Chapter 312: Lin Feng vs. Fang Han, Storm Sword Domain VS Immortal Ancient Thunder Cannon
The onlookers were dumbfounded.
One second, these two were passionately brawling like primitives, exchanging brutal punches and kicks, a contest of pure physical might.
The next second, both of them started showcasing their profound, heaven-defying techniques.
Is this right?
After Meng Qi finished speaking, he unleashed four consecutive slashes from left, right, front, and back. Some were fast, some were slow, some were gentle, some were fierce.
His left-hand saber was bizarre, its path unpredictable, exuding an unconventional aura of defying fate. His right-hand sword was orthodox, its Sword Intent continuous and vast, forming a net of Sword Aura that completely engulfed Fang Han.
This was it. A true Dual Mastery of Saber and Sword.
Fang Han was a bit surprised. He brought his hands together, and an icy, desolate cold light surged from his body, instantly engulfing the incoming saber light and Sword Aura.
A vast expanse of white filled the arena.
This was the Great Freezing Technique. It was a power of icy stillness, desolate and monotonous, seeming to freeze not just matter, but energy and law itself.
[Inorin's Note: The 'Great Freezing Technique' (Da Han Dong Shu) is one of the 3,000 Great Daos from the Eternal Life (Yong Sheng) world, capable of freezing all things, including energy and spiritual thought.]
Meng Qi's left-hand saber was tricky, but Fang Han's transformations were even more inexplicable, especially with Meng Qi still suffering from the lingering effects of the Great Poison Technique.
Fists and feet, combined with saber and sword attacks.
Meng Qi only felt the intense, burning intensity of his own life, but he was unable to resist the absolute stillness of the ice and snow.
He was struck on the back of his saber by Fang Han's finger.
A chilling, bone-deep coldness assailed him. It instantly froze the long saber in his hand, and the ice began to climb, turning his hand and wrist a deathly blue.
Meng Qi's hand felt as if it were frozen solid to the hilt, unable to ward off the encroaching cold that was beginning to numb his entire arm.
His expression changed. With a flick of his left hand, his other palm, wielding his sword, flashed in a desperate arc.
Shhlick.
His right palm was severed at the wrist. He was forced to actively abandon his defense, sacrificing an arm to survive.
Meng Qi sighed inwardly, retreating as his severed hand and saber clattered to the ground, already encased in ice. Even with his Dual Mastery of Saber and Sword, he was no match for Fang Han in this battle.
Currently, the two were competing in terms of Divine Thought, physical body, moves, and the application of law power.
In terms of pure mastery of laws, Meng Qi was confident he wouldn't lose to Fang Han.
But their "perspectives" were different.
It was like looking at a potted flower.
What he, Meng Qi, saw were the petals and stamens—the technique, the form, the mechanics.
What Fang Han saw was vitality and death, the cycle of bloom and decay.
Their "perspectives" were on completely different levels, so he was utterly powerless to resist Fang Han's application of the Great Daos.
Meng Qi recalled the saying about the "Martial Dao Heart."
Although he had an intense desire to become stronger, the motivation to put it into practice, and the pressure and threats to spur him on... he did not have a true "pursuit" for the Martial Dao.
He merely regarded the Martial Dao as a tool, a sharp weapon to protect himself and achieve his goals.
He lacked that profound pursuit of seeing through life and death, of breaking eternal stillness with a momentary brilliance, of understanding the vastness of heaven and earth for its own sake.
He was much stronger now than in his original work, thanks to the chat group.
But he was also much weaker in essence than his original counterpart.
He feared no life or death; his Martial Dao Will was terrifyingly strong. But he lacked a true Martial Dao Heart.
The improvement of his realm was merely for the sake of improving his realm.
This was the fundamental gap between him and Fang Han.
Fang Han also regarded cultivation as a tool, and the Martial Dao as a sharp weapon.
But Fang Han's improvement of his realm was not for the sake of improving his realm. It was for better pursuit and exploration. He held reverence, longing, and a deep, greedy enjoyment of the Martial Dao itself.
