Within the illusory Tai Xu realm, Jiang Wang steered the Sword Debate Platform, piercing directly into the starry river.

The two Sword Debate Platforms collided, transforming the scene.

Once again, it was that same square room, simple and vast.

Once again, it was Dugu Wudi and Zhen Wudi.

“Brother Dugu, long time no see!” Zhen the Fatty appeared overjoyed.

The words had barely left his mouth when he was swept away by a whirlwind, dodging Jiang Wang’s incoming sword light.

“Hey, why attack right away! Can’t we reminisce a bit?”

His mouth never stopped, nor did his hands.

He adroitly unleashed two wind blades to force Jiang Wang back, followed by rising earth spikes and entangling vines.

Jiang Wang swung his sword, shattering the wind, and surged forward.

He smashed the earth spikes and advanced.

He severed the vines and continued his assault.

The Purple Qi East Comes sword art was infused into every move, as Jiang Wang relentlessly pressed forward, without pause.

The battle space was quite vast, but even so, Zhen Wudi was forced to retreat again and again.

Especially since Jiang Wang intentionally maintained the pressure, driving him all the way towards the corner, locking down his maneuvering space.

Zhen the Fatty was shocked to discover that, after a period of absence, his opponent was already adept at countering his dazzling array of Daoist techniques!

No matter how many unexpected moves he employed, he was still gradually being confined.

Left with no choice, he began to unleash his full strength.

His fingers shifted, the speed of his incantations was almost illusory! Now, each of his Daoist techniques was completed within half a breath, achieving a “pseudo-instant” effect.

Three golden light arrows formed a triangular formation to clear the way. Jiang Wang barely avoided them, only to face a row of wind blades slicing diagonally towards him.

Jiang Wang’s sword surged with purple Qi, sweeping away the power of the Daoist techniques. Zhen the Fatty, however, was already enveloped in a whirlwind, leaping out of the predicament in one fell swoop!

His pseudo-instant state could not be sustained for long; otherwise, he could have unleashed a complete attack to defeat Jiang Wang. But using it solely to break free was sufficient.

However, the moment he leaped out, he was greeted by two extremely nimble vine snakes!

In truth, Jiang Wang’s Daoist techniques were never weak. The mastery of the Azure Dragon Chapter of the Four Spirits Body Refinement Technique, in particular, made him intimately familiar with the Wood element, increasing his control over Wood-type Daoist techniques by at least thirty percent.

It was only in their previous battle that Jiang Wang realized his incantation speed was one to two breaths slower than this fatty’s. Therefore, he had been cautious with his Daoist techniques, holding back until the most critical moment.

When Zhen Wudi’s pseudo-instant state vanished, and he thought himself free.

Those two vine snakes not only blocked his path but also attacked from such treacherous and vicious angles that they were difficult to evade.

And behind him, Jiang Wang had once again caught up, sword in hand.

“I thought I’d found a fat sheep… As expected, everyone who appears in this wretched place is a monster.”

Even in such a critical moment, Zhen Wudi managed to mutter a complaint.

In mid-air, he conjured a water shield to meet Jiang Wang’s sword. His obese frame did not hinder his nimble turn, and he actually reached out to grab one of the vine snakes, slamming it into the other.

Jiang Wang had already learned the lesson from the Heavy Water Shield; of course, he wouldn’t make the same mistake again. With a downward slash, his entire body rapidly dipped low, passing under Zhen Wudi, before raising his sword from behind him!

At this moment, Zhen Wudi had just dealt with the vine snakes, and his fat hand pressed down, sending a fireball straight towards Jiang Wang’s face.

The sword light slashed horizontally!

Jiang Wang intended to cut the fireball directly, not giving Zhen Wudi another chance to escape.

But his sword felt incredibly heavy!

What nonsense about a Heavy Water Shield; it was all a lie. Zhen Wudi’s trump card wasn’t the Heavy Water Shield, but rather the ability to compress gravity onto any Daoist technique. At least, that was the case with this fireball.

Boom!

The explosive shockwave erupted, and Jiang Wang, unable to dodge in time, was instantly blasted into dust.

Zhen Wudi plopped down on the ground, wiping away sweat, and said, “Damn, I almost lost for real this time.”

……

[The opponent has refused the challenge.]

In the blessed land, Jiang Wang felt a toothache of frustration. He had just forced out the fatty’s hidden card, and he was about to wash away his previous humiliation, but he hadn’t expected this dead fatty to have another trick up his sleeve!

