Luo Qinzh and Master Qin of the Golden Jade Tower also wore grave expressions, not daring to underestimate him in the slightestâno one who knew the true nature of the Evil God Cultists would ever let their guard down.
And the young man with the facial tattoos did not disappoint. The moment he displayed his ability, many peopleâs brows furrowed even more deeply.
HUMMM...
As the tattoos on his body emitted a mysterious purple glow, crawling over his skin like living things, the figure of the Youtan Celestial Cultist standing in the wind and rain gradually became ethereal.
"This feeling... An illusion? Invisibility?"
This scene sent a jolt through all the True Disciples of the six major sects, their faces filled with shock and doubt.
"No, his ability isnât that simple!" Su Wanqiu shook her head, her brow tightly furrowed. "Raindrops pass straight through him without any resistance. And when I scan him with my Divine Sense, thereâs only emptiness, as if he was never there at all. The feeling I get is one of complete âdisappearance,â like a phantom detached from the physical world!"
The phantom Su Wanqiu mentioned was not like the ghosts of the Cultivation Realm. While those entities could also pass through walls and lacked physical bodies, they could still be detected by Divine Sense and were vulnerable to the elementsâwind, rain, thunderbolts, as well as Flame and sunlight.
But the young man who had suddenly appeared was different. In everyoneâs perception, he was truly "illusory," as if completely detached from this plane of existence, impossible to grasp.
What happened next made everyoneâs pupils constrict.
RUMBLE!
Amidst the Gale and Torrential Rain, lightning and thunder inevitably filled the sky. At that very moment, a Thunderbolt as thick as a bucket tore through the heavens, striking straight down at the young man.
Faced with a strike potent enough to kill an ordinary Qi Cultivator, the young man didnât even try to dodge. Instead, he stood tall and defiant, letting the Thunderbolt crash down upon him.
CRACKLE!
The blinding flash of lightning instantly engulfed the young manâs figure. Yet, when the light faded, he was still standing there in the wind and rain, his clothes fluttering, completely unharmed. It was as if the recent Thunderbolt had been nothing more than a gentle breeze.
At this sight, the Cultivators by the lake who had just been mocking the young man for his arrogance all fell silent. The sneers on their faces froze, replaced by expressions of utter shock and disbelief.
"The... the Thunderbolt attack was ineffective?"
"Itâs not just the Thunderbolt. Look at him, heâs completely fearless. It seems even the Water Flood Dragon Zhong Ming summoned wonât be able to touch him!"
"Damn... So youâre saying he canât be hit? How is anyone supposed to fight that!"
Some found the young manâs strange ability to be a thorny problem, while others were simply filled with utter confusion. "What in the world is going on? Why are so many heaven-defying talents popping up one after another?"
"Exactly! You could say Zhong Ming is a one-in-ten-thousand prodigy, but whatâs the deal with this guy? Arenât the True Disciples from the Major Sects supposed to be the pinnacle of our Prefecture Cityâs younger generation?!"
While the crowd was still reeling in shock and amazement, the purple-tattooed youth slowly spread his arms. His gaze locked onto Zhong Ming, his expression brazen and arrogant, as he threw Zhong Mingâs own words right back at him:
"Zhong Ming, is it? I hear youâre the strongest in Qinghe Prefecture City? Haha! If thatâs the case, why donât you let me see for myself just how much weight your title of âstrongestâ really holds?"
At this, his expression sharpened, his voice dripping with provocation. "Give it everything youâve got. Unleash your most powerful attack! Letâs see if your so-called âstrongestâ can even touch meâ"
BOOM!
Before the sound of his voice had even faded, the young manâs words came to an abrupt halt.
The instant his eyes met Zhong Mingâs, he clearly saw the flame burning quietly like a candlewick in Zhong Mingâs left eye suddenly erupt with immeasurable radiance, transforming into a magnificent Great Sun that instantly filled his entire field of vision!
Even then, however, the youth still failed to grasp the severity of the situation and remained utterly fearless.
Mingya, on Ji Qinghuiâs Flying Ship, and Luo Heng, within Luo Qinzhâs residence, both scoffed.
