Disclaimer: I don't own DxD, Against The Gods, Martial God Asura, Martial World, or the story's image. They all belong to their respective owners.

Info:

Cultivation Realms – Elementary Profound Realm, Nascent Profound Realm, True Profound Realm, Spirit Profound Realm, Earth Profound Realm, Sky Profound Realm, Emperor Profound Realm, Tyrant Profound Realm, Sovereign Profound Realm, Saint Profound Realm and Divine Profound Realm.

World Spiritist Levels – White-Cloak, Gray-Cloak, Blue-Cloak, Purple-Cloak, Gold-Cloak.

Fleshly Body ranks - Strength Training Stage, Viscera Training Stage, Muscle Altering Stage, Bone Forging Stage, Pulse Condensation Period, Tempering Marrow, Eight Inner Hidden Gates and Nine Stars of the Dao Palace.

Beta-read by: KryoKon


Chapter 29 - Overwhelming


(This chapter is worth 2 chapters. Why? 4.5k words long, that's why.)

Xuan Qing's words resounded in the entire Main Palace, and immediately, everyone's heads turned towards the direction she was pointing at, seeing Xia Mei, who sat there with widened eyes. At that moment, many young masters and male disciples from various sects and clans felt their hearts skip a beat, and entered into a trance-like state.

Because of Xia Mei's position, that was secluded and far from other people, not many people had taken notice of her, but now, under Xuan Qing's guidance, everyone in the Main Palace was able to catch sight of the peerless beauty. Not even a few second later, on the faces of many male disciples from various sects and clans, the hints of a lascivious smile appeared. Their eyes turned hungry, and the look they gave her was one of pure desire.

Issei, who sat by Xia Mei's side, made sure to take notice of each and every one of the male disciples that had shown lewd expressions, already making plans to deal with them. However, he specially paid attention to Xiao Luocheng, who was also the one who had the most evident expression.

Not only did Xiao Luocheng reveal a nasty smile, his eyes shimmering with pleasant surprise, he immediately beckoned for someone to come to his side, and after briefly saying a few words, he sat back on his seat, his gaze fixated on Xia Mei.

"Courting...Death!" murmured Issei darkly as a streak of coldness flashed in his eyes. Although he couldn't clearly hear what had been said, he had a faint guess of what it was, and he definitely didn't like it. However, for the moment, he had to contain his emotions, for he knew that it wasn't the time to act...yet.

...

"...Me?" asked Xia Mei in bafflement, feeling uncomfortable under the gazes of so many people. At the moment, she was incredibly inclined to hide behind Issei, but knew that that wasn't an option. Xia Mei then glanced towards Sikong Han. "Elder Sikong..."

"Go," said Sikong Han after some thought. After all, Xia Mei was older than Xuan Qing by one year, and she didn't have the right to refuse. In the end, Sikong Han added, "Don't push yourself too hard. Give up the moment you find yourself unable to continue."

"En," nodded Xia Mei, who although didn't have any faith in herself, still leaped off her seat, falling directly in the middle of the stage, in front of Xuan Qing. She then clasped her hand, and while forcing herself not to tremble, said, "This young one's name is Xia Mei, from New Moon Profound Palace Class One, age seventeen. Junior Sister, Xuan, may we have a good exchange of pointers!"

"..." Xuan Qing didn't say anything, only smirking lightly. Then, without any prior warning, she pulled her fist back, aiming directly at Xia Mei's face. Purple spiritual power coated her fist, and the strength behind it wasn't a weak one.

"Purple Profound Arts – Heart Piercer!"

Xuan Qing's fist struck forth, and with overwhelming pressure, neared onto Xia Mei's beautiful visage. On the last second, however, Xia Mei, with her enhanced senses, pulled her head back, barely dodging the strike. Following that, Xia Mei lift up her right leg, and while using her left leg as pivot, struck towards Xuan Qing's rib-cage, that had been left wide open by the attack.

