Outside the city, they buried the boy’s grandfather.
“What is your name?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
“Ye Luochen.”
Hearing this name, Zhang Ruochen instinctively furrowed his brows.
Luochen?
What did it mean?
How was it such an inauspicious name.
Zhang Ruochen somewhat understood now why Huang Yanchen had once taken offence because his name contained a “chen” character, committing a taboo.
If his name back then had been “Zhang Luochen”, with Huang Yanchen’s temperament, who knew what she might have done.
Ye Luochen asked: “Master, is there something wrong with this name?”
“No, there is nothing wrong.”
Zhang Ruochen thought to himself, why in this lifetime was he so entangled with the character “chen”?
Fate.
It seemed he truly had some fate with this boy.
Ye Luochen said: “Master, when will you teach me the method of cultivation?”
“No rush! Have you opened your divine martial mark yet?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
“Not yet.”
“Wait until you have opened the divine martial mark before we discuss cultivation.”
Ye Luochen asked again: “When can I cultivate to the level where I am qualified to negotiate with the Blood Slaughter Family?”
“Then you must prove to the Blood Slaughter Family’s gods that your value of existence surpasses that of the entire Jiannan Realm, and that you are utterly loyal to the Blood Slaughter Family. At the very least, you must cultivate to the Thousand Query Realm and enter the Divine Reserve Scroll. In the Hundred Shackles Realm, the holy intent you condense must reach third grade. And that is merely the foundation!”
The three walked along the bank of a night-luminous great river dozens of zhang wide.
On the water’s surface floated duckweed emitting purple-white radiance, like crystalline gems inlaid upon a long black cloth pouch.
Zhang Ruochen strode ahead with great steps.
Ye Luochen hurried with quick steps and short runs to keep up, panting as he said: “How many years does it take to reach the Thousand Query Realm?”
“Among the cosmos, even the foremost batch of geniuses requires a millennium.” Zhang Ruochen said.
“I cannot wait a millennium… huff… ha… after a millennium… my enemies will likely all be dead! Master… huff… I want to cultivate to the Thousand Query Realm at the fastest speed, a century, no, ten years. In ten years, I must cultivate to the Thousand Query Realm!”
Ye Luochen rushed ahead of Zhang Ruochen, spreading his pair of thin arms to block him.
“Ten years! Haha, utterly impossible, not even I could do it; even if the Undying Divine Hall spared no effort to cultivate you, there would be not the slightest possibility.” Zhang Ruochen laughed.
Ye Luochen was drenched in sweat, his teeth gritted as he said: “Then a century!”
“A century is also impossible.” Zhang Ruochen said.
Ye Luochen knelt before Zhang Ruochen, his hands pressing into the moist riverside mud and sand, speaking to himself: “Master, I beg you, I cannot wait a millennium. A millennium is too long; who knows how many living beings of the Jiannan Realm will become blood food for the Undying Blood Race. Who knows how many humans like me will lose their kin and live in agony beyond endurance.”
“The days of being ruled and enslaved by the Undying Blood Race should come to an end; I hope the common people of the world can all see hope, able to live without fear.”
“Master, help me. I am willing to endure any hardship, bear any toil.”
“Even death?” Zhang Ruochen said.
Ye Luochen’s eyes were red-rimmed, yet he held back his tears, his expression utterly resolute as he said: “Even death holds no fear for me.”
His ten fingers sank into the mud and sand, clenching tightly together.
“There is indeed one method that can allow you to cultivate to the great saint Thousand Query Realm within ten years. But it is exceedingly dangerous, and you will suffer much pain and exhaustion. What you pay must be far more than ordinary people.” Zhang Ruochen said.
Without a second thought, Ye Luochen said: “I am willing to try.”
Mo Yin guessed what method Zhang Ruochen meant and said: “Too dangerous! Master has finally taken a disciple; why resort to such an extreme approach?”
“The cosmos undergoes great change, the heavens and earth in turmoil. A millennium is indeed too long; he needs to grow swiftly. Though this method is extreme, it is still feasible.”
Zhang Ruochen was on the verge of breaking through to the divine realm and needed to cultivate one or several powerhouses to become pinnacle war forces in the secular world.
Matters that gods could not intervene in, they could handle.
Cultivation in the divine realm was important, yet secular interests were equally vital and required guardians.
Suddenly, the ground quaked, the river water boiled.
Zhang Ruochen’s expression changed as he grasped Ye Luochen, who knelt on the ground, into his hand from afar; with no time to perform spatial transference, golden wings unfurled on his back, transforming into a streak of rapid flowing light as he retreated backwards.
“Boom!”
A flame giant sword a thousand metres long descended from the heavens, striking the position where Zhang Ruochen had stood moments before.
The great river dried up in an instant, all its water evaporated.
On the ground appeared a bottomless great pit; the earth for hundreds of li around melted, forming a lake of golden-red magma.
Mo Yin’s speed was slightly slower than Zhang Ruochen’s; even with a multicoloured light shield raised, she was still shaken by the power erupting from the flame giant sword, her light shield shattered, and she sustained injury.
A chi-long sword wound appeared on her chest and abdomen, blood flowing profusely.
A thousand li from this place stood a grey-robed elder.
He was named Chu Han, a false god.
Chu Han withdrew the flame giant sword and sighed lightly: “What a pity; such an excellent opportunity, yet Zhang Ruochen dodged it entirely. His vigilance is too terrifying.”
This was the Infernal Court after all; with one strike missing, he must retreat immediately.
Otherwise, should a true god arrive, he would surely die.
Chu Han suppressed his aura, vanishing into concealment, about to slink away.
But just as he took a step, he halted, staring in shock at Zhang Ruochen standing ahead. The concealment divine ability he prided himself on seemed utterly ineffective before the other.
