Chapter 548 A Blunder
This sword skill was called “Shadow”!
While using Shadow Sword, Zhang Han activated eight light sabers with different characteristics, which corresponded to eight primary hexagrams. The skill was designed for cultivators at the Innateness stage because lots of spiritual sense energy was required to coordinate with the sword skill and stop the target from escaping.
But Zhang Han was a professional in cultivating his soul sense, which helped him to cross the strength gap and handle Shadow Sword!
Now Zhang Han was weak because Shadow Sword took up most of his spiritual force and soul sense, but Gai Xingkong seemed to be shocked by something and forgot to fight back.
It was not Zhang Han’s sword skill that surprised him, though it was really hard to resist.
When Zhang Han was making this move, his eyes sparkled and his hair fluttered in the wind, which reminded Gai Xingkong of another man’s face.
“I know who he is!
“He is that man’s son!
“Hiss!”
Gai Xingkong squinted his eyes and look at Zhang Han carefully.
When Zhang Han’s eight light sabers were about to touch him, Gai Xingkong raised his arm and there was a flash of light on his Dragon-tiger Spear.
But he soon put down the spear.
Although the divine weapon could greatly improve his strength, there was a limit to this upgrading. In the current situation, though the Dragon-tiger Spear would block 80% of the attacking power, the remaining 20% would still make him suffer a lot.
After thinking about the possible consequences, Gai Xingkong put down his Dragon-tiger Spear and took out a palm-sized jade with his right hand.
Then he crushed the jade.
“Bang!”
Within the m.u.f.fled sound, the eight light sabers came at Gai Xingkong.
Gai Xingkong in the encirclement suddenly disappeared.
“Boom!”
An earth-shaking, dull sound came from the mountain below.
The sound of the explosion was deafening. The snow layer was cut by the sword, and even many boulders could be seen dancing in the air.
All the onlookers around were shocked by the scene.
“How powerful is Zhang Hanyang? He could even suppress Gas Xingkong and the divine weapon!”
“Am I dreaming?”
“Invincible Grand Master! It’s not a joke!”
“…”
More than a thousand martial artists on the top of the mountain were stunned.
They only saw this kind of fight in their dreams.
“Zhang… Hanyang…” Gai Rulong averted his eyes from the scene due to fear.
To Gai Rulong’s astonishment, his grandfather was at a disadvantage in the battle and was forced to use the precious jade as a subst.i.tute for his life.
The jade, specially refined for the battle against the Man in the Bamboo Hat, was finally used to avoid being killed by Zhang Hanyang.
“Has he reached the level of G.o.d State Strong?” a middle-aged man in the Gai family asked with a trembling voice.
The other Gai family members fell into silence.
They knew that it might be the truth.
Gai Xingkong had killed the Man in the Bamboo Hat, a G.o.d State Strong, without using his jade subst.i.tute.
But he had used it without hesitation in the battle against Zhang Hanyang when he found that his Dragon-tiger Spear was no longer able to protect himself.
This meant that Zhang Hanyang was even more powerful than that Man in the Bamboo Hat in the Divine Realm.
When everyone was in confusion, Liao Qingguang explained to them, “When fighting against Gai Xingkong, the Man in the Bamboo Hat could only use 70% of his energy under the restriction of that array.”
“Phew…”
The Gai family members sighed in relief.
“We’re lucky.”
But Liao Qingguang’s next words caused their facial expressions to freeze. “Though he is slightly stronger than Xingkong, he has many more trump cards and was likely to win the battle no matter how hard Xingkong tried. Zhang Hanyang deserves the t.i.tle of Peerless Talent.”
Liao Qingguang’s evaluation was always very pertinent because he didn’t know that Zhang Han could only use 80% of the Demon Dancing Sword’s energy. Otherwise, he would have been even more shocked.
Liao Qingguang’s words stunned the other martial artists.
“Don’t make fun of us at this critical moment, please.”
Though they were annoyed by Liao Qingguang’s trick, most of the onlookers were frightened at the same time.
Gai Rulong, who knew the real ident.i.ty of Liao Qingguang, was even more worried after hearing that comment.
The Gai family members were now depressed.
