Chapter 160: Dawn Intent Battles the Third Realm
Chapter 160: Chapter 160: Dawn Intent Battles the Third Realm
Gazing at the Sword and Axe Mantis’s enormous body, Zhu Ge’s fighting spirit surged.
Fight! Fight! Fight!
Now, ordinary Second Realm Demon Beasts could no longer stir his desire to fight.
He was already formidable due to his dual Martial Dao of Body Refinement and Qi Refining.
Now, aided by the legacy of his past life’s civilization and his own efforts in this one, his strength had advanced by leaps and bounds.
Only the Third Realm could ignite his will to battle!
"Great Master..."
The Sword and Axe Mantis hesitated. "Do you really want to fight me? I... I’m afraid I’ll hurt you."
In the Sword and Axe Mantis’s mind, Zhu Ge had only managed to subdue it by relying on the Fungus God Destruction Array.
’If we were to compete in terms of raw strength?’
The Sword and Axe Mantis was a Third Realm expert with powerful innate talent, after all. Zhu Ge might not be able to defeat it.
At least, that’s what the Sword and Axe Mantis believed.
"Don’t worry, I’m tough. I won’t get hurt." Zhu Ge smiled, and his Martial Arts Heart began to beat.
From the very start, he used fifty percent of his power.
RUMBLE... RUMBLE...
The sound was like drums and thunder, and with each beat, a boundless torrent of Blood Qi surged forth.
As his Blood Qi billowed, Zhu Ge assumed the opening stance of the Waist and Horse Skill, but his fists were clenched in the style of the Xu Family Rain Swift Fist.
Upon hearing the sound of Zhu Ge’s heart and seeing his opening stance, the Sword and Axe Mantis’s expression grew solemn.
It could sense that if it didn’t block this attack, it might suffer a minor injury.
’A minor injury?’
’I’ll just take this move head-on, then praise the Great Master afterward. I hear the Human Race calls that "sucking up," and they really enjoy it...’ The Sword and Axe Mantis still had the leisure for such idle thoughts.
"Are you at the Early-Third Realm? Or Mid-Third Realm?" Zhu Ge asked with a smile.
"Mid-Realm!" The Sword and Axe Mantis’s demon heart pulsed, and Demon Qi instantly suffused its entire body.
"Only mid-realm?" Zhu Ge was taken aback.
He had thought the Sword and Axe Mantis was already a Late-Essence Devouring Realm Demon Beast.
To think the Sword and Axe Mantis could fight the Late-Third Realm Jianshui City Lord to a standstill while only being at the Mid-Third Realm. Its talent was indeed impressive.
"What do you mean, ’only mid-realm’..." The Sword and Axe Mantis was hurt, feeling that Zhu Ge was looking down on it.
Reaching the Essence-Devouring Realm was already difficult enough; advancing from the early to the middle stage had required an incredible amount of painstaking effort.
But from Zhu Ge’s lips, it was reduced to a mere "only."
’I’ll hold back on the praise later. I won’t let Great Master Zhu Ge get too smug.’
"Haha, that’s not what I meant! Since you’re at the mid-realm, I can finally let loose!" Zhu Ge laughed heartily.
The next moment, his Martial Arts Heart erupted with even more Blood Qi.
Full power!
If the Sword and Axe Mantis had only been at the early stage, Zhu Ge would have been afraid that the combination of his Heart of Martial Arts Origin and the manifestation of his Dawn Intent would kill it outright.
After all, he wouldn’t be able to hold back at that point.
But since the Sword and Axe Mantis had a Mid-Third Realm cultivation, Zhu Ge was a little less worried.
’I’m only an Early-Second Realm Martial Artist. I can’t possibly one-shot the Sword and Axe Mantis, jumping a major realm and a minor realm... right?’ Zhu Ge mused.
And just as Zhu Ge’s aura changed, a tremor ran through the Sword and Axe Mantis’s entire body.
Danger!
A life-or-death crisis!
Even though Zhu Ge had silenced his heartbeat, the Sword and Axe Mantis sensed an even more terrifying crisis.
If it couldn’t take this attack from Zhu Ge, it wouldn’t be a minor injury. It would be a severe one, or even a near-fatal wound—or just instant death!
