Chapter 193 - 174: Sect Leader Chen is Number One in the World

Chapter 193: Chapter 174: Sect Leader Chen is Number One in the World

When the phantom images of the temples within the First Heaven behind the Southern Heavenly Gate appeared in various places across the Divine Land, the battle between Chen Sha and Yuan Ruhua on the South Sea Islands was also nearing its climax. The two had been fighting on this small island in the South Sea for over a month, engaging in countless clashes, both large and small.

"Sect Leader Chen, that Fist Technique of yours must have reached Great Success by now," Yuan Ruhua said with a faint smile, standing two zhang away from Chen Sha after their latest clash. "If you still refuse to use it, then how about you try taking this lethal move? It’s one I, Yuan, have comprehended over the past month by observing the recent Heaven and Earth Rules’ changes and battling you."

The wind howled. Chen Sha’s eyes remained firmly closed. He hadn’t opened them for several days, yet he could still clearly sense every one of Yuan Ruhua’s attacks. He was currently using his mind to sense the void, hoping that in the final moment, he could shatter his Spiritual Void, behold the Divine Spirits hovering three feet above, and step into the realm of spiritual Broken Void.

Hearing Yuan Ruhua’s words, Chen Sha softly replied, "I’ve been looking forward to experiencing it."

As soon as Chen Sha spoke, Yuan Ruhua’s entire Heart Spirit seemed to merge with the earth beneath his feet. In an instant, Chen Sha felt as if all spatial concepts in the surrounding area were being drawn toward Yuan Ruhua. Even though he was currently standing several zhang away, Chen Sha felt an intense sense of crisis, as if he had already fallen into Yuan Ruhua’s Half-step Distance.

"It’s not an illusion. It’s real... teleportation," Chen Sha thought to himself. His Heart Spirit could perceive with absolute clarity that the distance between him and Yuan Ruhua had been compressed from two zhang to mere two chi in the blink of an eye.

THUMP THUMP!

That was the sound of Yuan Ruhua’s heartbeat, beating powerfully like a drum, manifesting right in front of Chen Sha. His blood surged with the mighty momentum of ocean waves.

"This move is called..." Accompanying Yuan Ruhua’s palm, which instantly appeared just three inches away from Chen Sha’s heart, came the rest of his sentence. "Shrinking Inches."

Yuan Ruhua had completely teleported! Chen Sha had absolutely no idea how his opponent had manipulated space. Evidently, during the past month of Heaven and Earth Rules’ changes, Yuan Ruhua had also sensed the shifts in the void and comprehended such a lethal strike. This was a move that had already surpassed the Great Innate Level.

An intense premonition of death welled up in Chen Sha’s heart. Instinctively, his mind entered an extremely acute state, his consciousness becoming highly active. Vaguely, he felt as if time had paused in his mind. Then, under the threat of this lethal strike, his spirit flew outward like a free bird, boundless and limitless, reaching the level of the Spiritual Void.

He could feel that at the end of the void, there were Divine Spirits, as numerous as the stars, revolving around his "life" and "body," guarding him in spirit like Guardian Divine Spirits. However, there was a sense of spatial distance isolating him from communicating or connecting with them.

As if enlightened by a sudden flash of inspiration, the words "Shatter the void, Unbreakable Divine Vision!" appeared in Chen Sha’s mind, forced out by the pressure of Yuan Ruhua’s lethal strike. It caused Chen Sha’s spirit to emit the sound of mental fracturing.

CRACK! CRACK!

It was as if fragments of the void were being shattered within his mind!

BOOM!

The Jiazi Tai Sui Spirit, one of the Six Ding and Six Jia, walked straight out of Chen Sha’s mind. At the same time, an aura of being "Completely Shattered" emerged from every piece of flesh and blood in Chen Sha’s body.

Shatter the void, Unbreakable Divine Vision! Seeing God was a spiritual achievement, while being Unbreakable was an achievement of the physical body. At this moment, Chen Sha finally opened his eyes.

Time seemed to resume its flow. Facing Yuan Ruhua’s "Shrinking Inches," which was a mere three inches away from striking his heart, Chen Sha couldn’t have dodged even if he wanted to. Therefore, he didn’t dodge. As a result, Yuan Ruhua’s strike, a lethal Martial Arts Dao strike that surpassed the Great Innate Realm and turned a distance of two zhang into two chi, ruthlessly slammed into Chen Sha’s chest.

CLANG!

A sound resembling the booming peal of a massive temple bell or the clashing of metal rang out.

At this moment, if Pang Saint were still alive, or if the Chess Master were present, they would know exactly what this sound meant. It was the terrifying metallic sound that would only ring out when Pang Saint used Long Zaitian’s Golden Body as a weapon to block incoming attacks.

CLANG!

This sound echoed from Chen Sha’s body, accompanied by a shattering aura. Yuan Ruhua’s strike was like hitting a solid Diamond; it couldn’t penetrate Chen Sha’s skin at all.

"So Broken Void is the Unbreakable Divine Vision," Chen Sha muttered to himself. "Not only did my spirit shatter the void and see the Tai Sui Spirit, but my physical body has also become a Vajra Unbreakable Body, just like Long Zaitian’s."

Yuan Ruhua was instantly stunned. He couldn’t help but stumble back a few steps. Looking up at the sky, he let out a long sigh and said, "So, that move of yours wasn’t a Fist Technique at all, but rather a Realm."

Broken Void was not a Fist Technique, but a Realm! When his lethal strike landed on Chen Sha, feeling as if he had smashed into solid metal—the sheer hardness of which left Yuan Ruhua’s arm numb—he already knew the answer. Chen Sha was no longer in the Great Innate Realm. He had broken through to a level above Innate.

