182: Have you ever seen a palm strike fall from the sky?

Chapter 182: Have You Ever Seen a Palm Descend from the Heavens!

Mei’er cupped her hands around her mouth, her clear shout piercing through the din:

“Brother Tian, you can do it!”

Xiao Xuantian’s lips curved upwards, his gaze sweeping over her as he confidently replied, “Mei’er, just watch! When has your Brother Tian ever disappointed you?”

“Kid!” Xiao Xuantian’s icy voice, like cold iron scraping, instantly silenced the commotion at the side of the arena. “Since I’m in a good mood, I’ll grant you a quick end!”

“Noisy!”

Zhang Sheng’s eyes were as sharp as blades. With a slight thought, a Profound Light Shield, solid as substance, instantly enveloped his body.

Buzz—! The invisible spiritual energy in the air seemed to ignite, boiling and roaring violently, stirring up small, visible air current vortices.

The crowd grew larger and larger. Zhang Sheng knew that delay would only bring more variables.

“You!” Xiao Xuantian was completely enraged, a red glint flashing in his eyes. “Then let’s see if your turtle shell is hard enough!”

Before his words finished, he suddenly flexed his five fingers, his bones emitting faint crackling sounds!

Both arms and palms mutated at an astonishing speed. His skin instantly turned a dark, blood-red bronze, and the intricate patterns of knotted muscles were clearly visible. Whoosh—!

Blazing red flames erupted without warning from the pores of his arms, burning fiercely. The air was scorched and twisted, and hot waves rolled forth.

“Whoosh! Whoosh!”

Two figures broke through the air and landed steadily on the outer edge of the crowd.

“Bamboo Pole, we made it! Xiao Xuantian’s ‘Burning Arm Flame Claws’... the fire intent is almost solidified. That kid Zhang Sheng is probably going to suffer!” AFat wiped sweat, speaking rapidly.

The thin Cultivator called “Bamboo Pole” stared intently at the halo around Zhang Sheng, his voice grave: “Fatty, look closely at that shield!”

TheFat squinted, then gasped in cold air: “Hiss—! Profound Light Shield? This… this thickness?! How many layers did he stack?!”

“Eighty-one layers!” Bamboo Pole enunciated each word, his eyes full of shock. “Perfected State! This kid is a monster!”

“Now this is going to be a real show!” TheFat rubbed his hands, getting excited.

Boom!

Xiao Xuantian transformed into a crimson streak of light, tearing through the air, and instantly lunged at Zhang Sheng the moment the sound reverberated!

Rip—!!!

The burning, dark red sharp claws fiercely tore at the Profound Light Shield, erupting in a teeth-grinding, ear-piercing shriek, as if metal was being forcibly ripped apart!

Sparks flew, and light fragments scattered!

With one strike, a full thirty layers of the Profound Light Shield shattered!

However, before the shattered halo completely dissipated, Zhang Sheng’s spiritual energy surged like a rushing river. Amidst a humming sound, the thirty torn light shields actually recovered as before in a breath’s time, their halos flowing, as solid as ever!

Xiao Xuantian’s pupils suddenly constricted like needles! “How is this possible?!” His heart was greatly shaken.

In Qinglan Academy, only a handful of Disciples could refine defensive Spells to the Perfected State. This newcomer, Zhang Sheng, who had just entered the academy, was actually a hidden prodigy!

Although his Burning Arm Flame Claws were powerful, they were still within the scope of Spells, and there was still a gap before they could be considered true Divine Abilities.

What surprised him even more was the opponent's spiritual energy recovery speed and control over Spells, which were simply inconceivable.

A hint of interest, however, flickered in Zhang Sheng’s eyes.

Xiao Xuantian’s fighting style, which integrated the power of fire into his flesh, blood, tendons, and bones, was indeed unique.

It could not only unleash the full power of Perfected State fire techniques but also simultaneously leverage surging Qi and blood energy.

That claw strike just now was a perfect superposition of fire spiritual energy and physical brute force, and its explosive power far exceeded ordinary Perfected State Spells.

As the thought arose, the space behind Zhang Sheng rippled slightly.

Rumble!

An incomparably massive palm, formed purely from earthy yellow spiritual energy, appeared out of thin air!

The palm was eight meters long, solid and heavy, with clearly visible lines on its palm and wrinkles on its knuckles. It exuded a majestic aura capable of shaking mountains and moving peaks, as if the hand of an ancient giant god had descended across time and space!

“Fatty! What kind of Spell is that? I’ve never seen it before!” The skinny Bamboo Pole, Wen Tao, exclaimed in shock.

