Shen Xiang walked up to the elder presiding over the competition and said, "I've won the final victory. Can I claim my reward now?"
The elder looked a bit helpless and said, "I'm just here to oversee the fairness of the match. The reward isn't provided by me. The True Essence Pill comes from a sect, and if you want to get it, you'll need to pass their test."
A smile flashed across Shen Xiang's face. Although it was charming, the elder suddenly felt an overwhelming fear for reasons he couldn't understand. He shivered as if a chilling, bone-piercing killing intent had entered his body, making him feel as if death was imminent.
Shen Xiang had unintentionally released that terrifying killing aura in a moment of anger. He knew this entire martial arts competition had been manipulated from the start, and even though he had emerged victorious, it would be difficult to obtain the True Essence Pill.
Shen Furong appeared, an elder of the Shen family who had ingratiated himself with the Yao Family in the martial arts sect, stalling his own family's development and even attacking the clan leader.
Since Shen Tianhu was injured by him, the entire Shen family had disowned Shen Furong, no longer recognizing him as a family member.
Shen Furong was walking behind a young man with delicate features and fair skin. The young man was exceptionally handsome and exuded an aura of pure True Qi, instantly marking him as a martial artist with abundant and refined energy.
"Shen Xiang, I didn't expect you to actually open the Dan King Pavilion and even injure my new disciple..."
Shen Furong turned out to be Yao Cong's master!
"Shut up! You family traitor, there's no place for you in the Shen family! What I do is none of your business. Why should I need your approval to run a pill business? Who do you think you are? You're nothing but an old dog that licks others' boots!" Shen Xiang shouted, his voice reverberating across the square. Shen family members who were hiding among the crowd felt immensely gratified upon hearing this.
"You... you little brat! You're asking for death!" Shen Furong was livid, his face flushed red, about to strike, but the young man in front of him stopped him.
"Let me spar with this so-called strongest young man of Nanwu Country. I'd like to see how he managed to win the True Essence Pill." The young man spoke coldly, with an air of arrogance, as if he considered himself the strongest under the heavens.
Shen Xiang replied icily, "You people from the martial sects meddling in worldly affairs is a violation of the rules, especially that old dog."
"You..." Shen Furong glared at Shen Xiang with furious eyes. He knew about the rules but didn't care, believing that no one would dare hold him accountable, nor would anyone report him.
"If you beat me, the True Essence Pill is yours. If you lose, though, you'll die," the young man said coldly.
"And why should I die if I lose?" Shen Xiang sneered.
"Because no one who has fought me, Zhang Long, has ever survived," Zhang Long said proudly.
Hearing this, Shen Xiang burst into laughter, as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world. "You're just at the eighth level of the Mortal Martial Realm. In the eyes of inner disciples, you're nothing but trash. Don't think you're a king just because you've come to the mortal world. Your little abilities aren't even worth mentioning here."
Zhang Long was furious. Cold air surged from his body, and his eyes were filled with killing intent. "You will die today."
Shen Xiang couldn't understand how Shen Furong had managed to bring in such an arrogant idiot, who seemed to regard everyone in the mortal world as ants.
At this moment, the spectators all started backing away. A battle between two martial artists at the eighth level of the Mortal Martial Realm was bound to be destructive, but the onlookers were thrilled. The rumors were true: to claim the final reward, one had to defeat a disciple from a martial sect. Watching their fight would be a rare and valuable experience for many martial artists.
The ground was littered with shattered pieces of wood—remnants of the stage Shen Xiang had destroyed with a single stomp. Shen Furong retreated from the area, full of confidence in Zhang Long. He believed Shen Xiang was doomed, and once he was dead, the Shen family would inevitably be swallowed up by the Yao Family. This would further enhance Shen Furong's status within the martial sect, strengthening his ties with the Yao Family.
"Looks like you're older than me. Do you think it's honorable to win like this? I'm only sixteen years old!" Shen Xiang said with a mocking smile.
Upon hearing this, the crowd suddenly realized they had overlooked his age. At only sixteen, Shen Xiang had already made such a name for himself, standing as a powerful young expert.
"I'll give you one free strike. I won't move. After your one attack, it will be my turn," Zhang Long said arrogantly.
Zhang Long had just arrived, and Shen Furong had informed him that Shen Xiang was likely at the seventh level of the Mortal Martial Realm. Zhang Long, being at the eighth level, didn't take Shen Xiang seriously at all. Moreover, he thought of Shen Xiang as merely an alchemist, someone who wouldn't have focused much on martial arts and thus couldn't be very strong.
A martial artist at the eighth level of the Mortal Martial Realm was already considered one of the top fighters in the mortal world. On top of that, Zhang Long was a disciple from a martial sect, where the spiritual energy was much richer, the food and pills were far superior, and the cultivation techniques were on a different level compared to the mortal world.
"One free strike?" Shen Xiang showed no emotion, but inside he was overjoyed. Forget about the eighth level of the Mortal Martial Realm—if he hit someone at the ninth level, they wouldn't walk away unscathed.
Zhang Long sneered. "You'd better use all your strength, because this will be your last attack. After this, your life is over."
"I'm going to attack now!" Shen Xiang took a few steps back, inwardly laughing at Zhang Long's arrogance.
Zhang Long dismissed him with a smirk, his body shaking as a pure white mist began to emanate from him. It quickly condensed into a powerful barrier of energy, forming a protective shield around him. Even from a distance, the crowd could feel how solid the shield was, as the shattered wood on the ground disintegrated into powder when it came into contact with the shield.
"Not bad, but I'm still disappointed," Shen Xiang thought to himself as he silently activated the **Tai Chi Divine Art**, gathering the five elements of True Qi within his body.
The last time he had defeated Shen Yihan with his power at the fifth level of the Mortal Martial Realm, he had used the fused five elements of True Qi to generate **Heaven and Earth Energy**, a primordial force from the creation of the world itself. The sheer power of such a force was unimaginable, and although Shen Xiang's Heaven and Earth Energy was still in its infancy, it was already terrifying.
Back then, using this power had almost destroyed his body. But now things were different—his cultivation had reached the eighth level of the Mortal Martial Realm, and his body had been tempered by the **Immortal Devil Pool**, slowly transforming into an **Immortal Devil Body**. He could now fully withstand the power of Heaven and Earth Energy.
This was Shen Xiang's trump card, a power he seldom used. But seeing how Zhang Long was so eager to die, Shen Xiang was more than happy to oblige, ensuring that Zhang Long would understand the true meaning of **Beyond the Heavens**.
The five elements of True Qi quickly fused together within Shen Xiang, transforming into Heaven and Earth Energy. It surged into his arm without emitting any outward aura. At that moment, Shen Xiang shot forward!