Chapter 151 - 92: Mid-Battle Breakthrough? Slash Without Fail!

Chapter 151: Chapter 92: Mid-Battle Breakthrough? Slash Without Fail!

The difference between Outer Gang and Acupoint Opening lay in reopening the human body’s Xuan Pass and unlocking the Heart Apertures. However, using True Gang to open the body’s Xuan Pass was rather difficult.

Therefore, one needed to circulate True Gang through the body in three major cycles. Only after the limbs, bones, the Twelve Principal Meridians, and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians fully adapted to the True Gang’s intensity could they attempt to strike the first Heart Aperture. Successfully striking through the first Heart Aperture meant stepping into the Acupoint Opening Realm. In the Acupoint Opening Realm, one needed to break through a total of five Heart Apertures. This was the so-called "five apertures for the five internal organs."

Meanwhile, although there were differences in strength between the First, Second, and Third Layers of Outer Gang, the gap wasn’t as vast as heaven and earth. A normal Third Layer Outer Gang Martial Artist was only equivalent to about one and a half First Layers. A Third Layer could certainly suppress a First Layer, but it wouldn’t be as effortless as kicking a wild dog to death by the roadside. If one had exceptional methods and formidable Martial Arts, a First Layer Outer Gang slaying a Third Layer wouldn’t be considered much of a feat.

"There’s no need," the old man said calmly, shaking his head. "Although it’s a breakthrough, his prior consumption was too immense. It won’t have much impact in the short term; he merely gained a bit more capability.

"Unless Yuan Yi comprehends the true essence of Perfection in the Wave-Treading Saber in the heat of battle, bringing his own Saber Technique to Perfection as well, he won’t have the ability to turn defeat into victory. Otherwise... he’s just prolonging the fight."

True Man Yuan Yi could leave whenever he wanted. After all, he was an Outer Gang Martial Artist. If he truly wanted to flee from a battle with Zheng Jun, he would at most be beaten into scurrying away with his head covered; his life wouldn’t be in danger. Zheng Jun’s lethality was tyrannical, allowing him to clash evenly with a First Layer Outer Gang expert without falling at a disadvantage. However, his True Gang was still at the Qi Storage Realm. If an Outer Gang Martial Artist was dead set on escaping, he wouldn’t have any means to stop them.

The reason True Man Yuan Yi hadn’t fled was due to the imposing might of the Cai Family of Bozhou. He couldn’t run.

If he ran, the Vast Sea Sect would be instantly exterminated. If he stayed, the Vast Sea Sect could still arrange their final affairs. They could have a few disciples secretly flee to other states, hide their names, and preserve a spark of their legacy, waiting for a chance to rise again.

Seeing True Man Yuan Yi’s blazing aura and the faint projection of the Flood Dragon True Gang protecting his body, Zheng Jun couldn’t help but pause. He wondered how his opponent had suddenly received such a massive power-up.

However, he quickly smiled. "Exactly what I wanted!"

Zheng Jun stood tall, his chest puffed out and his battle intent surging. If True Man Yuan Yi had maintained his previous attitude of giving up, Zheng Jun wouldn’t gain any extra repayment progress from executing a Slash on him. Now that True Man Yuan Yi had regained his will to fight, it finally gave Zheng Jun the desire for a fierce battle!

And Zheng Jun had absolutely nothing to fear. After all, he currently had two major trump cards to rely on. First, True Man Yuan Yi’s strength wasn’t as formidable as he had imagined. Even if Zheng Jun couldn’t win, he could retreat unscathed. Holding out until the Garrison Command’s Government Office sent reinforcements to save him would be a breeze. Second, he had a genuine Acupoint Opening Martial Artist backing him up, who had promised to intervene in moments of crisis.

These two points gave Zheng Jun absolute confidence. Even if the Southern Chu Regent behind him broke his promise and didn’t act, Zheng Jun was confident enough in his own strength to survive to the very end in a clash against True Man Yuan Yi!

The Yuan Yi standing before him was a wanted criminal. Meanwhile, Zheng Jun was a proper military officer of the Great Zhou Court and a highly prominent Official in Black Mountain County! His mindset was similar to Patrolman Qi’s back then. However, unlike Patrolman Qi, Zheng Jun’s reliance lay in his reinforcements and confidence in his own strength. In contrast, Patrolman Qi had naively believed that his status alone would terrify Zheng Jun out of killing him.

At this thought, Zheng Jun’s imposing aura climbed steadily.

Above the rumbling river, the sonorous, forceful sound of grinding metal rang out. Cyan light erupted brilliantly as Blade Gang scattered in all directions!

The terrifying True Gang rapidly condensed, intertwining and layering with the Beirong Saber in Zheng Jun’s hand, which flickered with the phantom of a Flood Dragon. Propelled by the towering waves, a gleaming blade light swiftly took form! In an instant, the blade light filled the sky. In their daze, the surrounding spectating civilians actually saw a cyan Flood Dragon rising from the river!

"The—the Dragon King?!"

"Good heavens... our Shengdong River really has a Dragon King?!"

"The Dragon King is circling Captain Zheng. Even the Dragon King is helping Captain Zheng!"

For a moment, the civilians of Shengdong Village stared blankly. Some even went weak in the knees and couldn’t help but drop to the ground with a heavy THUD, kneeling in awe. Such was the majesty of the Dragon King.

"ROAR!"

With a single Slash, a dragon’s roar bellowed out. The great river rumbled and shook. The banks on both sides faintly began to collapse as endless streams of mud and sand poured down.

This Slash was no ordinary strike; it was a strike infused with Zheng Jun’s formidable Wave-Treading Blade Intent. A Slash brimming with explosive, surging power!

Under this Slash, Zheng Jun felt his bones and muscles humming in unison. In the split second he stepped forward and maneuvered, his eyes burned as hotly as fire. He fiercely channeled the Broken Jade True Qi within his body once more, causing massive streaks of flowing light to emerge within the cyan Flood Dragon. As this Slash swept out, the water on the river’s surface flowed backward. Swept up and driven by Zheng Jun’s True Gang, the water gradually condensed into a physical, liquid Flood Dragon. It was an incredibly magnificent sight!

This Slash from Zheng Jun gathered all of his methods. It would be the strongest Slash he had delivered since breaking through to the Qi Storage Realm!

Watching Zheng Jun’s overwhelming Slash crash down toward him, True Man Yuan Yi’s pupils shrank violently as if struck by an earthquake.

"This is..."

True Man Yuan Yi’s expression shifted in shock. In Zheng Jun, he seemed to see an armored, ferocious military general slashing down at him with world-toppling momentum.

Was it the figure of Ancestral Master Yu Kai?