by Translator: Pokka; Author: 我本纯洁 (I Am Pure); Licensed From: Migu
"Apart from Baili Yixiao, you are the first Emperor to have ever injured me. Xiang Shaoyun, well done. If I don't beat you down today, I will write my name in reverse from now on!" declared Zhan Wushuang, who was finally truly furious.
The golden radiance around his body continuously brightened as the ambient gold energy converged around him. This was the sign that he was starting to use the profundity of gold. After gathering a rich amount of gold energy into his body, he actually started growing in size, with crackling sounds erupting from his bones. This was quite an astonishing sight.
He was entering the second stage of the Indestructible Avatar. His strength rose to an unimaginable level, and he was finally using his full strength.
Xiang Shaoyun wanted to attack while Zhan Wushuang was still gathering energy, but Money pounced on Zhan Wushuang before he could do anything.
"Boss, let me deal with this kid. He is not worth more of your time," said Money. He looked at Zhan Wushuang and roared, "Hey, kid! You were having a lot of fun beating me earlier, right? Now, it's Grandpa Money's turn to torture you!"
"Kid? Grandpa Money?" For some reason, the many disciples felt like laughing when they heard that.
Zhan Wushuang's face darkened. Never before had anyone treated him with such derision.
"I will rip you apart!" Zhan Wushuang roared as he charged Money, his entire body exuding power as though he was a barbaric dragon.
His battle intent was unparalleled, and his fist intent was unending. He punched, and it was as though an endless golden rainbow had spread forth before him. The attack reached Money instantly, but instead of dodging, Money clawed at the fist energy with his silver claws.
Bang!
The silver claws similarly contained boundless strength. The punch was stopped, but Money was still sent flying, which was unsurprising. Even so, he had blocked Zhan Wushuang's punch head on. That feat alone was incredibly shocking.
"Kid, that hurts. Take my punch instead," Money roared before transforming into a bolt of lightning that traveled at an extreme speed. Forming a fist with his claws, he launched it at Zhan Wushuang.
Instantly, hundreds of lightning bolts rained down from the sky and combined with the fist energy.
With a look of disdain, Zhan Wushuang replied, "Even if you are a true dragon, I will be slaying a dragon today."
And thus, the two engaged in close combat. Rumbling sounds erupted endlessly. Numerous shockwaves rippled out, wreaking destruction all over the area. This battle was actually even more intense than the battle involving Xiang Shaoyun earlier.
Money seemed to be doing completely fine. He could be seen alternating between throwing punches and whipping his tail about. He also constantly let out terrifying dragon roars, as though a true dragon was actually battling Zhan Wushuang.
Zhan Wushuang's battle intent was fully provoked. His unrivaled fist intent surged; his fists seemed capable of punching even the sky apart. He was akin to an ancient fiendgod, overbearing and terrifying, worthy of being one of the strongest disciples on the Dragon Phoenix List.
One ought to know that he had gone through repeated battles, yet he was still capable of unleashing such prowess. Just that display alone was enough to put many disciples to shame.
Even Xiang Shaoyun lamented inwardly, I won't be able to defeat him regardless of the energy I use. I will only be able to match him if we are at the same cultivation level. At that point, I will be able to defeat him if I use the nine-colored fog. This is an opponent worthy of respect.
Who would have thought that a freshly broken through Money was actually strong enough to fight Zhan Wushuang? Each time he was blasted away by Zhan Wushuang, he would return and continue fighting relentlessly. In fact, he had done so over a dozen times, as though he was an incredibly resilient cockroach.
From that, one could see that although Zhan Wushuang was still stronger than Money, he wasn't strong enough to fully defeat Money.
Relying on his speed, Money landed many attacks on Zhan Wushuang. Bombarded by an unending barrage of lightning attacks, Zhan Wushuang's Indestructible Avatar seemed like it wasn't going to last much longer. If this continued, he would suffer defeat through sheer exhaustion.
Zhan Wushuang was not some random pushover. He was a tyrant with an unyielding battle intent and an incomparable battle prowess. He would not allow something like that to happen. Once again, he pushed himself to his limits, trying to unleash a final attack that could finish off his opponent.
