Chapter 278 We meet Master Zhang!
Chapter 278 We meet Master Zhang!
"Open the sky!"
When Zhao Duan handed out the sword, time seemed to stop for a moment.
In countless gazes, this precious sword, which had accompanied Emperor Taizu of Dayu in his conquests six hundred years ago, seemed to be flashing with light.
The sword blade cut through the air silently and effortlessly.
The front end of the sword suddenly pulled and rolled up the air currents, condensing them into a huge air column as thick as a mad python.
Not just a ring!
At this moment, above the square, the sky covered with dark clouds like blocks of clouds was suddenly separated by a thin line.
Just like the East China Sea that was split into two by the sword, the dark clouds in the sky also split in the middle.
The sunlight shines through the cracks, forming dazzling golden lines.
In the arena.
Suddenly, a strong wind blew, and an unstoppable powerful force knocked Tianhai, who was in a state of "possession by a god", out.
The Buddha's light gathered in the vertical pupil on the forehead was suddenly interrupted.
The little monk's indifferent face also showed surprise, fear, bewilderment and other vivid human emotions.
"How could..."
The moment this thought arose, the thick and huge turbulent sword energy descended like a mountain.
Tianhai raised his head, as if blocking out the sky and the sun.
Almost instinctively, he mobilized all his magical power, his body suddenly curled up, and an illusory golden bell appeared around him.
however……
The solid and thick light shield only lasted for a breath under the powerful sword energy before it collapsed.
The sword energy hit Tianhai's lower abdomen fiercely. The young monk bent like a shrimp and flew backwards like a cannonball, his back hitting the light shield at the edge of the ring.
Then, the wildly shaking cover shattered with a loud bang for the second time, sweeping up a strong wind and causing chaotic turbulence.
"puff!"
Tianhai spat out a mouthful of blood in mid-air.
It flew ten feet away and crashed heavily into the stands of Shenlong Temple. People and horses fell to the ground, tables and chairs broke, and dust flew everywhere.
The young monk who had been as awe-inspiring as a god just now was lying on the ground, his pupils closed and blood oozing out of his forehead.
Due to the "vertical pupil backlash", exhaustion of mana, and the impact of sword energy, he fell into a coma.
Defeated in one blow!
The dust settles!
It was not until this time that the crowd of onlookers, who were shouting in panic because the barrier was broken for the second time, finally realized what was happening.
Staring at the wind and waves, looking at the cracked sky, the ray of sunlight cast down, and the figure standing on the ring with a sword in hand.
silence!
In such a large square, you could even hear a pin drop.
Many officials from the imperial court stood up at the same time, unable to hide their gaffe.
The old eunuch in the dragon robe was stunned and dazed.
The women of the Zhao family sat there in a daze, unable to come back to their senses.
Haitang, Zhang Han and other colleagues in the imperial yamen were stunned and confused, and suspected that they had seen it wrong.
"Brother Zhao..."
Gongshu Tianyuan was dumbfounded. Behind his broad body, Jin Jian, who had regained his ability to move after swallowing the elixir, stretched his neck and stuck his head out, looking particularly cute.
Deep inside the Tianshi Mansion, the Empress and the Old Tianshi, who were watching this scene through the water curtain, were also slightly moved.
Won!
One sword!
Zhao Duan, who fought on behalf of the Dayu royal family, secured victory with this stroke of genius!
wow——
The crowd erupted with the loudest noise in three days since the fight began.
The people don't know anything else and can only judge based on instinct.
In their opinion, the previous battle between Jin Jian and Tian Hai was much weaker than the scene before them.
This judgment is not wrong!
This is because, from the moment Tian Hai tore off the ribbon on his forehead and exposed his "vertical pupils", the power level of this fight should have been limited to the "God Chapter" realm.
You have already entered the realm of the "world".
And the power level of Zhao Duan's sword that opened the sky... is clearly in the "worldly" realm.
"Tianhai!"
Inside the Shenlong Temple, the monks were the first to react. They screamed and rushed over to check the injuries of the unconscious little monk.
The head monk of the temple's Discipline Hall, who was Tianhai's de facto master, was furious.
He took a big step forward, his gray eyebrows trembling violently, his face flushed with anger, and the old monk shouted towards the arena:
"Zhao Duan! How dare you break the rules of the fight?! Is this what you are confident of? Do you think that our Shenlong Temple is weak and can be bullied?!"
