Chapter 2341 - Mastered!
His strength had already exceeded the level of monarch stars; he had advanced to a higher level.
The Foreign Realm didn’t have a name for this level. However, they did indeed have prodigies at this level. For example, Huai Jian, Jing Zhongyue, Xu Xing, and Xue Ge.
Casting his gaze across to the Celestial Realm, Ling Han reckoned that Ji Wuming could somewhat count as a prodigy at this level. However, judging from what he had seen, Ji Wuming was actually still a little bit off. After all, the level of heaven and earth was different.
In any case, if the Empress and Hu Niu could grasp the Void Particle Energy… no, they didn’t need to grasp it. As long as they could extract Void Particle Energy to temper themselves, they could definitely increase their battle prowess by a significant amount. They could reach an Evolution Index of 11.
Ling Han casually threw a punch. Even though he didn’t unleash his full power, he was still able to easily suppress Mo. In just a few dozen exchanges, he had already gained a comprehensive upper hand. He then obtained an easy victory, advancing to the quarterfinals. As for Mo, the prodigy who had placed second on the previous Elite Leaderboard, he could only place ninth at best this time.
One day passed, and the top eight cultivators were all locked in. The supreme monarch stars such as Huai Jian and the others were naturally among these eight people.
Right now, Ling Han, Huai Jian, Xu Xing, Jing Zhongyue, and Xue Ge were the fancies to take out the title of strongest. This was a grand level of competition that had never been seen before. Such a great number of supreme prodigies had actually risen together.
However, in the next round, two supreme monarch stars would definitely come face to face. This also signified the elimination of a supreme monarch star.
Who would it be?
They completed another draw to decide the battles. In the end, it was Xu Xing and Xue Ge who suffered the misfortune of having to battle against each other. One of them would be eliminated.
Like before, they were allowed to rest for another five days. Everyone was filled with eager anticipation. They could finally witness a battle between two supreme monarch stars.
Even though several supreme monarch stars had clashed before, they had done so in the team battles. Moreover, they had been subject to numerous restrictions. However, the individual ranking battles for the Elite Leaderboard were different. Firstly, there was no time restriction. Secondly, there was no technique restriction, and they were allowed to unleash any technique without worrying about killing others.
There was an Ancestral King watching over them, so he would prevent anyone from being killed.
Ling Han researched and investigated until he became dazed and silly again. When the sixth day arrived, he was feeling completely muddleheaded and confused. However, it was also at this moment that he suddenly felt a vast and profound energy entering his body.
‘Void Particle Energy!’
This time, he immediately came to his senses.
Crack!
Heaven and earth boomed in reply, with thunderclouds rapidly gathering overhead.
Ling Han didn’t stop immediately. Instead, he committed his current state to memory, and only then did he rapidly stop his actions. He allowed the Void Particle Energy to circulate around his body several times, elevating his technique. Only then did he disperse this energy.
Having lost its target, heavenly tribulation also started to slowly dissipate.
Ling Han had been well prepared this time, and he had made sure to cultivate in seclusion outside the academy. Otherwise, no one would dare to stay in the Four Splendor Academy anymore. After all, the situation would be far too dangerous, with Heavenly Venerate Tribulations rolling over at any time. Who could endure this?
He slowly returned to the academy. As he made his way over, he continued to replay the past few days in his mind.
“So that’s how it is!”
He came to a sudden realization. Even though there were formulas and models to learn and apply when it came to extracting Void Particle Energy, the true method was one that could only be understood and not spoken. If Ling Han hadn’t become a ruler of heaven and earth before, he definitely couldn’t have extracted Void Particle Energy at this cultivation level. He couldn’t have done so even with the help of that unopenable scroll.
He had only failed so many times before because he hadn’t been a genuine ruler of heaven and earth. At that time, he had only possessed the strength of a Pseudo-Heavenly Venerate. In other words, he had only just been powerful enough to interact with the power of heaven and earth.
“Elevating one’s physical power is much easier than elevating one’s grasp of Regulations. As long as I raise my power to the pinnacle level of the Ascending Origin Tier, my battle prowess will be equivalent to that of someone at the Consummate level of the Ascending Origin Tier,” Ling Han murmured to himself. However, it was a pity that physical power was a set form of strength. A certain amount of power would always correspond to a certain level of battle prowess. This was unlike cultivation levels, where the battle prowess of monarch stars,
different from their cultivation.
