Chapter 17 : Championship in clan competition

"Eight Wastes Incineration!" Zhou Xi roared, slamming his palm forward. A scorching flame surged toward Zhou Tong, and the space seemed to be melting, accompanied by a sharp sound of breaking.

"Boom, boom, boom..." The rolling flames rushed towards Zhou Tong like a tide, as if to devour him.

"Hiss..." Zhou Tong took a deep breath, his face becoming solemn. He threw a series of punches, unleashing a myriad of golden lights.

However, these golden lights did not stop the approach of the flames. They penetrated the golden lights like a hot knife through butter, surrounding Zhou Tong and raging fiercely.

"Pu-chi!" Zhou Tong's protective aura was extinguished, and he spat out blood, his body retreating, his face extremely pale.

"Hehe, I admit you have indeed improved a level compared to before. Even your physical defense has become stronger. But, in front of me, everything is futile!" Zhou Xi coldly smiled, lightly tapping the stage with his foot, leaping over.

"Swoosh!"

Flames ignited on Zhou Xi's right fist, as if a fire god had descended.

"Boom!" This time, Zhou Tong couldn't avoid it. His chest was struck by a heavy punch, and his body was thrown out.

"Pu-chi!" Zhou Tong fell at the edge of the stage, spitting out blood.

"How about it, admit defeat?" Zhou Xi said coldly.

Struggling to stand up, Zhou Tong looked at Zhou Xi and said in a cold voice, "I still have one last move!"

After speaking, Zhou Tong gritted his teeth, contemplating the countermeasure. Finally, he decided and attempted the second move of the Desolate Void Fist once again.

Zhou Tong operated the elemental energy within his body, continuously absorbing the Yang Qi between heaven and earth. The temperature around him rose, and a faint golden glow flowed on his skin, giving off a beautiful sense of strength.

"Hum..." Zhou Tong's figure suddenly became blurred, seeming to have hundreds of phantoms, each with extreme speed.

In the blink of an eye, Zhou Tong rushed to Zhou Xi, and a punch was fiercely thrown.

Zhou Xi's pupils contracted, his expression changing slightly. Although the punch seemed ordinary, it exuded an extremely violent aura, as if it could destroy everything, making him feel the threat of death.

"Roar!" Zhou Xi roared, activating the elemental energy throughout his body. Flames erupted around him, shining with dazzling brilliance, rushing towards Zhou Tong.

"Bang!"

Zhou Xi's body collided with Zhou Tong's fist in an instant.

In an instant, a mighty force poured out, sweeping in all directions. The ground of the entire martial arena cracked inch by inch, and the terrifying shockwave spread, overturning some lower-cultivation disciples.

When the smoke cleared, Zhou Xi's flame-covered body was shattered by Zhou Tong's fist imprint. Zhou Xi turned and tried to condense his elemental energy for protection, but it was too late. Zhou Tong's fist imprint struck him without any reserve, and Zhou Xi was sent flying out of the stage, unconscious.

The location of their clash was turned into a flat ground, a mess.

"How is this possible?"

"Did I see it wrong?"

The audience under the stage was in an uproar. They couldn't believe that the favored Zhou Xi had been beaten like this. Discussions erupted everywhere.

"Fourth Brother, well done!" Zhou Xuanfei laughed loudly, thinking about the money he had saved.

...

On the observation platform, Zhou Ming's face was gloomy as he looked at Zhou Yan. "Zhou Yan, you've taught your son well!"

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Thank you for the compliment, Elder Zhou Ming. If you have no objections to the result, please announce it."

The elder, unable to say anything, stood up and announced, "The champion of this family competition is Zhou Tong. Collect your rewards in five days. The top eight can go to the medicine storage to collect their rewards. The rest will have 20% of their monthly cultivation resources deducted. Dismissed."

After saying that, the elder left in a huff, clearly furious.

On the stage, Zhou Tong heard the news of his victory, relaxed his strained muscles, and slowly lay down on the stage. Closing his eyes, he saw Zhou Xuanfei and others rushing up. He smiled bitterly and murmured, "This time, I've played big..."

...

Three days later, after recovering, Zhou Tong couldn't perform the second move of the Desolate Void Fist for a short period. If it weren't for the body refinement in the mineral vein, he wouldn't have recovered so quickly from his attempts on the stage.

Sitting on the bed, Zhou Tong looked out at the bright sunlight, a wry smile on his face. "If I hadn't broken through on the stage, this family competition's champion would have been Zhou Xi."

Zhou Tong sighed and focused on adjusting his injuries.

After a while, he opened his eyes and felt the strength returning. "Mid-stage of the Heavenly Yuan Realm!" Zhou Tong exclaimed. "Now my physical strength has increased many times. With my current strength and a battle against Zhou Xi, I may not be as good as him, but it won't be like the desperate situation back then!"

Zhou Tong was delighted. The mid-stage of the Heavenly Yuan Realm's physical strength, combined with the large amount of Yang Qi absorbed earlier, could rival the strength of a late-stage Heavenly Yuan Realm martial artist!

Zhou Tong had a premonition that if he broke through to the late stage, his physical strength could compete with a Yuan Dan Realm expert!

Taking a deep breath, Zhou Tong dispelled distracting thoughts and returned to the calm state of mind. He began absorbing the Yang Qi between heaven and earth to heal his injuries, replenish his stamina, and restore his elemental energy.

After a while, Zhou Tong exhaled a turbid breath and looked at the bracelet on his wrist.

"Bang!" A soft sound came, and Zhou Tong opened his eyes. To his surprise, he found himself in the bracelet's space again. He felt a bit strange this time.

Approaching the scroll of the Empty Abyss Body Technique, Zhou Tong noticed that the silver color had deepened.

"What's going on? Could it be because I broke through to the mid-stage of the Heavenly Yuan Realm?" Zhou Tong wondered. After careful consideration, breaking through during a battle seemed to be the only reason.

As Zhou Tong touched the scroll, a new wave of information flooded into his mind.

After a while, Zhou Tong realized that this was the perfected practice method of the first layer of the Empty Abyss Body Technique. Only by reaching the mid-stage of the Heavenly Yuan Realm could one view it. Zhou Tong marveled at it – once the first layer was perfected, the practitioner could transform into a virtual form. When using the technique, the martial artist could conceal their figure within the elemental energy, leaving behind a clone to confuse the opponent, a clone with no actual strength.

Recovering from his shock, Zhou Tong immersed himself in practicing the Empty Abyss Body Technique, flying back and forth between the scrolls, practicing and checking other martial arts techniques in the space.

...

As time flew by, in the blink of an eye, five days had passed.

Zhou Tong continued to practice the Empty Abyss Body Technique. During this time, he had practiced it thousands of times, becoming increasingly proficient.

"The power of the Empty Abyss Body Technique is indeed formidable. It's a pity that I can't use the Refined Void Fist in a short time. Otherwise, combined with the Empty Abyss Body Technique, I could dominate at the Heavenly Yuan Realm," Zhou Tong sighed.

"Today, I will go to the family treasury for selection. I hope to gain something to compensate for my current deficiencies," Zhou Tong thought to himself.

Soon, Zhou Tong left his residence and headed straight for the family treasury.