Chapter 1179: You’ve Got A Large Harem, Huh? Then Die!
Meng Jingzhou rolled his neck and tore off his mask. “Damn it. After waiting so long, my cultivation realm has finally fluctuated to the Transcendent Tribulation Stage.”
He unleashed the supremely yang Heaven-Shaking Eight Forms, closing the gap in a single stride and raising his fist to strike.
How could Yang Kongtong fear a mere junior? Like a deity descending upon the world, his palms blazed with dazzling light.
As fist and palm collided, space ruptured, the fractures stretching into a line.
The Qingfeng Sword cleaved through the void. With One Sword Into Ten Thousand Swords, sword qi hung inverted across the sky, outnumbering the fluttering snow. They were sharp, blinding, heart-stopping, and heavy with killing intent. One after another, blades of sword qi plunged downward, disrupting Yang Kongtong’s palm rhythm.
Right from the outset, the two had already forced Yang Kongtong onto the defensive.
“Lu Yang! Meng Jingzhou!” Yang Kongtong recognized them.
As an ancient cultivator and a renowned expert of the present age, he had never deigned to take any so-called prodigies seriously. But Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were different. They were peerless prodigies who had broken the limits of the Void Refinement Stage, etching their names into history. He deemed them worthy to learn about.
“What? They’re Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou?!”
“Aren’t they at the Divine Transfiguration Stage?” The citizens of Muxue City were astonished. The last they heard, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were still at the Divine Transfiguration Stage. They had no idea that the two had reached an unprecedented Void Refinement Stage.
“Teacher Lu is Lu Yang!”
The students from the martial arts school were the most stunned. They could never have imagined that Teacher Lu, who had been teaching them fist techniques all this time, was actually Lu Yang, and that Teacher Meng, who had joined them later, was Meng Jingzhou.
“So it was Senior Lu Yang all along...” Fang Zhige had speculated about Teacher Lu’s identity many times, guessing everyone from some Nascent Soul great cultivator to the Sword Dao expert Xue Shilou, but never had he once suspected it was Lu Yang.
This is Lu Yang we’re talking about! Despite being raised by the Ghost Assassin Alliance under a closed training regimen since childhood, I’ve heard of Lu Yang’s fearsome reputation. When Luo Shi and the others chatted about Lu Yang, I could see the fear in their eyes. How could such a legendary figure, so far beyond our reach, lower himself to become a teacher at a small martial arts school?
“Sect Leader, are you alright?” The gatekeeper Little Huo hurried to Murong You’s side with two massive doors. With the battle raging overhead, the only thing giving him a sense of security was holding the doors above his head.
“I-I’m fine. It’s just that my heart can’t exactly handle this,” Murong You said, clutching his chest.
Just then, a horse’s hoof extended toward him, with a bottle of Heart-Protecting Pills stuck to it.
“Well, well, well. Two juniors whose cultivation has fluctuated to the Intermediate Transcendent Tribulation Stage dare show off. Truly impressive, huh?” Yang Kongtong remarked coldly.
Lu Yang smiled faintly. “You flatter us, Senior Yang Kongtong.”
Yang Kongtong’s expression hardened, and he fixed his gaze on Lu Yang. “Junior, where did you hear that name?!”
Since reviving from my severed head, I’ve never told anyone my true name. Even when Leng Ningxiang had been clinging to me just now, she had called me “Milord Yang.” Lu Yang is merely a genius nurtured by the Dao-Seeking Sect. How could he possibly know my identity?!
“Well, perhaps the Ice Soul She-Devil, Heavenly Mountain Holy Maiden, and Ji Hong told me in a dream. They said they want you to keep them company.”
“Nonsense!”
Yang Kongtong brandished his Ice Soul Great Spear. It was as domineering as a dragon sweeping across a magnificent army in its path, recreating the might of the ancient Shaohao Spear Technique. Even if the beast tide triggered by the four great demon kings was capable of annihilating a city, it would have been nothing but a matter of a single spear strike before him.
The Ice Soul Great Spear pierced toward Lu Yang. He used softness to counter hardness, his sword tip deflecting the spear’s momentum. After that, with Ten Thousand Swords Return to One, the Chengying Sword and the Seven-Star Sword Set merged within the Qingfeng Sword’s small world, causing the sword’s radiance to surge.
The clash of metal filled the air endlessly, sparks flying in all directions. The two moved so fast that apart from the three Transcendent Tribulation cultivators of the two creeds, only the old horse could follow their exchange.
