Rise of Humanity

Chapter 289 - The Best Or Nothing

Qiu Jin'er exerted her bravery and defended Zhong Yue, "Senior martial siblings, my senior martial brother didn't renege on his words at all. He did leave the first place of the Warrior Board to you all. Look, my senior martial brother is now in the Godlike Board, you have all returned to your usual ranks, there really isn't a need to challenge my senior martial brother anymore."

Their faces turned dark and gloomy as Xia Shengchu, Jiao Qingtu, and the others heard her words. Even the ever-smiling Tianmo Concubine had a sudden urge to kill the innocent young maiden and shut her mouth forever.

Every time the good-hearted Qiu Jin'er tried to convince them and resolve the conflicts, her words were blunt to the point of driving them insane.

Tianmo Concubine was grinding her teeth as she forced a smile and said, "Little sister from the Qiu family, your words somehow have quite a sting to them!"

Qiu Jin'er was a few years younger than Zhong Yue, she was fifteen this year, and while Tianmo Concubine was a few years older than Zhong Yue, it was normal for her to be addressed as a little sister. And it was true, her appearance to the other Qi Practitioners was indeed like a little young girl in a wheelchair that had yet to grow up.

Xia Chusheng's white hair waved as the wind breezed over, he said indifferently, "This little sister, your words sound like a child's joke, you put it in a way that your senior martial brother was generous enough to spare us his kindness. But you see, our names and reputation weren't simply given to us by the others, we have climbed through the rankings in the Warrior Board with our own strength."

Qiu Jin'er trembled, and she said softly, "If my senior martial brother didn't come out from the Warrior Board, you'd still be number three…."

“SHUT UP!”

Xia Shengchu bellowed in anger, right after which he immediately inhaled a deep breath of cold air in an attempt to calm himself down. How hurtful ... Qiu Jin'er's words stung so much that she almost broke the tranquil mentality that belonged to an expert Martial Master, nearly tossing him into a raging storm of emotions.

The temperament and state of mind of an expert Martial Master like him would be still like a calm pool of water. He would be alerted of anyone or anything that entered his senses. Meanwhile, Qiu Jin'er's words were like a meteor that crashed into the pool, causing its previously still surface to be fraught with chaotic ripples.

Zhong Yue lifted his hand up, smiled and said, "The world only cheers for the strongest, and only the best will be remembered. Junior martial sister, there is no need to waste any more words as explanations are useless to them; they are all the bright and promising stars of their respective races, the only one they ever look up to are themselves. Words are meaningless to them!"

Jiao Qingtu laughed out loud, “Precisely right, the only way to convince me is to defeat me in a fair and square fight!”

Zhong Yue smiled, he said leisurely, "I suppose, all of you have been very, very troubled all these years, looking for an opponent that is listed in the Godlike Board? You want to enter the Godlike Board, but you can't find an opponent in the Godlike Board. That's why your hearts are not content. You think that you are only stuck on the Warrior Board because there weren't opponents strong enough for you to prove yourselves, am I right?"

Bai Canghai nodded, answered in a serious tone, "Even though there are living Qi Practitioners that on the Godlike Board, most of them are nowhere to be found nowadays. Whether they are dead or alive, no one knows. Some others were sealed away, and some have already become magnate cultivators. That being said, it is fairly hard to come by someone who is in the Godlike Board and is also in the level of Atman Body. Senior Martial Brother Zhong, you are a perfect candidate: an Atman Body cultivator and you are listed in the Godlike Board. Perhaps you can show us the what someone of that caliber is like?"

His words were precisely the thoughts of everyone else there. It was too difficult to come by a peer that could be listed in the Godlike Board for Qi Practitioners like them that had cultivated to the extremity.

Zhong Yue's emergence fulfilled the wish they have been demanding for. He was a perfect stepping stone for them to enter the Godlike Board, or at least, he would be a benchmark for them to determine their prowess and their distance away from the Godlike Board.

