Chapter Ninety-Seven: Ultimate Realm, Supreme Attack

On the martial arts arena, ten battle platforms were set up. Jiang Ming discovered that even just sitting motionless, he could draw the battle platform closer, allowing for a clearer, more detailed view. A simulation within a simulation.

On three sides, spectators filled the seats. Outside, in the real world.

Pingyang City, City Lord’s mansion.

Outside the virtual battle chamber, a row of screens broadcasted the provincial examination of Tianzhong Province. Elder Song and Elder Tang watched as they guarded Jiang Ming and his two companions, ensuring nothing unexpected would happen.

The two whispered privately, their voices exchanged only between them.

"This provincial exam is unfolding without surprises."

"Indeed, no surprises. He reached the sixth floor of the Tower of Heaven during the preliminary selection and has now gone through a secret realm; his strength must have increased dramatically. In previous years, he would certainly have taken the top spot. But this year, it might not be so certain."

"Elder Tang, have you heard anything?"

"Yes! Jiang Ming, an orphan, made it to the sixth floor of the Tower of Heaven, which means his luck is extraordinary and his fate defies the heavens, naturally attracting a host of geniuses. Some have returned from the stars, seeds cultivated in secret realms have appeared, and there are elite training camps, battlefields of myriad worlds, and so on. Many young prodigies want to meet Jiang Ming. Perhaps, they wish to use him as a catalyst to clash among themselves. Even those above pay special attention and will bestow incredible rewards."

"So this year’s martial arts exam will be extremely exciting?"

"Unquestionably! Special talents, awakened abilities, saintly legacies, immortal bloodlines, dao embryos, divine bodies—perhaps all will appear."

"Really?"

"You’ve been stuck in your little corner too long. Your horizons are narrow; you don’t see the vastness of the world or the terror of true geniuses."

"You old rascal, just looking for superiority!"

"Heh, it's simply the truth!"

"If that's the case, what about Jiang Ming..."

"Such collisions are most important for him. He’s too talented, risen too quickly, bound to develop arrogance, perhaps even disregard others completely. It's best for him to witness the true geniuses of his generation, to temper his sharpness—a great benefit for his future growth."

"What if he suppresses all the prodigies? That’s not just possible, it’s highly likely!"

"Well..."

Elder Tang smacked his lips.

Normally, with Jiang Ming’s strength, he’d be expected to win. Even with this year’s special circumstances, his chances remain high.

Yet Elder Tang hoped Jiang Ming would taste defeat.

At school, on the sports field.

Most students had gathered, and as Fatty Wang put it, the atmosphere was strong.

"It’s finally starting. Are we about to see Jiang Ming sweep through his opponents?"

"Definitely! Too bad we could only see rankings during the preliminaries, no live broadcast. This time is different—we’ll see his strength clearly."

"See clearly? Forget it! With his cultivation, the speed he unleashes is impossible to follow!"

"Then just slow the playback!"

"Do you think Jiang Ming can take first place? I heard there are several geniuses in the provincial capital, like Long Ao Tian from the Long family, rumored to have a trace of true dragon blood, unimaginably strong."

"No matter how strong, he’s no match for Jiang Ming!" Fatty Wang interjected. "If Long’s kid was really that powerful, he wouldn’t have been left so far behind in the preliminaries."

"True, Jiang Ming will definitely win!"

"Of course, Jiang Ming must win. He’s from our school—who else would we support? If I could curse, I’d curse all his opponents!"

"Heh, that would be nice..."

Laughter rippled among the students.

At this moment, not only Pingyang City but the entire Federation was watching the live broadcast.

Last time, only rankings could be seen. This time, it was true live coverage.

Most regions watched their own province, but Jiang Ming from Tianzhong Province still attracted a vast audience.

In the virtual martial arts arena.

The rules were clear.

Based on the preliminary rankings, number eleven would face number one hundred and five. Clearly, the last five had advanced to the third realm of martial arts within the past seven days.

Jiang Ming was surprised.

