# Chapter 1687: You Really Are Zhang Ruochen
"Boom."
Palm and sword clashed, producing an explosive sound.
Qing Liaoya's figure shifted backward.
Yuwen Jing executed a soft palm technique, striking Qing Liaoya's back from a distance to help him neutralize the momentum, "He possesses a Saint King-level assassin puppet. He's no simple character. Do you need my assistance?"
"No need."
Qing Liaoya bared his long fangs, speaking excitedly, "Having just broken through to the Three-Step Saint King realm, I haven't yet fully tempered the surging power within me. This battle is perfect for testing just how strong my combat strength has become."
"To be able to repel me, Qing Liaoya, you are definitely no nameless figure. Which assassin king of the Heavenly Assassination Organization are you? State your name!"
Zhang Ruochen stood straight, holding his sword horizontally, and said, "If you can withstand ten of my sword strikes, I will tell you my true name."
"You really don't know your place. Let me tell you the truth—I only used fifty percent of my power just now. If I go all out, you might not be able to block ten of my palms," Qing Liaoya said.
Zhang Ruochen replied, "Is that so? I only used thirty percent of my power."
"Arrogant."
Thousands of glowing sacred text characters emerged from the Azure Gold Sacred Armor on Qing Liaoya's body, and his entire aura became incredibly sharp. "Refining Void Palm."
Threads of Purifying Divine Flame and three hundred palm path rules converged into his right palm.
Instantly, crackling sounds of burning filled the entire Daoist temple.
This was a mid-rank sacred art level palm technique. Executed by Qing Liaoya, its power was astonishing. Even before the palm imprint was released, flames beneath his feet had already spread toward Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen decided not to use the power of time and space, wanting to test whether he could defeat one of the top-tier proud sons of heaven across the universe's myriad realms using only the sword path.
At the same time, he also wanted to temper the surging power within him through this battle with Qing Liaoya.
Zhang Ruochen raised his sword above his head. A powerful sword intent surged from within him, and a Bagua imprint over ten zhang in size appeared beneath his feet. Within this area, sword energy crisscrossed.
"Sword Eight, Qian Sword."
The world's sacred qi in the Daoist temple converged toward the Bagua imprint, transforming into a layer of sword path profound armor, condensing onto the heavy sword in Zhang Ruochen's hand.
"Whoosh—"
The sword path profound armor was indestructible.
The heavy sword swung, breaking through Qing Liaoya's palm force and striking his fist glove, producing a sharp, piercing clang.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen condense sword path profound armor, Qing Liaoya realized his opponent was far stronger than he had estimated. He erupted with twelve-tenths of his power. Yet even so, the descending heavy sword numbed his arm and forced him backward.
His fist glove was a four-glory ten-thousand-pattern sacred artifact, which blocked the sword path profound armor without being pierced.
Zhang Ruochen's sword techniques had long been fully integrated. The Bagua imprint beneath his feet rotated, and he launched his second strike, "Kun Sword."
This was a thrust, fast as a light shuttle, aimed at Qing Liaoya's brow.
Zhang Ruochen was using Sword Eight, but the sword moves he executed were influenced by the "Xuanji Sword Saint's Sword Eight Notes," splitting Sword Eight into the eight trigram positions of heaven and earth.
Qing Liaoya knew the power of Sword Eight and sword path profound armor. Instead of blocking head-on, he executed a body technique sacred art, "Fire Roc Flying Shadow," incorporating speed rules, flight rules, flame rules, and lightning rules.
"Swish."
A pair of flame roc wings appeared on Qing Liaoya's back. His figure flickered and vanished from his original position, reappearing behind Zhang Ruochen.
His speed was so fast it resembled spatial displacement.
Zhang Ruochen's thrust was slightly too slow, only piercing Qing Liaoya's afterimage.
"A mid-rank sacred art level body technique." Zhang Ruochen found it somewhat unbelievable.
