Lightning crackled around Yu Tianze, and he transformed into a streak of purple light, appearing in the arena in the blink of an eye. He stood with his hands behind his back, his magnificent robes billowing, exuding an aura of dominance. Among all the cultivators present, none could match his bearing. Mu Zirun felt momentarily dazzled and quickly sat up straight, ready to admire his peak master’s heroic figure.
Meanwhile, Yu Tianze’s opponent entered the arena. Yu Tianze looked at his opponent and thought him utterly repulsive, with a weasel-like faceand shifty eyes. However, to his surprise, this guy was the same opponent he had faced in his previous life. Only, in his previous life, due to his declining strength, his victory, though won, was hard-won. Now, things were different. Even his cultivation level was a level higher than his opponent’s.
The handsome young man opposite him also felt incredibly unlucky. He was only a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, and although his own strength was decent, he wasn’t exactly a top figure within his entire sect, while Yu Tianze was the undisputed leader of the Jiuyang Sect’s Nascent Soul realm.
As fellow mid-level sects, how could Liu Zhanghe possibly fare well against Yu Tianze? Not to mention, their Haijiang Sect and the Jiuyang Sect were constant rivals, and Yu Tianze had a bad temper; he definitely wouldn’t show any mercy. Liu Zhanghe could already imagine his miserable end.
Liu Zhanghe felt bitter inside, but outwardly maintained a polite demeanor, saying, “I’ve long admired Brother Yu’s reputation; please show mercy.”
Yu Tianze remained cold and silent. Of course, he wouldn’t show mercy. Hmph, this guy’s suddenly acting like a coward; why wasn’t he this polite in his past life? Remembering how he’d been mocked and humiliated by this guy while dragging his “crippled body,” and how the guy’s underhanded tactics had left him choking on blood, he wanted to teach him a lesson.
Liu Zhanghe was completely unaware that his humility and subservience had backfired, though he was even less aware that whatever he did now was wrong; karma from his past life had led him to this point, and being used to treating people differently based on their status was bound to backfire.
And so, the battle began. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Yu Tianze’s body blazed with intense lightning. In the next instant, he reached forward with his right hand, and between his fingers appeared a massive hammer. Yes, his favorite magical weapon was a long-handled hammer with sharp edges, its head as large as a vat’s mouth, and its handle three feet long, made entirely of metallic minerals, weighing a thousand pounds, requiring divine strength to wield.
Moreover, whenever it was used, the power of lightning and fire would flow from the hammer, and ordinary magical weapons would only shatter after being struck a few times. Mu Zirun was somewhat stunned. He never expected his peak master to use such a magical weapon. Just how immense was his strength? For some reason, he suddenly felt a sense of crisis. What if he accidentally angered his peak master, and the peak master accidentally gave him a light tap
He swallowed hard, deciding to go back and search the system for some kind of Vajra Body Protection Technique to practice. Not only Mu Zirun, but the other onlookers, mainly the Nascent Soul cultivators who might face Yu Tianze, all had pale faces. Their bodies were indeed strong, but that hammer seemed even stronger.
How would they deal with Yu Tianze if they encountered him? If the onlookers were like this, one could imagine how terrified Liu Zhanghe must have been. He took a deep breath, his face green, and pulled a pair of jet-black spheres from his sleeve. Then, he eagerly threw them out. Yu Tianze swung his arm, raising his long-handled hammer and smashing it down on the sphere.
”Bang! Bang!”
A violent explosion rang out, and flames shot into the sky. The moment the giant hammer struck, everything else dissipated. The sphere did indeed contain immense energy, but this energy was utterly powerless against the giant hammer, instantly shattering into dust without even touching Yu Tianze. Immediately afterward, Yu Tianze didn’t stop, moving quickly to strike Liu Zhanghe with the hammer again.
Liu Zhanghe had just used the moment he threw the sphere to release several layers of protection and donned his protective armor, but even so, he couldn’t dodge in time. He felt a tremendous force crashing down on him and was struck squarely, instantly flying ten feet backward. Yu Tianze sneered, not stopping his attack.
He found Liu Zhanghe quite amusing; trying to buy time by using a thunderbolt to attack a lightning-fire attribute cultivator like himself? It’s important to understand that this Thunderclap Spear was forged from lightning and fire energy, and while it was undeniably powerful, it was utterly useless against him. However, Yu Tianze’s thinking was simplistic.
