Bang! Bang!
Chu Ying’s fists pounded down like a rainstorm onto Xiao Yan. His chest visibly caved in from the blows.
Seven strange-colored auras coiled around Chu Ying’s fists. With every punch, Xiao Yan’s emotions and desires went berserk, frantically clouding his mind.
“Seems like even you, the Number Seven Holy Son Candidate, can’t defeat someone like me, a so-called cripple. Why not just get kicked out of the Holy Son Candidate ranks altogether?” Chu Ying’s mocking voice echoed in Xiao Yan’s ears.
He returned Xiao Yan’s earlier words word-for-word.
Then the final punch smashed directly into his face, distorting it completely!
Bang!
Xiao Yan crashed off the stage, beaten to the point of being unrecognizable.
In that moment, the entire arena fell dead silent.
All the Holy Son Candidates looked at Chu Ying like they had seen a ghost.
What the hell—wasn’t Chu Ying supposed to be crippled?
This is what you call crippled?
Then how do you explain this?
“Weren’t you so desperate for my position as the Number One Holy Son Candidate?” Chu Ying stood tall on the stage, calm as ever as he looked toward Su Yichen. “Come up.”
Just two plain words, yet they declared Chu Ying’s dominance.
The entire Supreme Profound Holy Land was in uproar.
Disciples watching through the formation’s projection cried out in disbelief.
“Holy sht, fck his ancestors!”
“Who the hell said Chu Ying crippled himself? Who? Come out! I swear I’ll beat the crap out of you!”
“I knew it! Brother Chu is still strong!”
“Xiao Yan couldn’t even lift a finger in front of Chu Ying. This is what true Number One Holy Son Candidate combat power looks like!”
On Martial Peak, Holy Son Candidates ranked below Xiao Yan showed deep fear and dread in their eyes.
The former Chu Ying had returned!
Even Su Yichen was stunned by Chu Ying’s terrifying combat strength. Xiao Yan had broken through to the 1st stage Cave Heaven Realm—how had he ended up like that?
But his face quickly turned cold.
“If I’m not mistaken, you’re using the Seven Emotions and Desires Disrupting Fist, right? Relying on a martial technique with severe backlash just to explode with strength—do you think I’d be afraid of that?” Su Yichen leaped up and landed firmly on the platform.
At the same time, his aura burst forth. Also at the 1st stage Cave Heaven Realm—but he had two Cave Heavens!
Behind him, two shadowy Cave Heavens flickered. Within one of them stood a towering 9th-grade Dharma Image.
“That’s a top-tier Dharma Image! I can’t believe Su Yichen’s first image is already 9th-grade—how did he manage that?”
Several Holy Son Candidates from the top ten ranks were shaken.
Though they had also entered the Cave Heaven Realm, their Dharma Images were only 7th or 8th-grade.
A 9th-grade Dharma Image could only be formed using rare treasure bones, divine weapons, or mystical artifacts!
“I have a 9th-grade Dharma Image. My cultivation is higher than yours. What do you have to fight me with?” Su Yichen said arrogantly.
The next moment, he attacked, his steps flashing across the stage like a phantom.
With his 9th-grade Dharma Image, and combat level reaching One Restriction Eight Star, his power was nearly equal to a 3rd stage Cave Heaven Realm cultivator.
How could Chu Ying possibly contend with that?
“A 9th-grade Dharma Image—so impressive?” Just as Su Yichen’s confidence soared, certain he’d crush Chu Ying, Chu Ying said something bizarre.
Suddenly, Su Yichen’s forehead throbbed with pain. A strong sense of dread surged within him.
Caw!
A faint phoenix cry echoed.
Chu Ying activated the Azure Phoenix Martial Technique and fused it into his Seven Emotions and Desires Disrupting Fist. Boosted by Dragon-Subduing Tiger-Taming Technique’s explosive power, even though Su Yichen struck first, he was blown back like a meteor.
Blood sprayed midair!
Su Yichen hit the ground, his wide eyes filled with disbelief.
He had been defeated with a single punch!
“This is the so-called 9th-grade Dharma Image? Pathetic.” Chu Ying stood atop the stage like a sharp, unsheathed blade, radiating unmatched brilliance.
“Ah puh!” Su Yichen nearly choked on his own breath hearing Chu Ying’s words.
He had painstakingly searched for a rare treasure just to form that high-grade Dharma Image—yet now it couldn’t even take a single punch. The disappointment was unbearable.
“All of you—come at me together.”
Suddenly.
Chu Ying spoke again, but this time he was addressing all the Holy Son Candidates.
He was going to fight them all at once!
His words ignited an uproar, and the Holy Son Candidates instantly exploded with rage!
“Chu Ying, don’t be so arrogant! Do you really think you’re already at the level of a Holy Son?” Number Three Holy Son Candidate Li Yifeng shouted.
“As long as we’re here, you’ll never become the Holy Son!” Number Four Holy Son Candidate bellowed. He could accept Chu Ying dominating the Holy Son Candidate ranks again—but he would never let him ascend to the Holy Son position.
They admitted Chu Ying was strong—but fighting all eighty of them alone? Impossible. If Chu Ying could really pull it off, then what were they? Useless nobodies?
It wasn’t just them—disciples across the Supreme Profound Holy Land were just as stunned.
“I remember the last time Chu Ying tried to initiate the Battle for Sainthood with such swagger, he lost in the second round, right? That was two and a half years ago.”
“Yeah, and since then, he’s held the Number One Holy Son Candidate spot, but never challenged for the Holy Son position again.”
“Honestly, guys like Su Yichen and Xiao Yan only talk big. Even if they’re the strongest Holy Son Candidates, sweeping everyone is another story.”
Almost no one believed in Chu Ying.
Not because he wasn’t strong—but because defeating every Holy Son Candidate alone was just too difficult.
“Ignorant.”
Hovering in midair, Yao Ruoxi let out a soft murmur.
She didn’t understand how Chu Ying still had this level of strength. She had clearly witnessed his cultivation drop.
But she firmly believed—there was no way Chu Ying could win a Battle for Sainthood.
To sweep through all the Holy Son Candidates required meeting at least one of several conditions.
Either possess overwhelming cultivation—at least three realms higher than the strongest Holy Son Candidate.
Or be born with a supreme physique capable of crushing enemies with invincible strength and endurance.
Or have terrifying burst power—enough to defeat everyone in a short span, and withstand all incoming attacks.
In short, one had to both survive the combined onslaught of the others and still be able to defeat them all.
That was how she had once defeated all the Saintess Candidates to become the Saintess.
And she did it through absolute cultivation superiority.
When all other Saintess Candidates were only at the 5th or 6th stage Spirit Sea Realm, she had already reached the 3rd stage Cave Heaven Realm—so of course, she won easily.
“You’re not qualified to start the Battle for Sainthood.”
At that moment, a firm and steady voice rang out.
The Archaic Sacred Body—Ye Junfan!
“I thought you’d crippled yourself. But now, I think it was just some illusion you orchestrated.”
“Trying to lull us into complacency with tricks like that—that’s second-rate strategy.”
Ye Junfan stepped forward, walking steadily up onto the stage. At this moment, on Martial Peak and across the entire Supreme Profound Holy Land, every gaze turned toward him.
“But even so, you are still worthy of being my whetstone on the path to becoming the Holy Son.”
Ye Junfan remained composed, his expression calm—clearly unshaken by Chu Ying’s terrifying display of power.