The next time Zhang Yi saw Lie, it was within his own space.
Lie looked around at the vast, white expanse of nothingness—a void where absolutely nothing existed—and a flicker of bewilderment passed through his eyes.
Zhang Yi had already figured out what he was thinking.
In Lie's view, since his Qi attacks would be rebounded, perhaps directly engaging in close-quarters combat with his physical body might yield different results.
Lie was gambling.
And the most tragic part was that he had bet wrong.
Because he had no idea what lay behind those Dimensional Gates.
It wasn't simply a matter of deflecting attacks; those gates led to three thousand independent, self-contained alternate spaces.
And what was even more terrifying was that the flow of time in those alternate spaces was completely different from the outside world.
Staying inside for just one minute meant one's consciousness could experience the passage of months in the outside world. This kind of torment was simply not something an ordinary person could endure.
However, Lie was an exception.
As a top-tier martial artist of the Nash Kingdom, his willpower had long been forged to a degree beyond what ordinary people could imagine.
He began to search for the boundaries of the white, void-like space. Then, mustering every ounce of strength in his body, he started to hammer against the walls of that alternate dimension!
There were no fancy or flashy movements. It was purely him, using his enormous fists, driving the perfectly sculpted muscles of his entire body, and unleashing overwhelming power to smash against the barrier!
Zhang Yi could clearly hear the slow, yet powerful, thudding impact in his ears.
His fists were fast. Considering the time flow within the alternate space, he could land a punch roughly every ten minutes!
Lie was not affected by the environment. His gaze was firm and unwavering, one punch after another relentlessly attacking the walls of the alternate space.
Zhang Yi silently watched all of this.
Because, at this moment, there wasn't much he could do either.
A full five minutes passed in the outside world. If any ordinary Transcendent had entered Zhang Yi's alternate space, they would have died from mental collapse, even if they weren't suffocated first.
But Lie remained exactly as he was.
*Crack!*
A single crack finally appeared on the white barrier!
Lie swung his fist slowly, his movements looking like the playful gestures of a child—painfully slow on the surface, yet brimming with explosive power.
With another punch smashing against the barrier, the entire world shattered with a thunderous crash!
Lie escaped the alternate space through his own brute strength and once again stood before Zhang Yi.
*Clap, clap, clap!*
Zhang Yi clapped his hands, looking at Lie with an approving smile in his eyes.
"Not bad at all. Not many people have managed to escape from my alternate space. You're the second."
As he said this, he couldn't help but think of that guy named Ren from the Phoenix Court.
If that guy hadn't died back then, just how strong would he be now?
There had once been so many geniuses in this world. Perhaps if they hadn't died, they all would have become powerful figures shaking the world in their respective domains.
But there is no "what if" in this world. The dead have no right to leave their names in history.
A look of arrogant pride spread across Lie's face.
"Your ability is useless against me now!"
It was a one-sided conversation. Zhang Yi could understand Lie's language, but he deliberately prevented Lie from understanding his own, to avoid revealing any information.
However, this time, Zhang Yi had the smart system translate his words into the Nash Kingdom's language.
"I have a total of three thousand Dimensional Gates. How about you give it a try and see how many you can break through?"
Once Lie understood the meaning behind Zhang Yi's words, the smile on his face instantly vanished, and his crimson pupils sharply constricted.
Zhang Yi raised his hand.
"Divine Domain Purification!"
A terrifying oppressive force descended from all directions. As long as one was within Zhang Yi's domain, this attack was completely unavoidable.
Lie forcefully endured the blow once again. "Gah!" He spat out a massive mouthful of blood.
Even just breaking through one alternate space had consumed a tremendous amount of his energy. He was no longer in his prime state.
It wasn't that his strength was insufficient. If he had wanted to, he could have toppled the entire Nash Kingdom with his bare hands.
But his power, enough to move mountains and drain seas, was utterly useless against Zhang Yi's alternate space. It was like punching a wad of cotton with all one's might.
"Don't you dare look down on me! I am the Grand General of the Nash Kingdom, Lie!!"
Lie roared in defiance, charging at Zhang Yi once again, refusing to admit defeat.
Once more, he threw himself into the game.
He knew that as long as he destroyed all of Zhang Yi's Dimensional Gates, this scrawny little monkey before him would be at his mercy. So, he was going to make a huge gamble!
"You sure are stubborn! But I can give you this chance—to lose!"
Zhang Yi said this.
But, in truth, there was nothing he could do to stop Lie's actions.
That guy wasn't playing by the rules. Every opponent he had faced in the past would try to find a way to avoid his Dimensional Gates.
Only this Lie was so headstrong and hard-headed.
But courage doesn't mean strength.
Pitting one's weakness against another's strength is actually a very foolish thing to do.
"If my alternate spaces were this easy to break, I would have died a long time ago."
Zhang Yi said calmly.
But he never expected this battle to last for nearly an hour!
Lie had, with his bare hands, torn through thirty-two of his Dimensional Gates—nearly double what Zhang Yi had anticipated!
But he was still a full hundred times short of shredding all three thousand Dimensional Gates!
After exhausting his own power, Lie began to use his own flesh and blood to smash into them. The vitality of a Three-Eyed Tribe Enhancement-type Transcendent was just too tenacious. He had managed to withstand thirteen of Zhang Yi's Divine Domain Purification attacks head-on!
Powerful as he was, he was ultimately no match for Zhang Yi, who commanded both Time and Space attributes.
The final time, Zhang Yi used the power of Divine Domain Purification to compress his already battered and broken body into a messy, bloody sphere.
No matter how resilient one's physique was, it couldn't withstand such repeated pounding.
The last of the five great generals of the Nash Kingdom had fallen!
Zhang Yi collected his body. Having just finished absorbing Sambamu's Essence, his own body was already saturated in the short term. He would have to absorb this Essence slowly later on.
His gaze drifted into the distance.
In a far-off place, Gao Changkong had the Heavenly Dance Treasure Wheel spinning behind his back. His eyes were wary, and he watched Zhang Yi with a half-smile, ready to flee at any moment.
In another direction, Lancelot had a complicated look in his eyes. He stared at the Sword in the Tree in Zhang Yi's right hand, seeming to grit his teeth with some anger.
Lancelot had already understood that there was no way Zhang Yi was ever going to return this Sword in the Tree to him.
But there wasn't just anger in his eyes; there was also a hint of eerie, mocking amusement, full of meaning.
Zhang Yi calmly took out one of Yang Siya's ability-boosting foods from his alternate space to replenish the energy his body had expended.
Having just gone through such an intense battle, the drain on him had also been significant.
Nevertheless, he still grinned cheerfully at the two people in their respective directions.
"So, how about it? Wanna come over here and have a go with me?"
Lancelot furrowed his brow. He had initially entertained that very thought.
Zhang Yi had killed Lie, but his own reserves had taken a hit. If he were to strike right now, there was a decent chance he could avenge his past humiliation, and even reclaim the Sword in the Tree and Lie's Essence.
However, his own injuries hadn't fully healed yet, and furthermore, only if Gao Changkong agreed to join forces would they have even the slimmest chance.
But looking at the completely unruffled expression in Zhang Yi's eyes now, he ultimately abandoned the idea.
First, he didn't trust Gao Changkong.
Second, he had no reason to stake his life on such a huge gamble.
