Chapter 32: The First of Our Generation to Ascend to Heaven

“Just one move?”

Upon hearing Zhao Zhen’s words, Zhang Zhiwei was taken aback. Then a keen interest gradually surfaced in his eyes.

“I have to admit, I’m rather curious to see what other tricks you’ve been hiding, Brother Zhao.”

Nearby, Lü Ci frowned and turned to his elder brother, Lü Ren.

“Brother, what do you think? Do you really believe Zhao Zhen can defeat Senior Brother Zhang in a single move?”

“Hard to say.”

Lü Ren shook his head.

By this point in the contest, neither Zhang Zhiwei nor Zhao Zhen was someone their peers could comment on with any authority.

Even Lü Ren, the “Greater Jade” of the famed “Two Jades of the Lü Family,” was now completely and utterly convinced by the abilities of these two men.

If Zhang Zhiwei was like a towering mountain blocking everyone’s path—a mountain one needed only to glimpse to know would remain forever beyond their reach—then Zhao Zhen was an abyss.

When one stood at the edge of an abyss and gazed downward, one could clearly sense the terror emanating from its depths, yet one would never know just how deep that bottomless chasm truly was.

Zhao Zhen’s methods were just like that abyss: no one could ever tell how much more ability he still had concealed.

For that reason, Lü Ren genuinely did not know how to judge Zhao Zhen’s “boast” that he could defeat Zhang Zhiwei with a single move.

“Brother, do you truly think Zhao Zhen can beat Senior Brother Zhang in one move? You saw it yourself just now. From the very beginning, Zhao Zhen could do nothing but dodge in front of Senior Brother Zhang! He didn’t even have the chance to strike back, so how could he possibly defeat him in a single move? In my opinion, he’s simply too proud to admit defeat and is trying to save face!”

“Whether he truly has the ability or is merely making excuses for himself, we’ll know soon enough. Just watch.”

…

Ahead of them, Zhao Zhen drew a deep breath.

He knew that what he was about to do might be somewhat dangerous. But for the sake of his promise—and also to repay the favor owed to Heavenly Master Zhang Jingqing—he had to take the risk.

“Daoist Zhang, be careful.”

Zhang Zhiwei nodded solemnly. The arcs of lightning formed by his thunder arts grew denser around him.

Nearly everyone held their breath at that moment, fixing their full attention on Zhao Zhen.

They, too, were eager to see what heaven-defying technique this man had been hiding.

In the next instant, Zhao Zhen suddenly rose into the air. At the same time, several more Meridian-Sealing Talismans drifted from his sleeve.

“More Meridian-Sealing Talismans?”

Zhang Zhiwei frowned. With a casual gesture, he controlled the Yang Thunder and blasted the talismans in midair into ash, while keeping his expression tense and his attention fixed on Zhao Zhen’s movements.

He did not believe Zhao Zhen would be foolish enough to repeat the same trick.

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Yet just as Zhang Zhiwei was about to sweep the talisman ash from the air with his sleeve, a faint sense of danger suddenly appeared behind him.

“So he really is repeating the same trick? Could he have anticipated that I wouldn’t expect it?”

Zhang Zhiwei reacted swiftly. Before he had even fully turned around, the Yang Thunder surrounding his body had already struck the source of the danger behind him!

Crackle!

The sensation transmitted back through the Yang Thunder told Zhang Zhiwei that his attack had indeed struck its target. But just as he completed his turn, a crisp sound suddenly reached his ears.

Clang!

“This is…”

Looking at the dagger lying on the ground, Zhang Zhiwei’s gaze sharpened.

His Yang Thunder had certainly hit its target—but the target was not Zhao Zhen. It was a dagger that Zhao Zhen had sent over through the Golden Escape, Flowing Light technique!

At the same time, a flash of golden light flickered amid the talisman ash, and Zhao Zhen’s figure appeared behind him. He reached out, attempting to touch Zhang Zhiwei’s back.

“Not good!”

