Chapter 316: Sweep

Ling Xi believed she was no match for him and did not intend to take the stage.

The true disciples could not really criticize this decision.

Although letting Yaoguang, an inner sect disciple, accomplish the feat of sweeping through the true disciples of the eighty-eight peaks would leave them utterly humiliated, he had already displayed sufficient strength in his clash with Zhang Qin.

True disciples were all very realistic people.

Face sometimes represented benefits, but compared to offending a genius with limitless prospects and a special physique like Yaoguang, they naturally had to choose the lesser of two evils.

In the end, there was nothing wrong with Ling Xi making this decision. After all, weren't they all thinking the same thing?

Everyone could not help but turn their gazes toward Yan Huang. He was acknowledged as the strongest true disciple of the Heavenly Dao Sect. And now, everything depended on him.

"It’s up to Eldest Senior Brother now."

Someone sighed. "Just where did this Yaoguang crawl out from? How did he suddenly become famous? He isn’t even a true disciple, yet he has the ability to threaten Eldest Senior Brother's place..."

"According to Heavenly Venerable Jiang, he is a heavenly prodigy from outside the North Sea Star. Although the North Sea Star is filled with powerful figures, the outside world also has many geniuses. Every once in a while, one or two astonishingly brilliant figures will stir up waves on the North Sea Star."

"Geniuses really can’t be judged by common sense. Years ago, I went through endless hardships to seize first place among the inner sect disciples, then challenged the true disciples and became one myself. Over the years, I’ve also cultivated diligently, not daring to slack off in the slightest. But even then, my wildest dream was to become one of the top ten true disciples. Whether it was Eldest Senior Sister Ling Xi or Eldest Senior Brother Yan Huang, they were both unrivaled peerless prodigies in my heart. As for the position of Eldest Senior Brother and Eldest Senior Sister that they represent, I even felt I would only dare think about it after they reached the Void-Piercing Realm, which would free their positions. Yet Yaoguang, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, has displayed strength so great that even Eldest Senior Sister does not dare make a move. And he is about to face Eldest Senior Brother, whom I believed to be unbeatable... This really feels like an illusion. It’s unbelievable."

Even as people were still discussing the situation, the pressure had already fallen on Yan Huang.

Both the disciples and the Void-Piercing Realm elders focused their gazes on him.

Some people were even secretly observing the sect master, Zong Wenxian.

Yan Huang shone with boundless brilliance. At his most glorious moment, three supreme elders had once expressed their intention to take him as a disciple, but he had rejected them all. Instead, he had become Zong Wenxian's direct disciple.

This was also another reason why everyone publicly acknowledged him as Eldest Senior Brother.

Ling Xi feared Yaoguang’s strength and chose not to fight, but Yan Huang had no way to avoid this battle.

Feeling everyone’s gaze on him, he took a deep breath. Light flashed, and he appeared directly on the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform.

"Come. Defeat me, and you can become a true disciple!" As Yan Huang spoke, his body began to expand rapidly. Crimson-gold flames burned fiercely around him, and behind him, wings of fire spread open.

It was the Crimson-Gold Divine Phoenix Body.

At the same time, he grasped at the air, and a huge battle sword surrounded by lightning, filled with an aura of destruction, appeared in his hand.

The destructive might emanating from the sword and the Dao resonance visible to the naked eye all proved the level of this battle sword.

It was a quasi-Dao Artifact! And it was not the kind used for comprehending the Great Dao, but one meant for battle!

Behind him, three streaks of spiritual light spread out.

This was another supreme divine ability, the Three Origins Spirit-Gathering Technique.

Once he ran out of energy, the ability would rapidly replenish him.

In addition, a mysterious light also flickered within his eyes.

This was yet another supreme divine ability, the Black Pupil Treasure Technique, said to be able to see through the workings of any divine ability.

Three supreme divine abilities and one quasi-Dao Artifact!

