The punch Zhao Ritian threw was extremely dreadful. Not many people present were confident they could withstand the attack. And yet Xiang Shaoyun had destroyed it in a manner nobody had expected. With that odd step he took, he stomped the punch into nothingness.

That was an exceedingly overbearing display of power from Xiang Shaoyun, especially the lightning power that had appeared. It seemed to be just as powerful as an actual mutated lightning bolt. Zhao Ritian retreated, and a flaming sword appeared in his hand. He attacked once again with another one of his trump cards, trying to defeat Xiang Shaoyun with a single move.

"You dare look down on me? Let me show you my actual strength!" Zhao Ritian roared while withstanding Xiang Shaoyun's pressure. Clumps of flame appeared on his body, turning his entire body red. Power akin to a volcanic explosion surged out of his seven stars, pushing his strength to the peak.

Crimson Flame Slaughtering Sword!

When he swung his sword, the veins on both his arms became visible, as if they were going to pop out of his skin. A flame attack tinged with the power of blood shot toward Xiang Shaoyun from an extremely tricky angle. The attack pressured the people around the ring, causing their expressions to turn grave.

Many of them weren't confident they could survive the attack. Zhao Ritian's attack was comparable to the attack of a peak fourth-stage Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator. In fact, it even reached a level comparable to a regular fifth-stage Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator.

However, Xiang Shaoyun, who was hovering in midair, did not even bat an eye. The projections of the tiger and the dragon behind him grew clearer as his lightning bone rippled with lightning power, causing dark clouds to gather in the sky. Silver lightning bolts rained down.

Xiang Shaoyun took his third step. The entire world shook as a heavy rain of silver lightning bolts flooded the ring with so much lightning that it seemed like a silver ocean had formed. A total of 81 silver lightning bolts dropped, each possessing a might beyond one's imagination.

Each bolt was as thick as a bucket and rained down loudly like a roaring silver dragon. The sight was etched deeply into the hearts of everyone present, causing them so much pressure they could no longer breathe.

Zhao Ritian was supposed to be strong enough to withstand the silver lightning bolts. However, Xiang Shaoyun's steps seemed to contain an indescribable power that made it seem like each step had landed in Zhao Ritian's very heart. Zhao Ritian felt terrible as Xiang Shaoyun's unrivaled pressure crashed down at his willpower.

He clenched his teeth tightly as he withstood the suppression exerted on him. He could not allow himself to fall. Unfortunately, with a berserk rain of lightning falling on him, he couldn't spare the attention to deal with the pressure. Ultimately, his presence crumbled, and everything seemed to fall apart.

Rumble! Rumble!

Lightning flooded the ring, causing the flame from earlier to seem inferior. After a while, all the powers on the ring dispersed, and the graceful figure hovering in midair attracted everyone's eyes. He seemed to have just completed his final step, his foot landing on Zhao Ritian's chest, stomping him into the ring's surface.

If it wasn't for the fact that the ring was constructed of durable materials, the crash would have cracked it into pieces. Not only was Zhao Ritian being stepped on by Xiang Shaoyun, but his clothes had also been reduced to rags. He only had an armor covering his body, and he coughed blood without end, looking incredibly sorry.

Everyone's eyes were wide open in shock, and everyone seemed to have lost the ability to talk. With just a few steps, someone as strong as Zhao Ritian was defeated? The same thought appeared in everyone's minds, This Xiang Shaoyun is way too strong, isn't he?

Xiang Shaoyun then removed his foot and looked at Zhao Ritian, who was badly injured. He said, "It's your defeat. Hand over your contribution points and leave. I'm continuing with my next match. Don't get in the way."

The words infuriated Zhao Ritian so much he coughed even more blood. Not only had he been defeated, but he was viewed with such contempt. How could he accept it? However, it no longer mattered how he felt. He had no choice but to take everything thrown his way. After all, he had indeed been defeated. There was nothing he could say.

Xiang Shaoyun's strength had far surpassed his expectation. Before even entering the Dragon Ascension Realm, Xiang Shaoyun could completely crush him, Zhao Ritian, an Emperor capable of punching above his weight. The thought made him rather sullen. As for Di Shang, he was still in the corner, looking at the defeated Zhao Ritian with a ghastly expression as if someone had slapped his face.

Not even Zhao Ritian can deal with that dog? Looks like I have to think of something else after my brother leaves seclusion. We can't let Xiang Shaoyun keep growing, Di Shang thought before leaving gloomily.

Due to Zhao Ritian's defeat, their previous agreement was naturally void. After transferring the contribution points over, Zhao Ritian staggered off the ring. When he failed to find Di Shang, he cursed inwardly, What an ungrateful bastard!

On the ring, Xiang Shaoyun looked somewhat exhausted. However, his battle intent was still high as he shouted, "The next challenger needs to prepare a bet of 500,000 contribution points!"

He had no choice but to increase the bet. After all, this was much more tiring for him as the defender than for the challengers. He deserved to earn more contribution points. In any case, his challengers would only grow stronger, and they would most definitely be wealthy. When the people present saw that Xiang Shaoyun was intending to continue fighting, they hissed in shock.

"Is he actually a human or not? He's continuing? Is he still hiding his strength?"

"Wasn't it said that cultivating nine different powers would result in a lack of combat prowess? What in the world happened earlier then?"

"No wonder the academy allowed those on the Jiao Luan List to challenge him as well. It turns out the academy actually knows his strength very well. Looks like those not on the Jiao Luan List will have a hard time taking him down."

"True. And the moment he enters the Dragon Ascension Realm, he can probably enter the Dragon Phoenix List immediately. Looks like we can never underestimate anyone with a nine-star physique."

...

With the increased stakes, no new challengers appeared for a while. Xiang Shaoyun did not mind and directly sat down cross-legged on the ring to recover his strength. After summoning the lightning bolts, he had absorbed some silver lightning energy. As a result, his draconic aura had been further refined. It wouldn't be long before he fully formed his draconic aura to enter the Dragon Ascension Realm.

Li Li, who was standing among the crowd, smiled and muttered, "I really want to defeat this fellow personally, but I think I should keep watching and see how many other trump cards he has."

Before Xiang Shaoyun could sit for long, someone shouted, "Xiang Shaoyun, I'll fight you!"