Chapter 385: The Battlefield Escalates
The battle between Xu Yuanzhi and Si Xingkong was exceptionally fierce. No one had expected that a mere student from the Demon Ridge could hold out for so long against the fourth-ranked young expert of the Xu Holy Clan.
"That student from the Demon Ridge seems to be only at the mid-stage Heavenly Extreme Realm. He isn't blocking Xu Yuanzhi with profound cultivation, but with his physical constitution," said an outstanding talent from the Eastern Domain Holy King Manor.
His cultivation had already reached the Minor Extreme Position of the Heavenly Extreme Realm, allowing him to see through Si Xingkong's level.
"If I remember correctly, Xu Yuanzhi's cultivation has reached the late-stage Heavenly Extreme Realm. Could that Demon Ridge student's constitution be even stronger than Xu Yuanzhi's?"
The Eastern Domain Holy King Manor's outstanding talent shook his head. "Not necessarily. Xu Yuanzhi hasn't used his full strength from start to finish, while that Demon Ridge student has already been pushed to his limit and could lose at any moment."
On the Sacred Pilgrimage Stairway, the battle between the Xu Holy Clan's genius students and Si Xingkong and Chang Qiqi grew increasingly intense.
Seven or eight genius students struck simultaneously, surrounding Si Xingkong and Chang Qiqi in the center. They unleashed various martial techniques—some with Heavenly Gang True Qi, others with lightning radiance—creating a tremendous spectacle.
After refining the dragon blood, the two had become powerful enough, but their opponents were students trained by a Saintly Clan, none of whom were weak.
"Xu Yuanzhi, if you can't take him down, let me cripple him instead," said a female student from the Xu Holy Clan with a somewhat dark complexion, her voice cold.
Her name was Xu Su, and she was formidable, also at the late-stage Heavenly Extreme Realm. Among the younger generation of the Xu Holy Clan, she ranked fifth, only slightly weaker than Xu Yuanzhi.
Xu Yuanzhi sneered. "A mere country bumpkin student from some backwater place? Who says I can't take him down? I'm just using him to practice my palm techniques. If I go all out, I can cripple him in three moves."
The reason Xu Yuanzhi had fought Si Xingkong for so long was mainly to show off and demonstrate his strength to everyone present.
After all, opportunities to fight on the Sacred Pilgrimage Stairway weren't common. Only during the Saint Academy examination did such a chance arise, with the whole crowd watching.
Perhaps even Half-Saint-level existences were paying attention to this battle.
"Big talk. Who says a place as small as the Demon Ridge can't produce peerless heroes? Today, I'll make you descendants of Saintly Clans and Half-Saint families witness the style of the Demon Ridge's students!"
Duanmu Xingling charged up the Sacred Pilgrimage Stairway, circulating her true qi. A golden dragon force radiated from her body, and two small dragon horns grew above her forehead.
"Sizzle, sizzle!"
Golden electric light flowed between the two dragon horns, then burst forth, surging through her entire body before converging in her palms.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
She struck out with two palms, sending two Xu Holy Clan students flying off the stairway, spitting blood.
Duanmu Xingling shook her arm, and the golden electric light condensed into an electric sword. She swept it through the void, piercing the protective Heavenly Gang of three Xu Holy Clan genius students in one stroke.
"Cloud-Turning Rain-Calling!"
"Nine Nether Gang Qi!"
"Overlord Fist Force!"
The three students hastily unleashed their martial techniques—some with palms, some with fists—but they still couldn't block the sword qi Duanmu Xingling slashed out. They tumbled down the stairway like rolling gourds.
The sword qi carried a freezing cold force, coating the three students in a layer of white ice crystals.
On the Sacred Pilgrimage Stairway, martial artists couldn't carry weapons. However, if one reached the peak realm of the sword following the heart, they could condense a sword from Heavenly Gang True Qi.
The true qi sword Duanmu Xingling condensed contained the force of thunder dragon electricity and freezing power, making its might extraordinary—far beyond what ordinary students could withstand.
"Another expert has appeared from the Demon Ridge?"
"Is the Demon Ridge really just a barren, barbaric land? How can it produce so many powerful people?"
...
Duanmu Xingling's intervention shocked the entire crowd once again. Many found it unbelievable.
At the same time, the words she had just spoken greatly displeased the descendants of Saintly Clans and Half-Saint families present, essentially offending all of them.
A descendant of a Half-Saint family sneered. "The Demon Ridge students are quite arrogant, wanting us to witness their style."
"I hope the Xu Holy Clan can be tough enough to suppress those ignorant country bumpkins from the Demon Ridge, so I don't have to step in myself," said a descendant of a Saintly Clan, cracking his knuckles, his voice icy.
Zhang Ruochen had long known that Duanmu Xingling was the type to stir up trouble and cause chaos, but he hadn't expected her to actually do it—dragging all the Half-Saint families and Saintly Clans into the conflict.
How would this end?
The situation had spiraled out of control. Not only were the Xu Holy Clan's genius students furious, but the descendants of other Saintly Clans and Half-Saint families were also rolling up their sleeves, ready to teach the Demon Ridge students a lesson.
"Have you noticed? Duanmu Xingling's displayed strength is exceptionally powerful—far surpassing even the senior brother. Could she have been hiding her true strength all along, only revealing it today?" Chen Xier said.
