When the massive fire palm appeared, everyone couldn't help but gasp in shock. Yun Xiaodao's expression turned serious as he once again summoned the "Sky Cloud Palm" to counter the rapidly descending giant fire palm.
Yun Xiaodao's Sky Cloud Palm expanded to ten meters wide, utilizing his solid true qi from the tenth level of the Ordinary Martial Realm. It was powerful enough to push against the giant hand created by Shen Xiang.
Shen Xiang chuckled as he unleashed a surge of wild, lightning-tinged blue true qi from his palm, summoning an even larger blue hand from the sky. The two hands collided, with the fire palm completely overwhelming Yun Xiaodao's Sky Cloud Palm.
**Boom! Boom! Boom!**
A series of explosive sounds erupted, and the center of the plaza bore a massive palm imprint. Fragments of stone flew outward with the force of the explosion, creating a truly breathtaking scene.
Yun Xiaodao was pressed down into the ground, but he yelled and leaped out from the center of the imprint, looking somewhat ragged but not severely harmed.
"Shen Dage, your strength is beyond my expectations. I'll need to use my ultimate move now," Yun Xiaodao said seriously. However, before he could continue, Zhang De interjected, "If you two keep fighting, you'll destroy this place. Your strengths are quite similar; it'll only end in mutual destruction."
Shen Xiang also called for a halt, surprised that even with his dual-element true qi, he hadn't managed to floor Yun Xiaodao. It was evident that Yun Xiaodao's strength was formidable.
"To think Shen Dage, at the ninth level of the Ordinary Martial Realm, can match me so closely. If he reaches the tenth level, I'd be finished," Yun Xiaodao remarked with admiration.
"This is great; our martial academy has another little monster," a middle-aged man said with a bitter smile. The two youngsters before him were already stronger than many seasoned fighters, particularly Shen Xiang, whose martial skills left them in awe and fear.
"Shen Dage, how many people have you killed? Your killing intent earlier nearly scared me," Yun Xiaodao asked with genuine curiosity and a hint of fear in his eyes.
"Not many; I can't remember how many, but they were all people who came looking for trouble," Shen Xiang replied nonchalantly.
"Then I'll try to avoid bothering you in the future," Yun Xiaodao laughed.
"You two, look around you. It's been years since anything got damaged here, but now..." Zhang De's face wore an expression of helplessness.
Yun Xiaodao grinned, "This is all my fault. I'll take care of the expenses for the repairs!"
Shen Xiang suddenly said, "I need to rest for a bit. My true qi isn't as abundant as yours, and I've already used up a lot."
He didn't want to reveal his full power by utilizing the Qiankun true qi, as it had too much destructive potential. He also didn't want to expose too many of his abilities. However, he was sure that even if he had defeated Yun Xiaodao, he would still be heavily injured.
Yun Xiaodao, having engaged in intense combat, didn't seem to have exhausted much of his true qi, and he hadn't even shown his full strength yet.
"Indeed, there are many strong practitioners here! This truly is a cradle for the strong!" Shen Xiang reflected while recuperating in his room.
As soon as Shen Xiang left the plaza, several academy members approached to inquire about the commotion. Upon learning that the giant palm imprint was a result of their duel, they were astonished, knowing how sturdy the stone bricks were; it was challenging to break them without significant power.
Two days passed, and registration for the inner sect assessment began. Shen Xiang went with Yun Xiaodao and Zhang De to sign up.
After completing the registration, they left the Taiwu Sect together and decided to dine at a hotel in Tianmen City. However, their luck turned when they ran into Zhu Rong, the notorious penny-pinching fat man, who insisted on tagging along.
"Yun Xiaogui, let's agree on this: you're treating for this meal!" Zhu Rong stated seriously as he perused the menu.
"Why should I treat?" Although Yun Xiaodao was rich, he was unwilling to spend on Zhu Rong.
"Come on! Zhang Laotou is old and might kick the bucket any day now, and Shen Xiang just joined the Taiwu Sect. Am I supposed to pay? Besides, your Yun family is wealthier than my Zhu family," Zhu Rong joked.
Shen Xiang observed the camaraderie between Zhu Rong and Yun Xiaodao and realized Zhu Rong was also from the 330th martial academy, once the first in the outer sect.
"Little piglet, even if I can't hope to reach the True Martial Realm, I will die as an inner disciple," Zhang De chuckled confidently.
Yun Xiaodao scoffed, "Once I get into the inner sect, I'll definitely take your position, so feel free to order whatever you want!"
The hotel was bustling with patrons, primarily wealthy offspring, mostly disciples of the Taiwu Sect. While they maintained a low profile within the sect, outside, many acted high and mighty, creating an atmosphere that made Yun Xiaodao grind his teeth in frustration, wishing to punch a few of them.
"Yun Xiaogui, if you team up with Shen Laodi, you might be able to take down that slanted-eyed brat. But if you go alone, you'll be lucky to crawl back after walking there," Zhu Rong said, pointing at a nearby table occupied by a young man.
This young man always cast slanted, disdainful glances at others, exuding an air of arrogance that made anyone who met his gaze feel uncomfortable.
Shen Xiang had no intention of provoking trouble; he was wary of being dragged into it by Yun Xiaodao. He quickly remarked, "Let's forget about it; we'll have plenty of chances to compete once we get into the inner sect."
Shen Xiang guessed that the young man was likely from the inner sect.
"Hmph! Just because you came from the secular world doesn't mean you can assume the inner sect is easy to enter," the young man sneered dismissively.
"To hell with it! I can't take it anymore; I'm going to poke his eyes out!" Yun Xiaodao slammed the table in rage, ready to charge at him, but he was held back by Zhu Rong and Zhang De.
"If you get into a fight, do you want to be expelled from the Taiwu Sect?" Zhang De urged.
Shen Xiang replied coolly, "If I can enter the inner sect, you owe me a hundred true qi pills. If I don't make it, I'll owe you a hundred!"
"Only a hundred? That's too few; how about a thousand? Slanted-eye snake, are you up for the challenge?" Yun Xiaodao shouted.
"If it's just for the assessment in a few days, I might consider it, but if we're talking about decades, forget it," the young man replied dismissively.
"Just for a few days; I'm sure Shen Dage will make it into the inner sect!" Yun Xiaodao exclaimed excitedly, but Shen Xiang felt troubled; he couldn't afford to wager a thousand true qi pills right now.