The Heavens: Man Covers the Heavens, Refines Treasures to Become an Emperor

The blinding blue and gold spiritual energy exploded instantly! A violent shockwave, visible to the naked eye, swept outwards from the two of them like a tsunami!
Snap! Snap! Boom!

Inside the hall, the nearby rosewood tables and chairs, exquisite porcelain, and jade ornaments... were instantly torn apart, shattered, and blown away by this terrifying shockwave, as if struck by a Category 12 hurricane! They turned into a sky full of wood chips and dust! The entire luxurious hall was instantly reduced to a mess!
Center of the blast wave!

Jiang Xuan stood as steady as a rock, the bluestone ground beneath his feet cracking inch by inch, yet he himself remained completely still! His eyes were as sharp as ever!

Huang Jianxiong, who charged forward with great momentum, seemed to have crashed into an ancient divine mountain!
Deng!Deng!Deng!
His face instantly turned from red to green and then to white. He groaned and staggered back several steps uncontrollably! Each step left a deep footprint on the hard bluestone ground!
His right hand, which was used to unleash the Hidden Dragon Claw, was trembling slightly. His finger bones were throbbing with pain, and his blood and qi were churning violently, causing his breathing to become disordered.
"impossible!"

Huang Jianxiong steadied himself, his eyes filled with disbelief and horror!
He, a direct descendant of the prestigious Huang family, at the peak of the Human Realm, used his family's secret technique, yet he was actually knocked back by a single punch from a mere borderland brat?! This is an utter disgrace!
"Aaaaaah! Die!"

Overwhelmed with shame and rage, Huang Jianxiong completely lost his mind!
He roared, and his spiritual energy erupted once more, even more violently than before. He used both hands simultaneously, and his Dragon Claw tore through the air, creating a sky full of azure claw shadows, and pounced on Jiang Xuan again like a storm!
"Stubborn."

Jiang Xuan's eyes turned cold.

He no longer held back, his figure swaying like a ghost, easily dodging the barrage of claw shadows, and instantly cutting into Huang Jianxiong's center!
It's still just a simple punch!
But this time, the punches were faster! More ferocious! The power was even more concentrated! On the surface of the fist, it seemed as if tiny vortexes were swallowing up light!
Bang.!!!

A louder, more deafening roar!

Huang Jianxiong's protective spiritual energy shattered instantly, like a fragile eggshell! Jiang Xuan's fist landed solidly on his chest!
"puff!"

Huang Jianxiong's eyes bulged out, and blood gushed from his mouth! He was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, or as if he had been hit by a battering sledgehammer, even faster than when he came!

Boom!

Huang Jianxiong's body, clad in a bright yellow brocade robe, slammed heavily against the hard white jade wall ten feet away! The entire hall seemed to tremble! Spiderweb-like cracks instantly appeared all over the wall! Huang Jianxiong was embedded in the wall like a mural, then slid down softly, collapsing to the ground, blood gushing from his mouth, his face as pale as gold paper, his breath extremely weak! He had clearly suffered severe internal injuries!

Dead!

Absolute silence!
The mocking smiles and sneers on the faces of the powerful scions in the Forbidden City, such as Ouyang Lun, Liu Hanjiang, and the young man in the golden robe, had vanished without a trace! They were replaced by utter shock and disbelief!
They stared intently at the young man in blue robes in the arena, who was still in a punching stance, as if they had seen a ghost!
Two punches?! Just two punches?! Huang Jianxiong was defeated?! And defeated so miserably?!

How...how is this possible?!
He's clearly only at the Human Realm! His aura doesn't even seem as powerful as Huang Jianxiong's!
Wen Mingxiu, Qi Yunxiao, Yuan Shu, and other local youths of Yanxia City, although they already knew that Jiang Xuan was incredibly strong, were still deeply shocked to see even the geniuses of the capital's powerful clans defeated by him so cleanly and decisively! Their gazes towards Jiang Xuan were filled with even deeper fear and awe!

"Cough...cough cough..." Huang Jianxiong, who was slumped on the ground, coughed violently, each cough bringing up a mouthful of blood.

He struggled to lift his head, and the look in his eyes as he looked at Jiang Xuan was no longer anger, but filled with resentment, fear, and a kind of hysterical madness!

"You little bastard...you...you dare to hurt me?! I'll kill you! I'll make sure you die a horrible death!!"

Driven by extreme humiliation and insane hatred, a glint of ruthless ferocity flashed in Huang Jianxiong's eyes!
He suddenly pulled something out of his pocket!
That was a short crossbow with a unique design!

Its entire body was a chilling crimson, as if forged from congealed blood! The crossbow's body was curved like an eagle's beak, exuding a strong bloody stench and an extremely cold soul fluctuation! At the muzzle, countless fine crimson runes flowed faintly, as if connecting to the netherworld!

"The God-Piercing Blood Crossbow?!"