Yang Kongtong was alarmed. This person is only at the Intermediate Transcendent Tribulation Stage, yet he can fight on par with me, an Apex Transcendent Tribulation cultivator. His sword mastery is not inferior to that of Liu Ningxuan, the creator of the Silent Annihilation Sword Technique.
“You’ve got a large harem, huh? Then die!”
Meng Jingzhou strode with the majestic gait of dragons and tigers, treading upon the void. He manifested the Supreme Pure Yang Dharma Manifestation, which resembled a sun with its six arms. Each of its six hands held a different magical artifact, as though the legendary Mahāvairocana[1] had reappeared.
The six arms of the dharma manifestation swept through the air, each transforming into a beam of Dao light. They crashed down in fury, producing a thunderous roar that could be heard even in cities a thousand li away.
Yang Kongtong had been struggling to hold his own against Lu Yang. Now struck by Meng Jingzhou’s six arms, his organs were jolted out of place. Lu Yang seized the opening to thrust his sword, but Yang Kongtong vanished from his spot, reappearing just outside their attack range, a spot of blood on his brow.
“Carefree Step? What a pity.” Lu Yang sighed. Without Carefree Step, his sword would have pierced Yang Kongtong’s brow.
“So you were the one who taught the Carefree Wanderer Carefree Step. That makes sense; I should have figured it out earlier.” Lu Yang had been convinced that the Carefree Wanderer had a mentor. The latter had to be absurdly talented to have cultivated to the Apex Divine Transfiguration Stage alone and defeated Xue Shilou.
Hearing his disciple’s name, Yang Kongtong showed no reaction. The Carefree Wanderer was merely an experimental subject. He’s not worth wasting my emotions on.
Using Carefree Step, he vanished again.
Below, the three Transcendent Tribulation cultivators leaned against the wall as they looked up, their hearts involuntarily tightening. During their battle, Carefree Step had broken through their defenses multiple times; it was nearly impossible to guard against.
“To put it plainly, Carefree Step is just about speed. It’s not Founding Ancestor Vast Sea’s spatial teleportation. Sword Dao Field!”
Amplified by Ten Thousand Swords Return to One, the Sword Dao field was unparalleled in power, with sharp sword qi filling the space. No matter how fast Carefree Step was, Lu Yang could track Yang Kongtong’s position through the ripples in the sword qi.
“There!”
Lu Yang pressed two fingers and held them upright before his brow, sword light flashing in his eyes. He contracted the Sword Dao field, steadily shrinking Yang Kongtong’s movement range.
Yang Kongtong gritted his teeth. I can’t go on like this. Steeling himself, he endured dozens of sword qi strikes and burst through the Sword Dao field.
As soon as he emerged, he heard Meng Jingzhou’s voice above him, as imposing as a mountain, reminding him of the Heaven Mandate Immortal.
“You have defied the will of immortals and violated the moral order of humans. You deserve death!”
The I Alone Am Honored Fist manifested once more. While his cultivation fluctuated, Meng Jingzhou had continuously refined the I Alone Am Honored Fist, pushing it to the terrifying Duality[2] Realm.
If Yang Kongtong took this punch, he would end up crippled even if he escaped death.
At this life-or-death moment, Yang Kongtong displayed remarkable composure. He unleashed the Heavenly Mountain Holy Land Seal, one of the three great unique arts of the Heavenly Mountain Holy Land, and blocked Meng Jingzhou’s view. He pushed the Killing Heart Scripture to its highest state, elevating Carefree Step along with it, allowing him to move so rapidly that he evaded the punch.
“You two juniors, come again,” Yang Kongtong said icily, his demeanor completely different from before.
Lu Yang narrowed his eyes. War included psychological warfare. He had been using words to disrupt Yang Kongtong’s thoughts throughout the battle, which was how he had easily discovered his flaws.
How did Yang Kongtong become so calm in the blink of an eye? He’s now able to make optimal decisions in the shortest time.
“A Seven Emotions Incipient Dao Fruit sealing away his emotions?” Lu Yang deduced. He remembered the Everlasting Immortal Fairy saying that several half-immortals had cultivated a Seven Emotions Incipient Dao Fruit in the ancient era, and Yang Kongtong was one of them.
Yang Kongtong stared at Lu Yang coolly, offering no reply.
1. A Buddha known for representing the great sun. ☜
2. Liangyi can refer to heaven and earth or yin and yang. ☜