Chapter 515 - 498: Show of Force
The Lord of Punishment’s gaze burned as he stared at Mingren, as if he wanted to eat him alive. Mingren simply wiped the dust from the corner of his mouth. "That move had a bit of force behind it."
This was a blatant provocation. As a member of the Demon Race, as a Lord, the Lord of Punishment was on the verge of going berserk. The one thing the Demon Race couldn’t stand was the way Human Cultivators looked at them like pets.
And that very look, that mocking amusement, was in Mingren’s eyes.
ROAR—
The Lord of Punishment’s eyes turned blood-red. His body pulsed with a crimson light as his Demon Power surged, reaching a level capable of tearing apart a Great Perfection expert. The Human Cultivators were all shocked by the Lord of Punishment’s terrifying power.
BOOM...
Earth Splitting!
A Vibration Wave blasted the Dueling Platform apart. The most violent shockwave shot toward Mingren, but... he still didn’t dodge.
...Ineffective!
Still ineffective!
It was a defense that drove his opponent to despair.
The Lord of Punishment roared and clawed at Mingren. He would tear Mingren in half! He refused to believe Mingren could survive that!
SHING...
His claws sank in. Darkness, endless darkness!
Light, the light of Purification!
The Lord of Punishment shrieked and retreated. One of his claws had been devoured, while the other had begun to burn.
Mingren just stood there, not having moved an inch.
This was a kind of power called despair!
A strength that surpassed strength!
Mingren didn’t even spare the Lord of Punishment a glance. His gaze was on the sky, on the clouds, on the distant Other Shore.
To him, what was this beast?
The Lord of Punishment shrieked and roared, tearing off the arm that had been ignited by the Holy Light. The gory sight was chilling, but a new arm quickly grew in its place.
But as the Lord of Punishment looked at the motionless Mingren, he had no idea what to do.
He couldn’t attack at all!
At the very least, he had no way to break through the Holy Light Demon Collapse Body. He was brimming with Demon Power, yet he couldn’t use it.
Seeing his opponent wasn’t attacking, Mingren was actually a little disappointed. Yes, disappointed!
TAP... TAP...
The only sound on the Dueling Platform, torn apart by the Lord of Punishment, was Mingren’s footsteps. It was a despair-inducing intimidation. Clearly, someone had provoked Mingren, and he was excited. This excitement was a tragedy for his opponent. One could only say the Lord of Punishment was incredibly unlucky; if he were a little weaker, he wouldn’t have to suffer this torment.
Every step Mingren took felt like it was crushing the Lord of Punishment’s heart. It seemed Mingren hadn’t even really attacked yet. How was he going to deal with the Lord of Punishment?
Meanwhile, the Lord of Punishment possessed an incomparably tyrannical Demon Power, but had no opportunity to unleash it.
Mingren’s figure suddenly blurred. The Lord of Punishment immediately launched an attack, but still couldn’t find Mingren’s form. Then, his body suddenly froze.
A chill crept into the Lord of Punishment’s heart. ’No matter how strong your power is, it’s meaningless if you can’t break through the limits of the Holy Light Demon Collapse Body.’
That was the Lord of Pure Land’s assessment. The younger generation had refused to believe it or accept it, but now...
Mingren’s smile appeared before his eyes, and suddenly, the Lord of Punishment collapsed limply.
Mingren’s hand was merely resting on his body.
The Lord of Punishment had returned to his normal form and fallen into a deep coma, a sign of severe Demon Power depletion. Mingren, on the other hand, looked more vibrant than ever.
The Holy Light Demon Collapse Body had displayed its world-dominating, tyrannical power.
But Mingren didn’t celebrate. Instead, he did something that shocked everyone even more. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he pulled the pieces of the Dueling Platform, which the Lord of Punishment had shattered, back together.
BOOM...
The muffled sound of the Dueling Platform rejoining was like an earthquake.
But could the Dueling Platform just be put back together like that?
