Chapter 1282: State of Mind

The Ling Que that Skinny Bro had attacked dissipated, and he turned to attack another of the Ling Ques.

Ling Que pulled back from Skinny Bro and said, "I give up!"

Skinny Bro paused and then grew ecstatic. He turned to look at the second layer. "Fat Bro, did you see that? I won! I won!"

On the second layer, the fat man cheered, "Skinny Bro, we’re the strongest! Skinny Bro, I'm so proud of you! Hey, are you getting thinner?"

"Hahahaha! Fat Bro, are you getting fatter?"

"Hahahaha."

…

Ling Que’s mouth fell open, making him look as though he had gone stupid. How had he actually been defeated by this idiot? Ling Que was a genius of the Lingling clan with Que’s Mighty Slash and the Soulsplitting Technique; wasn’t he supposed to be superior?

He felt an urge to die.

It was all over. His clan would definitely kill him for this. He was done for.

The entire universe had watched Ling Que be humiliated, and an idiot had managed to beat him. His reputation, his image, and his cheerleaders were forever gone.

Ling Que felt tremendously humiliated.

On the second layer, Ling Gong stared at the thin man's hands. The battle technique that he had just used had actually managed to shatter Que’s Mighty Slash, which showed that it was very powerful.

Lu Yin frowned. Skinny Bro had very strange and powerful battle techniques.

Wang Yi's eyes were bright; sure enough, it was that kind of battle technique.

It was unknown if Ling Que had started a new trend, but the next person to appear on the first layer was Mu Rong, and his opponent was Wu Taibai.

The battle between Ling Que and Skinny Bro had revealed the strength of his Que’s Mighty Slash, as well as the miraculousness of the Soulsplitting Technique. Ling Que had drawn a great deal of attention from many of the Sixth Mainland’s people, amazing them. They asked about Ling Que’s background while Mu Rong, who had once been famous for being the most powerful Limiteer, did not attract much attention. After all, his opponent was Wu Taibai, and Mu Rong would be easily defeated.

It was not that Mu Rong could no longer compare to Ling Que. As soon as the battle began, he played a song on his flute and summoned the illusion of the grassy plains with the cow-herder and the cows!

However, to the eyes of those from the Sixth Mainland, Mu Rong’s forcefield was not that impressively powerful. Still, Mu Rong's domain was quite powerful, and if he fought Ling Que, Lu Yin believed that Mu Rong would emerge victorious. It was just that their opponents were on different levels.

Mu Rong's opponent was Wu Taibai, who easily shattered Mu Rong’s forcefield.

Although Mu Rong’s defeat appeared simple, Wu Taibai still expressed his admiration for Mu Rong. Wu Taibai said something at the end of the match, but no one heard what was said.

Lu Yin suddenly disappeared, only to reappear on the first layer.

He was caught off guard; this was really quite the coincidence. First Ling Que, then Mu Rong, and finally Lu Yin. Of the four who had been heralded as peerless Limiteers for a time, Ye Xingchen had been eliminated at the beginning, and both Ling Que and Mu Rong had lost in a row. Finally, it was Lu Yin’s turn.

A figure appeared on the first layer: Lu Yin. When Lu Yin appeared behind the first barrier on the battlefield, countless people in the Great Eastern Alliance cheered. However, when people saw Lu Yin's opponent, they were all stunned.

This was not because Lu Yin’s opponent was more famous than him, but rather because this person was incredibly odd; he was actually sleeping.

Lu Yin's opponent was actually Sleeping Prince.

Lu Yin's expression changed when he saw Sleeping Prince appear on the battlefield.

Lu Yin had not forgotten about how this person had nearly killed him on Planet Pyrolyte. In fact, if Wendy Yushan had not suddenly appeared and intervened with the Yu Secret Art, then Lu Yin might have actually died right then and there.

This person had been the reason why Wendy had been forced to reveal that she possessed a secret technique, which had directly led to Enlighters targeting the Great Yu Empire, which had in turn led to the events that had caused Lu Yin to gain the title of Enlighters’ Bane.

After thinking through all of this, a murderous light appeared in Lu Yin's eyes.

Sleeping Prince opened his eyes. "I give up."

