Chapter 440: Chapter 250: Fighting the Kao Mountain King
In days past, both the banks of the river and Lion Peak itself were utterly deserted.
But on this day, figures streaked through the sky from every direction—north, south, east, and west—descending upon Lion Peak and the surrounding mountaintops.
"Patriarch Zheng, I didn’t expect you to come in person."
Boshan Dongming’s towering figure, like a small mountain, stood poised in the air. With his hands clasped behind his back, he offered a respectful salute across the distance to Zheng Jiuyang, who was positioned to the north.
"Haha, and isn’t the Patriarch of the Boshan Family here as well?" Zheng Jiuyang returned the salute with a laugh. "If we were to miss a duel this rare, one seen only once in a millennium, who knows how long we’d have to wait for the next."
"Indeed," Yang Yidong chimed in, walking through the air toward them step by step. "I wonder what could have driven Gu King and Zhong to this extreme."
"You don’t know either, Yang?" Yong Xingzhou approached from the west, treading on air. From a distance, he waved to Zheng Jiuyang and Boshan Dongming. "Do either of you know why Gu Zheng and Zhong Zhengqiong are dueling?"
"I certainly don’t," Boshan Dongming said with a shrug.
"I’m not clear on the details either," Zheng Jiuyang added. "For Gu King and Zhong to be forced into a duel, it can only mean the issue between them is immense, the conflict irreconcilable."
"But isn’t this good news for us?" Hua Zhixia, clad in a flowing crimson gown, gracefully flew over. "Now that Gu King and the Zhong Family are at odds, he won’t be staying in Jing Country, regardless of the outcome. Whichever one of us can recruit him will gain a formidable ally."
"...Patriarch Hua is certainly direct." Ying Jiuxin’s voice preceded him, and in the next moment, he appeared, walking through the air from the west.
Behind him followed Lu Jing and Meng Ao, both with the King’s Body.
"Is there something wrong with being direct?" Hua Zhixia’s beautiful eyes swept over the assembled masters, all of whom possessed a King’s Body. She scoffed lightly. "You may enjoy your false pleasantries, but I do not. The reality is simple. Which one of you here today can claim you aren’t thinking the same thing?"
Yang Yidong, Zheng Jiuyang, Boshan Dongming, and the others were speechless.
It was far too blunt.
As members of royalty, which of them didn’t want to recruit Gu Zheng?
Even Zheng Jiuyang would have laughed for three days and three nights if Gu Zheng were willing to join the Yong Country.
For Hua Zhixia to have called them out so publicly left them at a loss for words.
This also included the experts at the Heroic Body Realm and the Half-Kings stationed on the surrounding mountains, who had not taken to the air.
All the great Noble Families had sent representatives to watch the duel between Gu Zheng and Zhong Zhengqiong. The weakest among them were at the Heroic Body Realm.
"Haha, my apologies, but I have no such intentions."
Fu Guangming strode through the air. "I only came to see how much Zhong Zhengqiong’s power has grown over the years."
"Fu Guangming, I’m afraid you’re in for a disappointment."
A calm, steady voice rang out. The towering figure of Zhong Zhengqiong arrived on Lion Peak from the southeast, crossing hundreds of meters with a single step.
"Well, look who’s here."
Boshan Dongming offered a salute. "Zhong, do you have confidence in today’s duel?"
"Of course I’m confident." Zhong Zhengqiong’s steady voice echoed all around as his piercing eyes swept across the crowd. "Since all of you have come to spectate, you can serve as our witnesses."
"That’s right."
Gu Zheng’s calm voice spread through the air, reaching every ear. "Today, the outcome of the duel between myself and the Kao Mountain King will determine the ownership of a Divine Weapon. The victor claims it!"
WHOOSH~
Yue’Er appeared, albeit reluctantly. The true form of the Crimson Moon Heaven-Covering Blade manifested with her, transforming into a small dagger that zipped back and forth around Gu Zheng.
The aura of the Divine Weapon permeated the air.
"Ownership of a Divine Weapon?"
"So you’re dueling to decide who gets the Divine Weapon?"
"That explains everything! So it’s all for a Divine Weapon!"
"Tsk, tsk. A complete Divine Weapon... Impressive, Gu King!"
Ying Jiuxin, Boshan Dongming, Zheng Jiuyang, Yang Yidong, and the others watched Yue’Er’s form and the dancing dagger, all of them struck with amazement.
The birth of a Divine Weapon was an incredibly difficult process, and subduing one was even harder.
From Yue’Er’s demeanor, it was clear she had already been subdued by Gu Zheng.
’Zhong Zhengqiong is dueling Gu Zheng for the Divine Weapon. Could it be that it previously belonged to the Zhong Family?’
’There must be a story here!’
But no one asked, not even the usually blunt Hua Zhixia.
Asking would change nothing.
Gu Zheng and Zhong Zhengqiong were about to fight. What good would asking do now?
