After consuming the souls of a hundred Underworld God clan demonic creatures, Mu Qing’er successfully advanced to the One-star Saint Emperor realm.
"Next, it's time for me to teach you a lesson," Mu Qing’er said coldly.
Xuan Qi, after his initial shock, smirked playfully.
"Interesting. Let me state upfront, Brother Xin Ci, I won't kill you. You have no idea how valuable you are to me. I've been waiting for your appearance for a long time..."
With that, Xuan Qi unleashed a vast wave of true essence, as immense as mountains and seas. A terrifying Saint Emperor's power surged towards Mu Qing’er.
Mu Qing’er, not to be outdone, likewise unleashed an extremely potent Saint Emperor's power.
*Boom!*
The two forces collided, causing the entire space to tremble. The gladiatorial arena crumbled under their might.
Han Lao marveled at the scene.
"This little girl is truly extraordinary. Her true essence, fresh from breaking through to One-star Saint Emperor, rivals that of a Three-star Saint Emperor, and the power within her is incredibly pure," Han Lao mused to himself.
He had been unable to fathom Mu Qing’er's origins, but with such talent and potential, she was destined to become a Great Emperor if nothing went wrong. Furthermore, Mu Qing’er's breakthroughs had always been smooth. Typically, breaking through to the Saint Emperor realm would necessitate facing a heavenly tribulation. Yet, she was an exception; no phenomena occurred during her breakthrough. Han Lao found it peculiar but didn't dwell on it, his primary concern being Mu Qing’er's battle with Xuan Qi.
Ten Directions Heaven Style, Barrier Form! Sixteen Star Moon chains instantly formed countless chain barriers around Xuan Qi. Having broken through to the Saint Emperor realm, Mu Qing’er's comprehension of the Sixteen Star Moon chains and the true meaning of the Ten Directions Heaven Style deepened, increasing the barrier's power by severalfold. Xuan Qi found himself unable to break free from the encirclement for the moment.
Then, Mu Qing’er, wielding the Profound Sun Sword, unleashed a practiced sword move.
"Red Lotus Phoenix Sword!"
Seeing the incoming sword strike, Xuan Qi's expression shifted slightly. He channeled his true essence and struck out with his palm. This was a true-meaning martial art from Profound Void Mountain, the Sky Severing Palm!
The collision of the two formidable forces instantly ignited a tempest. Where the gale swept, cracks appeared on the ground, and then the arena floor completely shattered, revealing a bottomless abyssal pit.
Mu Qing’er flickered, swiftly retreating hundreds of meters away. Xuan Qi, however, hadn't moved an inch.
"Brother Xin Ci, your true essence is as abundant as mine. It's a pity your martial arts are too low-level. It's quite impossible for you to defeat me," Xuan Qi said calmly with a smile.
Mu Qing’er ignored his words and charged forward again. However, no matter what moves she employed, she couldn't affect Xuan Qi. Moreover, Xuan Qi grew more at ease, her attacks proving ineffective. Xuan Qi's power surpassed Mu Qing’er's expectations. This was the first time she had encountered someone who remained unharmed even under her full assault.
In the consciousness space, the main personality, Xin Ci, had partially recovered from his injuries. Through the light screen in the space, he could clearly observe their battle. Seeing Mu Qing’er gradually falling into disadvantage, he felt a pang of anxiety. However, with his current abilities, he was powerless to assist her.
"Damn it, Qing’er is at a disadvantage, and I, as the main personality, can't do anything to help..." Xin Ci was filled with remorse, wishing he could break out of the space and shield Mu Qing’er from Xuan Qi's attacks.
By observing their fight, Xin Ci realized the primary reason for Mu Qing’er's disadvantage was the vast disparity in the level of their true-meaning martial arts. Mu Qing’er's martial arts were inferior to Xuan Qi's, making her true-meaning techniques unable to harm him, thus dooming her to a disadvantage.
Mu Qing’er, still entangled with Xuan Qi, understood this as well. In fact, she did possess true-meaning martial arts. There was the "Sword Abandonment Art" left by the Profound Sun Celestial Venerable, and the speck of light that entered her mind before the Star Emperor's remnant soul vanished was also a true meaning, named "Golden Scale Art." Both of these true-meaning arts were of high grade, but she currently lacked the time to cultivate them and thus hadn't used them. The only true meaning she could currently employ was the Ten Directions Heaven Style.
The Sixteen Star Moons transformed into sixteen giant, dazzling stars, hanging in the sky.
"Ten Directions Heaven Style, Falling Heaven Stars!" Mu Qing’er uttered a soft cry, and the sixteen stars hurtled towards Xuan Qi.
"A decent move, but it's not suitable for a single opponent," Xuan Qi said casually, his figure darting like a ghost amidst the sixteen massive stars. This was a mid-level movement true meaning from Profound Void Mountain, known as the Nine Steps of Profound Shadow. It allowed one to change form in the void and evade all attacks.
Xuan Qi dodged the stars' assault and in an instant appeared behind Mu Qing’er. A black dagger materialized in his hand, emanating a chilling Underworld energy.
"My apologies, Brother Xin Ci, I must make you behave." As Xuan Qi spoke, he swung the dagger, slashing downwards at Mu Qing’er.
*Clang!*
Mu Qing’er, at that very moment, raised her arm and blocked Xuan Qi's strike. Not only did she block it, but not a single drop of blood flowed from her arm. Instead, the dagger shattered. Xuan Qi was stunned; he hadn't expected Mu Qing’er to block his attack. He then noticed that her arm seemed to have grown something akin to golden scales, emitting a dazzling golden light.
Golden Scale Art, Protective Scales! Mu Qing’er herself was somewhat surprised. She hadn't cultivated the Golden Scale Art, yet she was instinctively running it now, which puzzled her.
"Could it be Xin Ci!" Mu Qing’er suddenly thought of this possibility. In the consciousness space, Xin Ci was indeed cultivating the true-meaning martial arts "Sword Abandonment Art" and "Golden Scale Art." Since Mu Qing’er was his second personality, the primary personality's cultivation techniques and martial arts would naturally be learned by the second personality. They were one entity, after all.
"Qing’er, the next part is up to you. I believe you can defeat him," Xin Ci said softly, looking at Mu Qing’er on the light screen.
Outside the consciousness space, Mu Qing’er looked at her arm and a smile appeared on her face.
"Xin Ci, I've received your power. Now, it's my turn!" Mu Qing’er's eyes blazed with a brilliant starlight.
Star Wheel Eyes, Soul Shock! Xuan Qi attempted to use the Nine Steps of Profound Shadow to evade, but he discovered that the surrounding space had already been locked down by chains. He couldn't help but be slightly surprised: "This is...?"
"Did you think that the Falling Heaven Stars move was meant to attack you?" Xuan Qi finally realized he had fallen into a trap; he had no chance to escape.
This Soul Shock directly struck Xuan Qi's soul. Xuan Qi suddenly felt an intense pain in his head.