Swish! The arena instantly fell into a deathly silence. Everyone stood frozen in place, mouths agape, staring at the scene on the platform with utter disbelief in their eyes. It took several breaths before people gradually snapped out of it.
Hiss... hiss... hiss... Immediately, the sound of sharp intakes of breath echoed through the air. The arena erupted like boiling water, bursting into a cacophony of noise.
"Senior Brother Zhang actually lost? Am I dreaming or what?" "Unbelievable, it's Senior Brother Zhang who lost!" "Three clashes, each worse than the last, and this time he was directly defeated!" "Senior Brother Lin Xuan is just too strong, isn't he? That was Senior Brother Zhang's full-force strike, and not only did he take it without a scratch, he turned it around and severely wounded Senior Brother Zhang!" "Yeah, this is the strength of the sect's number one genius—incredible!" "Now Senior Brother Lin Xuan is second on the Power Ranking, breaking another sect record." "I wonder if Senior Brother Lin Xuan will choose to keep challenging upward?" "Very likely, since Senior Brother Lin Xuan isn't injured at all—he clearly still has reserves!" "..."
The arena buzzed with exclamations and shouts. Everyone's eyes were wide, their incredulous gazes fixed on Lin Xuan. Their hearts were filled with shock, unable to recover for a long time.
Originally, they had thought that this time, Zhang Kuishan had unleashed his full-force strike, the trump card meant for Chen Yu. Even if he couldn't win, he should at least be able to push Lin Xuan back and turn the tide. At worst, it would be a draw. Although Lin Xuan's talent was unmatched throughout the entire Flowing Cloud Sect, Zhang Kuishan wasn't far behind—he was second on the Power Ranking, a top inner disciple. When he broke through to the Spirit Opening Realm and advanced to true disciple, he would be a formidable presence among them, a solid pillar of the sect's leadership.
But they never expected this outcome to once again exceed their predictions, even their imagination. After Zhang Kuishan unleashed his full-force strike and sent it at Lin Xuan, the result was that Lin Xuan remained unharmed, completely unscathed. Meanwhile, Zhang Kuishan fared even worse—not only was he coughing up blood, but he was also sent flying off the platform, severely injured on the spot. The gap between them was like a chasm. How could they believe it?
They were instantly stunned, their minds turning to mush, almost unable to think. Because this scene was far too shocking. Even now that they had come to their senses, their hearts still trembled with awe.
Now, with Lin Xuan defeating Zhang Kuishan and winning the challenge, Lin Xuan became the new second place on the Power Ranking. He had shattered the record for the fastest climb in the inner sect's Power Ranking. Everyone's hearts were once again shaken to the core by Lin Xuan—both by his strength and his talent. Throughout this challenge, Lin Xuan had remained calm and composed, seemingly defeating Zhang Kuishan with ease. This level of strength already qualified him to challenge the top spot.
Moreover, Lin Xuan had clearly held back a lot. He might even be able to unseat Senior Brother Chen Yu from the top position, becoming the new number one and the strongest in the inner sect, breaking yet another record. Everyone was awestruck by Lin Xuan's formidable strength. And the fact that Lin Xuan could achieve such dominance over the entire inner sect in just two months spoke volumes about his terrifying talent. He had surpassed everyone in the Flowing Cloud Sect, even by a wide margin. They were all utterly stunned by his incredible talent, unable to calm down for a long time.
On the small platform, the other Power Ranking disciples were also jolted, their hearts pounding with shock. They, too, hadn't expected Lin Xuan to be this strong. Not only did he have the power to break into the top three, but he also defeated the second-ranked Zhang Kuishan in three moves, without even weakening his aura. It was as if the two weren't even on the same level. With this kind of strength, breaking into the top three was a given, and even taking the top spot seemed like no big deal, right? The Power Ranking disciples were deeply shaken.
At the same time, their eyes gleamed with anticipation. Given Lin Xuan's performance in the two months since joining the sect, he was the type who refused to fall behind. With such overwhelming strength, it was highly likely he would challenge the top-ranked Senior Brother Chen Yu. Next, there might be an even more spectacular battle. They were eager to see who would come out on top between the veteran inner sect champion and the new super genius. Their anticipation was palpable.
Many gazes swept toward Chen Yu, who stood at the highest point. Chen Yu naturally sensed these looks, but he had no mood to acknowledge them. He, too, was startled by Lin Xuan's performance. If it had been before—say, a month ago—he definitely wouldn't have been a match for Lin Xuan. Although he had been the top of the Power Ranking and had defeated Zhang Kuishan, his advantage had been limited. Zhang Kuishan's iron fists were too powerful, and even he hadn't dared to clash head-on with them. Yet in this challenge, Lin Xuan had easily defeated Zhang Kuishan. No matter how Zhang Kuishan erupted, even using his twenty-percent mastery of the Earth Intent, it was completely useless. Lin Xuan had remained calm and composed throughout. This showed that Lin Xuan's strength far surpassed his own from before. If he had faced Lin Xuan back then, he would have been utterly defeated, just like Zhang Kuishan.
But now, he was different. Feeling the surging power within his body, Chen Yu's eyes showed a hint of a smile, and he gained more confidence. Now, he still believed he had a chance to win against Lin Xuan. However, after witnessing this battle, he no longer dared to claim it was certain. Because Lin Xuan's calm demeanor made it hard to gauge his true limits, leaving everyone wondering how much strength he had in reserve.
On the other side, on the high platform, the inner sect elders, including several at the Spirit Yuan Realm, fixed their gazes on Lin Xuan, also visibly shaken. This time, Lin Xuan's performance had once again exceeded their expectations. With their experience, they could tell that Lin Xuan was only at the eighth layer of the Condensation Rotation Realm, and had just broken through recently. His cultivation level was two layers lower than Zhang Kuishan's. In that clash of fists, Lin Xuan had only used ten-percent mastery of the Earth Intent, while Zhang Kuishan had used twenty-percent—a ten-percent difference. Yet despite this, Lin Xuan still won, while Zhang Kuishan was defeated on the spot and severely injured.
The only reason for such an outcome despite this gap was that Lin Xuan's talent far surpassed Zhang Kuishan's. Many talents provide significant boosts to combat power. To use talent to bridge all these gaps and then far exceed them—one can only imagine how extraordinary Lin Xuan's talent was! And Zhang Kuishan himself was no slouch; his talent ranked among the top in the Flowing Cloud Sect. Even if he wasn't as good as the true disciple senior brother Liu Qianyu, he wasn't far behind.