Chapter 65: Fighting Li Rui

If someone had been nearby to offer a reminder at that moment, perhaps Li Rui would have come to his senses.

However, the few individuals present all harbored their own agendas, and no one spoke up.

There were only a handful of vacant positions for candidate holy sons, meaning the competitive pressure was already immense, and Li Yao had been drawing far too much attention lately.

Allowing Li Rui to curb Li Yao's momentum—preferably shattering his state of mind and striking him with inner demons—would eliminate one rival for them.

As for the instigator, gazing at Li Yao within the sparring arena, his heart burned with intense jealousy.

Within the Yaoguang Holy Land, Li Rui was far from the only one enamored with the holy maiden. Ever since news of Li Yao's close relationship with Yao Xi spread, countless disciples wished they could flinch Li Yao's skin, strip his tendons, and hang him up for a beating.

...

Meanwhile, inside the sparring arena, having defeated Li Lei, Yu Jiwen, and Yun Tianhe, Li Yao prepared to turn and leave.

After a couple of days of well-deserved relaxation, he intended to enter closed-door seclusion and begin his breakthrough into the Dao Palace realm.

Before he could even step out of the arena, however, he noticed a figure approaching swiftly. The speed was terrifyingly fast, and as the figure drew closer, he could see that the man's feet did not touch the ground, nor did his shoulders sway. Hovering three inches off the earth, he strode through the void.

In just a fraction of a second, the newcomer was almost upon him. His figure and features became clear; although his steps were unhurried, he moved with extreme velocity.

Each time his foot touched down, it was as though he vanished from his original spot, instantly materializing further ahead. He possessed the profound mastery of shortening distances into inches, signaling that this newcomer was extraordinary.

He was a young man of about twenty, exceedingly youthful, yet his cultivation had already achieved considerable success. Clad in blue robes, he exuded an extraordinary temperament, his heroic aura restrained, occasionally punctuated by flashes of divine light in his eyes.

With dark hair and piercing, sharp eyes, he radiated a powerful sense of oppression, bordering on aggression.

As Li Yao met his gaze, he sensed profound hostility from the very first glance.

Yet he remained bewildered. Before today, he had never even laid eyes on this man; where could such deep-seated animosity possibly originate?

"Li Rui! Li Rui from the Holy Master's lineage, one of the four candidate holy sons!"

"He has arrived at the Holy City? Why does he look so menacing?"

"Could it be that he's here to challenge Li Yao?"

"Impossible. He broke through to the Dao Palace realm two years ago, and the Holy Land has strict rules forbidding disciples of different realms from fighting one another."

The edges of the sparring arena erupted in chatter. Li Rui's arrival caused a stir among everyone present. He was undoubtedly one of the most formidable youths of the younger generation in Yaoguang, usually a dragon whose tail was seen without its head.

Li Yao's gaze flickered. Candidate Holy Son Li Rui—he recognized the name and had heard of him before.

Yet he could not recall any past grievances between them that would warrant such intense hostility from Li Rui.

No matter. Since he could not figure it out, he simply stopped trying. As for Li Rui's hostility, he felt no fear whatsoever.

Following the ninth transformation of the Other Shore realm, his strength had ascended to an unimaginable realm. As an equal pinnacle Other Shore existence, he could crush and defeat his opponent with a mere thirty percent of his power.

It must be known that Li Lei and the others were no ordinary pinnacle Other Shore practitioners. As the top ten elite disciples and the cream of the crop among various factions of the younger generation, though restricted to the Other Shore realm, they could challenge the Dao Palace realm and exchange over a hundred blows before tasting defeat.

Yet even against such existences, Li Yao had instantly annihilated them with a single move without even unleashing his full strength.

Although Li Rui was a candidate holy son, his cultivation was confined to the Dao Palace realm, leaving Li Yao completely unfazed.

*Whoosh.*

Li Rui abruptly halted his advance. Hovering three inches above the ground, he stood before Li Yao, fixing him with a gaze that shot out two terrifying beams of light, sharp as swords.

"You are Li Yao."

Li Rui spoke, his voice ringing with a metallic clang like a resonant golden bell that made eardrums vibrate and the entire sparring arena tremble.