"Time to end this, little worm," Zhan Wushuang roared as he joined his fists before unleashing his strongest attack, Unrivaled Sky Crushing Punch!
It was an attack that seemed capable of causing the sky to collapse, an attack few could stop. It seemed like even Money would be smashed into mincemeat despite his tough body. Everyone held their breath in suspense, awaiting the final result. And it was at that moment that Xiang Shaoyun suddenly moved.
Chapter 874: Looking Forward to Our Next Battle
Zhan Wushuang was using his strongest attack, and it was unlikely that Money could dodge it. However, Xiang Shaoyun surprised everyone and took on the attack on behalf of Money.
He activated his nine-colored fog while the saber in his hand vanished. He streaked forward like a gust of wind and brandished his bare hands with his hair whipping about, looking like a fiendgod that had descended upon the world. He looked valiant and carefree, his eyes were electrifying, and his fist intent was shockingly powerful. He shone with a brilliant radiance, causing all the stars in the sky to stir, creating a shocking phenomenon.
Cosmos Dao Destroying Fist!
Xiang Shaoyun had been gathering his strength for a while. He long had the intention of having a head-on clash with Zhan Wushuang once, testing the might of his nine-colored fog. The many disciples were astonished as they had not expected Xiang Shaoyun to have the courage to actually face Zhan Wushuang so decisively. But when they saw the nine-colored fog, their eyes widened with disbelief.
An energy with nine colors was most definitely a result of combining the nine powers. No other energy was known to have nine colors.
Zhan Wushuang's Unrivaled Sky Crushing Punch and Xiang Shaoyun's Cosmos Dao Destroying Fist were incredibly rare, powerful fist techniques.
Two fists met, and a blinding explosion erupted.
The surrounding disciples were forced to continually retreat. Even the stronger ones who had stayed relatively near no longer dared to stay, including Baili Yixiao.
Inwardly, Baili Yixiao praised, What a fine fist technique!
It was unknown if he was praising Zhan Wushuang or Xiang Shaoyun or the both of them.
Rumble! Rumble!
The collision of the two fists was akin to the collision of dozens of mountains. Numerous boulders tumbled down while one shockwave after another rippled out. Even far away, the disciples still felt a sharp pain on their faces from the spreading impact.
After wreaking havoc for a while, the energies of the two fists finally dispersed, revealing two figures that had both been blasted far away. It was unknown which of them was victorious.
"Very well, Xiang Shaoyun...and your mount as well. I, Zhan Wushuang, will remember both of you. After entering the Soul Foundation Realm, I will crush all of you!" roared Zhan Wushuang with an unwilling tone before dashing toward the people from the Crushing Sky. He then left with them.
"I look forward to our next battle," replied Xiang Shaoyun.
As for Money, he bared his fangs and brandished his claws as he said, "Kid, don't let me see you again. I will beat you up each time I see you."
The eyes of the numerous disciples nearly popped out from sheer shock when they heard Money's words. All of them thought, Probably only a fellow this fearless will dare to speak like that to Zhan Wushuang.
While Zhan Wushuang was leaving with his people, Xiang Shaoyun coughed out a mouthful of blood. A deep fist imprint could be seen on his chest, and it seemed deep enough to touch his bone. In fact, it was as though the fist
had actually punched through his body.
But at the same time, the distant Zhan Wushuang also coughed a mouthful of blood. He could no longer suppress the roiling blood in his body.
"Chief!" shouted the Crushing Sky members worriedly.
"I'm fine. Let's go," replied Zhan Wushuang weakly as they left at an even faster speed.
Inwardly, he thought, There is actually such domineering power in the world? Is cultivating nine powers the actual true path to power?
One ought to know that Xiang Shaoyun was two stages lower than him, yet the two were evenly matched in a head-on clash. In fact, Zhan Wushuang was actually injured. Thus, he had no choice but to place more importance on the nine-colored fog Xiang Shaoyun used.
