessed he might be around twenty years old.

"Not young anymore, I'm already sixteen, but I'll be seventeen in three months!" Xu Nian answered truthfully.

"Pfft!"

Ji Yun almost spat out a mouthful of blood; he felt as if a sword had fiercely pierced his heart.

The entire audience felt their hearts sink abruptly, staring at Xu Nian as if he were some kind of freak.

Because Xu Nian practiced Body Refinement, his figure was much taller than his peers, leading them to always assume he was already in his twenties. However, they were shocked to learn he was only sixteen this year.

Sixteen years old, engaged in Spirit Body Dual Cultivation, at the Ninth-Star of the Star Realm, comprehending Man and Sword as One, and also an apprentice Artifact Master—had he started cultivating right from the womb?

The shock of the crowd was unintended; they were utterly overwhelmed by Xu Nian's talent.

Today's battle, regardless of Xu Nian's victory or defeat, would mark him as the undisputed top prodigy of East Field County.

What they did not know was that just a few months ago, Xu Nian was still a plain Four-star Warrior. If they knew that, who knew what their expressions would be.

"Goodness! What a genius!" Chen Tiansheng couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, his gaze towards Xu Nian turning extremely fervent.

In the stands, Chen Yao also appeared completely stunned.

This year she turned twenty and had reached the rank of a Two-star War Sect. She was quite pleased with herself, yet she never imagined Xu Nian would far surpass her.

Chen Xifeng and Dugu Jingcheng shared a smile at each other; growing up with such a monster could sometimes be very exhausting.

At this moment, Ji Yun's expression had completely darkened. Xu Nian's talent instilled fear in him, and a hint of killing intent ignited deep within his heart.

"Roar!"

A rumble of Gang Qi erupted, and Ji Yun burst forth from behind, reaching Xu Nian in the blink of an eye.

His incredibly fierce and dominant Gang Qi smashed ruthlessly toward Xu Nian's chest.

"So fast!"

Xu Nian was startled, hastily using his arms to block.

Despite that, he was still blasted nearly twenty meters away by Ji Yun's punch before he could stop, his entire arm tingling intensely.

Ji Yun's Gang Qi was exceptionally tyrannical. Had it not been for Xu Nian's cultivation of Divine Demon Gang Qi and the protection of Dragon Energy, that punch would have knocked him out of the arena.

"It seems Junior Brother Xu's strength isn't as terrifying as imagined. His speed in body movements is probably his weakness," remarked Ji Yun with a teasing tone, his gaze playful.

That punch had revealed it to him. Although Xu Nian's strength and swordsmanship were strong, his speed in body movements was far too slow, unable to keep up with his pace.

In this case, even if Xu Nian used his swordsmanship, he could easily defeat him without even using his Long Spear.

The audience frowned, wondering if Xu Nian was just going to lose like this?

Although Xu Nian had yet to utilize his swordsmanship, speed in body movements wasn't something that swordsmanship could compensate for.

Everyone on the platform felt pity for Xu Nian, believing that the outcome of this duel was already decided.

Just then, Xu Nian suddenly spoke with a smile, "You're right, my speed in body movements is indeed lacking, but that was just then."

With that, Xu Nian slowly removed the beast skin suit he was wearing, along with the iron hammer inside it, and tossed them onto the ground.

"Thud!"

Xu Nian's beast skin suit hit the floor of the battle platform, making a sound dull as a great bell; the floor of the platform was directly smashed into fragments.

What's going on?

The entire audience was startled, not understanding what had just happened.

"Now, try my speed in body movements again!" As everyone was puzzled, Xu Nian's figure had already burst forth, moving like a gust of strong wind and instantly appearing before Ji Yun, his speed several times faster than before.

Ji Yun's pupils constricted, his eyes filled with astonishment.

...

ps: Third update. Friends who like this book, get excited, throw in your collections and recommendations! Experience tales at empire