Chapter 190: Absolute Crushing

The Battle Shadow cracked all over, clearly at a disadvantage in the recent clash.

Jiang Yan felt incredibly excited about this!

“Only a battle like this can truly be considered tempering~”

Battle Intent recondensed, the cracks restored as if new, and the glow became purer.

The Battle Shadow was born for battle—as long as Battle Intent remained unextinguished, the battle body would not perish.

Immense power gathered within Jiang Yan. At this moment, he seemed to resonate sublimely with his own Martial Intent.

It was exalting, craving for even purer combat.

“I’ll satisfy you!”

Jiang Yan engaged the Yin Demon in battle. Locking onto its aura, he discerned every subtle change in its movements.

Its extreme speed no longer served as an advantage, forcing it into a head-on confrontation with Jiang Yan.

The Battle Shadow hummed, the long saber whistled, and within his Spirit Platform, Spiritual Power surged like a blazing sun.

The Yin Demon had thoroughly ignited Jiang Yan’s desire for battle.

“Then I’ll use you to temper my Martial Intent!”

Zzz~

The Yin Demon roared,

locked in fierce combat with Jiang Yan.

It went from having the upper hand at the start to being unable to sustain the fight.

Jiang Yan was growing stronger, his Martial Intent continuously evolving.

Meanwhile, the Yin Demon, unable to devour flesh and blood, had its limits clearly defined.

Finally, the Annihilating Cloud Slash cleverly struck the Yin Demon as it moved at high speed.

[System Log Updated]

“You triggered the Instant Kill Law. You successfully slew the Yin Demon.”

Jiang Yan descended from the sky, panting heavily.

So tired, utterly exhausted in body and mind.

The Yin Demon truly lived up to its name as a demon, an existence that could make the entire Tianyuan Star tremble. It was a completely different creature compared to that underdeveloped Pei Qin from before.

Jiang Yan realized that the Yin Demon likely had many techniques it hadn’t even used before being hastily slain by the Instant Kill Trait.

“What a shame,” he thought.

But immediately, he no longer felt it was a shame.

Because the earth was trembling.

Only then did Jiang Yan belatedly realize—

This place was called the “Endless Demonic Sea,” not… the “Yin Demon Cave.”

The sky darkened.

In Jiang Yan’s vision, clusters of black shadows projected from the ground.

The sky, too, was occupied.

In the distance, that towering skeleton trembled slightly before settling back into stillness.

“Yin Demon.”

“Scorching Sun Demon.”

“Heart-Imprisoning Hell Demon.”

“Limit-Bound Wrath Demon.”

“Extreme Domain Demon.”

…

And the one Jiang Yan was familiar with… “Sky Demon.”

Maintaining his composure, Jiang Yan smiled and said, “Hello”.

Boom!

Pain shot through his back—Jiang Yan realized it too late.

The next second, his Physical Body directly shattered and disintegrated.

“Sigh~ So rude.”

With his final thought before death, he couldn’t even be bothered to use the [Time Law]. When a battle served no tempering purpose, there was no point in continuing.

“Damn, this Endless Demonic Sea is too sneaky!”

Jiang Yan exited the Battle Space, complaining speechlessly.

No wonder, no wonder the rewards for this Instance were so generous—the trap was buried right here.

Barely managed to kill one Yin Demon?

Great, next they’d show you what a “Demonic Sea” truly meant.

A complete slaughter that served no purpose in combat, so Jiang Yan decisively exited, not wasting any more time.

Outside, he sat cross-legged and began absorbing Qi with the Chaotic Void Ancestral Spirit.

The Domain placed high demands on all aspects of a Martial Artist. Jiang Yan needed to balance the components of his Domain as much as possible, without favoring one over another.

Jiang Yan managed to find some calm here.

Meanwhile, outside, many planets were stirring with undercurrents due to the “Prodigy Championship” that Lightning Studio was about to host.

The competition funded with massive investment by Lightning Studio naturally offered incredibly generous rewards, but more importantly, rumors circulated that those who performed exceptionally well in the tournament had a chance to catch the studio’s eye.

