Longzang

Chapter 1033 Chaotic Battle of the World's Number One Dharma Assembly
Like gold being sifted from sand, the magical storms on the twelve dueling platforms grew increasingly fierce, and truly powerful individuals began to emerge. Many people, both on and off the platforms, concealed their identities, clearly unwilling to reveal their true power, but once they stepped onto the stage, they were undeniably formidable.

As the cultivators of the Sword Palace watched, they gradually fell silent, their expressions growing increasingly solemn.

At this moment, the eight huge stands suddenly moved back again, and the area of ​​one of the dueling platforms in the arena doubled accordingly, with the magical storm soaring straight into the sky!

Inside this automatically expanding arena stood a ten-zhang-tall ancient giant, wielding an axe in one hand and a shield in the other, engaged in fierce combat. His opponent was a puppet that appeared to be entirely made of steel.

This puppet has mechanical wings on its back, one hand transforming into a massive cannon with immense power, and the other hand a rotary cannon with fierce and inescapable firepower. On each shoulder stands a honeycomb, constantly spewing out swarms of burning bees that explode upon impact with the giant.

This steel golem was practically a mobile artillery platform. Later, it even spewed fire from its feet, rising into the air to unleash a torrent of flames upon the ancient giant. The ancient giant could only cower behind its shield, utterly powerless against the blasts!

After a full incense stick's time of relentless bombardment, the Ancient Giant finally gave out, its shield shattered, and it was blasted out of the arena by a single shot, losing the game.

This battle was of extremely high quality, and even Yu Jing, who was watching, looked solemn.

This method of firepower output is unique, clearly indicating that the cultivators were trained by Qingming themselves. But how many years has Qingming been established? Are even the cultivators they've trained from scratch this ruthless? Just how many more cultivators like this are there? And how much of Qingming's true strength is still hidden?

The steel golem was overjoyed at its victory. It pointed its giant cannon to the sky and fired a shot that transformed into a massive burst of fireworks, engulfing the entire venue and adding a touch of splendor to the event. Then, in front of thousands of spectators, it transformed into several different forms, with variations in color, appearance, and details, changing from white to red to black to silver.

Finally, the steel golem struck a pose, then its mask opened, revealing a young, handsome, and dashing face.

This face is Xu Wenwu, yet not Xu Wenwu. His eyes are bigger than before, his face is smaller, his nose is more prominent, and his skin is smooth and fair. He looks like a young man in his prime.

Seeing that the steel golem was incredibly powerful and significantly stronger than the other dueling arenas, many cultivators wisely chose other dueling arenas, leaving the steel golem standing there.

Just as the cultivators thought they had the chance, two cultivators suddenly stepped onto the stage one after the other, specifically to challenge the steel golem. The two cultivators' appearances were ordinary and utterly incompetent. As soon as they entered the stage, they were kicked off the stage by the steel golem one by one.

The crowd was still laughing at the two guys for overestimating themselves, but when they saw the steel puppet disappear and a cultivator whose entire body was wrapped in a magic robe and whose true face was not revealed at all flew out of the dueling platform, the crowd realized that this guy had won three matches in a row!
Does this work too?
In an instant, a whole new world opened up before the cultivators. Immediately, some cultivators began to secretly negotiate, offering various prices to sell their two opportunities for a good price. But most people still wanted to seriously gamble on their reputation.

Seemingly spurred on by the steel puppets, the pace of the battle on the dueling platform accelerated significantly, with numerous bizarre and ferocious magical forms appearing, indicating that the competition had entered its second half.

On a dueling platform, a boundless sea of ​​blood suddenly appeared, with a solitary island in the middle, upon which sat a black-robed cultivator. The sea of ​​blood was calm and still, without even a ripple, making it exceptionally eerie.

A cultivator who disbelieved in evil stepped onto the stage to challenge the demon, but as soon as he entered the blood sea, he suddenly lost his levitation ability, fell into the sea, and sank to the bottom. A moment later, he surfaced, unconscious. The cultivator on the isolated island waved his hand, and the unconscious cultivator was sent outside the dueling platform.

After examining the unconscious cultivator, the Qingming cultivator found that he was only severely depleted of vital energy and confused, but not in any life-threatening danger, so he did not intervene.

In the blink of an eye, three cultivators challenged him in succession. One was skilled in flying, another in swordsmanship, and yet another's Dharma form was a deep-sea serpent. As a result, they all sank to the bottom as soon as they entered the Blood Sea, without exception.

This cultivator won three consecutive matches but showed no intention of leaving, continuing to wait for others to challenge him. The other cultivators weren't stupid; seeing three strong cultivators perish without even exploring the depths of the Blood Sea, who would be willing to throw their lives away?

So the cultivators went to other dueling platforms to look for opportunities. They saw a huge celestial plant, like a banana tree, suddenly appear on a nearby dueling platform. It swung its leaves and sent the cultivator who originally occupied the platform flying.

This banana plant doesn't have a distinct trunk; it looks more like a giant grass several meters tall, glossy and thick, with scorched black edges on its leaves, as if it had been roasted by fire.

Compared to the sea of ​​blood, the giant grass seemed easier to bully. Immediately, a sword cultivator jumped onto the dueling platform, his Dharma form being a raging ape wielding a giant cleaver!
Just as the violent ape rushed to the giant grass, intending to cut it down by the roots, a black flower suddenly bloomed among the grass leaves. From the flower, a slender, long, and shiny black hand emerged, grabbed the violent ape's head, and swung it around, slamming it violently against the platform. With muffled thuds, the entire fighting platform shook!
In the blink of an eye, the violent ape disappeared, and the cultivator who had come up to challenge was already unconscious.