Many people cursed when they heard his surrender, as his appearance on the battlefield had tricked them.

It was not an easy thing to have such a bizarre appearance, and the fact that someone had appeared on the battlefield while sleeping when their opponent was Lu Yin had led many people to believe that Sleeping Prince was an absolute powerhouse. They had been prepared for an exciting and riveting battle, but it turned out that the guy was nothing but a coward.

The greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment. More and more people started cussing out Sleeping Prince.

Lu Yin calmly looked at his opponent.

Sleeping Prince stretched his waist before looking at Lu Yin and speaking in a serious tone. "Alliance Leader Lu, I know that you want to kill me. The whole time, the matters on Planet Pyrolyte were for each party to get as much for themselves as possible, and we Graceful Mercenaries were hired hands, so we naturally had to do our best. If you still hold any grudges, then please forgive us with your magnanimity."

Lu Yin's expression softened slightly. "What sort of techniques are you practicing?"

He had always been curious about this.

Sleeping Prince answered with a smile. "The Dream Heart Sutra is a very powerful technique by ordinary people’s standards, but it is not enough to deserve your attention, Alliance Leader Lu."

As his voice cut off, the two disappeared from the first layer.

After Lu Yin and Sleeping Prince, more than ten of the next consecutive matches were boring, as no powerhouses appeared among them. Still, these battles dragged on and took up two whole days.

Finally, Wang Yi appeared, and many people became excited.

The only participant from the Technocracy was very mysterious, but he was also very powerful. The manner in which he had defeated Yao Gu had given many people chills.

Wang Yi's opponent was Li Zimo, and most people looked at him with pity. It was nothing more than a joke for an Explorer to try to face off against Wang Yi.

People sighed; even if Wang Yi was not going against Bu Kong, it still would have been great for him to face Zhi Yi, as that would be a marvelous battle.

Li Zimo stood on the second layer and calmly stared across the battlefield at Wang Yi.

Wang Yi's eyes seemed ethereal, as though he did not care at all about Li Zimo before him. Still, Wang Yi did not seize the initiative.

Soon, half an hour passed.

Wang Yi still did not make a move, and his eyes were out of focus. It was as though he was wandering about outside of his own body.

The serenity in Li Zimo's eyes grew more distinct.

Many people were in a hurry. "Will you fight already? What in the world do you even think you can do as an Explorer? Just end things already!"

"Come on, you’re just wasting time."

"Get off if you don't want to fight!"

"Get off! Quit acting like that! If you’re afraid of death, then you’re afraid of death."

…

Whether it was the people on Zenith Mountain or beyond it, or even those right in front of the barrier, more and more people started hounding the two combatants. It really was too slow for them to just stand there instead of fighting. Also, every time two competitors with similar strength were paired up, they were forced to fight with wits and courage, which ate up even more time. Thus, many people were growing impatient.

Even though most of the audience could not fully understand the fights between the powerhouses, it did not stop them from feeling the thrill of excitement of seeing someone be crushed. They loved seeing one side brutally dominate the other and force out a victory in seconds.

A few hours later, Wang Yi was still the same as ever with his eyes looking as though he was seeing something out of the world.

Li Zimo's eyes remained as tranquil as those of a corpse.

In the Innerverse, above the Sword Sect, Elder Lianxin was calmly observing the scene on a screen when Liu Qianjue's voice came out from behind her. "This child is extremely talented. He is able to suppress his emotion even in this situation. His heart is steady as a rock. You have excellent eyes."

Elder Lianxin casually replied, "It's just a pity that the gap in their strength is too large."

Liu Qianjue smiled. "That’s fine. There’s still time. Comprehension of the Inner Peace Sword Arts does not look at age or wisdom—it only matters if one can calm their mind. This child is most suited for the Inner Peace Sword Arts."

"I also took a fancy to his self-created sword technique, Silence, as it is similar to my Inner Peace Sword Arts. That is why I accepted him," Elder Lianxin said with a hint of admiration in her voice.

After that, she turned her attention to Wang Yi. "Sect Master, what do you think of this person?"

Liu Qianjue looked at Wang Yi and shook his head. "The Technocracy has always been mysterious, and the way in which that child defeated Yao Gu is something that I have never seen before. His battle technique even included his blood flow. It is a very powerful battle technique."

