Chapter 31: The Arena Duel

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Just as Jiang Qian, Qin Tian, and Hu Ling'er were preparing to spar, the spirit of the Trial Pagoda suddenly appeared. In a cold voice, it said, “How dare you! No fighting is permitted inside the Trial Pagoda. Any offender will be punished severely! If you do not wish to continue challenging the trials, then get out of here at once!”

Seeing the white-bearded pagoda spirit appear with such an uncompromising tone, the three of them had no choice but to leave the Trial Pagoda sheepishly through the teleportation array.

Only after they had exited did the three let out long, shaken breaths. They had never imagined that the spirit of the Trial Pagoda possessed Emperor Realm strength as well. Fortunately, that terrifying pressure had lasted only for an instant; otherwise, they would all have been crushed until they coughed blood.

“Senior Sister, I heard that many Emperor Realm elders are sleeping within the sect. It seems the rumors are true after all.” Qin Tian patted his chest. He had originally thought the rumors were false, but now it seemed that the sect’s mysteries far exceeded his imagination.

Jiang Qian nodded. “That’s right. I once heard Elder Azure Dragon say that our Master may not even be from this world. After all, if even Elder Azure Dragon, with all his strength, could only acknowledge Master as his lord, then it is not difficult to imagine how powerful Master must be.”

Hu Ling’er, standing nearby, chimed in, “When Master accepted me as his disciple, he called himself the Invincible Ancestor before the fox clan. He probably was not boasting. Perhaps Master still has many more secrets for us to uncover. But I think that from now on, every disciple in the sect should know that his title is the Invincible Ancestor.”

Jiang Qian and Qin Tian both nodded. Naturally, they agreed with Hu Ling’er’s suggestion. After all, if they had such an awe-inspiring master but no one in the world knew his title, would that not diminish his prestige?

The three then made their way to the sect’s arena. Before long, the other disciples gathered around to watch. They asked why the three of them were standing on the arena. Were they planning to decide through combat who deserved to be the senior brother among the direct disciples?

Jiang Qian explained, “Your senior brother Qin Tian possesses swordsmanship talent unmatched throughout history. Your senior sister and I merely wish to challenge him. As for selecting a senior brother based on strength, that would be inappropriate. Regardless of the outcome, we only want everyone to understand one fact: only a master like our Invincible Ancestor could teach cultivation geniuses such as us.”

Below the arena, the sect disciples were hearing for the first time that their sect master also possessed the title of Invincible Ancestor. They began discussing it excitedly, while also growing curious about just how powerful the Invincible Ancestor’s direct disciples truly were.

The contest began soon afterward. Jiang Qian and Hu Ling’er did not dare to be careless. From the very start, both women unleashed their full strength.

Jiang Qian casually deployed countless offensive and defensive formations, while Hu Ling’er also brought forth her Illusory Spirit Domain. For a moment, Qin Tian’s mind nearly became unstable beneath its influence.

Yet Qin Tian quickly recovered from the illusion and immediately began breaking through the formations.

“Heavenly Sword Art, Traversing Past and Present!”

With a loud roar, Qin Tian unleashed countless sword beams across the Illusory Spirit Domain. Cracks soon spread throughout the entire domain, leaving Hu Ling’er stunned. She had thought her Illusory Spirit Domain was already sturdy enough, but before her senior brother, it was still far from sufficient.

Qin Tian’s swordsmanship already contained a trace of Dao resonance. With a single swing, it nearly drained the spiritual energy within the Illusory Spirit Domain, which was why so many cracks had appeared.

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Hu Ling’er hurriedly exerted her full strength to maintain the Illusory Spirit Domain. If her spiritual energy were exhausted, her figure would be exposed before her opponent. Without the support of the illusion formation, Hu Ling’er could not withstand Qin Tian’s murderous swordsmanship.

For Qin Tian, however, the Illusory Spirit Domain could confuse his mind only if he lost consciousness entirely. As long as even the slightest trace of clarity remained, his sword energy could tear the domain apart.

As expected, things unfolded exactly as he had predicted. Qin Tian continued releasing sword beams, and the Illusory Spirit Domain soon became covered in cracks. Then, with a sharp crack, the entire domain began to collapse.

With the Illusory Spirit Domain gone, Qin Tian smiled at Hu Ling’er.

“Junior Sister, you have lost.”

He raised his sword and struck toward Hu Ling’er. The overwhelming sword energy forced her backward. She drew her treasured sword to block, but her body could not withstand the impact. In the end, the countershock sent her flying from the arena.