This combination was behind the terrifying reputation of Yan Huang, the eldest senior brother of the Heavenly Dao Sect and the sixth-ranked figure on the Void-Piercing Realm Candidate Rankings.

However, while Yan Huang was releasing one divine ability after another, Yaoguang did only one thing.

Relying on Void’s Child, the terrifying mass of his Azure Golden Core, and his comprehension of void power that was comparable to a Void-Refining Realm peak master, he instantly triggered a horrifying void tsunami.

The Wandering Dragon Sword swept into it, and a Space-Splitting Strike was drawn up before crashing down with a thunderous roar.

Yan Huang activated the Black Pupil Treasure Technique, quickly visualizing the most suitable way to intercept the incoming attack.

"Break!"

He raised this battle sword, fusing its power with that of the Crimson-Gold Divine Phoenix Body, and slashed at the Space-Splitting Strike Yaoguang had sent crashing toward him.

The power of his divine body and the destructive power contained in the quasi-Dao Artifact erupted at the same time, destroying all the void ripples stirred up by the Space-Splitting Strike.

"Good!" Seeing this, many true disciples who had been angered by Yaoguang’s arrogance in challenging all of them could not help but shout aloud at the same time.

Their eldest senior brother had not disappointed them.

The defenses of his golden body were not something an opponent who had appeared from who knew where could shatter.

However, before the excitement of these true disciples could last for long, they saw the Wandering Dragon Sword turn its blade. It immediately unleashed a new Space-Splitting Strike from the void tsunami, sending it piercing toward Yaoguang's opponent.

Yan Huang, still shaken after destroying Yaoguang’s Space-Splitting Strike, had no choice but to activate the power of his divine body again and raise his sword to counterattack.

The techniques clashed once more above the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform. Void ripples visible to the naked eye swept in all directions, causing distortions in space.

Fortunately, this sword platform was a place where Void-Piercing Realm elders usually resolved their conflicts through sword duels. Its array was extraordinarily profound. The void ripples, despite being powerful enough to raze half a prefectural city to the ground, were rapidly dissolved at a visible speed once they collided with the flowing light of the array, causing no damage to the sword platform.

In this second collision, Yan Huang once again shattered Yaoguang’s Space-Splitting Strike.

But he had already realized that things could not continue like this.

The instant he shattered Yaoguang’s Space-Splitting Strike, and just as one streak of spiritual light from the Three Origins Spirit-Gathering Art seeped into his body to replenish his energy, he struck.

His figure, a full hundred meters tall, suddenly condensed a flaming hand and clenched it fiercely toward the space where Yaoguang stood. Its might was no weaker than that of the Xi family’s Great Universe Hand, likely surpassing it.

However, Yaoguang's sensitivity toward void power was on par with that of a Void-Piercing Realm cultivator.

The Two-Realm Ruler, combined with the Nine Heavenly Transformations, allowed him to easily shift his position. In the blink of an eye, he appeared dozens of kilometers away.

As Yaoguang dodged the attack, the Wandering Dragon Sword did not stop, releasing a third Space-Splitting Strike.

"A movement art on the level of a supreme divine ability." Below the platform, Ling Xi immediately understood what she was seeing and also realized that Yaoguang had a spirit treasure that allowed him to make full use of it.

At this, the eldest senior sister of the Heavenly Dao Sect realized something. "Senior Brother Yan Huang is in trouble."

Since she could tell that the situation was turning unfavorable, Yuan Miaoyi and the Void-Piercing Realm elders naturally could as well.

"Divine abilities, spirit treasures..." Yuan Miaoyi thought of the implication behind what the sect master had said to him. "This Yaoguang was delivered directly to our sect’s headquarters by the Dao Lord of the Penglai Immortal Sect. It is obvious that there's something behind it. Still, regardless of the Penglai Dao Lord’s ultimate purpose, and regardless of whether she has designs on our Heavenly Dao Sect, as long as we prevent Yaoguang from becoming a true disciple and deny him the chance to enter our sect’s core circle, her schemes will be pointless!"