In the Lesser Void World, it was impossible for the Atman Body Qi Practitioners to challenge the Inner Core Qi Practitioners. Hence, it was incredibly difficult to enter the Godlike Board.

In fact, if it weren't for the emergence of the Heavenly Monarch residence, Zhong Yue wouldn't be able to meet with Xiao Chushan and enter the Godlike Board by killing him.

"Defeated by me, your name will still be preserved, even more, you will be honored for putting up a fight against a Godlike Board listed cultivator; let alone the benefits you will get from defeating me, the name, the fame, and reputation. Isn't that a good deal? You benefit if you won, and you lose nothing if you are defeated. On the other hand, I wouldn't gain anything at all."

The smile on his face slowly faded away, in turn, a frigidly cold expression climbed onto his face, "Challenge me? You lot are still too weak, neither one of you are qualified to be my opponent."

“Hmph! Qualified or not is not something you can decide with your words alone!”

Zhu Jiangyue let out a shrill whistle, she bolted over like a flash of lightning and launched her palm out right at Zhong Yue; the force she brought about stirred the air into a raging tempest, tossing the weaker Qi Practitioners behind her off balance!

Even if these Qi Practitioners were also in the same Atman Body level as she was, it was clear that they would stand no chance against her. They couldn't even withstand the impact force from a single strike of hers!

Casually raising his hand up, the two palms clashed into one another. Zhu Jiangyue was a petite lady, but as she let out a ferocious war cry, she dove into the state of [Atman Body as One]. She started to morph into a form entirely different for her usually graceful stature — her muscles bulged out, her skin became taut over their striations, and totem patterns crawled all over her body. She became a giant creature with a single horn, strong and muscular, and she looked even more heavily built than Zhu Jushan in his [Atman Body as One] state!

“Arghhh!”

The lady turned scarlet-red, her howling sounded akin to the rumbling thunders, her strength increased egregiously, pushing Zhong Yue up high into the air while she was clenching down her other fist, and she bellowed in anger, "Five wheels as one,【Zhu Yan Divine Fist】!"

The five light wheels revolved in the center of her palm, a Zhu Yan celestial being could be faintly perceived sitting in the middle of the five wheels, she clenched her fist and struck right at Zhong Yue!

Bai Canghai was shocked, he mumbled, “The Zhu Yan Celestial Race, the strongest race in terms of strength throughout the whole West Barren celestial race, it is indeed true!”

All of a sudden, Zhong Yue's mortal body also transformed. He morphed into a three-legged creature. There were also five light wheels emerging in his other hand, and he parried her fist with a fist. At the same time, countless sword feathers were launched out from the golden wings on his back.

Zhu Jiangyue yelled, the vermillion horn on his forehead dazzled in rays, lightning converged at the tip of the horn, and suddenly, a bolt of lightning thrust over at Zhong Yue like a nocked arrow let loose!

This was the natural talent skill of the Zhu Yan Celestial Race, the horn on her head was born with the natural totem patterns of the Zhu Yan Celestial Race, it could converge the lightning and lash it out like a sharp sword at her target!

The thunders stopped rumbling, and all of the lightning disappeared, except for one. One bolt of lightning that was the convergence of all the other lightning bolts. Zhong Yue rapidly flew backward while the fire-like feathers scattered around him, eroding the strength in Zhu Jiangyue's 【Zhu Yan Divine Fist】. Meanwhile, the mighty lightning sword was parried by a bright moon that shot out from Zhong Yue's right eye.

Dang dang dang dang——

Blunt sounds of each clash of strikes resounded together to form a cacophonous symphony; the bright moon became smaller with every clash with the lightning sword. Soon, the near-depleted lightning sword finally disintegrated its foe into thin air. But at this moment, Zhong Yue reached his hand out, clenched on the lightning sword, and crushed it into smoke in his hands.

