Chapter 1458 - Prize
At the base of Precipice Cliff, dozens of martial artists looked up at the mark left behind on the Emperor Stone. Although Monster Prince Duyu had left behind only the shallowest of marks, this mark still left behind a profound impression as it reflected within everyone"s eyes.
"That monster youth can actually leave behind a mark on the Emperor Stone, but we can"t even fly higher than 20 miles… the difference is too great…"
"This could be called a scene that isn"t encountered even in 10,000 years."
"It"s not as much as 10,000 years. The trace he left behind is a bit shallow, so it should be a 1000 year event. Even so, a thousand year event is shocking enough. After all, the Asura Road is comprised of numerous geniuses of the 33 Layered Heavens."
The ones who were angry because of Monster Prince Duyu"s overly arrogant and provocative att.i.tude were all left silent. The White Chalk Family and Blue Sword Faction also felt ashamed of their own inferiority. But to them it still wasn"t a disgrace to lose to such an outstanding individual. The difference was simply too great at the start.
"This monster youth might be an Empyrean descendant!"
Someone said in whispered hushes. The reason that the Emperor Stone was called the Emperor Stone was that those who could leave behind a mark on it could become an Empyrean in the future, an absolute emperor of the people.
An Empyrean… that level of existence left far too great an impact on the average person.
As everyone was speaking, Monster Prince Duyu only faintly smiled, not thinking much about it.
As for the White Chalk Family and Blue Sword Faction that had instigated a compet.i.tion with him, he didn"t bother with them anymore. He had already defeated them miserably enough.
Rather, it should be said that slapping these people in the face didn"t mean anything to Monster Prince Duyu. The face he wanted to slap belonged to Lin Lanjian; he had long been sick of seeing that brat.
Thus, he sent Xiao Moxian and Lin Ming a true essence sound transmission, "Junior-apprentice Sister, I only displayed a humble showing of my skills just now. It should be your turn to give it a try. And you too, Lin Lanjian, you should try to complete your mission as well. Come and give it a try, do you think you can reach 30 miles at least?"
As Monster Prince Duyu spoke, the cunning light in his eyes grew even brighter.
Xiao Moxian didn"t reply to Monster Prince Duyu"s true essence sound transmission. At this time, her wide and blinking eyes were staring at Lin Ming.
"Hey, what mission do you have?" Xiao Moxian lifted her own mission badge and stuck out her slender neck like a curious child, wanting to see just what Lin Ming"s mission badge was.
"Precipice Cliff, leave a name upon the Emperor Stone." Lin Ming lightly said.
As Xiao Moxian heard this, she revealed an expression as if she had already expected this. "So it really was the Emperor Stone. I have the same mission. It seems we"ll fail this mission if we can"t leave our mark on the Emperor Stone."
"Mm." Lin Ming nodded. Xiao Moxian"s mission was the same as his. This proved that she too had been approved by the Asura Road"s Heavenly Dao.
"Hehe, I"ve already been wanting to compete with you."
As Xiao Moxian said these words, her liquid eyes flashed with a playful light. "If we were to fight directly I"d probably lose, but… aren"t you older than me? Hehe, since I can"t beat you up let"s compare our talent and potential instead. Just who is better than whom in the end?"
As Xiao Moxian spoke, Lin Ming"s mind stirred. Indeed, this impish little enchantress" words had aroused his fighting spirit.
What Xiao Moxian said was right. In terms of individual strength, she was slightly worse than he was. But in terms of talent and potential, that was a completely separate matter!
Xiao Moxian"s glorious name had already spread throughout the entire Divine Realm!
Whether it was before the First Martial Meeting or after the First Martial Meeting, Xiao Moxian had been recognized as the one possessing the most talent in the entire Divine Realm!
Even though Lin Ming and Frost Dream had the most dazzling performances in the First Martial Meeting and had taken first and second place, they still weren"t able to shake Xiao Moxian"s status as the number one most talented individual in the entire Divine Realm!
The physique of a G.o.d Beast was formidable enough to stir the anger of the heavens. Just by growing up, she would reach a level close to an Empyrean. And beyond her G.o.d Beast physique, she also possessed a ridiculously high perception and had inherited Empyrean Demondawn"s martial talent. Moreover, she had nearly unlimited top resources at her disposal. For her, becoming an extreme Empyrean was the most basic accomplishment she would have. There was a high chance she could step into the realm of True Divinity!
Lin Ming also wanted to know just how his own potential was compared to Xiao Moxian"s.
