Reversing the Milky Way

On the arena, Qin Ming pressed forward relentlessly, forcing Xiao Mo to the edge of the arena, his back pressed against the edge of the magic array.

Immediately afterwards, Qin Ming threw a punch at Xiao Mo's face. Xiao Mo easily dodged the attack, and Qin Ming's fist struck the edge of the magic circle.

Instantly, the edge of the magic array rippled like a drop of water on a calm lake. Dan was only like that; the tension at the edge of the magic array absorbed all the power of Qin Ming's punch.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Mo quickly moved to the other side of the arena. He then held his breath and focused his mind, his spiritual energy surging around him. He placed his hands in front of his chest, as if gathering something.

In fact, during the exchange just now, Xiao Mo had also circulated his spiritual energy throughout his body, allowing it to converge in his arms and legs during the attack. However, Qin Ming in front of him had exceeded Xiao Mo's expectations, having already achieved the level of releasing spiritual energy externally. Although Xiao Mo was physically superior to his opponent by a realm, his attacks could not harm Qin Ming.

It's important to know that releasing spiritual energy is a crucial step in entering the Qi Condensation Realm. It can be said that one has already touched the threshold of the Qi Condensation Realm. In addition, Qin Ming is only eighteen years old, which is a very terrifying thing.

Therefore, he was determined to go all out. As his spiritual energy surged around him, it all converged in his palms, and then, under everyone's watchful eyes, a blazing flame suddenly ignited between his palms.

Bai Cheng, still marveling at Qin Ming's talent, exclaimed in surprise when he saw Xiao Mo's performance on the stage, "Holy crap!? There's another expert!?"

The cultivators sitting in the VIP seats were also shocked.

Guo Yanyang: "Xiao Mo actually has a fire-attribute cultivation talent! That's great! It perfectly matches our Crimson Flame Hall's ultimate fire-based cultivation techniques. This trip was definitely worthwhile!"

Xu Lie: "Fellow Daoist Guo, is this all you care about? You should know that being able to release fire-attribute spiritual power in the late stage of Body Refinement is not an easy thing either. The elders in such a family must be cultivators with profound cultivation, or even a family with a long lineage. But why have I never heard of any family with the surname Xiao in this area of ​​five hundred miles?"

Upon hearing this, everyone began to discuss it.

Man Chong: "Could it be that he comes from a much farther place? But that doesn't make sense. How could someone from such a far place come to Nachuan Academy in Wuling Town?"

Sun Jianxin: "Starting with Lei Che in the first match, and now Xiao Mo has appeared. It seems that Zhu Yingjie is determined to compete with Wuling Academy for first place." After saying that, he turned his head and looked at Zhu Yingjie by the side of the arena.

Guo Yanyang: "It seems that, apart from us, the principals of the three schools must also know about this year's first-place award."

Man Chong: "Hehe, I don't think so. If Su Boran knew the reward for first place, why would he send so many mid-stage Body Refinement Realm cultivators? It's not like he can't gather ten late-stage Body Refinement Realm cultivators." After saying that, he looked at Su Boran on the side of the arena.

Just as everyone was discussing it, another change occurred on the arena.

Suddenly, Xiao Mo on the arena clasped his hands together, and then blazing flames covered his arms. Seeing this, Bai Cheng's eyes widened in astonishment: "It can actually do that? I wonder what the principle behind it is?"

Upon hearing this, Su Boran explained, "This is because the flames he releases are composed of his own spiritual power, so they won't harm him. The same applies to his other physical attributes." Hearing this, Bai Cheng also focused his gaze on Xiao Mo on the arena again.

Qin Ming watched this scene with amusement: "You actually managed to attach flames formed from spiritual energy to your arms, that's something, but not enough." With that, Qin Ming attacked Xiao Mo. Seeing this, Xiao Mo clasped his fists together, and blazing sparks erupted from between them. He immediately countered Qin Ming's attack.

Immediately afterward, the two grappled in the center of the arena. Waves of spiritual energy surged from the impact of their clashes, emanating from the ring and thrilling the audience. Below the arena, Bai Cheng watched intently, unsure if he could defeat his opponents even after activating his special abilities.

Upon seeing this, the cultivators in the VIP seats also began to express their admiration in unison.

Man Chong: "Hahaha, I really like Xiao Mo. I think his physical fitness is not bad either, and he is obviously more suitable for our Xuanwu Hall."

