Chapter 212: Azure Challenge

"If you want to ask, then hurry up and ask." 

That was all Grand Spirit Master Yao said before shuffling out the way, letting Cain's group face off against Spirit Elder Jiang.

As both sides locked eyes, Spirit Elder Jiang curtly nodded to the trio. He got straight to the point, saying, "Young Cain or Kali, would you two be interested in participating in a Martial Duel?"

Spirit Elder Jiang's voice was quite firm and loud, practically reverberating throughout the entire Grand Plaza. 

As the audience and World Spirit Masters alike heard him, immediate intrigue burst within them.

"High Spirit Elder Jiang wants someone body to duel with the young Spirit Masters? Just who the hell could that be? Spirit Elder Jiang sure is bold for this move..."

"Maybe he is but then again…wouldn't he be stopped by now if he was doing something wrong? Moreover, if one of them agrees, we all get to see either Spirit Master Cain or Kali's prowess in the flesh!"

"Hey…hey yea! This could actually work! Oh, I hope they do accept!" 

Conversations like this spread through the Plaza. 

Martial cultivators and World Spirit Masters alike were now entirely convinced that sibling duo are heaven-defying. Whatever means they pull out will certainly be enlightening to all. 

Even though this was supposed to be an event for only World Spirit Masters, all were eager to see the sibling duo's Martial Prowess.

As the excitement raged around them, Cain, Kali, and Amber's reactions were far more subdued. 

Amber genuinely looked indifferent, having no desire to speak up about being excluded. Out of all competitions, anything involving Martial Prowess would be her worse aspect. 

Amber still believes her combat prowess didn't change much. She thought only her blood became more vigorous because of Cain's bloodline. Although she, Cain, and Kali all would be surprised by the next time she fights. 

As for Kali, little intrigue shimmered within her eyes. 

For a while now, she wanted a decent opponent who she could actually injure. Sparing with Cain kept her blood pumping, but it was frustrating to barely, if ever, cause damage to him. 

Still, Kali didn't speak up at the moment. Her disposition is to naturally ignore nearly all others in favor of Cain doing the talking.

Moreover, she realizes her own cold and sharp mouth may end up unnecessarily offending a top-level figure. 

As both girls stayed silent, Cain quickly formulated his own thoughts.

The desire for a challenge was running wild within him as well. And since he never bothered with dueling Crimson Sea Academy Senior core students, this may be a decent option.

Keeping his tone calm and collected, Cain asked, "Spirit Elder Jiang, just who do you have in mind for us to duel?" 

And at his question, a young man quickly flashed to the stage like a bolt of lightning.

This young man stood with immense confidence, crossing his arms behind his back as his clothes slowly flapped in the slight whistling wind. His eyes blazed with intent fighting spirit as he intently stared into Cain's face.

This young man practically oozed a strong lightning-like presence. Any other weaker cultivator would be fraught with a frightening sense of danger from just being intently stared at by this young man.

And immediately when the young man showed himself, a big storm swept through the entire Plaza. 

"Hey isn't that…yes, it's one of Azure Lightning Sect's great geniuses! Innate Joel!"

As recognition ran through the crowd, the reactions heavily varied. 

"Innate Joel truly is something special. He's one of, if not the youngest Innate Core genius in the entire City! And I heard he's never been beaten at the stage."

"Someone like this wants to challenge Spirit Master Cain and Kali? Isn't this a little much?" 

For the other Sects and Class-level Families, they couldn't help but doubt if this would even be an entirely fair match.

They all were convinced that Cain's Martial prowess just had to be remarkable. But at the same time, fighting an extreme genius whose firmly in the Innate Core realm seemed a bit dangerous. 

The risk of injury is highly prevalent. In Martial duels, the masters watching can't always react right on time. 

Of course, they could always prevent life-risking blows, but other heavy injuries were entirely on the table.

And nobody wanted to honestly see Cain become accidentally critically injured. His future is just too bright, and any everlasting harm could affect the benefits he can give out in numerous ways.

"Tch. So the Lightning ones finally come out to face Senior Brother Cain, huh? Even now, they're still so arrogant!" 

"Doesn't matter; Joel won't be able to stand a few moves from Senior Brother Cain."

Those from the Crimson Sea Academy were all fervently supporting Cain. Their faith was unbreakable, treating Cain as if he were a true young Martial Lord. 

If it's him, then he can surely crush the so-called number one Sect's pride!

"Hmph. This was a long time coming. Junior Brother Joel will finally re-establish our prestige!" 

"To think they all started prancing around over some mere rumors. How naive..."

And naturally, the Azure Lightning Sect disciples were in sharp opposition to everyone. If Cain does get critically injured, that would be absolutely perfect! 

In no way could these prideful Azure Lightning Sect disciples ever accept lagging behind their far weaker rivals.

Back on the Spirit Plateform, Joel took the intuitive to talk first, his voice rolling out like powerful waves. 

"So, your Spirit Master Cain and Kali? Heh, maybe this will be a bit more intriguing than I thought. So? Will one of you accept my challenge? As Martial cultivators, your so-called heaven-defying talent shouldn't be lagging behind, right? And honestly, your Crimson Sea Academy is becoming too presumptuous because of your rumors."

Each word Joel spoke seemingly didn't have an ounce of fear or trepidation. He simply didn't care about the backing of Great Spirit Master Bellax.