"Okay, then let"s compete a bit." Ever since Lin Ming arrived at the Asura Road, he could feel that there were far too many powerhouses in the world; it was impossible to know where the peak of martial arts was. In his life, nearly every person he met could be an opponent of his. During the First Martial Meeting, Lin Ming had defeated Xiao Moxian, but he always felt that this victory was wrong because of his advantage in age. But now, he could fairly compete with Xiao Moxian.
Hearing Lin Ming agree, Xiao Moxian chuckled, "Great!"
The two still used true essence sound transmissions to speak. Not too far away, Monster Prince Duyu"s complexion was ugly. He spoke to the two of them and yet neither of them had responded to him. Instead, they spoke to each other and also seemed to be having some fun and interesting conversation. This made him feel as if he were being treated as empty air.
"Hey, don"t you think it would be a bit more fun if we had a little prize? Without some type of prize, it"s a bit of a boring compet.i.tion, don"t you think?" Xiao Moxian asked, full of enthusiasm, completely not noticing Monster Prince Duyu"s expression.
Lin Ming faintly smiled. "It"s only a casual compet.i.tion. What sort of prize do you want?"
"If I win, you undo your appearance changing technique and let me see just who you are?" Xiao Moxian ground her teeth together, her eyes s.h.i.+ning with challenge. She was trying to goad Lin Ming into agreeing, however no matter how contemptuous she tried to be, it only looked as if she were having a great deal of fun.
"Alright." Lin Ming agreed. In his opinion, revealing his status to Xiao Moxian wasn"t anything at all. He only needed to hide the truth from Monster Prince Duyu.
Xiao Moxian smiled, and she did so dazzlingly. She thought to herself, "Little guy, I"ll be sure to defeat you this time!"
In terms of strength, even Xiao Moxian wouldn"t call herself the top young elite of the entire Divine Realm. But in terms of potential and talent, she was confident she wouldn"t lose to anyone. This was her pride, her road of martial arts. She wanted to become a True Divinity!
"How do you know I am using an appearance changing technique?" Lin Ming asked with a laugh.
"Ha! A woman"s intuition!" Xiao Moxian said with a great deal of self-satisfaction. Lin Ming didn"t know whether to laugh or to cry. In his eyes, Xiao Moxian was a young girl. For her to call herself a "woman" was a bit funny.
As the two spoke they had already reached the base of Precipice Cliff. Looking up, they could see the 36 mile high Precipice Cliff stabbing straight into the night sky like a divine sword.
"This Asura Road Master seems to really like the number 36."
After Lin Ming entered the Asura Road, he discovered that many places used the number 36. Even the Hunter Game had an array formation of 36 people at the end.
He looked towards Xiao Moxian and grinned. "And if you lose?"
"You can make any request you want!" Xiao Moxian proudly and briskly waved her hand. "Oh, yes, but in advance let me tell you that sacrificing my body or anything like that is an absolute no-go!"
"Uh…" A strange color flashed over Lin Ming"s face as he heard this; just what was going on in this girl"s brain? "My only request is… if… if something were to happen to me in the future, then I hope that you can look after several people for me and guarantee that they can live their lives in peace…" Lin Ming said after a deep period of thought. His request left Xiao Moxian a bit surprised.
The road of martial arts was filled hards.h.i.+ps and dangers. Moreover, in this great calamity, it was impossible to tell which way the tide would turn. Also, Lin Ming still had a showdown with the Good Fortune Saint Son. Although he believed in his own ability to grow enough to challenge him in the future, there was no saying what would happen…
"Alright." Xiao Moxian thoughtfully nodded. "Now, let"s begin. Shall we go together?"
"Okay, we"ll start together!"
Lin Ming and Xiao Moxian stood a hundred feet away from each other. The position they chose at the base of Precipice Cliff was just beneath the Emperor Stone.
As for the other martial artists, they were still lost in the shocking scene that Monster Prince Duyu had created. Although they saw Xiao Moxian and Lin Ming, they didn"t care too much about them.
Some influences had already dispatched representatives to pay their respects to Monster Prince Duyu. Although they knew it was impossible for Monster Prince Duyu to join their side, forming a good relations.h.i.+p with him wasn"t bad either.
Monster Prince Duyu was disinclined to bother with these people. He coldly sneered as he looked at Precipice Cliff. He never imagined that Lin Ming would be so reckless and blind as to compete with someone like Xiao Moxian. Even he had to confess that he was flung miles away by Xiao Moxian. In terms of talent, she was fully deserving of being known as number one within the Divine Realm.
A cold breeze blew past. Lin Ming immediately soared upwards. His movements were smooth and calm. Although he didn"t seem to be going too fast, he was like a stream of water that ascended upwards, as comfortable and free as a horse racing through the gra.s.slands.
