Chapter 691: Battle

In the Void Realm beside the Immortal Heaven, Shamansan and Zhu Fengdan were observing the battle, nodding occasionally.

The Immortal Heaven itself was even more focused on the ongoing battle, and with its wisdom, it could clearly discern which side would be more beneficial to it through this battle.

As a First Grade being born naturally, the Immortal Heaven had no Dao path to speak of; it merely embarked on the path of natural evolution by instinct, and after devouring some high-grade Daoist propagators, it mastered the cultivation methods of the Dao, and that was all.

But this did not prevent him from possessing extraordinary wisdom.

Wisdom and power were merely tools for his continued existence; he existed simply to exist, not pursuing excessive illusions or craving unverified concepts.

Existence itself was his purpose, and wisdom and power were the means to sustain that existence, nothing more.

Therefore, the Immortal Heaven would sweep a radius of three billion light-years, isolating everything external, refusing contact with the outside world, and hiding himself deeply.

Everything stemmed from the Immortal Heaven' instinct for survival.

Now, his instinct told him that the war had begun, and the Immortal Heaven could no longer remain aloof; he had to pick a side.

And at this moment, the victorious side in the battle below would be the more suitable one.

All situations were clear; only a deathmatch remained.

A massive amount of Daoist Art, along with various Spiritual Artifacts, flew towards Li Qi.

Clearly, this was a probe from a Utmost Person, but even just a probe made Li Qi frown.

Such high combat intensity.

"Entering Wing six degrees, Entering Zhen eleven degrees, Entering Mao nine degrees, Entering Bi three degrees, from Wei ten degrees to Nandou eleven degrees, Xi Mu, in Chen, at Yin, Dongjing sixteen degrees to Liu eight degrees, Qun Shou, in Chen, at Wei."

"Starting from Nv two degrees, six and one hundred thirty thousand five hundred ninety days and one hundred ninety-two million nine hundred forty-eight thousandths of the celestial radius."

"Latitude seventy-five degrees, five hundred three thousand six hundred li and two hundred forty steps, height thirty-six degrees forty-five minutes twenty-four seconds."

Li Qi activated True Knowledge, scanning the entire celestial sphere, and quickly reported the situation to the Little Celestial Master.

Just now, the two geniuses quickly reached an agreement.

Li Qi was not good at on-the-spot improvisation, nor did he possess something as mystical as 'combat talent,' so he simply relinquished control of his body, handing it all over to the Little Celestial Master.

He would be responsible for intelligence gathering, probability analysis, dissecting the opponent's Daoist Art structure, formulating possible plans, and providing ample support to the Little Celestial Master.

This was like a cooperative mode, where one person was responsible for operations and the other focused on fighting.

However, just as he submitted those data to the Little Celestial Master, Li Qi discovered... the other party seemed not to have seen it.

Zhang Zong did not, as Li Qi was accustomed to, analyze weaknesses, then precisely strike at them, then slowly weave a net, and finally force the opponent into a dead end.

All the positions Li Qi had just reported were directly ignored by Zhang Zong; he directly unleashed extraordinary thunder Daoist Art, black Qi permeated, rapid thunder sounded several times, and all incoming Daoist Art, whether reported by Li Qi or not, were completely detonated.

"Hey, save some strength, our magic power might not be as abundant as theirs!" Li Qi reprimanded.

"Hesitating, then what's the point of fighting? A bad start means half a loss, don't you understand?" The Little Celestial Master retorted casually, then gathered even more powerful magic power!

Heavenly Strike, Five Thunders Blast!

The phantom figures of the Five Directions Thunder Emperors appeared; heavenly thunder, divine thunder, Dragon thunder, water thunder, and earth thunder flowed, and a thunder city materialized; from the Jade Purity True King's Manor, the Pure Spirit Qi burst forth, giving birth to all things, driving mountains and seas, the four seasons transitioning, Yin and Yang rising and falling, all manifesting from this.

However, the Utmost Person on the opposite side frowned slightly.

If Li Qi's method had been used to respond, he should have already had his moves broken and then been punished by him.

But for some reason, the other party chose this method...

Heavenly Strike itself was a heavenly punishment, and the Five Thunders implied punishment, making it one of the greatest forms of punishment; in ancient times, when the Great Sage of the Demon Race were bound in the Immortal Slaying Platform, the torture instruments used were thunder and fire.

Such a Five Thunders Blast, however, constrained his Daoist Art, preventing it from unleashing its original intent.

Was it a coincidence?

The Little Celestial Master's on-the-spot improvisation just happened to counter his punishment, forcing the Utmost Person to retreat and seek another method.

Li Qi hadn't understood what was happening yet, but he saw the Little Celestial Master rush forward without hesitation!

"The opponent's retreat must be a preparation, don't—" Li Qi immediately advised.

The Little Celestial Master responded with his actions.

He charged straight out, released his hand, and a clap of thunder echoed in mid-air, shaking even heaven and earth; the Five Elements divine thunder exploded, and metal, wood, water, fire, and earth all surged out, transforming into five thunder Dragons, circling and biting!

