1323 Who Am I?
The chariot slowly advanced into the thick fog.
This fog was truly thick. Standing in the chariot, they could barely see a meter in front of themselves. Moreover, if it weren’t for the defensive barrier around the chariot stopping the fog from seeping in, perhaps it would be difficult for them to see each other as well.
Ling Han reached over to grab the Heavenly Phoenix Divine Maiden’s hand. If something terrifying were to appear here, he would immediately place his wife into the Black Tower. As for the others, that would depend on the situation.
After all, they had only gathered together because they appreciated each other’s talent. There wasn’t any strong bond or friends.h.i.+p between them.
The chariot continued to advance, issuing a loud rumbling as it did. This was the might of Saintly Material.
Ling Han gazed forward. However, regardless of how wide he opened his eyes, the scene before him was still a picture of swirling fog. Even the Eye of Truth couldn’t penetrate it. It was as if this fog were eternal.
However, after a short while, the fog before them suddenly vanished, revealing a courtyard. Within this courtyard was a youth who was practicing sword techniques. He only looked 13 or 14, yet the aura that radiated from him was clearly at the Mountain River Tier.
This was astounding. He was so young, yet he had already reached the Mountain River Tier!
‘Wait, no!’
Ling Han hurriedly shook his head. He had clearly been in a chariot charging through a thick fog, so how had a courtyard suddenly appeared before him? How had a youth suddenly appeared before him?
‘Huh? Where are the Heavenly Phoenix Divine Maiden and the others?’
Ling Han hurriedly looked around. However, where was the chariot? Where were the Heavenly Phoenix Divine Maiden, the Stone Emperor, and the others? They were nowhere to be seen!
As he frantically looked around, the youth stopped practicing his sword techniques. He then also started to gaze around at his surroundings. His actions… were identical to Ling Han’s!
Could it be… that he was that youth?
Ling Han raised his hand, and the youth also raised his hand. There was a dazed look on the youth’s face.
‘Has my divine sense left my body?’
Ling Han shuddered, and he was suddenly tugged toward the youth by a powerful force. However, the youth stood there unmoving as if he hadn’t noticed Ling Han cras.h.i.+ng into him at all.
Pu!
The two of them collided together, yet neither of them was thrown to the ground. Instead, Ling Han was liked flowing water as he fused into the youth’s body.
At this moment, he was completely fused together with the youth.
No, they weren’t fused together. Apart from his name, this youth didn’t have any other memory. His mind was like a blank canvas. Thus, it was probably more accurate to say that Ling Han’s divine sense had become the owner of this body.
His mind was a bit hazy, and two names churned about in his head. One was Ling Han, and the other was… Ding Zizhen.
‘Who am I?’
Ling Han was a bit dazed. The memories that belonged to him were disappearing at a rapid speed. In the end, only one thought remained—that was, his name was Ding Zizhen. As for other matters… he didn’t know anything.
He ferociously bit his tongue. ‘My name is Ling Han!’
This thick fog was an illusion formation that was subtly affecting his mind and body.
‘I’ll enter the Black Tower.’
This thought flashed through Ling Han’s mind, yet he discovered that there was no Black Tower within his body. It was as if he had genuinely become Ding Zizhen.
‘What’s going on?
‘I’m not Ding Zizhen, I’m Ling Han!’ Ling Han shouted in his mind.
He was trying to remind himself of his ident.i.ty. The fact that there was no Black Tower within his body was the greatest flaw of this illusion. Noticing this flaw allowed him to maintain his ident.i.ty and awareness.
“Ding Zizhen!” Several youths walked into the courtyard, and one of them said, “It’s time for the clan compet.i.tion!”
“Heh, I suggest you obediently admit defeat. Otherwise, we’ll beat you to the point that you can’t cultivate for three months again.”
“Hurry up and follow us! What are you lagging behind for?”
These youths looked around one or two years older than him. Their cultivation… was also above his.
Ling Han discovered that his cultivation level was only at the low extreme of the Sun Moon Tier. Meanwhile, the cultivation levels of the youths in front of him were at least at the medium extreme of the Sun Moon Tier. In fact, some were even at the high extreme or consummate level. However, Ling Han was unafraid. He possessed a power that surpa.s.sed six stars, and he had even perfected his comprehension of the Regulations. Thus, his battle prowess could probably surpa.s.s six stars as well!
