Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 971 – The Stone Seal That Cannot Be Injured

The darkness was torn open.

The daylight arrived.

The lightning fell.

The fist descended.

Everything happened in the briefest of moments.

Only a few true experts could clearly make out everything that had occurred, like Xiaode or those important personages in the Imperial City.

The demi-human commoners on the plaza could only see a blinding light and the silhouette of a massive black bear in the sky. Their mouths were agape in shock as they struggled to make a noise, and then they were roused by a massive boom and pushed back by a wave of Qi.

Swift winds howled, stirring up all the dust between the stones, blocking out all vision and slightly dimming that light.

But the bolt of lightning was unconcealably bright, those two figures crystal-clear.

The young man in the bamboo hat had finally brought his left hand away from his back, raising it in front of him to block Xuanyuan Po’s iron-like right fist.

His hand clenched into a fist as well.

This time, the darkness could no longer swallow everything.

The bolt of lightning falling from the sky, together with Xuanyuan Po’s fist, accurately struck the young man’s fist.

Countless arcs of dazzling lightning wound around Xuanyuan Po’s right arm, crackling and popping.

Boom! The two fists unleashed two unimaginably violent energies!

Innumerable cracks instantly appeared on the ground!

Even more shocking was that these cracks extended so deep into the ground that it was impossible to see their bottom.

The young man’s arm was trembling, his clothes shaking. One could barely make out that his face had grown incredibly solemn.

With a swish, several holes were torn in his bamboo hat by the sharp winds, making it look rather sorry.

Had Xuanyuan Po really won?

Just when the crowd was beginning to get excited, the lightning suddenly vanished.

The young man in the bamboo hat had seemingly used some sort of spell that was not of this world.

The lightning that was plainly bursting with the unimaginable energies of the world had vanished into that strange palm of his.

There was a light plop, like a ripe fruit smashing into the ground into a pile of pulp.

It was a very quiet sound, hard to hear in the howling gales.

Several demi-human personages high up in the Imperial City heard it.

Outside Heavensguard Pavilion, Xiaode also heard, and his complexion became extremely unsightly.

He had once heard this sound in Mount Han.

The darkness once more shrouded the world.

The darkness had a weight, such a weight that even the world would find it hard to bear at times.

This was the sound of the hardest object cracking.

This object could be a Heavenstone from Mount Han, the cold stone of a lonely mountain, or perhaps a hard fist.

The fierce gales suddenly dissipated.

Xuanyuan Po’s fist and the young man’s fist parted.

White steam gushed out from Xuanyuan Po’s clothes and then was quickly condensed by the cold winds into drops of water that soaked the ground.

It was like a scene that could be seen each morning in front of that store in the Pine Paths that sold steamed buns.

A stream of blood spurted from his lips, soaking the stones even further.

Xuanyuan Po’s body swayed as a burst of cracks came from his body.

Ten-some spurts of blood shot out of his body like arrows, poking ten-some new holes in his clothes. The blood looked like a waterfall falling in reverse.

At this sight, the crowd resounded with countless cries and screams.

The personages in the Imperial City remained quiet, different expressions on their faces.

The Bear tribe leader turned to look at the Chief Elder, his complexion as cold as ice.

Outside Heavensguard Pavilion, Xiaode had an even nastier complexion than the Bear tribe leader.

They all knew that Xuanyuan Po had lost, and most miserably at that. Ten-some Qi openings had been shattered, and if they turned out to be untreatable, Xuanyuan Po was highly likely to end up a cripple.

They had anticipated this conclusion, but when they saw the fist and lightning descending, they thought a miracle might occur.

Xiaode had not expected any miracle, but he at least thought that the young man would have been pushed to his limit in receiving the blow.

This was because in his view, if it were him, he would have to pay a heavy price to take on this fist.

Who could have expected that the young man had not even retreated a single step!

……

……

The young man in the bamboo hat slowly drew back his hands.

Then, he slowly retreated three steps.

In this entire process, he stared into Xuanyuan Po’s eyes, his expression abnormally solemn and vigilant.

Only after he retreated three steps and saw that Xuanyuan Po had not attacked again did he finally confirm that his opponent had no further ability to fight.

The chilly wind rustled the tattered bamboo hat, revealing more of his face.

One could make out that his face was extremely handsome and possessed a bewitching charm. It was even paler than it was yesterday, completely devoid of blood.

“I had guessed that your right hand was powerful, but not this powerful.”

He looked at Xuanyuan Po and said, “Though you had not even fought a single battle in the Orthodox Academy, an exception was made to rank you in the Proclamation of Azure Sky. Now that I think about it, old man Heavenly Secrets really did have some insight.”

Xuanyuan Po remained at his original position, his body covered in blood. “But I still could not defeat you.”

The young man fell quiet for a while, then answered, “You truly are very talented, and the technique Chen Changsheng chose for you is also very strong, suitable as well. But the so-called Heavenly Thunder is still contained and born within the rain clouds, but I am not a person of the mortal world. I was born above the clouds, so how could the Heavenly Thunder strike me?”

His voice was somewhat shaky as he said this, his complexion paling even further.

It was evident that in order to receive Xuanyuan Po’s fist, he had also paid no small price. It had not been as easy for him as Xiaode had believed.

But this was not the real reason for his trembling voice and paling complexion. It was because he was lying. He was the most revered sovereign in the world, possessing a supreme pride and majesty, but in the face of such a lowly opponent, he had been compelled to use other methods, and even needed to lie. He felt deeply humiliated.

The move Xuanyuan Po had used just now was the most powerful technique in the Heavenly Thunder Bringer.

Even he had to pay a heavy price to receive such a move. Perhaps it could even be described as a disastrous price.

But after this, he needed to complete the most important mission in the last thousand years of history within White Emperor City, so he had to appear invincible. He could not allow himself to be injured.

So he had not used his own body, cultivation, and strength to defeat Xuanyuan Po, but used another method.

At the start, he had placed his left hand behind his back not because he was taking his enemy lightly or because he was confident. It was because he wanted to guarantee that he could remove an item from his belt at any moment.

This item was a stone seal.

The more he felt the hardness of the stone seal in his palm, the unhappier he was.

In order to conceal his displeasure, he wanted to appear even more aloof and indifferent.

His gaze fell on the sword tied to Xuanyuan Po’s waist. “If you used this sword, perhaps you might have been able to last a little longer.”

Xuanyuan Po gazed at his clenched left fist and shook his head. “Even if I used the sword, I still wouldn’t be able to beat that object in your hand.”

When he said this, his expression remained very composed, or perhaps it was dull-witted.

But the young man felt that these words were brimming with derision and disdain, and an icy killing intent appeared in his eyes.