Meng Qi took a deep breath. It was contemplation; he lacked contemplation.
What is the Dao? What is life?
There were too many top-tier cultivation techniques in the chat group. He was too busy comprehending and learning them, integrating his own moves.
Although he learned a lot, he had lost a bit of his freedom and ease. He lacked passion and contemplation for the Martial Dao, stopping at technique and losing the Dao.
This was why he was no match for Fang Han.
Meng Qi recognized the gap between them and also saw his own shortcomings.
However, something as profound as the Martial Dao Heart was not something that could be immediately comprehended just by realizing it.
He took a deep breath, his eyes becoming resolute.
Since he had already lost... then he would lose splendidly.
He abandoned his remaining sword, and his severed arm began to grow back, albeit slowly. A violent, all-or-nothing aura filled his entire body.
"Great vitality amidst great destruction, a new beginning for all things…"
His voice was a low murmur as he raised his saber hand, his remaining Divine Thought, blood, and energy all pouring into this one final concept.
"...the Yellow Heaven has been established!"
[Inorin's Note: This is a profound move from Meng Qi's original world (The Sage Who Transcended Samsara), referencing the 'Yellow Heaven' and the concept of creation, order, and the beginning of all things. It's his attempt at a 'Big Bang' style attack.]
The saber light suddenly flared. But it was not a slash. It was a single point of light, brighter than a sun, containing infinite potential. It instantly broke through all of Fang Han's restraints.
Energy surged out wildly, spreading towards Fang Han.
Time seemed to be born at this moment.
Matter exploded from within that single point. This strike... it was a Great Explosion that created heaven and earth!
Like the formation of the initial universe, the saber light and energy were a blazing, pure white, filled with the nascent laws of the world and matter.
Time! Space! Metal! Wood! Water! Fire! Earth! Light! Wind! Lightning!
Some of these laws, Meng Qi had not fully comprehended.
But this strike of his, born from a concept of ultimate creation, indeed possessed the seed of all these laws.
Life around him was extinguished, and energy erupted wildly.
Fang Han's expression changed drastically for the first time. His Five Emperors Canopy, protective blood qi, and various other defensive methods were unleashed...
BOOM!
After one saber strike, everything gradually quieted down.
Fang Han's voice was indistinct. He was blasted back, his robes torn, and he swayed precariously.
He looked up at Meng Qi, who was still clad in his green robe, now standing like an empty husk.
Fang Han mumbled a few times, clearing the blood from his throat, and looked at Meng Qi's suicidal, all-in attack.
Then he spoke, his voice dry and completely bewildered:
"...Did I steal your wife?"
Meng Qi's face was extremely pale at this moment, his entire body frozen stiff by the residual ice from the Great Freezing Technique. He forced a grim, pained smile onto his pallid face.
"I lost."
With that, he collapsed.
...
After two consecutive championships, Meng Qi, was defeated.
Fang Han, victorious.
...
"Too fierce... That saber strike... that's what you call true Dual Mastery of Saber and Sword!"
Meng Qi's final, cataclysmic saber strike, let alone the other spectators... even the people in the group were greatly astonished.
Is this our Meng Qi?
To be able to unleash such a stunning, beautiful, and terrifying saber strike...
Everyone's impression of Meng Qi's strength mostly remained from the previous team battles.
Invincible Golden Body... just taking hits.
JJ emitting Sword Light...
His combat style was truly unbearable to watch.
And now you're doing this to me? The ship of friendship just sank!
...
Those Immortal powerhouses, and the higher-ups of the Virtual Universe Company, looked at Meng Qi's collapsed form with even greater fanaticism.
That saber strike. It was truly terrifying.
Almost all laws were integrated into it. Great vitality amidst great destruction, a new beginning for all things. Like the creation of a new universe.
Such a saber strike... they understood the concept, but they couldn't replicate it!
It was too outrageous. This batch of Star-level cultivators was too outrageous.