Retracting his fist, Yuan Ruhua sighed and said, "Congratulations, Sect Leader Chen. You have proven an achievement unseen in over five thousand years, reaching an unprecedented height."

Long Zaitian had also reached this stage, but he had turned into a corpse. Even though his physical body remained incomparably hard, his consciousness was gone. But Chen Sha was different. After shattering, not only did his spiritual level advance further, but his physical body had also transformed into a Golden Body state. This was a perfect shatter! Once shattered, it meant a dual breakthrough in both spirit and body.

"The physical body of the Broken Great Vajra will be even harder and more inconceivable than a regular ’Unbreakable Divine Vision,’" Chen Sha thought to himself. He had already figured this out from the Tai’e Vajra Four Truths he had obtained from the Buddhist Sect.

Although Chen Sha hadn’t yet reached the Broken Great Vajra Level and was only at the ordinary Broken Void, he was already the undisputed number one figure in the Divine Land.

Yuan Ruhua observed Chen Sha’s body after the breakthrough. Externally, there was no difference, but he could clearly sense the terrifying power emanating from Chen Sha’s Physique. They were no longer in the same weight class; they existed in two entirely different Realms. Slowly, Yuan Ruhua spoke, "If you want to kill me now, it would only take a single strike."

Chen Sha exhaled a breath of stale air, his demeanor relaxed, entirely devoid of the combat tension that had gripped him for the past month. Smiling at Yuan Ruhua, he said, "Our battle was meant to decide who is number one in the world. But now, whether I kill you or not, I am already number one. Since that’s the case, why would I kill you?"

Yuan Ruhua couldn’t help but chuckle. "Indeed. Even without killing me, your Realm alone makes you the undisputed number one."

Immediately after, Chen Sha noticed that Yuan Ruhua’s mind had also suddenly relaxed, as if he had shrugged off a heavy burden. Chen Sha smiled faintly and said, "Now, you finally no longer have to bear the pressure of being number one in the world."

The idea that being number one in the world carried pressure—if word of this got out, it would likely make jaws drop everywhere. However, Yuan Ruhua laughed out loud and replied, "Now it’s your turn to shoulder this burden. Do you know what it means to be number one in the world?"

"It means that starting today, for as long as I live, the Martial Arts world will never be short of challengers seeking me out," Chen Sha said.

Yuan Ruhua nodded. "Exactly. This world is never lacking in brilliant and extraordinary talents. It’s only been a few years since your father’s time, and someone like you has already emerged. Therefore, someone capable of challenging you will appear very soon."

Chen Sha gazed up at the sky and murmured, "Yes, very soon."

Since he had stepped into the Broken Void Realm, it proved that the Heaven and Earth Rules had recovered to their state during the Ninth Tribulation Period. And those people within the First Heaven were about to descend and enter the world. When that time came, it wouldn’t just be one or two individuals qualified to challenge his position as number one...

Chen Sha’s eyes sparkled as he thought to himself, "We’ll see how long I can hold onto this number one title."

Finally, he looked at Yuan Ruhua and said, "With the changing of the world and our battle today, you will also enter this Realm sooner or later."

Chen Sha was able to achieve Broken Void one step ahead of Yuan Ruhua because he knew the path forward. He possessed various Cultivation Techniques and directions; besides Chen Fuyao’s Great Yellow Court, he even knew the route to the Broken Great Vajra. Thus, he was able to smoothly ride the momentum of the world’s revival during their battle and push himself into this Realm.

Yuan Ruhua, on the other hand, couldn’t be compared to Chen Sha. After all, he was exploring the path forward on his own, so watching Chen Sha break through wouldn’t enable him to do the same immediately. He needed time to sort out his own path and determine his direction toward the Broken Void. However, just as Chen Sha had said, it wouldn’t take him long.

Hearing Chen Sha’s words, Yuan Ruhua murmured, "The changing of the world?"

Chen Sha glanced at him and offered a warning. "Some people from history are going to revive amidst these worldly changes. When they do, it’s highly likely they will compete with our generation for survival and the right to cultivate. You need to be mentally prepared."

Yuan Ruhua stared deeply at Chen Sha. "People from history?"

"That’s all I can say," Chen Sha replied. Saying too much would expose his Southern Heavenly Gate. Reminding Yuan Ruhua to be prepared was the only thing he could do.

With a mere thought from Chen Sha, Teng Zijing flew onto the island, picked him up, and carried him back toward Dao Yi Mountain.

Meanwhile, above Putuo City, martial arts experts from all over the Divine Land watched blankly as Chen Sha departed on Teng Zijing. None of them understood who had actually won the battle. It wasn’t until the person who regularly delivered wine and food to Yuan Ruhua went to the island and brought back news that they finally knew. The message consisted of a few simple words spoken by Yuan Ruhua himself, publicly acknowledging the outcome of the battle:

"Sect Leader Chen is number one in the world."

On Chen Sha’s side, having successfully claimed the title of number one, he finally learned of the various changes that had taken place across the Divine Land during the month-long battle with Yuan Ruhua while riding Teng Zijing back to Dao Yi Mountain. He descended into a town and listened to rumors coming from all directions.

"Just as I thought... those temples within the First Heaven... they’ve appeared across the Divine Land," Chen Sha murmured.

Immediately upon hearing this news, he sent his spirit into the First Heaven world behind the Southern Heavenly Gate.

It had been over a month since his last entry. Along with the restoration of the Heaven and Earth Rules in the Divine Land, the First Heaven of the Immortal Realm behind the Southern Heavenly Gate had undergone earth-shattering changes that left Chen Sha utterly dazzled. As far as the eye could see, streaks of light were flying out from the temples scattered across the dead earth of the First Heaven...