Begin your practice with the crane-shaped stance.

Chapter 126 Winning the Championship (3rd Update, Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Tianshui Province, Linyuan Prefecture.

The Eagle Wolf Guard's internal martial arts competition was held on a spacious training ground outside the city.

Banners obscured the sun, and the noise of people filled the air.

This grand event, jointly organized by several surrounding provinces, brought together martial arts elites from the Eagle Wolf Guard in various regions.

Those who dare to step onto this arena are all trial commanders and commanders who have fought their way up from the brink of death. Their cultivation level is at least at the peak of the Inner Strength Realm, and the vast majority are martial arts masters who have already stepped into the Transcendent Realm.

Below the ring, the crowd rubbed their hands together, their eyes burning with fervor.

Xia Dong, dressed in a smart outfit, stood quietly in the waiting area, seemingly out of place with the surrounding atmosphere of excitement.

He didn't harbor a fanatical obsession with martial arts competition; his sole motivation was the high-grade spirit stone as the reward for winning.

After all, if it weren't for the high-grade spirit stones, they wouldn't come here just to fry fish, would they?

Fishpond games, I doubt anyone actually enjoys playing them.

For Xia Dong, high-level matches are what's interesting. He's dealt with those infamous Foundation Establishment stage figures like the Five Ghosts of Tianshui and the Black Spider Dharma King before, working with Senior Gu Yue to take them down.

Having participated in battles at the Foundation Establishment level, this kind of low-level match posed absolutely no challenge for Xia Dong.

"Seventh Arena: Xia Dong, Commander of Lin Yuan Prefecture, versus Tie Kuang, Commander of Ping Hai Province!"

With a loud shout from the referee, Xia Dong leaped onto the ring made of hard bluestone as if taking a leisurely stroll.

His opponent, Tie Kuang, lived up to his name, with a towering, imposing physique and radiating a tangible, ferocious aura of a Transcendent Realm cultivator.

Tie Kuang wielded a heavy nine-ringed broadsword, the iron rings on the back of the blade emitting a chilling hum as his true energy surged.

"Commander Xia of Lin Yuan Prefecture? I heard you've reached the Transcendent Realm at such a young age; you're a genius." Tie Kuang's eyes were filled with the excitement of finding prey. "But on the arena, fists and kicks have no eyes; I don't care what kind of genius you are!"

Before he finished speaking, Tie Kuang stomped his legs hard on the ground, creating two fine cracks in the Qingyan arena. His massive body unleashed a terrifying speed that was disproportionate to his size, and he executed an extremely exquisite movement technique. He transformed into a whirlwind, carrying an incomparably domineering blade aura, and slashed down at Xia Dong with the force of Mount Tai crashing down!

This strike, imbued with the power of a dragon, sealed off all of Xia Dong's escape routes. In the eyes of the many martial artists present, this attack was a textbook example of combat at the Transcendent Realm level.

However, Xia Dong remained completely unmoved by the overwhelming attack, not even blinking.

The moment Tie Kuang made his move, Xia Dong's vast divine sense, which had broken through to the early stage of Foundation Establishment, silently covered the entire arena like ripples on water.

In an instant, in the world of summer and winter perception.

Everything slowed down.

Tie Kuang's exquisite movement technique, which he was so proud of, was full of flaws under the scrutiny of Xia Dong's Foundation Establishment stage divine sense.

The contraction of his leg muscles, the trajectory of his blood circulation, the angle of his slashes with the broadsword, and even the slightest pauses in his breathing, all seemed to be slowed down frame by frame before Xia Dong's eyes, so clear it was outrageous.

"Too slow—" Xia Dong shook his head inwardly.

This is the "dimensional reduction attack" brought about by cultivating both immortality and martial arts.

When you can see through your opponent's every thought and intention before they even make a move, the subtlety of martial arts techniques becomes meaningless.

Xia Dong didn't even need to use a single trace of the Xuan Yin Scripture's power within his dantian. He simply relied on the ultimate prediction of his divine sense, combined with his powerful body at the peak of the Transcendent Realm, and moved at the very moment when Tie Kuang's blade was only an inch away from his head, and his old power was exhausted and new power had not yet been generated.

He slightly turned his body, at an incredible yet perfectly timed angle, just managing to avoid the domineering blade.

The broadsword slashed down just past the hem of his clothes, the sharp wind of the blade failing to even sever a single strand of his hair.

Immediately afterwards, Xia Dong raised his right hand, without using any complicated moves, simply forming a sword with his fingers together, and precisely flicked Tie Kuang's wrist joint at the weak point where his blood and qi were circulating when he exerted force.

"clang!"

A crisp sound.

