Chapter 911: Xu Qing’s Path
God Mountain glittered with golden light, but no godly decree was issued. Meaningful looks could be seen in the eyes of the three stewards, but they said nothing. The surrounding Firemoons and the subsidiary species, as well as everyone else looking on, seemed full of excitement and anticipation. Although some people were clearly surprised by the development, there weren’t many. Apparently, it wasn’t a surprise at all for Sir Firedark to challenge someone during the Darkheaven part of the ceremony.
It was almost as if it was expected among the Firemoon Darkheavens. Throughout all the countless years that had passed, there had never been a large number of Firemoons. In order to keep their species’ battle prowess strong, a certain amount of infighting was acceptable. In fact, the way the Great Hunt was set up conformed to that custom. By raising venomous bugs in a jar, they fostered the warlike blood that pumped through their veins. And in the brutal ‘survival of the fittest’ environment, the strongest experts emerged. That was why, whenever the Great Hunt happened and someone was named a darkheaven general, it was acceptable for others to challenge them to fight, although only on that one specific day. Those were the rules.
Throughout the history of the Firemoon Darkheaven people, such challenges were rare, but they had occurred. That was why no one was particularly surprised by Sir Firedark’s challenge.
What was more, Sir Firedark openly acknowledged that Xu Qing was the Grand Darkheaven, which ensured that the dignity of the ceremony wasn’t violated, and that the fairness of the decision wasn’t called into question. He was submitting a challenge in accordance with the rules.
That said, to challenge someone even after they had become the Grand Darkheaven... was something that had never happened before. After all, the glory of the Grand Darkheaven surpassed that of the ordinary darkheaven generals.
The Grand Darkheaven had such a superior position that, if he wanted to refuse the challenge, he could do so with a word. Of course, that would be a big blow to his reputation, and would reduce the glory of the Grand Darkheaven. What was more, challenging the Grand Darkheaven required paying a price. If the challenger lost, then they would have no choice but to deliver a drop of their soul blood as a penalty. That soul blood couldn’t be used to kill them, but it could be used by the Grand Darkheaven as a life-saving item in a moment of crisis.
On the other hand, if the Grand Darkheaven lost, he wouldn’t have to pay any price. It might seem unfair, but that was simply an understanding that needed to be accepted when someone in an inferior position challenged a superior.
As Sir Firedark’s words echoed about, numerous gazes flitted to Xu Qing to see how he would react.
Xu Qing said nothing. He looked calmly at Sir Firedark, taking note of the burning white fire above his right shoulder. Within it was a shocking major world, and yet... Sir Firedark was not a Smoldering God!
Second-stage Void Returning . Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed. If Sir Firedark had been a Smoldering God, then a display of strength like this wouldn’t have been surprising. In fact, it would have been expected. But for someone who wasn’t a Smoldering God to have the same type of major world that a Smoldering God would have... was different.
In fact, based on what Xu Qing understood, it didn’t make sense. Based on his initial impression back in the mausoleum in the god domain, that unprecedented major world meant that Sir Firedark was only a step away from being a Smoldering God. That alone was enough to confirm to Xu Qing that Sir Firedark was extremely daring.
A major world was enough to step into Smoldering God, converge one’s magical laws, and form the void soil dao foundation of Transform 10,000 Veracities! By taking the steps to reach the great circle of Void Returning, it could be considered, not necessarily one-of-a-kind, but unique in the current generation in Revered Ancient.
Definitely befitting of the number one chosen among the Firemoons!
Xu Qing’s eyes were already gleaming with the desire to do battle. He knew he had to take an opponent like this seriously, and the fight would be a rare challenge. There was no need to state outright whether or not he would accept the challenge. His eyes made his answer clear.
Seeing Xu Qing’s battle spirit rising caused Sir Firedark’s battle spirit to also get stronger. His aura began to grow stronger, and the white flames on his shoulder burned hotter than ever.
“Xu Qing, I’m in second-stage Void Returning, while you’re in first-stage. You might be extraordinary among Void Returning cultivators, but my Void Returning contains good fortune of heaven and earth. Furthermore, because I’m a Firemoon Darkheaven and you’re a human, I have a superior fleshly body. Therefore, I will fight this battle with my left hand held behind my back!”
Sir Firedark extended his left hand and then put it behind his back. He had no intention of using it during the fight. Perhaps it was foolish to do that, but that was how powerful experts thought.
It wasn’t a concession to Xu Qing, but rather, a way to preserve his own dignity and majesty. What was more, if he lost in this way, it would be losing a fight, not losing his heart. From a young age he had fought countless battles, many of them to the death. Bearing the name Sir Firedark, he had crushed fellow members of his generation one by one, cowing all the other chosen and winning glory with a clean conscience.
Because of that, his heart was strong. He knew that the path of cultivation was a competition amongst all living beings, and a fight against the many heavens. Xu Qing’s actions in the god domain had left him astonished. If he won and dispelled that astonishment, then he could continue walking his path of invincibility. If he lost, then that astonishment would be a motivating force to try to catch up! But if he didn’t fight at all, he would never dispel the astonishment.
Sir Firedark lifted his right foot and took a step in Xu Qing’s direction. When his foot fell, rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth. The white flames above his right shoulder leaped into the sky and then spread out in all directions.
