When Liu Wuxie unleashed all three forms at once, Mad Dog panicked. Even as an Origin Conversion Realm cultivator, he could barely sustain two forms together, yet Liu Wuxie had done three with only the Heaven Profound Realm.
Mad Dog's mind reeled. Was Liu Wuxie even human? Mortal cultivators weren't supposed to be capable of such a feat.
The true essence in Liu Wuxie's desolate world drained rapidly, yet his reserves were hundreds of times greater than those of an ordinary cultivator. If not for his low cultivation, he could have executed all nine forms simultaneously.
Of course, Liu Wuxie had no intention of explaining. Liu Wuxie had already doomed him. By executing three forms at once, Liu Wuxie made his advantage clear, and his mastery deepened with every strike.
Liu Wuxie's figure flickered, scattering afterimages across the battlefield. In an instant, he appeared behind Mad Dog and unleashed the first form, Dragon Subduing Tiger. His fist slammed into Mad Dog's back. Blood burst from Mad Dog's mouth, his face draining of color.
Had it not been for his physique as a cultivator at the Origin Conversion Realm rather than at the Transcendent Realm, that single blow would have killed him outright.
Even so, agony pervaded him as Liu Wuxie's true essence ravaged his internal organs. Survival meant being crippled. His cultivation would plummet, never to recover to its peak.
Before Mad Dog could react, Liu Wuxie blurred again, unleashing the second form, Dragon Slither. He vanished and reappeared from impossible angles, shuttling through space itself.
No matter how Mad Dog struggled, he remained firmly in Liu Wuxie's grasp.
However, Liu Wuxie understood that his dominance in their fight relied on the technique. If he faced another opponent who had mastered the Nine Heavenly Dragon Forms, he would probably not achieve such suppression. He seized complete control by clashing with Mad Dog on equal ground, form against form.
Blow after blow struck Mad Dog, tossing his body through the air like a rag doll, battered and broken. Once called "Mad Dog," he now looked more like a beaten, bloodied cur.
Blood soaked him. From the very first strike, he knew Liu Wuxie had sealed his fate.
A vicious kick landed on his chest, ribs shattering audibly. Screams tore from Mad Dog's throat as he crashed to the ground. The earth shook violently under his impact, the tremors rolling through the forest like an earthquake. He rolled uncontrollably before falling unconscious.
Liu Wuxie landed lightly beside him, expression cold. With a wave, Mad Dog's interspatial ring flew into Liu Wuxie's grasp. He drove his divine sense in and forcibly erased the imprint.
"ARGH!" Mad Dog's eyes shot open, his screams piercing the mountain. He had bound the ring to his soul sea. Liu Wuxie's brutal erasure shredded his imprint, tearing at his very soul.
"Liu Wuxie, damn you!" he cursed, writhing in pain. He had never imagined suffering such torment.
Ignoring him, Liu Wuxie grinned while examining the ring's contents. Wealth poured before his divine sense, spiritual pills and tens of thousands of astral stones, which he likely plundered during his missions outside the sect.
Though none matched the quality of the Great Clarity Divine Pill, their effects were still impressive. With these resources, Liu Wuxie believed he could soon make a breakthrough to the Transcendent Realm.
Only by advancing into the Transcendent Realm could he secure his footing within the Heavenly Dragon Sect. He needed strength, enough to open the Astral Domain Path within a year, and time was short.
"Liu Wuxie, I was wrong! I shouldn't have come after you! Please... please return the interspatial ring. I earned those spiritual pills and resources on missions!" Mad Dog begged desperately.
He had earned the resources on this trip outside the sect, but before he could cultivate, Xu Guang had summoned him. Now, Liu Wuxie held everything.
However, Liu Wuxie only sneered. "Leave before I change my mind about sparing you. Go tell Xu Guang to wash his neck and wait for me to claim it."
He naturally wouldn't return the interspatial ring to Mad Dog, who had come to cripple him. He had already shown mercy by not taking Mad Dog's life.
"Get lost!" Liu Wuxie barked, kicking him hard.
Mad Dog tumbled down the mountain like a broken doll.
Resources were vital. Liu Wuxie would do whatever it took to secure them. Competition in the Astral Domain was fiercer than he had imagined. He had barely joined the sect, but he had already faced endless trouble. This update is available on novel✦fire.net
The more resources he gathered, the faster he could raise his cultivation.
Having defeated Mad Dog, Xu Guang would likely restrain himself for a few days, giving Liu Wuxie precious time to breathe and advance. Xu Guang's authority was limited; he could not summon truly powerful disciples. Yet Liu Wuxie knew the deacon would never let this humiliation go and would definitely try again.
After such a commotion, the rear mountain no longer offered a safe place to train. Liu Wuxie gathered himself and departed.