On the other side of the battlefield, Lei Tiannan was watching the battle without even blinking his eyes.
“Wow! He is so powerful! He is the second director of Hong Kong!”
“Master!”
“Han!”
Zhao Feng and Leng Yue were looking at Zhang Han, who was levitating in midair, as if they were wors.h.i.+ping an immortal.
Even w.a.n.g Zhanpeng was astonished by Zhang Han’s performance.
He could never imagine where Zhang Han’s limit was. This young man, who always had trump cards, was unfathomable.
All he could do was cheer for Zhang Han’s marvelous performance in excitement.
Under everyone’s gaze…
Zhang Han turned around slowly and looked at a place under a tree 50 meters away.
He felt a little surprised as he said calmly, “Your jade is useful, but it’s not enough.”
After hearing Zhang Han’s words…
The onlookers got nervous again.
As soon as they turned their gaze to the 100-year-old tree, the snow under the tree moved and Gai Xingkong jumped out of it. He jumped into the air and levitated at a low alt.i.tude of 20 meters in front of Zhang Han.
“Swis.h.!.+”
Once again, Zhang Han was in the spotlight.
He raised his Demon Dancing Sword slightly, whose blade was glowing.
When Zhang Han was about to make a move…
“Stop!” Gai Xingkong shouted.
“Hmm?”
Zhang Han frowned slightly.
“Gai Xingkong was acclaimed as an unparalleled master in his era, and it’s impossible for him to admit defeat in this situation.”
Zhang Han didn’t want to kill Gai Xingkong, and he would have weakened his attack to spare his rival’s life if Gai Xingkong hadn’t used that subst.i.tute jade just now. Zhang Han had his own view of right and wrong, and thought that the lesson he taught Gai Xingkong was enough to avenge his father.
He had never expected Gai Xingkong to stop the battle.
“Do you think I’ll stop at your command?”
Zhang Han took an indifferent glance at Gai Xingkong, and then began to activate all of his spiritual force and soul sense.
Zhang Han’s Qi was now 10 times stronger than it was before.
He looked so fierce now and everyone was stunned.
Just at this critical moment…
Gai Xingkong’s mouth moved but no sound was heard. Obviously, he was using Secret Voice Transmission with his psychokinesis.
Zhang Han was the only one who could hear Gai Xingkong’s words.
Zhang Han’s face changed and he weakened his Qi in an instant.
“Yes,” Zhang Han replied, raising his eyebrow slightly.
Then Gai Xingkong again said something.
Zhang Han was surprised and could believe his words.
“That was why I put down my Dragon-tiger Spear just now.” This time, everyone could hear Gai Xingkong’s words.
With his hands clasped behind his back, Gai Xingkong looked up at the moon and sighed with emotion. “I’ll tell you something in detail. Why not stop fighting and have a talk with me?”
Zhang Han hesitated for a while and then put down the Demon Dancing Sword.
He nodded and replied, “Okay.”
“Let’s go.” Gai Xingkong took a glance at the other martial artists and then fixed his eyes on Liao Qingguang, saying, “Help me arrange things here. I’ll go to have a talk with this young friend.”
“Okay.” Liao Qingguang nodded.
Gai Xingkong left the battlefield and rushed from this side of Mount He Snow to another place where no one was. Zhang Han followed him. Their speed was so fast that they disappeared from the view of the others in just a few seconds.
The other martial artists were astonished by the result of their battle.
“What’s going on?”
They were in confusion.
“What happened?”
“Why did they stop fighting? Who won the battle? I don’t understand.”
“It seems that Zhang Hanyang is more powerful!” a man with short hair said confidently.
A yellow-haired man beside him objected. “I can’t agree with you. We all saw Grand Master Gai stop the battle. Otherwise, he would have won the battle with his strength.”
“Don’t forget that Zhang Hanyang’s sword is at the holy level, while Gai Xingkong was holding a divine weapon just now!”
“Do you think that Grand Master Gai was fighting all out against Zhang Hanyang? Perhaps Grand Master Gai was just humoring him!”
“Stop joking! Didn’t you see Zhang Hanyang’s marvelous performance?”
“Grand Master Gai was also excellent!”
“You are so stupid.”
