Chapter 482: Power Gap of Transcendent Aptitudes
No one had anticipated that Wang Xu, ranked tenth, would be utterly defeated by Jiang Ye in such a short time.
“What was that just now? The mysteries of fire?”
“It was a peak seventh breakthrough-level mysteries of fire!”
“Jiang Ye’s mysteries of earth are also at the peak seventh breakthrough level. Both of his profound mysteries have reached that level?”
“This is absurd!” The participating challengers were utterly stunned.
Jiang Ye was only at the fifth breakthrough stage.
Yet he had already comprehended two mysteries of heaven and earth, both at the peak seventh breakthrough level!
Many late-stage seventh breakthrough experts among them had yet to reach this standard.
Could the gap between individuals truly be this vast?
“It’s just as the rumors said.”
“He has indeed comprehended two mysteries of heaven and earth.” Zhou Xingkong watched Jiang Ye with a dark expression.
Even he had only comprehended one mystery of heaven and earth so far.
In terms of profound mysteries comprehension, he was inferior to Jiang Ye.
“Fortunately,” Zhou Xingkong thought to himself, “I’ve already made preparations in advance. Even if Jiang Ye reveals more hidden cards, I have absolute confidence in my ability to counter them.”
He glanced in Chu Jingye’s direction, secretly relieved.
The strength Jiang Ye had displayed so far hadn’t exceeded Zhou Xingkong’s expectations.
However, Jiang Ye’s demonstrated power silenced the vast space once more.
Initially, many participants had intended to challenge Jiang Ye.
But now?
After witnessing Jiang Ye’s terrifying strength, the vast majority temporarily abandoned that idea.
After a brief silence,
“Zhou Xingkong, I challenge you!”
“Xu Feng, I challenge Chu Jingye!”
“Hua Qing, I challenge Li Zihuang!”
“…” Numerous participants chose to challenge the other transcendent prodigies.
While Transcendent Aptitudes were undoubtedly formidable, they seemed easier to deal with than the terrifying Jiang Ye.
After all, most people had never seen a Transcendent Aptitude in action.
The space quickly buzzed with activity again.
Apart from Jiang Ye, challengers stepped forward on all nine other transcendent platforms.
Jiang Ye, however, was content to remain idle. With no one challenging him, he had the perfect opportunity to observe the Transcendent Aptitudes in action.
“Zhou Xingkong,” Jiang Ye murmured, turning his gaze toward one of the arenas.
A challenger had already ascended to Zhou Xingkong’s transcendent platform.
Without exchanging a word, the two immediately clashed.
To Jiang Ye’s surprise, Zhou Xingkong defeated his opponent with a single strike, without even activating his Innate Domain!
“He’s incredibly strong,” Jiang Ye remarked.
“Zhou Xingkong’s strike just now was at least comparable to a full-power attack from a peak seventh breakthrough cultivator,” Jiang Ye analyzed calmly. “I didn’t sense any fluctuations in the mysteries of heaven and earth, which means it was just a standard attack.”
A standard attack that completely overwhelmed his opponent.
This demonstrated Zhou Xingkong’s overwhelming power.
“Transcendent Aptitude grants a significant boost to one’s inherent strength,” Bai Gui added. “Even without using their innate abilities, their base combat power far surpasses that of those with dao bones.”
Jiang Ye nodded slightly and glanced at the other arenas.
The battles unfolding there confirmed Bai Gui’s words.
Cultivators with Transcendent Aptitude, such as Chu Jingye and Li Zihuang, were all defeating their opponents with a single move.
The gap was simply too vast!
“It seems only seasoned experts like Zhou Kun, who have spent years honing their skills at the peak seventh breakthrough, can even exchange blows with the transcendent,” Jiang Ye mused. “For the rest, the transcendent pressure alone would be enough to suppress them.”
Transcendent Aptitude, favored by heaven and earth, carries an innate and terrifying aura field.
This was the transcendent pressure!
Ordinary dao bone geniuses couldn’t even stand steadily under such pressure, let alone resist it.
Just then…
“Li Shiyue challenges Zhou Xingkong!” a resonant voice boomed, followed by a young woman leaping onto the arena stage.
“Li Shiyue, ranked third?” Jiang Ye glanced over.
