My Martial Dao Has No Bottlenecks

The crowd below erupted once more.

This year’s newcomers were one more ferocious, one more freakishly talented than the last!

All eyes turned to Liang Cheng, the top newcomer, and he did not disappoint.

He slowly walked onto the central stage. His calm gaze swept over the crowd below before finally landing on the Black-robed Steward as his voice rang out clearly:

"I, Disciple Liang Cheng, challenge Senior Brother Lin Yuan, who is ranked forty-eighth on the Hero Ranking."

The moment he finished speaking, the entire arena fell deathly silent.

You could hear a pin drop.

Everyone was stunned, thinking they had misheard.

Forty-eighth place?!

Lin Yuan was at the True Essence Realm Middle Stage Peak! He was a veteran expert who had held his spot on the Hero Ranking for over a decade!

His Fiery Sun Palm was incomparably ferocious, a technique that even average experts at the True Essence Late Stage wouldn’t dare to face head-on!

And Liang Cheng...

A newcomer at the True Essence Realm Early Stage who had only joined the academy a month ago was directly challenging the forty-eighth-ranked expert?!

After a brief, dead silence, the uproar exploded like a volcanic eruption, sweeping across the entire plaza!

"Has he gone mad?! Challenging the forty-eighth-ranked person on the Hero Ranking?!"

"Senior Brother Lin Yuan is at the Middle Stage True Essence Peak! Liang Cheng is only at the Early Stage. Even if his combat prowess is exceptional and he defeated both Qin Wentian and Xiao Qingxue, they were only at the True Essence Early Stage too. This leap is just too great!"

"Arrogant! He simply doesn’t know his place!"

"Now this is going to be a good show! A really good show!"

On the high platform, the few Masters also looked astonished.

Chen Xuanfeng glanced at Ye Zhiqiu, who shrank back slightly. A flash of understanding crossed Ye Zhiqiu’s eyes. ’Looks like my third disciple is the one who put this pressure on Liang Cheng.’

Still, he felt a sense of anticipation.

The Black-robed Steward was also taken aback by his words. He confirmed, "Liang Cheng, are you certain you want to challenge Lin Yuan, ranked forty-eighth on the Hero Ranking?"

"I’m certain."

Liang Cheng’s tone was steady. He had studied the Hero Ranking, and Lin Yuan was the strongest person below the True Essence Late Stage Realm—the perfect opponent to test his skills against.

Chen Xuanfeng had told him to get the best result he possibly could, and he had no intention of ignoring that advice.

"Very well."

The Steward wasted no more words. Channeling his True Essence, his voice boomed across the area. "Liang Cheng challenges Lin Yuan, ranked forty-eighth on the Hero Ranking! Lin Yuan, do you accept this challenge?"

A crimson figure shot out from the crowd like a blazing flame, landing heavily on the stage.

The newcomer was a burly man of about thirty. He was bare-chested, his muscles knotted like iron, and his entire body radiated a scorching heat, as if he were a human furnace.

It was none other than Lin Yuan.

He stared with wide, bell-like eyes, looking Liang Cheng up and down. His voice boomed like a great bell. "Kid, you’re new to the academy, the top dog among the newcomers. You’re riding high, I get it. But challenging me? Who gave you the guts?"

Liang Cheng cupped his fist. "Senior Brother Lin, I ask for your guidance."

Lin Yuan snorted. "Guidance? Fine! Then I’ll ’guide’ you, alright! I’ll teach you that there’s always someone stronger, a bigger world out there!"

As his palms moved, crimson True Essence flared to life, and the temperature on the stage suddenly soared!

"Fiery Sun Palm—Mountain Incineration!"

He thrust out his palm, and a searing heatwave rolled forth. Before the Palm Force even reached him, a scorching gust of air rushed at Liang Cheng, threatening to roast him alive!

Liang Cheng’s expression hardened. He didn’t dare to be careless in the slightest.

The nine True Essence Light Groups within his body trembled in unison. He instantly activated his Mixed Element Gang Body to its fullest extent. A faint golden light flowed beneath his skin, and the Zhenxian Saber let out a clear, piercing ring.

Wind and Thunder Slash—Wind Rises!

The light from his saber flared like a sudden gale, meeting the palm strike that seemed capable of incinerating mountains and boiling seas!

The saber’s light and the palm’s force clashed violently!

BOOM—!!!

Scorching shockwaves and chaotic Sword Qi blasted outward in all directions, instantly scorching the stage’s bluestone tiles black and causing them to crack.

Liang Cheng felt a violent, scorching power travel up the blade of his saber. A numbness crept up his arm, and he was forced back three steps—THUD, THUD, THUD—each footfall leaving a shallow pit in the stage.

Lin Yuan only swayed slightly, a flash of astonishment in his eyes. "Oh? You managed to take my Mountain Incineration palm head-on without getting hurt? Your Protective Hard Skills are rather interesting!"

Up on the high platform, the Masters finally saw what was happening.

"The Mixed Element Gang Body!?"

"Old Monster Chen, your disciple’s aptitude is simply freakish!"

Chen Xuanfeng smiled but said nothing, though he was nervous deep down.

’Every prodigy in the Main Courtyard is a figure of astonishing combat power.’

’Liang Cheng’s Cultivation is only at the early True Essence Realm, after all. I just hope he doesn’t get seriously injured.’

’Time... it’s so precious!’

Though Lin Yuan was still talking, his hands hadn’t slowed in the slightest. He channeled his crimson True Essence once more, his palm strikes blotting out the sky as they surged forward, one wave after another like a great tide!

Fiery Sun Palm—Stacking Waves!

Each wave of Palm Force was stronger than the last. The scorching aura sealed off the surrounding area, creating a suffocating sensation as if one were trapped inside a furnace.

Liang Cheng’s Broken Wave Technique was itself a Stacking Technique, so he was intimately familiar with this principle. Knowing he couldn’t meet the attack head-on, he unleashed his Wandering Dragon Step to its full potential. His body weaved and dodged through the gaps in the fiery palm strikes. It looked incredibly dangerous, yet he always managed to evade the fatal blows by a hair’s breadth.

Meanwhile, his Zhenxian Saber transformed into streaks of blue and purple lightning. He executed the moves of his Wind and Thunder Slash in a continuous flow, meeting speed with speed and using finesse to break power, specifically attacking the tiny openings that appeared as Lin Yuan transitioned between palm strikes.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! BANG!

The clash of saber on palm and the boom of exploding Qi Force were incessant.

In the blink of an eye, thirty exchanges had passed.

Although Liang Cheng hadn’t taken a direct hit, his clothes were already scorched yellow and curling from the searing palm wind. Even the air he breathed felt fiery hot.

Lin Yuan, for his part, grew more and more shocked the longer he fought.

’This kid’s Cultivation is clearly only at the True Essence Early Stage,’ he thought. ’The density of his True Essence should be far inferior to mine, but his Body Technique is astonishing, and his Saber Technique has reached Perfection. What’s even more irritating is that unpredictable Finger Sword he keeps using with his left hand.’

’That grayish-black Sword Qi is bone-chillingly cold and directly counters the attribute of my Fiery Sun True Essence. It always strikes at the most critical moments, just as I’m about to exert my full power. It disrupts my Qi Blood, making it stagnate just enough that I can’t unleash my full Palm Force.’

"Kid, is dodging all you know how to do?!"

Unable to land a decisive blow after attacking for so long, Lin Yuan’s anger flared. With a furious roar, the crimson True Essence around his body suddenly contracted before erupting outward like a volcano!