Chapter 1457: Breaking Through Like Drinking Water (Part 1)

Unexpectedly, this guy had just broken through and could still continue, and with one move he grabbed his neck. Zhang Quanyi struggled desperately, like a fish that had fallen onto the shore.

He had just boasted in front of Zhang Linqing, only to end up like this—he never dreamed it would happen.

Was this really a branch disciple?

Even the strongest among the core disciples didn't have such terrifying breakthrough ability!

"Breaking through two levels in a row?"

Zhang Linqing, watching from below the stage, swayed again, his vision going dark, and he nearly fainted.

He had thought that during their fight, the other had reached his limit, but he never dreamed that while fighting, he would break through... and now possess the same strength as him!

To break through to the peak of the Domain Realm, he had spent a full two years and countless resources, yet the other had done it in half an hour...

Was he even human?

The audience below fell silent, and even the presiding Elder Fengchen found his throat dry.

Having been in the clan for so many years, he had seen many talented individuals who could break through during battle, but... to break through at will, jumping so many levels in a row, was a first!

This was no longer talent; it was monstrous!

"This fool, following my guidance, should have already broken through to the Void Entry Realm by now, yet he's only at the peak of the Domain Realm... How did I end up teaching such an idiot!"

Unlike the shocked crowd, Zhang Xuan continued to curse, filled with frustration.

Zhang Jiuxiao's bloodline had become extremely pure, and after being activated by the blood pool, combined with the simplified Heavenly Dao technique he had taught, as long as he cultivated, he would inevitably keep breaking through. It had been over half an hour, and he had only advanced three small levels—too slow!

If he had known this guy was so stupid, he wouldn't have accepted him as a personal disciple...

How embarrassing, how embarrassing!

...

On the high platform, the Grand Elder was stroking his beard when an old man hurried over and whispered something in his ear.

"You say... a branch disciple has won consecutively?"

"Yes!" The old man nodded. "This branch disciple is named Zhang Jiuxiao. His first match was against Zhang Linqing, who was at the peak of the Domain Realm, while he was only at the early Domain Realm. But during the battle, he suddenly broke through his bottleneck and defeated him..."

"Breaking through during battle shows excellent mental fortitude. Many geniuses can do it. It seems this Zhang Jiuxiao, though a branch disciple, is no ordinary talent..."

The Grand Elder nodded, showing satisfaction.

Having an outstanding clansman was also a comfort to him.

"In the second match, against Zhang Quanyi, he broke through again, reaching the late Domain Realm, forcing Zhang Quanyi to use a high-grade Saint Domain martial technique, the Coiling Dragon Body Art..."

The old man continued.

"The Coiling Dragon Body Art is among the top high-grade Saint Domain martial techniques. I've seen Zhang Quanyi before; being able to master it shows excellent talent..."

The Grand Elder nodded again, then looked over with slight confusion. "This technique, leveraging bloodline power, is extremely fast. Although its attack power is somewhat weak, when executed well, it has the ability to challenge those of higher levels. He was only at the late Domain Realm—how could he win? If I'm not mistaken, Zhang Quanyi should already be a half-step Void Entry Realm expert!"

"Well... Zhang Jiuxiao, feeling he couldn't win, broke through again, reaching the peak of the Domain Realm..."

The old man smiled bitterly.

"Broke through again?" The Grand Elder stiffened. "You mean to say that this branch disciple, Zhang Jiuxiao, in one morning, broke through three levels from the early Domain Realm to become a peak Domain Realm expert?"

"Not only that... According to information from his clansmen, last night he was only at the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm..."

The old man said.

"From the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm to the peak of the Domain Realm in less than a morning—a full major realm... Where is this person?"

Unable to contain himself any longer, the Grand Elder quickly looked over.

He was at the Ding character arena, now competing with core disciple Zhang Ningxin.

"Zhang Ningxin? That genius grandson of Elder Wuxiao? He seems to have reached the early Void Entry Realm, right?"

Turning to look at the Ding character arena, the Grand Elder recognized one of the fighters on stage and said.

"Yes! His opponent is that Zhang Jiuxiao..." the old man explained.

"Hmm."

The Grand Elder looked over and saw a young man of twenty-six or twenty-seven fighting Zhang Ningxin.

This young man's cultivation was only at the peak of the Domain Realm, and he seemed not to have practiced any advanced martial techniques, resulting in slightly insufficient attack power. But his understanding of combat and his reactions were extremely subtle. Zhang Ningxin's attacks were fierce, and anyone else would have long been unable to hold on, yet he managed to dodge at critical moments, which was hard to believe.

"No, judging by his dodging, he should have foreseen Zhang Ningxin's attack patterns. But why doesn't he counterattack in advance?"

After watching for a while, the Grand Elder frowned.

The two had been fighting for over a dozen moves. Although Zhang Ningxin's cultivation was two small levels higher, he seemed to gain no advantage. Every move he made was seen through and dodged in advance. But since he could dodge, why didn't he counterattack?

In a fight, only counterattacking can change the disadvantage; constant dodging will eventually lead to problems.

"Perhaps he can't counterattack, after all, his strength is limited..."

The old man, also noticing the issue, hesitated before saying.

"Can't..." The Grand Elder paused, then suddenly his pupils contracted. "No, it's not that he can't, it's that... it's that..."

At this point, his lips trembled, as if he himself couldn't believe the conclusion forming in his mind.

"What?"

The old man looked at him in confusion.

"It's that... he's not releasing his power because he wants to accumulate it to break through to... the half-step Void Entry Realm!" The Grand Elder clenched his fists.

"Accumulate power?"

The old man was stunned. "Didn't he just break through to the peak of the Domain Realm?"

"Precisely because he just broke through, his power has already been expended once. So he keeps dodging to reduce energy loss, with only one goal: to break through to a higher realm..."

His throat dry, the Grand Elder pointed forward. "Look at his left hand; it hasn't been unclenched since the fight began."

"Hmm."

The old man nodded.

This Zhang Jiuxiao, even when facing several dangers, had kept his left hand clenched, never opening it.

He had thought it was some kind of trump card, but since it hadn't been used for a long time, he hadn't paid much attention.

"In his palm is a top-grade spirit stone..." the Grand Elder said.

The old man was startled, quickly spread his divine sense, and indeed 'saw' the object in the other's palm. His throat went dry. "Does the Grand Elder mean that he is cultivating while fighting, continuously absorbing the spirit stone's power?"

"Yes..."

The Grand Elder nodded.

He had seen formidable geniuses, but never one so bizarre and confident.

While fighting someone of a higher level, he was still cultivating... Was this a fear of death, or true confidence in himself?

"You're asking for death! I wanted to keep it hidden, but you forced my hand..."

Just as they were shocked, they heard Zhang Ningxin on the stage roar, his aura suddenly surging.

"Is Zhang Ningxin also going to break through?"

The old man's voice was hoarse.