Chapter 617: Finals (Part 1)

The fourth stage of Mortal Transcendence is Turbidity-Clarity: the clear part forms the soul, and the turbid part forms the body. Having just broken through, one's being is like muddy water. If given half an hour to settle, the power would undoubtedly increase significantly. But right now, it’s probably not much stronger than the peak of the Yin-Yang realm. With the turbidity and clarity unseparated and the body and soul entangled, it would be fortunate if strength merely didn't increase; it might even weaken.

"You can't say Master Bi's actions are wrong," some observed. "If it were me, I'd definitely propose the match now!" Indeed, the first place in the Master Teacher Tournament has always been highly valued. Having reached this stage, even the most arrogant person wouldn't give up such an opportunity. Many people nodded in understanding. Master teachers are human, and as humans, they possess emotions and desires. With the tournament's first-place prize, a top-grade spirit stone, no one would willingly hand it over. Therefore, what Bi Jianghai did could not be called wrong; in fact, they would certainly do the same.

In the Yin-Yang realm, Yin and Yang give rise to each other. After breaking through, a cultivator’s entire being becomes like muddy water. With half an hour to adjust, the clear ascends, and the turbid descends, causing one's strength to double. Unfortunately, with the tournament imminent, how could an opponent possibly give him that chance? Without that opportunity, and entering the match directly, his breakthrough would actually leave him weaker than before.

"Damn it, he's scared!" "He has no master teacher demeanor at all..." Hall Master Kang, Master Su, and others were so enraged they stomped their feet.

"No matter," Zhang Xuan calmly replied. Knowing everyone was worried about him, he smiled, stood up, and with a slight sway, arrived on the combat stage.

"Master Zhang possesses extraordinary talent, capable of challenging those above his rank and defeating even Master Wu and Master Liao. Bi is deeply impressed and wishes to challenge your cultivation. Please do not decline!" Bi Jianghai raised his hands and spoke loudly.

"Go ahead," Zhang Xuan replied with a faint smile, seeing that, as he had guessed, the man was directly challenging his cultivation without a word.

Boom! Upon receiving consent, Bi Jianghai's eyebrows rose, and he launched a punch. Knowing that the longer he delayed against this anomaly, the more trouble he would be in, he dared not hesitate in the slightest. The power of the Spirit Confluence realm surged from his fist, rippling forward like a stone thrown into water, exerting a spiritual pressure even before it reached its target. A normal cultivator at the peak of the Turbidity-Clarity realm possesses 1.6 million ding of strength, while an early-stage Spirit Confluence realm cultivator possesses 2 million ding. Such immense power, converging into wind and combined with true qi, felt like a towering mountain. Although Zhang Xuan's strength had surged recently, he had never fought such a powerful opponent. He immediately felt his blood vessels expand like a burning flame, his blood boiling.

"Excellent!" With a laugh, he swayed his body and met the attack. "Fist of Heaven's Path!" Fists collided, and Zhang Xuan was forced back seven or eight steps. To test his internal strength, he didn't use soul power. Defeated in one move, he smiled again and charged forward.

"Hmph!" Seeing that his opponent, having just broken through, dared to resist him head-on, Bi Jianghai raised an eyebrow. Although that move didn't injure Zhang Xuan, it allowed Bi to discern the man's strength—around 1.2 million ding, similar to a mid-stage Turbidity-Clarity realm cultivator. Compared to his own current strength, there was a significant gap. "Master Zhang, your strength is indeed not weak, and your comprehension of cultivation is astonishing. However... if this is all the strength you have, I'm afraid first place will be mine!" With a long cry, he changed his fist into a palm, spreading his five fingers and sweeping them down.

Boom! A massive palm print immediately appeared on the combat stage, like a fierce tiger extending its sharp claws, striking towards Zhang Xuan. "It's... Master Bi's Great Return Vajra Palm!" someone exclaimed. "That move is a peak middle-grade spirit-level martial art. Once unleashed, it can be invincible among its peers. This is bad!" "To use his strongest move right from the start, that's too ruthless!" Seeing the attack on the stage, some recognized it and exclaimed in surprise. The Great Return Vajra Palm, an extremely powerful palm technique and one of Bi Jianghai's most proficient martial arts, was used after only two moves. It seemed he had no intention of holding back, wanting to use his strongest power to defeat Zhang Xuan.

"Oh, I'll see just how strong this move of yours is!" Zhang Xuan didn't dodge. With a long cry, he charged forward, again meeting it with a punch. Fist met palm. His face flushed, Zhang Xuan was sent flying backward dozens of steps, like a kicked ball, before finally stopping. Resisting the attack of an early-stage Spirit Confluence realm expert without using soul power was indeed a bit strenuous.

"Wait, this doesn't seem like Master Zhang's true strength!" Wu Tianhao in the crowd frowned, watching the match on the stage. When he fought Master Zhang, he was immediately thrown through the air like an acrobat. Although there was suspicion of Zhang Xuan using leverage, the power he displayed then was definitely not just 1.2 million ding. How... after breaking through, could it have decreased so much? "That's right, even if Master Zhang's strength is inferior, with the sword moves he used when fighting me earlier, it wouldn't be so easy for Bi Jianghai to win. Why... would he abandon his strengths and play to his weaknesses to clash head-on?" Liao Wuzhi, not far away, was also completely puzzled. Both of them had fought Master Zhang before and knew that despite his young age, this youth possessed numerous techniques and immense strength. Why was he so vigorous and powerful when fighting them, but then abandoned all technique and foolishly engaged in a head-on clash with Bi Jianghai?

