Chapter 153: The Undisputed Number One on Screen!

"Ha!——"

Ye Zhanxin spat out a mouthful of blood, one eye closed and the other wide open, his body armor shattered by the slash. At the same time, disbelief flashed through his mind: *So strong!!*

An elder appeared, but unfortunately it was a step too late. Ye Zhanxin had already crashed a huge hole into the wall, his armor broken. Blood dripped from his corner of his mouth, his face deathly pale and extremely weak.

The elder hurriedly produced a healing pill and shoved it into Ye Zhanxin's mouth. Simultaneously, shock gripped him as he realized the Beast God Battles Heaven Technique was truly this powerful. Swallowing hard, he turned his head to look at Gu Fan on the martial stage, his eyes widening. *This is a prodigy! This person is definitely more terrifying than those arrogant geniuses! To actually succeed in cultivating such a terrifying martial art.*

Back on the stage, Gu Fan’s eyes regained their normal clarity, the battle aura dissipating from his body. The red blade of his scythe returned to its original black-and-white, the inner aura fading away.

His aura was somewhat weak.

This was the state of weakness; it seemed the backlash was arriving. Although he possessed the Annihilation Physique, this was his first time executing a hard-body self-detonation technique, so he was still somewhat unaccustomed to it, though he wouldn't be in the future.

"Gosh, is this guy a total freak?!" The onlookers below widened their eyes. *So strong! Really, really strong!* Just moments ago, they had all felt an invisible pressure, as if they were in the presence of a beast god himself. Meanwhile, the flying magical beasts in the nearby mountains had dropped flat onto the ground, shivering as if they had encountered a true king.

Realizing he might have overdone it, Gu Fan came to his senses, raised his head, and shouted, "Senior Brother Ye!"

Putting away his scythe, he ran down toward them, closely followed by Liu Qingsheng and Liu Tiandu.

By this time, Ye Zhanxin had taken the healing pill, subduing some of the heavier injuries, though his complexion remained deathly pale. Sitting slumped on the ground, his pale face carried a deep, contented smile.

"How do you feel?" the elder asked.

"Not bad. That move was too powerful, it injured my internal organs, but it's not a major issue now. Just feeling weak and powerless," Ye Zhanxin said, leaning his head back.

"If you weren't a six-star Dou Zun and that kid an eight-star Dou Zong, you should know what your condition would be better than I do, right?" the elder said with a frown.

Ye Zhanxin’s smile did not fade as he nodded and said, "I would be dead."

"Ha-ha!! But I'm happy today, truly happy! No regrets, no regrets at all!"

"Cough, cough——!!"

Ye Zhanxin laughed heartily, but the motion pulled at his wounds, and he couldn't help breaking into a fit of coughs.

"Senior Brother Ye!"

"Brother Ye!"

At this moment, Gu Fan and the other two ran over.

"Senior Brother Ye, I went a bit too... too heavy-handed just now. I didn't expect that technique to have such an explosive output," Gu Fan said with a hint of shame.

"Ha-ha, it's fine, what's done is done. My skills were simply inferior; a loss is a loss. You are very strong!" Ye Zhanxin laughed heartily.

"It's just that the cultivation technique I practice is strong. If not for this technique, I wouldn't have been able to win against Senior Brother Ye," Gu Fan said with a bitter smile.

Knowing that Gu Fan said this to save his face, Ye Zhanxin shook his head and replied, "Junior Brother Fan, you're wrong. Being able to cultivate such a powerful technique makes you formidable in your own right."

"And the manual you practiced is a hard-body technique; slightest carelessness could result in self-detonation," the elder interjected with a solemn yet appreciative expression. It seemed no one in the Spirit Heaven Sect had ever cultivated this Beast God Battles Heaven Technique to such a level. Long ago, there had been one... but in the end, he died from self-detonation—a fact known to almost all the elders in the sect.

Since Elder Du was in charge of the Scripture Pavilion, why would he allow him to study it? That was the one thing he couldn't figure out.

This matter had to be reported to the Sect Master. If such a brilliant prodigy were to accidentally detonate himself, it would be a massive loss for the Spirit Heaven Sect.

"Alright, I announce that the winner of Arena Number Thirty is—Gu Fan!"

The elder shouted to the surrounding crowd.

"Wow! I never expected Senior Brother Gu Fan to win!"

"Truly unexpected, never saw this coming!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!!"

"Too strong, that move just now was way too strong!"

Following the Great Elder's announcement, the crowd burst into lively discussions.

Turning to the four of them, the Great Elder said, "Alright, your matches for today are over. Don't be discouraged if you lost; keep working hard next year."

Then, looking toward Gu Fan, he added, "You are outstanding and a true prodigy. Keep up the good work in tomorrow's knockout matches, but don't push yourself too hard."

"Yes, I understand, Elder," Gu Fan said, cupping his fists in a bow.

The match at Arena Number Thirty had concluded, making it the fastest among all the arenas.

Just as the match on Arena Number Thirty ended, a screen flickered to life on the central martial stage.

"Arena Number Thirty Champion—Gu Fan!"

As the crowd gazed at the words displayed above, excitement surged, and they began discussing animatedly.

"Gu Fan? That name sounds very unfamiliar!"

"Who is Gu Fan?"

"He was actually the first to finish among all three arenas? Gu Fan must be very strong, right?"

"Not necessarily. Maybe his opponent's cultivation was low and he just got lucky?"

.........

The voices of the crowd enveloped the entire venue.

Up on the elders' platform, several elders looked at the screen above with astonishment.

"This disciple named Gu Fan seems rather unfamiliar. Is he a new disciple?"

"That shouldn't be the case. If he were a new disciple, we would have heard of him."

"I didn't expect the fastest match this year to come from Arena Number Thirty."

.........

The elders murmured among themselves.

Not long after, the results of the other martial stages began displaying continuously, moving as swiftly as a running ledger, line by line.

Naturally, the spectators discussed them one after another.

.......

Having descended the mountain, Gu Fan strolled slowly through the surroundings. He was still replaying the scene of executing the Beast God Battles Heaven Technique in his mind. At that exact moment, countless phantoms of magical beasts had continuously surfaced in his consciousness, bowing down before him in submission. Not a single one dared to resist, not a single one failed to tremble.

Every beast wore an expression of boundless desolation and terror.

Meanwhile, the shadow of the beast god stood tall in the vast heavens, its appearance obscure, its cultivation realm utterly unfathomable.

"Ji Mie, what kind of magical beast was that beast god?" Gu Fan asked within his mind.

He was extremely curious about this question.

Ji Mie shook his head and replied, "A beast god is beyond the comparison of ordinary magical beasts. He is the supreme existence among the true ancient beasts. A beast god is not a single entity, but a title attained by those with the capability. To this day, I have never laid eyes on the true appearance of a beast god."

Hearing this, Gu Fan instantly deflated. If even someone as ancient as Ji Mie had never heard of it, there was no point in asking further.

"However, I do know this: the beast god does not belong to the Dou Qi Continent, but to the myriad realms of the heavens. Furthermore, the Beast God Battles Heaven Technique you are currently cultivating is not complete," Ji Mie's voice echoed once more.

"Not complete?" Gu Fan was startled. If a technique this powerful was incomplete, how terrifying would the complete version be?

"Correct. The complete Beast God Battles Heaven Technique is not called the Beast God Battles Heaven Technique, but simply the Beast God Scripture," Ji Mie slowly explained.

"The Beast God Scripture? That sounds somehow weaker than the Beast God Battles Heaven Technique?" Gu Fan asked in shock.

"You know nothing. The Beast God Battles Heaven Technique is merely a derivative of the Beast God Scripture—just a tiny, tiny fraction of it. It differs from other hard-body techniques in that the stronger your strength, the greater the combat power it unleashes. However, the subsequent three volumes will lose much of their utility once you reach a certain level, and you will need to learn more advanced hard-body techniques. Still, it remains useful for slaughtering enemies, as its formidable might scales with your strength," Ji Mie said.

Gu Fan's brain cells scrambled to process this. The Beast God Battles Heaven Technique was merely a tiny fragment? Just thinking about the complete Beast God Scripture—if he were to learn that, wouldn't he soar straight into the heavens?

"Alright, kid, stop daydreaming. Go back and get a good rest; tomorrow's match is very important," Ji Mie said.