He was moving backward while Zhu Jiangyue stood on the same spot unmovingly. Out of everyone's expectations, her body became engulfed in sunfire, and her skeletal frame burnt in a blazing fire, while her body was mutilated by the sword feathers!

A strong breeze of wind blew over and carried her bone ashes along with it.

“Great Wilderness Swords Gate Shui Zian’s Sword Cocoon Sword Silk Array Formation!”

Bai Canghai exclaimed in shock, “It was the sword totem patterns of the【Great Boundless Sword Qi】that formed the sword silks which resembles the Sword Cocoons, further enhancing the prowess of the array formation. Hmm, there is also the signs of the Great Sun totem patterns, the sunfire that is concealed in the sword silks; he first separated the flesh away from the skeletal frame and then engraved the Great Sun Golden Crow's totem patterns on the bones, which was what incinerated her body. But there is something else, another cultivation technique in it…."

What an intelligent man ... he could deduce out the changes and intricacies of cultivation techniques just by looking at the development of the battle. It's like he's an erudite scholar of the way of cultivation.

“Three thousand feet white hair!”

Before Zhong Yue could even regain his balance from the battle with Zhu Jiangyue, Xia Shengchu waved his head, and his white hair shot out like countless light rays, thrusting at Zhong Yue.

"How daring for you to contend with a Swords Gate disciple in the arts of the sword?"

Zhong Yue gave a cold sneer, the Wu Xing Wheel emerged behind his back and revolved rapidly, uncountable sword silks were lashed out from the Wu Xing Secret Realm; light rays to light rays, sword silks against sword hairs!

With a flicker of movement, Xia Shengchu dashed to the side of Zhong Yue’s body, he swayed his body and turned into the state of [Atman Body as One], launching out countless strikes on Zhong Yue like a mad god.

As a Martial Master, he could never cast out his Yuan Shen and arcane energy as they were all concealed and in his mortal body. But at the same time, this allowed his mortal body to be appallingly strong. A series of loud noise akin to the sounds of thunder blasted in their ears. Punches and kicks stormed down at Zhong Yue like a raging tempest. The strike he took every second were too many to count!

Every part of Xia Shengchu's body was his weapon; toes, nails, knees, shoulders, every single strand of muscle contained incredible strength. He could even pierce metal armor by just spitting out phlegm alone!

A single drop of blood could become a weapon he used to kill, and his attacks were absurdly undefendable, often catching his opponents in ways they least expected.

In mid-air, Zhong Yue had taken a defensive stance. Countless defensive totem patterns emerged on his body to fend off Xia Shengchu's strikes. At the same time, he was also exchanging blows with the Martial Master, light wheels revolving around in the center of his palm, making up the lack of strength with his arcane energy.

As one who had reversed opened the secret realms, he was endowed with an abundant amount of arcane energy like no other, coalescing the power of the five wheels in his hands, he was able to contend Xia Shengchu's power.

Zhong Yue controlled the power of the five secret realms, the speed with which he could manipulate his powers was faster than Zhu Jiangyue, almost as quick as Xia Shengchu's strikes. This was another benefit that came with his reverse-opening.

However, despite his mortal body being stronger than the other Qi Practitioners, he still couldn't compete with Xia Shengchu, a bona fide Martial Master who focused solely in the martial arts and physique-refining cultivation techniques. Moreover, Xia Shengchu was the brightest and most promising Martial Master of the next generation!

Within a breathe's time, countless strikes were launched right at Zhong Yue, crushing through his defense and slamming into his body like battering rams.

In Zhong Yue's body, the blood essence billowed like a raging sea, surging all over his body through the blood vessels while marvelous totem patterns were emerging incessantly within his bloodline, preventing his body from being crushed away by Xia Shengchu's strikes.

"How much longer do you think you can withstand my strikes?"

Xia Shengchu let out a long whistle that pierced through the clouds while his strikes grew more intense.

