Such a Big Gap

The news spread quickly.

Huang Wuya, the former Dao Son of the Taiyi Immortal Sect, was going to challenge the newly appointed Holy Son, Ye Chuan, at the Dao Inquiry Platform.

Disciples from the Ninety-Nine Peaks rushed over one after another.

Even quite a few elders who had been in secluded cultivation temporarily set aside their training, eager to see with their own eyes just how powerful Ye Chuan truly was.

The Dao Inquiry Platform was located at the center of the Ninety-Nine Peaks.

The entire stone platform floated above a sea of clouds, surrounded by dozens of white jade pillars. Every pillar was densely covered in defensive formation inscriptions.

Usually, whenever sect disciples had an irreconcilable dispute, they would come here to spar.

But today’s gathering was clearly on an entirely different scale.

The several immortal peaks nearby were already packed with people. Even the space above the Dao Inquiry Platform was occupied by quite a few peak masters and elders sitting cross-legged.

Everyone’s gaze was fixed on the center of the stone platform.

Huang Wuya stood there quietly, waiting. He wore a simple yellow robe, and an ancient bronze sword hung behind him.

He had not deliberately released his aura.

Even so, the pressure belonging to a mid-stage Golden Immortal still spread out naturally, causing the clouds and mist around the platform to slowly retreat.

“Senior Brother Huang really has broken through to the mid-stage of the Golden Immortal Realm.”

“I heard that even before his breakthrough, he had already slain two ancient clan experts in the early stage of the Golden Immortal Realm. His strength now is probably enough to contend with a late-stage Golden Immortal.”

“The Holy Son is at the peak of the Golden Immortal Realm. His cultivation is ultimately much higher.”

“A higher cultivation realm doesn’t necessarily guarantee victory. Senior Brother Huang cultivates the Taiyi Immortal Sect’s most complete core inheritance and has tens of thousands of years of combat experience.”

The surrounding disciples whispered among themselves.

They did not think Huang Wuya was certain to defeat Ye Chuan.

There was, after all, a considerable gap between the mid-stage and peak of the Golden Immortal Realm.

But Huang Wuya was no ordinary Golden Immortal.

As the former Dao Son of the Taiyi Immortal Sect, he had led the sect’s disciples into countless secret realms and had fought alone on the Eastern Wasteland frontier for tens of thousands of years.

Among cultivators of the same realm, there were already very few who could withstand ten of his strikes.

Even when facing a late-stage Golden Immortal, he possessed the strength to fight.

Thus, in the eyes of most people, this sparring match would at least not end too quickly.

What they truly wanted to know was how much strength Ye Chuan would need to use to defeat Huang Wuya.

Before long, several figures finally appeared in the direction of Holy Son Peak.

Ye Chuan walked at the front.

Hu Li seemed not to have fully woken up yet and staggered along unsteadily.

Lan Xiaoke followed beside him, still holding the spatial ring Huang Wuya had left behind.

“Hee-hee, what good stuff…”

She had already gone through everything inside several times the night before.

Although she did not recognize most of the items, that did not stop her from knowing they were all valuable.

The three of them landed in front of the Dao Inquiry Platform.

Ye Chuan looked up at the densely packed crowd around them. “There are this many people?”

“It’s only natural that a spar between the Holy Son and the Dao Son would attract so much attention.”

The Enforcement Elder presiding over the match stepped forward and spoke solemnly. “The defensive formation around the Dao Inquiry Platform has already been activated. Both sides may fight with all their strength.”

Ye Chuan looked at Huang Wuya. “Shall we begin?”

“Yes.”

Huang Wuya raised a hand and gripped the hilt of his ancient bronze sword, but did not draw it immediately.

“Before we begin, however, I would like to ask the Holy Son a question.”

“Go ahead.”

“Will the Holy Son suppress his cultivation?”

Ye Chuan was somewhat puzzled. “Why would I suppress it?”

“I’m only at the mid-stage of the Golden Immortal Realm.”

Huang Wuya’s expression remained calm. “The Holy Son has already reached the peak of the Golden Immortal Realm. If you are willing to suppress your cultivation to my level, this spar will be fairer.”

Quite a few disciples around them nodded slightly.

At the Golden Immortal Realm, there was a considerable gap between every stage.

