Chapter 296: Chapter 296: Leveling the Gap

Bai Zhi’s Frost Sword moved like an arctic cold front, its blade leaving a web of icy cracks in the air.

CLANG!

On the thirteenth clash between the Heavy Mace and the Longsword, Xu Yunfan was thrown back three steps. Each step he took sank three inches deep into the black stone floor.

This black stone was mixed with Black Gold; an ordinary expert of the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm could only leave a scratch on it with a full-force blow. Yet, Xu Yunfan was stomping clear prints into it, a testament to the terrifying force he was absorbing.

But to everyone’s astonishment, he used the force of the recoil to twist his waist and hips, his spine undulating like a great dragon as he seamlessly unleashed the Mountain-Collapse Form of the Thousand-Pound Mountain-Shaking Hammer Technique. This completely defied all martial logic about recovering from a blow! Empowered by his unique combination of Martial Arts, Xu Yunfan was far beyond any ordinary Martial Artist. Even after being driven back three steps by her sword, he was instantly clashing head-on with Bai Zhi once more.

Bai Zhi’s pupils shrank. She had clearly seen it: the moment her Profound Nether Force invaded his muscles and skin, wisps of Pure Yang True Qi had surged forth. Her frigid energy was violently forced out through his pores, shattering into a fine spray of ice crystals.

The two were locked in a fierce, evenly matched battle. Xu Yunfan found it absolutely exhilarating, his excitement mounting with every exchange. It had been a long, long time since he had encountered someone so close to being his equal.

Below the stage, the disciples from the Thirty-Six Peaks had fallen utterly silent. The only sounds were the soft rustling of snow on pine branches and the hiss of snowflakes being blasted apart by the shockwaves from the ceaseless clang of metal.

Someone in the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm clashing with an expert in the mid-stage of Refining the Internal Organs—it should have been like an ant trying to topple a great tree. Yet not only did Xu Yunfan show no sign of defeat, he seemed to grow fiercer with the fighting. It was as if his body were forged from Profound Steel, absorbing so much force without the slightest discomfort!

"This defies all martial logic!"

A True Disciple from Liuyun Peak crushed the railing he was gripping, his knuckles turning white.

He had clearly seen it: every time the Profound Nether Force invaded Xu Yunfan’s meridians, a crimson glow of Pure Yang True Qi flashed beneath his skin. That frigid venom—potent enough to freeze and shatter Refined Steel—was being violently expelled from his body by the Pure Yang True Qi, where it burst into clouds of ice crystals.

"He’s totally cheating! Without that Pure Yang True Qi, he would have been frozen into an ice sculpture long ago."

A nearby disciple from Profound Sky Peak sneered at the remark. "Every peak has access to the Pure Yang Qi Skill. If you’ve got what it takes, go cultivate it to Perfection, transform your Inner Breath into Pure Yang True Qi, and then *you* can get in the ring."

The Liuyun Peak disciple instantly fell silent.

’If it were really so easy to transform Pure Yang Inner Breath into Pure Yang True Qi,’ he thought, ’why has Sect Leader Bi Yuan been the only one to achieve it in hundreds of years?’

To possess True Qi and a perfected physical form... as long as someone like that didn’t die young, the gates to the Ninth Realm were already open for him.

Among the contingent from Cyan Nether Peak, the Jade Bone Fan in Lu Wuchen’s hand, engraved with the name *Mountains and Rivers in the Painting*, suddenly snapped in two with a sharp CRACK.

The break was as clean as a knife’s cut, and its smooth surface reflected his sharply constricting pupils.

On Xu Yunfan’s bulging right arm, the individual leaves of the Dragon Scale Armor pulsed rhythmically. The tiny armor plates seemed to squirm like living things over his dark, bulging tendons. Each swing of his mace produced a draconic roar that tore through the air.

"Jiao Suo Transformation... Jade Bone Chime..."

His throat worked, his voice raspy with disbelief. "Those are the signs of reaching Minor Achievement in Mituo Temple’s Yijing Marrow Cleansing Skill!"

A memory from his trip to the Northern Desert three years ago flashed through his mind. He had witnessed it himself: the Head of Mituo Temple’s Precepts Hall had used this technique alone to obliterate the Daqian Iron Cavalry, turning men and horses into a fine mist of blood.

’But that’s the temple’s most protected Ultimate Skill, never taught to outsiders,’ Lu Wuchen thought. ’And yet this kid... he actually...’

"Minor Achievement in the Yijing Marrow Cleansing Skill... That guy... he actually dared to snatch food from a tiger’s jaws and is now using Mituo Temple’s Ultimate Skill out in the open!"

