The Innerverse has Ten Arbiters, the Neoverse had the Cosmic Five, the Sixth Mainland has Daosource Three Skies, and the Astral Beast Domain had Skymender’s List. One by one, talented geniuses had been born, and all of them in the current era were competing, so naturally, everyone wanted to know who was the strongest.
The moment that a face appeared upon the towering statue, the name of the Pinnacle Youth would be known.
The day had been very long, but it had passed exceptionally quickly for Lu Yin.
He had a short rest, and the day finished. ZENITH then continued.
Lu Yin stepped onto the plaza, and across from him, Xia Jiuyou appeared.
Seeing Lu Yin, Xia Jiuyou took a deep breath. At this point in the competition, everyone knew everyone else’s abilities, and nothing had been kept hidden. The biggest question everyone still had was what form Shang Qing’s third strand of ancestral qi would take when he summoned a Progenitor.
As far as Xia Jiuyou was concerned, Lu Yin was nearly as mysterious as Shang Qing.
Xia Jiuyou knew Lu Yin. When the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated from each other, Lu Yin had managed to unite the Outerverse. He was ruthless in his methods, and also extremely thorough. At times, some of his actions would look to be impulsive, but there was always a purpose behind them.
Xia Jiuyou actually believed that Lu Yin had kept some things hidden, even at this stage in ZENITH. If Xia Jiuyou wanted to have any hope of victory, he could not allow Lu Yin the time needed to use any such hidden measures.
“If I die, Xia Luo will as well,” Xia Jiuyou suddenly stated, startling Lu Yin with his words. Seizing this opportunity, Xia Jiuyou lifted his hands and attacked. Yōu Reinforced Palm, but not just one. This was more like a series of slaps.
Xia Jiuyou was using his innate gift of echo, as he hoped to not allow Lu Yin any time to react at all.
The overwhelming Yōu Reinforced Palms shot through the void, raining down on Lu Yin from all directions.
Lu Yin did not use a secret technique to evade. Xia Jiuyou had mastered the Xia family’s secret technique, and Nullify could destroy any other secret technique. Seeing the incoming Yōu Reinforced Palms, Lu Yin released his domain, and his forcefield condensed to form a massive tree.
The Yōu Reinforced Palms slammed into the forcefield in the shape of a tree, and each palm dissolved the moment it drew close to Lu Yin’s body.
Lu Yin had not used his forcefield since his time as one of ZENITH’s five gatekeepers. His use of it at this moment surprised everyone watching.
Lu Yin’s forcefield was not much worse than Unseen Light’s.
Unseen Light had reached the top of Zenith Mountain only by using his forcefield, and it had allowed him to even compete for the position of one of the top ten. Lu Yin’s forcefield was powerful enough to block the full power of the Yōu Reinforced Palms.
In the distance, Wu Taibai, Yao Xuan, and the others watching were surprised; Lu Yin had really not played this hand yet?
Unseen Light looked up, as he had felt something.
Even when facing Yuhua Mavis, Liu Tianmu, Yao Xuan, or even Bu Kong, Lu Yin had never needed to use his forcefield. It was not an overwhelmingly powerful ability at this stage, but it was still good enough to block the Yōu Reinforced Palms, and it worked surprisingly well.
Xia Jiuyou’s face turned ugly. The purpose of his Yōu Reinforced Palms had not been to defeat Lu Yin, but to leave a mark on him, just like when he had fought Lei Nu’s back in the Mountain and Seas Zone. After she had been struck, Xia Jiuyou had been able to attack freely.
He had not expected Lu Yin to perfectly defend against the palms with a forcefield.
Lu Yin’s domain was very strong, but it was not enough to pose a threat to Xia Jiuyou, but it had been enough to stop his attacks, so he reluctantly formed a knife from star energy. The Xia family’s Triple Blade Will.
Suddenly, a Vacuum Palm flew out, reinforced by nine lined battle force. Xia Jiuyou was horrified, and his knife flew forward, only to shatter. The Vacuum Palm slammed into his body, forcing him back as he spat out blood. Stars suddenly appeared and began to move; the Cosmic Art
Xia Jiuyou went pale, and he screamed at the sky. The sound waves amplified each other due to his innate talent of echo. At this moment, the stars exploded.
Zenith Mountain shook, and smoke and dust obscured everything.
Xia Jiuyou had just broken free of the Cosmic Art, only to have to deal with another Vacuum Palm. Lu Yin was not giving his opponent any breaks. This attack was so powerful that it penetrated Xia Jiuyou’s abdomen and forced him to the edge of death.
