Ze Tian Ji

Chapter 150 – Bathing in Blood, Drawing a Sword, Leaping on Clouds, Pulling at Beards

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

If a gust of wind were to strike the rocks of a cliff, it would naturally disperse.

This was the feeling given by the Army Shattering Fist striking Chen Changsheng's shoulder.




Of course, it was not a real gust of wind, so his uniform had been shredded and his blurred body had slowed for an instant.

But only an instant.

His left foot stepped on the ground, and, unsurprisingly, his brand-new shoes broke into threads and cracks splayed across the ground.

At almost the same time, several Army Shattering Fists struck his body. His uniform suffered heavy damage, drifting about in the air, and several distinct impressions of fists could be seen on his body, but none of them went any further.

In this moment, it did not look like the Army Shattering Fist was crashing against his body, but like he was using his body to crash against these energetic fist intents.

With another howl, Chen Changsheng's body blurred once more. Accompanied by deafening collisions, he rammed his body against the storm formed by the several dozen Army Shattering Fists and vanished.

The only things left were the broken shoe that was like a flower blooming from the ground, and the shreds of the uniform, gently drifting down from the sky like catkins.

No longer could the people in the Hall of Shining Words keep their silence. The sounds of chairs sc.r.a.ping against the ground could be heard.

Mo Yu stood up and stared at the scene on the mirror of light, her beautiful eyes filled with shock.

The Princ.i.p.al of Star Seizer Academy was shocked speechless, whereas the Bishop of the Temple Seminary had less control over his emotions and let out a cry of surprise.

Xu Shiji remained as indifferent as a stone. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

The two archbishops that had come to the Hall of Shining Words not too long ago seemed slightly affected.

Xue Xingchuan leaned his body forward again, staring at the mirror, his expression abnormally stern.

The most perfect level of Purification could not bring a cultivator's body to this level of toughness. Not even the demons could pull off such a feat.

Why was Chen Changsheng's defensive capability so terrifying? No matter how many lucky encounters he had, even if he took all the precious herbs in the Hundred Herb Garden, refined them into pills, and ate them all, he still would not have been able to do what he just did.

Everyone in the Hall of Shining Words was very experienced, and the two archbishops were, like Mei Lisha, also part of the Six Prefects of the Orthodoxy, but none of them had ever seen such a thing.

The toughness of Chen Changsheng's body was truly unimaginable and utterly impossible to comprehend.

And so they were shocked.

Of course, Chen Changsheng's defense was not perfect. It probably could not block a magical artifact or a sharp weapon, but this sort of underlying strength was still somewhat outrageous.

Xue Xingchuan was thinking of more, so his expression was even graver.

He had thought of a name that had not been heard about for a very long time.

Zhou Dufu.

Publicly acknowledged as the supreme expert over the past one thousand years.

Whether it was the Demon Lord who had once sworn to reign over the entire continent or Emperor Taizong who had been as dazzling as the sun, none of them were his match in terms of martial might.

Even if one went as far back as when the Heavenly Tomes first descended to the world, Zhou Dufu would still rank in at least the top three.

Many years ago, when Zhou Dufu was still just a youth, he was still far from possessing his invincible strength. But even so, he had been very famous on the continent, because he possessed a formidable defensive capability surpa.s.sing that bestowed by a perfect Purification.

Everyone knew that this was because when he was an infant, he had the great luck to have his body bathed in dragon blood.

But the continent had been peaceful for many years and the Dragon race had vanished. No one had even seen a dragon for the past several centuries, so just where had Chen Changsheng found the essence blood of a dragon?

Xue Xingchuan did not continue to think about these things, because this conclusion was even more inconceivable than the toughness of Chen Changsheng's body, and also because the image on the mirror of light had once again attracted all his attention. Upon seeing Chen Changsheng's blurred image rush towards Huo Guang, he understood why Chen Changsheng had not moved at the very start.

