Cultivation: I Have a Skill Level Panel

He was utterly beneath his notice.

"Junior Brother Pei,"

"this Xin Shikui is no good,"

"if you go along with him, be careful you aren’t devoured, bones and all!"

Poised in mid-air, clad in a black robe with eyes as sharp as a hawk’s, Zhang Jing spoke slowly, his voice low.

Upon hearing this, Xin Shikui snorted coldly.

"I’m no good?"

"As if you, Zhang Jing, are any better?!"

Pei Ye remained silent, letting his silence speak for itself. In his heart, however, a plan was forming to maximize his own gains.

If he could secure the Cyan Profound Spirit Yang Fruit and acquire some other treasures on the side, that would be ideal.

Suddenly,

a clear, resounding voice echoed across the sky.

"My, everyone seems to be in high spirits!"

"I believe this Cyan Wood Fruit is destined to be mine."

"Who here... agrees? And who objects?!"

There in the sky above,

a handsome youth suddenly appeared, clad in a white Profound Robe. He exuded an invisible but immensely powerful and profound aura.

But as the crowd heard his words,

the scene fell completely silent.

It was a boundless quiet,

so profound you could have heard a pin drop.

Pei Ye looked up, his pupils contracting.

’It’s him!’

he cried out inwardly.

He couldn’t help it; the man had left a truly deep impression on him.

Xin Shikui, however, just let out a sneer.

"Hahaha,"

"are you kidding me?!"

"Do you really think the Cyan Profound Spirit Yang Fruit is something you can lay your hands on?!"

"Now, piss off!!!"

Xin Shikui’s sneer twisted into a savage grin, his entire demeanor becoming menacing.

Gu Yun remained silent and expressionless at his words.

Yet, a cold glint flashed in his eyes as a Heaven-Reaching Sword Intent radiated from him, threatening to slice the very void to pieces.

In an instant, a long saber appeared in his hand, and he swung it in a vicious slash.

A terrifyingly sharp Sword Qi, thousands of feet long and infused with ultimate Sword Intent, soared into the sky. It tore through the fabric of space like a meteor streaking across the heavens.

It descended like a river of stars, a world-encompassing slash accompanied by a Sword Intent that pierced the very firmament, hurtling down toward Xin Shikui!

In that instant,

as he stared up at the Heaven-Reaching Sword Intent that fell like a river of stars,

Xin Shikui’s pupils constricted. He couldn’t help but feel a profound sense of danger.

’This guy actually attacked without another word!’ Then, a burning rage erupted within him.

’This bastard!’

’Who the hell does he think he’s looking down on?!’

A savage light glinted in Xin Shikui’s eyes. A sea of True Yuan erupted from his body, a torrential flood of immense power that surged into the surrounding space.

Xin Shikui stomped hard, twisting his body and drawing back his fist before unleashing a ferocious punch.

A thousand-foot-long Fist Seal, condensed from immense True Yuan, surged upward against the tide. Like a colossal meteor, it crushed the void in its path before violently colliding with the terrifying Sword Qi that filled the sky!

BOOM!

The two powerful attacks collided in mid-air, creating a massive explosion in an instant.

The surrounding void shattered like glass.

The entire world shook violently, like a tsunami surging across a boundless ocean!

A terrifying storm of True Yuan swept out in all directions.

The fearsome shockwave obliterated the towering ancient trees for dozens of kilometers below!

The immense Fist Seal and the supremely sharp Sword Qi clashed.

But within a single breath, the massive, meteor-like Fist Seal was utterly shredded by the Sword Qi, which was imbued with the ultimate sharpness of Sword Intent.

The Sword Qi continued on, tearing through the void as if to sunder all of existence, then descended upon Xin Shikui with overwhelming force!

"This... How is this possible!"

Xin Shikui’s pupils shrank to pinpricks as he cried out in shock.

His mind reeled as if battered by a tempest!

His mountain-heavy Fist Seal had been shattered in an instant.

But in the next moment, his heart sank.

The brilliant light of the saber, accompanied by incomparably sharp Sword Qi, tore through the sky, descending upon him in an instant like a falling star!

’No escape!’

’No way out!’

In that split second, as his expression shifted wildly,

a glint of cyan light flashed in Xin Shikui’s eyes.

He swiftly formed a hand seal, and a sea of pale cyan True Yuan erupted from his body. Guided by an unseen force,

the dense, majestic, life-filled cyan True Yuan coalesced into a massive, hundred-foot-long cyan dragon. It shimmered with brilliant light and let out a roar that shook the very space around it.

The dragon then coiled around Xin Shikui, forming an indestructible Wooden Round Shield to block the heaven-sundering, supremely sharp Sword Qi!

