Chapter 164 - 144: I Couldn’t Comprehend It Before, but My Comprehension Is Completely Different Now!

Chapter 164: Chapter 144: I Couldn’t Comprehend It Before, but My Comprehension Is Completely Different Now!

"Can they beat him?" Xu Cheng and Jiang Qingqian’s hearts leapt into their throats.

Two Tier-3 Genetic Cultivators, who also happened to rank first and second in their elite class—would their combined strength be enough to rival Gu Zheng, who had merged with a Tier-4 Morning Star-grade Sword Feather Peacock gene?

At this moment, Xu Cheng and Jiang Qingqian, who had initially wanted to help, felt entirely out of their depth. With three Tier-3 Genetic Cultivators clashing, the two Tier-2 cultivators felt like a pair of clueless huskies that had stumbled into a wolf pack. They dared not step any closer.

"Tier-3? Another Tier-3!"

Meanwhile, Gu Zheng’s pupils constricted when he saw Xiao Mingyue make her move just as he was preparing to launch another attack at Ji Zhixing. He hadn’t expected her to break through to Tier-3 as well.

"So this is where you get your confidence! But do you really think the two of you combined can defeat me?" Gu Zheng took a deep breath. He was still brimming with absolute confidence. Even though Ji Zhixing’s Super Gigantification ability had surprised him, in his eyes, no matter how powerful it was, it remained a mere Four-Star genetic ability. Gu Zheng, however, possessed a Five-Star genetic ability.

"I’d like to see how many of my sword strikes you can block!"

With that thought in mind, he ignored Xiao Mingyue’s attack and unleashed his fully-charged sword light at Ji Zhixing. In an instant, streaks of sword light darted straight toward his opponent. Only after releasing those strikes did he flap his Sword Wings, preparing to evade Xiao Mingyue’s incoming assault.

BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ...

Just then, Xiao Mingyue’s Flame Spirit Birds, which hadn’t been moving particularly fast, suddenly accelerated. They swarmed him from all directions.

"What?" Gu Zheng’s expression shifted. He immediately raised a silver-white energy barrier around himself. The Sword Feather Peacock Shield spread out like a peacock displaying its tail, its feather-like patterns overlapping in thick layers while radiating a fierce aura.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The Flame Spirit Birds crashed into his shield and detonated. Flames spread across the barrier, burning it with loud sizzling noises. As one Flame Spirit Bird after another threw itself at him, Gu Zheng could feel his Genetic Source Power depleting at a visible rate.

"Damn it!" Gu Zheng’s face paled slightly. He swept his gaze around, only to realize that the Flame Spirit Birds Xiao Mingyue had manifested had multiplied to over a hundred in the blink of an eye. They swarmed him, completely blotting out the sky.

"This won’t do!" He took a deep breath and prepared to flap his wings to retreat from the area. However, Xiao Mingyue seemed to have anticipated his reaction. Just as he spread his wings to flee, the flock of Flame Spirit Birds hurtling toward him simultaneously self-destructed a few meters away.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

Bursts of fire erupted, and scorching shockwaves swept in all directions like a surging tsunami. The intertwining flames and shockwaves blasted against Gu Zheng, leaving his figure violently trembling in the air.

"Sea Burial!"

In that very instant, Ji Zhixing had already dashed right up to him. He raised the five-meter-long Nine-Tiered Tide Rod high into the air. Channeling the full strength of his body and an unstoppable momentum, he viciously brought the weapon down!

Ji Zhixing put every ounce of his maximum strength into this single strike. He seamlessly stacked three Four-Star genetic abilities together: Innate Divine Power, Rock-Solid Body, and Super Gigantification. Genetic Source Power surged into the Nine-Tiered Tide Rod like floodwaters bursting through a dam. The pale blue glow along the shaft suddenly erupted, forming a massive phantom staff that crashed down with deafening force.

Hovering seven or eight meters in the air, Gu Zheng was entirely enveloped by the strike radius of Ji Zhixing’s heavy rod.

"Thousand Sword Peacock Body!" Seeing this, Gu Zheng’s expression hardened. Without another moment of hesitation, he unleashed his ultimate technique—the only Five-Star genetic ability in his arsenal.

Instantly, spectral projections of sword light materialized around his body, dazzling and resplendent like the brilliant feathers of a peacock. Once conjured, these phantom swords merged directly into Gu Zheng’s body, causing his aura to skyrocket. The next moment, locking his eyes on Ji Zhixing, Gu Zheng raised his longsword and delivered a fierce, downward slash.

SWOOSH!

A massive wave of sword light shot out from his blade. Expanding like a peacock’s fully fanned tail, the blindingly radiant strike soared upward with boundless, tyrannical momentum to meet Ji Zhixing’s descending giant rod.

BOOM!

A deafening explosion echoed through the air, sounding like a clap of heavenly thunder. Ji Zhixing’s staff strike—fueled by three Four-Star genetic abilities: Innate Divine Power, Rock-Solid Body, and Super Gigantification, alongside two Three-Star Staff Techniques—collided head-on with Gu Zheng’s Five-Star genetic ability, the Thousand Sword Peacock Body.

Terrifying energy fluctuations swept outward like a surging tsunami, ripping off the top layer of earth within a radius of several dozen meters. Gravel and dust danced wildly in the air. The billowing shockwaves forced Xu Cheng and Jiang Qingqian, who were spectating from a distance, to retreat several steps.

"What... what level of collision is this?" Xu Cheng shielded his eyes with his arm, squinting through the flying dust at the center of the battlefield. His eyes were filled with uncontrollable horror.

He had witnessed Gu Zheng in action before and knew just how powerful the man was. But the strength Ji Zhixing displayed at this moment was simply too terrifying. A towering giant over four meters tall wielding a massive rod over five meters long—the momentum of that downward swing felt like the crushing weight of a falling mountain. Xiao Mingyue was equally astounding. The Flame Spirit Birds she materialized were incredibly versatile, successfully restricting Gu Zheng and rendering him unable to dodge Ji Zhixing’s attack.

A moment later, the smoke and dust gradually settled.

Gu Zheng’s disheveled figure was revealed suspended in mid-air. The Sword Feather Peacock Shield he had formed was completely shattered. Several sword wounds now marked his body—a violent backlash from when Ji Zhixing pulverized his preceding strike.