Chapter 231: Chapter 230: Mysteries of Gang

In the void, a fierce battle raged.

Having just completed his breakthrough, Qin Ya was behaving completely out of character. A brutal aura radiated from his every move as he attacked Li Shuo without a word, engaging him in a fierce battle. This left everyone present speechless with surprise.

"Ha, this kid has quite the fiery temper. I like it."

The Blood Saber Youth laughed, growing even more interested in Qin Ya.

Meanwhile, Elder Purple Robe remarked calmly, "It’s no wonder he’s acting this way. Interrupting someone’s breakthrough is a major taboo for Martial Artists, let alone during a critical stage like the Heaven-Reaching Pass. This Li Shuo’s bearing is a far cry from that of his master, the Ancient King."

Luo Bi snorted coldly. "He’s courting death. To be so arrogant right after breaking through to the Extraordinary Realm... Li Shuo is one of the Ancient King’s most capable generals. His Cultivation reached the Sky-Controlling High Rank long ago. How could this kid possibly compare?"

The Extraordinary Five Realms were: Sky-Controlling, Celestial Human, King, Venerable, and Saint.

Each Realm was further divided into four minor realms: Initial Rank, Middle Rank, High Rank, and Perfection. Qin Ya had only just broken through the Celestial Gate to reach the Sky-Controlling Initial Rank, whereas Li Shuo had ascended to the Extraordinary Realm long ago. His Cultivation was two whole minor realms higher than Qin Ya’s.

Hearing this, Elder Purple Robe’s brow furrowed in doubt.

As an Extraordinary Martial Artist, his perception was naturally on a different level than that of Luo Bi and the others.

’It’s true, Li Shuo’s Cultivation is indeed higher than Qin Ya’s. But from the look of the battle, Qin Ya isn’t at a disadvantage at all. In fact, he’s even suppressing Li Shuo in some aspects—like that terrifying speed of his.’

Qin Ya had comprehended the Mysterious Speed and cultivated it to the First Heaven. In terms of speed, there were few Martial Artists below the Celestial Human Realm who could match him.

Li Shuo was no exception.

The only reason he could repeatedly dodge Qin Ya’s spear was by relying on the Divine Thought granted by his higher Realm. Divine Thought was incredibly profound, with all sorts of strange and wonderful applications.

The most important ability it granted a Martial Artist was... prediction!

It wasn’t the kind of prediction that could see the future, but rather an intuition in battle that allowed one to judge and anticipate an opponent’s next move. He was relying on his Divine Thought, which was a cut above Qin Ya’s, to repeatedly predict the trajectory of the spear.

Even so, he was in grave danger against Qin Ya’s terrifying speed.

The slightest misstep, and he would be facing death.

"Dodge? We’ll see how long you can keep that up!"

A cruel smile tugged at Qin Ya’s lips. His figure blurred, and a sky full of spear afterimages rained down like a torrential storm. Spears aimed for his eyes, his chest... in an instant, Li Shuo’s vision was filled with nothing but spear shadows. There was no escape; his only choice was to face it head-on.

"Hah! Gang!!"

With a great shout, Li Shuo channeled energy through his palms, drawing in the ocean currents to form a shield of seawater. Layered over this shield was a Mystery that made it as hard as steel.

This Mystery granted the seawater an unusually high Defense Power.

The Mysteries of Gang, one of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth comprehended by Li Shuo, didn’t have particularly high Attack Power. However, among all the Mysteries, its Defense Power was second to none.

Li Shuo smiled calmly. Although his comprehension of the Mysteries of Gang was only at the First Heaven, he was confident that a Martial Artist like Qin Ya, who had just become Extraordinary, could never break through this seawater barrier imbued with his Mysteries.

CLANG! CLANG...

The spear hammered against the seawater shield like a downpour, unexpectedly ringing out with the sound of clashing metal. Then, the smile on Li Shuo’s face began to freeze.

From that barrage of spear strikes, he felt an extraordinary Attack Power.

’This kind of Attack Power... it’s impossible for a newly ascended Extraordinary Martial Artist to have! Even I, Li Shuo, don’t possess such power!’