The power Duanmu Xingling had shown was indeed overwhelming. In just an instant, she had knocked down five Xu Holy Clan geniuses.
Zhang Ruochen had long suspected that Duanmu Xingling's identity was unusual and that she must have concealed her cultivation. He thought to himself, "Perhaps even the strength she's showing now isn't her true power. What exactly is she trying to do?"
Zhang Ruochen felt that Duanmu Xingling wasn't a brainless woman. Dragging all the Saintly Clans and Half-Saint families into this must have been premeditated—she had planned to do it all along.
As the Holy Maiden of the Moon-Worshipping Demon Sect, since she had decided to enter the Saint Academy, she naturally wouldn't settle for being just an ordinary holy disciple.
She wanted to become a disciple of a Half-Saint, or even a Saint.
Only then could she have the chance to rise to the upper echelons of the Martial Market Academy and the Martial Market Bank in the future.
Why had she chosen to train at the Demon Ridge Martial Market Academy in the first place? Naturally, to keep a low profile and avoid the Martial Market Academy uncovering her true identity.
Who would have thought that the Holy Maiden of the Moon-Worshipping Demon Sect had been training in a place like the Demon Ridge for several years?
If she had entered the Eastern Domain Holy City's Martial Market Academy from the start, the vast intelligence network of the Martial Market Bank headquarters would likely have exposed her true identity long ago.
The longer she trained at the Martial Market Academy, the lower the academy's suspicion of her would be, making it harder to uncover her true identity.
But today was different.
Today, she had to display enough talent to catch the attention of the Saint Academy's upper echelons.
The greater the commotion she caused, the more attention she would receive from the Saint Academy's high-ranking officials.
So, as soon as she acted, she immediately declared war on all the Half-Saint families and Saintly Clans.
Of course, by doing so, Duanmu Xingling also dragged Zhang Ruochen, Huang Yanchen, Luo Shuihan, and the others onto her war boat, offending all those Half-Saint families and Saintly Clans.
There was no other choice. As the Holy Maiden of the Demon Sect, she had to do this.
Because she had planned this all along, she had felt guilty and worried this morning, frowning even when Zhang Ruochen asked if something was on her mind, refusing to say a word.
"How bold! Someone dares to oppose our Xu Holy Clan? Let's see how much weight you really have!"
Xu Su, the fifth-ranked young expert of the Xu Holy Clan, was originally standing on the thirty-seventh step of the stairway. Her eyes locked onto Duanmu Xingling as she dove straight down, striking out with both palms.
Two streams of true qi surged from her palms, manifesting as two python true qi shadows, baring their fangs as they lunged at Duanmu Xingling.
Duanmu Xingling didn't back down. She swung her true qi war sword, executing a sword technique.
"Shattering Moon!"
Duanmu Xingling raised her arm, channeling true qi into the war sword, and slashed fiercely, easily cutting through the two true qi pythons.
The palm seal Xu Su had struck dissipated into nothingness, losing its threat.
In an instant, Duanmu Xingling struck again, thrusting her sword toward Xu Su's left ribs.
Xu Su was also skilled. She executed a profound movement technique, turning into a blur as she sidestepped, evading Duanmu Xingling's sword strike.
The two tangled together, with Duanmu Xingling gradually gaining the upper hand, forcing Xu Su to retreat step by step.
In another direction, the battle between Xu Yuanzhi and Si Xingkong had also reached a fever pitch.
Xu Yuanzhi stopped holding back. He erupted with full force, unleashing three consecutive palm techniques, each more violent than the last, surging toward Si Xingkong like three waves of water.
"Boom!"
The palm force broke through Si Xingkong's protective Heavenly Gang, striking him in the chest and sending him stumbling back nine steps.
Fortunately, the dragon blood protected his body, leaving him with only minor injuries and no serious harm.
Huang Yanchen, who had already climbed to the forty-seventh step, looked down at the chaotic battlefield below. Over a dozen Xu Holy Clan genius students had surrounded Duanmu Xingling, Si Xingkong, and Chang Qiqi.
Her eyes turned cold. She turned around and leaped down. "Bullying the few with the many—what kind of skill is that? I'm also a student of the Demon Ridge. Today, let's see whether the Xu Holy Clan is stronger or the Demon Ridge is stronger!"
Huang Yanchen swung her arm, slashing out a seven-meter-long wind blade toward the Xu Holy Clan genius students.
With Huang Yanchen joining the battle, the melee between the Xu Holy Clan and the Demon Ridge escalated further, spiraling beyond control.
Zhang Ruochen showed a bitter smile. He glanced at Luo Shuihan and said, "It seems this battle today is unavoidable."
Luo Shuihan let out a soft sigh, also feeling helpless.
Neither Zhang Ruochen nor Luo Shuihan wanted things to escalate to an irreparable point. After all, Saintly Clans wielded immense power and valued their reputation highly. Even if they won against the Xu Holy Clan today, they would be slapping the clan's face in front of everyone. Would the Xu Holy Clan swallow that insult?
With their current strength, offending a Saintly Clan so deeply would bring no benefit whatsoever.
But things had already reached this point. They couldn't just watch Si Xingkong, Duanmu Xingling, and the others fight the entire Xu Holy Clan alone. They had to step forward!