Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
“…”
Zheng Yang felt so embarrassed that he could wither on the spot.
It was in a moment of tough internal conflict that the other party’s spear suddenly struck his eye, but that was not the worst.
He had accidentally released a small sliver of a fraction of a hint of his zhenqi due to the aggression, and the other party’s spear had simply dissipated.
Mortal-tier weapons were simply too flimsy!
If it had been a Great Sage artifact instead… it would have at least taken a flutter of his eyelid to do the same!
He really should have controlled his strength better in the duel… but then again, he did not even exert any strength at all!
Deng deng deng deng!
With the spear dissipating, Mo Xiao leaped back in sheer horror.
He had aimed for Zheng Yang’s eye, thinking that the latter would surely attempt to dodge, but who could have known that the latter would remain completely still, as if a statue? He had really panicked for a moment, but to his astonishment, instead of a tragedy unfolding before his eyes, his spear had become the victim of the battle instead!
It was in that moment that he realized that Zheng Yang was far more powerful than he had thought. Thus, he hurriedly retreated several steps before abruptly twisting his body around to send a kick right over.
The transmission leading up to the kick was extremely smooth, and it was apparent just by looking at it that Mo Xiao had refined this move over and over again in order to achieve perfection. With chilling intent, his leg whipped right toward Zheng Yang’s neck.
Kacha!
As if kicking a metal pillar, Mo Xiao’s shin splintered from the center.
” Argh! ”
With a cry of agony, Mo Xiao collapsed to the ground. His eyes reflected his disbelief as he exclaimed, “Could it be that you have surpassed Zongshi realm to reach Zhizun realm?”
“I…” Zheng Yang’s face twitched.
He had not even made a move, but the other party’s spear and leg were already ruined. How were they supposed to have a proper duel like that?
“I never thought that you would have reached such a level…” Facing Zheng Yang’s silence, Mo Xiao thought that he had guessed correctly, and envy rippled in the depths of his eyes.
When he first heard that his good friend had come under Zhang shi’s tutelage, he had felt sympathy for the latter for a very long time. Not too long later, a conflict had happened between Zhang shi and Lu Xun laoshi, and his teacher, Wang Chao laoshi, had made him come under Lu Xun laoshi’s tutelage instead.
He had battled with Zheng Yang then, and it was there that he had realized that the latter’s spearmanship had already far exceeded his.
Ever since then, he had worked himself tirelessly, hoping to challenge Zheng Yang once more to a duel and best him.
This was also why he had challenged Zheng Yang to a duel so passionately as soon as they reunited with one another. He had thought that his hard work over the year would allow him to defeat the latter with ease, but who could have known that the other party had already reached Zhizun realm, thus pulling his distance away from him?
His attack could not even hurt the other party!
“I…” Zheng Yang intended to explain the matter, but eventually, he simply shook his head.
In Mo Xiao’s eyes, Zhizun realm probably meant the very peak of the world. It was only normal for him to think that way.
A this moment, a voice echoed across the room. It was from Zhang Xuan.
“He’s already someone from a different world from you.”
Hearing those words, Zheng Yang lowered his gaze melancholically. He had been excited a moment ago to see his good friend, but by that point, his joy had already vanished.
It was just a year of absence, but the gap between them had grown so huge that a rift of unthinkable size stood between the two of them. It swiftly dawned on him that the old days were already gone, and there was no way that the relationship between him and Mo Xiao would be the same anymore.
Due to the difference in positions and strength, they no longer had a shared language with one another. No matter how hard they tried to ignore it, the rift would only become more and more visible to them until it was shoved right into their faces.
Such was the current situation between them.
Mo Xiao was still wondering whether he had achieved a breakthrough from Zongshi to Zhizun realm whereas the truth was that he had already reached a level that Mo Xiao could not even fathom.
“Along with your growth, you will inevitably part with many friends…” Zhang Xuan continued.
The worlds that Zheng Yang and Mo Xiao lived in had already diverged from one another, and it was unlikely that they would ever intersect again.
It was not that any of them wanted to sever their friendship, but the sheer difference in their strength changed the nature of their relationship. Rivalry had always been a key aspect of their relationship, and there was no way that Mo Xiao could accept an unbridgeable distance between the two of them.
Such a relationship would only crush his confidence and esteem.
Hearing his teacher’s words, Zheng Yang shook out of his state and replied with a smile, “Yes, you’re right. I have reached Zhizun realm…”
He pulled his good friend from the ground before walking over to Zhang Xuan. “Teacher, may I have the pill that you took out earlier? Mo Xiao is injured, so I would like to give it to him.”
