Chapter 2268: Arm Wrestling
Defeating the Great Forest Emperor, one arrow shattering a star.
Such a battle achievement shook the cultivators of Fate Divine Mountain, Kunlun Realm, and even the entire Hell Realm.
Many of them still had their understanding of Zhang Ruochen from half a year ago, when he was only at the Saint King Realm. Even with his formidable combat power, he could only stir up trouble below the Great Saint level.
Half a year, for a Great Saint, is but a fleeting moment, making it extremely difficult to significantly increase one’s strength.
Yet, under the gaze of billions of eyes, Zhang Ruochen, relying on his archery, defeated the renowned Great Forest Emperor.
Some cultivators felt that Zhang Ruochen’s methods were profound and miraculous.
Others felt that the Great Forest Emperor had lost too unfairly, that Zhang Ruochen had not won through archery alone but had used spatial techniques to take advantage, making the victory inglorious.
Still, some believed that the Great Forest Emperor had disgraced the Death Clan and even the entire Hell Realm. They were eager to step forward and challenge Zhang Ruochen.
“The Great Forest Emperor has failed me.”
The two Death Clan Great Saints who had lent the Great Forest Emperor the Dao-Evolution Sacred Fruits looked ashen-faced, as if mourning a death. No matter how good the compensation the Great Forest Emperor offered, it could never match the value of the Dao-Evolution Sacred Fruits.
If they hadn’t seen how miserable the Great Forest Emperor already was, they would have rushed to fight him to the death.
Zhang Ruochen took the three Dao-Evolution Sacred Fruits from the table in front of the Great Forest Emperor and said, “As a Great Saint, you cannot remain calm in the face of danger. Great Forest Emperor, have you never faced a life-or-death crisis? With such a mindset, if you could remain undefeated and press forward unyieldingly, you might have a chance at becoming a god. But today, this arrow will surely become an unforgettable nightmare in your heart, the greatest flaw in your path to godhood.”
The Great Forest Emperor climbed to his feet, his expression extremely grim. Enraged and humiliated by Zhang Ruochen’s words, he said, “Do you dare to compete with me once more?”
Zhang Ruochen glanced at the five Dao-Evolution Sacred Fruits on the table before him and said, “You’ve already lost all your Dao-Evolution Sacred Fruits. What do you have to compete with me?”
“I can still…”
The Great Forest Emperor wanted to say, “I can still gather more,” but when his gaze fell on the Death Clan Great Saints present, they all quickly looked away.
Zhang Ruochen clearly appeared to be a man of deep schemes. How could the Great Forest Emperor possibly outwit him?
Although the Great Forest Emperor was powerful in combat, his performance today had greatly disappointed them.
“I will use this Ice Wood Divine Bow to continue the ritual contest with you,” the Great Forest Emperor said through gritted teeth.
Zhang Ruochen shook the Azure Heaven Bow in his hand and said, “Your bow’s grade is too low. I have no interest.”
Zhang Ruochen wasn’t truly belittling the Great Forest Emperor; he simply didn’t want to continue the ritual contest.
He had been able to defeat the Great Forest Emperor because he had anticipated that the Great Forest Emperor would challenge him to an archery contest, giving him a winning strategy. But who knew what the Great Forest Emperor would propose next?
With five Dao-Evolution Sacred Fruits, Zhang Ruochen was already satisfied. They could increase his Sacred Dao Rules by five hundred million and extend his lifespan by fifteen thousand years.
Wait.
He had only won three from the Great Forest Emperor. Why were there five?
Why was there an extra one?
Never mind. One extra was fine.
Downstream.
Blood Butcher, seeing Zhang Ruochen’s victory, finally breathed a sigh of relief and let out a loud laugh. “My senior brother is a genius of the ages. How could a mere Great Forest Emperor be his match?”
He looked even more delighted than Zhang Ruochen.
But when he looked at Zhang Ruochen, he noticed that Zhang Ruochen didn’t seem to have any intention of returning the Dao-Evolution Sacred Fruit to him. His heart sank, and a bad feeling arose.
Could Zhang Ruochen be planning to keep the Dao-Evolution Sacred Fruit to pay off a debt?
At this thought, Blood Butcher could no longer smile. He immediately left his seat and hurried upstream.
