Chapter 122: Destiny, Old Demon Fang

To the outside world, it was but a fleeting moment.

Jiang Ming’s gaze sharpened, his mind swiftly returning to focus.

Opposite him, Ran Xin’s face paled, and she spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. She looked at Jiang Ming with gritted teeth, her expression twisted with bitterness. Her Sea of Consciousness had been shattered—brutally destroyed—but then, astonishingly, this fellow had performed a cosmic creation, reshaping the very world of her mind.

Though the opening and destruction of the mental realm happened in the blink of an eye, it had left an indelible mark.

“Jiang Ming, you have to take responsibility for me!” Ran Xin’s eyes darted, then she put on a pitiful, aggrieved expression, pouting with a face full of grievance.

Like a young bride abandoned after being toyed with—utterly wronged.

“I admit defeat!” she raised her hand in surrender, and was immediately teleported away.

Jiang Ming wore a dumbfounded look.

Responsibility?

Damn it!

He’d been played by this little girl!

On the battlefield, the two had stood face to face, but what transpired within their minds, no one outside could know.

Yet this one phrase would surely be taken as having inflicted a wound impossible to erase on some other, more unusual plane.

Unbidden, all manner of unspeakable images flickered through his mind.

After saying her piece, she left, leaving him utterly speechless.

In a flash, Jiang Ming returned to his seat.

“Well, well, Brother Jiang, what on earth did you do to make her look like such a scorned woman?” Jun Qiye’s face brimmed with curiosity, tinged with a hint of schadenfreude. “With your usual flirtatious nature, this battle of yours will definitely become the talk of the federation.”

“I stood still and did nothing. What else could I do?” Jiang Ming replied helplessly.

“In the realm of the mind, everything is possible. Naturally, you can do whatever you want,” Jun Qiye chuckled. “So, tell me, how many positions did you try? Need me to teach you a thing or two?”

“You, a yellow-haired kid, teach me?” Jiang Ming sneered.

Jun Qiye’s face instantly flushed red.

“Heh heh, Brother Jun!” Ye Bai laughed. “You go to the clubhouse every day and get served like a king for four or five days a month, but you’re still a virgin?”

The others laughed along.

Jun Qiye’s expression darkened.

Jiang Ming resumed watching the match before him.

Yet his mind churned over the battle with Ran Xin—the vivid scenes of mental combat, especially his mental power swelling infinitely, evolving into the form of Pangu himself, wielding the primordial power of creation.

“The path of destruction!”

“The path of creation!”

“The path of the mind!”

His eyes glazed, streams of thought flashing through his mind—deductions, reconstructions, expansions, creations, evolutions—all ultimately merging into his own strength.

A day slipped by in a blink.

Returning to reality, Instructor Yu brought a large collection of specimens—blood, hair, and other materials gathered from subjects with special constitutions or different races.

“Do you need instruments?” Yu asked after handing them over.

“No, I just want to study them a bit,” Jiang Ming replied joyfully. “Thank you, Instructor!”

“It’s nothing,” Yu smiled. “But for now, focus mainly on the big exams.”

“Don’t get distracted. The later opponents will be tougher. Review the videos often, study their techniques, analyze pros and cons, and find ways to counter them,” Elder Tang added.

Jiang Ming nodded, appreciating the seasoned advice.

After Elder Tang and Yu left, Long Aotian and the others crowded around him. He hurriedly asked, “Come on, tell us, how exactly did you torment her?”

“In her mind—could it be that when she tried to seduce you, you pushed her too hard?” Lan Xin took an interest. “The mind is like an illusion, shifting with a thought, evolving endlessly. You broke it; doesn’t that mean you suppressed her?”

“Could you move freely inside?” Qiang Jiu’s eyes gleamed with curiosity.

“Exactly. In the prime of youth, inside the mind where no one outside can see, with the power to turn clouds to rain with a flick of the hand, how could he remain unmoved?” Qin Zhiyan said softly.

“Hmm, which man could resist, especially when Miss Ran was even spitting blood at the end!” Long Aotian nodded approvingly.

“You guys are really bored!” Jiang Ming said, speechless. “That was a battlefield!”

“If it wasn’t a battlefield, would that be better?” Qin Zhiyan shot back.

“Heh heh, Brother Jiang, that’s what you really think, isn’t it?” Long Aotian laughed. “By the way, if you two actually got together and entered the mental realm, wouldn’t you be able to roam the heavens, traverse the cosmos, and unleash all manner of wondrous techniques?”

