Two columns of water erupted with an inexhaustible surge of energy, amidst dazzling light and torrents of spray. The water columns vanished swiftly.

Immediately after, Shi Yan and the Savage Man finally met face-to-face above the waves, their fists and feet colliding with a thunderous roar that exploded outwards.

Flashes of light, dazzling enough to blind the eye, enveloped them instantly. Their two figures blurred, exchanging hundreds, perhaps thousands, of blows in mere seconds.

"Boom!"

The waves crashed down, and their bodies, intertwined, plunged like a great spear directly into the bathing area, blasting a massive cavern into the pool basin.

As water poured in madly, all sorts of violent energies surged out from the rupture, forging countless Water Dragons, each brimming with unmatched might.

Water rushed wildly through the breach, transforming into 'Water Dragons' that shot skyward. These dragons ascended until their energy slowly dissipated, whereupon they dissolved back into fine, misty rain that drifted down from above.

"Damn it, I can't see anything!"

"Why did it suddenly move underground? This is seriously anticlimactic. I really wish I could rush down there and take a look."

"If you want to die, then go take a look. I guarantee you won't see tomorrow."

"..."

From the precarious viewing stands of the tavern, many martial artists complained, their hearts itching with the desire to descend, yet fearing the residual shockwaves of the two combatants' power. They could only remain atop the tavern, sighing endlessly.

"Boom boom boom!"

Deep underground, carved out like a massive well, Shi Yan and the Savage Man were locked in combat. Rolling, violent power erupted from both their bodies. Bursts of ferocious energy, enough to crush ordinary martial artists, scattered outwards from the impact of their limbs amidst muffled, thundering explosions, scarring the underground space with deep water channels.

Shi Yan activated his Petrified Martial Soul; his body became hard as iron and stone. A tide of negative energy, like a raging surf, converged with his vital essence, churning madly within him. With every punch thrown, a world-shaking blast resonated from his hardened fists.

In a shuddering, satisfying release, his body, forged through a thousand trials, brought him an unparalleled, exquisite sensation—as if his physical form were filled with endless power that simply had to explode outwards.

When the Savage Man's brutal force hammered into his body, accompanied by the sound of iron against steel from his physique, Shi Yan endured agonizing pain, feeling as though every cell and drop of blood was being pulverized.

Yet, within that piercing agony, he found profound enjoyment.

He even experienced a bizarre, fleeting illusion: that his body was merely a divine weapon...

The hammer-like impacts of the Savage Man striking him seemed to be an indispensable step in tempering such a weapon. The force that could shatter his internal organs appeared to facilitate a marvelous refinement of his physical form.

Under the Savage Man’s assault, his body, tough as steel cables and bones, saw its cells constantly dividing and reorganizing. Sinews stretched taut, seemingly on the verge of snapping, and even his skeletal structure creaked ominously; the bone chains within seemed to undergo some transformation.

The exotic essence of the Deep-Earth Fire and the Mysterious Ice Cold Flame hidden deep within his body merged miraculously with the bone chains under this relentless pounding, becoming integral parts of his cellular structure and blood vessels. The medicinal potency of all the spirit herbs he had absorbed finally dissolved completely, overflowing into every single drop of his blood.

Under the Savage Man's furious bombardment, Shi Yan found the experience unexpectedly sublime!

But the Savage Man did not enjoy this sensation...

As the leading figure of the new generation of the Savage Teachings Sect, he had received the sect’s most overbearing infusion of power since childhood. Born with innate divine strength, his meridians and flesh were utterly different from ordinary people. This physique granted him unparalleled, terrifying strength, allowing him to master the Savage Teachings Sect's fierce martial techniques to a degree unimaginable to others.

The Savage Man had always believed himself to be the new generation's Savage God, and that within the same realm, no one could withstand him in a direct confrontation.

However, today’s battle with Shi Yan made him realize that the legend of the Savage God Physique, passed down through his sect’s history, was not necessarily the ultimate truth.

In this world, there were people who could achieve a physique as powerful as his, without relying on the Savage Teachings Sect's various divine skills or the maddening spirit medicines they employed!

The terrifying power he unleashed at full strength was enough to shatter the physical bodies of demonic beasts of the same rank; the resilience of a demonic beast’s body far surpassed that of a martial artist of equal standing.

He had tested this before, having once punched a fifth-level demonic beast, the "Azure-Eyed Armored Lion," causing its internal organs to explode, killing it instantly.

The Azure-Eyed Armored Lion possessed a formidable physical body; its internal organs were even shielded by layers of fleshy armor plates. Even the potent vital essence of a normal martial artist found it exceedingly difficult to penetrate those plates to damage the viscera directly.

But with a single punch, enhanced by the frantic explosive force channeled into his fist, he had shattered that lion’s internal structure, blasting the surrounding flesh armor to pieces along with it.

His divine strength was peerless.

