Chapter 116: Peerless War God

The body of the Celestial Prince, weathered by the erosion of the Origin Blood Curse and baptized by the True Dragon Essence Blood and Nirvana Phoenix Blood at the Immortal King level, has reached an astonishing degree of power, leaving the Immortals watching before the ancient mirror in awe.

"What terrifying regenerative abilities and formidable physique. If he achieves immortality, he will surely be outstanding among the Immortals."

"The convergence of dragon and phoenix bodes well, a supreme geographical blessing rarely seen across the ages, all fulfilled by a single being, transforming him beyond imagination."

The Immortals expressed such amazement, placing increasing value on Gencun.

"We are fortunate that this young human's unmatched talent was uncovered before he was scooped up by the War God Academy. Had it been any later, not only Immortals but even Immortal Kings might have scrambled to take him as a disciple.

After all, the tale of master and disciple both becoming kings would resound through eternity."

"Regarding Gencun's situation, I have already contacted our friends in the Luo family, informing them that the academy has taken in a seed of an Immortal King. Perhaps soon, representatives from the Luo family will arrive."

As they spoke, the scenes within the ancient mirror gradually changed.

Gencun exhibited incredible resilience and adaptability, significantly enhancing his combat awareness after enduring a severe beating.

From being barely able to hold his ground at first, he now engages in a back-and-forth battle with the two-toned figure, an improvement achieved in an incredibly short time, requiring extremely stringent conditions.

For instance, extraordinary recovery capabilities, akin to an undying cockroach, offering margins for error to cultivators, and the cultivator themselves possessing extraordinary learning capabilities and combat talent.

Without such talent, a cultivator would still be beaten even after ten battles.

And combat talent, too, has various levels; what Gencun has shown is undoubtedly top-tier, receiving acknowledgment and admiration from all Immortals at the War God Academy.

Now, his mind is free from thoughts of gain or loss, no longer pondering whether he can defeat the opponent, pass the seventh challenge, stand shoulder to shoulder with that legendary youth from the Imperial tribe, or fearing failure and how the academy's high command might assess him afterward.

Gencun's sole focus is on how to counter each cunning strike from his opponent, transitioning from unpredictability and being caught off guard to gradual adaptation, and eventually anticipating attacks in advance.

This dimensional leap left the watching Immortals awestruck.

"He seems born for battle," remarked Gumo, about to become Gencun's guardian, unable to withhold such admiration.

Later, Gencun astonishingly managed to wound the guardian of the Seventh Layer, delivering a punch to the opponent's right cheek that caused the two-toned, blood-clad figure to stumble.

"What?"

An Immortal observer before the ancient mirror exclaimed, shocked by Gencun's achievement.

"The guardian with two-toned blood of the Seventh Layer should possess combat awareness just below that of the Supreme.

Gencun is tens of thousands of miles away from reaching the Supreme threshold; yet at just the peak of the Boiling Blood realm, he adapted to this domain."

The Immortal marveled, questioning his own capability to reach such a level.

But Gencun did, and using that punch as a starting point, he surged ahead, unleashing a flurry of punches like a net, enveloping the two-toned figure.

"Boom!"

Gencun once again tapped into his innate potential, channeling it all into the auspicious celestial tableau depicting the dragon and phoenix on his back.

Though his mastery was not advanced enough to unleash the full power of the royal bloodline, the combined effect of his talents created an extraordinary impact.

In an instant, the dynamics of attack and defense shifted dramatically, and Gencun grew more audacious in battle. He even began to wield an ancient punch technique recorded in the Gumo Scripture—the Gumo Punch.

Despite his lack of proficiency, only grasping the basics, the enhancement was visibly evident.

This was akin to imbuing his fists with extraordinary combat skills, elevating his approach far beyond relying on mere combat instincts and brute strength.

With the dragon and phoenix energy aligned, with a guiding principle and leadership, the power of his punches increased geometrically.

This demonstrated the critical importance of technique.

A Gencun employing the Gumo Punch could easily suppress his earlier self without such a technique. After all, this form of martial arts was created by an immortal and akin to a genuine immortal punching technique within the primal ancient realm.

"Bam!"

The two-toned figure's arm was shattered on the spot, stumbling backward.

Gencun, naturally refusing to allow it any reprieve, launched himself forward like a human-shaped bolt of lightning, closing the gap instantaneously.