A loud shout immediately ignited the emotions of the monks.
For a while, something like:
"Cheating!"
"Breaking the rules!"
Such shouting and cursing were like a boiling tide.
Even the monk Bian Ji who was standing next to him had a changed expression and lost his gentle manner.
The sudden shouting and accusations drew the attention of everyone, who were still shocked by the sword just now, back to the scene.
Especially the officials of the imperial court, all of them changed color.
The shout of celebration in my mouth was stuck in my throat. I didn't expect that Shenlong Temple would suddenly attack.
"Cheating?"
On the ring, Zhao Duan, who had just extended his sword, slowly put it away, feeling a strong sense of fatigue in his body and a little surprised.
Although this sword of creation consumed most of the power, it all relied on the power originally hidden inside the sword.
But as a swordsman, the energy in his sea of qi had been almost drained at this moment, and he could only stand with difficulty.
In the Discipline Hall, the old monk wearing a cassock, with gray eyebrows and a irritable look angrily accused:
"The rules of fighting are that you cannot rely on external forces to win. Your sword is comparable to the world, but it relies on the Tai'a Sword and mobilizes the magic power in the sword! Are you cheating!?"
The monk's voice was like a loud bell, spreading far away. Many onlookers suddenly realized why Zhao Duan had turned the tables.
It turns out that he relied on the Taia Sword.
"These bald asses!"
In the distance, Mochou also came to her senses and suddenly realized that Shenlong Temple was trying to restore its reputation.
The Shenlong Temple has been working hard and accumulating strength for decades in preparation for this battle, in order to overwhelm the Tianshi Mansion, expand its influence, and attempt to annex the ancestral temple of Buddhism in the Western Regions to complete the grand plan of merging the East and the West.
It had originally been successful, but was interrupted by Zhao Duan who suddenly jumped out.
Tianhai suffered a crushing defeat. If it is not recovered in time, all decades of preparation will be wasted.
If the news spreads, people in the world will not care about anything else and will only remember:
Shenlong Temple is not possible.
The next battle between Buddhism and Taoism will not happen for at least several decades!
Shenlong Temple cannot accept such a huge loss of reputation!
Therefore, the old monk reacted quickly, took the opportunity to clarify and make counter-accusations, and would rather offend the court in order to redeem himself.
"Bullshit! The old bald ass always blames others for his mistakes!"
Suddenly, from the Tianshi Mansion, the chubby Gongshu Tianyuan shot out like a ball, rushed out with a small trumpet in his hand, and yelled:
"Who broke the rules first? Isn't Tianhai's vertical eye also in the 'worldly' realm? Only you are allowed to break the rules, but not Brother Zhao?"
Behind him, the priests of the Tianshi Mansion also woke up as if from a dream, and echoed him, accusing the bald donkey of turning the tables.
Pretty!
The imperial court secretly praised this.
The Tianshi Mansion has already lost, so instead of handing its fame over to its old rival, the Shenlong Temple, it would be better to give it to Zhao Duan.
He even took the opportunity to accuse Tianhai of cheating and make up for Jin Jian's defeat.
Seeing the shit pot coming at him, the white-robed wizard who had been silent and watching from the sidelines could no longer sit still.
Bian Ji frowned and said unhappily:
"You are wrong, Divine Officer Gongshu. Tianhai's vertical pupils are a natural physique, not an external thing. How can they be compared to weapons like the Tai'a Sword? Moreover, Tianhai had never used it in his previous battle with Jin Jian."
Gongshu Tianyuan was not fooled at all, he rolled up his sleeves and looked ready to go:
“Bah! Stop changing the subject! As expected of Bian Ji, you are a good talker, but I won’t be fooled! The eyes are indeed from Tian Hai’s body, but do you dare to say that the Buddha light in the eyes is also his own?!”
Bian Ji said calmly: "Of course he accumulated and cultivated it himself."
"Haha! What a great accumulation of power!" Gongshu Tianyuan laughed: "Tianhai has been accumulating power day by day and night, and it has accumulated enough power into that vertical eye. When it is accumulated enough, it will be released at once, which is comparable to the realm of the world.
