Gate of God

In fact, everyone thought that the results of this battle was a foregone conclusion.

Pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State against a pinnacle Supernatural State.

Was there any doubt?

This was what the candidates thought, and it was also what Nangong Hao thought. He was not arrogant. In fact, he had been extremely meticulous in preparing for his battle with Fang Zhengzhi.

It would be impossible for Nangong Hao, who was in the pinnacle Supernatural State, to not be confident about defeating Fang Zhengzhi.

Nangong Hao had expected that he would battle with Fang Zhengzhi. He also expected that Fang Zhengzhi would not admit defeat. He expected Fang Zhengzhi to put up quite the struggle.

However, he never expected that Fang Zhengzhi would be able to last this long!

"What’s going on? Has he not depleted his energy yet?" Nangong Hao was shocked after the eighth clash.

He knew exactly what Fang Zhengzhi was doing, and he knew the consequences of Fang Zhengzhi’s actions.

Fighting for his life?

Could he last long?

Of course no. If he could last long, then it wouldn’t be a last-ditch attempt. This was akin to sprinting at the end of a marathon. Could someone sprint the entire marathon?

But Fang Zhengzhi was doing just that...

Every strike was filled with every ounce of force he could muster. Every charge tore a hole in the fabric of the universe. One could only imagine the exertion required to maintain such power.

Nangong Hao knew exactly how tiring this was. As such, he was in no hurry.

He knew that Fang Zhengzhi could not last long. He thought that Fang Zhengzhi was just trying to ensure that his defeat was not too humiliating.

Nangong Hao could understand this. Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi had proposed a fair fight and rejected his offer to suppress his cultivation state to the Heavenly Reflection State.

This was reason enough for him to take Fang Zhengzhi seriously.

But...

Fang Zhengzhi was holding out for a ridiculously long time.

Furthermore, it felt like Fang Zhengzhi still had more in him. He continued to charge and swing manically. It didn’t look like he was fighting for his life. In fact, it looked like he was just venting his anger.

"What the hell?" Nangong Hao could not understand what was going on. He had been in the Heavenly Reflection State before and knew how much resources were at his disposal. Even if Fang Zhengzhi had more than the average person, this was getting a little too ridiculous.

That was what Nangong Hao was thinking.

However, what he did not know was that Fang Zhengzhi was actually venting.

Fang Zhengzhi had always been quite thrifty and conservative with his use of these resources. After all, he could not afford to waste it.

But this time, he realized that he had something that he could use to refill his resources.

That was a vast ocean.

An ocean filled with raw energy.

Every swing of the blade would wipe out all of the raw energy in the sky inside his pocket dimension. It was such a great feeling.

Every swing would wipe it out.

Fang Zhengzhi could only use one word to describe it.

Awesome!

The vast ocean in his pocket dimension roared as it kept filling the sky with more of the white mist. Every time it was filled, it would be emptied, only to be refilled again.

Fang Zhengzhi had no idea how long it would take before the ocean would be completely depleted. However, he had the feeling that it would take at least an hour.

Even though he had no way of defeating Nangong Hao, to be able to last more than an hour in battle was admirable.

Fang Zhengzhi knew that they couldn’t mock him for such a feat. He smirked subconsciously, a queer sight amidst all the dust and battle.

What Fang Zhengzhi did not know was that whilst the ocean of mist was raging, the huge tree in his pocket dimension was also changing. Leaves began to sprout from the branches and the fruits began to morph.

They were initially smooth and ordinary. But now, patterns began to appear on the surface. There were mountains, rivers, flora, grass, trees, snowflakes...

The fruit that changed the most was the purple colored one.

That fruit already had patterns on it, but now, with the vaporization of white mist, that fruit began to glow.

...

Fang Zhengzhi was having the time of his life.

Nangong Hao was shocked. He even had a feeling that Fang Zhengzhi’s attacks were getting more and more powerful.

Even though...

The change was so minute that it was almost unnoticeable...

He still managed to feel it.

"If I had suppressed my cultivation state to the Heavenly Reflection State, could I have won?" Nangong Hao wondered to himself as he fought.

All this while, Nangong Hao never doubted the path that he chose. After all, he had chosen this path after much consideration and research.

This was the most direct path in the cultivation world.

Initially, he had given up learning the Green and Blue Secret Art in favor of the Dragon Combat Plan. His reason for not choosing the Green and Blue Secret Art was not because he was scared of its difficulty.

He chose it for the starting point.

The Dragon Combat Plan provided a better starting point.

He would learn the Dragon Combat Plan first, then proceed to the Green and Blue Secret Art. He had never revealed this plan to anyone.

Including Nangong Mu.

Nangong Hao knew exactly why Nangong Mu chose the Green and Blue Secret Art. He had tried talking Nangong Mu out of it but to no avail. As such, he had no choice but to support his brother.

As long as Nangong Mu participated in the exam, he would not participate. Furthermore, he would not fight with Nangong Mu for any honor.

On many occasions, Nangong Hao had promised in his heart that he would help Nangong Mu master the Green and Blue Secret Art after he had distilled all the essence of the Dragon Combat Plan. He would help make his brother a sage!

This was Nangong Hao.

