Chapter 448: Unprecedented Genius
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Fang Zhengzhi was truly stunned.
He had always known that the Dao of All Creation drew from the energy of the surroundings. One could wield the power of mountains and use that to pressure one's opponents.
One could also harness stars, or the sun, or moonlight, or even constellations.
All of these were powers at a cultivator's disposal.
However, these were powers that a cultivator tapped on.
It was completely unfathomable for someone to actually create a mountain! Furthermore, Canyang had created a mountain out of virtually nothing!
Fang Zhengzhi felt like he should be running. However, just as he was preparing to run, his body was rooted.
Because...
The ground beneath his feet had turned into a swamp, and green vines were wrapped around his legs.
The green vines were climbing up to his thighs slowly but surely. They were pulling him into the swamp.
In that moment.
Tears welled up in Fang Zhengzhi's eyes.
He did expect a half sage to be powerful and he knew that he could not last many rounds. However, he didn't expect to lose within the first round.
He had a mountain above him, a swamp below him, and vines pulling him down.
Fang Zhengzhi wanted to escape.
But how was he going to?
Canyang was demonstrating absolute domination. It was almost like taking candy from a baby.
From the walls of the Iron Hill Settlement.
The Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army were stunned.
"How powerful!"
"Is this the power of a half sage?"
"No, Canyang has spent more than a decade being a half sage. Right now, he should be nearing the abilities of a sage!"
As they were gasping in awe at Canyang's power, they looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who was being held in place by the vines. They looked on with guilt in their expressions.
At this point.
They knew why Fang Zhengzhi had run.
Shamelessness?
No this wasn't cowardice or shamelessness. This was wit and intellect. Fang Zhengzhi had outthought them all.
It was a pity that it wasn't sufficient to save his life.
Shan Ling clenched his fists and his eyes glittered. He truly admired Fang Zhengzhi's talent.
His admiration of Fang Zhengzhi...
Caused his eyes began glowing brighter and brighter.
He felt like he was watching the downfall of a true genius.
Princess Shan Yu's knuckles also whitened as she witnessed the duel below. She was extremely anxious.
The anger she felt before...
Had all disappeared when Canyang appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi.
...
The mountain blocked out the starlight.
There was now virtually no light. The spectators on the wall of the settlement looked down at Fang Zhengzhi.
They knew that even a genius like Fang Zhengzhi could not defend against such a powerful attack.
They expected Fang Zhengzhi to despair.
But, Fang Zhengzhi did not.
Even though Fang Zhengzhi was slightly surprised, he was clearly not despairing.
"Could it be that he still has a trick up his sleeve?"
That question floated through everyone's mind, but none of them could figure out what Fang Zhengzhi's plan was.
Just as they were thinking about it.
A ray of purple light shot skyward from the city walls.
When that light sword appeared in the sky, it engulfed the entire area with a terrifying battle intent.
It was awe-inspiring.
"Boom!"
The purple lightsword crashed straight into the mountain, creating a huge explosion which shook the earth.
"Break!" A crisp voice reverberated through the air, carrying with it an intense air of confidence.
And then...
The mountain shuddered before shattering into a billion pieces.
Then, a bright white light shot into the sky. It was significantly weaker than the purple light sword.
However...
No one questioned the power of this light sword.
It was extremely icy and thin, but the light it carried could illuminate the entire Iron Hill Settlement.
"Kacha!"
The white light crashed to the ground.
The vines began to break and the swamp began to freeze over.
These two sudden rays of light shocked all of the soldiers on the wall.
They looked at the figure in the purplish golden robe standing tall on the city walls.
No one questioned his power or authority.
He was the pillar of the Great Xia, the leader of the 13 Constabularies, Xing Yuanguo.
The person next to Xing Yuanguo was someone dressed in a white academic robe.
His drawn blade emanated an icy aura.
Nangong Hao.
The Dragon Protection Squad and Mountain Breaking Army looked at Fang Zhengzhi after experiencing the power of the two strikes.
They finally understood why Fang Zhengzhi was merely surprised.
Could it be...
That he had calculated it all?
Just as the thought flashed through their minds, they looked at each other with a sense of awe and respect.
Forcing Canyang to abandon Princess Ping Yang...
That gave Chi Guyan a chance to save Ping Yang.
Then, he also calculated the time when Canyang would intercept him, and he made sure that he was within striking distance of Xing Yuanguo and Nangong Hao.
Talent?
No, this wasn't just mere talent.
Fang Zhengzhi was up against a half sage.
Ordinarily, when faced with a half sage, people would be too afraid to think of a plan.
But as for Fang Zhengzhi...
He controlled every move the half sage made. He even managed to force the battle to take place in the most advantageous position for him.
This was an unprecedented genius!
This was the only phrase that one could use to describe Fang Zhengzhi.
Then, they remembered the prophecy...
The person who was supposed to fulfill the prophecy was the lady in pink...
Chi Guyan!
"We need to save him!" Princess Shan Yu looked at Xing Yuanguo and Nangong Hao, then back at Fang Zhengzhi before recovering from her shock.
