Volume One, Chapter 16: Mutual Defeat

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Seeing Mo Daoke grit his teeth and utter, “You worthless fish!” those few junior disciples who had been meditating nearby quickly stepped back several dozen paces, fearing that they might get caught up in the fight.

Even a fool could tell from this scene that if they didn’t retreat, they would surely be affected.

No one knew what background this new student from the Spirit Appraisal Academy, Si Nanxi, had, daring to challenge Senior Brother Mo Daoke out of rank.

Mo Daoke’s eyes flickered sharply as he suddenly launched an attack; a cold, sharp aura instantly radiated from the platform in the lake.

The lower-ranked disciples suddenly felt a powerful pressure from a superior, as Mo Daoke’s imposing presence pressed down on them like a towering mountain.

On a dense forest on a mountain peak in the distance, two young men and women watched the central lake silently and began to whisper.

“Junior Sister, what madness is Mo Daoke up to again? Fighting fiercely with a new student from the Spirit Appraisal Academy on the Chaos Lotus Platform—it’s truly shameful!”

“Shh! Quiet, don’t let Senior Brother hear.”

The girl speaking looked barely over ten years old, small in stature and youthful in appearance. Behind her stood a taller young man who appeared older, yet he addressed her as Junior Sister. It was unclear who was actually senior.

“Feng Qi, Yun Yong, what are you two hiding from me?”

The young man who had been quietly meditating suddenly lifted his Dao robe and walked toward them.

His name was Hanshuangzi, ranked second in the Spirit Cultivation Academy after the Dean and the leading masters.

The Spirit Cultivation Academy had one Dean and six masters, each occupying a peak in the Xuyu Mountain Range. The three before them were disciples under the Purple Cloud Peak’s Zixiao Real Immortal.

“First stage: Spirit Perception, entering the gate. Second stage: Spirit Consolidation to establish the foundation. Third stage: Spirit Separation to open the meridians. Fourth stage: Spirit Fusion to condense qi and blood. Fifth stage: Void Spirit to comprehend yin and yang.”

The girl called Yun Yong cheerfully recited the five stages of the spiritual realm’s introductory formula. Then, tilting her head, she asked, “Senior Brother once said that if you don’t break through the Void Spirit realm to the sixth stage of mastery this year, you’ll remain meditating here on Purple Cloud Peak. So, Senior Brother, have you now comprehended yin and yang and reached the sixth stage, the Spirit Transformation realm?”

Hanshuangzi gave no answer but gazed calmly at the two fierce combatants on the Chaos Lotus Platform.

“Other people’s matters are best left unspoken.”

Yun Yong, struck by Hanshuangzi’s rebuke, turned and playfully stuck out her tongue at Feng Qi, making a teasing face.

Si Nanxi braced himself against Mo Daoke’s assault, body taut, when suddenly a ripping sound echoed in his ears.

An intangible force, like a colossal palm splitting the heavens and earth, materialized before him. The crushing pressure from this qi made his hair stand on end and his brows furrow deeply.

“Hidden Dragon Qi?”

One disciple watching turned pale and instinctively shouted.

“Has Senior Brother Mo lost his mind? Using the secret technique of the Netherworld Peak against a newcomer?”

In a panic, Si Nanxi rolled aside, letting Mo Daoke’s energy graze past his side.

Though he dodged in a sorry fashion, his arm still throbbed painfully from the impact.

“Your cultivation is mediocre, but you’re good at running away. Don’t think I won’t do anything just because you’re a newcomer from the Spirit Appraisal Academy. Si Nanxi, you’ve been disrespectful, seduced the Master, and even instigated Shi Yong from the Body Dominance Academy to fight, causing half a life’s worth of harm. Today, on behalf of Vice Dean Xing, I’ll teach you a lesson.”

Hearing the words “seduced the Master,” everyone finally understood why Mo Daoke was so furious—this had something to do with the female master from the Spirit Appraisal Academy.

Mo Daoke’s figure flickered, and the strength in his palm surged.

From today’s battle, it was clear Mo Daoke was already at the third stage of the Spirit realm, nearly breaking into the fourth stage of Spirit Fusion—far beyond Si Nanxi’s current cultivation.

Si Nanxi realized he had fallen behind and that mere retreating would never win.

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Having struggled in the military for many years, even though he began with the strength of the third stage of the Spirit realm, under Old Wu’s guidance, Si Nanxi had refined his spiritual body to rival experts specialized in body dominance techniques.

Mo Daoke, on the other hand, had advanced early through some rare encounters, jumping ranks from the Spirit Appraisal Academy to the Spirit Cultivation Academy. To quickly raise his cultivation, he had abandoned some training in the Body Dominance Academy.

To win!

He must force Mo Daoke into close-quarters combat, then use his powerful physique to wear him down.

The Divine Dawn Wine they had drunk earlier didn’t enhance spiritual power, but it stimulated the body to better convert spiritual power into physical strengthening.