Liu Zhanghe wasn’t unaware of the Thunderclap Spear’s limited use; rather, the moment he saw the long-handled hammer, he knew that any magical weapon he unleashed would only be destroyed. He simply couldn’t understand why someone who wasn’t a body-refining cultivator, and already possessed such powerful lightning and fire energy, would resort to such a barbaric weapon. Didn’t it seem too menacing? No wonder Yu Tianze was disliked! Helpless against Yu Tianze’s relentless onslaught, Liu Zhanghe could only feel his protective shield crumbling layer by layer. He hadn’t even had time to use any supernatural abilities before being pummeled senseless.
Then, disregarding everything else, he quickly summoned a large seal imbued with the power of earth, hoping to withstand the onslaught. But the seal, which had just transformed into a mound of earth, was smashed open by the oncoming hammer. He released another flying sword, but before it could even unleash its sword energy, it was bent by the hammer. He also released a long silk ribbon, thinking that this time he could use softness to overcome hardness. But the hammer still came, and the ribbon was charred black by the lightning and fire released by the hammer as soon as it wrapped around him. This was truly despairing.
Finally, the last layer of protection was also on the verge of collapse. Liu Zhanghe could feel that terrifying power constantly eroding him, even making him feel suffocated. Finally, after realizing that his true energy was already consumed by seventy or eighty percent, he admitted defeat.
”I concede!” He begged to be spared.
As soon as he finished speaking, the protection shattered, and that enormous hammer stopped just above his head, a foot away. If he had cried out even a little later, his head would have been decapitated. But even so, Liu Zhanghe was covered in a cold sweat.
The pressure was just too great. Yu Tianze glanced coldly at Liu Zhanghe and withdrew his hand. The enormous hammer was like a feather in his hands, easily handled without any difficulty. Then, the hammer quickly shrank and was retracted into his body. Immediately, Yu Tianze turned away, refusing to look at the disheveled Liu Zhanghe or utter any sarcastic remarks, and soared into the air to return to his position on the stone platform.
The knot in Liu Zhanghe’s heart had been untied after swinging the hammer so many times. Silence fell.
After a long while, one of the cultivators who had fought Yu Tianze before said with a grim expression, “Hehe, Fellow Daoist Yu’s strength has improved again, truly making one sigh in admiration.”
Another, whose face had also been beaten, said with a dark expression, “It seems Fellow Daoist Yu will definitely be in the top ten this time.”
Yet another’s lips twitched, “Yes, indeed extraordinary, haha.”
But no matter what, most people’s inner thoughts were probably… “I hope I don’t run into him again!”
After Yu Tianze returned, he saw the little brat hurriedly stand up and say to him, “Welcome, Peak Master, you’ve worked hard.” He had enjoyed beating him up, and now seeing someone greet him made him feel quite pleased.
He looked closely and found that there was no fear or flattery in the little brat’s eyes, and he was no different from before. He was immediately pleased. He thought for a moment, then coldly said, “Hmph, not worth mentioning.”
Mu Zirun paused, then couldn’t help but laugh, “Peak Master is naturally the most powerful. May Peak Master win every battle!”
Yu Tianze’s expression relaxed a bit: “Thank you for your kind words.”
Several more matches followed, which were part of the elimination matches, and the Nascent Soul cultivators fought very excitingly. However, perhaps because of Yu Tianze’s fierce and powerful attacks earlier, the subsequent battles were relatively uneventful. Although their martial arts skills were all very high and their spells were very impressive, none of them could match Yu Tianze’s imposing presence.
Mu Zirun watched and watched, and he also felt bored.
He thought, no wonder his Peak Master was always so uninterested; this was really meaningless. After a few hours, the first round was over. Yu Tianze watched them all, and he also felt strange. In his memory, there were some skilled fighters among the sects that fiercely competed with the Jiuyang Sect. But after seeing them all, including the ones he remembered, they didn’t seem as formidable as he had imagined. Those who were particularly difficult to deal with before didn’t seem so unbeatable now.
And indeed, in the second round, Yu Tianze encountered the same Qianyi Sect cultivator who had previously given him a hard time, and once again defeated them by a few blows. In the third and fourth rounds, he truly lived up to Mu Zirun’s wish of “victory in every battle,” remaining undefeated. Even the chief disciple of a powerful mid-level sect that had once made it into the top ten was defeated by him.
After returning, Yu Tianze looked at his palms and paused slightly. If defeating his first opponent had somewhat eased his inner turmoil, then repeatedly encountering and defeating opponents who had previously caused him great suffering had left him somewhat numb. Yu Tianze felt that he seemed to understand something again.
This life and the previous life were truly completely different.
He had always been confident, and now perhaps he could be even more arrogant, truly arrogant.
