Crash!
The spiritual energy between heaven and earth rioted in a frenzy as everyone looked towards the sky in shock and terror. Ji Xuan stood with his hands clasped loosely, as if holding the sun and the moon in his palms. The space behind him twisted with distortion, even showing signs of rupture.
In the twisted areas of the space, it seemed as if one could see a vast and endless ocean where the sea was particularly dazzling. The area was filled with the spiritual energy of the Holy Light, its vastness seemingly capable of crushing a mountain.
An inexplicable sense of oppression emanated from a sea that seemed to be illusory, and it was this sense of pressure that caused countless disciples to gasp in shock. Terror could be seen in their eyes, as this level of oppression was not something that Spirit Disaster masters were capable of. That familiar aura of domination belonged to the Sovereign Master!
"That's… the Sovereign Sea?"
A few people stared at the ocean appearing distinctly in the broken space and they could not help but gasp, murmuring in disbelief.
The true Sovereign Master possesses two unique symbols, one being the Sovereign celestial body and the other the Sovereign Sea. Once their cultivation reaches a certain level, and if they successfully enter the Sovereign-level, their body's aurasea disintegrates and is replaced by the Sovereign Sea!
It was commonly known that the aurasea was the place where the spiritual energies of the human body converge. If we excluded other external tactics and means, the one who had more powerful spiritual energies in his aurasea would possess stronger capabilities.
However, after stepping into the Sovereign-level, the aurasea inside the body was broken and replaced by the Sovereign Sea, as the Sovereign Sea was a more powerful and perfect existence.
The existence of the aurasea, although essential, was extremely vulnerable from some perspectives. Once the aurasea was destroyed, the path of cultivation could end, and years of hard work and effort in cultivation would be in vain.
The Sovereign Sea was extremely mystical because it did not exist purely within the human body, but uncovered a small mysterious realm in it. This small realm hidden in the body was highly obscure compared to the aurasea, and even more vast and powerful. That degree of sturdiness was something that the aurasea could not match up to.
Most importantly, 10 percent of the Sovereign Sea's power would enable the practitioner to hide their spirit within it, so that even if the physical body was destroyed, the spirit could still survive under the protection of the Sovereign Sea. As long as the practitioner could cultivate a physical body again, he could make a comeback in the future.
Therefore, the Sovereign Sea and the Sovereign Celestial Body were the most apparent signs of the Sovereign Master—one to protect his life and the other to increase his combat power greatly. This was why everyone coveted reaching the Sovereign-level in this realm.
Now, the seemingly illusory sea that appeared behind Ji Xuan was the Sovereign Sea!
The fact that Ji Xuan could call upon and condense the Sovereign Sea… Doesn't it mean that he had stepped into the Sovereign-level?!
Countless people looked at each other at a loss as they swallowed tightly, eyes full of shock.
Ji Xuan had concealed his hidden depths so deeply and in this case, what was the point of having this match? Disciples of their current stage of cultivation had no chance of resisting the Sovereign-level.
At the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy, Ye Qingling, Yu Xi and Su Ling'Er's faces turned pale, as every tactic was virtually impractical and ineffective in the face of the Sovereign Master's true power.
"His Sovereign Sea is not complete," Ling Xi stated slowly, as she stared intently at the battle stage.
Ye Qingling and the girls glanced over upon hearing Ling Xi's words.
"It is true that Ji Xuan is incredibly gifted, that he can reach the threshold of the Sovereign-level at such a young age, but the true Sovereign Sea is perfect, while the edge of the space shows signs of fragmentation. It is clear that he has barely condensed the rudimentary form of the Sovereign Sea, and the spiritual energy of the Sovereign Sea is somewhat mottled. Thus, I think he has borrowed and tapped into external forces."
Ling Xi was, after all, an elder of the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy. Her perceptiveness was on another level, compared to the likes of Ye Qingling. Hence, she could naturally see at a glance the imperfections of Ji Xuan's Sovereign Sea.
However, when she said that Ji Xuan was extremely gifted, she forgot that her age was not much more than Ji Xuan's. Therefore, if Ji Xuan's talent was immense, then she was not one to be trifled with, either. Of course, this was largely due to Ling Xi having always been by Mu Chen's mother's side in the past.
To be under the personal tutelage of a Sovereign who was worthy enough to be compared to the Heavenly Sovereign in the Great Thousand World... People who could have that honor were few and far between.
"Is that so…"
Ye Qingling and the girls heaved a sigh of relief.
"Don't be too optimistic yet. Even if it is an imperfect Sovereign Sea, the power it embodies far surpasses that of the Spirit Disaster. Although Luo Li possesses the Spirit of the Luo River, the Spirit of the Luo River is a growing Spiritual Beast, so at this stage, I'm afraid the power it can lend to her would not be as strong as you all think." Ling Xi gently shook her head and dashed their hopes again.
Ye Qingling and the girls could only smile grimly and nod. Seeing the current situation, they could not give Luo Li any help. All they could do was to pray that Luo Li could defeat Ji Xuan.
Ling Xi lifted her head. Her beautiful eyes glanced beyond the battle stage, looking up to the Mirror of Judgment suspended high up in the air. She ruminated in silence, and then murmured, "Would you give up just like this…"
The spiritual energy between heaven and earth was in a wild frenzy as Ji Xuan stood proudly in the sky. A vast, looming ocean appeared distinctly in the broken space behind him, accentuating his majestic aura as he overlooked the masses below.
"Luo Li, do you think he is still worthy enough to be my opponent now?" Ji Xuan sneered coldly at Luo Li.
