Book 2: Chapter 18: Strongest opponent
A silent storm dissipated.
The collision of family forces behind the scenes was only seen by those who paid attention.
Xu Xiangqian himself probably didn't feel anything.
He was very happy to meet Jiang Wang before entering the Tianfu Secret Realm.
The two of them had a brief encounter during a difficult time. Although based on Xu Xiangqian's background, it seemed that only Jiang Wang was in real danger...
"Brother Xu." Jiang Wang smiled and said, "Why don't you call me Uncle anymore?"
Xu Xiangqian waved his hand and said, "I was mistaken, I was mistaken."
After that, he enthusiastically pulled the heroic young man with a jade belt on his forehead and introduced Jiang Wang, "This is a friend I met in Youguo. He looks old, but he's actually very young! He has a good character!"
He then introduced the heroic young man, "This is Li Longchuan. He's good at archery!"
Jiang Wang and Li Longchuan glanced at each other and smiled helplessly.After exchanging greetings and chatting for a few sentences, Jiang Wang felt that Zhong Xuan Sheng was poking him.
Zhong Xuan Sheng naturally knew Li Longchuan, but he didn't take the initiative to talk to him. Instead, he secretly poked Jiang Wang with his chubby finger and whispered in his ear, "Be careful, he's our competitor!"
Li Longchuan noticed Zhong Xuan Sheng's actions and smiled, "Zhong Xuan, how have you been?"
"Thanks to you." Zhong Xuan Sheng snorted from his nose, "I'm doing fine."
Li Longchuan smiled and didn't say anything.
Zhong Xuan Sheng glanced at him again, "Why does the esteemed Li Longchuan need to seek outside help?"
"I don't need it." Li Longchuan smiled faintly, showing strong confidence. "Xu Xiong is not my helper. In this trip to the Tianfu Secret Realm, he doesn't need to help me seize opportunities. Whoever obtains it, it belongs to them. It can be considered as my competitor. And he won't show mercy."
"That's right!" Xu Xiangqian said with a righteous face, "A gentleman's competition requires giving it your all!"
Zhong Xuan Sheng felt like he had been slapped in the face, feeling bored. He pulled Jiang Wang and said, "Let's meet in the Tianfu Secret Realm. We need to discuss tactics."
After saying that, he forcefully pulled Jiang Wang towards a corner. Shi Si naturally followed him closely.
Jiang Wang could only apologize to Li Longchuan and Xu Xiangqian with a smile and followed them.
In fact, there was nothing to discuss about tactics. They had already discussed everything that needed to be discussed. In other situations, everyone was in the dark about the Tianfu Secret Realm, so there was nothing to discuss.
Zhong Xuan Sheng just wanted to create some distance between himself and Li Longchuan.
Jiang Wang knew this, and Li Longchuan knew it too.
Perhaps only Xu Xiangqian was an exception...
He waved enthusiastically, "Brother Jiang! See you in the secret realm! A gentleman's competition!"
After speaking, he clenched his fist with great force.
On the other side, Zhong Xuan Sheng pulled Jiang Wang to a corner and said, "Although Li Longchuan may look ordinary, his strength is very strong. We must not underestimate him. Don't stay with him for too long, or his arrows will automatically find your weaknesses."
Jiang Wang was surprised, "Is it that scary?"
He ignored Zhong Xuan Sheng's inexplicable confidence in his appearance. Or rather, he had unknowingly gotten used to it...
"Otherwise, what do you think?" Zhong Xuan Sheng rolled his eyes with his small eyes, and then said somewhat embarrassedly, "According to reason, we are friends, and I shouldn't let you find opportunities for me. But the predetermined divine ability in the Inner Court is very important to me. When I obtain the opportunity, I will immediately help you get it!"
"What's wrong with that?" Jiang Wang laughed, "We should keep accounts clear between brothers. You didn't deceive me, I agreed on my own. Besides, even if I'm willing to help others find opportunities, will others give me a spot?"
Zhong Xuan Sheng seemed moved and patted Jiang Wang's shoulder, "It's great that you can think like this."
In fact, sometimes it's not easy for people to distinguish between right and wrong, and it's the most difficult to grasp the right measure.
The so-called fighting over rice leads to gratitude and fighting over rice leads to resentment. Both sides have not grasped the right measure.
Keeping everything in one's heart and calculating will only create gaps and make them wider and wider.
Someone like Zhong Xuan Sheng, who puts things on the table and explains them clearly, is not easy to damage the friendship.
