Chapter 582: Breakthrough Again

Chapter 582 -577: Breakthrough Again

Ning Jiang didn’t pursue the two as they fled. He needed to divert some of his power to suppress the small golden bell.

Gu Weidao had controlled this Quasi-Innate Spiritual Treasure for many years and had long since left his Spiritual Mark inside it. If this Spiritual Mark wasn’t erased, the golden bell would constantly resist Ning Jiang and try to return to Gu Weidao’s side.

“The two giants of the Hidden Dragon List were defeated just like that.”

Beside him, Gu Huaying watched it all unfold in amazement. Chu Xinghun and Gu Weidao were known as the giants of the Hidden Dragon List. Their strength was far beyond what ordinary experts on the list could compare to.

They were the two strongest members of the younger generation in the East Sea, possessing exceptional talent. They were almost guaranteed to step into the King Realm.

Yet now, the two of them had joined forces only to be defeated by Ning Jiang alone, fleeing like stray dogs. If word of this got out, probably no one would believe it.

“After this battle, the title of number one in the East Sea’s younger generation is yours for the taking.”

Gu Huaying looked at Ning Jiang, finally understanding why the Undying Celestial King valued him so highly. Ning Jiang was truly a man of miracles. Before meeting him, she had never imagined that Chu Xinghun and his partner would be defeated by a newcomer to the Hidden Dragon List.

“They aren’t weak. You could just say they were unlucky to be so thoroughly countered by me,” Ning Jiang said calmly.

Normally, after Chu Xinghun activated his Power of Stars, not even one of the Ten Great Earth Martial Realms would have been his match. Unfortunately for him, the Power of Stars was completely useless against Ning Jiang.

As for Gu Weidao, his Quasi-Innate Spiritual Treasure was suppressed by the Sword-Hiding Gourd.

Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t have been so easy for Ning Jiang to defeat them.

The battle against Chu Xinghun and his partner had not only forced him to use his Sword-Hiding Gourd, but also his Taiyang Divine Fire. He had played all his trump cards, which was a testament to their great strength.

‘This Quasi-Innate Spiritual Treasure is quite a nice item.’

Ning Jiang looked at the small golden bell in his hand. It was vibrating violently, trying to escape his control. This was because Gu Weidao’s Spiritual Mark was still inside it.

A flicker of light shone in his right eye as he activated the Taiyang Divine Fire once more.

A golden flame enveloped the small golden bell, burning fiercely. This process lasted for about ten breaths.

“AHH, Ning Jiang, I won’t let you get away with this!”

Gu Weidao’s miserable shriek echoed from within as a small, transparent figure turned to nothing in the flames.

Once Gu Weidao’s Spiritual Mark was erased, the small golden bell grew calm.

‘When I have time, I’ll refine this thing and use it to repair the Sword-Hiding Gourd.’

Repairing the Sword-Hiding Gourd would take a considerable amount of time, and Ning Jiang didn’t have the leisure for it right now.

He put away the small golden bell and turned his attention to the Power of Stars in his hand. The mass of stellar energy was incredibly beautiful, its light hazy and twinkling. Holding it was truly like holding a star.

‘This Power of Stars is quite the tonic.’

Ning Jiang opened his mouth and directly swallowed the mass of Power of Stars. The Power of Stars was also a type of energy that could be absorbed by a Martial Artist. However, most Martial Artists were incapable of such a feat, just as they couldn’t absorb Demonic Qi.

But Ning Jiang was different. For one, he had experience with the Myriad Stars Flying Immortal Technique. For another, he cultivated the Heaven-Devouring Demon Skill, a Celestial Skill powerful enough to devour and absorb any type of energy.

After the Power of Stars entered his body, it transformed into pure energy and was absorbed by him bit by bit. His aura began to rise steadily.

‘If all goes well, this mass of Power of Stars will be enough for my cultivation to break through to the Earth Martial Realm Late Stage,’ Ning Jiang thought.

He found a stone chamber and began to cultivate in seclusion.

He also lent the Sword-Hiding Gourd to Gu Huaying, letting her continue to explore the maze and see if she could find any other treasures.

Time passed quickly. Fortunately, no one came to disturb Ning Jiang in his stone chamber.

Three days later, Ning Jiang had completely refined the mass of Power of Stars. His cultivation, as if it were a matter of course, smoothly broke through to the Earth Martial Realm Late Stage.

‘With my current strength, if I were to face Chu Xinghun and his partner again, I could defeat them even without using the Sword-Hiding Gourd and the Taiyang Divine Fire.’

Ning Jiang felt the surging power within his body, completely satisfied.

With a Celestial Skill like the Heaven-Devouring Demon Skill, every breakthrough was more difficult than for an ordinary Martial Artist. But by the same token, his strength also far surpassed that of an ordinary Martial Artist.

By Ning Jiang’s own estimation, his current strength was basically unrivaled in the Earth Martial Realm. Someone at the Earth Martial Realm Peak couldn’t even block a single punch from him—he could kill as many as came. As for the Ten Great Earth Martial Realms, he felt he only needed to use seventy or eighty percent of his strength to sweep them all aside.

‘If I can reach the Earth Martial Realm Peak, killing a Heaven-Reaching Realm expert will be no problem at all,’ Ning Jiang thought.

What made a prodigy? The ability to fight above one’s realm was one of the standards. For example, Gu Huaying and Little Dragon Girl were at the Earth Martial Realm Middle Stage, but they could contend with those at the Earth Martial Realm Peak.

However, even if they reached the Earth Martial Realm Peak, it would be impossible for them to cross a major realm and fight a Heaven-Reaching Realm expert.

Crossing minor stages is easy; crossing major realms is hard.

The gap between the Earth Martial Realm Peak and the Heaven-Reaching Realm was even greater than the gap between the Earth Martial Realm Early Stage and the Earth Martial Realm Peak.

Only someone like Ning Jiang, who cultivated a world-shaking Celestial Skill, had a way to achieve it.

“Ning Jiang, you broke through. Congratulations.”

Just then, two female figures walked into the stone chamber. One was Gu Huaying, and the other was Little Dragon Girl.

During the three days Ning Jiang was in seclusion, Gu Huaying had run into Little Dragon Girl, and the two had joined up.

“So, any gains these past three days?” Ning Jiang asked.

“We made some, but nothing compared to you.” Gu Huaying shook her head with a wry smile. Ning Jiang had directly snatched a Quasi-Innate Spiritual Treasure and the Power of Stars from Gu Weidao and Chu Xinghun. A harvest like that was far beyond anything they could match.

This made them reflect on the fact that snatching treasures from others was much faster than searching for them yourself. Of course, the prerequisite was having the strength to do so.

“By the way, we did discover something over the past three days.” Gu Huaying’s expression suddenly turned serious. “Little Divine Leg Li Shaoyou is dead. Another expert from the Ten Great Earth Martial Realms has also fallen in this maze. And the terrifying part is…”

At this, Gu Huaying paused before continuing, “There were no injuries to be found on their bodies, nor were there any signs of a fierce battle near the corpses!”

Hearing this, Ning Jiang’s eyes narrowed. “In other words, the killer possesses the strength to completely crush them. They were utterly powerless to resist!”

“Exactly. That’s the only explanation that makes sense. But it’s strange. If an expert like that existed in the East Sea, they would have been famous long ago,” Gu Huaying said, puzzled.

RUMBLE…

Just then, the space around them began to vibrate. A surge of Space Power appeared, and a rift opened in the void, swallowing them whole.

When they reappeared, they had left the maze and stepped into a brand-new area. With them were the other prodigies from the Hidden Dragon List, as well as the Ten Great Earth Martial Realms.