Chapter 2208: Final Ranking
The battle between Lin Feng and Kong Ming had ended, and immediately, everyone's gaze focused on Chu Chunqiu and Zhou Rongman. In that space, Chu Chunqiu was almost pressing down entirely on Zhou Rongman. Although Zhou Rongman's thousand arms contained boundless immense power, at this moment, he seemed to be in great pain, his mental will on the verge of collapsing into madness. Moreover, that Heaven-Devouring intent seemed to want to swallow even his will.
"Ah..." A series of hoarse roars tore from Zhou Rongman's mouth. He had fallen into a frenzied state, his lion-like roars unceasing.
"Hmph." Chu Chunqiu sneered inwardly. His body pressed down further, and the terrifying devouring vortex swept toward Zhou Rongman's head, causing Zhou Rongman's body to tremble more and more violently.
Zhou Rongman was like a madman, yet he still refused to give up this battle. He was Zhou Rongman, the sole heir of the Zhou Clan for three hundred and thirty-three generations. How could he be defeated?
"Roar!" A hysterical roar rolled out. Zhou Rongman suddenly lifted his head, and the golden vertical eye on his forehead erupted with a terrifying blood light, like a heavenly eye, filled with madness and violence, as if mountains of bones and seas of blood loomed. Chu Chunqiu's Heaven-Devouring Ancient Scripture swallowed that will, but suddenly he let out a miserable cry, his body retreating explosively, stepping backward through the void, a trace of blood appearing in his eyes.
"What kind of will is that?" Chu Chunqiu's expression stiffened. In that instant, he had nearly gone mad. What terrible will had he swallowed? That bastard—what kind of monster was he?
Blood seeped from Zhou Rongman's eyes. His golden vertical eye was filled with bloody light, as if all three eyes were fixed on Chu Chunqiu.
"That guy." Lin Feng and Kong Ming also looked at Zhou Rongman. He was a monster. Chu Chunqiu's aggression seemed to have stimulated his potential. Just now, no one knew exactly what had happened, but it had made Chu Chunqiu cry out in pain.
"Roar!" Zhou Rongman let out another roar. But at this moment, the blood light in his golden vertical eye began to fade slightly. Even Zhou Rongman's body was trembling faintly, as if he was deliberately suppressing the violent will at his brow.
Then, Zhou Rongman took a step to the side, sat down cross-legged, and closed his eyes. That third eye also closed with difficulty. The violent will vanished, and he seemed to sink into silence. This scene made the crowd's eyes narrow. In that case, who had won this battle?
"Just now, Chu Chunqiu had pushed Zhou Rongman to the limit, which triggered Zhou Rongman's latent power. In terms of victory or defeat in this battle, Chu Chunqiu should be considered the winner, since he could now act to expel Zhou Rongman. But that would be too despicable. However, even if Chu Chunqiu wins, it doesn't mean he is necessarily stronger than Zhou Rongman. That guy is a monster."
The crowd in Shenxiao City thought silently. In the void, only three people remained who could still fight: Lin Feng, Kong Ming, and Chu Chunqiu. They would be the top three seats of the Nine Heavens Gathering.
"The final three are too unexpected." Many sighed inwardly. They had never imagined that the top three would be the three in the void.
Chu Chunqiu's eyes turned slowly toward Lin Feng. Lin Feng also looked at Chu Chunqiu. This guy's strength was terrifying. The Heaven-Devouring Scripture was too dangerous, especially the devouring power at its strongest state, which could swallow heaven and earth. That chaotic will was extremely fearsome. Even if he could defeat Chu Chunqiu, it would require unleashing terrifying power. As for killing Chu Chunqiu, it was probably impossible for now. Killing such a monstrous prodigy was too difficult.
And if someone like Chu Chunqiu couldn't be killed, he would only become more terrifying over time. Lin Feng had witnessed his cultivation speed firsthand.
"Before my breakthrough, we had already fought to that extent. Do you think you can still fight me now?" Lin Feng looked at Chu Chunqiu and said calmly, causing Chu Chunqiu's expression to darken. The power Lin Feng had displayed in his battle with Kong Ming was even more terrifying than when he fought Chu Chunqiu. Moreover, Lin Feng's cultivation had also broken through slightly. This indeed made Chu Chunqiu lose confidence. Clearly, he hadn't expected Lin Feng to grow so fast. If he had known, he would have devoured him back then.
But even now, Chu Chunqiu still thought that if he had the chance to devour Lin Feng and the others, it would be very interesting.
"Chu Chunqiu, try fighting me," Kong Ming said calmly. He had lost to Lin Feng and didn't need to continue fighting, but Chu Chunqiu was also a top-tier figure. Kong Ming still wanted to clash with him and experience Chu Chunqiu's combat power.
Chu Chunqiu turned his gaze to Kong Ming. Kong Ming's strength was also terrifying. This man was definitely not simple. The Ten Thousand Buddhas Salute the Heaven Art, the Indestructible Golden Body, and the Great Compassion Mantra—these were all extremely powerful Buddhist techniques. Yet Kong Ming had mastered them all, and each one had been cultivated to a terrifying, peak level.
