Chapter 24: Bloody Battle!

“Damn this Dao brand!”
Jiang Ning’s face was icy cold.
He felt as if his limbs were weighed down by a thousand pounds, his movements growing sluggish, even the flow of spiritual energy at the tenth layer of the Aperture Opening Realm was being suppressed.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Yang Xiangtian showed no mercy. With the oppression of the Dao in his grasp, he advanced relentlessly.
Every punch landed solidly, and in terms of momentum, he was already overpowering Jiang Ning.
“He’s too strong…”
The onlooking inner sect disciples were all filled with fear.
The force of this clash seemed to tremble the very air; ordinary cultivators at the Aperture Opening Realm could never withstand such an impact.
“Jiang Ning can still hold on.”
“But he’s about to reach his limit…”
They didn’t possess the Dao brand within their bodies as Jiang Ning did, and they had no idea what he was facing.
Yet even while being suppressed, his strength was enough to leave them shocked.
“With this level of power, it’s no wonder he could defeat Senior Brother Wang Shuo and Zhao Feng in a single move.”
They had always refused to believe it. Jiang Ning’s “low profile” had taken root so deeply in their minds that no one wanted to think he might one day suddenly surpass everyone.
That he could stand against the two great geniuses of Idle Cloud Sect.
Now, they had no choice but to accept the truth. Those who had hoped to see Jiang Ning humiliated were mostly silent.
“How does he possess Dao oppression? Isn’t that the Yang elder’s Dao?”
Jiang Ning was baffled, but Yang Xiangtian had chosen to confront him head-on, his flying swords forming a domain, weaving between them. Jiang Ning not only had to fend off attacks but also dodge the flying swords that could strike at any moment.
“Boom!”
A flying sword exploded just as it neared Jiang Ning!
He managed to dodge, but the force of the blast still landed unerringly on him, sending him staggering backward.
Yang Xiangtian immediately pressed the attack, forming a seal with his hands as three more flying swords swept in from the side!
…
“There’s a fight happening over there!”
The intensity of the battle was so great that many people sensed the clash, and seeing that the disturbance was unusual, they all rode their rainbows to investigate.
“It’s Jiang Ning and Senior Brother Yang Xiangtian!”
“Jiang Ning is at a disadvantage, but he hasn’t been defeated!”
“So he really had hidden his strength before…”
Everyone was astonished.
With so many inner sect disciples, not all had witnessed Jiang Ning’s battle with Wang Shuo and the others, so doubts remained.
“Let’s see if you can walk away unscathed this time!”
Zhang Liyan had arrived as well, but this time she didn’t screech and curse like a shrew.
Her expression was hostile; she held grudges deeply. The memory of being ignored by Jiang Ning was still fresh, and she wished nothing more than to see him beaten into a dog, begging for mercy.
Only then could she feel slightly appeased.
Wang Shuo, too, was among the crowd. He had recently emerged from seclusion, still recuperating, and had wanted to regain his dignity by challenging Jiang Ning.
Now, realizing he was no longer a match for Jiang Ning, his heart was in turmoil, filled with a sense of helplessness and dread.
His Dao heart was already trembling with fear.
Zhang Zebing was there as well. After the shock he’d received at the Enlightenment Cliff the previous day, he had only just managed to recover, only to be struck down again by what he was witnessing.
…

Jiang Ning, at this moment, paid no heed to the gathering spectators.
He knew there was only one way to break the deadlock: victory.
“Hiss…”
Once again, both flying sword and man attacked together. Jiang Ning could only withstand Yang Xiangtian’s assault, but was once more nicked by a flying sword…
“Get out of my way!”
Despite the Dao oppression, Jiang Ning stood his ground.
No longer passive, he surged forward, spiritual energy roiling beneath his feet, heading straight for the flying swords!
“Boom!”
He was covered in blood, a ghastly sight.
All wounds from the flying swords, but now he struck out with a fist, spiritual energy roaring like thunder, crushing forward.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Gradually, he adapted to the Dao oppression, his speed increasing. Three punches in quick succession shattered three flying swords completely!
“Hmph…”
Yang Xiangtian seemed unconcerned; these flying swords were of no particular grade, their purpose only to wear Jiang Ning down.
He gave chase, treading atop a rainbow.
His chilling aura pressed down on Jiang Ning: “So, you’ve also reached perfection…”
After this bout, he’d discerned Jiang Ning’s foundations.
“Your physique truly is extraordinary…”
The very thing Jiang Ning had most feared was happening.
He was wounded—not gravely, but with blood flowing, his inner aura was leaking out.
He dreaded his Immortal Spirit Physique being exposed.
“There’s no time to delay! I can only hope Erhuang has found a weak point in the formation…”
After absorbing Erhuang’s bloodline power, a subtle connection had formed between them. Erhuang had been moving ceaselessly, searching for a break in the formation.
That was why Jiang Ning had fought so fiercely—to buy time.
Now, it seemed Erhuang had paused, lingering in one spot for a moment.
“It ends here.”
With more and more people arriving, Yang Xiangtian no longer wished to wait.
He conjured an abstruse Dao art, spiritual energy swirling into a mysterious seal.
“Azure Spirit Seal!”
An inner sect disciple recognized it—it was a Dao technique!
“That’s right, it’s the Azure Spirit Seal! I’ve seen an elder use it before!”
“But isn’t it only possible to cultivate Dao arts and techniques at the Body Tempering Realm?”
“Perhaps geniuses are just different from the rest…”
Everyone was astounded.
Jiang Ning’s expression was grave.
He sensed the immense spiritual energy gathering in the seal forming in Yang Xiangtian’s hands.
It was truly formidable.
“Bloodline, circulate!”
He focused on his dantian, then urged his bloodline to surge thunderously within his body.
His evolutionary method was not yet perfect; of the three first-grade bloodlines, he still lacked two. But for a short time, he could use the inherited secret art, exerting the pressure of his bloodline!

In that instant, the Dao oppression and the bloodline pressure counteracted each other. Though still present, it was now much reduced.
Yang Xiangtian seemed to sense this, but continued forming seals, spiritual energy gathering, while a cold glint flashed in his eyes!
“Spiritual Sense Attack!”
At the tenth layer of the Aperture Opening Realm, he already possessed spiritual sense—a power reserved for the Nine Heavens of Gods and Demons. Jiang Ning had it, and naturally, so did Yang Xiangtian!
“Then let’s do this!”
This was a brutal contest—both at the tenth layer of Aperture Opening.
Yang Xiangtian wielded Dao oppression, used the sect’s Dao arts, forcing them with his realm.
Jiang Ning, with his Immortal Spirit Physique, could use one-third of a first-grade bloodline.
Unfortunately, his evolutionary method was incomplete, and only a fragment of his inherited memories was unsealed. Otherwise, this battle would not have been so perilous…
“Boom!”
Spiritual senses collided—a wave imperceptible to any without spiritual sense. This was Jiang Ning’s first time truly using his own spiritual sense.
“My spiritual sense is stronger!”
He didn’t know why, but Jiang Ning could feel it. Without hesitation, he launched a ferocious assault!
“Hiss…”
Yang Xiangtian suddenly spat blood!
“What’s happening? Is it because he forced a Dao art before reaching the Body Tempering Realm?”
Everyone was at a loss.
“The final blow hadn’t even been exchanged—why did this happen…”
No one understood.
“Come on.”
Yang Xiangtian’s expression was no longer calm; it turned grim and twisted as the Azure Spirit Seal shot toward Jiang Ning, his figure closing in!
At the same time, Jiang Ning moved as well!
“Traverse the Void!”
He activated his inherited secret art, and two other passive secret arts simultaneously!
Wounds on his body healed, his speed surged!
Yang Xiangtian charged in with the Azure Spirit Seal. As the two crossed paths, the world fell into utter silence.
…
A moment later.
“Hiss—”
Yang Xiangtian spat a mouthful of blood skyward and slowly collapsed…
Jiang Ning, his white robes stained with blood, looked ethereal despite his injuries—like a banished immortal drenched in crimson.
He stood in mid-air, robes fluttering.
…
“So handsome…”
A junior sister actually uttered such a sigh at that moment…
The crowd, stunned, was left speechless…