Godhood and Semi-Divinity, these were two very different existences from one another.
Even if one obtained the Aura of Divinity and successfully made a breakthrough, it would still take a considerable period of time to fully master the power of the gods.
As such, he had thought that he stood a chance against Zhang Xuan even after he had successfully made a breakthrough.
But this hopeful thought of his was swiftly ripped apart by the other party.
“There’s nothing impossible about this.” Zhang Xuan looked at Kong shi coldly.
After achieving a breakthrough himself, he realized just how powerful the gods were.
It was no wonder Kong shi was able to tear through space and freely traverse through it. In comparison, Semi-Divinities were truly weak!
As long as he willed it, even if Zhao Ya and the others put their strength together, they would not be able to stop him for a single breath!
“I don’t believe it! I don’t believe it!” Kong shi cried out as he desperately channeled all his energy together and flung his fist at Zhang Xuan.
He had been thinking of capturing Zhang Xuan alive and extracting the Heavens’ Imperfections from him, but now that the latter had obtained the same strength as him, that was clearly no longer possible.
At this point, it had all descended to a fight for survival. He knew that he had to find a way to kill Zhang Xuan, or else there was no way he would be walking out of there alive.
So, he channeled all his strength in this single move.
The space around the Hall of Gods was much stabler than that of the Azure, but it still collapsed under the full strength of a god.
Zhang Xuan showed no signs of backing down at all. With a smile on his lips, he calmly tore down whatever attack Kong shi directed toward him.
…
A few minutes later, Kong shi’s body was frozen in place. A powerful force had sealed his movements completely. He had also been stripped of his Paragon Blackmirror and Evanescent Boots, thus sealing off his escape route as well.
After comprehending the Pathos of Heaven, not even Zhang Xuan’s clone was a match for him. Even though Kong shi was not weak, he was only on par with his clone at the very most.
Not to mention the fact that Kong shi had been worn down by Little Chick, the golden page, and the collaborative offense from Zhao Ya and the others, thus causing him to be severely weakened.
After trapping Kong shi in place, Zhang Xuan looked at him calmly.
The results of the battle were already out. With this, Kong shi’s fate was sealed.
“To be able to make a breakthrough to godhood and master its powers… Even that b*stard would have been unable to do it…” Kong shi was still in a state of denial.
The doubt in his mind scratched and clawed at his sanity, preventing him from coming to terms with reality.
“That b*stard?” Zhang Xuan sensed that there was a deeper meaning behind Kong shi’s words. “Who are you referring to?”
“That b*stard also has a fragment of the heavens, but even he was unable to cultivate as quickly as you…” Kong shi murmured under his breath.
“It seems like you have admitted to the fact that you aren’t Kong shi,” Zhang Xuan said with a smile. “Should I address you as Kong shi’s clone, or is there another name that you prefer?”
The very fact that Kong shi had made a move on him at the Azure Bridge had left him feeling deeply bewildered, leading him to believe that the other party could be a fake.
However, everything had become clear to him after he entered the Hall of Gods. The fact that clones were not unable to enter the Hall of Gods and the fight with Kong shi, who was able to use Heaven’s Path battle techniques and the ability of Heavens’ Order…
He would have to be a fool to have not figured out the truth after seeing all of that.
Most likely, the person before him was Kong shi’s clone.
There was only a single fragment of the heavens. Even though Zhang Xuan’s clone shared the same soul as him, he could not practice the complete Heaven’s Path Divine Art and Heaven’s Path battle techniques.
Probably due to that, the nature of their souls had begun to diverge. Their thoughts were no longer completely in sync, and they could even chat with one another as if they were two different entities.
Since that was the case for Zhang Xuan, it was likely the same for Kong shi.
The clone before him appeared to be a manifestation of the ill will within Kong shi’s soul. It was driven by negative emotions, and perhaps it was out of jealousy of the real Kong shi that it was so desperate to obtain a fragment of the heavens.