Guo Yanyang: "What's the use of joining your Xuanwu Hall? Our Chiyan Hall specializes in fire-attribute physiques and even has the Xuan-rank low-grade Dao Huo Xin Jue! We also have various manuals and key points for alchemy. Can your Xuanwu Hall compare? Besides, your Xuanwu Hall is biased towards metal-attribute physiques. In my opinion, Qin Ming is more suitable for you."

Man Chong: "So what if he has the metal attribute? Our hall master has both metal and fire attributes, so he can teach him fire attribute cultivation techniques as well."

Sun Jianxin: "Alright, you two, let's talk about this after the competition." Upon hearing this, the two turned their heads to the side in unison.

On the arena, Qin Ming and Xiao Mo had exchanged dozens of blows in the blink of an eye. In terms of momentum, Xiao Mo was clearly superior. After all, every time his attack hit Qin Ming, the flames burning on his arms exploded on his opponent's body. On the other hand, Qin Ming's entire body was only covered by a barrier formed by a layer of golden spiritual energy, simple and unadorned. Anyone who saw it would think that Xiao Mo was suppressing Qin Ming.

However, Xiao Mo knew very well that his attacks wouldn't break through Qin Ming's spiritual energy shield when they hit his body. In short, the two were now battling with spiritual energy; whoever had more spiritual energy could break through the opponent's defenses. But Xiao Mo's current full power only allowed him to envelop his arms with spiritual energy, while Qin Ming's spiritual energy could envelop his entire body. It was clear that Qin Ming's spiritual energy was significantly stronger than his.

However, Xiao Mo did not intend to give up. He gathered all his spiritual power in his right arm and launched a final attack on Qin Ming.

Upon seeing this, Qin Ming said, "You're quite good, but your talent is still not as good as mine." After saying that, he transformed all his spiritual power into a golden spiritual power shield in front of him.

Qin Ming: "Come on, let me see just how powerful you are at full strength."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Mo immediately rushed towards Qin Ming, roaring as he ran, the flames on his arm growing even hotter. At this moment, the sleeve of Xiao Mo's right arm had disappeared under the burning flames, leaving only the blazing arm.

Immediately afterwards, Xiao Mo arrived in front of Qin Ming at lightning speed. Then, he stepped out with his left foot, swung his right arm back to gather strength, and then suddenly attacked Qin Ming.

Seeing this, Qin Ming dared not be careless. When he raised his golden spiritual energy shield, he found that although Xiao Mo's fist had not yet struck, the scorching heat was already rushing towards him like a storm. He immediately felt as if he were standing next to a burning flame.

As Xiao Mo's fist struck Qin Ming's shield, a massive surge of spiritual energy exploded on the arena. The impact of the spiritual energy even spread to the edge of the arena. However, thanks to the Spirit Trapping Array, the surge of spiritual energy never crossed the edge of the array. Otherwise, the crowd below the arena would have been unable to withstand it, since most of them were ordinary people who had not even undergone body tempering.

After the shockwave subsided, Xiao Mo ultimately failed to penetrate Qin Ming's shield, and was thrown back by the recoil of the spiritual energy. His arm was no longer burning, showing that he had exhausted all his spiritual energy, yet he was still no match for Qin Ming. He then landed heavily on the arena.

In contrast, Qin Ming's feet were now deeply embedded in the Qinggang stone arena. The arena around his feet was also covered with dense cracks. He then pulled his legs out of the Qinggang stone arena and slowly walked to Xiao Mo, saying, "You are really good. If I hadn't participated this time, you might have actually won first place."

Xiao Mo: "Hehe, is it just a possibility? It seems I haven't tried hard enough."

Then, lying on the ground, Xiao Mo struggled to raise his right hand and said weakly, "I...I admit defeat."

After saying this, Xue Qianfu immediately announced, "The winner is Qin Ming." The audience below the stage cheered with excitement.

Crowd #1: "My God, this is amazing! In previous years, we only saw such exciting competitions in the finals!"

Crowd #2: "Yeah, if those two hadn't met in the first round, Xiao Mo might have made it straight to the finals!"

Crowd Number Three: "Hey, you can't say that. Don't forget about Lei Che from the first match, and the Xue brothers haven't even played yet."

As the two fighters stepped off the stage, Mo Yan, sitting in the VIP seats, stroked his sparse beard and said, "Not bad, it seems Xiao Mo is destined to be with my Cangxuan Sect! Hahahaha..." Upon hearing this, the faces of all the cultivators turned grim. Then, Xue Qianfu continued announcing the participants for the next match...