Xia Jiuyou coughed up blood and looked up as Lu Yin walked out in front of him. “I said, how many lives do you have?”
Outside Zenith Mountain, Xia Meng was getting anxious, but she was completely helpless. There was too much of a gap between Xia Jiuyou and Lu Yin. Xia Jiuyou’s attacks were too weak, and his defenses were not enough.
Xia Jiuyou had also realized this, but Lu Yin’s palm fell once again, and Xia Jiuyou’s forehead cracked. He fell to the ground, dead.
Lu Yinju stared down at Xia Jiuyou.
Elsewhere on Zenith Mountain, Xia Luo grew nervous; Xia Jiuyou could not die.
Everyone stared at Xia Jiuyou as he laid on the ground. He was clearly dead, yet his eyes soon opened and he quickly said, “I give up.”
Lu Yin was calm, as there had been no surprises to this match at all.
Off in the distance, Wu Taibai frowned as he stared at Xia Jiuyou. Wu Taibai could not understand just what Xia Jiuyou was thinking.
Xia Jiuyou had no choice. He was unwilling to give up, but he could not win. Even if he wanted to risk his life, he still needed the power to force a life and death battle.
Lu Yin’s Vacuum Palm alone was enough to send him to the finals of ZENITH. There were very few people who could block this attack, and people like Little Arrow Saint had been defeated by a single attack, and even Wang Yi had been injured by it. It was pretty good that Xia Jiuyou had managed to endure multiple attacks.
The next round would have Shang Qing facing Wu Taibai.
All of the people from the Sixth Mainland grew nervous as they stared at their screens. No matter how much confidence they placed in their Daosource Three Skies, there was still a great deal of pressure since Wu Taibai was going up against Shang Qing.
Both before and during ZENITH, no matter who had appeared or what sort of power they had revealed, Shang Qing had always been the only person recognized as being unmatched. He had also been the one to end the battle royale that had determined the top ten.
He had summoned Progenitor Chen from a strand of ancestral qi, and that summon had attacked everyone. Shang Qing had even pushed for everyone to team up against him, and no matter if it was his strength or arrogance, he made people extremely nervous.
Wu Taibai and Shang Qing faced each other, and three strands of qi swirled around Shang Qing. He floated in the air, looking like a deity. His entire demeanor made his opponents appear inferior.
Although Shang Qing was just one person, he was able to summon three Progenitors to fight his battles, and this was why he was regarded as being invincible.
Who was arrogant enough to claim that they could compare to Progenitors with the same level of cultivation, let alone three? On top of that, Shang Qing summoned Progenitor Chen, who had always been regarded as invincible.
Wu Taibai’s only chance at victory was to defeat Shang Qing himself, which is what he intended to do.
As the illusory form of Progenitor Chen was summoned, Wu Taibai raised his hand. “Mountains and Rivers Imprint.”
The qi moved in front of Shang Qing, protecting him. The mountains and rivers struck a strand of qi and shattered it. People had seen this before. At that time, Shang Qing had transformed the qin into the illusory form of Progenitor Chen, who had then proceeded to smash the mountains and rivers.
The secret technique of the Mountains and Rivers Imprint was able to ignore space. It had been created by Progenitor of Combat, and it was powerful enough to shatter the Tri-Yang Technique’s qi strands. However, those strands of qi were able to buy Shang Qing one second, and that one second was enough.
At this time, the summoned Progenitor Chen attacked Wu Taibai with a blade, and the Xia family’s Triple Blade Will condensed onto the knife. One step allowed Progenitor Chen to traverse the space. This was the same attack that had eliminated Unseen Light and the others to decide ZENITH’s top ten. No one dared to be careless when facing Progenitor Chen.
However, the same scene repeated. Last time, Wu Taibai had just taken on the attack, and this time was no different.
A strange energy boiled off of Wu Taibai’s body, and he raised a hand. There was a bang, and Progenitor Chen was firmly caught by Wu Taibai. He did not take even a single step back, unlike before. Progenitor Chen wielded a sharp knife, and the color suddenly changed and grew dark.
From where he was watching in the distance, Xia Jiuyou’s pupils shrank. Was this the Yōu Reinforced Palm? No, Progenitor Chen was integrating Yōu Reinforced Palm into the Triple Blade Will. The techniques could actually be used like this?