Tie Kuang felt a sharp, needle-like pain in his wrist, and the sword momentum that had been condensed to the extreme instantly collapsed.

His life force at the Transcendent Realm collapsed instantly like a deflated balloon. He groaned, and half of his body went numb. His nine-ringed broadsword flew out of his hand and slammed heavily onto the Qingyan Arena, creating a deep crater.

Iron Madman himself, due to losing his balance and the enormous inertia, fell forward in a sorry state, sliding several meters on the arena before finally coming to a stop.

one move.

It doesn't even qualify as a single move.

The entire training ground fell into a deathly silence.

The martial artists below the stage stared wide-eyed at the young figure on the platform, who still stood with his hands behind his back, looking calm and collected. Their eyes were filled with disbelief and horror.

The referee stood there stunned for a full three seconds before suddenly announcing loudly, as if waking from a dream: "Lin Yuan Prefecture, Xia Dong, wins!"

Ignoring the surrounding noise and exclamations, Xia Dong calmly glanced at his opponent lying on the ground, then turned and walked off the stage.

His heartbeat remained steady, as if he had just brushed away a fallen leaf that had landed on his shoulder.

This overwhelming dominance, where everything was under his control and there was no suspense, gave him a sense of security that the upcoming matches would be uneventful.

Below the Foundation Establishment realm, I am invincible; I can exchange Foundation Establishment realms for one.

After all, he has an ancient bronze bell.

The prize of a high-grade spirit stone for winning this martial arts competition is already his.

As the competition reached its climax, the arena welcomed the true elites of the Eagle Wolf Guard from several surrounding provinces. These renowned martial artists were all Transcendent Realm masters who had emerged victorious from life-or-death battles, possessing unfathomable qi and astonishing martial arts skills.

However, to everyone's surprise, no matter how intimidating the opponent's aura was, when Xia Dong made his appearance, he was still only carrying that rusty wood-chopping knife that he had picked from the bottom of the armory of the thousand households.

This heavy, dull, and even somewhat comical broken weapon initially drew sneers from many opponents and criticisms from the audience. But in Xia Dong's mind, the competition had long lost its suspense; it was merely a "fish-blasting game" played to obtain rewards.

Faced with those martial arts masters who displayed superb movement techniques and unleashed astonishing power, Xia Dong didn't even bother to use the fierce killing move from the Demonic Sect martial art "Shura Yin Sha Blade" that he had obtained from the armory.

Every time he faced a formidable foe, he would simply stand still and, at the very moment when his opponent's blood and qi circulation experienced a slight stagnation, when their old strength was exhausted and their new strength had not yet been generated, he would casually raise his hand.

He used only the most basic starting stance of the "Asura Yin Sha Blade".

There was no overflow of magical power, nor any violent clash of blood and qi; only the sword intent that stripped away all complexity and went straight to the essence.

"Bang!"

In each exchange, the audience would often only hear a muffled whooshing sound, and before they could even see how Xia Dong made his move, his heavy, rusty woodcutter's knife would be placed at an incredibly tricky angle, ignoring all of his opponent's defenses, and firmly positioned on vital points such as his throat, heart, or brow.

The icy chill and oppressive aura emanating from the machete instantly plunged each subdued opponent into an ice cave, leaving them stiff and unable to muster even the slightest thought of resistance.

If Xia Dong had pushed his wrist forward even half an inch further, the other party would have been splattered with blood on the spot.

Xia Dong swept through the competition from the preliminary rounds to the finals with ease.

The entire competition was transformed into a truly spectacular "fish-pond game" by him. Whether his opponents were seasoned veterans of the Transcendent Realm or exceptionally talented young prodigies, not a single one could withstand a single blow from him!

Those martial arts masters who were originally arrogant and haughty had their pride completely shattered when faced with that seemingly casual yet unavoidable rusty woodcutter's knife, replaced by deep despair and fear.

They were horrified to discover that their decades of arduous self-cultivation, which they were so proud of, were utterly ineffective against this young man carrying a wood-chopping knife.

As the last opponent in the finals laid down his weapon, his face ashen, and succumbed to defeat, the entire spacious training ground fell into a suffocating silence, followed by a thunderous roar of enthusiastic cheers.

With this overwhelming and decisive momentum, Xia Dong quickly gained fame within the Eagle Wolf Guard in various provinces.

All his colleagues looked at him with pure awe. They even tacitly stopped calling him Commander Xia and instead gave him a fitting nickname: "Xia the One-Cut".

For Xia Dong, the nickname "Xia Yidao" was indeed a bit vulgar, but it was still better than being called "Xia Yimiao".

Fortunately, the Great You Dynasty did not use "seconds" to measure time.

Otherwise, they would really be taken down by these uncultured martial artists.