“Men really are no good!” Lan Xin snorted and turned away.

Qin Zhiyan flicked her hair and also left.

Jiang Ming raised an eyebrow and returned to his room.

Long Aotian showed a hint of envy, then sighed helplessly.

Inside the room, Jiang Ming took out a small jade bottle containing a drop of vivid red blood, labeled with its origin—race, special abilities, and so forth.

“Golden Explosive Ape—ferocious beast. After raging, strength surges dramatically!”

After a brief glance at the description, he opened the bottle. Instantly, a fierce aura surged forth. Unfazed, he willed the blood to rise and land on his palm.

Naturally, Jiang Ming detected the complete genome within the blood. Comparing it to his own, there was a similar segment, though far more complex.

He could even perceive the inherent strengths and weaknesses of the life form.

This was the power of the Infinite Gene Gift.

Jiang Ming examined various samples, sometimes frowning, sometimes puzzled, but ultimately calm.

He discovered that the stronger the individual, the more complex the genome. Especially in gifted beasts, the genes were even more intricate.

Moreover, the activation of special abilities stemmed from specific gene segments—some dominant, representing developed powers, others recessive.

“Recessive means potential, abilities yet to be awakened!”

Based on the evidence and data, it was clear that bloodline or innate abilities grew stronger with continuous development.

But it all required the corresponding genes.

Only with the genes could there be a foundation for development.

Similarly, special human genes followed the same principle.

Possessing special abilities meant having extra corresponding genes. Awakening was when some genes shifted to a dominant state.

Many remained recessive, gradually activated to enhance power.

“X-Men?”

Jiang Ming’s thoughts turned to a parallel reference.

Similar, but here it was evidently more complex.

“Talent is innate. To cultivate it later is not only difficult, it’s practically impossible!”

Long Aotian likely represented a bloodline fusion, a natural culmination of yin and yang.

Then what of the half-orcs?

Jiang Ming’s lips twitched.

“If talent can’t be cultivated later, then how can genes evolve and transcend? Is it an evolution based on existing genes?”

Rubbing his brow, Jiang Ming realized that cultivation wasn’t gene mutation but the excavation of one’s potential.

From a genetic perspective, it was a process of self-optimization, continually activating recessive genes.

“Too complicated!”

He set it aside temporarily and resumed analyzing the inch fist technique.

Yet the prior analysis sparked fresh inspiration for his deductions.

The night passed quietly.

On the third day, Jiang Ming returned to the battlefield for his third match.

His opponent: Yi Tianyan.

“Yi, you only have a fourth-level cultivation, the Way of the Fourth Rank, yet you’ve come this far. It’s quite baffling,” Jiang Ming said gravely.

Despite the opponent’s poor cultivation—truly poor—having pursued both the Martial and Divine Ways, he still fell short compared to Jiang Ming.

Yet to have advanced to the finals was a miracle.

“I’m surprised too. Somehow, I just ended up here,” Yi Tianyan smiled.

His frame was slight, but he carried a scholarly elegance. Even his robes were those of a refined scholar; in an ancient era, he would be a gentleman of great poise.

“May I ask if you cultivate the Way of Deduction, the Way of Fate, or perhaps the Way of Destiny? Or the Way of Cause and Effect?” Jiang Ming inquired through mental communication.

“If I had to define it, the Way of Fate would be most fitting,” Yi Tianyan sighed softly, responding in kind. “I embarked on this path by chance, but soon felt lost. If fate exists, isn’t everything predetermined? No matter how much you struggle, is it not like a script? If fate doesn’t exist, then what am I? Do I control destiny, or is it all in vain?”

He was deep in thought.

“Life is too short; don’t overthink it,” Jiang Ming said. “Walk the path and see where it leads. Who knows, maybe someday you’ll truly control destiny. Yi, make your move!”

“Very well! Brother Jiang, I won’t hold back!” Yi Tianyan saluted, and a sword appeared before him.

With a flick, thousands of sword blossoms surged forward.

Ordinary in appearance but imbued with a strange power, it gave Jiang Ming a sense of nowhere to dodge, no place to hide.

Jiang Ming countered swiftly.

The sword’s light flowed as he mustered a power seemingly equal to Yi’s, but Yi forced him back with a single strike.

The tip of the sword pressed against his throat.

No matter how he dodged or blocked, it was as if Yi anticipated every move, easily breaking through.

Jiang Ming retreated.

Step by step, pushed back.

