“Let’s go!”
Having dealt with the five warriors of the Hall of Gods who stood in their path, the group of four proceeded forward.
The duo who had rushed ahead of them was nowhere to be seen at all. The Azure Bridge seemed to pierce through the endless darkness, extending beyond the horizon.
They walked along the bridge for a while before there was finally a change in the sight ahead of them.
A circular platform reminiscent of a gazebo gad appeared by the side of the Azure Bridge.
The genius from the Blackmirror Citadel was seated at the center of the circular platform.
A unique aura was rippling from the platform. The pores of the genius widened as he voraciously absorbed the unique aura, inducing a swift rise in his cultivation. It felt like he was already on the verge of a breakthrough.
“He’s pushing for a breakthrough to Semi-Divinity realm!” Elder Hong Wu exclaimed.
Based on the records of the predecessors, after overcoming the five warriors of the Hall of Gods, there would be various places atop the Azure Bridge where the challengers could attempt to achieve a breakthrough. As long as one was already at Heavenly High Immortal realm, the chances of reaching Semi-Divinity realm were extremely high.
This circular platform was likely to be one of these places.
“Since this place has been taken up, let’s move ahead to see if there are other circular platforms,” Zhang Xuan said with a wave of his hand.
He didn’t have a good impression of these two, but he didn’t think that there was a compelling reason for him to hinder them either.
Since the predecessors of the Six Sects had been able to achieve a breakthrough on the Azure Bridge, there should be more of such circular platforms around as well.
Otherwise, the genius from the Evanescent Immortal Sect would have been here as well.
Nodding in agreement, the group of four was just about to proceed ahead when a deep cry echoed behind them. A pillar of zhenqi burst forth from the genius on the circular platform, rising right into the voids above.
Boom!
“He has managed to achieve a breakthrough?”
Stunned, the crowd quickly turned around to take a look, only to see that the disposition of the middle-aged man had changed greatly. Divine energy was revolving around the surface of his body like a dragon coiling around him. He floated quietly atop the circular platform, as if he had been freed from the restraints of gravity.
Hu!
Absorbing all of the energy into his body, the middle-aged man finally opened his eyes.
A brilliant light shot out from his eyes.
Feeling the explosive energy surging through his body, the lips of the middle-aged man curved up. His sight fell upon Zhang Xuan and the others, and a hint of surprise surfaced in his eyes.
However, he quickly stood up and spoke, “The fact that you are able to come this far means that you have been able to defeat the warriors of the Hall of Gods. However, this is where your good luck comes to an end. You won’t be able to proceed any further than this…”
Sou!
In the next instant, he appeared right in front of the group.
Seeing this, Zhang Xuan couldn’t help but frown in displeasure.
“It would have been better if you have died in the hands of the warriors. It’s meaningless if all of us were to successfully reach Semi-Divinity realm together. We would just be returning back to square one,” the middle-aged man sneered coldly.
The reason why they had unhesitatingly worked together with the Ethereal Hall was to ensure that their two sects would have a greater number of Semi-Divinity realm cultivators, thus putting them in a higher position than the rest of the Six Sects.
However, if all of them were to succeed, wouldn’t that render their efforts meaningless?
“So, you intend to kill us here?” Zhang Xuan asked nonchalantly.
He had known that these two sects were up to no good, but he hadn’t really expected them to go this far.
The middle-aged man replied coldly, “Casualties are almost guaranteed on the Azure Bridge. The world would only know of what happened here from the words of the survivors.”
Given the high death toll of the Azure Bridge, no one would be able to blame him if Zhang Xuan and the others died here. Even if Han Jianqiu and the others were to harbor some suspicions, they wouldn’t be able to do anything without concrete evidence unless they desired to incite a war.
Seeing the confident look on the other party’s face, Zhang Xuan couldn’t help but burst into laughter, “What makes you so certain that you are able to defeat us?”
“I know that you have tamed the Blackback Tortoise, but the Azure Bridge is an existence created by a being that far surpasses our imagination. Do you think that you are able to bend the rules of the Azure Bridge so easily?” the middle-aged man replied with a cold smile.
“If there were truly any loopholes in the Azure Bridge, our predecessors would have long uncovered it by now!”
Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan tried to extend his consciousness into his tamed beast sack, only to find that it had been sealed with some kind of mysterious power. He was unable to bring out the Blackback Tortoise and the others at all.
However, he was still able to bring out the other Heavenly High Immortal-tier beasts inside.
It was just that the Azure Bridge was narrow, and the beasts he had were rather massive in sizes. If he were to summon them here, it would just hinder their movements.
It seemed like the gods had thought things through before they constructed the Myriad Beasts Hall. They wouldn’t allow anyone to sully the sanctity of this trial.
“Haven’t you thought about why I was able to tame the Blackback Tortoise in the first place? I have no idea how a Semi-Divinity realm fledgling like you could possibly imagine that you would be able to kill me…” Zhang Xuan shook his head and sighed deeply.
