Chapter 266: Chapter 265: Arriving in Lijiang City

Zhu Ge leaped from the treetops, landing on the mountain ridge, his Purgatory Star Rod angled toward the ground.

Light flowed over the silver-red rod, accompanied by the faint echo of thunder.

The web of his hand was slightly numb, but after one circulation of his Blood Qi, the feeling vanished completely.

"Brother Lei, still want to fight?"

"Fight! Of course we’ll fight!" Lei Zhen roared. The dragon and tiger tattoos on his arms flared with green and white light as lightning crackled from his iron mace. Like a humanoid beast, he charged at Zhu Ge.

"Thunder Shakes the Nine Heavens!"

The iron mace swung down with devastating force.

The lightning on the mace coalesced into a roaring thunder tiger that opened its massive jaws to devour Zhu Ge.

This was Lei Zhen’s True Meaning of Martial Arts. While it hadn’t manifested as a full phantom, it had taken a definite form and possessed considerable power.

"Excellent!" Zhu Ge didn’t retreat. He didn’t need to.

"Dawn Intent!"

The silver-red light of the Purgatory Star Rod flared brightly. He swung it forward, crashing it head-on into the thunder tiger.

BOOM—

A shockwave swept out, uprooting all trees within a radius of hundreds of feet.

Unable to withstand the force, the mountain ridge beneath them crumbled further, sending shattered rocks flying like cannonballs.

The thunder tiger exploded, dissolving into motes of lightning.

Zhu Ge was knocked back several steps, and a trickle of blood escaped the corner of his mouth, but the battle lust in his eyes only intensified.

Lei Zhen was also in a bad state. His iron mace was sent flying upward, the web of his hand had split open, and blood dripped down his wrist.

"You’re injured," Zhu Ge said.

"So are you." Lei Zhen grinned, revealing blood-stained teeth. "But if you can handle it, so can I. Again!"

He lunged forward again, his iron mace a blur of impenetrable strikes.

Every swing carried the roars of dragons and tigers, each blow powerful enough to shatter mountains and crack stone.

Zhu Ge neither dodged nor evaded, meeting mace with rod in a clash of pure force.

Their attacks sent shockwaves blasting through the mountain forest, kicking up sand, stones, and clouds of dust.

The mountain beneath them was completely disfigured. The ridge was shattered, the mountainside had collapsed, and rolling scree kicked up a sky full of dust.

Riding Mazhu, Liu Jianjian kept her distance, covering her ears and muttering, "Those two are insane."

Zhu Sisi peeked out from over Liu Jianjian’s shoulder. Watching the two figures collide in the dust, a flicker of worry crossed her eyes.

True Monarch Minmian poked his head out of the carriage, glanced at the distant battlefield, and then quickly retracted it.

He pulled the blanket back over his head and muttered, "A couple of brutes."

Fortunately, Mazhu was fast, and Zhu Ge had also been consciously fighting away from them.

Otherwise, the carriage would have likely been destroyed.

CLANG—

With another collision, Lei Zhen’s iron mace finally gave way, a crack splitting it down the middle.

Lei Zhen froze. He stared down at the iron mace that had been with him for years, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"Your weapon’s had it," Zhu Ge said, retracting his rod and smiling. "Still want to go?"

Lei Zhen was silent for a moment. He sheathed the broken mace at his waist and grinned. "I’m done. My weapon’s broken. It’d be shameless to continue."

He clapped Zhu Ge on the shoulder, the force of the blow causing Zhu Ge’s shoulder to dip slightly. "Zhu Ge, I’ve decided you’re a friend worth having."

"If you ever get the chance, come visit me at the Iron Arm Sect. I’ll buy you a drink. The Iron Arm Sect might be poor, but we never run out of alcohol."

’So Lei Zhen has his own faction,’ Zhu Ge thought.

"Alright," Zhu Ge agreed.

With a straightforward sect like the Iron Arm Sect, it was better to have them as friends than as enemies.

"I’m off!" Lei Zhen waved, his burly figure vanishing into the woods, leaving behind only deep footprints and several fractured mountain peaks in the distance.

Liu Jianjian rode over on Mazhu and looked Zhu Ge up and down. Seeing his tattered robes but unfazed expression, she couldn’t help but marvel.

