Ascending to Godhood: I Can Foresee All Futures

Figures flew out one by one, perching on the eaves of the grand halls, pausing on high platforms, or hovering in mid-air. Their gazes, filled with shock and uncertainty, turned toward the sky above the square before the main hall—at the arrogant figure in fluttering green robes, suspended with his hands behind his back.

"Who is that? I clearly heard someone shout, ’Chen Sheng, come out and fight!’ Could he be the famous Captain Chen from the Jingwu Bureau who’s been making a name for himself in Ning’an lately?"

A young disciple who didn’t recognize Lu Xuanzhou couldn’t help but whisper to a sect member beside him.

"I don’t know either."

"Who has the audacity to cause such a commotion and issue a challenge here at our Danxia Sect?"

An elder with graying hair and a beard gazed at the sky, his expression grave, and uttered a few solemn words:

"It’s the Young Master of Luoyun Manor, Lu Xuanzhou."

"Lu Xuanzhou?! He’s actually back!"

"It must be because of that wedding-crashing incident. After the great humiliation Luoyun Manor suffered, there’s no way he would let it go."

"Hiss... Now we’re in for a show. I heard that Lu Xuanzhou joined the Vast Sea Upper Sect three years ago. His Cultivation has probably reached the Profound Gang Realm by now. Captain Chen might be strong, but he’s ultimately just at the Earth Fiend level. This fight... he probably won’t dare to accept it, will he?"

"Hard to say. Chen Sheng is always unpredictable; he’s not one to shy away from a fight."

"Look! Someone’s coming out of the main hall!"

Over a hundred Danxia Sect disciples and elders broke into a flurry of discussion, their gazes intense. The air was thick with excitement and anticipation.

A battle between top-tier prodigies was a rare sight in Ning’an Prefecture.

From his place in the sky, Lu Xuanzhou’s gaze slowly swept over the growing crowd below. A faint, satisfied smile curved his lips.

’This was exactly the effect he wanted.’

’The shame Luoyun Manor suffered that day must be washed away.’

’He wouldn’t just win; he would win openly and decisively, crushing Chen Sheng with absolute power before all these witnesses.’

’Even if the Jianghu later criticized him for ’using his realm to bully a junior,’ he couldn’t care less.’

’Because some things were more important than a hollow reputation.’

.....

Inside the Danxia Grand Hall, the atmosphere was delicate.

Bai Qing’s gaze fell upon Chen Sheng, a complicated look flickering in her phoenix eyes. She had seen through Lu Xuanzhou’s intentions; all his previous provocations were likely for this very moment, to force Chen Sheng out into the open and publicly avenge his past humiliation.

"Captain Chen."

"Lu Xuanzhou came prepared. He intends to make a show of force and restore his honor. If you choose to lie low for now, citing the difference in your Cultivation realms, I can mediate on your behalf. No one would dare to criticize you for it."

"You want me to lie low?"

Chen Sheng smiled faintly at her words and shook his head. His tone was calm, yet it carried an unshakeable conviction:

"Sect Leader Bai, there’s no need to persuade me. Just have the Dust-Reducing Spirit Pill ready. And afterward, don’t forget to demand that payment of Elemental Crystals from Luoyun Manor."

Before his voice had faded, the aura around Chen Sheng suddenly changed.

Stepping over the threshold of the grand hall, his figure left a blurry afterimage in the twilight. The next moment, he was already standing steadily in the sky above the square, facing Lu Xuanzhou from a distance.

Chen Sheng slowly raised his hand and gripped the hilt of the Cold-Intimidating Blade at his waist.

A bone-chilling yet incomparably domineering Evil Qi began to spread, like a ferocious beast slowly awakening from its slumber.

’He was looking forward to this battle as well.’

Back in the Prefecture City, he had once asked Sun Yuzhi how to break through his bottleneck in the Mental Realm of the Basic Knife Technique.

Sun Yuzhi’s advice had been twofold: either study a wide array of skills and achieve a breakthrough by drawing parallels, or find an enlightening Spiritual Object and use its external power for a revelation.

’Chen Sheng had originally planned on doing just that.’

However, his cross-realm battle against Elder Liu of the Cyan Flood Dragon Alliance on the Qinglin River had shown him another path. The sharpening effect of extreme pressure, the tempering that came from walking the line between his blade and death, was exceptionally effective.

’After that battle, he could clearly feel how fast his progress was accelerating.’

’Now, his status panel showed he was just a single step away.’

[Basic Saber Skill Perfection (1985/2000)]

’Lu Xuanzhou, an even better whetstone, had delivered himself to Chen Sheng’s doorstep. How could he possibly not make use of him?’

’He would see if today’s battle could help him shatter that invisible barrier and finally glimpse the profundity of the Mental Realm.’

"Make your move."

Lu Xuanzhou hovered with his hands clasped behind his back, his robes fluttering. His bearing was calm, laced with a condescending arrogance:

"My offer still stands. If you can last a hundred breaths without being defeated, I will hand over the Dust-Reducing Spirit Pill. That way, no one can say that we at Luoyun Manor only know how to use a higher realm to oppress people."

CLANG—!

Lu Xuanzhou’s response was the chilling ring of a blade being drawn, a sound that tore through the twilight.

Chen Sheng couldn’t be bothered with nonsense; the Cold-Intimidating Blade was already unsheathed.

The blade caught a sliver of fading light as it traced a chilling arc. Chen Sheng shot forward like a bolt of lightning, man and blade as one, as he poured the immense power of the Nine Nether Yin Fiend into its edge without reservation.

SWOOSH—!

A hundred-foot-long beam of dark blade light, so condensed it looked solid, tore through the air. It carried an absolute finality, as if to sever everything in its path, as it slashed down toward Lu Xuanzhou.

The speed and ferocity of the attack far exceeded the limits of any ordinary Earth Fiend Martial Master.

Surprise flashed in Lu Xuanzhou’s eyes before vanishing, replaced by an icy glint. He formed a sword-finger, tapped the empty air, and the pure Gang Qi within his Dantian instantly surged forth.

"Condense!"

A stream of cyan Sword Qi materialized from nothing. Though only about ten feet long, it radiated an aura of ultimate sharpness as it met the ferocious blade light head-on.

BOOM—!!

The blade light and Sword Qi collided violently.

Amid the deafening roar, a shockwave erupted in a ring, making the robes of the spectators below whip about.

The two forces violently canceled each other out, dissipating simultaneously. They were evenly matched.

And in the instant before the light from the explosion had fully faded, Chen Sheng’s figure shot through the dissipating turbulence like a phantom, boldly charging to within a hundred feet of Lu Xuanzhou.

"Slash!"

Chen Sheng spun in mid-air, using the momentum to swing his blade. The slash traveled upward in a diagonal arc from below at a cunning angle. It was even faster than before, aimed straight for Lu Xuanzhou’s midsection.

This strike had pushed the ’upward slash’ technique from the Basic Knife Technique to its absolute limit.