Chapter 625: Mortal

Five days passed in the blink of an eye. An arena rose from the ground in front of the Human Sovereign Hall, forged by the Artifact Refining Peak, sturdy enough to withstand battles even at the Spirit Transformation Stage.

The Eight Desolations had requested that the competition be held in the Nine Provinces.

The Tribulation Transcendence Stage cultivators of the Nine Provinces sat in the judges’ seats, awaiting the arrival of the Eight Desolations cultivators.

The Entropy Increase Ruler sent a voice transmission to Jiang Li: “Mr. Jiang Li, it truly unfolded as you predicted. That day, not all of the Eight Desolations’ Tribulation Transcendence Stage cultivators returned to the Eight Desolations. Two remained behind to investigate the situation in the Nine Provinces, with a particular focus on gathering information about you, the Earth Veins, and Immortal Elder Changcun.”

“They have already learned that the Nine Provinces has two Immortals: one is Commander Liu, and the other is Immortal Elder Changcun.”

After leaving the Human Sovereign Hall, Jiang Li had tasked the three Rulers with secretly observing the movements of the Eight Desolations’ Tribulation Transcendence Stage cultivators. When it came to observational capabilities, no one could surpass these three.

Just as Jiang Li had anticipated, the Eight Desolations World showed an unusually high level of interest in the Nine Provinces.

“I am aware of the situation now. Thank you for your efforts. Please, take your seats.”

As the three Rulers settled into their seats, they saw a five-clawed black dragon soaring through the clouds and mist, descending upon the Nine Provinces. The Eight Desolation Lords used the black dragon as their mount, bringing the ordinary mortals and cultivators they had meticulously selected to participate in the competition.

These ordinary mortals and cultivators were shrouded in black robes, isolating them from external detection. Clearly, they did not want the Nine Provinces side to gather intelligence on them.

Although such petty tricks were useless against Jiang Li, he had no intention of using his spiritual sense to probe them either.

He had full confidence in the cultivators of the Nine Provinces.

“Apologies for the long wait. We encountered some matters before departure, which caused a delay.” The Qian Desolation Lord clasped his fists in apology.

“We have only just arrived ourselves.”

“Shall we begin the competition then?”

“Very well. Let us proceed in order, starting with the ordinary mortal group.”

“Brother Jiang, you still haven’t given up on the ordinary mortal group?”

“I must at least give it a try.”

“In that case, I won’t stand on ceremony. Sima Tong, you go first.”

One of the individuals from the Eight Desolations side removed his robe, revealing a face full of coarse flesh, a blue tattoo on his left cheek, thick bones, a tall and sturdy build, and not a trace of spiritual energy fluctuation.

The Qian Desolation Lord explained with a smile: “I am making a fool of myself here. Immortals and mortals are separated by a chasm. We cultivators have very little interaction with ordinary mortals, fundamentally because ordinary mortals lack the aptitude. For them, cultivation is purely a waste of spiritual energy. Yet, some ordinary mortals, conceited and self-important, believe they can match the immortal path through martial arts. And surprisingly, they have indeed managed to forge a path of their own.”

“One of the worlds that collided with the Eight Desolations was a world that practiced martial arts.”

“This Sima Tong is an outstanding figure among them. He has tempered his skin, flesh, and bones, reaching the realm of Golden Body and Iron Bones. His martial arts cultivation has reached Major Achievement. He once tore apart a Half-Step Nascent Soul cultivator with his bare hands. He can be considered exceptional among ordinary mortals.”

Jiang Li nodded. Reaching this level through cultivation was extremely difficult: “Grandmaster Bu Jing, you will fight the first match.”

Bu Jing, dressed in a white training uniform and cloth shoes, gave a soft “mm” in acknowledgment and walked towards the arena, exuding the demeanor of a grandmaster.

The smile froze on the Qian Desolation Lord’s face.

Sima Tong was warming up on the arena. He had heard that the Nine Provinces could only send an eight-year-old child to fight. He originally intended to take it easy, but when he recalled the Domain Lord’s instructions before departure, he had no choice but to take it seriously, not daring to be the slightest bit negligent.

The moment Bu Jing took his first step into the arena, Sima Tong felt an inexplicable chill. His body instantly stiffened, and he dared not move. It was as if sharp blades and keen edges were pointing at every part of his body. The slightest movement would result in his flesh being sliced, his bones scraped, and his head separated from his body.

This sense of threat reminded him of the Domain Lord he faced before departure.