He might have been unable to tap on the strength of the four Semi-Divinity realm beasts, but given his current cultivation realm, he was more than a match for a fellow who had just barely tiptoed his way into Semi-Divinity realm.
“What if I were to join the fight as well?”
At this very moment, another voice echoed from ahead.
The genius from the Evanescent Immortal Sect appeared at the other end, encircling the group.
Similar to the genius from the Blackmirror Citadel, he had reached Semi-Divinity realm as well.
With the two of them exerting their auras simultaneously, they cast a heavy pressure upon Elder Hong Wu and the others, causing their faces to warp hideously.
Zhang Xuan might still have been able to defeat a single Semi-Divinity realm cultivator, but if he had to face two of them at once…
The chances of victory were extremely slim!
Furthermore, the two of them were top-notch geniuses on the Forsaken Continent. Even if they had just achieved a breakthrough, their strength was not to be underestimated!
“Aren’t you worried about stirring a storm on the Forsaken Continent by making a move on us?” Zhang Xuan asked calmly.
“Don’t worry. After you are dead, our Blackmirror Citadel and Evanescent Immortal Sect will slowly annex your sects. Those so-called Starchaser Palace, Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion, Myriad Beasts Hall, and Sevenstar Pavilion, they would just become nothing more than relics of the past!”
With a cold harrumph, the middle-aged man from the Blackmirror Citadel abruptly charged forward.
He appeared right before Zhang Xuan in an instant and thrust his palm forward.
The middle-aged man’s strength was as heavy as a crushing mountain. His might as a new Semi-Divinity realm cultivator poured forth like a relentless current. Elder Hong Wu and the others wanted to help, but they felt as if their bodies had been bound by the pressure in the air, preventing them from taking a step at all.
“So, this is a Semi-Divinity realm cultivator?” Elder Hong Wu felt his heart sinking.
He had met Elder Kui Xiao many times before, but he had never seen the latter exerting his true prowess before, so he had no idea just how powerful Semi-Divinity realm cultivators were. It was only at this moment that it dawned upon him that it was impossible for a Heavenly High Immortal, no matter how powerful, to possibly reach up to a Semi-Divinity.
That was also the reason why the presence of a Semi-Divinity realm cultivator in a sect was so important.
In a direct confrontation, even if the three of them were to collaborate with one another, they wouldn’t be able to last too long against the other party.
“Sect Leader Zhang…”
Elder Hong Wu anxiously turned to look at Zhang Xuan, frightened that the hope of the four sects would really lose his life here. However, what he ended up seeing was a sight that he would never forget.
The young man before him whipped out a sword, and without any hesitation, he pierced the sword right through the other party’s palm.
Puhe! Puhe!
With two consecutive moves, the genius of the Blackmirror Citadel had been decapitated. At the point of his death, his eyes were completely dilated, as if he couldn’t believe such a thing was truly happening.
“Isn’t being alive a wonderful thing in itself? I really don’t understand why you are so intent to seek death…” Zhang Xuan shook his head and sighed.
His cultivation was only at Heavenly High Immortal realm, but his fighting prowess was on par with that of most Semi-Divinity realm cultivators.
It might still take him a bit more trouble for him to deal with the Semi-Divinity realm experts of the Hall of Gods, but against this Semi-Divinity realm fledgling, it was really a walk in the park!
“You…”
The genius from the Evanescent Immortal Sect would have never fathomed that he would see such a sight in his life either. Utterly horrified, he turned around and fled.
He knew that he wouldn’t be too much stronger than his comrade, and the fact that Zhang Xuan was able to kill his comrade meant so easily meant that the young man could do the same to him too!
He had received orders in advance that if Zhang Xuan was able to defeat the warriors of the Hall of Gods, they would have to make a move to kill the young man. He thought that it would have been an easy mission, but who could have thought that the person he was up against was an unbelievable monster!
For a Heavenly High Immortal to actually be able to kill a Semi-Divinity with such ease…
It would be no joke to say that the young man was as powerful as their own sect leader!
Faced with such an opponent, what else could he possibly do other than to run?
“The reason why I took my time to ask you so many questions is to ascertain if you are really intending to kill me. Don’t you think that it’s too late for you to only think of running away now?”
Zhang Xuan uttered those words softly under his breath, but due to the overwhelming silence in the area, his voice echoed clearly in the area.
Weng!
A sword pierced right forth swiftly and pierced right through the heart of the genius from the Evanescent Immortal Sect.
Puhe!
Just like that, the middle-aged man came to the end of his life as well. His body tumbled and crashed heavily onto the floor of the Azure Bridge.
From the moment from their breakthroughs to their deaths, they didn’t even last for three minutes…
They were likely the most short-lived Semi-Divinities on the Forsaken Continent.