At this moment, outside the Yunluo Mountains.

After arriving at the spot where the broken sword had fallen, Xuan Molin put the burning sword into his storage bag, and then returned to the explosion site.

In the crater dozens of meters deep at the epicenter of the explosion, the Golden-Winged Thunderbird lay motionless, clearly dead. Seeing this, Xuan Molin said to Li Yunqi, who was standing beside the crater, "As expected of a full-force attack from an early-stage Qi Refining Realm cultivator, it is truly terrifying."

However, Li Yunqi's face was gloomy as he looked at Xuan Molin with hostility, while Tang Rou beside him also looked at him with ill intent.

Xuan Molin: "Huh? What's wrong with you two? What's with those expressions? Are you planning to abandon me after I've served my purpose?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Rou immediately retorted, "Pah! Aren't you the ones who are crossing the river and burning the bridge?!"

Xuan Molin was a little confused: "Miss Tang Rou, what do you mean by that? I, Xuan, was trying to help you out of kindness, and we agreed that you could take a portion of the credit on top of the original share. Are you going back on your word?!"

Upon hearing this, Tang Rou was about to step forward and say something when she heard, "You!!..."

At this moment, Li Yunqi raised his hand to stop him.

Tang Rou: "Senior brother!"

Li Yunqi's expression gradually calmed down, and he said, "You're right. If it weren't for Fellow Daoist Xuan Molin's intervention, we might not have been able to capture this Golden-Winged Thunderbird. We were being presumptuous."

After he finished speaking, the tense atmosphere on the scene immediately eased.

Upon hearing this, Xuan Molin snorted coldly and walked over to the Golden-Winged Thunderbird in the pit to examine it. After circling it a few times, he pointed to the Golden-Winged Thunderbird's claws and said, "Apart from the few feathers on the Thunderbird itself, I want these claws."

Xuan Molin had long admired the claws of the Golden-Winged Thunderbird. Although his weapon was just a fragment of a broken sword, it was of genuine spiritual weapon quality. The fact that the Golden-Winged Thunderbird's claws could withstand his broken sword fragments showed their incredible toughness. If used to forge items, they would surely surpass even treasure-level items.

He then began to cut off the Golden-Winged Thunderbird's claws.

Upon seeing this, Li Yunqi stepped forward and took some feathers, including some tail feathers. Then, he took the Golden-Winged Thunderbird's eyes. The Golden-Winged Thunderbird possessed exceptional eyesight, able to see ants on the ground from five kilometers away; its eyes could be used in alchemy to cure blindness caused by various conditions.

After putting the items away, Li Yunqi said to Tang Rou, "Let's go."

Upon seeing this, Tang Rou hummed in agreement, and then the two of them flew away on their swords.

After a while, Xuan Molin muttered to himself after removing his claws, "Why hasn't my second brother come over yet?"

At that moment, he suddenly recalled Li Yunqi's attitude earlier, 'Could something have happened to him?'

Just as he was thinking this, Xuan Taiming came flying from afar on his sword. On his back was an enormous bundle. Since storage bags couldn't hold living creatures, he could only use the huge bundle to wrap the Golden-Winged Thunderbird's eggs.

Upon seeing this, Xuan Molin asked, "Second brother, are you alright? Also, what are you carrying on your back?"

Xuan Taiming: "Haha, I just discovered a lot of rare ores, so I went and dug some up."

Xuan Molin: "Ore? Then why not put it in your storage bag?"

Xuan Taiming: "Sigh, the storage bag is full for now. You know how limited the storage bag is."

Xuan Molin: "Alright then, there are still quite a few feathers left on this Golden-Winged Thunderbird, so you can keep them all. That way you won't lose out."

Just as Xuan Taiming was about to step forward, he turned his eyes and said, "Well, big brother, I'm temporarily out of space in my storage bag, so I'd like to ask you to keep these feathers for me for now."

Xuan Mo didn't think much of it after hearing this, and then said, "Alright then."

After saying that, he plucked all the feathers off the Golden-Winged Thunderbird and stored them in his storage. Looking at the bald Golden-Winged Thunderbird, Xuan Molin said, "This trip was worthwhile. Let's go back."

After saying that, Xuan Taiming nodded and then flew away with Xuan Molin on their swords towards the outside of the Yunluo Mountains.