No matter how powerful the defense, it was impossible to endure the endless a.s.saults of the Army Shattering Fist. Even if one could endure it, they would a.s.suredly be injured, perhaps even seriously. That being the case, even if Chen Changsheng did manage to defeat Huo Guang, he would find it impossible to gain victory in the even more difficult battles to come.

So Chen Changsheng had waited, waited until his opponent's Army Shattering Fist had reached full force, waited until the storm had gone from encompa.s.sing the entire Hall of Washing Away Dust to the small area around his body. The Army Shattering Fist at full force was certainly even stronger, but he only needed to break through one layer to break through everything. He used the number of Army Shattering Fists he endured in that short period of time to gain more time and thus receive fewer of these fists over the entire battle.

Xue Xingchuan's expression changed once more as he thought, just how self-confident does one have to be to pull off this sort of fighting style?

Chen Changsheng was the focus of the Grand Examination. Many important figures, including the two Sacred Hall archbishops, had made him the object of their attention. Many people, such as Mo Yu, believed that they had a grasp of all of Chen Changsheng's techniques, of all the cards in his hand. In truth, however, no one knew just what he had, not even Archbishop Mei Lisha or Luoluo.

Huo Guang's Army Shattering Fist truly was terrifying, and he had used it at the best time.

Even the strongest and most optimistic version of Chen Changsheng that people imagined would a.s.suredly lose in the face of such a formidable and prepared opponent. But no one could have imagined his current level of strength and the lucky encounters he had experienced—they were all more absurd than even the most extravagant of imaginations could think up.

Even he himself still did not understand what he had experienced, did not know that he had been bathed in dragon blood. He could only make a few speculations based on the changes in his body. However, he knew that he was very strong.

Currently he had at least four methods of breaking through the furious storm of the Army Shattering Fist.

He had chosen the most direct and stupidest method.

This was because no one would expect this sort of method.

It was just like how when Tang Thirty-Six fought against Liang Banhu, Chen Changsheng had never expected that Gou Hanshi would have Liang Banhu fight using such a stupid method, and Tang Thirty-Six also could not imagine that Liang Banhu really would fight so stupidly.

He could have used the Yeshi Step to avoid his opponent's Army Shattering Fist. Yes, even with the Army Shattering Fist at full force, he still could have avoided, because although his grasp over the Yeshi Step could not be considered perfect, it was not the Yeshi Step that Luoluo had used in the Ivy Festival and which everyone remembered. His Yeshi Step had reached a far more profound level than people imagined.

But he did not use it.

He could have unsheathed his dagger and used the Wind and Rain Sword of Mount Zhong's first move, Rising Flurry, to engage in a direct battle with these numerous fist intents.

But he also did not use that.

After all, this was only the second round of matches and he had not encountered those truly strong foes. Thus, he could not reveal his strongest techniques and cards.

That scholar from Scholartree Manor, Huo Guang, standing across from him, was not worthy enough for him to show these techniques.

In the blink of an eye, the Army Shattering Fist was broken and the situation was reversed.

Chen Changsheng's blurred figure instantly reached Huo Guang.

Huo Guang was shocked, but his cultivation level was far above that Yellow Mountain Valley disciple's. Due to this and the fact that Scholartree Manor's disciples placed particular emphasis on maintaining a calm mind, he was not panicked at all by this sudden change, and struck out with a punch.

He did not draw his sword, as Chen Changsheng had come too quickly. This punch was a follow-up to the Army Shattering Fist, so the link between the two was the most natural, thus making it the fastest.

His punch was not aimed at Chen Changsheng, but at the ground, its fist intent extremely clear and open.

With a buzz, the sand in front of his feet flew up into the air, fist intent quietly lurking within.

Using the backlash of the fist intent, Huo Guang swiftly retreated, his brown scholar's robe dragging behind in a blur. One could see from this how quickly and resolutely he had retreated.

As he retreated, his right hand reached over his shoulder, intending to draw his sword.

This sword had been on his back the entire time.

It was a very large sword with a rather odd shape: the middle of it was curved.

