Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin: I Set Taboos in the Heavens

The martial arts competition at Tianwei Academy has begun.

The entire college was bustling with activity.

Fang Qing encountered his first opponent, an elite disciple from the Sun Moon Academy named Zhao Lie, whose cultivation level was four times the Life-Seizing Realm.

This man was burly, with a face full of fat and a fierce look in his eyes.

Once the two entered the arena, a transparent energy barrier rose around it, preventing the aftershocks of the battle from harming the audience and ensuring the "fairness" of the fight.

The barrier will not open unless one side concedes defeat or completely loses its fighting ability.

"The pretty boy from the Heavenly Academy?"

Zhao Lie sized Fang Qing up and down. Seeing that he had a handsome face and a restrained aura, unlike the fierce person he had heard about, he couldn't help but sneer and said in a deep voice, "Quickly step back and admit defeat. Otherwise, when the fight starts, fists and feet have no eyes. I will let you know what real pain is and what it means to regret stepping onto this stage!"

He clashed his fists together, producing a metallic clang. His muscles bulged, and his body was covered in a yellowish-brown aura like armor, exuding a menacing aura.

Cheers came from some Sun Moon Academy disciples, while some Heavenly Academy disciples showed anger.

Fang Qing didn't even lift his eyelids, and simply said, "Noisy."

"court death!"

Enraged, Zhao Lie stomped his foot, causing the arena floor to tremble slightly, and charged forward like a bull.

With a single punch, the wind howled, and the faint phantom of a mountain appeared. It was a rather powerful fist technique from the Sun Moon Academy – the "Mountain Shaking Fist".

This punch was powerful and heavy, enough to split stone tablets and shatter rocks. Ordinary cultivators who had experienced the fourth stage of the Death Pillar would never dare to take it head-on.

However, Fang Qing simply raised his right hand casually and pointed his index finger forward slightly.

There was no earth-shattering momentum, no dazzling spectacle. It was just that long, slender, white finger that seemed to pierce through space, precisely touching the center of Zhao Lie's fist, which was as big as a casserole dish.

"puff!"

A soft popping sound, like a bubble being punctured.

Zhao Lie's fierce charge came to an abrupt halt, his sinister smile freezing instantly, replaced by extreme terror and pain.

He felt an irresistible yet incredibly subtle and strange force instantly spread from his fist to his entire arm.

Wherever it passed, the meridians felt as if they were being pierced by countless fine needles, the true energy instantly dissipated, and the bones groaned in unbearable pain.

"what--!"

Zhao Lie screamed in agony as his right arm went limp and dislocated, his meridians damaged, and his true energy could no longer circulate.

He staggered backward, looking at Fang Qing with eyes that seemed to have seen a ghost.

"Go down."

Fang Qing withdrew her finger, as if she had only done a trivial matter.

Zhao Lie had lost all will to fight. Enduring the excruciating pain, he jumped off the stage in a disheveled state, not daring to utter another harsh word.

The barrier flashed, and Fang Qing was declared the winner.

"Fang Qing from the Heavenly Academy wins!"

The elder referee's voice rang out.

There was a moment of silence in the audience, followed by a burst of gasps.

"One finger! Just one finger crippled Zhao Lie's fighting ability by taking away one of his arms?"

"Zhao Lie's Mountain-Shaking Fist was quite powerful, yet it was broken so easily?"

"Is this the power of Nine-Times-Death Taker? Truly terrifying!"

The first battle was a resounding victory, clean and decisive.

For Fang Qing, the ensuing battles were almost nothing more than a formality.

In the second round, the opponent was a core disciple of the Sea God Academy who had been killed six times. He was skilled in water-based soft skills and was known for his dense defense and entanglement.

As a result, Fang Qing simply struck out with one palm, and the Five Elements True Qi evolved into "Water Binding," which in turn completely suppressed and froze the opponent's water-based True Qi, allowing him to win easily.

