After Ian's match ended in an unimaginable fashion, Zhang Chulan's match began. The attention of the entire venue surged toward the Group One arena where Zhang Chulan was located.
The atmosphere here was worlds apart from Ian's side. From the moment the referee announced the start, an undeniable scent of gunpowder ignited.
Hong Bin, the "Little Fire God" and a top talent of the younger generation from the Fire Virtue Sect, leaped into the arena. Crimson Qi flames burned across his entire body, the heat waves forcing the spectators to pull back.
His sharp eyes swept over Zhang Chulan, and his pupils constricted.
He detected the violent power within Zhang Chulan. Although he didn't believe anyone could surpass the Fire Virtue Sect in terms of sheer volatility, he nonetheless acknowledged Zhang Chulan's presence.
"So you're Zhang Chulan? The successor carrying the 'Origin of the Qi-Lithic'?" Hong Bin's lips curled into a cold sneer, his tone arrogant.
"I've heard much of your name! Seeing you today, you're indeed decent! But there is still a significant gap between us!"
The Little Fire God intentionally projected a look of disdain, attempting to provoke Zhang Chulan and distract him.
As soon as the referee announced the start, Hong Bin acted impatiently, his fingertips glowing a scorching red.
"Flowing Fire Pillar!"
With a sharp shout, two crimson pillars of fire snaked out from his palms, distorting the surrounding air as they roared toward Zhang Chulan with high-temperature intensity.
The attack was massive in scale, and even the spectators outside the field could feel a heat wave brushing against their faces.
Seeing this, the other two opponents in the same group, Hu Lin and Wang Ergou, turned pale. They hurriedly circulated their Qi for defense and retreated, clearly unwilling to get caught in this targeted assault on Zhang Chulan.
"How ruthless, going all out from the very start," Hu Lin whispered.
Facing the whistling fire snakes, Zhang Chulan remained exceptionally calm, as if he weren't facing two massive pillars of flame.
He tapped his toes lightly and shifted his body slightly. At the very instant the fire pillars were about to touch him, he evaded the attack.
While the power of the Little Fire God's attack was great, its maneuverability was lacking; he could not control the fire pillars once they had been launched.
The pillars exploded beside Zhang Chulan, whipping up heat waves, yet they failed to even touch a corner of his clothes.
Zhang Chulan looked at Hong Bin, whose face was beginning to redden, and slightly raised an eyebrow. His gaze seemed to say, "Is that all?"
Realizing his attack was not only ineffective but had also been trifled with, Hong Bin's fury boiled over. He clenched his fists, veins popping on his arms.
"Burn for me!"
He gave a thunderous roar, and his fire-attribute Qi erupted without reservation. His entire being seemed to turn into a raging inferno; the temperature in the arena skyrocketed, and the bluestone slabs began to glow red and soften.
"Explosive Fire Bomb!"
Hong Bin pushed his hands forward as a ball of high-pressure fire condensed in his palms. Like a miniature sun, it shone so brightly that spectators had to shield their eyes.
The fireball smashed toward Zhang Chulan at a startling speed, sealing off almost all space for evasion, the air itself booming and screeching.
Faced with this lethal strike, Zhang Chulan's gaze narrowed slightly, and he stopped dodging. He slowly raised his right hand, palm upward, as if intending to catch this attack that would incinerate an ordinary person.
The spectator stands erupted in an uproar, with many people instinctively standing up.
Just as the fireball was about to make contact with Zhang Chulan, crackling electric arcs rang out. Blue-white lightning erupted from his body like pythons, entwining around him.
A power completely different from the fire attribute, yet equally violent and filled with primal savagery and destruction, swept across the venue.
"Is that... the Lightning Method of the Celestial Master Mansion?" the crowd buzzed.
"Something's wrong!" Well-informed outcasts frowned in shock.
"The Yang Five Lightning of the Celestial Master Mansion is perfectly upright and pure, grand in its essence. Zhang Chulan's Lightning Method... is so violent and full of wildness! It's not the path of Taoist orthodoxy!"
Xu San and Xu Si stared wide-eyed at Zhang Chulan. They hadn't expected him to make such massive progress; this was worlds apart from the "Little White Worm" he had used a month ago.
