Chapter 147 - 127: The Plan Is Disrupted

Chapter 147: Chapter 127: The Plan Is Disrupted

Zhang Ji thought Elaven was more than a little insane.

He’d been at home, sunbathing and practicing his techniques, when the man suddenly showed up demanding he become his lackey.

When he refused, Elaven tried to kill him.

Great. Just great. The battle between Saint Kings had started ahead of schedule.

And then Elaven died.

To be honest, Zhang Ji felt his victory was a bit of a fluke.

The only reason Zhang Ji had managed to turn the tables and win was because he could take more of a beating and was simply better at staying alive.

Elaven’s attacks could barely even break his defense, and he could recover quickly from any minor injuries.

In the end, even when only half of his head was left, he still survived.

If they had traded places and sustained the same injuries, Elaven would have undoubtedly died.

Of course, the power of the Tathagata Divine Palm was also a major contributor.

Without its techniques, Zhang Ji wouldn’t have been able to cope with the fight.

Speaking of which, the Tathagata Divine Palm should actually be classified under the [Spiritual Intent Sect].

It was a martial art, not a Cultivation Technique.

It was a combat skill that taught one how to use their own power more efficiently, rather than directly increasing their stats.

That was why Zhang Ji was able to achieve some effect with it as long as he knew the motions.

Under the heat of the True Solar Flame, Zhang Ji’s body finished regenerating. He extended his left hand, and the mark of the [Ark of Hope] appeared.

His left arm had been destroyed, but he could still feel the presence of the [Ark of Hope].

In the game, the [Ark of Hope] was a soul-bound item that wouldn’t drop on death.

But in reality, Zhang Ji wasn’t quite sure how it worked.

’Is it soul-bound?’

Zhang Ji didn’t really understand its operating mechanism, but since it was still there and he didn’t have to look for it, that was a good thing.

With a thought, the void warped slightly. His Spirit particles reached inside and retrieved the clothes he had stored there, which he then put on.

Then, Zhang Ji stored away Elaven’s charred Alchemy Furnace before slowly walking across the land, which was now covered in scorched earth and molten magma.

The devastation spanned over twenty li, an area nearly the size of an entire city. In the distance, it looked like wildfires were still spreading.

If this battle had taken place in a city, the number of people who died during Zhang Ji’s earlier purge would have seemed like a rounding error.

Soon, Zhang Ji stepped into the high-temperature zone. The True Solar Flame between his brows absorbed the heat energy and, as he slowly circulated his Cultivation Technique, began to generate Yuan Qi within his body.

Within his parched meridians, the first wisp of purple Yuan Qi soon appeared. It flowed, quickly joined by a second, then a third... Countless wisps of Yuan Qi gathered, becoming a creek, then a river, and finally an ocean.

Wherever Zhang Ji passed, the flames within a radius of several hundred meters died out, all of them absorbed and put through Refinement by him.

Air currents surged, and his Qi Body reappeared. A faint purple glimmer surfaced on his body, then, under Zhang Ji’s Control, the light dimmed, becoming colorless and formless.

He was supposed to have chosen the "Five Elements Longevity Skill" for synthesizing the Epic-grade combat crystal, but the sudden encounter with a powerful foe had forced him to choose the [Wind God Kick] combat crystal instead.

By a strange twist of fate, Zhang Ji discovered it was a blessing in disguise.

While it was slightly weaker at enhancing Yuan Qi attacks compared to the "Five Elements Longevity Skill," which would have equally emphasized the Five Elements and Yin-Yang within the Yuan Qi, the Qi Body he had now formed was more effortless to maintain and had stronger defense.

He didn’t need to consciously circulate it; as long as there were air currents, they would naturally drive the activity of the entire Qi Body.

The Cultivation Technique was operating around the clock, non-stop. This kind of circulation was extremely in harmony with nature.

The most important thing was its defense.

Although the Qi Body was formed from a combination of Yuan Qi, Spirit particles, and air currents, when Zhang Ji was attacked, almost forty percent of the blow was blocked by the air currents, with the rest being defended by the Yuan Qi and Spirit particles.

Furthermore, his Qi Body attacks would also be assisted by the air currents.

Thus, Zhang Ji’s basic attacks all carried a large amount of air current, greatly increasing their strength.

Based on his current understanding from the Circulation Qi Body Divine Origin Skill, if he had chosen the "Five Elements Longevity Skill," the final path would have likely resulted in stronger Yuan Qi attacks. However, its bodily protection would have been weaker. It probably could have formed a cycle too, but it would have been an internal one. His Recovery Power would have been stronger, and his stats would likely have been a tier higher.

Each really had its own pros and cons.

In fact, if he had chosen the "Five Elements Longevity Skill," he might not have been able to last so long against the Tier Three Elaven.

After all, he had a surplus of Recovery Power, but his defense was truly lacking.

Elaven would have definitely broken through his defense constantly, leaving him covered in wounds that he couldn’t fully recover from.

And the slight stat increase from the "Five Elements Longevity Skill" was truly incomparable to the ever-increasing output intensity of Elaven’s furnace.

’I really want to curse the designers again.’

’Are you sure they didn’t just plug in random numbers for Elaven’s stats?’

After recovering some Yuan Qi, Zhang Ji soared into the air. He quickly circled the surrounding high-temperature area, absorbing all the flames to prevent a larger wildfire, while also adding more fuel to his True Solar Flame.

However, absorbing these subsequent flames wasn’t as effective as absorbing the high-temperature energy near Elaven’s furnace.

Even after absorbing everything, the True Solar Flame didn’t seem to grow much.

