In the Holy See.
The dawn light sprinkled on the front of the church. Pious believers prostrated themselves before the solemn statues, creating a scene of solemnity and sanctity. However, they would never have imagined that the deity they worshipped was not God, but merely a powerful cultivator from the depths of space.
When Zhang Fan and a few others appeared above the Holy See, their unreservedly powerful auras were exceptionally conspicuous. Looking at the six figures suspended in mid-air, the believers below, who were praying, were momentarily stunned. They then reacted, mistaking them for divine messengers, and began to worship them, their devout expressions unable to conceal their excitement.
"A bunch of idiots!"
Xue Jing, who was most disgusted by the Holy See's methods of evangelism, let out a soft snort. With a wave of his hand, he unleashed a massive palm strike, shattering the giant sacred statue that had stood before the church for a hundred years.
"Get lost, do you want to die?"
Looking at the stunned crowd below, Xue Jing roared, his voice carrying an immeasurable pressure that swept across the entire Holy See. The common people felt their world spin and their bodies falter.
After a while, they regained their senses and fled outwards in a frenzy.
The originally sacred and solemn church was now in disarray. The statue was shattered by Xue Jing's strike, and a huge crater was left in front of the church doors, as if struck by a natural disaster.
"Austen, come out and die!"
Xue Jing gathered his energy and shouted, his voice imbued with divine sense attack, covering the entire Holy See.
Within the Holy See, some saints who were in secluded cultivation were suddenly swept by a powerful divine sense, causing them to vomit blood and their eyes to fill with horror. They were instantly heavily injured.
As for some weaker extraordinary beings, their consciousness was directly thrown into chaos and they fell unconscious after being grazed by Xue Jing's powerful divine sense.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Sounds of breaking wind echoed from all directions of the Holy See. The Divine Realm and Core Formation realm powerhouses of the Holy See were all alarmed and appeared in unison.
"Six Divine Realm cultivators, five Core Formation realm cultivators. It seems the Holy See has developed well over the years!" Xue Jing looked at the assembled powerhouses of the Holy See opposite him, completely unfazed, his words carrying a hint of mockery.
"Blood Ancestor?"
The white-robed elder leading the group was the strongest among the arbiters, but his cultivation was only at the peak of the middle Core Formation realm.
He had been quite pleased when he first saw Zhang Fan. Zhang Fan had stolen their Holy See's protective treasure, the 'Heart of Holy Light', and they had been searching for him ever since.
A year ago, Zhang Fan had appeared in China and fought against four Core Formation realm cultivators, killing them all. This news had already spread throughout the martial arts world in China. With the influence of the Holy See, they had naturally received the intelligence.
They didn't know why Zhang Fan's strength had grown so rapidly, but they didn't care. As long as Zhang Fan dared to appear at the Holy See, they could immediately awaken the Arbitrator Master.
With the Arbitrator Master's strength, killing Zhang Fan would be a mere trifle.
However, what they hadn't expected was that among those who appeared with Zhang Fan at the Holy See was the Blood Ancestor of the Blood Clan, who hadn't been seen for centuries.
Coupled with the Pope, who had recently broken through to the Core Formation realm, three of their five arbitrators had experienced the great war against the Blood Clan hundreds of years ago.
They had seen the Blood Ancestor and had a very deep impression of him. That handsome man, with skin as fair as jade, was undoubtedly the enemy their Holy See feared the most.
Even their Arbitrator Master had only managed to heavily injure the Blood Ancestor by means of strategy. Even so, their Holy See had only managed to gain a slight advantage in that war, not a true victory.
After all, their Holy See had lost quite a number of Core Formation realm cultivators in that war, and their Arbitrator Master had also been injured by the Blood Ancestor.
But now, looking at the Blood Ancestor's appearance, it seemed his injuries had completely recovered, which made the arbiters present uneasy.
With the Blood Ancestor's strength, dealing with a group of Core Formation realm cultivators like them would be a one-sided massacre once combat began.
"Hurry and awaken Arbitrator Master!"
The white-robed elder leading the group spoke in a low voice tinged with a tremor. He had completely disregarded Zhang Fan. The arrival of the Blood Ancestor made him realize that today might see the outbreak of another earth-shattering battle, a battle for the survival of their Holy See!
