Chapter 418.2: Secrets - Part 2
Although Chen Chao's cultivation realm was inferior to Daoist Sage Tianyi's, his physique was arguably the strongest in the Bitter Sea Realm. Thus, even though he was currently on the defensive, Daoist Sage Tianyi could not find a certain-kill opportunity to strike him down.
As for Daoist Sage Tianyi, while he appeared to be continuously enhancing his cultivation level with the medicinal fruits, he never neglected the tempering of his physical body. With the assistance of the medicinal fruits, his physique was incredibly tough; far surpassing that of an ordinary Great Beyond Realm martial artist.
The two threw punches without regard for consequences, causing numerous cracks in the stones in front of the great hall. Yet, due to the heavy rain, no dust was raised.
After close to an hour, Daoist Sage Tianyi's purple robe was considerably damaged. Following a particularly intense exchange of blows with Chen Chao, the stones beneath their feet shattered instantly, forming a web of cracks. Under the onslaught of berserk punches, Daoist Sage Tianyi's purple robe also tore apart.
Daoist Sage Tianyi revealed the muscular physique hidden under the purple robe. The clear distinction between each muscle resembled a perfect sculpture.
And beneath each of his muscles seemed to be contained immense strength.
Compared to Chen Chao, Daoist Sage Tianyi appeared more like a powerful martial artist.
"Your physique is tempered rather impressively, but to kill me, I'm afraid it will be quite difficult," Daoist Sage Tianyi said expressionlessly, looking at the young martial artist before him. Even though the two were destined to determine life and death soon, he still harbored some admiration for the young martial artist before him, whether was it due to his talent or his solid foundation in martial arts.
Chen Chao moved his neck, emitting a series of crackling sounds throughout his body. He shook his arms, scattering off a lot of rainwater before saying, "As long as there's a chance."
Daoist Sage Tianyi said indifferently, "I still want to ask again, are you really unwilling to accompany me?"
Chen Chao rushed forward, throwing a word at the same time, "Disgusting."
At the same time, Daoist Sage Tianyi took a step forward, his arm striking directly at Chen Chao's chest, while his other hand clenched into a fist, unleashing a surging blast of fist force that dispersed the rainwater, smashing towards Chen Chao once again.
Chen Chao was expressionless, reaching out to grab Daoist Sage Tianyi's arm and then twisting it with both hands.
In the ensuing exchange, Daoist Sage Tianyi clearly sensed that the young martial artist in front of him possessed multiple layers of fist intent intertwined within his body; not just one, but at least three fist intents, resembling three thin ropes, currently intertwining each other.
The weakest one, he could virtually confirm that it was the aura that this young martial artist had been bitterly cultivating all along. As for the other two, although the power was still weak, it was likely due to the fact that this young martial artist had not had enough time to study them. However, the essence of the fist intent in them was profound and lofty; probably not the mere martial spirit of an ordinary martial artist.
Chen Chao remained silent, he just formed a stance in silence.
Initially, when he obtained the Lord Warden Commander's cultivation insights, and later sparred with the Great General, receiving guidance from this peerless martial artist. Moreover, on that night, the Great Liang Emperor intentionally or unintentionally offered some guidance. It could be said that the three most powerful martial artists of the Great Liang Dynasty were all his teachers.
Before meeting these three martial artists, Chen Chao's martial arts cultivation did not have the guidance of a famous master. Apart from his own decent talent, the only things that allowed him to reach that level were hard work and a disregard for his own life.
Killing demons in the mountains of Tianqing County, countless life-and-death struggles, and enduring longer than ordinary people every time he tempered his body, these unconventional methods prevented him from being left behind by the young geniuses of the current era.
But that was all.
However, after the martial arts guidance from these three martial artists, especially after Chen Chao obtained the Lord Warden Commander's cultivation insights, his martial arts progress was much faster than most people could imagine.
After a brief surprise, Daoist Sage Tianyi quickly calmed down. In the end, no matter how strong you are, you are still a cultivation realm below me. You think you can kill me? It's nothing but a fool's talk.
As a senior martial artist, Daoist Sage Tianyi had the confidence.
However, during their subsequent exchange, Daoist Sage Tianyi somewhat belatedly realized that he had underestimated the young martial artist in front of him.
The young martial artist's fist intent was too fierce, and there were even signs of Daoist Sage Tianyi being pushed back.
But he quickly stopped the decline. He blocked Chen Chao's fierce punch with his elbow, and at the same time, he threw a punch, hitting the gap exposed by Chen Chao.
