I heard you've been having a rough time lately

The challenger’s words were polite, but the fighting spirit burning in his eyes was unmistakable.

On the other side, a tall youth wielding a bronze battle halberd refused to be outdone, fearful of falling behind if someone else challenged first. He shouted loudly: “Wang Zhan! Dare to fight me! Let me see if you truly possess the legendary Emperor’s talent!”

Around them, many others covertly locked their qi onto Wang Zhan, remaining silent but making their intentions clear—they all wanted to seize this chance to test the revered holy physique that had toppled from its pedestal.

Facing this barrage of challenges, Wang Zhan, who had been eager to digest his insights, suddenly opened his eyes wide. Anger and ruthlessness flickered in his gaze.

A swarm of buzzing flies.

“You want to make a name for yourselves by stepping on me?” he said, his voice hoarse but carrying an overwhelming presence.

He did not rise; instead, he straightened his seated form slightly, allowing a refined surge of pale-green vital blood to flow naturally.

“Do you even deserve it?”

“Hah, you actually think you have Emperor’s talent? I say the Heavenly Cang Holy Physique is nothing special. Watch my sword!”

Before his words died out, Zhao Yuanzhi, who bore a sword on his back, had already struck!

The sword light poured like flowing clouds, exuding a fierce aura, aimed straight at Wang Zhan’s chest.

Almost simultaneously, the halberd-wielding youth let out a fierce roar. His halberd swept crosswise, stirring up a gale with weighty, forceful momentum.

They did not intend to kill—only to force Wang Zhan to fight, then defeat him to make their own names.

A cold glint flashed in Wang Zhan’s eyes. He formed a blade with two fingers and, without even looking, pointed directly at the swift sword light.

Qi and blood condensed at his fingertip, striking later yet arriving first, landing precisely on the seventh inch of the sword blade.

“Clang!”

A crisp sound rang out.

Zhao Yuanzhi felt a tremendous force surge through him. His entire arm went numb, his long sword nearly slipping from his grip. He staggered backward, his face pale with shock.

At the same time, Wang Zhan’s other hand pressed downward through the air, unleashing a surge of majestic force against the sweeping halberd.

“Boom!”

The halberd-youth felt as if he had crashed into a mountain. His weapon shook violently, the skin of his tiger’s-mouth grip splitting, his qi and blood roiling as he stumbled back, disbelief written all over his face.

The others who had been ready to move were swept by Wang Zhan’s icy gaze. They felt as if they had fallen into an icy pit—the killer intent, though not fully unleashed, chilled them to the bone. The courage they had just summoned evaporated in an instant, and none dared step forward.

In the blink of an eye, two prodigies who had dared to strike first were defeated.

The entire venue fell into a dead silence.

“He really is that strong! Zhao Yuanzhi, also at the late King Realm, with swordsmanship so exquisite he’s a once-in-a-millennium genius for the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect—yet he was defeated in one move by the severely injured Wang Zhan.”

“Sigh! If Wang Zhan were in peak condition, that would be monstrous!”

They finally understood that even a gravely wounded Heavenly Cang Holy Physique was not to be trifled with.

Wang Zhan did not even spare these people a glance, as if he had casually shooed away flies.

These ants were not worthy of his anger. They would only serve as whetstones to sharpen his new combat techniques.

Over the following days, Wang Zhan’s battlefield became a one-man arena.

Ceaseless challengers arrived, hearing of his presence. There were sect prodigies seeking fame, old enemies embittered by past grievances, and spies sent by various powers to probe him.

Fight after fight.

Wang Zhan no longer sought to crush his enemies with sheer force. Instead, he treated every battle as a practice ground for perfecting his control of power.

He constantly reflected and adjusted. Instead of withstanding attacks head-on, he sought the flaws in his opponent’s techniques, striking where they were weakest.

Against heavy-hitting body cultivators, he no longer met force with force. He guided and redirected their momentum, striking the moment they committed to an attack.

He intensified his mastery over extreme control of power: compressing and refining the once-turbulent holy blood force to unleash deeper, more piercing blows.

Amid the frequent battles, his injuries remained severe—some prodigies even managed to wound him, worsening his condition.

Yet his eyes grew brighter and brighter. The aura about him no longer carried pure, unbridled dominance but a restrained, sharp edge.

He spoke less now. All his emotions coalesced at his fingertips and atop his fists.

Those who fell before him were either dead or crippled.

His methods grew colder and more efficient. Gone was the pride of the Heavenly Cang Holy Physique; all that remained was an unwavering conviction to test himself for the sake of becoming stronger.

As tales of Wang Zhan’s battles spread, even the prodigies who had once been counted as his equals turned their attention back to him. They felt the unconquerable will behind his hundred fights, and even they stirred with awe.

Twice defeated disciples of the same sectly, grievously wounded, and then too many battles without end.

If it were them in his place, they wondered, could they have endured as much?

At that moment, Shi Man had just emerged from an ancient ruin. Powerful qi radiated from his body.

“Hahaha!” he laughed. “Who knew I would find the remains of an ancient body-refining sage here in the Eastern Domain. Heaven really helps me!”

Shi Man pounded his own chest with his fist, producing a sound like clashing metal, delighting in the incredibly tempered, near-steel physique. His pride surged.

“War Asura, Wang Zhan, the Divine Lord Physique… wait for your Grandpa Shi. I’m about to be your master.”

In Shi Man’s mind, his confidence had skyrocketed. He practically looked down on all his peers in the Eastern Domain.

When he heard that Wang Zhan had once again been defeated—this time by Sword Baiyi, who was at the peak of Celestial Man Realm—

“Hahahaha!”

His laughter grew only wilder, shaking the forests.

“Wang Zhan, that guy! They have been hyping him up—Emperor’s talent, my ass! Just a few days, and now he’s turning the ground beneath him into a doormat,” Shi Man said, twisting his thick neck. His eyes burned with battle lust. “Perfect timing! I just came out of seclusion with these fists itching for a spar.

“I’ve heard you’ve improved. Let’s see what that holy physique of yours is really made of!”

“Whoosh!”

Shi Man moved, transforming into a raging hurricane as he blasted toward the area where Wang Zhan was.

As he passed, mountains shook, rocks flew, and sand and debris surged. He was like a humanoid beast on the rampage, cocky and uncurbed.

Inside that area, Wang Zhan had just put down yet another dead fool. He suddenly turned his gaze into the distance, where a beam of light was rushing toward him—target squarely himself.

“Finally, someone who’s worth noticing,” said Wang Zhan, his voice hoarse but calm, revealing neither joy nor anger.

He stood upright slowly. His previously refined, restrained pale-green holy blood qi started awakening like a dormant monstrous beast. His body, once badly wounded, had recovered—stronger than before.

Shi Man’s form crashed like a meteorite onto the plaza, shaking the ground and causing the earth to tremble.

Arms crossed on his chest, he looked at Wang Zhan, his teeth gleaming in a brutal grin, laughter booming like thunder.

“Wang Zhan! I hear you’ve been getting trashed lately, eh? What, the Heavenly Cang Holy Physique is down on its luck? Want your Uncle Shi to teach you what a truly unbeatable body tastes like?”

As he spoke, Shi Man’s steps shifted as he circled around Wang Zhan, clearly probing his opponent’s foundation.

He might be brash, but he wasn’t stupid. When fighting another prodigy, he would prepare seriously.

“Your recovery is pretty quick, I see. I heard you were nearly beaten to death a few days ago—didn’t expect you to bounce back this fast.”