Chapter 380: Not even one round?
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Since the ancient days, people had always wanted to compete to see who was better. However, some people had higher cultivation levels whilst others had better techniques.
Then, how would they decide?
The easiest method was to have a fair fight.
However, after the candidates heard that Fang Zhengzhi had 388 Daos in his pocket dimension, no one doubted his abilities anymore.
After all, history had proven that those who managed to grasp more than 100 Daos were all heroes amongst their peers!
…
Nangong Hao had been a bright star ever since his childhood days. He had been surrounded by compliments for the past 20 years.
More and more complimentary phrases had been piled on over the years.
Mature, calm, stable, talented, the future of his generation. A plethora of different compliments had been heaped upon him.
Anyone in his position would be incredibly arrogant.
However, Nangong Hao was not. He knew that the higher he went, the greater the fall would be. As such, he never stopped working hard to improve himself.
For the court examinations, despite having every advantage, he still spent effort to read up on his opponent’s character and techniques.
He felt that as long as he did the necessary preparations and found Fang Zhengzhi’s achilles heel, victory was certain.
But now?
Fang Zhengzhi had countered almost perfectly. Fang Zhengzhi had ruined his plans, unsettling him greatly.
Nangong Hao recovered slowly.
He raised his head as he looked into the blue sky. He felt the chilly spring wind and looked at the stunned candidates around him.
He knew that right now, Fang Zhengzhi was just on the same level as him.
However, if one saw it from the different perspective…
His knowledge advantage, ability advantage, geographical advantage… virtually all his advantages had been neutralized by Fang Zhengzhi!
Nangong Hao did not bother thinking any more. He did not try to rebut Fang Zhengzhi. Instead, he slowly raised his clear sword.
“In this battle, I will suppress my cultivation level to the Heavenly Reflection State.” Nangong Hao started rather shakily before calming down.
All of the other candidates were taken aback by what they heard.
“Nangong Hao wants to suppress his own cultivation state?! He proposed this himself? What is going on?”
“Why would he do such a thing?”
“It is no wonder he is the top talent!”
Some of the candidates could not understand what Nangong Hao was thinking. However, some of the faster ones understood almost immediately.
The logic was not difficult to understand. However, few people would make the same decision if they were placed in that situation. Nangong Hao’s action was admirable.
That being said…
If he didn’t make that decision, he wouldn’t be Nangong Hao.
…
Nangong Hao’s hand was steady, his eyes as bright as the sun, rays of light beaming out of his pupils.
That look of confusion had disappeared completely.
Nangong Hao knew the risks involved in such a decision. However, only by making such a decision would he feel the rush he did.
He couldn’t remember the last time he had been this excited to battle someone.
But now…
He felt the rus.h.!.+
When he heard that Fang Zhengzhi had 388 Daos in his pocket dimension, he had two choices. One, he could use his cultivation state superiority to oppress Fang Zhengzhi.
However, if he did so, he would have lost the battle of the heart.
Nangong Hao’s pride refused to let that happen.
This was especially after Fang Zhengzhi managed to neutralize all the posturing advantage Nangong Hao had.
The strong could only remain strong if they were confident enough.
Only these people would be willing to take risks and push themselves to the limits.
Only people like that would be able to stand at the pinnacle and become true powers.
Nangong Hao could choose the easier option.
He could use his cultivation state to oppress Fang Zhengzhi. However, this would mean that he did not dare to take up the challenge and prove that his method was the right one.
This battle could ruin his life!
Nangong Hao had complete faith in his choice. He was willing to pay the price for his choice. He was not afraid of losing, he was afraid of not daring to lose.
Of course, Fang Zhengzhi had to be capable enough to defeat him.
Nangong Hao’s calm slowly morphed into confidence and excitement. This was a rush he felt from discovering a worthy opponent.
How powerful was someone with 388 Daos in the pocket dimension?
Nangong Hao stared at Fang Zhengzhi. He wanted to find out for himself if the numbers made a difference, or if the heart would be the determining factor.
…
Fang Zhengzhi never thought that he would be gifted with such a golden opportunity.
In actual fact, when he heard that Nangong Hao had broken through to the Supernatural State, he wanted to turn back and tell Nangong Hao that he would reschedule.
Of course, he didn’t do so.
There was no need to explain his reasons. In the end, he had managed to neutralize the posturing advantage Nangong Hao had. Then, he received yet another piece of good news.
Nangong Hao was going to suppress his own cultivation state!
Hang on!
So if Nangong Hao was defeated, would it be legitimate?
Fang Zhengzhi’s excitement did not last long. He remembered that the purpose of battling Nangong Hao was to fulfill his promise to nangong Mu.
If he defeated Nangong Hao whilst his cultivation state was suppressed, he would not have achieved what he set out to do.
That was what Fang Zhengzhi thought.
Even so, to the candidates and the deputies, the fact that Nangong Hao was willing to suppress his cultivation state meant that he was extremely confident. This gave him the slight advantage.
“Who will win if they are both in the same cultivation state?”
“Nangong Hao of course! After all, Nangong Hao was invited to join the Heaven Dao Pavillion when he was in the Heavenly Reflection State. Furthermore, Nangong Hao’s heart is ridiculously strong.”