If this punch had hit his opponent's heart, Daoist Sage Tianyi would have been confident of severely injuring this young martial artist.
However, before this punch could land, the young martial artist opposite him broke through the fist's momentum with an even more domineering punch and landed a blow on Daoist Sage Tianyi's forehead.
Daoist Sage Tianyi retracted his punch to block it, but the punch still landed solidly on his forearm, causing him to retreat several steps once again.
Feeling the pain coming from his forearm, Daoist Sage Tianyi's expression changed slightly, but faced with the opponent's relentless onslaught, he still did not just passively endure the blows.
He seized the opportunity to punch Chen Chao in the abdomen, then stepped back several dozen, gaining some breathing room for himself.
Then, he even extended his hand, drawing the raindrops around him to attack Chen Chao.
Chen Chao allowed the densely packed raindrops to pelt his body before saying, "What's wrong? Are you not considering yourself a martial artist now?"
Daoist Sage Tianyi was expressionless. Over the years, he had painstakingly studied how to open up a new path for martial artists. But in reality, progress had been slow. He could only construct something akin to meridians of cultivators using the medicinal fruits, and the magic spells he grasped were not only few in numbers, but also lacking in power.
Thus, these methods were merely flashy without substance.
Nevertheless, he firmly believed that he was on the right path. It was just that the one who would succeed in the end might not be himself.
Without saying a word, Daoist Sage Tianyi reached out, gathering rainwater in his hand and condensing it into a transparent long saber. Then, he confronted Chen Chao once again.
At this point, it no longer mattered whether he used martial arts to face the enemy or not.
Chen Chao remained silent. At this moment, the qi in his body was surging uncontrollably, almost reaching the brink of a breakthrough. However, even so, he was not willing to seize the opportunity to break through. As for whether to use a saber, Chen Chao had not even considered it. He had said he would beat the Daoist Sage Tianyi to death punch by punch, and he meant it.
After Daoist Sage Tianyi wielded the saber, he engaged with Chen Chao using a mixture of magic spells and martial arts. This time, he finally suppressed Chen Chao's increasingly surging fist intent.
Regaining control of the situation, Daoist Sage Tianyi swung his saber, slicing through the rain around him with formidable saber qi, simultaneously carving out a deep gulf in the ground!
After dodging this saber strike, Chen Chao clenched his fist and smashed towards the sky, causing the raindrops continuously falling from the sky to actually pour back towards the heavens.
Between heaven and earth, it seemed as if the rain had suddenly stopped.
But immediately after, the gathered rainwater poured down, as if the Milky Way breached the embankment.
A surging water flow now separated the two.
Daoist Sage Tianyi swung his saber again, cutting through the water flow, then leaped over it and swung the saber down towards Chen Chao.
Chen Chao caught the blade with both hands but was forced to kneel on one knee under the tremendous force.
Daoist Sage Tianyi's hands erupted with tremendous force, pressing down to make it impossible for the young martial artist in front of him to hold onto the blade, intending to split his body in two with a single strike.
The ground shattered once again, and where Chen Chao knelt, there was a visible depression.
A trickle of blood seeped out of the corner of Chen Chao's mouth, and his internal qi seemed to be somewhat scattered by now.
Just when Daoist Sage Tianyi thought the outcome was certain, Chen Chao exerted force with both hands, suddenly twisting them, causing the rain saber's blade to disperse at this moment.
Daoist Sage Tianyi paid no heed and was determined to deliver this decisive blow.
A moment later, the blade shattered, but the remaining fragments continued to descend, grazing Chen Chao's face, breaking through his skin from the top of his head to his abdomen.
Chen Chao seemed as if he had truly been cleaved apart by this strike.
However, after the blade descended and reached near Chen Chao's feet, where he should have been split in two, he suddenly extended his foot and stomped on the already shattered blade.
At the same time, he charged towards Daoist Sage Tianyi like an arrow released from a bow, sending Daoist Sage Tianyi flying back into the main hall.
The hall trembled with a loud bang.
Daoist Sage Tianyi was slammed into the ancestral statue in the hall, completely immobilized within it.
With a furious roar, Daoist Sage Tianyi struggled free, paying no heed to the dismal state of the ancestral statue behind him.
At that moment, Chen Chao also entered the hall.
Standing at the doorway, blood streaming down his body, Chen Chao wiped his face, unable to stop the bleeding. It even smeared his entire face full of blood because of it.
With this, the battlefield of these two martial artists transitioned from the rain outside into the hall.