"Good...but not enough," Xuan Qing's eye narrowed, and without any loss in momentum, threw her body back, doing a back-lip and thus increasing the distance between her and Xia Mei. During that simple exchange, although it seemed that Xia Mei had the upper hand, that wasn't the case.

"Ah!" cried out Xia Mei, as from the side of her body, a large wound opened. She immediately took a few steps back and looked at Xuan Qing with widened eyes, realizing that her left hand was tainted with blood. Xia Mei's blood.

"During that attack, you...," Xia Mei's eyes widened, realization dawning upon her. While she had been distracted with dodging Xuan Qing's fist, she had somehow pierced her sides!

"Hehe, this is only the beginning," said Xuan Qing, smiling darkly. She then took in a deep breath and entered her battle stance. Her right fist raised up, while her left hand was straightened into a palm, and pulled back towards her sides. She then moved her left leg back, and stabilized her position on the ground. "I shall show you... the true power of the Secret Profound Heart Arts!"

"..." Xia Mei didn't say anything, and while ignoring the pain, she also managed to somehow stabilize her position, knowing that this battle wouldn't be an easy one. Slapping the cosmos sack by her waist, she produced a longsword with a bone-white blade. This was her most treasured sword, a high-grade Nascent Profound Weapon, Ivory Jaded Blade!

"Nascent Profound Weapon?" murmured Xuan Qing, slightly surprised, before sneering. In the exchange of pointers, weapons were clearly allowed. However, she didn't expect that Xia Mei would actually take the initiative to bring out hers. "Well, if that's how you want to play..."

Xuan Qing's battle stance suddenly changed, and a saber appeared at her hands. The saber was short, and more than anything sharp! It was actually a True Profound Weapon!

"Purple Art Saber Styles – Purple Death!"

Purple Spiritual power rippled in the air, and a purple-colored aura rose from her saber, increasing its length. Xuan Qing's eyes then narrowed, and without a warning, her feet struck against the ground, sending her forward towards Xia Mei.

Immediately, Xia Mei took a step back, raising her sword up-high, planning to take Xuan Qing's attack head one. However, just as she struck her blade forward, Xuan Qing pulled her sword back, kicking her left leg against the ground, and throwing her body to the right side. While mid-air, she spun her blade around, aiming directly towards Xia Mei's head. If that attack hit, it would be akin to death!

However, before her attack could complete, Xuan Qing's eyes widened, and she instantly fell to the ground. At that split-sect, a dense and tremendous killing intent locked onto her. This killing intent was akin to a deep and profound darkness, taking over her mind. Xuan Qing's mind reeled, and she coughed up a mouthful of blood, tainting the ground in red.

Her surroundings had grown dark, and a deep and omnious force had inundated her mind, overwhelming all her senses. She couldn't breath, and her entire body was trembling. The killing intent was simply too deep and overbearing, completely surpassing all common sense!

Slowly, however, Xuan Qing managed to lift her head up, only to come face to face with a dark brown haired youth, who smiled coldly at her. This smile, however, was full of coldness, and within his eyes, shone deep and boundless killing intent. At that moment, in front of her, there wasn't a handsome fifteen years old... all she saw was a demon, which had crawled from the bottom of hell!

"..."

Silence filled the entire Main Palace, and everyone looked at Xuan Qing with bewilderment. The couldn't understand what was happening; one moment she was there, attacking Xia Mei, but in the next one, out of the blue, she had fallen to the ground, coughing up a mouthful of blood! Their brains simply couldn't keep up with these strange events!

There was a reason for that. Although Issei's killing intent was deep and boundless, it was completely refined and direction towards Xuan Qing. No one else was able to even sense it, never mind understand the profoundness behind it. Even Qin Wuyou was clueless about the entire situation.

Just at that time, while everyone was astonished, Issei slowly got up from his seat, and walked towards the center of the hall, directly towards Xia Mei. He then placed a hand on her shoulder, making her turn around to look at him, surprised.

"..Junior Brother?"

Issei smiled at Xia Mei lightly and said with a calm and caring tone, "You have done enough. Let me take your place."

