Eternal Heavenly Emperor

"Hey, are you really the Blood Hand, or are you just full of hot air? Stop talking and start fighting! Come on, I'm itching to get started!" Chu Hao laughed.

This guy!

Everyone thought to themselves, this guy is either a reckless fool or incredibly powerful. But the problem is, his realm is clearly that of a martial master.

Do you think You Zhiyuan is just an average Martial Sect fighter? Fool, he already showed his Meridian Pattern, making it clear that he's at the Second Tier, and he's a genius ranked on the Fledgling Dragon List. His real combat power can definitely match an average Four Meridians Martial Sect fighter... he might even win.

A Four Meridians Martial Sect fighter, do you understand?

Where's your chance of winning? Where does your confidence come from?

It's simply a joke.

You Zhiyuan looked at Chu Hao, "Angering me won't do you any good!"

"Really?" Chu Hao smiled slightly, "What can you do to me?"

"Kill you!" You Zhiyuan snorted, his figure suddenly leaping forward. Whoosh, his speed was incredibly fast, and in an instant, he was in front of Chu Hao, slapping toward him with a palm strike.

Chu Hao's figure flickered, and he had already activated his Sky Stepping Technique, darting away like a fish.

Every small realm improvement for a Martial Sect fighter signifies a tripling of power. However, for the two hidden realms of a martial master, the power difference is also tripled. Otherwise, why are they called hidden meridians and why are they so hard to unblock?

You Zhiyuan did not break through to the Martial Sect as a Ten Meridians martial master, but as a Nine Meridians master. Therefore, theoretically, his power was three times greater than Chu Hao's.

Considering factors like physique and Cultivation Technique, this gap might narrow to about twice, but it was still a huge disadvantage.

So, fighting head-on in terms of strength was not a good idea.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, Chu Hao's figure was also incredibly swift. He engaged in a chase and fight with You Zhiyuan, both figures darting around like ghosts.

"Wow, this young man's really powerful; he has lasted more than ten moves already!"

"More formidable than Jin Yunlin!"

"It's not quite like that. Jin Yunlin faced You Zhiyuan head-on and was defeated in nine moves. If he had chosen to evade, he could have lasted over a hundred moves."

"But to engage in such maneuvers with You Zhiyuan, this guy's agility is impressive."

Discussions erupted among the onlookers, especially from people like Qin Yulian and Jiang Qixuan, as this was directly relevant to them. Fortunately, Jin Yunlin had already fainted. Otherwise, he would be blushing to the point of passing out from shame upon seeing this scene.

"Hmph, lie down for me!" You Zhiyuan's fist erupted toward Chu Hao's chest. This punch was calculated based on Chu Hao's landing position, making it unavoidable. Either eat the punch or fight back.

Chu Hao showed a slight smile, stepping with both feet, and he unexpectedly suspended himself in mid-air.

"Space-Condensing?" You Zhiyuan's punch missed, but he didn't care. Instead, he sneered, "Do you think mastering Space-Condensing means you can contend with me?"

Whoosh, he struck again.

When Chu Hao used Space-Condensing for the second time, he too stepped repeatedly and hovered strangely in mid-air.

—It's not only the Sky Stepping Technique that can achieve Space-Condensing.

"Haha, that kid is too naive. Space-Condensing is difficult for ordinary people, but for geniuses on the Fledgling Dragon List, it's a piece of cake."

"Still, a martial master lasting this long against a Martial Sect fighter is quite something."

"Yes, if this guy survives, he might secure a spot in the next Fledgling Dragon List competition in half a year."

"Not likely. The new contenders this year are too strong. To enter the Fledgling Dragon List, one must at least be a Martial Sect fighter."

"True, he hasn't broken through to the Martial Sect despite being in the Spirit Chamber. Expecting him to break through in half a year is almost impossible."

Seeing You Zhiyuan also use Space-Condensing to continue attacking Chu Hao inevitably elevated the discussions again. Some people marveled at Chu Hao's talent, but more believed it was pointless.

"Can you still dodge this punch?" You Zhiyuan sneered, his bloody fist swinging toward Chu Hao's chest once more.

As the punch was about to hit, Chu Hao stepped with both feet, astonishingly lifting his whole body up, narrowly avoiding the punch.

"What!"

"Impossible!"

"Is this Reverse Sky!"

Witnessing this, everyone widened their eyes in disbelief.

Most movement techniques only increase speed; some involve deceptive moves, even creating phantom images to confuse the opponent. However, techniques that achieve Space-Condensing and Reverse Sky are not uncommon, but reaching these realms is extremely difficult.

For geniuses ranked on the Fledgling Dragon List, mastering Space-Condensing is a given. But Reverse Sky... how many of the top fifty can achieve it?

Yet now, it appeared on a mere martial master.

