Chapter 1686: Sacred Spirit Power
Ling Feng and Ao Jue locked eyes.
As though they had silently reached an agreement, both retreated fifty paces and took their positions at opposite corners of the arena.
The spectators below immediately tensed.
Their pupils contracted, and even their breathing became strained.
The decisive moment had finally arrived.
"Ling Feng! Take this attack of mine! Nine Heavens Divine Fist!"
Ao Jue's vitality suddenly surged to an even greater level.
The vitality he displayed now completely surpassed Ling Feng's.
Endless vitality rolled outward like a boundless ocean, threatening to swallow Ling Feng whole.
Ling Feng drew a deep breath, a playful smile touching the corner of his lips.
"A secret art that boosts vitality? I happen to have one too."
For the first time, he activated the heaven-defying secret art Elder Gui had taught him.
The Sacred Spirit Art.
At the cost of explosively consuming spiritual consciousness, it could temporarily elevate the user's vitality to astonishing heights.
"What?"
The crowd's eyelids twitched violently once more.
Ling Feng still had another trump card?
As the Sacred Spirit Art circulated, Ling Feng's body underwent a startling transformation.
His frame visibly grew taller, muscles bulging beneath his skin like coiled dragons. A ripping sound echoed through the arena as the robes covering his upper body burst apart.
Violent currents of energy churned around him.
A pale violet power erupted from his Sea of Mind and flooded every part of his body.
This was Sacred Spirit Power, a force awakened through spiritual consciousness itself.
"Sacred Spirit Power!"
Saint Lady Bi Luo's heart instantly erupted into turmoil.
She recognized the technique at a glance.
Wasn't that Elder Gui's treasured secret art, the Sacred Spirit Art?
She had never imagined Elder Gui would pass down even this technique without reservation.
What shocked her even more was that Ling Feng had actually mastered it.
And in just over a month.
Back then, Elder Gui had taught her a simplified version of the technique.
Even with that incomplete version, she had spent three full years cultivating it and had achieved only modest success.
Yet Ling Feng was already capable of drawing forth Sacred Spirit Power and channeling it through every limb and meridian.
That level of control could only be achieved after bringing the Sacred Spirit Art to the level of major accomplishment.
Of course, it was not because Saint Lady Bi Luo lacked talent.
The true reason was that Ling Feng possessed the Eye of the Emperor, a gift so heaven-defying that ordinary geniuses simply could not compare.
Roar! Roar!
In that instant, Ling Feng felt as though ten thousand dragons were roaring and surging through his body.
Crack!
The newly replaced arena shattered once again.
Countless fragments exploded outward as the entire platform collapsed on the spot.
Boundless blood-colored radiance filled the enclosed space.
It churned and surged like a raging sea, rolling endlessly through the air.
Many spectators felt their scalps go numb.
If the protective barrier were to break, that terrifying vitality would burst into the audience.
Anyone seated nearby would likely be slaughtered in an instant.
Fortunately, the reinforced barrier established by the puppet referee held firm against the eruption of power.
Only after a long while did the sea of blood-red light gradually calm.
The radiance slowly faded into the void, leaving behind only traces of its terrifying might.
When the dust finally settled and the two figures became visible once more, the crowd forgot how to breathe.
The two men stood with their backs facing one another.
Fierce winds howled around them, causing their robes to snap and flutter.
For a moment, it felt as though time itself had frozen.
Neither moved.
They remained standing like that for a long time.
At last, Ling Feng's pale face revealed a faint smile.
Though his eyes still burned with battle will, his voice carried obvious exhaustion.
"You're very strong. Unfortunately, I'm stronger."
Ao Jue did not turn around.
After a long silence, he slowly uttered two words.
"You win."
Boom!
The next moment, his towering body collapsed heavily onto the ground.
There was regret on his face, but very little disappointment.
For him, finding an opponent capable of giving him such a satisfying battle was worth even more than victory itself.
Though he had lost this fight, it was the most exhilarating battle of his life.
The audience instantly exploded into uproar.
Ao Jue had lost!
One of the Three Great Prodigies, a supreme genius who stood at the peak of his generation, had actually been defeated!
No one had expected such an outcome.
The entire venue fell into stunned silence.
A peerless prodigy who had dominated his generation had fallen to a rising newcomer.
Moreover, Ling Feng's true age was undoubtedly younger than Ye Ting, who had previously been recognized as the youngest monstrous genius among the younger generation.
Saint Lady Bi Luo's eyes widened.
She was still reeling from the shock when the Hall Master of Void Heaven Hall quietly reminded her of something.
Only then did she realize the true significance of what had happened.
Ling Feng had defeated Ao Jue.
The top three positions.
Dongling Immortal Pool might really claim two of them.
Originally, Dongling Immortal Pool had prepared itself for the worst possible outcome.
Who could have imagined they would instead receive the greatest surprise imaginable?
Meanwhile, the upper echelons of Yunluo Sacred Land, including the Pavilion Master of Cloudsky Pavilion, all changed expression.
The Pavilion Master stared blankly at the arena.
Only after a long while did he murmur in disbelief,
"Ao Jue... actually lost."
The strongest disciple of Yunluo Sacred Land.
The rising star upon whom all their hopes had been placed.
Defeated by Ling Feng.
If Yunluo Sacred Land failed to secure even a single place in the top three, they would become the laughingstock of the entire region.
The elders of Wulei Sacred Land found themselves caught between joy and worry.
The good news was that Yunluo Sacred Land appeared destined to finish at the bottom this time.
The bad news was equally obvious.
Dongling Immortal Pool had become even stronger.
Wasn't it supposed to be thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river? Fortune was supposed to change hands eventually.
Yet Dongling Immortal Pool's position seemed almost impossibly secure.
No matter how the tides shifted, they always remained standing at the summit.