“Since you have come, do not leave!”
Zhang Ruochen released the Eternal Return to One Dao Domain; in an instant, the space and time of this stretch of heaven and earth became chaotic, with clusters of lustrous halos like profuse stars suspended in space, transforming into an boundless ocean of stars.
Chu Han dispelled his concealment divine ability, revealing his true divine form, and sneered: “This god has indeed underestimated you, the secular myth. In truth, had this god sneaked close earlier to strike, I could surely have slain you with one blow.”
“But in the end, you chose a conservative method, wishing to assassinate me yet fearing failure in the assassination, unable to swiftly extricate and flee. For one like you who hesitates both ways, naturally it ends in failure.” Zhang Ruochen said.
Mo Yin flew over, hovering a hundred zhang above and behind Chu Han, thousands upon thousands of multicoloured vines flying from her body to envelop heaven and earth.
Countless spatial rifts flew amid the vines.
Zhang Ruochen said: “Assassinating me is not your purpose in coming to the Jiannan Realm; otherwise, it would not be merely this hasty strike. With a false god’s ability, you could lay a killing trap with utmost ingenuity. Speak, what is your true purpose in coming to the Jiannan Realm?”
The flame-burning war sword in Chu Han’s hand slashed forth.
Yet it was not aimed at Zhang Ruochen; rather, he sought to cleave space and flee into the void.
But within Zhang Ruochen’s Eternal Return to One Dao Domain, how could he succeed as he wished?
Space had only just been split a sliver when it sealed shut once more.
“Xia Jian!”
Zhang Ruochen thrust a sword forth; flames filled the sky, temperature soaring abruptly, as if amid scorching summer heat.
In Chu Han’s eyes, what he saw was not a sword thrusting towards him, but a blazing sun colliding directly. Only by channelling divine qi to his eyes did he discern the sword body and its sword path trajectory.
This was the time sword technique, the four seasons sword technique.
“Bam!”
Even as a false god, Chu Han was struck by this ultimate sword, his divine form pierced through chest and back, a blood hole the size of a bowl appearing.
The profound mysteries of time power in the sixth layer of the time sword technique, how could an ordinary false god comprehend them?
“Xia Jian!”
Relying on the advantage of the dao domain, Zhang Ruochen’s speed was extraordinarily swift, allowing no chance for Chu Han to catch his breath and heal.
The same sword move was unleashed once more.
The time sword technique emphasised a single word: swiftness.
Swift beyond breaking.
Moreover, each sword slashed at lifespan.
“Xia Jian!”
“Xia Jian!”
…
Zhang Ruochen unleashed seventeen swords in succession, all the same move, battering Chu Han utterly defenceless, his divine form riddled with holes, divine blood staining a thousand li of earth.
Where divine blood dripped, the ground turned to fiery plains.
“Enough!”
Chu Han let out a furious long howl.
This divine roar did not transmit beyond Zhang Ruochen’s dao domain; otherwise, living beings for tens of thousands of li around would likely perish outright. The Jiannan Realm was no match for the Heavenly Court after all; once a god-level battle erupted, it would be a catastrophic destruction.
Chu Han’s divine form grew larger, becoming a thousand zhang tall, his entire body radiant with divine light, like a luminous humanoid mountain.
Vast and surging divine might erupted like tidal waves.
“Zhang Ruochen, you whelp, do you truly think this god is no match for you? Fight; today, at any cost, I shall slay you here.”
The wounds on Chu Han’s divine form healed at a speed visible to the naked eye; he raised the thousand-metre-long flame war sword with both hands.
“Swoosh swoosh!”
In heaven and earth appeared countless sword qi, flowing around him like a long river.
Zhang Ruochen’s Eternal Return to One Dao Domain was actually impacted by the vast power erupting from him, showing signs of fracture; the earth within the dao domain entirely melted, a thousand li of scorched red land.
The opponent was a false god after all; Zhang Ruochen dared not take it lightly, activating the Fire God Armour as he said: “So you are a god of the Sword God Realm! To sneak covertly into the Infernal Court and come to the Jiannan Realm, it seems you harbour no small scheme.”
“Very well, since you have come, it is perfect to take your divine source for my own use.”
“Arrogant boasting!” Chu Han swung his sword down in a cleave.
Zhang Ruochen knew the power within a false god’s body was as thick as a star; an enraged strike was no trifling matter, so he dared not clash head-on. Thus, he stepped diagonally, shifting dozens of li sideways, effortlessly evading.
The Dark Gold War Heaven Staff, Infant Sword, Vajra Moon Wheel, Concealed Mountain Demonic Mirror: all four supreme saint artifacts were urged by Zhang Ruochen to their utmost, erupting four surges of supreme power that blanketed the sky and bombarded Chu Han’s body.
Merely a quarter-hour passed, and Chu Han’s divine form had been shattered thrice, his aura plummeting rapidly.
Chu Han had never imagined a saint-realm cultivator could be so formidable, nor that a saint-realm cultivator could possess four supreme saint artifacts, much less that he, a堂堂 god, could not break the dao domain of a saint-realm cultivator.
Driven to this point, Chu Han could no longer care for aught else, channelling divine qi surging towards his divine source.
“Zhang Ruochen, you bully a god excessively; you want the divine source, very well! Take it, let us die together then!” Chu Han’s colossal divine form ignited in flames, illuminating a corner of the pitch-black continent.
“Ignorance! A mere low-tier false god dares seek mutual destruction with me. Your divine form still has great use for me; how could I allow you to ruin it?”
Clad in the Fire God Armour, Zhang Ruochen hovered in mid-air, neither fleeing nor perturbed, utterly calm as he intoned from his mouth: “Nu Jian!”
