Chapter 357: Modesty

"What kind of ghost Golden Core is this? You rambled on for so long, yet the conclusion remains exactly the same!" Lu Yang barked in anger.

"What do you mean 'rambled on'? I was analyzing the situation for you," the Immortal Fairy replied, determined to vindicate her Golden Core.

As the creator of the Invincible Core, she simply could not tolerate Lu Yang slandering her masterpiece.

Just as Lu Yang and the Immortal Fairy were locked in a heated debate over whether the Invincible Core was of any actual use, Zhou Fangge seized his chance to strike.

"Die!"

Zhou Fangge drew four miniature banners from his robes and tossed them into the air; they flew to the four cardinal directions—north, south, east, and west—trapping Lu Yang within their perimeter!

The sky above Lu Yang suddenly darkened, and looking up, he beheld a miniature mountain manifested overhead, plunging toward him at a terrifying speed.

"The Mountain-Moving Divine Ability!" Lan Ting recognized the magical technique Zhou Fangge was deploying. Even for a Golden Core cultivator, executing this ability was no easy feat; by relying on the four banners, Zhou Fangge was channeling a power that surpassed his own cultivation realm.

Zhou Fangge harbored not a shred of complacency, unleashing one of his three trump cards right from the start—a force potent enough to pin down a standard Golden Core cultivator completely.

Faced with the looming mountain pressing down, Lu Yang countered with an ancient divine ability.

"Devouring Heaven and Earth!"

Lu Yang opened his mouth wide, swallowed the entire mountain into his belly, and let out a satisfied burp.

"It is the Taotie clan's Devouring Heaven and Earth!" Bai Ming's face filled with utter disbelief. This was the defining, foundational technique of the Taotie lineage, yet Lu Yang had somehow mastered it.

Compared to the Mountain-Moving ability, the difficulty of learning Devouring Heaven and Earth was several tiers higher.

From what Bai Ming had heard, even a pure-blooded Taotie could not possibly master this bloodline ability while still in the Golden Core stage.

"I knew Lu Yang possessed more than just one ancient divine ability!"

Yan Tianzhi narrowed his eyes slightly; Lu Yang was truly a cultivator capable of defying higher realms, having managed to learn even a supreme technique like Devouring Heaven and Earth.

Yan Tianzhi himself could mimic a version of it, but it was merely a clever trick, pale in comparison to Lu Yang, who had mastered it through raw, authentic capability.

Zhou Fangge never anticipated that his meticulously prepared trump card would be dismantled with such effortless ease.

"As expected of an immortal sect disciple, but I have long prepared for this!"

Zhou Fangge slammed his palms together, bringing forth a blinding flash of white light between them accompanied by a screeching din that forced the spectators below the stage to cover their ears.

A sphere of blazing lightning coalesced within Zhou Fangge's hands, its electrical glow casting deep, sinister shadows across his visage.

"Ah, the Palm Thunder," the Immortal Fairy noted, recognizing the spell.

"This was a spell devised by Immortal Ying Tian. Back when I challenged him above my realm, he used it—though back then, he conjured it on the sole of his foot to catch me off guard while kicking. Somehow, when the technique spread to later generations, it mutated into the palm of the hand."

"...Perhaps it was just for aesthetics."

In the brief moment Lu Yang spoke, the Palm Thunder struck down with a deafening roar, hitting him dead-on.

Boom—

The Palm Thunder unleashed a terrifying torrent of energy, sending thick plumes of smoke billowing outward as the shockwave swept across the entire arena, even disrupting the ongoing battle of Heir Apparent Yan and the others.

Zhou Fangge panted heavily in complete exhaustion; the Palm Thunder was a spell he had inherited from a Tribulation Transcendence legacy, and although his spiritual energy was tenfold that of his peers, executing it had utterly drained his reserves.

"Taking this hit, let alone an early Golden Core, even an intermediate Golden Core would be dead or severely crippled!" Zhou Fangge sneered, savoring the price of underestimating him.

"Oh, really? No wonder it felt like nothing more than an itch." Lu Yang's voice drifted calmly from the settling dust, sending a violent shiver down Zhou Fangge's spine.

Just as Zhou Fangge braced himself into a defensive stance to meet Lu Yang's assault, Lu Yang materialized behind him, patting his shoulder with a pleasant smile.

Zhou Fangge instinctively leaped forward to dodge, but Lu Yang's hand bore the weight of a mountain range, forcing his body to lurch sideways, unable to maintain his balance.

