Chapter 765: Conceding (I)

A terrifying roar erupted from the arena. The sword cultivator from the Soaring Sword Sect pressed his palms together, and his entire body seemed to transform into a colossal sword that cleaved down at the Buddhist cultivator. The irresistibly sharp blade struck the dazzling golden radiance. Sword qi and golden light instantly surged in all directions, forming powerful waves that swept across the surroundings. Lin Zheyu remained expressionless and did not directly answer Ji Haozhong's question.

The Heavenly Eye within his sea of consciousness abruptly opened as he attempted to unravel the mysteries behind the Buddhist sect's Golden Body and the Soaring Sword Sect cultivator's attack.

Unfortunately, both the Buddhist sect and the Soaring Sword Sect were among Great Wei's foremost sects. Given Lin Zheyu's present strength and cultivation realm, uncovering the core mysteries of such powerful secret arts would be no easy feat, even with the aid of his spiritual Heavenly Eye.

"The fellow from the Soaring Sword Sect is going to lose," Lin Zheyu said softly.

"Lose... The guy from the Soaring Sword Sect is going to lose?" It took Ji Haozhong a moment to comprehend what he had heard, and his eyes widened involuntarily.

This time, he did not doubt Lin Zheyu's judgment in the slightest. Since Fellow Xiao said the Buddhist cultivator would win, he was most likely correct. Ji Haozhong trusted Xiao Yu's discernment and powerful perception far more than his own intuition.

"Amitabha. Benefactor, thank you for yielding!" The monk's calm voice emerged from amid the terrifying waves of energy sweeping across the arena.

The Soaring Sword Sect cultivator's expression changed drastically. Even that attack had failed to break his opponent's Golden Body. Such defensive power was truly monstrous! With a thought, he shifted slightly and tried to evade at once.

Without warning, a deep, resonant hum rang out. The man's mind went blank for an instant, causing him to miss his best chance to evade. Immediately afterward, he saw an enormous palm blazing with golden light rapidly expanding before his eyes.

The Soaring Sword Sect cultivator cried inwardly, Not good!

Before he could react, the enormous golden palm struck him squarely.

With a resounding crash, the man was blasted away like a cannonball.

Suddenly, a streak of white sword light shot out from among the cultivators below. It raced through the air and wove itself into an enormous net of white light in the blink of an eye. The giant sword net caught the man's body, but he still coughed up a mouthful of blood and slumped weakly.

"Thank you, Senior Sister."

After landing, the man gave the aloof female cultivator beside him a cupped-fist salute and smiled bitterly. "I'm sorry. I lost."

"Do you know why you lost?" the woman asked calmly.

"I do, Senior Sister..."

***

The Buddhist cultivator in the arena pressed his palms together and bowed to the man below. "Amitabha."

"This humble monk is Jingkong. I await the opportunity to experience the formidable techniques of my benefactors," Jingkong said calmly. His youthful, almost boyish face bore a serene and unworldly innocence.

"Senior Sister, when you go up later..."

"Someone beat me to it," the woman said calmly.

She looked at Lin Zheyu as he stepped onto the arena, a hint of surprise in her eyes. "He is actually a martial artist."

"A martial artist?"

"He really is a martial artist!"

"Hmm, I vaguely remember him. He seems to be a talented martial artist who recently rose to prominence in the Martial Alliance."

Several Soaring Sword Sect cultivators beside the woman spoke up one after another.

The man who had just fought also turned to look at Lin Zheyu.

Fellow Xiao really intends to challenge Monk Jingkong. I hope he does not lose too quickly... Ji Haozhong muttered inwardly. He soon shook his head slightly.

No, Fellow Xiao never fights a battle he is not confident of winning. Perhaps his spirit divine ability can discern a weakness in Jingkong's Buddhist Golden Body, Ji Haozhong thought. He opened his eyes wide, eager to see how Lin Zheyu would defeat a cultivator with such monstrous defenses.

"I am Xiao Yu. Greetings, Fellow Jingkong." Lin Zheyu cupped his fist toward Jingkong. "Do you need some time to rest?"

