Chapter 255: To Tread Upon The Southern Heavens And Shatter The Celestial Palace (I)

"Zhao Hao and Tang Weizhong of the Tang Family have started fighting. This fellow truly does not know his own limits. He actually thinks he can rely on his powerful lightness technique and movement technique to fight Tang Weizhong," Li Yunbo said calmly as he looked up.

He did not think much of Lin Zheyu. Saving Mengqi's life was just one incident, so giving him some reward and sending him off should have been enough. But judging from Li Mengxi's expression, he seemed intent on drawing the man in.

Hearing what his brother said, Li Yunfeng could not help rolling his eyes. He knew his brother's temperament well. He always looked down on wild martial artists with no background or backing.

"Save your contempt for others until you can reach that height yourself. Zhao Hao may be somewhat weaker in raw strength, but by relying on flawless lightness technique and movement technique, he can still fight Tang Weizhong evenly at over two thousand meters on Heavenly Blade Peak. That is what makes him extraordinary," Li Yunfeng said lightly.

He found a place to sit and rest. The brothers were relatively weak, and reaching halfway up the mountain was already close to their limit. This was only because the saber intent pressure had lessened significantly over the past few days. If it had been during its peak period, they would not have made it even halfway.

"How is that considered fighting evenly? He is about to be beaten to death. Besides, I am still young. In a few years, I will definitely be able to climb higher than him," Li Yunbo said disdainfully with a curl of his lips.

He also found a place to sit, no longer interested in comprehending the saber intent. Instead, he watched Lin Zheyu getting beaten with great satisfaction. It was refreshing to witness. Near the three thousand meter height of Heavenly Blade Peak, the saber intent grew increasingly terrifying from the two thousand meter mark upward. With every meter Li Mengxi climbed, he felt an unimaginably oppressive saber intent that made it difficult to breathe.

"

Huff, huff...

"

He stopped to catch his breath. Li Mengxi also sensed the commotion behind him. He knew that Zhao Hao and Tang Weizhong had started fighting.

Is Brother Zhao intending to temper his Dominance fist momentum through battle?

Li Mengxi frowned slightly. Watching Lin Zheyu being crushed so completely left him puzzled.

Strange. Brother Zhao should have been able to protect my sister and contend with Tang Weizhong back then. Why is he performing so poorly now? Could this height be his limit? Is the saber intent pressure too overwhelming for him, preventing him from exerting his full strength?

Li Mengxi wondered.

After Lin Zheyu entered the Li Family stronghold, they mobilized their forces and thoroughly investigated Zhao Hao's hidden identity. He was a powerful martial artist who had kept himself well disguised. He had killed Pei Yucheng of the Pei Family and Tang Weiqiang of the Tang Family, both strong experts in the Marrow Refining realm.

With such strength, even if he could not defeat Tang Weizhong, he should not be suppressed so completely without the ability to fight back. The only explanation was that Zhao Hao's mental will was not strong enough to withstand the terrifying saber intent pressure, preventing him from drawing out his true strength.

Being crushed like this without any ability to fight back, can that really help him comprehend the Dominance true intent? Should I give him a hand?

Li Mengxi hesitated. While he hesitated, he saw a few more bloody marks torn across Lin Zheyu's body by Tang Weizhong.

"Do not go." A voice suddenly sounded beside him.

𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Li Mengxi was startled by the sudden voice and quickly retreated a few steps. When he saw that it was Li Guoyao, he let out a breath of relief.

"Fourth uncle, can you stop appearing behind me without a sound? It is terrifying," Li Mengxi said helplessly. Under the pressure of the saber intent, his perception was greatly reduced, so he had not noticed Li Guoyao approaching.

"

Tsk

..." Li Guoyao let out a strange chuckle and shot him a sideways glance. "Learn from your sister. If it were her, her first reaction would be to thrust her sword. But your first reaction is to retreat. That is the difference between you and your sister. With this temperament, you will run into trouble sooner or later if you go out to wander," Li Guoyao admonished.

Li Mengxi was speechless. He had not expected to be scolded out of nowhere.