As for his injuries, nobody pitied him. Instead, they were filled with admiration toward him. A freak capable of fighting evenly against Zhan Wushuang was definitely among the top three disciples of the academy in terms of strength.
As Xiang Shaoyun's body started swaying, Money streaked over and supported him. At the same time, the Overlord Legion people also quickly came over and stood guard around him, protecting him from any sneak attacks.
"Just like that, this wondrous battle worthy of being etched into the annals of history has ended. But I wonder who's the actual victor."
"It is undeniable that Zhan Wushuang's fists are unrivaled. After all, he had fought Xiang Shaoyun after several intense battles. He definitely has the greater strength. Xiang Shaoyun loses out in cultivation level. If he is given two more years, perhaps he can catch up."
"Xiang Shaoyun has already merged the nine powers. The moment this news spreads, the many ancient organizations of the dominion will take note of him. Perhaps he can really create the strongest path of cultivation. I really look forward to the future."
"Alright, enough talking. We need to go. One day, I will catch up to them as well!"
...
Baili Yixiao, Lei Bao, Yu Ziyang, Xiao Xie, and the others left one after another. They all knew that the rankings on the Dragon Phoenix List would be reshuffled, and they needed to make use of the final months in the battleground to accumulate more points so they could obtain better rewards from the academy.
"The future is becoming more and more interesting," muttered Baili Yixiao with a smile.
Of the many disciples, he was the calmest. He seemed to be standing aloof from all worldly affairs, but in truth, he greatly longed to see the appearance of more freaks. Only then would he feel less lonely on the path of cultivation.
On the other hand, Yu Ziyang reacted differently. With his fists clenched tight, he declared, "I will enter the Soul Foundation Realm before any of them. Only then will I be ahead of them."
As for Xiao Xie, he was now an eighth-stage Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator. His mount, the black qilin, was a powerful helper of his. When the two worked together, they could even fight a ninth-stage Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator.
But witnessing the battle between Xiang Shaoyun and Zhan Wushuang had greatly impacted him, making him vow to increase his cultivation speed. After all, Xiang Shaoyun's rise had been too abrupt, giving everyone a repressive feeling. They did not want to be thoroughly surpassed.
Back when Xiang Shaoyun first joined the academy, although he had revealed an amazing physique, he was still a tiny King while they were all Emperors. In a few short years, he had actually caught up to them. That definitely didn't feel great.
After everyone left, Han Chenfei immediately sent some Overlord Legion members to clear a cave for Xiang Shaoyun to recuperate.
After the battle with Zhan Wushuang, Xiang Shaoyun had already used a large amount of spring water to relieve his injuries. Otherwise, the remnant fist intent in his body would have destroyed all his internal organs.
After entering the cave, he immediately activated the profundity of wood, causing a large amount of wood energy to converge on him. At the same time, he used the Secret Reversal Technique to heal himself.
If this was a regular injury, Xiang Shaoyun wouldn't need to enter seclusion to heal. But an injury caused by fist intent was an entirely different matter. He had to deal with it seriously to avoid leaving any concealed injuries in his body.
Chapter 875: This Is the Result of My Tiny Comprehension
The Secret Reversal Technique lived up to its reputation as an unusual healing technique. The Forest of Antiquity was filled with thick wood energy, and with the assistance of wood profundity, an unending life force streamed in and started nourishing Xiang Shaoyun's injuries. He started healing at a speed comparable to someone who had consumed some miracle cure.
If he did this in the midst of battle, he could similarly greatly recover in a short amount of time. That realization put Xiang Shaoyun in a lot of joy. The effectiveness of the Secret Reversal Technique meant that he would no longer be fearful of many dangers in the future.
Nevertheless, Zhan Wushuang's fist intent was still exceptionally powerful. If Xiang Shaoyun couldn't expel all the fist intent from his body, his injuries would never be fully healed. His condition would slowly worsen until his body ultimately withered away and died. Hence, he had to fully rid his body of the fist intent.
If Xiang Shaoyun did not have a strength equal to Zhan Wushuang, it would be basically impossible for him to clear the fist intent from his body. And since he was capable of matching Zhan Wushuang's combat prowess, time was all he needed to expel the fist intent. But instead of expelling it, he had a different plan in mind.
