Chapter 2157: Divine Mountain

"You?"Zhang Xuan frowned.

Sun Qiang had always disliked cultivation. His pseudo-god strength was only achieved through efforts to follow Zhang Xuan into the God Realm. Zhang Xuan always felt uneasy about him competing against the geniuses of the God Realm.

"Their strength probably isn't worth Young Master and Young Lady's effort. If it comes to that, I'll go first, and if I lose, then they can step in!" Sun Qiang said, understanding Zhang Xuan's concern.

"Alright," Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

"I'll compete with you!"Seeing a forty-something-year-old stout man appear, a young man with dark, sharp eyes, embodying the unique courage and vigor of youth, stepped out from behind the middle-aged man.

"Tian Heng, just spar, don't hurt anyone!" the middle-aged man instructed.

"Yes!" The young man named Tian Heng approached Sun Qiang, a look of disdain in his eyes. "Please begin!"Not having broken through to a Deity by his forties meant missing the optimal breakthrough time; even with divine spiritual energy, success was unlikely.

"Are you challenging me alone?" Sun Qiang didn't rush to attack. He calmly waved a finger, saying, "Why don't all of you come at once?"

"I'm enough by myself!"Tian Heng snorted and threw a punch.The air compressed, making a whipping sound.Although only in his teens, his cultivation was formidable. His power and force were precisely controlled, making his attack incredibly potent.

Sun Qiang shook his head. His right hand remained behind his back, while his left hand gently swept out. In the blink of an eye, his palm seemed to multiply, creating a flurry of afterimages.Before Tian Heng could react, he was struck in the chest, stumbled back three steps, his legs gave way, and he sat down on the ground.

Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.Although Sun Qiang wasn't diligent in his cultivation, he had, after all, learned the simplified Heaven's Path cultivation techniques and martial arts. Moreover, having experienced both the Master Teacher Continent and the Firmament, he possessed extensive combat experience. Even if the young man was talented, he was still far inferior in comparison.

"I told you, you're no match. Come at me all at once!"Having defeated Tian Heng in a single move, Sun Qiang surveyed the remaining youths with an expression of loneliness befitting a master.

"Uncle Sun, you've already had a match. Let me go now!" Yuan Tao stepped forward.

"That's enough, all of you! Look where we are. It's my turn... And if you're all coming, or if you seniors wish to fight, you can lower your cultivation. Don't worry, I'll take you all on myself..."With a flourish of his spear, Zheng Yang looked imposing.

"Why you? It's been ages since I've had a chance to fight..." Wei Ruyan smiled faintly.

Zhang Xuan covered his face.Zhang Jia, standing to the side, was dumbfounded.Didn't his master say he preferred to keep a low profile?Why were none of his students or subordinates easy to manage?This looked anything but low-key...

"So arrogant! I'll fight you!""I'll fight the girl in green!""I'll teach that fat guy a lesson. His words are infuriating; he clearly doesn't regard me seriously...""I do regard you seriously... By the way, Big Brother, who are you?"The actions of Zheng Yang and the others completely infuriated the surrounding youths. With roars, they all charged forward.

A few breaths later, they all lay on the ground.These geniuses, despite being ranked among the pseudo-deities in Night Hades City, were nothing in front of Zhao Ya and the others, not even comparable to Sun Qiang.

"This..."The middle-aged men who had been skeptical earlier stared at their juniors, lying on the ground unable to even put up a single fight. Their eyes went dizzy, and they nearly coughed up blood.They had thought the others relied on connections, but they never expected their individual strengths to be so formidable.If they were this strong... why did they buy spots instead of fighting for them?If they had competed... there would have been no chance for them in the top ten.

Facing this scene, Wu Fangqing, though silent, felt even more certain.From every aspect, it was clear that these individuals possessed exceptionally high talent. One such person appearing was considered lucky, but for so many to emerge at once, he wouldn't believe there wasn't something fishy going on, even if killed.Therefore, even if the other party didn't possess imperial bloodline, they certainly wouldn't be lacking.

"Does this prove that Young Master Zhang Xuan's students are qualified to be here?"Wu Fangqing asked with a slight smile.

"Yes..." The others were speechless.Although being teleported to the mountainside of God Mountain increased the chance of obtaining divine spiritual energy, ultimately, it still depended on one's strength.The stronger one's power, the greater the likelihood of success.Every single person in this group was so powerful that even if their juniors wanted to compete, they wouldn't stand a chance. It was better to do them a favor; otherwise, there would be no way to stop them if they decided to act within God Mountain.

"Since everyone is alright, and the time is almost here, let's prepare to begin!"Seeing that there were no more objections, Wu Fangqing said nothing further. He stood up, and the City Lord's token immediately floated before him. With a gentle tap, a pure white light instantly enveloped the entire square.Immediately after, a massive gateway suddenly appeared in the very center of the plaza.

Everyone approached the gateway."Young Master Zhang Xuan, let them enter first!"Wu Fangqing said with a light smile.