As they shared the same origin, the clone viewed itself as Kong shi, and it seemed to take pride in its identity.
“Humph! We are the same person, so why is it that he is the only one who possesses the Heavens’ Order and can cultivate faster than anyone else? Why is he the only one who enjoys such honor and prestige, such that the whole world looks up to him as the World’s Teacher? Why is it that I am forced to hide in a place where the sun doesn’t shine, sealed off for several thousand years?” Kong shi’s clone spat with gritted teeth.
“Don’t you already have an answer to that in the depths of your heart?” Zhang Xuan pointed it out coldly.
From the looks of it, it appeared that the other party was indeed the ill will that Kong shi had severed from his soul.
The reason Kong shi was respected as the World’s Teacher was not because of his overwhelming strength or capabilities but the benevolence and magnanimity he had displayed.
In contrast, Kong shi’s clone was someone who would resort to any means in order to acquire what he wanted. How could someone like that earn the respect of others?
“If only I had killed you and everyone else who has betrayed me, I would have been able to maintain my impeccable image and remain as the figure whom everyone respects…” Kong shi’s clone bared his teeth indignantly.
“You still don’t understand, do you?” Zhang Xuan shook his head. “You can conquer the world and force everyone to submit to you through sheer force, but as time goes by, the negative emotions of the people you have suppressed will grow more and more powerful. It’ll eventually blow up on you and reduce you to smithereens!”
Authority and dominance could grant one power, but it could also turn people against one .
It was impossible to seal off the mouth of the people, let alone attempt to conquer their spirit.
A thought suddenly popped up in Zhang Xuan’s head. “Even a person as powerful as Kong shi ended up with such an evil clone… but what about my clone?”
He had spent quite some time with his clone. While the latter was a braggart and a show-off, it had never displayed any envy or ill-will. Given so, why would Kong shi’s clone end up like that?
“Perhaps it’s the work of inner demons. Due to the Library of Heaven’s Path, the cultivation techniques that I practice are flawless, so I am unaffected by inner demons. The cultivation techniques that Kong shi practices are likely to be perfect as well due to the Heavens’ Order, which defines the very laws of the world… But in truth, that’s also its greatest flaw!”
Heavens’ Order allowed one to dictate the laws of the world, forcing all existences to conform to one’s will.
As powerful as that ability seemed, the act of altering long-established laws of the world would shake the stability of the world, thus causing the order of the world to waver. This contradiction in Kong shi’s beliefs would make him highly vulnerable to inner demons.
As a result, Kong shi’s clone was born out of his negative emotions.
His clone dared not to move recklessly in Kong shi’s presence. However, once the latter left the Azure for the Firmament, his clone swiftly realized that it was the strongest existence, possessing the greatest authority in the Azure.
The sudden possession of power unleashed all the negative emotions within his clone’s soul.
“If Kong shi has severed the negative emotions in his soul to his clone, what did I sever from my soul to my clone then?” Zhang Xuan could not help wondering.
Compassion and malevolence were dictated by just the difference of a single thought.
The act of severing one’s soul and creating a clone was no different from giving away a part of one’s personality. From such a perspective, it stood to reason that a clone would have a contrasting personality from the main body.
Kong shi had given away his malicious intentions all to his clone, leaving him with the benevolence and magnanimity that the world knew him for.
If so, what did he give away to his clone?
From the looks of it… other than its compulsive desire to brag and show off, it did not seem to have too many bad habits!
“Hah… I guess I severed my bragging personality to my clone. That’s why I became much humbler and more low profile after my clone came to be…”
Zhang Xuan nodded in realization.
That would explain the huge contrast between him and his clone.
He had never really thought too deeply into the implications of severing his soul to create a clone, so this matter really got him thinking.
Well, it was undeniable that he had the urge to brag every now and then, but the virtue of humility was imprinted in his very bones!
That was the trait that he could strike his chest proudly for.
“Hahaha, the world only listens the words of the winner. Now that you have won, whatever you say becomes the truth.”
