Chapter 213 - 206: Monstrous Genius
"Master, did you know Junior Brother could summon so many third-rank Spirit Beasts?"
Yu Ying’s voice rang in Luo Taidong’s ear again.
"..."
Luo Taidong was rendered speechless by the question.
He didn’t know how to respond. This disciple of his was getting more and more outrageous.
"Holy shit! A fourth-rank Spiritual Artifact!"
"So shameless!"
Just then, the master and disciple suddenly heard many people cry out in alarm.
Right after the Phoenix Form, a cold glint of light tore through the air, stabbing fiercely toward Jiang Zuo.
Under this cold light, the Water Curtain Celestial Splendor only wavered slightly before it was pierced.
Ou Fanghai’s eyes narrowed. ’Is this Liao Shitong looking down on me, the referee?’
The Killing Intent imbued in the Spiritual Artifact could hardly escape the notice of a veteran like him.
However, just as he prepared to intervene and save Jiang Zuo, Ou Fanghai suddenly stopped.
Just as the cold light from the fourth-rank Spiritual Artifact was about to pierce Jiang Zuo, a small, cyan shield abruptly appeared before him.
This small cyan shield was anything but ordinary. When the fourth-rank Spiritual Artifact struck it, it actually failed to break through right away.
Although in the next instant, the Cyan Spirit Shield was shattered.
But Jiang Zuo had already raised another Water Curtain Celestial Splendor, and he had clearly thickened it in the direction of the attacking Spiritual Artifact.
When the fourth-rank Spiritual Artifact met the Water Curtain Celestial Splendor again, its momentum was greatly diminished.
"He can even block an attack from a fourth-rank Spiritual Artifact?"
"What kind of Magic was that little cyan shield? I’ve never seen it before."
Everyone who witnessed this was astonished.
The moment the fourth-rank Spiritual Artifact had appeared, they all assumed the battle was over.
"So that’s a fourth-rank Spiritual Artifact? It doesn’t seem all that great."
One young Cultivator even remarked with some disappointment.
They had been thrilled at the mention of a fourth-rank Spiritual Artifact.
They never expected it to look weaker than the second-rank Magical Artifacts they themselves owned.
"That is the Yang Shuttle of the fourth-rank Spiritual Artifact, the Yin Yang Shuttle. It’s missing the Yin Shuttle, so it only has the sharpness of a fourth-rank Spiritual Artifact."
"If the Yin Yang Shuttle were complete, its power would increase several times over."
However, someone who knew the origin of Liao Shitong’s fourth-rank Spiritual Artifact spoke up to explain.
Seeing the Yang Shuttle’s attack thwarted, Liao Shitong’s expression darkened.
Although his Yang Shuttle only possessed the sharpness of a fourth-rank Spiritual Artifact and lacked any special abilities, he never imagined Jiang Zuo would be able to block it.
That Water Curtain Celestial Splendor and the small cyan shield had astonishingly powerful defensive capabilities.
With a flick of his hand, Liao Shitong prepared to recall the Yang Shuttle and wait for another opportunity to strike.
"God Shocking Needle!"
But at that exact moment, Liao Shitong felt as if something had stabbed into his head, a flash of pain causing him to lose focus for an instant.
"A Divine Sense attack!"
Although Divine Sense is formless and traceless, those with powerful Divine Sense can easily detect when such an attack is launched.
Seeing Jiang Zuo suddenly unleash a Divine Sense attack, the expressions of the many Three Flowers Realm cultivators, and even the Dao Fruit Realm experts present, changed slightly.
The most fundamental requirement for launching a Divine Sense attack is to have a sufficiently powerful Divine Sense.
Otherwise, if one forces out a Divine Sense attack, the enemy might not even be injured. Instead, one’s own Divine Sense would be massively drained, and it wouldn’t be surprising to faint from the exertion.
The vast majority of Cultivators can only open their Sea of Consciousness and form their Divine Sense upon reaching the Divine Body Realm.
To cultivate a Spiritual Sense Attack Method during the Divine Body Realm is considered basically impossible.
