Just then, chains from the left curled in, coiling around Wang Xiaoqiang. With a momentary pause, more chains from the right wrapped around him as well, like two wild pythons entangling him. The faces on the chains, as if they had seen delectable flesh and blood, howled excitedly and bit at Wang Xiaoqiang.

Seeing that Wang Xiaoqiang was about to become a feast for dozens of living souls and spirits, the one hundred Five Elements Spirit Springs within his body immediately formed a protective robe of Spiritual Spring, with five colors flowing like a tough and magical protective membrane, wrapping around Wang Xiaoqiang's body and preventing those living souls and spirits from biting into his flesh.

The living souls and spirits on the Wuchang Chains, unable to bite the tantalizing flesh, howled frantically with anxiety. The chains tightened like wild pythons, and it seemed that Wang Xiaoqiang was about to be completely bound by the Wuchang Chains and overwhelmed by numerous ghastly faces. The disciples below the stage could not bear to watch and screamed in horror, and Ye Qingcheng let out a pained cry, "Little Qiang, noooo..."

The South Gate Sect Master Guo Shoujing abruptly stood up and said to the True Person of Taiyi with a clasped fist, "Ancestor, are you really going to stand by and watch Wang Xiaoqiang get killed by a demonic artifact? Can you truly allow Lin Jinghong to use sorcery on the stage?"

It was known that Taiyi Sect disciples were not allowed to have any association with the demonic or sorcerous paths. If discovered by the Sect, they would be executed without mercy! For Lin Jinghong to use evil artifacts from the Demon Path against a fellow disciple on the stage was even more heinous and would implicate his entire clan.

However, to Guo Shoujing's reminder, the True Person of Taiyi remained unperturbed and waved his hand dismissively, saying indifferently, "No matter."

A glint of schadenfreude that was hard to notice flashed across the face of the North Sect Leader Hong Zhong. Humph, even though Lin Jinghong was done for, to be able to kill Wang Xiaoqiang before his own demise was quite satisfying indeed!

"Ah!" Guo Shoujing sighed deeply, dejectedly sitting back down in his seat.

On the stage.

"Haha, ~~~hahaha..." Lin Jinghong's eyes were blood-red, his gaze sinister, with an air of bewitching charm. Watching Wang Xiaoqiang bound tightly by the Wuchang Chains, he threw back his head and let out a triumphant, deranged laugh, "Wang Xiaoqiang, die, this time I shall make sure you're torn to pieces, body and spirit completely destroyed!"

As Wang Xiaoqiang was tightly bound by the chilling Wuchang Chains, wrapped by countless ghastly faces, all the disciples below the stage burst into discussion—

"These Wuchang Chains are too powerful, Wang Xiaoqiang is finished!"

"What a pity, such a promising young man, to die under an evil item..."

"Alas, heaven envies the talented!"

Hearing the crowd's discussion, Ye Qingcheng hardened her heart, rode her Flying Sword, and wanted to rush onto the stage, but she was stopped by two administrators guarding the stage. Without the Sect Leader's command, no one could disturb the rules.

Just when everyone thought Wang Xiaoqiang was done for, suddenly, within the cold chains, among the countless ghostly faces, a streak of red light shone through. The red light flickered, growing brighter with each flash, and a muffled roar emanated, weakening the ghostly wails.

"Roar~~"

A low roar soared suddenly, shooting into the sky, followed by a burst of intense red light. The solid-like flame burst forth from the chains, causing countless living souls and spirits to scream in agony...

Boom!

The red light burst forth violently, and the tangible flames, like a volcanic eruption, instantly refined all the living souls and spirits on the Wuchang Chains, even making the chains themselves glow red hot.

Amidst a loud boom, the Wuchang Chains broke into segments and were flung away.

Wrapped in red light was a sword, the Holy Flame Sword, which now shone like a small sun, its radiance shining brightly and heating the stage to a charred black.

"..." Below the stage, all murmuring ceased as everyone stared at Wang Xiaoqiang with disbelief, their eyes and mouths wide open.

"No, it's impossible!" Lin Jinghong muttered.

In the midst of the red glow, Wang Xiaoqiang was also bathed in red. Without any hesitation, after destroying the Wuchang Chains, he raised the Holy Flame Sword high above his head and swung it down at Lin Jinghong, who was momentarily frozen in shock on the stage.