“Here.”
With a flick of his finger, the pill that Zhang Xuan had given the young lady earlier flew into Zheng Yang’s hand.
“Eat this!” Zheng Yang said as he passed the pill over to Mo Xiao.
“Un!” Mo Xiao nodded.
He was just about to swallow the pill when the young lady from before suddenly walked over with an anxious look on her face.
“Senior, I took a look at the pill earlier, and there isn’t the slightest hint of spiritual energy in it. It’s very likely a fake pill! You mustn’t eat it!”
She had taken a look at it, and the pill appeared extremely suspicious to her. What if Mo Xiao ate it and his cultivation went berserk?
“Don’t worry, I believe in Zheng Yang. He wouldn’t harm me!” Mo Xiao replied with a smile before swallowing the pill heartily.
While the vast difference in their strength did leave him feeling a little disheartened, the trust and feelings that he had for Zheng Yang had not changed at all.
He knew for certain that Zheng Yang would not harm him, and he trusted him so.
“Little Meng is right. Mo Xiao, how can you swallow a pill from another person so recklessly?”
Lu Xun also did not expect his student to swallow the pill given by another person so readily. With a frown on his forehead, he rushed forward and placed his palm on Mo Xiao’s body, saying, “I’ll check on your physical condition to see if there’s anything wrong with that pill!”
Boom!
Barely after his zhenqi surged into Mo Xiao’s acupoints, a gush of heat suddenly rushed out from the latter’s body, knocking him back.
Peng!
Lu Xun was sent flying before knocking heavily onto the stage, leaving a massive pit in it.
“What terrifying strength…” Lu Xun remarked with narrowed eyes as he struggled to his feet.
He anxiously looked at his student, only to see tremendous energy pulsating around the latter’s acupoints. It looked almost as if the young man would burst into flames. An incredible surge of spiritual energy gathered around the young man, forming a massive spiral above him.
Kacha!
In less than three breaths, he had already overcome his bottleneck, and his Tongxuan realm pinnacle cultivation advanced into Zongshi realm.
However, it did not stop there.
Zongshi realm primary stage!
Zongshi realm intermediate stage!
Zongshi realm advanced stage!
Zongshi realm pinnacle…
Zhizun realm primary stage!
Zhizun realm intermediate stage…
Even upon reaching Zhizun realm pinnacle, the momentum of his breakthroughs did not halt at all. He continued achieving a breakthrough right to Transcendent Mortal.
Eventually, his cultivation stabilized at Transcendent Mortal 2-dan Origin Energy realm. Every movement of his was suffused with incredible power, making it feel as if he had just ascended to immortality.
“T-this…” Lu Xun’s eyes widened as his body trembled uncontrollably. Looking almost as if he had seen a ghost, he uttered in disbelief, “That pill… is it a grade-6 pill?”
Only a pill of grade-6 and above could possibly contain such pure medicinal energy that it would allow a person to achieve a breakthrough of several realms at once without coming to harm.
“Grade-6?”
The young lady from before suddenly felt her vision going dark.
She suddenly recalled how she had rejected the pill earlier when they offered to pay her with it instead of gold coins… and she had even accused the other party of trying to swindle her.
Had she accepted and swallowed it right away, the person to have made a breakthrough would have been her instead!
“Of course not!” Hearing Lu Xun’s words, Zheng Yang shook his head. “How could my teacher possibly have grade-6 pills?”
“It isn’t a grade-6 pill? If that isn’t the case, how could it allow Mo Xiao to achieve a breakthrough without suffering any side effects? His cultivation still feels incredibly compact; there isn’t any feeling of looseness or instability!” Lu Xun argued with widened eyes.
All medicine contained some degree of poison. The higher grade a pill was, the greater medicinal energy it would harness, thus boosting a person’s cultivation by a greater degree. However, this came at a price. One’s cultivation would be unstable after the breakthroughs, and it was highly likely that it would harm one’s body in one way or another.
Was it really possible for a pill lower than grade-6 to achieve such mystical effects?
“Grade-6 pills don’t have the ability to simultaneously heal a person’s injuries and boost their cultivation significantly. The pill my teacher took out is a grade-8 pill, which is why Mo Xiao was able to achieve a breakthrough in his cultivation!” Zheng Yang explained with a smile.
“Grade-8?”
The commotion in the auditorium abruptly hushed as everyone found themselves stupefied by what they had just heard.