Bang, bang, bang, bang! Amidst their confusion, the two on stage exchanged several more blows. Each time, Master Zhang met the attack with his full body, and the result, naturally, was that he was repeatedly forced back, looking utterly dishevelled. Watching Zhang Xuan at this moment, it was as if he were a crude person unfamiliar with martial arts, only capable of brute force collisions.

"Wait, look, Master Zhang seems to be... only using one arm! For half the fight, his other hand hasn't moved!" Someone in the crowd shouted it out. Hearing the shout, everyone then noticed that throughout the previous fight, Master Zhang had only used his right hand; his left hand hadn't even moved, as if it were injured. "Fighting a Spirit Confluence realm cultivator from the Turbidity-Clarity realm, and only using one hand? What's he doing?" "Could he be injured? No, that's not right, he was still using it just now when he was giving Master Liao pointers on swordplay..." "Could he be afraid of an unfair victory and intentionally letting Master Bi win? No way, Master Zhang is already at a disadvantage, why would he let him?" Everyone else also noticed this issue, and they were all filled with confusion. Only a strong person fighting a weaker one needed to show mercy. Master Zhang was clearly the weaker one, so why wasn't he using one arm?

"It's... in Master Zhang's left hand... he seems to be clutching a spirit stone!" A keen-eyed master teacher noticed it. "Clutching a spirit stone? Could he be... absorbing spiritual energy while fighting, intending to break through?" "It's true! Cultivating while fighting? Is that real?" "It seems to be true. Now that I look, why do I feel that Master Zhang's aura and strength are both significantly higher than before?" Discovering this anomaly, many master teachers looked at each other, finding it hard to believe. Master Zhang's unmoving hand was actually clutching a spirit stone, meaning... he was continuously absorbing spiritual energy to consolidate and advance his cultivation while fighting his opponent! How was that possible?

"Incredible! Incredible!" As others noticed this, Hall Master Kang also saw it. Remembering something, his blood boiled with excitement. "In the Turbidity-Clarity realm, only by separating the turbid from the clear can one's cultivation grow stronger. Normally, this requires a significant amount of time. But Master Zhang, knowing time was against him, still resisted head-on. This wasn't overestimating himself, but rather... using his opponent's power to separate the turbid and clear, thereby enhancing his cultivation!"

"Forcibly separating turbidity and clarity?" "This... how did he do that?" Master Su and Master Ling had both been stuck in the Turbidity-Clarity realm for years, unable to reach its peak. Hearing that such a thing was possible, they all widened their eyes as if they had seen a ghost. "Bi Jianghai had just broken through to the Spirit Confluence realm, and his control over soul and physical attacks wasn't fully perfected. Therefore, his attacks contained both soul and true qi. Master Zhang was precisely exploiting this flaw in his opponent... by clashing true qi with true qi and soul with soul, he forcibly separated the turbid aura within his body..." Hall Master Kang's face was filled with shock and admiration: "If the previous Master Zhang was a muddy pond, by using the opponent's power, the turbid and clear have already separated, and his cultivation is even continuously increasing!"

"Using the opponent's attacks to separate turbidity and clarity, and raise cultivation?" "This... that's just too exaggerated!" Master Su and the others stared wide-eyed. Other master teachers who had noticed this also couldn't believe it. During a fight, using the opponent's flaws to improve one's own strength... If Bi Jianghai knew that he was fighting so spiritedly, almost spitting blood from exhaustion, only to serve as a whetstone, would he be so enraged that he'd vomit blood on the spot?

"Just now, seeing Master Bi break through on the spot, I felt deeply shocked and admired his courage and demeanor. But seeing Master Zhang's performance, I realized... what he did was nothing!" "That's right, things are relative. Breaking through on the spot is simply incomparable to cultivating while fighting!" "Using an opponent's strength to temper oneself and forcibly improve one's power — perhaps only Master Zhang has the courage for that. If it were anyone else, one wrong step could lead to eternal damnation!" As master teachers, since they could discern Master Zhang's intentions, they naturally understood the inherent danger. Fighting someone a full major realm above oneself, others would struggle to last a few moves even with all their might. Yet, he was multitasking, cultivating while fighting. How big must his heart be, and how immense his confidence? Even seeing it with their own eyes, they felt somewhat bewildered.

"Fortunately, I was defeated in one move. Otherwise, continuing like this would have been even more humiliating..." Wu Tianhao gave a bitter laugh. Liao Wuzhi also nodded. The two of them had felt somewhat unwilling after losing to Master Zhang previously, but now seeing this, they realized that being defeated so quickly was a stroke of luck. Otherwise, if someone used you for cultivation and you kept foolishly cooperating, it would be utterly disgraceful.

"Damn it! Dreaming of using me as a whetstone? Forget about it!" As the crowd noticed, Bi Jianghai on stage also realized something was wrong, and he roared with a ferocious expression. He had thought that attacking before the opponent could consolidate his cultivation would make him flustered and miserable. He never dreamed that the opponent would actually use him for practice. The intense frustration nearly drove him mad.

"Damn it!" With a roar, his aura surged again, as if breaking through the constraints of the early Spirit Confluence realm. "Supreme Mad Demon Fist? This is bad..." An elder from the Wangjiang Sect's face changed.