I, Thanks To My Unlimited Investment, Am Admired By All Races
Chapter 385: How Could This Matter Be Left Unresolved?
"How is that possible?"
This was the thought running through countless people's minds.
Especially Xiao Chen's.
He was completely stunned.
A few years ago, his reputation had been on par with Li Xun's. Although his prestige had taken a hit because his Immortal Body originated from Xiao Fan, overall, many people still had great confidence in him.
Even Xiao Chen himself believed that the gap between him and Li Xun was not that large. Back then, he had already reached the Life and Death Realm, while Li Xun was only at the Divine Palace Realm. The difference between them had been merely one major cultivation realm.
But now...
Everything had changed.
Without anyone noticing, Li Xun had already become a Saint. Not only that, he had defeated Xiao Tianzheng in a single move.
It should be remembered that, besides being Xiao Chen's father, Xiao Tianzheng had another identity:
Patriarch of the Xiao Clan.
A clan patriarch represented the strength of an entire family. Only the most outstanding member could hold such a position.
In his youth, Xiao Tianzheng had been among the absolute elites. Not only within the Xiao Clan, but across the entire Desolate Ancient Continent, there had been very few who could rival him.
Logically speaking, after becoming a Saint, his strength should have become even more terrifying and unfathomable.
Yet today, none of that was evident.
Instead, he couldn't even withstand a single move from Li Xun.
As a result, Li Xun's figure became even more towering in everyone's hearts, inspiring awe and reverence, like a majestic mountain that could only be admired from afar.
'So... this is Li Xun?'
Standing on the ground, Xiao Chen looked up at the sky, a profound sense of helplessness welling up inside him.
If Xiao Fan had merely shattered his confidence in certain victory just moments ago, then Li Xun was like an enormous demonic mountain pressing down upon his heart.
He felt as though he could barely breathe.
His instincts told him that in this lifetime, he would never be able to surpass Li Xun. Not only that—even catching sight of Li Xun's back as he walked ahead might forever remain an unattainable dream.
"Defeating a Saint in a single move... Could Senior Li Xun have already become a Saint King?" Someone suddenly exclaimed.
Many people shared this speculation.
The combat power Li Xun had displayed was simply too unbelievable.
If Li Xun's true body had been present and had defeated Xiao Tianzheng in one move, everyone would merely have marveled at his overwhelming strength.
But this was only a projection.
That was much harder to explain.
There were indeed people capable of such a feat, but every one of them was, at the very least, a Saint King.
Li Xun certainly seemed to fit that description.
Yet no one could say for sure.
After all, none of them could see through the depth of his cultivation.
"It's hard to say. Li Xun has only been a Saint for a very short time. Becoming a Saint King in just one or two years is practically impossible—unless he encountered some heaven-defying opportunity."
"Personally, I lean more toward the idea that Senior Li Xun's own combat power is simply extraordinary. Perhaps he has already reached the point where, with only Saint-level cultivation, he can defeat a Saint King!" A Holy Lord spoke in a deep voice.
Everyone knew that the higher one's cultivation reached, the harder it became to fight opponents above one's level.
As for a Saint defeating a Saint King, such cases had appeared only a handful of times throughout history.
But only a handful did not mean none.
Who could say that the Li Xun of this era was incapable of defeating a Saint King while still only a Saint?
"I remember now!"
An old man's eyes suddenly lit up as he exclaimed excitedly,
"If I remember correctly, outside the Great Chu Imperial City, Senior Li Xun fought against two Great Chu Saints and an Otherworldly Demon all by himself—and defeated all three!"
"At that time, Senior Li Xun had only become a Saint for about half a year."
"Now that so much time has passed, with Senior Li Xun's unparalleled talent, it's only natural that his strength has grown even further."
After hearing this, the crowd fell silent.
That might be true, but Li Xun's rate of growth had already exceeded everyone's expectations.
He now possessed strength comparable to a Saint King. Give him a few more years, and even Saint Kings themselves might no longer be confident of defeating him.
No wonder the Xiao Clan's Sixth Ancestor regarded Li Xun with such caution.
It seemed that everything that had been impossible to explain moments ago now made perfect sense.
"Fellow Daoist Li Xun, have you vented your anger now?"
