Chapter 597: Chapter 379: Shock

As Xu Yang stepped into the Sixth Layer, he felt an oppressive aura permeating the air. It was as if a giant boulder was weighing down his Heart Spirit, making his breathing somewhat labored.

The Realm Ability unique to Celestial Essence Second Layer Martial Artists seemed to be magnified several times, shrouding this space. The tyrannical pressure continuously crashed against his Heart Spirit like a rising tide.

He had barely found his footing when six figures with fierce auras rushed at him from above, below, left, right—all six directions. The gleam of their blades swept toward him like a flood.

"Let’s try the Azure Dragon Dominating Body!" Xu Yang thought.

He had already tested the Extreme Prison Heaven-Slaying Technique on the Fifth Layer. However, ever since he cultivated Dragon Qi with the Azure Dragon Dominating Body, he had yet to use it.

BOOM!

With a Heart Thought, the Azure Dragon Dominating Body roared into motion. A berserk aura erupted into the sky like an exploding volcano.

Xu Yang’s bones and muscles rumbled, letting out a crisp CRACKLE. His majestic, abundant Qi-Blood could no longer be contained, surging out of his body like billowing smoke.

A violent shockwave of air exploded outward with him at the center, and Dragon Qi instantly coated his entire body. With tyrannical strength surging through his veins, Xu Yang felt the urge to punch straight through the Battle Tower. In that moment, he resembled an ancient Fierce Dragon awakening from its slumber, radiating a monstrous, overwhelming might.

CLANG! CLANG!

The sky-filling blade lights slashed down, only to be completely deflected. They failed to pierce even the churning aura outside his body.

"So strong!" he marveled.

The tidal surge of power caused his battle intent to soar. He immediately raised his hand and threw a punch.

BOOM!

His fist tore through the air with a deafening roar. A tyrannical shockwave of power swept outward, shattering the second wave of incoming blade lights before they even drew close. The figures were sent flying wildly like mere bales of hay.

The Gatekeeper bearing the brunt of the attack had barely flown back a meter before its Energy-composed body disintegrated in midair.

"Killing an ordinary Celestial Essence Second Layer is as easy as slaughtering pigs and dogs," Xu Yang thought.

Utilizing the power of both the Dragon Symbols Heart Scripture and the Azure Dragon Dominating Body made him terrifyingly strong. Without even using a Secret Martial Technique, he could kill a standard Celestial Essence Second Layer Martial Artist with a backhand slap. If these were real people, they would have had their courage shattered long ago by such an explosive display of power. However, these Gatekeepers possessed no intelligence and therefore felt no fear.

Once the remaining five steadied themselves, they immediately joined forces to attack again. Xu Yang charged headlong into their battle formation, allowing their blade lights to chop at him freely.

He was like a fierce tiger charging into a flock of sheep, his movements wide and imposing. His fists carried the weight of a mountain. With every punch that landed, a Gatekeeper exploded, dissipating into pure Energy. In just a few breaths, only one of the five Gatekeepers remained; the other four had all been blown to pieces. He intentionally spared the final one to drag out the time before finally shattering it with a single Palm strike.

The passage to the Seventh Layer revealed itself, and Xu Yang stepped inside.

"The Seventh Layer! Xu Yang reached the Seventh Layer!"

Outside the Battle Tower, Du Ziming and the others never got the news of Xu Yang halting at the Sixth Layer. Instead, they watched as he broke into the Seventh Layer.

"How is this possible? How could he reach the Seventh Layer?" Wan He’s face was filled with disbelief. He himself had failed at the Sixth Layer and was nearly hacked to death by the blade formation. How could Xu Yang have possibly passed it?

"We underestimated him," Ge Zhiwen said, revealing a hint of surprise.

"Does Brother Lu still think Xu Yang lacks the ability to reach the Seventh Layer?" Jiang Fan asked, turning to look at Lu Ren. He wasn’t the least bit surprised that Xu Yang made it to the Seventh Layer. If Xu Yang was willing to expose a bit more of his strength, even reaching the Eighth Layer wouldn’t be impossible.

Lu Ren’s expression soured. "Taking this much time just to enter the Seventh Layer means he must be at the end of his rope. He’ll be beaten out soon enough."