Forget the Divine Body Realm; even among Three Flowers Realm Cultivators, typically only those at the late stage can accomplish it.
’Using the God Shocking Needle at the Divine Body Realm... Could this kid’s talent truly be so terrifying that he opened his Sea of Consciousness back in the Qi Cultivation Stage?’
Recalling Liao Shitong’s mocking words from moments before, this possibility couldn’t help but surface in everyone’s minds.
And the more they mulled it over, the greater the possibility seemed.
"This is..."
"A Sword Pill!"
"The Sword Control Technique!"
But at that moment, even more cries of astonishment erupted.
Seizing the moment Liao Shitong was stunned, Jiang Zuo’s long-prepared Sword Pill shot out, stabbing viciously toward him.
The Sword Pill’s speed was astounding. Liao Shitong reacted quickly, but he was only able to wrench his body aside at the very last second.
"ARGH!!"
Liao Shitong let out a furious Roar.
The Sword Pill had still managed to slice off one of his arms!
Just moments before, Liao Shitong’s fourth-rank Spiritual Artifact had been aimed at Jiang Zuo with malicious intent. If Jiang Zuo had been struck, he would have been half-dead, if not killed outright.
Thus, Jiang Zuo had no intention of being merciful to Liao Shitong.
The Sword Pill changed direction, preparing to deal Liao Shitong a fatal blow.
"That is enough!"
However, Ou Fanghai chose this moment to intervene.
He reached out a large hand, plucked Liao Shitong back to the ground, and caused the Sword Pill to miss its target.
Ou Fanghai could have actually intervened before the Sword Pill severed Liao Shitong’s arm, leaving him completely unharmed.
But Liao Shitong had been the one to make false accusations, and he had even used lethal force during the duel. Ou Fanghai certainly wasn’t going to offend Jiang Zuo for his sake.
However, an injury was acceptable; a death was something Ou Fanghai would not permit.
As the host, Sword Casting Manor could not shirk responsibility if such an incident occurred.
Jiang Zuo also knew when to quit while he was ahead. Seeing that it was impossible, he didn’t press the attack.
However, he gladly helped himself to Liao Shitong’s fourth-rank Spiritual Artifact.
With a flick of his hand, Jiang Zuo tucked the Yang Shuttle into his storage bag.
Immediately after, Jiang Zuo recalled the nearly twenty third-rank Spirit Beasts one by one.
Jiang Zuo had summoned nearly twenty third-rank Spirit Beasts, then Liao Shitong had brandished a fourth-rank Spiritual Artifact, followed immediately by Jiang Zuo’s Divine Sense attack.
The Third Senior Brother had watched with bated breath, fraught with tension.
Now that the victor had been decided, he couldn’t help but speak up again. "Master, Junior Brother has opened his Sea of Consciousness, and his Divine Sense is so formidable! Did you know?"
"...Piss off!"
Luo Taidong said irritably.
’I didn’t know! It would be a miracle if I knew!’
"An early-stage Divine Body Realm Cultivator, facing a mid-stage Three Flowers Realm Cultivator head-on and winning a decisive victory!"
"This Zhou Yong is too powerful! It’s unheard of!"
"To think the Black Tortoise Dao Sect recruited such a monstrous disciple! It looks like their resurgence is at hand!"
Jiang Zuo had defeated Liao Shitong fair and square. After a moment of silence, the Cultivators present erupted into fervent discussion.
They had witnessed it with their own eyes; it couldn’t possibly be fake.
Especially on reflection, Jiang Zuo had actually held the upper hand throughout the entire process.
As Jiang Zuo descended from the sky, many people were lost in thought.
Throughout history, it was not uncommon for a sect to rise to prominence because of a single peerless genius.
Most sects had relied on a succession of brilliant geniuses to grow and develop.
The Black Tortoise Dao Sect had once been a powerful sect. It had only suffered a great loss and fallen into decline over four thousand years ago due to a plot by the Celestial Eye Black Pupil organization.
After so many years of building up its foundation, with a genius disciple like this, its resurgence was only a matter of time.
Jiang Zuo hadn’t revealed so many of his hidden cards at once simply to show off; he had many considerations.
