Chapter 829
Peak Showdown
"In my life, I have encountered many opponents, some mediocre, some extraordinary, and quite a few arrogant, all kinds of people."
But you are the first person I can't see through at all.
The battle with Ji Liangyu seemed evenly matched and fraught with danger, yet you did not use your full strength, and the blood in your veins did not boil.
"Throughout this Five Academies Competition, you are the only opponent who has made me feel anticipation from the very beginning, and as it turns out, I was right about you," Zhao Yin said calmly.
His words surprised Song Changsheng slightly. Before the Five Academies Competition officially began, almost no one thought he could enter the finals. Even most of the cultivators from the Myriad Manifestations Palace thought so, treating him only as a backup option.
Judging from Zhao Yin's words, he had noticed him from the very beginning of the Grand Competition. It was quite unbelievable, considering there were so many strong opponents on the field, yet he was focusing his attention on him, a nobody in the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm.
Moreover, the other party used the word "unique," which might not mean much to others, but when Zhao Yin said it, it carried extraordinary weight, almost placing him above all the other participating geniuses.
Although he ultimately proved with his formidable strength that he was the dark horse of this Five Academies Competition, even he wasn't entirely confident about the outcome beforehand. How could Zhao Yin have known beforehand?
For a moment, Song Changsheng felt that the person in front of him was far more terrifying than the rumors suggested, even frightening.
Under the gaze of those eyes, as calm as a still lake, he felt as if everything about him had been seen through, leaving him with no secrets whatsoever.
"No, I was influenced by him."
A sudden flash of inspiration struck Song Changsheng, instantly bringing him to his senses. Zhao Yin had subtly influenced him with just a few words.
Taking a deep breath and clearing his mind of all distractions, he said in a deep voice, "I never imagined that Your Highness would give me such a high evaluation. I am truly honored."
"You're respectful on the surface, but not in your heart. In my presence, you can simply drop all that unnecessary pretense and..."
"You are at the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, while I am at the late-stage. To be fair to you, I can refrain from using the [Soul-Severing Spear]." As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Yin opened his hand, and the silver spear in his hand turned into a wisp of silver light and disappeared.
“I appreciate Your Highness’s kindness, but without the magic weapon, Your Highness will inevitably be unable to unleash your full strength. Even if I win, it will be somewhat unfair.”
If word gets out, not only will others not approve, but the Five Academies Grand Tournament will also become a mere formality.
"I, Song, do not need Your Highness's concession. I will fight with all my might, each doing my utmost. Regardless of victory or defeat, there will be no regrets or cause for criticism."
Song Changsheng directly rejected Zhao Yin's offer. If it were a private sparring match, he might have gladly accepted, but this was a competition. He had to be fair and just within the rules, and ensure that the final result would convince everyone, so as to avoid any unnecessary controversy.
"Do you think you can definitely defeat me without the Soul-Severing Spear?"
"I wouldn't say it's absolute, but I'm fairly confident."
“You are very confident. In that case, I will grant your request.”
Zhao Yin waved his hand, and the silver spear reappeared in his hand. He drew a semicircle in front of him, held the spear with one hand, and said confidently, "I grant you permission to make the first move."
"Then I, Song, will accept your offer without hesitation."
This time, Song Changsheng didn't hold back. With a tremor of his [Jinghong Sword], a wisp of cold light appeared, and a hundred-foot sword aura bloomed in mid-air with a terrifying sharpness. The pure air between heaven and earth danced with the sword light, and the universe trembled.
Faced with such a terrifying opponent, he dared not be careless in the slightest; to hold back would be to expose his own weaknesses.
In such a game, revealing a flaw is tantamount to defeat, and victory or defeat can sometimes be decided in an instant.
"good."
Zhao Yin's silver spear flew out of his hand like a silver dragon, instantly swallowing the sword energy in the air and roaring as it charged towards Song Changsheng.
"boom--"
With a single slash, he cut the silver dragon to pieces. Then, he took a step forward, and the sword in his hand emitted bursts of chilling light. Countless sword beams rained down, sealing off all of Zhao Yin's space and escape routes.
Then, intense lightning power gathered in his palm and spread to the sword's edge.
The green blade transforms into thunder, and the green thunder is like an arrowhead, piercing through the rainbow.
