Chapter 77: The Price Of Contempt
Though at the marrow refining level, Zen braved the debilitating assault from Vale, thus dwarfing his counterparts.
Billy who was at the grade-two nature level was too weak to circulate his life vitality against Vale's threat. Consequently, he was just an onlooker.
Zen who hadn't learned to cultivate life vitality found it exceptionally hard to concentrate on his life energy.
He relied on his body and the strength of his soul instead.
'Vale's intent is not as strong as the vengeful beast's intent. Nevertheless, it is challenging for me to resist his intent !' Zen marveled at his rival's power, which almost overwhelmed him despite his determination to withstand the assault.
Many people would be overpowered under this circumstance. Zen was no exception.
He felt as though he was being shattered and battered.....
'No. I must not surrender!' Zen swore.
One may achieve wonders with superior willpower.
But the overwhelming disparity between them in terms of martial arts overshadowed Zen's tenacity.
Zen was enduring the unbearable when confronting his rival.
Vale marveled at Zen's unparalleled endurance in the heat of their fight.
He was aware of the immense power of his life vitality, which was why Vale had used it to attack Zen.
'Marrow refining level......
His physical body has not yet reached its limits....
How can he counter my attacks?' Vale wondered at Zen's capacity to face his life vitality.
“Zen, I can see your strength and power fading gradually!” Vale grinned and then circulated his life vitality stronger than before. His power increased, so did the light column. It soared higher and glimmered brighter.
The homicidal intent of the lotus emanating from Vale's body had by now reached excessive levels.
But Zen's blood and soul were extraordinary enough to withstand the metaphysical menace as his body had become a spiritual weapon already.
Tenacious as he was, Zen felt his soul's strength fading gradually.
When confronted by the vengeful beast, the cyan dragon had come to Zen's rescue. It had roared at the vengeful beast, and the beast had surrendered. Now the cyan dragon was not spiritually active.
'I have to learn to be self-reliant!' he thought.
Vale's life vitality combined with the homicidal intent of the lotus was not powerful enough to injure Zen severely.
But Vale's assaults gave Zen a sense of oppression.
'I must maintain my soul strength and peace of mind to fight Vale!
Why not leverage the method of forgetting myself?'
Zen was suddenly inspired.
The refining method of forgetting oneself was actually an esoterica on soul refining.
Few leading masters at the Illuminating Soul Realm could master this method because refining the soul proved to be more difficult than refining the body.
Beyond self, beyond desire.
Upon entry into the level of forgetting himself, Zen could leave his physical body at the mercy of his rival without feeling any pain.
Thus, Zen's body turned invulnerable to Vale's devastating assault.
At that moment, Zen regained his composure and smiled at Vale, unperturbed.
He felt as though Vale's attacks were harmless.
Vale had thought that the flow of his life vitality would give Zen a fatal blow.
What he had not expected was that Zen would be able to put up such strong resistance with much ease.
If one were to compare, Vale would be like a colossal elephant fighting an ant-like Zen but achieving no result.
Vale flew into a rage as
someone much inferior to him was able to survive his attack.
He didn't enjoy being humiliated by a weaker refiner!
Such a battle was a spectacle that should not be missed.
At that moment, Vale, exacerbated by the lack of results, shelved his humility and decided to fight Zen with all his might.
“Kneel!” Vale roared as he raised his hands and touched Zen.
Vale decided to crush Zen using his strength since the spiritual attack was not yielding results.
In the ensuing battle, lotuses showered upon Zen.
Those lotuses were so heavy that once they fell to the ground, the gravel was crushed.
Each lotus was as heavy as ten thousand pounds!
It was an astounding sight to see the lotuses falling over Zen began to multiply.
In a twinkling, dozens of extraordinarily beautiful lotuses rained down over Zen's head, back, and torso.
Each was more massive than the last. When faced with over a hundred thousand pounds, Zen lost his balance.
'Such weight is too horrible to bear!'
Zen felt overwhelmed. His entire body ached with the injuries from the falling lotuses.
He could not reckon with such crushing power.
But his legs were strong enough to withstand!
“Vale, I won't succumb to you!” Zen muttered through clenched teeth as he desperately resisted.
Upon realizing that his rival would not bow before him, Vale redoubled his efforts. He was determined to see Zen fall to his knees.
“Bro, now you are done for!” Vale said contemptuously.
“Cracking!”
Zen's feet were stuck, and his legs felt as though gravel had encased them.
Earlier, Vale had praised Zen and showed some awe for his abilities. Once Vale's pride had been hurt, he had unleashed his power on Zen. Although Zen had been focusing on withstanding the attacks, he hadn't as yet thought of retaliating. Upon hearing the contempt in Vale's voice, Zen's intention changed.
Overpowered by Vale, Zen would have to kneel before his opponent, unless he acted quickly.
“Zen, you have no choice but to kneel in front of me!” Vale said sarcastically.
Determined to fight back, Zen roared, and straightened his stance.
The seven cyan dragon scales in his mind lit up simultaneously as if summoned by a mystic energy.
Meanwhile, Zen tightened every muscle
as preparation to break free of the lotuses.
“Twang!”
The broken flying knife, one of his secret weapons, darted toward Vale.
“Spiritual Thorn Strike!”
The spiritual thorn shot toward Vale faster than the broken flying knife.
Zen was handling the two secret weapons highly skillful
due to his constant and devoted practice earlier.
Vale was caught off guard by the soul thorn strike.
An ordinary master would have felt an excruciating pain due to the injury to his soul.
Randall who had been at the grade-four nature level was not an exception.
But Vale countered the spiritual thorn strike by emanating a red halo from his forehead.
Since the spiritual thorn strike was a tier-four cultivation method, Zen's secret weapon passed through the red halo and lodged into Vale's head.
Fortunately for Vale, he had reached the Illuminating Soul Realm. That meant that Vale only felt a little dizzy from the spiritual attack and was able to recover quickly.
However, it was the hiatus that nearly doomed Vale.
The broken flying knife flew toward Vale's head. By the time Vale regained his composure after the spiritual thorn strike, the knife had neared its mark.
A lotus bloomed to counter the broken flying knife. However, the broken flying knife penetrated it.
Another lotus shot up in its place to block the broken flying knife's course, only to prove futile.
The power of the broken flying knife was diminished only upon impact with the third lotus. Since it carried the weight of ten thousand pounds, the lotus proved to be more effective in deflecting the broken flying knife.
Despite the deviation, the broken flying knife marred Vale and blood spurted from the spot where the knife had embedded itself.
Had it not been for Vale's timely reaction, he would have lost his life.
Vale was highly endowed and considered as a promising youth among the disciples from noble clans owing to his extraordinary martial arts.
The Wang Clan was a minor clan compared to the top seven noble clans.
Vary and his father Steven Wang were edging their way into an influential clan worthy of the top seven noble clans' equal.
Every warrior was bound to meet some difficulties on his way to the success.
And this battle nearly claimed Vale's life.
Vale narrowly escaped death when battling Zen because he had been overconfident and arrogant.... That was the price of his contempt!