Cultivation Online

Since the fourth match took several hours to conclude, Yuan had plenty of time to recover his strength even though he'd barely used any of it.

Furthermore, Yuan did not recognize the fighters for the fourth match, as he doesn't recall seeing them in the qualifiers during the previous trial.

'Did the fighters change because of the changed difficulty?' he wondered to himself.

"That's what a fight should look like!"

"Right?! It isn't a fight if there isn't a pool of blood by the end!"

The giants laughed merrily as the fifth match began.

Once again, it was a fight between giants. The air would vibrate and the ground would tremble with every punch.

Yuan narrowed his eyes at these fighters, as they were both 3rd-level Divine Warriors.

'The fighters for the fourth match were both 2nd level Divine Warriors… Just how much will their cultivation increase by the time it's my turn again?' Yuan's anticipation grew when he came to this realization.

Meanwhile, inside the spectators' area, Xi Meili asked, "Hey, why does that girl beside Yuan look like you?"

Xi Meili stared at Chu Liuxiang, who shrugged, "I don't know."

After the fifth match came to an end, the judge announced, "Sixth match. Royal Guard Basar and Tian Yang!"

"Huh? It's my turn already?" Yuan thought he had to wait a few more matches since there were supposed to be 30 fighters.

'I guess they don't want me to have too much time to recover.' Yuan thought to himself as he went onto the stage.

His opponent was a giant and a member of the Royal Guard that serves the royal family—Giant Emperor Kulas' family.

"The Royal Guards?! I have never seen them appear in the tournament before!" The spectators were especially excited by his presence.

The Royal Guards consist of the strongest warriors on the entire continent and are seldom seen, only appearing during emergencies or when the safety of the royal families is threatened.

Normally, it would be unthinkable for such powerful warriors to appear in a tournament, even if it were the biggest tournament on the continent, but Yuan was inside the Stairway to Heaven, where anything was possible.

Yuan swallowed nervously when he saw Royal Guard Basar's cultivation.

'6th level Divine Warrior?!'

Seeing Yuan's surprised look, Royal Guard Basar spoke in a calm voice, "Although the Royal Guards have never appeared in the tournament before, it's not like we are forbidden from participating. We just don't have a reason to, as we are satisfied with our position."

"However, this year is different. The winner will have a chance to marry Princess Meiya, and I have admired her ever since I first laid my eyes on her. I don't want to bully the weak, but I must acquire the title Colossal at all costs."

Yuan was speechless.

"You may begin!" The judge announced a moment later.

"Mammoth Body Temperament!" Royal Guard Basar roared, immediately activating his body tempering technique, causing his body to grow double in size.

All Royal Guards are bestowed with the Mammoth Body Temperament, a technique derived from the Great Mammoth Body Refinement. While it may be a weaker version of the Great Mammoth Body Refinement, it is still potent enough to rank among the top three techniques on the continent.

'Thankfully, we are limited to our physiques and body refinement techniques,' Yuan thought to himself.

If this was a regular tournament where they are allowed to use martial techniques, he'd have trouble fighting someone at Royal Guard Basar's cultivation.

When it came to a battle of raw strength, one's cultivation wasn't as important as their body's temperament.

However, Royal Guard Basar still had an advantage with his superior cultivation since he could recover his injuries and stamina with spiritual energy, allowing him to fight longer than someone with a lower cultivation.

Of course, one could strengthen their body using spiritual energy, but it won't be anywhere as effective as body tempering, and it consumes too much spiritual energy.

Yuan did not dare to underestimate his opponent and immediately transformed.

"The smell of a beast… how unpleasant!" Royal Guard Basar muttered as he threw a punch at Yuan.

Wanting to test his strength, Yuan confronted the attack with his own punch.

The audience was pushed back by an intense gust of wind the following moment.

In the end, neither Yuan nor Royal Guard Basar moved an inch from their exchange, almost as though they were equal in strength.

Royal Guard Basar wore an expression of incredulity, seemingly unable to fathom that a human could match him in sheer strength.

"Let me see you do that again!" He shouted as he punched again.

"I'll do it as many times as you want!" Yuan smiled.

An even more powerful gust of wind was created a moment later, yet Royal Guard Basar found himself unable to push back Yuan. However, it was the same for Yuan.

Royal Guard Basar remarked with a slight smile, "Seems like your triumph over Warrior Gulag wasn't a mere fluke. It's been a while since I had a decent opponent."

"Nevertheless, if this is the extent of your abilities, defeating me will be beyond your reach."

"Earth Titan Physique!"

In the span of a heartbeat, Royal Guard Basar added another meter to his stature, and his physique became even more chiseled.

"I'll surrender if you can take this punch without any injuries!" Royal Guard Basar exclaimed as he threw his third punch.

Yuan could immediately tell that he wouldn't be able to escape unscathed if he confronted this punch like he did previously, but he also wanted to see the difference in their strength.

"Ha!" Yuan confronted Royal Guard Basar's third punch with all of his strength.

Thump!

The entire stage trembled upon impact, and Yuan felt a shockwave shattering the muscles in his arm under immense force.

Following their clash, Yuan's arm suffered a similar fate to Warrior Gulag's, reduced to ruins under the overwhelming force.

"Burn this into your soul, human! This is the difference between giants and humans!" Royal Guard Basar laughed out loud.