It was already shattered... With a wave of his hand, Mingren swept a Holy Light across it, and the cracks actually began to melt away.
A god... Ah, everyone stared at this nigh-godlike ability.
The Dueling Platform was whole again!!!
A complete victory!
This was an utterly complete victory!
Such was the might of the Holy Light Demon Collapse Body. Facing the wild cheers of the Cultivators, Mingren simply laughed, extended a single finger, and pointed it in the direction of Starlight City.
He was starting to warm up. Wang Meng, are you ready!
News of Wang Meng’s and Mingren’s successive displays of power reached Star Academy and fell upon the ears of Lin Jinghao.
"Senior Brother, those two are just blatantly showing off!"
"Yeah, Senior Brother Lin, you should show them a thing or two! Let them know what you’re made of!"
Under the Star Alliance system, who had benefited the most?
The Demon Race? Not at all. The benefits gained from the system were proportional to one’s population base. Everyone was learning from each other, but the population of Human Cultivators was ten thousand times that of the Demon Race. There was simply no comparison!
Lin Jinghao snapped open his folding fan. The ’Good Person’ inscription on it had been redone in gold leaf. It seemed Goodman Lin was in a good mood.
"Calm down, calm down. We’re all friends in the Star Alliance. Friendship first, Magical Combat second."
Master Lin was as calm as ever.
The disciples of the No Illusion Demon Sect were helpless. This Senior Brother Lin was the most approachable person. Despite being the heir to the No Illusion Demon Sect, he had the best temperament. Ordinary disciples could talk to him, and he would even take the initiative to greet people. Although this initially earned him some disdain, as people got to know Lin Jinghao better, no one dared to look down on the owner of the Nine Luminaries Cyan Dragon Body.
It was Lin Jinghao’s turn to take the stage. His opponent was a Loose Cultivator, a... Great Perfection master from the Wolong Small Thousand World.
For a Great Perfection master of his age to come to the Battle of the Other Shore was actually a bit shameless. Although he was under a hundred, he had a good sixty years of cultivation experience over others.
The problem was, the rules allowed it, so here he was.
"Kid, running into me is just your bad luck. Announce your surrender and get off the stage," Du Hao said flatly.
He planned to use the Battle of the Other Shore to make a name for himself. Whether he joined a Sect or entered the Star Alliance, it would be twice as effective with this fame.
Lin Jinghao fanned himself. "Lin Jinghao of the No Illusion Demon Sect."
Du Hao’s eyes flickered. "Someone from the No Illusion Demon Sect. Fine. Get down, and save me the trouble of doing it myself."
Lin Jinghao shrugged helplessly. "I can’t do that. The Sect Leader will punish me when I get back. Why don’t we just have a casual fight? It’ll give me a chance to witness the power of a Great Perfection master."
Du Hao waved his hand impatiently. ’What a troublesome kid,’ he thought.
He was ninety-eight. Others thought him old, but he considered himself young and promising. Reaching Great Perfection before the age of one hundred meant he was in his prime. He would make the entire Small Thousand Realm witness his talent. As long as he entered Pure Land and placed in the top three, he would form his own Sect. Why should he live under someone else’s roof?
Du Hao’s advance through the tournament had been quite spectacular, and his status as a Great Perfection master was only revealed in the second round of the main competition.
"Then I shall bestow a move upon you!"
Du Hao was full of airs, acting high and mighty even in front of the Young Master of the No Illusion Demon Sect. Of course he knew Lin Jinghao’s identity; he was deliberately putting on a show. He was a stepping stone, and it wouldn’t be Du Hao if he didn’t seize the opportunity.
Instantly, a circle of Talismans of various colors floated around Du Hao, a truly spectacular sight.
"This move is called the Rainbow Dream Array! A true Talisman Cultivator must possess spectacular power! Talisman Cultivators are the strongest under heaven!"