Following this line of thought, the immortal lineage leader’s psychic thought swiftly transmitted to nearly every true disciple.

However, among the true disciples who received the message, some frowned slightly, but the third-ranked true disciple, Liang Lin, was the first to shout in a low voice, "All these years, only the inner sect’s number one disciple has been qualified to challenge the true disciples. If every inner sect disciple ignores the rules and directly applies to the Great Dao Golden Book to challenge us true disciples, then from now on, I’m afraid we won’t need to cultivate anymore. We’ll be annoyed to death by having to accept challenges every day. This unhealthy trend must be curbed to uphold the sect’s system!"

He rose into the air and activated a supreme divine ability. "Everyone, let us act together and lend Eldest Senior Brother a hand. Didn’t Yaoguang want to sweep through the eighty-eight true disciple peaks? Then let us see whether he is really capable of that!"

"I’ve never seen someone this arrogant since I was young. I won't deny that Yaoguang is very strong, but if he wants to challenge all of us from the eighty-eight peaks, he still isn’t qualified," he added with a cold laugh.

"If he dares to challenge all of us and step on the reputation of the true disciples of the eighty-eight peaks to rise, then he should be prepared to be attacked by all of us! Kill!"

His words quickly got a response from more than half of the true disciples present.

Although some people might indeed have been unwilling, the demand of the immortal lineage leader was not something everyone had the courage or the qualifications to refuse.

More than half of the true disciples present charged onto the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform.

This scene complied with the challenge rules, thus the Golden Book Venerable did not stop them.

Some elders secretly felt regretful.

There was no doubt about Yaoguang’s extraordinary talent. If they could accept him into the sect and nurture him well, then in the future, he'd be able to reach the Void-Refining Realm without too much effort.

Unfortunately, he had a relationship with the Dao Lord of the Penglai Immortal Sect.

That was a terrifying existence, someone who had single-handedly beaten the Heavenly Sea Sword Pavilion into shutting its gates and hiding from the world. She had not hesitated to personally send him to the Heavenly Dao Sect. Who knew what her intentions were?

If she harbored malice toward the Heavenly Dao Sect, the consequences would be unimaginable.

When the Penglai Dao Lord was involved, no amount of caution was excessive.

The higher-ups of the sect were clearly acting on the principle that they'd rather kill a hundred innocents than let someone guilty escape. They intended to keep Yaoguang from becoming a true disciple.

Since Yaoguang had chosen to sweep the eighty-eight peaks to become a true disciple, they naturally went along.

In this way, they could expel him without embarrassing the Penglai Dao Lord, and without giving her a reason to make trouble over it.

"Heh." Yaoguang swept a glance toward the immortal lineage leader.

Soon, the mind-type supreme divine ability, Supreme Emotional Detachment, was activated.

"Even the light of a firefly dares to contend with the heavens."

His Azure Golden Core circulated at full speed, and the void ripples it generated spread outward in ring after ring.

In the state of Supreme Emotional Detachment, his perception became extremely sharp. With one glance, he understood how disorganized these true disciples were.

Although they all respected Yan Huang as the eldest senior brother, every true disciple was equivalent to the ruler of a small force. They weren't used to obeying commands, so how could they coordinate well enough to surround Yaoguang?

Relying on the Two-Realm Ruler and the Nine Heavenly Transformations, he pushed his advantage in mobility as much as possible.

Considering that the true disciples had the advantage in numbers, he avoided clashing with Yan Huang directly. Instead, he targeted the ordinary true disciples one by one, defeating them in succession before the Golden Book Venerable swept them off the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform.

This scene immediately made Yuan Miaoyi's expression turn ugly, in a way that wasn't befitting his role as the immortal lineage leader.

In just a few dozen breaths, half of the true disciples who had just taken the stage had all been defeated by Yaoguang.

For a time, golden light truly spilled everywhere, and figures fell like a rain of stars.