Chapter 2125: Challenging a Supreme Saint
After bidding farewell to Ao Xinyan, Zhang Ruochen went straight to Merit Star. On the other hand, Blackie had brought the key to the World Gate to a safe place.
Merit Star was still very lively even after some time.
As the situation in the Battlefield of Merits intensified, numerous powerhouses visited Kunlun Realm every day. They all came from the macroworld and ancient civilizations of Celestial Court.
Being a long-lasting realm, Kunlun Realm contained countless opportunities. This was extremely attractive to both Infernal and Celestial Courts. It attracted the attention of all Celestial Courts and the Infernal Court’s Ten Clans.
Zhang Ruochen was in the limelight now. As soon as he arrived on Merit Star, he immediately caused a great sensation and became the focus of attention of cultivators from various realms.
There were many cultivators involved in the incident at Yin Yang Sea, hence it was impossible to hide the news. It would not take long for the news to be spread all over the world.
“Why are you all looking at Zhang Ruochen? Did he do anything incredible again?”
Some cultivators had no idea what happened previously and were confused.
“You are late to the party. Not long ago, a series of huge incidents happened in Kunlun Realm’s Yin Yang Sea. They were all related to Zhang Ruochen.”
“Infernal Court sent a powerful army of Saint Kings, led by Son of Darkness, Nether Hall’s Seven Top Killers, and the Three Emperors and Twelve Reverends of Bone Clan into Yin Yang Sea. They wanted to seize the key to the World Gate, which was closely related to the World Spirit of Kunlun Realm. Thousand-Star Civilization, Beidou Civilization, Giant Spirit civilization, Sunshine Civilization, and the Celestial Dragon Realm were somehow informed of the news. They also sent many cultivators.”
“But in the end, Infernal Court lost thousands of Saint Kings, including Son of Darkness and the Seven Reverends of Bone Clan. The Tianzi of Sunshine Civilization was also killed. Jinyang Twin Kings, along with thousands of the Saint Kings of Sunshine Civilization were also subdued.”
Immediately, some cultivators who knew the details began to explain.
After hearing this, those cultivators who hadn’t heard about the recent news were shocked. They couldn’t believe what they had just heard.
“Son of Darkness is a peerless genius nurtured by the Fane of Darkness. He’s fused with the strange power of Darkness of the Abyss of Darkness, and his power has reached the first tier below Supreme Sainthood. Zhang Ruochen may be powerful, but how can he kill Son of Darkness?”
“Jinyang Twin Kings’ power can reach the first tier below Supreme Sainthood if they join hands. Who can suppress them? If Zhang Ruochen was really this powerful, how could Sect of the Blood God have broken through?”
Some cultivators shook their heads. They didn’t believe it was true.
It wasn’t easy to rise from the second tier below Supreme Sainthood to the first tier. Zhang Ruochen did have such potential, but it should take some time.
In Celestial and Infernal Courts, all those in the first tier below Supreme Sainthood had practiced for a long time. It would take hundreds of years to accumulate experience. It couldn’t be achieved overnight.
“You have to believe it. Son of Darkness was indeed defeated by Zhang Ruochen. After that, he even broke the rules and took a King Grade Sacred Pill to break through to the Neverwither Supreme Saint level. Yet, he was swallowed by a monster which Zhang Ruochen had subdued. It was a crushing defeat.”
“Also, Sunshine Civilization was indeed defeated by Zhang Ruochen this time. Their Tianzi was killed, and JinYang Twin Kings wanted to take revenge. However, they were no match for Zhang Ruochen. He easily subdued them.”
“Zhang Ruochen has truly risen. No one can stop him. He is Kunlun Realm’s true god of war now. Since he made his return to Kunlun Realm, he has made Infernal Court suffer too many losses.”
…
Many cultivators couldn’t help but discuss about it. Some cultivators even had reverence in their eyes.
The strong were always respected. This was a rule that had never changed.
Zhang Ruochen paid no attention to those discussions. He ignored them and walked straight to Merit Exchange Hall.
