I will eventually become a divine being through accumulating constantly

"Shady Girl, are you ready?"

Yin Muhu's eyes slightly widened as she muttered,

"This is no mere jest."

She swallowed hard and similarly swirled her staff, assuming a stance.

The golden aura was still fierce, the accumulation of her 'True Self Form' still plentiful, able to fight for a long while... but this brought her no sense of safety.

Yin Muhu's entire body felt numb as if pricked by countless needles... it was the keen instinct of a martial artist reminding her.

Dangerous, very dangerous, extremely dangerous.

The kind of danger that could lead to instantaneous death with one careless move.

Instinct was frantically urging her.

Run, run quickly.

Without any hesitation, get away from that man immediately.

If she were an animal without the ability to think, she would have already fled who knows how far under the drive of instinct.

"But the crucial difference between humans and animals... is the step forward taken in the face of fear."

"This step is known as courage."

A firm look appeared on Yin Muhu's beautiful face as she slowly lifted her foot forward.

One step, two steps...

The audience on-site held their breath involuntarily, watching the frail female warrior slowly but resolutely approach the fearsome Great Demon King.

"World-Protecting Four Heavens · Mahoraga!"

Yin Muhu swung her eyebrow-level staff, her aura growing ever more fierce, her pupils exhibiting a reddish-gold hue.

"World-Protecting Four Heavens · Vaisravana!"

"World-Protecting Four Heavens · Argillite Repelling!"

As she executed these deadly moves, numerous strange phenomena occurred around Yin Muhu.

"Vajra Freedom · Heavenly King Aspect!"

The golden aura twining around Yin Muhu suddenly took shape, forming a ten-meter-tall, armored figure with a fierce face and six arms, like the image of a Heavenly King.

This scene, akin to the mystical 'Manifestations' from legends, made the audience overflow with astonishment and excitement.

Xue Jing also watched this unfold, but his heart experienced little turmoil.

With his vision, he could tell that this 'Heavenly King Aspect' was merely an illusion, a passive formation influenced by Yin Muhu's spirit, not a real entity.

Yet, it was still quite impressive, having reached the realm of mystique where her spirit and will could influence the senses of others.

"Xue, face me!"

Yin Muhu cried out sharply, leaping up with the force to split a mountain, raising her staff overhead and slashing down towards Xue Jing in midair!

The airflow surged, the terrifying force dissipating the air around the staff, creating a vacuum.

Facing this strike that could smash an armored vehicle, Xue Jing remained expressionless, only quietly saying,

"Well done, you gave it your all, Shady Girl."

He clasped his right hand, his Power pulsing, and a True Dragon emerged from within his body, issuing a sky-shaking dragon roar.

Skin, Flesh, Tendons, Bones, Blood all operated in unison, Essence of Mystery gathered but unreleased, directing all Power into his right arm.

Spiral indentations spread from his shoulder, gradually covering his entire body, converging at the tip of his fist, flowing into the ancient giant sword.

It was his first time using a weapon to execute 'Eye-Dotting.'

The Forgotten Greatsword itself was not highly compatible with Eye-Dotting, lacking powerful penetrating damage.

Thus, Xue Jing, with a thought and absolute control over Channeling Energy in his True Martial Body, forcibly altered the 'Eye-Dotting' penetrative properties into purely strike-based Power.

Although this greatly reduced its plain killing power, as it still belonged to the realm of Mystique, even without the penetrating attribute, its power was still formidable.

Moreover, augmented by the terrifying mass of the weapon in his hand, this strike's power exceeded that of 'Barehanded Critical Strike,' with a broader application range for its strike type damage!

This move, its name is—

"Mystique · Awakening of Insects."

Xue Jing, holding the ancient giant sword in one hand, made a sweeping gesture.

Great sound remains unheard, the great image has no form, his sweep with the sword, nearly without any special effects, appeared like a child sweeping a huge plastic toy, contrastingly modest next to the grand spectacle caused by Yin Muhu.

Yet, contrary to appearances, that was an utterly unstoppable strike.

Like a large tree sweeping over ants, a wheel rolling over a mantis's limb, a stone piercing through an eggshell.

