In the long corridor containing dozens of Crimson Sea Academy students, complete utter silence fell over the whole space.
Numerous students stopped whatever they were saying, snapping their entire attention over to Cain. Gradual disbelief crossed their face.
Lei Li stood rooted, her eyes wide open, quickly filling with worry.
Simultaneously, Leon and Adam's expressions turned cold. Their eyes glinted with a harsh light as their moods plummeted to the depths.
Cain's tone was loud, filled with his confidence. And his words overflow with an aura of pure pride.
At this moment, students alike just had to contemplate everything that spewed from his mouth.
Nobody knew who spoke first, but one whisper let loose an entire damn of noise.
"Does this guy really think he can cross over half into a great realm?!"
When that student exclaimed, so did many others.
This was simply outrageous!
Sure, they all could accept Cain fighting over one small realm. That was Heaven-Defying enough.
As for his victory over the mission, nobody can say for sure what happened. There are numerous means that a Nascent Formation master can utilize that don't involve their direct strength.
Considering this, it's expected Cain could only fight at least one level above.
And even then, people heavily doubted this because of the rumors about his impure foundation.
Now, with everything in mind, this guy skipped everything and wants to fight a half-great realm above?!
Even without the rumors circulating, this was absolutely an impossibility!
The properties of Profound Qi Energy contains far more Heaven and Earth Origin essence than even 10th level Nascent Qi Energy.
Within Heaven and Earth Origin essence was the power of the mysterious concept governing the World itself. The power contained inside was simply at a level Nascent Qi couldn't compare to.
Half-step Profound Qi may be the lowest form of that Energy, but it could directly tear into Nascent Qi like shredding fragile paper.
One didn't need to be a Martial genius to know this. Any common whelp knows this was an unbeatable fact.
And with each increasing great realm, the disparity only widens. It'll get to a point where it feels like there's a massive, uncrossable chasm between each great realm.
Heaven-Defying or not, nobody ever heard of an extreme Martial Talent whose combat prowess crosses over a great realm.
But apparently, this guy thinks he can achieve the absolute impossibility?
Wasn't this just inviting disaster upon oneself?!
"Cain, this….isn't this too rash?" Lei Li concernedly whispered to Cain.
No matter how much faith she has, crossing a great realm genuinely seems impossible.
The foundation of cultivation itself makes it a cold hard fact. She didn't even find everyone's reaction overly arrogant or disrespectful. It was just to be expected.
However, all of Lei Li's concerns fell on death ears.
Cain and Kali didn't even glance over to her, keeping their confident gaze entirely on Leon and Adam.
"Heh. So you really want to challenge me?" Finally, after all this time, Adam spoke up, dishing out a noisy snort dripping with disdain.
His voice was loud, filled to the brim with right place arrogance. He somehow overshadows the storms of whispers surrounding them.
"Alright then. If you really think you can overturn reality, then I accept your change. I'll be waiting at the Martial Stage if you don't change your mind."
Adam spoke very lightly, as if he was barely taking it seriously. He felt it would be a dishonor to himself to even treat a peak-level Nascent Formation as if he was his equal.
When Adam perceived Cain's Aura, he was, at most, curious. He didn't sense any slight level of threat, hence his confidence.
And without wasting another moment, Adam swirled on his heels, quickly leaving out of the Martial Arena Hall.
Leon didn't speak, only giving a mocking smile before following behind Adam. Their days of retribution are finally upon them! And he will be getting first-row seats.
And as all other students witnessed this, the news of this duel was bound to spread around at rapid-fire speed.
Even now, many students were contacting their peers through their contact rings, eager to share this exciting news.
"Cain, seriously, can you really do this?" Lei Li just had to ask again.
Her expression was still of pure concern. But her thoughts were beginning to believe Cain had far too much confidence.
Confidence was undoubtedly a good thing. In fact, it's quite essential in their brutal universe. Without confidence, the willingness to take risks would be nearly non-existent, leading to cultivation stagnation.
Still, too much confidence, and you'll warrant a disaster you won't even be able to prevent!
And Lei Li genuinely didn't want to see that befall over Cain. He's a rare type of Martial Talent who doesn't let their pride create great prejudice.
At least, that's how she saw it from the few times of conversing together.
In response to her question, Kali suddenly cut in, her tone dripping with annoyance.
"If you know what we can do and see the confidence in his eyes, why continually doubt him? Heh. Great realm or not, you'll see." She gave Lei Li one look over before promptly ignoring her again.
Lei Li's guts reaction was to argue back. However, her tongue froze as her mind replayed the phenomenons caused by this sibling duo.
An indescribable feeling bubbled within her.
Perhaps….all manner of logic really doesn't apply to Cain?
Seeing those questions surfed onto Lei Li's face, Cain didn't bother to explain.
Actions was everything here. It was enough to convince all disbelieving minds.
With Kali right by his side, the sibling duo made their way to the Martial Arena.
….
A couple of hours quickly slipped by. And during this time, the news of Cain and Adam's duel spread like wildfire.
When this news reached people's ears, nearly everyone from Outer, Inner, Core students, to even Elders were intrigued.
One side was the first ranked of all Inner students. An extreme Martial Talent whose duel record is almost god-like! All who fought him never have any thoughts on rechallenging Adam.
Among all those in the Nascent Formation, Adam is practically an untouchable young genius.
