Chapter 315: Strength

As the Great Dao Golden Book manifested and the higher-ups of the Heavenly Dao Sect appeared one after another, the other disciples of the Heavenly Dao Sect were also alarmed, starting all kinds of discussions among themselves.

"Someone wants to challenge the true disciples of the eighty-eight peaks? Have they gone mad?"

"Yaoguang? I remember the top ten inner sect disciples of our Heavenly Dao Sect, and even the top hundred, but there’s no such person. Which backwater corner did he crawl out from?"

"Wait, I think I've heard about him. Not long ago, the one who wiped out half the Xi family in Haizhou’s capital of the Great Shang and killed two Void-Piercing Realm battle immortals and two Azure Golden Core cultivators seemed to be called Yaoguang, didn't he?"

"Not only was the person who caused quite a stir in Haizhou’s capital called Yaoguang, but the person on whom Heavenly Venerable Jiang, a true disciple of the neighboring Taiyi Immortal Sect, secretly placed a bounty of one million Pure Yang Grand Pills also had the same name. Unless it's someone else with the same name, this Yaoguang probably has some strength."

Inner sect disciples, as well as some true disciples, kept exchanging information.

Under the Golden Book Venerable’s summons, the true disciples who had free time also rose one after another and headed toward the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform.

After all, if they did not act, the Golden Book Venerable would take it as them admitting defeat.

Many true disciples were unwilling to become stepping stones for another person so easily.

Of course, there were also a small number of true disciples who did not care about these empty titles at all.

Or rather, in their eyes, if the top ten true disciples made a move and still failed to take down Yaoguang, then their presence or lack thereof would make no difference at all.

They wouldn't waste their time. However, the true disciples who thought that way were ultimately a minority.

Excluding them, as well as those in seclusion and those away from the sect, who could not rush over immediately, forty true disciples arrived at the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform.

They looked at the figure the Golden Book Venerable had brought over, who had already reached the center of the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform, and their eyes were filled with surprise.

"It's really him!" Outside the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform, Xiang Yunlong, who was now an officer, looked at Yaoguang on the platform with disbelief filling his eyes.

He had seen Yaoguang defeat a ninth-tier great demon, which had deeply shaken him and made him believe that Yaoguang had astonishing potential, enough to possess the qualifications to become a true disciple. However, he had never imagined that Yaoguang would attempt to become a true disciple in this way.

Even madness was not enough to describe it.

On the other side, the true disciples wore solemn expressions.

Every true disciple ruled over a small force, so naturally they had their own intelligence channels. They had long since learned of Yaoguang’s battle in Haizhou’s capital.

Especially later, when news spread that Xuan Shuang had fallen at Yaoguang’s hands, these true disciples no longer dared to show the slightest carelessness.

They kept discussing the topic among themselves, exchanging information back and forth through psychic thought.

"Putting aside the Xi family’s two Void-Piercing Realm battle immortals, he has killed at least three Azure Golden Core cultivators. And we all know Xuan Shuang’s strength. His Crimson-Gold Divine Phoenix Body had already been cultivated to perfection. If he had realized that the situation was hopeless and focused solely on escaping, I’m afraid no one except Senior Brother Yan Huang and Senior Sister Ling Xi would have had absolute confidence in killing him. From this, we can guess that Yaoguang’s true strength should be enough to rank within the top ten of us."

"It would be improper for all of us true disciples to swarm him at once, though. I think we should choose a few representative disciples to fight him. Otherwise, once he becomes a true disciple in the future, wouldn’t we have completely offended him?"

"I think we should ask Senior Brother Zhang Qin to test him first. Once he forces out Yaoguang's trump cards, we can let Senior Sister Ling Xi claim victory with one strike. As for Senior Brother Yan Huang, he can act as backup to ensure nothing goes wrong."

As these true disciples discussed, they quickly reached a decision.

The immortal lineage leader Yuan Miaoyi had intended for dozens of true disciples to attack Yaoguang together, but the special status of true disciples meant that even a lineage leader could not directly issue orders to them.