Zhang Xuan looked and saw that the gateway was merely a teleportation array, not dangerous, and only then did he relax. He motioned for Zhao Ya and the others to come forward.

"Five pills for each of you. They contain my power and can help you break through your limitations! They can also be helpful if you encounter danger!"With a flick of his wrist, he produced several bottles of divine essence pills.These pills were no longer of much use to him, so it was better to bestow them upon his group. Once they obtained divine spiritual energy and successfully broke through, these pills could help them assault even higher realms.

"Thank you, Teacher (Young Master, Xuan'er)!" Everyone nodded in unison.

There was nothing more to explain regarding the pseudo-god competition. Zhang Xuan stopped talking, and everyone entered one by one.After entering the gateway, they immediately vanished, appearing moments later on a tall mountain range.Zhang Xuan, having already broken through to a Deity, could no longer enter and could only wait outside.The pseudo-god youths on the plaza proceeded in succession. In less than an hour, all twelve hundred people had entered. The gateway swayed, then slowly disappeared.

"The teleportation array will reopen after one day... If you're not in a hurry, the City Lord's mansion has prepared a banquet, perfect for waiting here!"Wu Fangqing said with a smile.

"Good!" Everyone nodded simultaneously.One day was nothing for cultivators.Too lazy to return, Zhang Xuan followed the others into the City Lord's mansion.

Passing through the gateway, Zhao Ya's body swayed before she steadied herself, finding she had arrived on a towering, cloud-piercing mountain range.Completely different from the previous Spirit Machine Mountain, this place was rich in spiritual energy, lush with vegetation, and vibrant with life everywhere, rather than decay.

"First, I need to find the divine spiritual energy..."Knowing that she could only break through after finding divine spiritual energy, her lithe body flickered, and she shot straight towards the mountain peak.Through observation, she had already discovered that the higher one went, the denser the spiritual energy, and the easier it would be to find divine spiritual energy.

After flying for a few hundred meters, she heard a "whooshing" sound of wind in the air. Her body flickered, and she hid behind a large tree, looking towards the source of the sound. An arrow had landed not far away.Immediately, a white, rabbit-like creature, startled, darted rapidly forward.

"This is... divine spiritual energy?"Zhao Ya's eyes lit up.Sun Qiang had specifically informed her when they came that divine spiritual energy on God Mountain might materialize into living creatures and would be difficult to catch. She hadn't expected it to resemble a rabbit.

"Catch it..."With an urgent cry, two figures hurriedly appeared.The previous arrow had been shot by them.

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*Several more arrows followed, and the rabbit-like divine spiritual energy was completely hit, struggling twice on the ground before transforming into a golden yellow gas.

"I'll go first!" The archer, full of pleasant surprise, held the gas in his palm and swallowed it.Immediately after, Zhao Ya felt the power within the other person rapidly increase, growing stronger and stronger, seemingly on the verge of breaking through the pseudo-god shackles to become a true Deity at any moment.

"I need to hurry too..." Seeing that acquiring divine spiritual energy wasn't complicated, Zhao Ya no longer hesitated and continued to soar up the mountain.Along the way, she encountered many other rabbit-like divine spiritual energies, but all were already being hunted by others, so she didn't bother to intervene or snatch them.

She quickly arrived at the peak.The pressure here was significantly greater than below, and there were fewer people able to ascend. After looking around, she found no one else. Zhao Ya frowned and began searching for traces left by divine spiritual energy, using clues on the ground.She had specifically observed how to find these traces when ascending.

"This trace is a bit off compared to the previous ones; it's larger, but... it doesn't matter!"Soon, she found a different spot.

With all her strength circulating and her Pure Yin Physique activated to its limit, Zhao Ya rapidly moved forward in the direction of the trace.At the end of the trace, a white tiger sprang out, emitting an astonishing aura.

"This..." Zhao Ya was stunned.Other divine spiritual energies were rabbits, so why did such a large creature appear here?However, at this moment, she couldn't care less. With a flick of her jade-like hand, she charged forward, unleashing the simplified Heaven's Path martial arts, her lithe body continuously flickering.

As the senior disciple among Zhang Xuan's many students, Zhao Ya had always been extremely strict with herself. Coupled with the enhancement of her special physique, no fellow disciples of the same level could defeat her, and even Zheng Yang was no match. Now, unleashing her full power, the wind howled, and her internal energy swirled around her like a whirlwind.

"This fellow is so powerful..."After fighting for a while, cold sweat beaded on her forehead.

The rabbits she had seen earlier, she knew, could be crushed with a single finger if caught; otherwise, they wouldn't have been shot down by arrows. But this white tiger before her was considerably stronger than she was. Compared to a normal low-grade Deity, it was no weaker, and perhaps even superior!In other words, she was now fighting a true Deity!

Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult to win, but now that the arrow was on the string, there was no other option. Gritting her teeth, she opened her mouth and swallowed the pill her teacher had given her.The medicine melted upon entering her mouth, and the Heaven's Path energy it contained immediately coursed through her body. The fatigue from the battle instantly vanished.