Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

Chapter 179: 179 Ancestor Vein Power Contest

”Yun Xiao, forcing me to use this move is enough for you to take pride in!”

Despite having taken a slight disadvantage just moments ago, being pushed back several steps by Yun Xiao, Feng Hang’s arrogance diminished not one bit. The supremacy in his tone, as perceived by the audience, had already undergone a subtle shift.

When some people thought of that possibility, their eyes revealed an extremely expectant look, especially Shen Xiao, ranked second in the Mortal List.

In Shen Xiao’s heart, he never regarded Yun Xiao, a newcomer to the Outer Sect at the Meridian Gathering Realm, as a rival; his eyes were fixed only on Feng Hang, the first in the Mortal List.

Shen Xiao also had reason to believe that his final opponent in this major Outer Sect competition could only be Feng Hang; other Outer Disciples didn’t even qualify as a stumbling block for Feng Hang.

Initially, Shen Xiao did not expect to witness Feng Hang’s true strength in the earlier battles, as none of the Outer Disciples who hadn’t reached the Meridian Gathering Realm could withstand a blow from him.

However, Shen Xiao did not expect that Yun Xiao could actually fight Feng Hang to this extent, not only forcing the latter to use Jade Cold Qi but even causing him to drop the Cold Light Axe.

Now, hearing Feng Hang’s tone, it seemed he was about to use his most formidable technique, which excited Shen Xiao. If he could witness that technique in advance, his chances of winning in the ultimate showdown might greatly increase.

As both Feng Hang and Shen Xiao, who were at the Early Stage of the Meridian Rushing Realm and also Outer Disciples of the Jade Pot Sect, had virtually no significant difference in strength.

Each other’s trump cards were most effective when unexpectedly used; once the opponent saw and prepared for them in advance, the effect would definitely be discounted.

But Feng Hang, being pushed to this extremity by Yun Xiao, had no time to worry about whether his techniques would be exposed; his only target now was Yun Xiao, and he would not rest until he defeated this junior on the stage.

Huff... huff...

As Feng Hang finished speaking, the energy of heaven and earth around him seemed to be drawn by a mysterious aura, swarming and pouring into his body.

Many of the Outer Sect prodigies, sensing this scene, had their faces flush with excitement because they knew, at this moment, Feng Hang was activating his Ancestor Vein Power, which was sure to enhance his Meridian Qi Cultivation.

”Wow, Yun Xiao is really amazing, to have actually forced Brother Feng Hang to unleash his Ancestor Vein Power!”

”I heard that Brother Feng Hang’s Ancestor Vein has reached the Advanced Mortal Rank, but I wonder if he can break through to the Middle Stage of the Meridian Rushing Realm with this?”

”With the activation of his Ancestor Vein Power, Brother Feng Hang’s strength will surely surge; Yun Xiao’s chances look grim now, huh?”

”Hehe, hard to say, have you forgotten that Yun Xiao also possesses an Ancestor Vein?”

”...”

As countless amounts of heaven and earth energy were infused into Feng Hang’s body, causing his aura to surge instantly, a fierce debate suddenly erupted among the spectators below the stage.

In these discussions, the majority marvelled at Feng Hang’s activation of Ancestor Vein Power, asserting that under such circumstances, Yun Xiao had no chance of winning.

Yet a small portion of the audience was more composed. From Yun Xiao’s performance just before, they seemed to have undergone a shift in attitude regarding this newly promoted Outer Disciple, starting to hope for a highly unlikely outcome.

However, relatively speaking, Feng Hang’s Ancestor Vein had only reached the Advanced Mortal Rank, still a notch below Xuan Zhi’s from the Empire’s Third Prince, so his breakthrough by activating Ancestor Vein Power this time might be limited.

This, from a side perspective, underscores the importance of ancestral heritage, denoted by ”Ancestor” in Ancestor Vein.

With the long history of the Xuanyue Imperial Family, it is inevitably stronger than Feng Hang’s clan, so although his strength is much greater than that of Xuan Zhi, his Ancestor Vein Power cannot compare.

Even just the Advanced Mortal Rank Ancestor Vein Power allowed Feng Hang’s Meridian Qi to gain a significant boost. Though it did not reach the actual Middle Stage of the Meridian Rushing Realm, it was clearly stronger than before.

As Feng Hang’s opponent on the stage, Yun Xiao’s face also turned grave, and he immediately decided not to hold back any longer.

Don’t be misled by the evenly matched fight between Yun Xiao and Feng Hang previously, seemingly equal in strength; it was only due to the full exertion of Yun Xiao’s capabilities that he achieved those results.

Moreover, the tactics used before were effective only once, such as the unexpectedness of the Zombie Body Technique and the special effects of the Cold Ice Ancestor Vein. Once the enemy is aware and prepared, it is undoubtedly as difficult as ascending to heaven to achieve the same effects again.

The experience and knowledge of Long Xiao Battle God from his previous life can only serve as an aid to Yun Xiao. However, when there is a substantial difference in Meridian Qi Cultivation between two parties, these clever tactics will cease to exist.

