Chapter 63

There was no suspense. After a fierce competition, when the sun was setting and the sky was filled with the glow of the setting sun, the contest for the first place between Gu Fei and Li Lingfeng became the most spectacular moment of the Nine Meridians Examination.

Among the top seven young strongmen, only Song Ruochen of the Tongtian Peak had the lowest cultivation, at the peak of the Seventh Heaven of Awakening. The other six all had cultivation levels above the Eighth Heaven.

Li Lingfeng's cultivation had already broken through to the Ninth Heaven. If Gu Fei hadn't suddenly emerged, the title of first place would have been Li Lingfeng's for the taking.

"First place?" Gu Fei was not interested. He only wanted to fight, to break through in battle, to elevate himself in battle. Winning was good, but losing should also be done with a bang. The only person he considered his strongest opponent among the young disciples of Tai Xuan Sect was Li Lingfeng.

A warrior at the Eighth Heaven of Awakening was enough to contend with a cultivator at the Ninth Heaven of Awakening, there was no doubt about it. Among peers, no one was a match for Gu Fei. Even if these cultivators wielded powerful magical treasures, Gu Fei could still defeat them with his bare hands.

He did not need magical treasures; he himself was a magical treasure, his powerful physical body comparable to a magical treasure.

And now, Li Lingfeng seemed to have not used any magical treasures either. With the Eight Trigrams and Eight Directions divine ability, he could still defeat the enemy without magical treasures.

Both had their strengths, both had their trump cards, unknown to others. The battle between Gu Fei and Li Lingfeng, even before it began, was already full of anticipation.

Could Gu Fei's combat techniques match Li Lingfeng's Eight Trigrams and Eight Directions divine ability? No one knew. Both were formidable young experts, and without a match, it was hard to determine who had the superior combat power.

Cultivators always had magical treasures. What was Li Lingfeng's magical treasure? Everyone was curious.

Whether it was the Xuantian Daoist or the seven Meridian Heads, all were watching the two people on the second platform below the steps. One was an ordinary white-robed disciple, calm and composed, not emitting any powerful aura, with a plain appearance that gave a sense of transcendence.

The other young man had black hair like a waterfall, a tall and straight figure, and eyes like cold stars in the sky, flashing with a piercing light that gave a sense of overwhelming pressure.

The young man with a different aura on the second platform was now attracting the attention of the entire audience. Who would win the first place among the young disciples of Tai Xuan Sect?

Everyone was extremely tense at this moment, especially the disciples of Tai Xuan Peak. Li Lingfeng was the acknowledged first among the young generation. However, today, his position as the first was being challenged by a disciple from the already completely fallen Cuiling Peak.

Gu Fei, the only remaining disciple of the entire Cuiling Peak, was now walking a path of martial arts different from that of his predecessors.

On the second platform, Gu Fei and Li Lingfeng stood facing each other, motionless, with only three zhang between them. Given their speed, this distance was negligible.

But they stood like wooden figures, neither making a move. Their gazes occasionally met in the air, and each time, it seemed as if sparks were flying.

"This Li Lingfeng is indeed not simple." Gu Fei's pupils suddenly constricted. Li Lingfeng made him feel a great deal of pressure, making him no longer as calm and relaxed as he was against other opponents.

The Ninth Heaven of Awakening was the first major bottleneck in cultivation. Li Lingfeng's essence, energy, and spirit were already fully saturated, and he had reached the stage of forming a Dao Pill.

Such a cultivator, although not as terrifying as those at the Transcendent Realm with boundless magical power, had already cultivated their magical power to the point of connecting with the forces of heaven and earth, using the power of heaven and earth to attack the enemy.

Facing such a cultivator, Gu Fei did not have absolute confidence in victory.

The two stood there for half an hour, and the Tai Xuan Sect disciples watching the match below the platform were already showing signs of impatience. The originally quiet square gradually filled with whispers.

"These two have already reached the peak of their momentum, why don't they make a move? What are they waiting for?" A white-robed disciple whispered in the crowd.

"You don't know, do you! They are waiting for the right moment, the moment to make a move." A companion standing next to the white-robed disciple spoke up.

"The right moment to make a move!?"

"Exactly, the right moment to make a move. For experts of equal strength like them, if they don't make a move, when they do, it will be earth-shattering, aiming to defeat the enemy in one blow."

"As long as one side shows a slight flaw, the other side will immediately launch a devastating attack." Another voice joined the conversation.

"Boom!"

At that moment, a terrifying force erupted on the platform, followed by a sound like a thunderous drum, which, though not loud, echoed throughout the venue.

It was not the familiar magical power fluctuation, but a pure force fluctuation. Gu Fei had made his move. Had he finally decided to act? Everyone watched the platform intently.

Sure enough, Gu Fei suddenly stomped on the platform, causing it to shake violently. Then, his body shot forward like a fierce tiger, leaving trails of afterimages in the air as he pounced on Li Lingfeng.

The three-zhang distance was covered in an instant, and a powerful gale immediately swept across the platform. "Roar!" With a roar, Gu Fei's black hair flew backward, and he extended his claw, with a foot-long cold light shooting from his fingertips, piercing the air and aiming directly at Li Lingfeng's chest.

The fierce and rapid claw shadow caused the air to emit a dull explosion, as if the air itself was being torn apart, incredibly powerful.

Gu Fei's skin, flesh, and bones were hardened like iron, daring to challenge the magical treasures of cultivators. Now, using this claw technique learned from a fierce tiger's pounce, his fingers, harder than fine iron, had the terrifying power to pierce through stone and metal. If he caught someone with his claw, it would immediately create five bloody holes, breaking bones and tearing flesh.

However, while others only saw the ferocity of Gu Fei's claw, Li Lingfeng, facing it, had a completely different, heart-stopping experience.

Gu Fei's pounce and claw covered all directions, making Li Lingfeng feel as if there was no place to hide, truly terrifying.

Li Lingfeng, however, remained calm in the face of danger. As the claw wind hit his face, he thought quickly, and a purple light flashed in front of him, revealing an object that protected him.

"Huh?" Gu Fei was momentarily stunned, but with his copper skin and iron bones, he was not afraid of any magical treasure at the Awakening level. He directly grabbed the purple light with his right claw.

"Clang!" The purple light in front of Li Lingfeng was immediately shattered by Gu Fei's claw, revealing a purple-golden Eight Trigram.

What was shocking was that when Gu Fei's claw hit the purple-golden Eight Trigram, it produced a piercing metallic friction sound. Was his hand made of fine iron?

As the purple-golden Eight Trigram blocked Gu Fei's attack, Li Lingfeng quickly retreated, maintaining a distance from Gu Fei. Engaging in close combat with a martial artist like Gu Fei was a taboo for cultivators.

The purple-golden Eight Trigram, hit by Gu Fei's powerful claw, flew backward. Li Lingfeng, holding a Dao seal, made the purple-golden Eight Trigram circle around him and return to his hand.

However, a hint of redness flashed across his face. Although Gu Fei's attack hit the magical treasure, it still caused Li Lingfeng to feel a significant impact. After stabilizing himself, he felt a surge of blood in his chest.

On the purple-golden Eight Trigram, there were faint finger marks. Li Lingfeng calmly wiped his hand over the purple-golden Eight Trigram, and the finger marks immediately disappeared.