Chapter 158: I, the Trump Card, Am Ready to Fight

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Mutual appreciation? Yes, that was right. That was the feeling!

The strange feeling that Chi Yun felt was a sense of being with a close confidant.

‘He understands me.’

That was the feeling that Chi Yun felt when he finished fighting and interacting with Fang Lang.

The heat of the battle gradually began to lessen. It was just like the battle between Fang Lang and Bai Ling, the sacred maiden of the demon tribe earlier. The exchanges between the two of them became more of a test to check their understanding of the concepts in their cultivation exchange.

The ocean waves continued to surge and the winds continued to beat down upon them. Among the heavy rain and strong winds, the booming of thunder never ceased.

The cultivation of both of them was pretty strong. With the boost of his binding partners, Fang Lang’s fighting strength rose to a frightful level. As he fought against the archdevil, their powers were evenly matched.

‘Ding! Congratulations, you have completed a meaningful interaction with your binding partner, Chi Yun, related to cultivation in the Battle of Pagodas. You have obtained a Realm Breakthrough Card.’

‘Huh?’

When he heard the System prompt, Fang Lang was stunned. He did not expect to get the Realm Breakthrough Card after interacting with Chi Yun.

It was not because the prize was not good. In fact, the effect of the prize was very good for Fang Lang. After all, Fang Lang’s weakest point was his cultivation. If he could raise his cultivation, he would have sufficient power to protect himself in the next fight.

Fang Lang could predict that the Tang Dynasty was about to break out in chaos. He could tell from the appearance of the Main Path Guild ancestor, the transcendental realm cultivator—Zhao Taifeng.

Zhao Taifeng and Xuanyuan Taihua were not on good terms. It seemed as though he noticed the oddness of the Tang Code. As soon as he acted, the world would descend into chaos and turmoil.

As a person who had offended Zhao Taifeng, Fang Lang would definitely struggle to save himself in the upcoming struggles.

Hence, being able to raise his power was a good thing for him.

As these thoughts pressed down upon him, Fang Lang continued to fight Chi Yun over the vast ocean like a divine immortal! His hair and his snow-white robes fluttered around him.

The two fought using punch techniques and punch intent. Fang Lang was not highly skilled in punch technique. If he had not bound Chi Yun as his binding partner, fighting against Chi Yun using the punch technique would have been a disparity as vast as the mountain is from the oceans.

Right now, as the effect of his Enchantment Card slowly disappeared, Fang Lang was unable to continue clashing with Chi Yun using the punch technique. Neither did Fang Lang plan on continuing in that manner.

He retrieved his Obsidian Sword, wielding it in one hand. His expression was serious as he stared at the archdevil Chi Yun who similarly stood among the ocean waves.

He smiled and said, “Brother Chi Yun, you’re unmatched in the punch technique. From now onwards, I hope that you can oblige me in my sword intent.”

“We’re on the same road, the sword versus the fist. In fact, there are many similarities between the two. Please go ahead.”

Chi Yun stood on the vast ocean and gestured for Fang Lang to start.

Fang Lang smiled and angled his finger. Sword Thunder began to howl across the ocean. As it roared, it seemed to turn into a blue Thunder Dragon that tore through the clouds, displacing the air. It growled as it rushed towards Chi Yun.

Chi Yun screamed. His hair into his face as that single punch sent him flying back. It was like a river flowing in reverse.

His punch intent converged. A black tiger could vaguely be seen roaring at the sword intent. Over the ocean, a battle was raging between a dragon and a tiger. The clash between the two gradually heated up, going from being white-hot to the burning point.

Rounds of explosions occurred in the ocean at intervals, resulting in crisscrossing ditches carved out by sword intent. Occasionally, a couple of ocean fish would be caught in the blast, causing blood to rain down.

Chi Yun laughed. His eyes were filled with a sharp light. In his eyes, there was a look of satisfaction and also one of reminiscence…

His innate talent and ability were extraordinary. He was accepted by the devil king of the devil tribe as a disciple. Within those in the same generation as him, few would be able to fight him apart from the sacred maiden Bai Ling.

However, Bai Ling was a sacred maiden. Chi Yun would rarely be able to fight freely to his heart’s content with Bai Ling. He was unable to enjoy himself each time that they fought.

This time, he could finally sense the joy and pleasure of fighting! He enjoyed himself tremendously!

Fang Lang also had a good time.

Chi Yun’s stamina and enduring power were greater than Bai Ling!

The System in Fang Lang’s brain continued to ring non-stop. He obtained Realm Breakthrough Card each time!

That made Fang Lang so happy he could laugh his head off. In truth, Fang Lang enjoyed himself, feeling free and satisfied!