“Are you cursing yourself…”
“I’ll teach you a lesson.”
…
“Dammit!”
The two martial artists gave up arguing and began fighting with their fists.
It became the prelude to a debate among thousands of people.
All the martial artists present were discussing and arguing about the winner of the battle. While 70% of them had supported Gai Xingkong originally, now there were as many supporters on either side.
They never came to a conclusion.
As for those Wu Dao Grand Masters, the Gai family members, disciples of other sects, and Zhang Han’s followers including Zhao Feng and Lei Tiannan, they were talking about something different.
They were praising Zhang Han for his strength and guessing where Zhang Han and Gai Xingkong had gone.
Some of them shook their head and said, “Zhang Hanyang is the new king of the Martial Artist World in China.”
However, none of them knew what Gai Xingkong and Zhang Han were talking about now.
On the other side…
Gai Xingkong stopped at another peak of Mount He Snow.
He silently looked at the beautiful Mount He Snow in the night, as if he was recalling something.
He turned his back to Zhang Han without any self-protection.
If Zhang Han attacked him right then, Gai Xingkong would be badly injured.
Zhang Han stood still and said, “Prove what you told me.”
Gai Xingkong shook his head slightly and then make a casting gesture. Suddenly, several photos appeared in his hand, which then flew toward Zhang Han.
Zhang Han grabbed the photos and looked carefully at them.
There were two young men in the first old photo, and the man on the left was Zhang Han’s father.
The man beside him was Gai Xingkong!
Though Gai Xingkong was much younger at that time, Zhang Han could still recognize him.
Then he looked at the second photo.
He saw his father and Gai Xingkong in a school.
The third photo, the fourth photo…
In the eighth photo, Zhang Han saw another pretty girl, his mother.
He squinted his eyes slightly in surprise.
“Is what he said true?”
Gai Xingkong noticed Zhang Han’s expression and began telling his story.
“I met Guangyou at university. Both of us were martial artists and we went to university for more life experience and knowledge.
“I became acquainted with him one day when both of us tried to save a beauty. We were at the Peak Strength stage then, and I told him proudly that I was from the Gai family in northeast China. He didn’t care about my background, however, and told me he came from the Heavenly Knights Sect in the Kun Xu World. He stunned me.”
Gai Xingkong couldn’t help smiling while recalling the old days, which moved Zhang Han.
“The beauty we saved had a boyfriend, which disappointed us. From then on, we became like-minded friends and often did a lot of things together. Our university was located in Xinjin City and there were lots of martial artists in China at that time. As two young men with a strong sense of justice, we liked hanging out around the university and fighting for the weak. Guangyou was righteous and more like a hero, who couldn’t stand seeing others bullying the weak.
“There were still many Grand Masters in our era, and we suffered a lot in all those battles as two Peak-Strength martial artists.
“We had been good friends for a long time. In the second year at university, we met a girl named Rong Jiali, who destroyed my dream when traveling all over the world with your father. He fell in love with that girl and the three of us always did things together. But I hated to be the third wheel when they were dating. Therefore, I found myself a girlfriend and joined in your parents’ sweet life.
“It was difficult for me to pursue a girl and we broke up after half a year when Guangyou and Jiali were still enjoying their romance.
“We still kept in contact after graduating from university, and we even went to explore the Kun Xu World together. By the way, Guangyou had a special ident.i.ty in the Heavenly Knights Sect. While he was known as a member of the Zhang family in Shang Jing, he was called Young Master in the Heavenly Knights Sect and was favored by Zhang Shenw.a.n.g, the owner of the Heavenly Knights Sect. Therefore, he had access to much more martial art resources than me and made more rapid progress.
“We also explored lots of relics on the mainland.
“When both Guangyou and I reached the peak of the Heaven-stage Master stage, I went back to the Gai family for closed-door cultivation. During that period, Guangyou defeated many masters in Shang Jing since there were no Grand Masters on the mainland. He was invincible and acknowledged as the ‘lord of battle’… However, when Jiali was pregnant, Zhang Shenw.a.n.g and the owner of the Wind Snow School disappeared and their forces began fighting against each other.
“Though few people knew the Young Master of the Heavenly Knights Sect was on the mainland, Guangyou was still worried about it and contacted me.