To put it bluntly, although Xia Dong is only a scholar, in terms of academic qualifications, he is definitely among the top in the Eagle Wolf Guard system!

The final match ended without even causing a ripple on the stage.

With the last opponent surrendering in despair, Xia Dong unsurprisingly won the championship of this martial arts competition jointly organized by thousands of households from multiple provinces.

On the high platform under the spotlight, Xia Dong remained calm as he smoothly received the jade box containing the final reward from the Eagle Wolf Guard's high-ranking officers, whose expressions were extremely complex.

The moment Xia Dong's fingertips touched the jade box, he could clearly sense the extremely pure and vast spiritual energy within it, which was locked by the array.

Meanwhile, the commanders from various regions, sitting in the main seats on the viewing platform, looked at the young centurion below who had only carried a rusty, broken wood-chopping knife from beginning to end. Apart from Commander Qian, the other commanders all had unpleasant expressions.

Especially Xiang Qianhu, who was transferred to another region, is back this time, somewhat to regain his face.

Unexpectedly, that damned Xia Dong was the most ruthless towards their Qianhu garrison!

Okay, he ordered his men to be ruthless, but their strength didn't allow it—

Xiang Qianhu was so angry he felt like vomiting blood.

Of course, as a well-informed member of the Eagle Wolf Guard, after watching Xia Dong's series of bizarre "one-move defeats," Commander Xiang finally realized what was going on.

That wasn't a suppression of martial arts talent at all, but rather the divine sense of a cultivator.

Xia Dong, this freak, used his divine sense to slow down and dissect every subtle movement of his opponent, and on this pure martial arts sparring arena, he carried out a ruthless and predictable crushing defeat.

"That brat—he's utterly inhuman!" Xiang Qianhu cursed under his breath through gritted teeth.

However, despite their frustration, Xiang Qianhu and the others exchanged glances and ultimately had no choice but to grit their teeth and accept the outcome.

They had never imagined that a martial artist could cultivate such a powerful divine sense.

This is truly a reversal of the natural order!

And the key point is that Xia Dong has a very powerful background.

Forget it.

Just bear with it, you might as well bear with it a little longer.

However, not long after the competition ended, due to the overwhelming public opinion.

An extremely rare and urgent new regulation was swiftly issued from the highest levels of the Eagle Wolf Guard, instantly spreading to the guard posts in several surrounding provinces: "From this day forward, any Eagle Wolf Guard personnel who practice both immortal and martial arts are strictly prohibited from participating in any martial arts competitions at all levels!"

The unprecedented and highly targeted ban caused an uproar throughout the Eagle Wolf Guard. Everyone was discussing this ban, which was practically "exclusively for summer and winter," marveling at the suffocating power it must have possessed to force the authorities to patch and modify the rules overnight.

Xia Dong didn't care about that at all; she had already reaped the benefits.

Only the strong can change the rules.

Doesn't this prove his strength?

Just like those top athletes in the past, there were many who were so strong that they changed the rules of the game.

These people naturally hold a very high historical status, making them a topic of much discussion.

At the same time, although Xia Dong will never be able to step onto the martial arts competition stage again in his life, his powerful reputation of "cultivating both immortality and martial arts, and being invincible among his peers" has been established in the Eagle Wolf Guard system with one "fish-bombing game" after another.

From then on, the name "Xia Yidao" became a legend in the Eagle Wolf Guard Martial Arts Competition, a legend that people could only look up to for many years to come, but could never replicate.

Qixia Immortal Sect, Lonely Moon Peak.

Before the misty, rocky cliffs of the back mountain, spiritual energy flows like a veil. This is the secluded retreat of the Lonely Moon Immortal, where no one is allowed to set foot on ordinary days.

:

:

Qin Wan, dressed in a simple Taoist robe, stood like a proud blue lotus, quietly blocking the only way to the stone cliff.

Directly in front of her, Pei Hongling, dressed in red, was walking slowly towards her.

"Senior Sister, please wait." Qin Wan's expression was calm, but her tone was firm and unwavering. "Master is in seclusion, and no one is allowed to disturb him."

Pei Hongling stopped and looked at her junior sister, whom she had once looked down upon but who was now capable of standing on her own. A complex and bitter smile appeared on her face: "Junior sister, even now, are you still going to use this rhetoric to deceive me? In fact, I already knew years ago that our master was no longer on Lonely Moon Peak."

Qin Wan's eyes narrowed slightly, but her posture remained upright, and she didn't move an inch. She simply stared at Pei Hongling quietly, her eyes filled with vigilance, waiting for her to continue.

