Information flowed across the Dao 운 Heaven Map,
Finally coalescing into Wan Jinglun's destiny.
[Name]: [Wan Jinglun]
[Destiny God]: [Confucian Sage]
[Destiny Configuration]: [Peace for All Under Heaven]
[Cultivation]: [True Qi Realm (Perfection)]
[Destiny]: [Confucian Dao Attains Sainthood (Gold)], [Righteous Qi (Crimson)], [Wen Qu Descends to the Mortal World (Crimson)], [Words Manifest as Law (Crimson)], [Heart for the World (Purple)], [Encyclopedic Knowledge (Purple)], [Childlike Heart (Purple)], [Gentle and Refined (Azure)].
Gu Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly. He hadn't expected this scholar to be the Descendant of Wen Qu, a true Confucian seed.
"Three, two, one, the match begins!" The referee's booming whistle sounded.
Gu Yuan stomped his foot. A tremendous force surged from beneath him. Had it been less resilient metal, his kick could have shattered it!
*Whoosh!*
A gust of wind erupted!
In an instant, the thunderous roar of an exceptionally strong airflow exploded in the arena. Gu Yuan's figure vanished from his original position.
He reappeared before Wan Jinglun, his spine stretching like a great dragon. One hand pressed against his waist, the other raised high, his palm transforming into a fist seal, crushing downwards with a rumbling sound.
Ocean Overturning Seal!
This was a fist technique Gu Yuan created based on his fist intent, the image of an ancient, immense whale overturning the seas, smashing down with boundless waves.
It was as if the ancient ocean had been carried by an ocean-overturning leviathan, pouring down with unparalleled suppressive force.
Wan Jinglun's skin twitched under the ceaseless pounding of Gu Yuan's fist wind, yet the gentle smile on his face remained.
He slowly uttered a single word.
"Disperse!"
Gu Yuan saw a white character '散' (Disperse) materialize on Wan Jinglun's body as he spoke. Instantly, he felt his boundless fist intent dissipate as if swept away by that single word.
"Stop!"
A slender, fair finger gently pressed against the tip of Gu Yuan's fist. Magically, Gu Yuan felt his punch halt uncontrollably.
Interesting. A wry smile touched Gu Yuan's lips. Words Manifesting as Law? Quite impressive!
But you must have limits, surely!
Gu Yuan suddenly retracted his fist, leaning back as the Qi and blood within him erupted.
*Boom!*
The Great Sun Descends, the Golden Crow Emerges from the Sea!
His blood Qi surged like a volcanic eruption. A crimson and azure pattern appeared on his skin, his entire body wreathed in bloody flames, radiating intense heat. wisps of electric light flickered around him, and a crimson-azure aura enveloped him. His height grew from 1.85 meters to 2 meters. Beneath his clothes, his crimson muscles were as hard as divine metal, and his body was shrouded in crimson-azure airflow, exuding an aura as profound as an abyss.
His formidable blood Qi enveloped a ten-meter radius around Gu Yuan, like an inverted furnace radiating boundless heat.
Crimson Fiend Lightning Body!
This was the first time Gu Yuan had unleashed the full power of this martial art. Lightning and flame clashed within him, erupting with supremely powerful force.
His arm began to burn with bloody flames. Muscles bulged on his arm, blood Qi continuously surged, and his tendons protruded like dragons and snakes emerging from the land, unleashing immense strength.
With a punch, boundless airflow was torn apart, producing thunderous sonic booms.
Facing this punch, Wan Jinglun seemed utterly unfazed.
He gently waved his feather fan. A faint breeze swept past, dissipating the tidal wave of blood Qi Gu Yuan had unleashed with all his might.
Wan Jinglun softly exhaled:
"Suppress!"
A giant character '镇' (Suppress) materialized out of thin air, hovering above Gu Yuan's head like a great bell, emitting boundless gravity, seeking to crush Gu Yuan within it.
Gu Yuan's gaze sharpened. His fist abruptly changed trajectory, colliding directly with the great bell.
