Chapter 76

Chapter 76: Wrathless Aspect vs Blood God Sacrifice

The blood dragon roared, snapping at the air as if it had a will of its own.

Lin Zhao flared her Phoenix Wings and swept her spiritual power outward, forcing every disciple—hers and theirs—away from her battle zone with Ji Xiao.

Seeing it, Ji Xiao’s lips curled in contempt. “Soft-hearted.”

Lin Zhao didn’t answer.

Against a madman like Ji Xiao, there was only one language that mattered.

Beat him until he stopped.

“You’ve really made me angry today,” Lin Zhao said.

Phoenix Wings flared.

In the next instant, she was in front of him.

The blood dragon lunged and swallowed her in one bite.

Ji Xiao sneered, voice thick with cruelty. “That’s all you’ve got? Not even half as good as your big talk.”

Inside the blood dragon, azure light flashed beneath Lin Zhao’s feet.

Phoenix Fortune surged, forming Azure Phoenix again. It tore the dragon open from within, crying to the sky.

Lin Zhao burst free, blue flames trailing from her wings, Bone Sword clenched tight. “Whatever tricks you have,” she said, eyes cold, “bring them all out.”

With Greedless Aspect, Ji Xiao’s half-formed Core Aspect couldn’t harm her.

But Lin Zhao didn’t relax.

Ji Xiao was a direct heir of the Ji Family. Zhao Ji Xing had strange methods like Spirit and Self as One—there was no chance Ji Xiao had no other hidden cards.

Ji Xiao rolled his jaw, loosened his shoulders, and laughed.

He rode his saber upward and charged straight at Lin Zhao.

“You think your body is strong?”

When they were only inches apart, both threw a punch at the same time.

No technique.

No flourish.

Pure physical impact.

The collision cracked the air.

The shock forced Lin Zhao back six steps.

Ji Xiao slid back only three.

He steadied, wiped blood from the corner of his mouth, and sneered. “Your physique is nothing special.”

Lin Zhao’s eyes narrowed. Her gaze sharpened, assessing him in a new way.

Out of everyone she had faced, Ji Xiao was the most troublesome.

But above Ji Xiao stood Ji Wan Tang—someone she would definitely go after.

She had paid too much for this tournament. Suffered too much just to reclaim her Phoenix Fortune.

If she fell here simply because Ji Xiao’s body could match hers, it would be ridiculous.

Lin Zhao curled her lips. “Nothing special?” Her eyes flicked to the blood he’d wiped away. “Then why are you bleeding? You forced your power down, didn’t you?”

Even if she didn’t trust herself, she trusted Granny’s judgment. Granny had said her body had reached the peak an Enlightenment cultivator could reach. Even an ordinary Golden Core physique might not truly surpass it.

And Ji Xiao was still only Enlightenment.

Exposed, Ji Xiao didn’t flare. Instead, his smile turned sharper. “Then let me show you what real despair looks like. You Crippled Phoenix should understand the gap between your Lin Family and our Ji Family.”

He formed seals.

Faint purple-red ripples flowed across his skin like living patterns.

Lin Zhao didn’t hesitate. She surged forward, golden light blazing, and unleashed Thousand Spirit Slash straight at his throat.

Ji Xiao faced the strike that could crush an ordinary late-stage Enlightenment cultivator and smiled.

The purple-red patterns spread, bathing him in blood-red light.

He reached out and crushed Thousand Spirit Slash with his bare hand.

Then he rushed in and threw another punch, heat and fury roaring off him.

“Ninth-grade spiritual skill,” he snarled. “Blood God Rage!”

Lin Zhao blocked with Bone Sword, golden light flaring again.

Indestructible Golden Body!

Fist and sword collided, again and again, each strike aimed at vital points. The air trembled with the violence of it, as if a sea of blood lay between them.

“Die, Lin Zhao!” Ji Xiao’s murderous light thickened. His voice rose, ragged with fury. “Blood God Rage only grows stronger as my anger rises. How dare you fight me at close range while I’m empowered by it?”

Lin Zhao’s eyes didn’t redden.

They only cooled further.

Azure light flashed under her feet. Blue flames wrapped her body as she slipped aside with sudden grace, dodging his punch by a hair.

Ji Xiao laughed loudly. “So you’re scared after all? You don’t dare face me head-on anymore?”

Lin Zhao looked at him like he was a fool. “Idiot.”

That single word nearly made Ji Xiao choke on his own rage.

“When I catch you,” he roared, “I’ll skin you alive!”

He gripped his saber, spiritual energy forcing him to hover for a heartbeat. The saber hummed—and the flesh between his brows wriggled.

Then it opened.

An eye.

A blood-red pupil, eerie and ominous, filled with rage and madness. It devoured his spiritual energy at a terrifying rate.

“Die to this,” Ji Xiao said, face deathly pale, grin twisted. “And you should be satisfied.”

Forcing out a move like this without reaching Golden Core strained him to the brink.

Lin Zhao’s breathing slowed. The blood-red pupil locked onto her like a predator’s gaze, and for a fraction of a heartbeat, she stilled.

Deep in the forest, an aura flashed and vanished—then hid itself again as her spiritual energy rose.

Ji Xiao lifted his chin, smug even in strain. “This technique is human-grade—beyond ninth-grade.” His voice rang with vicious pride. “Blood God Sacrifice. It borrows a portion of Blood God’s power. Lin Zhao, I don’t believe you’ll survive this!”

Lin Zhao’s lips curved into a strange smile.

“Isn’t that what I should be saying,” she said softly, “to you?”

Golden light shifted.

It was no longer a simple sheen.

Faint golden lotuses bloomed across her body, layered with a calm, luminous dignity.

Indestructible Golden Body, second level—Wrathless Aspect!

Her face went pale as the power surged.

She had just finished fighting Zhao Ji Xing. Now she was facing an erupted Ji Xiao.

Even with Phoenix Pulse Art at the sixth level, her body was being pushed too hard.

But Lin Zhao believed the result would be worth the cost.

“You think you’re the only one using me?” she said, smile bright and cold. “Then, Your Excellency, please appreciate this Indestructible Golden Body—spurred on by your savage aura.”