Kong Qing’s eyes were bulging furiously. He grasped the sword tightly in one hand as he pressed his other hand forcefully on the ground, attempting to help himself up. But he could not do it ….
The Falling Flowers Sword Technique was a move that he practiced in the Heaven Dao Pavilion himself, but now the tables have turned and he was hit with his own attack. He couldn’t understand how that happened until he heard Fang Zhengzhi exclaim, “Of course I have mastered the Heaven Dao!”
“The Heaven Dao?! You, you just used the …” Kong Qing’s throat wobbled. He wanted to utter something out, but a mouthful of blood spurted out instead, rendering him unable to finish his sentence.
If Kong Qing had one term that was used the most frequently on him, it would undoubtedly be the ‘Heaven Dao’. All this while, Kong Qing’s target has always been to achieve the Sagely State through mastering the Heaven Dao, but reality is cruel – the Heavenly Rebirth Dao State, the top of the Six Dao States, was an insurmountable challenge.
But even so, Kong Qing still used his own methods to close the gap between his own Dao and the Heaven Dao, even achieving the title of having the Dao closest to the Heaven Dao as mentioned by the Heaven Dao Pavilion elders. When he first heard the elders say this, he rejoiced for three full days.
But now … standing before him was a scoundrel he labelled as a shameless brat, yet the scoundrel has grasped everything that he has ever wanted, and even used the Heaven Dao to defeat him.
Why? Why can such an utterly shameless bastard master the Heaven Dao, and yet I, who have slogged so hard, can’t even do it?!
Kong Qing felt indignant, extremely indignant.
But reality was as cruel as ever. He has lost at the hands of Fang Zhengzhi, at the Heaven Dao which he yearned for so much. This fact was already set in stone.
“Oh right, I forgot to ask you something. Do you know how to use the Heaven Dao?” Fang Zhengzhi glanced at the pathetic-looking Kong Qing at his feet and smirked.
“I, I … Blurt!” He expelled another mouthful of blood. He wanted to retort Fang Zhengzhi – Of course I know! – but he had no energy left to utter it. The person standing in front of him was a true master of the Heaven Dao, so how could he even say such a thing?
“Ah … how weak!” Fang Zhengzhi shook his head and sighed.
“I, I only used two attacks, you … didn’t you say you would give me three chances?” Kong Qing still couldn’t let go of the lingering grudge despite having already been defeated.
Fang Zhengzhi did say that he would give Kong Qing the first three moves. Although he was unwilling to admit that he was weaker than Fang Zhengzhi, he would have definitely realized that Fang Zhengzhi has mastered the Heavenly Dao if Fang Zhengzhi didn’t retaliate after his second attack. That way, even though he may have still lost eventually, he wouldn’t have suffered such a miserable defeat, or at the very least, he would have injured Fang Zhengzhi.
“Three moves? Did you really believe me? I didn’t expect Senior Kong Qing is still so naive at such an age!” Fang Zhengzhi stared at Kong Qing, with his expression saying one thing: you can be naive, but not to such a stage.
“You, you … wah ….” Kong Qing couldn’t endure the agony any longer. His body collapsed on the ground with a thud as he expelled another mouthful of blood. His vision blacked out and he passed out.
“Senior Kong Qing!”
“That scoundrel, he … he made Senior Kong Qing faint from anger?!”
“The Heaven Dao. That brat has really mastered the Heaven Dao!”
Upon noticing the unconscious Kong Qing, all the Heaven Dao disciples had only two words floating in their minds – “Heaven Dao”. The pinnacle of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques, and the Dao closest to the Saint State.
“Is it him? The Heaven Dao, it seems like he …” Nan Gongmu glanced over at Yan Xiu again. This was already the second time he posed this question today.
“No!” Yan Xiu shook his head.
Yan Xiu’s answer was much firmer this time round, without any of the hesitation he showed before.
“It’s not? But as far as I know, when he was at the Southern Region …” Nan Gongmu was slightly taken aback by Yan Xiu’s resolute answer.
“As he was leaving the Flame Capital City, he told me that his mastery of the Heaven Dao has reached a bottleneck and he could achieve true success. The most he could do would be to restrain his opponent temporarily, and it would be virtually impossible for him to swap positions instantaneously like this with the ‘Shifting Forms’ technique. And most importantly, he was only in the Supernatural State, but this is clearly a level of strength only achievable by those in the Rebirth State!” explained Yan Xiu.
“I see!” Nan Gongmu nodded after hearing Yan Xiu’s explanation.
