Chapter 245 - 144: Clash of Divine Abilities, Charging into the Finals

Under this earth-shattering collision, the massive hundred-li arena swayed unceasingly, as if the entire world were trembling violently.

The violent roars and explosions were as endless as a surging tide, their resounding clamor shaking the heavens. Even through the defensive Array, it was as if thunder was booming right next to everyone’s ears!

The terrifying aftershocks instantly shattered the arena’s stone slabs—the very same slabs that an ordinary True Martial Realm Cultivator couldn’t even break.

With the point of impact as the epicenter, an area of the arena dozens of li in radius instantly collapsed as if struck by an earthquake, forming a massive crater.

Then, from the edges of the giant crater, cracks as thick as water buckets spread out, instantly extending across the entire hundred-li expanse of the massive arena!!!

At this moment, a profound defensive Array light shield had already risen at the edge of the arena, withstanding the terrifying aftershocks.

However, under the immense force of the impact, a few menacing cracks soon appeared on the defensive light shield, which was covered in Profound Mysterious Inscriptions.

In the audience stands, Ji Ba—a tall, thin man in a black robe, with a handlebar mustache and narrow, gleaming eyes—witnessed the terrifying display of power.

He couldn’t help but take a few steps back, then with a great show of false valor, pushed the others in front of him!

Meanwhile, below and outside the arena, the Deacon Referee was desperately pouring a massive amount of True Yuan into the defensive Array.

At the same time, he couldn’t help but curse under his breath:

"Fuck!

It’s this guy again..."

...

Upon the shattered remains of the arena,

The pure and ultimate Taiyi Thunder, like a Celestial Punishment, clashed wildly with the Heaven-Reaching Sword River that sundered the heavens and crushed the firmament. Their combined Divine Power flashed with a dazzling light that covered every corner of the world!

After a moment, within the brilliant light of the collision, Chen Qi’s Heaven-Reaching Sword River suddenly let out a CRACK and instantly disintegrated. The remaining Taiyi Thunder tore through layers of space, carrying the remnants of celestial might as it blasted toward Chen Qi!

"What?!"

Chen Qi’s face was pale. His Swordsmanship Divine Abilities, unleashed with all his might, had been so utterly and cleanly shattered by his opponent’s lightning.

His pupils widened as he watched the space-tearing Taiyi Thunder, like a Celestial Punishment, hurtle toward him. His heart sank.

But before he could even react, the terrifying Taiyi Thunder slammed into him in an instant!!

BANG!!

In that moment, Chen Qi was completely engulfed by the brilliant lightning. His body shot out like a bullet, crashing brutally onto the shattered stone slabs of the arena!!

The Deacon Referee observed Chen Qi’s faint aura and saw that he had lost all ability to fight, so he immediately declared Gu Yun the victor!

"He... he lost? Just like that?!"

The many Cultivators in the audience stared in a daze at Chen Qi, who lay defeated on the shattered arena with a weakened aura.

Just a moment ago, Chen Qi’s sword had summoned celestial might, its Divine Power vast, like a Technique that could suppress all things. And yet, he had still lost to Gu Yun.

"This is just too terrifying."

"Just how strong... is Senior Brother Gu’s true peak strength?"

Someone murmured, their face a mask of dumbfounded shock.

Gu Yun glanced indifferently at Chen Qi, who lay in the crater with a faint aura, completely unable to fight anymore.

’This guy was actually quite strong. That Vast Sword River that sundered the heavens and crushed the firmament had power approaching the Half-Step Tongxuan Realm.’

’And his Cultivation was only at the True Martial Ninth Layer Late Stage.’

’If he hadn’t run into me, he probably would have made it straight to the finals.’

’A pity... in the end, he ran into me.’

Then, Gu Yun turned and left the arena.

He waited quietly below the stage, closing his eyes to rest and regulate his condition.

...

Time flew by like a shuttle, swift as an arrow.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten days had passed.

Within those ten-plus days,

the matches in Group Nine had concluded.

Gu Yun fought five matches and won five matches—a grand slam!

He was utterly dominant, crushing all who stood in his way.

He took first place in Group Nine,

advancing to the finals!!

In all five battles, Gu Yun finished his opponents within dozens of moves.

Even the strongest among them only managed to withstand a few more of his Thunder Techniques before being defeated dismally.

At the same time, because of Gu Yun’s exceptionally brilliant performance,

he came to be known as the biggest dark horse of this year’s Inner Sect Grand Competition!!

