Hardened bloodsoul Qi!
It was not only Yuwen Wushuang whose complexion changed upon watching the development. Most renowned heavyweights in Wu Prefecture City had a sudden change of expression as well.
"Interesting kid. He's only peak Level Nine but he can already exert his hardened bloodsoul Qi to such an extent! Intriguing!"
Zhu Sancai was slightly stunned. A curl formed at the corner of his mouth, revealing—for the first time—traces of admiration.
The reaction elicited a stark change in mien from both the Yuwen and Wu clans. Yuwen Wushuang even stared at Li Mo with a hint of fighting intent on his body!
For the first time in all those years, someone made him voluntarily exert his intense fighting spirit!
"Hardened bloodsoul Qi can only barely be used by those who reached Level Seven. If you want to truly have control over that power, only the strongest Innate Sovereign Level is able to do it!"
Martial Spirit Levels were known as Acquired States. Martial arts cultivators focused more on bodily cultivation and are unable to utilize the bloodsoul strength well enough. Only by stepping into the Innate State and becoming an Innate Sovereign Master can they truly use such formidable power. Acquired State cultivators were wholly incapable of possessing such might.
"Acquired State cultivators have bloodsoul strength that is too adulterated. It is not pure enough. The bloodsoul can only turn into innate blood Qi after stepping into Innatism, making it easily controllable. Although this little guy is still quite young, there is already a trace of innate blood Qi in his body. It will not be a problem for him to take the step into Innatism within ten years."
Zhu Sancai's eyes had a hint of admiration.
In fact, Acquired State cultivators—those who possessed the so-called Martial Spirit Levels One to Nine—were like ants in Zhu Sancai's eyes. Entering into Innatism was a wholly different matter altogether, as it was enough to rule over a small place like Wu Prefecture City! Such people would even be accorded a certain position within the Nine Flowers Sect, which itself is a part of the Eight Elite Sects.
"I did not expect such a small place like Wu Prefecture City to have not one, but two individuals who have transformed their bloodsoul into innate blood Qi. My luck does not seem so bad this time."
At that point, Zhu Sancai no longer had Li Ye in his eyes. All his focus was on Li Mo.
Few people in Wu Prefecture City knew the secret to entering Innatism, but the Nine Flowers Sect's Zhu Sancai knew it.
'If there isn't any innate blood Qi within one's body, it will still be impossible to take that step even though one reached peak Level Nine cultivation. You may be able to take the step, but it will stop short of Innatism. At most, one will only reach the Semi-Sovereign Level and remain unable to cross the bridge. A younger person would have better prospects of future growth. The earlier twenty-two-year-old Yuwen Wushuang possessed at least thirty percent of bloodsoul that had been transformed into innate blood Qi. I'm surprised by Li Mo. He's not even twenty yet but he already has ten percent of the innate blood Qi. He is certainly capable of being on par with Yuwen Wushuang.'
As those thoughts surfaced in his heart, Zhu Sancai's had an even bigger smile.
"Congratulations, Steward, for acquiring such talent. These two will not be considered inferior if they were in the sect. Steward, you most definitely will be able to overpower the others and show your brilliance."
The beautiful woman whispered her congratulations to Zhu Sancai from one side. It was clear that Zhu Sancai had the highest status among the three. On the other hand, the poker-faced man seemed to be naturally indifferent and simply sat coldly there. Zhu Sancai and the beautiful woman seemed accustomed to him and were therefore unconcerned about his demeanor.
The beautiful woman's voice did not deliberate lower her voice. When Li Daokui heard that, a look of surprise burst forth into his eyes all of a sudden and his heartbeat accelerated.
At the same time, he sneered to himself again and again. "Li Ye, oh Li Ye! Although your appearance surprised me a little, unfortunately you are not your father!"
Earlier, he was worried that Li Ye would pose a great threat to him if the boy entered the Nine Flowers Sect. As things progressed however, Zhu Sancai appeared to take an interest in Li Mo. His words gave the impression that Li Mo would be invited into the sect along with Yuwen Wushuang. That would then give Li Daokui and the Li clan another guarantee!
Nine Flowers Sect! It was a gargantuan entity even within the entire Jiangnan Province, let alone Wu Prefecture City
Boom!
The layer of ice on the platform was directly shattered by Li Mo's foot. Simultaneously, he hacked out his palm effortlessly, producing a flickering red ray of light that destroyed Li Ye's doppelganger.
"This kind of power is probably beyond the limit of Martial Spirit Levels?"
The arena was almost split into two halves with that one palm attack from Li Mo. Li Ye looked at it and—for the first time—doubted his chances due to how things were developing.
"Li Ye! You must die!"
At that moment, Li Mo felt countless eyes focusing their attention on him, giving him an extreme thrill.
Concurrent to that, the surging force within his body made him feel uneasy.
However, Li Ye's unparalleled speed gave Li Mo quite a headache, but there was a flash of coldness in his eyes. Li Ye's vigilance was very obvious, but soon, a frightening hailstorm bore down and drowned the entire arena!
The same Ice Crystal Fist was exhibited through Li Mo's hands, yet its power was more than ten times that of Li Ye's. In a flash, the entire ring—including Li Ye—was frozen.
The only thing that everyone saw was a lifelike ice sculpture. It was none other than Li Ye. Even the crowd could see Li Ye's shocked face in the ice sculpture, frozen that way due to the ice.