"...En," Xia Mei nodded and took a step back, and although she couldn't comprehend the situation, she still complied. At the same time, she couldn't help but to look at Xuan Qing with bewilderment, wondering what had happened to the downed girl.

Now standing in the center of the hall, directly in front of the downed Xuan Qing and under the watchful eyes of everyone else, not only was Issei unflustered, his previous warm and calm expression which he had used with Xia Mei was gone, replaced by an icy cold one, that could freeze over the entire world.

"Due to some circumstances, Senior Sister Mei needs to withdraw, and I shall take her place," announced Issei coolly. "This junior's name is Issei, and I'm from New Moon Profound Palace Class One. Fifteen Years Old."

After saying so, Issei looked towards Xuan Qing, who was looking at him widened eyes. He then narrowed his eyes and said with coldness, "Get up. I'm your opponent."

"...You!" Xuan Qing's eyes widened, and she immediately lift up her head from the ground. Her trembling body then, with much effort, managed to lift itself up, making her glare pierce into Issei's deep and cold eyes. "I don't know what sort of demonic arts you used, but...you shall pay!"

Although Xuan Qing was scared of Issei, she didn't believe that he had true power. From what she knew, what he had used before was some sort of mental attack, and it was known that cultivators who focused on mental attacks lacked physical power! As such, she was confident that she would be able to deal with Issei!

Xuan Qing then raised up her saber, and spit a mouthful of blood on top of it, which upon contact with the cold and metallic surface of the blade, ignited into purple-colored flames, that completely enveloped the entirety of the saber. Xuan Qing's eyes were opened wide, and there was hints of a maniacal light within them.

"Purple Arts Forbidden Saber – Profound Heart Sacrifice!"

Immediately after saying such words, many people in the audience took in a deep breath, surprise and even fear evident on their faces. 'Profound Heart Sacrifice' was a forbidden skill from the Profound Heart Sect, and also the most powerful one. By sacrificing their own life-force, cultivators would be able to increase their attack power by dozens of time! This was also the most famous skill of the Profound Heart Sect, and as such, many people knew of it.

Issei, however, didn't suffer a change in his expression, as he stood there calmly, his gaze locked onto the burning saber. He didn't move at all, and only observed it calmly, a streak of coldness flashing in his eyes.

"...Take my saber!" cried out Xuan Qing as she dashed forward, her saber pulled back behind her head, ready to strike out at any moment. Just as she was in front of Issei, she brought it down with her entire force, aiming to bisect him in half!

Bang!

At that moment, the sound of metal clashing against metal filled the air, and much to the surprise of everyone present, Issei's right hand directly grasped the blade of the saber. His fingers were tightly pressing against the saber, and his expression remained unchanged, as he blocked an attack that could threaten even cultivators of the late stages of the Nascent Profound Realm with his bare hands!

"What?!" Xuan Qing's eyes widened in surprise, but before she could do anything, Issei merely clenched his right hand, which held onto the blade of the saber. From his hand, 5,000 strands of vibrating spiritual power filaments were released, piercing into the saber.

"Too weak," said Issei plainly, and with that, he further clenched his hands, making a cracking sound filled the air. The saber suddenly began to tremble, and soon after, it shattered into thousands of tiny pieces, which fell onto the ground.

"...WHAT?!" Everyone's eyes widened greatly, as if they couldn't believe what was happening. That saber was a True Profound Weapon, but Issei had actually broken it with his bare hands! Not only that, it was also fueled by the 'Profound Heart Sacrifice!'! How could someone, who was in the first level of the Nascent Profound Realm, be capable of such a feat?!

The most surprised person, however, was Xuan Qing herself, as she was the one who understood the

might behind her attack better than anyone else. Her eyes were widened, and deep within, fear sprouted, only to slowly take over her entire body. The aura around Issei suddenly grew stronger, and she began to tremble uncontrollably.