BANG!

As the incomparably sharp Sword Qi struck the Wooden Dragon Shield,

a powerful explosion erupted instantly.

The surrounding void trembled violently, like rolling ocean waves.

In the next moment, cracks instantly appeared on the majestic Wooden Dragon Shield under the assault of the supremely sharp Sword Qi.

In just a moment, cracks spread across its entire surface like a spiderweb.

Then, with a loud BANG,

it shattered like a clap of thunder!

The supremely sharp Sword Qi then tore through the void and struck Xin Shikui with vicious force!

The defensive Spirit Armor Xin Shikui wore rang out with the sound of scraping metal—CRACK! CRACK!

Then, he was blasted backward like a cannonball, crashing into the ground below.

CRASH!!

The supremely sharp Sword Qi instantly carved a deep abyss thousands of feet long into the earth.

The residual Sword Qi, imbued with ultimate Sword Intent, pulverized everything in the vicinity!

Xin Shikui lay at the bottom of the chasm,

on the verge of death and covered in his own blood. It was a truly wretched sight.

If not for the defense of the Wooden Dragon Shield and the protective Spiritual Artifact he wore, his injuries would have been far more horrific.

At this moment,

the scene fell silent once more.

It felt as if the entire world had gone still.

You could hear a pin drop.

Watching from mid-air, Zhang Jing’s eyes widened, his face a mask of pure shock.

’One move!’

’He defeated his old rival, Xin Shikui, to this extent in just one move!’

’Doesn’t that mean he could destroy me in one move too?!!’

At this thought, Zhang Jing couldn’t help but draw in a sharp, cold breath.

’This guy... he can’t be from my Celestial Wood Dao Peak, can he?!’

Nearby, Pei Ye was no less shocked, his eyes wide in disbelief.

He couldn’t help but exclaim inwardly, ’He’s gotten stronger again!’

"I was informing you,"

"not negotiating with you. Understand?"

Gu Yun’s cold voice drifted down from the sky.

For a moment, his voice was like the whisper of the Death God, radiating an intensely oppressive feeling.

In that instant, both Zhang Jing and Pei Ye lost all thought of the Cyan Profound Spirit Yang Fruit.

It couldn’t be helped.

In the Cultivation Realm,

might makes right!

If you couldn’t even withstand a single one of his moves, what gave you the right to contend for it?

Zhang Jing managed to force a smile and said,

"I can see that this Cyan Wood Fruit is destined to be yours, Sir."

"I only came here to take in its fragrance,"

"to broaden my horizons. I never had the slightest intention of taking it for myself!"

Pei Ye, beside him, also forced a smile and added,

"Brother Gu, it has only been a few days, but it feels like decades!"

"I too feel that this treasure was fated to be yours,"

"and it rightly belongs to Brother Gu. I only came to admire its form and scent,"

"I wouldn’t dare take it rashly, for it is clearly fated to be with Brother Gu!"

Hearing this, the corners of Gu Yun’s mouth curled up slightly.

"You two are truly magnanimous, far beyond what an ordinary person could manage."

"In that case, Gu will gladly accept these two Cyan Profound Spirit Yang Fruits!"

As his voice faded,

Gu Yun took a light step in the air, sending out ripples as if across the surface of water.

Then, as if traversing space itself, he instantly appeared before the glowing Spirit Tree.

With a wave of his hand, he placed both Cyan Profound Spirit Yang Fruits into his Storage Space.

Zhang Jing watched this scene unfold,

his heart bleeding in anguish.

’It hurts, it hurts so much!’

’If I had just acted before he arrived, I might have gotten at least one Cyan Profound Spirit Yang Fruit.’

’Now I leave with nothing!’

As for Pei Ye, he watched Gu Yun’s technique for picking the Spirit Fruit.

’Isn’t he a little too fast!’

’Too practiced!’

’He’s so practiced it’s painful to watch!’

After stowing the two Cyan Profound Spirit Yang Fruits in his Spatial Ring in an instant,

Gu Yun’s figure flickered once more,

and he reappeared, poised in mid-air.

A corner of his robes fluttered in a nonexistent wind.

A satisfied smile touched his lips.

He then turned to Zhang Jing and Pei Ye.

"I must thank you both for this."

"If not for your magnanimity,"

"I fear I would have had to expend a bit more effort!"

Hearing this, the corner of Zhang Jing’s mouth twitched.

Inwardly, he was cursing Gu Yun and his ancestors for eighteen generations,

but his face remained impassive as he forced another smile and said,

"Think nothing of it, friend."

"It’s only right, only right."

...