Chapter 104 - 103: Expel Gu Zheng from the Secret Realm!

Chapter 104: Chapter 103: Expel Gu Zheng from the Secret Realm!

"Something is wrong!"

Gu Zheng was fighting two peak Tier Two Blood Beasts when his Sword Heart genetic ability suddenly throbbed, sending him a warning. He abruptly turned his head. Then, he saw a massive figure charging at him with a rod in hand.

"Ji Zhixing?"

Gu Zheng’s pupils contracted. He never expected to encounter Ji Zhixing here, let alone for him to rush out at such a critical moment. At this point, Ji Zhixing had already closed the distance to just over ten meters away.

"Die!"

Seeing Gu Zheng turn around, Ji Zhixing let out a low shout. He raised the Nine-Tiered Tide Rod high; the three-meter-long weapon swept toward Gu Zheng with an unstoppable momentum.

"Surging Waves!"

The long rod generated waves of deep, surging tide-like sounds, its presence astonishing.

Gu Zheng’s expression darkened. "You’re courting death!"

He took a step back. His footwork was ingenious, light, and natural—as if strolling through the air. He easily dodged Ji Zhixing’s strike while simultaneously avoiding the attacks from the two Blood Beasts in front of him. Raising his silver longsword, which now shimmered with a faint silver light, he prepared to finish Ji Zhixing off first and expel him from the secret realm.

"BOOM!"

At that moment, a terrifying aura suddenly erupted from afar!

Gu Zheng’s expression changed, and he looked up into the distance. He saw three Flaming Spears shooting down from the hillside at an astonishing speed. Carrying a scorching heat, they flew straight toward him.

"It’s that person again!" Gu Zheng’s heart skipped a beat.

He had seen these three Flaming Spears before. Earlier, during the battle for the Weapon Order in the underground space, Ji Zhixing had managed to escape with the help of these very spears. To think that person was here again, teaming up with Ji Zhixing against him.

As his thoughts raced, he had no choice but to retreat once more. Holding his longsword defensively in front of him, he instantly swung out streaks of sword light, forming layers of a sword curtain around his body.

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"

The three Flaming Spears crossed the space and landed all around him. Flames exploded, and a scorching shockwave swept in all directions. In the explosion, the sword curtain Gu Zheng had set up before him was completely shattered. The combined power of the three Flaming Spears unleashed a scorching heatwave like a tsunami, burning the surrounding air until it warped and distorted.

Gu Zheng let out a muffled groan. His body staggered backward from the explosion’s shockwave, and his silver battle suit was burned, leaving several charred holes.

The moment he lost his balance, Ji Zhixing thrust the Nine-Tiered Tide Rod forward with the move "Undercurrent." The long rod was silent and fast as lightning as it aimed straight for his chest.

Gu Zheng’s expression shifted drastically. With no time to overthink, he hastily raised his silver longsword horizontally in front of him, using the spine of the blade to deflect Ji Zhixing’s rod.

"CLANG!"

A crisp sound of metal clashing rang out as the rod and sword collided, sending a shower of sparks into the air. Ji Zhixing’s strike was heavy and forceful, but Gu Zheng’s Sword Technique was exceptionally ingenious. Borrowing the force of the rod, he allowed his body to float backward, nullifying most of the impact.

"What a clever force-deflection technique," Ji Zhixing thought, awe-struck, though his hands did not pause for a second.

"Indomitable!"

He took a step, lunging forward once again. Retracting and thrusting the rod, he fiercely executed the most practiced move of the Breaking Army Staff Technique. This strike had no flashy tricks, only an indomitable momentum, channeling all of his strength and willpower into it.

Gu Zheng could only block while retreating.

"CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!"

The rod and sword continuously collided, the dense sounds of clashing metal echoing throughout the valley.

After blocking several of Ji Zhixing’s strikes in a row, Gu Zheng immediately felt his wrists ache, the webbing between his thumbs and forefingers numb from the impact. The look in his eyes as he stared at Ji Zhixing changed repeatedly.

"This kind of strength..."

Even though he had engaged in battle hastily, Ji Zhixing’s raw strength still astonished him. This level of power—while not yet on par with the students of their genius class—had definitely reached the standard of an elite class student. And even within the elite class, Ji Zhixing’s capabilities would likely rank near the top.

"How long has it been? Last time in the Otherworldly Secret Realm, he could only flee miserably before me. Now, he actually dares to fight me?" Gu Zheng thought, his face turning ugly.

"SWISH SWISH SWISH..."

Right then, Xiao Mingyue arrived as well. She controlled several Flame Spirit Birds, sending them flying straight toward Gu Zheng. These Flame Spirit Birds were entirely crimson-gold, with tiny flames burning on their wings. They were incredibly fast, carving arcs in the air as they dove at Gu Zheng from various angles.

Gu Zheng’s expression changed again. He could only rapidly shift positions to dodge the attacks of these Flame Spirit Birds. However, the speed of Xiao Mingyue’s Flame Spirit Birds completely exceeded his expectations. The moment he changed direction, the Flame Spirit Birds mirrored him, as if they had eyes of their own, locking onto him relentlessly.

In less than a breath’s time, one of the Flame Spirit Birds landed on him.

"BOOM!"

The flames exploded instantly.

Gu Zheng took a deep breath. The surging genetic source energy on his body rapidly wove into the shape of peacock feathers, forming a silver-white light shield over his skin to resist the scorching flames. But the attack power of the Flame Spirit Birds shocked him. The fire burned away the genetic source energy surfacing on his body, causing the silver-white light shield to thin at a visible rate.

"Undercurrent!"

At that exact moment, Ji Zhixing’s long rod struck again. Silent and traceless, the rod thrust at his waist from the side.