Mo Daoke’s drinking allowed him to maintain abundant energy and continuous spiritual power for the next half hour.

Si Nanxi, thanks to his body dominance training, could channel the extra spiritual energy from the wine into repairing his spiritual body during that time.

After pondering briefly, Si Nanxi decided on a strategy: no longer dodge but directly counter Mo Daoke’s energy with a palm strike.

Bang!

The two forces collided, and Si Nanxi felt a crushing pressure slam him to the ground, his shoulder blades, upper limbs, and lower bones aching as if struck by a heavy hammer.

Mo Daoke hadn’t expected Si Nanxi to counterattack and was shaken back two steps, a look of disdain flashing in his eyes. If Si Nanxi kept this up three more times, he surely wouldn’t last.

With the Divine Dawn Wine’s aid, Si Nanxi twisted his wrist, blending spiritual power into his blood and qi. In moments, the soreness and numbness in his body subsided significantly.

Without hesitation, Si Nanxi launched a “Long Eagle Strike” — a military move — aiming at Mo Daoke’s vital point.

“Still dare to fight back?”

Mo Daoke scoffed disdainfully and took the opportunity to strike him with a palm. Bang! Si Nanxi flew backward, carving out a small pit in the ground.

As before, Mo Daoke only suffered superficial injuries, while Si Nanxi was badly battered.

Spitting blood, Si Nanxi staggered to his feet, wiped the blood from his mouth, and shouted, “Again!”

“Si Nanxi, you’re courting death!”

One time.

Two times.

Three times.

Each time, Si Nanxi was brutally thrown back but stood up as if unharmed to attack again.

At first, Mo Daoke thought he was just seeking death, but after three rounds, Mo Daoke’s spiritual energy was depleted beyond replenishment, and his stamina waned.

Seeing Si Nanxi rise again, Mo Daoke grew fearful. Was this man truly reckless enough to risk his life?

On Purple Cloud Peak, Feng Qi and Yun Yong also watched, witnessing such tenacity for the first time from a Spirit Appraisal Academy newcomer.

“Junior Brother, don’t you think this guy is strange? He clearly can’t win, yet keeps rushing in to get beaten.”

“Junior Sister’s right. His bones must be broken in several places. I don’t know what deep grudge he has that he’s willing to fight to the death.”

“Let’s return. The outcome is already clear; watching more is just a waste of time,” Hanshuangzi turned and walked toward the dense mist.

“Agreed, Junior Sister. Let’s go — watching more will only mean he takes more beating.”

Feng Qi and Yun Yong couldn’t make sense of it, but Hanshuangzi saw clearly.

Though the newcomer’s spiritual power was weak, his injuries healed remarkably fast.

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Mo Daoke dared not kill openly, for Si Nanxi’s terrifying self-healing ability meant defeat was only a matter of time.

Blood stained Si Nanxi’s lips, his face pale as paper, yet his eyes were resolute and determined. He staggered to his feet and charged Mo Daoke once more.

At first, their desperate clashes heavily favored Mo Daoke, whose injuries were mere scratches.

But as time wore on, Si Nanxi’s wounds lessened, while Mo Daoke began to falter.

During their brutal fight, Mo Daoke had already awakened from his berserk trance, but Si Nanxi’s relentless, death-defying attacks forced him to respond with full strength. Surrounded by inner peak disciples eager to see him humiliated, Mo Daoke had no choice.

Finally, during one desperate assault, Mo Daoke was clumsily knocked into the water.

Si Nanxi was even worse off, struck fiercely on the head by Mo Daoke, three streams of blood flowing down, his appearance ghastly.

As they prepared to continue their struggle, a voice filled with authority echoed from afar.

“The Chaos Lotus Platform has become your place of recklessness? You truly disregard the academy’s rules!”

“Senior Brother…”

“Even Senior Brother Jin Chanhai is disturbed.”

When Mo Daoke came to the Chaos Lotus Platform, the others only retreated ten steps. But with this Senior Brother’s arrival, everyone cleared the entire platform.

The new students bowed deeply, as if before a deity.

Jin Chanhai approached slowly, like a moving mountain, radiating immense majesty.

Each step he took seemed to imprint heavily on the ground, intimidating all who dared look directly at him.

The atmosphere instantly grew solemn.

Jin Chanhai came before Si Nanxi, raised his right arm to inspect him for a moment.

“Clearly you possess the strength of the third stage of the Spirit realm, yet you act like a charlatan in the Spirit Appraisal Academy.”

Sealing Si Nanxi’s spiritual acupoints, Jin Chanhai slammed his right arm onto the ground.

Bang!

The heavy sound of bone striking earth echoed, growing faint in the distance.

“Ah…”

Si Nanxi screamed painfully, the immense agony causing him to faint.

Judging by the sound, his arm was completely broken.

Before the crowd could react further, Jin Chanhai strode over to Mo Daoke and kicked him back into the water.

“Pathetic disgrace, unable to defeat even a newcomer from the Spirit Appraisal Academy.”