Chapter 1312: The Fourth Aspect (of Qiu Shi)

Before long, the infinite pressure disappeared. The Progenitor of Combat left.

Everyone was confused, but then a voice rang out. It was the same voice that had been heard at the start of ZENITH. "Xia Jiuyou and Yao Xuan are added to ZENITH’s top ten. The final ten have been decided. Strive for the peak."

Everyone was caught off guard. A brawl had clearly been about to explode just a moment ago, so why had the rules suddenly changed?

This was clearly connected to the Progenitor of Combat. But just what was the Progenitor of Combat’s intention? For him, ZENITH was nothing more than a child’s game, and it was actually a bit demeaning for him to interfere in such a competition.

In the Starfall Sea, near the blackhole acting as a barrier, the Progenitor of Secret Arts asked, "You don't want to allow that little guy who’s cultivated the Tri-Yang Technique to win?"

The Progenitor of Combat’s voice responded, "If one cultivates the Tri-Yang Technique and rises up from a moment of life or death, then they will eventually become a Progenitor, and no one can stop them at that point."

"Those monsters are still out there, and it would be better to have one more Progenitor," the Progenitor of Secret Arts retorted.

Progenitor of Combat snorted coldly. "Others can become Progenitors, but that child cannot. That Tri-Yang Technique is enough for him to become the second Progenitor Chen. Don't forget, Progenitor Chen killed many Progenitors in the past. If this child succeeds, then where will that leave us? The grudge between the Fifth and Sixth Mainlands will never be resolved."

The Progenitor of Bloodlines replied, "Even if he does succeed, that’s simply a matter for now. He is still far from becoming a Progenitor."

"If there is even the slightest possibility of it happening, I have to stop any chances of the Fifth Mainland giving rise to another Progenitor Chen." The Progenitor of Combat was stubborn in his hatred of the Fifth Mainland. When the Sixth Mainland had invaded, he had been the only one of the three Progenitors to make a move. He could not wait to destroy the Fifth Mainland, and if not for that person, then he would have already let the monsters past the barrier.

Even Wu Taibai had been able to sense Shang Qing's intentions, so how could a Progenitor not see the same?

Although the Progenitor of Combat knew that there was practically no chance of anyone becoming a Progenitor, as he had said, if Shang Qing did reach that realm, then even all three of the Sixth Mainland’s Progenitors together would not be able to stand up to Shang Qing. They were still suppressed by Progenitor Chen even now. How cruel.

That youth was willing to face death in order to be reborn, and the Progenitors had seen through his ambition. Because of that, the Progenitor of Combat had felt the need to suppress Shang Qing’s spirit. The Fifth Mainland could be allowed to birth new Progenitors, but not Shang Qing or anyone else who cultivated the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

The Progenitor of Secret Arts sighed; the Progenitor of Combat's obsession was too strong.

The Progenitor of Bloodlines looked over at Zenith Mountain. "After he reaches that place, the child can still face death in order to be reborn."

The Progenitor of Combat coldly replied, "That’s simply walking to his death. It will be impossible for him to survive."

The Progenitor of Combat had intervened, and no one could change the new rules of ZENITH. After all, he was an invincible Progenitor, and even Arch-Elder Zen and the other top powerhouses could do nothing but listen to him.

Shang Qing clenched his fists, unwilling to accept this change. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time, and it had been forever since he had met someone who could press him to the limit.

He did not know if he would be able to break through that barrier after being pushed to his limits, but even if it cost him his life, he wanted to give it a try. But now, he would not even get a chance.

He raised his head. With the new rules, he was paired up with Liquor Hero.

Across from Shang Qing, Liquor Hero took a sip of her wine and belched. When she saw that her opponent was Shang Qing, she abandoned all thoughts of victory. That Tri-Yang Technique was too monstrous.

Lu Yin looked at Bu Kong, and at the same time, Bu Kong noticed that they two of them had been paired up.

As for the others, Xia Jiuyou was matched with Qiu Shi, Yao Xuan with Wu Taibai, and Wang Yi with Yuhua Mavis.

ZENITH had returned to a one-on-one format once again, but this sudden change was just too sudden and confusing for many people.

It was a pity that the audience would never realize that the top ten were actually competing for an opportunity. But within that opportunity, they would encounter even more dangerous situations than the chaotic battle that had just broken out. The Hall of Honor intended to give the youths a taste of the despair that was to come, but those efforts had been destroyed by the Progenitor of Combat.