âHeâs using a spiritual attack? Heâs courting death!â
It was no wonder they thought this way; they had good reason for their pride. The so-called Youtan Heaven, and the Divine Spirit they worshipped, was in essence a Youtan Flower.
This flower was neither living nor dead, both real and illusory. It commanded the principles of life and death, disillusionment, dreams... and all sorts of other domains.
It was a Deity that focused on the mind and the Soul Spirit.
As Its followers, Mingya, Luo Heng, Luo Xiao, and the others had received Its blessing, causing a Youtan Flower sigil to form deep within their Soul Spirits.
This sigil was like a seed, which the Followers could water and nurture with their own lifeblood, Magical Power, and Divine Soul.
Eventually, when this flower had received enough nourishment, it would grow and bloom, granting the Cultivator all sorts of related abilities.
The Vaporization used by the young Cultivator earlier was one such ability.
Though it was a version of the Deityâs power weakened hundreds of millions of times over, it still rendered the children of Youtan Heaven immune to physical and energy attacks. Ninety-nine percent of all attacks in the world were unable to harm them.
It was this trump card that was the source of their arrogance.
Beyond Vaporization, the immense and high-quality Power of the Divine Soul also granted them mental abilities such as corruption and Illusion Techniques.
At that moment, a purple mist flashed in the eyes of the Youtan Heaven youth facing Zhong Ming. Directing that mist, he actually intended to turn the tables and corrode the blazing sun in Zhong Mingâs pupil.
What made Zhong Mingâs own pupils constrict and the flames in his eye flare was what he perceived through his As Clear as Daylight ability: the purple mist in the manâs eyes was of an incredibly high quality, perhaps even on par with his own condensed Flame of the Sun.
And this sparked the same question in Zhong Mingâs mind that the ordinary Cultivators by the lake had:
âWhere on earth do these people come from? How can they possess such an exalted power at such a low level of cultivation?â
Zhong Ming was well aware that his possession of the Flame of the Sun was due less to his own efforts and more to the aid of his Heaven Rewards Diligence ability. He simply couldnât understand how this person, by all rights, could possess an ability that rivaled his own!
"AHHH!!!"
Just as Zhong Ming grew vigilant, bracing himself for a difficult fight, a bloodcurdling scream suddenly erupted from the man across from him.
The once-imperious, purple-tattooed youth had met Zhong Mingâs gaze for no more than a single breath before his eyes burst into flames and he let out a heart-rending scream.
In the next instant, the roaring flames spread from his eyes across his entire body, turning him into a blazing human torch in the blink of an eye!
"???"
This scene left Zhong Ming stunned, his face a mask of utter bewilderment.
âWhat the hell? Was his power just an empty shell?â
After carefully extending his senses, Zhong Mingâs expression grew even more bewildered.
He realized it wasnât that his opponent was too weak, but that his own power was the perfect counter to the manâs purple mist.
When Zhong Ming used his Flame of the Sun against ordinary Cultivators, he typically overwhelmed them with sheer presence, leveraging his powerful Divine Soul to summon a vast sea of Solar Flame and crush his opponents with scale.
But dealing with Evil Demons and Outsiders was a different matter entirely. Both his Breaking Evil Golden Light and his Purifying Flame could unleash several times their normal power when confronting this type of âevilâ energy.
And his opponentâs power just so happened to belong to the category of "Evil Spirits" that his own abilities suppressed.
The golden light, like a sharp sword, tore through the enemyâs Divine Soul defenses. Following close behind, the Purifying Flame spread like wildfire, incinerating both his Divine Soul and physical body, reducing them to ash.
"..."
Even Zhong Ming hadnât expected to win so easily. For a moment, he was actually rendered speechless.
Meanwhile, the spectating Cultivators, especially those who had been on high alert with grave expressions, were now utterly speechless, a storm of complicated emotions brewing within them.
They had no way of knowing that Zhong Mingâs Flame was especially effective against the Youtan Celestial Cultists. All they saw was the arrogant, domineering youth being incinerated by Zhong Mingâs single glance.
In that moment, they felt that all their gravity and tension had been unnecessary, even laughable.
"Thatâs it?"