Chapter 952: The Real and the Fake Goldenleaf King (2)
Chapter 952: The Real and the Fake Goldenleaf King (2)
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
"No spirit beasts or saint beasts?" Zhang Xuan nearly spurted blood.
It wasn't easy for him to fabricate a passable story for this bizarre turn of events, and he was banking on it to convince the others that he was the real one. Upon hearing those words, he nearly burst into tears on the spot.
The Otherworldly Demonic Tribe has no spirit beast or saint beast?
What the heck is with that?
Just what is with my luck today?
"That is not important!" Despite feeling so stifled that his heart could explode, he didn't allow any of that to show on his face. Waving his hands nonchalantly, he explained, "When I said tamed beast, what I am referring to is a junior who I have raised from young. I have always treated him like a close pet of mine, and over the years, I have put in much effort and many resources to groom him. Just that, who could have known that he would be such an ingrate, impersonating me and committing atrocities in my name? I have truly kicked myself in my foot this time around!"
"You are spouting nonsense!" the Goldenleaf King roared indignantly.
You are the one who is a pet; your whole family are pets!
Hong long!
The Goldenleaf King roared furiously as he raised his hand. An immense might, which covered the entire skyline, burst forth from his palm, heading straight toward Zhang Xuan.
He was truly pissed off this time around.
He thought that he would be able to scare the impersonator silly by confronting the other party head-on, but who could have known that… that fellow would actually prattle on and on excitedly, to the point that he even became the other party's pet.
This was truly his first time seeing someone as shameless as that fellow!
To impersonate another so daringly before the person in question… this was truly an eye-opener for him!
Sss la!
That powerful strike devastated even space itself, twisting and contorting it as if a piece of flimsy fabric.
"How powerful…"
"We are done for…"
Upon seeing this strike, the many 6-star master teachers behind Zhang Xuan went pale with fear.
As esteemed 6-star master teachers of the Master Teacher Continent, they were confident in their ability, thinking that they were at least on par with the Otherworldly Demons. However, after witnessing the might exerted by the Goldenleaf King, they couldn't help but feel a deep, instinctive fear that permeated their souls.
There was a difference in their strength, one that was so huge that there was no basis for comparison.
If the strike were to land on them, they would surely die instantaneously. Not even the deities would be able to bring them back to life.
"Hah, the dogs are biting one another? Good!"
"Kill that fellow!"
Two master teachers harrumphed coldly.
However, the attack wasn't directed toward them, and they were more than glad to see the Otherworldly Demons thinning their forces through infighting. It would be the best if they ripped one another apart.
"To dare make a move against me, how dare you!" Not expecting the Goldenleaf King to attack him without any hesitation, Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up. Not bothering to dodge, he lifted his finger and tapped into the sky.
Hu!
The speed of his finger wasn't fast, and it didn't seem to harness much might behind it either. However, a killing intent so powerful that it shook one's heart abruptly burst forth. From the callous killing intent, one could feel the majesty of an Otherworldly Demon King, and it seemed to suppress those who shared the same bloodline.
The Greenleaf King narrowed his eyes in astonishment. "What pure Zhenqi of Slaughter…"
As an Otherworldly Demon, he could clearly sense how powerful the other party's zhenqi was.
The might the other party exerted was beneath that of the Goldenleaf King who first made a move, but to his astonishment, the other party's zhenqi purity was extremely high, even higher than his!
In other words, the other party was of the King Stratum through and through, or even above him at that!
Even if he isn't the Goldenleaf King, there is no doubt that he is another formidable King from somewhere else, the Greenleaf King thought.
Otherworldly Demons were ranked according to the purity of their Zhenqi of Slaughter. Considering that the fellow before him had zhenqi even purer than him, the other party was definitely a King as well. Even if he wasn't the Goldenleaf King, his standing was surely not beneath theirs in any way.
But… why would a person of such standing impersonate the Goldenleaf King? Was there any need for him to do so?
Hu!
While the Greenleaf King was musing over the doubts in his mind, Zhang Xuan's finger collided with the Goldenleaf King's palm strike. In that very instant, a flash of light burst from his fingertip and formed a barrier.
