Chapter 115: Before the Great Battle

The so-called Mana Crystal refers to a solid-like form created by highly compressing mana. It is well known that the state of mana evolves progressively: during the Qi Refining stage, it is gaseous; at the Foundation Establishment stage, it becomes liquid; and by the Golden Core stage, it solidifies. With each evolution, its quality undergoes a revolutionary improvement. Many spells, especially those of great power, require high-quality mana to activate.

The Ten Dragon Fist is currently one of Jiang An’s trump cards. During the Qi Refining stage, Jiang An could only unleash the first move, Dragon Break. The reason he could use the second move was due to the cold spirit energy passed from Tong Yi, whose essence allowed the activation. Therefore, to use the second or even third move of the Ten Dragon Fist, Jiang An’s alternative was the Mana Crystal.

Novice cultivators at the Qi Refining stage cannot solidify mana for two reasons: their meridians and dantian do not meet the requirements, and their understanding and control of mana are insufficient. Neither of these posed a problem for Jiang An. He could refine the spiritual energy from spirit stones into mana, then compress it highly to form a solid state, sealing it separately instead of integrating it into the dantian’s energy whirlpool. This way, it could be used immediately when needed.

...

Great Solitary Reef is a name unfamiliar to many countrymen. After all, it is just a small island in Haiwei City, Dongshan Province. Although there is a small scenic area on the island, it is mostly frequented by locals and is hardly notable.

However, shortly after the New Year, locals discovered that the authorities refused outsiders access to the Great Solitary Reef. Even the staff of the scenic area were sent away for a vacation. Observers noticed that the military had seemingly sealed off the reef and the surrounding sea area.

Stranger still, on the second day of the second lunar month—Dragon Raises Its Head Day—numerous yachts set sail from Haiwei, heading in the direction of Great Solitary Reef. What the public did not know was that on this day, yachts from around the world nearly filled the reef to capacity.

The news that masters from China and Japan would engage in a fierce battle here was known throughout the global cultivation community. Representing China was the newly risen martial prodigy Jiang An, dubbed "The Demon," who had been active for only half a year but had left countless renowned old masters defeated in his wake. On the Japanese side stood Kamitani Masato, a formidable veteran with a half-century of fame, a world-renowned grandmaster of the third realm, ranked seventh on the Divine List—a terrifying presence no one dared underestimate.

Thus, this battle was dubbed the most sensational event in the global cultivation world in the past decade, a must-see spectacle. Organized by China and Japan, masters and factions worldwide sent representatives to witness it, while underground casinos had already opened betting odds: even money for Kamitani Masato to win, triple payout if Jiang An triumphed, indicating most favored Kamitani. Many believed this fight was merely a senior teaching a junior a lesson, especially since Jiang An had killed Kamitani’s beloved disciple.

“Wow, I thought we arrived early to secure a good spot, but so many people are already here!” Onboard a yacht sailing closer, Gao Chao stared at the dense fleet of yachts and the crowd, somewhat stunned. This yacht belonged to Yumen Sect, and besides him, there were Dao Mo, Fan Jun, and members from the four great sects. Naturally, they came to support their sect leader Jiang An’s grand battle. Cheng Yang was cultivating a critical breakthrough and had stayed behind, but a new passenger named Wang Bixuan had joined the yacht.

“Brother Wang, since I recently ascended to grandmaster and my experience is limited, could you introduce some of the martial elites present?” Dao Mo politely asked Wang Bixuan.

At this moment, the Yumen yacht found a good spot to anchor, and they stood chatting on the bow deck.

“Ha ha, of course,” Wang Bixuan said confidently, stroking his chin beard. “Most here are from China’s prestigious sects, but they’re mostly spectators, so I won’t dwell on them. That group over there is from the five great clans; the Shen family, who had a feud with our Brother Jiang, is among them. Over by those yachts—blond hair, blue eyes, judging by their emblem—they seem European. They probably have at least one red-robed archbishop-level expert with them. That group should be from the Rose Kingdom. On the other side, those two yachts are Southeast Asian, and the adjacent ones likely from South America. That seems to cover it.”

“Mostly spectators, then. The real participants haven’t appeared yet, right? Oh, here comes another group. Judging by their aura, could they be the Four Great Families?” Dao Mo said, pointing to four or five luxury yachts approaching from the sea.

“Good eye. Only the Four Great Families openly acknowledge their status domestically. Each brings one yacht. The one on the far left, flying the jade pendant emblem, belongs to the Song family,” Wang Bixuan explained.

“Our sect leader has a special relationship with the Songs. We should pay our respects when the time comes,” Dao Mo chuckled. “He probably arrived last, following the Guardians of the Nation Manor.”

“The protagonist always makes the grand entrance last! Speaking of the Manor, I have a secret to share,” Wang Bixuan said mysteriously. “Recently, Lord Zhuque from the Manor came out of seclusion and the first thing he did was slay Elder Yuan Yong, the chief of internal affairs!”

Upon hearing this, Dao Mo’s expression changed sharply. He waved the others away, as although they were eager to listen, not all had grandmaster status and thus were not qualified to know such matters.

“Yuan Yong? I heard from the sect leader that he was the patriarch of the Yuan family in Lin City, conspiring with the Divine Medicine Mountain to frame our sect leader?” Dao Mo pressed.

“Exactly. The higher-ups put up with his nonsense for a time. You know the dangerous mission Brother Jiang undertook—it was risky enough. Who expected the empty Lang Stone to be a trap? It was hollow inside! If he had obtained the inheritance treasure from it, they might have overlooked it. But he got nothing and ended up with a loss. Lord Zhuque’s temper flared immediately—before other envoys could calm him, he crushed Yuan Yong to death. Unfortunately, I was away on a mission and missed the scene,” Wang Bixuan lamented.

Dao Mo, unfazed, sneered, “At least Lord Zhuque did something good. Otherwise, I would have killed such a scoundrel myself if the sect leader didn’t.”

Suddenly, Wang Bixuan felt a chill wash over him. Startled by the intense killing intent emanating from Dao Mo, he thought to himself, “Dao Mo only recently became a grandmaster—how is his aura even stronger than mine? Impossible!”

Unbeknownst to him, Dao Mo had been converting his internal martial energy into mana all this time. In a sense, he was no longer a mere martial grandmaster but a genuine cultivator, his strength far beyond ordinary standards.

Noticing Wang Bixuan’s surprise, Dao Mo retracted his aura and smiled. “Let’s not dwell on the past. By the way, the Japanese side should arrive late, right?”

Wang Bixuan suppressed his doubts and replied, “Yes, the agreed time is dusk. Those Japanese are quite cunning. Although Kamitani Masato is a grandmaster of the third realm, his specialty is exorcising ghosts and spirits. Naturally, he doesn’t want to fight at midday when the yang energy is strongest, as his power would be reduced by 10 to 20 percent. Fighting at night would be unfair to our side, so dusk was agreed upon.”

Dao Mo nodded in agreement.

“By the way, the underground casinos must be betting on Brother Jiang to win. How much have you wagered?” Wang Bixuan asked curiously.

Dao Mo grinned, holding up a hand and flexing his fingers twice.

Wang Bixuan gasped, “One billion?”

“Yes, in gold coins!” Dao Mo said confidently.

“So confident? Has Brother Jiang told you something?”

“Heh, I know our sect leader’s strength well. Brother Wang, if you trust me, you’d better place your bets on our leader while you still can.”

Seeing Dao Mo’s assured demeanor, Wang Bixuan felt tempted. As he pondered, Dao Mo suddenly said, “That’s the Manor’s ship—our sect leader has arrived!”