Chapter 1322: Zhang Family's Bloodline Power

Boom!

While he was deep in thought, Zhang Qian, who was before him, suddenly slid his foot and struck out with his palm.

Unleashing the full power of a Half-Step Spirit Severing realm expert, the air around him solidified, engulfing the entire combat stage. The elevated platform seemed to become his personal domain, where anyone within it could be effortlessly killed, utterly powerless to resist.

“Impressive!” Zhang Xuan nodded to himself. As expected of a master from the Zhang Clan, his cultivation had advanced a minor stage, making the difference from three days ago immeasurable. It seemed if he wasn't serious, he might actually lose.

Raising his eyebrows, he formed a sword with his fingers and, without dodging, pointed it at the center of his opponent's palm. His cultivation was currently only at the pinnacle of the Primordial Spirit realm, which was his biggest weakness. He could only rely on his comprehended sword intent to contend with his opponent.

Swish! True energy shot out from his fingertip, forming a brilliant sword qi. Even before it reached its target, it exuded a bone-chilling coldness, as if capable of piercing through anything.

“Hmm?” Zhang Qian hadn't expected such profound comprehension of sword techniques from his opponent. If his palm directly collided with it, it might instantly be pierced through. So, with his other hand, he clenched a fist and thrust it forward.

Boom! Although this punch appeared hurried, it was actually as fluid as flowing water. At this speed, Zhang Xuan's finger, imbued with sword qi, might be struck in the chest before it reached its target, causing his true energy to dissipate and leaving him severely wounded.

“As expected, he’s much stronger than Zhang Jiuxiao!” Zhang Xuan was secretly shocked. Three days ago, he had knocked Zhang Qian down with a single slap, making him think he was an easy opponent. Now, it seemed he had underestimated him. This mere speed of changing moves indicated an extremely high level of understanding in combat, surpassing even many battle masters.

However, even if Zhang Qian's understanding of combat was strong, it still lagged behind Zhang Xuan's. With a ripple in his eyes, Zhang Xuan looked again. In the blink of an eye, his opponent's attack seemed to slow down, appearing sluggishly before him.

“A sound transmission?” Activating his Eye of Insight, he immediately sensed something amiss. A thin line extended from a distance, entering his opponent's ear. Someone was actually transmitting a message to Zhang Qian while he was fighting. It was a special secret art, far more covert than normal sound transmission. Without activating the Eye of Insight, it would be impossible to detect. This was likely to prevent detection by Elder Haoyu and others in the sky. It could even hide from Saint 8-dan experts... No wonder no one had noticed anything unusual. However, the Eye of Insight could even perceive traces, so despite how covertly it was done, it could not escape detection.

Following the thin line, he looked over and immediately saw the figure of a young man below the stage. “It’s... Zhang Yunfeng, ranked forty-sixth!” This fellow had been sitting with Zhang Qian all along, and Zhang Xuan had noticed him earlier. He was indeed a genius from the Zhang Clan, ranked forty-sixth in this Holy Son Hall assessment... Zhang Yunfeng!

“No wonder this fellow dared to challenge me, and changed his moves so swiftly... He must have been receiving guidance from that person!” All this analysis was completed in an instant in his mind, and at this moment, his opponent’s fist had already arrived before him. With a faint smile, Zhang Xuan neither dodged nor retreated. Instead, he simply extended his other palm forward. The space in front of his chest seemed to instantly shift. His opponent's fist was like it had entered a swamp, unable to advance even a fraction of an inch further. Domain!

Since leaving Qianchong City, aside from guiding Zhang Jiuxiao, he hadn't been idle. He had perfectly integrated his one-meter-diameter domain, which he had cultivated, with combat. Previously, when his domain was activated, it was like a luminous shield that sealed his entire body within. But now, it could form a small area according to his will, which both conserved true energy and was extremely covert, making it undetectable and leaving opponents defenseless.

Zhang Qian's fist was restrained, rendering his attack completely ineffective. Zhang Xuan's sword qi, without needing to change moves, pierced straight into the center of Zhang Qian's other palm. Rip! Blood splattered, and true energy dissipated. “Ah…” With a pained cry, Zhang Qian's palm was instantly pierced by the sword qi, leaving a walnut-sized hole.

“You lose!” Having succeeded in one move and knowing his opponent had lost combat ability, Zhang Xuan smiled faintly, took a step back, and ceased his attack. Even with his body intact, Zhang Qian was not his match. Now, with a hole pierced through his palm, he would certainly be even less of a match.

“Lose? I won’t lose…” Gazing at the hole in his palm, stopping the blood flow with medicine, Zhang Qian's eyes turned red, and he roared. Boom! His aura surged once more. It seemed that in his fury, his cultivation had advanced again.

“It’s his bloodline power. Zhang Qian is using his bloodline power. Should we stop him?” Elder Hanzhu in the sky changed his expression. This fellow had actually used his bloodline power during a normal sparring match, which was against the rules. “Look at Zhang Xuan!” Elder Haoyu did not reply, but instead pointed. Frowning, Elder Hanzhu looked over and, upon seeing, was also slightly surprised. He saw that Zhang Xuan on the stage showed no panic whatsoever; instead, he seemed to have anticipated his opponent would use this move.