"It's done!"
Li Mo stood proudly there, but there were traces of exhaustion in his eyes.
Ten percent of his bloodsoul had been transformed into innate blood Qi, and despite the immense strength it gave him, it came at a great cost as well. Due to the fact that he had yet to step into Innatism, the recovery was much slower and the effect was equally obvious. A victorious smile appeared on his lips as he gazed on the ice sculpture.
Although the result was somewhat unexpected, it was acknowledged by most people.
However, just as Li Mo turned away and enjoyed raucous applause, he realized that many in the audience had a look of astonishment plastered on their faces. Their eyes widened and they had an incredulous look.
Crack!
The crisp cracking sound made Li Mo turn around abruptly. Next, he saw Li Ye—who was supposed to have been frozen to death by the ice seal—breaking out from the ice.
Boom!
The ice shattered in an instant and a figure stepped out.
"Li Ye! You're not dead?!"
Li Mo was too confident in his attack earlier. Even though he was only peak Level Nine, a Grandmaster who did not have any innate blood Qi would be unable to bear the brunt of his move!
"Li Mo, perhaps you look too highly upon yourself?"
Despite saying so, Li Ye was actually somewhat afraid deep down!
If not for the effect of his Ichorian bloodline on his body, he would have been sent straight to the afterlife and became an ice sculpture for real!
"Thank goodness an Ichorian's body has amazing regenerative powers. It isn't easy to kill an Ichorian using normal methods."
Legend had it that Ichorians were immortal, though they were not unkillable per se. The higher the Ichorian's status, the faster their body recovered. Li Ye discovered that phenomenon as soon as the ice froze him over. All frozen and necrotic cells were regenerated almost instantly, which was key to him breaking out of the ice.
"Big deal! In that case, I'll send you on your way now!"
A round of light suddenly appeared, similar to that of a crescent moon.
The Half-Moon Slash! A Yellow Rank Advanced battle technique! It might even be considered similar to Blank Rank Primary techniques! Even Li Mo—who had cultivated it for many years—dared not use it casually, because with his level and strength, using it only thrice would exhaust his power. However, he could think of nothing else at that point!
"With the Half-Moon Slash, even a Semi-Sovereign Level Master would be killed in one sweep! I don't believe you can come out of it alive!"
That was Li Mo's biggest trump card!
Sure enough, the execution of the Half-Moon Slash made everyone at the scene feel terrified. It was so powerful that it might even cut through mountains and stone. Shocked expressions instantly appeared on the faces of the Wu and Yuwen clans' heavyweights.
Li Daokui turned pale at once. He could clearly sense the intimidating danger if he were to face that technique head on! There was even a death-like vital force within the technique.
Zhu Sancai's eyes lit up wildly due to the tremendous excitement he felt when watching Li Mo's performance! It far surpassed his previous eagerness with Yuwen Wushuang!
Li Ye did not hold back after noticing the unmistakable feeling of death coming from that slash. He executed the Footstep Mirage at once and split into sixteen avatars.
All of them were destroyed instantly though, as the move swept through the entire arena. It did not matter how many doppelgangers he had because they would all be destroyed regardless!
"Stormcloud Palm!"
Thump! The force propelled Li Ye into mid-air and he soared beyond the platform area.
"Smart boy!"
Seeing this scene, Zhu Sancai could not help but show glimpses of approbation.
Zhu Sancai opined that Li Mo's Half-Moon Slash was enough to threaten the life of any Semi-Sovereign Level Master. Li Ye was unable to stop it at all and therefore used the seismic force from his palm technique to soar out of the arena. He would lose according to the Prodigy Summit's rules, but he would at least be able to avoid the consequences of being killed.
However, did Li Ye really give up his chance of victory just like that?
Whoosh!
All of a sudden, the sound of movement cutting across the air was heard. Everyone saw a blur in front of them before finally realizing that Li Ye had suspended himself in mid-air. He then launched his body forward and fell back onto the arena.
Only a few people could barely see what was happening at that moment.
"That's—!"
Zhu Sancai stood up instantly with excitement flashing across his face.
At that moment, he clearly saw a broken sword appear under Li Ye's feet. The boy had exactly one foot on the sword, giving him some support and allowing him to bounce back into the arena. At the same time, Li Ye also managed to avoid Li Mo's most fearsome move.
"Bloodpupils!"
Li Mo's strength had exceeded Li Ye's expectations. At that juncture, Li Ye no longer restrained himself. His eyes turned into a sea of blood immediately, sending a strong spiritual shock straight into Li Mo's mind.
In that split second, countless hallucinations seemed to appear before Li Mo's eyes. He was caught in an ominous illusion.
The air-slicing sound once again appeared as it cut across Li Mo's throat.
"NO!"
A thin line of blood flowed out from Li Mo's throat, followed by a large volume of blood spurting out from that wound. Blood splattered all over the arena like raindrops.
Perhaps due to shock and disbelief, Li Mo grasped his own throat and attempted to say something. In the end though, he collapsed on the platform without even uttering a single word.
"Li Ye! I'm taking your life!" Boom! A violent vital force exploded and surged toward him. It was the raging, red-eyed Li Daokui, who went berserk and was coming at Li Ye with his palm!