Chapter 230 - 137: Senior Brother, You’re So Hard
Evidently, he recognized Gu Yun. In fact, he had long since heard of him.
He greatly admired Gu Yun, who had risen from humble beginnings to become a top expert of the Inner Sect, a supreme prodigy even within the entire Eastern Profound Domain.
Yet he had never wanted to face Gu Yun in the arena.
But fate was a cruel mistress. It pitted his meager True Martial Sixth Layer Cultivation against a top Inner Sect expert whose power was comparable to the True Martial Peak.
He knew he had no hope of winning.
But no matter what, he couldn’t just surrender. He had to use his strongest move to see how wide the gap truly was between him and a top Inner Sect expert. He needed to know if he, too, could one day become a powerhouse like his opponent.
At this thought, He Yuan took a deep breath, assumed a combat stance, and his gaze turned incomparably resolute!
"Senior Brother Gu, please guide me!"
On the other side of the arena stood Gu Yun, his robes fluttering and his long hair dancing in the wind. A trace of surprise flickered in his otherwise placid eyes.
Gu Yun normally wouldn’t have paid any mind to an opponent of no renown. But the man had spoken with such humility, placing himself in a lower position, that Gu Yun had assumed he would surrender without a fight.
Yet here he was, fully aware of the chasm between their strength, still possessing the courage to fight. This made Gu Yun look at him in a new light.
"Junior Brother, please!"
Gu Yun returned the gesture, clasping his hands in salute.
"Match, begin!"
Offstage, the Sect’s Deacon Referee gave the command after confirming all the information was correct.
But the two on stage remained motionless.
Only a gentle breeze whispered across the arena floor.
"Junior Brother knows he is no match for you, Senior Brother, but I am unwilling to simply give up, so I will use my strongest move right from the start. Please, Senior Brother, taste its power!"
The moment his voice fell,
He Yuan erupted with a vast surge of True Yuan.
A determined light glinted in his eyes.
His entire aura seemed to transform,
drawing upon the very energy of heaven and earth.
He then stomped his foot forward,
and the hard stone slab beneath him instantly shattered.
With another forceful push, he shot into the air like a streak of light.
Then, channeling the energy of the world, he thrust a palm strike downward with ferocious might!
BOOM!
In an instant,
the swirling winds in the sky converged into a vortex.
From within this vortex of crackling lightning, a massive, pale-gold Palm Seal descended as if it had crossed through countless other dimensions.
The palm contained the four poles of Wind and Thunder, seemingly capable of suppressing all things,
exuding an infinite sense of pressure!
"Excellent!"
Seeing the immense Palm Seal with its world-suppressing Momentum, a sharp glint flashed in Gu Yun’s eyes.
His opponent’s Palm Seal shared a striking similarity with his own Desolate Heaven-Imprisoning Palm. Both were utterly tyrannical, as if made to suppress everything in existence.
He watched as the incomparably tyrannical, thousand-zhang-wide, pale-gold Palm Seal descended from the void, accompanied by a boundless Momentum. It crushed the space in its path, blanketing the sky as it bore down to suppress him!
Lightning flashed in Gu Yun’s eyes. He raised a hand, opening his palm toward the sky.
In an instant, the surrounding area was filled with crackling thunderbolts that hissed and radiated a terrifying power.
"Celestial Thunder Hand!"
Immediately, the sky full of lightning converged, forming a colossal Hand of Celestial Thunder.
In the next moment, the giant Hand of Celestial Thunder tore through space. Like a divine Celestial Punishment of Thunder, it surged upward with vast Divine Power, smashing into the all-suppressing Palm Seal!
BANG!
The two attacks collided, instantly creating a violent upheaval.
The surrounding space churned like a boundless, turbulent sea,
shaking violently!
Then,
the massive Palm Seal that He Yuan had unleashed, the one seemingly containing the four poles of Wind and Thunder, shattered like glass in an instant!
The Celestial Thunder Hand continued on, unstoppable, and slammed into He Yuan’s chest. He was sent flying off the arena, crashing into the ground and creating a human-shaped crater. Rubble flew everywhere, and a cloud of dust filled the air.
Gu Yun gazed down at He Yuan in the crater below, a trace of respect in his eyes.
’To dare throw a punch at someone stronger... That quality is worthy of respect!’
...
Soon, Gu Yun’s second-round match was over. Only two more rounds until the finals.
Afterward, Gu Yun returned to the area below the stage.
He first watched a few other matches, taking in the dazzling array of Techniques, Martial Techniques, and Secret Techniques. He witnessed the clash of various Cultivators using their ultimate trump cards, and he couldn’t help but feel impressed. ’It’s truly an eye-opening experience.’
"Senior Brother, so this is where you were!"
Just as he was about to sit down and meditate to prepare for his next match, a woman called out to him. She had appeared suddenly not far away, dressed in a long white gown that hugged her exquisite figure. Her aura was otherworldly and pure, like a lotus blooming from the mud, untainted. Her face was stunningly beautiful, with bright eyes and pearly teeth.
Shangguan Yinling’s figure flickered, and in an instant, she was beside Gu Yun.
She touched Gu Yun’s shoulder.
Her face flushed slightly as she said softly,
"Senior Brother, you’re so hard!"