An instant knockout. A collective murmur rippled through the gathered spectators, a sound like dry leaves skittering across cold stone. "I knew Miss Su wasn't simple," one cultivator muttered, his eyes wide as he stared at the spot where the explosion had occurred. "But how did she obliterate him like that? Fire suppresses metal, and water suppresses fire, so this doesn't make sense."
"No idea," his companion replied. His gaze remained fixed on the now-empty stage that still smelled of charred cedar and damp earth. "It has to be related to her physique."
"That guy will probably show up here soon. Even if he is healing his real body back in his retreat, he can still send a strand of divine sense to the stands. We will ask him then. Maybe we can get some useful intel for the later rounds."
"Yeah. Our understanding of the Five Elements Holy Body is way too limited."
As the crowd buzzed with conflicting theories, a sudden flash of golden light resolved into a disheveled figure in the spectator area. It was Luo Changshui, the man Su Min had just blown to smithereens. His face was ashen, looking like a man who had seen a ghost, and his spiritual form flickered weakly as if it might dissolve at any moment.
"Hey, brother," someone called out. Dozens of people immediately surrounded him while others strained their ears to listen. "What was up with Miss Su's attack? Your Taotie remnant shouldn't have been instantly destroyed. Nanming Lihuo is strong, but it shouldn't have been able to bypass your defenses like that."
None of the people present were weak, whether in raw strength or spiritual insight. Everyone suspected the answer lay within the mysteries of the Five Elements Holy Body, yet the specific details eluded them. After all, no one had ever seen what happened when someone wielded two divine artifacts within a single body. Now that the man who had experienced that power firsthand was here, they were desperate for a crumb of truth.
"Wood attribute," Luo Changshui bit out. His voice was tight, roughened by a humiliation that tasted like bitter ash in his mouth. "Both the Vermilion Bird's manifestation and the final explosion were wood-based."
With that short, sharp explanation, he turned on his heel and stomped away, leaving the crowd exchanging confused and startled glances. In truth, he had brought the disaster on himself. The Taotie's devouring ability had strict, ancient limits. It could digest things with stable properties, but pure and volatile energy attacks couldn't be processed by its stomach. They could only be stored inside the Taotie's gullet and later regurgitated.
His plan had been sound in theory. He intended to swallow the Nanming Lihuo, contain it with his own water alignment, and then spit it back out once Su Min used the Eastern Azure Wood, turning the elemental cycle to his advantage.
But he never expected that what looked like a pillar of fire would transform into massive wood energy inside his stomach, and with a terrifying, explosive strength at that. To make it worse, his water alignment nurtured wood. Stuffing that much wood-aligned energy into a water-aligned body was like throwing a torch into a powder keg. If he had fought a standard battle, he wouldn't be instantly wiped out, though his chances of winning would still have been slim against an alchemist of her caliber.
"Tsk."
A collective gasp of understanding swept through the crowd. So Su Min's physique could reverse the Five Elements cycle at will. Appearances were deceiving. She could launch an attack under the guise of one element, only for it to strike with the killing intent of another. Countless theories and counter-strategies raced through their minds as they looked toward the stage.
"They are already getting excited over that?" Xie Yingying murmured. She sounded more amused than impressed, her voice a cool breeze amidst the heated discussion.
She watched the crowd with a sharp, icy detachment, but her heart was brimming with a quiet and possessive pride. These onlookers had seen only a fleeting glimpse, just enough to stir their shallow speculation. None of them truly understood what Su Min could do when pushed to the brink. They had caught onto the surface-level trick, the elemental reversals, and the unexpected fire bursting from wood energy. But that was merely the skin of the truth.
Only she had seen the depth beneath that skin. Only she had felt it during their long nights of dual cultivation.
Xie Yingying tilted her head slightly, her gaze softening despite its usual sharpness. She had spent decades with Su Min in that silent cave. Seventy, maybe even eighty percent of the alchemist's secrets were hers alone to guard. She had seen them firsthand, not just in the heat of battle, but in the quiet and unguarded moments between refinements.
She knew how Su Min layered her attacks, how she played the Five Elements like a finely tuned instrument, and how she could create harmony or discord at a whim. None of these people had seen Su Min at her true limits. And besides, why should she correct their foolish assumptions? That knowledge wasn't something she would ever share with these vultures. It was hers. Just like Su Min was hers.
Just then, Su Min arrived in the spectator area, her spiritual projection shimmering into existence. She blinked at the sight of the huddled and whispering crowd, who were occasionally shooting her furtive, fearful glances.
"What are they scheming now?" Puzzled, Su Min floated down to settle on the translucent bench beside Xie Yingying.
"They are comparing notes about you," Xie Yingying replied lazily. She didn't bother to hide the amusement dancing in her eyes. "Trying to piece together the secrets of your Five Elements Holy Body. They think they are clever enough to solve you."
Su Min arched a dark brow, her expression skeptical. "You are enjoying this a little too much, Yingying."
"Of course I am," Xie Yingying said without missing a beat. A small smirk tugged at the corner of her lips, a rare show of emotion. "It's not every day I get to watch a bunch of Golden Core elites scramble like ants to make sense of you."
Su Min gave her a long look, equal parts amused and resigned, before letting out a quiet breath. She settled down, folding her legs beneath her with practiced ease. The ethereal arena felt vast and cold, but having Xie Yingying beside her made the space feel manageable.
The first round would end in seven days. That made this the perfect time to observe her potential opponents from the safety of the stands. For Golden Core cultivators, going without food, drink, or sleep wasn't a problem at all. They were immortals in the making, their bodies sustained by the very air they breathed.
As expected, the murmurs of the crowd faded into a dull hum once Su Min joined them. Whether the cultivators had switched to mental communication to hide their strategies was anyone's guess. Since only divine sense projections were present, eavesdropping on private thoughts was impossible.