Zhang Zhiwei cried out inwardly. Almost instinctively, he once again condensed the Yang Thunder and launched it behind himself.

“Are we competing in speed? Your speed is indeed astonishing—so fast that even the flow of my Golden Light cannot keep up. But thunder arts are different from the Golden Light Incantation! No matter how fast you are, how could you possibly outpace the transmission of lightning?!”

The facts proved Zhang Zhiwei’s judgment correct. Although Zhao Zhen’s feint had caught him off guard, Zhang Zhiwei’s profound cultivation and the special nature of his thunder arts allowed his Yang Thunder to strike first despite being released second!

Yet at the instant the Yang Thunder was about to touch Zhao Zhen’s body, Zhao Zhen’s figure vanished once more.

“What?!”

Zhang Zhiwei’s pupils contracted violently.

He had never imagined that this too had been another feint by Zhao Zhen!

That fellow had actually repeated the same trick twice in rapid succession!

At the same time, Zhao Zhen’s figure unexpectedly reappeared above Zhang Zhiwei’s head.

Looking at the protective Yang Thunder leaping eagerly around Zhang Zhiwei’s body, a trace of madness flashed through Zhao Zhen’s eyes.

“So what if it’s Yang Thunder? What difference will taking one strike make?!”

Crackle, crackle, crackle!

Zhao Zhen forcibly endured the numbing pain of Zhang Zhiwei’s protective Yang Thunder surging through his entire body, resisting the urge to faint. In the end, he employed every ounce of strength he possessed and successfully broke through the outer layer of Yang Thunder, allowing his right hand to touch Zhang Zhiwei’s shoulder.

Whoosh!

In the next instant, Zhang Zhiwei’s entire body vanished abruptly before everyone’s eyes.

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For a moment, the entire arena fell silent.

With a whoosh, Zhang Jingqing immediately rose from his seat. But in the next moment, Zuo Ruotong reached out and stopped him.

“Heavenly Master, there is no need to worry. It is only a contest between juniors. They know their limits, and I believe that child will not truly harm your disciple.”

Zhang Jingqing frowned. He was just about to ask where Zhao Zhen had sent Zhang Zhiwei when Zhao Zhen, lying on the ground as though he had exhausted every last bit of strength, calmly raised one finger and pointed toward the sky.

“Could it be…”

Lu Jin followed the direction of Zhao Zhen’s finger and looked upward. His expression immediately became exceedingly strange.

“Aaaaaah!”

Under everyone’s gaze, a golden figure in the sky gradually grew larger in their field of vision. Accompanied by increasingly distinct screams, it finally plunged down like a falling meteor and crashed violently into the ground beside Zhao Zhen.

Boom!

Dust billowed through the arena.

Zhang Jingqing quickly swept out his sleeve, whipping up a powerful gust of wind that scattered the dust. When the air finally cleared, a huge crater had appeared in the middle of the formerly level ground.

Inside it, Zhang Zhiwei no longer wore his previous expression of complete indifference. Covered from head to toe in dust and dirt, he climbed laboriously from the crater, cursing under his breath.

“Pfft!”

Feng Ping failed to hold it in and burst out laughing.

His laughter was contagious. The younger disciples, who had already been struggling to suppress themselves, finally broke as well, doubling over and laughing uproariously.

The tense atmosphere instantly dissolved.

“I was wondering where Zhao Zhen had thrown Senior Brother Zhang. Who would have thought he’d thrown him into the sky! Hahahaha!”

“Fortunately, Senior Brother Zhang is built tough, and the Golden Light Incantation cushioned the impact. Otherwise, that fall would have knocked him senseless! Hahaha!”

“From now on, I suppose Senior Brother Zhang can claim to be the first among our generation to ascend into the heavens, can’t he?”

“So the Golden Escape, Flowing Light technique can be used like that? I’ve certainly learned something today.”

“You’re incredible, Zhao Zhen! Truly incredible! From now on, I, Feng Ping, will bow to no one but you!”

…

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