This made the Utmost Person frown again, and he couldn't help but retreat further.

The Little Celestial Master was fearless, continuing to charge forward, chanting incantations and writing talismans, wielding his sword and shouting, summoning thunder, which responded like an echo.

Within a hundred million li radius, it had already transformed into a thunder pool, with an uncountable number of different thunders rolling within it.

Five Directions Thunder, Five Elements Thunder, Jade Pivot Thunder, Divine Firmament Thunder, Great Cavern Thunder, Immortal Capital Thunder, North Pole Thunder, Grand Unity Thunder, Purple Mansion Thunder, Jade Dawn Thunder, Grand Firmament Thunder, Grand Ultimate Thunder, Fire Wheel Thunder,灌斗 Thunder, Wind Fire Thunder, Flying Swift Thunder,璇枢 Thunder, Sky-shaking Thunder, Iron-clad Thunder, Shao Yang Thunder, Blazing Fire Thunder, Barbarian Thunder, Earth God Roaring Thunder, Three Realms Thunder,斩圹 Thunder, Great Might Thunder, Six Waves Thunder, Green Grass Thunder, Eight Trigrams Thunder, Primordial Eagle Dog Thunder, Roaring Thunder, Fire Cloud Thunder, Yu Step Grand Control Thunder, Sword Fire Thunder, Inner Mirror Thunder, Outer Mirror Thunder, Divine Mansion Heavenly Pivot Thunder, Great Brahma Dipper Pivot Thunder, Jade Dawn Thunder.

So many different types of lightning, simply too many to count, each with different properties, their divine marvels constantly changing, and when combined, they produced a chemical reaction; even the Little Celestial Master himself probably didn't know how to deal with them.

At the same time, the phantom figures of the Five Directions Thunder Emperors appeared, and their true forms descended.

Furthermore, the Twelve Thunder Lords obeyed his command, each displaying their abilities.

The Pure Spirit Qi Thunder Mansion, driving thunder and lightning, illuminating the soul and chasing demons, dispelling plagues and commanding ghosts, causing heaven and earth to become parched or flooded, billions of thunders, illuminating all realms, the light of thunder even illuminating the Void Realm transparently.

Completely disregarding the consumption of magic power, utterly indifferent to the opponent's tactics.

Tactics? That's something the opponent needs to consider.

Understand, even if you are a Utmost Person, you have to deal with this now.

I'm hitting your face; you figure out how to respond.

Just as the Demonic Prince once told Li Qi, considering tactics is what the weak do.

And the Little Celestial Master and the Demonic Prince had never seen themselves as weak.

Only Li Qi would think thrice before acting, wanting to see ten steps ahead for every step taken, with his thinking time far exceeding his action time.

It was precisely because of this that the Little Celestial Master had said to Li Qi during their previous meeting, "You won't be carefree like this."

Li Qi, who was not leading the battle, sighed.

Is this what combat talent is?

Perhaps the Little Celestial Master himself didn't realize how much he had achieved, but Li Qi, with his True Knowledge Dao Resonance, saw it clearly.

The Little Celestial Master's first charge precisely broke the Five Punishments the opponent was about to unleash.

The Little Celestial Master's second charge, from the front, overwhelmed the opponent's unformed Daoist Art.

The third charge thoroughly implemented the standard of striking while the iron is hot, establishing victory; by forcing the opponent to retreat three times in a row, his aura naturally took on the 'victor's' presence, and the power of all his Daoist Art seemed to have increased by a notch.

Luck?

Absolutely not luck; once is luck, but so many times, there must be an inevitable factor, but the Little Celestial Master didn't have Li Qi's clear perspective...

He was able to do all this relying on... instinct?

No, it wasn't instinct either; he clearly knew what he wanted to do, but before doing it, he didn't go through a very rigorous analysis, unlike Li Qi, who would write an essay in his mind to prove that striking to the left in the next move would be more effective.

His kind of 'knowing' was actually just a vague feeling.

There seems to be a chance over there, let's try a punch.

But he could achieve the best results with the fastest speed, even though he himself wasn't very clear how these results came about, it didn't prevent him from understanding the specific situation after the fight and quickly seizing the next opportunity.

It was only when truly fighting alongside the Little Celestial Master, even sharing the same cultivation, that Li Qi realized what so-called combat talent was.

After three consecutive charges, the Little Celestial Master did not continue to act recklessly; he decisively retreated one step, and then at that moment, the data Li Qi reported passed through his mind, and the surrounding thunder pool stirred, vibrating with green thunder.

The weaknesses Li Qi had discerned were fully exploited, and the opponent's thousands of counter-Daoist Art were almost simultaneously annihilated.

But at this moment, the Little Celestial Master suddenly turned his head!

However, Li Qi had already acted; the Daoist Art that had attacked from behind and evaded the Little Celestial Master's perception was dispersed by Li Qi.