The last time he fought, he unleashed the prowess of Half-Step Profound Qi, shocking the whole Academy. At that time, nobody believed any Inner Ranking student could ever hope to match this invincible power.
Yet, there really is someone daring enough.
On the other side was a freshly new uprising genius who has many unclear rumors circulating about them.
Cain was recorded as a Heaven-Defying Talent. But besides the entrance exam, nobody has a clear picture of his abilities. Furthermore, there's the fact that his cultivation soared due to unknown means.
With this duel, students alike hope they can clear this confusion up.
Many even wished upon Cain's downfall due to smoldering envy. He's at a status ordinary, and even average genius could only look up to. And yet, he barely showcased why he deserved this status.
Now everything will be out in the open! There will be no more confusion from here on out!
At this time, Cain and Kali were in the corridor leading to the Martial Arena Stage.
Because some things needed to be set up, the sibling duo had no other option but to wait for a few hours. It didn't bother them much anyway. The farther this news spread, the farther their grasps will spread.
And as of now, the time has come.
As Cain and Kali stepped out of the corridor, they were treated to an enormous coliseum type of area.
Everything here was constructed with beautiful light blue Qi materials. Faint wisp of Energies leaked out of the Martial Stage and even the stands.
These materials' toughness was at a standard that even Spirit Opening cultivators would find it impossible to break!
The audience stands were hundreds of feet out, presumably to protect them from the shockwaves of battle.
But even at that distance, it's more than easy for these students to peer that far due to enhancing their eyes with Qi.
Hundreds upon hundreds of students currently filled this audience stands. Special Ranking duels were always a highlight for any student's days. And the situation surrounding this duel was far more precarious than usual.
The Martial Stage itself had to be hundreds of meters long. It was large enough for any Martial Talents to go wild without any other fear.
The heavy atmosphere of battle would always permeate from the Martial Stage. But for this duel, the battle atmosphere was far fiercer.
The boiling anticipation to see the young lord among all Inner Ranking students fight and a supposed Heaven-Defying Talent fight ooze out of the students and rolled into the air itself.
"Fuu~. Look at this? So many here to see you supposedly embarrass yourself, brother." Kali coldly chuckled. "Don't crush that guy too hard. He should be spared with some organs and bones. Or else they'll probably think we're too rowdy."
"Heh. You know I'm just as bad as you when it comes to holding back. But I'll at least try." Cain had a slight battle-hungry smile.
He wasn't expecting anything out of this fight, but it would feel nice to silence an audience of hundreds of people.
Cain took a few small steps out and then jumped right towards the Martial Stage, leaving Kali by the corridor's entrance. As he gently landed on the Stage, he could already feel the intent stares of hundreds of eyes on him.
Unbothered by this, Cain chose to stand tall, blocking out all crazy whispers about him.
Promptly after he landed on Stage, Cain sensed two other presences arriving here.
A tall, handsome figure quickly flashed on Stage and adopted the same confident posture as Cain.
Adam had arrived, and some slight surprise already swirled within his eyes. "Oh? I betted that you would see the error in your overconfidence. But not only did you not do that, but you also showed up before me. That eager for this, huh?"
That unmistakable tone of dripping disdain. It was evident to Cain that Adam wanted to rile him up.
Possibly to make Cain look like a fool while also causing Adam status to rise for putting down an arrogant suspicious genius.
No matter his intentions, Cain wasn't in the mood to play around. He snapped his gaze up to the skies, asking the Elder floating above,
"Can we start now?"
"Tsk, a fool to the end." Adam only jeeringly smiled at this boy's blatant ignorance.
And the middle-aged Elder took one indifferent look over Cain before casting a more respectful glance over at Adam. It was clear who was his favorite in this match.
A silent moment passed. Anticipation shot through the roof. The audience waited with bated breath and intent eyes. Nobody wants to miss even a second of this duel.
Then, the Elder called it, "Begin!"
Adam stood still, a loose smile hanging down his face. He was just about to talk again, wanting to show fairness for the crowd watching.
However, right as his mouth opened just an inch, he froze. Completely out of nowhere, numerous sensations exploded in his mind, body, and soul!
At this moment, before anyone could even blink, Cain made his move.
'There's no-kill quite like overkill.' As Cain mused to himself, he stimulated his Qi Sea, releasing just a slight portion of his Lightning Energy!
'Bang!'
An brilliant Lightning glow covered the entirety of Cain's arms as his Nascent Aura exploded open!
Streaks of Lightning raged to the high heavens, creating a spectacle no one could tear their gazes off from.
Powerfully dense Qi and Lightning Energy superimposed together and tore straight into the atmosphere. It was like all air around the Martial Stage froze.
Cain's Aura swept through the whole audience, completely drowning them in a billowing ocean unstoppable power!
"Ah-Ah-Wh-what?!?"
"I-I can barely breathe under this!!"
Students, to Outer, Inner, and even some early Core Rankings, were utterly bewildered!
Their expression contorted with so many emotions, their bodies couldn't stop quivering, and their Soul's Core slightly trembled.
Their hundreds of feet away and yet….Cain's Aura was so powerful it could even drill into them!
Many students had to rapidly revolve their Qi just to fend off this slight wisps of power.
What the hell kind of concept is this?!
And at this time, Adam's confident, jeering expression crumbled to dust. His eyes were filled with horror, his face constantly twitched, and his heart ferociously pounded as if it wanted to escape from his chest!