Chaos Heaven-Dominating Technique

"It’s Chen Chen. That kid is in deep trouble now."

"Ha, I heard this Chen Chen used to be with the Burning Flame City Medicine Hall, but it seems he was later poached by Sha Hai City. Wouldn’t you call this a fight between fellow disciples?"

"This is going to be a good show, then. Chen Chen’s no slouch—he placed in the top ten in the last Pill Emperor competition. His strength must have improved since then. I doubt Shen Haoran will be any match for him!"

"Is that so? We’ll just have to watch and see!"

A buzz of discussion rose from the audience as all eyes turned to the stone platform.

At that moment on the stone platform, Chen Chen glared venomously at Shen Haoran. ’To think I was just humiliated by this little brat at the entrance to the Testing Hall. I’ll make him pay for it right here in this arena.’

"The match begins!" Ji Wuqing announced as soon as he saw the two were ready.

"You damn brat, you were running your mouth so much just now, weren’t you? I’m going to rip that mouth of yours to shreds and see what you have to say then!" Upon hearing Ji Wuqing’s announcement, Chen Chen immediately sat cross-legged on the ground. A vast amount of Spiritual Thought surged wildly from his Sea of Consciousness, and in the blink of an eye, an illusory duplicate of "Chen Chen" materialized before him.

"He formed a Spirit Body! His strength must be approaching that of a Seventh Grade Alchemist!" the crowd exclaimed in shock upon seeing the illusory Chen Chen.

Once an Alchemist’s Spiritual Thought reached the level of a Sixth Grade Alchemist, it could leave the body and take form. However, freed from the constraints of the Sea of Consciousness, the Spiritual Thought would become unstable, making it very difficult to shape. Generally, one could only condense it into relatively simple forms. To create a Spirit Body identical to a human, one had to be at least a Sixth Grade High Level Alchemist.

Ji Wuqing, who had stepped off the platform, was also slightly surprised to see the Spirit Body Chen Chen had formed. ’To be able to condense a Spirit Body... he could secure a position as an Elder in the Medicine Hall in the future. Besides, Chen Chen is still young, with plenty of room for his talent and potential to grow.’ But when he thought of Shen Haoran’s strength, Ji Wuqing’s expression soured, and he quickly dismissed the idea.

"Hmph, Shen Haoran. I didn’t originally plan on revealing my true strength at this exchange, but you’ve successfully provoked me. You can consider it an honor to be defeated by my full power. Don’t worry, for old times’ sake, I’ll go easy on you!" A cruel smile spread across the illusory Chen Chen’s face. Despite his words, he didn’t hold back his aura in the slightest. In fact, his eyes revealed a faint killing intent, as if he couldn’t wait to kill Shen Haoran.

Shen Haoran was utterly dismissive of Chen Chen’s threats. He slowly raised his right hand and lightly pointed a finger at Chen Chen, his expression impassive. The aura Chen Chen released vanished as it approached Shen Haoran, like a stone sinking into the ocean; it failed to even stir the hem of his clothes.

However, this small detail was lost on the crowd. They only saw Chen Chen’s powerful aura and Shen Haoran’s strange posture, and immediately began to comment.

"What is Shen Haoran doing? Why isn’t he releasing his Spiritual Thought to resist?"

"Are you blind? Didn’t you see the Fourth Grade Alchemist badge on his chest? He’s a Fourth Grade Alchemist. I’m sure he’d love to release his Spiritual Thought, but is he even capable of it?"

"But something feels off. Shen Haoran doesn’t seem the least bit afraid. He looks completely unfazed!"

"Hah, he’s probably just scared stiff!"

As the crowd whispered among themselves, on the platform, Chen Chen sneered at Shen Haoran. ’A Fourth Grade Alchemist,’ he thought with disdain. ’What a waste that I have to use my full strength to deal with a guy like this. Still, killing trash like him shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll just get it over with quickly!’

But just as Chen Chen was monologuing to himself, he suddenly saw a bizarre smile curl Shen Haoran’s lips. An instant later, a sense of crisis exploded in his mind, causing the hair all over his body to stand on end.

PFFT... A barely audible sound echoed across the platform. A bizarre burst of power shot from Shen Haoran’s fingertip, instantly piercing through the Spirit Body Chen Chen had formed.

Having done this, Shen Haoran lowered his right hand, cast an indifferent glance at the cross-legged Chen Chen, and then slowly walked off the platform and back to his seat in the audience.

Seeing Shen Haoran return to the audience, the members of the other branch halls were too stunned to react. ’Wasn’t there supposed to be a match? Why did Shen Haoran just come back? And why isn’t Chen Chen reacting at all?’

"Shen Haoran, did you just forfeit? You were acting so tough before. What happened, did you chicken out?" The Alchemists from the other branches quickly recovered and began to taunt him.

"Yeah, I thought you’d last at least a dozen seconds, but you gave up right at the start. What, did you read your own fortune and see this coming?"

"Hahaha! I knew it! This guy is all talk. Just an empty shell, completely useless!"

The taunts continued to pour in as everyone laughed at Shen Haoran’s expense. However, Shen Haoran offered no response, merely letting out a soft chuckle before ignoring them completely.

Gradually, the Alchemists who were jeering at him felt that something wasn’t right. ’Why did Shen Haoran leave the platform without permission, and why hasn’t Chen Chen reacted at all? Ji Wuqing hasn’t declared Shen Haoran the loser, either. And what’s with the expressions on Feng Miaoke and Long Aotian’s faces? Why do they look like they’ve seen a ghost?’

The people mocking Shen Haoran slowly fell silent, looking toward Feng Miaoke’s group in confusion. At that moment, Feng Miaoke, Long Aotian, Tian Ruyi, and Wu Daotian had all completely forgotten their composure. Their mouths hung wide open, their faces grave as they stared intently at Chen Chen below. The others hadn’t been able to see Shen Haoran’s attack clearly, but with their level of strength, this group had seen everything.

Shen Haoran had just compressed his Spiritual Thought to its absolute limit and then unleashed it in an instant. An attack like that required immense control. More importantly, his Spiritual Thought was infused with an incredibly dense Spiritual Qi—something only a Seventh Grade Alchemist should possess. ’Does this mean... Shen Haoran is already a Seventh Grade Alchemist?’

BANG...

Just as the crowd was reeling in shock, Chen Chen finally moved. The illusory figure he had formed suddenly burst apart. At the same time, Chen Chen’s face turned deathly pale, and he collapsed, unconscious. Shen Haoran hadn’t held back in the slightest, directly shattering his opponent’s Spiritual Thought. It would take at least ten days, if not half a month, for him to recover. This was payback for Feng Li.

"What... What just happened...?" Watching Chen Chen collapse, the Alchemists who were still in the dark were utterly bewildered. They had no idea what had transpired and could only stare blankly at Shen Haoran, at a complete loss for words.

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