Huang Wuya might be capable of fighting above his cultivation level, but that did not mean the difference in realms did not exist.

If Ye Chuan used his peak Golden Immortal cultivation to suppress him directly, then even if Ye Chuan ultimately won, it would be difficult for everyone to truly acknowledge his victory.

Ye Chuan, however, shook his head. “There’s no need.”

Huang Wuya fell silent for a moment. “The Holy Son refuses?”

“It makes no difference whether I suppress my cultivation or not.”

Ye Chuan stepped onto the Dao Inquiry Platform and stopped casually in front of Huang Wuya.

“I won’t use immortal energy.”

The surroundings instantly fell somewhat silent.

He wouldn’t use immortal energy?!

How arrogant!

What kind of arrogance was this?!

What did he mean by not using immortal energy? Was he planning to rely only on magic treasures? But magic treasures also required immortal energy to activate.

Could he be a body cultivator?

The corner of Huang Wuya’s eye twitched faintly.

He had not even started fighting yet, and he had never expected Ye Chuan to look down on him to this extent.

“Holy Son, you will regret this.”

Huang Wuya looked at Ye Chuan again. His right hand slowly tightened around the sword hilt.

“Holy Son, be careful.”

Clang!

A clear sword cry rang out across the sea of clouds!

The instant the ancient bronze sword left its sheath, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth around the entire Dao Inquiry Platform began to change!

Streams of golden sword qi spread from Huang Wuya’s body, soon covering the entire stone platform.

The sword qi was not chaotic.

Every stream maintained exactly the same distance from the others, forming a tightly operating sword formation that sealed off every possible place Ye Chuan could move.

“The Taiyi Sword Domain.”

A peak master gazed at the stone platform, his eyes taking on a more serious look.

“Wuya didn’t bother testing him. He activated his Golden Immortal Domain from the very start.”

After entering the Golden Immortal Realm, cultivators could merge their own Great Dao with heaven and earth and condense a law domain unique to themselves.

Within their domain, their strength would increase tremendously, while their opponent would be suppressed by the laws of heaven and earth.

The Taiyi Sword Domain cultivated by Huang Wuya was one of the Taiyi Immortal Sect’s most powerful domains.

Once a cultivator of the same realm was trapped inside it, they would even find it difficult to maintain their full combat strength.

More and more golden sword qi gathered.

Huang Wuya did not rush to attack.

He knew perfectly well that there was a gap in cultivation between himself and Ye Chuan. Therefore, from the very beginning, he had not intended to hold anything back.

“Suppress.”

Huang Wuya formed a seal with one hand.

Several thousand streams of sword qi descended simultaneously!

The space atop the Dao Inquiry Platform was sliced into countless tiny sections. Every stream of sword qi contained Golden Immortal laws that sealed the flow of spiritual energy around Ye Chuan!

Ye Chuan stood where he was without dodging.

Only when the first stream of sword qi reached him did a strand of black-gold power slowly seep from his body.

The sword qi, powerful enough to slice through the body of an ordinary True Immortal, had barely come into contact with the black-gold power when it seemed to be caught in the bite of some unseen creature. In an instant, it vanished without a trace.

Then came the second stream.

The third.

Then hundreds more.

Every stream of sword qi that approached Ye Chuan vanished rapidly after entering the area within several dozen feet of him!

Not even the Golden Immortal laws contained within the sword qi left behind the slightest trace.

In the span of only a few breaths, the Taiyi Sword Domain that had originally covered the entire Dao Inquiry Platform had developed a massive void!

Ye Chuan stood at the center of that void.

The black-gold power flowed slowly around him, continuing to devour the surrounding sword qi and laws.

Huang Wuya’s eyes narrowed slightly.

He had already heard in advance about the unusual power within Ye Chuan’s body and knew that even Yue Qingyi’s Immortal King laws had once been devoured by it.

But facing it in person still felt entirely different.

“Senior Brother Huang’s domain is weakening!”

A disciple stared at the stone platform and could not help exclaiming, “The Holy Son hasn’t even launched an attack!”

“What exactly is that black-gold power?”

“It can directly devour even Golden Immortal laws?”

Could it be a type of law?!

The discussions around them grew louder and louder.

Huang Wuya, however, remained unaffected.

He raised his hand and grasped the ancient sword. In an instant, his entire body pierced through the layers of sword qi and appeared before Ye Chuan.

