On the expansive sandy area of the Gobi Desert…
All eyes swiftly followed the fast movements of the two human figures in the arena. There was shock on everyone’s faces.
Their movements were as swift as lightning!
Except for those top Wulin fighters, no one had ever seen such a heated battle. They could hardly keep up with their fighting pace.
In the field…
During the fierce collision, unprecedentedly powerful auras erupted from their bodies, together with incomparably powerful internal Qi.
Two human figures, one dark blue and one red, suddenly soared into the sky as they engaged in a fierce battle.
“You are pretty potent indeed!”
A touch of seriousness lingered in Qingshan’s eyes during the fierce competition. He had successfully held back the young man many times, yet he could never carry the battle to complete victory. Gradually, he began to panic.
This situation on the battlefield ran counter to all his expectations.
He had never imagined that John Doe’s strength was so powerful.
At this very moment, he understood why John Doe had been described as the best among the younger generation.
On the opposite side…
Fang Qiu still had a severe look and his eyebrows were furrowed.
Of course, he looked preoccupied, not because of the opponent’s strength but because the breakthrough he had been suppressing became increasingly restless as the battle turned more ferocious.
“Thud!”
After a fiery collision, the two people, entangled in a violent struggle, rose ten meters above the ground. Abruptly, the sword and the stick slammed into each other head-on.
In the sky, a burst of dazzling sparks of energy went off.
The horrible counterforce oscillated back and forth.
It knocked back the two men who were having a dogfight in the sky.
It was fantastic.
All the people around stood spellbound by the scene.
Many of them had watched Qingshan battle with Diwu Qian and Yun Yangzi before this.
There was no need to talk about Diwu Qian for the time being.
During the fighting between Yun Yangzi and Qingshan, Yun Yangzi managed to withstand hundreds of assaults from Qingshan. Still, Qingshan looked quite relaxed, as if he regarded the battle not worthy of serious consideration.
Qingshan made it known that he didn’t use his full strength in this combat.
But now…
Qingshan’s solemn expression when fighting with John Doe caught everyone’s eyes.
Beyond that…
In the fierce battle, Qingshan, a mighty guru, didn’t manage to pin John Doe down, which came as a surprise to all.
Few anticipated that John Doe could hang on for such a long time in the fight against Qingshan.
“Phew…”
After stabilizing himself, Qingshan gently exhaled, looked at John Doe and said, “You are the first person who has forced me to use all my strength since I came out of seclusion.”
“Are you going to take the challenge seriously?”
Fang Qiu cracked a smile.
“I never fight sloppily…”
Qingshan chuckled, shook his head, and said, “A fight should be an earnest one!”
“That’s true.”
Fang Qiu nodded with a smile, still in a placid mood.
They talked openly.
The Wulin people who were a hundred meters away were all stunned.
“Is Qingshan going to exert all his strength?”
“I was wondering why Master Qingshan couldn’t crush John Doe. It turns out that he held back his strength.”
“How terrifying will a guru be if he throws in his whole might?”
“John Doe is a real tough guy to make Qingshan use all his strength and skills to the maximum.”
“Anyway, John Doe can keep his title of ‘the No.1 below gurus’.”
“When Master Qingshan takes off his gloves, John Doe is bound to lose!”
…
Here…
“The two little ones are going to get serious.”
Master Numinous smiled slightly and said, “It seems John Doe’s combat capability is not weaker than Qingshan’s. Yet, I don’t know if he can defend himself against a guru’s all-out attack!”
“Here comes the high point of the show.”
The four patriarchs nodded and smiled in agreement.
On the battlefield…
Qingshan had just finished his speech.
Slowly, he held up the pale red wooden stick in his hand and withdrew the light red energy which cloaked his body. Then a stream of vigorous and firm Qi power rose steadily from his body. His Qi power was far more robust than before, which caused all the onlookers to goggle at each other in shock.
Opposite him…
“A genuine guru.”
Fang Qiu let out a sharp intake of breath, his eyes fixed on Qingshan. He turned the Divine Sword that he clenched in his hand slightly. A current of energy Qi, more tremendous than before, flowed out of him like a sudden torrent unleashed from the mountains. It wrapped itself around the sword.
The Qi power was not at all inferior to Qingshan’s.
“This is the aura of a Divine Sword.”
“Will he use the moves of the Divine Sword?”
Many people had seen John Doe combat other people with his Divine Sword, so they could tell at a glance that John Doe was going to fight seriously.
However…
Compared with the speculation of the bystanders, Fang Qiu, as the concerned party, had no intention of using any moves of the Divine Sword.
He knew perfectly well in his heart.
The three moves of his Divine Sword would have little effect on a guru. If he could issue forth the supreme power of a guru, the three sword moves could easily knock Qingshan out.
It was a pity that he was not a guru but merely a ninth-class Martial Superior with two opened meridians. He was not even a Half-step Guru. In this case, whereby such a considerable gap existed between their strength, Fang Qiu’s tricks when he used the Divine Sword would be ineffective.
Therefore…
Fang Qiu decided to directly resort to his most decisive move.
Like him, Qingshan wouldn’t keep his strength in reserve. Once he took action, he would start his deadliest move. If he failed to react in time, it would be troublesome.
