"Boom!!"
The canyon walls collapsed as if Heaven's gate had been flung open.
Chen Kuang barely had time to shout:
"Senior Brother! Protect them and go first!"
As the words left his mouth, he leapt from the deck and rushed forward, the hems of his robe flaring like wings under the sudden gusts.
"Wuuuuuhhhh!!"
The Martial Saint's fists had not yet fully retracted before he stepped forward again.
Each step he took echoed like a war drum, shaking the very mountains and riverbanks.
He raised his right arm and swept it horizontally!
A great gale surged forward, the surging wind like a giant whip across the heavens!
"Boom!!"
Where the wind passed, the very water of the Jade Wave River was blown aside, ripping open a long, deep trench!
And Chen Kuang, who was charging straight at him, happened to be directly within the path of that trench-like storm.
Kuang!!
A terrifying shockwave slammed into him like a falling mountain as his white robes snapped in the wind, his bones howling under the pressure.
Ding!
It was at that moment that a silver light shot up from Chen Kuang's waist, forming a spinning ring of sword intent, wrapping around him layer by layer.
It was the "Sword Heart" passive that had been silently activated.
A single sword petal shielded his whole world!
Though he was still blown backward by dozens of zhang, at least he wasn't turned into blood mist on the spot.
Wen Si turned and reached out with his hand, waves surging beneath the boat to carry Chu Wenruo and Su Huaiying away.
Qingcuo, seeing this, gritted her teeth, threw down her bow, and jumped into the river, transforming into a silver-blue koi, leaping ahead of the vessel to guide the way.
The Martial Saint, however, did not even spare them a glance.
In his eyes, only Chen Kuang existed.
He stepped across the river like walking on land, fists pounding, cracking the air and compressing it into lethal shockwaves.
"Boom!"
A gust of wind slammed into a distant cliff, instantly blasting open a massive crater, crushing ancient trees into ash.
On the mountain ridge in the distance, many cultivators paled.
"This... is the Martial Saint's strength?"
Some had previously doubted the title, thinking of it as a mere symbol of prestige. But now, upon witnessing it, just the shockwaves of his blows were enough to tear the world apart.
If he really fought seriously, how many could survive even a breath of it?
Chen Kuang coughed, spit blood, and staggered to his feet.
His bones creaked and cracked, joints misaligned, and his clothes were shredded like torn silk.
But his gaze remained firm, even... slightly burning.
"So this is the power of a Saint..."
"I see."
He closed his eyes and the river surged while the heavens darkened.
He raised his hand.
"Wujian between."
The world trembled.
In the very next instant, everything in Chen Kuang's body, Spiritual Energy, blood, consciousness, all of it vanished.
And reappeared within the realm of the Wujian Between.
The storm of reality was left behind. In here, it was quiet, profoundly still.
This was the place where all his consciousness converged.
The manual for the Demon Shedding Method unfolded itself.
The "Mermaid's Tear" floated above his palm, glowing gently.
The golden threads of his Spiritual Energy wrapped around it, fusing it with the contents of the hidden scroll.
He was almost ready..
Outside, the Martial Saint's footsteps halted.
His gaze fixed on the torn and battered Chen Kuang, standing bloodied yet proud.
"Not kneeling yet?"
His tone was flat.
Chen Kuang looked up and smiled, blood trickling down the corner of his lips.
"What's the point?"
The Martial Saint's eyes narrowed.
"You are a mere Tower Ascension Realm ant, yet you dare kill my disciple. Today, even if ten Saints shielded you, I would kill you all the same."
His fist rose and the very light bent and twisted around it.
Suddenly, from behind, a voice rang out:
"Then try it!"
It was Wen Si.
With a flash of silver light, a tremendous water dragon surged from the river, coiling and twisting around Chen Kuang's body.
The Martial Saint's fist smashed down.
"BOOM!!!"
The entire river erupted!
The surface of the Jade Wave River was punched through as a massive hole opened in the water, reaching the riverbed and leaving behind an unfathomable chasm.
All the hills nearby collapsed as countless boulders tumbled into the river.
In that instant, Chen Kuang... vanished.
Not a single trace of him remained.
The Martial Saint frowned.
A few moments later, he murmured: "So... he ran?"
Behind him, a breeze rose from nowhere. Wen Si stepped out, body dripping, battered, but his eyes remained firm as he spoke, "You've already lost."
The Martial Saint did not respond.
He stared at the distance, into the receding currents.
"Perhaps."
He turned and left.
Not a word more.