Wherever he passed, cultivators made way for him. Even the cultivators from Heavenly Realm didn’t dare to frown in front of him.
“Hurry up and see how many merits Zhang Ruochen can exchange this time.”
All of a sudden, many cultivators followed Zhang Ruochen.
Upon entering Merit Exchange Hall, Zhang Ruochen immediately shifted his gaze at the Saint King Merit List to check the recent changes.
The number of people on the Saint King Merit List had increased again, but there were no significant changes in the top 10,000 rankings.
The last time he came, Zhang Ruochen had 6.6 billion merit points, ranking at 3,342. Now, his ranking has only dropped over 20 places.
With a flip of his hand, Zhang Ruochen took out a dimensional jade bottle and began to pour out the collected Saint Souls of the powerhouses of Infernal Court.
As the Saint Souls were poured out, his merit points also increased rapidly.
After all the Saint Souls were poured out, Zhang Ruochen’s merit value increased from 6.6 billion points to 11.4 billion points. His ranking also rose sharply, and he was now ranked at 786, entering the top 1,000.
Although Zhang Ruochen had only killed thousands of Infernal Court cultivators, they were all powerhouses of Saint King Realm. This was why he could receive such an astonishing amount of merit points.
Entering the top 1,000 also meant that Zhang Ruochen could exchange for a better Meritorious Armor of Flowing Light.
Although Zhang Ruochen might not be able to use the Meritorious Armor of Flowing Light with his current attainments in the Path of Dimension, he had no reason to refuse it.
Zhang Ruochen immediately took out the Meritorious Armor of Flowing Light, which was 1,000 times the speed of sound, for the Fane of Merit to summon back. At the same time, he began to enhance his powers with Merit Qi.
The Merit Qi power upgrade for those in the top 1,000 of Saint King Merit List was extremely effective. Even someone as strong as Zhang Ruochen who was now a top cultivator below the first tier of Supreme Sainthood could still benefit from many upgrades. Now, the slight flaws in his body and Saint Soul were eliminated, and he became tougher.
“What a powerful Neverwither Saint Light. Zhang Ruochen actually used Merit Qi to make his arms immortal,” some cultivators exclaimed.
With all cultivators in the hall watching, Zhang Ruochen’s arms emitted a bright Neverwither Saint Light. A dragon and an elephant appeared, giving off an extremely powerful pressure.
Another cultivator widened his eyes and said in disbelief, “Zhang Ruochen’s body was not immortal at all when he fought with Son of Darkness. How could…”
Before his body was immortal, Zhang Ruochen’s strength had already reached the first tier below Supreme Sainthood. If most of his body became immortal, how much stronger could he be?
Not too long later, the Merit Qi upgrade was over. A strange armor glowing with silver light appeared out of thin air and automatically wore on Zhang Ruochen’s body. It fitted him perfectly, as if it had been tailor made for him.
‘The Meritorious Armor of Flowing Light is 2,000 times the speed of sound. It’s not bad. Maybe there will be a time where I can use this,’ Zhang Ruochen thought.
After feeling it for a bit, Zhang Ruochen put the Meritorious Armor of Flowing Light away.
However in comparison, the Armor of the Fire God increased his combat power and defense more.
Then, Zhang Ruochen looked at his arms. After the immortal transformation, he could clearly feel the difference in his arms. Be it palm techniques or fist techniques, his power would definitely increase vastly.
However, at this stage, this could only be considered as the initial immortal transformation. The strength of his arms would be further enhanced after he refined all Five-element Divine Objects.
Without stopping for long, Zhang Ruochen walked straight to the Merit Treasure Exchange Counter.
Now that he had obtained the top-level Five-element Divine Objects, there is no need to save his merits. He could use his merit points to exchange other treasures.
Zhang Ruochen still had 7.5 billion merit points left to spend. Obviously, he could use them to redeem a large number of treasures.
After careful selection, Zhang Ruochen used these merit points to redeem hundreds of treasures. These were rare items and could be used to cultivate many more powerhouses.