"But my sister almost ran into trouble, too. If not for Brother Zhao, she might not have returned," Li Mengxi muttered softly, not daring to raise his voice.

As a powerful martial artist, Li Guoyao's hearing was exceptional. Even though the muttering was soft, it was impossible for him not to hear it. He gave Li Mengxi a sideways glare and knocked him sharply on the head with a crisp smack.

Li Mengxi did not say a word. He clutched his head in pain and fell silent.

"Fourth uncle, is Brother Zhao really fine? At this rate, he will lose sooner or later. Can he really comprehend the Dominance true intent like this?" Li Mengxi could not help but ask.

He himself had not comprehended the Dominance true intent, so he did not understand Lin Zheyu's approach. He could not see how being suppressed like this could be useful. To comprehend the Dominance true intent, should one not embody Dominance and crush the enemy?

"I do not know. Perhaps he can, and perhaps he cannot," Li Guoyao said with a shake of his head. "The Dominance true intent is far harder to comprehend than other true intents. One must possess unshakable conviction and the heart of a strong one."

"Even with a true intent diagram, those who can glean the Dominance true intent from it are exceedingly rare," Li Guoyao continued.

He too had not comprehended the Dominance true intent. The difficulty of doing so was extremely high. Otherwise, the Heavenly Sage Sect would not have bothered incorporating fist momentum into the Barbaric Ox Fist and spreading it widely among the common people. The heart of a strong one was an elusive thing. Being strong did not guarantee possessing it. Even among martial artists who could be called geniuses, those who could comprehend such a heart were exceedingly few.

By infusing the Dominance fist momentum into the Barbaric Ox Fist and spreading it far and wide, the Heavenly Sage Sect was casting a wide net. Anyone who could grasp the Dominance momentum from that fist technique was considered a martial seed capable of eventually comprehending the Dominance true intent.

"Besides... look at his expression. There is light in his eyes and faint excitement. Clearly, he is using Tang Weizhong's attacks to help himself comprehend the Dominance true intent. Every martial artist who comprehends Dominance does so differently. This way of Zhao Hao's may very well work. Watch for now. When he can no longer endure, then we help him," Li Guoyao said.

"Right. Take this medicinal pill. Eat it, rest for a while, and then continue," Li Guoyao said as he took out a pill and tossed it over.

He walked to Li Mengxi's side and released a powerful momentum qi that enveloped him. Instantly, Li Mengxi felt lighter, and the oppressive saber intent on him weakened considerably.

"Yes, fourth uncle," Li Mengxi replied, swallowed the pill, and began to recover.

"This boy named Zhao Hao is quite interesting," Li Guoyao said with a smile as he watched the fight with great enjoyment.

***

The battle between Lin Zheyu and Tang Weizhong was extremely intense. Without using the blood qi burst technique to enhance himself, Lin Zheyu's combat strength was roughly on par with an ordinary martial artist in the Marrow Refining realm.

Compared to Tang Weizhong, the difference was vast. If not for his exquisite lightness technique, allowing him to maneuver, he would have been defeated long ago. Yet even with that, he was still being suppressed and beaten. That helpless, stifled, suffocating frustration continued to brew inside him.

Bang!

The Barbaric Ox Fist blasted out, forcing the nearby Tang Weizhong back with a punch. Lin Zheyu's chest let out a tearing sound as Tang Weizhong's hand ripped through his clothes, leaving several deep, bloody gashes across his chest.

"

Heh

, so that is all you amount to. Your skin is thick enough, but your strength is lacking. You are nothing but a meat target," Tang Weizhong mocked. He used a torn scrap of cloth stuck to his hand to wipe away the blood on his nails, then blew lightly, sending the scrap drifting toward Lin Zheyu.

"

Hmph.

" Lin Zheyu snorted softly and looked at Tang Weizhong with an indifferent expression.

He looked rather bedraggled. His clothes were tattered, and dozens of bloody claw marks covered his body, some so deep the bone was visible. These wounds came from Tang Weizhong's burst martial techniques.

However, unlike Lin Zheyu, Tang Weizhong could not recklessly use such burst techniques. He could only unleash them a few times. Using them too often would exceed his body's limits and harm him. Otherwise, the deep bone-revealing wounds on Lin Zheyu's body would have been even more numerous.