The people throughout the universe who were watching the broadcast grew excited when they heard the change. Although the massive battle royale had been exciting, it was impossible to see everything that was happening at once. But with these one-on-one fights, they would be able to see everything, and these fights would also be fair.

One-on-one matches were indeed fair, but that sort of fairness was not what the Hall of Honor wanted these youths to experience.

Xia Jiuyou climbed up the mountaintop. He and Yao Xuan had both been thrown down to the bottom of the stairs. Despite that, they both possessed a strength that was clearly greater than any of the other contestants in ZENITH, which was why they had been added back to the top ten. Xia Jiuyou’s opponent was Qiu Shi.

Qiu Shi would normally be a very difficult opponent, but her fight against Zhi Yi had been a costly one, and she had also been injured by both Wang Yi and Shang Qing. Her current state could not compare to her normal power, and she was still bleeding even now.

Although Xia Jiuyou had been knocked off the mountaintop by the figure of Progenitor Chen that Shang Qing had summoned, Xia Jiuyou did not seem to have suffered much, though his face was still a little pale.

From a distance, Lu Yin gave Xia Jiuyou a strange look; this guy's rune lines had not decreased at all, which was strange. Too strange.

Even stranger, when Lu Yin looked at Qiu Shi, her rune lines were increasing. However, she was clearly injured, so why the hell was she still growing stronger? Her current rune lines were even greater in number than when she had fought against Zhi Yi.

Lu Yin felt rather confused.

God Taiyi, Jin He, and everyone else who practiced Truesight was feeling the same confusion. They repeatedly looked back and forth between Xia Jiuyou and Qiu Shi.

932 stars revolved around Qiu Shi before she lashed out with a Cosmic Palm. At the same moment, Xia Jiuyou raised a hand: Yōu Reinforced Palm.

The stars exploded, and the air froze from the cold. The Cosmic Palm clashed against the Yōu Reinforced Palm. There was a bang, and the two youths retreated at the same time. However, another Yōu Reinforced Palm appeared behind Qiu Shi while she moved back. Xia Jiuyou had used his innate gift of echo with amazing skill, causing a second Yōu Reinforced Palm to appear at the same time that he had attacked with the first. Qiu Shi was facing two Yōu Reinforced Palms at once.

This was the same method that Xia Jiuyou had used to defeat Lei Nü in the Mountain and Seas Zone, but unfortunately for him, his tricks had already been revealed to everyone long ago.

Stars appeared around Qiu Shi's body once again, and she whirled around as she slashed out with a Celestial Sword. Her sword cut through the Yōu Reinforced Palm, but a distance away, Xia Jiuyou switched to the Xia family’s Triple Blade Will. The first and second blades were launched at almost the same time, and Qiu Shi easily evaded them both. Just as the third blade was about to appear, Qiu Shi's eyes narrowed, and the stars shifted.

Xia Jiuyou was prepared for this, and he quickly used the Xia Secret Art: Nullify. This oppressive secret technique instantly destroyed Qiu Shi’s Star Transference. Then, the third blade flew out.

𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

The Xia family's Triple Blade Will was truly terrifying. In the past, this technique had split apart Ling Gong’s Skycastle, and it posed a threat to nearly all of Xia Jiuyou’s peers. Even the strand of ancestral qi that had transformed into Progenitor Chen had used this technique to clear off the top of Zenith Mountain. This technique had been the foundation of Shang Qing’s test; whoever had managed to endure the attack was allowed to stay.

Against Xia Jiuyou's third blade, Qiu Shi once again used her Celestial Sword, sweeping out with her blade.

Stars exploded, and Qiu Shi spat out a mouthful of blood. She had been hit by the third blade and injured as a result.

Many people felt confused when they saw this. Qiu Shi had comprehended the Teleportation Formation sourcebox array, which meant that she should have been able to evade the attack. So, why had she been hit?

Xia Jiuyou also felt that this was strange. He had actually wanted to launch a Yōu Reinforced Palm at Qiu Shi after she dodged the third blade of his Triple Blade Will. He had not expected her to be struck by his attack, let alone suffer a direct hit. Even if she had not been injured before, this attack would have certainly injured her, so why had she allowed the attack to connect?

Lu Yin stared at Qiu Shi and watched as her rune lines continued to increase. Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind like lightning: innate gift. Qiu Shi must have finally used her innate gift.