Formed of countless wills, the barrier of light was nigh indestructible, allowing it to neutralize the impact of the Goldenleaf King's palm strike perfectly. Following which, the finger came into contact with the barrier, and astonishingly, the might harnessed in the finger was transmitted through barrier.
Peng!
Under the powerful impact, the Goldenleaf King's face reddened as he was forced back several steps.
It was direct clash of might, and he had even held the upper hand from being the first to strike. Yet, the other party had easily neutralized his attack and even successfully launched a counterattack against him. In other words, the other party was even stronger than him!
Where did this freak come from?
"What a close shave!"
In contrast with the Goldenleaf King's astonishment, Zhang Xuan discreetly heaved a sigh of relief within.
Possessing only the cultivation of a Half-Saint, there was no way he could stand against the might of a Saint realm 4-dan expert under normal circumstances.
In that critical moment, he swiftly activated the Principal's Seal.
As an artifact made out of the wills of countless teachers and students of the Master Teacher Academy, the absolute defense formed by the Principal's Seal was difficult for even a Saint realm 4-dan expert to breach.
After neutralizing the attack, he swiftly made use of Vicious' finger to counterattack.
Vicious was still a long way off from recovering to his peak, but in a direct confrontation, he was still able to hold his ground against a Saint realm 4-dan expert. However, it would be unsafe to use him too much. Once or twice, he could still feign it as his own attack. Too many times, and the other party could potentially realize that he was tapping into an external force.
After knocking the other party back, Zhang Xuan bellowed angrily, "It is out of our past relationship that I have spared you for so long. Are you really intending on killing your own master?"
If the battle were to continue, he would surely lose. In such circumstances, there was only one thing he could do—scare the other party out of his wits first!
"Who the hell are you?" After trading a blow and knowing that the other party possessed strength on par with him, the Goldenleaf King knew that there was a chance he could lose if a fight were to occur between the both of them. Thus, he decided to talk it out first before deciding on the next course of action.
"Like I said, I am the Goldenleaf King!" Harrumphing coldly, Zhang Xuan turned his gaze to the Greenleaf King and said, "It is pointless for us to continue arguing like this, we won't get anywhere. Why don't you be the judge and determine which of us is the real one?"
"Me?" The Greenleaf King was taken aback.
Like I just said earlier, you are the fake, and the one beside me is the real one. What else do you want me to judge?
"Indeed. The real Goldenleaf King should have a deep understanding of his own cultivation flaws, right?" Zhang Xuan asked.
"That… of course!" The Greenleaf King nodded.
Each cultivator would keep their cultivation flaws a secret, telling no one about it for obvious reasons. If one of them could logically point out the flaws in the Goldenleaf King's cultivation, that would only go to say that he was the real Goldenleaf King.
Even though the Greenleaf King was only an outsider and didn't have a thorough understanding of the Goldenleaf King's cultivation, it wasn't an issue for him to determine whether the flaws listed were correct or not based on his deep understanding of cultivation.
Seeing through the Greenleaf King's thoughts, Zhang Xuan said, "What I am proposing is simple. That fellow and I will tell you the flaws in our cultivation, and you will be the judge to determine which of us is the Goldenleaf King. Naturally, the one who is more precise and accurate can only be the real Goldenleaf King!"
"You wish to list out the flaws in your cultivation?" The Greenleaf King hesitantly turned to the Goldenleaf King. "Brother Yin…"
The Goldenleaf King harrumphed. "Don't listen to his nonsense! I have cultivated my 'Grand Lunar Art' to its very limits; there is no way there are any flaws with it!"
"There is no way there are any flaws? What arrogant words! I did point out the various problems in cultivating the Grand Lunar Art to you back then, but I didn't point out the most fundamental issues with it, so it's only natural that you are unaware of it! If you dare not compete with me, that can only mean that you are the fake. Greenleaf King, as you can see, the truth can't be any clearer. Have that imposter beside you apprehended!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand.
"Me, a fake?" The Goldenleaf King's face darkened. "Preposterous!"
"If you aren't a fake, why do you fear such a simple challenge? Of course, it goes without saying that the fake can't possibly know more than the original, so it is natural that you fear me," Zhang Xuan said.
"This…" The Goldenleaf King hesitated.
