I Pick up a Lost Godhood

Chapter 225 - 223: Heaven and Earth Five Elements

Zhang Yue’e drew her Moon Shadow Bow and revealed a graceful smile. "I’d like to propose a different kind of match. I wonder if Elder Wang would be interested in hearing it?"

Wang Meng was regulating his breathing, trying to recover as much Elemental Power as possible. In truth, he was far from as confident as he appeared, but he couldn’t afford to show any weakness. Zhang Yue’e watched him intently as she spoke.

"I’m listening."

"Let’s try a different challenge. You let me take three shots at you. If none of them hit, I lose. How about it?" Zhang Yue’e proposed.

The crowd immediately erupted in an uproar.

"In your dreams!"

"Why should he agree to that? Do you take us for fools?"

Zhang Yue’e paid them no mind, her gaze fixed on Wang Meng. ’This proposal is a last resort.’ She could see that Wang Meng’s Elemental Power showed no signs of serious depletion. Though she knew he was conserving his strength, no one knew just how deep his reserves ran.

Since Wang Meng wanted to save his strength for his fight with Mingren, there was a good chance he would accept her offer. And if he did, her odds of winning would skyrocket.

"We’ll do it your way," Wang Meng said.

Zhang Yue’e hadn’t expected Wang Meng to agree so readily; it was a pleasant surprise. Not wanting to give him any more time to rest, she smiled faintly and announced, "First shot!"

With a hum, Zhang Yue’e’s Moon Shadow Bow erupted, Elemental Power rippling out in a fan of brilliant light. A Blast Arrow shot forth.

Zhang Xiaojiang’s eyes narrowed. His vision was second to none, and he immediately spotted a dark shadow shooting out right behind the first arrow.

The Mother-Child Soul-Chasing Arrow!

The explosive force and brilliant light of the first arrow were all a cover for the lethal child arrow that followed.

Wang Meng’s figure blurred as he instantly dodged aside. The Soul-Seeking Arrow, fired second, carved an arc through the air as it pursued him.

At that moment, Zhang Yue’e unleashed her second shot. She had said "one shot," but nobody said it had to be a single arrow, as long as the attack was a continuous sequence.

Her attention to such details was truly impeccable.

—Bursting Group Shot!

Light exploded in all directions as a volley of Blast Arrows shot forward. Having just dodged the Soul-Seeking Arrow, Wang Meng had no choice but to leap into the air to avoid the barrage.

Zhang Yue’e had achieved her goal. An airborne target was the ideal prey for an Arrow Cultivator.

Third shot!

This arrow had no frills. It was a pure prediction shot, fired at a point in the air before Wang Meng had even arrived. It was a display of Zhang Yue’e’s rich combat experience. The first two shots were designed to force Wang Meng to exhaust all his momentum in dodging, and he should have been left completely breathless at this exact moment.

Her calculations were based on the fact that Wang Meng wasn’t prepared to use his full strength. Her attack was designed to strike when he had power but no way to leverage it!

Her subtle and meticulous planning was on full display in this three-shot combo.

Wang Meng’s desire to conserve his Elemental Power was, in itself, an exploitable weakness.

The full-powered arrow shot toward him—fast, accurate, and ruthless—aimed straight for his chest, the most difficult spot to dodge.

At this moment, Wang Meng truly had all the power in the world but no way to bring it to bear.

But in that hair’s breadth of a moment, he raised Broken Heaven Edge vertically before his chest.

SHINK...

Zhang Yue’e’s third shot was all about maximum speed and ferocious, heart-piercing power. The arrow was made from the trunk of a thousand-year-old peach tree, allowing it to carry an immense amount of Elemental Power.

And Wang Meng met it not with the flat of his blade, but with its very edge.

The Peach Wood Arrow split cleanly in two, the halves streaking past his ribs on either side.

BOOM...

Zhang Yue’e sighed to herself. ’If that was luck, then his luck is just too good. If I had used an iron arrow, the consequences of blocking like that would have been unimaginable. But it just had to be a Peach Wood Arrow. If he calculated that... then...’