He followed these youths, crossing through several pavilions and halls. This place was unbelievably large, and they only arrived at a training ground after walking for a long time. Many people were waiting there already, some of them old, some of them young, some of them male, and some of them female.
The cultivation of everyone present was different, ranging from the Mountain River Tier to the Sun Moon Tier and to the Heavenly Body Tier. The weakest individual was only at the Shattering Void Tier—this was an infant that was being held in its mother’s bosom.
‘Gasp! They’re at the Shattering Void Tier at birth?
‘Where the b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l is this? They’re virtually Immortals at birth!’
What stunned Ling Han even more was the fact that he saw the occasional person releasing their eternal river. These were definitely Eternal River Tier elites. However, like the others, they were obediently standing among the crowd.
There was an elevated platform at one end of the training ground, and there were several people seated above this platform. Their faces were all shrouded in mist, making them appear extremely mysterious.
Ling Han merely took a glance at them, yet he felt as if his divine sense were about to be ripped into shreds.
‘They’re far too powerful!’
These people could definitely blot heaven and earth with a hand, obliterate planets with a snap of their fingers, and destroy galaxies with a breath of air.
‘Are they Saints?’
Even Eternal River Tier elites could only stand by the sides of the training ground. Thus, the status of the people seated on the platform was definitely far above that of Eternal River Tier elites. If they weren’t Saints, what else could they be? In any case, Saints were still divided into four categories. The people on the platform definitely weren’t Small Saints. Perhaps they were Great Saints, or perhaps they were Saint Kings!
“Let the Ding Clan’s end-of-year compet.i.tion begin!”
Following this loud announcement, pairs of cultivators entered the training ground and started to fight. The youngest cultivator was only 10-years-old. Surprisingly, however, he was at the low extreme of the Mountain River Tier. This wowed the audience and won the praise of everyone.
“As expected of Ding Yaolong! He’s the 77th generation successor of our ancient ancestor, and his ancestral bloodline is still relatively pure. He’s only 10, yet he’s already this powerful.”
“He’ll definitely become a powerful and influential figure of the Ding Clan!”
This youth was incredibly powerful, being able to battle against cultivators at the high extreme of the Mountain River Tier even though he was only at the low extreme. In fact, after activating some kind of secret technique, he was even able to defeat an opponent who was at the early stage of the consummate level.
“Tide of the Ages!”
“I never imagined that Yaolong was actually this talented! He’s only at the Mountain River Tier, yet he can already wield the power of time!”
“He’s the fortune of the Ding Clan!”
Meanwhile, the powerful beings on the platform nodded in praise.
Ding Yaolong left the training ground to the sound of praise and applause. After several more rotations of battle, it was finally Ling Han’s turn to fight—Ding Zizhen’s turn, to be more precise.
His opponent was also at the low extreme, though his cultivation level was slightly higher than his. He was at the middle stage, while Ling Han was only at the early stage. Moreover, he was one of the youths who had gone to call him just then.
“Obediently admit defeat!” the youth commanded as he attacked Ling Han.
Ling Han counterattacked, yet he instantly discovered that he had genuinely become another person.
He didn’t possess a powerful physique and defense anymore, and his power couldn’t surpa.s.s six stars, either. All the secret techniques that he had mastered had vanished as well.
Right now, he merely possessed power at the early stage of the low extreme of the Mountain River Tier. Moreover, his battle prowess couldn’t even surpa.s.s one star.
Peng!
After dodging several strikes, Ling Han was finally sent flying by a kick.
“Tras.h.!.+” While he was flying through the air, he saw his opponent mouth this with an expression of complete disdain.
Ling Han collapsed to the ground in a heap. He tried to crawl up to continue the battle, yet a burst of agonizing pain suddenly shot through his body. He was unable to withstand this, and he instantly lost consciousness.
“Eh!” When he suddenly jerked awake, he heard several cries of astonishment around him.
He had returned to the chariot, and his surroundings were still blanketed by thick fog. The Heavenly Phoenix Divine Maiden, Stone Emperor, North Emperor, and the others were all in the chariot. No one was missing.
‘S-so uncanny!’