Chapter 162: Truman, Xu Zhidong

Soon, the radiance upon Li Jiansan’s skin gradually dimmed.

However, his skin had undergone a heaven-defying transformation, becoming impervious even to sharp blades and golden weapons.

Although the azure light on his body faded, the surrounding heaven and earth vital energy continued to surge wildly into his body.

The cultivation room where Li Jiansan currently stayed was exceptionally rich in spiritual energy, surpassing even the Earth-grade cultivation chambers.

After a long while, Li Jiansan abruptly opened his eyes, and his clear, glowing pupils flashed with a fierce, sharp cyan light.

The first layer of the Nine Brightness Azure Emperor Scripture had now reached the realm of perfection.

After deducing the complete Nine Brightness Azure Emperor Scripture using the Purple Extreme Demonic Pupils, he already knew that every layer of this technique possessed four stages: minor accomplishment, major accomplishment, perfection, and pinnacle.

If anyone were to know that Li Jiansan had cultivated a body-refining technique to the realm of perfection in less than an hour, their jaws would surely drop in utter astonishment.

This was largely because the Nine Brightness Azure Emperor Scripture was the supreme body-refining technique of the Nine Provinces, possessing an extremely high level of cultivation difficulty.

Yet, ordinary body-refining techniques simply could not catch Li Jiansan’s eye.

"Today, I must bring the first layer of the Nine Brightness Azure Emperor Scripture to perfection!"

With that, Li Jiansan swallowed the remaining two drops of the Profound Kun primordial blood in one gulp.

If anyone were to witness this scene, they would undoubtedly be frightened to the point of trembling all over.

This was the primordial blood of the Profound Kun, the blood of an ancient divine beast!

It contained an unfathomably terrifying amount of power. Even some Mysterious-realm experts would not dare to attempt it lightly, yet a mere Foundation Establishment freshman actually dared to be this arrogant!

Was he courting death?

Hum!

The moment Li Jiansan swallowed the Profound Kun primordial blood, a violent surge of energy erupted within his body. It was as if a volcano had blown its top inside him, releasing wave after wave of terrifying force.

The primordial blood of the Profound Kun contained immensely terrifying energy, possessing a highly destructive nature toward a martial artist’s physique. Swallowing a single drop previously had already been his limit, but now that he had consumed two drops at once, even with his immensely formidable physical body, he was beginning to struggle under the strain.

Boom!

Right at that moment, the ground of the cultivation room suddenly radiated a terrifying flame force. This flame energy possessed an intensely high temperature, rapidly helping Li Jiansan refine the Profound Kun primordial blood within his body.

"Hoo, hoo."

As the primordial blood continued to be refined, the excruciating pain racking Li Jiansan’s body gradually subsided.

Crack!

Before long, Li Jiansan had completely refined the Profound Kun primordial blood inside him, and his body underwent a qualitative transformation.

His flesh, blood, and bones had been reinforced dozens of times over, and he could clearly sense the terrifying power dormant within his muscles.

Right now, relying solely on his physical body, Li Jiansan could probably obliterate a fifth-tier Foundation Establishment expert with a single punch.

Li Jiansan slowly exhaled a breath. "No wonder the Nine Brightness Azure Emperor Scripture is hailed as the number one body-refining technique in the Nine Provinces Continent. The difficulty of cultivating it is indeed immense; even I almost failed."

"With such formidable difficulty, even if this body-refining technique were laid out right before them, few would dare to attempt it lightly. Across this vast continent, those with such unyielding perseverance are few and far between."

"Even if such persevering individuals exist, they have likely already become overlords of their own regions and would never bother cultivating this kind of body-refining art."

As Li Jiansan muttered to himself, the difficulty ahead felt increasingly daunting.

If mastering merely the first layer of the Nine Brightness Azure Emperor Scripture required this much mental effort, what about the remaining eight layers?

They would likely prove even more arduous!

"Cultivating the first layer of the Nine Brightness Azure Emperor Scripture took less than an hour. The Earth-grade cultivation room still has a day left of usage, but whatever—I’ll head out for some fresh air. Consider this cultivation room a gift to whoever comes next."

Just as Li Jiansan prepared to leave, the heavy door of the cultivation room was suddenly blasted open. Immediately afterward, a harsh, grating voice reached his ears, "Whoever is inside, get your ass out here right this instant!"

At this moment, a cold glint surfaced in Li Jiansan’s eyes. The greatest taboo for a martial artist during cultivation was being disturbed.

If it were an accidental disturbance, it might be overlooked; but this was a cultivation ground, and everyone who came here was naturally cultivating.

Yet the person before him, knowing full well that someone was inside practicing, intentionally created a disturbance. It was blatantly a deliberate provocation.

"I am in the middle of cultivation, yet you dare to burst in and disturb me!" Li Jiansan’s icy gaze locked onto the intruder.

"So what if I did? Do you really think you can turn the heavens upside down?"

Li Jiansan took a step forward, unleashing a frigid pressure upon the interloper. "Unjustifiably disrupting my cultivation is a capital crime!"

"Hahaha, do you even know who I am? You dare sentence me to death! Today, not only am I going to interrupt your cultivation and seize your room, but I'm also going to teach you a lesson you won't forget!"

"Look, Xu Zhidong is shaking down a freshman for his cultivation room again."

"Keep your voice down. He’s one of the Chu Clan’s people. Be careful or he’ll retaliate if he hears you."

"Sigh... What can be done? The weak are prey to the strong; that’s simply the survival law of this world. In front of the strong, the weak have no right to speak."

