After the flaming spear was shattered and its remains scattered into the wind, the three Buddhist Golden Arhat bodies still stood unmoved, towering at an imposing height of fifteen feet.
Tang Hao stared at the broken fragments of his Qi-forged weapon without a flicker of anger or disappointment. Instead, his eyes gleamed with unrestrained excitement, like a beast that had finally found worthy prey.
"Finally! This battle's starting to make my blood boil!" he shouted, his voice echoing across the mountainside like thunder. "Don't slow down now—this is the only time I feel truly alive! Are you ready?!"
With a crazed grin, Tang Hao began weaving his fingers into a flurry of hand seals. On the final sign, he slammed his palms together and bellowed, "Break!"
A sharp cracking sound, like glass shattering, rang out from the heavens.
Liu Chen's gaze snapped upward—and his face fell.
Above Tang Hao, the very sky began to rupture. Cracks spiderwebbed across the air itself, and pieces of the firmament peeled off like shattered porcelain. From the broken space, six enormous red circles emerged, etched with drifting arcane sigils and glowing runes. Within each circle spun a fiery pentagram, radiating violent spiritual energy that distorted the space around it.
Tang Hao lifted his hand—index and middle fingers extended, the rest curled tight. At the motion, the six pentagrams began to spin wildly, and from their cores, the sharp tips of crimson spears began to emerge.
Liu Chen narrowed his eyes.
'He's forming new weapons? Hmph… then I'll just have to keep up.'
Without hesitation, Liu Chen lifted all six arms high into the air. Qi surged through him like a tidal wave, spiraling to his palms. A blinding golden radiance burst forth—six miniature suns igniting between his fingers, pulsing with divine intensity.
As soon as the fiery circles in the sky finished brandishing their six spears, Liu Chen threw all six of his arms outward, forming six Vajra Hand Seals—each brimming with divine defiance—to meet the power of the incoming assault.
The very air between them became dense with tension. Spiritual energy trembled in the space, as if Heaven itself dared not breathe.
Their eyes met.
In that single instant, the world fell away. There were no onlookers. No sky. No ground. Just two cultivators standing at the heart of a battlefield that would remember them forever.
'He's stronger than I thought. But I won't be defeated that easily.'
With a thunderous roar, the six infernal spears screamed from the heavens, locking onto Liu Chen's energy signature like predators chasing prey. A storm of crimson flame trailed in their wake, burning holes in the fabric of the sky.
Liu Chen inhaled sharply and thrust out all six Abhaya Mudras, the golden palm seals flaring to life in front of him.
Palm met spear.
There was no sound—only white.
The moment of contact triggered six dazzling explosions, radiant and searing like the core of a sun. The impact vaporized the air, sending out shockwaves that split the ground and shattered stone.
Liu Chen's over-sized pants fluttered violently in the gale of force. But he didn't blink.
'He's not giving me time to counter. He's testing my limit... no, he's trying to drown me and see if I float.'
Before the smoke could settle, another volley of spears tore through the sky—and then another.
The circles had turned into gatling wheels, hurling out spears with mechanical precision. Each one faster, each one hotter. They rained down at Liu Chen every millisecond, aiming to grind him into dust through sheer momentum.
But Liu Chen stood unmoved.
He closed his eyes for a fraction of a second, letting the chaos blur into silence within his mind.
A glint of cold clarity cut through his gaze as his eyes snapped open.
With a growl, he drew all six arms back, his fists trembling with coiled Qi. Then—a blur of golden flashes. He struck forward, again and again, palms slamming into the spears with divine precision. Each movement was sharp and graceful—unrelenting.
The courtyard around him was a blur of flame and gold, destruction and defiance.
But his mind stayed anchored.
As the final volley of spears exploded into fading embers, Tang Hao's figure vanished in a flash of red light.
Boom!
Liu Chen raised two arms just in time to block a heavy downward strike with his golden gauntlets—a broadsword had materialized mid-air, crimson like molten ore, crashing down with enough force to crater the earth beneath his feet. Sparks exploded at the point of contact.