Everyone dared not imagine: once Meng Qi and the others broke through to the Immortal level, how terrifying would their combat power be?
...
Meng Qi lost. His body was almost completely exhausted.
Now, even an ordinary person could probably kill him. That last strike had completely squeezed out every last drop of power from his physical body.
If he had unleashed such a strike in reality, he would probably have become a cripple immediately, or even died.
Now, as he was wondering whether to just commit suicide and reset his status...
Someone quickly rushed onto the stage.
"Little Meng! You're so badly injured! I'm so heartbroken!"
Meng Qi, who had fallen, felt a figure supporting him, cradling his head.
The next instant, the figure's tearful, choked voice entered Meng Qi's ears.
"Don't die! You absolutely must not die! Don't close your eyes!"
"Quick, breathe! Quick, inhale! Inhale!"
His heavy, exhausted eyelids were forcefully pried open.
Meng Qi saw Xiao Yan's annoying, tear-streaked face...
He saw him crying while fiercely pounding his own chest.
"I'm performing CPR!" Xiao Yan wailed, thumping him. "I'll save you!"
"Don't sleep! Don't sleep, Little Meng!"
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
Looking at the annoying Xiao Yan, Meng Qi tremblingly extended a single finger... and then turned his head.
He either died of anger.
Or he was pounded to death by Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan cried even louder, tears streaming down his face as Meng Qi's body dissolved into light.
...
"You motherf*cker..."
After re-materializing his body in the virtual world's viewing area, Meng Qi offered Xiao Yan a cordial greeting.
Xiao Yan looked aggrieved, wiping away his fake tears. "I kindly tried to save you, and not only do you not appreciate it, but you hurt my feelings..."
Meng Qi felt Xiao Yan's acting was too stiff; he could barely hold back his laughter.
He lowered his head. And saw something even harder.
His fists hardened.
It seemed he hadn't beaten him hard enough back in their fight.
...
Ignoring the two passionately bickering, everyone else began the fairest game in this world—rolling dice.
Soon, the new generation powerhouse emerged.
Lin Feng!
After Lin Feng stepped onto the stage, his pupils turned a deep, dark black, incredibly cold. A terrifying Demonic Path Will bloomed from his pupils.
His eyes had completely transformed into Demonic Eyes.
He and Fang Han stood facing each other from a distance, both filled with intense battle intent.
"Rend!"
Lin Feng attacked instantly. He and Fang Han seemed to be in a special void, and Demonic Gods charged out from his pupils—that was a terrifying Demonic Path Will!
This was a Divine Thought (Spiritual Force) attack.
But this kind of Divine Thought attack was different from the traditional attacks in the Swallowed Star world. It was developed by Lin Feng himself...
The power of curses.
"Kill!" Lin Feng merely thought, and a voice echoed deep within Fang Han's heart. Between heaven and earth, it seemed as if everything was being corroded by Demonic Qi.
"Interesting."
Facing such an attack, Fang Han's eyes brightened slightly.
He pointed his palm, and the Great Freezing Technique was instantly unleashed. He had previously used the Great Freezing Technique and the Great Poison Technique to deal with Meng Qi.
When the Great Freezing Technique was unleashed, it instantly froze everything for a thousand miles.
Lin Feng's Demonic Shadow Eye Light was originally an intangible Divine Thought attack, but in front of Fang Han's Great Freezing Technique, it was actually frozen solid in mid-air.
Under the illumination of that freezing light, it seemed as if the void stood still, and time slowed down.
Lin Feng's attack fell into a time vortex, moving slowly, and everything was torn apart by the cold.
"So strong... As expected of Fang Han." Lin Feng was secretly astonished. Fang Han had uploaded 3,000 Great Daos to the group.
Each Dao was more terrifying than the last.
Now, this so-called Great Freezing Technique was just an insignificant one among the Great Daos Fang Han mastered. Yet it possessed such power.
It was truly terrifying.
Lin Feng's eyes suddenly narrowed, and both pupils instantly released a freezing demonic light. A terrifying Demonic Will pierced through everything.
Space became illusory for a moment.
Fang Han felt as if he was in another world. A pair of demonic eyes pierced through, and Fang Han felt his body firmly bound to a gallows.
Completely at the mercy of others.
"Illusionary Eye Technique?"
Interesting. Fang Han clearly perceived that in the outside world, Lin Feng's body hadn't moved at all.
This was a competition of illusionary eye techniques. If he were injured in this illusory world, the injuries would also be reflected in reality.
The eye technique twisted the power of space, and Fang Han felt a stinging pain on his skin.
His body moved, and endless, pure light flashed from him. These lights were extremely pure and transparent, full of liberating concepts.
They directly incinerated all of Lin Feng's demonic shadows.
This was the Great Deliverance Technique and the Great Liberation Technique.
[Inorin's Note: More 3,000 Great Daos. The 'Great Deliverance Technique' (Da Pu Du Shu) can forcibly convert enemies, while the 'Great Liberation Technique' (Da Jie Tuo Shu) can free one from all restraints, including illusions.]
Deliverance and liberation, when combined, could not only deliver others but also deliver oneself, making one immune to all sorts of messy methods.
The next instant, Fang Han attacked. He roared, and his body instantly appeared before Lin Feng. He unleashed a palm strike, and the terrifying palm force made the arena tremble.
One palm could shatter Lin Feng's body into pieces.
"Cursed Body!" Lin Feng thought, and a terrifying light of curses bathed his body, intertwining with the demonic light.
It was still a method of the Dao of Curses, but this time it wasn't cursing others, but cursing himself.
He cursed his own body to become stiff, turning into a golden, unfeeling body, losing all senses.
But it was indestructible.
This was a very audacious move.
On Fang Han's palm, the Great Five Elements Technique circulated, empowered by the Five Elements laws. The terrifying power of the laws acted on Lin Feng's body, yet it was unable to shake Lin Feng's Golden Demonic Body.
"The Art of Curses can actually be used this way? It seems this new member's strength is indeed extraordinary," Fang Han thought to himself.
Lin Feng's performance was indeed good. Although he joined the group later, his combat power should not be underestimated.
"Curse Annihilation!"
Lin Feng unleashed a palm strike, and this palm strike unleashed monstrous Demonic Qi, like a Demonic God descending. Within the rolling Demonic Qi, there was terrifying spatial tearing power.
Spatial Law!
Their fists collided, and the spiritual curse power and spatial power clashed with Fang Han's Five Elements power.
Boom!
Their collision stirred up a terrifying hurricane. Their bodies separated.
Both felt their bodies tremble.
"Strong!"
After one clash, Lin Feng's hands were already trembling, and a few drops of blood seeped from his palms.
On the other hand, Fang Han... although he also received some impact, he was unharmed.
The difference between the two was immediately apparent.
"No Martial Soul, it's really hard to fight," Lin Feng sighed inwardly.
[Inorin's Note: A 'Martial Soul' (Wu Hun) is the core cultivation system in Lin Feng's world, Peerless Martial God (Jueshi Wushen). He is fighting without his primary power source.]
The next instant, a fierce wind emerged, and his body transformed into a hurricane, instantly attacking Fang Han.
An extremely dazzling Sword Aura, incredibly brilliant, Sword Qi roared, its sharpness piercing the sky!
The Dao of Curses and the Dao of Illusions were just minor Daos for Lin Feng.
His true strength lay in the Dao of Swords!
With the Law of Wind empowering him, a terrifying storm appeared around him. The storm enveloped him, spinning madly.
At this moment, he was no longer a person, but a powerful and terrifying storm, constantly tearing space apart.
This was an alternative application of the Law of Wind.
Fang Han also attacked instantly, but when his moves encountered this terrifying storm, he felt a sense of having nowhere to apply force. As soon as his power approached, it was greatly weakened and shredded by the wind.
