Xing Yuan and Chen Hu involuntarily stepped back, their eyes tinged with fear. As top-tier Saint Kings in the third tier below Great Saint, they still couldn’t withstand Jin Hui Great Saint’s pressure.
The so-called strength comparable to an Immortal Great Saint was nothing before him.
As Jin Hui prepared to act, the atmosphere grew heavy, with everyone holding their breath, silenced by the tension.
“So strong,” Zhang Ruochen thought, shaken, as he circulated his sacred qi to counter the crushing Great Saint pressure.
Though he knew Jin Hui came with ill intent, he hadn’t expected him to actually attack at the Merit Central Station.
But even if Jin Hui was a patrolling angel with immense power, Zhang Ruochen wouldn’t bow.
At Moon God Mountain, he hadn’t flinched before the Black Heart Demon Lord’s divine will avatar. Why would he now?
“Great Saint Jin Hui, please calm yourself,” a voice suddenly called out.
A young man in gray-white armor stepped from the crowd, braving the immense pressure to stand beside Zhang Ruochen.
Though ordinary in appearance, he exuded an innate noble aura, carrying an emperor’s presence despite not being a Great Saint.
“Ji Kongyuan, the first son of the Silent Extinction Emperor,” Zhang Ruochen recognized instantly, despite their first meeting.
Aside from Zhang Ruochen, Ji Kongyuan was the top Saint King of the Guanghan Realm in centuries, holding a spot on the Celestial Court’s Saint King Merit List.
Yet, he was low-key and mysterious, rarely fully understood by others.
Observing him, Zhang Ruochen thought, “Everyone’s underestimated Ji Kongyuan. His strength is at least third tier below Great Saint, possibly even second tier. He’s hidden it well.”
Ji Kongyuan bowed respectfully but firmly. “Great Saint Jin Hui, it’s widely known that the divine envoy challenged the Child of Darkness to a duel on True Dragon Island. The Golden Sun Twin Kings attacked the envoy during this, initiating infighting. Yet the envoy didn’t kill them, only suppressed them, showing he’s not bloodthirsty.”
“There must be some misunderstanding regarding the Radiant Heavenly Son’s death.”
Ji Kongyuan hadn’t wanted to intervene, but if Zhang Ruochen and Jin Hui fought, the situation could spiral out of control.
As the Moon God’s chosen envoy, Zhang Ruochen’s conflict would implicate the Guanghan Realm.
Simultaneously, Ji Kongyuan secretly transmitted, “Divine Envoy, patience brings calm. Don’t clash with Radiant Civilization. Jin Hui is no pushover; fighting him could cost you.”
“Jin Hui’s strength is at the peak of mid-Immortal, with an eighth-grade halberd path saint intent and two high-tier Immortal sacred techniques. No Saint King can match him.”
Zhang Ruochen’s heart stirred. He understood the gap between Great Saints and Saint Kings.
Even the weakest Immortal Great Saint forged an indestructible sacred body, unrotting for millennia, far beyond a Saint King’s.
Their power, the Great Saint force, wielded rules and qi with finesse, mobilizing vast amounts. High-tier sacred techniques were far more potent in their hands.
Crucially, mid-Immortal Great Saints could condense saint intent, enhancing all abilities.
Saint intent was the refined essence of a single sacred path’s rules, like its soul, profoundly mystical.
The three thousand paths, seventy-two supreme sacred paths, and nine ancient paths could all yield saint intent.
Cultivators practiced multiple paths, allowing multiple intents, up to nine—the extreme limit.
Each additional intent doubled the difficulty, and quantity wasn’t always better; quality mattered more.
Exceptional Great Saints could fuse different intents into hybrid ones, often miraculous.
Condensing saint intent was critical, as its grade, once set, was hard to improve and directly impacted future achievements.
To become a god, at least a fifth-grade intent was needed; to master profound mysteries, a third-grade or higher was required.
Great Saints with fifth-grade or higher intents were prized as true god seeds, with potential for divinity.
High-grade intents were immensely difficult to condense. Even with supreme paths, the intent’s grade might be low.
Jin Hui was a case in point. Extracting halberd path rules, he spent great effort to form an eighth-grade intent—average among Great Saints but far beyond the weakest and incomparable to Saint Kings.
Even the strongest Saint King struggled to resist a Great Saint with saint intent.
“Misunderstanding? Zhang Ruochen holds the Radiant Heavenly Son’s Destruction Golden Sun. The facts are clear—where’s the misunderstanding?” Xing Yuan retorted.
“If not for True Monarch Nether Tiger, Zhang Ruochen would’ve killed the Golden Sun Twin Kings, not suppressed them. Ji Kongyuan, your defense is futile. He’s a bloodthirsty demon at his core.”
Seeing Ji Kongyuan mediate, Xing Yuan spoke up.
Ji Kongyuan frowned, glancing at him. “Great Saint Jin Hui, the divine envoy—”
“Who are you to interfere?” Jin Hui roared, unleashing greater pressure.
An invisible force struck Ji Kongyuan’s chest, forcing him back with a muffled groan.
His face darkened. As the Silent Extinction Emperor’s eldest son, no one had dared berate him thus, insulting both him and his father’s dignity.
Simultaneously, Jin Hui attacked Zhang Ruochen, conjuring a golden hand to seize him.