In the third round, he encountered a prodigy from the True Dragon Academy who had been killed seven times. This prodigy cultivated the Imperial Dragon Qi and his attacks were domineering and unparalleled.

Fang Qing used the element of "metal" to overcome "wood" in the Five Elements theory. A sharp and unparalleled Geng metal sword aura broke through the dragon aura defense, stopping short of striking the target, and knocked away the opponent's weapon, thus winning.

In the fourth round, his opponent was an elite student from the Heavenly Academy who had taken eight lives. He was a master of the Gentleman's Faction and his strength was quite solid.

However, Fang Qing only used the Five Elements Rotation, where the five types of true energy circulate and interact, evolving into a small Five Elements Domain, trapping the opponent inside. No matter how the opponent struggled and attacked, they could not break through and eventually gave up due to exhaustion of true energy.

He swept through the enemy ranks, and no matter whether his opponent had four or eight fatal strikes, they were all as vulnerable as children in front of Fang Qing.

He remained calm and composed throughout, never even using any powerful supernatural abilities that required chanting incantations or accumulating power for a long time. He simply used the most basic Five Elements True Qi, combined with his exquisite control over power, and won a crushing victory.

His performance completely won over the vast majority of viewers, and also brought his reputation to a new peak among the four academies.

Countless eyes were focused on him, filled with awe, admiration, apprehension, fear, and more.

The disciples of the Holy King Sect were so excited that their faces turned red, and they cheered continuously.

His merit points are also accumulating rapidly.

According to the rules of the Heavenly Academy, if you can defeat a core student from another academy, you will receive 1,000 merit points the first time, 2,000 merit points the second time, and 4,000 merit points the third time.

Therefore, today's events present a golden opportunity for the students of the Heavenly Academy to earn merit points, which can be exchanged for all sorts of treasures, cultivation techniques, elixirs, and rare items.

Absolutely a hard currency!

And it was through this continuous competition that the top 32 were determined.

When the draw results were displayed again, the atmosphere in the entire square suddenly became both eerie and intense. Fang Qing versus Xie Feng!
The Crown Prince's faction's number one mad dog, a master at the peak of the ninth level of the Deadly Realm, with a fearsome reputation.

This is quite like two enemies meeting on a narrow road.

When the two stepped onto the widest central battlefield at the same time, the entire place fell silent, and everyone held their breath.

Even some of the elders on the high platform turned their attention to it.

Xie Feng was dressed in black, his eyes were as cold as a venomous snake, but a cruel and gleeful smile appeared on his lips, as if the hunter had finally driven his prey into a corner.

He stared at Fang Qing, his voice hoarse yet clear, filled with undisguised mockery and murderous intent.

"Fang Qing... Heh, what a coincidence! You've fallen into my hands again. Don't you feel the saying 'the net of heaven is vast, yet nothing escapes it'? After hiding for so long, you'll finally be torn apart by my own hands under the watchful eyes of everyone! Your Holy King Sect, your reputation as a genius, will all become stepping stones for me, Xie Feng, to reach the top today!"

He slowly drew the long, narrow, jet-black sword from his waist. The sword hummed, emanating a thick, bloody, and malevolent aura, having drunk the blood of countless powerful warriors.

"I will make you slowly taste despair, make you kneel down and beg for mercy in endless pain and regret, and then... I will cripple all your qi, break all your limbs, and make you roll off the stage like a dead dog! This is the consequence of offending the Crown Prince's faction!"

Xie Feng's aura erupted, unleashing the full power of the peak of the ninth level of the Life-Taking Realm. A black storm, as tangible as a physical object, swept across the arena, even causing the barrier to ripple slightly.

He seemed to transform into a demon crawling out of hell, his killing intent solidifying into a tangible form, causing many disciples with lower cultivation levels below the stage to turn pale and retreat repeatedly.

Faced with this overwhelming ferocity and vicious words, Fang Qing remained calm.

His gaze fell on Xie Feng, who seemed to have gone mad, his eyes as indifferent as if he were looking at a barking wild dog.

"Finished?"

