Chapter 297: 273 Judgement, Part 1

Celestial Extreme Cave.

Night.

Zhang Rongfang slowly opened his eyes, coming back from a state of meditative breathing.

Inside the pitch-dark cave, only a torch mounted on the wall emitted a faint yellow glow.

The torch was about to burn out, and the light grew dimmer.

Outside the cave, the starry blue-black sky was faintly illuminated, with a gentle breeze wafting in.

Swish.

He stood up, took a new human skin mask, placed it on his face, and slowly walked towards the cave’s exit.

The gentle night breeze brushed past him, like thin veils softly caressing his skin.

Exiting the Celestial Extreme Cave, a deep, white mist canyon unfolded outside.

But Zhang Rongfang’s gaze did not fall on the canyon; instead, it landed on a lower mountain peak opposite him.

At the mountain peak, a person was standing.

Their hair was gray, a black cloth covered their face, and the corners of their eyes were marked with long crow’s feet, showing their age.

Yet, the brightness of their eyes could not be concealed.

It seemed as if the starlight in the night sky was being reflected in them.

Snap.

Suddenly, the person moved, leaping down from the mountain peak out of thin air.

A pair of wide black bat wings suddenly unfolded behind them, seemingly similar to glide-wings equipment.

Using this equipment, the person swiftly glided, aiming towards Zhang Rongfang against the mountain wall.

No hesitation.

Zhang Rongfang quickly leaped into the canyon, his hands piercing into the rock wall, clutching tightly, sliding down like a gecko.

In a short time, the two of them reached the bottom of the canyon, one after another.

The bottom of the canyon was rugged with scattered rocks, and thin streams flowed between the rocks like veins, only making faint sounds.

The mist enveloped this place, and the starlight and moonlight could barely penetrate, making it even more gloomy.

To an ordinary person, they might only see two silhouettes gently landing, standing face to face.

But in Zhang Rongfang’s eyes at that moment, everything was as clear as daylight.

Ooooo~~~

Distantly, the roar of an unknown animal resounded, startling a series of replying howls from gorillas and monkeys.

The desolation and primitiveness of the forested valley became even more pronounced.

“Who are you?” Zhang Rongfang spoke first.

“Haven’t you already seen three of our incompetent members before?” the old man calmly replied.

“So you’re from the Thousand Stone Sect too? Here to seek revenge?” Zhang Rongfang thought to himself.

“Seeking revenge is not the case; it’s just that I have some thoughts about this Celestial Extreme Cave. Of course, how Great Dao Teaching truly is, you must know better than us. With your martial skills, you shouldn’t be just average among them. Want to join forces?”

The old man’s tone was calm, not at all like someone here to seize treasure medicine.

This involuntarily reminded Zhang Rongfang of the leader of the Rebel Sect, Zhang Yunqi.

At this moment, he could vaguely sense a similar leader’s aura from the old man.

Clearly, this person was definitely not ordinary like the previous three.

“Alright.”

Immediately, his gaze became steadfast, lowering his center of gravity, watching the opponent.

The old man’s muscles also tensed up, his Qi and blood swirling viciously like whirlpools, rotating rapidly across his muscular surface.

Boom!

In an instant, they both moved, charging towards each other.

Two shadows dashed in the night, stepping simultaneously on two large stones.

Crackling as the stones shattered, their four arms collided fiercely, like four slashing blades, clashing directly in each other’s hands.

Clang!

The loud, heavy collision sounded, Zhang Rongfang’s body shuddered, unexpectedly forced backward by sheer force.

His legs stepped back several paces on the rocky ground, smashing several white stones before he looked at the old man across from him.

“Such strength….” At this point, he was somewhat stunned.

The opponent, surprisingly, was also focused on hard skills like him.

Moreover, the key point was, his current strength, combined with Iron Cloth and Thirteen Protectors’ Horizontal Training, had reached the seventeenth grade in martial arts.

This was already the human body’s development limit at this time.

He could clearly feel that after Thirteen Protectors’ Horizontal Training reached a new grade, the increases to his whole body were negligible.

Evidently, breaking through grades in the future would be of little use.

Thirteen Protectors’ Horizontal Training, a hard skill, divided into entry, mastery, perfection, and limit-breaking stages. Each stage requires two points, a level nine points to break through.

In this way, it wasn’t worthwhile for him.

If he didn’t aim to forge an indestructible body, he would prefer to stack all attribute points into life.

“Your power, on the other hand… never thought a Celestial Extreme Cave could harbor someone of your caliber…”

The old man, surprisingly, sounded more astonished than he was.

It’s been a long time since he encountered such a powerful expert.

Since stepping into the Three Emptiness Extreme, failing to break through to a Grandmaster, and having to worship gods afterward.

His strength had grown once again compared to before.

Worshiping gods not only restored and elevated him to his peak but further enhanced his original power.

Initially, coming here was thought to be just going through the motions, driving away Great Dao Teaching’s expert.

Yet unexpectedly….

“Again!”

He immediately stepped forward, fully unleashing the core martial art of the Thousand Stone Sect, the Golden Stone Skill.

The Golden Stone Skill emphasizes strength, every move and every stroke carries immense force.

Within the entire Sensing Sect, it is also a top-tier strength-oriented branch.

