Bai Xiu.

A name that weighed heavily on the younger generation of Nagano, stifling their ambitions.

From the moment Bai Xiu arrived in Nagano and began his cultivation, his name acquired another meaning: "Invincible."

...

...

The soaring crimson flames danced in the air above the dojo.

Gong Zi's voice echoed.

At that very moment, he voiced the thoughts buried deep within the hearts of many geniuses in Nagano.

The young geniuses cultivating in Snow禁 City were like climbers, and whenever they looked up, they would find that someone had already reached the summit.

And that person was Bai Xiu.

Who didn't want to challenge Bai Xiu?

But most geniuses were well aware of the enormous gap between themselves and the person at the summit.

"Young Master..."

The faces of the Gong family elders, who had been weeping with joy, changed.

They never expected that after successfully comprehending the Ember Dream, Gong Zi would challenge Bai Xiu in front of everyone!

From the perspective of family interests, this was not a wise move.

As the first genius in Nagano in the past twenty years to comprehend the Ember Dream, everything should have ended after completing the Rookie Tournament and comprehending the dream. The Gong family would hold a victory banquet of the highest caliber for Gong Zi and announce his succession to the family headship with great fanfare.

Today, Nagano was focused on one person.

The Gong family head's expression was slightly complicated, and he gestured for the Gong family elders to remain silent.

"Sorry..."

Gong Zi's voice reached the family head's ear.

"Father, this is something I've always wanted to do."

Gong Zi's eyes were more determined than ever before.

Before participating in the competition, a voice had often lingered in his mind.

If everything he did was for the dream of becoming a "God Seat," then why avoid Bai Xiu?

Avoiding Bai Xiu and taking the Ember Dream... If he succeeded in comprehending it, it would seem as if he had passed the first trial of the "God Seat."

But in reality?

He couldn't get past the hurdle in his own heart!

The name of God Seat, even if it meant facing a thousand opponents, he would still go!

If he feared the person standing on the summit, then why bother climbing the mountain at all?

And now, Gong Zi had successfully comprehended the "Ember Dream," successfully surpassing all the geniuses of Snow禁 City in recent years, and he had only one thought in his mind.

That was... to fight!

He wanted to challenge Bai Xiu, even if he lost... it didn't matter!

When he spoke those words, Gong Zi's voice trembled slightly.

Both excited and nervous.

The people sitting in the audience exchanged glances, and then the entire venue quickly erupted... What was the biggest regret of the year?

Bai Xiu didn't participate in the competition!

And the Rookie Tournament champion publicly challenging Bai Xiu... wasn't that what everyone wanted to see?

"He... is he crazy?"

Shen Li muttered to himself, looking at Gong Zi, who stood proudly in the center of the arena, a look of bewilderment appearing in his eyes.

This guy... seemed different from the person he usually knew.

Immediately, Shen Li's fingers dug into his palms.

He knew that it took great courage to say those seemingly light words.

If... if he were standing here today, would he dare to say those words?

The answer seemed obvious.

He called himself a "martial arts fanatic"... but when faced with Bai Xiu at the summit, he didn't even have the courage to ask for a fight.

...

...

The Phoenix Bell was placed aside by Gong Zi.

The iron armor was also thrown to the ground by Gong Zi.

Gu Shen knew... that this was to have a "fair fight" with Bai Xiu, and the real purpose was not to win.

For most transcendents, the path of cultivation was a long and seemingly endless road.

The most important thing in cultivation was cultivating the "heart."

If possible, people would avoid the fear in their hearts, wait until they were stronger, and then come out to face that primal fear.

This was a natural reaction.

Gu Shen also knew that the reason why the front of his Spring Rain Temple was so crowded after he came to Nagano, and everyone wanted to challenge him... was because they weren't afraid of him.

But in front of Bai Xiu's door, it was cold and deserted.

It was because... over the years, he had become a shadow in the hearts of the geniuses of Snow禁 City.

Gu Shen still remembered Gong Zi's unwillingness and bitterness when he mentioned Bai Xiu's name in the small courtyard.

