The Imperial Martial Pill Venerable

"To think you possess such strength at your young age. It’s truly rare," Yann Xing began with praise, but his tone quickly shifted, his words turning cold and sharp. "Unfortunately, you don’t know when to back down. Arrogant and ignorant, you are destined to die here today!"

"Die?" A slight smile touched Qin Ya’s lips, but his gaze held an endless chill as he stared at Yann Xing. "Old dog," he said coolly, "you think you have what it takes to kill me?"

"You will pay the price for your actions!"

Being called an "old dog" sent Yann Xing into a humiliated rage. His face turned ashen as he swung his long saber, gathering boundless flames into an ultimate slash of Flame Saber Qi. The Blade Qi tore through the air, brilliant and dazzling, its intense heat causing clouds of white steam to rise from the ocean’s surface.

"Hmph, is that all you’ve got!"

Qin Ya sneered. He gripped his spear tightly and whipped it around. A tyrannical force, wreathed in Ice Flame, swept out, leaving a magnificent trail of fire in the air. The two powers collided, and the impact roiled the sea, throwing up giant waves dozens of meters high.

The astonishing power that erupted showed them to be evenly matched.

Yann Xing’s expression turned grim. He brandished his long saber, unleashing wave after wave of flames.

Qin Ya’s expression was impassive. Spear in hand, he stood fearlessly as his magnificent Ice Flame billowed around him. The Scenic Landscapes armor he wore flickered occasionally with a faint light.

The two were locked in a stalemate.

The surrounding attackers were already gaping in astonishment.

"I must be seeing things. What’s this kid’s background? How can he fight Yann Xing to a standstill? He can’t have reached the Extraordinary realm."

"That’s right. He’s only able to use Sky-Controlling because of his comprehension of the Frost Great Trend. Every time he moves, frost has to condense beneath his feet."

"But why? Why can he fight an Extraordinary Martial Artist?"

Why? Just why?

That single question filled the minds of the crowd. They were completely baffled, unable to find an answer. Weren’t the Extraordinary realm and the levels below it two completely different tiers? How could this young man cross that boundary to fight an Extraordinary Martial Artist?

"Maybe... this is what a genius is."

’A genius?’ they wondered. ’Does that kind of genius really exist in this world?’

’How can this be? How is this possible!’

The longer Yann Xing fought, the more terrified he became. ’This youth actually has this kind of strength! With my Extraordinary Cultivation, I can’t even suppress him, let alone defeat him!’

’Is this really the power someone at Celestial Essence Realm Perfection should possess?’

’What’s more, the aftershocks of my Blade Qi have clearly struck him several times, yet he seems completely unaffected, still fighting me with as much vigor as ever.’

CLANG! Spear and saber met, and the two were thrown back from the force of the impact.

Yann Xing stared at the young man, the earlier disdain on his face completely gone, replaced by a flicker of dread. "Your strength truly is beyond my expectations," he said coldly. "However, you have not reached the Extraordinary realm. You cannot draw upon the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, which means your True Essence is finite. Mine, on the other hand, is endless. You are bound to lose!"

"Oh? You want to wear me down?" Qin Ya said with a detached smile, leveling his spear at Yann Xing as War Intent flashed in his eyes. "Then let’s see what happens first: you exhausting my True Essence, or me taking your old life."

"Star-Shattering!!"

The words had barely left his lips when Qin Ya struck first. His spear moved so fast it seemed to break its own limits. In that instant, Qin Ya’s comprehension of "Fast" faintly touched upon the realm of the Mysterious. The speed of this thrust was utterly terrifying, chilling one to the bone.

Yann Xing’s pupils contracted. He willed his flames into a suit of armor, covering his entire body.

SCHLICK! A splash of crimson appeared.

A single drop of blood now beaded on the tip of the milky-white spear.

Touching his stinging cheek, Yann Xing’s breathing grew ragged. ’I’m injured. Injured by someone in the Celestial Essence Realm. And that spear thrust... it actually made me feel the threat of death.’ "AH! AHH! AHHH!"

