Eternal Heavenly Emperor

"How could I not dare?" Golden Cloud Jin Yunlin's face was filled with pride.

Just as he said, realm did not represent combat power, and besides, he was only one meridian weaker than Chu Hao.

Chu Hao raised his right hand and said, "First move."

Boom, he casually swung his hand, and instantly, a crescent-shaped radiance shot out.

Crescent Slash.

Jin Yunlin, as if facing a formidable enemy, was a genius among geniuses, with astonishing battle talents. He could see at a glance that this strike was terrifyingly powerful. If he did not give it his all, he could not possibly block it and would inevitably be severely injured.

"Hey!" he roared, his palms thrusting forward to meet the glowing attack.

Bang!

With a heavy sound, his palms met the Crescent Slash, and he was forcefully pushed back over twenty meters before he came to a stop.

He had blocked it.

The radiance of the Crescent Slash was completely extinguished, its Star Force depleted.

Jin Yunlin still maintained his attacking stance because his arms were now completely numb, devoid of any sensation.

Very strong, indeed too strong.

"Second move," said Chu Hao casually, his tone as calm and unruffled as Jin Yunlin's had been initially, only now their positions were completely reversed.

He could remain composed, but Jin Yunlin could not afford to. He stared round-eyed, elevating his spirit to the utmost, preparing for Chu Hao's second move. At this moment, he could no longer afford to consider the agreement of five moves; he only thought about surviving the current one.

Bang!

Another heavy sound, and once again Jin Yunlin was pushed back several dozen meters by the Crescent Slash. Gasp, as the moonlight faded, he suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, feeling an indescribable turmoil within.

This strike was three times more powerful than the previous one.

"Third move," said Chu Hao calmly, as he launched the third Crescent Slash.

There was no need for an ultimate move; Crescent Slash alone was enough to suppress with sheer power.

Jin Yunlin desperately faced it head-on, letting out a loud roar. Countless green glows spiraled out from his body, obviously activating some ultimate move.

Squeak—

But without suspense, he was once again pushed back forcefully by the power of the Crescent Slash. This time, he retreated a hundred meters. As the Crescent Slash dissipated, he suddenly toppled backward, falling to the ground.

Just when the audience believed the battle was about to end, they saw Jin Yunlin struggling to turn over, then slowly pushing himself up from the ground to stand once more, his eyes blazing with an unyielding light.

In terms of fighting will, Jin Yunlin truly was not inferior to Chu Hao; it was just unfortunate that the gap in their strength was too vast.

Sixfold power.

Jin Yunlin said to himself. In that last strike, Chu Hao's power was six times higher than his, an unbearable burden for him. Yet, this disparity in power was within his acceptance range, because being one meridian apart in the Martial Sect Realm equated to threefold power difference, and since Chu Hao was at the Five Meridians Peak, it was natural that his power would be six times greater.

Two more moves, he could take them!

Jin Yunlin firmly stood up, his determined gaze fixed on Chu Hao, his whole person radiating an immense fighting spirit like an unparalleled blade.

Facing a stronger opponent with his weaker strength, if he could withstand Chu Hao's five moves, he would be able to completely let go of the burdens in his heart. Perhaps then he could progress rapidly in strength just like Chu Hao had before.

This was a huge test, but also a tremendous opportunity.

Leap over it, and perhaps he would transform, just like a fish leaping over the dragon gate.

"Fourth move." Chu Hao remained casual, his figure darted forward, closing the distance, and then another Crescent Slash thundered out.

Jin Yunlin roared, pushing both palms forward.

Bang!

For the fourth time, he was slid back, and this time it was much worse. As soon as he caught the Crescent Slash, he began to vomit blood profusely, only stopping when the power of the Crescent Slash was expended. His clothes were almost completely shredded, but the blood seeping from his skin managed to cover some "spring scenery."

Jin Yunlin's face was filled with disbelief. He looked up at Chu Hao, opened his mouth as if to say something, but spat out yet another blood arrow and then thunderously collapsed. This time, however, he didn't hit the ground but was directly teleported out.

How is this possible!

In the resting room, Jin Yunlin's mind was still buzzing in disbelief. In that fourth strike, Chu Hao's power had skyrocketed to ten times his own.

But there was only one meridian difference between the two of them, and even if one was at the Four Meridians Early Stage and the other at the Five Meridians Peak, the gap should have been less than ninefold. How could it have become ten times?

Could it be?

He suddenly thought of a possibility.

—Chu Hao must have broken through from being a Ten-Meridians martial master, otherwise how would one explain this tenfold power difference?

With this thought, Jin Yunlin's fighting spirit vanished completely.

Meridians cannot be cultivated in reverse.

The ninth and tenth Proper Veins can only be opened when one is a martial master. If one misses this opportunity, there is nothing one can do about it, even if one later becomes a War God. This is a flaw that no miraculous pills and elixirs could ever remedy.

He was a Martial Sect with Nine Meridians breakthrough, but Chu Hao had Ten Meridians. This disparity of a single meridian would forever exist. As long as their realms were the same, Chu Hao would always be stronger than him.