"I-Impossible! Y-You... what are you?!" roared out Xuan Qing, but she suddenly stopped, as Issei took a step forward. The pressure that surrounded Xuan Qing increased by threefold, and blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

Issei then took another step forward, the pressure increased even further, and Xuan Qing fell to her knees. Her mind reeled, and her eyes stared blankly ahead. Issei merely smiled, and took yet another step, causing Xuan Qing's body to completely fall to the ground, trembling.

By this point, Issei was already right in front of her. He didn't say anything, and only crouched down, looking at Xuan Qing coldly, "You never... should have tried to hurt her."

He then brought his hand forward, and grabbed onto Xuan Qing's hair. Noticing that, a look of horror flashed on Xuan Qing's face, as she realized what Issei was planning. She immediately opened her mouth and screamed out, "You... I'm a woman! You wouldn't dare to-"

"Woman...?" interrupted Issei as he looked at her coldly. "Someone who uses a heavy-hand on someone she doesn't even know, breaking his bones, only to try to kill a girl only because of her appearance... you don't deserve to call yourself a woman! No, you're a disgrace to the name of cultivators!"

Issei's eyes then grew even cold and said, "Let me tell you this, I don't discriminate between man, woman or animal, and you're below them all...You're simply trash. Even if you were the Son of God, if you try to hurt my precious ones, you shall pay the price." Smiling coldly, Issei brought his head close to her ear and whispered, "Pray to God, you so-called woman. Pray for mercy, for I shall won't show you it!"

Without another word, Issei grabbed her head and slammed it into the cold, hard floor, web-like cracks forming on the ground beneath. The sound of something breaking filled the air, and many people in the audience, who were flabbergasted, flinched.

At that point, a young man from the Profound Heart Sect stood up from his seat, angered, "You bastard! The match has already ended, how dare you do this! Stop this right now! Or else, don't blame me if you get hurt!"

"..." Issei didn't say anything, and while completely ignoring the youth's words, he lifted up Xuan Qing's head, only to slam it onto the ground once more, this time even harder. He then looked coldly and the young man from the Profound Heart Sect, who upon seeing his cold gaze, flinched. Turning his attention back to the half-dead Xuan Qing, Issei said, "You can have this trash."

After saying such words, Issei stood up from the ground and ruthlessly kicked Xuan Qing's body directly towards the young man who had stood up, sending her flying towards him. The young man's eyes widened in surprise, and he was thrown back by Xuan Qing's body, which collided against his.

Issei then swept his cold eyes all over the speechless audience, and coolly said, "I don't care what your age is or from where you come from. Whoever thinks they can defeat me, feel free to walk onto the stage." He then looked directly towards the young man from the Profound Heart Sect, who glared back at him hatefully. "As for you, if you want to avenge that trash, feel free to come up."

At this moment, Issei was like an overbearing Immortal, who looked down on all living beings. His eyes were cold, and the entire aura around his body was ruthless and filled with killing intent. The pressure Issei emanated even caused some Elders from various sects to flinch in shock, completely overwhelmed by Issei's cold and cruel aura.

"Elder Xuan, please let me teach that kid a lesson!" pleaded the young man from the Profound Heart Sect, who after having checked that his fellow disciple was still alive and handing her a few pills, wanted to exact revenge on his behalf. This youth was already nineteen years old that year, and was on the sixth level of the Nascent Profound Realm. He was one of the best disciples of the Profound Heart Sect.

"You may go, Chen'er," said Xuan Ao coldly, also staring at Issei with vehemence. If it wasn't for the presence of the various elders in, he would have personally gone up to the center of the hall to kill Issei with his own hands. "Be sure to discipline that brat! He must pay for harming Qing'er!"

"Thank you, Elder!"

Xuan Chen the leaped from his seat, directly landing on the middle of the stages, glaring daggers at Issei, who in turn, looked at him coldly. Gritting his teeth, Xuan Chen announced, "Since you dared to challenge me, then you shall pay the price. I'm Xuan Chen, age nineteen!"

After saying that, he immediately waved his hands, bringing out a sword from his cosmos sack. Just like Xuan Qing's saber, it was a True Profound Weapon. The difference, however, was that Xuan Chen's sword was of an even higher quality than Xuan Qing's saber.

"Draw your weapon," ordered Xuan Chen coolly. "Or else, this won't be a fair fight."

"...Weapon?" Issei looked at Xuan Chen coldly, without a change on his handsome expressions. He then merely sneered and said, "My weapon is only drawn for worthy opponents. You are not enough!"

"..You!" murmured Xuan Chen in shock. He had previously been merciful, giving Issei a chance to draw his blade, but not only did he not take it, he even dared to look down on him. Anger filled Xuan Chen's eyes as he roared, "Courting Death!"

Xuan Chen then closed his eyes, and when they opened again, they were filled with a deep purple color. He then looked at Issei grimly and said, "Purple Heart Arts – Purple Soul!"

A dense, overbearing aura was emitted from Xuan Chen's body, and the sword on his hands was suddenly lit with purple colored flames. Although the art used by Xuan Qing, 'Profound Heart Sacrifice' was more well known than 'Purple Soul', it had to be said that 'Purple Soul' was even more difficult to master, and even deadlier! Not only that, it brought forth much less side-effects when compared to 'Profound Heart Sacrifice'!

After activating 'Purple Soul', Xuan Chen waved his sword down, and long, purple-colored sword beam in the shape of a half-moon flew in Issei's direction, cutting through the air!

"Profound Heart Slash!'

The sword beam pierced through the air, and in a split-second, was directly in front of Issei, who had kept immobile the entire time. However, just as the sword was about to pierce through him, he finally moved. He didn't dodge, as that would harm Xia Mei and the rest of the New Moon Profound Disciples who were behind him. Instead, he slashed his hand down, and while using it as a sword, activated a martial skill he hadn't used in a long time.

"Heavenly Strike."

From Issei's right hand, which had been coated in spiritual power, an even denser wave of spiritual power erupted, which similarly condensed into a half-moon shape, striking towards Xuan Chen's Profound Heart Slash!

The moment those two attacks collided, Xuan Chen's attack was completely shattered, and Issei's attack, although having lost some of its momentum, continued forward, towards Xuan Che.

"Impossible!" Xuan Chen's eyes widened in surprise, but he knew better than to keep still. He immediately raised up his arm, and a white-colored barrier appeared in front of him, which directly intercepted Issei's strike. The moment they collided, although the barrier trembled slightly, and showed signs of cracking, it had managed to completely block Issei's attack!

"...White-colored Spirit Formation?" murmured Issei, looking at the barrier in front of him coolly. He then looked back at Xuan Chen and asked plainly, "So you're a White-cloak World Spiritist?"

"Humph!" Xuan Chen crossed his arms, adopting a complacent expression. His Spirit Power was his pride, as in the entire New Moon City, only he had been graced with Spirit Power by the heavens. After all, Spirit Power was something exceedingly rare, and not even Xiao Luocheng had it. As such, in the entire New Moon City, he was the only World Spiritist! It was exactly because of that that although his cultivation base was not high for his age, he was still one of the top talents of the Profound Heart Sect!

"That's right, brat! I have Spirit Power!" said Xuan Chen boastfully, an expression of pride and contempt on his face. He then humphed and continued, "I'll have you know that I am a full-fledged White-cloak World Spiritist, having taken part of the exam in the World Spiritist association! My master was also a peak White-cloak World Spiritist, half-step into a Gray-cloak!"

However, much to his surprise, not only did Issei not cower under his words, or reveal a look of amazement, he actually smiled. And, it was a smile full of contempt. This left Xuan Chen, who had been so proud and mighty completely astonished.

"Is that so...? Then...," Issei's eyes were cold as he waved his hands. Around him, the air twisted, and countless barriers illusory sword-shaped Spirit Formations barriers appeared around him. They were of a white-color, but at the same time, there were even hints of gray on them! "I was actually been wanting to test out my Spirit Power abilities with someone... I'll have to ask you to advise me."