When the settlement chiefs standing behind Princess Shan Yu heard her shouts, they all reacted as well.
If Xing Yuanguo and Nangong Hao could do it, they could do it too.
That meant that Shan Ling could do it too. After all, the longer they could stall Canyang, the more advantageous the situation. However, just as they were about to leap into the action...
They hesitated.
The reason was simple. When they looked at Shan Ling, Shan Ling's eyes told them that the time was not right.
As to the reason?
Shan Ling didn't give any.
However, as the Settlement Chiefs of the Southern Region, they placed unconditional faith in their Crown Prince.
"What's going on? Quick! If we join forces against Canyang, we would still stand a chance in this battle!" Princess Shan Yu urged the settlement chiefs.
If she could do it, she would have struck without hesitation. However, she was still too weak.
In order to strike Canyang from the city walls...
One needed to be in the Rebirth State.
Right now, she was only in the pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State.
Princess Shan Yu was very confident in her abilities. However, this time, she desperately wished that she was more powerful.
"Sister, enough! We can strike at Canyang, but that means that Canyang can strike back at us. Right now, we need to conserve our strength!" Shan Ling replied.
"Conserve our strength? Brother, this isn't conserving strength, this is ignoring the plight of Fang Zhengzhi and the Southern Region!" Princess Shan Yu's expression changed.
"Shut up, we have already lost enough this war. Do you want us all to die here?" Shan Ling's gaze was icy.
"Brother! We are a nation of warriors, we should be united right now!"
"Enough, I have made up my mind. I will strike when it is appropriate, not a moment before. If you say anything else, you may leave!" Shan Ling replied, clearly exasperated.
Princess Shan Yu clenched her fists.
Fire began to dance in her eyes as red cloud patterns began to form on her hands and extend to her arm.
Shan Ling was shocked by this sight.
"Shan Yu, what are you thinking?"
"Hmph, when you told me to coordinate the defences inside the settlement, I had nothing to say. But now, I will not follow the orders! If you aren't going to save him, I will! You can't dictate everything in the Southern Region!"
"You..." Shan Ling's expression changed.
He had known about his sister's temper. When she wanted to do something, no one, not even the king, could stop her.
This was what allowed her to gain the respect of the soldiers.
Princess Shan Yu was right.
Shan Ling was not a dictatorship.
In the entire Southern Region, his sister's voice was almost as loud and powerful as his.
"Send the order, the Silver Horned Wolves..."
"Your Highness, please trust the Crown Prince!"
"Yes, your highness. He must have his reasons for not striking. This is not the time for internal troubles."
"Crown Prince, I believe that the Princess is reasonable. You are merely worried about our safety. We can just help subtly from the side. Furthermore, helping the Great Xia now is akin to helping the Southern Region!"
All of the settlement chiefs tried to broker peace between the two siblings.
"Okay then. You are all to help from the sidelines, but be careful not to get too close!" Shan Ling grit his teeth and nodded.
"Yes, your highness!" The settlement chiefs replied in unison.
"Brother, I'm sorry, I was just..." Princess Shan Yu began to calm down, realizing that she had handled the situation rashly.
"No need for that, it was my mistake. I was too firm and I should have explained my position." Shan Ling nodded.
However, he subconsciously looked at Fang Zhengzhi and clenched his fists.
"Brother, you are the Crown Prince and the future King, I will definitely listen to you!" Princess Shan Yu looked at Fang Zhengzhi anxiously.
"If we work together, neither the demons nor the Great Xia can bully us!" Shan Ling asserted.
"The Crown Prince is wise!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
After receiving their orders, the settlement chiefs leapt into action as rays of light shot towards Canyang.
At that very moment, Canyang reacted. His blue robe danced in the wind as he morphed into a ray of blue light that shot through the sky so quickly it was barely visible.
Fang Zhengzhi had just managed to free himself. He was about to issue a challenge to Canyang when...
He saw the blue light in front of him.
"Oh? No more 'techniques'? Relying on power now?" Fang Zhengzhi smirked with confidence. He had been dueling with beasts from a tender age.
Even though close combat was not his forte, he would not consider it a weakness.
Furthermore, his opponent was a blind old man. Engaging in close combat was advantageous to Fang Zhengzhi.
Fang Zhengzhi was extremely confident.
He wanted to dodge the initial strike, get behind Canyang, grab him by the hair and smash him to the ground.
Then, he felt something pressed against his chest.
He looked down.
And his eyes widened.
It was a frail hand.
Fang Zhengzhi felt as though he should have been the one using this technique. He never expected Canyang to use it on him.
Furthermore...
He didn't even have a chance to react.
"What the f*ck is this speed?!" Fang Zhengzhi screamed in his heart as he felt a terrifying wave of force emanate from that hand.
Fang Zhengzhi was rarely 'terrified'.
But this time, he was...
He was wetting himself...
He had never felt anything as powerful as the wave of force crashing towards him.
"Kacha!" A cracking sound echoed through the air as Fang Zhengzhi flew into the sky uncontrollably. He looked like a shooting star flying towards Chi Guyan and Ping Yang.
There was a ray of blue light that was following right behind him...