"Again," Lin Zheyu said lightly.

With a heavy thud, a surge of power erupted from his leg, blasting a crater into the ground. Lin Zheyu shot forward like a cannonball, fists swinging as he launched another attack. If he used his full strength and combined the blood qi burst technique with the Barbaric Ox Fist, he might not necessarily lose. But defeating Tang Weizhong would bring him no benefit.

Lin Zheyu merely wanted to borrow the pressure from Tang Weizhong to deeply experience the helplessness and struggle one felt when facing a martial artist stronger than oneself. He wanted to perceive the inner shift in that state, as well as the changes in his fist momentum. By sensing the Dominance true intent within the saber intent, he sought to grasp a Dominance true intent of his own.

Bang, bang, bang!

Lin Zheyu seemed tireless as he launched attack after attack toward Tang Weizhong, only to be knocked back again and again. Within his body, his fist momentum began to boil under repeated failures and strikes. A strange emotion rose within his mind. His fist momentum churned violently, and using the Dominance true intent within the saber intent as a catalyst and his spiritual will as nourishment, he began to transform.

"Dominance... what is Dominance..." Lin Zheyu murmured softly as he felt the boiling blood and fist momentum within him.

Dominance referred to ruling the world through force, punishment, and authority, doing as one pleased. What the superior dictated was the truth. Whatever he said was correct, and even if it was wrong, it was still correct. It was the outcome wrought through overwhelming strength or overwhelming fist momentum.

"But what about when one is weak?" Lin Zheyu whispered.

Dominance was not the result but an unshakable conviction, a will that belonged to the strong. Unconsciously, Lin Zheyu recalled a line from a television show in his previous life.

Great Sage, where do you intend to go? To tread upon the Southern Heavens and shatter the Celestial Palace. If you never return? Then I will never return.[1]

"If I never return, then I will never return," Lin Zheyu murmured, his eyes growing brighter.

So what if he was weak? He, too, possessed a heart determined to pierce a hole through the heavens. It was just like a passage he had once read in a novel in his previous life. I want this sky to no longer cover my eyes. I want this earth to no longer bury my heart. I want all living beings to understand my intent. I want all the buddhas to vanish into smoke.

Tread upon the Southern Heavens, shatter the Celestial Palace. Even if I never return... then I will never return. I want this sky to no longer cover my eyes...

These words echoed again and again in Lin Zheyu's mind.

His eyes grew brighter. The boiling fist momentum inside his body churned violently, becoming more condensed and more powerful. It was like a sprout breaking through a seed, sending out young shoots and roots. The fist momentum that had once been like a floating pavilion with no foundation now began to grow roots, anchoring into the soil of his spirit. Nourished by Lin Zheyu's will, it began to thrive and grow.

"

Hm?

Something is wrong."

In the midst of battle, Tang Weizhong sensed something unusual. He saw the blazing look in Lin Zheyu's eyes and the Dominance fist momentum rising from his body, and a sense of foreboding surged within him.

This fellow actually managed to comprehend something in such a short time?

Tang Weizhong was utterly shocked.

The saber intent over Heavenly Blade Peak appeared only once a year. Countless martial artists came every year to comprehend it, yet none ever gained anything. But Zhao Hao, on his very first visit, had actually gained insight from it.

"Damn it. I will make you comprehend this!" A ferocious expression twisted Tang Weizhong's face. His presence had not hindered the other party's comprehension but had instead helped Zhao Hao. This infuriated him.

I must not allow Zhao Hao to continue comprehending like this!

Tang Weizhong thought viciously as he pulled out an Origin Stabilizing Pill from his robe.

A few days ago, he had used a life-burning technique that consumed his essence, qi, and spirit. Even with the Origin Stabilizing Pill, the damage to his body was immense. Normally, he would need at least a year of recovery or risk injuring his foundation. But Tang Weizhong no longer cared. Watching Zhao Hao gain true intent insight with his help was more unbearable than killing him.

1. This should be lines referring to the Journey of the West. ☜