From the moment he began cultivating until now, Fang Lang has experienced many battles, both large and small. Yet, this might be the first and only battle in which he truly felt completely unbridled and able to fight to his heart’s content!

Hence, Fang Lang continuously unleashed all the techniques that he learned as well as all the cultivation techniques from his binding partners. He could acutely sense the changes brought on by the stacked power as he trained in those techniques!

Due to this, Fang Lang’s fighting techniques and combat methods steadily improved. Chi Yun could sense this clearly. Chi Yun could visibly notice Fang Lang’s improvement!

Fang Lang wielded his Obsidian Sword. His black hair and dark eyes seemed to glow like black lightning!

His two sword intents surged relentlessly; the time sword intent and the ten thousand blade intent! Fang Lang was a dual-sword intent, fourth-class realm cultivator, which was extremely rare.

After all, any sword cultivator of the fourth-class realm would only be able to gain enlightenment in a single sword intent. People like Fang Lang, who managed to grasp two sword intents were extremely hard to come by.

He gained enlightenment in time sword intent after he was taught by Xuanyuan Taihua when he retrieved the Reincarnating Lotus Sword.

As for the ten thousand blade intent, he gained it after receiving the Ten Thousand Blade Scripture as a prize from the System!

His power was pretty formidable and impressive!

Boom!

Fang Lang hovered over the ocean surface. His feet were not in contact with the ocean. His white robes and black hair billowed in the wind.

As he raised his arm, the ocean quaked and drops of water splattered across the air. As the water droplets rushed into the air, it made a loud explosion that tore through the skies and caused a seismic shock in the air!

Each drop of water was drawn by an invisible force, transforming them into long, slender water swords!

This scene was extremely dazzling to observe.

It was like there were thousands of swords suspended in the air like a reverse waterfall behind Fang Lang.

The archdevil Chi Yun felt a sense of oppression. His black armor glowed brightly as Chi Yun’s vital energy flowed through his whole body. Devil energy rippled through the air. He clenched his fists tightly as a devil phantom appeared behind him. He unleashed his punch technique and seemed to aim a punch into a sea of stars as he aimed directly for Fang Lang’s reverse vast ocean of swords!

Fang Lang sent out a powerful blast of spiritual sense that flowed into each blade energy. After that, the thousands of blades became like Sword Thunder. Each water sword transformed into a Sword Thunder.

In an instant, tens of thousands of Sword Thunder was headed towards Chi Yun’s head!

Splish splash! That was quickly followed by a terrifying explosion!

The entire ocean surface exploded like glass.

Chi Yun was enveloped within the explosion and roared angrily. His vital energy surged as he threw another punch towards the sword rain!

Fang Lang’s dual sword intent placed Chi Yun under immense pressure. However, Chi Yun was so elated that every single cell within his body was trembling!

This was so much fun!

A battle like this was extremely enjoyable!

He grew more and more appreciative of Fang Lang! The world seemed less lonely now that he found an opponent like him!

The other end of the ocean.

The sacred maiden Bai Ling narrowed her eyes and inhaled deeply on the back of the giant turtle. Her gaze was like an electric bolt that streaked through the heavy sword rain to land upon Fang Lang. Her expression was complicated.

She never thought that Fang Lang had held back when he was battling her earlier. This move… if she was the one out there instead of Chi Yun, she feared that she would be unable to escape.

“This is the final struggle! The end result will have to be revealed,” said the demon world warrior solemnly.

The extent of Fang Lang’s genius far exceeded his imagination. This disciple of Xuanyuan Taihua who was the All-Seeing Buddha Sect’s external assist was so brilliant that it was frightening!

It needed to be known that among the younger generation of the demon tribe and the devil tribe, both Bai Ling and Chi Yun’s talent had received the recognition of the demon king and devil king!

If this was explained in human terms, these two warriors would possess the divine core if they were humans!

Since these two geniuses participated in this Battle of Pagodas, their victory should have been guaranteed!

However… a wild Fang Lang appeared.

Xuanyuan Taihua’s disciple managed to defeat the sacred maiden Bai Ling and was now evenly matched with the archdevil Chi Yun!

“He’s a monster genius! The both of them… are monster geniuses!”

The demon world warrior was full of conflicting emotions. They could not help but exclaim in admiration and praise!

On the All-Seeing Buddha side, Fa Jiao and Fa He, who recovered from his injuries, had been watching in bated breath. They fixed their gaze on the battle in the midst of the vast ocean!

They were entranced by such an exciting and suspense-filled match.

Was this a battle between fourth-class cultivators? Their might and power seemed more akin to… a fifth-class battle!

“The result is about to be revealed. Who will win and who will lose will soon be discovered,” said Master Ci Yue calmly with his palms pressed together.