Meanwhile, Mad Dog stumbled through the woods. His broken figure drew countless stares.
"Look—it's Mad Dog! What happened to him?" the disciples whispered in shock.
Once, the outer sect feared him as Big Brother Dog. Bloody and battered, he drew only gloating smiles. Many disciples felt vindicated; Mad Dog had bullied countless others, and his downfall brought them grim satisfaction.
Humiliated, Mad Dog burned with fury. It was all Liu Wuxie's fault. He swore he would seek his senior brother's help to recover his stolen ring.
When Xu Guang learned of Mad Dog's defeat, he was stunned. The fact that a new disciple had crushed Mad Dog seemed impossible. For the first time, fear pricked his heart. Liu Wuxie's cold, disdainful gaze before he left still haunted him.
"Liu Wuxie... I'll make you wish for death!" Xu Guang swore, venom dripping from his words.
Word of Mad Dog's loss spread like wildfire through the outer sect. Deacons exchanged mocking glances, scoffing at Xu Guang's incompetence. He had become a laughingstock—a deacon who couldn't even handle a single new disciple.
Xu Guan's hatred of Liu Wuxie only grew hotter.
Back at his courtyard, Liu Wuxie repaired the shattered gate and planted new array flags, sealing the area with defenses. He prepared for seclusion, ready to push toward the Transcendent Realm.
But in the distance, Xu Guang approached with a grim face, and a group of outer disciples trailed him. Liu Wuxie halted, eyes narrowing as he watched them draw near. Xu Guang's arrival carried a clear intent.
"All new disciples will participate in wilderness training. Pack your things. We depart in two hours!" Xu Guang announced, his voice calm but venom lurking beneath its steadiness.
"Wilderness training?" Liu Wuxie muttered with a frown. He was in a hurry to make his breakthrough to the Transcendent Realm, and he had no time to partake in any wilderness training.
"That's right—wilderness training," Xu Guang replied, his lips curling into a venomous smile, seemingly saying that Liu Wuxie was doomed.
"Can I refuse?" Liu Wuxie asked, uninterested in Xu Guang's games. He could deal with the deacon later. For now, his priority was raising his cultivation.
"It is mandatory," Xu Guang declared, his voice carrying to all the disciples. "The sect has passed this tradition down for millions of years. You represent the Heavenly Martial Institute; do not bring shame to us!
"If you achieve good results in this training, the rewards will be great."
The moment the word "rewards" left his mouth, the disciples' eyes gleamed with greed. For new disciples, such rewards could determine whether they gained a foothold in the sect.
Liu Wuxie frowned. Since the training was a sect tradition, he couldn't refuse outright. Still, he was only one step away from the Transcendent Realm. With the spiritual pills he had seized from Mad Dog, he could make a breakthrough at any time.
"Prepare yourselves!" Xu Guang barked. "Assemble here in two hours—we depart together!"
He turned away, leaving the crowd of disciples restless. There was little time to prepare, so they could only wait anxiously.
"Greetings, Senior Brother Liu! I'm Li Liang," a youth said quietly as he approached.
Liu Wuxie turned his head and nodded slightly in acknowledgment. Among the new disciples, he knew almost no one aside from He Yingwu. His knowledge of Mu Heng and Shen Yue came only from hearsay.
"Senior Brother Liu, is it true you defeated Mad Dog?" Li Liang asked, excitement flashing across his face. The news sparked an uproar among the new disciples.
"What are you trying to say?" Liu Wuxie asked coldly, his patience for idle gossip thin.
"You misunderstand," Li Liang said quickly, shaking his head. "All of us new disciples already heard of it. Most of us despise Deacon Xu, but none of us dared to oppose him. What you did... it made us feel vindicated."
"We hate his corruption, but none of us could speak out," Li Liang added, sighing.
Liu Wuxie nodded slightly. His feud with Xu Guang was his to bear alone; he would not drag others into it.
Li Liang didn't take offense at Liu Wuxie's indifference. He remembered well that when Xu Guang extorted tribute, only Liu Wuxie had refused. No one else had dared to stand with him.
"Senior Brother Liu, how much do you know about this wilderness training?" Li Liang asked, lowering his voice.
"Nothing," Liu Wuxie admitted. It was his first time hearing of it. The sect's manuals had mentioned nothing, which suggested it was an internal tradition deliberately unrecorded.
"I see," Li Liang said, leaning closer. "I have an older cousin who joined the Heavenly Dragon Sect a few years ago, and he told me a few things about the wilderness training. If you don't mind, I can share what I know."
His tone carried eagerness. Li Liang wanted to curry favor with Liu Wuxie, hoping to gain protection in the outer sect. After all, everyone had witnessed Liu Wuxie's strength.