Since laws could be devoured—

Then he would abandon the laws and attack with the true edge of his sword!

Sword, come!

The bronze ancient sword traced a simple arc through the air, descending toward Ye Chuan’s shoulder.

The strike looked utterly ordinary.

Yet several elders nearby straightened in their seats at the same time.

Huang Wuya had gathered all his strength within the ancient sword, leaving not the slightest excess aura exposed.

After tens of thousands of years of slaughter, his sword techniques had long since abandoned flashy displays and imposing momentum.

The simpler the move, the harder it was to resist!

At that moment, Ye Chuan finally seemed to raise his hand as he watched the sword strike coming at full force.

Two fingers clamped onto the blade.

The bronze ancient sword stopped dead in midair!

Immortal power erupted from within Huang Wuya. All the strength of a mid-stage Golden Immortal surged down his arm and into the ancient sword.

The ancient runes on the sword’s surface lit up one after another!

Dozens of defensive formations beneath the stone platform also began to glow simultaneously under the impact of this power.

Yet Ye Chuan’s fingers did not move in the slightest. He merely regarded the sword with interest.

Unwilling to accept this, Huang Wuya continued increasing his strength.

“Hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm—aaahhhhhhhh!”

The ancient sword seemed to be clamped between two immovable worlds. No matter how hard he tried, he could not advance it even half an inch!

Ye Chuan lowered his head and glanced at the blade.

“This sword is pretty good.”

“Does the Holy Son like it?”

Maintaining the pressure, Huang Wuya asked in a low voice.

“It’s quite sturdy.”

Ye Chuan slightly tightened his fingers around the blade.

“For a moment, I thought it might break.”

Huang Wuya fell silent.

The people nearby also fell into silence.

This was an ancient sword left behind by a former elder of the Taiyi Immortal Sect. After being nurtured for hundreds of thousands of years, it was more than capable of withstanding the power of a peak-stage Golden Immortal.

Yet in Ye Chuan’s hands, it had received nothing more than the assessment that it was fairly sturdy.

Huang Wuya drew a deep breath and suddenly released the ancient sword.

His body retreated several hundred yards, while his hands rapidly formed seals before his chest.

The bronze ancient sword, still clamped between Ye Chuan’s fingers, began floating on its own.

An aura completely different from before slowly rose from within Huang Wuya’s body!

The Taiyi Sword Domain, which had already been devoured by more than half, began gathering once again at that moment.

But this time, none of the sword qi continued attacking Ye Chuan.

Instead, it began converging into the bronze ancient sword.

Thousands of strands.

Tens of thousands of strands.

The entire domain was shrinking!

Huang Wuya poured the domain, his immortal power, and his own sword intent into a single strike. A fine crack soon appeared across the surface of the bronze ancient sword.

The Enforcement Elder’s expression changed slightly.

“Huang Wuya, are you planning to destroy your own natal immortal sword?”

Huang Wuya did not answer.

From the very beginning, he had known that he would lose.

But knowing the result did not mean he could simply bring the spar to an end.

He had fought for the Taiyi Immortal Sect for tens of thousands of years.

The position of Holy Son had also been his goal for tens of thousands of years.

Now, he needed to see for himself exactly how great the gap between him and Ye Chuan was!

If he did not even dare to use his strongest sword, then he had no right to continue standing there!

“Unity of Taiyi.”

Huang Wuya raised his hand and pointed toward Ye Chuan from afar.

“Slash!”

The bronze ancient sword vanished in an instant.

Only a slender golden line of sword light remained across the entire Dao Seeking Platform. The space along its path was completely split apart as it arrived directly before Ye Chuan!

The power of this strike had already surpassed the limits an ordinary Golden Immortal could reach!

Even the expressions of several peak masters who were late-stage Golden Immortals grew solemn.

“Not bad.”

Looking at the line of sword light before him, Ye Chuan finally offered a word of praise.

The golden sword light, condensed from all of Huang Wuya’s strength, began dissipating from its tip the instant it touched Ye Chuan.

All of Huang Wuya’s immortal power, sword intent, and domain were rapidly devoured by the black-gold force!

In the blink of an eye, only the bronze ancient sword itself remained!

Ye Chuan casually grasped the hilt. A strand of chaotic power enveloped the surface of the ancient sword, halting the spread of its cracks.

