Night of Despair

The black sword shot forward, and in an instant, it was at Yu Hong's chest.

However, although the speed was fast, it was far from the swiftness when Hei Ying intervened before, at best only two or three times the speed of sound. Though faster than Yu Hong, it was not completely uncatchable.

Bang.

Yu Hong suddenly raised his hand, his right hand formed into a tiger claw, catching the sword's side.

His body had been strengthened multiple times, and after the refinement of Golden Core True Essence, it had reached a new height, much faster than before.

At this moment, he struck the target with one blow.

Under the intense collision, tens of thousands of tons of explosive power erupted between the claw and the sword.

The floor beneath Yu Hong cracked into a large area. This was due to the array's protection, and the hardness of the material, causing only such a response.

If it had been the land outside, his legs would have sunk, and the ground would have exploded into a big crater.

Yu Hong deflected the black sword with one claw and rushed towards Hei Ying.

But before he could get close, another sharp pain shot down from above.

Looking up, the black sword had circled in mid-air and was coming back, falling at great speed towards his head.

Clang!

Yu Hong again deflected the black sword with one claw.

But this time, he could not get closer to Hei Ying, as the black sword continuously circled him, piercing and flying around, its immense power hindering his every move.

Hei Ying stood not far away, forming a sword gesture with one hand and easily commanding the black sword to change.

"Little junior brother, you just broke through your cultivation. You haven't fully utilized the power of late-stage Golden Core True Essence yet. Such usage will only...."

Crack.

Suddenly, a faint cracking sound was heard.

Hei Ying's face changed abruptly, urgently summoning the black sword in front of her.

With a swoosh, the black sword flew back, already covered with dense tiny cracks!

"!!??" Hei Ying could not understand and looked up at Yu Hong opposite her.

"What have you done!?"

"??" Yu Hong was also a bit confused. But it did not stop him from taking the opportunity to sprint and close the distance.

In the next second, the two collided fiercely.

Yu Hong struck with his right hand using eighty percent of his strength, aiming at the opponent's shoulder.

This claw met with Hei Ying's raised left palm.

Boom!!

Upon contact, Yu Hong had no significant reaction, but Hei Ying's face changed drastically.

An overwhelming force, far beyond the late-stage Golden Core, surged from the opposite side, at least five times stronger!

The terrifying power instantly triggered a higher level of Nascent Soul power to protect her body.

With a buzz, a black light screen suddenly appeared on Hei Ying's body, forcefully blocking the incoming force.

Despite this, Hei Ying staggered back several steps, her face stiff.

'Is it a secret explosive technique? Let's see how long he can hold out!'

With her Nascent Soul cultivation triggered, she had essentially lost.

However, since it was sudden and Yu Xuezi and Bai Sheng wanted to see Yu Hong's limits, they did not call to stop but continued to spar.

Yu Hong felt it was normal and continued to engage in close combat.

In an instant, the two moved across the courtyard, flashing around, sometimes dashing, sometimes instantaneously moving. The black sword, wrapped in mana, reassembled and healed, wielded in Hei Ying's hand like a black streak of lightning, flickering.

Yu Hong fought honorably, using punches, kicks, palms, and claws, responding to each move quickly.

He was much slower than his opponent, but his immense strength made a difference. One punch, if it didn't hit, was fine, but if it did, it immediately knocked the black sword off balance, causing the mana to scatter. The reassembly required more time, giving him more breathing room.

Moreover, Yu Hong's mana combined with his physical body made his defense strong. The black sword barely scratched him unless he couldn't dodge, leaving only shallow marks.

These marks quickly healed under a pale golden light.

"This... I remember the little junior brother hasn't really practiced our sect's Immortal Realm attack techniques?" Bai Sheng hesitated outside the array.

"Yes, he indeed has not chosen any strong attack secret techniques," Yu Xuezi nodded. "What he uses is still the Chaotic God Heavenly Eye Skill he knew before joining our sect. Although it is a lost superior martial art, it is still just martial arts, unlike our Immortal Dao techniques. It mainly cultivates Inner Strength."

"But what's with little junior brother's monstrous strength?" Bai Sheng frowned, "Clearly, I observed carefully, and his True Essence usage was just the normal output of late-stage Golden Core, but when he strikes, it's immediately several times stronger! It's outrageous."

Yu Xuezi shook her head, "I can't figure it out either. It should be your little junior brother's natural monstrous strength..."

"This..." Bai Sheng was speechless.

Watching as Hei Ying began using Nascent Soul early stage power to enhance the black sword, he felt somewhat shocked.

It's astonishing enough that little junior brother's cultivation was rising fast, but now even his combat power could surpass levels....

Is this the level of a genius Immortal Seed?

"Enough." At this moment, Yu Xuezi spoke to stop them. "The result is clear."

With a slight flick of her finger, a pure white True Yuan turned into a white line, instantly cutting between Yu Hong and Hei Ying, forming an extremely hard barrier, separating the two.

In the center of the field, Hei Ying's face was flushed with frustration as she gripped the Black Sword, wanting to continue.

Yu Hong, on the other hand, remained calm as if he had just gone through a routine warm-up.

"Alright, I can see the basic situation clearly now, it's enough," Yu Xuezi said, "I have a rough idea about Zheng Rou's magic treasure. After returning this time, come here again in three days."

"Yes, Master." Yu Hong immediately bowed.