"Hey, hey, hey, is this for real?"

"That's Reverse Sky. I've never seen anyone perform it!"

"It's too unlikely. I actually saw Reverse Sky!"

"Yes, this realm is so tough to reach. Normally, no one would cultivate it because after reaching the Warrior level, they can control the artifact to fly. Reverse Sky then becomes trivial."

Even Bai Qi and Bian Yu were shocked. Reverse Sky was something they hadn't mastered! Not because they lacked the talent, but because they didn't want to waste time on it. After all, once promoted to Warrior, they could control the artifact to fly. Why bother with such effort?

This martial master level small figure was a real surprise.

Whoosh, You Zhiyuan's fist hit empty air, landing on the ground. He looked at Chu Hao, who had floated to the left, and a cold smile appeared on his lips, "Not bad, not bad. Now, this is getting interesting. Killing a regular guy would be too boring!"

Chu Hao raised both hands, the Sky Wind Eight Styles was ready to strike. With a roar, flames ignited on his hands, and a streak of blue flame made the onlookers' hearts skip a beat.

"Hmm?" You Zhiyuan's expression became cautious. The blue flame aroused a strong sense of dread within him, instinctively telling him never to let that flame hit him directly.

"I didn't expect your physique to be so strong, it seems you have a very powerful bloodline!" He looked at Chu Hao, then grinned, "But since you killed my cousin, no one can protect you!"

"Go to hell!"

He lunged, attacking Chu Hao again.

Chu Hao laughed heartily, raising his palms to meet the attack. His feet moved, miraculously dodging You Zhiyuan's continuous attacks, closing the distance.

Why had he been dodging all along? Because he was analyzing You Zhiyuan's attack patterns. Once deciphered, the opponent's threat was halved.

Now, the real battle began.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Chu Hao unleashed the Sky Wind Eight Styles, a martial technique at least of Earth Level. Its power was extraordinary, putting tremendous pressure on You Zhiyuan, who could no longer maintain his previous composure.

The two exchanged blows, but Chu Hao had already figured out You Zhiyuan's attack pattern, always striking during moments of his opponent's weakness, making the extra meridian advantage meaningless.

From the looks of it, the two were evenly matched.

Who could have imagined this?

A martial master fighting a Martial Sect fighter, and a Second Tier one at that, resulting in a draw. It was like a fantasy.

"This guy seems to have a predictive ability, always attacking when You Zhiyuan's power dips, completely neutralizing his strength advantage."

"My God, I could accept it if it happened once or twice, but it's been almost a hundred moves, and You Zhiyuan is still being suppressed?"

"Is this guy even human?"

As the crowd watched, they became increasingly stunned; this was beyond genius—this was a complete monster.

But some people saw even more.

"Even if he precisely times his attacks, You Zhiyuan's realm, as a Two Meridians Martial Sect fighter, means his power is at least nine times that of a Nine Meridians martial master!" Bai Qi's eyes sparkled, staring intently at Chu Hao, "This is an almost insurmountable power gap, unless—"

"Unless this guy is a Ten Meridians martial master!" Bian Yu was startled by his own speculation. How could a Ten Meridians exist? He had never heard of such a thing. There were only legends suggesting that the top ten on the Fledgling Dragon List might have Ten Meridians.

But those were just legends, rumors. No one had ever confirmed it.

Could this tiny Middle Nine Counties produce a Ten Meridians prodigy?

Impossible, absolutely impossible!

...

You Zhiyuan could ascertain that the opponent's power was significantly weaker than his. This was an obvious fact—Martial Sect fighters dominated martial masters effortlessly, right? But the problem lay in the opponent's knack for engaging him during his power dips, only allowing him to exert thirty to forty percent of his strength at most.

Yet, even so, he didn't lose out on power. But what was terrifying was that every counterattack from his opponent carried Shocking Force, which was the most perplexing and terrifying part.

How could someone consistently use Shocking Force?

Even a genius like him could only manage four out of ten strikes with Shocking Force. Yet, from the moment Chu Hao started fighting back, every strike carried Shocking Force. It was too unreal.

The two continued their intense battle, fully displaying their brilliance.

Hum!

At that moment, a milky white light descended, forming a hemispherical dome. This sudden change made Chu Hao and You Zhiyuan stop immediately.

Crack, crack, crack, the center of the plaza suddenly split open, and a massive round altar emerged. The altar was covered with various weeds, interspersed with sparse rice plants. Unlike typical rice plants, these rice grains were as thick as a little finger.

Then, in the center of the round altar, a new altar rose again. From this altar, a third one emerged, continually elevating like a telescopic rod, reaching all the way to the dome.

This 'telescopic rod' had a total of thirty layers.

Finally, a staircase extended from the first layer of the altar, and all the changes abruptly stopped.