Helpless, Gu Zheng had no choice but to swing his sword once more to block Ji Zhixing’s attack.

"CLANG!"

The sword parried the rod, but the force jolted Gu Zheng back another step. Forced to divide his attention, it wasn’t long before more Flame Spirit Birds lunged onto his body.

One, two, three...

The Flame Spirit Birds exploded one after another, engulfing his entire figure in fire. He had already expended a significant amount of genetic source energy while fighting those Blood Beasts earlier. Now, ambushed by Ji Zhixing and Xiao Mingyue, his reserves were draining even more drastically. The silver-white light shield grew thinner and thinner, visibly on the verge of collapse.

"Sweeping a Thousand Armies!"

Just as Gu Zheng felt cornered, Ji Zhixing suddenly changed his move. The rod transitioned from a thrust into a heavy, forceful sweep aimed directly at Gu Zheng’s waist. Distracted, Gu Zheng was caught off guard and took the sweeping blow directly to his waist.

"BANG!"

With a muffled thud, he was sent flying, his body launched into the air.

"PFFT!"

Mid-air, he spat out a mouthful of blood, his face instantly turning pale.

"Invincible Me!"

A sharp glint flashed in Ji Zhixing’s eyes. He took a step, and the illusory crow feathers beneath his Fallen Feather Moon-Treading Boots suddenly exploded, propelling his body forward. He swung his rod again, carrying an indomitable and invincible momentum, crashing mercilessly toward Gu Zheng in the air.

"BANG!"

This strike once again landed squarely on Gu Zheng. Gu Zheng barely managed to raise his silver longsword in front of him to block, but the rod’s sheer force penetrated through the blade, slamming solidly into his chest.

"CRACK!"

The sound of shattering bones rang out.

The next moment, a spatial fluctuation surged from Gu Zheng’s body. He was instantly enveloped by a beam of light and vanished from the spot.

"It’s done."

Ji Zhixing took a deep breath, truly sensing just how difficult it was to deal with Gu Zheng.

"This time, Gu Zheng fought those Blood Beasts first, expending a lot of source energy. Then he was ambushed by me and Xiao Mingyue, and she even used three Flaming Spear Scrolls.

"Even under such circumstances, he was actually able to hold out for so long. The strength of his capabilities is simply staggering," Ji Zhixing thought. His eyes burned with determination. He was not disheartened. Because he knew that it wouldn’t be long before his own strength reached that level. Or perhaps even stronger!

"ROAR!"

At that moment, the two peak Tier Two Blood Beasts that had been left aside suddenly roared and charged at him. They had just been watching from the sidelines, not intervening in the battle between Ji Zhixing and Gu Zheng. Now that Gu Zheng had been teleported away, they immediately shifted their target to Ji Zhixing.

"Zhixing, hurry up, we don’t have much time left!" Xiao Mingyue shouted.

"Understood!" Ji Zhixing replied. Taking a deep breath, he wielded the Nine-Tiered Tide Rod and charged straight toward one of the Tier Two Blood Beasts.

"Tidal Roar!"

He smashed his rod downward, the weapon carrying a heavy, wind-piercing howl as it crashed ruthlessly onto the head of one of the Blood Beasts.

"BANG!"

With a muffled thud, the Blood Beast’s head swayed as if dazed by the blow, but it quickly steadied itself and continued its charge at him.

"It’s this tough?"

Ji Zhixing’s expression shifted. He hastily sidestepped, stepping on phantom crow feathers to dodge. He felt a chill in his heart, never expecting this peak Tier Two Blood Beast to be so resilient. No wonder Gu Zheng hadn’t swiftly taken down these two Blood Beasts earlier; their Defense Power was truly astonishing.

"I’ll help you!" Xiao Mingyue called out.

Waving her hands repeatedly, Flame Spirit Birds flew from her palms and pounced onto the two Tier Two Blood Beasts.

"SIZZLE!"

The sound of burning flames quickly echoed. As the Flame Spirit Birds landed on the Blood Beasts, the fire instantly spread, scorching their Scale Armor with a sizzling noise. The two Tier Two Blood Beasts immediately let out miserable howls. Their bodies writhed violently as they tried to extinguish the flames. But the Flame Spirit Birds seemed to be glued to them; no matter how much they thrashed, they couldn’t shake them off.

"Xiao Mingyue’s flames counter them!" Ji Zhixing’s eyes lit up.

Tormented by the searing heat, the two Blood Beasts whipped their heads around and locked onto Xiao Mingyue in the distance, their eyes brimming with vicious intent.

"Die!"

Right then, Ji Zhixing let out a low shout. Wielding the Nine-Tiered Tide Rod, he executed the move "Sea Burial" and charged straight at one of the Tier Two Blood Beasts.

"BANG!"

The long rod smashed ruthlessly against the Blood Beast, sending it stumbling. Enraged, the beast turned and lunged at him again. However, the other Blood Beast didn’t attack Ji Zhixing; instead, it roared and charged directly at Xiao Mingyue.

"Don’t worry about me, I can handle it!" Xiao Mingyue yelled. With a flash of her figure, she evaded the Blood Beast’s pounce.

She wasn’t skilled in close combat, but after breaking through to Tier Two, she had changed into a new pair of boots that granted her extreme speed. Dodging this Blood Beast for a short time wouldn’t be a problem.

Ji Zhixing took a deep breath, knowing he couldn’t hold off two Tier Two Blood Beasts on his own. Thus, he unleashed his full power, slamming his rod strike after strike into the Blood Beast before him.

"Rising Tide!"

"Surging Waves!"

"Sea Burial..."

Executing move after move, his rod moved like a dragon, raining down upon the Blood Beast like a violent storm.