An arrogant genius, knowing that he would definitely lose, uttered the words "I challenge you" to the invincible person.

Presumably... Gong Zi had gone through a lot of struggles in his heart.

"Fight..."

"Fight!"

"Fight!"

In the stands of the venue, someone echoed the shout, and soon the sound spread like a tidal wave. Nagano was warlike, and the Three Schools and Five Great Families also encouraged their transcendents to spar with each other.

And Bai Xiu, who had long stood at the summit, hadn't made a move in a long time.

He no longer had any opponents.

Countless voices swept through the venue.

Gong Zi quietly waited for his opponent's response, his eyes locked on the white-clothed youth in the front row.

Bai Xiu's expression didn't change much.

Faced with the voice of challenge and the expectations of countless people... he remained unmoved, seemingly not preparing to stand up or accept the challenge.

Bai Lu beside him whispered, "Little Xiu, aren't you going to make a move?"

Bai Xiu shook his head. "It wouldn't be fair to him if I did."

This answer... was actually very honest.

After returning from the Frostlands, he had reached the Great Perfection of the ninth layer of the Deep Water Zone, which was almost the fastest cultivation record in the history of the East Continent Federation. With Bai Xiu's own abilities, he could probably cross realms and fight against the tenth layer without much pressure.

Compared to Gong Zi, he was the one truly standing at the summit.

In his eyes, it didn't matter whether the geniuses in Snow禁 City, those who were diligently climbing, were halfway up the mountain or at the bottom.

The difference was too great.

"With so many people... it wouldn't be good to refuse..."

Bai Lu said softly, "The reputation of the Bai family..."

Bai Xiu's expression remained unchanged.

His attitude seemed very firm.

Seeing this, Bai Lu could only sigh.

Although their mental communication was not heard by outsiders, their reactions were seen by others.

Bai Lu was persuading him.

And Bai Xiu shook his head.

This action... seemed very obvious.

Was he going to... refuse?

He nervously stared at Bai Xiu, waiting for his response...

Seeing this subtle action, Gong Zi's eyes were somewhat disappointed.

But the next moment.

Bai Xiu seemed to have heard something.

Bai Xiu looked up slightly, his expression calm, but a flash of surprise appeared in his eyes. He quickly glanced at the opposite side of the venue... where Gu Shen was.

In the tidal wave of shouts.

Bai Xiu slowly stood up.

To Bai Lu's surprise.

Bai Xiu spoke softly, saying only one word: "Alright."

...

...

Bai Xiu stood up from the first row and came to the center of the venue.

He bowed slightly to Chairman Zhou Wei and said softly, "Sorry to trouble you, Elder Zhou... to be the witness of this battle, and to deploy a domain in advance to avoid harming the innocent."

Zhou Wei smiled and nodded.

He slowly retreated, and at the same time, he raised his cane and gently tapped the ground.

A layer of ripples immediately spread out, and invisible water waves spread from the center of the venue, like a huge bubble, enveloping the two.

Gong Zi took a deep breath.

He didn't say much, pulled open his stance, looked directly at the white-clothed youth in front of him, and said in a deep voice, "Gong family, Gong Zi!"

After comprehending the Ember Dream, Gong Zi's mental strength was at an unprecedented peak.

His body was surrounded by faint flames.

That was not the residue of the Phoenix Bell, but the scorching flames carried by his own ability. Wisps of scarlet Phoenix Fire faintly formed a huge divine figure behind him.

It resembled a floating, upright human-faced feathered crown divine figure, its huge wings slowly unfurling, and the scattered flames were like divine radiance.

"Garuda."

In the stands.

Gu Qilin smiled and said softly to Gu Shen, "This is one of the Gong family's totems. If you can penetrate the mist of Green Tomb, you can see in that giant statue ruins... there is a statue, carved with this ancient god."

Sitting in the first row.

Even with Zhou Wei's domain protection, Gu Shen still felt bursts of hot wind coming at him.

He narrowed his eyes, staring at the divine figure.

It was also "fire," but Fiery Heart didn't sense it... It seemed that his flame didn't devour everything. This was a power completely different from Bloodfire, and it looked like a pure natural system.