The tangible red Sword Light slashed fiercely down onto Lin Jinghong's body.

Whoosh!

Lin Jinghong's suave figure, his once arrogant body, was immediately cleaved in half, from head to toe, neatly in two.

Blood splattered everywhere!

Just like a watermelon being sliced open, Lin Jinghong's body fell to both sides.

Into two halves of a corpse.

After delivering that sword strike, Wang Xiaoqiang quickly called out the one hundred Spiritual Springs from his body again.

Unexpectedly, once the one hundred Spiritual Springs were released, they uncontrollably flew towards Lin Jinghong's halved body like bees to honeycomb, greedily sucking in the escaping True Yuan and Spiritual Energy from within Lin Jinghong's still warm halves...

The Wuchang Chains were too formidable; originally his cultivation base was equal to Lin Jinghong's, his advantage lying in the five types of Spiritual Energy from the Five Elements Spirit Spring, which could have given him the upper hand over Lin Jinghong. But the sinister and powerful evil of the Wuchang Chains was too much to contest; he felt as though all his internal organs were about to be squeezed out of shape, and his consciousness nearly overwhelmed by the ghostly wails.

Should he absorb the one hundred Spiritual Springs back into his body?

If he inhaled it into his body, there was a chance of being discovered; if he did not, he might well be dead!

Being alive was more important than anything else!

With that thought in mind, Wang Xiaoqiang absorbed the hundred Spiritual Springs inside his body, causing his Spiritual Power to surge like a tsunami, resembling the might of someone in the Nascent Soul Stage.

Wang Xiaoqiang catalyzed all the Fire Element Spiritual Energy from the 228 Spiritual Springs onto the Holy Flame Sword, and the Sword Light that erupted immediately refined the Living Soul and Spirit bound by the Wuchang Chains and shattered the chains.

The strength of one's cultivation base was indeed crucial. What were the Wuchang Chains in the face of a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator? They were nothing but dross.

The scene fell utterly silent!

It stayed quiet for a good while before erupting into even more intense discussion.

"Wow, Wang Xiaoqiang is truly formidable, what a reversal!"

"Lin Jinghong was cut in two, truly decisive in killing. It seems the three from the Crown Prince Faction really were killed by him!"

Voices of surprise, praise, and awe rose and fell in succession,

On the presiding stage, the four Vice Sect Leaders and the six Elders all stood up, shaken to their core by the display of power, despite how well Wang Xiaoqiang had concealed his abilities. With their discernment, how could they not see that Wang Xiaoqiang's cultivation level was not that of the Golden Core Stage? Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to break the Wuchang Chains.

Only the True Person of Taiyi remained seated without moving, a hint of relieved smile appearing on his face, nodding his head appreciatively toward the figure of Wang Xiaoqiang on the stage.

"Hmph, just now they were saying Wang Xiaoqiang was a heretic, now everyone sees clearly, right? It was Lin Jinghong who was the real heretic," Guo Shoujing's gaze turned to the North Sect Leader Hong Zhong, "Lord of the Hong Sect, how do you explain this..."

North Sect Leader Hong Zhong's face was as pale as clay, sweating profusely, and his facial muscles twitched without saying a word,

At that moment, the True Person of Taiyi spoke, "The matter of Lin Jinghong will be dealt with later. Pass the word on, the competition continues..."

Upon hearing the words of the True Person of Taiyi, Hong Zhong's sweat poured out faster. Colluding with heretics was an unforgivable offense. Although he was innocent, such matters couldn't be clearly explained and would only get messier the more he tried. Even if the True Person of Taiyi could eventually clear his name, the wrongdoing of lax supervision was still present, greatly disadvantageous for his position as a Vice Sect Leader!

…

The hundred Spiritual Springs that had absorbed Lin Jinghong's True Yuan, like people who had their fill of food, kept swelling and contracting until suddenly—

Pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop…

The hundred Spiritual Springs split into two hundred Five Elements Spiritual Springs, each shimmering brilliantly, circulating in five colors, a spectacle to behold. However, this wondrous scene on the platform could be seen only by Wang Xiaoqiang alone.

"Uh, they split again. Now I have 328 Five Elements Spiritual Springs! So does that mean my cultivation base has reached the Nascent Soul Mid Stage?" Wang Xiaoqiang said to himself with delight as he stared at the two hundred floating Spiritual Springs.