If it was anyone else, he would have charged forward and had the other party killed. However, from the previous blow they had traded, he could tell that the other party possessed extraordinary strength. Even if he were to use his full might, he might not necessarily be a match for the other party.
If things went badly, he might even be severely injured.
The most important issue at hand was to find out who the other party was and why the other party needed to impersonate him.
After a moment of hesitation, the Goldenleaf King roared, "Fine, I will accept your challenge. If you lose, you had better spit out your true identity obediently."
The cultivation technique that he cultivated, as well as the flaws concerning it, were among the greatest secrets that he kept. He had never told anyone before, so he didn't believe that an impersonator could possibly know more than him.
"I should be the one saying those words to you. Alright, let's begin. We will do it by sending a telepathic message to the Greenleaf King. You can start first." Chuckling softly, Zhang Xuan gestured for the Goldenleaf King to go first.
He might not be too confident about the other things, but in the field of identifying flaws, he was definitely supreme!
There was no way that the other party could know more than him.
"Alright!" The Goldenleaf King harrumphed coldly before sending a telepathic message to the Greenleaf King. "That fellow is a little weird. My cultivation technique does have some flaws, but there aren't too many of them. I will tell you some of them. Later on, listen carefully to what that fellow says and repeat it all to me. I want to know what he can come up with."
After saying that, the Goldenleaf King began to point out the various flaws concerning his cultivation.
There was no cultivator who didn't have any flaws in their cultivation.
The ones that the Goldenleaf King pointed out were the flaws commonly found in cultivation techniques. It was nothing much even if others were to learn of them.
After all, one's flaws were often where one's mingmen lay. There was no way a cultivator could allow another to learn of it.
The reason he agreed to the challenge was to hear what the other fellow had to say. If the other party had a tight grasp over his flaws as well, that would be truly scary!
"Un." After hearing the Goldenleaf King's piece, the Greenleaf King nodded before turning to Zhang Xuan. "It's your turn."
"Alright!" Even though Zhang Xuan had no idea what the other two had spoken about, he could tell that they were up to something from a momentary gaze they had shared. Nevertheless, he chose not to expose that and began sending a telepathic message to the Greenleaf King with a faint smile on his lips.
"The cultivation technique I cultivate is the 'Grand Lunar Art', and it has been 1731 since I started learning it. So far, I have reached the 4-dan of the technique, and there is a total of seven major flaws with it.
"Firstly, this cultivation technique intensifies one's killing intent, making one more prone to violent outbursts. This is also the reason I often kill others in a moment of recklessness…
"Secondly…
"Thirdly…"
…
Zhang Xuan swiftly went through the flaws of the Grand Lunar Art.
The flaws that he listed were detailed, but just like the Goldenleaf King, he didn't reveal anything vital that could compromise his safety.
In other words, even if the Greenleaf King were to be aware of these flaws, he would still be unable to exploit them to get the better of him.
As Zhang Xuan spoke, the Greenleaf King couldn't help but widen his eyes in shock and disbelief.
The words of the other party were similar to what the Goldenleaf King had told him previously, and it was even more detailed than the latter. It contained some details that made perfect sense with the cultivation technique if one were to analyze it as a whole.
Could it be that… that fellow is the real Goldenleaf King? Doubts sprouted within the Greenleaf King's mind.
If the other party wasn't the Goldenleaf King, how could he have such a detailed understanding of the Grand Lunar Art's flaws.
After all, cultivating was an individual activity, and one wouldn't even share the details regarding it with one's closest friends or even one's spouse. Considering how the other party was able to speak of it so fluently without making any mistakes, it was truly hard to believe that he wasn't the Goldenleaf King.
"Alright, this is all I have to say. You have heard us both out, so I believe that you should be able to easily tell which of us is the real Goldenleaf King." Zhang Xuan smiled calmly.
"This…" the Greenleaf King hesitantly turned his gaze toward the Goldenleaf King beside him, only to hear the latter sending a telepathic message to him anxiously.
"What did that fellow say?"
"He said…" The Greenleaf King hesitated for a moment, but he still eventually chose to tell the Goldenleaf King everything that he had heard from Zhang Xuan.
Hearing those words, the face of the Goldenleaf King paled, and his body stiffened. He turned to look at Zhang Xuan with a horrified expression. "Who the hell are you? How do you know so much about me?"