"You harbor hostility toward me, which proves you recognize me. Since you know who I am, why even ask? Just going through the motions?" Li Yao laughed unceremoniously, exposing him and leaving him completely devoid of face.

Li Rui fell silent. The opponent's refusal to play by the rules had caught him off guard.

*Wait, shouldn't you state your name according to proper etiquette when I ask who you are?*

By now, the onlookers were equally baffled. Li Yao had declared that Li Rui was hostile toward him! What was going on? Could there be some hidden history between the two?

Curiosity consumed the disciples, the flames of gossip burning brightly as they yearged to uncover whatever grievance existed between the two.

Whether it was Li Rui or Li Yao, both were heavyweight figures in their eyes, and the scandals of big shots were always a rare treat.

"I simply can't stand your arrogance. You are single-handedly dragging Yaoguang's reputation through the mud outside." After stalling for a long moment, Li Rui finally spat out those words.

"Are you the Holy Master? What I do is none of your damn business. If you want to discipline me, at least become the holy son first—oh wait, the *candidate* holy son." Li Yao's tongue showed no mercy.

"Ha! Good, very good." Li Rui laughed out of extreme anger, his expression instantly turning gloomy.

He had already despised Li Yao, but now that the other party was so utterly ungrateful, he made up his mind: he would break Li Yao's four limbs and shatter every bone in his body shortly.

Li Yao lifted his chin. "Spit it out, what is your damn business here?"

With a dark expression, Li Rui retorted, "Your strength is mediocre, but your mouth is venomous. I am, at the very least, your senior brother, yet you show none of the proper respect. You truly deserve to be punished."

"Too much nonsense. If you want to punish me, just make your move." Li Yao stared at the man before him. Li Rui was indeed extraordinary, managing to exert a trace of pressure even upon him.

Such a sensation was undeniably foreign to him. Among his peers, the only ones capable of pressing him thus far were Yao Xi and Li Rui.

While the former was undoubtedly stronger than the latter, Yao Xi had never once leaked her aura while interacting with him, rendering her impact less perceptible to Li Yao.

"The Holy Land has rules prohibiting disciples of higher realms from attacking those of lower realms without cause. If not for that, you wouldn't even be able to stand right now." Li Rui glared aggressively, divine light flashing within his eyes.

Looking at Li Rui with a strange expression, Li Yao replied, "You said it yourself—'without cause.' Since I've provoked you this much, surely no one would object if you made a move."

Li Rui furrowed his brows. That... actually made sense?!

"Are you an idiot? I'm starting to wonder if your hostility toward me is just because you're being used as someone else's pawn," Li Yao teased.

"Such wild words. You truly need to be taught a lesson." Pausing, Li Rui sneered, "You are indeed arrogant, but as your senior brother, I won't bully the weak with strength. Next, I shall suppress my cultivation to the Wheel and Sea realm and teach you how to show humility toward your senior."

As he spoke, immortal light shone from between his brows, and his aura truly plummeted, dropping straight down to the Wheel and Sea realm.

"Goodness, a fight is breaking out! My god, a candidate holy son versus Li Yao?"

"Li Rui is a candidate holy son after all; how could he stoop to bullying someone junior? He should at least wait until Senior Brother Li breaks through to Dao Palace."

"Li Yao is far too proud, offending anyone and everyone. Now someone's finally going to teach him how to behave."

The onlookers instantly erupted into heated discussion. Some were eager for a good show, disciples from the Sun Island and Rosy Cloud Mountain felt indignant over Li Rui's bullying of the junior, while others harbored burning jealousy toward Li Yao.

Within the arena, Li Rui suppressed his cultivation to the pinnacle of the Other Shore realm, looking down at Li Yao with absolute contempt in his eyes, as if to say he didn't deign to take Li Yao seriously and disdained suppressing him with a higher realm.

"You will definitely regret this." Li Yao strode forward.

Li Rui did the same. The two instantly crossed a distance of several hundred meters, closing the gap to mere paces within a handful of steps.

At that exact moment, both men raised their hands simultaneously, forming fist seals and charging at each other.