Feeling the oppressive aura of energy exploding from the Divine Sword in John Doe’s hand, everyone around him was utterly amazed.
Right at this moment…
“Get ready. Watch my stick!”
With this, Qingshan’s hand which clutched the wooden stick trembled slightly. Each time his fingertips hit the wooden stick, it vibrated in response.
It was like the humming of a sword.
At the same time, when the vibrating sounds of the wooden stick sounded, a layer of flame-like red energy suddenly surged out of Qingshan.
Driven by the immense internal Qi in his body, Qingshan moved and took off. Like a pair of wings, the flame-like energy around him instantly carried him up into the sky. Under the gazes of countless viewers, he waved his right hand and aimed the wooden stick surrounded by flaming energy into Fang Qiu in a split second.
The distance between them was not far due to his incredible speed. Qingshan had already swished the wooden stick in his hand aggressively through the air to Fang Qiu. With a sweeping force, it smashed its way toward Fang Qiu’s chest!
Fang Qiu looked straight ahead.
As the wooden stick approached, it grew larger and larger in his eyes, then Fang Qiu waved his right hand.
Inside him, his internal Qi was swirling about. When he brandished his arm which contained mighty power, he forcefully thrust all his internal Qi forward.
With a roar, it was injected into the Divine Sword.
“Towering-flame Stick!”
Qingshan howled.
The energy flames shot high as if fuel had been added to them. Crackling and spluttering, they spread quickly to hit Fang Qiu.
Qingshan’s roar and the terrifying energy flames erupting from the wooden stick shocked everyone.
Meanwhile, Fang Qiu’s deep bellow came.
“Space-splitting Sea-cracking Sword!”
His low roar had barely faded.
In a twinkling, a massive wave of azure Qi of Heaven and Earth suddenly surged up from the long sword in Fang Qiu’s hand as the blade slashed across.
The huge energy wave was immediately divided into two. From the big split, a crescent-like energy blade suddenly leaped out of the sword and violently collided with the wooden stick flying over.
“Boom!”
There was a sudden clap of thunder.
The moment the wooden stick from the sky bumped into the energy blade emerging from the ground, it immediately exploded in mid-air!
The wild collision of the two energy streams created a frightening sand tornado above the originally tranquil desert.
At the center of the tornado…
The two energy streams were still clashing wildly with each other. Around them, the energy Qi, which could split a person into half upon contact, scattered fast in all directions.
Under pressure, the hard ground surface instantly cracked, and the very dense energy Qi made a large hole in the ground.
The yellow sand flew everywhere like the smoke of gunpowder.
Outside of the battlefield…
Though these spectators were a hundred meters away, they could still clearly sense how terrifying the energy generated by the collision between the two energy flows was. Some became so frightened that they kept stepping back, for fear they would instantly be ground to dust if they got closer!
Finally, the yellow sand dispersed.
Only then did everyone see that after this attack, the two of them had retreated again and were separated by the terrifying energy tornado.
“Phew…”
Qingshan gasped and looked at the opposite side, his face more dignified.
On the other side…
Fang Qiu took the opportunity to close his eyes.
“Since I can’t suppress it, I’ll break through!”
After fighting several fierce rounds in a row, Fang Qiu could no longer suppress the urge to break through. Before he could do anything to bring the feeling under control, it instantly overwhelmed his head!
In the next moment…
“Buzz, buzz…”
Just as the energy tornado gradually dissipated, the sounds of surging Qi of Heaven and Earth suddenly could be heard.
For a moment…
Everyone felt the Qi rolling in with full force as if a great storm was about to arrive!
Here…
Fang Qiu shivered.
He was about to become a Half-step Guru. This process was not risky for him because he had already broken through once. Now that he had achieved the proper realm and accumulated enough internal Qi, he could break through naturally!
Sure enough…
Being a Half-step Guru only meant that his strength had risen to a high level, but it wasn’t a real breakthrough. After all, there was no such thing as a Half-step Guru in the cultivation system of martial arts practitioners.
Therefore, his breakthrough wouldn’t cause any dramatic changes between Heaven and Earth or any abnormal changes in his body. Besides, the Heaven Treasure wasn’t necessary. He only needed to take advantage of the breakthrough and absorb the natural stream of the Qi of Heaven and Earth which surged over.
“Buzz, buzz, buzz…”
The Qi of Heaven and Earth flooded in from all directions. As the energy tornado separating the two dispersed, a brand new energy vortex appeared above Fang Qiu’s head. The Qi of Heaven and Earth gathered from around kept pouring into Fang Qiu’s body through this vortex.
“He made a breakthrough?”
Everyone around was startled at the sight of this scene.
No one had expected that.
In such a vehement battle, John Doe had broken through and became a Half-step Guru.
Meanwhile…
On the other side, Qingshan had just calmed the unsettled internal Qi in his meridians.
Under the tremendous impact of the clash, his Qi and blood seethed in his whole body. The internal Qi inside him became agitated. Although he still had the upper hand, the feeling of Qi and blood churning made him very uncomfortable.
“A breakthrough like this won’t affect your combat capability.”
Qingshan cast a sidelong glance a Fang Qiu and yelled, “Take this!”
Over there…
Fang Qiu abruptly opened his eyes.