It moved with blinding speed, spreading 50 kilometers in the blink of an eye and 500 an instant later. A sea of flames spread for 500 kilometers, shockingly hot. At the same time, the major world inside of the fire became more majestic. However, it was still in the process of shrinking down. 500 kilometers was only the manifestation of the major world shrinking down by a small portion.
The sight of it caused all the onlookers to react with surprise.
“That world....”
“That mighty world isn’t Smoldering God. It’s Void Returning.... How’d he do that?”
“Now that is the number one chosen of the Firemoon Darkheaven people!”
It was truly a majestic world, the type that few people present had ever seen. Xu Qing had personally watched that world form, so he knew first-hand that it was a spectacular major world that surpassed anything ancient or modern.
Sir Firedark hovered in the air, voice booming like thunder as he said, “Before going to the god domain, I was in first-stage Void Returning, and this world was only in embryonic form. Back then, I could fight one-world Smoldering Gods, though survival wouldn’t be certain.
“But now, I could crush a one-world Smoldering God with ease. Even most ordinary Smoldering Gods with two worlds couldn’t match up to me. And I could even handle a Smoldering God at the peak of the two-world level.
“I’m going to name this world the Firedark World. If you can stand up to this, then you and I can compare divine abilities!”
He shoved his hand in Xu Qing’s direction. Beneath him, the major world in the 500-kilometer sea of fire rumbled loudly and emitted terrifying pressure that rumbled directly toward Xu Qing. That pressure caused anyone lower than a Smoldering God to suddenly feel destabilized in mind, body, and soul.
Facing such astonishing pressure caused Xu Qing’s eyes to glitter. However, he didn’t back down an inch. After all, this was going to be his first fight after stepping into Void Returning. This fight would help him to come to understand what Void Returning was all about, and would also give him a clear idea of the level of his battle prowess.
As he hovered in midair, he lifted his right hand and pushed it out in front of him. That motion caused the boundless void soil within him to erupt. Soul threads shot out, spreading around him rapidly. The number of soul threads was astonishing. It created an entire sea of soul threads, within which lightning crashed.
1,000,000. 10,000,000.... Eventually 40,000,000 soul threads could be seen in the dome of heaven, and as they weaved together in the manner of a Xeno-Immortal, they formed... a major world! The size of this world was 500 kilometers, and was also in the process of shrinking down. The aura and pressure it emitted were completely terrifying. This was a case of creating something from nothing!
Xu Qing had taken the enlightenment of the founders and then carved out his own path. It was an unprecedented... dao of Xeno-Immortals!
Most astonishing was that in the major world formed from Xeno-Immortal soul threads was a heaven-rending, earth-crushing sound as a hundred illusory pillars rose up in different areas. The pillars pulsed with godly might, as thēy were formed from the blood of the broken face that Xu Qing had devoured. Thēy formed illusory godly authority, and though Xu Qing had not yet gained enlightenment of them, thēy were still materializing.
Despite being illusory, thēir presence provided a blessing to the major world. In fact, that blessing made Xu Qing’s world seem like... a god domain!
Even more terrifying was that in the middle of the major world were four pillars that weren’t illusory. Thēy were true and real, and thēy were covered with mysterious magical symbols. The symbols flickered with hair-raising might that surpassed all of the myriad magics and daos in heaven and earth. They were no symbols of a cultivator. Rather, they were Xu Qing’s... godly authority lineaments!
The first was connected to his life essence. The second to the violet moon. The third to the god curse. The fourth to misfortune! When thēy appeared, Xu Qing’s world of soul threads experienced a dramatic rise in aura, and made it even more impressive than the pressure of Sir Firedark’s majestic world.
The scene caused a wave of astonishment to rock the onlookers.
“Is that even Void Returning??”
“Void Returning.... Before, I would never have believed that Void Returning could be like this!”
“Also... there are two of them!”
Xu Qing looked up. The world of soul threads rumbled loudly as it smashed into the Firedark World.
The power of two worlds erupted. The dome of heaven seemed like it might shatter. The lands seemed about to crumble. At that critical moment, the stewards took action, creating a standalone dimension where Xu Qing and Sir Firedark could fight, separated from Revered Ancient.
“Great!” Sir Firedark said, laughing heartily. He waved his right hand, and his major world rumbled again, growing into a world of ten thousand worlds, with surging destiny aura that seemed on the verge of forming the will of a world.
Xu Qing’s expression remained the same as ever as he exercised a thought, causing soul threads to separate from the world and turn into the huge eye of a god. It was an imitation of Emperor Ancient Spirit’s eyes, which Xu Qing had created.
The eye looked at Sir Firedark’s major world, and the world trembled. Then the destiny aura in the world began to circulate in the opposite direction. More soul threads flew out, turning into Crimson Mother, who stared coldly at Sir Firedark’s world. Everything trembled violently. Things weren’t over yet, though. Next, Li Zihua appeared in soul thread form, and he stepped into Sir Firedark’s major world. Even the fish god appeared and did the same.
In addition, what also appeared was the eye of the unnamed god Xu Qing had seen in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture beneath the Ghost Emperor’s weapon. After it formed, it entered Sir Firedark’s major world.
A host of gods had come!
The sight was astonishing to everyone, especially considering that Xu Qing was the one commanding the host of gods!
Within the crowd, the Captain was actually getting excited. So, this is little Junior Brother’s path!