"You guys really think of Jiang Heng as invincible?"
Hearing Qipeng's words, Cao Bin laughed sarcastically.
Since he entered the Eighth Peak, he felt that almost all the outer disciples of the Eighth Peak regarded Jiang Heng as an unprecedented expert in the Body Refining Realm. They not only dared not challenge him but also believed that no one could be compared to him.
This kind of disdain, taken for granted, made him furious. He, Cao Bin, was also a top-tier genius! He could accept that there were peers stronger than him, but to say that someone was absolutely invincible, he couldn't accept it.
"I'd really like to see how strong this so-called invincible Jiang Heng, whom you guys keep praising, really is!" Cao Bin said angrily.
Warriors were supposed to be brave and face challenges head-on. Even if the opponent was stronger and they ended up injured, they would still fight to the end.
"Come on! Let's start with defeating you!" Cao Bin shouted as he rushed forward, gripping his sword tightly and slashing down like a raging dragon, exuding a domineering and confident aura.
Qipeng, on the other hand, was also following a fierce path. His Meteor Sword Technique emphasized speed, power, and momentum.
Clang!
He drew his sword in an instant, and the long sword, like a falling meteor from the sky, clashed forcefully with Cao Bin's long blade. An invisible shockwave wreaked havoc in the surroundings.
Cao Bin's long hair fluttered, and his expression changed suddenly.
"This explosive power!"
"He's slightly stronger than me!"
Qipeng's attack was not only fierce but also fast. After a single strike, he changed his posture and slashed at Cao Bin's thigh.
Cao Bin's face darkened as he turned his long blade again, engaging in another fierce clash.
Both of them moved at incredible speed, like phantoms, continuously intertwining and separating on the stage. The sound of their blades colliding echoed relentlessly, and with each intense collision, both of them felt their arms growing numb.
Finally, Qipeng seized an opportunity. In a split second, he shook Cao Bin's long blade away and struck Cao Bin's side with a sword.
Cao Bin took two steps back, clutching his wound, his expression blank. Although he was only lightly injured and hadn't lost his combat effectiveness, the current situation clearly indicated his defeat. He hadn't even had the chance to see the person he had challenged; he had been defeated by one of his subordinates.
"With your strength, you're definitely not an ordinary person. Who are you?" Cao Bin asked seriously as he looked at the unattractive Qi Peng.
"My name is Qi Peng, the runner-up in the Eighth Peak's outer disciple competition," Qi Peng replied calmly as he wiped the bloodstains off his sword with a handkerchief.
Cao Bin couldn't believe what he was hearing. "How is that possible? With your strength, you're only the runner-up?"
"What about the champion, Jiang Heng? Just how strong is he?"
Qi Peng sheathed his sword, glanced at Cao Bin, and recalled the scene on the day of the finals when Jiang Heng had been full of confidence. He calmly replied, "Invincible."
With that, he turned and walked away from the arena.
Cao Bin stood there, bewildered. He saw various complex emotions in Qi Peng's gaze—admiration, admiration, longing—but there was not a trace of fighting spirit.
A genius, when faced with another genius who was slightly stronger, had no fighting spirit left in his heart.
Cao Bin seemed to see that this young man, who was just a bit stronger than himself, had been crushed by Jiang Heng time and time again, until all his edges were smoothed away, and his inner fighting spirit was completely extinguished. This was how Qi Peng had become the person he was today, full of respect for Jiang Heng.
"Is it really possible?" Cao Bin wondered.
"Is this young man named Jiang Heng truly that powerful?"
At this moment, Cao Bin was filled with an unprecedented curiosity. Unfortunately, having been defeated by Qi Peng, he had no qualifications left to challenge Jiang Heng.
Cao Bin returned to the First Peak, and rumors about Jiang Heng, the top outer disciple, continued to circulate. However, no other outer disciple dared to challenge him.
After Cao Bin, the champion of the First Peak's outer disciples, was defeated by Qi Peng, more people began to believe the reports about Jiang Heng's strength. After all, Qi Peng had already displayed such impressive power.
If Jiang Heng could defeat Qi Peng effortlessly, he could easily defeat any other outer disciple from the Nine Peaks.
As a result, no one was willing to seek humiliation voluntarily.
Time passed by, and discussions about Jiang Heng gradually died down.
...
A month and a half later, in Jiang Heng's small courtyard, he swallowed another drop of Blood Qi Pill. He then proficiently practiced the Primordial Genesis Art, which he had already mastered to perfection.
Just fifteen minutes later...
The immense energy contained in the Blood Qi Pills was completely absorbed at this moment, transforming into potential points.
Just at this moment...
A knocking sound came from outside the door.
Jiang Heng withdrew his fist and stood up, exhaling deeply.
"Come in!"
A steward in blue attire pushed open the door and stopped not far from Jiang Heng. He politely said, "Junior Brother Jiang, the Sect Master requests your presence."
Jiang Heng raised an eyebrow, looking at him with surprise, and replied calmly, "Alright, I'll go over by myself later."
The steward seemed to know that Jiang Heng's status was not ordinary and didn't say much. Instead, he nodded and left on his own after locking the courtyard door.
Afterward, Jiang Heng opened his personal panel to check.
Host: Jiang Heng.
Cultivation: Tenth level of the Body Refining Realm (23/100,000).
Primary Cultivation Technique: Primordial Genesis Art (Heaven Grade) (Perfection).
Martial Arts Techniques: Mountain Breaking Fist (Profound Grade) (Perfection), Swift Wind Steps (Profound Grade) (Perfection).
Secret Art: Golden Statue Art (Earth Grade) (Triple).
Potential Points: 4,170,000.
In the past month and a half, with continuous upgrades in the primary cultivation technique, he had reached the level of Perfection, significantly enhancing the absorption efficiency of Blood Qi Pills.
In just about fifteen minutes, he could completely digest one Blood Qi Pill.
So, in a short month and a half, he had only a few dozen Blood Qi Pills left out of his initial thousand.
Correspondingly, his potential points had grown like crazy!
Now, there were a whopping 4.17 million of them!
This was enough to further upgrade the Primordial Genesis Art to the level of Perfection.
Or, he could make leapfrog upgrades to other techniques!
Jiang Heng's thoughts stirred.
"Ding! Consume 300,000 potential points to upgrade Golden Statue Art to the Fourth Stage!"
"Ding! Consume 400,000 potential points to upgrade Golden Statue Art to Perfection!"
A boundless stream of heat appeared out of thin air in Jiang Heng's body, merging with every inch of his flesh and blood, causing a qualitative change.
Once the changes in his body had stabilized somewhat, Jiang Heng immediately issued another upgrade command.
"Ding! Consume 1,000,000 potential points. In the process of technique deduction, please wait."
"Ding! Deduction complete! Please name the new technique!"
Jiang Heng thought for a moment and said in his mind, "Golden Body Technique!"
"Congratulations, Host. You have learned the Golden Body Technique (Heaven Grade) (First Stage)."
At the moment when the prompt sounded...
An even larger, scorching-hot torrent emerged out of thin air, integrating into the deepest part of Jiang Heng's body.
From the tendons, membranes, and skin to the internal organs and every vein, every cell cheered as they evolved!
The flow of blood resembled a great river descending from the Ninth Heaven, constantly emitting a thunderous roar.
The surging aura throughout his body continuously stirred the air, even heating it to the point of evaporating, forming large clouds of water vapor that rose upward.
The air in the courtyard rapidly heated up, howling and raging in all directions.
His physical body was undergoing an unimaginable transformation at an astonishing speed!