Chapter 512: Ninth Round, Challenger Zhen

Who will take the stage in the ninth round?Li An stood atop the ruins where the first plaque hung, awaiting his challenger.But no one took the stage.Taking advantage of the situation?The White Ghost Emperor had already demonstrated his skill, and even his super-resolution technique couldn't knock Li An off the stage.Those less powerful than the White Ghost Emperor would only be defeated if they went up.But those more powerful than the White Ghost Emperor were unwilling to take advantage of his weakness.Because in their minds, Li An had always been inferior to them.Neither Tong Zheng, the Light Ruler, nor Zhen had ever considered Li An's strength superior to theirs.So they waited for Li An to recover.Another long day passed.It was late at night.Li An, sitting cross-legged, his aura full again.Everyone knew it was time.But the Light Ruler had chosen to retreat.It was too late for him to perform.Let Tong Zheng and Zhen take the stage first. Zhen stepped out, arriving at the ruins beneath the starry night, staring directly at Li An.But Li An was still sitting cross-legged in meditation, as if asleep.But he wasn't; he was simply lost in a peculiar sense of comfort.An indescribable power was taking shape within his Dao Fruit.With every victory, this power grew stronger.After defeating the White Ghost Emperor, this power gradually materialized, taking on a more defined form.Li An knew full well that this power had been born during his battle with Yu Jingnian.He didn't know what it was called, only that it could be strengthened by absorbing the source energy of the Dao.Now, he realized it wasn't that simple; victory in certain battles could also gradually manifest this power.But Li An also had a feeling that if he lost, this power would dissipate completely.So, no more fancy tricks.Li An opened his eyes and looked at Zhen before him.The other party's Dao Fruit was only at the first level. Li An asked, "Have you reached the Eighth Realm?"Zhen frowned and said, "Of course not."Li An, puzzled, asked, "Then why did you dare wait until I was fully recovered before going on stage?""You!?" Zhen's pupils suddenly constricted beneath his mask.Tian Gang?In the Cultivation Temple, Li An had always been ranked below him.He wouldn't say he completely disregarded Li An, but at least he never considered him superior.Besides, his own Chaos Light had already reached a higher realm.His crude fists were no match for his profound talent.Even if the Dao Fruit had given him the First Heaven Realm, so what?It would probably be a 50-50 chance!Faced with Li An's doubts, Zhen decided to dispel them with concrete action."Wait!"Li An raised his hand, looking at Zang, who had come to support Zhen from the audience. "Does our bet still stand?""If I can surpass Zhen and defeat him, you'll lose me a Thousand Dao Stone!"Zang took a deep breath and said, "Of course it counts!""Just do it!""As you wish." Li An chuckled.Facing the masked man before him, he couldn't find any reason to be serious.Li An's contempt infuriated Zhen.A burst of colorful chaotic light appeared!Then, he drew his sword!Zhen held nothing back!A streak of multicolored sword light streaked across the battlefield.Everywhere it passed, space shattered.The destructive power startled the nearly dozing audience.Before, everyone had only shattered space!But this Zhen could actually shatter space!?The destructive power was incredible!But facing this sword, Li An didn't even shy away, not even a flicker of evasion in his eyes.The sword slashed through his body. Li An was severed in half, but the next second he transformed into a blazing glow, once again standing before Zhen, only a scar remaining on his waist and abdomen.Zhen's eyes darkened slightly as he continued to strike his sword, snorting coldly, "Martial Intentions are not invincible!"Dense, destructive sword light crisscrossed the battlefield.Li An remained motionless, allowing the opponent to slash at him. In just over ten seconds, his entire body was covered in blood.In his first battle, Li An discovered that a large amount of essence and blood impurities remained within his body.After so many battles, his physical strength rating should have reached over 395.However, some of these essence and blood impurities hadn't been fully digested, so he sought the aid of Zhen's sword.Once fully digested, his physical strength would reach 400 points, reaching the mid-eighth realm, likely over 450 points, and beginning the process of cultivating the Three Realms Unified.As for Zhen's seemingly powerful sword light, Li An paid no heed.Offstage. Someone curiously asked the White Ghost Emperor, "Why didn't Li An dodge? Was it because he couldn't?""He was injured so suddenly. It seems inconsistent with his tone."The White Ghost Emperor glanced at the man and said, "From the first round, Li An gave up defense and allowed others to attack. He had only one purpose—to practice.""Whether he was practicing martial arts or something else, he wouldn't dodge.""It should be the same now.""Although I don't know what he's practicing, he's definitely training with a real sword.""This means he doesn't take the real thing seriously at all.""So he didn't dodge him." "The sword light.""Because it's not necessary."Zang, not far away, looked downcast. "Do you know what real sword light is?""Little brat, I've probably seen more of the world than your father." The White Ghost Emperor said disdainfully, "What's so mysterious about the Light of Chaos?""Chaos is nothing more than disorder.""That sword light wasn't like Bai Jianxin's, severing everything. It simply had the properties of Chaos Light, disrupting or even turning the order of the space it passed through into chaos. It looked as if its nature had been destroyed."Zang's expression changed slightly. "Isn't this more damaging than some kind of collapse?" "Almost," the White Ghost Emperor said calmly, "but it's ineffective against Li An, who has transformed into a martial spirit.""That's clear from the first strike.""His damage can indeed sever Li An's body, causing his structure to become chaotic.""But Li An, after transforming into a martial spirit, can easily restore the order of his body.""So, while the lethality of this sword light may be potent against others, it's completely useless against Li An. It's far inferior to Bai Jianxin!"Finally, the White Ghost Emperor even criticized mercilessly, "But all this is because Zhen is too weak. He can't fully unleash the power of the Chaos Light."" A sufficiently powerful Chaos attribute could completely destroy Martial Intention Transformation, and even Soul Transformation would be reduced to its original form by Chaos!""You haven't cultivated to that level yet!""Then this battle wouldn't be a foregone conclusion!""Li An is only cultivating. If he fights back, it'll be a one-sided massacre!"Zang angrily said, "He's truly in the Martial Master Division. He's definitely not as bad as you say!"The White Ghost Emperor, still scornful, said, "I don't know how you rank them.""I only know that in my eyes, don't even think of ranking him above Li An.""He definitely can't even beat me!"