Zhuge Qing's expression was solemn, his squinted eyes opening slightly. Even Wang Ye's signature laziness vanished, replaced by a sharp stare at the leaping blue-white electricity.
The two of them, possessing stronger perception, vaguely felt the massive difference between this lightning and the Celestial Master Mansion's technique. They even felt that this wasn't some sort of spell at all—it felt more like Zhang Chulan's physical body was discharging electricity!
In the arena, Zhang Chulan raised his hand and casually swung it at the incoming giant fireball. A blue-white electric snake shot out from his palm. The thick lightning snake struck the core of the fireball with precision.
There was no earth-shattering explosion. The violent lightning sliced through the fireball like a hot knife through butter, instantaneously piercing its loose structure!
Having been skewered by the electric snake, the fireball's integrity collapsed. It disintegrated silently into a sky full of sparks, like a brief firework display.
The electric snake did not stop, lashing out with unabated momentum toward the stunned Hong Bin.
"Impossible!" Hong Bin shrieked, hurriedly condensing his protective Qi flames.
However, his Qi flames appeared utterly laughable before the electric snake. The moment the lightning made contact, it tore the flames asunder. The violent current poured directly into his body.
Hong Bin's entire body was paralyzed with agonizing pain. His hair stood on end and smoked, foam escaped his mouth, and his body twitched violently.
At that moment, Zhang Chulan flickered before him like a ghost. He used no fancy moves, simply raising his right fist. The fist, wrapped in violent electricity, imprinted itself onto Hong Bin's chest.
"Sea Tiger Explosive Punch," he uttered softly.
With a heavy "thud," Hong Bin was hit as if by a heavy truck. His eyes rolled back, blood seeped from his nose and mouth, and his body flew backward at high speed. He slammed hard into the stone railing, slid to the ground, and fell unconscious.
Zhang Chulan had only used a tiny fraction of his power because he was afraid he might kill Hong Bin with one punch; calling out the move name was merely to add some "style points."
Hu Lin and Wang Ergou were scared out of their wits. Their faces pale, they shouted in unison: "I surrender!"
The two of them hurriedly raised their hands in surrender, fearing Zhang Chulan would turn his attention toward them.
Zhang Chulan withdrew his fist, and the violent electricity gradually faded back into his body. However, the beast-like aura of disdain he exuded became even heavier.
Upon receiving news of his victory, he walked off the arena with a calm expression, as if he had only performed a minor task.
After a brief, dead silence, a fierce discussion erupted inside and outside the venue.
If Ian gave people a sense of unfathomable, mysterious dread, then the wild and domineering Lightning Method used by Zhang Chulan left them even more bewildered.
"That's not the Celestial Master Mansion's Lightning Method, is it? Could this be the ability of the Origin of the Qi-Lithic?"
"The feeling this power gives me is so violent! It feels even more explosive than the Lightning Method!"
Various speculations spread through the crowd. The spectators on Dragon-Tiger Mountain began discussing these few matches, and hardly anyone even paid attention to the matches that followed.
On the high platform, Old Taoist Master Zhang Zhiwei gazed at Zhang Chulan, a flash of complex worry in his eyes. He perceived that power—similar to the Lightning Method yet fundamentally different. He wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but he seemed to feel a sense of endless destruction and extreme ego within that power.
This ran contrary to the traditional cultivation of Taoism, making him worry for Zhang Chulan, who had practiced the Taoist Golden Light Curse.
In a corner of the spectator stands, Wang Ai, one of the Ten Masters, had greed flickering in his murky old eyes. He stared intently at Zhang Chulan; having felt that overbearing power, greed had taken root in his heart.
Then, he looked toward Ian's previous arena, thinking of the methods Ian had just displayed.
A cold smile spread across Wang Ai's face. He roared in his heart: 'The Origin of the Qi-Lithic, this mysterious lightning, and that kid's Xingyi Quan from earlier—all of it will become the property of the Wang family!'
'I hope you two kids know what's good for you. Otherwise, don't blame this old man for being unreasonable!'
Simultaneously, Zhang Chulan seemed to sense something. He turned his head to look in Wang Ai's direction.
Wang Ai noticed his gaze and put on a kind expression, offering him a smile.
The Grand Luo Heaven Sacrifice, a grand gathering of the outcast world—the storm of surging undercurrents beneath it had only just revealed a sinister corner.