"Master, you’re incredible! That big lug was so ferocious, yet you fought him to a draw."

Zhu Ge just smiled without answering, put away his Purgatory Star Rod, and returned to the carriage.

’A draw?’

In truth, both Lei Zhen and Zhu Ge knew who had really lost.

Zhu Ge had barely used any of his real strength and had held back many of his techniques.

Lei Zhen, on the other hand, only had his Martial Dao to rely on.

Of course, in a way, the Body Refining Martial Dao was indeed stronger than the Qi Refining Martial Dao. This was why Lei Zhen, who seemed otherwise unremarkable, was able to make it onto the Sheji Chart.

Unfortunately for Lei Zhen, Zhu Ge was also a body refiner.

And even at the Second Realm, Zhu Ge’s body refinement was already on par with Lei Zhen’s.

Therefore, if the fight had continued, Lei Zhen would have been the only possible loser.

Liu Jianjian fell into thought as she rode Mazhu alongside the carriage.

Mazhu snorted and mumbled, "Good thing Master is quick on his feet. If that big lug had brought that mace down on me, my legs would have turned to jelly."

"Your legs are already jelly," Liu Jianjian said, rolling her eyes.

"Bullshit! My legs are solid!"

"Solid? Then why did you run?"

"That was a strategic withdrawal!"

"Hah!"

The carriage continued on its way, accompanied by the bickering of the girl and her steed.

Zhu Ge sat cross-legged in the carriage, closed his eyes, and mentally replayed the battle.

’Lei Zhen’s True Meaning of Martial Arts hadn’t fully manifested, but it had coalesced and its power was considerable.’

’I held back with my Dawn Intent at the end.’

’Otherwise, forget Dawn Intent, even the shredding power of the Xu Family Rain Swift Fist would have been too much for him to handle.’

’However, this display of martial prowess also made it clear to me that I shouldn’t focus on advancing my Martial Dao any further.’

’I’ve hit a wall.’

’It’s time to train my other Daos.’

’Like the Array Dao of the Immortal Dao, and the Gu Dao of the Witch Dao!’

’Arrays,’ Zhu Ge thought.

He activated the Array Star in his Dantian. Thirty-six Array Patterns slowly materialized around the carriage, forming a faint, silver curtain of light.

The curtain was thin, but incredibly resilient.

’If I were at the Third Realm, Lei Zhen’s attacks could shatter mountains, but they probably couldn’t break this barrier.’

’Still, setting up an Array takes time, and once it’s in place, it can’t be moved.’

’I need more practice,’ Zhu Ge thought, retracting the Array. ’Once I have more Array Stars, my setup speed will increase. And as I get stronger, so too will my Arrays.’

Cultivate, fight, cultivate, fight.

This became his daily routine on the road to Shengjing.

Outside the carriage, the sun was setting, painting the horizon a brilliant orange-red.

In the distance, the silhouette of the next city was faintly visible in the gathering dusk.

’Have we reached the next city already?’

Zhu Ge gazed into the distance, then looked back the way they had come.

They had left Red River Prefecture some time ago; they should be near Dali Prefecture now.

"We’ll stay there tonight," Zhu Ge said, pointing to the city.

If he wasn’t mistaken, that should be Lijiang City.

"Hooray!"

Liu Jianjian cheered, and Mazhu gave an excited snort.

True Monarch Minmian poked his head out from under his blanket, glanced at the distant city, and mumbled, "Finally, a real bed."

Zhu Ge felt a little helpless at the sight.

’We’ve only been on the road for a few days!’

’Still, a rest wouldn’t hurt.’

Afterward, Zhu Ge resumed his cultivation.

By the time the carriage entered the city and stopped before an inn, Cao Zhi had already descended from the sky and arranged everything before Zhu Ge could even move.

He had booked three of the best rooms.

As night fell, he sat by the window of his room, gazing at the moon and silently planning the next leg of his journey.

Shengjing was still far away, and there would be many more challenges.

His next objectives were to hone his Immortal Dao, cultivating Thunder Sound Soul Shock and the Array Dao to a higher level.

The other was to cultivate the Confucian Dao and promote the Yi Dao, which he had brought into this world.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.