"Ho, you've got something." The Little Celestial Master glanced at Li Qi, then at the Utmost Person opposite.

A double entendre; although Zhang Zong had stolen the show just now, that Utmost Person had managed to slip in a Daoist Art, and if it had hit, who knows what trouble it would have caused.

And at the same time, the Daoist Art that Zhang Zong hadn't noticed was seen by Li Qi and dispersed by him.

"It seems I don't need to provide that information anymore, so I'll let go; you attack, I defend. I want a quarter of the cultivation; I use magic power much more efficiently than you, so you'd best pay attention too." Li Qi then said.

"Why distinguish so clearly? Use it if you need it; feel free to draw on magic power; it won't interfere with me; do as you please." Zhang Zong said casually, then pursued again!

This left Li Qi stunned.

Freely extract cultivation, and it won't interfere?

Are you kidding me?

But... perhaps this is his characteristic; well, so be it.

No sooner said than done, the two now coexisted in one mind, controlling the same body, so their communication speed was extremely fast; virtually without any delay, the Little Celestial Master had already launched another attack.

And the Utmost Person on the other side, although temporarily suppressed, showed no emotional fluctuations from beginning to end.

Still under control.

It was true that thunder Daoist Art was the foundation of all Daoist Art, and it had no weaknesses; it could even suppress other Daoist Art, which was also a factual situation.

But, Daoist Art is Daoist Art after all.

The Dao is the fundamental; although the Dao, to act upon the world, must be put into practice as Daoist Art and techniques, this is merely the difference between engineering technology and principles.

The fundamental is the Dao, the principle is Daoist Art, and the application is technique.

To ground principles and turn them into usable products (Daoist Art and Divine Ability) is indeed a technical skill; thunder Daoist Art has achieved the ultimate in this regard, and other schools truly can't compare. The Little Celestial Master, who received the orthodox Legacy of the Dao, had a considerable advantage, as Daoist Art could be directly used. The thunder Daoist Art he used was all developed by his Master, that Daoist Celestial Master, who was a genuine Second Grade being.

Yes, the Little Celestial Master managed to suppress a former Third Rank Supreme Being with his Fourth Grade Daoist Art! He could now confidently say that he understood Daoist Art better than this Third Rank Supreme Being!

A true Genius from all under heaven, destined for a high position in the future, possessed such ability and confidence, and he truly achieved it.

But the Utmost Person remained unhurried.

If he couldn't suppress the opponent through Daoist Art, then he would suppress him from the root, from the 'Dao' itself.

The Little Celestial Master continued to advance, but the next moment, the power of his thunder Daoist Art suddenly weakened.

The foundation of the thunder Daoist Art was weakened.

"Hmm?" The Little Celestial Master immediately looked up towards the Utmost Person.

Li Qi immediately said, "No punishment without guilt; Heaven follows man, and heavenly punishment is also thus. To punish without guilt is abuse, and an abuser should be executed. Be careful, a new 'rule' has appeared here."

If the Little Celestial Master's improvisation was formidable, then Li Qi had his unique methods in analysis; he immediately recognized what they had encountered, even deducing its origin, and passed this information to Zhang Zong.

Thunder was originally heavenly punishment, but how could the innocent be punished?

Punishing the innocent was itself a sin, so the Little Celestial Master should instead be punished.

The opponent used the logic and rules of the Legalist school to forcibly weaken the heavenly punishment of thunder, while simultaneously increasing his own strength.

Accompanied by this rule, the power of thunder Daoist Art was suppressed, and the Legalist Utmost Person seized this opportunity, rushing to Zhang Zong's front!

That's right, right in front!

Daoist Art was difficult to harm Zhang Zong, so he directly chose close combat.

A close-quarters attack from the Utmost Person surged out.

However, Zhang Zong lightly extended his hand, parrying the punch, and then, he assumed a peculiar Fist Intent stance, his body enveloped by a strange force field.

This set of Fist Intent was like the Two Poles dividing into Three Powers, the Three Powers manifesting as Four Symbols, evolving into Eight Trigrams, a Fist Intent of Yin and Yang properties and natural operational laws, characterized by being upright and comfortable, light and agile, soft and supple, slow and even, opening and closing in an orderly manner, and combining hardness and softness, moving like "flowing clouds and water, continuous and unbroken."

The Fist Intent flowed around, deflecting the opponent while also launching a swift counterattack!

Wind and thunder suddenly erupted! Divine light appeared, and the divine was unforgiven; the Fist Intent shifted from soft to hard, directly striking the opponent's body!

After several consecutive strikes, the Utmost Person dodged and parried; in close combat, he surprisingly failed to gain an advantage over the Little Celestial Master.

This left Li Qi stunned.

What beautiful boxing, Zhang Zong also knows martial arts?

No, this isn't Martial Dao; this is just pure close-quarters boxing, without Martial Dao Divine Intent.

But, it was enough.

Regardless of range, Zhang Zong, as a stat monster, had no weaknesses. (End of Chapter)