Pei Hongling paused, raised her hand to touch her chest, and smiled self-deprecatingly: "Don't forget, I am someone whose life-and-death curse was personally placed by Master. This life-and-death curse is extremely mysterious. If anything happens to Master, I will surely die; and if Master leaves me too far away, that faint connection between our souls will fade, and I can sense it to some extent."

Upon hearing this, Qin Wan's tense nerves relaxed slightly, and the defensiveness in her eyes turned into a hint of surprise.

She looked at Pei Hongling and said softly, "Senior sister, your patience is getting better and better. Logically speaking, given your personality, you would have come to confront me a year or two after you noticed something was wrong. I didn't expect you to hold back until today."

"Time flies when cultivating immortality—" Pei Hongling sighed softly. "A year or two is nothing more than a nap for a great cultivator like Master. If my senses weaken for a short time, I'll just assume Master has gone out on business—"

She looked into Qin Wan's eyes, her voice rising slightly: "But this time is different. Master has been gone for four whole years! Moreover, not only is Master gone, but even her personal maid named Xiao Hong has vanished without a trace. Such unusual behavior makes me suspicious."

Seeing Qin Wan remain silent, Pei Hongling shook her head, her tone becoming incredibly frank, even carrying a hint of deep sorrow.

"Junior sister, you don't need to be so wary of me, nor do you need to worry that I will reveal this earth-shattering secret." Pei Hongling's voice lowered as she spoke, "Because I am a member of the Pei family. If it weren't for the protection of our master, I would have been torn to pieces by people from both inside and outside the mountains long ago. I came to find you not to cause trouble, but simply to seek peace of mind."

Upon hearing Pei Hongling's candid confession, Qin Wan's tense body relaxed slightly, and her right hand, hidden in her wide sleeve, loosened a little as well.

A faint light flashed in her palm as she silently put a small, warm jade pendant, about an inch long, back into her storage bag. It was Pei Hongling's natal soul pendant.

Before leaving, her master not only entrusted Lonely Moon Peak to her management, but also bestowed this soul tablet upon her as a trump card.

With the Soul Tablet in hand, as long as she has the slightest thought, Pei Hongling, no matter how great her abilities, will instantly be annihilated.

The life and death of this senior sister were actually firmly in her own hands.

Now that the other party had made their intentions clear, Qin Wan lowered her guard, but her expression remained indifferent as she cut to the chase: "Senior sister, just tell me what you want to do."

A sudden, intense longing flashed in Pei Hongling's previously dim eyes as she said, word by word, "I want to establish my foundation."

Qin Wan frowned slightly, mercilessly shattering her illusion: "Senior sister, you should wake up. You know how strictly the Great You Dynasty controls Foundation Establishment Pills. Moreover, you also know what a mess our Qixia Immortal Sect is in now. Its foundation has long been drained by you aristocratic factions. The sect now has absolutely no spare capacity to collect rare and precious materials or start refining Foundation Establishment Pills."

Pei Hongling was not discouraged by Qin Wan's words. Instead, she stepped forward, staring intently at Qin Wan, and said in a low voice, "The sect may not have a solution, but there is one person who definitely does. Junior Sister, please take me to see Xia Dong!"

Upon hearing the name "Xia Dong," Qin Wan's eyes instantly sharpened, and a trace of the unique, violent aura of lightning-attribute magic power even subtly surged around her.

She knew her senior's ways all too well.

"Senior sister, you'd better behave yourself!" Qin Wan bit her lower lip hard, her tone cold and harsh.

Sensing the undisguised killing intent emanating from Qin Wan, Pei Hongling didn't bother to explain or prove herself. She suppressed her smile, her expression becoming extremely solemn, and said calmly, "Junior sister, you've misunderstood. I just want to make a fair deal with him."

She paused, looking into Qin Wan's still wary eyes, and lowered her voice to speak slowly, "I know the exact location of a large tomb; it's the place where a Golden Core cultivator of the Xuan Yin Sect passed away. I just want to ask, with this information, can I ask Xia Dong for a chance to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill?"

Qin Wan was taken aback upon hearing this. She then silently took out the soul tablet from her storage bag and said to Pei Hongling, "Senior Sister, you should understand what this is?"

Upon seeing this, Pei Hongling's expression changed. "Master is too biased."

Qin Wan: "Let's go, I'll give this soul tablet to Brother Xia."

She knew that her master hadn't responded for four years, and it was unlikely he would return for a long time. She also didn't know what had happened four years ago that made her master leave in such a hurry, and that they hadn't heard from him since.

The mid-grade Golden Core ancestor of the Qixia Immortal Sect also disappeared without a trace after that turmoil. Just last year, even Elder Liang, the Outer Alchemy True Person of the master-disciple faction, passed away.

Qin Wan is really tired.

She simply couldn't take it anymore.