Chapter 507: Literary Bone and Xuanwu
On the Heavenly-level Battle Platform, Huang Shenyi and Xun Long had already begun their fight.
It must be said that both Huang Shenyi and Xun Long were extremely powerful, almost evenly matched. After exchanging one hundred and thirty moves, neither could claim victory.
"Sage's Flame."
Xun Long's expression darkened. He clasped his ten fingers together, forming fists, and tiny green flames erupted all over his body. His Confucian robes caught fire, crackling loudly as they turned to ash.
Beneath his skin, the meridians turned completely green, like chains of fire woven into a net within his body.
Huang Shenyi narrowed his eyes. "You've already cultivated the Sage's Flame to such a level. It seems your Literary Bone Saint Body has reached minor completion."
Xun Long possessed a saint body, known as the "Literary Bone Saint Body."
Generally speaking, only when one's cultivation reached the Fish-Dragon Realm could a saint body be cultivated to minor completion, truly unlocking its advantages.
A minor completion saint body could face a hundred opponents at the same cultivation level.
For example: a cultivator at the First Transformation of Fish-Dragon, with a saint body at minor completion, could single-handedly contend with a hundred cultivators also at the First Transformation of Fish-Dragon.
One person could overwhelm a group.
And most importantly, which of those who had broken through to the First Transformation of Fish-Dragon was weak?
Yet Xun Long's strength surpassed even other minor completion saint bodies. He had achieved minor completion of his saint body at the Great Perfection of the Heavenly Extreme Realm, which was nothing short of heaven-defying.
"A minor completion saint body isn't necessarily invincible at the same level."
Huang Shenyi's eyes turned incredibly sharp. At the center of his brow, a white light point appeared.
"Whoosh!"
A three-foot-long sacred sword flew out from his brow and landed in his hand.
Though it was called a sword, it had no blade, resembling instead a pen forged from black iron.
Huang Shenyi held the sacred sword, spinning it rapidly, and drew a sword circle three zhang in diameter around his body. A beam of light shot up, and at the edge of the sword circle, streaks of inscriptions emerged, suspended in midair, forming a formation.
Xun Long's arms were completely wrapped in green sacred flames as he punched out.
The formation's radiance rose, forming a curtain of light.
"Boom!"
With a single punch, Xun Long shattered the light curtain.
The force of the fist was unstoppable, reaching Huang Shenyi in an instant. It was easy to imagine that if the punch landed, Huang Shenyi's body would surely be torn apart.
Huang Shenyi's expression turned grave. He stepped back and used the sacred sword to draw another sword circle on the ground.
He drew seven sword circles in succession, forming seven formations, before he fully blocked the power of Xun Long's punch.
As Xun Long's punch ended, Huang Shenyi stepped forward and thrust his sword swiftly toward Xun Long's abdomen.
Although Xun Long had a minor completion saint body, he still dared not use his body to block a sacred sword.
He immediately retreated, widening the distance between them, then punched again, striking the sword's blade. With a loud bang, the sword's trajectory was knocked off course.
"Boom! Boom!"
The two continued to clash, locked in a fierce battle.
The battle platform was filled with sword light and flames.
The *Heavenly Ranking* stone tablet nodded in approval. "In martial arts, Huang Shenyi is a true prodigy. In the application of formations, he has reached the level of a master. In the way of the sword, he has achieved Sword Heart Illumination. If I'm not mistaken, his spiritual power has also reached the forty-first rank."
"This man has almost no weaknesses—he's a true all-rounder. At the same cultivation level, those who can fight him are few and far between."
"Xun Long is a young king of the Central Domain, hailed as a rare prodigy of the Xun Clan in a thousand years. Even the Wen Emperor, one of the Nine Emperors eight hundred years ago, was likely only on par with him in his youth."
The artifact spirit of the *Heavenly Ranking* nodded. "The Xun Clan of the Central Domain is one of the eight great medieval Confucian aristocratic clans, with a long heritage and profound foundations. For Xun Long to become the clan's millennium prodigy, he naturally has his exceptional qualities. However, while he can rival the Wen Emperor in his youth, reaching the Wen Emperor's heights will be very difficult."
The Yellow Extreme Realm, Mysterious Extreme Realm, Earth Extreme Realm, and Heavenly Extreme Realm were merely the four realms of mortals. No matter how high the talent displayed now, it only meant a stronger foundation. Whether one could become a saint was still unknown.
Let alone reaching the level of the Wen Emperor?
To become a saint, the most important factor was actually one's will.
Those with weak talent but strong will could instead take solid steps forward, gaining momentum and even surpassing others later.
Some talents who showed extraordinary aptitude in the four mortal realms, but lacked strong will, would lose steam, falling behind in the Fish-Dragon Realm, ultimately achieving little.
In the four mortal realms, no matter how high the talent displayed, even reaching the Supreme Extreme Realm in each stage, it only meant a higher starting point than other martial artists.
Only in the Fish-Dragon Realm could one truly determine who was a dragon and who was a fish.
If you were a dragon, you might advance from the First Transformation to the Ninth Transformation of Fish-Dragon in just a few years.
If you were a fish, even a lifetime of effort might yield little.
Of course, talent and will were only two factors; other considerations existed as well. Only those who excelled in all aspects could become candidates for the Realm Son.
