In the ruined great hall of the Taixu Secret Realm.
Xiao Chen sheathed the Peerless Divine Sword in his hand and turned to the phantom with a faint smile. "Senior, is there any other place in this hall for further training?"
The phantom suddenly felt a strange chill. Trembling, his remnant soul gritted its teeth. "Brat, you need to learn contentment."
"Blackrobe thanks Senior for the lesson. I wonder if there's anything you need help with?" Xiao Chen asked respectfully, hands cupped in salute.
???
The phantom was momentarily stunned. "You, doing something out of kindness?"
Xiao Chen said, "Since I've received Senior's divine sword, we've formed a connection. Naturally, I must repay the grace of receiving it."
"You really are hard to read." The phantom sighed. "Forget it. The reason I left behind this remnant soul was to find a suitable successor. Sadly, after countless years, I never found one. If you leave this place one day, pass this Slaughter God Sword Technique to someone worthy."
As he spoke, the phantom casually reached into the statue and tossed Xiao Chen a jade slip.
Xiao Chen caught it and asked, "Senior, aren't you worried I'll just keep this jade slip for myself?"
The phantom laughed. "You're quite guarded. If you were willing to give up the Invincible Sword Dao and instead cultivate my Slaughter God Sword Dao, I'd be overjoyed. Tell me—would you really do that?"
"I wouldn't. Though your sword dao is strong, my dao heart cannot be shaken," Xiao Chen replied seriously.
The phantom chuckled. "You still won't lie to make this old man happy, huh? I believe you won't destroy the jade slip. Even if you just leave it in your sect, one day, someone will learn this technique. I'll now return to sleep. You may go."
"Farewell, Senior."
With that, Xiao Chen turned and left.
The phantom watched his retreating figure and thought to himself: 'Who knows how far this brat will go in the future? A Divine King won't be his limit. I really envy that old bastard.'
"Achoo!!!"
Outside the Taixu Secret Realm, Chu Feng sneezed three times in a row.
Elder Bing, standing nearby, immediately asked, "Mr. Chu, are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
Chu Feng shook his head and muttered suspiciously, "Who's secretly praising my handsomeness behind my back?"
Inside the hall, King Hengjiang and the others had originally wanted to joke with Chu Feng, but now they were all stunned. Was this young man a bit too confident?
...
At the base of the trial tower in the Taixu Secret Realm.
Disciples from all major powers had gathered. Some were waiting outside the tower for their turn, others had already completed their trials.
Everyone was chatting as they stared at the tower.
"Look, the seventh floor lit up! Seems like the fourteenth prince of the Beiyuan Dynasty passed the seventh trial. I wonder if he'll make it to the ninth."
"The sixth floor just lit up too. That must be someone from the Blood God Sect."
"..."
Just then, a stir rippled through the crowd. The gathered disciples parted like a tide.
A tall, burly man in a black robe, exuding a terrifying aura, slowly walked through the crowd.
A disciple from a Half-Saint faction whispered, "Why is that killing god here?"
His companion urgently replied, "Keep your voice down! If he hears you, we're dead. I don't want to end up like Sima Chong from the Luohe Clan—torn apart by this guy's bare hands. And Sima was a Heaven Origin cultivator!"
Someone nearby sneered, "Tch. The Luohe Clan? A clan that can't even keep a vow made by the river it's named after? And they dare flaunt the Luohe name for prestige? The Zhenlong Clan and the Sima Clan are a perfect match. Let the world remember how they really rose to power."
"Shh... careful! What if someone from the Sima Clan hears and comes after you?"
"…"
The black-robed man was none other than Cao Youqian. Since entering the Taixu Secret Realm, he had acted alone. Along the way, he encountered many fools, and without exception, they were all blown apart by his iron fists.
As for the poor soul he tore apart barehanded, Cao Youqian explained that he had just been trying out his newly mastered Eagle Claw Technique. He never expected that guy—supposedly a Heaven Origin cultivator—to be so weak. One move and he was done.
Still, that weakling served a purpose. Ever since, no one dared to provoke Cao Youqian again.
With a cold, domineering stride, Cao Youqian approached the base of the trial tower.
Everyone in line stepped aside and respectfully said, "Please, fellow cultivator."
Cao Youqian didn't say a word—he only gave a slight nod before stepping into the trial tower.
As soon as he entered, he saw eighteen bronze men standing there.
The moment they saw him, the bronze men moved to surround him. Each one emitted the aura of a first-stage True Fate cultivator.
Cao Youqian defeated all eighteen with ease. Shortly after, a light array enveloped him and transported him to the second floor of the tower.
He took a glance and saw the same formation of eighteen bronze men, but now their auras had reached the second stage of True Fate. They also looked sturdier than the ones below.
With just a single punch, he ended the battle.
Third floor, fourth floor… all the way to the sixth.
Cao Youqian defeated all his opponents with a single punch each time. When he reached the seventh floor, although the bronze men there gave off the aura of seventh-stage True Fate cultivators, the pressure they exerted on him felt more like the ninth stage.
"Now this is starting to get interesting."
He casually removed his black robe to avoid it being shredded, then raised his fists and engaged the bronze men in fierce combat.
Outside the tower, a group of cultivators watched the lights flicker floor by floor, all dumbfounded.
Though the disciples from the two great sacred lands had also cleared the first six floors, none of them had done it this quickly.
"Who is this black-robed man? He's unbelievably strong. I doubt many in the True Fate Realm can match him."
Just then, the light on the eighth floor of the trial tower dimmed. The crowd murmured in awe.
"The fourteenth prince of the Beiyuan Dynasty stopped at the eighth floor—what a shame."
"What's there to regret? Anyone who passes the seventh floor can comprehend Dao inside the tower. That's something many people dream of."
"Look—someone from the Blood God Sect just cleared the seventh floor too. I wonder if he'll break the prince's record and make it past the eighth."
Inside the seventh floor of the tower, Cao Youqian fought the bronze men with a look of pure excitement on his face. The more he fought, the more exhilarated he became. The feeling of each blow landing solidly thrilled him.
Boom!
Moments later, Cao Youqian smashed the final bronze man's head flat with a punch.
At that moment, a hoarse, ancient voice echoed through the tower: "Congratulations, trial-taker, for clearing the seventh floor. Will you stay and comprehend the Dao, or proceed to the next level?"
Without hesitation, Cao Youqian replied, "I'll go to the next level."
As soon as he spoke, a beam of light descended on him. When his vision cleared, he found himself trapped in a formation surrounded by eighteen bronze men.
The formation they formed emitted a golden glow, like an impenetrable wall of iron and copper.
"Hah!"
One of the bronze men roared, and the rest followed suit. All eighteen struck at once, unleashing fists, palms, claws, kicks—eighteen different techniques in perfect sync.
Cao Youqian's aura erupted instantly. At this moment, he was like a humanoid beast charging directly into their attacks.
Boom… boom… boom!
Each collision produced a deafening blast. The echo reverberated throughout the eighth floor, making the head spin.
But Cao Youqian didn't seem tired at all. He kept swinging his fists relentlessly.
Protected by the formation, the bronze men took turns wearing him down, clearly intending to exhaust him completely.
Cao Youqian, a battle-hardened veteran, instantly saw through their tactic.
With a sweeping punch, he forced them back and murmured, "Looks like I'll need to go all out."
He stepped forward in a firm horse stance, gathering all the power in his body into a single punch.
"Extreme Dao Divine Fist!!!"
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