This sword was called Justice and was one of the seven law swords that were used by the disciples of Scholartree Manor. It was extremely sharp and contained the principles of the heavens and earth. Although it was not capable of entering the Tier of Legendary Weapons, it was still an extraordinary object.

He firmly believed that as long as he could draw his sword, Chen Changsheng would be no match, no matter how terrifying his defense was.

He was a little regretful. Earlier, if he had pulled out his sword immediately after entering the Hall of Washing Away Dust and ignored that priest's advice, he would not have had to retreat in such a pathetic fashion.

With this sword of bright justice, ghosts were easily expelled, and with a single technique, he could defeat Chen Changsheng.

While he was thinking these things, his right hand had already gripped the hilt of the sword. He just needed a bit more time to draw the sword from its sheath.

Unsheathing a sword was a very simple action that he had practiced countless times before, so the time needed to do it was so short that it basically didn't exist.

But time was ultimately an eternal existence that could never be extinguished.

No matter how short, a moment of time was still needed.

Huo Guang's pupils instantly constricted.

Chen Changsheng had not given him this time.

Outside the Hall of Washing Away Dust, Huo Guang had accepted information from a Li Palace priest and learned that in Chen Changsheng's first match, he had displayed a shocking level of speed. Huo Guang had mentally prepared himself for this and had fully taken it into consideration when preparing his strategy, yet he had not expected that Chen Changsheng's 'shocking' level of speed would be…this shocking!

Chen Changsheng was too fast, so fast that the moment Huo Guang's hand had gripped the hilt of his sword, Chen Changsheng was already there.

The Justice Sword was half a foot out of its sheath, and Chen Changsheng's fist was only half a foot from his chest.

Huo Guang knew that it was too late and his face instantly paled. His true essence madly surged and transformed into a whistle that burst from his lips.

At the same time, his right foot lightly pressed against the ground.

Yes, not stomping against the ground, but lightly pressing against it.

Even in this tense moment, his foot was still gentle, like he was stepping on a cloud.

The earlier punch with its clear and deep intent had sent the sand flying into the air, making it seem just like a cloud.

HIs right foot was lightly pressing against this cloud of yellow sand.

It was very gentle, graceful, and mystical.

He also seemed to transform into a drifting cloud floating high up into the sky.

"An excellent Cloud Leaping!"

A sigh of praise could be heard in the Hall of Shining Words.

Perhaps it was the Bishop of the Temple Seminary or someone else, but they were actually praising a student from Scholartree Manor in the south. From this, one could imagine how much pressure had been placed upon these people by Chen Changsheng's partic.i.p.ation in the Grand Examination and that declaration of his. As for the three teachers representing the southern sects on the guest seats, they wore satisfied expressions as they silently stroked their beards.

Huo Guang's performance was truly worthy of praise. A young cultivator who had still not entered Ethereal Opening was actually able to so perfectly display the Cloud Leaping movement technique of Scholartree Manor, and at such a tense moment, he was still able to express such a light and refreshing Qi. It had to be admitted that Scholartree Manor was outstanding at raising its disciples.

More importantly, this Cloud Leaping movement technique could bring about a ma.s.sive shift in this fight.

Chen Changsheng was very fast, so he could not stop. His fist was very strong, so he could not bend it.

If an object traveling straight wanted to suddenly change its direction, more strength would be required the faster it was traveling, or else one would have to display a high-level method to control their true essence.

Such methods were very rare. When surveying all the sects and schools of the continent, one would find no more than three.

In the capital, no school possessed this sort of method. The rulers of White Emperor City also did not possess such a technique.

Even if Chen Changsheng wanted to learn it, he wouldn't know where to learn it.

So his fist could only miss.

And Huo Guang had leapt on a cloud and was rising.

The difference between the two was now a matter of high and low, and Huo Guang was about to grip the Justice Sword in his hands.

The outcome of this match might change at this moment.

Yet immediately after, the hands of those representatives from the south suddenly went stiff.

One elder had even pulled out a few strands of his white beard.

Cries of surprise exploded from within the Hall of Shining Words.