Seeking Martial Dao in All Reborn Lives

Chapter 183: Chapter 179: Witness

The gazes of countless people were fixed on the two figures.

The two figures moved slowly, stepping onto the ring.

Below the ring, nearly all the contestants in the tournament had gathered. Even those who had been defeated in the previous round were still qualified to come to Longwu Square and watch up close.

Most of these Martial Artists had powerful organizations backing them, so it wasn’t difficult for them to get wind of a few things.

The news that Zhao Xuanqi might be the inheritor of the Holy Beast Fist had long since spread among the contestant circles.

Among all the Martial Artists from the Divine Land, two figures were the most eye-catching, like cranes standing among chickens.

One of them was not particularly tall, with sharply chiseled features. He wore a long black robe with his arms crossed over his chest. Just by standing there, he exuded a powerful, oppressive presence.

The inheritor of the Primordial Dragon Secret Technique, Zhao Yuan.

The other was a tall, powerfully built man with masculine features. He, too, stood with his arms crossed. His eyes had Heavy Pupils; meeting his gaze sent a chill down one’s spine, making it impossible to look at him directly.

Xiang Ji, master of the Celestial Dragon Extreme Breakthrough.

They were widely considered the two strongest among the Martial Artists from the Divine Land participating in the tournament.

Never before had they appeared on the sidelines to watch a match. For them, there was simply no need. Their only true opponents were the other side’s strongest fighters, the Three Celestial Assassins. As for the Three Celestial Assassins’ true strength, that could only be discovered in a real fight. There was no reason to scout anyone else.

And yet today, both had come to watch in person.

It was simply because the legend of the Holy Beast Fist was too renowned, on the same level as the Secret Transmissions they themselves had mastered.

’The Holy Beast Fist, hmm?’

’I hope it won’t be a disappointment.’

The two men thought to themselves as they watched the ring.

On the ring.

"I didn’t expect to run into you in the second round. The Holy Beast Fist... what a reputation. I wonder, can you withstand a single strike of my sword?"

Cangtian Yishi spoke nonchalantly, shrugging the robe off his right arm and tucking the empty sleeve into the left side of his garment, as if sheathing a hidden blade.

"You’ll know once you try," Zhao Xuanqi said calmly. "You’d best use your full strength. Otherwise, I’m afraid you’ll only get another chance in your next life."

DONG!!

Just as the two were speaking, a bronze gong was suddenly struck, its deafening sound reverberating in everyone’s mind.

Everyone held their breath, focusing with utmost concentration.

After his previous battle, where he defeated Fan Shiyan with a single slash, everyone knew that Cangtian Yishi and his One Heart Style were famous for their Iaijutsu. This match could very well be decided in a single instant.

Cangtian Yishi slowly lowered himself into a crouch, his face nearly touching the ground.

BAM!!

His body began to swell violently. Veins bulged across his skin, dense and frightening, giving him the appearance of an Asura Evil Ghost.

GURGLE! GURGLE!!

To everyone’s astonishment, Cangtian Yishi’s body began to writhe and tremble slightly. The powerful muscles all over his body began to wither at a speed visible to the naked eye.

It was as if a terrifying monster lived inside him, devouring his body from within.

Soon, the crowd could clearly see his face become incredibly gaunt, like a skull covered in skin. His chest, abdomen, and other parts of his body followed suit.

However, the muscles of his calves, arms, and back bulged to an unnatural degree, creating a stark contrast with the rest of his emaciated frame.

At that moment, emaciation and immense strength paradoxically coexisted in his body.

This was the power created by fusing the secret techniques of the One Heart Style with a Secret Medicine Ability.

Its name was No Return!

The greatest strength of the One Heart Style’s original Secret Transmission lay in strengthening the spleen, allowing the user to instantly mobilize all the body’s nutrients and concentrate every ounce of power into a single strike.

And with the enhancement from the Secret Medicine Ability, Cangtian Yishi could mobilize his body’s power to the absolute maximum, wringing nutrients from every single cell. He would then use the One Heart Style’s secret techniques to direct these nutrients, infusing them into the core muscles for his Sword Way’s Power Generation.