*Boom!*

Li Rui threw a punch that felt like an earthquake, the ground beneath his feet shaking violently as his arm coiled with the strength of a dragon, fierce and powerful.

*Bang!*

Li Yao swung his fist in response, colliding directly with his opponent's strike in a deafening crash reminiscent of a thunderbolt descending from the heavens.

The earth shuddered. The surrounding disciples felt as though a thunderclap had struck right beside them, deafening their ears and leaving behind a persistent ringing.

"Such terrifying physiques! Are they even human? It feels like two savage dragons colliding." The disciples with lower cultivation levels felt their ears ring and their chests tighten with discomfort.

Although his cultivation was suppressed, Li Rui's physical body remained unchanged. Possessing the physique of the third tier of Dao Palace and staggering combat prowess, he failed to gain the slightest advantage against Li Yao's formidable body.

With a resounding *boom*, both men staggered backward several steps.

Shock surfaced on Li Rui's face. He never expected his physical body to fail to gain the upper hand!

"How is this possible? I've tempered my physical body with dragon blood since childhood, day in and day out for ten years, yet I cannot suppress the flesh of a Wheel and Sea realm disciple!" Shock overwhelmed his mind.

"On what grounds? Some wild brat who just entered the Holy Land—how could he possess such a powerful physique? Is it because of some heavenly treasure?" Overwhelming jealousy consumed Li Rui, rendering him unable to accept reality.

If it were Yaoguang, who had been painstakingly nurtured by the Holy Land since childhood with batches of rare resources, fierce beast blood, and miraculous pills to build a foundation, Li Rui would have accepted being outdone.

But why Li Yao? Barely a year had passed, and yet he possessed such a terrifying physical vessel!

His jealousy toward Li Yao erupted entirely at that moment. His eyes turned bloodred, and he wanted nothing more than to tear his opponent apart.

Simultaneously, profound astonishment gripped Li Yao's interior. Although he possessed a mortal physique, his origin was immensely potent, further nourished by absorbing vital essence through the Heavenly Book over twelve years, forging an astonishing physical shell.

After opening his bitter sea, Li Yao recognized the paramount importance of the physical body. During his cultivation, he consistently utilized pure vital essence to reinforce his flesh, accumulating a deep foundation, and refined his body into a flawless Vajra body using Diamond Bodhi liquid.

Yet despite such an exaggerated physique, he had failed to secure any advantage in the physical collision!

*As expected, a candidate holy son ranking just beneath Yaoguang and Yao Xi is indeed leagues ahead of ordinary elite disciples,* he thought to himself.

"I am going to tear you apart!" Li Rui roared, charging forward like a ferocious dragon.

This time, wrapping himself in divine might while executing a physical secret technique, his joints cracked like popping beans, emitting an immensely terrifying aura.

Startled, Li Yao struck out with a thick beam of divine light, dazzling and brilliant. Having yet to practice any protective divine arts, he dared not continue physical close combat.

Yet his greatest asset had never been his physical body alone, but rather his peerless, incomparable divine might.

The Yaoguang Imperial Scripture deduced by the Heavenly Book was flawless and perfectly attuned to him. The divine might he cultivated was exceptionally pure and vast as an ocean, sufficient to look down upon everyone.

"Hmph! Solar Radiance!" Li Rui's eyes flashed with utter disdain, entirely dismissing the attack.

The Solar Radiance driven by Other Shore divine might was utterly incapable of inflicting harm upon him; he could shatter it with a mere wave of his hand.

"Watch me break your—" Li Rui bellowed, but before he could finish, a sense of wrongness struck him.

The divine might was vast and heavy as an ocean, and the Solar Radiance was completely different from what he expected... Why was its might so terrifying?!

"No, I can't block this!" In the nick of time, Li Rui hastily channeled his divine might to form a holy light barrier before him.

*Boom!*

Blinding light exploded within the sparring arena, shooting straight up into the firmament. The onlookers were momentarily blinded, quickly rushing to cover their eyes with divine might and staring intently into the arena.

Even the sun in the sky seemed to dim as the blazing holy light illuminated the surroundings brilliantly.