If you say this is not a bad rule, then we have a talisman master and an alchemy master in our Tianshi Mansion. I might as well let my junior sister tattoo a human skin talisman on her arm, so that she can store magic power in it when she has nothing to do, and then throw it out as a talisman when fighting, is that okay?
Is this considered a violation?
This is not an external object, it is my junior sister's body!
Or maybe just swallow a few divine pills and digest them temporarily... is that ok?"
He took a breath and continued:
"Also, when Tian Hai fought with my junior sister before, he didn't open his eyes. Was it because he was noble and modest?
Or is it because you know in your heart that this thing is suspected of cheating, so you cover it up and try not to use it? You bunch of sanctimonious bald donkeys know it in your heart! "
Bian Ji's brows furrowed more and more. Seeing the people around him talking about it, he felt that their comments made sense and couldn't help feeling anxious.
Just as he was about to open his mouth to mediate, the chief monk of the Discipline Hall next to him turned his gun around and started cursing at Gongshu Tianyuan.
Shenlong Temple insists that the magic power hidden in the Taia Sword is an external force, while the "vertical pupil" is not an external force.
Gongshu Tianyuan insisted that "Shutong" had committed a foul, so Zhao Duan's use of the power of the Tai'a Sword was a reasonable counterattack.
For a while, both sides held their own opinions.
The crowd was divided into two groups, some thought that the monk was wrong, and some thought that Zhao Duan had definitely committed a foul.
The noise continues.
……
"Zhaorong, please report to your Majesty as soon as possible where he is."
The actress Yuan Li also found the situation difficult and looked at Mo Chou.
From the standpoint of all court officials, they should support Zhao Duan, but the battle between Buddhism and Taoism involves a third party outside the court and a stakeholder. Without the approval of the empress, no one dares to express his opinion rashly.
Mo Chou shook her head and said bitterly: "I'm afraid it's too late..."
Xu Junling said nothing, his eyes turned to Zhao Duan on the ring, thinking: How are you going to end this?
At this time, Bian Ji saw that the wind was blowing in a bad direction, sighed, and said:
"It is debatable who broke the rules first. However, since Envoy Zhao has the means to defeat the enemy, why did he use such a heavy blow? Is it not enough to defeat Tian Hai? Is it necessary to beat him like this?"
Gongshu Tianyuan was temporarily silent, which is indeed a problem.
Zhao Duan's attack was a bit too heavy-handed. The sword he just struck was beyond the scope of "reasonableness" and seemed to be a fatal blow.
The monks also turned their guns on Zhao Duan and accused him of committing the murder.
"Master Bianji, please don't speak carelessly."
On the stage, Zhao Duan had not spoken a word just now, but now his clear voice, tinged with fatigue, slowly spread.
He stared at the "housekeeper" beside the abbot Xuanyin, the "spokesperson" of Shenlong Temple, and said calmly:
“Others may not know, but with your level of cultivation, you should have been able to hear the conversation between Tianhai and me through the shield.
He said that if he untied the vertical pupil, he couldn't hold back. I replied that I couldn't hold back either.
Today is the first time I hold the Taia Sword, and I don't know how powerful the sword technique is. The mighty sword energy far exceeds the divine chapter, and it is not something I can stop."
After a pause, he seemed to take a breath with difficulty, and said calmly:
“If the master insists on thinking that I did it on purpose, then I have to ask, why didn’t Tian Hai stop when he had already forced me into a desperate situation by firing three beams of Buddha’s light?
It is nothing more than giving someone back what he has given you.”
With the way of the people, also treat the body of the people!
Bian Ji was speechless for a moment.
In fact, with his keen eyesight, he had indeed seen that when the sword energy swept across the arena, Zhao Duan had already lost control.
How powerful is "Kai Tian"?
Or... to be more precise, with the help of the dragon soul in the body, stepping on the Taia Sword in the air, and mobilizing the tremendous power contained in the sword, how powerful would it be to perform "Kai Tian"?
Zhao Duan doesn’t know!
Just as he said, today was the first time he held Tai'a, and he had only practiced the "Kai Tian" sword technique in his mind for two days.
Two days ago, on the night he broke through, he learned this sword in the Martial God Diagram.
Especially when he was in his study, sitting among a pile of calligraphy and paintings.
When he was looking through the many biographies of Emperor Taizu that he had collected, he found several records in the books that Old Xu had summoned swords from the air many times.