Qiu Shi was known as the All Rounder Fairy, and of her four strengths, Lu Yin was only aware of her cultivation and battle techniques from the Cosmic Sect. The Celestial Sword was one part of that, and it was very impressive. She had also comprehended a sourcebox array, which was another aspect of strength. Thus, the fourth aspect was very likely to be an innate gift, and Lu Yin expected it to be a very strange innate gift.

As he watched Qiu Shi continuously cough up blood, Lu Yin wondered just what kind of innate gift she had. The worse her injuries were, the more her rune lines increased, indicating her strength was skyrocketing.

Xia Jiuyou was not able to see these runes, but he was able to sense some sort of change overcoming Qiu Shi. Her injuries seemed to be getting worse, but the sense of danger was only intensifying.

With this thought, he immediately attacked again with the Xia family’s Triple Blade Will.

Across from him, Qiu Shi violently spat out more blood. In Lu Yin's eyes, her runes had soared, finally surpassing those of Wang Yi, Wu Taibai, and the other elites.

Suddenly, she disappeared—Teleportation Formation. Xia Jiuyou’s pupils shrank. He did not know why, but at this moment, he felt as though the grim reaper was staring directly at him.

Qiu Shi appeared in front of Xia Jiuyou. She made no effort to dodge the Triple Blade Will, simply raising a hand and attacking with her Celestial Sword.

The Triple Blade Will should have sliced through her Celestial Sword, but a terrifying aura appeared when the two met, and her sword actually slashed through the Triple Blade Will instead. Qiu Shi’s strike was swift, and it instantly stabbed into Xia Jiuyou's neck. Blood spilled out and dripped down the edge of the sword as it fell down onto the mountaintop.

Everyone fell silent; Qiu Shi had just killed Xia Jiuyou with a single sword attack.

Countless people watching the livestream were stunned.

Outside Zenith Mountain, Xia Meng emerged with a pale face. She angrily shouted, “Do you want to die?”

She raced towards Zenith Mountain, but she was blocked by someone: the Chief Justice of the Hall of Honor’s Interstellar Supreme Court.

The Chief Justice was someone who had always been shrouded in mystery, and no one had ever seen him clearly.

At this moment, even Xia Meng, an expert with a power level of more than 900,000, was not able to clearly see her opponent. She angrily roared, "Get out of the way!"

The Chief Justice’s figure was unclear and hidden in darkness. Xia Meng's vision changed wildly, and her expression softened as a bell softly rang out. She came to an odd stop, but she no longer appeared crazed with anger.

"This is ZENITH. Don’t overstep yourself," called out the voice of the Chief Justice. His voice had a power that could capture people's hearts.

Xia Meng's body trembled as she shook off the influence of the bell. Her expression turned sad, and she looked at the peak of Zenith Mountain with great resentment. She glared straight at Qiu Shi, fists clenched. "Cosmic Sect!"

In the Neoverse, the Xia family patriarch, Xia Yi, had gone pale. How could Xia Jiuyou have been stabbed by a sword that easily? He cultivated the Nine Clones Secret Technique! That was Progenitor Chen’s invincible technique!

No one was able to believe that Xia Jiuyou, who had been ranked fifth in the top ten leaderboard, had just been stabbed to death by a sword.

On Zenith Mountain’s second layer, Xia Luo had a gloomy expression on his face. Dead? No, no. The Nine Clones Technique was being underestimated too much. It was not that easy to kill someone who had cultivated that technique. Otherwise, the technique would have never been hailed as an invincible technique.

Aside from Xia Luo, Wu Taibai's eyes also held a hidden understanding. Dead? Of course not.

Qiu Shi let go, and her Celestial Sword transformed back into stars that revolved around her once again.

She coughed and spat out another mouthful of blood. She was known as the All Rounder Fairy, and her fourth aspect of power was her innate gift: Blood Wave. The more she bled, the more her strength would increase, reaching terrifying levels at the end. She was already quite powerful, so she had intended to use her innate gift against Shang Qing or someone else at that level, but Xia Jiuyou had forced her into a corner.

Although Blood Wave was able to raise Qiu Shi’s power level, there was a steep cost. She had also been seriously injured.

Xia Jiuyou fell to the ground.

OMA's Thoughts

Translated By: OMA

Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

TLC'ed By: OMA