Giveaway

As he spoke, Xing Jue spread his palms, and two flames shot out from them like soaring dragons. The flames then condensed into two concentrated balls of fire. Xing Jue brought his palms together, and amidst the astonished gazes of the onlookers, merged the two fireballs into a rapidly rotating sphere.

"What a powerful martial skill!"

"That kid actually has such a formidable technique?"

With the most anticipated match already concluded, the duel where Xing Jue was fighting had become the focus of everyone's attention. Thus, when Xing Jue demonstrated such a powerful technique, the audience couldn't help but express their shock.

"Fire Dragon Shot, huh? Looks like this kid is finally getting serious," an elderly man watching the match murmured with a smile, instantly recognizing the technique as one from the Wind Pavilion.

"Is this kid just pretending to be weak?" Wu Jun from the Underworld Hall muttered uneasily. Their plan had been to dominate the last two matches to assert their dominance, but Xing Jue's unexpected emergence threatened to disrupt their plans.

"Hmph," snorted the Underworld Hall's stuttering disciple as he spread his palms, preparing to unleash his own powerful martial skill.

Seeing the stuttering disciple's movements, Xing Jue's lips curled into a cold smile. He wouldn't give his opponent the chance. With a thought, a gust of wind enveloped him, and he vanished from sight.

"Not good!" The stuttering disciple sensed something wrong as Xing Jue disappeared, but it was too late.

Xing Jue reappeared like a phantom behind him. With a vicious push of his palms, he transformed the fireball into a ferocious fire dragon, which hurtled towards the stuttering disciple with a piercing roar.

The stuttering disciple hastily crossed his arms over his face and concentrated all his martial energy at his chest and arms, trying to muster the strongest possible defense. He had no time to dodge or deploy any martial skills.

This was his only defense, but it was woefully inadequate against the power of the fire dragon. Even if it hit directly, he'd be gravely injured, possibly killed.

Just as everyone thought the Underworld Hall disciple would perish, a figure in a black robe suddenly appeared in front of him. With a forward thrust, the figure conjured a peculiar barrier that enveloped them both.

"Boom!" The fire dragon collided with the barrier, producing a deafening explosion. Flames engulfed half of the arena, making it seem as if the entire stage was ablaze, a spectacular sight that drew the audience's admiration.

As the flames dissipated, Xing Jue saw that the stuttering disciple was unscathed. All thanks to the black-robed elder who had intervened.

"A mid-tier Martial Sovereign?" Xing Jue immediately assessed the elder's strength. It was evident that the elder had used some special defensive skill, because even he shouldn't have been able to block Xing Jue's attack so effortlessly.

"Elder," the stuttering disciple finally reacted after the flames faded, speaking without a stutter this time, clearly terrified of the elder.

"Boy, you've got quite the ruthless hand," the black-robed elder sneered at Xing Jue, though his smile was full of malice.

"I'm not quite as ruthless as the Underworld Hall's disciples," Xing Jue replied, smiling slightly. His heavy-handed attack had been for two reasons.

First, the Underworld Hall disciples were vicious, leaving their opponents severely injured, some even paralyzed for life. Xing Jue found this intolerable.

Second, his friend Zhao Liang, from the Cangyao Mountain Villa, held a deep grudge against the Underworld Hall. Considering his close relationship with Zhao Liang, Xing Jue wanted to help him out.

"So, so, so, in the Underworld Empire, you dare talk to us like this? You've got guts, boy," the elder from the Underworld Hall laughed menacingly, looking like he wanted to attack Xing Jue.

"The Underworld Hall Elder, stepping in violates the rules. Please step back, or Cangyao Mountain Villa won't stand for this," the elder presiding over the tournament from Cangyao Mountain Villa suddenly interjected.

At these words, the Underworld Hall elder snorted coldly but, with a lingering glance at Xing Jue, retreated with the stuttering disciple.

Xing Jue sneered, not taking him seriously. Not only was Xing Jue protected in Cangyao Mountain Villa, but once the tournament was over, and if he obtained the 'Soul Gathering Pill,' his partner Xiaoqian's strength would recover. At that point, even several high-tier Martial Sovereigns wouldn't be a threat.

Finally, Xing Jue was handed the entry ticket to the Grand Finals by the Cangyao Mountain Villa elder. To ensure both parties were in top condition, the final showdown was scheduled for the next morning.

After today's match ended, Xing Jue and Xiaoqian returned to the pavilion. After some training, the sky had turned dark. Just as Xing Jue was about to go to sleep, Zhao Liang hurriedly arrived.