He was ranked first.
Second place belonged to Chen Zilu.
Third place was this Li Shiyue from the Li Clan, who possessed over eight hundred civilization fires.
Among the numerous dao bone geniuses, her strength was second only to Jiang Ye and Chen Zilu.
“Can she force Zhou Xingkong to reveal his true power?” Jiang Ye wondered, his curiosity piqued.
On the arena stage, Zhou Xingkong and Li Shiyue rapidly engaged in combat.
As soon as Li Shiyue stepped onto the stage, a Thousand-Meter Dharma Manifestation erupted from the ground. The manifestation radiated a majestic aura, its entire form covered in profound mystical patterns, its power reaching its peak.
Drawing upon the mysteries of heaven and earth, she unleashed her full might in a relentless assault against Zhou Xingkong.
Zhou Xingkong still relied on a single blade strike.
But this time, it failed to defeat Li Shiyue.
He struck again, channeling the mysteries of gold into a ferocious, domineering slash that forced Li Shiyue back.
Refusing to yield, Li Shiyue unleashed her ultimate sword technique, its power amplified exponentially within her Heaven-Earth Domain.
Whoosh!
A snow-white moon slowly rose, plunging the entire world into an icy wasteland as endless blizzards howled.
The vast space seemed frozen solid, the temperature plummeting to absolute zero.
Without a doubt, this was an absolutely terrifying strike—the most devastating eruption since the core selection began!
“Finally, something interesting,” Zhou Xingkong remarked calmly.
He extended his hand and clenched his fist.
Whoosh! The snow-white moon shattered as if crushed by an invisible hand, splintering into countless glittering fragments that vanished into the air. The icy wasteland illusion dissolved along with it.
Li Shiyue’s ultimate, fully amplified technique had been shattered by a single palm strike from Zhou Xingkong!
“It’s over,” Zhou Xingkong declared, unleashing another palm strike.
Boom! Half of Li Shiyue’s body exploded on impact. Her figure was sent flying off the arena, crashing to the ground with no sign of life.
Silence descended.
Everyone stared in disbelief, stunned that Li Shiyue, who had unleashed such a formidable attack, could be so utterly helpless against Zhou Xingkong.
“Zhou Xingkong! You’ve gone too far,” Li Zihuang frowned.
Though not from the same lineage, she and Li Shiyue were both members of the Li Clan.
Li Shiyue’s crushing defeat left her utterly humiliated.
“I thought she’d be able to withstand it,” Zhou Xingkong said with a shrug, his tone indifferent.
The unspoken implication was clear:
Li Shiyue is too weak!
He had intended to use only a fraction of his true power, but this was all it took?
“Hmph,” Li Zihuang scoffed coldly, but said nothing more.
Li Shiyue’s skill was simply inferior; there was little she could argue.
Such were the rules of the tournament.
“What was that just now?”
“A transcendent’s innate ability?” Jiang Ye’s expression turned grave, equally surprised.
The snow-white, radiant moon that had appeared earlier was clearly Li Shiyue’s Heaven-Earth Domain.
It had been immensely powerful.
Yet Zhou Xingkong had shattered it with a single palm strike from afar.
“This is the extent of a transcendent’s mastery over Heaven and Earth,” Bai Gui remarked with a sigh. “A Heaven-Earth Domain formed from Dao Bone Aptitude stands little chance against a transcendent.”
Jiang Ye nodded slowly, understanding dawning in his eyes.
A Heaven-Earth Domain was, by its very nature, a form of control over the natural world.
In this regard, transcendents possessed a significant advantage, having cultivated their connection to Heaven and Earth since childhood.
But the gap was even greater than he had imagined—truly staggering.
“Zhou Xingkong’s mysteries of gold have already reached the peak of the seventh breakthrough.”
With the added boost from Transcendent Aptitude, Jiang Ye thought to himself, it’s no wonder Li Shiyue was obliterated with a single palm strike.
This battle made everyone realize the terrifying power of Transcendent Aptitude.
Transcendent Aptitude versus dao bone was a dimensional crushing!
In the aftermath, more challengers began targeting Jiang Ye, hoping to find a breakthrough against him.
The results were predictable: Jiang Ye effortlessly defeated them all.
(End of the Chapter)