"That cunning fellow Austen is still asleep. I don't believe it!"
Xue Jing took a step forward and stomped fiercely towards the Holy See. A massive blood-colored footprint materialized beneath his foot, heading straight for the church!
The immense power stirred by the Blood Ancestor's strike sent a chill down the spines of the five arbitrators. The strength of a Second-Rank Golden Core cultivator was far beyond what they could resist.
Therefore, they could only watch helplessly as the giant blood-colored footprint descended towards the church, which was sacred in their hearts.
Just as the giant blood-colored footprint was about to land on the church, a snow-white spear shot out from the church and collided with the blood-colored footprint.
With a low clashing sound, the blood-colored footprint stomped out by Xue Jing was dispersed by the snow-white spear, turning into a mist of blood that enveloped the area above the church.
"Brother Xue Jing, it's been centuries. Must you destroy my home the moment we meet?"
As a voice echoed from within the Holy See, everyone saw a middle-aged man clad in a silver, radiant holy robe, with a remarkably kind face, emerge from the mist of blood. He stood in the air, facing Xue Jing from afar.
"Arbitrator Master!"
The group of Core Formation and Divine Realm powerhouses of the Holy See were overjoyed to see the middle-aged man.
"Another Golden Core realm cultivator!"
Wu Chen Jian Xian felt immense pressure from the middle-aged man, no less than the pressure Xue Jing exerted on him. This made him realize that the middle-aged man was likely also a Second-Rank Golden Core cultivator.
"Austen!"
Xue Jing's eyes blazed with intense battle intent. Due to underestimating his opponent in the great war centuries ago, he had suffered significant losses at Austen's hands. Now that his strength had fully recovered, he sought to reclaim his honor.
"Today, not only will I destroy your home, but I will also cleave you with my axe and eliminate all these young fellows under your command!" Xue Jing, with his straightforward personality, directly stated his intentions.
"Brother Xue Jing and I are both here for the opportunities on this planet. We are fellow travelers on the path of cultivation. There are not many people on this planet I can talk to, and Brother Xue Jing is one of them. Why must we fight to the death!" Austen said gently.
"Enough with the nonsense. A battle between us is inevitable. Today, your path of cultivation ends here!"
Xue Jing waved his hand and retrieved a blood-colored battle axe from his storage space, which was only a few square meters in size. The enormous axe emanated a terrifying killing aura.
"This fellow seems to have some skills!" Zhang Fan smiled as he looked at the blood-colored battle axe in Xue Jing's hand, as he could tell it was a mid-grade spiritual treasure with formidable power.
"Although Brother Xue Jing has been in seclusion for centuries, your confidence has not waned from back then. Why are you so sure you can slay me with your axe?" Austen held his snow-white spear, his expression calm, as if he didn't take Xue Jing seriously at all.
"Haha, although we are both Second-Rank Golden Core cultivators, you should understand that I have condensed the Six Dao Golden Core Dao Marks, while you have only condensed five Dao Marks!"
"Even if you have reached the middle Core Formation realm now, you will not escape my grasp alive!"
Xue Jing said proudly. Six Dao Golden Core Dao Marks were the pinnacle among Second-Rank Golden Cores, second only to First-Rank Golden Core cultivators. Xue Jing indeed had the capital to be arrogant.
"Brother Xue Jing, your vision is as sharp as ever. Although the spiritual energy on this planet is extremely scarce, I have found some opportunities that allowed me to break through a minor realm." Austen smiled, not hiding anything.
When Xue Jing and Austen first arrived on Earth, they were both only at the early Core Formation realm. Although Xue Jing had stayed on Earth for over a thousand years, most of that time was spent in slumber, recovering from his injuries.
Moreover, the spiritual energy on Earth was too thin. It was incredibly difficult to condense a Golden Core on Earth, let alone for a Golden Core realm cultivator to improve their cultivation, which was as difficult as reaching the heavens.
Xue Jing ignored Austen's words. He clenched the giant battle axe with his snow-white hands, leaped up, and struck directly at Austen.
He knew Austen was a chatterbox, and if they kept talking like this, this battle would never begin today.
Therefore, he didn't engage in any further pleasantries and attacked directly.
...
ps; I hope everyone will leave more comments to urge updates, which will give me more motivation to write!