“What’s the wager?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Xian Gongming replied, “The Blood Bee Asura King has surely entered Luo River. If he comes to Nine-Bend Celestial Star, the loser of this match must take the lead against him.”
Everyone knew the Blood Bee Asura King’s might—danger level seven. Leading the charge against him risked death.
A wager? This was a bid for Zhang Ruochen’s life.
After a moment’s thought, Zhang Ruochen nodded, “Good idea. Someone has to take the lead.”
Xian Gongming glanced at the Crown Prince, a glint of triumph in his eyes.
Li Miaohan saw through their malice, warning, “Brother, don’t you know Xian Gongming cultivates the *Heaven and Earth Creation Technique*, forming two saintly manifestations?”
Xian Gongming cut in with a laugh, “A gentleman’s word is binding. A master like Brother Ruohan wouldn’t back out, right?”
“Dual saintly manifestations,” Zhang Ruochen murmured, then smiled, “Of course not.”
“Brother!” Li Miaohan exclaimed.
Zhang Ruochen remained calm, “No need to worry. It’s just a spar. Even if I lose to Senior Xian, it’s no shame.”
“Doesn’t he see this is a trap?” Li Miaohan thought, puzzled. He shouldn’t be this reckless, yet challenging Xian Gongming’s saintly manifestations seemed a certain loss.
Zhang Ruochen, Xian Gongming, and the others left the third divine river, arriving at a vast, barren plain on Nine-Bend Celestial Star.
The ground was hard jade, grassless, spanning hundreds of li—a perfect battleground.
Li Miaohan had alerted Tianchu Fairy and stood anxiously at the plain’s edge. She’d known Zhang Ruochen less than a day, yet her concern for him felt oddly intense.
“Am I really treating him like a brother?” she wondered.
The Crown Prince approached her, smiling, “Miss Miaohan, no need to fret for your brother. Xian Gongming knows restraint—it’ll stop at the right moment.”
At the plain’s centre, Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged, eyes closed.
Whoosh—
Countless sword-path precepts burst from his back, forming a dozens-of-zhang-tall saintly sword.
The sword hovered above him, radiating ten thousand zhang of saintly light.
Sword qi swirled around him and the blade.
“A sword cultivator with a sword-shaped saintly manifestation,” Xian Gongming noted, shedding his initial disdain.
Sword cultivators were famed for unmatched attack power at their level.
A sword-shaped manifestation’s might was formidable, far beyond ordinary ones.
Yet Xian Gongming remained unfazed. Atop a stony hill, he raised his arms overhead, shouting, “Heavenly Saintly Manifestation!”
Saintly precepts poured from his crown like rain, surging skyward into a dragon-horse. Its saintly ripples faintly shook Nine-Bend Celestial Star’s atmosphere.
“Earthly Saintly Manifestation!”
Beneath his feet formed a mountain-sized azure tortoise, its shell etched with mystic patterns.
Both being top-tier cultivators, their unleashed manifestations stirred nearly every cultivator on the star.
Some, finding no opportunities, rushed to witness the duel.
Fearing Zhang Ruochen might renege if defeated, the Crown Prince announced, “This match between Li Ruohan and Xian Gongming isn’t just a spar. The loser faces the Blood Bee Asura King first. Both show great courage—truly admirable.”
“Daring to challenge Xian Gongming’s manifestations? That’s asking for trouble.”
“Don’t say that—look, he’s got a sword-shaped manifestation.”
“So what? Can it match Xian Gongming’s dual heaven-and-earth manifestations?”
“Whoever wins or loses, someone taking the lead against the Blood Bee Asura King is good news.”
…
Amid the chatter, Zhang Ruochen directed his sword manifestation into a meteoric streak, slashing at the airborne dragon-horse.
“Striking first for an edge?” Xian Gongming sneered.
Boom.
The dragon-horse spat a beam of light, clashing with the sword manifestation.
Worthy of a Sky-Soaring Sect Gongming, a single heavenly manifestation blocked the sword’s assault.
On the ground, the azure tortoise lumbered towards Zhang Ruochen’s true body. Though slow, each step spanned a hundred zhang.
