In the Holy See.
Morning light sprinkled on the front of the church. Pious believers worshipped the sacred statue with solemn reverence, a scene that was both solemn and sacred. However, they would never have imagined that the one they worshipped was not God, but merely a powerful cultivator from the depths of space.
When Zhang Fan and a few others appeared above the Holy See, their unmasked, powerful auras were exceptionally striking. Watching the six figures hovering in the air, the believers worshipping below were momentarily stunned. Then, realizing what was happening, they mistook them for messengers of God and began to worship them, their devout expressions unable to conceal their excitement.
"A bunch of idiots!"
Xue Jing was particularly disgusted by the Holy See's methods of evangelism. With a soft snort, he waved his hand and unleashed a colossal palm strike, shattering the immense sacred statue that had stood before the church for a hundred years.
"Scram, or do you want to die?"
Looking at the stunned crowd below, Xue Jing bellowed. His voice, carrying immense pressure, resonated throughout the entire Holy See. The ordinary people felt as if the world was spinning and they were about to fall.
After a moment, they regained their senses and fled outwards in a frenzy.
The once solemn and sacred church, due to Xue Jing's palm strike, had its sacred statue shattered, and a massive pit was blasted into the ground before the church, as if struck by a natural disaster.
"Austan, come out and face your death!"
Xue Jing gathered his energy and roared, his voice imbued with spiritual sense that covered the entire Holy See.
Within the Holy See, some of the Saints who were in seclusion cultivation were suddenly swept by a powerful spiritual sense, causing them to immediately spit out a mouthful of blood, their eyes filled with shock. They were instantly severely injured.
As for those transcendent beings with slightly weaker strength, their minds fell into chaos and they fainted after being brushed by Xue Jing's powerful spiritual sense.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Sounds of breaking wind came from all directions within the Holy See. The divine realm and core-forming realm powerhouses of the Holy See were all alarmed and appeared simultaneously.
"Six divine realm experts, five core-forming realm experts. It seems the Holy See has developed quite well over the years!" Xue Jing observed the gathered powerhouses opposite him, unconcerned, with a hint of mockery in his tone.
"Blood Ancestor?"
The white-robed elder at the front, the strongest among the arbitrators, was merely at the peak of the mid-stage core-forming realm.
Initially, he had felt a surge of joy upon seeing Zhang Fan. Zhang Fan had stolen their Holy See's treasure, the 'Heart of Sacred Light,' and they had been searching for him ever since.
A year ago, Zhang Fan had appeared in China and fought against four core-forming realm experts, killing them all. This news had already spread throughout the martial arts world in China, and with the influence of the Holy See, they had naturally received it as well.
They did not know how Zhang Fan's strength had increased so rapidly, but they did not care. As long as Zhang Fan dared to appear at the Holy See, they could immediately awaken the Arbitrator Lord.
With the Arbitrator Lord's strength, killing Zhang Fan would be effortless.
However, what they did not expect was that accompanying Zhang Fan to the Holy See was none other than the Blood Ancestor of the Blood Race, who had not appeared for several hundred years.
Coupled with the Pope, who had recently broken through to the core-forming realm, three of their five arbitrators had experienced the great war against the Blood Race hundreds of years ago.
They had seen the Blood Ancestor and had a very deep impression of him. That handsome man with skin as fair as jade was undoubtedly their Holy See's most feared enemy.
Even their Arbitrator Lord had only managed to heavily injure the Blood Ancestor through a scheme. Even so, their Holy See had only managed to gain the upper hand in that great war, not achieving a true victory.
After all, their Holy See had lost quite a few core-forming realm experts in that great war, and their Arbitrator Lord had also been injured by the Blood Ancestor.
But now, looking at the Blood Ancestor's current appearance, his injuries seemed to have completely recovered, which made the arbitrators present feel uneasy.
With the Blood Ancestor's strength, dealing with a group of core-forming realm cultivators like them would result in a one-sided massacre once they clashed.
"Quickly go and awaken Lord Arbitrator!"
The leading white-robed elder's deep voice carried a hint of tremor. He had completely disregarded Zhang Fan. The arrival of the Blood Ancestor made him realize that a world-shattering battle, one that would determine the survival of their Holy See, was likely to erupt today.