Even though the two-toned figure reacted swiftly, blocking continuously, it was repeatedly forced to retreat.

"Is that the Gumo Punch of fellow Daoist Gumo? Its mastery is shallow, yet it's advancing at an impressive pace."

"I truly did not expect him to take the upper hand against the Guardian of the Seventh Layer. The difference had been significant moments ago. One can only say, this being is truly monstrous," an immortal commented.

As the words were uttered, the grand battle of the War God Tower's seventh level reached its conclusion.

With relentless momentum, Gencun pressed the opponent into submission, delivering a final blow to its head. The Gumo Scripture's verses emerged, the whispering voices intensified, as though hundreds of deities and demons were chanting an ancient sutra, accompanied by the cries of a true dragon and a true phoenix. The two-toned figure began disintegrating.

Gencun, having already anticipated this, retreated in advance, distancing himself from the Guardian of the Seventh Layer.

As expected, a tremendous power erupted, with crimson and silver intermingling, enshrouding the entire platform.

It was as though a demon king had awakened, standing tall amidst the two-toned aura.

In this moment, even Gencun, as strong as he was, couldn't help but undergo a shift in expression.

When the silver true blood was fully unleashed, he was convinced that this true blood corresponded to the spatial laws.

Without waiting for Gencun to respond, the space before him flickered, like a stone tossed into a tranquil lake, stirring rippling waves.

"Not good!"

Gencun's eyes widened in shock, unable to react as a blazing red fist suddenly appeared, striking towards his abdomen.

"Thud!"

The punch landed squarely in Gencun's stomach, sending him hurtling backwards. Despite the searing pain twisting through him, he instinctively countered with a move of the ancient Gumo Punch.

"Boom!"

An earth-shattering explosion echoed as Gencun's foresight bore fruit; his punch collided perfectly with the dual-colored figure that materialized through spatial power.

The true blood of two colors vibrated, filled with symbols of immortality, exuding extraordinary might.

Gencun could not withstand it—his punches shattered on impact, bone snapping audibly, leaving him bloodied and battered.

Had it not been for his resilient physique, this blow might have rendered his entire right arm useless.

"It seems he's reached his limit. The power of dual-colored true blood is beyond imagination—it steps into the domain of a Quasi-Immortal King."

An Immortal sighed.

Now, elevating his combat awareness alone won't bridge the gap. Opposing something representing Immortal King Luo Mo's true blood is no simple feat.

Within the archaic mirror, Gencun found himself in an unprecedentedly passive state; the overpowering nature of dual-colored true blood, paired with the elusive nature of silver blood, left him defenseless.

Within a few exchanges, Gencun was covered in wounds. The only reason he still stood was due to Nirvana True Blood, otherwise, he would've long been defeated.

"Boom!"

He fell.

The Guardian made no further move, standing silently, unmoving.

Then, atop the Dao platform, chaotic mist swirled, revealing ancient words of judgment, declaring Gencun's failure.

"The power of dual-colored true blood is indeed terrifying. This is merely the seventh level; how powerful must the three, four, and five-colored true bloods of levels eight, nine, and ten be?"

Gencun sighed, slowly rising from the ground.

He didn't leave immediately, instead stood there for a long time, eyes closed as if savoring the experience.

This trip to the War God Tower had been immensely rewarding for him, making him aware of his inadequacies in combat awareness and resulting in a monumental improvement, which was exceedingly rare.

After a long while, he opened his eyes, traversing the stone pathway beneath his feet, exiting the tower.

Upon stepping out of the War God Tower, auspicious radiance descended from the sky, enveloping his body.

Following it, his reward for clearing levels floated within the glow, descending like a shower of stars, encircling Gencun.

Gencun stored all the rewards inside the ancient ring, gathering the divine sources and ancient pills from the first five levels, as well as the reward for completing the sixth level.

This reward was a massive source of immortality, resembling a small mountain compressed into a space the size of a fist. When placed inside the ancient ring, it expanded dramatically, filling the space with an abundance of ethereal energy, while a vast amount of immortal essence began to permeate throughout.

Gencun was utterly surprised.

The sheer size of this immortal source dwarfed anything Gumo had provided, making them seem insignificant by comparison.

Truly, the wealth of a supreme immortal king was astounding.

Gencun estimated that this mountain-like source of immortality was sufficient for him to cultivate to the later stages of the Human Dao realm, and at an accelerated pace.

For many of the young supreme talents from other realms rising swiftly, the contributions of these immortal sources could not be overstated.

Now, Gencun possessed such resources and confidence as well.

The rewards of the sixth level were already so overwhelming; it was hard to imagine what the rewards for passing the next four levels could be.

The Ancient Immortal Scriptures? Immortal Ancient Pills? Supreme elixirs to aid in transcendent paths?

All were possibilities.

However, to defeat the guardians of the dual-colored true blood, the triple-colored, quadruple-colored, and finally the quintuple-colored true blood, absolute and unrivaled combat strength was required.

Currently, Gencun remained far from that point.

He did not despair, knowing that he was still in the Boiling Blood realm with significant room for growth in the future.

As he secured all the rewards, a special radiance enveloped him, suffusing him with warmth.

Every particle of his flesh seemed to breathe with this sensation, indescribably profound and wondrous.

"The Peerless War God!"

Zifeng, the supreme of the Purple Thunder Royal Clan, approached, astonishment in his eyes.

How many years had it been since the War God Academy birthed a Peerless War God?

Previously, those earning the "War God" title halted at the sixth level, usually retreating swiftly upon entry.

In the years that followed, War Gods would occasionally challenge the elusive sixth level yet always failed.

Unexpectedly, this young human deemed an "Immortal King Seed" by the immortals made history by traversing the sixth level and obtaining the "Peerless War God" title.

That radiant brilliance, surpassing even the glow of the War God title, was more resplendent, imbued with an aura of immortality, and intensely sacred.

From afar, Gencun stood like a youthful immortal, exuding an extraordinary and majestic presence.

"Senior Zi!"

Gencun greeted.

To his surprise, Zifeng, as a supreme being, came over briskly to congratulate him with a beaming smile, "Gencun, congratulations! You have cleared the sixth layer and earned the title of Peerless War God. From now on, all the academy's students will look up to you."

"You flatter me, senior. I have merely passed the sixth layer. In ancient times, there were prodigies from the imperial tribes who reached the seventh layer. I'm still far behind," Gencun replied calmly.

Having always been accustomed to leading, discovering someone stronger than himself stirred a complex mix of emotions within him.

Yet, he couldn't deny the fact that there is always someone greater out there. Being over-confident would only cause one to stagnate.

"Don't mind that. You should know that when that predecessor broke through, they had nearly reached the Realm of Transcendence, while you are just at the Boiling Blood stage. You have plenty of time to catch up," Zifeng consoled.

Gencun gave a bitter smile and was about to respond when a distant, calm, and ancient voice interrupted him."Gencun, come over here."

In the distance, a majestic figure stood, surrounded by an immortal aura, with eyes as deep as the starry sky.

This was an immortal, a high-ranking figure in the War God Academy. Rarely seen, it was difficult to catch a glimpse of him under normal circumstances, yet here he was, summoning Gencun.

Zifeng turned and, upon seeing it was the immortal figure, hurried over to pay his respects."Zifeng greets the immortal Gumo."

Gumo nodded and gestured for him to leave.

Although Zifeng wanted to exchange a few words with the newly crowned Peerless War God and build some rapport, he didn't dare defy the immortal's words and regretfully withdrew.

"Gencun pays his respects to senior Gumo. Thank you for bestowing upon me the Immortal Ancient Ring. Otherwise, I would still be struggling in the Qi-eating stage," Gencun sincerely expressed his gratitude.

Gumo smiled slightly and waved it off.

"Just some useless source materials, nothing much.

In today's performance at the War God Tower, all the immortals witnessed your extraordinary talent. They believe you are an immortal king seed with the potential to one day achieve the Dao and become a king. I firmly hold this belief."

"The seniors are overly praising me. I'm still far off," he sighed inwardly, realizing the high-ranking figures of the War God Academy indeed had means to observe the tower battles.

"Whether it's praise or not, only time will tell. From today onwards, I will be your protector, guiding you in your cultivation."

After speaking, Gumo glanced at Gencun and said, "Hmm, have you reached the peak of the Boiling Blood stage? About to step into the next stage—Mist Swallowing. As far as I know, there are some unique terrains in my realm highly suitable for the Mist Swallowing stage. Head back to your cave estate to prepare well, for we shall depart immediately."