Chapter 298: The Power Of His Fist
Zen stood in the middle of the field and waved at Yan in front of a hundred thousand disciples of Cloud Sect. His action caught their attentions.
“Who is over there? Who is Zen greeting?”
To satisfy their curiosity, the disciples looked in the direction Zen was waving at.
And they saw a beautiful girl in a veil. Slender and tall, she was as graceful as a dustless cyan lotus.
Although she had veiled her face, her bright eyes were charming enough to catch everyone's attention.
“Who is that girl? She is so pretty!” one disciple exclaimed.
“I have never seen her before,” another disciple answered. “Her eyes are so bewitching! I imagine everyone will be swept off their feet by her exquisite features if she removes her veil.”
“Take off her veil? Would you dare? Although she has hidden her cultivation base, I am sure she is no less capable than the others. At least you're no match for her.”
“Alas! Zen is so lucky. If only I could meet such a beautiful girl!”
The disciples spoke in hushed tones, and their voices were full of envy and jealousy.
Sensing so many eyes on her, Yan felt a little nervous. After all, she hadn't seen such a magnificent spectacle for a long time.
Nina glared at the beautiful veiled woman.
Since paying just one point would enable her to watch the match from the arena's side, she decided not to miss it. One point was nothing to her. But she was surprised to see Zen waving at a woman after she arrived at the scene.
Nina had never seen any woman around Zen before. But since the All Peaks Competition began, Zen was often surrounded by women. Nina pouted, full of displeasure.
She didn't know that the veiled woman was Zen's sister, Yan. She was jealous for the wrong reason.
While the disciples were talking about the mysterious woman, Patrick entered the field.
In his last fight with Rocher, he had summoned Acalanatha to defend against Rocher's Heavenly Punishment Sword that was with Extreme Thunder Sword Intent.
The power that he had showed in that fight was so awesome that it impressed everyone.
It was not until then did they realize that Patrick had hidden his strength so well. It was no exaggeration to say that Cloud Sect was really full of unnoticed talents. Patrick was still so young, but he had so much power, and he was the reincarnation of Acalanatha! People had every reason to believe that his future achievements might not be less than Cloud Sect's leader, Kenneth.
As for Zen, the disciples regarded him with an uneasy sense of foreboding.
Although Zen had also beaten Rocher and owned the sword spirit, the arm was no match for the thigh. How could he compete with Patrick, who was the reincarnation of Acalanatha? There were many extensive and profound mysteries in Buddhism. Cultivating according to the Buddhist doctrine, Patrick had achieved a strong cultivation base. Although Zen was outstanding, he paled in comparison with Patrick, no matter in his martial arts level or the strength that he had shown.
“Somehow, I have the feeling that Zen is going to win,” said a disciple.
Then another disciple echoed his words, “I have the same feeling, although when Zen fought with Rocher, the power that Zen has shown was not as strong as Patrick's. We know that at the very beginning of the All Peaks Competition, Zen was just an ordinary disciple. As the end of the competition drew near, his strength grew steadily as he keeps breaking through in every fight.”
“Yeah, you are right. Zen is, indeed, a strange person. Every fight he participated in looked treacherous and hard to win no matter who he was battling with. He always won unexpectedly whether his opponent was at the consummation of the nature level or the Illuminating Soul Realm or even Rocher. Maybe he can win this time against Patrick. Haha!”
On the whole, the majority of disciples thought Patrick would win, while the rest hoped that Zen would win.
The most apparent difference between Patrick and Zen was that they were in different realms. If Zen could beat Patrick when he was just at the second grade of the nature level, what was he going to achieve when he reached the Illuminating Soul Realm?
Standing firmly on the field and with eyes focused on Zen, Patrick said solemnly, “I appreciate that you gave me three days to rest. I suppose that if I don't summon Acalanatha, I'll have a hard time beating you.”
Zen slowly drew his sword from its sheath. He shook his head slightly and said, "It is not me but my dedication to martial arts that chose to fight with the strongest opponent. A genuine warrior wins a competition fair and square.
If I exploited your weakness to secure my success, I would feel pent-up, and my inner desire would not be satisfied."
Cultivators often encountered a variety of bottlenecks. If negative affection simmered inside them, they would feel a tightness in the chest and would not break through, so their practice would be suspended.
Therefore, regardless of victory or defeat, Zen opted to fight with Patrick only after he was sure that Patrick was in good physical condition.
“I see,” said Patrick, with a gleam of admiration. “I haven't seen such an ambitious and brave person like you in a long time.”