Arriving beside Zhang Ruochen’s seat, Blood Butcher stared intently at the five Dao-Evolution Sacred Fruits on the table, swallowing hard, about to speak.
From across the Fate Stream, a gloomy voice rang out: “Ruochen Great Saint, how about we also have a ritual contest? This time, let’s bet five Dao-Evolution Sacred Fruits.”
Xu stood beside the Great Forest Emperor, using black ghostly qi to hold up five sacred flowers, each containing a Dao-Evolution Sacred Fruit.
A total of five.
Because of Zhang Ruochen, Xu had missed out on the chief seat and had to settle for a secondary seat, a great loss of face for someone of his status.
To salvage his dignity and the morale of the Ghost Clan, he needed to deal a heavy blow to Zhang Ruochen at the Hunting Heaven Banquet.
This ritual contest was especially important.
Zhang Ruochen naturally understood Xu’s intentions and shook his head. “You, as one of the top ten in the Hundred Shackles Great Perfection Realm and the seventh son of the Ghost Lord, challenging me, a Great Saint who has just entered the Immortal Realm—aren’t you afraid of being ridiculed? How about this: I’ll challenge you instead?”
In a ritual contest, challenging and being challenged were entirely different concepts.
If Zhang Ruochen challenged Xu, then Zhang Ruochen would decide the method of the contest.
Xu naturally wouldn’t agree. He let out a light laugh.
Ignoring whether the Great Forest Emperor was willing, Xu sat down in his seat and took out a giant sword from a bone ring on his finger, placing it on the jade table.
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze fell on the giant sword. No matter how calm he tried to be, his expression shifted slightly.
“Where did you get this sword?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Xu picked up a triangular cup and leisurely took a sip of stream water. “Half a year ago, I went to the Great Saint Merit Battlefield outside the Kunlun Realm and encountered a Hundred Shackles Great Saint from the Guanghan Realm. This sacred sword was his weapon.”
“Where is he?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Xu’s fingers stroked the sword’s blade, a smirk curling at the corner of his mouth. “If you want to know the answer, you’ll have to agree to a ritual contest with me.”
Zhang Ruochen had seen that giant sword before.
During the battle at Moon God Mountain, when Zhang Ruochen and Man Sword Great Saint had joined forces to fight the divine thought clone of the Black Heart Demon Lord, Man Sword Great Saint had used this very sword.
After Zhang Ruochen was forced to leave Kunlun Realm and went to the Heavenly Court with the Moon God, he had trained under Man Sword Great Saint in the Red Dragon Sacred Domain.
At that time, Zhang Ruochen was only at the Saint Realm, but Man Sword Great Saint had never shown any arrogance toward him. Later, when Zhang Ruochen became the Moon God’s Divine Envoy, they even addressed each other as brothers.
During the period when Zhang Ruochen was being assassinated by Soul Realm cultivators using the Soul-Holding Great Art, constantly facing the threat of death, Man Sword Great Saint had been protecting him.
In a sense, Man Sword Great Saint was the guardian the Moon God had arranged for Zhang Ruochen.
Now, Man Sword Great Saint’s sword had appeared in Xu’s hands. How could Zhang Ruochen not be worried?
Seeing Zhang Ruochen silent, Xu added, “A cultivator from the Heavenly Court Realm has fallen into my hands. Do you know what his fate will be? Sold as a slave, imprisoned in the Ghost Prison, or having his sacred soul extracted and refined into a Ghost Emperor Soul Body?”
“Bang.”
Zhang Ruochen’s expression remained unchanged, but he slammed his hand heavily on the jade table, sending ripples of sacred qi outward.
Xu placed the five Dao-Evolution Sacred Fruits one by one on the table and laughed. “Given your relationship with Man Sword Great Saint, you must hate me, be furious, and want to avenge him. But at the Hunting Heaven Banquet, you can’t act. You can only restrain yourself.”
“Compete with me in a ritual contest. Win all five of my Dao-Evolution Sacred Fruits. That’s the only way you can vent your anger.”
Yu Huang, worried that Zhang Ruochen might be provoked into agreeing, said, “Zhang Ruochen, you are a cultivator of the Hell Realm. What does the life or death of a Guanghan Realm Great Saint have to do with you? You must be clear about your current identity.”
Xu said, “Yu Huang, your words are not right. People have emotions. Whether in the Heavenly Court Realm or the Hell Realm, if Zhang Ruochen lacked even basic emotions, what difference would he be from a stone?”