"Excellent!"
"No problem!"
"Just being witnesses? Simple enough."
After their initial shock, Boshan Dongming, Yang Yidong, and the others all voiced their agreement.
A duel to decide the ownership of a Divine Weapon would be a tale told for millennia to come.
"Thank you all."
Gu Zheng cupped his fist and bowed to the crowd.
Zhong Zhengqiong did the same, clasping his hands and surveying the spectators.
Then, the two faced each other from a hundred meters apart, suspended in mid-air.
Boshan Dongming, Zheng Jiuyang, and the others retreated to a safe distance, ready to watch the spectacle unfold.
VMMMM!
Zhong Zhengqiong was the first to act. He condensed his aura, which expanded into a shimmering golden Domain—the Golden Bell Domain.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
The surrounding Power of Heaven and Earth was drawn in by an unseen force, converging around Zhong Zhengqiong.
But in the next instant, half of that Power of Heaven and Earth was diverted by another invisible force, changing its course to converge around Gu Zheng instead.
SHING! SHING!
A gale of wind, sharp as blades, coalesced into a Domain.
The Hurricane Domain flared to life. Within it, wind blades crackling with fierce energy condensed into countless sharp weapons.
BOOM!
With a deafening roar, the Golden Bell Domain and the Hurricane Domain smashed into each other head-on. The resulting blast of Powerful Qi tore through the surrounding clouds, and the shockwave radiated outward, felling and destroying vast swathes of trees on Lion Peak.
"Hah!"
Zhong Zhengqiong let out a sharp cry. He threw his arms high as light erupted around him. Divine Wondrous power surged, merging with the Power of Heaven and Earth to form a massive Fist Seal that he blasted directly at Gu Zheng.
FWOOM!
Gu Zheng’s Burning Fire Domain flared, and a Palm Seal instantly condensed into existence. It was dozens of meters tall and slapped forward to meet the incoming attack.
KRA-BOOM!
With a sky-shattering explosion, the Fist Seal and Palm Seal obliterated each other, vanishing into nothing.
However, the Burning Fire Domain and the Hurricane Domain didn’t vanish. Instead, they fused into one, pressing down on the Golden Bell Domain.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The muffled booms, like rolling thunder, echoed for dozens of miles around.
The Wind and Fire Power completely enveloped the Golden Bell Domain, unleashing a relentless barrage of attacks.
The defensive power of the Zhong Family’s Golden Bell Domain was considered second to none in the world. Even an ordinary Divine Weapon would be unable to breach it.
Gu Zheng possessed the Heaven-piercing Halberd and the Crimson Moon Heaven-Covering Blade, yet he moved to use neither Divine Weapon.
Instead, he summoned a third Domain, the Giant Wood Blade Realm, and assaulted Zhong Zhengqiong from five directions at once: from above, behind, his left, his right, and from below.
The dense impacts sounded like a ceaseless drumroll.
Zhong Zhengqiong was besieged, trapped under the full-force assault of three Domains from every conceivable angle.
Though the Golden Bell Domain’s defenses were astonishing, they couldn’t withstand such a ferocious onslaught. In less than ten breaths’ time, cracks began to appear across its surface.
Zhong Zhengqiong was just about to unleash his True Ultimate Skill, intending to use it in concert with his Pseudo-Divine Weapon to execute a killing blow.
But...
FWOOSH-BOOM!!
Suddenly, the domain of wind and fire erupted with renewed ferocity, slamming into Zhong Zhengqiong with twice its previous force. The terrifying power caused the side of the Golden Bell Domain facing Gu Zheng to cave inward, dozens of cracks spiderwebbing across its surface.
The Power of Heaven and Earth that Zhong Zhengqiong had been drawing upon was forcibly wrested from his control, redirected to be manipulated by Gu Zheng and fed into his three Domains.
"This is..."
Yang Yidong, Zheng Jiuyang, and the other spectators scattered around watched this scene unfold, their eyes widening in disbelief.
FWOOM!
Another thunderous boom erupted. The Golden Bell Domain caved in even further, and more cracks spread across it.
This terrifying power—amplified by the wind and fire Domain and contained by the Giant Wood Blade Realm—relentlessly battered Zhong Zhengqiong. Amidst the continuous explosions, before Zhong Zhengqiong even had a chance to retaliate, the Golden Bell Domain could no longer bear the strain. It shattered completely, exploding outward.
KRA-BOOOOOM!
High above Lion Peak, a region of space hundreds of yards wide briefly collapsed. Massive ripples, like waves on water, spread outward from the epicenter.
The resulting aftershock blasted outward in all directions. Half of Lion Peak’s mass instantly crumbled, sending countless boulders, fragments, and clouds of dust scattering through the air.
"This... This is the power of the third stage of the King’s Body!"
"Gu Zheng isn’t at the stage of King’s Body: Divine Communication... He’s at King’s Body: Seeking Truth!!"
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