Cultivating a mid-rank sacred art to great perfection was already very difficult.
A mid-rank sacred art level body technique was even harder to cultivate.
Moreover, Qing Liaoya's body technique incorporated multiple sacred dao rules, clearly not an ordinary mid-rank sacred art but a refined-grade mid-rank sacred art.
Ordinary and refined were as different as heaven and earth.
"Heh heh."
Qing Liaoya stood three feet off the ground, let out a sinister laugh, and once again erupted with extreme speed, striking another Refining Void Palm. This palm not only incorporated sacred dao rules but also channeled a large number of truth rules into it.
It erupted with four times the palm power.
Qing Liaoya's attainment in the way of truth far surpassed Zhang Ruochen's.
At this stage, Zhang Ruochen could only make his sacred arts erupt with twice the power.
Zhang Ruochen had not cultivated a mid-rank sacred art level body technique, so his speed was inferior to Qing Liaoya's. However, his neural reaction speed was extremely fast. As Qing Liaoya struck out with his palm, Zhang Ruochen swung his sword in a backhand strike, "Zhen Sword."
For this strike, Zhang Ruochen also channeled over two hundred truth rules within him into the sword technique, while the sword path profound armor condensed into layers of ripples, colliding with Qing Liaoya's palm force.
Each layer of sword path profound armor, upon striking the palm imprint, reduced Qing Liaoya's palm power by one degree.
By the time all the sword path profound armor was shattered, Zhang Ruochen's heavy sword finally collided with Qing Liaoya's palm. However, the sword edge slid past Qing Liaoya's wrist, scattering sparks.
"Swish."
The heavy sword used four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds, shaking Qing Liaoya's palm off course, while the sword tip thrust toward Qing Liaoya's brow.
Qing Liaoya's expression changed. He executed his body technique, transforming into a fire roc flying shadow and retreating into the distance.
Ten zhang away, a deep bloody gash appeared on Qing Liaoya's cheek, exposing white cheekbone. Sacred blood dripped down continuously, like vibrant petals falling to the ground.
"How is this possible..." Qing Liaoya found it hard to believe.
His opponent was inferior to him in both body technique speed and attainment in the way of truth, yet he had managed to injure him.
Had this person's control over power reached such a miraculous level?
Zhang Ruochen looked at the sacred blood on his heavy sword and sighed inwardly, "Pity. If the sword in my hand were the Abyssal Ancient Sword, this strike would have done more than just leave a bloody gash on his face."
Only the Abyssal Ancient Sword allowed Zhang Ruochen to perfectly execute his sword moves and unleash his strongest sword path power.
This heavy sword in his hand was still too unfamiliar.
Yuwen Jing stopped. He did not immediately go to collect the remaining two supreme perfect fruits from the sacred tree, instead fixing his gaze on Zhang Ruochen and Qing Liaoya.
He could tell that the assassin king of the Heavenly Assassination Organization was not much higher in cultivation realm than Qing Liaoya, yet this person could suppress Qing Liaoya—that was quite extraordinary.
Yuwen Jing said, "In the entire Truth Heaven Domain, there are only a handful of beings at the same realm who can suppress you. Moreover, this person's attainment in the way of truth is merely average. Such a figure would not exceed three in the Truth Heaven Domain."
Qing Liaoya's heart stirred. He stared again at the assassin king across from him, his eyes narrowing sharply, "Could this bastard be Zhang Ruochen?"
"That possibility cannot be ruled out."
Yuwen Jing walked toward Qing Liaoya, raised his palm, and twelve divine bones flew out, landing at twelve positions around the Daoist temple. Each divine bone emitted faint divine light, making the space even more stable.
This was a precaution.
If that assassin king really was Zhang Ruochen, they would not be caught off guard by his spatial power.