The pressure of Precipice Cliff wasn"t able to affect him at all.
And beside Lin Ming, Xiao Moxian was also enjoying this relaxing trip up. She was like a black b.u.t.terfly soaring through a bush of flowers. Her movements were brisk and light as she shot straight up to the top!
These actions immediately attracted the attention of many people.
"There are more masters going up!"
Not many people knew that Lin Ming and Xiao Moxian had arrived together with Monster Prince Duyu, thus no one paid attention to them. But now, as they looked at the pair"s movements, they could tell that these two certainly weren"t ordinary young elites.
"It shouldn"t be. What is going on with today that there are so many masters?"
"Look at their movements. It seems they are also capable of flying above 30 miles!"
To the current martial artists, 30 miles was an astounding result.
And as they were speaking, Lin Ming and Xiao Moxian had already easily and swiftly crossed 20 miles. Without either of them falling behind, both of them flew straight towards the 30 mile mark.
As Monster Prince Duyu saw this, he frowned. He wasn"t surprised that Lin Ming could reach this height, but what he was surprised about was that Lin Ming remained as calm as Xiao Moxian.
25 miles…
27 miles…
29 miles…
Lin Ming smoothly broke through the 30 mile mark, keeping pace with Xiao Moxian throughout.
Xiao Moxian looked at Lin Ming and smirked. Her speed suddenly ramped up. Lin Ming merely faintly smiled in response and followed her pace.
As the martial artists below saw this, all of them were shocked to the point that their jaws dropped. At over 30 miles the pressure of the Emperor Stone was obvious to anyone, but not only did they not slow down, they instead increased their speed. Just how were they doing this?
As everyone was dumbfounded, Lin Ming and Xiao Moxian had broken through the 33 miles line!
33 miles represented the 33 Layered Heavens; this could be considered a dividing boundary. At this height, Lin Ming suddenly felt a deep resistance push down on him as if he had fallen into a swamp. Every time he rose up another ten feet he would have to consume a good deal of energy; it made advancing upwards far more difficult.
However, this was only a bit more difficult. He continued to rise, unstoppable. The Emperor Stone was already within reach.
Chapter 1459 - Struggle of Dragons and Phoenixes
After flying so high, Lin Ming and Xiao Moxian attracted the attention of everyone present. Once they pa.s.sed 33 miles, the pressure suddenly rose to yet another level. Every time they flew up 10 more feet they would have to consume ma.s.sive amounts of energy.
It was hard to imagine just how deep the true essence of these two people was.
"They will soon reach the Emperor Stone. The 35 mile Emperor Stone isn"t far away from them at all…"
"Can these two people all leave behind a mark on the Emperor Stone? Just what is happening today that three people suddenly appear who can leave behind a mark on the Emperor Stone?"
Everyone felt as if they were in some fantastical dream. Not too far away from them, Monster Prince Duyu"s eyes were brilliant as he stared at Lin Ming. Lin Ming would soon break past 34 miles. He himself had also reached this height and understood just how great the pressure of the last mile was. The last mile was the greatest and most difficult to bear.
"This brat… he"s actually not falling behind Xiao Moxian at all! I can"t believe that he still has so much strength left over. After pa.s.sing 34 miles, the pressure will rise to another difficulty. If he can"t retain any strength then it will be impossible to leave behind a mark on the Emperor Stone. I want to see just how you do this…"
Monster Prince Duyu had thought that Lin Ming would fly to around 30 miles at most. He didn"t imagine that Lin Ming would soon reach the Emperor Stone, and that his speed would also be consistent with Xiao Moxian"s.
He found this all hard to accept.
As Monster Prince Duyu had said, for the last mile of Precipice Cliff, the pressure indeed increased by several times.
Underneath that ma.s.sive pressure, Lin Ming and Xiao Moxian suddenly slowed down as if they had run into a wall. The aura of Precipice Cliff was really far too strong here; it was tangible.
"Finally, a little bit of a challenge." Xiao Moxian laughed. She looked at Lin Ming as black flames wrapped around her entire body. In the next moment, she ascended like a blazing star, her speed suddenly increasing!
As for Lin Ming, he activated the power of the Azure Dragon within his body. His feet pressed against the stone wall, and with the force of the recoil he pushed upwards, shooting high like an arrow.
At the same time, Lin Ming waved his right hand, bringing out the Phoenix Blood Spear.
Ca!
The long spear slashed out. Spear light recklessly cut through the barrier of pressure, tearing it. Lin Ming pa.s.sed through this gap like a fish and impacted upwards, his speed also increasing.
