Cultivation Starting from Choosing Augments

Chapter 646: Chapter 259: The True Monarch’s Sermon, Arriving at Tinglang Market

If you could turn back time three days, no one would have predicted this outcome.

All Five Great Sects had been eliminated by Chongzhen Temple, without a single exception.

Zhang Shouquan, a mere Loose Cultivator, had managed to last until the very end by using the Blood Array, a secret technique he’d kept as a trump card.

And most surprising of all—Xiao Chen, with his absolutely supreme and crushing presence, had created a stark and undeniable gap between himself and every other cultivator.

In He Ming True Monarch’s original plan, everyone should have been in shock over the powerful performance and monopolizing strength displayed by the Chongzhen Temple disciples during the Magical Combat.

But now, no one cared about that anymore.

Everyone was staring wide-eyed at Xiao Chen, their minds blank, as if they had witnessed an impossible miracle.

Even the disciples from the Major Sects were completely stunned.

Perhaps they didn’t fully understand Body Cultivators before, or maybe they had misconceptions about Late-stage Golden Core cultivators.

As a result, they couldn’t properly gauge just how powerful Xiao Chen truly was.

But they were intimately familiar with their own sects’ Chief Disciples or Eldest Martial Brothers.

The second wave of disciples sent up by Chongzhen Temple had easily defeated their own Chief Disciples on the first six arenas in less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea.

On the seventh arena, they had even pushed the one-in-ten-thousand representative from the Loose Cultivators to the brink of defeat.

That cultivator only managed to turn the tables by relying on an Array, and even then, it was practically a Pyrrhic victory.

This was enough to prove their absolute superiority in strength.

Yet for Xiao Chen, none of this made any difference.

Against Chen Qingsong, one move was all it took to knock him off the arena.

Against the first disciple from the East Main Arena, it was also just one move to knock him off.

And against the final elite disciple from Chongzhen Temple, it was still only one move to send his opponent flying from the stage.

Now, no one could even tell if what they had just seen was Xiao Chen’s true power.

One move was simply the minimum required by the arena’s rules; it wasn’t necessarily his true limit.

To put it bluntly, you could have picked any random Loose Cultivator from the crowd to go up there, and the result would have been the same.

’After all, if it’s a one-move win, anyone could do it.’

At this thought, a collective shiver ran down their spines, and their hearts trembled.

"This... How is this possible?"

"Do you think... Elder Xiao even used his full strength?"

"I have no idea. But do you think we misunderstood Elder Chen? Maybe he’s actually really strong?"

After Chen Qingsong had lost to Xiao Chen without lasting a single move, his reputation among the Loose Cultivators had plummeted.

He had fallen straight to the bottom of the top-ten Loose Cultivator rankings.

But now, everyone was realizing it might have all been a misunderstanding.

It seemed Chen Qingsong was simply unlucky to have run into Xiao Chen so early. That was it.

Anyone else would have met the same fate. If no one could beat him, if everyone was taken out in one move, then who could say who was stronger than whom?

Once they thought it through, they felt they had been unfair to Chen Qingsong.

This was especially true for some cultivators who also came from Tingtao Sea and had always admired him.

They began to openly declare that if he hadn’t run into Xiao Chen, perhaps Chen Qingsong could have claimed an arena for himself.

Even Chen Qingsong himself, hearing the discussions around him, couldn’t help but puff out his chest a little.

The taunts about not being able to withstand a single move had genuinely bothered him for days.

But now things were different. His opponent was Xiao Chen; losing to him was perfectly normal.

’In the future,’ he thought, ’when the story spreads, I’ll be known as someone who once crossed blades with Elder Xiao. Who else can say that?’

"Hey, wait a minute!"

Someone else had a sudden realization. "Doesn’t that mean it’s not that Body Cultivators are amazing, but that Xiao is?"

Many people had been contemplating switching to Body Refining, but now it seemed that had nothing to do with it.

The path of Body Refining wasn’t what was truly powerful—it was just Xiao Chen himself.

A clamor of differing opinions rose from below the arenas.

On the high viewing platform, the several Nascent Soul True Monarchs were equally surprised.

They, of all people, knew their own disciples best.

They were perfectly aware of the caliber of their sects’ Chief Disciples, especially since some of them were their own personal students.

Yet, a formidable opponent who could easily defeat their own students had been taken down by Xiao Chen in a single move.

Witnessing this, even they were profoundly shocked.

A rare trace of astonishment even appeared on their faces.

"This young Xiao is truly extraordinary!"

True Monarch Yun Feng sighed. "I dare say that even when I was at the Late-stage Golden Core, I could not have achieved such a feat."

In his later years, he found himself growing increasingly fond of promising young talents.

He felt a pang of regret that Xiao Chen was not his disciple.

True Monarch Gang Yuan also remarked, "Watching him, the way his Qi Blood surged as he raised his hand and power emanated from his body... it’s very reminiscent of an Ancient Cultivator Lineage."

With his keen eye, he had naturally detected the exceptionally dense Qi Blood Power Xiao Chen unleashed when he struck.

He grew ever more curious about which Hidden Dao Lineage the young man hailed from.

He even began to think that, if given the chance, their two sides could have an exchange. It would be best if he could discuss insights on augmenting Qi Blood.

Not with Xiao Chen, of course, but with the Nascent Soul True Monarch backing him. He might even be able to arrange a trade.

He Ming True Monarch, who had been watching the battle with rapt attention, stood to the side.

He, too, had noticed the abnormal vigor of Xiao Chen’s Qi Blood.

Hearing True Monarch Gang Yuan’s assessment, he instantly understood. Xiao Chen must possess some rare, innate talent for body cultivation.

The ancient records within Chongzhen Temple contained accounts of such things.