*Clang! Clang! Clang!*
A long, resonant bell sound echoed. Through the continuous impacts, Gu Yuan's fist shattered the great bell that bore the intent of suppression.
"Kill!"
Wan Jinglun spoke another character. A killing character '杀' (Kill) appeared, radiating profound killing intent, transforming into numerous blood-red long swords that erupted with intense lethal force, charging towards Gu Yuan!
Gu Yuan's eyes turned cold. Boundless blood Qi erupted from within his body. The long swords, imbued with intense killing intent, were instantly scattered by this surge of blood Qi. This was Gu Yuan activating his Yang Domain, forcibly breaking the lock of killing intent.
Within the Yang Domain, no power other than blood Qi existed.
Gu Yuan slightly bent his legs, then unleashed his power. The blood Qi within him surged, forming a phantom image of a heaven and earth furnace outside his body, akin to a meteor striking Earth.
"Defend!"
Wan Jinglun's expression shifted slightly as he uttered the character.
The character '御' (Defend) instantly transformed into an extremely strong shield, enveloping Wan Jinglun with an aura of unshakeable stillness.
Gu Yuan's expression remained unchanged, as if he had anticipated this. Over seven hundred million particles within him erupted with even stronger blood Qi. The once phantom heaven and earth furnace solidified further.
With world-destroying momentum, it struck directly at Wan Jinglun.
A heaven and earth furnace slammed into Wan Jinglun, who was shrouded by the character '御' (Defend), like a falling star. Dazzling blood Qi covered the area around Wan Jinglun. In the center, Wan Jinglun's outer defenses were continuously scorched by the blood Qi, as hot as molten lava. Layer after layer of defensive shields vaporized from the intense heat, the emitted light illuminating the entire arena.
As the light subsided, Gu Yuan's fist was less than a few centimeters from Wan Jinglun's forehead.
It was clear that Wan Jinglun had lost.
Yet, Wan Jinglun showed no sign of dejection. His expression remained as calm and unfettered as ever, his gaze fixed on Gu Yuan with a smile.
Gu Yuan retracted his fist and waited for the referee's announcement.
He still felt the same sensation as he had during his fight with Yang Tiankui, a nagging feeling that his opponent hadn't used his full strength. What was going on?
Gu Yuan fell into thought.
"Gu Yuan wins!" the referee declared Gu Yuan's victory.
Wan Jinglun smiled, bid farewell to Gu Yuan, and left the arena without any lingering attachment. Gu Yuan watched Wan Jinglun's retreating back, feeling as if he had merely gone through the motions.
Shaking his head, he cast aside the distracting thoughts and returned to the contestant's area. He closed his eyes and began to quietly regulate his breathing. The recent forceful eruption of the heaven and earth furnace had caused some damage to the particles within him.
He had now entered the top four. He had a bye for Feng Wushuang, leaving two others.
Gu Yuan estimated it would be Xuanyuan Tianxia and one other person.
He was unsure who the remaining person would be.
His gaze shifted away from the arena. This next match was Xuanyuan Tianxia's. He had revealed all he needed to; further observation would be meaningless.
He closed his eyes again, looking inward. While repairing his particles, he coordinated with the majority of his intact particles to open up new ones.
His body had long stored a vast amount of blood Qi energy, specifically reserved for this moment.
The majority of his particles exerted force together, rapidly converting into new particles.
Two hours later, Gu Yuan's body trembled slightly, exuding an aura of perfect harmony.
This surprised Feng Wushuang beside him. Had Gu Yuan broken through again? Even I can't discern his aura now.
Gu Yuan opened his eyes, disregarding the reactions of others. He felt the power of his eight hundred and forty million particles. Apart from the first batch of converted particles that he had imbued with martial arts techniques, most of the other particles were being infused with fundamental martial knowledge, intending for them to create their own techniques.
The next step was to divide his divine soul power into eighty-four million streams, entering the converted particles. When all eighty-four million particles achieved perfection in their cultivation, he would reverse the congenital and achieve the position of a congenital divine demon!