Wu Taibai had also not expected to see such a scene. His hand quickly froze, and his expression changed a bit. He moved his hand to shake off the knife, and he then struck Progenitor Chen with a palm.
Wu Taibai was able to hit Progenitor Chen, but the summoned Progenitor could also cut Wu Taibai.
This was an exchange of injuries, and though it looked like Wu Taibai had attacked his opponent, he had actually lost out in this exchange.
He reluctantly retreated. Progenitor Chen moved about in the air with light steps. He was not moving quickly, yet every step he took pressed Wu Taibai in a direction he would rather avoid.
The Progenitor of Combat’s imprint appeared, and a horrifying aura swept out as Wu Taibai again attacked Progenitor Chen with the Mountains and Rivers Imprint.
The summoned Progenitor’s blade shone bright as he smashed the seals of mountains and rivers. The air in the area became icy cold.
In the Starfall Sea, very close to the barrier formed by the stretched out blackhole, the Sixth Mainland’s three Progenitors were all solemn as they stared at Zenith Mountain.
That was Progenitor Chen. It was Progenitor Chen when he had recently become an Enlighter, and yet he was able to force Wu Taibai to retreat one step after another, and not even the seal of mountains and rivers had done anything.
Progenitor Chen had always possessed invincible strength, and who can stand against him?
Who would dare claim they were able to defeat Progenitor Chen at the same cultivation realm? The three Progenitors certainly lacked that courage. After all, Progenitor Chen had slaughtered more than one Progenitor, and had even succeeded with only a single clone.
Lu Yin watched Wu Taibai as he was forced back, step by step, by the summoned Progenitor Chen. Wu Taibai looked more serious than Lu Yin had ever seen him.
This was the power of Progenitor Chen. Wu Taibai was powerful enough to suppress even Yuhua Mavis after utilizing his strange energy. His Mountains and Rivers Imprint secret technique ignored any sort of distance and possessed unparalleled attack power.
Wait, Lu Yin’s expression suddenly changed and he spun around to look at Shang Qing. Nine clones in one?
The two strands of ancestral qi swirling around had previously transformed into two of Progenitor Chen’s clones, so could those clones possibly merge?
Lu Yin’s face changed even further as he stared at Shang Qing. If Lu Yin was right, this technique was far too terrifying. No wonder Shang Qing had always believed himself to be invincible. His opponents were not fighting him, but Progenitor Chen when he had been an Enlighter. Even if the summoned Progenitor Chen was missing cultivation, he was still Progenitor Chen.
The ground split open as Progenitor Chen attacked with his knife, severing the sky itself, as well as space beyond Zenith Mountain.
Everyone was focused on the broadcast of this fight. Wu Taibai was being suppressed too much.
Wu Taibai’s face remained calm. Although Progenitor Chen had been invincible during his own era and no one had been able to challenge him, Wu Taibai was indeed strong enough to challenge Progenitor Chen with the same cultivation. It would be incredibly difficult to win, but this match was not about defeating Progenitor Chen, but rather the man who stood some distance away, looking like a deity.
Shang Qing watched Wu Taibai with indifferent eyes. Wu Taibai’s strength was well within Shang Qing’s expectations, and he was even able to fight against Progenitor Chen. Wu Taibai could be recognized as peerless within his generation, but unfortunately, once Shang Qing appeared, all others needed to step down.
Shang Qing was feeling incredibly bored. If not for the change in the rules, everyone would have teamed up to fight him, and they might have even been able to force him to send out his third stream of qi and force him through his bottleneck in cultivation and breakthrough with the Tri-Yang Technique.
In the end, the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique was nothing more than a battle technique. Shang Qing wanted to become a Progenitor, and he had to rely on himself in order to achieve that. He did not want to simply be the Hall of Honor’s invincible minion.
The blade attacked once again, and the summoned Progenitor Chen forced Wu Taibai to the edge of the mountaintop.
Wu Taibai took a deep breath and glanced to the side where Wang Yi was watching.
Wu Taibai felt helpless. He had not expected to be pushed so far. The light of the knife was in front of him. This summoned Progenitor Chen was not sapient, but continuously attacked. The void around the two fighters had been frozen by Progenitor Chen’s integration of the Yōu Reinforced Palm into his attacks.
Wu Taibai lifted his right hand to shield his face.
People watching were completely confused; what was Wu Taibai doing? Did he not have the courage to watch the incoming attack?
Wang Yi’s eyebrows rose. It’s coming.