After much observation from the crowd,

it was clear Gu Yun’s strength was the real deal, perhaps even rivaling that of a Half-Step Tongxuan!!

This left many people marveling. To have come this far in his thirties...

This made some Cultivators, who had lived for over a hundred years yet were still stuck in the First or Second Layer of the True Martial Realm, feel a heart-wrenching bitterness. They suddenly felt like they’d wasted their lives completely.

Only after others persuaded them by pointing out people in even more miserable situations did they slowly come to terms with it.

Now, Gu Yun had advanced to the final round,

truly ranking among the top ten of the Inner Sect!!

Because of this,

some people began to compare Gu Yun to the top three strongest disciples of the Inner Sect:

’Divine Spear’ Lin Tianyi,

’Celestial Sword’ Xuanyuan Hong,

’Overlord Saber’ Chen Yuan.

This immediately sparked fierce debate and arguments among the crowd.

"Those three are ranked in the top three of the Profound Celestial List! With their strength, they could even fight on par with a Tongxuan True Monarch. How could Gu Yun possibly compare?" an Inner Sect disciple shouted, loudly disagreeing with the crowd.

"That’s right. Senior Brother Gu is powerful, but he’s ultimately too young. He still needs more time to mature," a disciple next to him added in agreement.

"That’s a load of fucking bullshit!

So far,

Senior Brother Gu has been invincible!"

one of Gu Yun’s loyal fans yelled back, furious and embarrassed.

For a moment, the entire plaza erupted in a chaotic and intense flurry of arguments.

...

At this moment, after more than ten days of competition, the semifinals had finally ended.

One person from each of the ten groups, a total of ten people, would participate in the final tournament of this Inner Sect Grand Competition to vie for the championship. At this news, almost every Cultivator in the vast plaza erupted in excitement!!

Meanwhile, in the crowd, a man with a sturdy and powerful build, a resolute face, and wearing a black Profound Robe glanced at the few powerhouses on the plaza who had advanced to the finals, his expression complicated.

He then looked over at Gu Yun, who was resting with his eyes closed, a flash of admiration and respect in his eyes.

Xiao Chen couldn’t help but let out a heavy sigh.

In the end, he still lacked the ability to compete with the top True Martial Cultivators of the Profound Celestial Sect.

In the semifinals, after winning two matches in a row, he had encountered a senior brother from the Sect at the True Martial Ninth Layer Peak, whose strength was comparable to a Half-Step Tongxuan.

His own Cultivation was only at the True Martial Seventh Layer Peak. How could he possibly defeat a senior brother from the Sect who was at the Half-Step Tongxuan level?

And so, after giving it his all and exchanging dozens of moves, he was ultimately defeated with deep regret!

But after his defeat, he had left a deep impression on that senior brother who was comparable to a Half-Step Tongxuan. The senior brother undoubtedly thought he was too monstrously talented and that, given time, he would surely rank among the strong.

Even so, he couldn’t help but sigh again.

’My Cultivation is still too weak...’

’If my Cultivation were just a little higher, I wouldn’t be in this position.’

’But in the end, there are no ’what ifs’.’

But soon, a glint of light flashed in Xiao Chen’s eyes.

He then clenched his fists tightly.

’To have fought my way into the top thirty of the Grand Competition with a Cultivation at the True Martial Realm Seventh Layer Peak...’

’I... I really did my best.’

’So what if I don’t have monstrous talent like Brother Gu?’

’So what if I’ve been stopped here?’

’So what if I couldn’t advance to the finals?’

’I have never lacked the courage to face failure!!’

He knew his talent was somewhat ’lacking,’

but he possessed an incredibly astonishing willpower.

He also had an extremely mysterious, ancient, and powerful ’Master’ from the starry sky beyond this Domain.

Even if he was temporarily behind now, he was confident he would be able to catch up in the future!

His tightly clenched fists gradually relaxed.

HUFF!

He took a deep breath.

It was as if his thoughts had suddenly become clear and enlightened.

A confidence as unshakeable as a great boulder flickered in his eyes.

At the same time, a shackle deep within his heart let out a CRACK.

The Realm bottleneck that had plagued him for so long suddenly loosened.

An unprecedentedly majestic power began to radiate from him invisibly.

Xiao Chen’s figure flickered and then abruptly vanished from the vast plaza.

Meanwhile, deep within his mind, an exceedingly terrifying and ancient soul phantom, its eyes as endlessly profound as starlight, gave a slight nod and praised him in secret.

’This child is teachable.’