I Pick up a Lost Godhood

Chapter 232 - 230: Hot! Hot! Hot

Surpassing the Thirtieth Layer of the Life Mark was the qualification for becoming an Elder. Distraction was the greatest taboo, especially at the outset of combat. Ning Zhiquan never dreamed that Wang Meng would still be able to speak.

"Brother Meng, finish him while he’s down! Take him out!"

Zhang Xiaojiang didn’t care if this was the Holy Hall or anywhere else. Once his fighting spirit was roused, he’d dare to shout anything.

Wang Meng was completely merciless. Broken Heaven Edge seized the opportunity to press its assault.

For Ning Zhiquan to show off his Spiritual Power in front of Wang Meng was simply courting death. The source of Wang Meng’s Heart Spirit was his Godhood; he couldn’t have been happier to have someone attack it.

BOOM...

Broken Heaven Edge’s fierce barrage of slashes finally beat back the Sacrificial Sword. Ning Zhiquan lost his footing. With a long cry, he merged with his retreating Sacrificial Sword—the Unity of Man and Sword—and chopped violently at the oncoming Broken Heaven Edge.

BOOM...

Verse of the Five-Colored Splendor Sword!

A brilliant barrier of Sword Qi bloomed, as resplendent as a peacock displaying its feathers. This was a Defensive Sword Skill practiced by Elders.

Ning Zhiquan’s body trembled violently as he was blasted back several yards, his face a mask of utter humiliation.

Wang Meng stood tall and proud, exuding that same fearless, domineering aura from the mortal world. For the disciples of the Lower Three Halls, the sight was incredibly satisfying. From Ning Zhiquan on down, everyone in Dao Guang Hall was used to ordering others around like they were feudal lords. The systems established when the Holy Hall was first founded had indeed served a positive purpose, but over time, they had become far too rigid and rule-bound, while other Sects were facing brutal competition.

Even a branch from a Small Sect with a weak foundation like the Blood Soul Hall possessed formidable combat strength and dared to fight the Holy Hall’s elites.

Wang Meng had brought a wind with him—a storm to blow away the rotten, ancient rules.

Ning Zhiquan stabilized his stance. His clothes had been torn by Broken Heaven Edge after it shattered his Defensive Sword Screen. Anger flared in the eyes of Ning Zhiquan, a man who had always cared more about his image than even the Elders did.

"Sword like a great rainbow, sword like the wind—Flying Rainbow Sword Array!"

Ning Zhiquan held back no longer. The Sacrificial Sword took the initiative, its biting Sword Qi slashing toward Wang Meng. With Ning Zhiquan’s Elemental Power and Control Power, the Sword Array enveloped Wang Meng as if it were a force of nature.

The Flying Rainbow Sword Array was an Elder-level Sword Technique of the Sword Sect. Its Sword Qi was as illusory as a rainbow, an Integration of Reality and Illusion.

Wang Meng didn’t dodge. He blasted forward with Broken Heaven Edge—Nine Heavens Separation Fire Sword!

BOOM...

The Sword Qi exploded. Ning Zhiquan retreated again in a sorry state. In terms of sheer power, the Flying Rainbow Sword Array was indeed no match for the Nine Heavens Separation Fire Sword. He just never expected Wang Meng to wield it so masterfully, so devastatingly!

On the Dueling Platform, Li Xiuwen nodded slightly. ’The kid’s got some real skill,’ he thought, ’but his personality is too arrogant. It doesn’t suit the style of the Holy Hall.’

Lei Ting and Wu Fatian, however, were shouting their unrestrained approval. Zhao Tianlong and Ma Hezi exchanged a glance, their mutual dislike for Wang Meng obvious. ’This kid is a wildfire. Look at the disciples roaring below. How is this the Holy Hall? It’s more like some wild Demon Sect!’

Zhou Luodan smiled and nodded. ’Young people are always impulsive,’ she thought. ’Once he’s a bit older and his cultivation is deeper, he’ll naturally become more composed.’

Wang Meng showed Ning Zhiquan no such courtesy, immediately following up with the Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens and the Green Fall Yellow Springs Sword Technique. This was a Sword Technique that Ning Zhiquan would have previously scorned, but when Wang Meng executed the same Sword Technique, it was far more masterfully done. Moreover, it was powered by the synergy of the Water and Earth elements of the Five Elements.

If Ning Zhiquan had watched Wang Meng’s earlier performances, he would have been on guard. Unfortunately, why would the great Senior Brother Ning deign to watch the disciples below him?

BOOM...