As long as one could receive training from Lightning Studio, cultivation resources for the rest of their life would no longer be a concern.

But what they didn’t know was that the opportunity they so desperately longed for—to be noticed by Lightning Studio—had already been monopolized by Jiang Yan through backdoor connections.

This time, Lightning Studio had only sent someone in advance to approach Jiang Yan.

The director was certain that no one could surpass Jiang Yan.

Slaying a Seventh Rank Peak Punisher—such strength placed him firmly at the absolute pinnacle of the younger generation in the Galactic Domain.

To establish oneself in the universe, strength was undoubtedly crucial, but the vision to dare to invest was equally important.

Hill Prison Star.

“Father, rest assured. I have endured in silence for many years, waiting precisely for this perfect opportunity.”

“With my Seventh Rank Realm, I am confident I can sweep away all formidable foes! At that time, the decline of the Empire will end with me!”

“Hahaha, my son, your father has always known you were the best. Go now. The insider information I obtained from Lightning Studio at great cost will surely be accurate. As long as you shine brightly in the competition, you will undoubtedly catch the studio’s attention.”

“By then, those rebels, out of respect for the myriad realms, will have to weigh whether it’s worth acting against us.”

In their heartfelt exchange, father and son had already mapped out a grand blueprint for the future.

Meanwhile, Lilia, who was playing games in her hotel room, suddenly sneezed.

Achoo!

“Hmm, who’s talking about me?”

Just then, a video call came through.

“Hello, this is Lilia.”

“Oh, you want to buy insider information too? Sure, sure.”

“The information has been sent. I guarantee it’s authentic~”

“No need to thank me. What’s between friends? We’re sisters, after all.”

“What money? Why talk about money between us? Just transfer it directly to my account. The ID is…”

Lilia hung up with a giggle, then wiped the cheerful smile from her face, putting on her headphones with an expression of disdain.

“Are there really fools buying insider information from me?”

“Hehe, there are so many suckers these days. Do they really think Lightning Studio would take an interest in them?”

“They’ve already reserved the spot long ago. Hehe, whatever. More money for games~”

Lilia thought happily.

There were always people who tried to obtain insider information about Lightning Studio through her connections, thinking they could gain an advantage. Little did they know how foolish such behavior was.

If she, Lilia, dared to sell actual company information today, she’d be detected by the company’s monitoring systems the next second and executed on the spot.

But while real information couldn’t be sold, no one said she couldn’t make things up.

“Sigh.” She sighed. “What you all crave, someone else has already obtained.”

In two days, she would have to pick up Jiang Yan to participate in that Prodigy Competition, put on a symbolic fight, and then build momentum to expand his reputation.

This tournament was essentially designed to promote Jiang Yan, which was why it had been so heavily advertised, leading many factions to believe Lightning Studio was going all out to cultivate a new universe superstar.

“Tsk tsk, to slay a Seventh Rank Peak Punisher at such a young age—once that news breaks, it’s sure to shock everyone in the Galactic Domain, right?”

In the universe, an Eighth Rank Transcendent can stand alone and roam the void.

According to the realm divisions of Blue Star.

The first to ninth ranks are divided into Body Tempering, Blood Coagulation, Innate, Inner Astral, Comprehending the Mysteries, Dust-Severing, True Mystery, Celestial Phenomenon, and Peak Martial Saint.

In reality, both Body Tempering and Blood Coagulation focus on physical training and can actually be considered the same rank.

That is to say, Blue Star’s Martial Saint can only be considered as the eighth rank in terms of realm division.

The Transcendent Civilization around Blue Star is actually not fully developed either; otherwise, with only the peak combat power of the eighth rank, Blue Star would have been destroyed tens of thousands of times over.

Therefore, being able to slay an Eighth-Rank Punisher at the age of nineteen, even though its strength was suppressed to the Seventh Rank by the Lava Crystal, is still enough to dominate the younger generation.

Not perhaps, but absolutely dominate.