Fellow Daoist, I gladly accept this heaven-defying opportunity.

"How is this possible?!"

The onlookers craned their necks, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets, wishing they could dive into the water curtain to see it clearly. "Xu Mofeng's blade... shattered Zhao Xu's nascent soul core?"

"No mistake! Originally a seventh-grade Nascent Soul with seven stripes, now it has a full eighth stripe, forcibly demoting it by a grade, making it an eighth-grade Nascent Soul!"

The crowd was speechless with shock; they could never have imagined such a thing.

No wonder Xu Mofeng said those words, no wonder he specially changed to the back of the blade... If the blades were facing each other, Zhao Xu's core would probably be split in two by this strike, and he might even be knocked down from the Nascent Soul stage back to the Golden Core stage on the spot.

Recalling that stunning slash just now, countless people felt their scalps tingle and cold sweat pour down their backs.

At this moment, the brilliance of the other six of the seven battlefield scenes in the secret realm was instantly suppressed and dimmed.

The screen displaying Xu Mofeng's figure was automatically enlarged to the maximum, showing him alone with a sword, his prowess unmatched.

Everyone was deeply shocked by this strike, their hearts filled with amazement.

Tu Gang, Shangguan Dongxue, and Zhong Ling were stunned, staring intently at Xu Mofeng on the screen, unable to utter a single word for a long time.

At this moment, Xue Changhe and the others returned, looking slightly relaxed. It seemed that they had successfully contacted the elders of the sect and discussed their return journey.

Upon returning, Xue Changhe anxiously inquired, "How did it go? Has Junior Brother Xu come out? Is he injured?"

The three of them, Tu Gang and his companions, didn't know how to explain, so they just raised their chins and pointed blankly at the light screen.

Xue Changhe and the others looked up, their expressions instantly freezing: "Junior Brother Xu Mofeng won?! That's Zhao Xu, a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator! How did he manage that?"

Zhong Ling gave a bitter smile and said, "It's more than just a victory. Xu Mofeng only used one strike from beginning to end, and that one strike reduced Zhao Xu's Nascent Soul Core from the seventh grade to the eighth grade. In fact... he didn't even use his full strength."

"??!"

Xue Changhe and the others' pupils shrank suddenly, and their bodies trembled violently.

The group stood there dumbfounded, looking at each other in disbelief. They racked their brains but still couldn't understand how Xu Mofeng, a ninth-level Golden Core cultivator, could do such an incredible thing.

A distraught Zhao Xu was enveloped by the light of the barrier and teleported out of the secret realm.

At the same time, a system notification sounded in Xu Mofeng's mind:

[Congratulations, host, on successfully transforming your destiny! You have received the following reward: Golden Core Advancement Pill x1]

Xu Mofeng was stunned.

Why is it another Golden Core Advancement Pill?

He just got one, and now he gets another.

However, he was already at the ninth level of the Golden Core realm, only one step away from the tenth level. One pill would be enough to reach the limit of the Golden Core realm.

"If two pills are taken in succession, will the core condense directly on the spot, or will it allow one to break through to the unprecedented eleventh level of the Golden Core realm?"

He felt a surge of curiosity.

At this moment, the rewards for defeating Zhao Xu in the secret realm also arrived.

chap!

A dark red armor landed in front of him, its plates shimmering with spiritual light and faintly radiating a scorching heat.

"A low-grade Earth-rank treasure armor?"

Xu Mofeng's eyes lit up.

Precious armor belongs to the most valuable category of magical artifacts, not to mention the Earth-grade precious armor.

With this protective armor, one can withstand attacks from even Nascent Soul cultivators several times over. In a typical small sect of the eighth or ninth rank, this would almost be a treasure to be passed down through generations.

Xu Mofeng put away the armor and turned to look. He found that the cultivators on the other six platforms were all looking at him, including Zhou Bo and Xiao Qingwang.

Many people's eyes were filled with shock and fear, clearly the previous strike was too amazing and had a great impact on them.

At this moment, a white halo appeared, and there were 7 youths left on the platform. Except for one person who was assigned a phantom opponent from the light orb, the rest were randomly assigned to fight each other!

Xu Mofeng stepped into the light.

This time, they were lucky. Their opponent was just a pseudo-core realm cultivator. Although he was also one of the top ten talents on the talent list, he was no match for Xu Mofeng.

When the man realized that his opponent was Xu Mofeng, his face instantly turned a deep purplish-red.

Seeing Xu Mofeng's hand lightly touch the hilt of the knife, the man's eyelids twitched wildly, and he hurriedly cried out, "Wait! I surrender!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he jumped off the platform without the slightest hesitation.

Xu Mofeng felt rather helpless; was it really necessary to be so frightened?

The onlookers, however, highly approved of the man's actions: "This is the wise thing to do. Xu Mofeng is a monster with an endless stream of trump cards, who cannot be fathomed by common sense. You should never fight him unless you are absolutely certain of victory, otherwise you will be crushed and your martial arts spirit will be damaged."

"Yes, we absolutely cannot let him become our stepping stone for nothing!"

This battle did not trigger a change of opportunity, after all, even if he hadn't encountered this pseudo-core realm opponent, his chances of passing the next round were extremely slim.

Fortunately, the rewards from the secret realm were pretty good; a secret manual dropped.