Between martial artists, victories were swift.

Some killed their opponents in the blink of an eye—this wasn't a friendly match, and death was nothing to fear; everyone fought to the death.

Only when strength was evenly matched did the battles last longer.

Tian Tian was teleported away, then reappeared, her face pale: "Is the gap between me and the top students really this big?"

She couldn’t believe it.

She saw Qin Zhiyan teleported back with a smile, clearly victorious.

Tian Tian’s face grew darker, thinking of what lay ahead, her scalp tingled: "I still have over ninety matches to go."

Despair washed over her.

"This isn’t tempering—it’s a disaster!" Tian Tian scratched her head.

She’d been excited, hoping to become famous through the live broadcast, but the first battle shattered her illusions.

She was a genius.

Absolutely a genius.

But who here wasn’t?

One battle had shaken her; what about the rest?

"Can I really make it through?"

She began to doubt herself.

"This is the best place for tempering!" Qin Zhiyan’s eyes shone. "Some classmates are weak, but most are exceptionally strong. After so many battles, I’ll definitely improve."

"Only those few are truly useful," Jiang Ming laughed. "Even so, take it seriously. Through them, we can gauge the level of geniuses across the Federation."

"Yes!" Qin Zhiyan nodded. "My biggest worry is whether I’ll be mentally exhausted by the end."

"Definitely not!" Jiang Ming said. "If you’re mentally fatigued, the point of the round-robin is lost. After each battle, you should recover to peak condition. Your opponent was too weak just now; you didn’t notice. Tian Tian, you must have a direct feeling?"

Tian Tian’s mouth twitched.

How could she not? She’d just had her throat pierced by a sword and still felt the pain.

After being killed, everything went black, then she revived in her seat.

"Not fun!" Long Ao Tian in front said. "Jiang Ming, what’s your current strength? Tell us. I’m already at the fourth realm, and my understanding of the martial intent is quite deep."

"I want to know too!" Lan Xin turned to look, uninterested in the arena matches. "I’m also in the fourth realm. Before the preliminaries, everyone said I’d easily take first in the province, but—hmph!"

Even Tian Tian perked her ears.

Qin Zhiyan showed curiosity.

"Fifth realm," Jiang Ming didn’t hide it.

Concealing it was pointless; his strength would soon be revealed.

"Fifth realm?" Tian Tian exclaimed, eyes wide. "How is that possible!"

The next moment, she was teleported away, her rest finished.

"Fifth realm?!" Long Ao Tian scratched his head, baring his teeth. "Really fifth realm?"

"Fifth realm."

"We’re doomed! Beating you is less than one in ten thousand chance. No, there’s still hope. If your martial intent is weak, maybe I can counterattack!"

"You really think his martial intent would be weak?" Lan Xin scoffed. "Dream on!"

She paused, puzzled: "The fourth realm is crucial. The strength of your martial intent determines your future. If you comprehend several types, even fuse them, you’ll go further, fight stronger. Jiang Ming, why did you break through so early?"

"The higher the realm, the stronger the power—a simple truth!" Jiang Ming smiled.

"Is it fun?" Lan Xin rolled her eyes. "Realm doesn’t define your future; you’re not that foolish! Jiang Ming, can you tell us what martial intent you’ve comprehended? Don’t tell me you’ve mastered one of the top ten martial intents. That would be monstrous. I’ve mastered the intent of thunder, nearing perfection, and also touched on water and fire intents."

She was candid.

While asking, she revealed her own skills.

"One of the top ten martial intents?" Qin Zhiyan’s expression grew odd, thinking, "He’s mastered Yin-Yang, that's certain, but surely more than just one, or he wouldn’t have passed the Yin-Yang sword art to me. Passing it on means he has more and stronger arts."

"Jiang Ming, my first life goal is to always have you ahead of me, so I can chase and look up to you, giving me greater motivation."

Complex thoughts flickered through Qin Zhiyan’s mind.

Then she was teleported to the battle platform again.

