588 Hypocrisy
Ji Lanfang’s attack sliced through the Earth Sword Will as easy as a knife through butter. Nevertheless, the Earth Sword Will was resilient and persistent like the earth. So, it reformed after destruction to continue confronting Ji Lanfang’s Sword Will.
Then, through sheer persistence, it blocked the attack before the enemy’s attack reached its creator.
“Not bad,” commented Zhang Yucheng. “How about this? Five Elements Sword Will. All things in the universe originate from the Five Elements. The Five Elements are the embodiment of balance.”
He created a sword slash that would alternate between five colors symbolizing the elements.
“Any things that travel faster than the speed of light has broken the balance of the universe,” Ji Lanfang replied before casually swinging his sword. His Sword Will instantly broke the perfect balance in the Five Elements, destroying the Sword Will.
Zhang Yucheng frowned before waving his sword to create a black-and-white protective film before him.
“Yin-Yang Sword Will,” said Ji Lanfang. “Although I pursue speed, I also know the concept of solitary Yang cannot exist without Yin. At extreme speed, time can be perceived to be slow.”
Ji Lanfang stabbed his sword, creating a Sword Will that alternated between speed and slowness. When the stab touched the Yin-Yang Protective Shield, it also broke the balance of Yin and Yang before heading toward Zhang Yucheng.
The young Taoist Priest squinted his eyes before using a blood-red slash to cancel Ji Lanfang’s Sword Will. Then, he became serious as he knew this battle would not be as easy as he thought.
“Try this Slaughter Sword Will.”
Zhang Yucheng created a second blood-red slash. And when everyone laid eyes on it, they could see a vision of a young swordsman who spent his entire life on the battlefield.
The young swordsman killled and killed to temper his swordsmanship. It did not matter whether it was humans, demons, Gods, or devils. Everyone and everything felt at his sword–including his friends and family. The only thing the swordsman cared about was tempering his Slaughter Sword Will.
The number of lives in his hand was simply incalculable. At some point, he did not care to calculate.
“A fast sword could prevent slaughter and save lives,” said Ji Lanfang. His attack then created a vision of another swordsman in blue. The swordsman appeared before the Slaughterer Swordsman and cut off his head before he began his mass killing.
So, his attack once again defeated Zhang Yucheng’s Sword Will.
‘How annoying,’ thought the young priest before his sword exuded a weird fluctuation and stopped the opponent’s attack.
“I met a swordsman who believed that the sword was not the best tool for cutting,” said Zhang Yucheng with a composed face. “He believed space was the ultimate cutting tool. Try his Space Cutting Sword Will.”
As he swung his sword, he bent the space around in the form of a moon-shaped slash; this attack could cut off anything as it was literally separating the space of anything it touched into two.
“The speed of my swords has transcended time and space,” Ji Lanfang said casually. With a swing of his sword, he easily cut the Space Cutting Sword Will. And his attack also did not stop on its track.
But then, something unexpected occurred. A white slash came from Zhang Yucheng, and before Ji Lanfang could react, he had a slash scar on his chest. He calmly looked at the wound on his chest.
Although it appeared as if he had lost, he knew it was not the truth. His opponent used his power despite the agreement of their confrontation only with skill.
“Fellow Daoist, I’m sorry. It was a mistake on my part,” hurriedly said Zhang Yucheng with a sincere tone.
“No, you did it on purpose,” commented Ji Lanfang calmly.
“Excuse me?”
“Sword Will will not lie. You could not accept your defeat, so you use your power,” he continued. “I can sense the impurity in your Sword Will; This was not a mistake but a calculated move.”
“Fellow Daoist, please do not slander my name.”
“You will never be a real swordsman if you are so closed-minded,” Ji Lanfanf commented while looking directly into Zhang Yucheng’s eyes. Then, he calmly flew back to his seat and drank his alcohol.
Meanwhile, all eyes were on Zhang Yucheng, with most people being judgmental. Nothing is worse than a cultivator who cannot keep his word in a friendly competition.
“Tchp. All these upper-dimension geniuses have been a disappointment so far. One is prideful beyond reason, and the other is small-minded and cannot accept defeat.”