Combined with what he saw in his dream, he tried to summon the sword with the help of the dragon soul. At that time, he did clearly sense the faint response coming from deep within the palace.
So, today, he tried to imitate the biographical records and summoned the Taia sword through the air on the stage.
Zhao Duan didn’t know whether he could succeed, nor did he know how powerful the Taia Sword was, and whether it could allow him to fight against Tianhai.
I don’t even know what the scene will be like when “Kai Tian” is used.
So, he really couldn't stop.
of course……
Even if he is misunderstood as wanting to kill someone, that's fine. If he cares about what outsiders think, he is not "Zhao Yanwang".
"What nonsense! You are clearly making excuses. Since the Taia Sword is under your control, how can you not control its power?"
The head monk of the Discipline Hall had a gloomy face:
"Everyone knows that Tianhai's 'kind eyes' can distinguish between good and evil. The god Ksitigarbha must have seen that you are an evil person, so he punished you. Tianhai is powerless to stop you. If you were a good person, you wouldn't do this!"
After saying this, the old monk seemed not to want to argue any more, so he waved his hand and said in a deep voice:
"Where are the disciples of Shenlong Temple? Ask this Lord Zhao to step down and await investigation!"
Are you crazy? Bian Ji looked at him in surprise, his face darkened, and he wanted to speak to stop him.
Inside the Shenlong Temple, there are also multiple forces restraining each other.
The monks in the Discipline Hall are followers of Bodhisattva Nagarjuna, and are not from the same faction as Bian Ji who follows Abbot Xuan Yin.
"stop!"
Now, the imperial court could no longer sit still. Mo Zhaorong, who was representing the empress, changed her expression slightly and spoke to stop them.
Although she and Zhao are love rivals, she is happy to see him suffer a setback.
But at this moment, we absolutely cannot sit idly by.
Eunuch Hai and Xue Shence took a step forward at the same time and prepared to attack.
The monks from the Discipline Hall, holding Zen sticks and monk staffs, swarmed onto the stage and approached Zhao Duan, who was exhausted and unable to fight anymore.
Gongshu Tianyuan's face shuddered, and he turned to look at the many older priests beside him.
This matter was getting bigger and bigger, and it was no longer possible for him, a Zhudian boy with no real power but only status, to make the decision.
And at this critical moment.
Suddenly, a slightly old voice came from the Tianshi Mansion not far away:
"Who dares?"
The first word "who" is still in the sky, but the next word "dare" is already near.
Gongshu Tianyuan and the priest Jin Jian's eyes lit up at the same time, revealing joy.
The wind suddenly picked up.
On one side of the square, the numerous priests from the Tianshi Mansion suddenly stepped forward and bowed deeply, as if in worship.
Just like the many buildings in the city that guard the imperial city, it seems as if the secrets of heaven are being drawn to it.
An old man with a tall stature, narrow brows and eyes, wearing a soft black priest robe, floated over, looking like a god.
The old Taoist priest took a step forward without any worldly concern, and stood from the horizon to the side of Zhao Duan, who was holding the sword at full strength. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking indifferent as he looked around at the monks.
"Disciple, meet the Heavenly Master!"
Many priests worshipped in unison.
On the Shenlong Temple side, Master Bianji's face slightly changed, and the furious head of the Discipline Hall beside him also stopped.
The monks put their hands together and bowed their heads:
"Amitabha, we have met Master Zhang."
On the court side, Mo Chou, Xu Junling, Yuan Li, Xue Shence... even the arrogant Eunuch Hai, were all shocked and saluted to show their respect.
"Meet Master Zhang!"
"See you, Heavenly Master..."
"Meet the Heavenly Master..."
In an instant, as Zhang Yan arrived, everyone present hurriedly stood up and saluted. Many of the thousands of people knelt down to worship the god.
Zhao Duan's mind buzzed. He didn't expect that the legendary old Taoist priest would show up.
Without time to think carefully, he subconsciously turned his head to look at the legendary face of Zhang Tianshi, already wondering in his mind what kind of posture would be able to please the big boss.
However, when he saw Zhang Yanyi's smiling face clearly.
Zhao Duan was completely stunned. He opened his mouth and swallowed the word "Tianshi" in his throat. His eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost:
“Old…Old Wang?!”
……
Next chapter will be updated before dawn
(End of this chapter)