Chapter 164: Shocking Victory

The white rock illuminated the room he was in and the ambient Qi became far denser than normal. Lu Zheng could even see faint mists of ambient Qi swirling around in the room.

The Philosopher's Stone was a rank six Divine Grade artifact that was refined many eras ago by a talented artificer. The artifact was made from the apertures of numerous Immortals and paramount gods and could enhance the rate at which a person cultivated exponentially.

Shortly after it was refined, war arose all over the five regions over the Philosopher's Stone and eventually, the artificer died and the Philosopher's Stone was broken into thousands of fragments.

Even so, its abilities remained but the strength differed with size. This fragment of the Philosopher's Stone was given to Lu Zheng from First.

In all of his life, Lu Zheng had never seen a fragment of the Philosopher's Stone as large as this.

Instantly, he felt his aperture open and his meridians dilate, greedily absorbing the ambient Qi uncontrollably. His Qi leaves grew to an unbelievable size that Lu Zheng felt like he would burst open.

Although he did not reach the third tier of Void Passage realm, he was certainly well above the second tier of Void Passage realm. All these happened within a few seconds of revealing the Philosopher's Stone.

"Hahaha! Reverends sure are amazing!" Lu Zheng laughed heartily as he held the Philosopher's Stone. With this artifact, his cultivation speed would surely be unbeatable.

Lu Zheng sat cross-legged as he used his soul consciousness to make the Philosopher's Stone float above his head. Like that, his speed of cultivation was thousands of times faster than ever.

"Beep, beep, beep!"

The beeping sound of the wristband roused Lu Zheng from his cultivation. Letting out a breath of turbid air, he stood up.

"I have finally reached the third tier of Void Passage realm, and in time too" Lu Zheng smiled as he quickly refreshed himself with a short bath.

The beeping of the wristband meant that it was time for Lu Zheng's first match in the Battle Arena.

The Battle Arena itself was located at the centre of a small city built by Gentle Mist Province. The building was thousands of metres tall and even the bottom floor could house hundreds of people with much space to spare.

The walls were made of obsidian jade and radiated a coolness that soothed a person's soul. When Lu Zheng entered the Battle Arena, he found out that the interior was far larger than it seemed.

Not willing to waste more time, Lu Zheng directly used a teleportation formation and teleported to his destination.

…..

Hundreds of people sat in an enclosed space around a large rectangular platform. Cheers and jeers filled the air as the people talked about the fight that had just ended.

"Did you see that technique that Cui Ziyan used?!"

"Yes! It was like a thousand blades descended from the sky at once. There's no way Fen Long could have avoided it"

"Oh, Cui Ziyan, marry me!"

"…"

The noise slowly died down as two men appeared at opposite ends of the platform. A beautiful woman floated above the platform as she introduced the two men.

"So this is Ni Tao, he looks so strong!"

"Hmm, I heard he's already on a four match winning streak. This match should end quickly!"

"Who's this other guy?"

"…"

Lu Zheng's gaze was calm as he gazed around him.

~The platform is surrounded by a strong barrier. None of us can leave until the match is over. This Ni Tao is already at the first tier of Acquisition realm… but, it is impossible for a person to die here so I won't hold back in the least bit"

"Fight!" The woman's voice travelled through the air.

As soon as the word left her lips, Ni Tao's body suddenly disappeared from where he was. Within a fraction of a second, he was already before Lu Zheng and his fist was already descending sharply.

"So fast!" That was what ingrained itself in the minds of the spectators.

"So this is Ni Tao's true speed. It seems this battle is already over" A man in a black cloak commented.

However, to Lu Zheng, Ni Tao was just like a tortoise. He had even seen the man as he dashed forward.

Immediately, Ni Tao's fist went through Lu Zheng's body but rather than being happy, Ni Tao felt a sense of apprehension.

"An afterimage?" Ni Tao was stunned. He did not expect Lu Zheng to react that swiftly.

Before he could respond, Lu Zheng's fist that was filled with strong thunder energy slammed into his guts, rearranging the internal organs inside.

"Gah!" Ni Tao could not help but cough out a mouthful of blood. The impact of the punch easily sending him flying over forty metres. By the time everyone could process what had just happened, a warm yellow light enveloped Ni Tao's unconscious body, sending him out of the arena.

Simultaneously, the lithe woman above the arena declared Lu Zheng as the winner.