"Estate Lord, save me!"
Seeing the manic Li Jingtian fast approaching, Huangpu Fenglei swallowed his pride and begged for help.
But with Huangpu Tianyuan and Zhuo Fan doing the tango, help was on hold.
To settle this battle, all Huangpu Tianyuan had to do was squash Zhuo Fan. And with the target right in front of him, victory was not something the life of a High Venerable could outweigh.
Safe to say, High Venerable's cries for help went unanswered.
Leng Wuchang had a contingency set for just this possibility, calling for the rest to move in.
Zhuo Fan had the Estate Lord blocked, but what about the others?
Dozens of Radiant Stage cultivators and Profound Heaven experts shot for Huangpu Fenglei. Regent Estate's twenty plus Venerables were even faster.
Anyone would panic when their boss' life was on the line.
Zhuo Fan moved seeing the crowd and Huangpu Tianyuan stepped in to block him.
Zhuo Fan chuckled, not minding it in the least.
Whoosh~
Others would handle the Radiant Stage rescue party, not to worry. The power couple and the Four Scheming Demons, with a few Radiant Stage experts from their three allies, moved in.
While You Wanshan's team of Profound Heaven experts was facing Grandmother's team.
It was Zhuo Fan's plan and his order. No one was to interfere in Elder Li's fight.
Leng Wuchang took in the new battlefield and sighed, "No matter the outcome of today's battle, High Venerable's life is forfeit."
Li Jingtian arrived at last upon his target, the black aura having reached its peak.
Huangpu Fenglei paled. With the rescue team up a creek, he was left to fend for himself. Shouting, he shone golden once more, roaring, "Li Jingtian, don't test me or I'll fight you to the death!"
"Ha-ha-ha, just what I want!" Li Jingtian turned into a black dragon as it went head first.
Boom!
Black and golden glows clashed, shaking the world around them and turning many heads.
As the dust settled and smoke rose, the bloody figures became visible.
Li Jingtian was soaked in blood, his chest was caved in, vessels had burst and bones were snapped. His eyes however, held that look of joy, of pride.
Huangpu Fenglei was as pale as a sheet of paper, his pupils dilated and half of his body laid shattered, with vague signs of life.
Half of his face shuddered, expressing a contorted and grisly image of unbelievable despair.
He ran unchecked over Tianyu for a hundred years and never conceived it humanly possible for the day to come when he'd lose in such a wretched and nasty way.
"Li Jingtian, we have no hatred. Why must you be so obsessed with my death?" Words slipped out of Huangpu Fenglei's stiff face.
Coughing from the pain in his chest, Li Jingtian's smile never left him, "Huangpu Fenglei, today you lost to me in three moves. In your blind arrogance, you once said to me that I was of poor talent, only worthy to be behind you. You were strong then, shaking me to the core as I looked up to you as my role model.
"But thirty years passed while I trained Imperial Tyrant Body Art to the 7th stage only to have my cultivation cut short by your refusal. Saying that I'm not worthy to pursue the complete art! When I argued, you beat me up in one strike. Then you said that I've reached my limit, and no matter which cultivation method I train in, it'd all be wasted on me and I'm not fit to follow you.
"Ever since that day I've only been a mere guest Venerable, an outsider to your Venerable circle. And seeing those nondescript Regent Estate Venerables training in the full cultivation method, I could never accept this. Even more so when you said that I have reached my limit. I never cared for being an outsider at all. From then on, you have always been my rival and I vowed to myself to defeat you one day. That day has come, ha-ha-ha…"
Li Jingtian spluttered blood. Huangpu Fenglei felt like crying, "Li Jingtian, you narrow-minded fool, you've held onto that trifling event till now?"
"To you it may be pointless, but to me it was unforgettable! My path has no end and no one alive can say otherwise, not even you." Li Jingtian shouted through the pain.
Huangpu Fenglei sighed, "It is my mistake, my…"
His eyes closed, his face twitched and relaxed. He had let go of all hatred, finding peace.
Li Jingtian showed a confident smile.
High Venerable Huangpu Fenglei was a man who would put honor above all, but he admitted in the end that he was wrong about Li Jingtian.
Because Li Jingtian had beaten him, that too in less than ten moves.
Li Jingtian's cultivation was far from over.
"I… won…" Closing his eyes, Li Jingtian collapsed.
Xie Tianshang appeared beside him, helping him up. He only relaxed after sensing his breath.
As a fellow martial fanatic, the headstrong Li Jingtian was a prime example.
He hoped for one day to beat his own rival.
Xie Tianshang's eyes flashed as he looked at Zhuo Fan, shouting, "Zhuo Fan, Elder Li is fine. Only blacked out from the wounds."
Xie Tianshang took Li Jingtian away.
Zhuo Fan relaxed, but Xie Tianshang's look had him stunned.
[Why does it feel like he's looking at me like an enemy? Aren't we allies?]
Zhuo Fan smiled dejectedly and turned to Huangpu Tianyuan, "Elder Li and Huangpu Fenglei's battle has reached its end. Our top generals' fight now has a conclusion, a conclusion carrying a sad tone with it."
"What sadness? As kings vying for the crown, power is everything! Huangpu Fenglei died because he was weaker. I'm not sad, so why should you be?" Huangpu Tianyuan snorted.
Zhuo Fan sighed, "I am not sad about your High Venerable. Elder Li's story has moved me. A story about someone posing for decades, of how his showboating cracked at the seams in his final moments. It's true what they say, posers get thunderstruck. He got what he deserved."
"Shouldn't Steward Zhuo take heed then, having the same style?" Huangpu Tianyuan quipped.
Zhuo Fan scratched his nose and nodded, "Yeah, after Elder Li's lesson, I think it's best to not only kill those posing in front of me, but also those I'm posing to. Now that you mention it, Estate Lord Huangpu, have I ever posed with you around?"
"Always, but can you kill me?" Huangpu Tianyuan raised a taunting eyebrow.
Zhuo Fan looked him right in the eye as the calm gave way to endless bloodthirst. He flashed in his enemy's face, right hand glowing red.
Huangpu Tianyuan found the punch already on his chest, reacting only as he was sent flying.
Rumble~
Huangpu Tianyuan slammed into three mountains, cutting them down to size.
Huangpu Tianyuan ended up buried under all the rock slides.
Zhuo Fan's grin contorted, "I've yet to meet anyone who I've wanted dead but who has survived!"
"Estate Lord!" Regent Estate's side shuddered restless. But there was no sign of movement from the rubble.
Just as everyone started to believe that he had kicked the bucket in one hit, an eerie cackle came, "Hi-hi-hi, Zhuo Fan, is that all your mighty punch can muster?"
Zhuo Fan deadpanned, "Sure enough, Nine Dragons Diamond Body isn't just a fancy name. Now let us begin our fight, king against king!"