This martial art strikes quickly, not seeking precision but ensuring a hit on the opponent.

Because as long as it touches the opponent, even a little bit, it can cause considerable damage.

At this moment, Zhang Rongfang was not a bit intimidated, with the Thirteen Guardians Horizontal Practice transformation, his strength had already increased, plus he had long surpassed Han Shisan’s martial arts level of the past.

He had refined his muscular strength to the human body’s utmost limit.

It could be said that at this moment, he feared no hard confrontation.

Instantly, the two wielded their palms and fists continuously at the valley bottom.

The fist and palm turned into rain-like punches towards each other, each collision echoed like muffled thunder.

After dozens of moves, Zhang Rongfang faintly felt a sting in his palm, already beginning to swell and bleed.

Yet the old man opposite him remained unfazed, his palm unscathed, still rough as decayed wood, exactly as at the start.

Boom!

Another heavy palm strike, and the two separated and stepped back.

He stared solemnly at Zhang Rongfang.

“Which province’s high-ranking member of the Great Dao Teaching are you? Could you tell me your name?”

The opponent clearly hadn’t invoked the god, yet could still fight him to this extent, showing his strength.

After all, he originated from Hard Skill, with the Golden Stone Skill renowned for its power and defense.

After invoking the god, Spiritual Veins strengthened his body, elevating his Hard Skill by several levels.

After invoking the god, even an ordinary spiritual guard could become immune to swords and spears, unaffected except by treasured blades and firearms.

Much more so for someone like him with the Three Emptiness Super Grade, the enhancement was even greater.

So, for the opponent to clash directly with him at this level, it already surprised him.

The old man continued, “I am Yan Shenjun, the Left Protector of the Thousand Stone Sect.” He first reported his name, showing sincerity.

Zhang Rongfang was taken aback; he originally planned to continue clashing fiercely.

He hadn’t used the Limit-Breaking Skill, the Extreme State wasn’t activated, and Shanzhong Layering wasn’t in use.

The opponent also evidently wasn’t using full strength, no Limit-Breaking Skill or Extreme State.

How did it straight away turn to chatting?

In the dark, he could not see his expression clearly, but Yan Shenjun seemed to have guessed his thoughts.

“You must have just left the Celestial Treasure Palace, correct?” He smiled, “At our level, generally, we don’t lightly engage in life-and-death battles. What do we seek after painstakingly reaching this point? Is it to kill or be killed rashly?

Of course not. What we seek is stability, to enjoy life. So, most of the time, we first probe a bit to see if both sides are on equal terms, if there’s a qualification to converse? If not, then you kill. If yes, then try to chat. Who knows, you might even become friends later on?”

He paused, “After all, at our age, everyone has offspring, beloved family, killing and slaughtering are the doings of complete fools. The more you have, the more you fear death.”

“…” Zhang Rongfang was instantly brought to clarity by these words.

That made so much sense…

Indeed, only those with nothing to lose would frequently gamble their lives, fighting for or snatching things.

Anyone with some foundation, any ties or responsibilities, would be rather careful to preserve their life.

“What you said is very true, brother.” Zhang Rongfang nodded, “But how can we determine whether you and I have the qualification to talk? Just relying on that little test just now?”

At this moment, his palm had almost healed, and his vitality of over a hundred was already showing its power.

After endurance improved, recovery power also began to significantly enhance.

“Little brother is cautious, but you are indeed right. You killed some of our Thousand Stone Sect’s superb hands; after all, an explanation is needed.” Yan Shenjun laughed.

“So, be careful!”

As soon as he finished speaking, his body suddenly expanded, growing slightly larger, skin turning red-black, countless blood vessels bulging on his face, precisely the appearance most commonly associated with the Extreme State.

“This is my Thousand Stone Sect’s Extreme State: Stone Rain. Be cautious.”

Zhang Rongfang didn’t respond, forming a triangle with his hands.

“Threshold!”

His voice resounded, vibrating through his entire body. The subtle vibration seemed like a key, rapidly unlocking all qi and blood flow.

Instantly, his whole skin similarly expanded and enlarged, countless blood threads turning his sclera red, converging at the pupils.

His height and physique also grew slightly, as if expanding a size bigger.

In this state, his ordinary moves, whether in power or speed, could be maintained at nearly the full extent of using the Limit-Breaking Skill.

In this state, using the Limit-Breaking Skill would unleash extremely terrifying lethality.

“Again!”

With a bang, the rocks under Yan Shenjun’s feet exploded, his body blasting towards Zhang Rongfang like a cannonball.

Boom!

The two men’s fists collided ferociously.

Their muscles and bones on both sides were compressed by the immense counterforce, trying to push the opponent back.

But unexpectedly, this time both retreated simultaneously, both shaken unsteady by the counterforce, retreating several steps.

A drop of blood dripped from Zhang Rongfang’s hand.

This was the disparity in Hard Skill.

His Hard Skill could not match the opponent Yan Shenjun.

In the past, he had always relied on Body Technique and explosive moves to defeat enemies.

This was the first time he purely engaged in a hard confrontation.

“It seems in Hard Skill, I am far behind… but it ends here.”

Zhang Rongfang exhaled a hot breath, his eyes turning cold.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep