Chapter 1317: Joining Forces

Wu Taibai had used the strange energy that boiled forth from his body to defeat Yuhua Mavis. That energy was something that no one understood, and at this moment, it had instantly converged over his hand, and then it was released. This was completely different from anything Wu Taibai had done before.

In the distance, Lu Yin's complexion changed. The number of runes he saw from Wu Taibai had skyrocketed, and the combination of this strange energy and the Progenitor of Combat’s imprint had caused Wu Taibai’s runes to instantly surpass even those of the summoned Progenitor Chen.

When the flash of the knife fell, Wu Taibai waved his hand. The knife’s light was torn apart, and Wu Taibai then leaped forward and pressed his hand against Progenitor Chen’s shoulder, instantly forcing the summon to the ground. Wu Taibai then vanished, and when he reappeared, he was already right in front of Shang Qing and very close.

Shang Qing was shocked.

Wu Taibai attacked with a hand, and neither of the strands of qi swirling around Shang Qing were able to stop this attack. They were both shattered, and the hand moved closer to Shang Qing, and he could sense its approach.

The power of this palm attack gave Shang Qing a sense of danger he had not felt since Liu Tianmu had attacked with the Thirteenth Sword.

Wu Taibai's palm descended rapidly, so fast that no one was able to even react. However, just as the attack was about to connect, it started moving away, further and further.

Wu Taibai felt his back go cold.

This was the Hall of Honor’s secret technique: Banishment.

Even though Wu Taibai had pushed past the summoned Progenitor Chen, as well as two strands of qi that had been protecting Shang Qing, he had still ultimately been thrown back by the secret technique Banishment.

This secret technique was not able to force Wu Taibai back very far, and he instantly attacked again while still in the air. This time he attacked with the seal of mountains and rivers. However, the secret technique was still not able to even touch Shang Qing. This time, the summoned Progenitor Chen slashed his knife at Wu Taibai, though the knife was not able to injure Wu Taibai since it was stopped by the strange energy that surrounded his body.

Wu Taibai landed on the ground, and Progenitor Chen slashed out again with his knife. Wu Taibai raised his leg to block the blade, but his body was forced back yet again. He looked over at the increasingly distant Shang Qing with some degree of helplessness. "I admit defeat."

Although many people had already expected such a result, it still left them stunned.

Shang Qing had won once more. He had held first place in all of the leaderboards, and had always been regarded as being the most powerful contestant in ZENITH. At this time, he was just one step away from realizing that position.

Wu Taibai was far from weak, and he had even overpowered the summoned Progenitor Chen for a bit, which was something that no one else had managed to accomplish. Despite that, he had not been able to even threaten Shang Qing and had finally given up.

Shang Qing frowned. Finally, he had felt a bit of pressure from Wu Taibai, and that sense of danger had not appeared for a very long time. Shang Qing enjoyed that feeling, and he desperately needed to feel such a sense of crisis.

At this thought, he turned to look at Wang Yi and Lu Yin. "You two, let's go all at once."

Lu Yin’s brows rose. There were only three people left in ZENITH: him, Wang Yi, and Shang Qing. Lu Yin had thought that one more person would have a bye for the next round.

"Don't hesitate, Deaf-mute Bro! No one can match him in a one-on-one," Wu Taibai called out, sounding rather helpless.

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Wang Yi stepped forward and looked at the distant Shang Qing. Even at this point in time, Wang Yi still found it unbelievable that anyone in this universe had managed to cultivate such power. Shang Qing was capable of fighting against four opponents on his own. Still, it could not really be considered true strength, as he was merely relying on the invincible power of Progenitor Chen.

Wang Yi looked over at Lu Yin, who was not far away. Wang Yi actually wanted to fight him, but a three-way battle was not a bad idea.

Lu Yin also walked out from the side of the plaza. The true opponent to overcome was Shang Qing, as it seemed highly unlikely for Lu Yin to be able to compete for the title of Pinnacle Youth with the strength he had revealed so far.

However, would the rules allow an open battle? Shang Qing had already wanted to face everyone at once, but he had been blocked.

However, no one said anything against the proposal even after waiting for a while.

Both the Hall of Honor and the three Progenitors believed this to be the final match!