"It's still quite early, and there's nothing much to rest about. How about I go grab something to eat first?" Gu Fan smacked his lips and said. Although a Dou Zong expert didn't need to eat, dining was still an enjoyable experience.

Walking halfway, he suddenly slapped his forehead: "Oops, I forgot about my one million crystals! Since I won, I've got a million coming to me! No way, I have to go find that bastard." With that, he set off. The person who had set up the gambling pool was in for a miserable time, saddled with a mountain of debts.

If people tracked him down, he'd probably be hounded for repayment. What a bitter fate!

.............

..........

Meanwhile, high in the sky not far from the Spirit Heaven Sect, a massive purple magical beast soared past.

"My wives, our destination has arrived."

On the mount of the beast, Qian Mo held two women in his arms and said.

The two women nestled comfortably against Qian Mo's embrace.

Behind them, Ming Gui was tasked with taking care of the little fellow, practically acting as a nanny—no, an uncle-nanny.

The little fellow sat right on top of Ming Gui's head, hugging his head. One man held two beauties, while another had a child riding on his head.

Zi Xuan was flying through mid-air.

Since they were visiting his father-in-law's home, it was better not to fly too high, as it showed respect.

With this thought, Qian Mo nodded and said to Zi Xuan, "Zi Xuan, land near the Spirit Heaven Sect. Over at that small town ahead."

"Understood, Master." Zi Xuan replied.

Nodding slightly, the beast descended toward a small town ahead.

"Young Master, why did we suddenly stop? Could there be enemy forces?" Ming Gui hurriedly lifted the little fellow down from his head, scanning the surroundings vigilantly, searching the vicinity with his seven-star Dou Di cultivation.

"Enemy forces? Where would enemy forces come from? Have you been sealed away for so long that you've gone stupid?" Qian Mo glanced at him speechlessly and rolled his eyes.

Ming Gui was an expert from a previous epoch, equivalent to an extremely ancient figure from ancient times.

"Ah, so the Young Master has reached the destination?" Ming Gui asked tentatively, his old face turning red.

"Over there, see that massive misty mountain?" Qian Mo pointed toward a huge misty peak where the Spirit Heaven Sect was located. They needed to climb the mountain.

Qian Mo and the others were currently located at the foot of the mountain in a corner beneath the Spirit Heaven Sect.

One side was the mountain, the other was the foot of the mountain.

Zi Xuan transformed back into her human form and immediately returned to the Reincarnation World. Now, there were four people plus the little fellow left on the road, making five in total.

"Young Master, do you mean we're going to walk up from here?" Ming Gui pointed at the mountain ahead and asked.

As a dignified seven-star Dou Di, he was expected to walk into someone else's sect on foot? If word got out, where would he put his face?

However, it seemed he couldn't object either. Having not walked on his own two feet for so many years, he could just treat it as exercise.

"What? Do you have any objections?" Qian Mo asked, pausing before adding, "If you have any objections, you can voice them." This sentence clearly meant: *If you have any problems, bring them up.*

However, Ming Gui misinterpreted it as something else and frantically waved his hands. "Ah? No, what objections could I have? None at all, none at all."

He waved one hand while holding the little fellow with the other.

"Since there are no problems, let's wander around the town for a bit first. Let's see if there's anything to buy. Once we're done, we'll head up the mountain and buy some fruit as a courtesy gift," Qian Mo stretched lazily and said with a look of utter indifference. If the Spirit Heaven Sect dared to reject the fruit he gave them, they wouldn't be giving him face, and if they didn't give him face, he'd just beat them up.

"Wife, what kind of fruit does my father-in-law like to eat?" Qian Mo asked, leaning over.

"Ah, him? I don't know what he likes either... How about we just buy some random ones? Would he dare to refuse?" Ling Xuanting panted, puffing out her cheeks and making a small fist.

"Ha-ha, if your father-in-law finds out, he'll definitely be ticked off to death by you," Qian Mo laughed heartily.

"Come on, give your husband a kiss first." Saying this, Qian Mo shamelessly leaned in and kissed them both on the cheek.

"Aish, there are other people here!" the two women said shyly, pushing Qian Mo away with blushing faces.