Facing Zhao Yin, Song Changsheng chose the most aggressive approach, striving to seize the initiative in the match from the very beginning.
The twelve spiritual energy vortexes above the Golden Core gave him ample confidence, allowing him to effortlessly utilize any supernatural power, regardless of its consumption.
Zhao Yin remained calm, appearing somewhat relaxed. He slowly raised his hand, and an invisible force emanated from his palm.
All the sword energy and lightning arrows transformed from the [Surprising Swan Sword] in the air seemed to be stuck in a muddy swamp, their speed becoming incredibly slow, even as slow as a tortoise crawling. Their trajectories and movements in the air were clearly visible.
Finally, it stopped less than ten feet away from Zhao Yin, as if it had hit an impenetrable wall, and could not advance any further.
Zhao Yin clenched his fist, and all the sword energy in the air was instantly detonated. The [Jinghong Sword] also flew back. The impact of the explosion caused the space to ripple, like rain falling on a calm lake.
Amidst the surging air, an iron fist suddenly shot out without warning, heading straight for Zhao Yin's face.
What came into Zhao Yin's view first was that huge iron fist, and then Song Changsheng's figure. The moment he saw Song Changsheng, the howling wind of the fist had already broken through his protective aura.
Everyone present witnessed Song Changsheng's mastery of the Law of Power. His strength had reached an astonishing level. When he used his full strength, a single punch was enough to easily flatten a majestic mountain, and even large-scale spatial barriers would collapse.
If this punch had hit Zhao Yin's head, even a celestial being would have been helpless.
Despite being so close, Zhao Yin remained calm and composed, disappearing into thin air with a flash, leaving Song Changsheng completely empty-handed.
His approach seemed somewhat similar to the spatial illusion technique used by Song Changsheng when he fought Ji Liangyu, but the two were fundamentally different. Song Changsheng integrated himself into the space to avoid the opponent's attacks and probing.
Zhao Yin, however, can be summed up in one word: "fast"—unparalleled fast. His mastery of the [Laws of Space] has almost reached its limit.
Song Changsheng reacted just as quickly, and when his attack missed, he plummeted downwards.
The next moment, Zhao Yin, wielding a silver spear, appeared like a ghost in the spot where he had just been. The spear's light pierced through the spatial barrier, instantly turning the tables and turning the tables.
The two then engaged in a fierce chase within the vast cloud-top arena.
Both had already reached the pinnacle of their mastery of the [Spatial Laws], and when they unleashed their full power, the speed of their battle could only be described as dazzling. Even though the sky was clearly empty, cultivators of lower cultivation levels were completely unable to pinpoint their locations.
Even many Golden Core cultivators could only see the general outlines of the two, and had only a superficial understanding of the details of their fight. Most of the time, they could only see some afterimages.
"The ultimate showdown of the Five Academies Competition truly lived up to its reputation. Looking at the entire human cultivation world, apart from the five holy lands and those ancient clans and sects that have never left the world, these two are enough to be ranked among the top.
The Great Zhen Immortal Dynasty and the Myriad Manifestations Palace have truly struck gold, especially the Myriad Manifestations Palace. It's truly unbelievable that they could find such a prodigy in such a barren and remote place.
Beside True Monarch Yingyue, an elder from the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion spoke with a hint of amazement in his voice.
"Legend has it that the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion compiles a list every so often, and only the top geniuses among all races can be included on the list. I wonder if this is true?" True Monarch Yingyue said meaningfully.
Upon hearing this, the old man stroked his white beard and smiled slightly, saying, "It is true, but it is just a list compiled by the elders of the pavilion when they have nothing else to do. It is just for the cultivators of the pavilion to amuse themselves and is not an authoritative list."
If you are interested, fellow Daoist, I can tell you about it, but please remember not to take it to heart.
This list is not the "List of Prodigies" as rumored. To be precise, it should be the "List of All Races," which is divided into two lists: the Heaven List and the Earth List. The Heaven List has thirty-six entries, corresponding to the thirty-six Heavenly Generals.
The Earthly Ranking has seventy-two numbers, corresponding to the seventy-two Earthly Fiends. Therefore, the list can include a total of one hundred and eight people. These one hundred and eight people are selected from among all races, with only one person from each race allowed to be on the list.