Besides, if the Heavenly Dao Sect truly had dozens of true disciples swarm Yaoguang at once, such a shameless act would deal a tremendous blow to the Heavenly Dao Sect’s reputation. Victory or defeat would no longer matter.

A faint pressure carrying a trace of Dao resonance began spreading from the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform.

"The battle of the true disciples has begun. Anyone who does not acknowledge Yaoguang’s promotion to true disciple may step onto the platform to challenge him. When no true disciple challenges him again, it shall be regarded as success, and Yaoguang shall automatically be promoted to true disciple."

The Golden Book Venerable had spoken.

Although this artifact spirit only acted according to the rules recorded in the Great Dao Golden Book, those rules carried supreme weight within the Heavenly Dao Sect. Even the Heavenly Dao Sect’s sect master, Zong Wenxian, had no authority to refute them.

As soon as he finished speaking, all the elders and disciples above and below the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform turned their gazes toward the group of dozens of true disciples.

After those true disciples finished their discussion, Zhang Qin, ranked tenth among the eighty-eight, immediately leaped up and transformed into a streak of light that landed directly on the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform.

"Junior Brother Yaoguang—Perhaps I’ll have to call you Senior Brother Yaoguang soon. Senior Brother has truly caused quite a commotion." Zhang Qin smiled and offered a fist-and-palm salute toward Yaoguang.

Facing such a genius with limitless potential, with whom he had no grudges, he naturally avoided offending him with his words.

"I was forced to do this. Heavenly Venerable Jiang of the Taiyi Immortal Sect pressed me too hard, and there are elders in our sect colluding with him. I had no choice but to obtain true disciple status through this method to break the deadlock," Yaoguang said.

Since this concerned the sect elders, Zhang Qin was unwilling to comment too much, for fear of being dragged into that mess. He only gave a fist-and-palm salute and said, "In that case, for the sake of the Heavenly Dao Sect’s true disciple status, forgive me for offending you."

Yaoguang smiled.

Since the true disciples did not intend to fight him one by one, he also had no intention of pretending to be weak.

With a thought, the phantom of an Azure Golden Core immediately appeared behind him. Like a blue sun hanging in the sky, it instantly enveloped the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform and dozens of kilometers around.

In particular, since the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform rose into the clouds like a sharp sword piercing straight into the firmament, the phantom of Yaoguang's Azure Golden Core, which spanned hundreds of kilometers, completely covered the peak of the sword platform. From afar, it looked like a great sun crowning a mountain, shining light over heaven and earth, dyeing even the surrounding sea of clouds azure.

As the phantom of this Azure Golden Core appeared, its unbelievable stability and weight formed a terrifying force field that spread outward continuously. In a daze, what everyone saw no longer seemed to be an azure star, but rather a Primordial Void manifested by a Void-Piercing Realm battle immortal.

Zhang Qin's expression immediately changed. As the one standing before Yaoguang, he was the one who felt that pressure first. And even Ling Xi and Yan Huang, who had yet to step onto the platform, felt their expressions change the moment that force washed over them.

"Such an intimidating presence... It definitely rivals that of a Void-Piercing Realm battle immortal."

"The outside world said Yaoguang had planned for a long time before killing the Xi family’s two Void-Piercing Realm battle immortals, but now it seems like that might not necessarily be the case! With his strength, as long as his comprehension of the void is high enough, it is possible for him to deduce the Primordial Void frequency of a Void-Piercing Realm battle immortal during a clash and kill them in one strike."

"In theory, a Void-Piercing Realm battle immortal’s combat power can reach as high as ten million, but that's the battle power displayed when a Void-Piercing Realm battle immortal throws caution to the wind, burning their life in exchange for power. In a regular fight, as long as that Void-Piercing Realm battle immortal retains a trace of hope in their heart, the battle power they're capable of unleashing will be around three or four million. With that combat power, they might not necessarily be able to kill Yaoguang quickly enough!"

If a Void-Piercing Realm battle immortal could not kill an Azure Golden Core cultivator within a short period of time, then the one who died would be them.

"Please judge the power of my sword technique!"