Lin Feng's eyes became even sharper, and the long sword in his hand hummed, its Sword Roar ceaseless.
The long sword and the storm converged, compressing into a terrifying power.
"Wind... besides its speed, destruction, and explosive power, it also has inclusiveness!"
"Annihilating Void Kill!"
Lin Feng's long sword burst into light, as if it had found some kind of breakthrough. The Five Elements laws and Spatial laws were all integrated into it.
This was his ultimate sword move.
In his world, what people initially comprehended from laws was not called a Domain, but rather, it was called a Profound Truth.
The fusion of Profound Truths was the fusion of Domains.
The two worlds had similar approaches to the application of laws. Therefore, in terms of studying Domains, Lin Feng had a great advantage; he was ahead of many others.
The sword struck, aimed at Fang Han.
"Good!"
Fang Han, seeing this, was not surprised but delighted.
His entire body was enveloped in lightning. Countless bolts of lightning raged, and a unique, supreme aura emanated from him.
This was the aura of the Minor Fate Technique.
[Inorin's Note: The 'Minor Fate Technique' (Xiao Su Ming Shu) is a simplified version of the number one Great Dao, the Great Fate Technique, and is Fang Han's ultimate trump card.]
His clothes fluttered without wind, and ancient patterns appeared on his body, forming many runes. The Thunder Domain unfolded, and a vision of heaven and earth appeared behind him.
The faint outline of a grand, ancient gate appeared.
On the gate were ancient couplets.
"Heaven and Earth decay, but I am immortal; Sun and Moon perish, but I am eternal."
The horizontal inscription read: "Eternal Life."
[Inorin's Note: This is the 'Gate of Eternal Life' (Yong Sheng Zhi Men), the origin and end of all things in Fang Han's universe.]
Seeing this great gate, Shi Jian, Li Changshou, and the others watching had strange expressions.
In that last battle, Meng Qi's final saber strike treated Fang Han like an enemy.
Now, Fang Han was also treating Lin Feng like a true enemy. He even summoned the Gate of Eternal Life, even if this was just a Divine Thought illusion.
Endless Thunder Qi permeated the air.
"Immortal Ancient Thunder Cannon..."
[Inorin's Note: The 'Immortal Ancient Thunder Cannon' (Xian Gu Shen Pao) is a supreme technique, originally belonging to the Thunder Mother (Tian Mu), which Fang Han learned. It's a move of ultimate destruction.]
Fang Han's voice slowly emerged, and the illusion of a giant cannon appeared, flashing with thunderous light.
The illusion of the Gate of Eternal Life instantly merged into the illusion of the Immortal Ancient Thunder Cannon, powering it.
Boom!
An unimaginable, terrifying, epic thunderous aura shot out from it.
This was Fang Qingxue's and the Thunder Mother's strongest ultimate move. Legend has it that this Immortal Ancient Thunder Cannon could penetrate the ends of heaven and earth, directly piercing through the Immortal Realm.
Its power was terrifyingly strong.
Fang Han now used the Minor Fate Technique and the Thunder Domain to unleash this cannon. Although it was a simulated attack... its power was still terrifyingly formidable.
Lin Feng's Sword Storm quickly collided with Fang Han's Immortal Ancient Thunder Cannon.
The terrifying might exploded, causing the higher-ups of the Virtual Universe Company to change their expressions instantly. "Reinforce the barrier! Again!"
The Immortal Ancient Thunder Cannon unleashed a thick beam of light that could blind people's eyes. All spectators felt that for a fleeting moment, they couldn't see anything.
Their eyes were completely white, as if they were blind.
The Thunder Cannon pierced through heaven and earth.
Lin Feng, in this terrifying thunderous storm, was directly and utterly disintegrated.
The higher-ups of the Virtual Universe Company continuously intervened to suppress the arena several times, finally stopping the spatial turbulence from ripping the virtual world apart.
Otherwise, with that one cannon strike... this entire trial world would probably have been blown up.
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