Chapter 126 - 110: It’s My Turn

Chapter 126: Chapter 110: It’s My Turn

Deng Hui had been transformed by Alchemy Technology; he was no longer the person he once was.

While his brain cells might still retain some past memories, they were nothing more than the body’s residual instincts.

But this very fact made the situation all the more tragic.

Zhang Ji may have killed countless people, but he still adhered to certain principles. At the very least, he still considered himself human.

He would never stoop to transforming the corpses of his own kind into Alchemy Biological Weapons.

"Come. Let me end your suffering," Zhang Ji said.

The chip in Deng Hui’s brain released a signal, and an instant later, the two figures collided once more atop the great Buddha’s head.

"CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!"

It was a collision of pure physical might. Both combatants possessed Indestructible Vajra Bodies, and immense power rippled out from their clashing blows.

Dents of varying depths appeared on the great Buddha’s head beneath their feet, and a web of cracks spread across its surface.

"BOOM!"

"BOOM!"

"BAM!"

One of Zhang Ji’s kicks sent Deng Hui embedding into the great Buddha. Before Deng Hui could get back up, a humming sound emanated from Zhang Ji’s body. His right fist, now shrouded in a golden and blue light, smashed viciously into his abdomen.

"VMMMM! RUUUMMMMBLE!"

Zhang Ji’s punch sent Deng Hui hurtling into the great Buddha’s abdomen, all the way down to its Dantian.

The great Buddha began to collapse. This once magnificent landmark, a place of the Sect’s heritage, was about to be erased.

Deng Hui lay buried beneath the rubble of the shattered Buddha. Zhang Ji landed lightly on the platform.

Opposite him, Deng Hui burst from the wreckage, staggering as he climbed out.

His eyes were dazed, the blood-red color tinged with pain. His expression, though savage, was also tragic. Purple blood trickled from his mouth and nose as he stumbled toward Zhang Ji.

In that moment, Zhang Ji had an epiphany.

He followed his instincts. In an instant, Zhang Ji retracted all his spirit particles into his body, fusing them with his cells and entering a state of Pseudo-Spiritualization.

The next moment, he cupped his left hand as if supporting something, gathered his Primordial Qi, and gently pushed his right palm forward.

"Mi~!"

"BOOM!"

With a sound from the Six-Word Great Bright Mantra resembling the syllable "mi," a tremendous roar erupted, and Deng Hui’s figure vanished.

Along with him, half of the mountain behind was also flattened.

A partial palm print was now seared into the broken mountainside—a truly shocking sight.

Zhang Ji withdrew his palm, his expression as solemn and serene as a Buddha, his heart untouched by emotion.

He had gained a new understanding of the Tathagata Divine Palm.

He realized that its six palms corresponded to the six syllables of the Six-Word Great Bright Mantra.

And the essence of the Flower-Blooming Buddha palm strike...

Beyond the idea of naturally attaining Buddhahood through the mastery of Divine Power, there was also a sense of solemnity, of compassionate salvation for the world.

This "compassionate salvation" wasn’t about showing kindness to the weak.

Rather, it was about delivering a judgment-like outcome from one’s own perspective—a higher perspective, like that of the Celestial Dao itself.

’I am Buddha. I believe this outcome is for your own good. Therefore, bestowing this outcome upon you is my compassion. It is absolute righteousness.’

Even Zhang Ji himself was a little shocked as he stared at the half of the mountain he had just obliterated.

However, when he felt his completely depleted Primordial Qi and his slightly fatigued Spirit, his expression turned a bit wry.

That single move had completely drained the Primordial Qi from both his Indestructible Vajra Body and his Five Elements True Art.

Using an Epic-level fighting technique above his current rank was certainly no easy feat.

.....

In the live stream.

A moment of collective silence.

Then, a massive, overwhelming flood of comments deluged the screen.

[This is special effects, right? This has to be special effects!!!]

[Bro, come look at God!]

[A Land Immortal! Is this what the history books meant by a Land Immortal?]

.....

「Northern Dao Sect」

Ma Rui silently chanted a Daoist prayer for Deng Hui’s release. His gaze then fell on the drone footage, which showed the half-obliterated mountain, and his expression grew complex.

