Chapter Twenty-Five: Chaos in the Marketplace

Xing Wutian was frustrated. At first, he had assumed that Yang Xiao’s attire was quite ordinary, and that he could easily eliminate him. Who would have guessed his opponent would prove so troublesome, even appearing unhurried and composed, as if his cultivation was superior to Xing Wutian’s own.

Perplexed, Xing Wutian scrutinized Yang Xiao’s cultivation more carefully with his spiritual sense, only to be further astonished: Yang Xiao’s entire body was shrouded in a faint aura, making it impossible to discern his true level. This discovery left him even more unsettled. By rights, someone of Yang Xiao’s apparent age should not surpass him in cultivation—after all, Xing Wutian was the son of a sect leader, with access to resources far beyond those of an ordinary disciple. Even if his innate talent was not the very best, with so many resources at his disposal, he could cultivate to a very high realm.

Yet what he did not know was that, for all his wealth, he could only obtain a Spirit-Nurturing Pill once every ten days or so, whereas Yang Xiao consumed several such pills each day in his cultivation. Moreover, the quality of Yang Xiao’s pills was far superior. In terms of cultivation resources, Yang Xiao’s advantage was overwhelming, which explained his rapid progress.

Spirit-Nurturing Pills were not easily crafted—they required a master alchemist’s skill, and even then, not every batch was guaranteed to succeed; four or five successful batches out of ten was already impressive. Furthermore, the herbs required were exceedingly rare and expensive, each with strict requirements for their age and potency. For these reasons, even the three great sects, wealthy as they were, could not stockpile many Spirit-Nurturing Pills. Ordinary disciples rarely, if ever, received such treasures; only a select few elite disciples had access to them, and even then, perhaps only one pill per month or several months. Xing Wutian’s privilege of a pill every ten days was due solely to his status as the young sect master.

Although, with the aid of these pills, Xing Wutian had reached the eighth level of Spiritual Perception, the quality of his pills was inferior to Yang Xiao’s. Despite being two realms lower, Yang Xiao’s spiritual power was nearly as dense as Xing Wutian’s.

Moreover, beyond taking pills, Yang Xiao consistently honed his physical strength. Practicing the Ninefold Golden Body required extraordinary physical prowess. In this respect, Yang Xiao developed both spiritual power and bodily strength in tandem—indeed, his physique even surpassed his spiritual force. This made him a formidable presence among those at his level. Compared to disciples at the seventh or even eighth level of Spiritual Perception, the gap was much narrower than most would expect.

Xing Wutian, pampered as the young master with a steady supply of pills, progressed swiftly in cultivation even without diligent effort. This bred laziness; though he had reached the eighth level, his true power was less than it appeared. Compared to regular seventh-level disciples, his spiritual strength was not significantly greater.

Therefore, if Xing Wutian and Yang Xiao clashed head-on with spiritual power, they would be evenly matched, and Yang Xiao would not be at a disadvantage. What’s more, Yang Xiao had barely used any spiritual power thus far, merely channeling a portion of the lightning sealed within his Thunder Mark. With such a convenient advantage, victory was well within Yang Xiao’s grasp.

“You are certainly no ordinary disciple, to stand against me like this. How interesting! In the entire Myriad-Fathoms Mountain Range, disciples who reach the seventh or eighth level of Spiritual Perception are exceedingly rare—yet you, dressed so plainly, have attained such a realm. It seems today I have truly met my match. Good, good! It’s not often I encounter a peer who can challenge me. Today, I will spar with you in earnest.” Xing Wutian glared at Yang Xiao, his anger evident. Clearly, he intended to employ even more formidable techniques.

Yang Xiao remained unafraid. His use of the Thunder Mark allowed him to conserve effort and wait for his opponent to tire. No matter how extraordinary Xing Wutian’s abilities, as long as he remained at the eighth level, Yang Xiao’s chances of victory were excellent.

“Spiritfire Overflow!” Xing Wutian, after preparing for a moment, unleashed one of his killing moves—one of the Xuanwu Sect’s signature techniques, the art of controlling spiritual fire.

The secret art Xing Wutian used was indeed potent. Typically, only cultivators at the Qi Condensation stage could bring out its full power, but disciples at the seventh or eighth level of Spiritual Perception could barely manage to wield it, though at much reduced effectiveness.

As the technique’s name promised, flames burst forth from Xing Wutian, rapidly expanding outward. The terrifying heat instantly made the surroundings swelter; disciples at the third or fourth level would have been incapacitated on the spot.

Yet Yang Xiao made no move to dodge. Instead, light flared around him as layers of lightning danced across his body and spread outward, colliding directly with Xing Wutian’s sea of fire.

This time, Yang Xiao did not even draw upon the Thunder Mark. He simply used the Giant Spirit Sect’s ultimate technique, the Rending Thunder Fist. When mastered, this technique could unleash a storm of thunderbolts of tremendous power.

With more than two thousand years of experience, Yang Xiao had mastered the Rending Thunder Fist with ease. Previously, his realm had been too low to wield it, but now, at the sixth level of Spiritual Perception, he could unleash a significant portion of its might.

He had deliberately refrained from using the Thunder Mark, wishing to test the results of his own cultivation. As expected, though his realm was two levels below Xing Wutian’s, when their spiritual powers clashed, he was not at a disadvantage.

Their battle was earth-shattering. The small shop in which they had started was now reduced to ruins—the roof torn away, splinters flying everywhere.

“Well, Young Master Xing, do you wish to continue? If you insist on fighting, I will accompany you to the end.” Though Yang Xiao had suffered from Xing Wutian’s attack, his formidable body and willpower enabled him to endure. He spoke to Xing Wutian in a calm, unruffled tone.