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“Whoosh——”

As the blade flashed, the Yin-Yang Dao Diagram trembled a few times before splitting in two.

Chang Ziqiu waved his left sleeve, scattering the shattered Dao Diagram above his head.

“Let’s see what you’re capable of.”

Seeing Chang Ziqiu break through his Dao Technique, Wu Fengshan knew he couldn’t afford to be careless. Concentrating fully, he once again gathered a new top-tier Supernatural Power.

With a flick of his finger, a white beam shot towards Chang Ziqiu.

Chang Ziqiu didn’t retreat a single step, wielding his blade to strike.

In the following dozens of moves, Wu Fengshan unleashed various Dao Techniques, all of which were broken by Chang Ziqiu.

Whoosh!

While defending, Chang Ziqiu sought opportunities to get closer to Wu Fengshan.

This time, Chang Ziqiu shattered the incoming Dao Technique’s divine might and the void ahead, reaching Wu Fengshan in an instant, gripping his unfamiliar blade tightly and slashing fiercely.

Wu Fengshan’s face changed dramatically. He formed a protective seal with his hands, creating a protective barrier in the void above.

“Bang!”

The blade struck, causing the protective barrier to tremble continuously, visible cracks spreading like a spider web, countless and intricate.

Seeing the barrier about to shatter, Wu Fengshan immediately resorted to other means.

It seems I have no choice but to use my true trump card.

A phoenix cry emanated from Wu Fengshan’s body.

A layer of flames ignited on him. With a pointed finger, the protective barrier shattered, and he directly clashed with Chang Ziqiu.

“Boom——”

The collision caused a significant commotion.

Centered on their location, the surrounding thousand miles were affected, forming a massive eye of the storm, as if it could devour everything, gnawing at souls, terrifying and horrifying.

“Senior Brother Wu is serious!”

The young disciples of the Heavenly Mansion Mountain Villa were shocked, a deep confidence emerging in their eyes. In their view, once Wu Fengshan got serious, the peers from the Northern Wilderness couldn’t possibly be a match.

“Though he knows dozens of top-tier Dao Techniques, none have reached mastery. Greed leads to nothing. However, the wisp of spiritual fire he controls is quite extraordinary.”

Chen Qingyuan commented.

“The outcome of this battle is hard to predict.”

Zhangsun Fengye closed his folding fan, his expression slightly solemn.

“I heard that the person fighting Chang Ziqiu can at most rank in the top five among the younger generation of the Heavenly Mansion Mountain Villa, far from reaching the level of top evildoers in the Imperial Province.”

Through the loud discussions of some young people from the Imperial Province, everyone gathered a lot of useful information.

A top five disciple from a Sacred Ground could fight evenly with one of the Ten Heroes of the Northern Wilderness.

It seems that the strength of the top evildoers in the Imperial Province must be extremely terrifying, unimaginable.

“Your blade isn’t sharp enough.”

Wu Fengshan, wrapped in a special spiritual fire, could actually withstand Chang Ziqiu’s unfamiliar blade without injury.

“Is that so?” Chang Ziqiu sneered, “Then watch closely.”

You have a trump card, but do you think I don’t?

Chang Ziqiu had climbed from the bottom to where he was today, never revealing all his abilities at once.

Until the limit, he would never use his next trump card.

Buzz!

Chang Ziqiu gripped the unfamiliar blade with his right hand, gently stroking the blade’s back with his left, his gaze changing gradually.

The blade in his hand underwent a subtle change, a Dao Mark resembling a rippling water wave appeared in the middle.

Then, Chang Ziqiu switched to a different blade technique.

“Boom!”

A beam of light flashed, and Wu Fengshan found a blood mark on his left shoulder.

By the time Wu Fengshan reacted, a sharp pain emanated from the wound, filling him with dread.

How did he manage to hurt me? How did he do it?

Questions flooded Wu Fengshan’s mind, his shock evident.

However, Wu Fengshan had no time to ponder, forced to give his all in the battle against Chang Ziqiu.

“Bang, bang, bang…”

The two engaged in a fierce battle, appearing evenly matched on the surface, but in reality, Chang Ziqiu was gradually gaining the upper hand.

Soon, they had exchanged over three hundred moves.

Apart from a few holes in his clothes, Chang Ziqiu was unscathed.

Wu Fengshan, on the other hand, had over a dozen bleeding wounds, though none were fatal, he appeared somewhat disheveled.

“Initially, Chang Ziqiu’s blade was incredibly fierce, but now it carries a hint of softness.”

The spectators observed closely, certain that Chang Ziqiu’s blade intent had changed.

“The Northern Wilderness indeed produces outstanding people.”

