Seeing
"Although this man's cultivation hasn't yet crossed into the Martial Ancestor realm, the depth of his aura is no less than my own," Nangong Xianyin thought, shaken. "If this man were to step into the Martial Ancestor realm, his strength would be truly terrifying."
Duan Jian stopped in front of
The two of them stood facing each other like that, and everyone in the hall cast curious glances their way.
They began to speculate about the relationship between Duan Jian and Nie Li. One was the foremost genius of the Formless Divine Sect, the other the sect master of the Feather God Sect — both were towering figures among the younger generation.
"Could there be some grudge between these two?"
"Hard to say. They're both supreme geniuses; a little rivalry between them wouldn't be unusual."
The crowd buzzed with whispered speculation. Sensing the atmosphere in the hall growing tense, Sect Master Xiu was just about to speak when Nie Li opened his eyes, a trace of satisfaction playing across his face.
Seeing Nie Li's eyes open, Duan Jian cupped his fists in a slight bow and said, "Master."
The moment those words left Duan Jian's lips, the entire hall erupted in shock.
"What did Duan Jian just say?"
"Duan Jian called Nie Li 'Master'?"
Everyone around them was stunned. Disciples of the Heavenly Sound Divine Sect, the Formless Divine Sect, and the Feather God Sect alike — all were thunderstruck.
Everyone had heard of Duan Jian's extraordinary, heaven-defying talent. Rumor had it that someone curious enough had investigated the top geniuses of every major divine sect and compiled a ranking. Without exaggeration, Duan Jian was the undisputed first.
Though no one knew Duan Jian's exact level, they guessed he was at the peak of the Dragon Path realm and had not yet stepped into the Martial Ancestor realm. On one hand, his cultivation speed was simply beyond imagination — in a short span of time he had risen from a nobody to the peak of the Dragon Path realm. On the other, even at the peak of the Dragon Path realm, the strength he displayed was likely no less than that of a Martial Ancestor.
Only Nie Li knew why Duan Jian's cultivation progressed so quickly, leaving everyone else so far behind in such a short time.
For one thing, Duan Jian's cultivation talent was genuinely heaven-defying. For another, his physical constitution was extraordinarily robust — with dragon blood flowing through his veins, his body's durability was simply beyond what any ordinary person could reach.
Beyond that, he had Nie Li's sacred medicines to thank.
Nie Li's sacred medicines were immensely potent. After an ordinary person consumed one, it typically took a month or more to fully refine and absorb all of its medicinal power. Take too much, and the body would explode from the overflow. But Duan Jian had no such concerns. The concentration of the sacred medicines he consumed was hundreds of times greater than what ordinary Martial Ancestor-level experts took — and he could fully refine the medicinal power in just ten days.
Given all of this, it was easy to imagine what level of cultivation Duan Jian had reached after all this time. His physical body, in particular, had evolved to a truly terrifying stage.
Yet such a prodigy had just called Nie Li "Master" with his own lips. The shock of it was almost impossible to comprehend.