The alloy-made Eyebrow-Level Staff, upon touching the edgeless, aged blade, shattered instantly.

Starting from the tip, it rapidly spread backward, and the iron spike shards sliced through Yin Muhu's hands gripping the staff, turning the entire staff into fragments that exploded everywhere, striking the Repulsion Membrane surrounding the ring and causing countless ripples.

In the utter silence of the arena, Yin Muhu looked down at her trembling hands.

Blood traces were scattered across her palms, each with a rectangular wound with flesh hanging and bones visible, exactly where she had been holding the staff.

The clothing around her chest and abdomen had already torn apart, revealing the unevenly contoured white skin beneath.

The muscles, internal organs, and bones inside were devastated beyond recognition.

This was the result of Xue Jing's "Awakening of Insects" strike, which had merely grazed her.

This exquisite control of distance focused primarily on the staff in her hands. Only the tip of his sword had barely brushed past her body, without actually touching her, but the vacuum wave created near the blade touched her.

If the blade had really struck her body, there might have been nothing left but a pile of flesh.

Yin Muhu admitted defeat with a look of utter conviction on her face as she said, "I lost."

After speaking, her golden aura faded, and she slowly collapsed to the ground.

"Clap clap clap clap clap—"

Suddenly, a thunderous applause erupted from the spectator seats, vibrating throughout the arena.

"Brilliant, brilliant!"

"So strong! Is this Xue Jing really a martial artist from the Outer Ring?"

"He barely exerted any effort. It feels like even his clothes are barely disturbed!"

"A two-thousand-kilogram giant sword swung in his hand as if it were just a twig!"

"This pressure, I'm betting big, betting on him to be the champion!"

"I originally thought this Yin Muhu was just filler, but she's incredibly strong too! It's a pity. If it weren't for facing Xue, she might have had a chance to make it to the top eight!"

In the middle of the noise, once the Repulsion Membrane dissipated, the medical team waiting on the sidelines immediately rushed up and began providing emergency first aid to Yin Muhu.

Xue Jing, with a gentle flick reminiscent of a blood surge, swung the giant sword to his side and looked at Yin Muhu, softly saying, "Indeed, a pleasant surprise."

Having said that, he turned and walked towards the competitor's passageway to leave.

"The winner has been decided!"

"A clash of geniuses, a collision of ultimate skills. Competitor Xue Jing overwhelmingly defeated Yin Muhu, securing the final victory and proving that his pre-match 'boasts' were no idle boasts!"

The commentator's passionate voice continued incessantly, gradually fading away in Xue Jing's ears.

As he arrived at the backstage waiting area, Jiang Siwei and Ning Yuantai were already there waiting for him. Upon seeing Xue Jing, Ning Yuantai immediately shouted excitedly:

"Xue is awesome!"

"Yin is amazing too. I didn't expect her to be so fierce. It's a shame, if it weren't for facing Xue, she might have had the chance to make it into the top eight," Ning Yuantai remarked.

Jiang Siwei also happily clapped and said, "Did you hear the audience's applause just now? Little Jing, you really made a name for yourself this time... It's not easy to earn the approval of the Inner Ring spectators as it is from the Outer Ring."

Xue Jing waved his hand and said:

"Okay, I need to rest a bit first, then go watch the other matches."

The final and elimination rounds were different; everyone participating was quite capable... After fighting Yin Muhu, Xue Jing deeply realized this.

It wasn't like in the elimination round where he could ignore them; he needed to see if there was something worth learning or if he could steal a few moves.

Of course, the most important goal was to steal Zhou Yinglin's "Impeccable" move.

Xue Jing opened his panel for a quick glance.

[...Stunning duel, True Martial Experience Points +1668]

[...Aiming Experience Points +963]

[...Acting Experience Points +888]

[...Weapon Strike Experience Points +2067]

...

Seeing a row of quite substantial experience points gains, Xue Jing closed the panel.

He held his Forgotten Greatsword, a strange insight surfacing in his mind.

"Thump—"

He seemed to once again hear the heartbeat of the weapon in his hand.

...