However, in the face of Ji Xuan's sneer, Luo Li did not retort but smiled gently, her expression resembling that of calm waters. It was her serene and unperturbed demeanor that made Ji Xuan's face twist in fury again, as he could clearly sense the hidden meaning behind her faint smile.
She would not deign to argue with him on that, because her heart had the answer that never wavered.
"I'll see how far you can go no matter what you think, but at least others will understand that he is just a loser, whom I defeated!" Ji Xuan's eyes filled with an eerie chill as he abruptly took a fierce step forward. His eyes surged with a cold gaze as he turned his palm and suddenly dealt a blow.
Boom!
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth rioted wildly as a startling spiritual energy swept out from the vast ocean, directly materializing into a substantial Fist of the Holy Light as it clapped down.
Rumble!
The incomparably strong golden ground shattered, disintegrating into pieces. Ji Xuan did not perform any Divine Technique. Instead, he completely relied on the immense power of spiritual energy but even so, that attack was still indescribably strong.
Luo Li's gaze was cool as she clasped the Luo Shen Sword in her hand. With the clench of her first, the Spirit of the Luo River in the ancient winding Luo River behind her caused the river to surge out, coalescing into a larger sword as they swung the swords down at the same time.
Whoosh!
A thousand feet of light from the swords swept down. The fierce and unparalleled aura of the swords soared to the sky.
Bong!
The light of the swords collided harshly with the Fist of the Holy Light, and the impact resulted in shock waves which raged like a storm.
"I'll see how many attacks you can resist!"
Ji Xuan smiled. As he leapt forward, his body stormed into the sky. With a lift of his hands, everyone felt heaven and earth quake and rumble. The Sovereign Sea, hidden in the space, raised a barrage of turbulent waves as countless beams of Divine Light soared into the sky, quickly transforming into blows of the Fist of the Holy Light.
Upon seeing that scene, the scalps of countless people tingled in fear. Such powerful attacks at such a high frequency would result in the rapid and immense consumption of spiritual energy, but Ji Xuan could do it effortlessly at will.
The heavens and earth darkened as numerous blows from the Fist of the Holy Light tore the sky and earth apart like meteorites before swarming towards Luo Li.
Luo Li's expression turned somber as she took a deep breath. With a wave of her hands, the Luo River swept out, guarding her within, resembling a water dragon as it hovered serpentine-like.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The mighty blows of the Fist of the Holy Light bombarded the Luo River. As the onslaught of spiritual energy was too strong for the golden battle stage to withstand, huge cracks continued to spread out…
Everyone looked on at the scene anxiously.
With the terrifying barrage of attacks from the Fist of the Holy Light, they could see the Luo River guarding Luo Li was rapidly fading.
Numerous disciples of the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy gnashed their teeth and clenched their fists tightly.
Anyone could see that in the face of Ji Xuan's terrifying degree of spiritual energy, even Luo Li was unable to put up an effective resistance.
Boom!
The Luo River began to falter and finally reached its limit. With a crisp sound, the Luo River burst into spots of light in the sky and the Spirit of the Luo River dissipated with it. It transformed into a beam of light, surging into Luo Li's body.
Luo Li let out a soft groan. Her body trembled as she fell backwards.
"Look out!"
Just as Luo Li's protective barrier had been broken, Wen Qingxuan's expression morphed into shock as she saw a mass of blood red light suddenly emerge behind Luo Li. Xie Tianhe's face twisted grotesquely in rage as he lifted his palm to deal a critical blow to Luo Li's back.
Wen Qingxuan gritted her teeth and leapt forward nimbly on her toes as she summoned the last of her spiritual energy. She quickly rushed behind Luo Li in an attempt to use her body to shield Luo Li from Xie Tianhe's attack.
"Senior!"
At the Million Phoenix Spiritual Academy, numerous girls paled in terror.
"Xie Tianhe, you f**king son of a b*tch!"
The Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy disciples cursed in fury, as Xie Tianhe's despicable and underhanded means enraged them once again.
"Hmph!"
In the face of innumerable curses, Xie Tianhe smiled unnervingly. Not only did he not halt his blow, he instead summoned all his spiritual energy, dealing a brutal blow to Wen Qingxuan and Luo Li, clearly intending to annihilate the two ladies.
Wen Qingxuan gritted her teeth and closed her eyes in resignation as she prepared herself to bear Xie Tianhe's fierce blow.
The situation was perilous.
"Die!" Xie Tianhe roared ferociously, his blows landing mercilessly.
Rumble!
However, just as Xie Tianhe's blow was about to land on Wen Qingxuan, suddenly the deafening sounds of a raging thunderbolt rang in the heavens and earth.
In the sky, the Chiefs of the Spiritual Acdemies and the Chiefs of the Five Great Academies suddenly glanced at the Mirror of Judgment with a gleam in their eyes.
The surface of the Mirror of Judgment suddenly rippled, and then a flash of thunder too dazzling for one to look at directly burst out. The light of the thunderbolt had such a swift speed and in a flash, it appeared above Wen Qingxuan. Next, everyone saw a fist cast like a thunderbolt, piercing through the space and thundering like lightning as it landed on Xie Tianhe.
Boom!
Xie Tianhe's body descended rapidly with the force of the impact and he landed heavily on the golden battle stage. Half of his body was mangled and mutilated, leaving him a bloody mess.
The curses permeating the air came to an abrupt stop.
Countless people were dumbfounded for a moment, and then they suddenly looked up and saw a slender figure sweep out in the midst of the thunder. His arms were wrapped around Luo Li and Wen Qingxuan's slender waists, as his body moved in a flash and appeared on the golden battle platform. The thunder then gradually weakened and finally, in the midst of thunder and light, a slender figure slowly emerged.