The vertical ladder is the lowest grade on the ground.

Xu Mofeng finally obtained a low-level martial art, which was an extremely rare movement technique. It was just what he needed to make up for his weakness and was perfect for him.

This round of battle has come to an end, with only four people remaining standing in the secret realm.

They are Xu Mofeng, Zhou Bo, Xiao Qingwang, and a little-known Nascent Soul Realm genius.

Apart from Xu Mofeng, the dark horse who reached the ninth level of the Golden Core stage, the advancement of the other three was entirely within everyone's expectations.

No one could have imagined that this royal secret realm trial, where Nascent Soul cultivators were everywhere, would ultimately allow a Golden Core cultivator to fight his way into the top four, practically rubbing the Jin Liang Kingdom's genius list into the ground.

The four stepped into the teleportation circle, and the matchup was finalized in an instant.

As soon as the result appeared, a burst of laughter erupted on the platform.

"Haha, easy to assign!"

Xiao Qingwang stood holding his gun, his fighting spirit soaring to the sky. He was like a black spear that had been completely drawn from its sheath, its sharpness dazzling.

He stared at Zhou Bo opposite him, his voice brimming with barely suppressed excitement: "Zhou Bo, I've waited far too long for this battle. Today, let's settle this once and for all!"

Before he finished speaking, the black gun in his hand trembled, and the tip of the gun tore through the air, heading straight for Zhou Bo's face!

Zhou Bo remained calm, neither dodging nor avoiding, and instead met the attack with a palm strike.

Amidst a deafening roar, the battle between Nascent Soul cultivators erupted completely.

Both of them were genuine Nascent Soul cultivators, with strength far exceeding that of the tenth level of Golden Core by dozens of times. With every move they made, spiritual energy surged like a tsunami, and their powerful energy swept across the entire platform, instantly drawing the attention of 99% of the audience.

In contrast, the duel between Xu Mofeng and another Nascent Soul genius seemed to attract little attention.

However, this Nascent Soul genius was clear-headed and dared not be careless just because Xu Mofeng was only at the ninth level of the Golden Core stage.

After all, Zhao Xu's disastrous defeat in the previous match was still fresh in everyone's mind, serving as a stark negative example that served as a deafening warning.

Xu Mofeng glanced at the other person and suddenly said, "If I'm not mistaken, you are an eighth-grade Nascent Soul cultivator."

A flash of embarrassment and annoyance crossed the man's face, and he sneered, "So what if it is? An eighth-grade Nascent Soul is still a Nascent Soul! With spiritual energy transformed into qi, a casual strike is ten times the power of a Golden Core cultivator."

"That fool Zhao Xu was too arrogant, spitting out his Yuan Core and offering himself up for death. He was simply courting death. As long as I play it safe and don't reveal any weaknesses, what can a mere Golden Core cultivator like you do to me?"

Xu Mofeng raised an eyebrow slightly, thinking to himself that this guy really understood things.

Indeed, in a normal Nascent Soul cultivator's battle, who would be so foolish as to throw their life core at someone?

That's a show-off move that only happens in a one-sided game.

Zhao Xu did that last time purely because he didn't take Xu Mofeng seriously and wanted to play cat and mouse, but he ended up ruining himself.

Seeing Xu Mofeng remain silent, the man became even more certain of his judgment and sneered, "If I'm not mistaken, that strike you used to kill Zhao Xu last time was a secret technique you'd been holding back, wasn't it? A move of that level comes with a huge price to pay. You probably can't use it a second time now, right?"

In his view, it would be a pipe dream to casually use the secret technique of severing the Nascent Soul from the Golden Core stage.

Xu Mofeng's fingers rested lightly on the hilt of the knife, his tone indifferent: "You can try."

The man's eyes flickered; despite his apprehension, his gambler's mentality ultimately prevailed. He gritted his teeth and shouted, "Playing tricks! I bet you won't use your second knife!"

After saying that, his palm surged with spiritual power, carrying the energy of a Nascent Soul cultivator, and slammed down fiercely on Xu Mofeng's head. The palm wind howled, and it even had the power to cover the sky and the sun.

Xu Mofeng took a deep breath, took a half step back, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

Draw the knife!

The dazzling blade light suddenly exploded, still looking sharp and eye-catching, but anyone with discerning eyes could see that its power was far less than the earth-shattering blow that had cleaved Zhao Xu in two.

The man's heart skipped a beat, then his face lit up with wild joy, and he burst into laughter: "Haha! I knew it! You're all bark and no bite, just a paper tiger!"

He grinned maliciously, and instead of dodging, he reached out with both palms, grabbing directly at the ordinary-looking blade of light, wishing he could crush it and kill Xu Mofeng with a single blow.

"Die!"

The Nascent Soul Realm aura erupted completely, and the two palm strikes were like giant hands of a demon god, causing the platform ground to sink slightly.

But at the very moment the palm strike collided with the blade light, the man's body trembled violently.

The next second, he clutched his head tightly with both hands, letting out a heart-wrenching scream: "Ah!"

Veins bulged on his forehead, blood seeped from all seven orifices, and his body convulsed as if he were having an epileptic seizure. After swaying a couple of times, he collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious.

This sudden reversal instantly drew a lot of attention away from the battle between Xiao and Zhou, and a chorus of exclamations arose from the audience.