Just who was this opponent? Wasn’t this supposed to be a competition between ordinary mortals!?

“Brother Jiang, just what is this person…?” The Qian Desolation Lord could no longer smile. The moment he laid eyes on Bu Jing, he felt that this ordinary mortal named Bu Jing was merged with heaven and earth. Every gesture and movement carried an inexplicable meaning.

Not like a body cultivator, yet surpassing a body cultivator.

“This person hails from the Huanyu World, another world primarily focused on martial arts. They are allies of our Nine Provinces in resisting the Immortal Realm. Grandmaster Bu Jing has achieved the highest level of martial arts in this world. He can perceive all things, is impervious to decay and leakage, and his body is in a state of perfection. He named this realm ‘Seeing Divinity Without Decay’.”

“He can barely manage to fight against those at the Unity Stage, with the odds of victory being about fifty-fifty.”

The Qian Desolation Lord gave a dry laugh. To say he could ‘barely manage’ to fight against the Unity Stage was essentially saying that the ‘Seeing Divinity Without Decay’ realm was not much different from the Unity Stage.

On the arena, Sima Tong was trembling with fear. His meager martial arts achievements were nothing to be proud of in front of Bu Jing.

The gap was so vast that he didn’t even have the heart to make a move.

Sima Tong wanted to admit defeat, but he didn’t dare to do so in front of the Eight Desolation Lords. He could only brace himself and attack.

“Mountain Chain Fist!”

Sima Tong roared, assumed his stance, his blood and qi surged, his muscles bulged, and his entire body swelled in size.

The Mountain Chain Fist was a fist technique he created himself. Each punch felt like a mountain crashing down upon the opponent, capable of delivering the force of a mountain ridge. The Half-Step Nascent Soul cultivator from before had died under this very fist technique.

Bu Jing gently waved his hand, sending Sima Tong flying. As for the so-called mountain ridge force, it vanished without a trace.

“Bu Jing wins!” The referee announced the match result.

“I wonder how many people like Bu Jing there are.”

“Currently, he is the only one who has stepped into the ‘Seeing Divinity Without Decay’ realm.”

The Qian Desolation Lord breathed a slight sigh of relief. Reaching such a realm without using spiritual energy was an impact on the entire cultivation system. Where did that leave the transcendent status of us cultivators?

If this were in their Eight Desolations, Bu Jing would have met an untimely death long before he broke through to ‘Seeing Divinity Without Decay’.

Such people were too dangerous.

“Gu Ming, you’re next.” The Qian Desolation Lord wanted to see just how many extraordinary ordinary mortals the Nine Provinces could find.

Gu Ming was slightly inferior to Sima Tong, capable of fighting against those at the Core Formation Stage.

Gu Ming assumed his starting posture, only to find that he had no idea how to fight the opponent before him.

A half-energy, half-mechanical entity. Apart from the humanoid form, there wasn’t a single part of it that resembled a human.

“What is this?” The Qian Desolation Lord had never seen a person in such a state. This person felt even stranger to him than Bu Jing.

“A product of pure technology. You can understand it as the technological equivalent of the Spirit Transformation Stage.” Jiang Li explained with a smile.

The second ordinary mortal sent by the Nine Provinces was precisely a scientist from the Observer Civilization.

The Unity Stage cultivators of the Observer Civilization were elevated by the three Rulers, which didn’t fully count as their own capability. For the sake of fairness, Jiang Li didn’t seek out Unity Stage individuals, but instead found a few at the Spirit Transformation Stage to make up the numbers.

The three Rulers exchanged glances, seeing the joy in each other’s eyes.

They didn’t like the Eight Desolations. Seeing the Eight Desolations suffer a setback was something they were happy to witness.

The research topic of that Spirit Transformation Stage scientist was universal gravitation. He raised his arm and pointed sharply at Gu Ming.

Gu Ming immediately lost control, slammed onto the ground, pinned down firmly by the gravitational pull of the ground, unable to even lift a finger.

The outcome was decided.

The subsequent matches in the ordinary mortal group were similar to the first two. It could no longer be called a fight; the Nine Provinces side held an overwhelming advantage. Ordinary mortals who had achieved success in the fields of martial arts and science showcased their skills brilliantly. The ordinary mortals from the Eight Desolations were simply no match for them.

The Nine Provinces ordinary mortal group achieved a great victory.

“Congratulations, Brother Jiang. The Nine Provinces has won the first round.” The Qian Desolation Lord offered his congratulations with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.