The Xiao Clan's Sixth Ancestor looked at Li Xun with a grim expression and spoke in a deep voice.
No matter what, Xiao Tianzheng was the patriarch of the Xiao Clan.
Today, being defeated by nothing more than a projection of Li Xun's will was equivalent to receiving a resounding slap across the face of the entire Xiao Clan.
If the Sixth Ancestor could still smile after that, it would truly be unbelievable.
Li Xun merely curled the corners of his lips into a faint smile and glanced at him.
"I was never angry to begin with. Why would there be any need for me to calm down?"
He continued unhurriedly,
"I came here today simply because I could not stand seeing the Xiao Clan bully the weak with the strong."
"Hmph."
The Sixth Ancestor let out a cold snort.
"Tianzheng's intervention just now was indeed improper, and I have already stopped him. You have also seriously wounded him in return. In my opinion, today's matter should end here."
Her words made her intentions clear.
The Xiao Clan had no desire to continue the conflict.
They had chosen to swallow this humiliation in silence.
However, what the Sixth Ancestor had not expected was that Li Xun had no intention of letting the matter rest.
"Perhaps you've forgotten," Li Xun said calmly.
"The outcome of today's battle has yet to be decided."
"Neither Xiao Fan nor Xiao Chen has admitted defeat."
"How can this matter simply be considered over?"
The Sixth Ancestor's heart sank.
She turned to look at Xiao Chen in the distance, and her mood immediately darkened.
Earlier, Xiao Tianzheng and Xiao Chen had been standing together.
Although Li Xun's attack had been aimed solely at Xiao Tianzheng, Xiao Chen had still been caught in the aftermath.
Half of his body had nearly been shattered.
In his current state, Xiao Chen was perhaps in even worse condition than Xiao Fan.
Furthermore…
Even before all this, Xiao Chen had already been losing to Xiao Fan.
If they continued fighting now, Xiao Chen would only be humiliating himself even further.
"I can make the decision on this matter."
The Sixth Ancestor looked at Xiao Chen before slowly sweeping her gaze across the crowd.
Then she declared,
"In today's battle..."
"Xiao Chen... has lost!"
The moment those final two words left her mouth, Xiao Chen visibly withered.
He understood.
Despite possessing both the Immortal Body and the Myriad Dao Immortal Eyes, two supreme talents, he had still lost to Xiao Fan—
A man with no extraordinary physique or innate talent at all.
This was an enormous blow to his reputation.
From this day onward, very few people would continue to place their hopes in him.
Even the Xiao Clan itself would suffer tremendous losses because of today's defeat.
Originally, Xiao Chen had hoped to muddy the waters and somehow force the match into a draw.
If that happened, perhaps he could challenge Xiao Fan again in the future.
But Li Xun's words had shattered all of those hopes.
Losing to someone else would have been one thing.
But he had lost to Xiao Fan.
Xiao Fan was merely an independent cultivator who had never enjoyed the Xiao Clan's abundant resources or inherited treasures.
He had even been several years younger than Xiao Chen.
This filled Xiao Chen's heart with overwhelming unwillingness and resentment.
When he looked toward Li Xun again, a trace of icy hatred appeared in his eyes.
In his view, everything that had happened today—the complete reversal of the situation—had all begun with Li Xun's arrival.
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Note:
Cultivation Realm so far:
1, Body Refinement
2, Qi Condensation
3, Spirit Meridian
4, Profound Elixir
5, Divine Power
6, Life and Death
7, Divine Palace
8, Half-Saint
9, Saint
10, Saint King
11, Great Saint
12, Quasi-Emperor
13, Great Emperor
14, Immortal
15, Immortal Emperor
Treasure Level so far:
1, Mortal Weapon
2, Magical Treasure
3, Spiritual Treasure
4, Dao Weapon
5, Sacred Weapon
6, Sacred King Weapon
7, Imperial Weapon
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Tn: I updated the story everyday, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter in Patreon: Chapter 426: This... Is That Even Possible[1]?
Link to the latest chapter: https://www.patreon.com/HannibalNotBarca/posts/i-thanks-to-my-169405188[2]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/HannibalNotBarca/posts/i-thanks-to-my-169405188
[2] https://www.patreon.com/HannibalNotBarca/posts/i-thanks-to-my-169405188