Below, the watching disciples could only sigh in astonishment. Hu Ling’er had been defeated so quickly. They, as ordinary disciples, probably could not even withstand a single move.

“Senior Brother Qin Tian is mighty!”

As one disciple shouted, the others followed, waving their banners and cheering.

“Senior Brother Qin Tian is mighty!”

“Senior Brother Qin Tian is mighty!”

“Senior Brother Qin Tian is mighty!”

…

Hu Ling’er’s expression was somewhat embarrassed. She had originally believed that she and her senior sister could easily defeat Qin Tian by joining forces. Her expectations had been far too idealistic, while reality had proved brutally harsh. She truly could not understand how her senior brother cultivated to such a level. His battle prowess was simply too formidable.

On the arena, Jiang Qian, who had been coordinating with Hu Ling’er, became speechless when she saw how quickly Hu Ling’er had lost. She hurriedly devoted all her strength to maintaining the Heavenly Dao Formation, hoping to restrain Qin Tian for a little longer.

Unfortunately, her thoughts were the same as Hu Ling’er’s. Although her Heavenly Dao Formation was extremely powerful, Qin Tian’s Heavenly Sword Art specialized in slaughter. So long as the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was not completely cut off, he could draw upon the power of the world and provide his Sword Dao Manifestation with sufficient spiritual energy.

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Qin Tian’s Sword Dao Manifestation was simply too powerful. Jiang Qian, despite being a formation grandmaster of the same realm, was completely unable to suppress it. In the end, her formations could not defend against Qin Tian.

As for Jiang Qian’s offensive formations, their attacks landed on Qin Tian but were entirely negligible. After all, sword cultivators were meant to advance fearlessly and did not invest excessive effort in defense. As the saying went, the best defense was offense.

When Qin Tian unleashed his Sword Dao Manifestation, he was protected within it. Unless Jiang Qian could shatter his Sword Dao Manifestation using formations alone, Qin Tian was effectively invincible.

Before long, Jiang Qian also exhausted her spiritual energy and could no longer maintain the Heavenly Dao Formation at full strength. She was ultimately blasted from the arena.

At that moment, Qin Tian stood upon the arena with his sword in hand, resembling a god of war. Suddenly, he sensed an incomparably profound message enter the depths of his sea of consciousness.

He immediately sat down cross-legged and began carefully comprehending the mysterious sensation that had appeared without warning.

“Damn! What is happening? Has Senior Brother Qin Tian entered a state of sudden enlightenment?”

“It should be exactly that. Look at the Imperial Dao aura surrounding Senior Brother Qin Tian. That is a phenomenon unique to the Imperial Realm. I heard that after reaching the Imperial Extremity Realm, the body undergoes another tremendous transformation. First, the bloodline rank changes. Then the physical body transforms, and finally, the soul undergoes a transformation as well.”

“Regardless, Senior Brother Qin Tian has reached the Imperial Extremity Realm at such a young age. He is probably the youngest Imperial Extremity Realm powerhouse since our sect was founded. His talent is worthy of being recorded in history.”

…

While the disciples were discussing excitedly, the Imperial Dao aura around Qin Tian grew increasingly powerful. Soon, the heavens and earth began to change. Winds rose, clouds churned, and before long, a heavenly tribulation descended.

The onlookers immediately stopped approaching Qin Tian and hurriedly retreated. If they were locked onto by the heavenly tribulation, they would certainly suffer.

Just as everyone was watching Qin Tian undergo his heavenly tribulation, Liao Chen suddenly shouted toward the tribulation in the sky:

“Get lost!”

The moment his voice fell, the heavenly tribulation that had been preparing to descend was actually frightened away. The disciples were left utterly astonished by the sight.

They had never imagined that their sect master could be so powerful that even a heavenly tribulation could be scared away. Just how strong was this Invincible Ancestor?

Elsewhere, Qin Tian had originally been waiting for the heavenly tribulation to temper him. But the tribulation that was supposed to descend had actually been frightened away by his own master. He could only sigh helplessly before clasping his fists toward the direction where his master stood.

System: Ding! Congratulations! Your disciple Qin Tian has broken through to the first level of the Imperial Realm. You have been rewarded with one hundred million cultivation experience points, one hundred Quasi-Emperor-grade Demon-Suppressing Swords, one million seventh-tier superior Nourishing Origin Pills, and one million seventh-tier superior Marrow-Cleansing Pills.

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