Even though he sounded calm, that was not the case on the inside. The saying ‘When there seems as though there is no way out, another solution will appear’ could be used to describe Master Ci Yue’s current emotion.

His feelings were extremely complex.

Fang Lang’s current performance exceeded his expectations. To be honest, Master Ci Yue invited Fang Lang to participate in the Battle of Pagodas merely to make up the number of participants required. Even if he had invited An Fan, it would also be to make up the number.

However, this stand-in person here to make up the number managed to put up a decent fight. He defeated the sacred maiden of the demon tribe and even looked as though he might be able to beat the archdevil of the devil tribe. This would be the first time a feat like this was accomplished in the entire history of time.

Regardless if it were the sacred maiden or the archdevil, neither were easy opponents to beat. After all, they were called divine core geniuses. That was enough to prove how extraordinarily gifted they were.

Among the younger generation, few could face them in battle. However, Fang Lang managed to do something that most normal people would not be able to accomplish!

The world seemed to go silent right at that moment. Everyone watched the battle on the vast ocean intently.

Countless sword rain gushed down. The earth became dark as though a storm was brewing. On the ocean surface, steam bubbled up and shot into the skies. It was Chi Yun’s vital energy flowing across the ocean, causing the seawater to boil and blast into the skies like a volcano erupting!

At that moment, Chi Yun felt pressured for the first time! As he faced the sword rain, he merely sent a punch out. It was like the phantom image of the devil king appeared behind him. With a single punch, the entire ocean domain seemed to open up like a crater.

The immeasurable sword rain droplets froze, looking as though this punch had torn through it! It was like a single punch lifted the rain.

However, as the devil’s punch encountered the first sword rain, the sword rain abruptly twisted. After that, it seemed to speed up drastically. In the blink of an eye, it completely enveloped the archdevil!

Chi Yun’s eyes suddenly narrowed!

“Time sword intent! This is First Sword Taihua’s time sword intent!”

Chi Yun instantly broke out in goosebumps. All his hairs stood on ends. At that point in time, he felt a threat!

A threat to his life!

Boom!

Right in front of the eyes of everyone there, the archdevil Chi Yun was instantly enveloped by countless sword rain.

The ocean was instantly sliced apart like tofu. The crisscrossing lines carved into the ocean made it look like a chessboard!

A thick fog that rolled like the roar of a tsunami appeared.

Everyone stared intently in shock. Master Ci Yue pressed his palms together and chanted. The demon world warrior sighed deeply.

The result was out.

The fog rolled out. A figure slowly floated up. It was the archdevil, Chi Yun, completely unharmed!

However… his aura had broken through the shackles of the fourth-class to advance into the fifth-class!

“I lost,” said Chi Yun with a long sigh.

Chi Yun stood on the ocean surface, looking a little shocked. His black hair fluttered among the fog.

Under the threat of Fang Lang’s dual-sword intent, Chi Yun decided to achieve a breakthrough into the fifth-class realm in order to block this attack. Even though he managed to resist this attack, the end result… this feeling…

He lost.

The All-Seeing Buddha Sect side instantly erupted into joyous cheers that came from monk Fa Jiao!

They won!

Fang Lang actually managed to achieve a miracle. He won two consecutive matches and managed to turn the tables!

Master Ci Yue broke out into a bright smile and gently stroked his beard. A smile also appeared on monk Fa He’s stern, emotionless face.

Fa Jiao’s eyes sparkled. He rubbed his palms together. Fang Lang had won two consecutive matches, so it should be time for him, the trump card of the All-Seeing Buddha Sect, to enter the ring!

Fang Lang was right. The trump card had to be unveiled at the end!

However, monk Fa Jiao was stunned. He looked toward Fang Lang.

Even though the archdevil had turned around and left, Fang Lang continued to stand in the middle of the vast ocean. He did not make a move to step out of the ring.

Fa Jiao felt his heart stop.

‘Was it possible… Did Fang Lang plan to fight all three of their opponents single-handedly!? Wait a minute! Didn’t he say that as the trump card, I should appear at the very end!?’

Beside Fa Jiao, Fa He inhaled deeply and observed the heavily panting figure in the middle of the vast ocean. A sense of awe and admiration grew within him.

“What a great person Master Fang is. Fa Jiao, Master Fang is planning to use his last bit of strength to help you wear down the last opponent on the demon realm side to guarantee our victory in this year’s Battle of Pagodas!”

Monk Fa He’s words caused Fa Jiao’s eyes to narrow.

‘Ah, so that was the reason!’

In an instant, Fa Jiao felt a prickle in his eyes!

‘Master Fang, you’ve done more than enough already! I won’t let you down! As the trump card, I’m ready to fight! Wait for me, the trump card, to head into action… and win the final match!’

The balance in the universe would be restored!