"Sacred Sword Palace Wang Jing versus Dan Qian Palace Mu Gaoqi!"
With the referee's declaration, this battle officially commenced.
"Boy, are you going to kneel down and accept your death like a good little thing, or do you want your Lord Jing here to thrash you around before you die?" Wang Jing strode forward, the Whale King pressure at the peak of the eighth stage of the Origin Realm surging forth like towering waves crashing against the shore. It rolled up layer upon layer of overwhelming force, all of it hurtling toward Jiang Chen's side.
Jiang Chen couldn't help but laugh. Were the people of the Sacred Sword Palace always this naïve? As if bullying others was always perfectly justified.
If it were truly Mu Gaoqi standing here, this fight could very well have ended in disaster today.
Unfortunately, the one standing here today was Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen stood with his hands clasped behind his back, facing the wind, unmoving. Whether he had been stunned silly by the terrifying Whale King pressure or was simply someone with skill to match his boldness, no one could tell.
The spectators below the stage were all greatly startled when they saw this.
Everyone had heard of Mu Gaoqi's name across the various sects. But what they had heard was only about his alchemical talent. As for his martial talent, few held any expectation.
Yet now, seeing this scene, Mu Gaoqi had actually adopted such a stance.
This…
"Sect Master, could this kid Mu Gaoqi have been scared witless?" an elder of the Sacred Sword Palace whispered to Wang Jianyu.
Wang Jianyu was no ordinary fool—his eye for assessment was razor-sharp. He frowned. "This fight won't be simple. This kid Mu Gaoqi has been consistently underestimated."
"Oh?"
Wang Jianyu waved his hand. "Just watch. No need for further comment."
Wang Jing was a proud man, but at this moment, seeing that Mu Gaoqi across from him stood with hands still at his sides, simply bracing himself to receive the Whale King pressure head-on, he felt deeply offended!
"Boy, you really are ignorant and fearless. Today, I'll beat you back to your true form!"
In his fury, Wang Jing's hands rubbed together in rapid succession.
Strand after strand of qi current, like giant whales stirring the ocean, transformed into towering walls of pale white waves, continuously rolling toward the opposite side of the arena.
The tidal waves generated by the Whale King pressure were tangible and solid. The white, dragon-like crests churned relentlessly, and in an instant the entire arena was engulfed.
As the waves rolled, Jiang Chen's figure was swallowed whole within them.
"Ahh…"
A wave of sighs and laments rose from the crowd below.
Everyone had seen "Mu Gaoqi" standing there so calm and composed, and had expected some shocking display. Who could have guessed that Mu Gaoqi would be like a wooden dummy—not even bothering to dodge—simply swallowed up by the Whale King pressure head-on?
No matter what stunning techniques Mu Gaoqi might possess, once engulfed by the Whale King pressure and completely caught in his opponent's rhythm, what chance was there of putting up a fight?
Rumble, rumble!
The momentum of the Whale King's tidal waves was like a nine-heaven waterfall plunging into deep mountain gorges, like rolling thunder under a bright sky—each wave pressing down harder than the last as it surged toward the arena's center.
Each layer of the Whale King tidal wave carried the force of a thousand tons.
The furious onslaught unleashed by Wang Jing had produced not a thousand, but at least five hundred Whale King waves.
Five hundred Whale King waves layered together created a crushing force that could grind not just flesh and bone to paste, but even a mountain peak into dust.
Judging from Mu Gaoqi's strength, he was at most at the seventh stage of the Origin Realm. Under such a barrage of crushing waves, even if he wasn't pressed into meat paste, his bones and sinews would certainly be shattered. If things went badly, his internal organs could be crushed, and even his dantian sea of qi might be blasted to pieces.
"Aww, that's brutal."
"What a shame. I heard Mu Gaoqi was born with an innate Wooden Spirit Body."
"Dan Qian Palace really miscalculated this time. An alchemy genius—why bother joining this martial tournament?"
"Exactly. Palace Master Dan Chi was always one to plan every detail, but this time he truly misjudged. How could he not realize that the Sacred Sword Palace and Dan Qian Palace are mortal enemies? Of course the Sacred Sword Palace would have even more reason to crush their genius!"
"Hmm, and this Mu Gaoqi had the audacity to talk back to Wang Han earlier. The Sacred Sword Palace disciples have even less reason to let him off."
"This is simply a moth flying into a flame—suicide."
"Tsk tsk. I heard Mu Gaoqi was already being called the future Pill King in Dan Qian Palace. He was celebrating too early after all."
Amid the chorus of sighs below, some were gloating, some felt it was a genuine pity, and some couldn't have cared less.
Even Elder Liancheng felt a stir in his heart at that moment and couldn't help stealing a glance at Palace Master Dan Chi.
He was dying to see what expression this seemingly confident Palace Master wore now.
To Elder Liancheng's disappointment, Dan Chi's face was utterly blank, with even a faint trace of amusement at the corner of his lips, leaving Elder Liancheng thoroughly perplexed.
At one point, he even couldn't help but wonder—could it be that Palace Master Dan Chi had deliberately sent Mu Gaoqi to his death?
Though the thought was absurd, when weighed against the facts, that very absurdity seemed to make perfect sense and offered the best explanation for what was happening.
Meanwhile, on the other arenas, duels had already reached their conclusions.
Nearly all the Saint Realm prodigies had completed their third-round battles, eliminating their opponents in seconds.
Wang Han of the Sacred Sword Palace had already returned to Wang Jianyu's side.
Watching the Whale King pressure churn like dragons atop the stage, he felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction. If not for the sake of appearances, he would have nearly wanted to howl with delight.
"Looks like that kid is all talk. Now that he's actually on the stage, his true colors are showing."