At that moment, a towering wave surged forth, roaring into the sky, nearly thirty zhang high, the dark green waters of the Jade Wave River surged into a great wall, surging with unstoppable force toward everyone present.
Whether it was the ground, the mountain peaks, the forests, or the canyon walls, everything was engulfed by the flood. Countless buildings and layers of soil were swept away as the once rugged and steep terrain was flattened in an instant.
Only now did Chen Kuang finally understand what a "Saint" truly was.
The laws of Heaven and Earth could not be grasped by mortals but this manifestation of a world, constructed by sheer force of will, could be seized, kneaded, and molded within the palm like clay!
Chen Kuang finally understood why the Eastern Emperor and the Old Ancestor of Liang had chosen to fight in the skies back then.
Because if they had fought on the ground... perhaps half the Liang Kingdom would have been obliterated on the spot.
The Martial Saint had not even officially unleashed his full strength, merely lifting a hand, yet the terrain within a thousand li radius was already on the verge of being reshaped.
"And this is only one Martial Saint... In five years, I'll still have to face the Eastern one, a Saint who can annihilate the stars."
During these past few months, Chen Kuang had nearly forgotten the weight of what he must one day confront. It was only now, in this moment, that he truly realized the crushing pressure bearing down on him.
He had once thought that five years would be more than enough time. But now, it suddenly felt like... maybe it was not.
A cultivator who could stand at the very pinnacle of a high-martial world, what they revealed outwardly was often only the tip of the iceberg.
But of course, this was something Chen Kuang had deliberately sought out.
He wanted to see for himself, how strong a true Saint could be...
And with all the passives he possessed now, what he could do when standing directly before such overwhelming might.
Naturally, Wen Si didn't need Chen Kuang to say anything, he had already shielded the entire boat from the moment the tidal wave rose.
Torrents and floods were, after all, Wen Si's domain. Though the wave carried the explosive might of the Martial Saint's fist, for a Profound Realm cultivator like Wen Si, diverting it posed no great difficulty.
"Splash!"
From within the surging river waters, a massive shadow appeared, swiftly darting into the oncoming water wall. With a single sweep of its form, it diverted the massive wave, dissipating its force and splitting the tide down the center.
The enormous black shadow did not stop there. It continued to surge backward, pushing the entire small boat safely toward the outer riverbank.
Chu Wenruo clutched Su Huaiying tightly and braced herself against the cabin wall, her eyes wide as she stared toward the front.
Chen Kuang did not leave with the boat.
As it was pushed away, he took a step forward, stepping atop the dividing river wave. A white lotus slowly bloomed beneath his feet, lifting him up gently, keeping him steady amidst the raging torrents.
He remained, a lone figure with flapping robes, a silhouette against the river.
She froze for a moment, then called out in a panic:
"Mister Chen! Stop him! Bring him with us!"
Even Su Huaiying, unable to care about hiding her identity, stood up unsteadily, a look of disbelief on her face:
"Is... is he mad?! Is he really going to confront a Martial Saint head-on?!"
Her pupils contracted, a ghostly blue light shining in her eyes. With the emotional surge, a profound, abyssal depth appeared in her gaze.
She couldn't believe it.. That Chen Kuang... had really chosen this path.
He had a chance to escape. But instead, he stayed behind.
This was suicide.
She went deathly quiet.
Su Huaiying took a deep breath.
Based on what she knew of Chen Kuang's personality... it was entirely possible.
Within the Great Void Illusion Realm, she had watched him die over and over again.
Even though it was all an illusion, every one of those deaths felt real, real enough to drive someone mad.
At first, every new cycle left her shaken and broken.
But not Chen Kuang.
He never took his own death seriously. No matter how often he died, he could always start over like it was nothing, resuming his plans with cheerful enthusiasm.
And now...
Maybe he had found another "goal."
Su Huaiying's heart clenched.
Could it be that spending too long in those endless illusionary deaths had left him numb, so much so that he no longer valued his own life?
She felt a sudden restlessness, a tightness in her chest that she couldn't shake.
The previous conversation between Wen Si and Chen Kuang had been conducted within Wen Si's personal barrier.
As such, neither Su Huaiying nor Chu Wenruo, both mere mortals without cultivation, had heard even a single word of it.
Even Qingcuo, who had remained silent until now, no longer held her usual cold indifference. She stumbled forward in an attempt to chase after Chen Kuang, nearly falling on the deck.
Wen Si shook his head, his voice low and heavy:
"If I took him with us, the entire boat would become a target. Only this way can I ensure your safe departure."