He naturally knew that Yan Xiu was probably telling the truth. In these past two years, Fang Zhengzhi has not shown any progress in his mastery of the Heaven Dao, the pinnacle of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques. So how could he possibly improve this much in just two months?
Most importantly, the level of strength displayed here was of an entirely different State. Fang Zhengzhi was only at the Supernatural State but the person before them was clearly in the Rebirth State.
Hence, with these two huge disparities virtually impossible to be reconciled at the same time, Yan Xiu firmly dismissed the possibility that the person in front of him was Fang Zhengzhi.
….
“A master of the Heaven Dao, that brat ….” Fifth Elder gazed at Fang Zhengzhi standing in the distance, then looked back at the unconscious Kong Qing. He agonized over this dilemma with his mouth agape.
“Hm, and he even used the ‘Shifting Forms’ technique. If my hunch is correct, he used the Heaven Dao to freeze the explosion of the Falling Flowers Sword Technique instantaneously. Following that, he swapped positions with Kong Qing at the highest speed possible. Because he was in such close proximity to Kong Qing, and because he was dressed just like Kong Qing, it made it so difficult for onlookers to realize this …” Third Elder’s lips twitched.
“But didn’t this brat master the Near-Life Dao of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques? How could he possibly master the Heaven Dao?!” Fifth Elder pondered over this problem.
“The Near-Life Dao was just a hunch that we had. We have never witnessed him tame the Green Flame Beast with our own eyes before. But if he really has mastered the Heaven Dao, then taming the Green Flame Beast wouldn’t be a problem at all!” Third Elder shook his head and explained after hearing Fifth Elder’s question.
“Hm, that makes sense. The Heaven Dao … Doesn’t that make this brat a Half Sage?!” Fifth Elder nodded and shot a glance straight at Fang Zhengzhi.
“We can’t be sure about that yet. Maybe he’s only just mastered the Heaven Dao. After all, during his battle against Kong Qing, he didn’t really unleash his full strength, but instead exploited Kong Qing’s blind trust in his promise to clinch a surprise victory!” Upon hearing this, Third Elder shook his head again.
“You’re right, Third Elder. From this brat’s tone, it seems like he’s not even 25 years old. Such a young Half Sage was practically unheard of in the entire Holy Region, not just the four empires!”
“This brat’s talent is far greater than we’ve ever imagined, and he’s so utterly shameless. He can’t possibly hail from the four empires, but if he’s really from another sect, then … what’s his true motive?”
“Regardless of what his motive is, if he’s really from another allegiance besides the four empires, we definitely cannot allow him into the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Otherwise, the consequences would be disastrous!”
“Yes, this is the only way!” Third Elder nodded and looked back at Fang Zhengzhi. A cold glint flickered in his eyes as he subconsciously tightened his fist.
While the five sects also belong to the Holy Region, they each occupy a separate area. Although there hasn’t been overwhelmingly violent scuffles between them for hundreds of years, hidden conflicts are nonetheless a common occurrence. This was attributed to the differences in each of their ‘ideologies’.
For instance, the Heaven Dao Pavilion believes in following Heaven’s will and self-cultivation, while the Nine Pinnacle Mountain worships the Nine Pinnacles, believing that the Nine Pinnacles were formed for the balance of the heavens and lands. On the other hand, the Yin Yang Hall believe that all forms of existence hail from Yin and Yang, and everything was created for the balance of Yin and Yang.
Different ideologies naturally set the five sects on different training methods. Although they begin from the same foundations, the final result of their training would definitely differ.
Besides this, they were bestowed with different resources.
The Holy Region was wide, and consisted mainly of great mountains and deep lakes. Besides the existence of countless formidable beasts and hidden demons, there were also boundless natural wealth and treasures.
Although each of the five sects have demarcated their respective territories very clearly after countless wars, it was virtually impossible for any party to respect these boundaries when precious treasures surface!
Third Elder knew very well that there was ongoing conflict brewing among the five sects, and he naturally knew the various tactics employed by the opposing parties.
Using spies is an age-old strategy which was immensely beneficial and most importantly, the cost involved was minimal. Not only were spies ‘fed’ by the enemy forces, they could deliver crucial information at pivotal junctures.
Third Elder took a step out and walked towards Fang Zhengzhi.
The Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test has always been held personally by the emperors of the four empires. Not only was every recommended participant a prodigy, their background had to be ‘clean’. This was the silent agreement between the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the emperors of the four empires.