Zhang Ruochen had already calmed down, but to deceive Xu, he deliberately showed anger. “You’re right. You’ve truly angered me this time.”
Yu Huang showed an anxious expression. “Zhang Ruochen, stay calm first…”
“Mind your own business. I am very calm.”
Zhang Ruochen snapped coldly, then fixed his gaze on Xu. “If you challenge me in this ritual contest, I will surely lose. Why should I agree? How about this: you tell me what we’ll compete in first, and then I’ll consider whether to agree.”
Xu could see that Zhang Ruochen’s emotions were very unstable and knew this was the perfect opportunity. He didn’t want to miss this rare chance.
He said, “I am the strongest of the Ghost Clan at this Hunting Heaven Banquet. Even in a ritual contest, I won’t take advantage of you. You have a half-god body, so your physical strength must be formidable. How about we arm wrestle?”
Arm wrestling was a contest for mortals, a pure test of strength.
No one had expected Xu to choose such a simple method of competition.
But soon, they understood Xu’s intention.
Everyone knew that Zhang Ruochen’s greatest strengths were time, space, and truth. Each of these paths was profound and unpredictable, often allowing him to kill enemies across realms.
But in arm wrestling, most of those techniques would be useless.
A half-god body was indeed powerful, but Zhang Ruochen had not yet broken the hundred shackles within his body. The power of his half-god body was still sealed. How much could he unleash?
In contrast, Xu, at the Hundred Shackles Great Perfection Realm, possessed the power of a tenfold Immortal Chaos Ghost Emperor Body.
Zhang Ruochen’s current half-god body was definitely no match.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen knew more than other cultivators. Xu had not only a tenfold Immortal Chaos Ghost Emperor Body but had also refined over ten million ghost souls into his body. Once he unleashed his power, even Thousand Questions Realm Great Saints would have to step aside.
If it came down to pure strength, Zhang Ruochen would surely lose.
But was arm wrestling really just about physical strength?
“Zhang Ruochen has fought Xu before and knows his strength well. As long as Zhang Ruochen has a shred of rationality, he will definitely not agree,” Gu Chenzi said.
In his view, Zhang Ruochen was not an impulsive person. Xu’s scheme was doomed to fail.
Yi Xuan Great Saint nodded in agreement, relaxing as he picked up his triangular cup to sip the stream water. Knowing it was a trap he would surely lose, Zhang Ruochen wasn’t foolish enough to jump in.
“Fine, I’ll arm wrestle with you,” Zhang Ruochen said.
“Pfft!”
Hearing this, Yi Xuan Great Saint spat out a mouthful of stream water, staring blankly at Zhang Ruochen upstream.
Had this guy been provoked into losing his mind?
Gu Chenzi showed an expression of disbelief. Knowing his opponent’s strength far surpassed his own, why would he agree?
Blood Butcher, standing behind Zhang Ruochen, stumbled and nearly fell to his knees.
He had just won against the Great Forest Emperor and was already courting death again.
If you want to court death, don’t drag me into it!
“Senior brother… how about you bet four? Give me back my one first?” Blood Butcher said with a hopeful look.
Zhang Ruochen waved his hand. “Step back for now. I’ll requisition your Dao-Evolution Sacred Fruit first.”
“Senior brother.”
Blood Butcher called out again, unwilling to give up.
He licked his lips, a fierce look in his eyes, his hands forming claws, wanting to rush forward and snatch back his Dao-Evolution Sacred Fruit.
“Move aside. Don’t disturb my ritual contest.”
Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes and flicked his finger. A spatial bubble formed at his fingertip, flew out, and enveloped Blood Butcher, like a glass bead, sending him flying downstream.
“Clap, clap, clap…”
Xu felt a sense of triumph at having his scheme succeed, clapping and laughing. “What boldness. Admirable.”
The Great Forest Emperor, standing nearby, was somewhat displeased with Xu but hated Zhang Ruochen even more. If Xu could make Zhang Ruochen suffer a great loss, it would be a satisfying outcome.
Above the Fate Stream, Xu was the first to extend his arm, transforming it into a ten-zhang-long giant hand.
On his hand, besides a bone ring, he wore a purple glove radiating divine power—a Divine Relic Ancient Artifact.
Arm wrestling seemed to be about strength, but it was more than just a clash of power.