His voice was tight. "Combined with the protection of the Golden Fire Melting Furnace effect from his Pure Yang True Qi, he can actually force the gap between their Realms closed!"

Lu Wuchen’s gaze swept like lightning across the spectator stands, freezing when it landed on the Head Elders of Profound Sky Peak.

The Punishment Hall Elder, a man known for his icy demeanor, showed not a flicker of surprise. The Head of the Scripture Pavilion, seated next to Bi Yuan, was even more telling—he didn’t even notice his teacup tilting, allowing tea to drench his robes. These old monsters, who had lived for centuries, clearly understood the implications far better than he.

’With all the political strife between the Taoist Sect’s factions,’ he realized, ’this man... he’s Sect Leader Bi Yuan’s champion, put forth to stake his claim!’

"I see..."

Lu Wuchen lowered his gaze, grinding the shattered remains of his fan to dust in his palm.

He finally understood how Xu Yunfan could fight someone in the stage of Refining the Internal Organs despite only being in the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm.

’Flowing through that body is a fusion of Mituo Temple’s ultimate Body Refining Technique, the Pure Yang Qi Skill, and some ancient power that even I can’t decipher.’

’It’s like forging Profound Iron, Star Sand, and Dragon Blood Gold together in a single furnace, just to build an iron bridge across the vast chasm between Realms!’

If Bai Zhi was a genius among geniuses, then Xu Yunfan was a bona fide monster, a collection of Divine Skills and supreme arts all in one person.

On the stage, at the seventy-third exchange, Bai Zhi suddenly changed her tactics, finally finding an opening.

She thrust out her left hand in a Sword Pointing strike. Her fingers, glowing faintly blue, cut through the air and pierced the ambient shockwaves, aiming a Profound Yin Bone-Penetrating Finger straight at Xu Yunfan’s navel.

Yunfan’s abs clenched, becoming as hard as hundred-forged Profound Steel. Beneath his skin, the Hundred Forging Technique and the Yijing Marrow Cleansing Skill created a lattice of intersecting golden patterns. At the same time, his Pure Yang True Qi condensed over his body into a half-inch-thick layer of Qi Armor.

Sensing the danger, the Dragon Scale Armor reacted. The Tier Eight Divine Weapon, which had already devoured two other sets of Divine Armor, instantly contracted its countless Armor Leaves. With a crisp chime like gold striking jade, they sealed around Xu Yunfan’s body, leaving not a single gap.

TING!

Bai Zhi grunted and reeled backward, her left hand, still in the Sword Pointing form, now bent at an unnatural angle.

Her Sword Pointing technique, which she had cultivated for twenty years, felt as if it had been smashed by a colossal hammer. Tiny beads of blood seeped from her nailbeds, only to be instantly vaporized into a red mist by the residual Pure Yang True Qi clinging to the Dragon Scale Armor before they could even fall.

"Senior Sister Bai, a body of mortal flesh can’t just go head-to-head with a Divine Weapon!"

Xu Yunfan grinned. His Dragon Scale Armor deserved much of the credit for his ability to fight Bai Zhi, who was a major Realm above him and had reached Minor Achievement in Organ Cultivation.

The next instant, he abandoned defense for offense, unleashing a killing blow from the Eight Desolates Dragon Fall with his Red Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace.

As Bai Zhi raised her sword to block, she was alarmed to feel a Spiral Force coming from the mace, making it hard to keep a firm grip on her longsword.

The altered technique, incorporating the Nine Profound Dragon-Defying Mace Technique, caught her off guard.

The sword and mace crashed together, unleashing a shockwave. The webbing of Bai Zhi’s hand tore open, and her longsword bent into the arc of a full moon.

"BREAK!"

Xu Yunfan’s roar was like thunder. The muscles in his right arm suddenly swelled to twice their size, and the robes covering his torso were blown to shreds.

The Dragon Scale Armor Leaves pulsed rapidly, venting streams of heat as even more Pure Yang True Qi surged out through the Red Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace.

Under the immense pressure, fine cracks began to form deep within Bai Zhi’s ice-like muscles and jade-like bones. Yet, without a word, she activated the forbidden technique from the Profound Nether Jade Scroll: "Frozen Over a Thousand Miles."

An unimaginable amount of powerful Qi erupted from her body. The stage beneath them instantly froze into a mountain of ice, and the accumulated snow morphed into countless ice spikes that shot up from the ground.

Xu Yunfan showed not a hint of fear. An area-of-effect Secret Martial Art like this might be devastating against a group, but for someone wearing the Dragon Scale Armor and possessing a body tempered by Horizontal Training, it was nothing to be afraid of.

’But I know that if I let her get the upper hand here,’ he thought, ’I’ll be facing her *true* killing blow next.’