The Fourth Sacrificial Battle: Wang Meng is victorious!

Zhang Yue’e hadn’t managed to drain much of Wang Meng’s energy. The disciples of Thunderlight Hall threw their arms in the air and roared. Their dream was becoming a reality; they were now just one step away from an even greater miracle.

The atmosphere instantly tensed. The most crucial moment had arrived.

Even at a time like this, the Senior of Lingyin Hall maintained his elegant smile. This was Mingren’s signature style.

Ever since Li Tianyi had arrived at Lingyin Hall, he seemed to have stolen the spotlight. The Senior of any other Sub-Hall would have been uncomfortable, if not jealous, but Mingren was different. It seemed everyone had forgotten that he was the true number one expert of Lingyin Hall.

Mingren stepped onto the Dueling Platform and clasped his hands. "Brother Wang, my apologies. I’m afraid I’m taking a huge advantage here."

Wang Meng smiled faintly. "Brother Mingren, please."

After four consecutive matches in the Sacrificial Battle, Mingren certainly had plenty of room to maneuver. As the strongest practitioner of Talisman and Sword Dual Cultivation, no one knew just how far he had progressed in recent years.

"The sword’s name is ’Hidden.’ I forged it and named it myself."

As he spoke, Mingren’s Elemental Power began to rise slowly. The final, most crucial battle of the Sacrificial Battle had begun.

An atmosphere similar to the one from the battle with Li Tianyi emerged as their Sword Momenta pressed against each other. This time, however, it was clear that Mingren held the advantage. The after-effects of Wang Meng’s fight with Li Tianyi were beginning to show.

SHIING... Mingren vanished from his spot, instantly lunging at Wang Meng. Reacting a fraction of a second slower, Wang Meng also moved, and their figures reappeared in the center of the platform.

CLANG! Their sword edges crossed, sending Elemental Power flying in all directions.

Wang Meng’s body trembled, however slightly. For a battle between experts, that was more than enough. Mingren shoved forcefully, flinging Wang Meng’s figure away. In this direct contest of power, Mingren had already taken the upper hand. His Elemental Power was stronger than Wang Meng’s to begin with, and his combat experience was far richer. With Wang Meng exhausted from four previous battles, the balance had decisively shifted. The situation was spiraling out of Wang Meng’s control.

Mingren’s sword, Hidden, began to suppress Wang Meng, but he still hadn’t used any Talismans. "Brother Wang, my apologies. I know your Elemental Power is greatly depleted, but as the Senior of Lingyin Hall, I have a responsibility to all its disciples. I have no choice but to press my advantage."

As he spoke, Mingren’s Elemental Power surged to the Twenty-Third Layer, putting Wang Meng in an even more difficult position.

"Mingren sure is clever."

"Please. That guy is the most cunning one in all the Nine Halls. He doesn’t stick his neck out like Ning Zhiquan, he’s popular, and he’s strong. If I were Ning Zhiquan, he’s the one I’d be most wary of."

Jia Shidao spoke with his eyes narrowed, seeming to be perpetually half-asleep.

"Oh, come on. You’re just jealous he’s so popular. His smile is genuine, not like your fake one that doesn’t reach your eyes," Qiao Qian teased.

On the platform, Mingren wasn’t playing any fancy tricks. He was simply using his superior Elemental Power and stamina to force Wang Meng into a direct sword fight. He wasn’t worried about Wang Meng breaking free; the reputation of Talisman and Sword Dual Cultivation wasn’t just for show. A Dual Cultivator controlled the rhythm of the battle. The very fact that Mingren wasn’t using his Talismans was a form of pressure in itself—the unspoken threat of the Five Elements was always looming.

Visibly, Wang Meng was being pushed back step by step. Even though he was using Twenty Layers of power, Mingren’s Elemental Power was approaching the twenty-fourth layer. Fresh and rested, he was giving Wang Meng no quarter.

After nearly a hundred consecutive strikes, all one could say was that Wang Meng’s tenacity was astonishing. But in the end, Mingren found an opening.