Therefore, this is actually a ranking of all races.
"The Ranking of Myriad Races, do you intend to rank all races? The Heavenly Mystery Pavilion has quite the ambition."
"But if the list really exists, why has no accurate list ever been circulated?" True Monarch Yingyue asked the old man.
Clearly, she came prepared.
"Because this list has not yet been completed, it is naturally impossible for it to be circulated."
Because so much time has passed, even many within the pavilion have forgotten about this matter. It's rather surprising that you, Fellow Daoist, would know of these long-ago events.
True Monarch Yingyue clearly did not want to answer the question, and turned his gaze back to the sky, saying, "Since the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion wants to rank all races, why not rank the human race's geniuses? With the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion's prestige and credibility, this list will surely be widely accepted. This is an excellent opportunity to expand its influence."
"Hehe, that day will come, but it certainly won't be now," the old man said cryptically.
"Is that so? In your opinion, if such a list were to be compiled, would Song Changsheng and Zhao Yin be able to make it onto the list?"
The old man pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "That depends on how many spots are on the list. If there are only a hundred, then naturally you won't be able to get on the list. If there are a thousand spots, then perhaps you still have a chance."
"Just a chance?"
"Haha, fellow Daoist, don't underestimate this world. For them, this is already a very high compliment."
The five sacred lands, ancient clans, and reclusive sects—who can say for sure how many geniuses there are in this world?
“That’s true.” True Monarch Yingyue nodded slightly.
During the brief pause in their conversation, the fight between Song Changsheng and Zhao Yin had already reached a fever pitch.
The two chased and pulled each other for a full quarter of an hour. With the help of the extreme speed of space, they exchanged blows countless times, but neither of them gained any significant advantage.
However, overall, Song Changsheng was still at a disadvantage. Not only was he turned the tables on Zhao Yin, but he was also the one being chased most of the time during their fights.
He looked somewhat disheveled, but when everyone thought that Song Changsheng was only at the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, they couldn't help but feel admiration for him.
It is extremely difficult for those below to subdue those above; to be able to avoid being completely suppressed is already a remarkable achievement.
Although Song Changsheng was at a slight disadvantage, he was still able to launch counterattacks against Zhao Yin from time to time and seize control of the battlefield, which was even more remarkable.
This shows that he has almost completely eliminated the gap between the two due to their different levels of understanding.
Even those who were once rivals couldn't help but feel a deep sense of admiration at this moment.
"Are you really planning to just run away like this? Where did your pre-match confidence go?"
Zhao Yin's voice was calm. Facing the empty space, his silver spear once again accurately locked onto Song Changsheng's position, forcing him out with a single thrust.
But he flashed and disappeared back into the void, his voice drifting out: "Your Highness, are you perhaps in a hurry?"
"You think I can't do anything to you if you don't come out?"
As soon as Zhao Yin finished speaking, a wisp of purple energy flowed from his dantian along his meridians into his eyes. His eye sockets were instantly enveloped in a fluorescent glow, and then he could clearly see Song Changsheng, who was using the power of space to move and travel through space.
At this moment, Song Changsheng was clearly unaware that he had been completely exposed to the other party and was haphazardly traversing the surrounding space at high speed.
Suddenly, he saw Zhao Yin raise the silver spear in his hand, his eyes fixed on him, and no matter what he did, he could not escape the other's gaze.
In an instant, a bad premonition welled up in Song Changsheng's heart.
"scoff"
Zhao Yin suddenly exerted his strength, and the silver spear in his hand transformed into a streak of light that shot out, piercing through the spatial barrier in front of him and accurately stabbing towards Song Changsheng's chest.
"Great Divine Power [Spatial Illusion]"
Song Changsheng's reaction was incredibly fast; in an instant, he used his supernatural powers to completely merge into the surrounding space.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Yin seemed to have anticipated his reaction. With a clenched fist, the spatial barrier around Song Changsheng underwent a qualitative change under a special force.
The void space transformed into solid walls, pressing in on his location from all directions. His body, which had been "etherealized" and merged into the space, gradually reappeared. What awaited him was the [Soul-Severing Spear], which was as fast as lightning and capable of piercing through space!
...(End of chapter)