Zhou Fangge hastily swallowed a Qi-restoration pill and glared warily at Lu Yang. "As expected of an immortal sect disciple. Since even that failed to harm you, I shall hold nothing back."

His third trump card carried a devastating price, yet it held the power to rival a late Golden Core cultivator; for the sake of victory, Zhou Fangge deemed it a gamble worth taking.

Just as Zhou Fangge resolved to unleash his final ultimate move, his body suddenly lost all weight, and his vision blurred into a dizzying streak—Lu Yang had seized him by the sleeve and hurled him right out of the arena.

Witnessing the once supremely confident Zhou Fangge effortlessly dispatched by Lu Yang, Heir Apparent Yan and the others locked in combat felt a profound sense of helplessness.

To think he actually boasted about defeating Lu Yang when the man hadn't even exerted his full strength—could he not see that Lu Yang's sword-bearing hand hadn't even lifted?

Immediately after, words of absolute despair echoed across the stage: "Haha, Old Meng, you aren't done yet? You're fighting too slow, let me join in!"

Lan Ting and her two fellow judges could not help but close their eyes, unwilling to witness the impending massacre.

Both Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were monsters capable of contending with early Nascent Soul cultivators; dealing with a crowd of Foundation Establishment disciples was easier than thumping children.

Upon seeing Lu Yang join the fray, Heir Apparent Yan and the others cast their pre-battle strategies to the wind and scattered in all directions.

Rather than stubbornly fighting a losing battle, it was far better to race to see who could run faster and claim better luck, hoping to be the last one ejected so they could steal third place.

The spectators below watched Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou beaming with joyous laughter as they herded Heir Apparent Yan and his group like panicked chicks, prompting whispers that these two didn't look like righteous souls at all.

"Why do I feel like Heir Apparent Yan and his group look so utterly pitiful?"

"Exactly! Golden Core experts bullying Foundation Establishment cultivators with such gleeful smiles—they have completely abandoned all shame."

"Brother Meng, I am from the Yan Clan of Qingzhou! We are both from aristocratic families!" Heir Apparent Yan cried out his lineage, desperately trying to forge a connection; as a member of the nobility, he had long heard of Meng Jingzhou's grand reputation.

Meng Jingzhou assumed a deeply solemn expression. "We are on the grand stage of competition, where no distinction of noble or common birth exists. How can victory be decided by status? Holding back against you would be an insult to this tournament; doing so would only bring dishonor to the Yan Clan."

Heir Apparent Yan asked with utmost caution, "Then, Brother Meng, won't your participation in this tournament as a Golden Core cultivator bring shame to the Meng Clan?"

"Of course not. I have already run away from home."

And with that, Heir Apparent Yan was booted off the stage.

By the time Gu Qisheng voluntarily leapt off the platform, only Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou remained standing in the arena.

"It seems the first and second places shall be decided between the two of us," Lu Yang said with a smile, his thirst for battle unsated, eager to finally unleash his full power.

Meng Jingzhou smiled in turn, letting his Golden Core aura radiate outward until the pebbles on the ground trembled. "Come to think of it, we have never truly clashed. This serves as a perfect opportunity."

"Then our thoughts are perfectly aligned," Lu Yang replied, releasing his own aura to match Meng Jingzhou's pound for pound.

Atop the stage, two auras that utterly defied the standard limits of the early Golden Core stage collided, turning the entire arena into a boiling cauldron that churned and bubbled with terrifying intensity.

Suddenly remembering something, Lu Yang looked up toward the judges' bench. "By the way, Lan Ting, there is something I forgot to ask."

"Ask away."

"Is there a reward for the first place?"

Lan Ting flashed a smile that, to Lu Yang, looked deeply unsettling. "Indeed there is."

"What is it?"

"The reward for third place is a Core-Formation spiritual item, which increases the chance of forming a core by fifty percent, with a ten percent chance of achieving a first-grade core."

"The reward for second place is a Core-Formation spiritual item along with the personal insights on core formation treasured by the Governor."

"As for the first place, besides receiving the spiritual item and the personal insights, the Governor mentioned that the competitors in this grand tournament lack sufficient combat and core-formation experience. Therefore, he has instructed the three of us judges to personally take the stage and guide the winner on how to fight."

Lu Yang blinked his eyes several times, staring at the three judges who were all bearing eerie smiles; his hairs stood on end, and he whirled around to leap off the stage.

"Old Meng, I shall graciously yield the first place to you!"

Meng Jingzhou fiercely grabbed Lu Yang, attempting to sprint down the stage himself.

"My destiny is meager, and my fate cannot bear the weight of the supreme rank; you must take this first place!"

(End of Chapter)