Listening to Old Master Gu's words, this Garuda was carved on the stone carvings of the giant statue ruins?

Then the origin of the Gong family's bloodline... was probably also related to the history of Nagano six hundred years ago.

The hot wind swirled.

Fire rain splashed.

Bai Xiu in white stood opposite Gong Zi.

He raised his head, looking up at the huge ancient god, his expression still calm, without reverence or blasphemy.

He still bowed slightly.

"Bai family, Bai Xiu."

Between the two, there were no extra words, no courtesy, no greetings.

They just bowed to each other.

This was all the "communication."

The next moment.

The huge divine figure roared angrily, its wings suddenly extended, and slammed towards Bai Xiu, the two huge wings soaring tens of meters in an instant, almost embracing the entire venue in their "arms." A pair of fire wings slid along the ground, and wherever they passed, countless rocks and soil exploded, fire wind splashed, as if they were scraping the ground three inches deep, trying to slap people to death in these wings!

At the same time, Gong Zi began to run.

His speed was faster than the speed of the fire wings closing, and in just an instant, he rushed to Bai Xiu. He delivered dozens and hundreds of punches in one breath, and countless fist shadows burst out from the center of the fiery wind in the venue!

In just an instant!

The roaring sound of the fists pierced through the air, shattering all the tempered glass inside and outside the venue. Gong Zi's fist wind pierced through, hitting the bubble domain, and the water waves rippled, forming fist marks one by one.

Just as Bai Xiu said.

If this battle didn't have the protection of a domain, it would likely injure innocent bystanders in the stands!

The fiery wind splashed, like a tornado!

Most of the spectators lost their vision. They could only see two figures being submerged in the blazing fire. One of the figures was punching extremely fast, and the speed was no longer possible to capture. What was transmitted to their ears was the muffled sound of explosions that penetrated the domain, as well as the sound of large pieces of glass shattering outside the venue!

From the blurry scene.

The scene seemed completely suppressed!

The person throwing the punches, almost grasped all the opportunities --

However, those sitting in the front row, and those powerful transcendents, their eyes could penetrate the domain and see the scene inside very clearly. What they saw in their eyes was not a one-sided suppression.

Gong Zi's every punch was very fast.

And very steady.

He was indeed worthy of being the champion of this year's Rookie Tournament, and worthy of the reputation of being the first person in twenty years to comprehend the Ember Dream.

Such punching power, in the final duel, only needed one blow to shatter Lian Zhou's head!

But...

This time, he was facing Bai Xiu.

That figure in white, from the moment he came to the venue, had not moved a single step. His feet were on the stone surface of the venue, and he had not moved forward or backward even a millimeter.

He was just standing here.

Calmly welcoming Gong Zi's stormy "attack"!

His upper body swayed suddenly, and countless phantoms appeared. This was an extremely small "tremor." Each "tremor" could avoid Gong Zi's fist, no more, no less. The cheeks, body, arms, every striking part, were perfectly dodged... Moving less by a point would cause him to be hit, moving more by a point would seem too redundant.

"Gong Zi's win rate is... 0.01%."

Chu Ling's voice came from his mind. She was also watching this battle, and using Deep Sea to simulate Gong Zi's real-time win rate.

To outsiders.

It was Gong Zi who controlled the situation and formed the suppression.

But from Deep Sea's point of view, in this battle, Gong Zi's win rate was only one in ten thousand, and the remaining "one" was probably a conservative estimate of the database for unknown situations.

Seeing this scene, Gu Shen's expression changed slightly.

He suddenly thought of an old friend.

Song Ci.

Song Ci's martial arts were unmatched in the Greater Capital District, and this guy would also have similar "tremors" during battles. His own explanation for this phenomenon was... a natural reaction.

Indeed, Song Ci was a natural genius in martial arts combat.

And judging from Bai Xiu's reaction... this seemed to be more than just a talent, but a fighting technique.

"This kind of tremor is called Complete Flash."