"What?!" Xuan Chen's eyes, along with the eyes of everyone else, including Xiao Luocheng's and Qin Wuyou's widened greatly. After all, they could clearly see that was Issei a World Spiritists, to be able to freely form Spirit Formations of different shapes, his level of mastery was not a small one! Not only that, the faint gray-like color of his Spirit Formations was clearly noticed by everyone in the Main Hall!

"You...You... half-step Grey-cloak World Spiritists!" cried out Xuan Chen in shock, not daring to believe his eyes. His own master was a half-step Grey-cloak World Spiritist, and yet, this fifteen years old... was on the same level as his master?! How could he possibly believe this impossibility?! "Impossible! You-"

Before he could even continue, Issei's eyes shimmered with coldness and he brought his hand down, the dozens of Spirit Formations behind him coming crashing upon Xuan Chen, whose words had been stuck at his throat. In the faces of so many Spirit Formations, an impending sense of deadly crisis overwhelmed him.

"Stop! I'll forfeit!" Xuan Chen cried out as he jumped back, knowing full well that he would lose his life if he took this attack head-on. Upon hearing such words, Issei immediately clenched his hands, all of the Spirit Formations that were heading towards Xuan Chen stopping in mid-air, some of them only a few centimeters away from reaching Xuan Chen's body, which trembled.

Issei then waved his arms, and the dozens of Spirit Formations dispersed in the air. Although he was ruthless, he had already caused enough trouble with the Profound Heart Sect by almost killing Xuan Qing. As such, he wanted to avoid further offenses towards them, since he didn't plan on making any new enemies.

However, at the exact moment that he called off his Spirit Formations, a streak of coldness flashed in Xuan Chen's eyes, the corner of his lips curling up into a dark smile. Taking advantage of the fact that Issei was distracted, he launched out with his sword.

"Heart Piercer!"

A maniacal sheen was present in Xuan Chen's eyes, as he powered up all of his power into this attack. This time, he was going for the kill. After all, with Issei there, he would no longer be able to maintain his position of only World Spiritist, so he wanted to make use of this opportunity to end Issei's life, even if it meant breaking the rules of the tournament.

"...This kid!" Qin Wuyou, who had been observing the fight, suddenly got up from his seat, a dark look in his eyes. He could clearly see the unfiltered killing intent behind that attack, and knew that he was going for the kill. Not only was he disregarding the rules by attacking after forfeiting, he was also trying to kill a disciple from the New Moon Profound Palace, which was now the sect Qin Wuyou belonged to! As such, he had every right to interfere!

Just at that moment, however, Qin Wuyou suddenly stopped, as he caught sight of the faint smile on Issei's mouth. His eyes widened in surprise, as he understood the situation. At the same time, Issei, who was apparently taken by surprise, suddenly disappeared from sight.

"Ah?!" Xuan Chen's eyes widened upon seeing his target disappear right before his eyes, but before he could do anything about it, he felt a sense of danger overwhelm him, as Issei appeared on the air above him, punching down towards his torso!

Bang!

Xuan Chen's body slammed into the ground, creating a huge crater, right next to the blood-stained web-like cracks which were the result of smashing Xuan Qing's face onto the ground. This crater, however, was wider and much deeper, and had caused a screen of smoke to rise up in the air.

Suddenly from the smoke, a battered and roughed-up body was kicked out in the direction of the Profound Heart Sect sitting area. Upon closer inspection, it could be seen that the person who had been kicked out was actually Xuan Chen! His entire body was bloodied and in a mess, while on his back, there was a large gash, which had been caused by the rupturing from his skin. Countless of bones in his body had been broken, and he was barely alive.

At the same time, the smoke screen dissipated, revealing a dark-brown haired youth standing in the middle of the crater, a calm and cold expression on his face as he gazed at the entire audience, completely unfazed.

His right hand was bloodied, but it was clearly not his own blood. His bearing was collected, and not only was he calm, his expression was even colder and more ruthless than before. Under the gazes of the speechless masters, guests and elders from various clans, Issei said coolly, in an apathetic and emotionless tone, "Next one."

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