NOVPUBAn overwhelming aura of Wu Geng suddenly burst out behind him.
This aura tore through the surrounding space, and a thunderous explosion reverberated.
His True Fate Emergence materialized behind him, manifesting as a colossal Immortal Crane.
The crane stood a hundred meters tall, its feathers a pure deep purple-black.
With eight talons, its two legs were exceptionally slender, and the crane’s crown was purple.
On its forehead was the mark of a crescent moon, its two eyes shaded with darkness, and its sharp beak cried out piercingly.
"Let’s end this quickly," Wenren Li said indifferently.
"I have the same thought," Ji Yongning nodded.
His True Fate Emergence manifested as well, altering the surrounding space around him.
It was a sinister Evil Ghost, an entity beyond description.
It was as if a single glance could allow its malevolent aura to penetrate one’s heart.
The ghost was rather thin, its body a mixture of black and blood-red Spiritual Energy.
A single horn crowned its head, and its massive, thick ears were adorned with iron-ring-like objects.
Its eyes radiated pure evil, a potent Evil Qi emanating from its entire being.
"As far as I know, the guardian Divine Beast of Heavenly Dao Academy is indeed a Purple Moon Immortal Crane," said King Anding Yue Yunfei softly to the person next to him upon seeing the appearance of the crane.
"Indeed, the Purple Moon Immortal Crane has lived for three million years, a truly long-lived Divine Beast."
"The Evil Ghost behind Ji Yongning is no simple matter either; it’s the aggregate of countless slaughtered beings.
All the Evil Qi and negative emotions fused into it at birth creating this Exotic Species."
At this moment, the atmosphere atop the high platform had reached a tipping point.
The Immortal Crane let out a long cry, holy light shining from its outstretched wings.
Wherever the light touched, the invading evil energies melted away like the early snows of April, utterly powerless to resist.
The Immortal Crane dove down at great speed, its formidable aura plunging from the sky.
Its sharp talons slashed fiercely toward the Hungry Ghost.
Ji Yongning took a deep breath as the Evil Ghost looked up at the Immortal Crane in the firmament.
In his hand, a hammer had appeared at some unknown point.
The ten-foot-long hammer was completely black, its surface etched with indecipherable patterns.
At that moment, the Evil Ghost swung the hammer, smashing it down heavily towards the edge of the sky.
With a "boom," the anticipated image of space shattering did not occur.
Instead, a wave of energy radiated from the center of the hammer.
Every area the wave touched, the space within was frozen solid.
This strike carried an intense Sky-Banishing Power within it.
Although the Immortal Crane broke through the spatial blockade, its speed was still significantly reduced.
"Since I was eight, I’ve joined battles, constantly fighting in wars to the south and north.
The wicked spirits killed by my hand are uncountable; this Evil Ghost is formed from the fusion of over a hundred million wicked souls, how could you resist it!"
As Ji Yongning’s words ended, the Evil Ghost swung its hammer repeatedly in a frenzy, furiously smashing down.
One wave after another, each with distinct characteristics, pulsed out, attacking the Immortal Crane.
Wenren Li’s complexion turned grave as he knew that simply evading was not an option.
The Immortal Crane let out a sharp cry and charged heavily towards the Evil Ghost.
With a "boom," the Evil Ghost swung its hammer.
It seemed as if flames from Hell enveloped the hammer, which slammed heavily into the back of the Immortal Crane.
The Immortal Crane shrieked mournfully, directly dissipating into mist.
"Is it over just like that?" Someone from below asked, puzzled at the sce ne.
"No," King Anding shook his head subtly.
Spoke, "Do you know the traits of the Purple Moon Immortal Crane,
Undying and indestructible!"
His words had just finished when two ear-piercing cries sounded at the same time.
Two exactly identical Immortal Cranes materialized out of thin air and flew out.
The two Immortal Cranes were indistinguishable from each other, and perhaps there was not even a true or false among them.
Then, the two Immortal Cranes attacked again, their sharp claws tearing apart the space they passed through.
"Bang bang," two sounds echoed as the Evil Ghost’s hammer fell, and both Immortal Cranes were obliterated in its midst.
Before the others could react, four Immortal Cranes appeared out of nowhere and flew out.
The four Immortal Cranes, when destroyed, became eight.
Eight became sixteen, thirty-two, sixty-four...
In just a blink of an eye, there were already a hundred or more cranes in the sky.
The cries of hundreds of Immortal Cranes at once were an awe-inspiring sight, hardly seen by anyone present.
"At this rate, Ji Yongning will be exhausted to death," Wenren Su said delightedly on the side.
"No," Xu Zimei shook her head slightly and spoke.
"Now that their strengths are comparable, it depends on how well they grasp the battle opportunities and their combat experience."
The hundreds of Immortal Cranes cried out in unison and swooped down with an aura of fearlessness towards death.
Ji Yongning took a deep breath and didn’t panic.
His gaze was sharp, taking advantage of the moment the Immortal Cranes flying all over the sky obscured the view.
In front of him, the Evil Ghost brandished its hammer to clear a path, madly charging towards Wenren Li, behind the cranes.
Though numerous, the Immortal Cranes were no match for the Evil Ghost; within an instant, the Evil Ghost had already reached Wenren Li.
Wenren Li looked on in surprise at this turn of events, obviously not expecting this outcome.
The Evil Ghost’s hammer was already coming down heavily towards him, although he was in grave danger.
But his Immortal Cranes all rushed towards Ji Yongning, who was left without the Evil Ghost’s defense.
"Boom, boom," two different explosions sounded.
The aftershock of the explosions seemed almost powerful enough to destroy half of the Wenren Residence.
Suddenly, Wenren Jingshi waved his right hand, and those explosive air currents were easily compressed together by him.
They didn’t explode outward.
And on that high platform, the two who bore the brunt of it
As the dust settled, the entire high platform had become riddled with dense fractures, resembling a spiderweb.
Both men lay on the ground with almost no part of their bodies intact, flesh and blood strewn all around.
"It’s just a spar, no need for it to be this brutal," someone said softly below.
"You don’t understand, with so many people here today, this match is not only about making a name for oneself.
It’s also about winning honor for their respective forces, and more importantly, earning the recognition of Senior Wenren and the Sovereign."
Someone explained from the side.
"Given their current state, let’s just call it a draw," Wenren Jingshi spoke faintly.
"No," his voice trailed off as suddenly a weak shout came from the platform.
A hand was raised; then, a figure was seen struggling to stand up slowly.
The figure was severely injured, struggling several times, falling again and again.
But finally, he stood up, staggering.
The crowd looked on in shock, seeing that the young man who had risen was none other than Ji Yongning.
They wiped the fresh blood from their faces, smiling, a very audacious smile.
Then, he slowly walked towards Wenren Li on the opposite side.
His steps were light, yet it seemed as if they stepped on the hearts of everyone present.
