“Ultimate Realm?”
“Bu Qianfan has once reached the legendary highest realm?”
“That can’t be true! Only a few people have done it since the ancient times.”
…
A tossed stone raises a thousand ripples. Students on the Stairway to Heaven were all shocked. Many of them were staring at Bu Qianfan.
Bu Qianfan remained stone cold, as he stared at Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen was not surprised at all. He had reached the Ultimate Realm three times. Hence, the Ultimate Realm was not so hard to reach as people imagined. At least, it is possible to be achieved by humans.
Zhang Ruochen said, “You are possibly misunderstood. You don’t need to prove your strength. I don’t want to fight with you since the person you want to defeat is Di Yi, not me.”
Bu Qianfan frowned, and he clenched his fists with anger. A stroke of Qi billow gushed out of his body. He said, “If that is the case, then forgive me if I offend you!”
Within an instant, he leaped three steps forward and chopped toward Zhang Ruochen’s neck with his hand.
It was the broadsword technique of Army Suppressing and Prestige Destroying.
The martial technique of Ghost Level Inferior Class contained the most fierce and direct movement of the broadsword technique, chop, stab, twining head … It could simplify all complicated moves into only three moves.
It seemed that there were only three moves, but every move contained the quintessence of the broadsword technique: taking someone’s life within one move.
In the army, only an officer who was the Commander-in-Chief was qualified to practice the broadsword technique of Army Suppressing and Prestige Destroying. If he wanted to succeed in practicing it, he had to practice it on the battle field. Only after he killed tens of thousands of people would he have a chance in successfully mastering the technique.
The first move that Bu Qianfan applied was the Knife of Army Suppressing. He swung his arm as if it was a broadsword, and it formed half-moon of knife light in front of his arm.
“Swish!”
Before Bu Qianfan finished his motion, Zhang Ruochen had already felt the murderous intent, sharpness, and hostility the strike contained, as if it could eliminate every enemy who was in its way.
Zhang Ruochen had to fight back. He pressed together with his forefinger and middle finger. He used his hand as a sword to apply one move of Nine Yang Sword—Pull Chestnut out of Fire.
Sword Comprehension and Genuine Qi condensed on his two fingertips, which thrusted quickly toward the side tip of Bu Qianfan’s palm.
“Pow!”
There was the clashing sound of knife and sword. Both of them fought recklessly.
Bu Qianfan had sharp eyes and acted quickly. All his power surged, which drove the arm to rotate. He immediately applied the second move of the broadsword technique.
“Dispiriting Knife Technique.”
The second attack seemed to be even more terrifying than the first. Its power and momentum was astonishing. It could be seen with bare eyes that there was a shadow of broadsword above Bu Qianfan’s arm. It followed the track of his arm movement and chopped toward Zhang Ruochen’s waist.
“Moonglade Knife Technique.”
Zhang Ruochen applied one sword technique of Nine Yang Sword again and held back Bu Qianfan’s second attack once again.
“Regicide Knife Technique.”
Without hesitation, Bu Qianfan applied the third movement of the broadsword technique of Army Suppressing and Prestige Destroying, which was the most powerful one.
Faintly, it could be seen that there was a giant man in armor who was standing behind him. He swung his sword toward Zhang Ruochen’s head.
Boom!
It looked like a knife and tens of thousands of knives as well. All of them sliced down at the same time.
Three knives chopped in a row, and their power continued to increase.
Facing the overwhelming knife energy, Zhang Ruochen looked serious as well. He moved one step backward to decrease the pressure of the broadsword technique.
He mobilized the power of Sword Comprehension and applied the realm of Heart Integrated into Sword. He held his hands together, and his whole body became a sword and stabbed toward Bu Qianfan.
“Pow!”
Bu Qianfan flew backward and fell back to more than 16 meters away. His arms were trembling. There was a drop of blood dripping from his sleeve.
Zhang Ruochen retreated three steps. His ten fingers were hurt and numb as if he he just tried to punch an iron mountain.
“Amazing. He could actually hold on three moves of my broadsword technique of Army Suppressing and Prestige Destroying. No wonder he could defeat Di Yi.”
Bu Qianfan was serious. There was a layer of Genuine Qi aura floating on his arm. Suddenly, the blood which had dropped out turned into Spiritual Blood was sucked into his nose and mouth.
Zhang Ruochen said, “You are also powerful. I have used all my strength!”
Bu Qianfan showed a smile in his eyes. He said, “All of your strength? I don’t think so! I have checked on your profile. When you were in the Black Realm, your Spiritual Power was over 30th level.”
“I practice the broadsword technique of Army Suppressing and Prestige Destroying, which emphasis mostly on the momentum. Once the broadsword technique strikes out, it has to destroy the warrior’s spirit. Even if a warrior in the Fish-dragon Realm, he can’t be completely stationed, but you remained untouched from the beginning to the end.”
“So I guessing that your Spiritual Power has reached the 40th level. You deserve to be called a master of Spiritual Power. If you attack by applying the Spiritual Power, your strength should be more than this.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “40th level of Spiritual Power? You’ve been exaggerating.”
Bu Qianfan seemed to be very confident. He continued, “If your Spiritual Power is not strong enough to a certain degree, how can you hold back the power of Di Yi’s Demon’s Heart? Even with your sword technique realm of Heart Integrated into Sword, you can’t defeat Di Yi if you are both in the same realm.”