Tang Hao grinned wildly, the whites of his eyes gleaming with pure ecstasy. "NOW THIS... this is what I've been waiting for!"
He leapt back, hands forming more seals at a breakneck pace. The air behind him shimmered—a constellation of glowing sigils blinked into existence, each one birthing a different weapon mid-rotation: curved sabers, jagged axes, long spears, tower shields, and even a spinning flail.
"Starforge Creation: Heaven Armament Array!" he roared.
With a forward gesture, the armaments shot toward Liu Chen, hovering around Tang Hao like celestial satellites before launching in coordinated waves. The battlefield turned into a whirlwind of energy and flame.
Yet, Liu Chen did not retreat.
With each arm moving independently, he caught and deflected weapons with a monk's precision. One hand parried a saber. Another redirected a hammer. A third shattered a flail mid-spin.
He flowed like water—yet struck like lightning.
He spun low, performing a sweeping kick that knocked aside two flying daggers as he used a fourth arm to grab an axe by its hilt and hurl it back toward Tang Hao. As the axe flew, Liu Chen's back foot stomped, sending a shockwave through the ground. He leapt forward, six fists blurring like lightning.
Tang Hao's eyes narrowed.
He's not just matching my might, he's surpassed it, going beyond. And his six arms provide the perfect advantage for him to do so. Its as if his body was made for battle.'
A tower shield appeared before him with a twist of his wrist—BANG!—the first punch crashed into it, denting the metal. The second and third fists struck at the sides, sending reverberations through Tang Hao's forearms. But he rotated, allowing the momentum to roll off, then summoned a pair of hooked swords with a spark of red Qi and slashed in an X-arc.
Liu Chen ducked, sliding beneath the blades, one arm pushing off the ground while his legs launched upward into a twin kick that landed squarely in Tang Hao's chest, sending the man skidding back.
But Tang Hao was laughing, his chest heaving with joy.
"Hahaha! Yes! Hit me again! This is what it means to be alive!"
He clenched his fists. Dozens of weapons now surrounded him, spinning in tight orbit like stars on command.
Liu Chen squinted upwards. "He really doesn't know how to stop..."
He rushed forward, feet skimming the ground, drawing on the Buddhist technique derived from Shaolin martial footwork—Three Steps Ascending Heaven.
His form flickered, a blur between strikes. His left leg swept up high, aiming for the chin, while three fists struck forward, two toward Tang Hao's sides and one overhead.
Tang Hao's arms blurred, summoning a gauntlet and short sword just in time. Blades clanged against fists, legs clashed against armor, and the battlefield became a blaze of relentless motion.
Weapons broke and Qi burst forth.
Stone shattered but Neither side relented.
And the mountain itself seemed to watch in reverence.
Liu Chen's eyes then narrowed. It was time to end this.
With all six arms spinning into different stances, he suddenly clapped his uppermost hands together, forming a resounding BOOM that echoed across the scorched battlefield. The very air trembled as black thunderclouds began to swirl unnaturally overhead, and from between his palms, brilliant arcs of violet-gold lightning bloomed like celestial lotus petals.
The pressure shifted.
The wind died.
Tang Hao's expression sharpened, and for the first time, he stepped back half a pace. "Hmm… is this a lightning-based attack?" 'I didn't expect this boy to already know any elemental techniques. His Master must see his potential as much as I do.'
Liu Chen's voice echoed, layered with Qi and tinged with thunder, "Nine Tribulations: Thunderblast!"
Crackling bolts surged across the battlefield, veins of divine lightning crawling through the cracked ground and into the air itself. From Liu Chen's palms burst a roaring wave of thunder and lightning, the force so immense it painted the air in arcs of golden-white energy. The beam streaked forward like a divine judgment, crashing into Tang Hao before he could fully brace for it.
BOOM!
The impact sent Tang Hao flying backward like a meteor, crashing into the side of a mountain wall, embedding him twenty meters deep in a trail of scorched stone and fire. Dust and debris rained down like ash.
There was total silence.
But then… laughter.
"Hahaha!" The dust parted, revealing Tang Hao rising to his feet. His arms were shaking, a cut on his lip bled, and steam rose from his arms—but he still stood tall, with his scarlet robes and golden pieces of armor still intact. He then crossed his arms over his chest and declared, "That shall conclude our little spar."
