I Pick up a Lost Godhood

Chapter 221 - 219: This Kind of Strength Is Called Devastation

Wu Fatian smiled smugly. "I’m still faster, aren’t I?"

The words had barely left his mouth when the ground rumbled. With a loud BANG, a figure fell from the sky, landing heavily on the ground.

Yet the landing itself was incredibly light. It was a thin, wiry old man.

Yet every move he made was filled with Mountain-Overturning Sea-Sweeping power. It was the Body Cultivation Ancestor Master, Thunderbolt.

"Wu the Kid, if I wasn’t trying to keep from wrecking that crappy mountain gate of yours, you think I’d be slower than you?!"

Thunderbolt roared. The disciples all hurried to pay their respects to the Ancestral Masters. The older disciples were all familiar with the banter between the two Ancestral Masters, but for many of the new disciples, it was their first time seeing them. They were so excited they didn’t know what to say.

Zhou Luodan ignored their squabbling and glanced at Mingren. "I will be presiding over today’s grand competition."

"I will humbly obey the Ancestral Master’s decree," Mingren said respectfully, without any hesitation. He didn’t even look to Wu Fatian for confirmation.

Zhou Luodan nodded. It was a small detail, but it was enough to show Mingren’s grasp of the situation. And in fact, Mingren’s preparations had been impeccable.

Hearing that an Ancestral Master would be personally presiding, the disciples below erupted in a commotion. How many years had it been since an Ancestral Master had personally overseen a hall battle?

"Hurry up and start! I can’t wait any longer," Thunderbolt said. For years, Wu Fatian had teased him at nearly every competition. He finally had a chance to set foot in Lingyin Hall again.

Back when Thunderlight Hall was in its prime, they were rivals with Lingyin Hall. Unfortunately, in recent years, the latter hadn’t even deigned to give them a second glance. Thunderbolt had been bottling up his frustration, and today, he was here to crash their party.

"Mingren, show us your full strength. Don’t be careless!"

"Please rest assured, Ancestral Master. I will give it my all."

Wu Fatian nodded. ’That kid Mingren is really quite good for the younger generation; he has a great sense of the bigger picture.’ He relaxed when he saw Zhang Yue’e and Lang Kun.

The three Ancestral Masters sat on high, and the grand competition officially began.

Yang Ying suddenly mustered her courage and grabbed Wang Meng’s hand. In that instant, the bustling Lingyin Hall fell silent. All the rumors, all the speculation, all the fantasies—everything shattered.

But more than anything, countless male cultivators felt their hearts break. Their Goddess finally had someone she loved.

Before this, Yang Ying could never have imagined such a day. She even used to think, ’How could I possibly hold a man’s hand in front of everyone?’ But now, she didn’t care at all. It felt completely natural. No matter what looks others gave her, nothing else mattered.

"Do your best!" Of all the words she wanted to say, only those three remained.

Wang Meng smiled faintly and squeezed Yang Ying’s jade-like hand before striding toward the Dueling Platform.

The Sacrificial Battle began.

Thunderlight Hall: Wang Meng.

Lingyin Hall: Li Tianyi, Anx Dao, Zhang Yue’e, Lang Kun, Mingren.

Unquestionably, as Wang Meng walked toward the Dueling Platform, Li Tianyi stepped forward from Lingyin Hall’s side, accepting the challenge without hesitation.

Their pace and rhythm seemed to be identical, and a peculiar pressure immediately filled the Dueling Platform.

The three Ancestral Masters exchanged knowing smiles. How could they not be happy that the younger generation possessed such strength and had reached such a realm?

The two came to a stop, and the heavy atmosphere intensified.

"Wang Meng, don’t even think about the fights after this. Your journey ends with me."

Li Tianyi said, confidence and power radiating from him uncontrollably.

Wang Meng smiled. "Then let me see just how well you’ve practiced your Nine Heavens Separation Fire Sword."

"Then let’s begin!"

SHING...

The Lihuo Sword was unsheathed.

At the same time, the Broken Heaven Edge appeared in Wang Meng’s hand. Their gazes met, clashing like Sword Qi, as Elemental Power surged endlessly from their bodies.

The disciples closer to the Dueling Platform immediately found it hard to breathe, and some couldn’t help but retreat.

And this was while their Elemental Power hadn’t even reached Twenty Layers.

An ordinary Cultivator could only release their Elemental Power to generate a sense of pressure. But clearly, these two weren’t doing something so simple; they were combining Spiritual Power with Elemental Power to create a true aura that only a master Sword Cultivator could possess.

The man was like the sword, and the sword was like the man.

This was a true battle of masters, completely different from the very start.

Everyone’s eyes were now focused.

Stillness...

SHIIIING~~~

Li Tianyi moved. In an instant, his figure slashed forward like a gale—not with simple, straightforward speed, but with an indescribable smoothness and naturalness, as if he had merged with the wind itself.

CLANG...

The Broken Heaven Edge and the Lihuo Sword crossed. The two figures moved at high speed across the Dueling Platform, their Elemental Power tightly controlled within their Long Swords. With every clash, Elemental Power shot out in all directions.

BANG...

The two were blown apart. Almost as soon as he landed, Li Tianyi shot into the air. The Lihuo Sword in his hand blossomed, sending Sword Qi shooting out. Streaks of Sword Qi, like Floating Light and Shadow, shot toward Wang Meng, every gleam of the sword lethal.

The sky filled with sword shadows.

These were not feints, but a barrage of Sword Qi like a Heaven and Earth Net.

For an ordinary Sword Cultivator to unleash such a Sword Technique, they would likely deplete all their Elemental Power. Yet Li Tianyi swung his sword with ease. This was the efficiency of his Elemental Power usage, determined by his Life Mark Combination.

This was talent. This was a genius!

What others could only achieve by risking their lives was as easy as breathing for Li Tianyi.

Wang Meng, having just landed, was clearly a beat too slow. Faced with such a Sword Qi assault, he had no time to dodge. A counterattack?

Wang Meng was unhurried. He gripped the Broken Heaven Edge with both hands, pointing the broken blade at the ground as his Elemental Power rose up like a shield.

BANG BANG BANG BANG...

The streams of Sword Qi slammed violently against the Sword Screen, sending out ripples of Elemental Power.

Li Tianyi seemed to have known it would be ineffective. After releasing the Sword Qi, he used his Aerial Skill to gain altitude, then spiraled down, the Lihuo Sword aimed straight at Wang Meng.

A faint smile touched Wang Meng’s lips. As the last of the Sword Qi dissipated, the Broken Heaven Edge slashed a streak of white light that soared into the sky.

——Hanging Heaven’s Edge!

——Skyward Sword!

BOOM...

Their figures exploded against each other in mid-air. Elemental Power burst out like a shower of stars. Using the same Aerial Skill, the Broken Heaven Edge and the Lihuo Sword smashed together. What was most terrifying was that, even at point-blank range, they both still dared to unleash a Sword Slash.

Their bodies swayed amidst the flashes of sword light. Taking a direct hit at such a distance would mean severe injury, at the very least.

BANG BANG BANG... BOOM...

The Lihuo Sword and the Broken Heaven Edge crashed heavily together. Both Wang Meng and Li Tianyi wore the same excited smiles.

"Looks like you haven’t been slacking off!"

"You’ve improved a lot, too!"

The Lihuo Sword and the Broken Heaven Edge struck out at the same time. Two streams of Sword Qi smashed violently into each other, creating a deafening explosion in the air. The two landed simultaneously, returning to their exact starting positions, not off by a single inch.

The Broken Heaven Edge pointed to the sky, the Lihuo Sword to the ground.

The area around the Dueling Platform was silent. Liangyuan and the others felt a tingling numbness, as if someone was whipping them.

That kind of rhythm, that high-frequency use of Elemental Qi, was completely beyond their abilities. While they were still pursuing powerful Sword Techniques, Li Tianyi and Wang Meng were already in another realm entirely.

Few people present could have withstood that last exchange of close-quarters blows, let alone having to face an Ultimate Skill.

Wang Meng smiled faintly and took the initiative this time. With a clear cry, he unleashed the Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens and Green Fall Yellow Springs Sword Technique.

Amidst the sword light, a magnificent White Phoenix charged at Li Tianyi. Who knew how powerful Wang Meng’s Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens and Green Fall Yellow Springs Sword Technique was? One part was like a Heaven and Earth Net, while the other specialized in controlling the air, truly leaving one with no road to heaven and no gate into the earth.

Li Tianyi focused his gaze, his Lihuo Sword showing no intention of blocking, nor did he have any thought of leaping into the air to dodge.

As the White Phoenix charged forward, the ground clearly began to ripple. This was the precursor to the Yellow Springs activating. Once the Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens and the Green Fall Yellow Springs combined, with water and earth generating each other, it would be like catching a turtle in a jar.

But just then, a grim smile touched Li Tianyi’s lips. His Nine Heavens Separation Fire Sword slashed out like a beam of light.

KILL~~~

An unremarkable slash. SHING...

The oncoming White Phoenix suddenly froze. The surging Yellow Springs on the ground also came to a halt, as if a thread had been severed. In an instant, the White Phoenix vanished into nothingness, and the emergent Yellow Springs became calm once more.

Li Tianyi shrugged nonchalantly, pointing his Lihuo Sword at Wang Meng. "A Sword Technique you’ve used once is useless against me."

Those words really made countless Sword Cultivators in the audience want to bash their heads against a wall. The Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens and Green Fall Yellow Springs Sword Technique was a famous Sword Technique in the Holy Hall. For a young disciple, just managing to learn it was a great blessing. But for Li Tianyi?

It was garbage. Never use the same Sword Technique twice!

Qiao Qian was delighted. ’My guess was right,’ he thought. ’Li Tianyi is Li Tianyi, after all. The most outstanding disciple of the Li Family is no joke.’ But he couldn’t help but feel a pang of dismay. ’Damn, what kind of terrifying talent is that? To be able to break a Sword Technique after seeing it just once... Is he even going to let anyone else live?’

To sever it with a single slash—this was a complete and utter read-through.

Li Tianyi’s strength inspired a kind of despair.

Liangyuan suffered his second major blow in just a few days. Being defeated by Wang Meng had been hard enough to accept, but he had only lost in terms of Sword Technique. His Elemental Power and realm were not lacking; in fact, he even had an advantage in Elemental Power.

But seeing Li Tianyi so easily break the Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens and Green Fall Yellow Springs was simply devastating.

At Liangyuan’s current level, he could see just how terrifying Li Tianyi was. So terrifying that the level of one’s Elemental Power was no longer the most important factor. Li Tianyi was a monster born for the sword, the nemesis of all Sword Cultivators.

It would have been better for Liangyuan if his own skill level were slightly lower. Sometimes, ignorance is a kind of bliss.

Liangyuan let out a long sigh. He didn’t need to watch anymore; he *couldn’t* watch anymore. Regardless of who won or lost between these two, it was no longer something he needed to concern himself with.

"That kid Tianyi’s Sword Sense is unparalleled in this world. I’m afraid it might even be a notch above the Sect Leader’s," Wu Fatian said smugly.

Zhou Luodan nodded. "Born for the sword. My Holy Hall has found a worthy successor for its Sword Cultivators."

Thunderbolt pursed his lips. "Wu the Kid, don’t get carried away. Hmph!"

All eyes returned to the stage. Wang Meng casually twirled his Broken Heaven Edge. "Let me see your Nine Heavens Separation Fire Sword. You should have reached the Two Heavens by now, right?"

Instantly, every last trace of casualness vanished from Li Tianyi’s face.

"How many heavens? What two heavens?" Zhang Xiaopang was scared to death. When Wang Meng’s Sword Technique was broken just now, his back had been soaked with sweat. He’d been silently cursing Li Tianyi, wishing he would trip and fall. ’Should have brought some banana peels,’ he thought. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation.)