Zhang Ruochen activated the Flame God Armor and extended his arm as well, also turning it into a ten-zhang-long giant hand, gripping Xu’s ghost hand.
“Wait a moment.”
Luo Sha called out, standing up from her seat. “Since this is a ritual contest, there should be a referee to set the rules and judge the outcome. I, the princess, believe I am qualified.”
Luo Sha knew very well that although it was arm wrestling, the rules set would greatly affect the outcome.
Like other cultivators, she thought Zhang Ruochen couldn’t possibly defeat Xu.
But she wanted to help Zhang Ruochen in her own way, giving him a greater advantage.
“Given Princess’s relationship with Zhang Ruochen, wouldn’t it be inappropriate for you to be the referee?” Xu said.
Luo Sha and Zhang Ruochen had appeared together in the Star Sea World and trained at the Hanhai Estate for over a month. These rumors had already spread.
Many cultivators in the Hell Realm knew that Princess Luo Sha had grown close to Zhang Ruochen.
Xu’s gaze shifted downstream. “Bore, how about you be the referee for this contest?”
“Arm wrestling between Great Saints seems quite interesting. Very well, I’ll set a few rules and see who wins.”
Bore’s face was cold as jade. She slowly stood up, her figure floating lightly like an autumn leaf, landing not far from Xu and Zhang Ruochen. “First, since it’s arm wrestling, your elbows must not leave the table. Whoever’s elbow leaves first automatically loses the ritual contest.”
“Second, whoever’s hand first touches the water of the Fate Stream loses.”
“Do you have any objections?”
Xu frowned. “Only these two rules?”
“Are there other rules for arm wrestling?” Bore asked in return.
Xu said no more, but he felt the rules should be stricter, with at least a few more added.
For example, no use of sacred power, no sacred manifestations, no sacred artifacts, no spiritual power, no attacking the opponent, no using the other hand… and so on.
The stricter the rules, the more advantageous it would be for him, and the less room Zhang Ruochen would have to maneuver.
He had chosen Bore as the referee precisely for this purpose.
Although Bore represented the interests of the Upper Three Clans in the Destiny Temple and had no connection with the Ghost Clan or the Undying Blood Clan, the Great Forest Emperor had just suffered a great loss at Zhang Ruochen’s hands. She must be dissatisfied with Zhang Ruochen.
Choosing Bore as the referee would naturally benefit him.
But Bore didn’t follow the expected script, setting overly loose rules that instead favored Zhang Ruochen.
Still, it didn’t matter. Even with loose rules, the gap in strength was clear. Zhang Ruochen had no chance of winning. He was determined to take Zhang Ruochen’s five Dao-Evolution Sacred Fruits.
With these five, plus his own, he would have six Dao-Evolution Sacred Fruits.
Consuming all six would boost his strength further, perhaps helping him reach the level of Wujiang and Luo Shengtian.
“Begin.”
As Bore’s voice rang out, Zhang Ruochen and Xu simultaneously channeled power into their right arms.
“Sizzle.”
Zhang Ruochen’s right arm emitted a dazzling blood-red light.
The Flame God Armor glove turned crimson, merging with the arm guard, unleashing a wave of scorching power. Then, the three Thousand Questions Realm elephant souls in his right arm were also activated.
Xu’s arm hung above the Fate Stream, motionless. He laughed, “Zhang Ruochen, is that all the power your half-god body has? Use whatever other tricks you have, or you won’t have a chance to show them later.”
“Clang!”
A resounding phoenix cry rang out.
From Zhang Ruochen’s body, a massive phoenix phantom emerged, hovering behind him. This was the remnant soul of the divine phoenix left behind when Xue Hou used the divine phoenix’s blood to nurture Zhang Ruochen’s half-god body.
At the same time, the ten golden fleshy wings on Zhang Ruochen’s back spread out, like ten golden clouds.
When all his power erupted, he finally managed to move Xu’s arm, tilting it slightly to the left. But Xu quickly stabilized and straightened it again.
“Not bad. Your half-god body combined with your Five Elements Chaos Immortal Sacred Body is indeed formidable. If you had broken the shackles within your body, your strength would be ten or even dozens of times greater. I would have lost my arm in an instant. But for now, you’re still far off.”
Xu continued, “Do you have any other tricks, or have you run out of ideas?”