Chapter 190 - 171: Showdown Against the World’s Number One!

Chapter 190: Chapter 171: Showdown Against the World’s Number One!

"South of the Divine Land, in the Fengming Mountain Range..."

The look in Young Master Qing’s eyes livened up. "If I go there, I’ll find a great fortune?"

The Chess Master smiled faintly. "Whether you go or not is your own business."

After saying that, he turned to look at Ma Rulong. "Although your fortune is not as powerful as Gu Qing’s and Li Jianzhou’s, it still points toward becoming a titan of the Demon Sect. Originally, I also prepared a path for you, but you need to wait two more years before taking it. After all..."

He continued indifferently, "Even though it is your fortune, obtaining it prematurely will cause a massive shift in the trajectory of your life. Therefore, in two years, when your luck is soaring, taking it then will result in the minimal Rebound on your fortune.

"However, you can also go now. But if your fortune suffers a Rebound, you might end up obtaining no treasures at all and suffering severe injuries instead."

Hearing this, Ma Rulong was torn between his choices. He hesitated for a moment before asking, "...What is the Chess Master’s suggestion?"

The Chess Master clasped his hands behind his back. "If this Jianghu were still as peaceful as it was ten years ago, you could absolutely choose the safest path and take it when your fortune is at its peak. However, ever since your master Long Zaitian achieved ’Broken,’ coupled with the fact that Chen Canxuan’s coffin was empty, it is obvious...

"The era I have foreseen is arriving within the next six months to a year. Ancient figures will reappear, and the world’s structure will change anew. Do you still remember my purpose in selecting you pawns?"

Hearing this, Young Master Qing remained silent on the side. He had long known that the Chess Master was using them, but he was a willing pawn because the Chess Master had given them too much.

The Chess Master smiled faintly. "You are all dragons, and my purpose is to support the dragons. This is an ancient path. Regardless of which of you ultimately becomes the True Dragon emperor, I will not lose out."

After speaking, he casually tossed Ma Rulong a sachet and said, "This contains your opportunity and your choice. I am going to see just what level Li Jianzhou has reached."

As his words fell, his figure vanished from the Demon Saint Sect’s main hall.

Two days later.

The Chess Master arrived at a place within Jin Country. It was named Celestial Silkworm Ridge, famous since ancient times for its various precious silks. Gazing at the mountain range, he muttered to himself,

"The fortune I foresaw for Li Jianzhou should correspond to this Celestial Silkworm Ridge. After receiving my guidance, he has likely been here for about a year. I wonder if he has found his lucky chance yet.

"Originally, according to this kid’s fortune, obtaining the legendary Divine Silkworm Scripture at the foot of the mountain was already an opportunity beyond the reach of ordinary people. He is also one of the rare few in Dao Yi who cultivates the Great Yellow Court. If it weren’t for Chen Sha, based on his luck, he would only encounter one miraculous fortuitous encounter after another in the future, until they pushed him to the height of Daoist Sect Master.

"It is all because of Chen Sha, this anomaly..."

The Chess Master stood atop a high mountain, raising his eyes to observe the qi. In his vision, the undulating mountain ranges and geographical locations were like natural symbols of the Great Dao, revealing the natural flow of the world’s rivers and mountains. Immediately, his gaze narrowed as he spotted the place with the densest aura within the mountain range.

"Li Jianzhou is right there!"

While the Chess Master continued to secretly nurture his dragons in the shadows, over in Putuo City of the South Sea...

Inside the city, a crowd of Martial Arts experts was expectantly discussing exactly when the Dao Yi Sect Master would arrive at the South Sea for his battle against Yuan Ruhua.

Inside a teahouse.

"If you ask me, Sect Leader Chen hasn’t reached his father’s Cultivation yet. During the battle at Copper Mountain last time, some people saw that the Great Yellow Court on him only had nineteen..."

"You must know that the Great Yellow Court has a total of Twenty-four Gods. Therefore, he will only qualify to challenge Yuan Ruhua if he cultivates the Great Yellow Court to Perfection."