All non-essential nutrients were consumed and funneled into the essential muscles, betting his life and everything he had on this one strike.

To feed the sword with one’s body, to press forward with no retreat. Once the sword is drawn, there is no return. Life and death decided in a single moment.

This was the Profound Technique of No Return.

In his fight against Fan Shiyan, he had only consumed a third of his Physical Ability to achieve such a terrifying effect.

But now, he was using all of his power.

The difference was not as simple as the technique’s power merely being tripled.

A duel between Martial Artists is a matter of do-or-die courage.

When Cangtian Yishi went all-out, unleashing the true form of No Return, it was his terrifying, suicidal will that made it so formidable. His spirit, presence, and technique would merge into one, and that was the most frightening thing of all.

It was a fundamental transformation!

BOOM!!

A terrifying presence erupted from his body. His eyes were shot through with blood.

CRACKLE! CRACKLE!!

On the surface of the ring, one could faintly see arcs of electricity surging.

This wasn’t just a feeling—it was visible to the naked eye!

A Martial Dao expert’s gaze could create the illusion of sparks in an empty room, but this was a phantom electricity, a mere sensation.

But Cangtian Yishi was different. Spurred on by his terrifying presence, his spiritual aura was affecting the surrounding air and magnetic field, generating real bolts of electricity!

Back then, Cangtian Yishi had made it difficult for Fan Shiyan to even resist with his spiritual presence alone. And now, his presence was several times more powerful than it had been then!

The Martial Artists in attendance saw this, their pupils shrinking to pinpricks. The rest of the audience felt their hair stand on end, as if they were trapped in a nightmare.

’What is happening?! They haven’t even clashed, but there’s electricity surging across the ring?!’

But Zhao Xuanqi felt it most keenly. He felt a terrifying killing intent wash over him like a tidal wave, threatening to become an endless light that would drown everything, body and spirit.

’Such a powerful presence. It even surpasses the presence Lu Yuanxiang manifested last night with the help of the Heaven-Locking Array.’

’Betting everything on a single strike... just as Lu Yuanxiang said, at full power, this man’s strike is comparable to one from the Three Celestial Assassins!’

’I really did underestimate his strength.’

’But this is good, too. It’s time to let this world, and all its living beings, hear the roar of the Qilin!’

BAM!!

His body instantly swelled, transforming in a flash into an inhuman shape.

Qi Surge, Blood Essence, Dragon Gate Secret Technique, Profound Water Yin Sha, and the heart’s Secret Technique... Celestial Fire Evil!

BOOM!!

In that instant, a terrifying presence erupted from within him. The crackling electricity on the ring met his body as the wills of the two combatants violently clashed.

Last night, with the support of the Heaven-Locking Array, the clash of their spiritual presences had caused their wills to manifest and take form in the void.

But now, under the power of the No Return Secret Skill, Cangtian Yishi’s spiritual presence surpassed even Lu Yuanxiang’s. When two wills of this magnitude clashed, what would be the result?

VMMMM!!

A vibrating hum filled the air. The crowd clearly saw the area on Ring Five, within a radius of ten to twenty meters, become hazy. The sunlight itself seemed to distort, transforming into a shimmering, seven-colored curtain of light that enveloped the entire ring.

Their clashing presences had caused their wills to manifest as a rainbow.

This was rainbow light!

Bathed in this rainbow light, Cangtian Yishi appeared to be enveloped by the image of a blood-soaked blade, exuding an aura of bloody cruelty.

And on the other side...

ROAR!

Zhao Xuanqi seemed to be shrouded in billowing flames. From within the fire, a colossal beast wreathed in flame suddenly emerged, letting out a great roar.

A goat’s head, wolf’s hooves, a deer’s body, and scaly armor...

In its eyes, a host of contradictory qualities—sacredness, majesty, ferocity—converged. It was like a higher being looking down upon the mortal world.

WHOOSH!

Inside a VIP room in the teahouse, Hong Luan of the Vermilion Bird Sect saw this and shot up from her seat.