Chapter 1229: You Won

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Boom!

The black flames ran rampant.

Zhuo Fan drifted to the floor, staring at the raging blackness. He refused to believe this expert would offer himself up to be blindsided like this.

The fact that his face showed no fear, no shock, no reaction to the black flames’ sudden attack, left Zhuo Fan increasingly uneasy.

Bam!

Like he expected, the black flames scattered, revealing the untouched man still sitting in his chair.

Reality still proved to come as a shock, despite having considered this outcome.

The black flames never failed him, destroying anything they touched, yet they couldn’t harm one hair on this big man?

The man laughed at his stumped face, “Divine Eye of the Void, Qilin strength and then there’s this black fire. All are amazing things, but none mastered, unable to showcase their true talents. Kid, craftiness does not equal enlightenment. Go back!”

“Back?”

Zhuo Fan was grave, “You have set Qingcheng off ahead, and you want me to return just to die? Not happening! I don’t want to become a ghost here, wandering the Nether Sea for all time.”

Zhuo Fan flew once more, his eyes flickering with a black glow as he stretched out two fingers. A devastating sword energy gathered.

“Apocalyptic Sword, Heaven Butcherer!”

Whoosh!

Zhuo Fan learned to combine the five sword arts into the Apocalyptic Sword from Sword Child. The black wave of death looked to come to reap all lives in existence.

The big man’s brow shook for once, laughing, “So you weren’t just a mixed bag, ha-ha-ha, going quite far in understanding the Sword Sovereign’s swordsmanship and actually surpassing it. However, it won’t change anything! Tyrant’s Fist!”

Bam!

Instead of two fingers, the man used a punch, striking the black wave to pieces. Zhuo Fan took the brunt of the backlash and got sent flying out of sight.

The man pulled back his fist and looked down with a chuckle, “To think I’d be up to tricks as well, using Emperor Stage strength when up against a Spirit King. The boy should’ve passed me, but I didn’t achieve my goal, ha-ha-ha…”

As he lowered his hand, a white mark was on it…

“Aah!”

Zhuo Fan shouted from being sent flying under that huge power, through the hole he burned and into something soft. 

Only kept on his feet thanks to a large hand holding him.

Huge heads appeared around, looking at him with worry, “Sir? Are you alright?”

“Sir, did he hurt you?”

“Sir, what about the girl? Where is she?”

…

The spiritual beasts chatted, but he had no mind to focus on the kind sea beasts. He stood up, checking his wounds, only to find none. 

[He didn’t hurt me? That backlash should’ve at least left me bleeding inside, if not outright dead.]

Zhuo Fan was puzzled, asking the beasts, “Who is he and how is he so strong? He knows so much about Heavenly Sovereign, Sword Sovereign and Qilin.”

“Uh, well…”

The beasts looked away. All the chatter died out on the spot.

Zhuo Fan stared hard at them, figuring out that they knew the answer. He threatened, “Didn’t you respect Sea Ao in life and death? I am asking here as his envoy and you don’t respond?”

“Lord Sea Ao knows we can’t say anything.”

One spiritual beast answered, with the others bobbing their huge heads.

Zhuo Fan’s face twitched. 

[These guys were told to keep their mouths shut. Knowing the enemy and oneself is the path to victory.] 

Against such a powerful opponent, he had to know everything he could, since overpowering was out. That left outsmarting him, only possible if he knew more.

Zhuo Fan asked again, “The big man inside is so strong, maybe a Saint? Then I’ll never be able to beat him as a mere Spirit King.”

“Ha-ha-ha, sir, this may be pushing it, but I still have to say that sir has no scheme. He is without a doubt not being hard on sir.”

“Oh, how come?”

“He-he, he is always fair, including regarding the stone gate when it comes to the challengers. As sir is a Spirit King, then pushing the gate will need Spirit King strength and you’ll thus have the chance to pass his trial. For he’ll also use the same level of strength, that of Spirit King, to fight you.”

“How can that be?”

Zhuo Fan was skeptical, “Just a show sent someone flying for thousands of miles. How is that a Spirit King level? It’s more within a Saint’s limit!”

The beasts smiled, “Even the same level can have huge gaps, depending on someone’s grasp of their strength. But you’re right about one thing. When he was a Spirit King, he did go challenge a Saint. He failed, yes, but it was shocking to find he came out of the fight in one piece. When he became a Saint, he fought and overpowered a hundred 12th level spiritual beasts, subduing the spiritual beast world for a while. Later on came Lord Qilin, and only then was his strength matched…”  

“What?”

Zhuo Fan cried out, “To not lose against a Qilin? Then he’s…”

Ugh!

The spiritual beast covered his mouth having let it out of the back, rushing to wave off his words, “Sir, those are your guesses. I didn’t tell you anything…”

Zhuo Fan was too deep in thought to care about his words, looking at the huge gate with understanding.

Zhuo Fan took a deep breath, jumping out of the soft palm and arriving before the gate. He looked at the hole he burned through with a jeer.

He then put his palms on the gate, his right arm flaring red once more.

The spiritual beasts were curious, “Uh, sir, what are you doing? Didn’t you pass the gate already? Shouldn’t you be challenging the guardian instead?”

“I have passed it, but not my heart!”

Zhuo Fan smirked, “Senior was right, tricks aren’t everything in life. The gate tests the heart, not strength, leaving no room for being crafty.”

Zhuo Fan closed his eyes, using all his strength to push while emptying his mind, focusing only on this one task. 

The big man’s ear twitched and grinned, “It’s him alright. Abstaining from pride and arrogance curbed. He has remarkable insight.”

Hours trickled by with the gate not budged even a hair. He kept at it for eight hours so far, not relaxing a moment, his eyes closed and with a body soaked in sweat.

The spiritual beast audience looked dumbly, looking at the gate and the man like they were one with how neither showed any movement.

[There’s no budging it so why even insist? Besides, the longer you’re at it, the weaker you become, especially without resting.]

They wanted to advise him against it, but Zhuo Fan’s eyes never opened.

So the spiritual beasts gave up.

Bam!

Then, the sudden noise had the spiritual beasts jump in fright. They gawked as the huge gate rumbled, with dust falling from it.

The beasts turned to Zhuo Fan to find the red glow on his arm weakened, yet his eyes closed. Despite his relaxed hands, rumbling echoed out as the large gate got pushed open. 

Zhuo Fan smirked as he opened his eyes, strutting inside before the big man. Zhuo Fan said nothing, merely gave a light punch.

A force shot at the man’s face and he was forced, for once, to punch back. Upon impact, everything within a thousand miles crumbled, even the ground, from the raw power. Even the Nether Sea outside the gate roiled and sent sea beasts into a frenzy.

Crack!

The big man’s chair split apart.

The man nodded at Zhuo Fan, “You won. You passed this trial…”