Hei Ying also followed suit in greeting. She was really confused from the beating. She had suppressed her cultivation to the Golden Core Late Stage, yet her True Yuan at the Late Stage was still not enough to match Yu Hong.

Despite having the same True Yuan output, and she even output a bit faster, she still couldn't win.

And it wasn't just a minor loss; the disparity was so vast that she was completely crushed. This left her no choice but to use her Nascent Soul Power.

Otherwise, she would have been forced out of the field after a few exchanges.

"Hei Ying, you will take your junior disciple out to train later, is that alright? Focus more on cultivation and stop fooling around with your senior brother all day long," Yu Xuezi reprimanded.

Even though Yu Hong's performance in this duel was surprising, Hei Ying's reaction left him somewhat disappointed.

"Understood...." Hei Ying reluctantly bowed her head.

After the test, the disciples gathered around to ask Yu Xuezi some questions about their cultivation difficulties.

They also inquired about Yu Hong's recent outings, and Bai Sheng talked about his recent inspections of the surrounding planets.

"Because a large number of Black Tide monsters have appeared recently, I decided to look for the source around us. You know, the low-level monsters from the ordinary Gates of Despair pose no threat to us, but if the radiation becomes strong enough, extremely powerful top-tier monsters might emerge, like Immortal Level, or even Contamination Level terrifying entities," Bai Sheng narrated while sitting cross-legged in the pavilion, with others sitting around him, listening intently.

"After destroying more than ten Gates of Despair in a row, I finally made a discovery." He paused and took a sip of tea, "On a small asteroid near Fixed Star Ningyang, I found a special Night Pool."

"Night Pool? Isn't that the so-called malicious wishing device created by the Black Disaster to tempt fools?" Hei Ying asked doubtfully.

"Yes, but this Night Pool is different. If the previous ones were crude versions, this one is much more refined and complete. The difference is significant. It seems like something is being nurtured inside, and there are four strong monsters guarding around it, so I couldn't get close to observe it carefully," Bai Sheng answered.

"Even you, senior brother, couldn't get close. It seems the Night Pool has a very high level...." Quan He said.

"Indeed, in that case, I'll go check it out with you later. If possible, we'll destroy it. You all stay on the Mining Star and stay vigilant," Yu Xuezi said solemnly.

"Yes," they all nodded in response.

"Additionally, Zheng Rou, it's best to keep your Black Black Spirit within Wanxue Palace for now, just in case," Yu Xuezi specifically looked at Yu Hong.

Right now, Yu Hong was his hope for leaving Mining Star in the future. Even if not for leaving Mining Star, with Yu Hong's exhibited talent, he might have a chance of becoming a Golden Immortal in the future.

By then, Wanxue Palace would once again shine because of him!

The reason it's just a chance is that achieving high-level realms and cultivation isn't solely based on talent; many factors like timing, environment, and experience through numerous hardships are required.

Talent is merely a necessary condition, but having talent does not guarantee becoming a Golden Immortal.

After giving some words of advice, Yu Xuezi dismissed everyone.

Quan He did not return to Black Black Spirit with Yu Hong but went to her self-built Crane Spirit House instead.

It was a new safe house she built by imitating Black Black Spirit, but its strength was far inferior to Black Black Spirit, so it was temporarily built within Wanxue Palace for protection.

Yu Hong performed an instantaneous movement and appeared directly in front of Black Black Spirit Gate, about to open the door and enter when a golden light flashed across the sky behind him.

The halo illuminated the Black Black Spirit gate with a faint golden hue.

He quickly turned back and saw a large mass of surging Black Tide falling swiftly from beyond the atmosphere in the direction north of Wanxue Palace's sky.

In the black tide, countless Black Disaster Monsters were squeezed together, twisted and bizarre, emitting a nauseating noise that made people feel extremely uncomfortable.

They moved like waves, flowing like liquid, scattering in large swathes.

Below, above the numerous palace buildings of Wanxue Palace, a layer of golden protective shield appeared.

As soon as the protective shield came into contact with the Black Tide monsters, it ignited them, turning them into golden torches, illuminating the surroundings.

The golden flames spread rapidly around, quickly igniting the entire sky filled with Black Tide monsters.

"Don't worry, I will handle it," Yu Xuezi's voice sounded in his ear.

Yu Hong nodded quickly and bowed. Then he turned to open the door and went inside.

After entering, he stood by the window, staring at the sky above Wanxue Palace where the Black Tide was being set ablaze.

The Black Tide continued to plummet endlessly, but before it could fully descend, it was ignited into golden flames and burned to ashes in mid-air.

From afar, it looked like a giant golden torch was burning above the white palatial structures of Wanxue Palace.

"So this is Contamination?"

He was deeply shocked.

He had clearly sensed that Master had only used a tiny bit of mana just now.

But even that tiny bit had first ignited a small part of the Black Tide outside the light shield. Starting from that small part, it rapidly spread around, turning the entire sky full of Black Tide monsters into fuel within seconds.

'Contamination is essentially high-level power crushing low-level power.... Or perhaps, it's the rapid spreading....'

Yu Hong looked up at the golden flames in the sky and felt something.

Master's power was indeed terrifying, and the Contamination Realm was far beyond his current understanding.

Seeing the situation stabilize, Yu Hong swiftly lowered the shield and returned to the Main Control Room, sitting cross-legged.

His trait fusion was about to be completed.... He was always filled with anticipation for new traits.

This was like drawing lots; although most of the time there wasn't anything particularly good, what if?