“Even so, Fang Zhengzhi has grasped over 300… no nearly 400 Daos! Logically speaking, no one in the same cultivation state is his match!”
“Exactly, this battle… will be difficult to predict!”
All of the candidates began to discuss the possible results of this battle. After knowing the number of Daos in Fang Zhengzhi’s pocket dimension, they began to think that this battle was less lopsided than they expected.
However, just as these candidates were expecting the battle to begin, Fang Zhengzhi’s voice rang out.
“If you are not going to give this battle your all, then this battle is meaningless. When I say it’ll be a fair fight, I mean it! I want you to try your very best! As such, please shove your pity aside and give it your all! Let me see if you are worth me drawing my sword!” Fang Zhengzhi waved his sword in the air as he spoke.
The entire crowd was silent.
All of the candidates were awed by what they just heard. This time, they were awed by Fang Zhengzhi’s lack of fear.
This was bravery in the face of a superpower.
This was even more valuable than Nangong Hao’s bravery.
The sun shone down on the Traceless Sword in Fang Zhengzhi’s hand. It caused the purple glow to be ever so bright.
…
Nangong Hao’s expression of excitement froze.
He never felt that he would start off a battle feeling this low. Even before the battle begun, he felt incredible pressure.
This pressure did not come from his opponent’s ability or power!
It was from the heart!
Nangong Hao was very confident when it came to his heart and control. However, he had to admit that as of now, Fang Zhengzhi was schooling him in that area.
He did not know what would happen if he continued like this. All he knew was that he could not sheath his sword now.
“A fair fight? Then I’d like to see if you can even last a single round!” Nangong Hao’s eyes glimmered like a golden sun.
When under such immense pressure.
Few would choose to draw their blades.
However, Nangong Hao did not even hesitate. He knew that he was well trained in that area. He did not fear someone who was equally skilled.
The Dragon Combat Plan was all accommodating.
With Nangong Hao’s cultivation method, he could accommodate almost everything. Kindness, evil, crazy… he could extract the best of everything.
With such abilities, why would he be affected by a small setback?
Nangong Hao drew his sword.
Despite losing the advantage, he did not hesitate.
His blade looked extremely ordinary and it lived up to its name. It looked like any ordinary blade, but there was nothing it was not capable of.
The blade rocketed through the air.
This was quite similar to the strike Nangong Hao had used to defeat Chen Feiyu. All of the candidates knew that this ordinary looking strike was incredibly powerful.
…
Fang Zhengzhi was a little taken aback when he saw the strike.
He had thought that after the exchange, Nangong Hao should have said something. For example, he could have stood his ground or tried to convince Fang Zhengzhi.
However, Nangong Hao did not do anything of that sort.
He chose to draw his sword and strike. He did so without mercy or hesitation. He did not even say anything before striking.
“Sneak attack?” Fang Zhengzhi wanted to accuse Nangong Hao of that, but he realized that it would not be appropriate.
After all, Nangong Hao had struck from the front. Furthermore, he had asked for fairness.
In other words, Fang Zhengzhi had already said that the battle had begun!
It was understandable that Nangong Hao would strike.
Fang Zhengzhi knew this. Even though he found it quite strange, he reacted quickly, throwing out a bunch of nails with his left hand.
The Dragon Combat Plan can accommodate everything huh?
Try accommodating nails!
Fang Zhengzhi did not hope for much from this handful of nails. This was just a habit of his.
As such, after he threw out the handful of nails, he swung Traceless with his right hand.
The water of the Yellow River originates from heaven and flows straight towards the sea, never to return.” This was a poem from the previous world, but Fang Zhengzhi thought it was the most appropriate.
The blade swung and rays of light shone out from it.
The light rays shone downard like a huge waterfall. They crashed towards Nangong Hao’s blade.
In that instant, the silver light clashed with the crystal sword.
However…
There was no loud crash or impact. It was silent, a silence that was completely foreign to the spectators.
This was a technique that Fang Zhengzhi had used many times.
He had termed this technique Mountain Waterfall Cascade. When the Traceless Blade was used, even people in the Supernatural State did not dare to take it lightly.
But this time, when his technique clashed with Nangong Hao’s blade, he felt a queer feeling in his heart.
If he had to use a single phrase to describe it, it would be…
We come from the same roots, why are we in a rush to kill each other?!
“G.o.d d.a.m.n it!” Fang Zhengzhi knew this feeling originated from Nangong Hao’s Dragon Combat Plan. He wanted to attack it.
However, that unsettling feeling rushed towards his heart. His sword technique lacked any battle intent.
Without battle intent, could it still be called a sword technique?
Fang Zhengzhi finally understood why Chen Feiyu would stand rooted to the ground, only reacting after Nangong Hao’s blade was at his throat.
It wasn’t that Chen Feiyu didn’t want to fight.
It was that Chen Feiyu’s sword technique didn’t want to fight!
“You can control everything in the universe but so can I!” Nangong Hao’s words to Chen Feiyu rang out in Fang Zhengzhi’s mind.
The sword technique was made up from Dao and Dao was everything in the universe.
Nangong Hao’s cultivation state was superior to Fang Zhengzhi. As such, he had better control over everything in the universe. With that in mind, he had better control over Dao…
That meant that he could control the sword technique.