Chapter 575 316: Shattering the Vajra

Though small in stature, it crashed down with the force of a great mountain.

Su Chen was already in his Soldier Body state and simply raised a hand.

CLANG! The sound of metal striking metal erupted, as if two slabs of iron had collided, sending blinding sparks flying.

The projection wasted no time on words, its movements relentless. The ringing of their blows was incessant.

'His strength is about the same as when I fought Old Wei. This guy is about to advance to Tier Seven, and with his Holy Profession, he's definitely not to be underestimated.'

Su Chen sparred with it for a moment and quickly got a general idea of Qin Tianlin's current strength.

'Back when I first became a Vajra Venerable, before I went through the Melting Holy Profession, it would've taken some real effort to beat him.'

But now... A glint flashed in Su Chen's eyes. Blood-red flames erupted around him as he instantly entered his peak state and chopped down with the edge of his palm.

CLANG—

A sharp clang of metal on metal rang out. Qin Tianlin's fist slammed into the edge of the palm, and the dark-gold Energy covering it fractured into a spiderweb of cracks. The joints in his fingers groaned, unable to bear the strain.

The projection felt no pain. Its knee shot toward Su Chen's ribs with the speed of lightning. In the outside world, that single blow could have shattered a great mountain.

But Su Chen's left hand simply dropped, smoothly pinning the incoming knee. His right hand, wreathed in a dark-red heatwave, had already landed on the side of Qin Tianlin's temple.

In that instant, the power of his blow surged to Tier Eight. His muscles bulged as he unleashed his full strength!

Terrifying power erupted. Qin Tianlin's entire body flew sideways as Su Chen smashed his head into the ground.

BOOM!

The arena's durability far surpassed that of his training room. With a deafening rumble, a shockwave erupted, and stray arcs of Energy crackled through the air.

A CRACKING sound rang out. The single blow shattered Qin Tianlin's head, and the projection rapidly dissipated.

'A Holy Profession is powerful, but it still needs a solid foundation to reach its full potential.' Su Chen relaxed his stance and deactivated his various abilities.

His own power was an accumulation of improvements, all thanks to the Enhanced Ability born from his various Training Techniques.

'Then again, I heard he's about to advance to Tier Seven. His strength will jump to another level when that happens.'

'Sun Residual Fire... Your grandfather really dotes on you, doesn't he...' Su Chen mused to himself.

Qin Tianlin pushed open the door and walked out, having changed into a fresh set of clothes. Though he hadn't yet recovered to his peak condition, it was good enough.

He closed the door and looked up. At the very top of the massive virtual screen in the center of the arena, his name shone brilliantly.

His mood became increasingly cheerful. 'So this is the best the younger generation of the Dust Star Sea, the Royal Court, and the Five Great Sects has to offer... Not much at all...'

Qin Tianlin headed straight for the arena exit. Before he even reached the main gate, he noticed that the crowd outside had grown considerably since he first went in.

Every single person was looking up, their faces filled with amazement.

He immediately spotted Han Xingliu and a few others. They were of such high status that no one dared approach them. Their brows were furrowed, their expressions grave.

Xiao Linfeng's eyes were narrowed, his expression clearly just as stern.

'Qing Cang is here too...' Qin Tianlin's gaze swept over to find Qing Cang also looking up, an expression of what seemed to be relief and gratification on his face.

'To see an expression like that on Qing Cang's face... It just goes to show, strength is the only thing that truly matters.'

Qin Tianlin scanned the crowd, feeling increasingly pleased. 'Although Qing Cang and my grandfather don't get along, it couldn't hurt to try and reach out.'

Suddenly, his eyes met those of a middle-aged man who was staring straight at him, his gaze filled with a fiery intensity. On his chest was a Dark Moon emblem.

'The Dark Moon Group...' He vaguely recalled hearing of the organization. 'They're not exactly a minor player in the Dust Star Sea, and now it seems they're looking at me with quite a bit of reverence.'

Qin Tianlin stood at the entrance for a moment, feeling increasingly delighted. He wore what he considered to be a modest and restrained expression.

Just as he was about to step forward and bask in the crowd's admiration, he heard a voice from out of nowhere:

"So the rumors were true. Qin Tianlin is impressive, but he's always been overshadowed by Su Chen. He didn't even get to warm the first-place seat before it was snatched away."

What?

Qin Tianlin's expression froze. Disbelief surged through him. He whipped his head around, his gaze snapping back up the massive screen, and his pupils contracted to pinpricks.

In the brief moments between him confirming his name was at the very top and him walking to the exit, the name "Qin Tianlin" had already dropped from first to second place.

And the name now above his was—Su Chen!