Chapter 40: The Stone Tablet of Enlightenment

Lu Xingchen said calmly, "Defeating you should not be much of a problem."

Qin Hao said in a deep voice, "Jiang Qing, Sun Wen, come and help me. Let's take this guy down as quickly as possible."

Lin Jing also stepped forward to stand beside Lu Xingchen.

"You scumbags of the Five Virtues Sect, have you forgotten about me, Lin Jing?"

Channeling her battle qi, Lin Jing took her stand next to Lu Xingchen.

Qin Hao was slightly startled.

"Lin Jing? You've actually advanced to the Great Martial Master realm too?"

Lin Jing let out a cold snort. "In order to annihilate the Five Virtues Sect, I will only grow stronger!"

"Sun Wen, go deal with Lin Jing first. Leave this Lu Xingchen to me and Jiang Qing."

"Understood!"

The five figures clashed fiercely in the center of the plaza.

Although Qin Hao was two minor realms higher than Lu Xingchen, Lu Xingchen possessed multiple innate talents, especially "Berserk" and "Devour," which drastically amplified his combat power.

For a moment, the three of them fought to a complete standstill.

On the other side, relying on a reckless, life-risking fighting style, Lin Jing completely suppressed Sun Wen.

Wounds quickly began to appear on both of their bodies, but the number of injuries on Lin Jing was far fewer than those on Sun Wen.

The longer the battle dragged on, the more alarmed Qin Hao became.

*Damn it all, how on earth can this Lu Xingchen be so ridiculously strong?*

"Jiang Qing, use that ultimate technique!" Qin Hao shouted loudly.

"Alright!"

The two of them retreated a few paces simultaneously and pressed their palms together.

A massive cyan tree formed from concentrated battle qi materialized in front of Jiang Qing, and Qin Hao immediately channeled his fire-attribute battle qi into it.

The tree of battle qi began to blaze fiercely, transforming into a gigantic fireball.

Lu Xingchen furrowed his brows.

Judging by the looks of it, Jiang Qing's battle qi possessed the wood attribute, while Qin Hao's possessed the fire attribute. The two elements complemented each other, capable of unleashing terrifying destructive power.

As expected of a Holy Son of the Five Virtues Sect, he was actually capable of executing such a collaborative dual-attack technique!

Not daring to lower his guard, Lu Xingchen instantly unleashed the "Azure Dragon Slash" while simultaneously activating "Jade Shatter."

Half of the battle qi within his body vanished in an instant, traded in exchange for a fivefold surge in offensive power.

The two sides thrust their hands forward at the same time, and that colossal fireball shot through the air toward Lu Xingchen like a meteor.

Lu Xingchen also brought his blade down in a downward slash, sending an azure dragon soaring toward the two opponents.

The fireball was overwhelmingly massive, easily the size of a grown man.

Meanwhile, the azure dragon was only about the size of an arm.

Yet who could say for certain that size dictated victory?

The two streams of battle qi locked in a stalemate in mid-air for a fleeting moment, before the azure dragon brutally pierced right through the center of the fireball, continuing its flight toward Qin Hao and Jiang Qing.

In the nick of time, Qin Hao could only shove Jiang Qing out of the way, crossing his arms protectively in front of his chest to take the full brunt of Lu Xingchen's attack head-on.

He was sent flying backward by the sheer impact, coughing up a mouthful of blood in mid-air before violently crashing into a pillar at the edge of the plaza.

Panicking immensely, Jiang Qing rushed over to Qin Hao's side.

Qin Hao was a resilient fighter, however. Despite suffering such grievous injuries, he struggled and managed to stand up under his own power.

Spitting out another mouthful of blood, he spoke in a resolute voice, "Fall back!"

The three of them fled the scene at maximum speed.

Lu Xingchen stopped Lin Jing, who was on the verge of pursuing them. "Don't chase."

Lin Jing asked with a hint of confusion, "Holy Son, why shouldn't we pursue them? This is a prime opportunity to wipe out the forces of the Five Virtues Sect! As long as these three Holy Sons perish, the very foundations of the Five Virtues Sect will be shaken to its core."

Lu Xingchen said in a deep voice, "If my guess is correct, Qin Hao must be wearing some sort of close-fitting protective inner armor, which is the only reason he survived my full-power strike without dying. My battle qi has already been depleted by more than half. Even if we gave chase, we wouldn't have the capacity to finish off all three of them."