At the same time, his white hairs were still clashing against the sword silks that lunged out from Zhong Yue's Wu Xing Secret Realm. Under his control, the white hairs would be the strongest Sword Qi sword silks. He controlled them at will as if he were merely waving his hands; there was no sign of disorder or chaos. One could infer how precise his control over his power was.

Bai Canghai praised from the bottom of his heart, "Brother Xia Shengchu is indeed worthy of the most talented Martial Master of the Zhong Li Celestial Race Xia family for the past five hundred years, he has cultivated his mortal body skills to an incredible degree, even cultivating his skin. Could this be the Xia family's【Battling Heaven Technique】?"

Qiu Jin'er winked her eyes, the wooden wheelchair hovered over and landed beside Bai Canghai. She said in admiration, "Senior Martial Brother Bai, you know quite a lot. Who do you think will win?"

Bai Canghai smiled and replied, “Well, that’s very hard to say … Eh?”

All of a sudden, Xia Shengchu felt an intense tension on his head. His white hairs were curled and twisted into a clump by Zhong Yue's sword silks.

"Five wheels as one!"

Zhong Yue yelled, the five wheels suddenly converged together. They formed a formation of concentric circles, where the bigger wheels enveloped the smaller ones, and the powers of the five wheels enforced one another. The pulling force was significantly boosted as he tried to pull Xia Shengchu's white hairs into the secret realms.

Xia Shengchu was slowly pulled toward Zhong Yue, suddenly, he raised his hand like a sword and slashed down at his hairs, attempting to cut them off so that he wouldn’t be pulled into Zhong Yue’s secret realms.

Sadly, Zhong Yue managed to react in time and stopped Xia Shengchu with his hand, four hands from two battlers tangled together; Xia Shengchu immediately launched out a series of kicks with his two legs, potent and deadly, every kick seemed to be accompanied by the sound of rumbling thunder.

However, his efforts were in vain, and his death was an inevitability. He was slowly pulled into the light wheels behind Zhong Yue's back, a shrill cry could be heard coming from the secret realms, and in the next second, he had completely disappeared into the light wheels.

Zhong Yue abruptly clasped his hands together, palm to palm as he said, “The smithing of the five elements, the suppression of the myriad powers, and the dismemberment of the Yin Yang! DIE!”

The five wheels revolved rapidly, and blood gushed out like a waterfall as the power of his secret realms slew Xia Shengchu.

Qiu Jin’er winked her eyes again as she looked at Bai Canghai, her voice was soft and tender, “Senior Martial Brother Bai, Senior Martial Brother Xia is dead already, are you up next?”

Cold sweat immediately rushed out of his forehead. All of a sudden, before he could reply, chiffons flew over above them, suffused in demonic Qi. Tianmo Concubine stepped on the lotus flowers beneath her like a goddess descending from the heavens, striking over at Zhong Yue as if she was just a pure and naive goddess spreading her lotus flowers to the world.

Bai Canghai furtively heaved a breath of relief, he smiled in reply, "It's not my turn yet. Tianmo Concubine is indeed strong. She is a concubine reserved by the demon ancestor of the oversea demon race, the heritage she was given was incredible. She is proficient in the cultivation technique of a demon god, her low ranking in the Warrior Board is definitely not indicative of her prowess. Junior Martial Sister Qiu, look at the chiffons, they are actually formed by the demonic totem patterns, pure and clear of any impurities. This would be an abstruse skill of the demon race, the【Yu Lan Aroma True Scripture】...Eh?”

Right before the eyes of the public, Tianmo Concubine was battered to death by sheer strength under Zhong Yue's fist; Qiu Jin'er again looked at Bai Canghai to see cold sweat bursting out of his forehead. He cast his sights over to Jiao Qingtu in the hope of seeking help, and when he saw Jiao Qingtu stepping out, he again heaved a breath of relief, he smiled and said, "Senior Martial Brother Jiao Qingtu's prowess is even more incredible…."