Upon seeing this item, the expressions of Ouyang Lun, Liu Hanjiang, and other scions of powerful families changed drastically! They gasped in shock!
"Huang Jianxiong! Are you crazy?! Stop it!"

The golden-robed youth was also horrified!
The God-Piercing Blood Crossbow! A forbidden weapon secretly passed down through the Huang clan! It uses the user's own blood essence and lifespan as a catalyst to activate the "God-Piercing Needle" sealed within the crossbow! This needle is formless and intangible, specifically designed to pierce the soul and sea of ​​consciousness! Once struck, the consequences range from severe damage to the soul, rendering the user an idiot, to complete annihilation of the soul and body! It is extremely vicious! Moreover, it inflicts a tremendous backlash on the user!

However, Huang Jianxiong, consumed by madness and hatred, could no longer listen to any advice.
"Die! May your soul be scattered!"

He let out a beastly roar, ignoring the excruciating pain of his internal injuries and the loss of his lifespan, and frantically poured his spiritual power and his own blood essence into the Blood Crossbow!
Buzz!

The Bloodthirsty Crossbow instantly erupted with blinding crimson light! The crossbow trembled violently, emitting a teeth-grinding hum! At the muzzle, even space itself seemed to distort!

The next moment!
There was no sound of arrows piercing the air!
Only a silent, sudden burst of crimson rays, almost invisible to the naked eye, appeared! Like billions of poisoned needles, carrying a terrifying aura that could pierce the soul, they instantly traversed space, completely enveloping the area where Jiang Xuan was located! Their speed and scope were so vast that there was no way to avoid them!

The instant Huang Jianxiong pulled out that blood-red crossbow, Jiang Xuan felt an unprecedented, deadly crisis that pierced straight to the depths of his soul! Every hair on his body stood on end! It was a pure, destructive aura aimed directly at the soul!

The instant those thousands of scarlet rays descended upon him!

Jiang Xuan felt as if a million cold steel needles were piercing his entire body at the same time! A cold, vicious, and highly corrosive force ignored his protective spiritual energy and physical defenses, directly penetrating his body and, like a leech, rushing wildly towards the direction of his brow and sea of ​​consciousness! Its target was his very soul!
A life-or-death situation!

Jiang Xuan's pupils suddenly contracted to their maximum! Deep within his sea of ​​consciousness, the dormant [Minor Netherworld Divine Art] technique was instantly activated to its limit!
"Xing Xun! Protect!"

A low shout escaped his lips!
Buzz!

Within his sea of ​​consciousness, the twenty-one "Soul Stars" condensed by the [Minor Netherworld Divine Technique] and slowly rotating like stars suddenly erupted with unprecedentedly brilliant silver light! The light was intense, like twenty-one miniature silver moons rising simultaneously!
Vast, pure silver starlight, imbued with the power of protection and refinement, poured down from the twenty-one soul stars like the Milky Way flowing backwards, weaving into a swirling, deep silver vortex at the entrance to Jiang Xuan's sea of ​​consciousness!

puff!puff!puff!
Those thousands of extremely vicious blood needles, like moths to a flame, plunged headlong into this dazzling vortex of silver starlight!

A strange thing happened!

The piercing needle, powerful enough to instantly pierce and corrode the soul of an ordinary Spirit Sea Realm cultivator, was like ice and snow meeting the blazing sun the moment it touched the silver starlight! The scarlet, sinister light on the needle tip dimmed and melted rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye! The fine blood needles were enveloped, entangled, and pulled by the vast starlight, emitting a faint "sizzling" sound, as if they had been thrown into an invisible furnace!

In just one breath!
All the Blood-Piercing Needles that rushed into Jiang Xuan's sea of ​​consciousness and attempted to attack his soul's origin were completely enveloped, refined, and utterly dissolved by the pure starlight showered down by the twenty-one Soul Stars! They turned into wisps of extremely fine, fishy-smelling green smoke, which dissipated into the vast silver sea of ​​consciousness!

Grandma Feng, leaning on her wooden cane, led Xie Yutang through the corridor. Instead of going directly to invite the young lady, they entered a quiet room with elegant furnishings and incense burning to calm the mind.

One wall of the quiet room was as smooth as a mirror, radiating a soft light that clearly reflected the scene in the main hall of Cui Ming Xuan. It was the entire process of Jiang Xuan and Huang Jianxiong confronting each other and eventually breaking into conflict! "Sit."

Granny Feng pointed to the futon next to her, then sat down on a rattan chair herself. Her cloudy eyes fell on the light screen, and she asked in a hoarse voice.

"Young Master Xie, this old woman is a little curious. More than a year ago, why did you save that Jiang Xuan boy deep in the Three Thousand Mountains? With your personality, you don't seem like the kind of person who would stand up for justice."

Xie Yutang sat down as instructed, with his long sword lying horizontally on his lap.

He calmly looked at Jiang Xuan, who was exchanging words with Huang Jianxiong on the screen, and spoke in a cold voice, devoid of any emotion.

