Chapter 2109 Raw 2214 : Shocking Desolate City

Martial and Soul as One, the merger of one’s Martial Dao and will. This was a state of perfection that even Sovereign Emperors dreamed of.

One could casually bring out any Cultivation Technique or Martial Technique, readily bursting forth to the utter limits of their body.

For example, Xiao Chen needed a lot of effort earlier to bring out one hundred and ten percent—even one hundred and twenty percent—of his strength.

As he did so, he could very easily expose a weakness, leaving openings.

However, after Xiao Chen entered the state of Martial and Soul as One, his casual strike could easily burst forth to his body’s limits perfectly and flawlessly, without any openings.

More importantly, after bringing out the state of Martial and Soul as One, he could perfectly merge with the world around him. Every move contained the might and power of the world. The stronger he was, the more horrifying the power of the world he could erupt with after entering the state of Martial and Soul as One.

Just allowing one’s body to casually burst forth with one’s peak might would already inspire envy. Being able to carry the power of the world in one’s Martial Technique would turn others’ eyes red.

The Sovereign Emperors that grasped Martial and Soul as One were only a select few. Of the more than one hundred Sovereign Emperors here, only the Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor grasped Martial and Soul as One.

Grasping Martial and Soul as One was one reason people revered the Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor; they did not dare underestimate him.

“This Xiao Chen hid deeply,” the Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor muttered. He had not expected that Xiao Chen grasped Martial and Soul as One.

“Congratulations. Brother Peach Blossom, you took in a good disciple.”

Sovereign Emperor Xing Ge gazed somewhat enviously at the Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor. While he would never accept or submit to the Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor, he had to admit that this fellow’s potential was indeed infinitely great.

Martial and Soul as One. Even Sovereign Emperor Xing Ge had only slightly touched its threshold in recent years.

Comprehension ability was crucial for attaining this state. Without sufficient comprehension ability, it would remain out of reach no matter how strong one’s cultivation was.

“You are too polite,” the Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor replied courteously.

“Hahahaha! Good! Good! Good! This Xiao Chen is incredible. Regardless of whether he passes the first stage or not, headquarters will definitely pay attention to him. It has already been so many years, but our Desolate City test zone has never provided the Heavenly Alliance with a powerful demonic genius. Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor, you helped me gain a lot of face. I have to reward you now,” the purple-haired old man guffawed. He appeared in a great mood, overjoyed. He wanted to reward the Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor heavily on the spot.

The Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor quickly protested, “Lord Shangguan is exaggerating. It has not reached the final crucial moment yet; there is no need to be so anxious. Let’s see how far Xiao Chen can go first. It is not too late to talk about rewards after he passes all the tests and joins the Heavenly Alliance.”

The purple-haired old man calmed down as he caressed his beard. Then, he laughed softly, “I was too anxious. However, the number of participants of this round of the Heavenly Alliance’s test is at its highest, surpassing one million. If it were in the past, he would definitely pass the test. However, now, it is hard to say whether he can pass the final stage.

“Anyhow, all this does not matter. He managed to comprehend the state of Martial and Soul as One. Such a person has already proven his worth. The other super factions are all interested in outstanding talents like we are. We absolutely cannot let this good seed go.”

“City Lord, look. The victor is already decided!”

“Oh!”

With this reminder, everyone’s gaze shifted back to the light screen for Secret Realm 97.

They saw a large number of Faux God Spirit Jades burst out in the sky, and Qiong Ying, who was holding the spear, slowly immaterialized.

In the final exchange, Qiong Ying did not expect the other party to enter a state of Martial and Soul as One.

If Qiong Ying had known in advance about the other party grasping Martial and Soul as One, he would not have been so rash.

Having one decisive clash with Xiao Chen, who grasped Martial and Soul as One, was probably what Xiao Chen wanted.

If Qiong Ying had changed his plan, taken things slow, and continued to clash with his skills in the Martial Dao, he might still have stood a chance of winning.

“Congratulations on comprehending Martial and Soul as One. Lucky fellow,” the Ink Sea Cluster’s Qiong Ying said softly as he glanced at Xiao Chen somewhat enviously.

The victor already emerged. Xiao Chen learned a lot of things in this battle.

No matter what, this Qiong Ying was an opponent worth respecting. Xiao Chen replied seriously, “Thank you. I hope that we will have the chance to meet again.”

Qiong Ying said seriously, “In the Heavenly Alliance’s past tests, they would organize a loser’s arena. If they do so for this round as well, I think we will have that chance.”

“Boom!”

After saying that, Qiong Ying disappeared. Xiao Chen had eliminated him from Secret Realm 97.

Xiao Chen stretched out his hand and beckoned, collecting all of the Faux God Spirit Jades in the air.