"Yin-Yang," Jiang Ming uttered.

"How can anyone survive!" Long Ao Tian was stunned, slumping in his seat, scratching his head again. "Meeting you is truly my misfortune."

Then he straightened his spine, grunted: "I’m not your match this time, but next time, I won’t lose. After all, I have true dragon blood. After the provincial exam, I’ll immediately..."

He didn’t finish.

"Pass this round first," Lan Xin said, suppressing her shock, glancing at Long Ao Tian, "If you don’t make the top five, well... you’ll really become a joke."

Long Ao Tian’s expression tightened. He drew a deep breath: "If I don’t get the Federation-wide entrance ticket, when I get home, I’ll be beaten to death, definitely!"

Lan Xin looked gleeful: "You can’t beat Jiang Ming, and you can’t beat me either! Qin Zhiyan hasn’t gone all out yet, but she’s clearly in the fourth realm, a formidable opponent. Look, that’s just a few of us."

Long Ao Tian’s scalp tingled.

The matches were swift.

Especially Tian Tian, who just left and returned soon after.

Her longest battle lasted only two minutes.

Each time she returned, her expression worsened, grinding her teeth, clenching her fists, looking fierce, then sinking into despair, resigned.

"Can’t you quit?" Jiang Ming reminded.

Quitting meant ending her own matches; all subsequent rounds would be counted as losses.

"If I quit early, I’ll be a joke for the whole province," Tian Tian pouted.

Jiang Ming smiled and watched the battles.

Only two people truly caught his attention: Qin Zhiyan, who was serious but casual in her attacks—no opponent lasted more than a few rounds against her.

The other was a young boy, probably fifteen, wielding a spear with remarkable skill, unmatched by anyone on his platform, extremely dominant.

Even on the battle stage, he often looked over, clearly provoking Jiang Ming, even pointing his spear at him a few times.

"Gun Jiu!"

Jiang Ming already knew his name.

Strangely, even Long Ao Tian and Lan Xin knew nothing of his background.

"He must have quite the origin," Jiang Ming thought, unconcerned.

Time flowed slowly.

"It’s finally over!" Tian Tian’s eyes were empty. Though she recovered after each match, the repeated deaths left a deep mark.

She was sick of being killed.

If not for fear of being labeled a sore loser, she would have quit long ago.

"Jiang Ming, Gun Jiu is strong—very, very strong. I used early-stage water-fire fusion, but he still killed me," Qin Zhiyan warned. "I don’t think he used his full strength."

"Indeed not," Jiang Ming nodded. "He’s mastered the intent of penetration, focusing his power, his piercing force is extreme."

"Penetration intent? No wonder his spear is so fierce—it gave me chills," Long Ao Tian frowned. "But thankfully, it’s not the extreme intent, otherwise, Jiang Ming, you’d be in danger!"

"Extreme?"

Jiang Ming sat up straight.

"You wouldn’t know—it’s normal. Ninety-nine percent of martial artists don’t," Long Ao Tian hesitated, then transmitted his voice. "It’s a terrifying intent, comparable to space or time. Though not among the top ten martial intents, according to my family’s ancient records, if you master this intent, your attack power becomes unmatched, supreme. There’s nothing about it online, nor in key martial arts universities; only hereditary clans have traces of it. This intent hasn’t appeared for a thousand years."

"That strong?" Jiang Ming suddenly recalled what the humanoid lightning in the Xuan World had said: there are fifteen extreme intents.

Could extreme mean one of them?

"Yes!" Long Ao Tian nodded. "I once browsed my clan’s ancient records and saw: ‘Among intents below the top ten, the strongest in attack is penetration. At the ultimate, penetration becomes extreme. When extreme appears, it pierces space, twists time!’ I was shocked and asked my grandfather: if penetration is so powerful, why isn’t extreme among the top ten martial intents?"

He paused.

Jiang Ming clenched his fists, itching to kick him.

Just as he was about to speak...

(End of chapter)