"What?!"
Monster Prince Duyu"s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. He was waiting for Lin Ming to admit defeat at this time, or at least approach his limit. But, he never imagined that Lin Ming would rush upwards at an even fiercer pace than before. It was clear that he had retained a tremendous amount of strength!
How was this possible…?
Monster Prince Duyu was shocked. To retain so much strength in such a situation and even go up faster than before? Just who was he?
He originally thought that Lin Ming was a native martial artist of the Asura Road. Moreover, Lin Ming gave off a very humble and ordinary feeling, the type that you wouldn"t notice in a crowd of people. When he killed vicious beasts on the road here, he had relied on his experience to use tricks to defeat them; this couldn"t be considered his true strength.
But now, looking at Lin Ming"s performance on Precipice Cliff, it was true that he was the peak genius of an entire race!
"Good, great!" Xiao Moxian joyously laughed as she looked at Lin Ming. Beneath the great pressure of the Emperor Stone she was still able to freely laugh as before. This left everyone beneath her startled and awed.
"Your potential is amazing, but… I haven"t even transformed. I"ve already won this compet.i.tion!"
As Xiao Moxian spoke she suddenly swept her sleeves downwards. As she did so, black flames tumbled all around her, forming bird-like wings of flames. She immediately pulled ahead!
The 35 mile Emperor Stone checkpoint was broken through!
Xiao Moxian had no plan to stop and leave her mark here. She continued flying upwards!
The Emperor Stone was exactly one mile in diameter. To leave her mark on the top was an enormous difference from leaving her mark on the bottom. Xiao Moxian clearly wouldn"t be satisfied with leaving her mark on the lowest area; she wanted to leave her name on the highest peak!
As for Lin Ming, he also had such a plan.
When Xiao Moxian broke through the 35 mile mark she felt as if she had stepped into a different s.p.a.ce. All around her the s.p.a.ce and Time Laws were strangely distorted. At the same time a dreadful force field came shrouding down over her body, forcefully preventing her ascent!
"What powerful s.p.a.ce and Time Laws, and there is also this formidable force field. This Emperor Stone truly is marvelous."
After being blocked by this terrifying strength, Xiao Moxian felt the blood surge within her and her energy become chaotic. Although she could withstand this, it placed a great strain on her. If this continued then she might be able to go several hundred feet more at most.
"Phoenix Trueform!"
Xiao Moxian"s eyes blazed with a divine light. Her pupils turned purple-black, as if a raging inferno grew there.
With a resonant phoenix cry, a ma.s.sive amount of fire origin energy gathered behind Xiao Moxian. The raging energy gushed out all around her and a pair of pitch black phoenix wings stretched out from her back, proud and strong!
These black phoenix wings were over 15 feet wide together, twice the height of an adult male. Compared to these s.p.a.cious wings, Xiao Moxian"s figure appeared delicate and pet.i.te. She could easily wrap herself up in these wings.
Hu - Hu - Hu -
The ma.s.sive amounts of fire origin energy condensed into black flames that combusted all around her. Soon after, these black flames turned into a roiling sea of fire that turned the entire sky a s.h.i.+mmering black!
After transforming her body into her Phoenix Trueform, Xiao Moxian was in her strongest state. She was like a dark G.o.ddess of the night, ruling over everyone, demanding their wors.h.i.+p.
As the many martial artists beneath Precipice Cliff saw this, all of them were shocked. This black-clothed girl was also from the monster race. This sort of bloodline seemed to contain some indescribably majestic and royal aura, making everyone want to fall to their knees.
"Junior-apprentice Sister is too strong! I haven"t seen her take action for two years and yet her strength has already grown to this degree. Even though I am several years older than her I am still not her match. The t.i.tle of the number one most talented genius in the Divine Realm is hers beyond reproach!"
Monster Prince Duyu couldn"t help but praise. At the same time, his visions as he looked towards her became increasingly hot. This was a look of yearning mixed with desire.
After Xiao Moxian transformed her body, her strength suddenly increased. The Emperor Stone"s pressure was broken apart by her wings. She continued flying straight up!
"Lin Lanjian, if you haven"t held back anything then you"re as good as defeated!"
Xiao Moxian"s clear and crisp voice sounded out in Lin Ming"s ear.
Lin Ming also couldn"t help but commend Xiao Moxian in his mind. Her Phoenix Trueform really did defy the heavens!
At this time, Lin Ming sunk all of his energy into his inner world. As he stepped upon the Emperor Stone, the power of thunder and fire heavenly tribulation within the Heretical G.o.d Tree suddenly exploded outwards!