“Reveal your true identity, you brat. Otherwise, I won’t hesitate to attack you myself!” Third Elder stopped five steps in front of Fang Zhengzhi. His broad white sleeves fluttered in the breeze.
The emperors of the four empires and the spectating Heaven Dao disciples all understood Third Elder’s decision.
Identity! A clean identity!
If Fang Zhengzhi simply displayed incredible talent during his battle against Kong Qing, Third Elder would have naturally considered honoring his previous promise and allowed Fang Zhengzhi to participate in the third round of the test.
However, Fang Zhengzhi’s performance was evidently overwhelming. For someone who has mastered the Heaven Dao, it was no longer a question of talent. Mastering the Heaven Dao, the pinnacle of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques, was already equivalent to having half a foot in the Sagely State.
Then, how could Third Elder possibly ignore Fang Zhengzhi’s true identity?
“It seems like … Third Elder doesn’t intend to honor his promise?” Fang Zhengzhi did not retreat, instead taking a quick sweeping glance at Yan Xiu and Nan Gongmu. He slowly cracked a smile.
Yan Xiu was the reason why he agreed to Kong Qing’s challenge without hesitation and intentionally revealed his mastery of the Heaven Dao – because Yan Xiu had previously asked him about the Heaven Dao. And most importantly, he knew Yan Xiu’s personality very well. If he purposely concealed the Heaven Dao and employed other moves instead, he would definitely arouse Yan Xiu’s suspicions.
But if … he flashed his Heaven Dao out right from the start, Yan Xiu would instead believe that he was not intentionally hiding something. This way, this might possibly cause Yan Xiu to confirm that the person right there was not Fang Zhengzhi.
“Reveal your identity and I’ll honor my promise!” Third Elder seemed to have predicted that Fang Zhengzhi would harbor on the promise as a convenient excuse. He was unfazed by Fang Zhengzhi’s comment.
“Disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Kong Qing!” Fang Zhengzhi replied casually.
“Nonsense!” Third Elder’s tone turned hostile.
“Disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Kong Qing!” Fang Zhengzhi repeated.
“You brat, you’re forcing me to attack you!” Third Elder took another step forward as his eyes flickered with spots of white light.
“Are you bullying the weak?” Fang Zhengzhi retorted.
“So what if I am? The Heaven Dao Pavilion has been around for thousands of years. How can we allow an unidentifiable scoundrel like you to run amuck and spout nonsense? Haha …. Even with the emperors of the four empires here today, I’m willing to forsake the dignity of my old face but I’ll definitely tear off that fake mask of yours!”
Third Elder took another step forward, surging with strength as a spot of white light flashed repeatedly on his forehead.
“It seems that no amount of reason is enough for the unreasonable.” Fang Zhengzhi expressed his disappointment as he watched Third Elder close in.
“You brat, there’s no point of continuing this nonsense. I’ll give you one final chance. Reveal your identity and I’ll honor my promise. Otherwise, don’t blame me for hurting you too severely!” As he spoke, the white glow on Third Elder’s forehead grew brighter and brighter until a word could be seen fading in and out of view.
“Ten moves! Why don’t you let me have the first ten moves? You’re so old and I’m still so young. You’re bullying the weak here. Giving me the first ten moves shouldn’t be too much to ask for right?” Fang Zhengzhi hastily exclaimed as he noticed the concentrating white light on Third Elder’s forehead.
“You brat …” Third Elder was evidently astounded by this comment. He had seen shameless people before, but none as shameless as this.
Ten moves?
Putting the motive and usefulness of this proposal aside, he was clearly not seeking a fair match, was he?
“No? Fine, then make it nine moves. Nine moves should be fine right? You’re at least sixty years older than me, right? I’ll exchange nine moves for the age gap of sixty years. I’ll ignore the fact that you’re bullying the weak, but if you don’t even let me have the first nine moves, wouldn’t this a little immoral?” Fang Zhengzhi continued.
“Immoral?!” Third Elder clenched his fist tightly.
As a respectful elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, how humiliating is it for his morality to be questioned in front of all the Heaven Dao disciples and the emperors of the four empires?
Yet …. It was just as Fang Zhengzhi asserted. He was really bullying the weak!
“Eight moves, how about that? I’ll take it that I stepped on a pile of shit. You’re a powerhouse in the Sagely State bullying a small little fry like me. Where have your morals gone? Shouldn’t everyone have some limits?” Fang Zhengzhi seemingly did not notice the expression on Third Elder’s face as he continued.