"Since Brother Lu looks down on Xu Yang so much, may I ask how many layers you can clear?" Seeing Lu Ren repeatedly belittle Xu Yang, even the usually good-tempered Jiang Fan felt a surge of anger. It was one thing for others to look down on Xu Yang, but for Lu Ren—a fellow disciple of the Purple Sun Sect—to constantly join in the disparagement was something even the most patient person couldn’t tolerate.

"I..." At Jiang Fan’s question, Lu Ren’s face instantly flushed red.

"Ah, right. I forgot you’re still only at the Celestial Essence First Layer. You don’t even have the qualifications to enter the Battle Tower," Jiang Fan mocked.

"Brother Jiang, you are mistaken," Du Ziming immediately interjected, seeing Lu Ren at a loss for words. "Lu Ren’s Weapon Forging Talent is unmatched in the Celestial Strategy Academy. Cultivation simply isn’t his strong suit. Why don’t you have Xu Yang compete with him in forging weapons?"

"I’m just talking about the matter at hand," Jiang Fan retorted. "Xu Yang certainly never looked down on his Weapon Forging Talent."

Meanwhile, Xu Yang was already locked in a fierce battle with the Gatekeepers of the Seventh Layer.

Compared to the Sixth Layer, the battle formation of the Seventh Layer Gatekeepers was far more exquisite. The seven of them practically melded into a single entity. Their offenses and defenses complemented one another, and they could channel each other’s strength to clash head-on with him. However, no matter how exquisite the battle formation was, it couldn’t change the fact that their physical bodies were weak. After a short period of head-on collisions, the seven-man formation struggled to sustain itself, and cracks were blasted into the bodies of several Gatekeepers.

"Wu You reached the Seventh Layer and is ranked ninety-ninth on the Celestial Strategy Wind and Cloud List," Xu Yang thought. "Fan Yi reached the Eighth Layer but is only ranked ninety-fourth. Just to be safe, I have to reach the Ninth Layer so I won’t be pushed down later."

The Celestial Strategy Wind and Cloud List offered favorable resources, but the rewards weren’t given immediately upon entering the list. One had to maintain their position for a full month without falling off to claim them. Anyone ranked below ninetieth was at constant risk of being pushed down at any moment. Putting aside the senior students, there would be quite a few freshmen from their cohort who could make it onto the Celestial Strategy Wind and Cloud List after some time.

He suppressed his pace and fought for a while longer until all the Seventh Layer Gatekeepers were dispatched. The entrance to the Eighth Layer then revealed itself.

Outside the Battle Tower, the ancient stele known as the Celestial Strategy Wind and Cloud List warped momentarily, and the "Seventh Layer" next to Xu Yang’s name shifted into "Eighth Layer."

"The Eighth Layer! Xu Yang actually broke into the Eighth Layer," Zuo Mu’s voice carried a mixture of excitement and surprise. Everyone had assumed Xu Yang would stop at the Seventh Layer, and Zuo Mu had been no exception. Unexpectedly, Xu Yang didn’t stop there. He surpassed all their expectations by reaching the Eighth Layer.

"How is this possible..." Wan He’s eyes practically bulged out of his head. Didn’t Xu Yang lack the backing of any major faction? How was his Cultivation progressing so rapidly? Not only had he not fallen behind Wan He, but he was significantly stronger, forcefully making his way into the Eighth Layer.

"This truly exceeds my expectations," Huo Xiaochen remarked, a dark shadow flitting across his face. Being able to reach the Eighth Layer—even if he was instantly blasted out upon entering—meant Xu Yang had successfully made it onto the Celestial Strategy Wind and Cloud List.

"Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!" Lu Ren roared internally, overwhelmed by an unspeakable dread. It felt as if Xu Yang was deliberately working against him at every turn. Every time he believed Xu Yang had exhausted his potential, Xu Yang would pull off something completely unimaginable.

"He’s gotten even stronger!" Li Chuyang felt a stifling tightness in his chest. The day he could challenge Xu Yang seemed unimaginably far away.

"To think he’s stronger than both of us." Qiu He and Wu You—both of whom were ranked higher than Xu Yang on the Lingyun List—exchanged glances and silently shook their heads. Despite their higher rankings, neither of them had reached the Eighth Layer.

"Brother Sun, you don’t seem overly surprised," Gu Qingfeng observed, looking at Sun Tao curiously. Xu Yang’s entry into the Eighth Layer had left everyone visibly astonished, including the Spirit Bone Celestial Prides. Yet, Gu Qingfeng noticed that Sun Tao’s expression remained perfectly serene.

