Chapter 89 - Nascent Soul Revealed
The recoil from the collision of roars lingered in the air, a sharp, physical hum that traveled up Su Ming’s arms and settled in the bones of his hands. A slight tremor ran through his fingers as he lowered the Dragon Emperor Sword. He exhaled, forcing the turbulent Qi inside his meridians to stabilize.
His fifth-stage physical body, tempered to match the strength of a Nascent Soul powerhouse, was barely enough to absorb the feedback.
His brow furrowed. He had pushed his Tempered Dragon Will to its limits in that attack. Yet it was barely enough to offset the Behemoth King’s wind-roar. A trace of cold disappointment settled in his chest. He had considered his True Dragon series moves his proudest achievement until now, but seeing it pushed to its limits to barely neutralize a single roar was a harsh reality check.
In a head-on clash of raw power, he was not ready to contend with the Demon King.
Yet the disappointment did not create doubt. It became a quiet motivation to refine his technique. The ancient dragon roar that tempered his will in the secret realm had been a spiritual projection targeting the soul and mind. The Behemoth King’s wind-roar was a different phenomenon entirely. It directly influenced and fractured physical space, tearing stone and flesh. Su Ming lacked that degree of raw destruction. To bridge the gap, he had to upgrade and push his Dragon Will to the level of a law so that he could directly influence the physical world with his strike.
Around him, the valley went dead silent under the heavy weight of the clash. Disciples clutched their ears, gasping, their heads ringing from the sheer force of the impact. The mortal soldiers stood frozen, the dust from the collapsing ridge settling over their armor like grey snow.
From the central platform, Mu Bairong watched with discerning eyes. His divine sense had caught the details of the clash. While others saw only a miraculous defense, the veteran recognized that Su Ming’s strike was pushed to its limit. In a direct physical confrontation, Su Ming could not match the Demon King.
Still, the old man was deeply impressed. Sensing the power behind the lingering force, a sharp doubt flickered in his mind. He wondered if this young elder of the sect had already broken through to the Nascent Soul realm.
Beside the wall, Han Chen and Qing Luan did not look shocked. Having witnessed the Tyrant’s carcass and known of Su Ming’s breakthrough, they only exchanged serious, knowing looks.
The silence did not last. The Behemoth King recovered instantly, its massive wings flapping to release a howling gale. A massive, space-warping wind-scythe condensed in front of its chest, aiming straight at the exposed gap in the right wall, threatening to sever the disciples before they could manage to assume a defensive position.
Su Ming directly teleported. He vanished from his position on the left tower, leaving only a faint spatial ripple in the air. He reappeared instantly in the path of the incoming wind-scythe, his boots hovering just above the broken barrier. Wielding his Dragon Emperor Sword, he executed the True Dragon Calamity, channeling his newly stabilized Nascent Soul Yin-Yang Qi and his Yin-Yang Origin Flame.
A massive, dragon-shaped wave of golden-and-violet flame erupted from the sword, woven with perfectly balanced Yin-Yang energy. The dual-colored dragon roared as it charged, grinding the space-warping wind-scythe to ash. The two opposing forces collided with a thunderous boom that shook the entire valley, throwing back the loose gravel and dust.
The residual Yin-Yang flame surged forward, striking the Behemoth King’s crystalline armor. The impact chipped the thick, overlapping crystalline plates, carving a shallow fissure in the black shell and releasing a stream of crimson blood. The Behemoth King let out a low, rumbling roar of frustration, its massive body taking a step back.
A collective gasp rose among the disciples. Many were confused, unable to comprehend what had occurred. The cultivators behind Su Ming, who had already fallen to the ground, stood speechless. They were certain that the wind-scythe was about to cut them, yet the strike had vanished before their eyes.
Su Ming stood with the sword in his hands at the edge of the shattered barrier, his breathing shallow. The strain of executing his techniques at full power was demanding; between these two attacks, he had already spent nearly half of his strength.
He could probably manage only two more such strikes before draining all his reserves. Yet, a quiet satisfaction settled in his mind. The short-range spatial teleportation, the signature technique of the Nascent Soul realm, was convenient. The ripple of his spatial transition and the heavy weight of his Qi had left a distinct, resonant vibration in the surrounding space.
Elder Mu Bairong’s divine sense instantly caught the refined spatial fluctuations. His eyes widened, and a look of absolute elation washed over his pale face. He leaned against the altar, his voice carrying a powerful, resonant Qi that cut through the chaos of the battlefield. "Elder Su has achieved the Nascent Soul realm!"
A collective murmur went through the combined army before they comprehended the situation. Ji Han froze, the crackling thunder Qi around his hands sputtering and dispersing out of shock. He stared at the distant figure, his mind spinning at the speed of his breakthrough. Zhao Kang stopped binding his wounds, his eyes wide in disbelief. Below, Zhang Yuexin looked up, her face draining of color as she realized the unbridgeable gap between her own fortune and Wang Tian’s. Su Ming had displayed the power of a true Nascent Soul powerhouse in front of the entire expedition.
Lin Yao and Wang Tian stood steady on the left flank, their faces showing absolute trust in their master’s power. Seeing Su Ming stand as a Nascent Soul powerhouse, the surrounding disciples of the other peaks felt their panic subside.
Although Su Ming was not particularly pleased with Elder Mu Bairong’s loud announcement, he understood the tactical necessity of it.
The presence of a second Nascent Soul cultivator at their current condition transformed the atmosphere from a desperate retreat into a unified stand. Even the cowering beasts in the distance seemed to hesitate as Su Ming’s aura settled over the battlefield.
The crushing strain on Elder Mu Bairong’s chest eased slightly, his heaving lungs drawing in shallow air. He leaned heavily against the central command altar. Looking at Su Ming’s upright figure, a profound sense of relief washed through his strained body.
’Heaven has not forsaken my sect,’ Mu Bairong thought.