Qian Che, theFat who specialized in earth techniques, was equally horrified:

“I haven’t seen it either! But this is definitely a top-tier earth-attribute Spell! Incomparably profound earth spiritual energy! And... he didn’t even form hand seals! Perfected State! Only Perfected State can be so effortless!”

He clearly sensed the profound Earth Elemental power contained within the giant palm, which made his Soul tremble.

“Now Xiao Xuantian has really hit a tough spot!” Wen Tao muttered.

Rumble!

The earthy yellow giant palm, with the might to crush everything, slammed down from above!

Before the palm wind even arrived, the heavy pressure already made the ground tremble slightly!

“Hmph!” Xiao Xuantian snorted coldly, and the air currents around him instantly became violent! Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—!

Countless translucent cyan wind blades condensed out of thin air, emitting piercing shrieks as they tore through the air, swirling towards the giant palm like a storm!

Puff puff puff puff...!

Dense cutting sounds erupted like popping beans! The huge earth palm was cut and disintegrated in the storm of wind blades, turning into scattered earthy yellow light particles.

However, Xiao Xuantian's eyes had completely changed, no longer showing any trace of contempt.

This opponent was worthy of his full effort!

But at the moment his mind was surging, he caught a glimpse of the faint, almost mocking smile on Zhang Sheng’s lips.

“Damn it! How dare he underestimate me?!” Xiao Xuantian was furious, and a sense of humiliation instantly ignited all the blood in his body!

“Ten! Suns! United! In The Sky!” He roared, almost spitting out each word with blood!

Boom—!

His entire skin instantly turned crimson like a branding iron, and the raging flames steaming from his body surged violently, changing color from red to gold, like flowing lava!

Extremely violent fire spiritual energy frantically gathered above his head. Amidst rumbling muffled sounds, ten enormous, dark red fireballs, each the size of a house and radiating destructive high temperatures, suddenly formed!

The sky seemed to ignite, reflecting a blood-red hue!

However, just as he unleashed this incredibly powerful attack, his peripheral vision caught the expressions of the onlookers—the Cultivators’ faces, to his surprise, showed expressions of horror, pity, and even inability to bear witness!

“Hmm?” An ominous premonition instantly seized him.

Immediately after, he noticed that his shadow... had disappeared!

No, it wasn't gone! The light... was blocked!

He suddenly looked up!

The sky... had turned dark!

The sky above was completely covered by dense, layered, earthy yellow giant palms!

Nearly a hundred of them! Each one as massive, solid, and exuding a suffocating, heavy pressure as the previous one!

They blotted out the sky and the sun, forming a desperate, inescapable cage!

Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!

Almost the instant he looked up, dozens of giant palms above fiercely slammed shut, crushing the ten destructive fire suns he had painstakingly condensed, as easily as popping bubbles!

Rumble!

The enormous energy shockwave was firmly suppressed by the heavy earth palms, emitting only a dull roar.

The next moment, the sky collapsed!

The remaining giant palms above, and more giant palms converging from all directions, crashed down like collapsing mountains!

Layer upon layer, airtight, leaving no gap!

The aura of death instantly engulfed Xiao Xuantian.

“Am I… going to die?”

In despair, he instinctively, with his last ounce of strength, twisted his head with difficulty and looked in Mei’er’s direction.

Through the tiny, narrow gleam of light between the fingers of the giant palms, he no longer saw worry or encouragement, but a pair of cold eyes.

In those eyes, there was no anxiety, no sadness, only a kind of... indifference?

It was like ten thousand years of cold ice piercing his heart!

“Mei’er... why?” Immense pain and disbelief instantly overwhelmed the fear of death.

“Why?! You said... as long as I broke into the top ten thousand of the fledgling tiger ranking... you would...” The pillar of his belief, under Mei’er’s cold gaze, collapsed with a crash.

“Heh... yes... I was too weak... I... was not worthy of you...” Extreme despair devoured his last shred of strength. He slowly closed his eyes, gave up resistance, and awaited the destructive crushing.

However, the expected pulverization did not come.

Buzz—!

A powerful and stable restraining force instantly enveloped him.

He felt as if he was tightly held by a giant hand of earth spiritual energy, like an insect encased in amber, unable to move, but not fatally harmed.

Zhang Sheng frowned slightly, looking at Xiao Xuantian, who was closing his eyes, awaiting death, in his palm.

Killing intent surged several times, but he ultimately suppressed it.

He felt that something was strange about this matter. Killing this kid would likely get him involved in unnecessary trouble.