"I have faith in Xu Yang. Even if he made it to the eleventh layer, I wouldn’t be surprised," Sun Tao chuckled.

"Not bad!" Jin Yu’s face also revealed a trace of surprise. Given Xu Yang’s ranking, reaching the Seventh Layer was already unexpected, and the Eighth Layer should have been nigh impossible. But Xu Yang had done it anyway. Even as a teacher, Jin Yu realized he had misjudged the boy.

"Xu Yang made it onto the Celestial Strategy Wind and Cloud List. If Han Yingjie finds out, he’ll be restless," Lü Fengxing transmitted his voice to Yuan Chengji.

Han Yingjie had completely looked down on Xu Yang initially. Upon learning that Yue Zhong and Bai Shaoling wanted his help for Xu Yang, he had outright avoided them. Furthermore, as far as they knew, Han Yingjie had even sent someone to threaten Xu Yang. With all the friction between them, if he were Han Yingjie and learned of Xu Yang’s achievement, he definitely wouldn’t be able to sleep at night. After all, even Han Yingjie himself hadn’t made it onto the Celestial Strategy Wind and Cloud List. Even Liu Yuanqing, the expert on the list whom Han Yingjie relied upon, was now on the verge of being pushed off.

"If I had known, we shouldn’t have acted so ruthlessly back then," Yuan Chengji replied, his voice full of regret. As for whether Han Yingjie was restless or not, that was none of his business. They were all selfish people; nobody cared whether another lived or died.

***

The Gatekeepers of the Eighth Layer were further enhanced. With their Body Refining Cultivation, both their physical strength and their bodies were vastly superior to those on the Seventh Layer. Combined with their battle formation, even if Xu Yang fought with everything he had, he wouldn’t be able to take them down quickly.

However, he still refrained from using the Eight Ferocious Hidden Dragon Strength, choosing to fight the Gatekeepers in his normal state. He intentionally let the Gatekeepers strike him a few times to create an illusion of struggling miserably.

After exchanging dozens of moves, he stopped holding back. He unleashed his Great Success Black Tortoise Mountain-Suppressing Fist, obliterating a Gatekeeper with a single punch and shattering their battle formation. A dozen breaths later, all eight Gatekeepers had been pulverized, dissipating into Energy. The passage to the Ninth Layer revealed itself.

"The Ninth Layer! Xu Yang has reached the Ninth Layer!"

Outside the Battle Tower, the crowd stared at the warping Celestial Strategy Wind and Cloud List and erupted into an uproar. Xu Yang hadn’t stopped at the Eighth Layer; he had broken into the Ninth Layer!

"How could he reach the Ninth Layer?" Lu Ren muttered, his face etched with absolute disbelief. This was something that even the likes of Fan Yi and Liu Gao had failed to achieve.

"He’s actually this strong," Du Ziming said, his face full of horror. This was a result that he himself wouldn’t be able to attain even if he risked his life.

"Brother Wan, it seems your loss was entirely justified," Qiu He sighed. He knew exactly how difficult it was to pass this hurdle, having nearly been beaten to death by the physically formidable Gatekeepers of the Eighth Layer.

"Junior Brother Xu is showing off a bit more of his talent," Sun Tao remarked with a smiling face. If the Celestial Strategy Wind and Cloud List didn’t concern future resources, Xu Yang likely wouldn’t have been so high-profile.

"As expected of the man who beat Lin Jingyu to death. He definitely has some skill."

"By reaching the Ninth Layer, even if he stops here, he can still rank in the eighties on the Celestial Strategy Wind and Cloud List."

"All these people completely underestimated him."

Those who had no grudges with Xu Yang offered nothing but astonishment and praise.

"The Ninth Layer is fine. If he were too useless, wouldn’t it make me, Huo Xiaochen, look incompetent?" Huo Xiaochen thought. Even though Xu Yang had reached the Ninth Layer, Huo Xiaochen didn’t care. If it weren’t for the fact that he had only recently achieved the Entry Level of the Azure Dragon Dominating Body, reaching the eleventh layer would have been a breeze for him.

Even if Xu Yang reached the tenth layer, as far as Huo Xiaochen was concerned, Xu Yang’s potential had already peaked. The gap between a genius and a mediocrity would only grow wider and wider over time.

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