Behind Lin Ming, the phantom of the Heretical G.o.d Tree appeared!
With the Heretical G.o.d Force opened to the limit, Lin Ming also opened the complete Eight Inner Hidden Gates. With all eight gates opened, surging waves of astral essence flooded through Lin Ming"s body. His entire body emitted crackling noises as if thunderbolts were rolling through his body, like a True Dragon was awakening in his heart.
In that instant, Lin Ming"s mortal bodily strength rose to several hundred millions of jins! Even the starlight in the sky above was quickened by him. The silver threads of starlight converged within Lin Ming"s body, gathering towards nine acupoints, forming a faint mirage of nine Dao Palaces!
As these Dao Palaces emerged, they instantly vanished as if they were never there to begin with. This was the boundary of the Nine Stars of the Dao Palace!
In the Eternal Demon Abyss, Lin Ming had already gazed upon the threshold of the Nine Stars of the Dao Palace. Although he was still an extremely great distance from reaching the Nine Stars of the Dao Palace, this was still something that the more ordinary Eight Inner Hidden Gates couldn"t possibly compete with.
Bang!
With a loud explosion of energy, Lin Ming was like a human-shaped beast after he released the Eight Inner Hidden Gates to the limit. He rushed forwards, chasing straight upwards with Xiao Moxian!
One dragon and one phoenix, racing up hand in hand, with unstoppable force!
A 35 mile height, the height at which the Emperor Stone was, still couldn"t stop them.
"This… they"ve reached the Emperor Stone but they still aren"t satisfied? Do they plan on leaving their mark on the pinnacle of the Emperor Stone?"
"Who are they? That monster youth from before was abnormal enough, but compared to these two people the difference is like mud and clouds.
Everyone began to shout out loud. If Monster Prince Duyu were to be compared to Xiao Moxian and Lin Ming, the difference really was too great!
In truth, in terms of strength, Monster Prince Duyu wasn"t much worse than Xiao Moxian and Lin Ming. But, what Precipice Cliff challenged was one"s potential and talent! In other words, their future achievements!
When comparing this, Monster Prince Duyu wasn"t able to match Xiao Moxian or Lin Ming at all. The disparity was far too great.
And at this time, an even more startling scene occurred. The black-clothed girl that was flying up the Emperor Stone suddenly attacked the caped youth!
Woos.h.!.+
Xiao Moxian"s whip came slas.h.i.+ng out. Blazing flames roared forth, forming snakes of flame that instantly enveloped Lin Ming!
This caused the entire audience to be scared witless. This was the height of the Emperor Stone, a height that surpa.s.sed 35 miles! If it were them at that height they wouldn"t even be able to resist the pressure of the Emperor Stone. That great pressure would directly wound them and cause them to vomit blood, but as for that young boy and girl, they actually still had the strength to fight!
This was too aggravating!
As Lin Ming watched the fire snakes about to strike him, he arched an eyebrow upwards. "You want to sneak attack me?"
"Hehe! We"re only competing on who can win, but we never placed limits on the methods we can use. In other words, we can use any method we want, so why can"t I sneak attack you?" Xiao Moxian laughed out loud. Because she had used most of her strength to resist the pressure of the Emperor Stone, the striking power of her attack wasn"t strong at all. Rather, it was extremely tricky, with many changes that made it hard to predict.
However, this wasn"t a problem at all to Lin Ming. His spear speed could also reach the limit.
"Chasing Thunder!"
The Phoenix Blood Spear thrust out. With a sparkle of electric purple light, Lin Ming"s spear broke through the fire snakes!
"If you want to attack me, then does that mean I can attack you?" Lin Ming asked back.
"Of course, there is no need go easy on me otherwise there would be no point in winning."
"You"re quite confident in yourself. Do you think your true combat strength can compare with mine?" Lin Ming grasped the Phoenix Blood Spear, gathering his strength.
"Mm… probably not… however, I think that in my repertoire of skills, I have something quite suitable for this current situation, so I"ve as good as won!"
Xiao Moxian smiled wide, her cherry red lips parting to reveal her small canines.
Her wings suddenly spread out. Behind her, the black flames crazily spun around.
"Heaven Absorbing Demon Art!"
The skill that Xiao Moxian spoke of was exactly the Heaven Absorbing Demon Art. This ability could absorb another"s energy to use for themselves! As they were ascending up the Emperor Stone, 90% of their energy was already being used to resist the pressure of the Emperor Stone. If someone could absorb the other person"s true essence to use for themselves, they could take the absolute advantage!