The cultivators watching from below the stage shuddered. They hadn't expected a blade of grass to be so violent and extremely insidious, with a grass spirit hidden within it. If they had encountered this for the first time, they would have suffered a great loss.

Even the giant grass with its scorched edges and black flowers was too dangerous to mess with, so the cultivators set their sights on an ordinary-looking cultivator. Then, as soon as someone stepped onto the stage to challenge him, that cultivator unleashed dozens of flying swords in one go, piercing right through his opponent.

This swordsman named Han Li is not someone to be trifled with...

On the next dueling platform, a faint black mist floated. What was this thing? Many cultivators were puzzled and went up to test it, but as soon as they entered the black mist, they disappeared and flew out of the black mist unconscious.

Some individuals with powerful spiritual senses attempted to penetrate the black mist, but their spiritual senses sank without a trace, never to be retrieved. Having suffered this setback, they were horrified and dared not approach the black mist again.

And so, the dueling arena was soon filled with powerful cultivators, each battle a fierce struggle. At this point, betting on wins was pointless; no matter how many wins one bet, one had to knock down a dueling arena and remain there until the very end to qualify for a duel with a Celestial Prime candidate.

Many cultivators who had been waiting for the best bidder now regretted their actions, but it was too late. At this moment, a cultivator in black stepped onto the dueling platform. His Dharma form was that of an angry Vajra, but each of the Vajra's four arms held a different sword. The Vajra directly confronted his opponent's lightning sword. The lightning emitted by the sword had limited effect on the Vajra's Dharma body, and the lightning sword itself was fragile and could not withstand the opponent's four sword strikes. Lei Ling was finally defeated.

Among the spectators, many had a cold glint in their eyes: Was that the Buddha Sword?

At this moment, another dueling arena attracted everyone's attention. On the arena, a female cultivator displayed unpredictable and incredible speed, even possessing the ability to briefly traverse the void. Her opponent, on the other hand, employed sweeping and powerful movements, unleashing gusts of chilling energy with every wave of her hand. The female cultivator's speed gradually decreased, and she was eventually forced to concede defeat.

At this moment, Li Zhi of Yanzhou looked at the female cultivator's back and felt as if he had seen her somewhere before.

On the platform for the twelve immortal candidates, Shaoyang Xingjun suddenly opened his eyes and looked towards the dueling arena, his expression unusually solemn.

The dueling arena was nearing its end. Many of the fierce and bizarre magical forms on the stage had been destroyed, replaced by several seemingly ordinary cultivators. Among them, one male cultivator was extremely ugly, leaving a lasting impression.

This person is strange. His appearance is ordinary, just an ugly cultivator carrying a cleaver. Yet, he is able to defeat his enemies. During battles, he always mumbles incoherently, saying things like "Cut me! Cut me!" His opponents are always provoked by this childish provocation, making inexplicable mistakes and eventually losing the fight.

There was also a female cultivator whose Dharma form was a girl in plain clothes. She had some knowledge of martial arts, but she had not yet encountered a worthy opponent.

Amidst the bustling world, Wei Yuan was on a floating island in the Fourth Grotto-Heaven, humbly seeking advice from Xi He: "The enemy is ferocious; is there any way to ensure victory?"

Xihe rolled her eyes at him and said irritably, "Is this funny?"

Wei Yuan humbly replied, "I wanted to demonstrate my skills so that the enemy would be wary and would come to me next time they have a plan, instead of seeking out their teacher."

Xihe said, "You want to compete for the Way of the Sword?"

"Yes."

Xihe rolled her eyes and said, "What's there to fight over? It appeared out of nowhere once before, and came to me wanting to inherit it, but I ignored it."

Wei Yuan was deeply impressed, feeling that the fourth generation elder sister's charm was truly unparalleled, but it was not easy to find an angle to learn from her.

Xihe looked at Wei Yuan, sighed, and said, "Never mind, I will teach you a technique called: One Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Techniques."

This method, though seemingly complex, was explained in a few words by Xihe. Wei Yuan pondered for a moment, then asked, "Where is the sword?"

"Everything can be a sword."

After thinking for a moment, Wei Yuan finally nodded, thanked him, and left.

Then a long laugh suddenly rang out in the arena, and a jade-faced cultivator leaped onto the dueling platform, facing off against the cultivator who appeared to be wielding a Buddhist sword. He declared loudly, "I am Li Ye, the 'Western Sword Saint,' here to learn from you!"

A staff member from Qingming in the audience asked in confusion, "Li Ye? I remember he has a beard!"

Another staff member quickly tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "Don't make trouble, maybe he just shaved?"

The monk on the platform lifted his hat, revealing a bald head, and bowed, saying, "Benefactor, you have acted perversely and defied the laws of Heaven. This humble monk is unworthy, but today I will subdue the demon!"

Li Ye sneered, "I think your Buddhist teachings are mediocre, and your martial arts skills are nothing special either! What makes you think you can subdue demons?"

“Since you are so stubborn, I have some understanding…” The monk was only halfway through his sentence when he realized that Li Ye had already spoken.

The two stopped talking and the monk summoned the four Vajra Warriors wielding swords again. At this moment, all eyes in the heavens and the earth were on them.

Li Ye raised his finger to the sky, his voice booming like thunder: "I have a sword that can break all laws!"

A small sword, no bigger than a palm, appeared in the air, with a rope attached to its back. The flying sword fell straight down towards Vajra, the rope growing longer and longer until it reached its end, at which point a blazing sun emerged from the void!
This great sun was much larger than the entire dueling platform. It crashed down, causing the entire arena to jump! Li Ye stood atop the great sun, like an immortal or Buddha!
As the sun set, the dueling platform vanished into thin air, leaving a monk lying in the center of the ruins, his fate unknown.

(End of this chapter)