Zhang Ruochen was about to leave after redeeming the treasures. Strangely, he felt that he was being targeted by someone suddenly. He frowned and had his guard up secretly. Following his senses, he looked over to the source.
‘It’s a Supreme Saint,‘ Zhang Ruochen couldn’t open his eyes because of the brilliant saint light.
That person was dozens of miles away, but the light and heat he emitted seemed to be melting Zhang Ruochen’s body.
Zhang Ruochen wasn’t an ordinary Saint cultivator. He quickly blocked the holy light. At the end of his line of sight, he saw a tall, middle-aged man in golden armor. He was majestic and held the Sky-Piercer Halberd. He looked like a god of war.
The Grand Terminal of Merits was specially built for Saints and Saint Kings. Under normal circumstances, no Supreme Saints would visit.
If there was an exception, it would be the Emissaries Vigilant appointed by the Celestial Palace.
‘Such strong hostility. It seems that the comer isn’t friendly.‘
It wasn’t that Zhang Ruochen had never interacted with an Emissaries Vigilant, but he had only interacted with their clones. This was the first time he had seen an Emissaries Vigilant in person. It would be impossible for him not to be afraid.
An actual Supreme Saint, the Emperor of Saint Realm, was right in front of him.
The middle-aged man had long golden hair. Each strand of hair seemed to contain thousands of Precepts. He walked slowly in the void space and appeared in front of Zhang Ruochen. With a stern tone, he shouted, “Zhang Ruochen, how dare you ignore the rules of heaven set by the Celestial Palace and kill and subdue your allies? How should you be punished?”
At this moment, many cultivators had gathered around and surrounded the Merit Treasure Exchange Counter.
A familiar Saint’s shadow appeared nearby, he sneered and said, “It was so noble of Sunshine Tianzi to visit Yin Yang Sea to stop Infernal Court’s conspiracy. However, Zhang Ruochen killed the Tianzi in order to take his precious treasure. This was outrageous! If we don’t punish him severely, we will definitely disappoint our allies.”
Another saint tone came from afar, “Zhang Ruochen has repeatedly violated the rules of heaven and trampled on the majesty of the Celestial Palace. He should be punished severely. Please arrest him, Emissaries Vigilant.”
A cold light flashed in Zhang Ruochen’s eyes. These people were probably cultivators of Heavenly Realm who had deep grudges with him.
These people must also be the ones who informed the Emissaries Vigilant about his whereabouts, or else he wouldn’t have cornered him here.
If not mistaken, this Emissaries Vigilant should be from Sunshine Civilization. Their Tianzi’s death was a huge deal for them.
“Immediately release the cultivators of Sunshine Civilization and surrender. Don’t make me do anything,” the middle-aged man said in a commanding tone, expressing his strong will.
Initially, Sunshine Civilization didn’t know how to deal with Zhang Ruochen. Now that he had left Kunlun Realm and came to Merit Star, he was walking right into a trap.
Without the restrictions of Kunlun Realm, no matter how powerful Zhang Ruochen was, he could not escape from his grasp.
Although the other party was a Supreme Saint, Zhang Ruochen isn’t someone who could be easily controlled. He said with an indifferent expression, “Is this the attitude of Sunshine Civilization? It’s not up to you to decide what’s right and wrong.”
So what if he was an Emissaries Vigilant?
It was impossible for him to subdue Zhang Ruochen with force.
“Zhang Ruochen, no matter how you quibble, you can’t change the fact that you killed Sunshine Tianzi. Not only did you violate the rules of heaven which forbids internal strife, but you also subdued thousands of Sunshine Civilization cultivators. This is a flagrant disregard of the rules.”
The saint shadow who had been standing in a distance walked out from a group of Saint Realm cultivators and said loudly.
This person wore a three-colored armor and a jade crown. His eyes were deep and he looked extraordinary.
He was no stranger to Zhang Ruochen. He had met him in Peacock Manor previously. He was Shang Ziyan’s senior brother, Xing Yuan. He was a top powerhouse in the third tier below Supreme Sainthood, trained by the Fane of Merit.