"Other people? It's fine, there are no outsiders here. We're an old married couple, why are you still so shy?" Qian Mo said, then glanced at Ming Gui. Realizing the situation, Ming Gui immediately turned his head away and started whistling.

*I don't know anything, I don't know anything, I didn't see a thing, please continue.*

..........

Walking down the street, the group spotted an unattended fruit stall.

Qian Mo smiled slightly. Since no one was tending it, he would just go support the business.

"Let's go, let's go support them," Qian Mo said, putting his arm around the two women.

Stepping forward, Qian Mo asked, "Boss, what kind of fruit are these?"

The boss raised his head slightly and smiled. "These are Red-Snake Zhu Fruits."

"How are they sold? What's the price?" Qian Mo asked.

Hearing this, the boss grew somewhat pleased and said, "One hundred gold coins each."

"Pack up all of them for me. Here, take this," Qian Mo casually tossed a pouch of gold coins and said.

Overjoyed to find a genuine buyer, the boss was even happier when a pouch of gold coins came flying over. They were finally selling!

"Alright, alright, Boss, I'll pack them up for you right away," the boss said, nodding rapidly as he grabbed a nice bag and packed all ten Red-Snake Zhu Fruits inside.

He handed the bag to Qian Mo.

Qian Mo put it into his storage ring, led the group out of the town, and retrieved a red sports car from his system warehouse.

A sleek red sports car appeared before everyone's eyes.

Ling Xuanting was already familiar with it, but the others were astonished, especially Ming Gui, who frantically asked, "What the heck, Young Master? What is this red box? It looks so cool!"

"This is my ride, the Red Heavenly Emperor!" Qian Mo spouted nonsense, since he didn't know what it was called either.

"The Red Heavenly Emperor? This red box is the Red Heavenly Emperor? What is the Red Heavenly Emperor? Can this thing be sat in? How do you sit in it? How do you drive this thing?" Ming Gui spewed out a barrage of questions like an inquisitive child.

He was extremely curious and shocked by this novel contraption. It seemed his young master could pull out all sorts of unimaginable things...

..........

"Ah-ah!——"

"We're going to crash, we're going to hit something!"

Ming Gui shrieked wildly inside the car, his mouth wide open in terror.

"Alright, stop screaming like a ghost," Qian Mo said helplessly.

He turned the steering wheel sharply, made a turn, and pressed a button inside the car, causing the entire vehicle to lift off the ground directly.

Ming Gui let out another ghostly scream.

Clinging tightly to the handle, Qian Mo couldn't help but wonder how a dignified seven-star Dou Di could even suffer from motion sickness.

Forget it, he ignored him and flew straight toward the mountain peak.

Boom——!

A loud roar echoed from the rear of the car as it sped forward at high velocity.

..........

Inside the Spirit Heaven Sect

The grand tournament matches for today were partially completed, while others had yet to finish. Those still ongoing naturally involved opponents of comparable strength who required more time.

People gradually left the martial arts plaza to watch unfinished matches elsewhere, knowing those would undoubtedly be exceptionally exciting.

It was now noon, time passing in the blink of an eye.

Just a moment ago it had been early morning, and now it was already midday.

Gu Fan had successfully collected one million crystals from the person who had set up the bets. That fellow had been hounded by creditors, a pitiful sight to behold. When that guy handed over the one million crystals with an expression of sheer heartache—tsk, tsk—he truly deserved it. Why place such bets in the first place?

One-to-a-hundred payout? Hehe, now you've really paid with your life!

Holding the one million crystals, Gu Fan happily headed toward the dining area.

Right at that moment, a voice called out: "Fanzi!" The voice was exceedingly familiar. Gu Fan turned, blinked at the person, and said indifferently, "Oh, it's Senior Brother Mu. Senior Brother Mu, how did your matches go? Did you make it through?"

Qing Mu ran over, waved his hand, and said, "Don't ask, don't mention it. My luck this time was terrible; I kept running into people above the Dou Zun level. How is a seven-star Dou Zong like me supposed to fight? It was purely an exercise in self-torture... I was eliminated in the very first round. But I stayed there watching the whole time, oh my god, everyone there was an absolute expert. When they fought, they were soaring through the skies and shifting the earth—true gods fighting right before your eyes."