“I had just reached the stage of Wu Dao Grand Master then, and we decided to play a trick. In that battle between us, he pretended to be badly injured by me and successfully disappeared from public view with his wife. After his retirement, I became famous in the new era and won many battles. In my 100th battle, I deliberately failed versus an overseas martial artist because I didn’t want to win 100 battles and break Guangyou’s record.
“But good times don’t last long. More than 30 disciples of the Heavenly Knights Sect betrayed their sect, and they let the news of Guangyou out. When Qing Zhen Zi was about to kill Guangyou, the Warlord of Chan Clan stopped him. I paid a visit to Guangyou after hearing the news and found that his martial arts foundation had been destroyed. I wanted to avenge him, but I failed in the battle against Qing Zhen Zi and was badly injured. At that critical moment, I suddenly understood the escape method based on five elements and managed to escape from Qing Zhen Zi.
“After that, I began to cultivate frequently and tried to reach the peak stage as soon as possible. Then I heard that Guangyou and his wife were taken back to their worldlet by some elders of the Heavenly Knights Sect, after which the gate of the small world was closed. You and your sister were left on the mainland as two normal kids, who didn’t know the martial arts world at all. Perhaps Guangyou wanted you to grow up in a normal way, so I sent Chen Fengshan to take care of you and prepared to teach you when you grew older.
“I found your appearance and surname so familiar when I met you today, but I dared not a.s.sociate you with my old friend until I saw your sword skill. You are much like your father, and I’m sure that you are the child I have been looking for.
“To my astonishment…”
Gai Xingkong turned around to look at Zhang Han and said slowly, “You have grown to be an excellent martial artist, and you are even better than me. It’s amazing! You are talented and even dazzling.”
“This…” Zhang Han’s expression froze.
If his father’s accident was just deception, had he made a blunder today?
There were few people who knew the truth, and almost all martial artists believed that North Tiger Gai Xingkong had become famous due to badly injuring Zhang Guangyou, the lord of battle.
However, the truth and appearance of some things were opposite.
Zhang Han was convinced by Gai Xingkong’s story.
Because he also knew some parts of the story.
His mother had told him that when she entered university as a freshman, his father was in his second year and tried to pursue her.
He knew that his father used to make calls to someone happily, calling that man “Old Gai”.
After Zhang Han was kicked out of the Zhang family, Cheng Fengshan had contacted him several times and tried to help him. But Zhang Han had refused all that help.
Gai Xingkong’s story, facial expression, mood, and all these photos told Zhang Han that it was the truth.
Though Zhang Han was convinced by Gai Xingkong, he remained silent while digesting his father’s long story.
“Thank you.” One minute later, Zhang Han sighed with relief.
He calmed down, took a glance at Gai Xingkong, and asked politely, “Shall I call you Uncle Gai?”
“Uncle Gai?” Gai Xingkong was surprised and then burst out laughing. “As long as you’d like to. As your uncle, I ought to give you a gift to commemorate our reunion.”
“I’ll wait for your gift, Uncle Gai!” Zhang Han laughed and made an obeisance to Gai Xingkong.
“Haha, haha.” Gai Xingkong burst out laughing.
He walked toward Zhang Han, patted his shoulder, and praised him, “What good news that Guangyou’s son is a peerless talent. Good! Zhang Han, Zhang Hanyang, haha. You are excellent enough to defeat Emperor Qing. As for your gift, I’ll take you to the treasure house of the Gai family after exploring the relic and select the best gift for you.”
Zhang Han replied seriously, “The relics…”
Gai Xingkong explained without hesitation, “It is actually a B-level relic, close to an A-level! I sent the news to the Man in the Bamboo Hat and lured him here. To avoid implicating innocent martial artists, I told the others that it was a C-level relic. Though I just killed his subst.i.tute, it will take him a long time to recover from the injury. When the gate of the small world is opened, I’ll go to the Heavenly Knights Sect to reach the Divine Realm before killing him.”
After hearing Gai Xingkong’s words, Zhang Han smiled and made a gesture of frustration.
“If I had known that you were my father’s friend, that Man in the Bamboo Hat wouldn’t have escaped…” Zhang Han said.