As Patrick cultivated himself according to Buddhist doctrine, he could keep his present peaceful state of mind only by following the ten commandments of Buddhism. But Zen had trained himself as per sword skills. Without prerequisite commandments that he could stick to, the nature of his martial arts was proof that he was a self-possessed person.
Apart from Zen's strong soul and indestructible body, he was also a man with a firm will. Patrick had to admit that Zen was a powerful opponent.
“No more delays. I am going to win this fight.” Upon finishing his words, Zen thrust his sword toward Patrick. The sword dazzled in the sunshine. Just like Rocher, Zen also decided to cast the first stone.
Patrick was so powerful that it was better to gain an advantage by attacking him first. Rocher's strategy was the same as Zen's, but unfortunately, Rocher had failed to seize the initiative, and Patrick had defeated him.
With a smile, Patrick struck back at his opponent. He brought his hands together and exerted the Shadow Finger by pointing the forefingers and the ring fingers at Zen while keeping the remaining fingers attached loosely.
Patrick naively assumed that he could retaliate against the attack. But it was Zen that he was dealing with, not Rocher.
Rocher was a born swordsman, and he extensively relied on his weapon, the Blood-corroding Sword.
Zen was an all-rounder! He wasn't entirely dependent on his sword when battling his opponents. He had other weapons besides the sword.
“Ding!”
Zen's sword made a slight metallic sound and was deflected from Patrick when Patrick's fingertips sent out a blast of powerful air current.
If it had been Rocher, he would have tried to steady his sword and then counterattack by exerting the Sword Step to cope with the situation.
But Zen had a different style. After jerking his sword away, Zen aimed his fist at Patrick.
“Dragon scales, come on!”
With the power of over one hundred dragon scales, the muscles on his arms began to swell like a balloon being inflated. Blue veins stood out on his arms and looked as though small dragons were resting on them.
Patrick had not expected that Zen would strike him with only his fist. What was even more surprising was that Zen was not using his life vitality.
So when Patrick saw Zen's punch heading his way, he underestimated the power of the fist and paid little attention to it. He thought he could dissolve it by using the Grand Leaf Palm Method. But when Zen's fist came closer, Patrick was rather stunned, and the color drained from his face.
The power of Zen's fist was far beyond Patrick's imagination. He had no choice but to form a golden bell to protect himself. In the past, when under attack, Patrick could always keep his mind and stayed calm. But now, his heart was pounding in his chest. He thought, 'Is this guy a human being? Only deities in Heaven can have such strength!'
“Dong!”
The fist struck the bell.
The golden bell was indeed very solid. But under the force carried in Zen's fist, although it did not shatter, it became veined with cracks.
The power in Zen's punch had been so great that Patrick was catapulted away. His body soared through the air until it hit the light curtain of enchanted barrier.
The elders of Cloud Sect had predicted that the fight between Zen and Patrick would be fierce, and many disciples would come to watch the competition. To avoid accidents, they had reinforced the light curtain in advance. Therefore, even after such a violent impact, the enchantment only slightly wobbled and did not break.
“Zen pushed Patrick away with merely a fist! It is a miracle!” a disciple said with a startled look on his face.
“You don't favor Patrick? Well, what can I say to you?” said another disciple who assumed that Zen would win. “And this is not the first time. I guess Patrick is going to show his tour de force and I bet Zen will be able to fight back.”
“Zen is nothing without his strength. It is too soon to assume his victory. And Patrick hasn't fully exerted his strengths and skills yet.”
“But do you know what the limitations of Zen's strength are? He hasn't even used life vitality.”
More and more people engaged in a discussion. Gradually some of them began to quarrel, and the dispute turned into a verbal battle.
Among the bickering disciples, only one person stayed aloof. Zachary. Keeping his hands behind his back, he said with a flicker of a smile, “Proceed with your arguing, for all I care. Anyway, I have made enough money.”
In the final round, Zachary didn't gamble on Zen or Patrick. He had bet his money on Zen in every match, and he had won every bet. His wealth now could only be described as immeasurable. His banker in the gambling game had gone bankrupt.
Learning from that lesson, other people chose not to gamble with Zachary if he bet on Zen. No one knew whether Zen would continue to win. If Zen should lose, well, they would be relieved. But if he won, they would also go bankrupt as Zachary had a lot of money to wager with.
So Zachary didn't really care who was going to win. He had won enough money, anyway. And he might be the only one among the whole Cloud Sect who became a moneybags after the All Peaks Competition. He owed his wealth to Zen, and so he genuinely hoped that Zen would win.
As Patrick picked himself up from the floor, a serious expression passed over his face. He had never felt as embarrassed as he did at that moment.