Such a commotion had long since attracted a crowd of onlookers, but intimidated by Xu Zhidong’s backing, they only dared to whisper among themselves.

"The Chu Clan? Xu Zhidong?"

Hearing this, Xu Zhidong was momentarily stunned, while the people who had been gossiping moments before froze in shock.

"Isn't he a newly admitted freshman? How does he know Xu Zhidong's background?"

"Did he overhear us talking earlier?"

"How is that possible? We were so far away from him, and we spoke in hushed tones. There's no way he could have heard us!"

Seeing the astonished expressions on those people's faces, Li Jiansan smiled slightly at them, causing their hearts to skip a beat.

Good heavens, it seemed he really could hear what they were saying...

Li Jiansan’s spiritual power was currently immensely vast, and his sensory perception could stretch for a hundred miles. How could he possibly fail to hear their discussion?

Once Xu Zhidong recovered his composure, he burst into arrogant laughter. "Since you know I'm with the Chu Clan, why haven't you knelt down and apologized to your grandfather yet? Otherwise—"

Before Xu Zhidong could finish, Li Jiansan cut him off. "What kind of thing are you, daring to act presumptuously before me? And what on earth is this Chu Clan?"

As soon as Li Jiansan uttered these words, everyone around widened their eyes in utter disbelief.

In an instant, complex expressions flooded their faces, each convinced they must have misheard.

The Chu Clan was absolute sacred ground in the hearts of all disciples, standing as a peerless and dominant faction within Azure Dragon Academy.

Yet Li Jiansan had just dismissed the Chu Clan as some pathetic nobody of a thing!

Was he tired of living?

Was he truly not afraid of the Chu Clan's retaliation?

"What did you say?!"

Xu Zhidong pointed at Li Jiansan and roared, flying into a sudden rage.

Having spent so much time in the Chu Clan, he had always basked in glory and commanded universal reverence. This was the first time anyone had ever subjected him—and by extension, the Chu Clan—to such humiliation.

"You're courting death!"

With that, his eyes burning crimson with fury, he lunged toward Li Jiansan and threw a punch.

Boom!

The force gathered in Xu Zhidong’s arm exploded outward, slamming squarely into Li Jiansan’s body.

Thud!

A dull, heavy impact echoed through the air.

Xu Zhidong’s body actually stumbled backward several steps.

The one who had taken the blow was Li Jiansan, yet the one sent reeling back was Xu Zhidong!

"How is this possible?"

"As expected of the number one freshman, he truly possesses extraordinary means."

"With Li Jiansan's terrifying strength, even some of the senior students probably can't compare."

The scene before them left everyone utterly frozen.

Li Jiansan had taken Xu Zhidong’s punch head-on, remaining completely unscathed while knocking Xu Zhidong back instead.

It was simply incredible.

Just how terrifying was Li Jiansan's physical body?

Hearing the loud exclamations of the surrounding crowd, Xu Zhidong’s expression shifted dramatically. "You are Li Jiansan, that number one freshman?"

Noticing Li Jiansan nod, a cold glint flashed across Xu Zhidong’s face. Ever since the Lost Forest trials, Li Jiansan’s reputation had skyrocketed. He had been hailed as the most monstrous genius in the history of Azure Dragon Academy, his fame even overshadowing several senior students.

Li Jiansan’s arrogant demeanor had displeased many of the seniors, and Xu Zhidong was among them.

"I’ve been meaning to teach you a lesson for a while now. I didn't expect you to walk right up to my doorstep today. Let me teach you the rules of Azure Dragon Academy and show you how to conduct yourself from now on!"

As he spoke, Xu Zhidong drew a long sword gleaming with a golden luster. With a flash of sword light, he slashed directly toward Li Jiansan.

This strike was vicious and ruthless, clearly intended to cripple Li Jiansan's arm.

Seeing Li Jiansan standing frozen in place, Xu Zhidong sneered inwardly, assuming that Li Jiansan was so terrified he had forgotten even how to dodge.

In his eyes, no matter how monstrous Li Jiansan's talent was or how heavily favored he might be, a mere freshman who dared to outshine the seniors had to be cut down to size.

"Since you are so vicious, I won't hold back either!"

Hearing these words, Xu Zhidong suspected that Li Jiansan had been frightened out of his wits, and he burst into raucous laughter. "Ha, you miserable—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Li Jiansan raised two fingers and swept them downward through the air.

Instantly, an supreme, piercing sharpness gathered upon Li Jiansan's fingertips, resembling an ancient divine sword revealing a terrifying sword Qi that flashed right before Xu Zhidong's eyes in the blink of an eye.

Crack!

The long sword in Xu Zhidong's hand emitted a crisp snap, shattering into countless fragments the very instant it made contact with the sword Qi.

"How can this be?!"

Xu Zhidong’s face twisted in profound shock. He looked as though he had seen a ghost, his complexion instantly draining to a sheet of pale white.

The sword in his hand was a middle-grade Mysterious-tier spirit artifact; even a Martial Monarch would not dare to meet it head-on.

Yet now, Li Jiansan had shattered his treasured sword with a mere flick of his fingers out of thin air!

How could he possibly possess such terrifying strength?

"You... how did you—?"

"Heh, you'd better worry about yourself first." Li Jiansan offered a faint, cold smile at Xu Zhidong's stammering.

Whoosh!

The terrifying sword Qi erupting from Li Jiansan’s hand shattered Xu Zhidong’s weapon and, in the blink of an eye, severed one of his arms clean off!

At this moment, the cultivation grounds were packed to the brim with onlookers. Witnessing this scene unfolding before them, they stood there, completely dumbfounded...