“So that’s why Wally uses the Vitality Index and not cultivation level to measure a living being’s strength.”
nurun
As Ling Han murmured to himself, he had already arrived back at the academy. He prepared to take part in the quarterfinals.
The first three battles didn’t spring any surprises. Ling Han, Huai Jian, and Jing Zhongyue all successfully advanced. Meanwhile, the eagerly anticipated fourth battle was proceeding with vigor and ferocity. The two supreme monarch stars were both unleashing their astonishing battle prowess, producing a brilliant and enthralling battle. Neither of them held back.
Their strength was almost identical, so the battle between them was naturally as intense as could be. They were unable to determine a victor no matter what. They continued to exhaust each other’s stamina.
Fortunately, such situations had occurred before, so the hosts were naturally able to resolve the situation. The solution was to activate a time acceleration mechanism. One day in the outside world would equal three years in time acceleration mechanism.
Xu Xing and Xue Ge were truly as evenly matched as could be. Only after battling for a whopping 17 years did they finally determine a victor. Moreover, this was only because they were prohibited from using weapons. As a member of the Insect Race, Xue Ge gained a slim advantage as the hooks on his body were naturally powerful weapons. During ordinary times, these hooks wouldn’t give him any advantage at all. However, in this kind of evenly matched battle, this extremely slim advantage was able to give him an edge that became increasingly magnified as time went on.
Xu Xing was naturally unresigned to defeat. He was skilled in many powerful techniques that could only be performed with weapons. Thus, the two of them had already arranged to battle again.
In any case, Xue Ge was the final member to advance to the semifinal.
In the next round, Ling Han would face Jing Zhongyue, and Huai Jian would face Xue Ge. They were again given five days to rest.
Ling Han didn’t waste a single second. He ventured into the wilderness, and started to extract the power of heaven and earth from the mysterious scroll. He continued to walk the fine line between life and death. If he messed up just a little bit, heavenly tribulation would descend without any shred of mercy. At that time, how could his frail body withstand it?
Flee into the Black Tower?
Indeed, Ninth Heaven Celestial Kings were unable to breach the Black Tower’s defenses. However, the tribulation of heaven and earth would never disappear. As long as Ling Han dared to reappear, the tribulation of heaven and earth would continue to form and descend until he chose to face it head-on. However, that would naturally be an act of seeking death.
Of course, there was still another option: Ling Han could leave the Foreign Realm. However, there was no path to return to the Celestial Realm, and he hadn’t grasped the Regulations of the Dark Inverse Realm, either. As such, he could only remain in the Foreign Realm.
Ling Han was playing with fire, yet this allowed his battle prowess to rise steadily. His physical power had already reached the Great Accomplishment of the Ascending Origin Tier. Add to that the tempering that his physique had received from heaven and earth, and he could unleash a battle prowess at the Great Accomplishment of the Ascending Origin Tier even without drawing on the power of Regulations. Moreover, this battle prowess wouldn’t be affected by the dimension that he was in.
Even if he went to the Dark Inverse Realm or an even higher-level dimension, he would still maintain a battle prowess at the Great Accomplishment of the Ascending Origin Tier, even though he wouldn’t be able to wield the power of local Regulations.
“No wonder Heavenly Venerates are so terrifying… They’ve already transcended Regulations, so their battle prowess won’t be weakened no matter where they go.”
The five days passed by in a flash. The semifinals began, and the two battles were held in unison.
Ling Han faced off against Jing Zhongyue. His opponent was graceful and ethereal in her beauty. She was like a celestial maiden who could only be appreciated from afar. One wouldn’t dare to—couldn’t bear to-near her.
“I’ve been waiting for this day,” Jing Zhongyue said. Her voice was crisp and pleasant to the ear. Listening to her was a great enjoyment.
Ling Han smiled faintly, and said, “Please go ahead. I won’t hold back just because you’re a woman.”
Jing Zhongyue was enraged upon hearing this. She was a supreme monarch star, so did she need others to hold back just because she was a woman? She was a peerless sword that could obliterate all matter!
“Myriad Forms Sword Technique!” she said with a humph. She made a pushing motion with her slender hands, unleashing countless silver swords. These swords violently swept toward Ling Han.
“Say, girl, can’t we fight properly?” Ling Han said with a smile. He resolutely charged forward, swinging his fists and shattering the silver swords.
He was like a demon lord as he arrived before Jing Zhongyue.