Bu Qianfan then added, “Even if you have the Spiritual Power as the final resolution, you are not necessarily invincible when both of you are in the same realm. I also have a final resolution. If you and I are engaged in a life-and-death struggle, my chance to survive is bigger than you, because you have a weakness that you don’t even realize it yourself.”
Zhang Ruochen replied: “What weakness?”
“Fighting experience, the fighting experience in the hovering of life and death.”
Bu Qianfan said, “I grew up on the battle field and have experienced various wars for no less than ten thousand times. Among them, there were several hundred times that I was on the verge of death, struggling to be alive, crawling in between life and death and going through trials and tribulations on the blood-soaked battlefields.”
“The number of wars I have experienced is more than ten times you have experienced. Every time, some will stand and some will fall. Even if Di Yi defeated me last time, he couldn’t kill me and could only watch me leave.”
Zhang Ruochen became serious because Bu Qianfan was telling the truth. Compared with him, Zhang Ruochen’s fighting experience and the amount of going through trials and tribulations were indeed not enough.
Of course, if it was really a fight between life and death, Zhang Ruochen did not think that he was the one that going to die, because Zhang Ruochen had an indominable faith.
Zhang Ruochen said, “I’m very curious of why you lost to Di Yi. Were there any flaws in your Martial Arts?”
Bu Qianfan was silent for a moment. He seemed to be recalling something. Afterward, he shook his head and turned around, walking down the Stairway to Heaven. He said, “Zhang Ruochen, if you want to know the answer, come and find me in the big battalion of Ministry of War. If you want to compensate for your weakness, you must come.”
Zhang Ruochen stared at Bu Qianfan’s shadow. He smiled and said, “What an interesting man.”
Bu Qianfan was not a Saintly Being, but he had lots of experience on the battlefield. He had reached the Ultimate Realm, so he had the strength to fight against a Saintly Being.
Although he was not a Saintly Being, he stayed at the top of the Earth Board for three years. He really had something that others did not.
Zhang Ruochen stared at Xu Qing who was not far away. He asked, “Do you still want to fight?”
Xu Qing’s condition of injury had totally healed. With the regulation of the Genuine Qi, both of his hands immediately turned into silver metals. He said with a smile, “Zhang Ruochen, we don’t need to continue the fight. We can have another competition.”
“What kind of other competition?” Zhang Ruochen said.
Xu Qing pointed at Stairway to Heaven. He said, “Let’s see who can climb higher. If you can win, the previous grudge between us would be forgotten once and for all. If you lose, you have to kneel in front of the gate of Saint Xu Gentry for three days as an apology to us. Kneel before a Saint is not disgraceful, is it?”
“As simple as that?” Zhang Ruochen was a bit unconvinced.
There was suppression of gods on the Stairway to Heaven. The higher one’s cultivation was, the more powerful the suppression one will encounter.
Only when one’s talent is greater, his Spiritual Power will be more powerful. The warriors who had more powerful Martial Soul could climb higher up the stairway.
Xu Qing should know it clearly. His greatest advantage was that his cultivation was deeper than Zhang Ruochen’s.
In this case, why did he give up his own advantage and fight against Zhang Ruochen in a tougher condition?
Although Zhang Ruochen thought that Xu Qing must have had a plan, he did not back out and directly agreed instead.
Xu Qing rushed out first and reached the 40th level Stairway without much effort, and he continued to climb up very quickly.
Zhang Ruochen rushed to the 30th Stairway first. He ascended to the 31st, 32nd Stairway after leaving his name on the Jade Tablet….
A moment later, Zhang Ruochen had already been on the 40th Stairway.
At this moment, the invisible pressure became very overwhelming. There seemed to be 40 times of normal gravity on crushing down on Zhang Ruochen’s body, which not only squeezed on Zhang Ruochen’s body, but also on Zhang Ruochen’s Martial Soul.
An ordinary warrior would have been crushed to the ground long ago.
Zhang Ruochen raised his head. There were 57 warriors who had ascended the 40th level. Before that there were several students of Omen Ridge fought with the students of Saint Xu Gentry, there were also other warriors who had ascended the Stairway to Heaven, going up one step by one step.
There was a powerful warrior who had already reached the 65th Stairway.
He was the inheritor of the Powerful Saint Family. He wore a metal vest and exposed his bronze-colored arms. It made him seem to be particularly mighty.
There were three people who had ascended the 60th Stairway. The other two were also inheritors of the Powerful Saint Family.
18 warriors had climbed to the 50th Stairway.
Zi Hansha who had been climbing the Stairway to Heaven before that had reached the 54th Stairway.
But his potential seemed to have been exhausted. He stood on the Stairway, trying hard to hold on. The sweat broke out all over his body and his body bent. He could not set his feet on the 55th Stairway no matter how hard he tried.
“Pfft!”
Zi Hansha made a move forcibly and wanted to ascend the 55th Stairway. He was hit by an invisible power and flew out. She rolled down with blood spitting out of her mouth.
She fell to the 40th Stairway and regained her posture. Then she got up and saw Zhang Ruochen who was not far away.
“Darn. Zhang Ruochen is actually so powerful. I must not lose to him.”
Zi Hansha certainly had seen the fight between Zhang Ruochen and Xu Qing and Bu Qianfan. Now seeing that Zhang Ruochen was right in front of him, he was frustrated.
So he clenched his teeth and tried again. He closely followed Zhang Ruochen and climbed up again.
(To be continued…)