It is true that in terms of status, Joel heavily falls behind the sibling duo to an overwhelming degree. But even so, his uncle, Spirit Elder Jiang, is still a pivotal figure within the World Spirit Master Branch. 

As long as he doesn't overly offend them, nothing will reach an irreversible point of drawn swords.

This greatly fueled Joel's confidence to a considerable degree. However, internally, Joel wasn't as calm as his current appearance gave off. He was seriously regarding both Cain and Kali, critically inspecting their Natural Auras to the tiniest of detail.

And what he was detecting was leaving him a bit shocked. 

Both of their foundations were immensely solid and contained profound Martial traits that were a challenge to identify.

These Martial traits stemmed from the sibling duo's overall Martial perception. And just from this, Joel felt a strange feeling swelling in his chest. 

He was beginning to think if it wasn't for his higher cultivation, he wouldn't be able to see through the siblings' cultivation at all!

Their Martial perception was simply immensely deep! 

'Tch, no matter their Martial perception, it can't make up the entirety of their strength!' Joel's eyes sparked a faint cold glint as he had no choice but to treat the siblings as somewhat worthy enemies.

As Joel was deep in thought, Cain, Kali, and Amber kept their indifferent calm. Truthfully, none of them were worried about a mere Early Stage Innate Lords' geniuses. 

This was someone who indeed is dozens of times stronger than Liang He. Joel grasps the entirety of Innate Qi and also uses the mysteriously powerful Minor Laws. His combat prowess is indeed quite extraordinary among Early Stage Innate Lords. 

But at the same time, Cain barely used any strength to deal with a blood essence fuel Liang He whose raw power matched a strong early Innate Lord. 

Since that time, Cain's prowess had only grown. His Middle-Stage Profound Soul prowess couldn't be compared to when he had first broken through. 

When considering all of this, Cain shot a glance over to Kali, signaling if she wanted to step up.

Kali took a moment to ponder before slowly shaking her head. She already determined this would be no challenge to her, only causing her to waste her time with no real benefits.

With the okay given, Cain turned back over to Joel, his own eyes carrying complete, causal indifference. He treated a duel from the Azure Lightning Sect top genius as nothing more than an exercise.

It was evident as he shrugged his shoulders, saying, "Then, let's start right now. No need to wait." 

"So eager?" Joel's eyes turned increasingly cold. "You make it sound like you're completely assured of winning."

Cain merely threw an unmassed glance at Joel's provocate words, uncaring at doing some pre-words battle. This kind of look borders on disdain. 

And getting stared on like that nearly made Joel burst out. He was a highly proud genius, easy to become agitated when someone dares to match him.

Naturally against Cain's indifference, the viciousness within his Martial Heart slowly increased. 

Cain paid no attention to this. He only asked Grand Spirit Master Yao, "Fighting right now won't be a problem, right?"

Slowly shaking his head, Grand Spirit Master Yao said, "The event can be put on hold. This match had gained the highest approval." 

"Ohhh!! So they're actually going to fight! This will be enlightening!"

The whole audience threw up into an uproar. No matter if Cain's prowess could directly match Innate Qi, they were assured this be an exciting match! 

"Hmph. Over-inflated buffoon. Make quick work of this,"

Kali coldly snorted as she didn't continue regarding Joel's existence. In her eyes, he was already a broken ragdoll that was soon to be filled with her wholes. 

With a nod, she jumped off the stage.

"Hue~? Sometimes, I wonder if that girl is capable at all of showing feelings." Amber wearily sighs, shaking her head over how continuously ice-cold Kali seems to be.

Cain spouted a small wry smile. "That's just how she is. She does have her cute moment…though I do see it diminishing nowadays." 

"Probably because she so obsessed with Martial stuff and surpassing her dear brother. Oh well, make sure to not get hurt." 

Amber finished her words with a quick, gentle hug. In that briefest of moments, they both were filled with indescribable warmth. 

A moment after, Amber broke off the hug and jumped off the stage.

Soon enough, only Cain and Joel remained. Both young geniuses stood 100 feet apart, and their gazes directly matched. 

Each had an insanely high level of confidence in themselves, believing this fight would be a complete cakewalk. 

And only one of them was bound to be right. 

At this time, Grand Spirit Master Yao already floated high into the skies without any sound, moving akin to an actual ghost. 

As anticipation shot through the roof, he slowly said, "Begin!" 

"Let me finally show you all why the Azure Lightning Sect is the future paramount to all Martial cultivation!"

As Joel aggressively spoke, he traced his spatial ring, pulling out a long azure-color war hammer. 

The war hammer was crafted from powerful Qi materials and forged by an equally powerful World Spirit Master, causing its Aura to reach the ranks of Earthen Spirit!

With his war hammer in hand, Joel's Aura swelled! 

Streaks of Azure Lightning burst like a frenzied whirlwind, wildly spraying and striking all over the floating Spirit platform.

Innate Qi and the power of Lightning gushed from Joel's body. His whole Aura caused visible ripples of Qi energy flow to shift the atmosphere on a far larger scale than what Liang He could achieve.

This was the true power of Innate Qi energy! Energy that was a far higher level of Heaven and Earth Origin energy and was also infused with mysteries of the world's essence. 

Additionally, the Lightning energy was similar to a far higher order. This was the essence of Minor Law energy, a power that carries the slightest trace of the Heavenly Dao itself! 

Such power completely surpasses any kind of Mortal Means!