Chapter 5 Challenge

  One month later!

  In the dead of night, on the summit of a tall mountain in the mountains, a burst of cyan light flickered, and from afar, it seemed as if a star had descended upon the mountain peak. To avoid being discovered by others, Shen Xiang used picking herbs as an excuse to come to this remote mountain forest to cultivate.

  Shen Xiang climbed to the top of the mountain in order to absorb more spiritual energy and feel the wind and thunder between heaven and earth. At this moment, only the cloud layer on the top of the mountain was surging up, with strong winds blowing wildly, and occasionally flashing out a few lightning bolts, which fell straight down and struck the top of the mountain, as if they wanted to split it open.

  This astonishing phenomenon was caused by Shen Xiang's cultivation of the Green Dragon God Technique. The fierce winds and thunderbolts were all brought about by his day-long cultivation, and at this moment, the lightning struck his body, not only tempering it but also allowing him to absorb the powerful force of the lightning into his body.

  This move can be described as crazy, knowing that thunder and lightning are the most destructive natural phenomena, even a strong martial artist who has entered the realm of true martial arts does not dare to face it casually, but Shen Xiang's cultivation of the Green Dragon God Technique requires the assistance of heavenly thunder.

  This strange scene continued until midnight before stopping, and Shen Xiang's face, which had been twisted in agony, slowly recovered. His clothes had long since been torn to shreds, and there were many charred and smoking wounds on his body. However, a faint blue light flickered on those wounds, emitting a dense wood-attribute aura that healed the injuries.

  "This little pain is nothing! I will become stronger!" Shen Xiang clenched his fists tightly, shouting in his heart, enduring the wave after wave of lightning strikes, gritting his teeth to endure the pain, letting the thunder and lightning temper his body.

  It's indeed a divine skill, not only can it induce strange phenomena, but also enable the body to withstand lightning strikes, tempering the flesh and making it even stronger.

  A few days passed, Shen Xiang's body was struck by lightning as if it were being tempered, and at this time he had already completed the basic tempering of his body!

  Shen Xiang's eyes snapped open, and two bolts of lightning shot out from his resolute gaze, shocking everyone.

  "Divine power is indeed divine power, and it's truly not something that ordinary martial arts can compare to! In just one month, I've already entered the fifth stage of Mortal Martial Realm!"

  At this time he had already entered the fifth layer of the Mortal Martial Realm!

  Shen Xiang gazed inward at the five true energy vortexes in his dantian, and as long as they grew a bit stronger, he would be able to control the true energy at will. This was the True Energy Realm of the Mortal Martial Fifth Layer!

  He was sixteen years old and possessed the strength of a fifth-level Martial Artist, which could be considered genius!

  Shen Xiang looked at the red and green aura emanating from his hands, one was fire attribute aura, the other was wood attribute aura. This indicated that he had initially mastered the Qinglong Divine Art and Zhuque Divine Art.

  Shen Xiang felt that he was like a new person, his body and true energy were incredibly powerful, after all, it was the true energy condensed from practicing divine skills and the body tempered by practicing divine skills.

  It was at this time that Shen Xiang finally understood why the Divine Art was called the Divine Art - it was a technique that could allow people to cultivate into gods!

  "The spiritual energy here is too poor, if you want to make rapid progress, you can only rely on elixirs! You can now release the true fire of Qi, and start learning alchemy." Su Meiyao transmitted her voice to him.

  Su Mei Yao and Bai Youyou also hope that Shen Xiang can grow up quickly, so they can recover their strength as soon as possible. The situation of having no power at all makes them feel terrified.

  ……

  ……

  "Hey, isn't this Shen Da Gongzi? The genius alchemist of the Medicine Family has issued a challenge to you, saying he wants to compete with you in alchemy and martial arts."

  As soon as Shen Xiang stepped into the Shen family's gate, he saw a arrogant-looking young man say to him.

  "Challenge? When was this?" Shen Xiang was shocked in his heart, he had been out for over ten days.

  "That young man sneered and said, 'So you didn't know, we thought you were afraid and hiding! This was ten days ago, who let your fiancée be eyed by Yao Jia Tiancai? Now you're out of luck.'"

  Shen Xiang had the urge to beat someone up, but he endured it and smiled: "Shen Zhenhua, do you still remember when I threw you down like a dog eating shit when you were young? You're not here to see me make a fool of myself now, are you?"

  This young man's name is Shen Zhenhua, the son of a branch leader of the Shen family. The Shen family has many branches scattered throughout Nanwu Country, and those leaders are also very powerful. They only gather in this Shen Family Manor for some important matters.

  Shen Zhenhua's face was full of anger, but he endured it and sneered: "Of course, I came to see how you were defeated by the genius of the Medicine Family. I really want to see how you lost that beautiful fiancée who looks like a fairy."