Huang Wuya’s body swayed slightly, and his face instantly turned pale.

The Taiyi Sword Domain had vanished.

His strongest sword had not even touched Ye Chuan…

But the spar was not over yet.

Huang Wuya raised his head and stomped heavily on the Dao Seeking Platform. His entire body shot toward Ye Chuan once more.

He gathered all his remaining immortal power into his right fist and drove it straight toward Ye Chuan’s chest.

This was his final attack.

Watching the fist approach, Ye Chuan also raised his right hand—

He simply clenched it and punched forward.

Bang!

The two fists collided head-on.

The low, muffled sound spread across the ninety-nine peaks.

Dozens of white jade pillars surrounding the Dao Seeking Platform lit up simultaneously. Beneath the stone platform, the sea of clouds was torn apart to both sides by the powerful impact.

Huang Wuya felt an utterly irresistible force surge through his arm.

His body instantly lost its balance, and he was sent flying backward!

Ye Chuan, however, remained standing where he was. Not even a mark appeared beneath his feet.

Just as Huang Wuya was about to fly off the Dao Seeking Platform, a strand of black-gold power suddenly appeared behind him, devouring the remaining force of the impact.

Huang Wuya landed at the edge of the stone platform, staggering back two steps before finally steadying himself.

A powerful numbness and soreness spread through his right arm.

Aside from that, he had suffered no other injuries.

He lowered his head and looked at his arm, then raised his eyes toward Ye Chuan in the distance.

Ye Chuan had held back during that punch as well.

After knocking him back, he had even possessed enough strength to devour the remaining force and prevent him from being injured by the impact.

The difference between them was already unmistakable!

Ye Chuan had defeated him head-on using nothing but his physical strength!

The surroundings fell silent.

Tens of thousands of disciples stood on the nearby immortal peaks, yet no one spoke for a long while.

They had imagined many possible outcomes.

Huang Wuya’s defeat was not unexpected. But from the beginning of the spar to its end, Ye Chuan had remained standing in the same spot.

He had not used a single technique.

He had not even fully released the pressure of a peak-stage Golden Immortal.

Huang Wuya’s strongest domain and sword intent had been devoured outright by that black-gold force. In the final clash of physical strength, all he had managed to earn was a single punch from Ye Chuan.

This could no longer be explained by a difference in cultivation realms.

Huang Wuya slowly exhaled and walked back before Ye Chuan. With a solemn bow, he said, “I lost.”

“Mm.”

Ye Chuan held out the bronze ancient sword to him.

“Your sword.”

Huang Wuya accepted the ancient sword and saw that the cracks in its surface had stopped spreading. His eyes shifted slightly.

“How much strength did the Holy Son use just now?”

The disciples nearby immediately pricked up their ears.

This was also the question everyone most wanted answered.

Ye Chuan seriously thought back.

“The final punch?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm…”

Ye Chuan had originally wanted to say that he had barely used any strength at all, but then he felt that would be a little too crushing.

The man before him had left a decent impression.

“Fifty percent. I used fifty percent,” Ye Chuan said.

But Huang Wuya gave a bitter laugh.

“…Is that so? So the gap between the Holy Son and me is that great.”

Yet a closer look made it clear that Ye Chuan was merely being polite.

He was giving Huang Wuya some dignity.

Huang Wuya remained silent for a long while.

At last, he bowed his head once more toward Ye Chuan.

“As for the position of Holy Son, I am completely convinced.”

With those words, the disciples nearby who had still harbored doubts about Ye Chuan’s identity fell completely silent.

Huang Wuya was widely recognized as the strongest among the younger generation of the Taiyi Immortal Sect.

Since even he had taken the initiative to admit defeat, the others naturally had no grounds to question it.

Lan Xiaoke finally came running onto the stone platform, clutching the spatial ring.

She came before Huang Wuya and seriously confirmed, “This belongs to Ye Chuan now, right?”

“It belongs to him.”

“Good.”

Lan Xiaoke immediately stuffed the ring into Ye Chuan’s hand, then patted Huang Wuya on the shoulder. “You may not be very good at fighting, but you’re actually a pretty nice person.”

Huang Wuya glanced at Lan Xiaoke and twitched the corner of his mouth. “…”

Of course he was nice—he had just given her a treasure.