Xing Yuan looked at Zhang Ruochen coldly. He cupped his hands and said to the middle-aged man, “Supreme Saint Jinhui, given your status, you don’t need to say anything to Zhang Ruochen. Just arrest him.”
“Brother Xing Yuan is right. Zhang Ruochen has repeatedly violated the rules of heaven and is unpardonable. Even if you kill him, no one will dare to say anything,” another person chimed in.
This person had also appeared in the Peacock Manor. He was Chen Hu, a Scarlet Angel of the previous generation, nurtured by the Fane of Bloody War. His strength wasn’t much weaker than Xing Yuan’s.
The Fane of Merit and the Fane of Bloody War undoubtedly hated Zhang Ruochen to the bone. This was a rare opportunity to add insult to injury. Naturally, they wouldn’t let this chance slip through their fingers.
Xing Yuan and Chen Hu were harboring evil intentions. They were eager for Supreme Saint Jinhui to attack Zhang Ruochen. It would be best if he could kill Zhang Ruochen.
After all, Zhang Ruochen had Yueshen behind him. Even if they brought him back to the Celestial Palace, they would not be able to do anything to him.
“Do both of you want to die?” Zhang Ruochen’s eyes flashed with terrifying killing intent.
Back then, Shang Ziyan had led a group to attack Shengming City. These two had contributed a lot to the killings. Countless Shengming citizens had died because of them.
If it wasn’t for the involvement of the Emissaries Vigilant, Zhang Ruochen wouldn’t have let them leave Peacock Manor.
Yet, these two people still dared to appear in front of him. They even dared to incite Supreme Saint Jinhui to attack him. They were truly despicable.
Xing Yuan’s eyes turned cold. He quickly said, “Zhang Ruochen is already crazy and murderous. If we continue to let him go, more allies will be killed. Please call the shots, Supreme Saint Jinhui.”
“Zhang Ruochen, you are too presumptuous. Do you still want to kill people in front of me? Do you really think that no one can stop you?” said Supreme Saint Jinhui.
Zhang Ruochen’s expression turned cold. “If I really want to kill them, no one can stop me. Quit putting on airs in front of me. If you want me to release Jinyang Twin Kings and the others, you better change your attitude.”
Hearing this, Supreme Saint Jinhui’s expression turned grim. No junior in the Saint King Realm had ever dared to speak to him like this.
He knew that Zhang Ruochen had already reached the first tier below Supreme Sainthood. He may be standing at the peak of Saint King Realm, but that doesn’t mean he had the right to act all arrogant in front of him.
Without becoming a Supreme Saint, no one would ever know the true meaning of Path.
Similarly, without becoming a Supreme Saint, one would only be cultivators of Saint Realm and not Saint Emperors.
The three strongest levels below the Supreme Sainthood corresponded to the combat power that could rival, defeat and kill a Neverwither Supreme Saint.
However, they were all referring to the Supreme Saints in the initial stage of the Neverwilt Realm.
Furthermore, those Supreme Saints who were defeated by Saint Kings only cultivated 30 million Precepts in Saint King Realm. The immortal saint bodies that they forged were also very weak. Their potential was almost exhausted and it would be difficult for them to improve during their lifetime.
In other words, they were the weakest among the Supreme Saints.
Although Supreme Saint Jinhui wasn’t the most talented, he had cultivated more than 40 million Precepts when he was in Saint King Realm. He had broken through to Supreme Sainthood for almost a thousand years. He had cultivated his strength to the mid-stages of the Neverwilt Realm step by step, and he wasn’t far from the advanced stage. His strength wasn’t something that the Supreme Saints who had just entered the Neverwilt Realm could compare to.
Supreme Saint Jinhui had absolute confidence in his own strength. Below the Supreme Sainthood, not to mention Zhang Ruochen, even Yan Wushen was no match for him.
“Zhang Ruochen, since you don’t have any sense of propriety, don’t blame me for humiliating you,” Supreme Saint Jinhui’s eyes were sharp, and his body exuded a vast Supreme Saint’s pressure.