He was actually studying the fist intent as he meditated on the scenes of his previous battle repeatedly, trying to take this chance to comprehend Zhan Wushuang's unrivaled fist intent.
If news of this spread, many people would be completely dumbstruck. Like any other intent, fist intent was something perhaps only one in ten thousand cultivators could grasp. Xiang Shaoyun had already comprehended the saber and footwork intents. And now, he was trying to comprehend another intent. Sure, he was a genius, but wasn't he underestimating the difficulty of comprehending intents too much?
If others knew that he had actually comprehended nine profundities, they wouldn't think so anymore.
Xiang Shaoyun had the Nether Soul Domain, which granted him a much stronger soul. By extension, his comprehension capability was naturally exceptional as well. Coupled with the Light of Wisdom, few people could compare with him in terms of comprehension capability.
Xiang Shaoyun fully engrossed himself in feeling the essence of fist intent. Using the scenes from his previous battle as guidance, he slowly deepened his understanding of fist intent. He then searched his mind for his previous experiences in comprehending the saber and footwork intents, making his comprehension process even smoother.
As the saying goes, different paths of the great dao all lead to the same destination. If one could learn from experience and make connections by example, one would naturally be able to learn what one wished.
"To use the fist intent, one needs to master the way of absolute force, crushing techniques and skills with brute force alone. At the same time, one also needs to learn how to concentrate all strength into one point. Wherever the fist reaches, everything will be crushed. The fist intent and battle intent complement one another. Without battle intent, there won't be fist intent. With battle intent and the pouring of one's spirituality into one's fists, one will be able to unleash true fist intent!" Xiang Shaoyun concluded. "This is what separates fist intent from the other intents."
The stronger one's battle intent was, the thicker one's fist intent would be. Zhan Wushuang possessed a boundless battle intent; hence he could release such a terrifying fist intent. Battle intent was something all cultivators possessed. But how should one go about fusing battle intent with one's punches? The answer relied on one's comprehension capability.
By this point, Xiang Shaoyun was no longer that far away from using true fist intent.
His battle intent was no weaker than anyone else's. After all, he had inherited the boundless battle
intent of his previous life. A surge of energy broke out of his body as an unrivaled battle intent erupted. With his fists clenched tight, he roared, "I am the overlord. If a god blocks my path, I will slay the god. If a devil blocks my path, I will slay the devil. Heavens above and hells below, I am the sole sovereign!"
After that declaration, he launched a fist above him. The punch was almost identical to Zhan Wushuang's Unrivaled Sky Crushing Punch. The terrifying battle intent and torrential fist intent crushed everything in his fist's path, as though even the blue dome of heaven was going to be punctured.
The cave instantly collapsed. A brilliant fist energy shot out of the cave and soared into the night sky. The disciples standing guard nearby were given a shock as they thought that an enemy was attacking.
They hurriedly dodged the many boulders flying everywhere, finally noticing that the mountain before them was gone. A shocking fist intent remained in the sky above, planting fear in the depths of their hearts.
"T-This is the unrivaled fist intent! Is Zhan Wushuang here to ambush the overlord?" Han Chenfei cried out in alarm, all her hair standing on end.
She then disregarded everything and recklessly charged toward Xiang Shaoyun, trying to figure out what exactly was happening. Ouyang Chuanqi did the same.
The other Overlord Legion members also closed in, but they failed to sense Zhan Wushuang's aura. However, the fist intent was clearly there, and because of that, they all felt ill at ease.
By the time the fist intent dispersed, the mountain Xiang Shaoyun was resting at had been replaced by gravel and dust.
"Overlord, where are you? Please be fine!" Han Chenfei cried out in panic.
Unknown to her, the image of Xiang Shaoyun seemed to have been imprinted in her heart. She was unwilling to see something bad happen to him, as he was the man who had captured her heart.
That man was confident and carefree, overbearing and extraordinary, outstanding and valiant, a perfect partner she could ask for. She would not let him slip away from her.