He had indeed dreamed of two Land Immortals emerging in the martial arts world to reverse its current decline.

But he had never expected one of them to be a man like this.

A man who could single-handedly turn the world on its head, defy a nation, and challenge an entire era.

.....

「Capital City Council Hall」

The council members’ faces were a mixture of shock and utter disbelief.

They had lost count of how many times they had worn such shocked expressions since Zhang Ji’s return.

But they knew they had only one last resort.

"Negotiate for peace? Or do we use... that measure?" Lv Yunkai asked.

"He won’t accept a truce. If we held such an advantage, neither would we," Lin Kang said grimly.

Until recently, he had believed the situation was still under control, and had even been plotting to become the council chairman. Then Zhang Ji returned, and all his plans were thrown into chaos.

’Why does someone like him even exist in this world?’

"His Primordial Qi should be nearly depleted. The energy field detectors show his energy signature has dropped significantly. This is our chance," Ye Xifu said.

"If we use our last resort and fail to kill him, there will be no turning back!" Huang Chengkong said, his voice full of hesitation.

He was starting to think he should have sided with Liu Hetong.

"You think we have any room to turn back now?" Xiao Ning sneered. "How many people from the Five Elements Sect died? How was he forced to leave back then? How many times have we attacked him since he got back?"

"Then, let’s put it to a vote," Lin Kang said.

"I agree," Yin Daiyu nodded.

"I agree," said Xiao Ning.

"I agree," said Ye Xifu.

"I agree," Lv Yunkai added.

"Then I agree as well..." Huang Chengkong said hesitantly.

Kang Youhui’s murky eyes swept over the others. With great difficulty, he forced out two words: "I agree..."

After witnessing Zhang Ji’s display, he felt his own life force fading even faster.

’Before, I was so certain that I was right.’

’But now I see how terribly wrong I was.’

’Even if we manage to suppress Zhang Ji this time, what happens when the next one appears? We still won’t be able to hold onto our positions.’

’And the next one certainly won’t confront us head-on.’

’The world doesn’t belong to power-mongers like us.’

’Never!’

’The world belongs only to those individuals who wield Extraordinary power, those who stand at the very forefront of evolution!!!’

’I was so terribly wrong...’

’I was convinced there was a limit to human potential, that the individual would always be shackled by the collective.’

’But reality has shown me...’

’...the entire collective exists only as a filter, to find the one individual among them qualified to become a god.’

"I agree as well. That’s seven votes in favor. Then... activate the [Sword of Judgment]!!" Lin Kang declared.

No one asked for Liu Hetong’s opinion, nor did they need to. By now, he was firmly in the "pro-Ji faction"; asking him would have been pointless.

The [Sword of Judgment].

The Eastern Extreme Country’s tactical nuclear weapon.

Its launch speed couldn’t compare to that of an intercontinental strategic-grade nuclear weapon, but it still averaged over Mach 10.

Its kill radius could reach over a thousand meters.

Even against targets behind cover, it had an effective kill range of several hundred meters.

And right now, Zhang Ji was almost completely exposed, with no cover whatsoever.

A direct hit would unleash its full power.

As for why they didn’t use a strategic-grade weapon... it was because there was no point.

If the tactical nuke couldn’t kill Zhang Ji, a strategic one would be useless as well.

The only difference was in the yield; the blast radius would be larger, but the core destructive power wouldn’t fundamentally change.

Besides, deploying such a weapon wasn’t easy. The council members didn’t hold absolute power. Short of an actual world war, they would have to prepare for months in advance just to launch one as a deterrent under the guise of a military exercise.

Once the order was given, the tactical nuclear weapon was launched, soaring toward Zhang Ji.

It was accompanied by dozens of conventional missiles, launched in a saturation bombardment aimed at him.

In an instant, the entire Immortal Mountain became a target zone.

"WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!"

"RUMBLE!"

"RUUUUMBLE!"

Several missiles struck the ground, unleashing countless shockwaves and bursts of light and heat. At the same time, shrapnel rained down on Zhang Ji.

But even without his Primordial Qi, Zhang Ji was unfazed.

The shockwaves couldn’t harm him. He absorbed the light and heat. The shrapnel, at most, shredded his clothes and sent him flying, but his physical body remained unscathed.