The boat moved swiftly, carried along by the redirected current. In only a few breaths, it had already reached the riverbank.
Chen Kuang's figure... had long since disappeared into the storm, swallowed by the waves, no longer visible.
Wen Si whispered:
"While everyone's eyes are on him, I'll take you to the Yang Kingdom."
Chu Wenruo stumbled backward and slumped to the deck, her face full of sorrow as she mumbled:
"He won't die. So many times before, facing enemies far stronger than himself, he still made it through.. This time... this time he'll make it too... right?"
She turned toward Wen Si, eyes full of desperate hope:
"You're Chen Kuang's senior brother. You'll save him, won't you?"
Qingcuo had already calmed down. She helped Chu Wenruo to her feet and said in a low voice:
"Madam, this senior has already done everything within his power. But that... that is a Martial Saint."
She lowered her gaze and tightened her grip on her sword. Her voice was calm, but it carried an icy chill:
"If he dies... I'll lie in wait for ten years and slay one of the Martial Saint's disciples. I can wait a hundred years... a thousand years. Then I'll slay the Martial Saint himself."
Qingcuo didn't care whether she could actually do it or not.
She would act, and keep acting, until she reached an outcome.
Whether that outcome was vengeance... or death.
Wen Si sighed inwardly.
What kind of karmic mess had his little junior brother gotten himself into?
He exhaled and said solemnly:
"I'm his senior brother. Naturally, I will do all that I can to help him."
"But the decision he made... is not something even I can interfere with."
"Just as everyone's Dao must be found through their own journey."
Then Wen Si added quietly..
"However..."
He took a long breath.
"My Dao... can be lent."
Wen Si's Dao was "ferrying".
To ferry others, and to ferry himself.
To ferry all beings with his boat. To ferry the Dao with his body.
He looked out at the crashing waves and raised his voice:
"Junior Brother! You may borrow my Dao Domain!"
As soon as the words rang out, from the river's turbulent depths, a massive shadow burst through the surface!
It rose higher and higher, shrouding the sky!
Countless sprays of white water glittered as they cascaded downward like silver waterfalls. Amidst the veils of mist and foam, the colossal form was revealed.
"WUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!"
A deafening, deep cry rang out from the throat of the behemoth. Its gills expanded, ejecting torrents of water. Its shimmering scales glistened with iridescence. The once-spiny, jagged back was now smooth and even.
And standing upon its back, was Chen Kuang!
With his zither in his arms, he stood tall, wind blowing through his robes while his eyes were filled with surprise as he looked beneath him.
From where there had once been fins, now emerged two massive wings, each over a hundred zhang wide!
Those snowy-white wings, washed by the river's blessing, suddenly spread outward!
A thousand stampeding steeds surged across the air, turbulent currents swirled upward, lifting the beast's elongated form, and with it, Chen Kuang, into the skies!
The wings unfurled, as vast as heaven and earth.
Like clouds hanging from the firmament.
Like a presence that could split even the heavens.
Only now did Chen Kuang finally realize what his senior brother's true form was.
He was no fish.
He was no dragon.
He was the Kunpeng.
The one who coils the wind for ninety thousand li, stirs its scales to span the seas, and cuts across rivers three thousand li wide with a single sweep!
Chen Kuang took a deep breath as the long wind roared. His garments flapped madly. Mystical, unfathomable energy surrounded him, and every movement he made caused ripples in the air.
And those ripples... seemed to slice open space itself.
Wen Si's "Dao Domain" had been ferried to him.
Chen Kuang understood now.
"Ferrying"... was, in essence, a manipulation of space.
This was his senior brother's Dao.
Senior Brother, you really do know how to show off..
Originally, Chen Kuang had just hoped to survive a single blow from the Martial Saint.
But now...
This lowly ant might even bite back!
Standing atop the back of the Kunpeng, Chen Kuang gazed down at the cold-eyed figure staring up at him.
A wild, soaring pride swelled within him.
"If Senior Brother has gone to such lengths, then as his junior brother, I must not bring shame to his Dao."
"Today... I'll be leaving the Martial Saint a souvenir!"
The power of the Kunpeng's wings faded. Amidst its thunderous cry, it began its dive and with it, Chen Kuang burst out laughing, his voice thundering across the heavens:
"A great roc rides the wind in a single day, soaring straight up to ninety thousand li!"
"And even if the wind should cease, it can still stir the waters of the vast blue sea!"
His words reverberated through the sky, each line striking like a war drum, resounding in the hearts of every cultivator watching from afar!