Volume 1, Chapter 32: Terrifyingly Strong

"Liu Dongyue, watch me deal with you properly today!" Lu Tianxing shouted. With a flick of his wrist, he drew a battle-axe from his back. His True Qi surged, revealing the full extent of his Ninth-Grade cultivation.

Xu Hong, Zhao Xian, and Shen Zong'ao, standing behind him, were forced back several steps by the sheer pressure of Lu Tianxing’s energy. Although the three were gifted disciples of their respective sects, they were still far inferior to Lu Tianxing. The surrounding disciples from other sects watched, awestruck by the display. Was this what a true genius looked like?

Yet, faced with such a formidable Lu Tianxing, Liu Dongyue remained unmoved. A strange sensation washed over him: the four men standing before him seemed impossibly small. Lu Tianxing’s Ninth-Grade cultivation and his supposedly overwhelming energy felt fragile and brittle in his eyes—as if he could shatter them with a mere breath.

It was marvelous. Liu Dongyue had never felt this powerful. He felt terrifyingly strong, as if he could even march up to the Saint Lord of Taixuan and kick him twice.

"Get down on your knees!"

Lu Tianxing lunged forward, his battle-axe descending with the force of a collapsing mountain!

Boom! The momentum was staggering.

Even the Saint Lord of Taixuan, Jiang Yixuan, changed his expression at the sight. Was Lu Tianxing being too ruthless? A small lesson for Liu Dongyue was one thing, but if he killed him, Li Hanzhou would surely lose his mind. Li Hanzhou possessed the Thousand-Life Ghost Lotus and had already slain Zhao Qianqiu. With his own injuries yet to heal, Jiang Yixuan knew he couldn't stop Li Hanzhou if he went on a killing spree.

"Once Lu Tianxing strikes, Liu Dongyue is finished!"
"Exactly. A mere Fifth-Grade, daring to challenge four people at once—he’s tired of living."
"He provoked Lu Tianxing earlier, and Lu has been simmering with rage. He’s definitely going to cripple him."

The crowd murmured amongst themselves.

"Second Senior Brother..." Yun Qianzhu and Shi Ming, the two younger ones, were deeply worried. They could feel the terror in that axe strike. The shockwaves cracked the very ground, and the stone tiles beneath Liu Dongyue’s feet began to splinter.

Yet, faced with this strike, Liu Dongyue did not dodge or weave. A mysterious, unwavering resolve burned in his eyes!

Boom!

As the axe descended, Lu Tianxing was shocked to see Liu Dongyue standing his ground. He had intended to pull his strength back, not wanting to commit murder, but before he could, Liu Dongyue raised his hand and clamped it firmly onto the blade of the axe!

Regardless of the weapon’s immense power and the thick True Qi coating it, the force was completely suppressed within Liu Dongyue’s grasp. As his five fingers tightened around the blade, Lu Tianxing’s True Qi shattered instantly, and the axe’s glow flickered and died.

"What!" Lu Tianxing’s jaw nearly hit the floor.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The masters of the four sects stood up so abruptly they knocked over their chairs, staring at the scene in disbelief.

"How is this possible!"
"Lu Tianxing is at the Ninth-Grade and has mastered the fourth level of the 'Axe-Splitting Technique.' How could that brat catch it with just one hand?"
"He didn't even move! This makes no sense. The boy is only at the Fifth-Grade!"
"This..." The Grand Elder of the Taixuan Holy Land was rendered speechless.

Jiang Yixuan, the Saint Lord of Taixuan, could not fathom it either. He simply could not understand. No matter how you looked at it, Liu Dongyue was only at the Fifth-Grade. While geniuses capable of challenging those of higher ranks existed, usually, a Fifth-Grade might take on a Sixth-Grade, or perhaps a Seventh-Grade if they were truly extraordinary. But to face a Ninth-Grade and crush their True Qi with a single hand? What kind of move was that?

Jiang Yixuan looked at the calm, composed Li Hanzhou, his heart churning like a stormy sea. He knew Liu Dongyue couldn't have achieved this on his own; Li Hanzhou had to be behind it. This man was truly mysterious, possessing such unfathomable means.

Shen Zong'ao and the others were equally stunned. They had expected Liu Dongyue to be finished in a heartbeat, yet he had caught Lu Tianxing’s strike with one hand.

"I don't believe it!" Lu Tianxing roared in fury. He was a pride of the heavens! The future Saint Son of the Taixuan Holy Land, a genius who had mastered the fourth level of the Axe-Splitting Technique—how could he be blocked by a Fifth-Grade piece of trash?

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Lu Tianxing held nothing back now, unleashing the full extent of his axe technique. Each strike possessed the power to cleave mountains and split stones! Yet, Liu Dongyue remained unhurried, not even taking a step back. He simply raised his hand and delivered a few light slaps, effortlessly dissolving every move of the Axe-Splitting Technique.

The onlookers were dumbfounded. It looked as if he were simply playing with a child.

"Let’s attack together!" Seeing this, Shen Zong'ao and the others joined the fray. It had truly become a four-on-one battle.

The Blade Sect's techniques were bold and domineering, with wide, sweeping movements of immense power. The Zhao family’s footwork was ethereal, and the folding fan in Zhao Xian’s hand sliced through the air like a razor-sharp blade, haunting and ghost-like. Shen Zong'ao’s "Mountain-Shaking Palm" surged with tidal waves of energy, as if it could shatter rivers and mountains!

Yet, against the combined assault of four geniuses, Liu Dongyue remained completely fearless, as if they were nothing more than ants before him.

"Bang!"

With a few muffled thuds, Liu Dongyue swatted all four of them away with nothing but a few slaps. They flew in perfect unison, landing well outside the arena! As they collapsed, they still couldn't believe they had lost.

"Defeated?" Zhao Wuxing felt the world go black; he nearly fainted.

The Grand Elder of the Taixuan Holy Land, equally disbelieving, stepped onto the arena and grabbed Liu Dongyue’s arm. Liu Dongyue jumped in surprise, but the Elder didn't harm him. He simply sensed his energy for a moment before looking at Liu Dongyue with an expression of pure bewilderment. "He really is only at the Fifth-Grade."

"Gentlemen," Li Hanzhou said with a grin, stepping onto the stage. "The sparring is over. Your disciples have all been defeated. Since that’s the case, and given that the Taixuan Holy Land is here to witness, you wouldn't dream of reneging on the stakes, would you?"

"Or, if you’re not satisfied, you can hand over the current stakes and put up new ones. We can keep going if you like," Li Hanzhou added cheerfully.

Liang Sheng and the others looked at one another. What was the point of continuing? Liu Dongyue was monstrously strong—even Lu Tianxing was no match for him. Sending more disciples would be futile.

"A bet is a bet." Liang Sheng pulled out a large blade. "Though this blade hasn't reached the rank of a Divine Weapon, it was obtained from the Valley of Divine Weapons years ago and possesses incredible power!" He looked at the blade in his arms with reluctance, but before he could say anything more, Li Hanzhou snatched it away.

"I'll take that, thank you. No need for such courtesy; I’ll take good care of it."

Li Hanzhou examined the heavy blade with delight. It was quite a find.

As Li Hanzhou picked up the weapon, the expressions of the three masters shifted.

"This Li Hanzhou is certainly no ordinary man," Zhao Wuxing said in a low voice.

Nie Shengyu nodded. "The Heavy Blade of the Blade Sect is forged from Dark Iron and weighs over a thousand pounds. Li Hanzhou picked it up without the slightest effort. It seems he isn't lacking in True Qi—his cultivation is simply so high that we cannot perceive it."