Chapter 259 - 256: Battle of the Prodigies
Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, five days had passed.
This day,
was the day of the much-hyped battle between the two great prodigies.
At the same time,
it was also the day the Dream Traveling Immortal was set to bloom, and the five powers were to open the entrance to the Spirit Realm.
And so,
early in the morning, vast droves of Cultivators from all corners had already gathered at the entrance.
There were Cultivators from the five major powers,
and even more Loose Cultivators from the surrounding areas who had gathered after hearing the news.
"Fellow Daoist Li, you came too? Weren’t you planning to enter death-seclusion?"
"How could I possibly miss such a grand event..."
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime battle of titans! Mo Lingfeng stands at the very Peak of the Qi Introduction Realm in the Heisei Domain, and that Shen Changchuan is a peerless genius, one of the best among the countless Qi Introduction Realm Cultivators of the Tian Nan Domain!"
"To be fortunate enough to witness a battle between such peerless prodigies... my whole life would be worth it!"
"Indeed! This might be the only chance in our entire lives to see a battle between peerless prodigies at the Peak of the Qi Introduction Realm up close! We can finally see for ourselves just how powerful those at the pinnacle of the Qi Introduction Realm truly are!"
"It’s a pity. Even though I’m also a Cultivator from the Tian Nan Domain, I don’t think the outcome looks good for Shen Changchuan."
"I think so too. If we’re just talking about their track records, Shen Changchuan’s is naturally more impressive. However, according to many True Cultivators in the Soul Emergence Realm, the battle where Shen Changchuan killed that Soul Emergence Demon Cultivator was pure luck. That’s a world of difference from Mo Lingfeng, who fought a Soul Emergence expert to a standstill in a head-on battle..."
"It can’t be helped. The Tian Nan Domain’s Immortal Cultivation Realm is practically at the bottom of the entire Southern Great Domain in terms of prosperity. It just can’t compare to the Heisei Domain..."
The surrounding crowd buzzed with hushed whispers and fervent discussions.
While sighing and chatting, they all analyzed and speculated on the outcome of the battle.
Unfortunately,
although most of the spectating Cultivators were from the Tian Nan Domain,
the majority felt that Mo Lingfeng from the Heisei Domain had a higher chance of winning.
This wasn’t because the Cultivators from the Tian Nan Domain didn’t support their ’hometown hero’; it was simply the reality of the situation.
Looking at their respective battle records,
Shen Changchuan’s did seem to fall short by a considerable margin.
"However, Shen Changchuan is supposedly only sixteen years old. In comparison, Mo Lingfeng of the Nanyang Sect is already twenty-three."
"If Shen Changchuan were given enough time to mature, he might not necessarily be weaker than Mo Lingfeng."
"In the end, his age is a disadvantage!"
someone lamented.
Nearby,
someone else fell silent after hearing this.
’He reached the pinnacle of the Qi Introduction Realm at sixteen,’
’and what about me?’
’I’ve lived for half a lifetime and still haven’t reached that step.’
’The gap between two people can truly be greater than that between a man and a dog.’
The clamor of the surrounding crowd
did not affect Mo Lingfeng and Shen Changchuan, the two individuals at the center of it all.
Before long,
both men had arrived.
They landed on opposite sides of the open square,
each taking their position.
"I heard you once said that being a genius is merely the threshold to meet you. That you never consider those you’ve defeated to be your rivals, instead giving them time to catch up, until the distance between you becomes insurmountable... I must admit, when it comes to arrogant speech, your flair far surpasses my own!"
"In this regard, among all the people I, Mo Lingfeng, have ever met, I proclaim you the strongest!"
Mo Lingfeng, who was always wildly arrogant and never bowed his head,
now looked at Shen Changchuan in the distance with a hint of admiration.
He had to admit,
the first time he heard those words, he was completely stunned.
Because those lines suited him so perfectly!
He felt an instant, overwhelming sense of identification!
If not for his pride as a genius, he would have shamelessly stolen those lines for his own use.
Imagine, in future battles, taking a few breaths to deliver those lines...
That kind of imposing aura,
wouldn’t that be even more satisfying than simply defeating the opponent in combat?
It’s a pity Mo Lingfeng wasn’t a Transmigrator, or he would have known this was the legendary ’panache’!
This was also the first time he had ever willingly admitted defeat,
wholeheartedly believing that he was far inferior to someone else in a certain aspect,
especially to someone younger than himself!
"But, in challenging me this time, did you ever stop to think that you now stand in the very same position as those enemies you once looked down upon?"
"Now, you are the challenger!"
"And I... shall grant you defeat!"
Mo Lingfeng stared directly at Shen Changchuan, his voice gradually turning cold,
his gaze filled with a condescending arrogance.
"Who can claim to be invincible? Who dares to say they are undefeated?"
"Even if failure is a constant throughout my life, it will not stop me from moving forward."
Shen Changchuan’s expression remained largely unchanged.
"..."
For a moment, Mo Lingfeng was at a loss for words.
He had the faint feeling that with just a few words, he had already lost ground in terms of a certain disposition—or, to put it another way, in panache.
Although he didn’t know the word ’panache’, that was the gist of it.
"I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget you!"
Mo Lingfeng thought with a sigh.
With just a casual sentence, the other man projected an intangible, overwhelming aura.
He decided not to speak anymore.
If he kept talking,
he feared he would be verbally crushed to dust.
Immediately,
BOOM!!!
All at once,
an immense, majestic aura erupted from him like a volcano,
unleashing a visible torrent that swept out in all directions!
Under this immense power, he floated up as if he had lost all weight. His robes billowed without any wind, whipping about wildly in the swirling currents of energy.
At the same time,
a faint red glow of Magical Power lit up around Mo Lingfeng. He began to radiate an intense heat, sending rolling waves of warmth across the square and making the entire area feel like a furnace.
"It’s appeared! The Three Yang True Skill!"
As the rolling heatwave washed over them, someone in the crowd cried out in alarm.
"This Cultivation Technique is said to originate from the Nine Yang Technique—one of the core legacies of the Yuqing Immortal Sect! It’s rumored that when cultivated to Great Success, the Nine Yang Technique can boil the seas and incinerate mountains!"
"Years ago, the founding ancestor of the Nanyang Sect created this Three Yang True Skill based on the Nine Yang Technique. It has been passed down ever since, becoming the very foundation of the Nanyang Sect. When cultivated to Great Success, one’s Magical Power becomes incomparably scorching and tyrannical, capable of incinerating even Magic! Among Cultivators of the same Realm, its user is virtually unstoppable!"
"I’ve heard about that too. They say the Nanyang Sect relied on this very technique to become the number one power in the Heisei Domain! But isn’t it said that only True Cultivators at the Soul Emergence Realm can practice the Three Yang True Skill? How has Mo Lingfeng managed it when he’s only at the Qi Introduction Ninth Layer Peak?"
"Who knows? But perhaps that’s exactly it. By doing what ordinary people cannot, talents like him are able to rise to the pinnacle among the countless Qi Introduction Realm Cultivators of an entire domain, becoming the kind of Demons one sees only once every few centuries..."