Chapter 348: Chapter 204: New King, Gu Zheng
"I haven’t." The slender man shook his head.
"I haven’t either," Li Fengdao said calmly. "But most likely, he’s not from the royal family."
The external aura and presence of someone at the third stage of the Heroic Body Realm are different from someone on the verge of breaking through to its peak.
As long as such a person moves about in the open, the latter is difficult to hide.
Since no one knew who it was, it meant this new King was an outsider.
Originally.
The process of forming a Domain is extremely dangerous and easily interrupted.
But Gu Zheng had the Human Emperor’s Seal Artifact Embryo. He didn’t need to worry about other factors and could just focus on the manifestation.
He sensed Ying Jiuxin, Li Fengdao, and the other two the moment they approached.
Just in case, Gu Zheng immediately accelerated the process and completed the formation of his first Domain, the Giant Wood Domain.
Once the Domain was formed, he no longer feared external disturbances. At the very least, he now had the power to fight back.
Then, on a sudden whim, he infused his Sword Intent into the newly formed Domain.
The fusion was astonishingly fast and completely unimpeded, especially as his Sea of Consciousness was in the process of birthing a small world.
The Giant Wood Domain was forcibly transformed into the Giant Wood Blade Realm.
Every tree, every leaf, was imbued with Sword Intent!
WHOOSH~~!
A mountain wind suddenly blew, sweeping across the land.
An invisible power, as if corporeal, weaved through the forest with the wind.
His second Sea of Consciousness then formed. Under the influence of a Divine Seed condensed from a Demon Technique, it transformed into wind.
First a gentle breeze, then strong winds, then a gale, and finally a hurricane...
It howled across the sky and ground. His own small world covered a radius of several dozen meters, but its external influence extended for several thousand meters.
The second Domain, the Hurricane Domain, built upon the foundation of the first Giant Wood Domain, took less than two short minutes to rapidly coalesce and successfully form.
"...Incredible!"
Li Fengdao’s eyes widened. "Incredible! This new King is amazing! He actually formed two Domains! If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed how fast the second one, the Hurricane Domain, appeared."
"Two Domains, formed one after another... Just who is he?" Ying Jiuxin’s eyes also widened in astonishment.
"To have two Domains, one needs two Divine Seeds in the third stage of the Heroic Body Realm. In the Wind Kingdom, Li Country, and Xin Country, who possesses two Divine Seeds?" Meng Ao murmured.
Though he spoke softly, the other three—Li Fengdao, Ying Jiuxin, and the slender man—all heard him clearly.
"There aren’t many people with two Divine Seeds."
The slender man shook his head. "But none of them have Divine Seeds of wood, wind, or clouds."
"Interesting. Very interesting."
Hearing this, Li Fengdao reined in his emotions and grinned. "This new King is definitely an outsider. Forming a second Domain right in front of us... Isn’t he afraid we’ll interrupt him?"
"Don’t drag me into this."
Ying Jiuxin glanced at Li Fengdao and said coolly, "If you want to interrupt his breakthrough, feel free to go by yourself."
"Heh, I was just kidding," Li Fengdao said with a dismissive grin. "This new King might even be one of our own from ’The Gods.’ I’d have to be crazy to interrupt him. Besides, he’s already finished forming his second Domain. It’s too late to interrupt even if I wanted to..."
WHOOSH~~~!
Suddenly, a searing presence erupted between the sky and the ground.
It was as if a giant fireball had fallen from the heavens and crashed into the mountains. The scorching aura blasted Li Fengdao, Ying Jiuxin, and the other two, forcing them to retreat instinctively.
After steadying themselves, Li Fengdao was the first to react, his expression shifting to one of shock. "A third Domain? Damn it, who is this person? Who in the world is this new King? He actually formed three Domains at once!"
"Scorching fire... No, the Burning Fire Domain!"
Meng Ao’s eyes widened, his gaze burning with intensity. "How did this new King do it? How did he form the Burning Fire Domain on top of the Giant Wood and Hurricane Domains?"
"And so quickly, too," the slender man exclaimed in amazement. "There was almost no pause, no hesitation, no thought. It just formed directly, and on the first try!"
"..." Ying Jiuxin remained silent, but the light in his eyes shone with incomparable brightness.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH~~!
Between the sky and the ground, the searing aura was like flames burning the very air, causing it to ripple.
Like waves in water, it spread out inch by inch, section by section.
A crimson, spherical Domain spanning several dozen meters, with flames roiling within, was successfully born.
Burning Fire!
Raging flames swept across the land—the Burning Fire Domain!