Everyone heard these words because of the previously quiet atmosphere. So, everyone looked toward the speaker. It was one of the participants whose results could only be described as subpar during the trial.
And the person had a shocked look on his face after saying these things, and he became horrified when he felt all the gazes on him. He reached his breaking when he sensed the fury emanating from Zhang Yucheng’s body.
Without hesitation, he took a jade talisman and crushed it; he disappeared from the trial’s space.
Zhang Yucheng tried extremely hard to control the veins popping on his forehead. While maintaining his pure Taoist demeanor, he flew back to his seat.
‘It seems that Zhang Yucheng’s reputation might not be good in the upper dimension,’ thought Wang Wei. He did not see any surprise from the others after Ji Lanfang’s accusations.
Meanwhile, Monk Wuzhi shook his head in agreement. From Ao Tianyi’s memories, Wang Wei knew there were some nasty rumors about Zhang Yucheng. However, the two barely interacted since the Eternal Ascension was vast beyond words could describe.
“The winner of this battle is Ji Lanfang,” declared Lord Spirit with a calm tone.
Zhang Yucheng–who quickly returned to his pure and gentle facade–cupped his hand and bowed to Lord Spirit: “This is how things should be.”
He then looked at Ji Lanfang and also bowed: “Fellow Daoist, I’m sorry for my mistake; it was a genuine mistake. I”m also sorry you feel this way about me; I would never do such a thing.”
Ji Lanfang took another sip of his drink, “The sword does not lie.” He then closed his eyes to focus on healing his injury. Zhang Yucheng smiled, not minding the latter’s response.
‘What a hypocrite,’ thought Wang Wei. Although there was nothing wrong with the latter’s facial expression, he could see the emotions emanating from his body using some of Su Ya’s techniques: they were the rage, hatred, annoyance, and the desire to kill.
Wang Wei turned his head to look at Tong Ruobing, who was staring at him.
“What is it? Have you become enamored with me? Well, I can tell you don’t have a single chance. Not only because I’m a faithful man but because my wife is more beautiful, talented, powerful, has a better personality, and is richer and sexier than you.”
Tong Ruobing rolled her eyes and stopped looking at him. She only stared because she thought he was responsible for the actions of the participants who previously spoke. She thought he placed some spiritual hints on him and wanted to see if she could gather some information based on his facial expression, reaction, and body language.
“Who is the next challenger?” Lord Spirit asked.
“I am,” replied Xi Shangyan as she stood up. After discussing with the patriarch, she first decided to watch things fold out. However, she also wanted to test the strength of these lower-dimension geniuses to determine her next step.
“And who are you challenging?”
“Young Lady Tong,” replied Xi Shangyan. She wanted to test the level of the Myriad Emperor World’s Heaven Chosens and decide whether to prove the Dao there or go somewhere else.
Based on her observation, Tong Ruobing was on the upper echelons in terms of strength but was not at the pinnacle. So, she was the best target to test the waters.
Moreover, her actions can reduce the suspicions of the others and delay the time they learn of their clan’s betrayals, and she can get some Destiny after winning.
“Tong Ruobing?” asked Lord Spirit.
“I accept the challenge,” she replied after a few seconds of pondering; she wanted to test the ground, and starting from fourth place was an excellent way to test the overall strength of these people.
‘From how Wang Wei behaved during his fight with Ao Tianyi, I believe that these people might be here not only for the inheritance, and he also knows something about it. Maybe I can use this opportunity to gather more information.’
Tong Ruobing knew the importance of knowledge and information. Her interaction with Wu Ming proved their importance as one piece of information fundamentally altered her destiny.
Wang Wei’s single idea made her one of the most powerful Heaven Chosen of the Myriad Emperor World, granting her a high chance at proving the Dao and achieving immortality.
“Lord Spirit, what about my previous request?” asked Tong Ruobing.
“It has been approved. You can fight inside the trial’s pagoda where there is a world with complete Laws.”
‘Excellent,’ Tong Ruobing thought. With Laws, she can use Law Resonance and display her full power.