"A divine inheritance disciple, and the number one heavenly proud son of the Yin Yang Realm—both are indeed extraordinary individuals, figuring me out so quickly." Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
Seeing that the person across from him did not deny it, Qing Liaoya became even more certain, "Whether you are Zhang Ruochen or not, someone like you should not exist in this world."
"Whoosh!"
Characters flew out from the Azure Gold Sacred Armor, wrapping Qing Liaoya in an impenetrable defense.
At the same time, those characters released streams of power, enhancing Qing Liaoya's body, causing the aura he emitted to grow increasingly stronger.
"Die for me."
Qing Liaoya's body was enveloped by a giant character-formed figure, which raised a massive hand and pressed it down toward Zhang Ruochen's head. The Azure Gold Sacred Armor was extraordinary, amplifying Qing Liaoya's cultivation to a terrifying level.
Zhenmiao Xiaodaoren felt Zhang Ruochen might not be able to block this strike and asked, "Need help?"
"I can still handle it."
Zhang Ruochen stood proudly, looking up at the giant character-formed hand, and said, "The enhanced power surpasses the Hundred Saint Blood Armor. Your character-formed armor is quite a fine treasure."
The sacred qi and truth esoterica within Zhang Ruochen converged toward the Flame God Armor fist glove on his arm.
Immediately, the Flame God fist glove blazed with fierce flames. The fire wrapped around the heavy sword, merging with the sword path profound armor. Then, Zhang Ruochen swung his arm violently, slashing out with his sword.
"Boom."
Thousands of characters exploded. The giant character-formed figure collapsed, and a vast, boundless force surged outward in all directions.
Sand and stones flew within the Daoist temple.
The two assassin puppets were sent flying backward in a straight line, crashing into the temple walls.
Even Yuwen Jing, with his cultivation, was forced back repeatedly. Only by relying on the power of the twelve divine bones did he manage to withstand the force of the impact.
Qing Liaoya fell to the ground. A large section of his bones had been shattered, and he could not stand up. Trembling, he roared in fury, "It's you... it really is you... Zhang Ruochen..."
In the Truth Sea, Qing Liaoya had seen Zhang Ruochen use the power of the Flame God Armor, and now he recognized him.
"He's not dead?"
Zhang Ruochen frowned.
In that strike just now, even the three-glory ten-thousand-pattern sacred artifact heavy sword in Zhang Ruochen's hand had shattered, leaving only a hilt. One could imagine how terrifying the power was.
That was the power unleashed by the truth esoterica and the Flame God Armor.
Zhang Ruochen saw divine patterns flowing on Qing Liaoya's body and suddenly understood, "So, divine patterns are inscribed on your body. It seems you are a descendant the god values greatly."
Gods have long lifespans, with countless descendants and offspring numbering in the thousands or tens of thousands.
And gods, each time they go into seclusion to cultivate, calculate in centuries or millennia. Therefore, even so-called divine sons and divine daughters rarely see their god.
Only the descendants and offspring a god values most might possess divine patterns for protection.
Killing a divine son protected by divine patterns is clearly no easy task. Moreover, killing an ordinary divine son or daughter rarely incurs a god's wrath—at most, they order their subordinates to handle it.
But killing a divine son bearing divine patterns would have severe consequences.
Zhang Ruochen said, "It seems I'll have to use spatial power to kill you."
If it were anyone else, Qing Liaoya would not believe they dared to kill him. But the person across from him was undoubtedly Zhang Ruochen. Was there anything Zhang Ruochen dared not do?
"Zhang Ruochen, this is the Divine Enthronement Platform. In the presence of a divine inheritance disciple, do you still dare to kill someone so openly?" Yuwen Jing shouted coldly.
Zhang Ruochen said, "When Qing Liaoya tried to kill me just now, you, as a divine inheritance disciple, did not speak such righteous words."
Yuwen Jing was momentarily speechless. Then his gaze turned dark, and he stopped pretending to be amicable, saying, "I have already used twelve divine bones to stabilize the space. Can you still use spatial power?"