The Heaven’s Pride of the Eighteen Veins of the Western Border praised, though their eyes carried a hint of arrogance, considering themselves extraordinary.

“If they continue for a few hundred more moves, Wu Fengshan from the Heavenly Mansion Mountain Villa is likely to lose.”

At this point, many had already predicted the outcome.

Not wanting to lose more face, a true disciple from the Heavenly Mansion Mountain Villa intervened, forcing Chang Ziqiu back and stopping the fight.

With a smile, the disciple said, “Dao Friend, you are indeed formidable. We admire you. This was a friendly spar, no need to fight to the death. Let’s end it here!”

“Who do you think you are? You think you can call for a stop whenever you want?”

Chang Ziqiu was unyielding, resting his unfamiliar blade on his shoulder, speaking arrogantly.

His words drew gasps from many.

So bold!

The cultivators from the Northern Wilderness were startled. This was the Imperial Province, not the Northern Wilderness. Shouldn’t he be a bit more restrained?

Chang Ziqiu’s personality was distinct, characterized by one word—pride.

I’ve walked this world, and with my strength, why shouldn’t I look down on my peers?

Initially, it was because Chang Ziqiu couldn’t stand Zhao Qingping’s provocation and refused to swallow his anger, leading to his intervention. Now, he was in the heat of the battle and didn’t want to stop so easily.

“What do you want then?”

The true disciple, named Fu Ranyi, a top Heaven’s Pride of the Heavenly Mansion Mountain Villa, ranked third.

Fu Ranyi’s face was grim, his voice cold and sharp, his pride wounded.

“Since we’ve fought, we must determine a winner.”

As he spoke, Chang Ziqiu stared at Wu Fengshan, his expression proud.

“If you have the strength, save it for the Hundred Veins Banquet. Then, you can unleash your full potential.”

Fu Ranyi said.

“If you don’t want to fight, fine, but I can’t stand your high and mighty attitude. Don’t you know basic manners?”

Chang Ziqiu, unafraid of the top forces in the Imperial Province, spoke boldly.

In front of the world’s heroes, if the old fellows from the Heavenly Mansion Mountain Villa dared to bully the young, they would surely become a laughingstock.

Even if it came to the worst, if the old fellows did intervene, Chang Ziqiu felt that using his life to disgrace a top force was worth it.

“Don’t reveal too many trump cards, stop at the right time!”

Originally, Fu Ranyi intended to clash with Chang Ziqiu, but an elder from the Heavenly Mansion Mountain Villa secretly transmitted a message, forcing Fu Ranyi to suppress his anger.

After a moment of silence, Fu Ranyi lowered his proud head, cupping his hands towards Chang Ziqiu, “Dao Friend, your strength is impressive. Let’s end the fight here.”

“That’s more like it.”

Chang Ziqiu nodded in satisfaction, a smile breaking his tense expression.

Suppressing his anger, Fu Ranyi and Wu Fengshan turned and left.

This time, they had lost face badly.

If they wanted to defeat Chang Ziqiu decisively, they would likely need the Holy Son of the Heavenly Mansion Mountain Villa to take action.

However, with the Hundred Veins Banquet yet to begin, if the Holy Son was forced to reveal too many techniques by Chang Ziqiu, it would alert other Heaven’s Pride, which was highly undesirable.

After much consideration, the Heavenly Mansion Mountain Villa decided to swallow their pride and wait for the Hundred Veins Banquet to settle the score with Chang Ziqiu.

“Impressive.”

“This brother dares to challenge the Heavenly Mansion Mountain Villa, truly bold!”

“In the competition among the younger generation, as long as one’s strength is sufficient, there’s nothing to fear.”

“This time, the Heavenly Mansion Mountain Villa lost a lot of face. When they enter the ancient secret realm later, they will surely seek an opportunity to regain it.”

The crowd marveled at the scene.

With this battle, Chang Ziqiu’s name spread far and wide, remembered by the Heaven’s Pride of various provinces, not to be underestimated.

After this event, no one dared to provoke him, and the starry region of Baichen Star became very quiet.

The calm before the storm left most people feeling uneasy, extremely tense.

Of course, this didn’t affect Chen Qingyuan at all. He continued to eat and drink well, either playing chess and sipping tea with Zhangsun Fengye, never losing; or drinking and discussing Dao with Wu Junyan, talking about the Northern Wilderness.

Unknowingly, five years passed.

Only about two years remained until the Hundred Veins Banquet.

One day, a monk in simple robes crossed star seas, frequently encountering starry sky bandits, spending considerable time dealing with them.

“Finally here, luckily not late.”

This monk was Daochen from the Eastern Land.

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