SWOOSH~~~~~~
Streaks of seven-colored Talismans, each carrying a completely different power, blasted toward Lin Jinghao. It had to be said that Du Hao truly possessed the strength of a Great Perfection master, as well as immense talent. Any Talisman Cultivator knew that Talismans had to be uniform to be controlled effectively and to stack for maximum effect. Yet this man before them was using Talismans of different attributes and types. Such Control Power was not something that simply reaching Great Perfection could grant.
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE...
Seven-colored Elemental Power exploded. Du Hao flicked his hair, letting it flutter in the wind. The shockwave perfectly complemented his pose, making him look like a god descending. This was his era; the Battle of the Other Shore was tailor-made for him.
Looking at where Lin Jinghao had been obliterated by the blast, Du Hao couldn’t help but grow excited. Pure Land was within his grasp. "When I stand at the peak of the Star Alliance, you will all bow before me!"
The surrounding Cultivators shivered with disgust, and a torrent of curses immediately erupted.
"Idiot! So what if you’re at Great Perfection? There are plenty of Great Perfection masters around!"
"Who does this bastard think he is, coming here to act all high and mighty!"
But Du Hao wasn’t angry at all. He wore a pitying smile. "I don’t blame you, for you do not comprehend my greatness. The Battle of the Other Shore will allow you to witness a perfect Du Hao, a perfect Talisman Cultivator. How elegant, how magnificent!"
Lin Jinghao really couldn’t take it anymore. He considered himself a very patient person, but he was about to puke. Truly, the bigger the world, the stranger the fools.
Seeing Lin Jinghao emerge completely unscathed, Du Hao was taken aback. "How are you unharmed?"
Lin Jinghao feigned a moment of confusion. He didn’t know how to answer. Fanning the dust off himself, he said, "Maybe you missed? Why don’t you... bestow another move upon me?"
Du Hao nodded. "Seeing as you’re so eager to learn, I’ll let you all witness what Great Perfection truly is!"
With that, he struck a very dashing pose, standing tall and raising his right hand high. At the same time, a silver Talisman shot into the sky.
It exploded in mid-air. The silver light didn’t disperse, but instead condensed into a silver vortex that continuously absorbed the surrounding Elemental Qi. In the blink of an eye, the vortex took on a physical form.
...A Silver Dragon?!
"This is the Sky Dragon Transformation Formation! I heard you have a Cyan Dragon Body, so I’ll use a dragon to finish you!"
Only a Great Perfection master could so easily borrow the aid of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi.
The Silver Dragon in the sky roared and charged at Lin Jinghao, who wore a look of complete resignation.
’Why is my luck so bad?’ he thought.
BOOM...
The Silver Dragon swallowed Lin Jinghao whole. The cursing Cultivators in the crowd fell silent. There were many Talisman Cultivators present, but none had ever seen such a Talisman technique. Even their own Great Perfection Sect Leaders wouldn’t use them like this.
Du Hao’s eyes burned with a fervent light. He looked at his own hands with an expression one would reserve for a lover. "This is perfection. A Talisman is merely a vessel, capable of manifesting all things. This entire world is contained within my Talismans!"
Although everyone was repulsed by such an arrogant person, they couldn’t really refute him... For a Great Perfection master, being under a hundred years old was truly young by traditional standards.
POP...
The Silver Dragon suddenly froze. Then, a hand reached out from within, and the Silver Dragon split open, turning into two halves of a Talisman that fluttered to the ground.
"This... How dare you destroy my perfect art!"
Du Hao was furious.
Lin Jinghao snapped his fan shut. Although he wanted to be a good person, he didn’t have time to waste on an idiot.
But Du Hao, on the other side, was completely oblivious. Immense Elemental Power surged from his body, and a powerful pressure spread out, as if to crush Lin Jinghao flat.
This was the unrestrained release of a Great Perfection master’s power. The surrounding Sect Leaders remained expressionless, offering no comment.
The man was full of creativity and had considerable talent. Unfortunately, not every unconventional path was a good one.
(It’s the middle of the month, so I’m here to ask for your monthly votes! Just one is enough. Thank you!) (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)