Amidst the shockwaves, Zhang Ji shot into the air. Air currents swirled around him as he headed straight for the bomber that had launched the missiles.

Without the enhancement of Primordial Qi, his flight speed wasn’t as outrageous. He could only accelerate by condensing and detonating blasts of air beneath him.

He barely managed to catch up. Then, he kicked out abruptly, and the airflow transformed into a tornado that swept out, instantly engulfing the bomber, destroying and shredding its wing.

Even without Primordial Qi, Zhang Ji’s combat prowess was still formidable when relying solely on the techniques of the Profound Heart Stream.

As the bomber spiraled to the ground and crashed with a deafening roar, Zhang Ji’s figure, suspended in midair, seemed all the more powerful.

Air currents swirled around him. Just as he was about to say something, he noticed the long-range camera drone in the distance suddenly pulling back.

Zhang Ji seemed to sense what was happening. ’This must be a warning from Liu Hetong.’

’Dodge?’

Heh!

’Even without Primordial Qi to protect me, you think you can blast me to pieces?’

Zhang Ji stood there in the empty sky and simply stopped moving, waiting for the enemy’s ultimate weapon to arrive.

’The Profound Iron Body Refining Skill, the Five Elements True Art, the Great Eater Skill, the Indestructible Vajra Body, the Qi Condensation and Divine Tempering Method, the blood of Dela... ’

’Back when I played games, some badass could tank a nuke with the Indestructible Vajra Body plus a protective Qi Cultivation technique and only lose a single bar of health. With all my preparations now, there’s no way I’m going to die!!’

"FWOOSH~!"

Its tail spewing flames, a massive nuclear missile soared toward Zhang Ji from the distance.

"Bring it on!!"

A golden light surged from Zhang Ji’s body. He made no move to dodge or evade, preparing to face the blast head-on.

Almost instantly, the [Sword of Judgment] closed to within fifty meters of Zhang Ji and detonated.

"BOOM—!"

A shockwave, a massive wave of light and heat, and a storm of radioactive particles washed over Zhang Ji.

He only had time to shield his eyes and ears with spirit particles to protect those weak points; the rest of his body was left to face the onslaught.

The giant mushroom cloud erupted in the sky, billowing upward.

The shockwave expanded, sweeping across the landscape.

It was a storm of flying sand and stones.

The dozens of camera drones in the middle of the site lost their ability to film and were destroyed on the spot.

Everything within a radius of more than 1,500 meters was affected.

The live stream switched to an extremely distant camera, capturing the sight of the mushroom cloud rising into the sky.

....

[Is he dead?]

[No way he could have survived a direct hit like that, right?]

[Why didn’t he dodge? With his speed, he could have escaped the blast radius, right? He could have at least found some cover!]

[Because... he didn’t need to....]

As the mushroom cloud dissipated, a camera drone cautiously moved closer.

Zhang Ji, his clothes almost completely burned away, rose to his feet from the ground below.

He activated his Indestructible Vajra Body technique, extracting a sliver of Primordial Qi from within him. A golden light began to shine around him as air currents lifted his body, raising him slowly into the sky and revealing his form to countless viewers.

He was fine. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Far from being injured, he had actually recovered a great deal of his stamina.

The high-temperature energy of the nuclear bomb could also be absorbed and utilized by the "Blood of Dela."

’It’s all nuclear energy. If sunlight works, who’s to say a nuclear bomb won’t?’

’The blast was just a bit too sudden. I couldn’t "eat" all of it. I only managed to hastily absorb one wave of energy before it quickly dissipated.’

At this moment, although Zhang Ji looked somewhat disheveled and undignified with his tattered clothes, not a single person who witnessed the scene could bring themselves to laugh.

Not right now, at least.

Zhang Ji didn’t care. Right in front of the drone’s camera, he took a set of clothes from his [Ark of Hope] and put them on. He then drew a stream of water from it to wash the dirt from his messy hair and face.

Once he was done, he finally spoke to the drone’s camera.

Two simple words.

"My turn."

Your turn to make a move was over.

I gave you your chance, and you failed to deliver.

Now, it was his turn.