Giant Wood, Hurricane, and Burning Fire.
Three Domains, all formed in succession.
Among them, the Giant Wood Domain had been infused with Sword Intent, becoming the Giant Wood Blade Realm.
The latter two, Hurricane and Burning Fire, could also be transformed into Sword Realms at any time.
But Gu Zheng didn’t continue.
He had already mastered the principles of Domain formation and decided to put the next four on hold for the time being.
Three Domains was the known limit for a King’s Body.
Any more would not only be conspicuous but would also attract trouble.
After all, Li Fengdao, Ying Jiuxin, and the other two were still watching from the sky!
’The three great Domains—Giant Wood, Burning Fire, and Hurricane—are enough for now.’
’I have plenty of time to form the remaining four in secret.’
...
WHOOSH~ WHOOSH~
CRASH~!
BOOM! BOOM!
The three differently colored Domains hovered in the air, not interfering with one another, each drawing upon the Power of Heaven and Earth to form three distinct clusters.
Underground, Gu Zheng put away the remaining Celestial Profound Crystal, slowly ceased circulating his energy, and then retracted his Domains.
The three Domains vanished one by one.
After a moment, all the power had been gathered, leaving only the lingering aura in the air to slowly churn.
SWOOSH~
BANG!
With a flicker, Gu Zheng shot up from underground, bursting through the earth to appear on the surface before ascending straight into the sky.
"Meng Ao of the Meng Family greets you, friend!"
Meng Ao was the first to cup his fist, saluting Gu Zheng from a distance.
"Lu Jing of the Lu Family greets you, friend," the slender man followed suit.
"Haha, Li Fengdao of ’The Gods’ greets you, friend," Li Fengdao laughed heartily, cupping his hands. "You look unfamiliar, little brother. Which family are you from? Could you be a newly ascended King’s Body from our ’The Gods’ in another country?"
"You’re overthinking it." Ying Jiuxin shot the old man a look, then faced Gu Zheng and cupped his fist in a salute from afar. "Ying Jiuxin of the Ying Family greets you, friend."
"Ying Jiuxin?"
Gu Zheng returned the salute to all four, his gaze landing on Ying Jiuxin. "You are the King’s Body of the Ying Family, Ying? Do you happen to know if the wedding day for the Ninth Princess of my Jing Country and the Third Prince of the Wind Kingdom has already passed?"
"The Ninth Princess of Jing Country?" Meng Ao was taken aback.
Li Fengdao quickly followed up, blurting out, "You’re from Jing Country?"
"The Ninth Princess of Jing Country? A political marriage between the Wind Kingdom and Jing Country?"
Ying Jiuxin listened, a look of surprise on his face. "The wedding is tomorrow. Friend, are you one of the Escort Generals from Jing Country? I recall there were two Escort Generals sent from Jing Country this time. One was Cao Qingsong, and the other was Gu Zheng. You are..."
"Gu Zheng of the Jing Country Demon Slayer Bureau, it is an honor to meet you four!"
Gu Zheng introduced himself with a cupped-fist salute. "The political marriage between Jing Country and the Wind Kingdom is tomorrow. I have been away for half a month and must go lend a hand. Farewell, my friends!"
With that, he flickered and flew through the air toward the Wind Kingdom Capital.
Ying Jiuxin, Li Fengdao, Lu Jing, and Meng Ao stood where they were, watching Gu Zheng disappear into the distance.
Meng Ao’s eyes widened as he spoke in astonishment, "Gu Zheng from Jing Country? I’ve heard his name mentioned a few times in the Royal Capital. Isn’t he only in his early twenties?"
"What?" Li Fengdao let out a hoarse, strange cry. "He’s only in his early twenties!?"
"He is indeed in his early twenties."
Ying Jiuxin replied calmly. "This Gu Zheng is a genius from Jing Country. He advanced to the Heroic Body Realm in his early twenties. I thought he would break through to the King’s Body Realm before he turned fifty. But instead, he broke through less than a year after reaching the Heroic Body Realm. A person like that... the Zhong Family really lucked out!"
"No, the Zhong Family could never produce such a genius," Lu Jing said, shaking his head.
"Correct." Meng Ao calmed himself and said in a low voice, "A King’s Body in his early twenties? How could the Zhong Family possibly cultivate someone like that?"
"Heheh~"
Li Fengdao let out a raspy, odd laugh. "What I’m more curious about is how he managed to condense three Divine Seeds in less than a year, and successfully evolve all three into Domains!"
Hearing this, Ying Jiuxin glanced at him and asked in a placid tone, "What, are you thinking of prying into Gu Zheng’s secrets?"