Wu Taibai had not been able to defeat Shang Qing, but many people felt that not even the two youths working together would be enough to defeat Shang Qing.

As Lu Yin had already guessed, the Hall of Honor was already prepared to celebrate. Their first Honor Chosen was about to become the Pinnacle Youth of the entire universe, and this was more than enough to excite everyone in the Hall of Honor.

"Seventh Bro, come on! Get him!" Ku Wei shouted.

"Beat him, Lu Yin! Beat him!" White shouted while jumping up and down.

Ling Gong, Lan Si, and more. Everyone was focused on this battle, as it really was the end of ZENITH.

Shang Qing's mouth curled up into a smile. "I hope you can make me face a challenge."

After that, he waved a hand and a second strand of qi transformed into another illusory Progenitor Chen.

A knife flashed as one of the summoned Progenitor Chen’s moved to attack Wang Yi with a blade.

Wang Yi instantly disappeared. He was clearly the fastest person in all of ZENITH. Even Lu Yin had barely been able to see even a blur after using Cosmic Art and Truesight. Progenitor Chen was also unable to track Wang Yi, so the knife targeted Lu Yin.

Lu Yin did not dare relax when facing Progenitor Chen’s blade. The summoned Progenitor was not using the basic Triple Blade Will, but had already integrated the power of the Yōu Reinforced Palm as well. This had created an aura from the knife that froze the entire area.

Lu Yin's pupils transformed into runes, and he erased a portion of the runes from the encroaching attack. Simultaneously, his hand rose to release a Vacuum Palm. The edge of the blade was diverted a bit, and Lu Yin shifted to the side and looked over at Shang Qing.

Wang Yi not only passed by the Progenitor Chen with the knife, but also the second one that had been summoned as well, and he had already appeared right in front of Shang Qing. "Four Arts: Bear Stalwart."

A massive explosion erupted, and it radiated a terrifying destructive power. This attack was not much more dangerous than when Wu Taibai had attacked Shang Qing.

Shang Qing saw the fall of the Hall of Honor and an unfathomable attack approaching. Arch-Elder Zen was dead, along with everyone Shang Qing was familiar with, as well as many strangers. His body was racked with pain, and someone suddenly appeared in front of Shang Qing; it was Lu Yin, and he attacked with a single palm. Not good! It’s an illusion.

Cough

Shang Qing spat out a mouthful of blood. He had been dragged into Daynight Praises and been attacked by Lu Yin’s spiritual force while his body had been attacked by Wang Yi. Although a Banishment had thrown Wang Yi back, his attack had still managed to land on Shang Qing.

Shang Qing took a few steps back, and blood could be seen at the corner of his mouth. He looked over at Lu Yin, who happened to be staring back. "That spiritual force illusion that hit me in the checkpoint was from you?”

Lu Yin did not have the freedom to respond. The summoned Progenitor Chens were both attacking, and each wave of a knife seemed to block Lu Yin’s movements. He had already been using the Cosmic Art to track the knife, as otherwise he would have already been cut.

Shang Qing had been injured for the first time since the start of ZENITH.

Many of the people watching the livestream grew excited. This was an amazing fight.

Shang Qing had three strands of qi, and they protected him and were enough to deal with all challengers without him needing to do a thing. However, he had finally been injured, which meant that he was not truly invincible.

The illusory Progenitor Chen charged towards Wang Yi, slipping into the void. This was an invisible attack, but it still gave people the chills.

Wang Yi attacked with another Four Arts: Bear Stalwart, but instantly pierced through the illusory Progenitor Chen. His attack could not land. Wang Yi’s eyes flickered, and he suddenly disappeared. He did not bother trying to deal with the illusory Progenitor Chen, but attacked Shang Qing. Suddenly, Wang Yi froze and blood appeared at the corners of his lips. He had just been struck by the secret technique Discipline by Shang Qing. The more injured the user, the more damaging this secret technique.

The illusory Progenitor Chen emerged from behind Wang Yi with a raised hand. He pointed forward, and a black light appeared at his fingertips that distorted the void and even began to suck up the light.

Wang Yi spread apart the fingers of his left hand as he turned to face the illusory Progenitor Chen. "Four Arts: Pearl."