"Austan, that sinister fellow, is still asleep. I don't believe it!"
Xue Jing took a step forward and stomped down on the Holy See. A massive bloody footprint condensed beneath his foot and headed directly towards the church!
The immense power unleashed by the Blood Ancestor's stomp made the five arbitrators tremble. The strength of a second-grade Golden Core cultivator was far beyond their ability to resist.
Thus, they could only watch helplessly as the giant bloody footprint descended towards the sacred church in their hearts.
Just as the massive bloody footprint was about to land on the church, a snow-white spear flew out from within the church and collided with the bloody footprint.
With a low thud, the bloody footprint stomped by Xue Jing was scattered by the snow-white spear, transforming into a mist of blood that enveloped the sky above the church.
"Brother Xue Jing, it's been centuries, must you destroy my old lair the moment we meet?"
As a voice emanated from the Holy See, everyone saw a middle-aged man clad in a silver holy robe, with an exceedingly kind face, emerge from the mist of blood and hover in the air, facing Xue Jing from a distance.
"Lord Arbitrator!"
The group of core-forming realm and divine realm powerhouses from the Holy See were filled with excitement upon seeing the middle-aged man.
"Another Golden Core realm expert!"
Wuchen Jianxian felt immense pressure from the middle-aged man, no less than the pressure Xue Jing exerted on him. This made him realize that the middle-aged man was likely also a second-grade Golden Core realm expert.
"Austan!"
Xue Jing's eyes blazed with intense fighting spirit. Due to his carelessness in the great war hundreds of years ago, he had suffered significant losses at Austan's hands. Now that his strength had fully recovered, he intended to reclaim his honor.
"Today, not only will I destroy your lair, but I will also slay you with my axe and eliminate all of your subordinates here!" Xue Jing, with his forthright nature, directly stated his intentions.
"Brother Xue Jing and I are both here for the opportunities on this planet. We are fellow travelers on the path of cultivation. There aren't many people on this planet I can speak with, and Brother Xue Jing is one of them. Why must we fight to the death!" Austan said gently.
"Enough with the nonsense. A battle between us is inevitable. Today, your cultivation path ends here!"
Xue Jing waved his hand and retrieved a blood-red battle axe from his storage space, which was only a few square meters in size. An awe-inspiring aura of malevolence emanated from the massive axe.
"This fellow seems to have something good on him!" Zhang Fan smiled as he saw the blood-red battle axe in Xue Jing's hand, for he could tell that it was a mid-grade spiritual treasure with considerable power.
"Although Brother Xue Jing has not emerged for centuries, your confidence has not diminished. Why are you so certain you can slay me with your axe?" Austan held his snow-white spear, his expression calm, as if he did not take Xue Jing seriously at all.
"Hahahaha, though we are both second-grade Golden Core cultivators, you should understand that I condensed six Dao patterns for my Golden Core, while you only condensed five!"
"Even if you have reached the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm now, you cannot hope to escape my grasp alive!"
Xue Jing said proudly. Six Dao patterns for a Golden Core was the apex among second-grade Golden Cores, second only to first-grade Golden Core cultivators. Xue Jing had every right to be arrogant.
"Brother Xue Jing's insight remains as sharp as ever. Although the spiritual energy on this planet is extremely sparse, I have also found some fortuitous encounters, allowing me to break through a minor realm." Austan smiled slightly, not concealing his words.
When Xue Jing and Austan arrived on Earth, both were only at the early stage of the Golden Core realm. Although Xue Jing had stayed on Earth for over a thousand years, he had spent most of that time sleeping and recuperating.
Furthermore, the spiritual energy on Earth was too thin. Simply condensing a Golden Core on Earth was an incredibly difficult feat, let alone a cultivator who had reached the Golden Core realm trying to advance their cultivation, which was as difficult as ascending to heaven.
Xue Jing ignored Austan's words. He gripped the massive battle axe with his snow-white hands and leaped forward, cleaving directly at Austan.
He knew Austan was a chatterbox, and if they continued like this, this battle would never begin today.
Therefore, he did not engage in any further pleasantries and attacked directly.
...
ps; I hope everyone will leave more comments and urge for updates. The author will have more motivation to write!