"Not to mention Yuan Ruhua’s rumored ’Half-step Distance’ that is impervious to gods and ghosts alike. Just by being ’Unrivaled within Half a Step,’ he is already the number one powerhouse in the world."

"Even Wang Zaixiang, with his magnificent momentum that could swallow mountains and rivers, was defeated in a single move within that half step!"

"Is it really that mystical? Although there is definitely a gap between the first and the second, to say he was defeated in a single move... Has the world’s number one person transcended human comprehension? Is he on the level of a god, an immortal, or a Buddha Saint?"

"It’s a pity that these two didn’t fight while Chen Canxuan was still alive. Otherwise, it would definitely have been a legendary battle remembered for a millennium!"

Right at that moment, a loud shout suddenly rang out from outside the teahouse: "What’s there to lament? Quick, look up at the distant sky! It’s Chen Sha; he’s come to the South Sea!"

"What?!"

In an instant, the entirety of Putuo City was in an uproar.

Currently gathered here were the eyes and forces of various sects from the Martial Arts world, all waiting for this day. No one expected that this day had finally arrived.

Chen Sha had descended upon the South Sea!

The Swordsman in the teahouse who had just been spouting off his regrets grew endlessly excited. "Quick, up to the city tower! If Chen Sha is here, it proves his Great Yellow Court has reached Perfection. The regret of the past was that we never got to see Chen Canxuan and Yuan Ruhua fight, but now, we can witness another Perfected Great Yellow Court master battle that ’Half-step Myth’! Hurry up and find a good spot!"

Suddenly, the sea-facing city walls of Putuo City were instantly packed with a sea of people as everyone scrambled up the tower.

They saw Teng Zijing flapping its wings high in the distant sky, carrying a person on its back as it soared over their heads. The crowd’s gazes followed Teng Zijing’s direction, and then...

By the seaside, everyone in Putuo City heard a young man’s voice from high above. It spread across the heavens and the earth, reaching the ears of the entire city and the white-robed man standing by the ancient pavilion at the end of the sea.

"Yuan Ruhua, this humble Daoist has come to visit the South Sea to debate the title of number one in the world with you!"

The voice wasn’t very loud or ostentatious; it even carried a trace of faint calmness. Yet, it seemed to command heaven and earth to speak on its behalf, resonating and allowing the sound to travel extremely far.

A certain Great Innate expert in Putuo City felt the range of this sentence and said with a trembling heart, "Resonating with heaven and earth—the ultimate symbol of reaching the Peak of the Great Innate Realm."

If ordinary Great Innate experts could mobilize the qi mechanism of heaven and earth to shift the winds and clouds, then Chen Sha was currently making the weather of the entire South Sea move for him. This kind of absolute Peak Great Innate Realm was the hardest to cultivate.

The entire city’s population was shaken by it. Following closely, the city full of Martial Artists heard a deep, majestic voice coming from the end of the sea level, traveling equally far.

"I have been eagerly anticipating this for a long time. Please enter the Tide Listening Pavilion first, Sect Leader Chen, and meet with me."

Just in terms of presence, the Qi Power and momentum of these two men could be considered the Peak of the world. Just their voices were enough to shake the ocean waves and spread for dozens of miles!

High in the clouds, upon hearing Yuan Ruhua’s voice coming from the pavilion in the sea, Chen Sha immediately abandoned Teng Zijing and fluttered down, stepping onto the surface of the sea himself.

In the eyes of the crowd, on the vast ocean surface, the back of a Daoist slowly stepped forward. Each step covered ten zhang, treading on the sea as if walking on flat ground. Amidst the crashing waves, he ascended the small island at the end of the horizon.

Chen Sha set foot on the small island. Logically speaking, there should have been mud and sand on the island, but the entire ground of the island was made of solid rock, completely devoid of sand. The whole island was also empty, with only a courtyard pavilion towering not far away.

Yuan Ruhua stood right at the entrance of the pavilion, his hands clasped behind his back as he awaited Chen Sha.

Chen Sha finally saw the appearance of this number one person in the world. He looked to be in his fifties or sixties, with somewhat coarse facial features. He wore a white robe and had a very burly physique. His skin wasn’t particularly fair, making him look like a seaside fisherman.