Liu Chen staggered foward, finally breathing out as the weight of the battle crushed down on his shoulders. Two hands rested on his knees as he gasped for air, sweat trickling down his brow. The golden glow of his Qi faded and he realized without the vitality from his Qi, he had suffered several trivial wounds from this battle.
Tang Hao walked over with a proud grin, extending his hand.
Liu Chen looked up, wiped his brow, and clasped the offered forearm. Their grip was firm, warrior to warrior.
"What is your name young monk?" Tang Hao asked with a gleam in his eye.
"…Asura," Liu Chen said with a faint smile, one of his lower hands brushing soot from his shoulder. He no longer tried mimicking his Master's manner of speaking as he was much too exhausted to do so.
Tang Hao's eyebrow arched in intrigue. "Asura? A wrathful being born with six arms, feared by gods and men alike… Relentless in battle, and powerful beyond compare. That name suits you almost too well."
Liu Chen chuckled softly. "That's one way to look at my... situation."
Tang Hao stared at him for a long moment, then said casually, "You know… I think I had a distant relative born with six arms too. The poor kid died a few years ago, though the details were fuzzy. I was actually just visiting the household he came from—a newer noble clan with the surname Wang."
Liu Chen's expression froze and his eyes widened.
'No way... He was just at the Wang estate? Then he might've seen her…'
He quickly held back the urge to ask about his mother, and kept the resentful thoughts of the family at bay.
He quickly covered his unease with a sheepish grin and scratched the back of his head. "Heh, funny you mention them… I'm actually the youngest son of the Wang family."
Tang Hao blinked.
Then shrugged. "Huh."
Just like that, he moved on.
"But you—are something else. I've seen enough. Tell me, Asura... would you be willing to become my disciple and travel back to the Celestial Radiance Sect with me? I am a core elder there and as one of my disciples, you would be treated very bountifully."
Liu Chen bowed deeply. "Senior, I must humbly decline. I already have a master… accepting another would be a sin even the heavens would not forgive."
Tang Hao crossed his arms and nodded. "A filial disciple. I can respect that."
Then he stepped forward and, before Liu Chen could react, gently tapped his index finger against Liu Chen's forehead.
"Then take this as a gift. For alleviating my boredom."
Tang Hao's Qi surged into his mind.
Liu Chen's body froze. In that instant, a torrent of ancient knowledge crashed into his consciousness like a tidal wave. The Heavenly Flame Cultivation Method—its name burned into his mind. Its first stage pulsed vividly before him:
To begin, one must passively absorb Qi flame for 48 hours during meditation. Afterward, ignite a flame within the sea of Qi and merge it with a fragment of the soul. Upon success, the lower dantian will transform, appearing as a volcanic realm.
Stage One: Flame-body Baptism
Abilities Gained:
Dragon's Breath – a stream of condensed flame Qi shaped like a dragon's head.
Phoenix Wings – wings of fire that grant temporary flight and burn all nearby foes.
The rest was locked—hidden behind mystical seals until the first step was completed. This was a technique any cultivator could perform to extract memories or give information, as long as the person you were using it on was a realm weaker than you or has willfully submitted.
Liu Chen's eyes flickered with his heart pounding. It was common courtesy in the cultivation world to not force one's technique upon another person, especially if that person already had a Master.
He wanted to curse and cry out in protest. This was against every cultivation taboo. If the method practiced conflicted with his core technique or even his own constitution, his very soul could be shattered!
'But… I can't even think straight…!'
He staggered forward—and his vision blurred, with the world tilting sideways. In the next breath, Liu Chen collapsed unconscious, the strain of forcibly integrating such knowledge was too great.
Tang Hao crouched beside him, smiling faintly.
"Grow strong, Asura. So that one day, you can become my worthy opponent and give me the fight I truly desire."
With that, nine wings belonging to that of a blazing phoenix on fire unfurled from Tang Hao's back. He rose into the air like a God reborn and disappeared into the skies, his laughter fading within the clouds.