Chapter 458: Myriad Things Sword Art
“Not bad, the Divine Wood Domain is quite interesting.” Zhang Ruochen smiled faintly.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen could also release his Space Domain and clash head-on with Lu Fantian’s Divine Wood Domain, but he chose not to.
He decided to use this battle to hone his combat techniques, aiming to achieve what Kong Lanyou had done—defeating a stronger opponent with skill.
Win through technique.
“Zhang Ruochen, the truly powerful moves are still to come.”
Lu Fantian roared, “Divine Wood Martial Soul!”
He unleashed his martial soul, manifesting it above and behind him.
Lu Fantian’s martial soul was not human-shaped. Instead, it was a massive divine tree, resembling the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree depicted in the Cosmic Divine Wood Map.
Although it was merely a phantom, it still exuded an imposing and majestic aura, like a towering tree standing at the center of the Heavenly-level Battle Platform.
“Divine Wood Martial Soul.” Zhang Ruochen’s eyes narrowed.
Across the world, those who could cultivate an aberrant martial soul were exceedingly rare.
Such individuals were either exceptionally powerful or exceptionally weak.
Clearly, Lu Fantian belonged to the former category.
With the enhancement of his martial soul, Lu Fantian’s strength surged. His entire body radiated a green light, turning the entire Martial Market battlefield into a verdant world.
Zhang Ruochen could clearly sense that Lu Fantian’s martial soul had reached the level of a Fish-Dragon Fourth Change cultivator, making it quite formidable among Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artists.
“Rotten wood can be carved.”
Lu Fantian charged forward, reaching Zhang Ruochen’s side in an instant, and executed a spirit-rank upper-grade sword technique—the Rotten Wood Sword Art.
As the sword strike was unleashed, a sharp aura formed, slashing toward Zhang Ruochen’s waist.
Zhang Ruochen shrank his body, stepped back, and swung his sword to block.
“Bang!”
A powerful force traveled through the sword blade into Zhang Ruochen’s arm, numbing it. The Abyssal Ancient Sword nearly slipped from his grasp.
With a tearing sound, the tip of the war sword cut through the robe at Zhang Ruochen’s waist, leaving a one-inch-long gash.
Zhang Ruochen immediately channeled his true qi, sliding backward smoothly until he was three zhang away before steadying himself.
On the viewing platform, the veiled woman chuckled, “So this is the so-called Six Young Kings of the Eastern Domain? If Lu Fantian’s sword had been a fraction faster, that strike would have gutted Zhang Ruochen.”
“Lu Fantian has the Divine Wood Domain and Divine Wood Martial Soul, but doesn’t Zhang Ruochen have his own trump cards?” Duanmu Xingling retorted.
In truth, Duanmu Xingling was also puzzled. Why hadn’t Zhang Ruochen unleashed the power of his martial soul yet? Did he think he could defeat Lu Fantian without using it?
Duanmu Xingling shook her head.
Although she had great confidence in Zhang Ruochen’s strength, Lu Fantian was no weakling. His martial soul, in particular, was stronger than that of many Fish-Dragon Realm cultivators, marking him as a true expert among experts.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at the tear in his robe and shook his head lightly, thinking to himself, I couldn’t fully dodge it. This shows just how vast the gap is between Kong Lanyou and me.
If it were Kong Lanyou, she could have easily evaded Lu Fantian’s strike. She might even have counterattacked and wounded him.
“Right! If I were Kong Lanyou, how would I have blocked that strike?”
A flash of insight crossed Zhang Ruochen’s mind, as if he were about to enter a state of sword enlightenment again.
Lu Fantian naturally noticed Zhang Ruochen’s unusual state. Since stepping onto the Heavenly-level Battle Platform, Zhang Ruochen’s focus seemed not on the fight but on comprehending something.
No.
He couldn’t let Zhang Ruochen enter that state of sword enlightenment again. If that happened, even if Lu Fantian won, he wouldn’t earn everyone’s recognition.
Lu Fantian channeled his true qi fully and let out a long roar, “Zhang Ruochen, are you here to fight or not?”
“Of course, I’m here to fight. As long as you can force me to use the power of my martial soul, I’ll go all out against you. Otherwise, your strength is only enough to accompany me in my sword enlightenment.” Zhang Ruochen said.
Though spoken lightly, the words were domineering, brimming with confidence and pride. Even Lu Fantian, with his Divine Wood Body, was only fit to accompany him in sword enlightenment.
“So cool! Compared to him, my brother is totally lame!”
Lu Xuan’s eyes sparkled like stars, staring at Zhang Ruochen like a lovesick fool.
Duanmu Xingling’s eyes also lit up. For the first time, she realized that Zhang Ruochen’s inner self was so proud.
Soon, she understood.
In daily life, Zhang Ruochen was a humble person. But on the path of martial arts, he was ambitious, confident, and filled with boundless fighting spirit.
Standing on the battle platform, he was a martial artist. Anyone who wanted to challenge him had to prove their strength and show that they were worthy of crossing swords with him.
“As expected of the young king of the younger generation—truly proud and aloof. If Lu Fantian hadn’t already made his move, I’d want to go and test him myself. Only by thoroughly defeating him will he learn that there’s always a sky beyond the sky and people beyond people. Then, he’ll rein in his arrogance.” The veiled woman sneered.
It wasn’t just the veiled woman. Several other Heavenly Ranking experts present also felt that Zhang Ruochen was too arrogant. A few of the top-ranked experts on the Heavenly Ranking were itching for a fight, ready to step onto the Heavenly-level Battle Platform and teach Zhang Ruochen a lesson.
Lu Fantian was also provoked by Zhang Ruochen’s words. He snorted coldly, “In that case, I won’t hold back anymore.”
“Three Begets All Things.”
The golden-thread war sword spun in Lu Fantian’s hand, creating countless sword qi shadows that converged into a circle, emitting a swishing sound.
The circle of sword qi kept rotating, rapidly advancing toward Zhang Ruochen.
“One begets two, two begets three, three begets all things. Myriad Things Sword Art.” Zhang Ruochen said.
On the viewing platform, someone recognized the sword technique Lu Fantian had unleashed and let out a cry of surprise.
The Myriad Things Sword Art, a ghost-rank lower-grade sword technique, was not only full of infinite variations but also endlessly regenerative.
To have cultivated a ghost-rank martial technique to great perfection at the Heavenly Extreme Realm was indeed shocking to many.
Even Zhang Ruochen was somewhat surprised.
He remembered that a few months ago, when he fought Di Yi in the underwater Dragon Palace, Di Yi had only cultivated the ghost-rank lower-grade martial techniques “Human King Fist” and “Underworld King Sword Art” to minor success.
On the Pilgrimage Heavenly Stairway, when Zhang Ruochen fought Bu Qianfan, Bu Qianfan’s ghost-rank lower-grade martial technique “Town Army Breaking Might Blade Art” was only close to great perfection.
What level they had reached now was unknown.
At least Zhang Ruochen had yet to successfully cultivate any ghost-rank martial technique.
Even the Ten-Pulse Sword Wave was only a spirit-rank upper-grade martial technique. Only when all ten fingers were connected and unleashed simultaneously could its power reach the level of a ghost-rank lower-grade martial technique.
Lu Fantian was not much older than them, yet he had cultivated a ghost-rank lower-grade martial technique to great perfection—truly remarkable.