A single strike batted aside Wang Meng’s defense, and in that instant, Mingren flicked a Talisman from his left hand.

At that moment, the faces of every Talisman Cultivator in the audience flushed red.

With no need for a verbal Spell, Mingren had instantly unleashed the Poison Lotus Heart-locking Pulse-breaking Triple Ring Array Kill.

It wasn’t that Wang Meng didn’t want to dodge; Mingren had completely locked onto his opening from the very beginning. The seemingly simple attacks had perfectly cut off his path of retreat. Mingren’s Sword Techniques were incredibly meticulous, never seeking a one-hit-kill, but instead constantly pushing Wang Meng closer and closer to his breaking point. And at this moment, Wang Meng had finally reached his limit.

As the triple curse of the Poison Lotus landed on Wang Meng, he was completely overwhelmed by excruciating pain and loss of control, severing his ability to use any other Magic.

Only then did Mingren clear the way with his Sword Qi, letting out a thunderous roar: "Holy Hall Sword—Sky-Splitting Fierce Light Slash!"

SHIIING! SHIIING! SHIIING!

A vast wave of Sword Qi blasted toward Wang Meng.

Ever since inheriting the Godhood, Wang Meng’s relationship with power had been in a strange state. His aptitude for Magic was actually a remnant from before the Godhood was sealed. This remnant was so powerful that only now, for the first time, had someone managed to back him into a corner.

This was the true terror of the Sacrificial Battle.

His stamina, Spiritual Power, and Elemental Power were all pushed to their absolute limits. What remained was Wang Meng’s true essence.

’Is there nothing left?’

Wang Meng tried to feel a trace of fear, but even with death staring him in the face, the very concept seemed nonexistent.

His last bit of Elemental Power vanished. For a moment, everything froze. Then, a minuscule trickle of Godhood Power leaking from the Heaven and Earth Spirit Locking Array dripped like a single drop of water into his Sea of Fate.

Suddenly, his Sea of Fate erupted in a blinding flash of light. Five completely different spheres of light appeared, shifting from chaos into a perfect order.

The Five Elements Technique—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—generating and regenerating in an endless cycle!

Unity of Heaven and Man!

WHOOSH...

Wang Meng disappeared. Mingren’s sure-kill strike slammed into the empty Dueling Platform, sending shattered stone flying everywhere.

This sudden turn of events stunned everyone, including Mingren. His use of Talisman and Sword Dual Cultivation had been flawless. How could anyone possibly have escaped that?!

Floating in the air, Wang Meng felt an inexplicable impulse. The Godhood had changed so much about him. Even with it sealed, Wang Meng had never completely escaped its influence. Moo Shan’s Godhood brought power, but it also brought fragments of Moo Shan himself—a negative influence on a complete soul. Under the full, immense power of the Godhood, Wang Meng would have never been able to find his true self. The sealing of the Godhood was his first opportunity, but it was his intimate connection with Yang Ying that truly awakened him and made him realize something was wrong.

After all, what normal young man would actively avoid a girl he liked? That was absolutely not normal.

And just now, the transcendent power of the Five Elements Technique—a power that belonged to Wang Meng alone, something Moo Shan could never have achieved—had finally allowed him to mentally overcome Moo Shan’s influence. He was Wang Meng. He could master and digest the Godhood’s power.

The reason he hadn’t lost himself completely was all thanks to the presence of his friends, people like Zhang Xiaojiang and Hu Jing. Wang Meng could give up on himself, but he could never abandon his friends. And it was because of them that he had never left the Holy Hall.

That was what led to this moment of enlightenment.

This sliver of insight made Wang Meng feel as if he had been reborn. To him, the Godhood was no longer a burden, but a tonic.

Wang Meng reveled in his realization, a joy no less profound than the relief of surviving a catastrophe. He craved power and strength, but he absolutely did not want it to change who he was.

What he didn’t realize, however, was that the spirits of the Five Elements—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—were beginning to manifest visibly around his body.

The Heaven and Earth Five Elements Array! (To be continued...)