Yann Xing roared like a madman. The flames around him erupted like a volcano, and an extreme heat radiated outward. Within a radius of several hundred meters, it felt like being scorched by a blazing sun. The onlookers were drenched in sweat and had to circulate their True Essence to withstand the temperature.

But not a single one of them left.

This battle was simply too incredible to believe. They wanted to see just how far this white-robed young man could go. They even began to wonder if he could truly cross the boundary of the Extraordinary realm and defeat an Extraordinary Martial Artist.

They knew it was an insane thought.

But like a weed, it spread uncontrollably through their minds.

"I’ll kill you!!"

Yann Xing looked like a man possessed. A powerful ripple of energy spread out from him, and flames shot forth like a dense barrage of Fire Meteors, blanketing the sky as they rained down on Qin Ya.

"Bring it on!"

Far from being afraid, Qin Ya’s face lit up with a hint of joy. He executed the Chasing Wind and Shadow Technique mid-air, darting left and right, his speed as unpredictable as a phantom.

Fast—so fast the naked eye could barely follow, so fast he was a blur of constant motion.

In that moment, Qin Ya’s comprehension of "Fast" soared. Finally, in a flash of insight, he grasped something profound. His body moved, seemingly ignoring the constraints of Space, and in an instant, he crossed dozens of meters and thrust his spear!

BOOM! Yann Xing let out a pained howl as his body was sent flying over a hundred meters away. Like a skipping stone, he bounced four times across the surface of the sea, sending up huge splashes.

Yann Xing finally managed to stabilize himself, only to spit out a mouthful of blood. PTHOO!

’What was that? That was the Mysterious... it was the Mysterious.’

’How is that possible? He hasn’t even reached the Extraordinary realm, yet he’s comprehended the Mysterious.’

’And that strange flame he’s using... it also contains a faint trace of the Mysterious. I thought it was just my imagination, but it seems I was wrong.’

Although injured, Yann Xing’s mind had sobered. The more he thought, the more shocked he became. He looked at Qin Ya, his pupils filling with terror. ’This kid has already comprehended several Great Trends at his age... no, he’s already touched upon the Mysterious.’

’This monster!’ Yann Xing cursed inwardly, his War Intent faltering.

The distant crowd stared, their eyes wide with disbelief.

What had they just seen? A lofty Extraordinary Martial Artist had been sent flying by a mere youth. This was hands-down the most bizarre thing they had ever witnessed in their lives. "My god, this kid is completely Heaven-Defying."

"Did anyone see the path of that spear?"

"I couldn’t. It was too fast. The instant he thrust it, it was as if he was already there. That kind of speed is unbelievable."

"If I had been the one facing that spear, I would be dead without a doubt!"

...

’So this is the Mysterious? What a peculiar feeling.’

A slight smile touched Qin Ya’s lips, and his eyes flashed with joy. ’Fighting really is the fastest way to improve. I can’t believe fighting Yann Xing actually allowed my comprehension of "Fast" to reach the level of the Mysterious.’

"Again!"

Qin Ya gave a cold smile and his figure blurred. It was as if distance had lost all meaning for him; he crossed the hundred-meter gap in an instant and thrust his spear straight for Yann Xing’s right arm. He didn’t want Yann Xing to die just yet.

’Such a good test subject is hard to come by.’

That’s right. Qin Ya was now treating Yann Xing as a test subject—someone to test his strength on. He no longer considered him an opponent.

"Hah! Arrogant brat."

Yann Xing swung his long saber, sending a tyrannical wave of Flame Saber Qi to cleave his foe in half.

But Qin Ya looked relaxed. He leaped into the air, and as he brushed past the Blade Qi, the trajectory of his spear didn’t waver in the slightest. It plunged directly into Yann Xing’s right arm. A flower of blood bloomed as Yann Xing’s pained wail echoed through the air.