Su Min didn't mind the scrutiny. Being studied by one's peers was an inevitable part of the path. At this level, everyone had secrets, and everyone wanted to unravel the mysteries of their rivals. But understanding her abilities and actually countering them were two very different things.
More importantly, countering her wouldn't be an easy task for anyone. Sure, she had crafted plenty of countermeasures herself, but those were just for gaining the initial initiative in a fight. Now, in these final stages of the ranking, no one would hesitate to use their one-time life-saving treasures. Every match would be a gamble of foundations.
The crowd's debate was cut short when two more flashes of golden light signaled new arrivals on the stage. Su Min recognized them both instantly from her intelligence slips.
"Two sect prodigies, ranked outside the top fifty. Not list-worthy," she thought.
She mentally shrugged, her posture relaxed. As the only fourth-grade alchemist in the entire Golden Core Avenue, she had built an extensive network over the decades and recognized most of the prominent sect heirs. These connections would prove valuable once they emerged into the outside world.
The good news was that she always kept her promises. Within her capabilities, every commission she accepted was fulfilled with the highest quality. Once the Golden Core Avenue ended, swarms of cultivators would flock to her home in Eastern Mulberry Land seeking her services. Things were about to get very lively back on the island.
Using the Heavenly Ranking as a reference was quite accurate for the mid-tier. The two combatants, both hovering around sixtieth place, put on a flashy but ultimately unremarkable show of elemental spells and sword techniques. To Su Min and Xie Yingying, who had witnessed the true peak of power, it was barely worth watching.
"Boring," Su Min sighed. She leaned back, her hair catching the golden light. "When is that woman's turn? I have only seen memory fragments in jade slips. I want to experience her power firsthand."
Her attention kept drifting toward a lone figure sitting cross-legged in a distant corner of the stands. The woman in white was as still as a statue. Though Su Min planned to stop once she secured a top-five spot, her curiosity about this woman hadn't waned in the slightest. Soon enough, it was the woman's turn to take the stage.
"I forfeit."
"WHAT THE?!" Su Min nearly jumped out of her seat, her eyes widening in disbelief. "You didn't even try! Are you insane?!"
The opponent had surrendered the moment the golden barrier fully dispersed. Not a single move had been exchanged! Not even a breath of Qi! That devastating "Myriad Laws Descend" technique could supposedly shatter Dao Hearts, but Su Min wanted to see it once. Just once!
"Hmph."
Xie Yingying smirked at Su Min's outrage, feeling a strange satisfaction in the alchemist's frustration. "Who was it that said they would 'cower and cover' if they met her? Now you are the one who is tilted. Want to see her moves? Dream on."
Soon, all the matches for the day concluded, and the participants were teleported out of the arena.
"About a hundred and fifty people started," Su Min said. She stretched lazily, her muscles stiff from sitting as she explained the math to Xie Yingying. "Some got byes because of the odd numbers. Now, half are eliminated. That leaves eighty. Next round, forty. Then twenty. Then ten. That will decide the top five."
Having witnessed the Golden Core Spirit's manifestation together, they both knew the rules of the tournament well.
"I remember," Xie Yingying said. She stood up, her robes falling into perfect, vertical folds. "The Golden Core Spirit arranged it so the top seeds won't meet until the very end. For us, the first three rounds should be easy."
Today's fights had been trivial. Su Min had faced someone from the top forty, while Xie Yingying's opponent hadn't even been ranked on the Tianjiao list. The list only covered the top fifty names, leaving out many sixth-tier tribulation survivors and even a few minor sect heirs. This generation had an unusual number of lone wolves, like Su Min herself—a modern cultivator rather than an ancient relic. Among the top ten, only Su Min and the Great Desolate Holy Body weren't from bygone eras.
"Still, I bet many people share your thoughts," Su Min replied. She looked at the darkening sky of the Avenue. "Even those brave enough to draw their swords against her won't be able to force her to reveal her true power. She is too efficient."
"I know. I have given up on seeing her secrets for now."
Xie Yingying's wariness of that woman ran deep, like a cold current in the ocean. One glance from Yao Xian'er had once made her soul tremble, a reaction not even Su Min could evoke with her pseudo-Solar power. Win or lose, she needed to witness that woman's full strength to understand her own path.
"Don't worry too much about it," Su Min said. Her expression turned serious, and she reached out to pat Xie Yingying's shoulder in a protective gesture. "I spoke with the Great Desolate Holy Body via jade slip. That woman is terrifying, but she is still just a Golden Core cultivator. He was crushed, but he wasn't completely helpless. You and I would fare about the same. Others, even those ranked in the top three, won't be so lucky."
Today's winners had barely flexed their power, but the hierarchy of the Avenue was clear to any who could read the auras. That woman stood alone at the absolute peak.
Su Min, Xie Yingying, and the Great Desolate Holy Body occupied the second tier of monsters.
The rest might push Su Min into using some of her secondary trump cards, but victory would ultimately be hers. Her ultimate ace was the single drop of Xie Yingying's essence blood she had refined. But with the Golden Core Heavenly Ranking lasting just over a month, she could only activate that state once. She wouldn't use it unless her top-five spot was truly at stake. Only four drops of that blood existed in the world, after all.
"But if you face her," Xie Yingying said suddenly. She grabbed Su Min's hand, her grip tight and her voice low and intense. "Don't you hesitate to use my essence blood. You are the only one here who might rival her. At the very least… don't you dare surrender immediately."
She knew, when the time came, only Su Min, or rather, Su Min in that state, could stand against that monster.
===
Yingying, please. You literally sharing same bed with her for decades. It would be weird if you knew nothing about her.