Knowing that it was meaningless to debate about such matters with Zhang Xuan, Kong shi’s clone looked at the young man intently and said, “I still don’t get it. How were you able to achieve a breakthrough so quickly? Wait a moment…”
A thought suddenly surfaced in the mind of Kong shi’s clone, and his eyes widened. “You have the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn?”
Using the Heavens’ Order’s jurisdiction over spacetime, the real Kong shi had created a unique artifact known as the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn.
If one attempted to strictly categorize it in terms of tier, it would not even be considered a High Immortal-tier artifact. However, just like the Paragon Blackmirror and the Evanescent Boots, it possessed unique abilities.
However, through the eyes that he had left on the Master Teacher Continent, he was aware that the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn had been taken away by a god who went by the name of Luo Ruoxin.
How could it be in Zhang Xuan’s hands?
If he had known that the other party was in possession of the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn, he never would have let his guard down. Perhaps, at the very instant that Zhang Xuan took in the Aura of Divinity, he would have already used his greatest strength to kill him!
“You’re right. It’s indeed the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn,” Zhang Xuan replied. “The flow of time in the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn is fixed at ten times that of the Master Teacher Continent, which equates to a hundredth in the Azure.”
“I see…”
The face of Kong shi’s clone paled as he finally understood the reason behind his loss.
Assuming that Zhang Xuan shared the same talent as the real Kong shi, he would take 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds.
If he cultivated in the Azure, with the hundredfold multiplier of the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn, he only needed fourteen minutes in order to make a breakthrough.
That was indubitably amazing, but it still was not enough given the situation back then.
For that reason, Zhang Xuan had chosen to teleport over to the Ethereal Hall headquarters.
At the Ethereal Hall headquarters, the flow of time was ten times that of the Azure. Given that the flow of time in the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn was fixed, it meant that time flowed thousand times faster. In other words, he would only need a single minute to make a breakthrough there.
However, Zhang Xuan still did not think that it was fast enough yet.
So, he had climbed all the way up the pillar to head to the Hall of Gods.
The flow of time was even slower there, being at only a hundredth of the Azure.
As long as he passed that boundary, the flow of time in the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn would be ten thousand times that of his external environment!
Therefore, of the 86,400 seconds he needed for a breakthrough, he would only need eight seconds in the real world!
It was for that reason that he had counted down from ten.
Ten seconds might not have seemed like anything much, but it was sufficient for him to reach the level of the gods in the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn and even familiarize himself with his new power!
Kong shi’s clone felt his guts turning green from regret. There were so many ‘if only’s in his mind that it was driving him insane.
He attempted to struggle a little, but he was still unable to break free of Zhang Xuan’s restraints. Eventually, he took a deep breath and exhaled deeply before saying, “Do whatever you want. I have already lost!”
He had thought that he could have surpassed his main body if he snatched the Heavens’ Imperfection … but it had ultimately ended in failure.
It was indeed impossible to overcome those who had been chosen by the heavens.
“I really hate you, but I won’t kill you. You are Kong shi’s clone, so I’ll leave it to him to determine your fate. However, I can assure you that you won’t be able to live a single day in peace from this moment onward,” Zhang Xuan remarked coldly as he swiftly directed his power toward Kong shi’s clone.
Hu!
The power sealed the cultivation of Kong shi’s clone, preventing him from making a move at all. Following which, he threw the latter into the folded space within his storage ring.
He stood silently in the void for a long moment before a deep sigh escaped from his lips. There were simply too many things that had happened over this period of time that left his heart feeling extremely heavy.
He knew that the war happening at Starchaser Island should have settled down given that his clone and direct disciples were there to help out, so he was not needed there for the time being.
“Since I have reached the level of the gods, I should go and check out what the black vortex sealed under the Hall of Gods is,” Zhang Xuan murmured as he glanced downward.
It was almost as if his eyes were peering right through the void to gaze upon the stately Hall of Gods.