“Can you see the future?” Jiang Ming asked.

The clash felt strange. No matter what he did, Yi seemed to know in advance.

“This is the power of fate,” Yi replied. “Before each of your attacks, I sense the trajectory. You could say I see the future, but only for a very brief moment. Of course, there is a weakness—you probably know what it is.”

Jiang Ming nodded.

The weakness was Yi’s low cultivation. Against overwhelming strength, even precognition would be useless.

“Seeing the future is more mysterious than time itself,” Jiang Ming marveled.

Yi Tianyan smiled and resumed his attacks.

Neither rushed.

They formed a tacit understanding.

Yi knew the gap between them. Seeing Jiang Ming suppress his power to match his own was a sign Jiang Ming wanted to test his true strength.

He went along with it, using the fight to hone himself.

They circled the massive battlefield, their swordplay seemingly exquisite, but to the discerning eye, it was hollow.

“Can’t grasp it, can’t see through it!” After half an hour, Jiang Ming shook his head. “But this fight has given me some insight into the power of time.”

“Brother Jiang, may I say you’re twisted? Your aptitude is despair-inducing,” Yi Tianyan smiled wryly.

Often hailed as a peerless genius, he still paled in comparison to Jiang Ming.

After the match, Jiang Ming had touched upon the power of time—a most mysterious force.

Throughout history, how many below the eighth realm have comprehended it?

Few to none—truly rare.

“But I still can’t grasp the essence of your power!” Jiang Ming sighed.

Yi rolled his eyes and said softly, “My power, if not innate or the result of a miraculous opportunity, can only be understood by those who reach the seventh realm of martial arts. Brother Jiang, if you’re really interested, I’ll demonstrate for you someday.”

“Thank you, Brother Yi!” Jiang Ming was surprised by the offer.

“I won’t linger; continuing might draw complaints from other contestants,” Yi said, then stepped back, conceded, and was teleported away.

Jiang Ming vanished as well, returning to the spectator platform.

Jun Qiye saw him and said, “Brother Jiang, you’re curious about every kind of power. When we duel, are you also planning to analyze me thoroughly?”

“I’d like to right now!” Jiang Ming grinned. “Want me to show you?”

“Give me a break!” Jun Qiye sneered. “You’re all over the place in your studies. You’ll just hold yourself back and fall far behind us.”

“It doesn’t matter now. We’re young and have time to experiment,” Wang Qiutong said. “But once we reach the Martial Celestial realm, we need to decide our path and focus. Otherwise, we’ll delay our cultivation.”

“At the seventh realm, to grasp deeper Dao rhythms, you must choose your future path. No matter how gifted, energy is limited,” Fang Qinghan agreed. “As the saying goes, it’s better to master one art than dabble in many. Look at me, focused solely on the Way of Devouring. How many foes can match me? Too bad I haven’t left Blue Star yet, so I can’t fully unleash my talent. Once I reach the Battlefield of Ten Thousand Realms, I’ll surge ahead.”

“The Way of Devouring—growing by devouring?” Jiang Ming looked at him, puzzled. “You want to eat people?”

Everyone turned to look.

“It’s devouring, not eating. Besides, would I dare on Blue Star?” Fang Qinghan snorted coldly. “But beyond Blue Star, I won’t hold back!”

He revealed a look of longing.

Everyone felt a chill.

Suddenly, a vision appeared: Fang Qinghan standing on the earth, opening his mouth wide to inhale countless living beings, his aura surging wildly as he activated devouring power, swallowing the entire Battlefield of Ten Thousand Realms.

“Let me be clear—don’t target humans!” Wang Qiutong said sternly.

“Right, otherwise I wouldn’t sleep easy!” Ye Bai agreed.

They all sensed Fang Qinghan’s devouring body was far more than mere consumption.

“Relax. Within Blue Star, I won’t act first. But those beyond Blue Star aren’t like us,” Fang Qinghan said calmly.

“You’re really cold-hearted. I can imagine the bloodbath you’ll cause in the Battlefield of Ten Thousand Realms. You’ll be called the Demon Lord,” Jiang Ming said softly. “Old Demon Fang!”

“Old Demon Fang? Not bad. Let’s call him that!” Ye Bai was the first to agree.

“Old Demon? Am I old?” Fang Qinghan complained. “How am I supposed to find a wife now?”

Everyone laughed heartily.

Another day passed.

On the fourth day of the finals, Jiang Ming faced another unique opponent.

Asking for your support…

(End of chapter)