"That scene was so dazzling and cool! Tell me, listening to your senior brother, don't you also want to be that slick?"

Saying this, Qing Mu nudged Gu Fan's shoulder with a playful click of his tongue.

"Senior Brother, no need to imagine—I *am* that slick!" Gu Fan patted his own chest and declared.

"Hey, you punk, can't you be a little modest?" Qing Mu was speechless toward this ignorant junior brother. *Can you please not boast about how amazing you are?*

Suddenly remembering something, he asked, "Right, kid, how did things go in Arena Number Thirty? Did you bomb out in the first round? There's no shame in that, the first time is totally normal, just work harder next time. You're still young, you've got plenty of chances!"

At this moment, Qing Mu had not yet looked at the screen in the main hall and remained completely oblivious to the situation.

Had he known, he probably wouldn't have spoken like that, or at least would have phrased it differently.

"Senior Brother Mu, about that..." Gu Fan tried to speak, but before he could finish, he was interrupted.

"I know, I know, you just want to say we're birds of a feather, minor slip-ups don't matter, we'll get them next time. I understand all of that! Sigh."

Qing Mu gazed up at the sky, sighed dramatically, and patted Gu Fan's shoulder in consolation.

Gu Fan felt rather helpless. He patted Qing Mu's hand and said, "Senior Brother, that's not what I'm trying to say. I wanted to say..."

"I know, you want to say we should go back and cultivate hard for next time! That's what you mean, right!" Qing Mu interrupted Gu Fan once again, cutting him off. This time, Gu Fan had enough and shouted directly, "Senior Brother Mu, can you please let me finish talking first?!"

Startled by Gu Fan's sudden outburst, Qing Mu turned, nodded, and said, "Alright, alright. Which bastard pushed our Fanzi to this point? Tell me, who was it?"

Qing Mu still looked completely clueless, ready to beat the culprit up if necessary.

Exhaling a hot breath of exasperation, Gu Fan said, "First of all, Senior Brother, I passed."

"Ah! Ha-ha, Fanzi, you need to face reality. It's fine, failing the first time is no big deal!" Believing Gu Fan had been traumatized, Qing Mu hurriedly tried to comfort him, afraid the kid might do something foolish!

He definitely had to talk him through this!

"Senior Brother Mu, I'm not lying to you. I'm the winner of Arena Number Thirty." Gu Fan smiled wryly.

Qing Mu stopped in his tracks, examined Gu Fan's expression, and saw no trace of falsehood. Could he actually be the winner of Arena Number Thirty?

"Re... really? You didn't remember wrong?" Qing Mu asked, wanting to verify whether Gu Fan had suffered a mental hallucination due to the blow of failure.

"Really. I just got lucky and passed," Gu Fan nodded solemnly, his eyes devoid of any mockery.

"Could it actually be true?" Qing Mu muttered to himself, then suddenly remembered and shouted, "Right, we can verify this! How could I have forgotten?" Pulling Gu Fan along, he said, "Come on, follow me."

Yanked along abruptly, Gu Fan was momentarily dazed, having no idea what was happening. It felt quite bizarre—he dared not speak, dared not ask, and simply found the whole thing baffling.

就这样跟随了过去。

"My dear Senior Brother Mu, where are we going now?" Gu Fan asked in a concerned tone.

"To check if your brain got scrambled by failure. Over at the martial tournament plaza, there's a screen displaying the winners of every single arena. I'll help you face reality so you stop hallucinating," Qing Mu said as they walked.

Hearing Qing Mu's words, a series of question marks floated across Gu Fan's mind. *What kind of situation is this? What hallucination? When did my brain get scrambled by failure? How come I, the person involved, have no clue about any of this? Senior Brother Mu, I think the one whose brain got scrambled by failure is you! The one hallucinating is you!*

*It has nothing to do with me!*

Whatever, once they reached the screen at the martial tournament plaza, the truth would come to light. He was the winner anyway. Although he had humbly attributed it to luck, that was merely modesty. As for the existence of an information screen, Gu Fan was completely oblivious to it—having not stepped out of his doors for ages, that was hardly surprising, right?

Hehe!——