Zhu Ge was only at the Early-Second Realm!!
The Sword and Axe Mantis was terrified.
Meanwhile, within the valley, many were actually paying close attention to the commotion.
On one side was the Sword and Axe Mantis, a genuine Third Realm, an old-school Demon Beast that had lorded over the territory around Jianshui City for many years.
On the other was Zhu Ge, the Lord of the Six Paths Palace, a prodigy of the Human Race with exceptional talent.
Who wouldn’t pay attention to a battle of this magnitude?
"This is a Third Realm versus a Second Realm. Isn’t a fight like this just a one-sided slaughter?" a wild boar carrying a stone slab up a slope whispered, peeking outside the valley.
"You stupid pig, that’s the Great Master! He’s crazy strong!" a butterfly even larger than the boar sneered from the side. "Do you think the Great Master is some pushover? The number of Demon Beasts he’s killed is no less than the number King Sword and Axe Mantis has."
Only then did the boar remember why they were all here, hauling rocks.
"Oh, right!" The boar nodded thoughtfully, then added, "Then you wanna make a bet? The loser has to help the winner move rocks."
The male butterfly faltered, snorted coldly, and flew away. "I can’t be bothered to argue with a stupid pig."
Conversations like this were happening all over.
"King Sword and Axe Mantis once shattered my turtle shell with a single slice!"
"As if the Great Master didn’t smash your shell with a single punch."
"The Great Master’s physique... why does it have a bit of our python clan’s feel to it? He’s clearly so unyielding, yet why do I sense a certain softness?"
"You’re not the only one. I was just wondering if the Great Master’s father was an old water buffalo. His knees feel like my horns; they could gore someone at any moment."
"He’s more like a horse, okay? If he kicked backward with his hooves, he’d definitely be stronger than me!"
"Mazhu, strictly speaking, you’re a Bamboo Spirit, not a Horse Demon..."
The Demon Beasts chattered amongst themselves.
These Demon Beasts were naturally loud-mouthed and a bit deaf, their voices so raucous that even the new disciples who had just joined the Six Paths Palace could hear them.
The disciples were incredibly curious and all wanted to go out and watch, but they held back, unsure of the rules of the Six Paths Palace.
However, Liu Jianjian, who was in charge of directing the Demon Beasts, couldn’t hold back.
And Hua Liusha, sensing the restlessness in the disciples’ hearts, also knew they wanted to watch the battle. After all, Hua Liusha had once been part of the Human Race and naturally understood what they were thinking.
So, the two of them called for everyone to go out and watch.
"Alright, alright, you bunch of wastes! So much nonsense while moving a few rocks and logs. If you want to watch, then let’s all go together!"
With a wave of Liu Jianjian’s hand, the Demon Beasts immediately let out whoops and howls. They dropped what they were doing and surged toward the valley entrance.
Hua Liusha also spoke in the minds of the new disciples: "All of you should go watch as well. Go and see for yourselves the difference and the gap between you and a prodigy of the Human Race. It will give you a goal to strive for in the future."
After she spoke, the disciples exchanged glances, and then one by one, they also flooded toward the valley entrance.
By the time they reached the valley entrance, Zhu Ge and the Sword and Axe Mantis hadn’t started fighting yet; they had just finished talking.
At this moment, Zhu Ge had just ramped up his Martial Arts Heart to its full power. He felt a breath caught in his chest, about to burst forth—an unbearable, pent-up pressure.
Thus, he waited no longer. All of his Blood Qi flooded into his fists, dyeing them a crimson red, like glowing light bulbs.
Then, the phantom manifestation of his Dawn Intent appeared in the sky once more.
The next second, Zhu Ge moved.
He pushed off with his thighs, and the earth and rock in a radius of several dozen meters around his feet trembled, shattered, and scattered.
Among the debris were snakes, insects, mice, and ants that had been attracted by the bloody scent of the previous Demon Beast corpses.
Zhu Ge’s figure vanished from his original spot and reappeared before the Sword and Axe Mantis.
In the sky, the phantom mimicked Zhu Ge’s movements. Its two phantom arms came together in front of it, then viciously ripped outward.
Before it, alarm bells screamed in the Sword and Axe Mantis’s mind.
’A life-or-death crisis?!?!?’