But despite that, after replaying the battle, Jiang Wang admitted that he wasn’t entirely without a chance of winning. The main thing was that he had been too eager for success in the final moments. If he had continued to execute the oppressive tactics and not given Zhen the Fatty a chance, he might not have lost the fight.

The loss of twenty merit points pained him, leaving him with only 3340 points in total.

What was most hateful was that just as he wanted to fight again, the fatty had actually refused!

A fat paper crane flew over, bearing the message: Brother Dugu, the fun is over for today; let us fight another day!

What happened to always saying you’d spar whenever you had time?

When not in the Tai Xu realm, this fatty would send a paper crane every day, begging for a fight. But after fighting just one match today, he was already satisfied?

Jiang Wang replied: Shameless!

Zhen Wudi: Why are you cursing?

Dugu Wudi: If you’re not convinced, come and fight.

Zhen Wudi: Heh, I won’t fall for your provocation.

Jiang Wang was too lazy to reply and began to replay the entire battle in his mind, looking for the points where he had made mistakes, in order to avoid repeating them next time. This was a habit he had always maintained, and it was one of the reasons why his strength had improved so quickly.

Zhen Wudi: Why aren’t you talking?

Zhen Wudi: Brother Dugu?

[Zhen Wudi invites you to enter the Starry River Space. Agree/Reject.]

Jiang Wang thought about it and, out of curiosity about the Starry River Space, chose to agree.

The Sword Debate Platform activated, and the environment transformed. Jiang Wang appeared in a small pavilion.

The pavilion was suspended in the void.

In the distance, the starry river hung upside down, and nearby, stars filled the sky. Shooting stars occasionally streaked past on both sides.

It was a truly magnificent sight.

The interior of the pavilion was extremely shabby, with only a stone table and two stone chairs.

Zhen the Fatty’s fat was piled up in one of the chairs.

“Hey, hey, don’t attack. This isn’t a place for sword debates!” he said, waving his hands.

Jiang Wang looked around, but did not speak.

Zhen Wudi grumbled to himself, “Just this broken place cost me ten merit points? I just earned those back for nothing.”

Jiang Wang’s eyelids twitched when he heard that, because the ten merit points the fatty had earned were precisely his.

“Ahem.” Zhen Wudi changed the subject and said confidently, “After that battle just now, I’m sure you already know my background.”

He didn’t want to reveal his identity in the Tai Xu realm. However, during the battle just now, he couldn’t resist revealing his first trump card. Because he had already revealed one, he recklessly revealed the second as well.

This meant that his identity could no longer be concealed, as his family’s signature technique was too famous.

Of course, this was only Zhen Wudi’s own thought.

In reality, Jiang Wang had no idea who he was.

“Ah, so you’re…”

“Yes, I am…” Zhen Wudi waited for a long time, only to realize that Jiang Wang had not continued the sentence.

He could only chuckle and say, “You understand.”

Jiang Wang understood nothing at all.

“Is there anything you want to talk to me about?” he asked.

“Hehe, Brother Dugu, don’t you think it’s too boring in the Tai Xu realm? Every time we come in, there’s only a small room three steps wide, and all we do is fight. If we deduce, the merit points are pitifully low. I contributed quite a few techniques just to accumulate a little bit. If we fight, there are so many freaks!” Zhen Wudi seemed to have harbored these complaints for a long time.

“You’re the first person to reply to me with so much, so I invited you over to chat and make friends.” Zhen Wudi looked around and continued, “When the Hongmeng Space opens up in the future, it will be much easier to find places to chat, and we won’t need to spend merit points.”

In terms of understanding the Tai Xu realm, Jiang Wang was naturally far inferior to the fatty in front of him, because his Void Key was “picked up.” He didn’t originally have a spot in the Tai Xu realm.

From Zhen Wudi’s words, Jiang Wang gained a lot of information. One was that people like Zhen Wudi only had a small room three steps wide as their base in the Tai Xu realm. He was different; he had a blessed land. Although its ranking was getting lower and lower…

The second was that it was possible to contribute techniques to the Tai Xu realm in order to gain merit points in return.

The third was that the Tai Xu realm would open a Hongmeng Space in the future, which should be a place similar to a public space. Moreover, entering would not cost merit points, clearly encouraging communication.

Under what circumstances would such a space need to be opened? Jiang Wang could only think of one possibility—the number of people in the Tai Xu realm would increase!

Perhaps one day, the Tai Xu realm would be opened to all cultivators.

And having already experienced the benefits of the Tai Xu realm, Jiang Wang could fully imagine what a great transformation and torrent of human progress that would be.

Perhaps it would directly change the entire current world’s extraordinary landscape!