Fang Qing spoke, his voice not loud, yet strangely piercing through Xie Feng's storm of murderous aura, clearly reaching everyone's ears: "Your nonsense is far more powerful than your strength."

"you wanna die!"

Enraged, Xie Feng could no longer restrain himself. His figure transformed into a twisted black shadow, man and blade becoming one, tearing through the air with a mournful howl, and slashing straight at Fang Qing's face!

This strike contained his life's cultivation and boundless killing intent. Wherever the blade passed, the space rippled slightly, and its power far surpassed any previous battle!
"Black Fiend Soul-Destroying Slash!"

Gasps of surprise rippled through the audience, many holding their breath for Fang Qing. Even nine fatal blows wouldn't be enough to withstand that strike.

However, Fang Qing simply stood there.

He didn't even make any defensive or evasive movements.

Just as the dark blade was about to strike.

"Qiang!"

A clear, melodious sword cry, like a dragon's roar, resounded throughout the heavens and earth without warning!
No one saw how Fang Qing drew his sword.

Everyone felt a flash of five-colored light before their eyes, as if a primordial sword energy that had existed since the beginning of time had been born from nothingness, arriving first after being released later, and striking the weakest and most crucial point of the dark sword light with perfect precision.

There was no violent collision or roar.

There was only a soft "crack" sound, like glass shattering.

Xie Feng's unstoppable "Black Fiend Soul-Destroying Slash," along with the black battle blade in his hand that exuded murderous aura, melted and shattered instantly like ice and snow exposed to sunlight, turning into countless black light spots that scattered and vanished.

The five-colored sword energy continued its momentum, and before Xie Feng could react in time, it had already pierced through his dantian.

"puff!"

Xie Feng's forward-rushing figure suddenly froze, as if he had been frozen in time.

He looked down, staring incredulously at the tiny hole in his lower abdomen from which blood was slowly seeping out.

There was no intense pain, only a cold, rapidly spreading sense of emptiness throughout my body.

His immense inner energy, cultivated through decades of arduous practice and which he was so proud of, flowed wildly out of that hole like a burst dam, never to be condensed again.

With his Qi Sea destroyed and his meridians severed, his cultivation was completely ruined.

"No...impossible..."

Xie Feng made a strange hoarse sound in his throat, and his eyes quickly dimmed, filled with endless fear, confusion and despair.

He tried to raise his hand, but couldn't move a single finger. His body felt as if all his strength had been drained, and he collapsed forward limply, falling onto the cold arena floor like a lump of mud.

The whole place was dead silent.

You can hear the needle drop.

Everyone stared wide-eyed and gaped, as if they had witnessed the most incredible thing in the world.

Xie Feng, a peak-level assassin of the ninth level and a notorious warrior of the Crown Prince's faction, was actually... killed in a single move?

Moreover, his entire body's qigong was destroyed, turning him into a complete cripple.

Fang Qing slowly withdrew his sword-like fingers, the five-colored light at his fingertips quietly fading away. He didn't even glance at Xie Feng, who lay on the ground like a dead dog, before turning to face the referee elder, his tone still indifferent.

"Can we announce the results now?"

The elder referee, as if waking from a dream, gave Fang Qing a deep look, suppressed his shock, and announced loudly:

"Celestial Academy, Fang Qing, wins!"

boom!
After a brief silence, the entire central battlefield erupted in chaos, with shouts, cheers, and discussions bursting forth like a tsunami!

Fang Qing, this name, along with his unparalleled skill and terrifying strength in crippling Xie Feng with a single sword strike, will surely be imprinted in the hearts of everyone in the four academies in the most dazzling way.

The Crown Prince's faction, on the other hand, suffered a humiliating defeat and its core fighting force was severely damaged by this sword strike!
At the eye of the storm, Fang Qing had already gracefully stepped down from the stage, as if he had merely swatted away a fly.

His gaze had already set its sights higher, on the final top ten rankings, and even the champion's throne. (End of Chapter)