Ji Kongyuan shouted, “Great Saint Jin Hui, Zhang Ruochen is the Moon God’s envoy. Acting without regard for status—aren’t you afraid of her wrath?”
“I’m here on Radiant Civilization’s old lord’s orders. Zhang Ruochen killed our Heavenly Son and suppressed our cultivators. He must answer for it. No one can shield him,” Jin Hui declared, unfazed by the Moon God’s name.
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes flashed coldly. He wouldn’t surrender. Mobilizing his sacred qi, he struck with a palm.
A cyan dragon soared, carrying immense Great Saint might, clashing with Jin Hui’s golden hand.
“Boom.”
The dragon and hand shattered, their forces nullifying each other.
“Is Zhang Ruochen mad? He dares fight back? Isn’t he afraid of further enraging Jin Hui?”
“He’s crazy, thinking his merit battlefield feats let him challenge a Great Saint. He’s overreaching.”
“No patrolling angel can be matched by a Saint King. Zhang Ruochen’s defiance is asking for trouble.”
Seeing him resist, the onlookers were shocked, staring as if he were a monster.
They’d heard he’d clashed with a patrolling angel’s avatar in the Kunlun Realm, but an avatar was worlds apart from the true body.
Jin Hui’s gaze grew colder. If he couldn’t suppress Zhang Ruochen, where would his face be?
“Zhang Ruochen, you dare resist?” he barked.
Unfazed, Zhang Ruochen retorted, “Why can’t I? Just because you’re a patrolling angel, I should let you handle me? Do you have a Celestial Palace decree?”
“Ignorant of your place. Your disrespect alone justifies a lesson,” Jin Hui said, his eyes flashing as he reached out again.
Zhang Ruochen frowned. Jin Hui was relentless.
Killing the Radiant Heavenly Son had caused big trouble. Radiant Civilization wouldn’t let it go, even for face.
With a thought, Zhang Ruochen soared out of the Merit Central Station.
The station’s spatial restrictions would disadvantage him against Jin Hui, and a Great Saint-level battle could shatter the planet.
“No escape!” Jin Hui pursued without hesitation.
In an instant, they entered the dim starry sky outside.
“Boom.”
The sky erupted with intense energy, radiant holy light streaking like a comet.
The station’s Saints and Saint Kings, with keen eyesight, clearly saw the clash.
Facing a true Great Saint—mid-Immortal no less—Zhang Ruochen was cautious, his first such encounter.
From the start, he invoked his Truth Path mysteries, fully activating the Fire God Armor to bridge the physical gap.
Though his Five Elements Chaos Body was strong, only his arms were immortalized, far from a Great Saint’s body.
If he achieved Great Saint physique, it’d be another story.
“Roar.”
With a deafening dragon-elephant roar, a palm-path saint aspect of a dragon and elephant flanked him.
In his divine light qi sea, the Destruction Golden Sun and Seven-Star Divine Lingzhi Leaf spun rapidly, releasing supreme yang force into his palm technique.
Since obtaining the Destruction Golden Sun, Zhang Ruochen rarely used it directly, relying on it to refine his body, soul, and qi, balancing his overwhelming yang energy.
With it, his Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm’s power surged.
Seeing the palm, Jin Hui sneered. “Let me show you a true high-tier sacred technique.”
He formed intricate seals, sacred path rules and Great Saint force surging, weaving into a golden ocean suspended in the starry sky, dazzling and magnificent.
Even brilliant Saint Kings couldn’t match a Great Saint’s execution of high-tier Immortal techniques.
Only an Immortal sacred body with Great Saint force could unleash their full might.
Zhang Ruochen’s expression grew solemn. His arms glowed with immortal light, hundreds of thousands of Truth Path rules infused into his palm technique.
Instantly, the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm unleashed ninefold power, the dragon and elephant radiating vast Great Saint pressure, their forms nearly filling the sky.
Lacking an Immortal body or Great Saint force, Zhang Ruochen’s high mastery of Truth, immortalized arms, Destruction Golden Sun, and Fire God Armor let his palm rival such might.
“Boom.”
Like colliding stars, eternal holy light erupted, piercing past and future.
The dragon-elephant and golden ocean shattered, dissolving into nothingness.
The impact sent Zhang Ruochen reeling, streaking like a meteor, crashing through a small asteroid a thousand li away, shattering it. The Fire God Armor’s flames dimmed but held.
Jin Hui merely swayed, standing firm like an unextinguished divine sun, illuminating the cosmos.
“Jin Hui’s high-tier technique was blocked by Zhang Ruochen? Impossible!”
“He hasn’t used his full strength. Zhang Ruochen can’t match a mid-Immortal Great Saint.”
“Next strike, Zhang Ruochen won’t hold. This fight has no suspense.”
Onlookers buzzed, stunned by Zhang Ruochen’s performance.
Xing Yuan whispered coldly, “The stronger you are, Zhang Ruochen, the angrier Jin Hui gets. No matter your skill, you can’t escape suppression.”
“If Jin Hui kills him by mistake, even better,” Chen Hu sneered.
Zhang Ruochen’s rise was a threat. The Celestial factions didn’t want him reaching Great Saint or godhood, especially with his time and space talents, fearing another Saint Monk Xumi.