The number of Faux God Spirit Jades on him immediately increased significantly. From the previous one hundred thousand-odd, it grew to four hundred thousand-odd.

“Congratulations, Participant. You are now ranked two hundred eighty-seventh in Secret Realm 97. Also, you are the only person in the top three hundred who is less than one hundred years old or under Great Perfection Sovereign Personage.”

When Xiao Chen called out the Realm Spirit to check his rank, the little light figure congratulated him in a monotone.

Two hundred eighty-seventh was already an extremely high ranking. It would probably be hard to raise his ranking quickly now.

Xiao Chen looked around and sensed many strong auras rushing towards him.

Xiao Chen was in no state to continue fighting with experts. His figure flashed, quickly moving far away.

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”

Not long after Xiao Chen left, several figures appeared one after another. As they looked at the ravaged ground and the signs of battles in the air, they showed caution on their faces.

“What a fellow! To think that he eliminated Qiong Ying.”

“There’s another competitor. We cannot underestimate this Small Perfection Sovereign Personage fellow!”

“If I did not see wrong, he brought out the state of Martial and Soul as One earlier to defeat Qiong Ying.”

“In that case, Qiong Ying’s loss is not undeserved. This is a good reminder for us.”

“Let’s go.”

People came over in a continuous stream. This group soon scattered. Right now, all the peak experts in Secret Realm 97 knew that the white-clad bladesman known as Xiao Chen was a powerful contender for a top one hundred spot.

Another ten days passed. After the initial intense battles, Secret Realm 97 reached a period of relative peace.

This was mostly the same for the other secret realms.

This was because the number of people remaining in the secret realm had dropped to below five thousand. Everyone was now familiar with each other, no longer battling without fear.

When the weaker participants saw the experts, they promptly ran, absolutely intent on avoiding a fight.

These weaker participants could only hope to remain alive until the stage ended, to keep their Faux God Spirit Jades and exchange them for treasures.

When they met with true experts, they would be even more cautious. At this time, they could not rashly attack others.

Otherwise, if both sides ended up injured, who knew how many eyes stared at them, waiting to take advantage?

Xiao Chen felt somewhat depressed during the past ten days. Right now, everyone in Secret Realm 97 knew about the white-clad bladesman’s strength.

The weaker ones did not dare to antagonize Xiao Chen. Those who were highly ranked would not fight with him. Sometimes, he would not even see a single figure the entire day.

Those that dared to fight with him could be counted with one’s fingers. Hence, his rank advanced very slowly.

Over the past ten days, Xiao Chen hunted more ferocious beasts than participants.

However, he knew that this was just the calm before the storm.

As the first stage’s end slowly approached, the most intense fights would erupt out.

Up until the final moment, all the rankings were pointless.

Even the people in the top hundred would not be able to hide at the last moment; they would be forced to appear.

Suddenly, Xiao Chen felt an extremely exquisitely hidden Soul Energy sweep over his body.

He quickly put down what he was doing and started searching for the source of this Soul Energy, remaining calm and collected.

Xiao Chen immediately felt slightly shocked. The range of this Soul Energy was frighteningly vast.

However, since this Soul Energy was not targeting him in particular, Xiao Chen did not bother himself with it anymore.

---

At this moment, many of the eliminated participants had already appeared on the Starry Heavens Dao Platform above Desolate City.

Lei Hao, whom the Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor thought highly of, was among this group of eliminated participants.

He felt somewhat depressed. He had encountered the strongest person in Secret Realm 8, Wu Meng, the one called the Saber Demon.

Before Lei Hao could react, the other party instantly killed him with one saber strike, eliminating him.

Lei Hao did not even see what the other party looked like, only a blurry face with an evil-looking smile.

“Damn it! I hope that this round will have the loser’s arena. Otherwise, I don’t stand a chance at all. I should take a look at what Little Brother Xiao Chen and Junior Brother Yun Fei are doing now.”

Lei Hao sorted out his emotions, then searched for Yun Fei’s rank on the light screen for Secret Realm 98. Yun Fei was doing pretty well, ranked four hundred third. If Yun Fei maintained this ranking and survived to the end, he might make it into the top one hundred in the last three days.

“Second Brother is performing as usual. His Thirteen Wind Controlling Swords is strong, indeed!” Lei Hao laughed.

Then, he shifted his gaze to the light screen for Secret Realm 97 and searched the ranking. What he found immediately stunned him. Peach Blossom City’s Xiao Chen, ranked one hundred eightieth!

Lei Hao managed to speak only after a long time. Even so, he was still in a daze. “How did Little Brother Xiao Chen make his way there, all the way into the top two hundred?”

At this time, he noticed that all the eliminated participants on the Dao Platform also had their gazes fixed on the light screen for Secret Realm 97.