“At the pinnacle of the Primordial Spirit realm, he easily defeated a Half-Step Spirit Severing realm expert. I want to see what other miracles this Zhang Xuan can bring forth!” Elder Haoyu smiled faintly. Accumulating over twelve thousand points within two minutes was already astonishing. They had initially thought it was cheating or some error, but seeing it in person made them realize... this person was even more formidable than they had imagined!

“I understand…” Elder Hanzhu stopped speaking: “If he truly encounters danger, then we will intervene!” Since Zhang Xuan seemed unconcerned, he clearly wasn't worried about his opponent's attack. In that case, it was better to wait and see!

Boom! As the two elders conversed, Zhang Qian’s bloodline on the stage was fully activated. Although his cultivation was still at Half-Step Spirit Severing, his power became even more ferocious, giving him the impression of an ancient beast. He raised his fist, bringing it straight down.

“Hmm?” Upon seeing his opponent’s move, Zhang Xuan frowned. He had thought that activating his bloodline would lead to a change in his moves, allowing him to employ more advanced martial techniques. He hadn't expected it to be just a straightforward punch. This kind of fist technique was probably inferior even to some of the most basic martial arts, wasn't it? Could it be that activating the bloodline made one stronger in power, but the moves became clumsier? If that were the case, what was the point of so-called bloodline activation?

“Never mind that for now. By fighting him, I should be able to discern the special characteristics of the Zhang Clan’s bloodline!” Knowing that thinking about these things was useless, he flipped his wrist and met the attack. This time, he didn't use any martial techniques either, intending to meet his opponent head-on.

Whoosh! As his palm moved to meet the incoming fist, he suddenly felt his vision blur, and the hairs on his body bristled. “Eye of Insight!” Startled, lines of insight quickly appeared in his eyes. He looked down and only then realized that the fist, which had just been about to meet his palm, had somehow already appeared before his chest, on the verge of striking him.

“How is this possible? Could it be... that a fist can also teleport?” His pupils contracted. Just moments ago, the fist was an arm's length away, yet in the blink of an eye, it was at his chest. Could it be teleportation? However... having studied the Void Transcendence Heavenly Art, he was very familiar with spatial manipulation. If it were true teleportation, he should have detected it. Yet, there were no spatial fluctuations in his opponent's punch; it clearly appeared to be a normal attack... So how did it get right in front of him? He didn't even see it with his naked eye?

“Domain!” Knowing this was not the time for such thoughts, he forcefully exhaled, his chest immediately sinking. At the same time, his body rapidly retreated backward, and his one-meter domain appeared. Before the domain fully formed, a pain shot through his chest. He flew backward through the air, stopping mid-flight, his face somewhat pale.

“So fast…” Clenching his fists, Zhang Xuan couldn't believe it. This was the first time he had suffered such a great disadvantage in a fight! His domain, born from his will, could form in an instant. Logically, his opponent’s fist should still have been some distance away, so how did it strike him directly? However, fortunately, his domain still played a role at the critical moment. Otherwise, if that solid blow had landed squarely on him, even if it weren't a severe injury, his combat power would certainly have plummeted. While in the air, he stabilized himself, his Heaven's Path True Energy rapidly circulating, quickly restoring his strength. His eyes slowly narrowed.

Before this, he hadn't considered his opponent very strong and hadn't taken him seriously. It was only after suffering a disadvantage that he realized the bloodline-activated Zhang Qian was even more terrifying than he had imagined. Although he hadn't reached the early stage of the Domain realm, even an ordinary early-stage Domain realm expert would likely be no match for him!

“Where are you going, trying to escape!” Having landed a blow, a sinister grin appeared in Zhang Qian’s bloodshot eyes. His body swayed, and he stepped forward again. It was clearly only a single step, but for some unknown reason, he instantly appeared before Zhang Xuan and unleashed another punch. Whoosh! The air produced a sharp sonic boom, and the entire space seemed on the verge of collapsing.

“Great Compassion Heavenly Demon Palm!” Knowing that he wouldn't be able to resist if the strange phenomenon occurred again, he coldly shouted in his mind, flipped his palm, and unleashed the Ancient Sage Qiuwu's ultimate technique. Boom! The palm strike sealed off everything around him, but... again, before it even reached his opponent, Zhang Xuan saw Zhang Qian's fist had already broken through the attack and appeared before his chest once more. “What in the world is going on?” Zhang Xuan’s face turned exceedingly grim as he gritted his teeth. Normally, when he unleashed his Great Compassion Heavenly Demon Palm, it would certainly block his opponent and easily neutralize his attacks. But the result... it was as if his opponent had predicted his move in advance. Before he could even react, the fist had already landed within a range his palm strike couldn't reach! What happened?

“Swirling Sword Qi, True Understanding of the Sword!” With a swift cry, all the acupuncture points in his body burst open, and countless sword qis erupted from his skin, enveloping everything around him. Clang clang clang clang! As the fist collided with the sword qi, Zhang Qian finally stopped. His face was slightly pale, and he was gasping for breath, seemingly heavily exhausted by the previous two punches.

“That was close…” Having narrowly escaped, Zhang Xuan’s face was ashen. He took a few steps back and was about to speak when an anxious sound transmission rang in his ear. “Teacher Zhang… this is the Zhang Clan’s bloodline power; it can shorten time…” It was Chen Leyao’s voice.

“Shorten time?” His pupils contracted, and Zhang Xuan’s face instantly turned ashen.