He did not lust after reputation or benefits. All he wanted was to find the best cultivation techniques.

But now, for the first time ever, he began to doubt the method he chose. This doubt originated from Fang Zhengzhi.

Nangong Hao’s surprise was considered mild.

All of the candidates were completely floored by this time. They kept trying to guess how long this battle would last.

Five rounds? Six rounds? Eight rounds?

Five minutes?

15 minutes!

Okay then...

More than 15 minutes had passed and the battle continued to rage on. Fang Zhengzhi never stopped charging towards Nangong Hao.

What the hell was going on?!

They couldn’t figure it out. All they could do was watch on like wooden dummies, unable to believe what they were seeing.

...

All of the soldiers and candidates were too engrossed in the battle, oblivious to the fact that there was a group of people on top of a cliff.

That was where Yan Xiu had killed a few demons.

Beneath their feet were the blood stains from the battle. These people were not bothered by it, choosing to step on the stains on purpose.

The group was led by a lady dressed in an ordinary white dress. Her face was covered by a veil.

Even so, the aura of her body could not be masked.

It was a commanding, icy aura. When she stood on the snowy cliff, it was augmented, capable of sending chills down one’s spine.

The wind blew and lifted a corner of the lady’s veil up. It revealed her exquisite features and dainty, bright red lips. One could see that...

The lady was shocked by what she was seeing.

She was accompanied by a group of men dressed in black. However, the shock on those men’s faces was clear for all to see.

To her left was a figure in a black cloak. This figure was thin, his eyes like stars, his eyebrows like swords.

More importantly, he had a demonic eye in his forehead, and it was bright red.

This was Bai Xing.

The person next to him could only be the master of the demons, Yun Qingwu.

"388 Daos? He actually has 388 Daos?! I would never expect that Fang Zhengzhi would be this powerful!"

"As a pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State individual, he is able to last more than 15 minutes against the pinnacle Supernatural State Nangong Hao. I’m afraid there is no other person with such talent?"

"Master, we cannot let this guy live!"

Shock filled the eyes of all the black-robed men. Their mouths were agape as they whimpered in awe. Nothing could mask their surprise at what they were seeing.

Yun Qingwu watched in silence as her eyes glimmered. No one knew what she was thinking, and no one dared to defy her orders.

Because...

She was the favorite daughter of the demon lord. The young master of the demons.

"Master, should I take Nangong Hao’s life or Fang Zhengzhi’s life?" Bai Xiang’s fingers moved as a star twirled around his finger.

He was waiting for Yun Qingwu to make a decision.

Of course, if things had gone according to plan, he did not have to wait. However, upon seeing the battle below them, the plan had to be changed.

"Up to you." Yun Qingwu finally spoke, her voice flat. However, she hesitated for a moment immediately after.

She quickly suppressed the hesitation.

There was no reason given.

She was the young master of the demons.

"Thank you, Master!" Bai Xing nodded. He didn’t reply as though he had just received an order, choosing instead to express gratitude.

It didn’t seem very fitting for the situation.

However, that was how Bai Xing chose to reply. Neither Yun Qingwu nor the men behind her thought that it was inappropriate.

Then...

A bright ray of light shone into the sky.

It was as thin as a star. It was not overly bright, but it was filled with a cold, icy killing intent.

Bai Xing had gotten to his current position not through connections with the leadership. He had gotten here through raw ability.

His ability originated from his calmness and loyalty. Furthermore, no one he set out to kill lived.

Of course, the incident at The Vast World was an exception.

His opponent then was Xing Yuanguo of the Stabilization Constabulary.

That was a man who was wanted by virtually everyone outside the Great Xia Dynasty. However, he continued to live and battle.

Bai Xing could not be blamed for that failure.

However, this time was different.

His opponent was not Xing Yuanguo. It was Nangong Zhao and Fang Zhengzhi. Furthermore, the two of them were engaged in an intense battle with each other.

One was in the pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State, the other was in the pinnacle Supernatural State. They were the top talents of their age and held in high regard by their peers.

However, could they stand up against the Rebirth State Bai Xing?

If they could, then Bai Xing would not be called Bai Xing!

The silver ray of light originated from Bai Xing’s ginger and shot skyward. At that moment, Bai Xing disappeared from atop the cliff.

It felt like he had never appeared on the cliff. To be more precise, it looked as if he was always that disappearing ray of light.

...

All of the candidates and soldiers were too captivated by the battle between Nangong Hao and Fang Zhengzhi.

Yan Xiu gripped his Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan so tightly his knuckles turned white. He was anxious but also surprised by Fang Zhengzhi’s abilities.

His emotions were complicated.

This wave of emotions caused him to miss seeing the ray of silver light from the heavens.

Not only did Yan Xiu fail to notice it, Wu Feng, Chen Feiyu, and even Teng Shisheng failed to notice it.

The silver ray of light disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared.

It didn’t truly disappear. In fact, it had merged with the light around it. It was camouflaged so well that one would only see the sunlight when one looked up.

They were both lights, but one was warm whilst the other was icy cold.

The ray of light embedded within the sunlight crashed towards the earth, landing right in the middle of the battling Nangong Hao and Fang Zhengzhi.