When Elaven died, the energy that erupted from his furnace at the very end was so pure that even Zhang Ji couldn’t help but be shocked.

That was probably the Origin Energy from within his furnace.

It was like a primal source of fire.

But now, Zhang Ji was reaping all the benefits.

Unfortunately, too much of it dissipated, and Zhang Ji only managed to absorb two essences of [True Solar Flame].

He felt that if he could have utilized all of it, he might have been able to obtain seven or eight essences.

After extinguishing the flames, Zhang Ji returned to the space above Gesite Lake, where he had fought Elaven. With a sweep of his Spirit particles, he instantly covered a radius of more than ten kilometers.

To be precise, it was about thirteen kilometers.

Soon, Zhang Ji found what he was looking for.

With a thought, a cross, melted and deformed by the intense heat, surfaced on the water.

The front half of it had now melted into a chaotic lump.

Moreover, the energy inside it was almost completely depleted.

Although this thing couldn’t withstand Elaven’s attack, Zhang Ji discovered it could store energy. ’If I modify it later, it might serve as a portable charger for me.’

........

Zhang Ji was unprepared for Elaven’s sudden attack.

Dragon Country was also caught off guard.

But that was reality.

Did they really expect a Saint King Level fighter to announce his intentions and give them time to prepare?

The only Saint King civilized enough to do that was probably Tran.

The other Saint Kings basically did whatever they wanted.

However, Elaven obviously never imagined he would fail so spectacularly.

Now, things were interesting. The Ultimate Fighting tournament was still underway, the battle between Saint Kings hadn’t even started, and one of them was already gone. And it was the very Saint King who was hosting the tournament.

The Saint Palace in Dragon Country’s Capital City was still under reconstruction. Liu Hetong and the others sent an inquiry to Zhang Ji, who had returned to the Gathering Light Tower, but his reply was brief, basically amounting to, "An enemy attacked, so I killed him."

If it weren’t for the scorched scars near Gesite Lake, which looked like the aftermath of a natural disaster, Liu Hetong and the others probably couldn’t have imagined just how terrifying the battle had been.

....

「Top of the Gathering Light Tower.」

Zhang Ji sat cross-legged, cultivating.

After his advancement, his body’s ability to absorb and process energy had greatly increased.

The large batch of resources from before could now be consumed without restraint.

At the same time, his upper limit for absorbing sunlight had also increased. The True Solar Flame burned brightly in his sea of consciousness, absorbing and converting most of the surrounding sunlight, while a portion became nourishment for Zhang Ji’s own body.

The "Five Elements Longevity Skill," which he had originally estimated would take about two more days to complete, was finished in just one day as Zhang Ji supplied the final essence.

Give him another three months, and Zhang Ji was confident he could cultivate the next Epic-grade combat crystal.

However, his current plans had been slightly disrupted by the crazed and reckless Elaven.

His original plan was to participate in the Ultimate Fighting tournament, suppress the five great Saint Kings in one fell swoop, and complete their unification. But now, he would probably have to change his approach slightly.

......

「September 20th.」

「Roman Country.」

「Lanz City.」

In a basement at the headquarters of the World Martial Arts Association.

Orlando had already lost his hands and feet, and his tongue had been cut out. Only his eyes were unharmed. He was nailed to a wall.

Elaven had wanted him to witness his ascension to a divine throne in this state, and only then would he kill Orlando.

But now, it was clear that Elaven would be unable to do so.

SQUEAK~!

The basement door opened. Orlando looked at the approaching brown-haired young man, his expression somewhat dazed.

This brown-haired young man was named Ymir Rogers, one of the vice presidents of the World Martial Arts Association. The other was the late Valentina.

Ymir had been assigned by Elaven to torture Orlando daily, while also ensuring he remained alive.

Although Ymir didn’t want to do this—he and Orlando had been on quite good terms privately—he couldn’t refuse Elaven’s command.

Recently, however, Orlando hadn’t been tortured by Ymir for several days. Moreover, Ymir had only been dropping by in a hurry to check if his nutrient-sustenance device had any problems before quickly leaving.

Orlando felt he might have guessed what was happening.

Although the possibility was slim, it wasn’t zero.

With Elaven’s arrogant personality, something like this was bound to happen sooner or later.

And indeed, just as Orlando had thought, Ymir undid his restraints. He pulled out the long spike piercing Orlando’s abdomen, drawing some blood, which Orlando then staunched by flexing his muscles.

Meeting Orlando’s questioning gaze, Ymir said, "He’s probably dead. He died in the newly established Dragon Country. That new king of Dragon Country was hiding his strength. He’s a Supreme-level fighter too, and stronger than Elaven! An investigation team disguised as tourists saw the traces of the battle there..."

Ymir was a little dazed. He had thought Elaven was invincible, yet he had died so inexplicably.

Right now, Roman Country was still unaware of the situation; otherwise, chaos would likely erupt immediately.

And with Elaven’s sudden attack, he didn’t know if Dragon Country’s new king would take out his anger on Roman Country.

"Ugh... ugh...!"

Orlando made some sounds.

Seeing this, Ymir slapped his forehead. "How could I forget!"

He put the brainwave-to-speech helmet he had brought on Orlando. The next moment, a synthesized voice emerged from it.

"We need to surrender! Fast! We have to placate the new king of Dragon Country’s anger before he reacts, or else the wrath of a Supreme is not something mortals can bear!"

"You’re still the sharp one!" Ymir said as he stood up.

Then he turned to leave.

"Wait, take me with you!" Orlando said.

"Oh, right, right!" Ymir said, suddenly realizing.