Liao Shitong’s doubts and accusations, while seemingly unreasonable, had only given voice to a question many were thinking. Jiang Zuo knew this.
To clear his name, he would practically have to allow himself to be investigated from top to bottom.
But for Jiang Zuo, that was impossible.
So, Jiang Zuo decided to proactively reveal most of his strength.
By doing so, his monstrous talent would attract massive attention, and the number of people hostile to him would grow.
But after this battle, everyone understood that to kill Jiang Zuo, one would need to dispatch a Great Power at the Dao Fruit Realm.
But in most sects, Dao Fruit Realm experts were already figures on the level of a Sect Leader.
The number of Dao Fruit Realm Great Powers in the Cultivation Realm was, in fact, countable.
If Jiang Zuo were truly assassinated, even if the culprit couldn’t be identified with certainty, it would be possible to narrow it down to a few suspects.
A Dao Fruit Realm Great Power ambushing and killing a genius junior from the Divine Body Realm.
No matter how one looked at it, this was completely unjustifiable.
Whoever did so could not blame others when their own juniors were targeted by seniors in retaliation.
If they succeeded in killing Jiang Zuo, that would be one thing.
But if they failed to kill him and their identity was exposed, it would undoubtedly bring the disaster of annihilation upon their sect.
A monstrous genius like him would grow at an astonishingly fast rate.
Once Jiang Zuo cultivated to the Dao Fruit or Manifestation Realm, it would almost certainly be the day their sect was destroyed.
No matter how ruthlessly Jiang Zuo retaliated then, no one could blame him.
Therefore, while on the surface more people were now hostile toward him, the number who would actually dare to make a move against him would be drastically reduced.
Jiang Zuo would face far less trouble from now on.
Of course, that didn’t mean Jiang Zuo was completely safe.
In the Cultivation Realm, Dao Fruit Great Powers were rare, but a small number of them did not belong to any sect.
If such a Cultivator wanted to attack Jiang Zuo, they would have far fewer scruples.
However, Jiang Zuo’s plan was to hole up and focus on his Cultivation after returning, avoiding going out as much as possible.
He refused to believe that some Great Power would really be able to stare him down indefinitely.
"Alright, for this duel, the winner is Zhou Yong of the Black Tortoise Dao Sect!"
"Fellow Daoists, you have all seen that Zhou Yong not only possesses formidable combat power, but his Divine Sense is also astonishing. His escape from the Celestial Eye Black Pupil Secret Realm was no coincidence."
Ou Fanghai announced to the crowd of Cultivators in a level voice.
"Um..."
Just then, a Little Monk stood up timidly.
"I am Spirit Void, a disciple of Leiyin Temple. I can prove that what Senior Brother Zhou Yong said is true."
Spirit Void put his palms together, and a Spirit Pearl emitting a faint glow appeared in his hands.
"A Relic!"
Someone recognized it, their expression changing instantly.
"A Relic that can only be formed by an eminent monk at the Manifestation Realm?"
Not many present had ever seen a Relic, but a great number had heard of them.
"This is the Relic that Senior Brother Zhou Yong used. I found it after it released the World-Purifying Buddha Light."
"Furthermore, Senior Leichan’s remnant soul has not dissipated. It was merely exhausted and has fallen into a deep slumber."
"In a few more days, once my martial uncle from Leiyin Temple arrives, we can awaken Senior Leichan. Then, Senior Leichan himself can prove that Senior Brother Zhou Yong was not lying."
The Little Monk, Spirit Void, spoke slowly, his voice not particularly loud.
But not a single Cultivator present doubted his words.
Jiang Zuo hadn’t expected that not only was Leichan’s Relic intact, but even his remnant soul had survived.
No wonder he had noticed the Little Monk, Spirit Void, frequently stealing glances at him on their journey here.
"With this Relic as evidence, it is enough to prove Zhou Yong’s words."
"There’s no need to waste any more time on this. The most important thing now is to determine how to rescue the remaining disciples as quickly as possible."
Once the Relic appeared, no one doubted Jiang Zuo any longer.