"Brother Xing, what's your chance of winning tomorrow's match?" Zhao Liang asked anxiously after taking his seat.

"Sixty percent," Xing Jue said with a smile. The one named Wu Jun was indeed quite enigmatic, so Xing Jue couldn't be entirely confident about defeating him.

"With this, you should have a hundred percent chance," Zhao Liang said with a slight smile. He then took out an exquisite little box and placed it in front of Xing Jue.

"What is this?" Xing Jue asked curiously.

"Open it and see," Zhao Liang replied mysteriously.

Xing Jue smiled and picked up the box. When he opened it, his face instantly showed surprise. Inside the box was a faintly glowing precious pill, emitting a fragrance unlike anything Xing Jue had ever experienced.

"What a wonderful scent! Brother Zhao, what grade is this pill?" Xing Jue took a deep breath of the pill's aroma, feeling incredibly refreshed, and then asked curiously. Although his soul power had increased a lot, he couldn't determine the pill's grade. However, he could sense it was of high quality.

"It's a high-grade Profound-tier treasure pill, the Transformation Dragon Pill," Zhao Liang explained with a satisfied smile at Xing Jue's expression of surprise.

"A high-grade Profound-tier treasure pill! No wonder it smells so good. But why is it called the Transformation Dragon Pill?" Xing Jue was still shocked by its grade. It was the first time he had seen such a precious pill, so he asked out of curiosity.

"The Transformation Dragon Pill, as the name suggests, has the effect of changing one's body constitution as if transforming into a dragon. It's a type of pill that instantly boosts power. With your current strength, taking this pill will elevate you to the early Martial Sovereign tier for a short period," Zhao Liang explained with a smile, clearly knowing a lot about this pill.

"What do you mean?" Xing Jue asked, still a bit puzzled. Zhao Liang wouldn't just show off such a precious pill for no reason. He must have a purpose.

"I want you to take this pill before your match against Wu Jun tomorrow. With this, you will surely defeat him," Zhao Liang said, a trace of excitement appearing on his face. The thought of Wu Jun being defeated by Xing Jue thrilled him.

"Brother Zhao, I can't accept this. Such a precious high-grade Profound-tier treasure pill... I am not worthy of it," Xing Jue quickly declined.

High-grade Profound-tier treasure pills were extraordinarily rare. Even if Zhao Liang had the ability to refine them, the success rate was incredibly low, so Xing Jue couldn't accept such a generous gift.

"Brother Xing, there's no need for such politeness between us. Besides, if you defeat Wu Jun, you'll be doing me a huge favor. As someone from Cangyao Mountain Villa, the last thing I want is for an Underworld Hall disciple to win the championship," Zhao Liang explained, his words tinged with a hint of pleading.

"This..." Xing Jue hesitated. He understood Zhao Liang's sentiments, but the pill was too precious. Moreover, even if he accepted the pill, he wouldn't use it unless absolutely necessary, and returning it later wouldn't be an option as Zhao Liang wouldn't accept it back.

"Brother Xing, just take it. Don't you want to give me that honor?" Zhao Liang said earnestly.

"All right," Xing Jue finally agreed, moved by Zhao Liang's persistence. He reluctantly accepted the pill and stored it in his wristband.

Seeing Xing Jue accept the pill, Zhao Liang was relieved. Worried about disturbing Xing Jue's rest, Zhao Liang chatted briefly and then took his leave, urging Xing Jue to get plenty of rest for the big day. Xing Jue felt warmth in his chest at Zhao Liang's concern. Having such a good brother made him very happy.

The next day, the inner city was bustling as usual, but the excitement was particularly high because of the much-anticipated final match.

The strength of the Underworld Hall's Wu Jun was well-known. He was called the strongest disciple in the inner hall of the Underworld Hall. Xing Jue's performance the previous day had also been impressive, earning him the admiration of the crowd. Today's final was highly anticipated.

Under the heated gazes of the crowd, Xing Jue slowly walked to the final match's platform. Wu Jun of the Underworld Hall was already there, waiting.

"I must say, I admire your courage for stepping onto this platform today," Wu Jun said with a cold smile as Xing Jue ascended.

"Why?" Xing Jue asked, playing along.

"Because today, you will die a miserable death," Wu Jun said with an icy smile.

"Hahaha..." Xing Jue suddenly laughed out loud. Then his face turned cold, and he said, "Today, it is you who will die miserably."