"Little Qiang, Little Qiang..." This call, however, came from Ye Qingcheng. Seeing Wang Xiaoqiang definitely turn the tables and kill Lin Jinghong, her heart surged with both excitement and emotion, yet unable to ascend the stage, she anxiously paced around the arena like an ant on a hot pan, cupping her hands around her mouth to shout towards Wang Xiaoqiang above. Hearing Ye Qingcheng calling his name from below the stage, Wang Xiaoqiang finally came back to his senses, concealed the Holy Flame Sword in his hand, and leapt down from the platform.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Ye Qingcheng rushed towards Wang Xiaoqiang and flung herself into his embrace, then clung tightly to him as if afraid he would slip away from her side.

"Good job, Little Qiang!" Ling Qiyan, returning from his match, gave Wang Xiaoqiang a thumbs up. Although he had lost his round, the satisfied smile on his face couldn't be hidden when he saw Wang Xiaoqiang's decisive defeat and execution of Lin Jinghong.

Even though the match had ended by then, there were still many disciples surrounding Wang Xiaoqiang. Everyone was sizing up this "dark horse," including the great beauties Zhao Wushuang and Hee Saixue. They were both paying attention to Wang Xiaoqiang because his performance was too shocking, especially with the next round pitting Hee Saixue, who was tasked by her mentor to fight Wang Xiaoqiang. This made her quite distressed. Although Zhao Wushuang's cultivation had reached the Early Golden Core Stage, Wang Xiaoqiang had utterly defeated and slain Lin Jinghong, who was also at that level; how could she, Hee Saixue, hope to prevail?

Of course, while feeling distressed, she also felt unease, fearing that Wang Xiaoqiang would cut her in two in a fit of rage. Despite knowing in her heart that Lin Jinghong, who had entered the Demon Path and sought to kill Wang Xiaoqiang, rightly deserved his end, the decisiveness of Wang Xiaoqiang's actions still filled Hee Saixue with trepidation. Girls are generally less brave than boys, and Hee Saixue, being only twenty-one, approached him and gave a courteous bow, "Senior Brother Wang, hello. Saixue greets you respectfully."

Upon seeing a girl as bright and pure as snow greeting him with respect, Wang Xiaoqiang immediately pushed away Ye Qingcheng's exquisite form and returned the courtesy to Hee Saixue, "I'm not worthy of such respect, Junior Sister Saixue, you're too polite..."

Ye Qingcheng's face slightly soured when she saw Hee Saixue taking the initiative to speak with Wang Xiaoqiang, especially when Hee Saixue chose not to simply call herself "Junior Sister Hee," but rather addressed him using her given name in a straightforward manner, revealing it so casually, which made Ye Qingcheng feel a stab of jealousy. However, she didn't let it show on her face.

"Senior Brother Wang, by the command of my mentor, I will be going up to spar with you shortly. I hope Senior Brother Wang will show mercy..." Hee Saixue said, her beautiful eyes like jade slightly downcast, her long eyelashes fluttering, evoking a sense of vulnerability. Her demeanor made the male disciples around unable to resist feeling protective and longing to embrace and comfort her.

Wang Xiaoqiang scanned her with his faint Divine Sense and discovered that Hee Saixue was at the Early Golden Core Stage. He immediately understood her concern about him being too forceful and possibly injuring her. But before he could speak, Ye Qingcheng bluntly said, "On the platform, fists and kicks don't have eyes; leave it to destiny... Don't you understand that?"

Hee Saixue, taken aback by Ye Qingcheng's words, looked visibly more unsettled. Her clear, bright eyes fixed on Wang Xiaoqiang, as if waiting for him to say something.

Seeing her reaction, Wang Xiaoqiang, not having the heart to scare her further, waved his hand grandly, "Don't listen to her. It's proper to stop at the slightest touch on the platform. As long as Junior Sister Saixue doesn't act like Lin Jinghong, I absolutely will not harm you..."

"Thank you so much, Senior Brother Lin! Hearing you say that, I feel much more at ease!" With her beautiful eyes lighting up, Hee Saixue then gave Wang Xiaoqiang another bow.

Watching this exchange between the two, Ye Qingcheng felt decidedly uncomfortable, and with a pout, she covertly stepped on Wang Xiaoqiang's foot. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)

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