He had long believed that no freak with greater brute force and tougher physicality existed in the world.

Yet, today, all the violent power he prided himself on, raging like a tempest upon Shi Yan’s body, failed to crush Shi Yan's internal organs directly.

In fact, he began to feel a strange sensation, as if he were fighting a millennium-old boulder. He felt his fists landing on some rare form of rock; he felt he wasn't striking flesh and blood at all...

"Boom boom boom boom boom boom!"

A tidal wave of roaring sound came from the massive rupture deep underground. Water dragons writhed skyward, twisting with dazzling, mesmerizing brilliance amidst the crystal spray.

Waves of tremors poured into the depths, spreading from the center of the bathing pool. Wherever the vibrations touched, cracks began to split the earth.

The viewing stands of the tavern, already shaky, finally could not withstand the continuous follow-up assault. With shrieks echoing, many martial artists fled.

Before the remaining spectators could evacuate the tavern structures, the remaining buildings, battered by the relentless tremors, finally began to collapse, one after another.

Xia Xinyan, Ye Changfeng, and Lin Yaqi, like the other martial artists, moved away, settling near the trading grounds, which were situated further from the bathhouse. These trading grounds were constructed from the Sun Island's unique Blazing Sun Stone, and each facility possessed its own defensive formation rooted underground.

Consequently, when the subterranean tremors reached the trading grounds, they were all nullified.

The trading grounds remained completely unharmed.

Soon, many soaking-wet martial artists relocated, moving to the trading grounds to observe from a distance.

Xia Xinyan, Ye Changfeng, and Lin Yaqi were among them.

None of the three seemed overly worried about Shi Yan. Xia Xinyan maintained a calm expression, while Ye Changfeng and Lin Yaqi showed expressions of keen interest, discussing the situation animatedly along the way.

The unusual shaking from deep underground grew increasingly fierce, so intense that even the elders of Sacred Light Mountain who were in secluded cultivation on Sun Island were disturbed.

Halfway up Sun Island, several figures radiating hot auras stealthily emerged from concealed cave entrances. Hidden by ancient trees near the openings, they coldly surveyed the area below.

A ray of pure Holy Sunlight swept across.

Tang Yuannan, the current Sect Master of the Three Gods Sect, quietly appeared on the mountainside, standing atop a dense wild pine. He raised his hand and beckoned towards several nearby cave entrances.

The old men who had poked their heads out of their secluded chambers immediately shot out and gathered around him, taking positions at his sides.

Once these elders were settled, Tang Yuannan smiled faintly and pointed toward the great commotion below at the bathhouse. "The one sparring with the Savage Man is Shi Yan."

The elders, their eyes carrying the weight of years but their spirits robust, all shot out strange glints of light upon hearing this. One of them slightly bowed and said in a deep voice, "Sect Master, are you absolutely certain that he is the successor of the Star God?"

Tang Yuannan's expression turned serious. "Not even a sliver of falsehood."

The elders of the Three Gods Sect were visibly startled. They looked down below with even greater focus, as if contemplating something crucial for the future of their sect.

"According to the sect's rules, once he successfully completes his Nirvana, regardless of his previous status, he can become the next Star God of our sect." Tang Yuannan said gravely, looking at the elders. "The current nine elders of the sect—as long as five of them concur and agree to him becoming the Star God, he will be the new Star God, immediately holding a position of supreme status within the sect. Consider this carefully; the day he achieves Nirvana completion should be... very near."

At these words, the complexions of the Three Gods Sect elders subtly shifted.

"Once his Star God status is confirmed, the power structure of the Three Gods Sect will be reshuffled. Some of you will inevitably have to relinquish the benefits currently in your hands." Tang Yuannan looked pointedly at the elders, implying much. "I know this might be difficult for everyone; things gained are easy, but yielding them is truly hard. However, I hope you can make some sacrifices and concessions for the sect. I myself will contribute a portion of the benefits currently in my possession as a stepping stone for the new Star God."

The elders of the Three Gods Sect fell silent.

"The Proud Lord... I heard he might be from the Yang family?" The foremost elder suddenly inquired.

Tang Yuannan sighed internally, nodding with resignation. "Correct. Yang Qingdi dispatched one of the Three Asura Kings, Xiao Hanyi, just to bring him back, which shows how much he values him. Fortunately, Yang Qingdi cannot return for now. If we can seize this opportunity to bind him firmly to the sect, it would be a tremendous fortune for the Three Gods Sect."

"If he gains control of the sect's power and interests, but remains loyal to the Yang family, what then?" the elder asked, astonished.

"The sect has its rules," Tang Yuannan murmured, his expression solemn.

The elders' expressions flickered, and they nodded subtly, then ceased questioning, refocusing their gaze on the bathhouse below.

They wanted to see if the young man down there truly possessed the qualifications to make them willingly surrender the benefits they currently held.

Opportunity must be seized through one's own struggle.

...