"Let's just use our strongest attacks directly," Kong Ming said calmly. Then, behind him, endless Buddha light burst forth once more. Sanskrit sounds resounded, and a hundred and eight Buddhas appeared, converging into the heavens. Kong Ming's body transformed into a golden Buddha form, slowly rising into the air, like a Great Sun Tathagata.
The Great Compassion Mantra rolled out, and Shenxiao City was enveloped in ten thousand feet of Buddha light. Many people closed their senses, cutting off all connection with the outside world, not wanting to hear the Great Compassion Mantra. This powerful Buddhist melody could truly affect people's hearts and martial will. They feared that listening to it again would turn them into compassionate monks, causing them to lose their competitive spirit.
"Boom!" Chu Chunqiu stood proudly between heaven and earth, an ancient king on his back, like a peerless sovereign. His mental will erupted wildly, its intensity unimaginable. The Great Compassion Mantra could not shake his spirit or affect his will. On the contrary, his terrifying mental will surged toward Kong Ming.
However, if Chu Chunqiu's terrifying mental will attacked Lin Feng, it would have been more effective than attacking Kong Ming. This was related to the power Kong Ming cultivated. He himself was a supreme Buddhist martial artist, skilled in the Great Compassion Mantra. How could he be eroded by such chaotic, demonic mental will? Kong Ming's will was absolutely inviolable.
"To defeat Kong Ming, one would probably have to do what Lin Feng did—suppress him with overwhelming attack power, shattering his golden body and destroying his Buddhas."
Chu Chunqiu knew he couldn't match Lin Feng's attacks. His fighting style was too different from Lin Feng's. Perhaps dealing with Kong Ming would be even harder for him than dealing with Lin Feng, even though Lin Feng had defeated Kong Ming.
Yet Chu Chunqiu showed no sign of retreat. His mental will continued to rage and erupt, striving to reach its strongest attack state. A person's mental will could affect the power of their techniques. Chu Chunqiu was determined to adjust his attacks to their peak.
"Boom!" Chu Chunqiu stepped forward. Heaven and earth changed color. His will ran wild. Those strands of terrifying will could easily kill a peak Martial Emperor, but the raging will could not erode Kong Ming. However, Chu Chunqiu seemed to gather supreme power. With each step, his momentum grew wilder and fiercer.
On Kong Ming's side, ten thousand Buddhas saluted the heavens. The Buddha light grew stronger and stronger. In the void, golden Buddhist characters floated, transforming into enormous Buddhist seals that spun wildly, gathering more and more power. Kong Ming was also concentrating his strongest attack.
A ten-foot golden Buddha statue appeared. Ten thousand Buddhas saluted the heavens again. The boundless, enormous golden Buddhist palm print merged with the spinning ancient characters, as if embedded into a golden seal. The power of that giant palm print was now unimaginable.
Ten thousand Buddhas saluted the heavens three times. That giant seal, carrying the embedded Buddhist characters, surged toward Chu Chunqiu. In that instant, Buddha light erupted, and Chu Chunqiu seemed to be enveloped by that Buddhist light seal.
"Boom!" Chu Chunqiu stepped forward, as if crushing the void. His mental will erupted to its peak. The ancient king on his back roared. Heaven-shaking palm force rolled forward. A diamond-like sound rumbled. The ancient characters on the giant golden palm print were ground away. Cracks appeared in the golden body. But Chu Chunqiu's arms seemed about to be crushed to pieces. His body retreated explosively, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth.
Ten thousand Buddhas saluted the heavens four times. The giant seal attacked again. Chu Chunqiu roared, refusing to retreat. Instead, he advanced. His double palms seized the power of heaven and earth and struck out fiercely. A deafening crash echoed in the crowd's eardrums. The giant golden palm print finally shattered into cracks, losing its power. Chu Chunqiu's body slammed into the protective light barrier beside him. His face was pale, and his blood and qi churned violently.
"To withstand an attack of that level, Chu Chunqiu is truly a top-tier prodigy. But in this battle, he is still considered defeated." The crowd's hearts trembled. Too powerful. Those four decisive prodigies, standing at the peak, were all too strong, too terrifying.
But with that, Chu Chunqiu had defeated Zhou Rongman, Kong Ming had defeated Chu Chunqiu, and Lin Feng had defeated Kong Ming. The final ranking of this Nine Heavens Gathering seemed to have emerged. The ultimate showdown had already taken place early—the battle between Lin Feng and Kong Ming.
Suddenly, the crowd turned their gazes to Lin Feng. In the end, the one standing at the peak of the Nine Heavens Gathering would be him?
At this moment, countless hearts stirred.
Jing, Qing Feng, Hou Qinglin, Lang Xie, Jun Moxi, Sword Blind, and the others—the Thunder Lei Clan, the Pill King Clan, Yao Yao, and countless others—their hearts pounded as they stared at the figure standing in the void!