After manifesting his Azure Golden Core and easily using it to induce distortions in the void, the Wandering Dragon Sword in Yaoguang’s hand transformed into a streak of golden light, effortlessly driving the void ripples into a void tsunami that rolled downward.

Previously, when he had still only been a Blazing White Golden Core cultivator, the Space-Splitting Strike he used had relied entirely on Void’s Child to draw out the void ripples and then push them into forming a void tsunami, before compressing the power of that tsunami into a single point and unleashing it as the Space-Splitting Strike.

But now, after forming an Azure Golden Core in the form of a supergiant star so stable and heavy that it was almost like a miniature Primordial Void, Yaoguang could fully declare one thing. "I am the tsunami."

Under the guidance of the Wandering Dragon Sword, the void ripples thundered downward. Their momentum made Zhang Qin’s expression change drastically. It felt as if he were facing a Void-Piercing Realm battle immortal’s attack head-on.

A supreme divine ability?! This is probably a supreme divine ability on the verge of transforming into a Dao Technique, isn't it? As long as he is given a Dao Artifact, it will immediately possess the might of a Dao Technique, enough to threaten a true Void-Piercing Realm elder! Zhang Qin was stunned.

The next moment, Zhang Qin opened his mouth and spat out a sharp sword light that shot straight into the nine heavens, carrying an edge that seemed capable of tearing apart the void as it fiercely collided with the Space-Splitting Strike.

It was also a supreme divine ability: Grand White Void-Shattering Lightning Sword Qi.

The sharpness of this supreme divine ability was so powerful that, even if it were to face someone who had cultivated the Crimson-Gold Divine Phoenix Body, like Xuan Shuang, it could cleave through them in a single strike.

But when it faced Yaoguang’s crushing Space-Splitting Strike, it was like a sand castle standing before a tsunami. It was instantly extinguished and shattered.

After shattering the sword qi, the power of the Space-Splitting Strike was barely diminished at all as it continued crushing downward.

The scene made Zhang Qin turn pale.

The gap between us is far too big. There is simply no way to fight him. Zhang Qin thought.

"I concede! I concede!" the true disciple shouted without the slightest hesitation.

With a flash of sword light, his figure suddenly shot out of the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform.

At the same time, radiant light flowed across the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform as its many array arts were activated one after another, instantly eliminating the void power contained in the Space-Splitting Strike.

Yaoguang also took this opportunity to wave his hand, and the Wandering Dragon Sword returned to his grasp.

"Thank you for yielding," he said calmly, then turned his gaze toward the dozens of true disciples. "Who’s next?"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the true disciples fell silent.

They had all seen the might of the supreme divine ability Yaoguang had displayed just now. It had already surpassed the category of a supreme divine ability.

Calling it a quasi-Dao Technique would not be an exaggeration.

Zhang Qin had been defeated in a single exchange. If it were anyone else...

Everyone's gaze fell on Ling Xi and Yan Huang.

"Senior Sister Ling Xi..." someone beside Ling Xi asked in a low voice.

But before he could finish, Ling Xi suddenly said, "He has a special physique."

As soon as these words came out, everyone around her was startled. A special physique?!

In cultivation, there was the concept of spirit roots. They were divided into four grades: lower, middle, upper, and supreme.

However, on the North Sea Star, pill-based cultivation was extremely prevalent, and there were also mysterious pills like the Pure Yang Grand Pills, which possessed almost no pill toxicity. As a result, the disparity caused by spirit roots had been reduced to its lowest point.

But special physiques were different! Almost every special physique could resonate with a certain Great Dao.

Those with such talent might not display anything extraordinary at the Golden Core Realm, but once they began cultivating Dao Techniques, they would inevitably achieve twice the result with half the effort and advance at an astonishing speed.

"A void-type special physique," Ling Xi said. "Once someone with this physique advances to the Void-Piercing Realm, he will definitely shine brilliantly. Besides, with the combat power he just displayed, even if I were to get on the stage, I might not be able to win. In that case, it’s better to form a good relationship with him instead."

She smiled. "I won’t go and embarrass myself."