In their respective uneasiness, expectations, and exchanges, time slowly passed.
Suddenly, someone noticed that at some point, the center of the Full Moon Lake had a reflection of a full moon.
But the moon in the sky had not yet risen.
At this moment, night fell.
The buildings surrounding the Full Moon Lake were enclosed by a circular corridor.
The corridor's eaves did not cross the boundary, leaving the Full Moon Lake exposed under the night sky.
Based on past experience, when the moon in the sky overlaps with the moon in the water at a specific time, the Tianfu Secret Realm will open.
Jiang Wang looked at the sky and saw that the moon was still some distance away from its zenith.
At this moment.
Dah! Dah! Dah!
Steady and clear footsteps echoed in the ears of everyone present.
Zhong Xuan Sheng's expression changed, and he said to Jiang Wang, "The biggest opponent has arrived."
Walking out of the corridor and approaching the Full Moon Lake was a man in a long martial robe with an extremely long face.
His face was extremely long, but it didn't give people an ugly feeling. On the contrary, because of his sharp eyes and high straight nose, he had his own unique charm.
Even though the opening of the Tianfu Secret Realm was imminent, the crowd couldn't help but whisper.
"Why is he here?"
"Wang Yiwu... Why would he come here?"
"What does he need?"
This was a commotion that Li Longchuan had never experienced before.
It showed the pressure brought by the person.
"Who is he?" Jiang Wang asked through voice transmission to avoid trouble.
Zhong Xuan Sheng's voice, containing a hint of anger, came in his ear, "He is Jiang Mengxiong's closed-door disciple, the youngest and lowest in cultivation, but Jiang Mengxiong expects him to be the next military god of Qi! He doesn't need to come to the Tianfu Secret Realm at all. Although he is still in the Tongtian Realm, he sensed his divine ability seed as soon as he opened his meridians.
His sea of consciousness has long been purified, and the Heaven and Earth Gate is as fragile as paper to him.
As long as he opens the Heaven and Earth Gate, he can immediately knock on the Inner Court and obtain the divine ability. There is no need for him to hone his skills in the Soaring Dragon Realm."
He remained at the gate of Heaven and Earth purely because he was too strong. The gate was not enough to consume much of his strength. In the instant of the Soaring Dragon Realm, he could not restrain his power, which could potentially damage his body and harm the foundation of the Dao. Jiang Mengxiong had been trying to increase the strength of his gate of Heaven and Earth.
The gate of Heaven and Earth was a major barrier on the path of cultivation, blocking countless cultivators.
Some people could not open the gate of Heaven and Earth in their entire lives, while others were exhausted in body and mind after opening it, unable to manage the Soaring Dragon Realm, leading to a congenital deficiency in the Soaring Dragon Realm.
And geniuses like Wang Yiwu had to slow down because their gate of Heaven and Earth was too weak!
From Zhongxuan Sheng's words, Jiang Wang caught another key point.
Wang Yiwu didn't need to come to the secret realm of the Heavenly Mansion, but he still came.
"So..." Jiang Wang asked, "Did he come for you?"
With Zhongxuan Sheng's strength, if he went all out, he could easily break into the top hundred of the Heavenly Realm in the Illusory Void Realm.
He finally understood why Zhongxuan Sheng, as strong as he was, needed to find help to explore a secret realm where all opponents were restricted to the Soaring Dragon Realm or below.
Zhongxuan Sheng's face was extremely ugly: "I didn't think he would go this far."
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The sound of boots hitting the ground seemed to strike at the heart of every competitor.
Wang Yiwu walked through the crowd and went straight to Zhongxuan Sheng in the corner.
"It's not too late to go back now," he said.
At this point, Zhongxuan Sheng's expression was terrifyingly calm.
He squinted his already small eyes: "You and Zhongxuan Zun are indeed very close."
He didn't threaten, because threats were useless.
He didn't provoke, because provocation was just humiliating himself.
But he wouldn't go back.
He would only fight back.
Those who didn't know Zhongxuan Sheng well would find him complicated. Sometimes childish, sometimes deep.
But his ruthlessness and tenacity were little known.
As for Zhongxuan Sheng's reaction.
Wang Yiwu was neither angry nor laughing.
He stopped talking. He just turned his body and stood next to Zhongxuan Sheng, Jiang Wang, and Shi Si.
He didn't say another word.
But there was no need to say anything else.
...
PS:
Happy New Year everyone! May you all find your direction, and let's continue to work hard next year!