"Rather than wasting time, we'd better secure the opportunities right in front of us first. The next time we cross paths with them, finishing them off will only be that much easier."

Lin Jing nodded heavily. "Understood. Your reasoning is sound."

Lu Xingchen handed a Rejuvenation Pill to Lin Jing.

"Senior Sister Lin, your fighting style is far too ferocious. You're a massive consumer of Rejuvenation Pills!"

Showing no hesitation, Lin Jing took the pill and swallowed it in one go.

"You really are a wealthy tycoon, tossing around precious medicinal pills as if they were nothing."

The two of them walked back to where Hu Junfeng and the others were waiting, sitting cross-legged together to recover their battle prowess.

Disciples from the other sects could only linger around the perimeter of the plaza, not daring to cross the boundary by even a single step.

"Damn, this Lu Xingchen is simply too monstrous! He defeated two Great Martial Masters single-handedly! And he's only at the Seven-Star Martial Master realm."

"Let me calculate this: Lu Xingchen is a Seven-Star Martial Master, while Qin Hao is a Three-Star Great Martial Master. He leaped across a full six minor realms!"

"I'm afraid even Lin Xu wouldn't possess such terrifying combat power, would he?"

"With Lu Xingchen around, the soaring Heaven Sect can finally hold their heads high!"

An hour later, Lu Xingchen had restored his condition to its absolute peak.

The moment he opened his eyes, he noticed a luminous curtain of light manifesting in the center of the plaza.

Inscribed upon the light curtain were lines of text.

"Within the Enlightenment Plaza, there are ten stone stelae. Disciples may sit upon the prayer mats before the stelae, touch them with their hands, and comprehend the martial arts of the Primordial Genesis Realm. Only after all ten positions are claimed will the stelae be activated."

The disciples from the other sects also caught sight of these words and instantly broke into heated discussions.

"It seems these enlightenment stelae are the main event of this trip to the Primordial Genesis Realm!"

"I have to go try my luck. If I can comprehend a powerful martial art, my future will be set for life."

"Try your what? Didn't you see Lu Xingchen still sitting right there? Who would dare contend with him for a spot?"

"But there are ten stelae in total, right? Who knows, maybe one of them will fall to me?"

Previously, the disciples of the other four major sects had been intimidated by Lu Xingchen's overwhelming strength, keeping them from entering the plaza.

Now, however, driven by the temptation of the luminous text, their desires were thoroughly ignited. One after another, they stepped into the plaza and gathered around the ten stone stelae.

Lu Xingchen clapped his hands together and spoke in a commanding tone, "Cease your cultivation for now. Let's secure the enlightenment stelae first."

The other six members opened their eyes simultaneously.

Li勤 expressed some apprehension. "I am merely a Seven-Star Martial Master, the weakest among us. There are still several powerful Great Martial Masters present on the scene. I'm afraid an enlightenment stelae might not fall to my turn."

Lu Xingchen stated firmly, "As the Holy Son of the Soaring Heaven Sect, it is my responsibility to strive for benefits for all of you. Among the seven of us, every single person shall claim a stele. If disciples from any other sect harbor objections, they will first have to answer to my shadow sword."

Hearing these words, everyone looked at Lu Xingchen with a gaze burning with admiration.

Such a declaration was nothing short of overwhelmingly domineering.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Lu Xingchen walked up to the first stele and sat cross-legged upon the prayer mat.

The entire square fell into absolute silence; not a single person dared to contest the spot with Lu Xingchen.

Next came Lin Jing and Hu Junfeng.

Everyone had witnessed the true extent of their strength firsthand, so no one raised any objections.

However, the moment Ning Feng took his seat before the fourth stele, a One-Star Great Martial Master from the vast Heaven Sect stepped forward.

Rather than giving Ning Feng a hard time, he directed his gaze toward Lu Xingchen.

"Lu Xingchen, isn't this going a bit too far against the unwritten rules? The strength of the previous three was clear for all to see, so everyone could accept them claiming stelae."

"However, this Ning Feng is merely a Nine-Star Martial Master. I'm afraid that's hardly convincing to the crowd. If you allow him to occupy a stele, wouldn't it be an insult to the rest of us who have attained the Great Martial Master realm?"

"I have no wish to damage the harmony between our two sects either, Lu Xingchen. You should have Ning Feng step down!"