The illusory Progenitor Chen swept his finger to the side, and blood fell. Wang Yi had overwhelming physical strength, and even Lu Yin's Vacuum Palm was only able to leave marks without causing any actual damage. Yet the illusory Progenitor Chen had broken through Wang Yi’s defenses with just a single finger. Suddenly, Wang Yi disappeared, and a cut appeared on the illusory Progenitor Chen’s stomach. The summoned Progenitor dissolved into the qi that had formed him, only to reform a moment later without any wounds whatsoever. Everyone who saw this felt their scalps go numb.

Shang Qing was watching from the distance, and he was shocked to see that Progenitor Chen’s ability to turn immaterial had been overcome. There was no other way for Wang Yi to have left a wound on the summoned Progenitor.

Wang Yi was the first person to injure the summoned Progenitor Chen, and at this moment, everyone had seen that the Progenitor Chen summoned by the Tri-Yang Technique had been injured. However, it had not been blood that had leaked from the wound, but ancestral qi. This qi did not dissipate or disappear, and was still part of the whole. This meant that the Tri-Yan Technique could not be broken, as the summoned Progenitors could simply reform after being destroyed.

Lu Yin had also seen this exchange, and his face fell. Progenitor Chen was formed from ancestral qi, and though he had no form of sapience, the fact that he could not be injured or killed fully compensated for the lack of wisdom.

The only way to defeat Shang Qing was to defeat Shang Qing himself and force him into a situation where he was unable to use the Tri-Yang Technique.

In the Mountain and Seas Zone, Beast had been the one to expose the truth of the Tri-Yang Technique, and during the final battle of ZENITH, Wang Yi had revealed another terrifying characteristic of the invincible technique.

Even Wang Yi felt his heart sink as he understood the true horror of this skill.

Four Arts: Pearl was able to seal anything an opponent might possess. Wang Yi had used this to seal Lu Yin's physical strength, which had left Lu Yin unable to use his Vacuum Palm, as his strength had fallen tremendously for a period of time. Just a moment ago, Wang Yi sealed this ability to seal the illusory Progenitor Chen’s ability to become immaterial in order to injure the summoned Progenitor. However, it was all useless. Even if Wang Yi was able to injure one of the summons, they could simply be instantly re-summoned.

Shang Qing quietly stood alone with a single strand of qi swirling about him. He looked like some sort of ethereal god as he watched Lu Yin and Wang Yi. These two were definitely the most outstanding youths in ZENITH, but unfortunately, they were not able to match up to Shang Qing.

The more information that was revealed about the Tri-Yang Technique, the more helpless people facing it felt.

At this moment, even the people in the Great Eastern Alliance did not believe that Lu Yin could win.

Lu Yin again evaded the knife and raised a hand. It was another Vacuum Palm sent to Shang Qing.

The strand of qi circling Shang Qing tried to stop the incoming attack, but was shattered by the Vacuum Palm. However, Lu Yin’s attack was still stalled for a moment, and Shang Qing was able to dodge.

At this moment, an astral chessboard appeared beneath Lu Yin's feet, and he moved himself.

The knife-wielding Progenitor Chen that Lu Yin was facing was Progenitor Chen from the time he had been an Enlighter, so he could not possibly have created the Xia Secret Art. That also meant that Progenitor Chen could not Nullify Lu Yin’s secret technique.

Lu Yin appeared behind Shang Qing and pointed a finger forward. It was the Seventh Bro Finger.

The two strands of qi had already been shattered, and only one remained to protect Shang Qing. Everyone hoped that Lu Yin would be able to force Shang Qing to use his third strand of qi so that they could see who would be summoned.

In the distance, Wang Yi watched as Lu Yin attacked with a finger, and frowned. This attack looked familiar.

Wu Taibai also saw the attack, and he stared at Lu Yin's Seventh Bro Finger.

The finger shattered the void as it approached Shang Qing’s back. Shang Qing lifted a hand and attacked behind himself. Secret technique: Banishment.

Lu Yin flew back and flipped over, completely out of control of himself. He had been sent straight towards the knife-wielding Progenitor Chen was, and the knife moved for Lu Yin’s back.

OMA's Thoughts

Translated By: OMA

Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

TLC'ed By: OMA