Old Master Gu Qilin glanced at Gu Shen, noticed the subtle change in the latter's expression, and said leisurely, "Complete Flash is the extremely high realm after the perfect coordination of spiritual power and body. Mastering Complete Flash, it can almost be recognized that under the title, he is invincible at the same level. From now on, the outcome can already be judged... The little guy from the Gong family has a lot of courage, but the gap between him and Bai Xiu is too great."

Complete Flash...

Gu Shen remembered what Mu Nan once said. In a family friendship battle, Mu Nan fought Bai Xiu, and Mu Nan, who was known for his martial arts, was completely defeated.

Bai Xiu's strength was not only in his ability.

His martial arts... were also invincible.

...

...

In the midst of the storm, Bai Xiu only flashed and did not attack. He allowed Gong Zi's attacks to cover one layer after another, and his momentum to rise wave after wave.

This seemed to be somewhat "allowing" the opponent to continue to raise his fighting spirit.

In a duel, momentum was a very important thing.

If you could have "momentum," you could, in some cases, win!

Gong Zi took a deep breath. He seized the opportunity that Bai Xiu gave him, and desperately burned all his strength, bursting out with a more powerful attack than before. His fists, feet, elbows, and knees, his whole body turned into sharp weapons, and in this three-foot area, he attacked Bai Xiu madly.

But this time, he still couldn't touch the corner of his sleeve.

Bai Xiu's Complete Flash frequency was higher, and his whole body seemed to have turned into a phantom. There was a faint figure of thunder, as if he had never really existed in this world!

Gong Zi was stacking waves.

Bai Xiu just let him stack waves.

No matter how high Gong Zi stacked it... Bai Xiu, was always a little higher than him.

Always a little higher.

That was... a lot higher.

All of this happened in a very short time. Just as Gong Zi was about to run out of strength, the Garuda's wing strike finally arrived --

Countless rocks and heat waves, tightly closed the space in front of Gong Zi, this time there would be no chance to dodge!

The ancient god's wings closed!

Like a big cocoon, completely closed!

Bai Xiu stopped dodging.

The phantoms of his body were fixed at the moment before the wings closed, and he just calmly watched Gong Zi's last punch, hitting his face!

With a "buzz".

...

...

The whole world was very quiet.

All the glass above the venue was broken.

The floor of the dojo was also plowed over, blooming with hundreds of ravines.

Gong Zi's fist did not land on Bai Xiu's face.

This punch missed.

No one saw how Bai Xiu moved.

He disappeared in front of Gong Zi.

Appeared behind Gong Zi.

Two fingers, gently pressed on the back of Gong Zi's neck.

Zhou Wei's bubble domain, was stretched almost deformed, two huge fingers, stretched the domain to the point of cracking.

And that huge ancient god Garuda, spread his wings, tightly closed the space in front of him... From the perspective of the stands, this posture, was more like hugging Gong Zi, protecting Gong Zi with his back.

Bai Xiu's two fingers.

Seemed to have not a trace of aggressiveness.

Just gently pressed on the back of Gong Zi's neck... but in fact, contact, was already victory.

Gong Zi, who summoned Garuda, had his own "domain".

And this domain, had been broken through.

The power of those two fingers, tore apart all the "flesh and blood" of Garuda. The ancient god lowered his head silently, but a hint of pain could be vaguely seen on his face. The huge fire wings flickered with thunder, and after struggling for a moment, they finally hung down weakly.

Two fire wings fell apart.

And Garuda, ultimately disappeared in the sky above the dojo in the posture of "hugging" Gong Zi.

The venue was quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

Bai Xiu slowly withdrew his fingers.

The adjudicators, chief judges, commanders, family heads, elders... each of them had complex expressions.

More than the outcome of this battle.

They were more concerned about Bai Xiu's strength... and in the duel with Gong Zi just now, they saw it.

Bai Xiu simply did not use high-level power.

He suppressed his strength, and reduced it to the same level as Gong Zi.

Seventh layer, against seventh layer.

This was a very fair battle.

And from the results shown in this battle... it was no longer appropriate to use the words "complete victory".

It should be, crushing.

After Bai Xiu finished his posture, he still bowed as he did when he came, and said softly, two words.

"Thank you for the match."