Shengshu Cainü said, "With Xun Long's talent, he can indeed be considered a candidate for the Realm Son. Let's first record his name for further evaluation."
With that, Shengshu Cainü picked up her brush and wrote the words "Xun Long" on the scroll.
The artifact spirit of the *Heavenly Ranking* chuckled. "This era reminds me of a thousand years ago, when geniuses abounded. Yet in the end, only the Nine Emperors rose to prominence. The other geniuses either met untimely deaths or had their potential exhausted, ultimately failing to become the strongest. Dragons and fish contend, but those who can soar to the heavens are still a minority."
"The Nine Emperors are in the past. A new era has arrived," Shengshu Cainü said.
...
On the battle platform, a sudden change occurred.
"It's time to end this!"
Huang Shenyi clasped his hands together, holding the sacred sword between his palms.
Behind him, a black vortex appeared, devouring all spiritual energy and light. An ancient, powerful force merged with his body.
When that force erupted, every martial artist in the Martial Market Arena felt suffocated, trembling from the depths of their souls.
Xun Long also felt immense pressure. He raised his head, opened his mouth, and let out a roar.
"Crack!"
Xun Long's body emitted explosive sounds. His bones expanded outward, growing to three zhang in height, transforming into a giant flaming skeleton.
From the giant's bones, characters flew out, like stars in the sky, arranged in a strange pattern.
The power of the minor completion Literary Bone Saint Body was fully unleashed.
His bones were like a heavenly scripture, emitting surging sacred energy.
"Boom!"
With a single clash, both were sent flying backward.
The difference was that Xun Long fell off the Heavenly-level Battle Platform, while Huang Shenyi stood at its edge, half a foot still on the platform.
Xun Long's body shrank back to its original form. His eyes locked onto Huang Shenyi, who stood on the platform, somewhat dazed. "What power was that final sword strike of yours?"
Huang Shenyi also withdrew his power, speaking calmly. "The power of the ancient divine beast Xuanwu. I gained an opportunity while training in the Xuanwu Ruins Realm, inheriting Xuanwu's legacy. So, losing to me is no disgrace. Instead, you should be grateful—you're the first person to challenge me and survive."
"Is that so? You only won by half a move. Next time we fight, I might not lose to you." Xun Long was full of pride, unwilling to admit defeat. He snorted and returned to the viewing platform.
"The inheritance of the ancient divine beast Xuanwu?"
The martial artists present all gasped in shock.
On the viewing platform, Duanmu Xingling's expression turned grim. "Huang Shenyi's luck is too strong—he actually obtained Xuanwu's inheritance. It's said that Xuanwu's power can slay gods."
Huang Yanchen also frowned, a resolute look in her eyes. "Let me fight this battle. Huang Shenyi's strength is too terrifying. Even if Zhang Ruochen returns, he won't be his match. If someone has to die, let it be me."
"Sister Chen, do you think Huang Shenyi will stop targeting Zhang Ruochen after killing you? If you step onto the battle platform now, it's nothing but suicide," Duanmu Xingling said.
Not only Huang Yanchen and Duanmu Xingling, but even Ao Xinyan, who had always been confident in Zhang Ruochen, began to worry for him after witnessing Huang Shenyi's overwhelming power.
She prayed silently in her heart.
"Zhang Ruochen, don't come back. This is a dead end. In today's world, no one at the same cultivation level can possibly be Huang Shenyi's match."
If he returned, Zhang Ruochen would have to fight Huang Shenyi. The outcome was obvious—even surviving would be difficult.
Standing on the battle platform, Huang Shenyi fixed his gaze on Huang Yanchen. "Princess Yanchen, today is the final deadline. Since you agreed to fight me, will you honor your word? If you dare not fight, I won't force you. After all, you're a woman—fear is understandable."
"Huang Shenyi, are you mocking me?" Huang Yanchen stood up, her expression cold as ice.
Huang Shenyi said, "I wouldn't dare. After all, your mother is a Half-Saint of the Eastern Domain Saint Prince Manor. Mocking you would be mocking her."
Huang Yanchen clenched her five fingers, blue flames flickering in her sapphire eyes.
Atop the *Heavenly Ranking* stone tablet, Shengshu Cainü frowned slightly. She felt Huang Shenyi's behavior was too petty—threatening a woman far weaker than himself lacked a broad and magnanimous spirit.
Whether in the evil path, the righteous path, or the demonic path, those who became supreme overlords were almost never narrow-minded.
Just then, a calm voice came from outside the Martial Market Arena. "Huang Shenyi, don't you know that to challenge her, you must first defeat me? If you can't even beat me, what right do you have to challenge her?"
Zhang Ruochen, dressed in martial robes and covered in dust, walked in from outside. He had just returned from the Chaos Myriad Realms Mountain and immediately came to the Martial Market Arena.
In the Wood Essence Ruins Realm, Zhang Ruochen had spent nearly a month without proper rest or sleep, either training hard or fighting and killing tree men. Even with his strong spiritual power, he was barely holding up.
When he entered the Martial Market Arena, he looked weathered and exhausted, but his back remained straight as he walked toward the Heavenly-level Battle Platform. "You should know that she is my fiancée. Anyone who challenges her must first get through me."