Chapter Sixty-Four: Comprehending the Heavenly Dao

Spiritual energy! At this moment, Lin Xiaobao was certain: even though he had reached the Realm of Spiritual Path, the power he wielded was still spiritual energy. Yet why, in the hands of his opponent, did this spiritual energy display such overwhelming might?

"Let go!" Long Xingtian gave him little time to ponder. With a cold snort, Lin Xiaobao felt a tremendous force surge toward him, crashing over his body like a tidal wave. With a muffled groan, he was sent flying backward.

He landed heavily on the ground, his breath churning within him. Fortunately, Long Xingtian hadn’t pressed his advantage, or Lin Xiaobao would have already lost in their first exchange.

The power of the Spiritual Path was simply too formidable.

The entire Hall of Eternal Hope fell silent. No one had expected that Lin Xiaobao, who had always been so fierce and unstoppable, would be unable to withstand even a single move in front of Long Xingtian. The match had only just begun, yet Lin Xiaobao was already utterly overpowered.

Watching Lin Xiaobao struggle to his feet, Wang Dashan opened his mouth as if to speak, but in the end held his words back, only clenching his fists all the tighter.

At this moment, Lin Tian quietly channeled his spiritual energy throughout his body. If Lin Xiaobao truly found himself in mortal danger, he would disregard all the sect’s rules and rescue him without hesitation. That was his bottom line.

"So? Do you now understand the gap between the Realm of Spiritual Path and innate martial artists?" Long Xingtian played with the Seven Star Sword in his hand, twisting it so it writhed like a rope of dough.

As Long Xingtian toyed with him like a cat with a mouse, Lin Xiaobao once again locked his spiritual sense onto his opponent, turning over in his mind what allowed Long Xingtian to unleash such power from spiritual energy.

Sensing Lin Xiaobao’s probing, Long Xingtian’s eyes flashed with disdain. A far more powerful spiritual sense swept from his mind, crashing violently into Lin Xiaobao’s.

Just as he had stood up, Lin Xiaobao’s mind went blank, forcing him to stagger back several steps and fall heavily to the ground once more. Such overwhelming spiritual force!

"Any other tricks? Use them all." From the moment he consumed the Destiny Pill, Long Xingtian had decided: if he met Lin Xiaobao in the ring, he would not only defeat him, but crush him utterly, planting a demon in his heart so that Lin Xiaobao could never ascend to the Realm of Spiritual Path—thus making up for the price he himself had paid.

Perhaps that was the only way. Forcing himself up, Lin Xiaobao sent a wave of spiritual will through his mind to expel the lingering emptiness, then began circling rapidly around Long Xingtian.

"All martial arts under heaven, none can surpass speed?" Long Xingtian’s eyes flickered with contempt. "Speed? Can you really be faster than me?"

No sooner had he spoken than Long Xingtian moved as well, and two blurs of blue smoke darted and weaved across the stage, alternating, separating, then converging again and again.

Each time a muffled groan sounded, all knew it was Lin Xiaobao’s voice.

Suddenly, with a thunderous crash, Lin Xiaobao hit the ground once more—this time, a patch of red blossomed on his chest. "If these are your only moves, then it’s my turn now." Long Xingtian advanced on Lin Xiaobao step by step; his pace was unhurried, savoring the sensation of grinding his opponent’s hope into despair.

"You want to see what I’m capable of? I’ll grant your wish!" Lin Xiaobao leapt up, wiped the blood from his lips, and formed a strange hand seal. "Formation, arise!"

All at once, over a dozen first-grade spirit jades scattered across the stage from their earlier battle lit up in unison.

Desert Blazing Fire Formation!

As Lin Xiaobao completed the final seal, Long Xingtian’s expression grew solemn. To the watching disciples, he seemed only to be standing amid a few pieces of jade, but Long Xingtian himself felt as though he’d sunk into a scorching wasteland. The blazing sun overhead scorched the earth, threatening to ignite everything beneath it.

In the stands, the Grand Elder Cen Yuanbai stood abruptly, shock in his gaze as he looked upon Lin Xiaobao. The Desert Blazing Fire Formation was not particularly advanced—by the standards of talisman arrays, it ranked only between mid-tier and upper-tier yellow grade. For one of his own cultivation, setting it up would be effortless. But Lin Xiaobao was only a ninth-level innate martial artist—how could he possibly lay such a formation? And his technique was so unique; he had even modified the array, raising it almost to the peak of upper yellow grade—if only he’d used better spirit stones instead of first-grade jade.

A prodigy of formations! Though the Grand Elder had no wish to be drawn into the sect’s internal power struggles, he had never before encountered such talent in arrays. Admiration welled up within him—he resolved that, no matter what, he could not let Lin Xiaobao come to harm.

Lin Tian’s eyes shone as well. He had always known Lin Xiaobao cultivated at an astonishing rate and possessed remarkable skill in alchemy, but never expected him to excel in formations as well. A tangle of emotions surged within him. If only he had found such a prodigious child earlier—if Lin Xiaobao had grown up within the Wind and Snow Pavilion, his achievements by now would surely be...

Within the formation, Long Xingtian calmed his mind to sense the changes around him. Now that he had stepped into the Realm of Spiritual Path, his understanding of the Dao far surpassed that of an innate martial artist. The array, though ingenious and drawing on the power of heaven and earth, could not escape the rules of the Dao. Relying on his insight, Long Xingtian sent his spiritual sense sweeping out in all directions, searching for a way to break the formation.

At that moment, Lin Xiaobao formed another hand seal, sending a wave of invisible power into the spirit jades embedded in the ground.

A fire dragon leapt into being, coiling before Long Xingtian like a small mountain, its upper body rearing as it unleashed a stream of dragonfire toward him.

Facing the blazing breath, Long Xingtian flicked his fingers, releasing a chill from his fingertips that instantly froze the dragonfire to icy fragments, which tumbled to the ground.

Then, with a flurry of gestures, he conjured streams of gray-white frost, weaving layer upon layer of ice nets over the fire dragon. In a few breaths, the dragon was caught and dissolved into countless icy shards scattered across the stage.

By now, the spirit jades on the platform had also begun to dim.

Sensing the change within the array, Lin Xiaobao had no time to lament the low quality of his materials—he was utterly absorbed by Long Xingtian’s manipulation of spiritual energy. It was the same spiritual force, so why did it become so powerful in Long Xingtian’s hands? Lost in thought, Lin Xiaobao even forgot to maintain control over the formation.

The Desert Blazing Fire Formation was not especially advanced, and it was constructed from nothing more than first-grade spirit jade. Without Lin Xiaobao’s guidance, its offensive power rapidly waned. Long Xingtian pressed forward, and soon stood at the very edge of the formation, ready to break through at any moment.

Yet Lin Xiaobao remained lost in contemplation, untouched by the chaos unfolding around him.