However, just standing there, he gave Chen Sha a single feeling:

Invincible in the world!

Chen Sha thought, "This is the difference between him and me. I’ve never stood in this position, so I don’t have this spiritual experience, lacking this grand momentum of his. However..."

He didn’t feel that this was his own shortcoming. Being different from others was sometimes not a flaw, but rather a manifestation of one’s own uniqueness.

Therefore, what Yuan Ruhua saw in Chen Sha was a powerful confidence. This confidence made his heart grow heavy; the most terrifying thing in the world was the power of belief. If a person believed in himself, then there was nothing in this world that could stop him or be his match.

Yuan Ruhua spoke up. "Do you know why I built such a Tide Listening Pavilion in the middle of the sea?"

Chen Sha replied, "To match your status as the number one person in the world?"

This answer might have been somewhat vulgar, but Yuan Ruhua actually smiled and said, "Correct!"

Chen Sha looked around with his hands behind his back. Behind him was Putuo City of the Divine Land; on its walls, tens of thousands of people were staring at this place, surrounded on all sides by the undulating vast ocean. He said, "Raising an ancient pavilion on the sea, creating land out of thin air... It is indeed a spectacle worthy of the number one person in the world."

But Yuan Ruhua kept his hands clasped behind his back and said flatly, "No."

Chen Sha said, "No?"

Yuan Ruhua elaborated, "You think this small island on the sea was built by me, but it wasn’t."

Chen Sha’s eyes flashed. Looking at the ground, he had already come to a realization. "So it’s a mountain that rose from the bottom of the sea."

Yuan Ruhua said, "Exactly. This small island is the peak of a mountain that surfaced from the seabed on its own over these past five years. At first, it was just a submerged reef in the sea, but five years ago, it started to grow ten zhang higher every year. By today, it is already a fifty-zhang-tall small mountain."

Chen Sha was surprised. "Growing ten zhang every year?"

Yuan Ruhua said, "Yes, ten zhang higher every year. I once dived into the sea to investigate, going as deep as three thousand zhang into the seabed, but I still couldn’t see the base of this mountain. Although unwilling, I had no choice but to come back up, because any deeper, and even I would be crushed to pieces by the water pressure. But even so, as long as it continues to grow at the rate of ten zhang per year, it will ultimately surpass the highest mountain in the Divine Land, Taishan, and become the veritable number one peak in the world."

Chen Sha smiled faintly. "I see. The number one person in the world residing on the number one peak in the world... That is quite fitting."

Yuan Ruhua smiled. "So this is the highest place in the world, because I am here, and this mountain is here. This mountain is like my dojo. Ever since I became the number one in the world, my state of mind has grown higher and higher alongside it. Here, my state of mind will be in its most perfect and flawless condition. Are you sure you can defeat me here?"

Chen Sha smiled back. "I am exactly the opposite of you."

Yuan Ruhua said, "Oh?"

Chen Sha slowly extended a hand from where he stood, striking a gesture of invitation for battle. "I will never trap myself in a mere hundred-zhang area, or a half-zhang distance, and Draw a Circle as Prison. Nor do I have any spiritual dojo. If I have to say it, my dojo is myself. Wherever I am, there is my dojo; there is no difference."

SWOOSH—

Instantly, as Chen Sha spread his arms, his long hair flew up, and his clothes billowed like a bellows without any wind. Under the loose Daoist Robe, boundless phenomena seemed to converge within his body.

Seeing that Chen Sha was fully prepared, Yuan Ruhua slightly extended his hand. "Please, Sect Leader Chen."

BOOM!

Chen Sha stomped his foot.

He stepped forward!

In a flash, his momentum swept out, causing all grass and trees to bow their heads. A mighty air pressure pressed down horizontally, as if the vault of heaven were collapsing, gathering within his arm and his five fingers.

He lunged!

He advanced!

He attacked directly.

The distance of dozens of zhang was closed in an instant.

A punch materialized within the half-step distance in front of Yuan Ruhua, smashing right into it!