Chapter 1214, Zhao Xueqi’s True Strength

Translator: Silavin

  

Facing Qin Yichen’s ferociously powerful blow, Zhao Xueqi’s expression grew heavy and dark.

 

In those dozen-odd previous exchanges, even with his supremely powerful physical body, he had felt a pain he had not experienced in a long time. Yet the latter seemed to show not the slightest trace of fatigue. Could it truly be that his proudly formidable physical body was outmatched by this young man?

 

“You bastard, if you think a few petty tricks entitle you to compare yourself with me, you are sorely mistaken. Today, I shall let you see exactly what the true strength of a Peak Stage Martial Ancestor truly looks like.”

 

With Zhao Xueqi’s dark, furious shout, a vast and overwhelming Yuan Energy rose like a surging sea at his back, churning and rolling with a fearsome momentum.

 

*Crash!*

 

The Yuan Energy condensed into towering crashing waves, as solid and substantial as ocean swells, and the rumble of that tide was audible to all, leaving one half-convinced these waves were real and not Yuan Energy at all.

 

The surging Yuan Energy churned like something that might stir the Heavens themselves into upheaval. Zhao Xueqi stood astride those waves like a god of the sea, his aura spreading outward to saturate the entire sky.

 

It was plain, facing Qin Yichen, he could no longer afford to hold anything in reserve. He had pushed his full strength to the very limit.

 

On the mountainside, every pair of eyes stared upward in shock at the enormous, suddenly surging waves, and every expert present understood: if that attack came crashing down here, precious few of them would escape unscathed.

 

Though all of them were Martial Ancestors, Zhao Xueqi’s Yuan Energy had reached a density that defied easy categorisation. Staring at those waves of Yuan Energy close to a hundred meters tall, even Qin Yichen felt a genuine flicker of surprise in his chest.

 

Even pushing his own abilities to their fullest, he doubted he could reach this level. That Zhao Xueqi had been able to become a dominant power in this region was, by any honest reckoning, not without justification.

 

“We haven’t seen Brother Zhao go all out in quite some time.”

 

“With power like this, if not for the hidden injury he sustained from forcing his cultivation to advance, he’d likely be pressing on the Saint Realm already.”

 

“That young man’s attack is nothing to scoff at either.”

 

“Hmph. No matter how impressive he is, he’s still nothing more than a brat who only just broke through to Peak Stage Martial Ancestor Realm. How could he compare to Brother Zhao?”

 

The experts below murmured among themselves, their faces alight with shock and excitement.

 

With both combatants now going all out, the battle had entered a critical, knife-edge moment. One careless mistake from either side and the result could be total defeat, or death on the spot.

 

Of course, not a single one of these onlookers gave Qin Yichen’s odds a second thought. In their eyes, however numerous his tricks, however astonishing his surprises, this young man could not possibly stir up any real trouble under Zhao Xueqi’s full power.

 

Beneath Zhao Xueqi’s total eruption of power, the entirety of Vibrant Vermilion Peak fell into an eerie hush. Not a bird or beast dared to make a sound.

 

At the foot of the mountain, a figure moving like a streak of light came to an abrupt halt. He turned, gaze sweeping up toward the mountainside, his expression growing profoundly grave.

 

“Brother Heng, Zhao Xueqi has kept this rather well hidden.”

 

That figure was none other than Zhang Qun, who had left the mountainside earlier. Several others had followed close on his heels, and upon sensing the aura radiating from above, their expressions each turned cautious and wary.

 

“This fellow was not showing his true strength in any of our previous encounters.”

 

Zhang Qun’s expression became very grave indeed. He and Zhao Xueqi had not been strangers on the battlefield, and for a long while neither had been able to decisively overcome the other, so he had long assumed their strength was roughly comparable.

 

But from the aura he could sense now, he realised for the first time just how formidable Zhao Xueqi truly was.

 

Perhaps, in the latter’s eyes, he was never anything more than a whetstone for sharpening one’s technique.

 

…

 

*Crash!*

 

On the mountainside, the immense tide of Yuan Energy rolled like a curtain of the sky. Zhao Xueqi’s figure was gradually enveloped within it, until he had completely vanished into the layers of surging waves.

 

The moment he entered, the entire tide of waves turned a deep, vivid scarlet, like a river of blood given physical form.

 

Simultaneously, a dazzling burst of radiance exploded outward from within. In that instant, the vast waves of energy began to contract at a terrifying speed.

 

As that fearsome crimson tide collapsed inward, the single point of brilliant light within grew brighter and brighter still. In the end, it blazed with a radiance like that of a red sun, its light swallowing even the sunlight from the sky above. The entire world seemed to be drenched in crimson, and a wave of force so wild it beggared description spread outward to saturate the entire space.

 

Within the space of a few breaths, the vast ocean of waves had compressed to no more than ten meters across, and that dazzling light had deepened to a dark, saturated crimson. Within it lurked what felt like a force sufficient to unmake Heaven and Earth alike.

 

“Brat, to die under my full strike, you ought to feel proud enough.”

 

With the explosion of that blazing light, Zhao Xueqi’s cold shout rang out from within the tide, “Blood Core Sky Annihilation!”

 

“Sky Annihilation?”

 

Across from him, Qin Yichen’s pupils constricted slightly as he watched that blazing light. Even he could sense the wave of danger, razor-edged and absolute, radiating outward from within it.

 

That Zhao Xueqi had deployed this technique made it apparent, even to those watching, that his expression within the crimson tide had grown haggard. This was plainly Zhao Xueqi’s last resort.

 

This strike had already quietly exceeded the upper limits of what a Peak Stage Martial Ancestor could produce. Combined with Saint Prestige, this attack could genuinely rival the full power of a Saint.

 

“You do have some ability, I grant you that. But boasting of annihilating the sky with this, is that not just laughable?”

 

Qin Yichen’s gaze fixed coldly upon that blazing light, so like the obliteration of Heaven and Earth, as his cool voice slowly came forth.

 

“*Hmph.* This is enough to annihilate you.”

 

In the face of Qin Yichen’s mockery, Zhao Xueqi gave a cold snort.

 

He smiled with cold menace, and with a slight push of both palms, the Yuan Energy of the entire surrounding space convulsed violently in an instant.

 

That blazing light drifted forward under every horrified gaze, bearing down on Qin Yichen with a momentum that screamed annihilation.

 

*Boom!*

 

In the wake of that light’s passage, the surrounding space seemed unable to bear the savage force pressing upon it. Ripples cascaded outward from every direction, and a force so wild and absolute it could not be described filled every corner of the surrounding space.

 

*Bang! Bang!*

 

The strike had not even fully detonated, and yet the sheer force of its approach had already caused the ground below to crack and collapse in on itself. The entirety of Vibrant Vermilion Peak seemed to shudder violently, boulders tumbling down its sides, as though the end of the world had come to call.