With this thought, he naturally lost all his fighting spirit.

...

In the spectators' area, although most people had witnessed this scene, it did not cause much sensation. After all, Chu Hao's odds of winning were clear for all to see, and it was estimated that only in the final 20 rounds might someone pose a threat to him.

Yet, the people of Tianhe County were each staring with wide eyes, unable to accept what had happened.

Jin Yunlin was once the number one talent of Tianhe County, and by the end of last year, he was the only one in the entire Tianhe County to have broken through to Martial Sect. In the eyes of Tianhe County's martial artists, Jin Yunlin's status as the top talent was unshakable.

— Anyone who could defeat Jin Yunlin must surely be a monstrous talent from another county.

But what about reality?

Jin Yunlin had lost, not even able to withstand Chu Hao's four moves.

The Sky Heart Sect also had many people present, but losing Jin Yunlin as their talent meant they did not even make it onto the list of the top 185 competitors, with the disciples they brought along having been eliminated in the first three rounds.

Among them were core disciples like An Feifei, whose emotions were mixed and indescribable.

The two elders from Yunliu Sect also looked displeased. Next to them, Luo Ping was filled with emotion; he had been looking forward to the clash of talents between Chu Hao and Cao Jingwen, only to find that Cao Jingwen had died prematurely in the Ancient Training Ground, ensuring that dream would never be realized.

Of course, he did not know that Cao Jingwen had actually died at Chu Hao's hand.

But now, Chu Hao faced the even stronger Jin Yunlin and had easily defeated him.

What a monstrously talented individual! With his leadership, the Yunliu Sect might well achieve feats beyond that of a Fifth-Grade Sect in the future, perhaps even ascending to a Fourth-Grade!

What a pity, if the two elders beside him knew his thoughts, they would certainly scoff at them—the disciples from the Lower World? They were merely slaves of their various families, tools used to produce offspring with excellent bloodlines.

The ranking battle continued to progress, and Chu Hao's consecutive victories were growing. And now, the number of people who remained undefeated was getting smaller. There was no doubt that the final top ten, or top twenty places, would unfold among them.

By the 150th round, Chu Hao finally met another opponent who had maintained a flawless record of victories.

Chai Kang.

Before being teleported to the dueling platform, each person would not know who their next opponent was, only that it would definitely be someone they had not yet encountered.

Therefore, upon seeing each other, both were somewhat surprised.

"Hahahaha, it's you!" Chai Kang immediately laughed coldly, his face showing a trace of confusion.

Because he had previously met Chu Hao, who was only at the Single-Meridian Cultivation realm in his view, perhaps having regressed after being seriously injured in their bout that day.

Yet on the odds board, Chu Hao was somehow undefeated and tied with him. How could that not surprise him?

A Single-Meridian could be this badass?

But then he thought again, it must be that Chu Hao's previous opponents were too weak, allowing him, a Single-Meridian Martial Sect, to remain unbeaten—although Chai Kang had to admit, even if he were reduced to Single-Meridian, he would definitely not be Chu Hao's match.

This kid's power had reached that of Two Meridians, while his combat power was comparable to Three Meridians.

With the power of Three Meridians, it would be easy to sweep over half of the participants here, so his string of victories was no surprise.

But now, his winning streak would end here.

Because his opponent was Chu Hao!

Chu Hao couldn't help but laugh out, saying, "Facing you now shows that your strength isn't all that great!"

The strongest few would definitely only meet in the last few rounds. It was only the 150th round now, with 34 rounds to go.

Chai Kang couldn't help feeling furious. Those words should have been his to say, no? He was one of the strongest, and Chu Hao was just someone he would step on. His face quickly showed a look of surprise, which then became more pronounced.

"Five, Five Meridians!" he exclaimed in shock.

Impossible, impossible, impossible!

Chai Kang's mind was roaring tumultuously.

When he had seen Chu Hao before, wasn't the fellow only at Single-Meridian? How had he now suddenly reached Five Meridians and was on par with him? No, the aura from the other person, though on the same level, was clearly deeper.

Five Meridians Late Period, or even the peak.

It was absolutely impossible to leap from Single-Meridian to Five Meridians in just a few days. Thus, this guy must have employed some method to hide his Cultivation before. But even so, to advance from Two Meridians Early Stage to Five Meridians Late Period, or even the peak, in just a few months—how did he do it?

Such a rate of progression was something he wouldn't even dare to imagine. Witnessing it with his own eyes now, how could he not be shocked to the point of his eyeballs nearly popping out?

"Chai Kang, how many moves can you withstand this time?" Chu Hao struck, pushing out with a palm as he executed the Sky Wind Eight Styles.

Chai Kang was not Jin Yunlin. Chu Hao's first move was Four Techniques as One, raining down on Chai Kang overwhelmingly.

He had seen this move before, but he could be one hundred percent certain, the power of this palm was never this strong—not only because Chu Hao's strength had increased, but also because the palm's power itself had also been enhanced.

He felt as if an ancient beast had set its sights on him, his whole body's hair standing on end.

This strike was too terrifying. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)