While everyone’s minds were still frozen and unable to react, Chu Ying once again slammed his second punch toward the Martial Path Stele.
This time, he used his full strength, though he didn’t employ any martial technique.
Boom!
The Martial Path Stele trembled as the number of star imprints skyrocketed!
From twenty-one star marks, it instantly surged to twenty-five!
Twenty-five stars represented a combat power level of—Two Restriction Seven Star!
At that moment, even Elder Lu Lin of Martial Peak couldn’t help but have his pupils contract sharply.
This combat power level was way too monstrous.
“How can his combat power level increase? That’s impossible!” Ye Junfan’s eyes were filled with rage and disbelief. Chu Ying had already been crippled—how could he display a Two Restriction Seven Star combat level?
But that wasn’t the end.
Chu Ying rolled his shoulders and began circulating True Qi, ready to unleash a martial technique.
“Seven Emotions and Desires Disrupting Fist!”
This was Chu Ying’s most powerful martial technique. He had mastered it to the fullest extent, making it terrifyingly aggressive.
Boom!
As the punch landed, the previous twenty-five star marks hadn’t even faded before they spiked again.
Twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight…
Thirty-one!
The star marks finally stopped at thirty-one!
This indicated a combat power level of—Three Restriction Four Star!
Everyone stared wide-eyed in disbelief. No matter how they looked at it, the Martial Path Stele clearly displayed—Three Restriction Four Star!
The scene exploded into chaos.
“Three Restriction Four Star! Is this real? Am I dreaming?”
Smack!
“Does it hurt?”
“It does! Damn it, why’d you hit me!”
“Then you’re not dreaming! Chu Ying really reached Three Restriction Four Star combat power!”
The Holy Son Candidates howled like wolves, utterly shocked. They looked at Chu Ying again, this time with a renewed sense of awe.
“He’s definitely not ordinary,” Number Seven Holy Son Candidate Lin Zhixue’s beautiful eyes sparkled.
“So this is… the Number One Holy Son Candidate?” Luo Ruyan pursed her red lips.
She was also the Number One Saintess Candidate, yet why was the gap between them so vast?
“This is impossible! Absolutely impossible!” Ye Junfan shook his head furiously. He refused to accept this fact—especially when he noticed Yao Ruoxi staring at the Martial Path Stele with a mix of confusion and amazement on her stunning face. That made him even more furious.
“The Martial Path Stele must be broken!” Ye Junfan pointed at the Martial Path Stele and shouted.
But Su Yichen, the perennial number two, remained silent. Though he didn’t want to accept it either, he knew—how could the Martial Path Stele be broken?
Everyone’s eyes suddenly narrowed.
Ye Junfan leapt onto the Martial Path Stele and violently unleashed a martial technique at it.
In an instant, the number of star marks on the Martial Path Stele changed, drastically dropping!
Thirty-one… twenty-seven… twenty-four…
Eventually, it returned to seventeen!
One Restriction Nine Star!
Ye Junfan froze on the spot.
“Ahem!” Elder Lu Lin coughed lightly and said, “The Martial Path Stele cannot be broken. Mm, Chu Ying indeed displayed a Three Restriction Four Star combat power level.”
In truth, Elder Lu Lin was also extremely shocked. Such a high combat power level—probably only the peak masters of the Eighteen Sacred Peaks in the Supreme Profound Holy Land could manage something like that.
Even Yao Ruoxi’s usually indifferent face showed a trace of curiosity and amazement, but more than that—puzzlement.
She had clearly seen Chu Ying refine that piece of Azure Phoenix Bone, and his cultivation had definitely dropped. He should’ve been crippled. So why had his combat power risen?
“I got it!”
Suddenly, a voice cried out in excitement.
The Number Seven Holy Son Candidate Xiao Yan shouted, “Chu Ying’s cultivation dropped, but his combat strength wasn’t significantly affected!”
“In other words, if he could unleash a One Restriction Eight Star combat power before, and now he’s dropped one or two realms but still retains similar strength, doesn’t that mean his combat power level now falls into Two or Three Restrictions?!”
As soon as these words landed, the other Holy Son Candidates had an epiphany and nodded in agreement.
“Exactly! That has to be it! If it were me, and I unexpectedly dropped two realms, my strength probably wouldn’t drop much either! Wouldn’t that mean my cross-realm combat ability would actually increase?”
“The Martial Path Stele evaluates combat power based on cultivation realm! If you’re at the 7th stage of the Spirit Sea Realm, you need to fight with power comparable to the 9th stage to be considered Two Restriction!”
“But if I fall to the 5th stage of the Spirit Sea Realm, and my strength doesn’t drop much and I can still unleash the power of the 9th stage, wouldn’t that be considered Four Restriction combat power?”
In an instant, the Holy Son Candidates’ expressions shifted from awe to mockery and ridicule, eyes growing cold.
If they had previously only guessed that Chu Ying was crippled, now they were certain his cultivation had dropped at least two stages—likely from the 7th to the 5th stage of the Spirit Sea Realm. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Only then could Chu Ying display a Three Restriction Four Star combat power level!
“Tch! So that’s what it was. I really thought you had risen again.” Su Yichen folded his arms, sneering, “Chu Ying, it looks like you came here today just to show off your combat power level. But it’s useless. Your life has already hit its end.”
Su Yichen’s words were full of confidence, as though he were sealing Chu Ying’s fate.
Chu Ying remained calm, unmoved by ridicule or mockery.
Let him laugh, let him sneer. My heart remains steady as a mountain.
The Saintess Candidates whispered among themselves, lost in thought. Some believed the explanation of cultivation falling and combat power rising, but others doubted it, thinking perhaps Chu Ying wasn’t actually crippled.
“So that’s the reason…” Yao Ruoxi, however, was willing to accept this explanation.
After all, she was the one who had orchestrated Chu Ying’s crippling. She knew better than anyone if he was really ruined or not.
Then the only explanation for his elevated combat power was exactly that.
At that moment.
Elder Lu Lin said, “Chu Ying, combat power level—Three Restriction Four Star.”
“All Holy Son Candidates have passed. The next phase is the combat trials—new rankings will be determined.”
The atmosphere grew intense.
Combat was the only true test of strength!
The Holy Son Candidate rankings were not based on combat power level. That only reflected talent and potential—the minimum requirement to be a Holy Son Candidate.
But real strength ruled. Whoever was strongest would claim the top spot.
If someone could crush everyone else, then they were the undisputed Holy Son!
As his voice fell, the Martial Path Stele disappeared, revealing the wide platform.
“Just now, who said they’d go first—” someone began.
Before the sentence finished, the Number Eighty Holy Son Candidate leapt onto the platform.
“Chu Ying, I challenge you!”
The Number Eighty Holy Son Candidate laughed, “So what if your combat power level increased? Real strength is what matters!”
Chu Ying raised an eyebrow.
He hadn’t expected the first challenger to be such a low-ranked nobody. How irritating.
“Chu Ying, don’t tell me you’re scared to face someone from the bottom of the barrel?” Su Yichen mocked, “If you’re really too afraid, you can choose to surrender.”
“Surrender?” Chu Ying glanced at him indifferently, then smirked, “You’re not even worthy of me surrendering to—let alone him.”
With that, Chu Ying turned slightly, his figure vanishing and silently reappearing on the platform.