But if he let him go so easily... how would Zhang Sheng establish himself in Qinglan Academy in the future?

“Xiao Xuantian,” Zhang Sheng’s voice, cold and clear, pierced through the confinement and resounded throughout the arena.

“You are not my opponent. Whether I kill you or not, you pose no threat to me.” He deliberately made sure everyone around could hear clearly.

“Now, I’ll give you a way out.”

“Wh-what are the conditions?” Xiao Xuantian gasped with difficulty, the air in his lungs compressed, each word he uttered causing immense pain.

A flash of light, and a Medicinal Pill, pitch black and emanating an ominous, ethereal glow, flew out from Zhang Sheng’s storage ring, hovering before Xiao Xuantian’s eyes.

“Consume this slave soul pill, and you can live!” Zhang Sheng’s voice was devoid of emotion.

This Medicinal Pill was precisely the spoils of war from when he had killed that burly man earlier.

“Zhang Sheng!” Xiao Xuantian’s eyes were splitting with rage, his voice trembling with anger and humiliation.

“You want me to be your slave?! Dream on! I’d rather die than agree!”

Zhang Sheng’s voice remained cold:

“Xiao Xuantian, listen. I don’t want you to be a slave for life. Ten years! Serve me for ten years, and after ten years, I will return your freedom.

Within these ten years, I promise not to make you harm your loved ones, nor to make you do anything that would lead to certain death.”

He looked around, “Everyone here today can bear witness!”

“If you still refuse this condition...” Zhang Sheng’s voice suddenly turned cold, and the giant spiritual energy hand restraining Xiao Xuantian tightened slightly, emitting a creaking, oppressive sound.

“...Then I’ll just have to crush you!”

Zhang Sheng’s voice echoed clearly over the silent martial arts arena.

Xiao Xuantian closed his eyes, a great sense of humiliation and the instinct for survival fiercely battling within him.

After a moment, his throat bobbed, and his voice was hoarse and low, filled with desperate weariness: “Zhang Sheng... I lost... with so many people watching... I hope... you keep your word... I...”

“Stop!”

A thunderous roar, like Startling Thunder, suddenly ripped through the deathly silence of the arena!

A dazzling streak of light tore through the sky, instantly appearing at the edge of the martial arts arena.

The light dispersed, revealing a young man dressed in similar black profound robes, with a face like jade, holding a jade-boned folding fan.

His posture was tall and straight, his demeanor graceful, but at this moment, his face was covered with a layer of frost.

Zhang Sheng’s gaze narrowed, instantly catching sight of the qinglan token hanging at the opponent’s waist—it was strikingly inlaid with four gleaming golden stars!

“My foolish younger brother!” The young man’s gaze was like lightning, sweeping over the restrained Xiao Xuantian, his voice filled with undisguised anger at his failure to live up to expectations.

“The face of my Xiao family has been completely lost by you today!”

“It’s Xiao Buyu! Xiao Buyu of the Azure Mist Hall is here!” Among the onlookers, theFat Qian Che lowered his voice, unable to hide his excitement, “Now there’s going to be a good show!”

Xiao Buyu’s gaze turned to Zhang Sheng, the frost on his face slightly receding. He cupped his hands slightly, his movements elegant yet carrying an invisible pressure:

“Azure Mist Hall’s Xiao Buyu greets Fellow Daoist Zhang Sheng.”

Azure Mist Hall! Four-star Qinglan Guards! Zhang Sheng’s heart tightened.

The faint Spiritual Pressure emanating from the opponent was vast and profound, even subtly reminding him of a powerful expert like Song Hao!

This was definitely a top-tier master in the Divine Power Realm, and even more, a pivotal leader in the local faction.

Fortunately... he didn't kill him just now! Zhang Sheng secretly rejoiced.

“Zhang Sheng greets Senior Xiao Buyu.” Zhang Sheng composed himself and returned the respectful greeting.

At the same time, with a thought, the earthy yellow spiritual energy giant hand that had been restraining Xiao Xuantian silently dissipated, turning into specks of light dust.

“Fellow Daoist Zhang Sheng,” Xiao Buyu’s voice was calm.

“Today’s incident was entirely due to my unruly younger brother’s recklessness and ignorance, and it is also my fault for not disciplining him strictly enough.”

Before he finished speaking, two streaks of light flew out from his storage ring, accurately hovering in front of Zhang Sheng.

One was a colorless, transparent treasure pearl the size of a dragon's eye, with what appeared to be nebulae flowing within it, emitting pure and mysterious spatial fluctuations.

The other was an ancient, azure Jade Slip.