"I have never seen that kind of battle technique before."

Elder Lianxin stared at Li Zimo, the admiration in her eyes growing ever more intense, though she was also extremely worried. The youths in ZENITH could not help but rush to last through the rounds, and although no one had tallied the number of deaths, they definitely numbered in the hundreds of thousands at the very least. She was hoping that Wang Yi would not be too harsh with his attack.

For an entire day, the two contestants did not move, and they both stood there like statues.

Even if the others’ battles had taken more time, at least there had been action to watch. These two were on the second layer of Zenith Mountain’s final portion, but they did nothing to appease the audience. Just what was going on?

More and more people started to mock the two combatants, and they had moved on from merely cussing out Li Zimo to also including Wang Yi in their criticism. After all, why had he not ended things yet?

Lu Yin carefully observed Li Zimo's eyes. Those eyes were not dead, but calm, and his heart was still like an old well. Li Zimo was completely unconcerned with external factors, and he had actually forgotten about everything around him, including even ZENITH.

He was not happy, but neither was he sad; this was how Lu Yin interpreted Li Zimo’s emotions at this time.

On the second layer, Liu Shaoqiu was simply amazed. He had seen the Inner Peace Sword Arts before, and this new disciple's understanding of the technique was truly rather terrifying.

Liu Tianmu was solemnly watching Li Zimo, his eyes flashed brightly. Li Zimo was a genius who could even compare to Liu Shaoqiu within the Sword Sect. The Thirteen Swords were representative of the Sword Sect, but that was not the only technique that the Sword Sect held. The Inner Peace Sword Arts was another of their treasured techniques.

Five days—five entire days passed with neither Li Zimo nor Wang Yi moving a single muscle. The two merely just stood there.

The various critics already felt powerless, and some of the audience just stopped watching, waiting for the battle to be over.

Lu Yin and the others no longer waited either.

Finally, Wang Yi moved. His eyes returned to normal, and he looked at Li Zimo. "Unfortunately, you were born in the wrong place."

After speaking, Wang Yi’s body disappeared, and when he reappeared, he had already appeared behind Li Zimo.

Li Zimo slowly squatted down. Blood dripped down his abdomen, and he fell to his knees.

Wang Yi turned his back to Li Zimo and indifferently commented, "What a pity. You have an amazing talent for the sword."

Li Zimo had been defeated. He had not moved even once, just standing on the battlefield for five whole days.

Most people only knew enough to mock him, and many people ridiculed him, claiming that he had not moved because of a paralyzing fear of death. However, a few people had managed to see what he had endured.

ZENITH was an event that no one could ignore. When under the eyes of the entire universe, even the most determined person could not truly be free of sadness or joy and truly calm themselves. However, those who could achieve such a thing would reach a strange realm, and although this realm could not increase their combat power, it was incomparably useful for one’s path of cultivation.

Wang Yi was someone capable of reaching such a state, and Li Zimo was the same. Their match had greatly helped Li Zimo, and it could be said that their match had created a solid foundation for his future.

It really was a pity that the gap in the two’s strength had been so great that Li Zimo had not even been able to draw his sword.

Above the Sword Sect, Elder Lianxin let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Wang Yi had not attacked seriously, for if he had, Li Zimo definitely would have died.

He was only an Explorer, and no matter how powerful he was within his realm, he was still limited to being an Explorer. Even if Lu Yin had faced off against Wang Yi as an Explorer, and Lu Yin was widely considered to be the most talented person in the current universe, he also would not have been able to stand up to Wang Yi. In fact, Lu Yin would have been lucky to escape with his life.

Lu Yin also let out a sigh of relief. It was good that Li Zimo had not died.

Lu Yin solemnly stared at Wang Yi. The man’s combat skills were incomprehensible, and the number of rune lines that Lu Yin had seen in that single attack had been very few, and they could not even compare to the Greenmen Duo’s. However, Lu Yin was absolutely certain that if either of the Greenmen Duo faced Wang Yi, they would be no different from Li Zimo and would fall from a single attack in a matter of seconds.

This man was very, very strong.

OMA's Thoughts

Translated By: OMA

Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

TLC'ed By: OMA