  After finishing speaking, Shen Zhenhua left with a big laugh.

  Shen Xiang let out a low hum and quickly left to find his father. On his way back, he heard that something had happened at the Shen family, so those branch leaders would return.

  Tianhu Garden, in a study.

  Shen Xiang hastily ran in and anxiously asked: "Father, has Grandfather really stepped down as the head of the clan?"

  Shen Tianhu's expression was solemn, and he nodded: "It's true! Your grandfather has retired, and he should go to visit those martial arts schools. The leaders of the Shen family branches will arrive here one after another to compete for the position of patriarch."

  The Shen family head stepped down, which means a new head of the family will be elected. At that time, many things may happen because every year when the Shen family elects a new head, there are always many disputes and injuries are inevitable.

  As the head of a martial arts family, one can grasp the highest power and possess abundant resources, which many people would fight to the death for.

  Shen Xiang's father will also contend for the position of patriarch, and when that time comes, Shen Xiang will inevitably be drawn in. If he doesn't have the strength, it would be quite dangerous.

  The position of the Shen family's patriarch has never been inherited, but rather seized through contention. After all, this is a world where strength is revered, and only by displaying formidable power can one gain others' trust. Therefore, to become the patriarch of the Shen family, one must conquer through martial prowess.

  Shen Xiang saw Shen Tianhu's face was very solemn and carefully asked: "Father... is it very tricky?"

  Shen Tianhu let out a light sigh and said, "It's going to be tough. There will be several people vying for the position of clan leader with me, including two brothers who are my greatest concerns... Never mind that now, the genius of the Medicine Clan has issued a challenge to you, go decline it for him."

  Refuse? Shen Xiang hadn't thought of refusing since he learned about the challenge. He was now a martial artist at the fifth level of the Mortal Martial Realm, and he also possessed a divine technique. Because he had cultivated the Taiji Divine Technique to internalize his breath, Shen Tianhu couldn't discover that his son had made rapid progress.

  "Old man, I absolutely cannot let the Xue and Yao families look down on me! I will accept the challenge!" Shen Xiang's eyes were firm, his gaze burning with a fierce determination, as a thick and pure aura suddenly burst forth from his body. This caused Shen Tianhu's pupils to constrict in shock, his heart trembling with astonishment, for he could see that his son was no longer the same as before.

  Shen Tianhu could think of what must have happened to his own son, but he didn't ask much either. He was delighted to see his own son become stronger.

  Shen Tianhu's large hand rested on Shen Xiang's shoulder, and he laughed loudly: "Dad supports you, and must let the genius of the Medicine Family know what it means to have a higher heaven beyond the sky!"

  Shen Xiang laughed and said: "Dad, can you lend me some money?"

  Shen Xiang has a powerful father, but he himself is very poor. His father worries that he will become spoiled, so he always lets him live a simple life, which makes the grandson of the clan leader look very down and out.

  Shen Tianhu was formidable, but in order to enhance his own strength and help Shen Xiang collect elixirs, he had also spent a lot, so he didn't allow Shen Xiang to waste money.

  "What's the purpose?"

  "I want to buy some spiritual medicine to plant." Shen Xiang said in a low voice, his eyes rolling around.

  Cultivating spiritual medicine is an extremely experience-dependent task that requires meticulous care. Generally, those who cultivate spiritual medicine are also alchemists, and they are usually old men with white hair. It's very rare for young people to cultivate spiritual medicine, as they lack experience and patience. Some spiritual medicines take many years to mature.

  Shen Tianhu also saw for the first time that a kid of about ten years old wanted to plant spiritual medicine, but when he saw Shen Xiang's eyes shining with confidence, he reluctantly took out a storage bag.

  "If you're just messing around, I'll beat your butt so badly that sitting on a stool will be a nightmare for you for the next month." Shen Tianhu smiled gloomily, making Shen Xiang shiver.

  "Thirty thousand spirit coins! If you don't have the confidence to double this thirty thousand spirit coins, then don't ask me for money again." Shen Tianhu took out a specially made spirit coin note.

  Shen Xiang smiled and took it over, saying: "Don't worry, I'm a man who's going to become the youngest alchemist in the Shen family!"

  Shen Tianhu was shocked in his heart, he naturally knew that the current Shen Xiang was no longer the Shen Xiang without a spiritual vein. He also secretly rejoiced in his heart, if it were true, then it would make the Shen family even stronger. It's worth noting that the Shen family hadn't produced an alchemist for many years.

  Shen Tianhu burst out laughing: "Then hurry up and get lost to cause trouble, if you don't come up with something fancy for me, you'll be waiting for a beating! I'll go help you respond to the Yao family."

  Shen Xiang took the three thousand taels of silver and hastily left.