His sword strike fell like a stone into the sea, achieving no effect.
Even Zhang Ergou hadn't made a move, and the green-robed man was filled with astonishment. He was a peak Golden Core early-stage expert, yet he couldn't deal with a cultivator who had just broken through to the early Golden Core stage.
The green-robed man changed his thrust to a slash, sending sharp sword qi towards Zhang Ergou.
Zhang Ergou remained unmoved. If it were before his breakthrough, he might have had to treat the incoming sword qi with caution. But times had changed; Zhang Ergou was not the same Zhang Ergou from yesterday.
With a casual wave of his hand, a palm print met the green sword qi.
*Boom!*
A deafening explosion echoed. As the dust settled, Zhang Ergou stood unharmed. The green-robed man, however, was in a sorry state.
His green robes were tattered, indicating he had suffered considerably.
Moreover, the green-robed man's face was even more grim, with blood trickling from his lips – a sign of backlash.
"Holy hell, no way. Is Zhang Ergou this powerful already? Senior Brother Lu is an expert on par with Qian Wenchao."
"Don't be ridiculous. Haven't you heard that Zhang Ergou killed Qian Wenchao earlier? And now this guy is unharmed. It seems the elders are no longer pursuing that matter."
"This is outrageous. Zhang Ergou killed someone and isn't being held accountable? The elders are too biased."
Below the combat stage, the surrounding disciples were in an uproar, clearly finding Zhang Ergou's transformation hard to accept.
No matter what they said, it couldn't change the fact that Zhang Ergou had grown stronger. All they could do was grumble from the sidelines.
Lu Xiao, however, thought differently. He had been a seasoned Golden Core expert for nearly ten years after breaking through to the early Golden Core stage.
Zhang Ergou had only broken through a few days ago. How could he possibly contend with him? The damage Zhang Ergou had inflicted earlier was, in his opinion, mere luck.
"Watch this sword!"
Lu Xiao roared. At this moment, he seemed like a changed man, fully focused, his eyes fixed on Zhang Ergou.
He was extremely confident in this move; no one at the same level could withstand it.
"Look, what is that? Sword intent?" the surrounding disciples exclaimed in shock.
"Don't be absurd. Sword intent? Even the senior disciple of Spirit Sword Peak hasn't comprehended sword intent. How could Lu Xiao possibly have?"
"Exactly. Isn't it said that only Nascent Soul stage mighty figures can comprehend sword intent? If Lu Xiao had comprehended sword intent, he would have been number one on the Inner Sect Ranking long ago."
"Then what is that?"
"It's merely a combination of sword qi and soul power. A crooked path!" some disciples were not optimistic about Lu Xiao's move.
"Hmph, trying to compete with me in soul power."
Zhang Ergou smiled, a genuinely happy smile. He didn't take the soul power of Golden Core stage opponents seriously.
"Go!"
Zhang Ergou grunted. The Ghost Spear Tianwen flew straight towards the green longsword. Zhang Ergou's spiritual sense coalesced into the shape of a long spear and thrust towards his opponent.
"Ah! *Pfft!*"
After a scream, Lu Xiao coughed up a mouthful of blood. His face turned as pale as paper; the previous attack had severely injured him.
"I concede!"
He gritted out the words, leaning heavily on his longsword as he limped off the combat stage.
His retreating figure seemed somewhat desolate, clearly showing that Zhang Ergou's impact on him was significant.
"What happened? Why did Lu Xiao concede so easily?"
The surrounding disciples were bewildered. Zhang Ergou had merely pointed his spear towards Lu Xiao, and the tip hadn't even touched him.
Then they saw Lu Xiao cough up blood, turn deathly pale, and concede before leaving the stage.
The onlookers were utterly confused. They naturally didn't realize that Zhang Ergou and Lu Xiao's battle had involved soul attacks.
Soul attacks were invisible to the naked eye, hence the confusion among many.
Naturally, no one explained what had happened. However, the experts ranked on the Inner Sect Ranking, hidden in the shadows, frowned.
They were not ordinary disciples. Zhang Ergou had clearly held back in his attack on Lu Xiao; otherwise, Lu Xiao would have been reduced to an idiot.
Next, an interesting scene unfolded.
...
"Zhang Ergou, I concede. I am number seventy on the Inner Sect Ranking. Your turn."
Indeed, the experts on the Inner Sect Ranking were cowering. This was already the ninth disciple from the Inner Sect Ranking to come and surrender.
Zhang Ergou's ranking on the Inner Sect Ranking soared, quickly breaking into the top seventy.
This was not the end. More experts from the Inner Sect Ranking continued to arrive, stepping onto the combat stage solely to utter a single word: "Concede."
These individuals were terrified. They estimated that with their own strength, they could absolutely not withstand Zhang Ergou's soul attack.
Furthermore, they were not cultivators specializing in souls. Their soul power was naturally not as potent as Zhang Ergou's, and their soul defenses were extremely fragile.
If they were hit by Zhang Ergou, at best, they would be like Lu Xiao, needing two to three months of recovery. At worst, an accidental blow could turn them into imbeciles, a loss far outweighing any gain.
Rankings on the Inner Sect Ranking were merely fleeting fame; they were not as important as their own lives.
At this moment, these Inner Sect Ranking experts had all come to terms with reality.
Zhang Ergou leaped to number sixty on the Inner Sect Ranking, and it was still not over, with more experts from the Inner Sect Ranking queuing up.
"What is going on? What's with all you experts?"
The Inner Sect disciples watching from below were bewildered. They had come all this way to watch, and this was what they got.
This was disrespecting the audience, wasn't it? Was this a concession convention?
The experts on the Inner Sect Ranking paid no mind to the feelings of these spectators. They had no deep-seated hatred for Zhang Ergou.
What was a ranking on the Inner Sect list? What harm would it do to give it to him?
Zhang Ergou was also dumbfounded, watching one Golden Core stage cultivator after another with imposing auras walk up to him and concede.
He was at a loss. What was wrong with these people? Where was their pride?
Where was their dominance as Inner Sect experts?
Zhang Ergou was numb. He had lost count of how many this was. A perfectly good challenge arena had turned into this, leaving him utterly perplexed.
But it didn't matter. Seeing his ranking climb rapidly, Zhang Ergou leaned on his Ghost Spear Tianwen and let out a helpless yawn.
He also wanted to know what had happened to make these once arrogant Inner Sect Ranking experts behave like entirely different people.
But no one told him, so Zhang Ergou could only passively accept...
"A bunch of cowards. Zhang Ergou has only just broken through to the early Golden Core stage, and you're already this scared?"
Suddenly, a sarcastic voice rang out, clearly showing displeasure at everyone conceding to Zhang Ergou.
Those who knew the truth, the experts on the Inner Sect Ranking, shook their heads, silently pitying this gentleman.
Too young, you are!
At the same time, a figure soared onto the combat stage. Upon seeing the newcomer, Zhang Ergou's spirits immediately lifted...