"Please proceed, Benefactor," Jingkong said calmly.

From beginning to end, Lin Zheyu had not seen any other expression on his face.

"Be careful," Lin Zheyu said calmly.

With a thought, the Voidcleaver appeared in his hand. Lin Zheyu's figure flickered and vanished into the void.

Saber lights tore through the void, silently emerging from all around the arena and slashing toward Jingkong from different directions.

Jingkong pressed his palms together and chanted the Buddha's name. With a resonant hum, dazzling golden light erupted from his body and enveloped him.

The saber blades struck the golden light with a succession of metallic clangs, but all their efforts were futile.

"He is going to lose..."

"Even the Soaring Sword Sect's genius lost. This crude martial artist stands even less of a chance."

"I disagree. Martial artists primarily cultivate their bodies. They might not be particularly powerful, but their endurance in a prolonged battle far surpasses ours. Monk Jingkong's Golden Body may be formidable, but maintaining it must consume a great deal of energy. If Xiao Yu draws him into a prolonged battle of attrition, he might not necessarily lose."

"That is far too naive. If Xiao Yu tries to wage a battle of attrition, do you think Jingkong will simply do nothing about it?"

"Exactly. The palm strike Jingkong used to defeat Luo Han was astonishingly powerful. If that martial artist gets hit by it, he will lose."

The spectating cultivators discussed the fight in hushed voices.

Lin Zheyu was not even revealing close to 10 percent of his strength. He concealed himself within the void while saber lights slashed out from all manner of tricky angles, striking the golden light around Jingkong with a succession of metallic clangs.

The Buddhist Golden Body does not seem to derive its formidable defense from the physical body, but from the Golden Body formed by this radiance. A Golden Body manifested entirely from pure energy can actually possess such powerful defenses. This is truly impressive! Lin Zheyu thought.

A keen light flashed through his eyes as the golden Heavenly Eye within his sea of consciousness opened, studying Jingkong's Golden Body with great interest. Lin Zheyu had once attempted to condense a similar Golden Body. Later, however, as his understanding of martial cultivation deepened, his strength increased, and his insights accumulated, he discovered that this path was unsuitable for him.

The advantage of martial cultivation lay in the physical body. Casting it aside to cultivate a Golden Body independent of it would be equivalent to abandoning one's original strengths and starting anew. Therefore, Lin Zheyu had gradually changed his approach. While refining his divine patterns, he had deliberately integrated them into his physical body, tempering them into tissues like cells and blood so that they became part of his body.

Although I have already abandoned the path of improving a Martial Golden Body, the Buddhist Golden Body still holds considerable value as a reference. Unfortunately, the Buddhist Golden Body is one of the Buddhist sect's foremost cultivation techniques, so obtaining its cultivation method would be extremely difficult, Lin Zheyu thought.

These thoughts flashed through his mind without interrupting his attacks. He was not moving particularly quickly. Instead, he used his mastery over the power of spatial laws to conceal his body within the void.

The monk pressed his palms together and invoked the Buddha's name. "Amitabha... If these are all the means at Benefactor's disposal, then please leave the arena."

"Here it comes! This fellow deliberately warns his opponent before every attack. It makes it seem as though he does not regard them as a threat at all... Can he withstand it?" Ji Haozhong clenched his fists slightly and stared nervously at the battle in the arena.

After giving his warning, the golden light around Jingkong suddenly began to surge. He raised his head and gazed into the void above and to his right, then casually lifted his right hand, brought his five fingers together, and thrust his palm into the void with a resonant hum.

The enormous golden palm roared through the air but struck nothing. It slammed into the defensive barrier surrounding the arena, producing a terrifying boom.

"He missed!"

"He actually missed!"

"He managed to evade despite the attack's incredible speed. His mastery of spatial laws is remarkable!"

"Spatial laws?"

"Hiss, there really are traces of them! What incredible control. Even I nearly overlooked them!"

Cries of astonishment rose from the spectating cultivators.

Ji Haozhong relaxed slightly at the sight, but his heart was soon in his throat again.