A Will Eternal

Bai Xiaochun fell back, cursing the spirit automaton the entire time, his heart overflowing with waves of rage. Were it not for the fact that he couldn’t do anything to the automaton, he definitely would have skinned him alive….

“I hate you!!” he shouted, sounding very dispirited. Meanwhile, the middle-aged man took another step forward, and thrust his fist out again! In response, the sky turned dark, and immense pressure weighed down in the area!

A massive tempest rose up with this fist strike, and although it seemed slightly weaker than before, it still contained the power of an archaean. As the fist struck out, mountain-toppling, sea-draining force was unleashed directly toward Bai Xiaochun.

The air shattered, and the heaven and earth that made up this world seemed to tremble on the verge of collapsing into smoke.

Bai Xiaochun let out a yelp. Considering what was happening, he knew he had no other options. As the tempest that was the fist strike closed in, he threw his arms up and then shoved them down toward the ground.

Even as the wind buffeted his face, he shouted, “Waterswamp Kingdom!!”

Rumbling sounds echoed out, shaking the entire palace, sending out rippling fluctuations in all directions. At the same time, the entire world transformed into a watery swamp!

Water vapor rose up, along with a howl that seemed to echo from primeval times. Moments later, numerous spikes began to rise up!

The Waterswamp Kingdom, one of Bai Xiaochun’s most powerful trump cards, was making its entrance!

Rumbling sounds filled the world as what appeared to be mountain peaks rose high into the air. The roaring sound continued, and in the blink of an eye, the archaean fist strike slammed into the Waterswamp Kingdom.

The boom that resulted shook the world with violent convulsions. As for the spikes and mountain peaks of the Waterswamp Kingdom, they seemed incapable of standing up to the archaean fist strike, and in fact, the entire summoning effect appeared to be on the verge of ending.

But just as the Waterswamp Kingdom seemed to be on the verge of completely collapsing, a defiant roar filled the air that surpassed anything from before. As of this moment, Bai Xiaochun… was using the Waterswamp Kingdom again. A second time in a row!!

Roar!

Two land masses appeared to be rising up, covered with numerous mountains. Shockingly, they were like teeth! And the two land masses were the enormous jaws of Bai Xiaochun’s life essence spirit!

It was like some sort of crocodilian beast from the most ancient of times, brutal to the extreme as it shot toward the tempest that was the archaean fist strike. The world shook on the verge of collapse…. Unfortunately, Bai Xiaochun did not have an archaean cultivation base, and therefore, despite how strong his Waterswamp Kingdom was, his cultivation base was having a difficult time supporting it. A defiant howl echoed out as the Waterswamp Kingdom faded away completely.

The tempest of the archaean-level fist strike then continued onward toward Bai Xiaochun!

However, for some unknown reason, this fist strike was much weaker than the previous one, and after its clash with the Waterswamp Kingdom, was weakening even further!

There was no time for Bai Xiaochun to sit around thinking and planning. After his Waterswamp Kingdom was gone, he howled, unleashing the explosive power of his fleshly body, and also rotating his cultivation base. Suddenly, his Heavenspan Dharma Eye opened up, sending dazzling violet light cascading out. Simultaneously, his turtle-wok appeared in front of him again!

Although all of this takes a bit of time to describe, it actually happened in the blink of an eye. And then, the archaean-level fist strike arrived. Bai Xiaochun’s fleshly body was flayed to the point of being ripped to shreds, and his cultivation base teetered on the verge of complete collapse. Blood sprayed out of his mouth as the violet light of the Heavenspan Dharma Eye met the fist strike.

The final obstacle was the turtle-wok. A massive bang filled the air, causing the world to shudder as Bai Xiaochun was flung backward like a kite with its string cut. His five yin organs and six yang organs were nearly destroyed, and his powers of regeneration were working in overdrive to keep up.

However, the fist strike was not over yet, and Bai Xiaochun continued to fly backward. Even though the fist strike had been weakened, it was still terrifyingly powerful.

Bai Xiaochun had summoned the turtle-wok prematurely, and therefore, after sustaining the dreadful strike, it didn’t even return to him. Instead, it spun off to the side, where it was swept up by a soft, gentle light.

That light came from none other than the spirit automaton!

Shocked, the spirit automaton shouted, “If you can get past the level after this, Bai Xiaochun, then I’ll bow my head to you immediately!”

“Bow your head? You just wait, bitch!!” Bai Xiaochun ground to a halt, a profound sensation of deadly crisis filling him. After all, the tempest of the fist strike was still heading in his direction.

“Time to go for broke!!” he shouted. Instead of backing up, he used the Mountain Shaking Bash! But that wasn’t all! He picked up speed with the Undying Hex, simultaneously clenching his hand into a fist.

“Undying Emperor’s Fist!” he shouted at the top of his lungs. Instantly, the huge image of a shadowy emperor appeared behind him. By this point, he had no idea how many multiples of the original fist strike this equated to. But he held nothing back, becoming a shooting star that headed directly toward the opposing fist strike.

Deafening rumbling filled the shaking world. The huge palace complex couldn’t withstand the force, and began to collapse, until the only thing that remained floating there was the huge statue!

As for the tempest of the fist strike, it had been weakened over and over again, and even as it dissipated for the final time, it slammed directly into him! Bai Xiaochun had no clue how many mouthfuls of blood he had coughed up; he just knew that a power was descending on him that could wipe him out of existence. In that moment of crisis, he unleashed his Godkiller technique!

A mist of blood surrounded him as he shot away. However, the destructive power of the fist strike had connected, and could not be dispersed. It swept through him, dispersed, then reconverged again to batter him with incredible force. This happened a total of eight times before the power was finally gone. At that point, Bai Xiaochun began to laugh loudly.

“I passed the level!!”

“Impossible!!” the spirit automaton blurted, completely aghast. He had done everything he could think of to prevent Bai Xiaochun from passing the level. And yet, despite the incredible level of difficulty, Bai Xiaochun had still succeeded!

And this time, he had done it without the help of the turtle-wok in the final moment. Even with that turtle-wok, most other celestials would have been destroyed.

It was such an astonishing turn of events that, at long last, a bit of admiration for Bai Xiaochun rose up in the heart of the spirit automaton. But then he thought about his future fate, and defiantly shouted, “You must swear an oath right now, here in the presence of the sovereign, that you won’t change my surname after becoming my lord and master….”

“Say what?” Bai Xiaochun murmured, a look of shock appearing on his face.

“Swear it!”

Considering all of the things the spirit automaton had done to him throughout all the levels, Bai Xiaochun simply glared and replied, “Screw off! You think I’m an idiot!? I’m not swearing anything. In fact, I’m definitely going to change your surname!”

“AARGGGGGHHHHHH!”

How could Bai Xiaochun have ever realized that his response would provoke the spirit automaton in such a way? Suddenly, the middle-aged man who had unleashed the devastating fist strikes stepped forward again and clenched his hand into a fist.

Bai Xiaochun’s eyes nearly popped out of his skull. If the man unleashed another strike, then it would be too devastating to survive. He immediately opened his mouth to try to pacify the spirit automaton.

However, that was when the figure which had been sitting within the alcove in the forehead of the huge statue slowly stood up. Then, a voice could be heard which echoed like heavenly thunder, filling the world with somber dignity.

“Enough, Xiao Chi! Challenger… you have passed the level!”