The Green Fall Yellow Springs blast sent Ning Zhiquan flying, leaving him battered and torn. Even his Elemental Power, at the Twenty-Fifth Layer, was scattered into disarray.

Ning Zhiquan was injured.

No one, not even Zhang Xiaojiang and his friends, had expected the match to start this way. Against Ning Zhiquan, their only strategy could be summed up in one word—fight. And yet, Wang Meng had seized the upper hand.

Seeing him use the Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens and the Green Fall Yellow Springs Sword Technique filled Yang Ying’s heart with infinite warmth.

"Damn, Wang Meng’s strength is advancing by leaps and bounds. It’s like he gets stronger every day." Qiao Qian found this a little hard to accept; he himself had fought a grueling battle against the guy.

"Those eight consecutive tournament battles were like breaking through eight bottlenecks. Anyone would have been transformed by that. What a pity."

Of course, what Jia Shidao found a pity was that he hadn’t been the one to go through it.

Frankly, none of them, Senior Brothers of the various Sub-Halls, would even dare challenge Ning Zhiquan now, let alone dominate him as thoroughly as Wang Meng was doing.

Ning Zhiquan smiled, then began to laugh out loud. "The younger generation is truly formidable. Wang Meng, you are very lucky, but also very unlucky. Now, let me show you my true power!"

The Sacrificial Sword pointed diagonally at the ground as his surging Elemental Power began to climb. Twenty-Sixth Layer... Twenty-Seventh Layer...

With every layer it rose, the pressure intensified, and the noise from the crowd below grew fainter.

’Ning Zhiquan isn’t giving anyone else a chance at all.’

Twenty-Eighth Layer...

By now, his Elemental Power far surpassed Wang Meng’s. A gap of eight layers was like the difference between an adult and a child.

Ning Zhiquan’s aura dominated the entire arena. Today had been utterly humiliating; he had never been in such a sorry state since taking charge of Dao Guang Hall.

BOOM...

Twenty-Ninth Layer of the Life Mark!

The Dao Guang Hall disciples instantly fell silent. The Ancestral Masters, however, remained impassive. This was clearly within their expectations; they had approved this match and never doubted its outcome.

Ning Zhiquan looked at Wang Meng with an expression that said, "You may rest in peace now; it has been an honor." Wang Meng had seen that look many times during his street-fighting days. Every time, the person giving it ended up getting their head bashed in with a rock, followed by a few good stomps for measure.

The Sacrificial Sword merely pointed at Wang Meng, but its Sword Momentum pressed down on him like a great mountain. Even the disciples standing far behind Wang Meng could feel the pressure and scrambled to get out of the way.

Ning Zhiquan intended to crush Wang Meng with pressure alone. But... Wang Meng was still smiling. Ning Zhiquan’s Sword Momentum had indeed surpassed his own, but no matter how it crashed down on him like a torrential river, his Five Elements Body remained as solid as a rock, a perfectly integrated whole. The pressure could not breach this defense. After all, Ning Zhiquan had not yet reached the Thirtieth Layer.

Wang Meng’s figure blurred. With a thunderous roar, his body shot toward Ning Zhiquan like a loosed arrow.

Against an opponent like this, there was only one word for it—Charge!

Ning Zhiquan had no obvious openings in his Elemental Power or Skill Techniques. Although Wang Meng had previously gained a significant advantage, he hadn’t managed to inflict any substantial damage. This was the first time in the Holy Hall that he had faced such a flawless opponent.

Broken Heaven Edge chopped violently toward Ning Zhiquan, but the Sacrificial Sword defended with calm composure. Ning Zhiquan was enjoying Wang Meng’s current state. This was the desperate struggle of a cornered beast. The more desperately Wang Meng fought, the more it highlighted his own composure and elegance.

And those were the exact qualities the Ancestral Masters of the Holy Hall loved to see.

Wang Meng couldn’t care less about any of that. Broken Heaven Edge struck faster and faster. This was the first time he had encountered such an opponent since initially mastering his Five Elements Technique.

Five Elements Sword—Five Elements Deficiency!

In the midst of his assault, Wang Meng once again unleashed the same finishing blow that had defeated Mingren.

A brilliant light flared in Ning Zhiquan’s eyes. Sword Cultivators at his level all possessed a keen sense of danger. This one sword, hidden within Wang Meng’s frenzied assault, was different!

Ning Zhiquan dodged!

Wang Meng’s Five Elements Sword hit nothing but air. This was something Wang Meng hadn’t expected; he couldn’t believe Ning Zhiquan would disregard his own dignity just to dodge a single sword strike.

(To be continued.)