POP...

In the blink of an eye, the seawater shield shattered!

"This... how is this possible!?"

Li Shuo’s face was a mask of astonishment. SPLURT! Blood sprayed as the spear tip pierced his shoulder. The searing pain instantly snapped Li Shuo out of his stupor. He lashed out with a palm strike and shot backward.

Qin Ya met the blow with a palm strike of his own and was pushed back several steps. Gazing at Li Shuo clutching his shoulder in the distance, a flicker of satisfaction crossed his eyes. "Again!" he shouted.

The word had barely left his lips before he charged forward again.

Destruction. The urge to destroy everything crashed through Qin Ya’s mind.

His blood boiled. Deep in his consciousness, Qin Ya knew that if he kept this up, he would likely descend into madness.

He would become a humanoid beast that knew only destruction.

But knowing this was one thing; controlling this impulse was another. He couldn’t do it.

He finally understood why this impulse felt so familiar. He had once witnessed another who possessed this same destructive intent—no, not a person, but a demon. A Peerless Sect Female Demon whose beauty stunned the heavens and whose terror was absolute. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

That’s right. It was the same Female Demon who had been imprisoned by the Vast Sea Divine Palace for sixteen years.

When she escaped, she had wreaked havoc in the Vast Sea Divine Palace. Even Zong Ji, a Martial Arts King and the Supreme Elder of the Vast Sea Divine Palace, had been helpless against her. Her Demonic Qi had contained this very same destructive intent, only hers was hundreds of times more terrifying than what Qin Ya was experiencing.

Qin Ya didn’t know why he possessed such an impulse.

But because of this impulse, he was now trapped in a berserk state. One part of his consciousness fought against Li Shuo, while another struggled against the destructive urge. He didn’t know how much longer he could hold on.

Facing Qin Ya’s frenzied onslaught, a chill crept into Li Shuo’s heart.

He channeled energy with both palms, pulling in the ocean currents and unleashing his Mysteries of Gang to form a seven-layered seawater shield around himself. Then, he roared, "Li Fei, are you just going to stand there and watch? Get the hell out here and help me!"

Before the words had even faded, Qin Ya’s attack was upon him.

PFFT! PFFT! PFFT! The wild spear descended like a storm, completely devoid of technique or form. It relied on nothing but unparalleled speed and an overwhelming, destructive Attack Power.

It struck the seawater shield, and in the blink of an eye, four of the layers shattered!

An instant later, two more were destroyed. Just as the final layer was about to break, a stunning, ten-zhang-long beam of Sword Light shot out from the Profound Vessel.

The Sword Light arched like a rainbow, closing the distance in an instant.

Seeing this, Qin Ya didn’t retreat or dodge. Instead, he pulled back his spear and swept it out in a wide arc.

His Ninth-Grade Profound Soldier, augmented by immense Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi and that destructive will, met the Sword Light in a deadlock. Seizing the opportunity, a cold glint flashed in Li Shuo’s eyes. He circulated his True Essence, gathered the immense Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, and unleashed a palm strike.

The perfectly timed palm strike slammed into Qin Ya.

BOOM! Qin Ya shot down like a cannonball, smashing into the sea. The tremendous impact sent a colossal pillar of water erupting into the air. Waves rolled out in every direction, rocking the Profound Vessel. The Dancing Girls grabbed hold of the railings to keep their balance.

Seeing this, Elder Purple Robe’s figure blurred and he reappeared on the Profound Vessel. A mighty aura erupted from him, guiding the Primordial Qi to instantly stabilize the rocking vessel.

"Thank you, Senior," Qingxu said, stepping forward.

"It was a small effort. No need for thanks," Elder Purple Robe said with a faint smile.

Just then, a giant Sea Beast leaped from the water, its cavernous maw lunging for the Profound Vessel. A flash of crimson saber light shot past, and the Sea Beast was instantly sliced in two.

As blood rained down, Elder Purple Robe calmly flicked his sleeve, and not a single drop of it touched the Profound Vessel.