"It wasn't a deliberate rescue. At the time, I was deep in the Three Thousand Mountains, searching for clues about the 'Witchcraft God Sacrifice' and the whereabouts of a certain priceless treasure. When I got there, I happened to find him being chased by three witchcraft warriors. Those witchcraft warriors were physically strong, incredibly powerful, fearless, and coordinated perfectly, forming an encirclement."

Xie Yutang's tone was flat, as if he were narrating a trivial matter that had nothing to do with him.

"At that time, he was only at the second level of the True Martial Realm, and he had an even younger girl with him. They were in dire straits, with multiple wounds on their bodies, and were about to be torn apart. I took action and killed those three barbarians with one sword. It was just a matter of clearing away obstacles in my way and preventing the clues to the treasure from falling into the hands of the barbarians. That's all. Saving the two of them was just a side effect."

"Second level of True Martial Realm?"

Granny Feng's cloudy eyes shifted slightly, revealing a clear look of surprise for the first time. Her gaze refocused on the composed young man in blue robes on the screen, who dared to confront even the scions of powerful families in the capital.

"In just over a year... from the second level of True Martial Realm to the mid-stage of Human Astral Realm... and even able to unleash such combat power? This kid's advancement speed... is quite interesting."

Even with her extensive knowledge and experience, such a cultivation speed was astonishing.

Upon hearing this, even Xie Yutang's usually calm eyes showed a faint ripple.

He hadn't paid attention to Jiang Xuan's cultivation level before, but now, after Granny Feng pointed it out, he realized how terrifying the young man's cultivation speed was.

To advance a major level in just over a year is something that ordinary talent cannot achieve.

Granny Feng's gaze lingered on Jiang Xuan's face in the light screen for a moment, her brows furrowing almost imperceptibly as she muttered to herself.

"And...this kid's features...this old woman feels...somewhat similar to an old friend? Or is it just my imagination?"

She shook her head, seemingly finding the idea utterly absurd.

"Never mind, perhaps the old woman is just getting old and her eyesight is failing."

Just then, the conflict within the light screen suddenly escalated!
Huang Jianxiong attacked in a fit of rage, his Dragon Claw tearing through the air with terrifying force!

Jiang Xuan's response caused the two people in the quiet room to freeze in surprise!
Faced with Huang Jianxiong's ferocious killing move, Jiang Xuan did not dodge or use any fancy moves; he simply threw out a powerful punch!
Fists and claws collided, creating a powerful shockwave! Huang Jianxiong was actually forced back!

Immediately afterward, Jiang Xuan slashed in like a ghost, delivering another punch! Huang Jianxiong coughed up blood and flew backward, embedding himself in the wall and landing on the ground!
"Good boxing skills!"

A glint of light flashed in Granny Feng's cloudy eyes, and she couldn't help but whisper a word of praise.

"Refined through countless trials! Returning to simplicity! Not a single superfluous movement, the power is concentrated, and the timing is perfect! This little kid... his talent in martial arts combat is probably even more astonishing than his cultivation speed!"

Xie Yutang's gaze sharpened, sweeping across Jiang Xuan's figure in the light screen like a tangible sword blade, and he said in a deep voice.

"His fighting style... is concise, direct, and deadly. He seeks to kill with a single blow, never dragging things out. This style... is very similar to those madmen in the Empire's 'Blood Killing Camp' who crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood."

As a genius from a top-tier aristocratic family, he had witnessed the empire's most elite killing machines.

Jiang Xuan's fighting instincts and ruthlessness at this moment felt familiar and...alarming to him.

The two continued to watch the light screen.

When they saw Wen Mingxiu, Qi Yunxiao, and the others from Yanxia City forced by the golden-robed youth to admit that they were inferior to Jiang Xuan and dared not make a move, a knowing look flashed across Granny Feng and Xie Yutang's eyes.

Sure enough, this kid was no nobody in Yanxia City; he had a fearsome reputation and strength that even the local powerful families feared.

However, what happened next completely exceeded their expectations!
Severely injured and lying on the ground, Huang Jianxiong, driven by extreme humiliation and madness, actually pulled out the God-Piercing Blood Crossbow that emitted an ominous bloody light!
"The God-Piercing Blood Crossbow?!"

Granny Feng's expression changed slightly, and her hoarse voice carried a hint of solemnity.

"That brat from the Huang family is truly spoiled! He dares to use such a vicious and forbidden weapon? And in this kind of situation!"

Xie Yutang's eyes instantly turned icy cold, like a frozen wasteland. He was well aware of the infamous reputation of the God-Slaying Blood Crossbow.

This is a truly insidious and utterly devastating weapon, specifically designed to kill the soul! Huang Jianxiong's actions have completely crossed the line!
Within the light screen, a burst of blood-red light erupted! Thousands of invisible and intangible divine needles instantly enveloped Jiang Xuan!

The room was deathly silent.

Granny Feng and Xie Yutang both held their breath. (End of Chapter)