Clearly, Yun Xiao realized at this moment that Feng Hang, who had activated the Ancestor Vein Power, was no longer someone he could contend against as before. Hence, he also immediately activated his own Fire Attribute Ancestor Vein.

Huff... Huff...

The Heaven and Earth Energy above the central main stage seemed to be torn apart by two different forces. Subsequently, they transformed into two invisible energy columns, respectively channeling into Yun Xiao and Feng Hang’s bodies, significantly enhancing their Meridian Qi Cultivation.

Yun Xiao had just broken through from the late Meridian Gathering Realm to the peak of Meridian Gathering Realm. However, when he activated the power of the Fire Attribute Ancestor Vein in his right arm, he astonishingly reached the peak level of the Meridian Gathering Realm, just one step away from making a breakthrough to the Meridian Rushing Realm.

”This... this... this is actually a Spiritual Rank Ancestor Vein?!”

Compared to Feng Hang’s improvement, Yun Xiao’s enhancement in Meridian Qi undeniably drew more attention from many Outer Sect geniuses. Most of them had witnessed Yun Xiao’s previous round of battle and knew that at that time, he definitely only had the strength of the late Meridian Gathering Realm.

From this, it can also be inferred that Yun Xiao must have achieved his breakthrough last night or this morning, and even the aura of the peak of the Meridian Gathering Realm was still somewhat unstable.

But when Yun Xiao activated the Ancestor Vein Power, he instantly went from just entering the peak of Meridian Gathering Realm to the critical point of breaking through to the Meridian Rushing Realm. These widely knowledgeable geniuses of the Jade Pot Sect had no doubt about what this meant.

Unless it was the power of a Spiritual Rank Ancestor Vein, it was possible for Yun Xiao to have such a terrifying enhancement. Except for Mo Qing, Yin Huan, and those newly advanced Outer Disciples, most people were not aware of the grade of Yun Xiao’s Ancestor Vein, so they were naturally shocked.

Since Yun Xiao continuously won in the Outer Sect’s competition, attracting more and more attention, his background from the Shang Family of Moon Bow City was also quickly disclosed.

However, the common knowledge about the Shang Family from Moon Bow City was limited to it being a small family, with the strongest member being only a cultivator who had just entered the Meridian Rushing Realm.

How could such a family have any profound heritage? To activate even a Low Level Mortal Rank Ancestor Vein was considered extremely fortunate, and it might not even be possible at the breakthrough to Meridian Introduction Realm or Meridian Gathering Realm.

But what about Yun Xiao standing right now? With the enhancement in strength from activating the Ancestor Vein Power, no one doubted anymore; it was indeed comparable to a Spiritual Rank, and possibly even higher.

In that case, Yun Xiao’s Ancestor Vein Power was even stronger than the Third Prince of Xuanyue Empire, Xuan Zhi, which was absolutely unimaginable. After all, which family’s heritage in the entire Xuanyue Empire could surpass that of the Xuanyue Royal Family?

Ancestor Vein cultivation emphasizes inheritance—the stronger the ancestors, the greater the chance the descendants have to inherit the Ancestor Vein and the more formidable it becomes. This concept has been deeply ingrained in all cultivators from the beginning of their cultivation.

Certainly, there are also some special circumstances, for instance, a cultivator might evolve their Ancestor Vein Power when they reach a particular level due to some serendipitous event, or by consuming some special Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

Or, some powerful high-level Meridian Refining Masters have heaven-defying methods to enhance the grade of Ancestor Veins, typically requiring at least an Earth Rank Meridian Refining Master level, invoking a trace of Earth Power, to achieve such feats.

Hidden Dragon Continent is considered the lowest plane of Nine Dragons Continent, where even cultivators of Earth Rank Third Realm are rare, not to mention Earth Rank Meridian Masters.

Thus, when everyone sensed the magnitude of Yun Xiao’s Meridian Qi improvement and considered his family background, they were all utterly baffled. How could such a small family activate an Ancestor Vein of Spiritual Rank?

These talents watching from below the stage were dumbfounded due to Yun Xiao activating the Ancestor Vein Power, but Yun Xiao himself, standing on the stage, was quite dissatisfied with this enhancement.

Because in previous occasions when Yun Xiao activated the Ancestor Vein Power, he at least ascended a small boundary, but now, he merely progressed from the initial peak of Meridian Gathering Realm to the very peak, not even reaching the level of Guan Tong whom he had killed.

In fact, the Ancestor Vein Power activated by Yun Xiao this time was not any different from the previous times; it was just that the energy needed for the peak of Meridian Gathering Realm was much higher than that of lower stages.

Moreover, a major boundary breakthrough was not so easy; the energy needed to break through to the Meridian Rushing Realm would likely be much more than from entering the peak of Meridian Gathering Realm to its very peak.

Since both Yun Xiao and Feng Hang had activated their Ancestor Vein Power, allowing their cultivation to rise, the gap between them was actually narrowed. Therefore, with a slight despondency, Yun Xiao had already set his mind and was prepared to face the upcoming intense battle.

Yun Xiao believed that the Ancestor Vein Power should be Feng Hang’s last resort. As long as he could withstand it, the final outcome might very well fall into his own hands.