Li Miaohan protested, “Isn’t this a manifestation duel? Why attack his true body?”
The Crown Prince chuckled, “It is a manifestation duel. But if your brother’s manifestation can’t stop Xian Gongming’s and his life’s threatened, he loses.”
“Don’t worry, Miss Miaohan. It’s just a spar—Xian Gongming aims to win, not kill.”
Zhang Ruochen watched the dust rise, the azure tortoise’s form emerging closer.
“Return.”
He formed a sword gesture to recall his manifestation.
But the dragon-horse morphed into a dozen-li-long dragon, coiling around the sword manifestation.
Its scales, like forged saint iron, trapped the sword despite its struggles.
Xian Gongming laughed, “Brother Ruohan’s cultivation seems lacking. Even his sword manifestation lacks power. Looks like Qu Shan Old Mother misjudged.”
Zhang Ruochen, an Eight-Step Saint King, paled against Xian Gongming’s Precept Heaven peak.
Xian Gongming’s precepts outnumbered Zhang Ruochen’s several times over. More precepts in a manifestation meant greater power.
Moreover, Xian Gongming wasn’t an ordinary Precept Heaven cultivator—his strength rivalled Tian Chen’s, even challenging Dao Domain foes.
As the azure tortoise neared, the Crown Prince smiled smugly, “Your brother’s about to concede.”
Sizzle.
Blinding golden light erupted from Zhang Ruochen.
The Crown Prince’s eyes stung, shutting reflexively. He heard deafening dragon roars and elephant trumpets from Zhang Ruochen’s direction.
When he looked again, a dragon and elephant stood before Zhang Ruochen.
The golden dragon twined around the elephant, clashing with the azure tortoise.
Gasps echoed around—none had expected Zhang Ruochen’s second manifestation.
Li Miaohan’s eyes sparkled, her lips curving, “No wonder he dared challenge Xian Gongming. With this hidden card, victory won’t come easy for Xian.”
Xian Gongming’s gaze darkened, “Dual manifestations? Unexpected. But if this is all you’ve got, you’ll still lose.”
“Of course it’s not all,” Zhang Ruochen grinned, unleashing a third manifestation.
A fist-path manifestation formed a dozens-of-li-long saintly river, flowing midair with a rushing sound, indistinguishable from a real river.
To Zhang Ruochen’s surprise, the star’s water qi surged towards it, swelling the river.
Boom.
The river crashed like a tidal wave, forcing the azure tortoise back.
Its momentum unabated, it surged towards Xian Gongming’s true body.
“Three manifestations! He played us from the start,” the Crown Prince muttered, hands clenching. If Xian lost, it’d disgrace not just him but slap the Crown Prince’s face.
Li Miaohan felt a surge of delight, “Your Highness, that’s unfair. If anyone schemed, it was you against my brother. He’s just smarter—your plan’s backfiring.”
“Miss Miaohan, it’s too early to say. The outcome’s uncertain,” the Crown Prince replied.
The battle shifted again.
The airborne dragon, dragging the sword manifestation, became a light beam aimed at Zhang Ruochen’s true body.
Whoever struck the other’s true body first would win.
The tortoise slowed the saintly river, but the dragon-sword beam neared Zhang Ruochen instantly.
“Impressive, Xian Gongming. Forcing my trump card,” Zhang Ruochen remarked.
“What? More tricks?”
“A fourth manifestation? No way…”
“That’d be insane.”
As if confirming their guesses, a thousand-zhang-tall golden figure erupted from Zhang Ruochen—a giant akin to a divine warrior king, gazing down.
The Unmoving Ming King Saintly Manifestation.
His natal manifestation, mirroring his true form, exuded a might surpassing his sword, dragon-elephant, and river manifestations.
It seized the charging dragon with a radiant hand, like a Buddha’s seal.
Boom.
Striding forward, it punched the azure tortoise, sinking it into the ground effortlessly.
Xian Gongming stared, dumbfounded, as the Unmoving Ming King loomed over him, eyeing him like an insect.
In a manifestation duel, not true combat, Xian Gongming had utterly lost.
