Chapter 441: Then I'll Break Through!

Silence.

The soldiers on the sacrificial platform, along with the onlookers, numbered tens of thousands, all stunned and gaping.

Ancestor Ding Hong, his presence overwhelming, made everyone involuntarily submit with a single word. He appeared riding an Ironback Winged Dragon, his might covering the world, his aura like clouds.

Everyone thought he would soon suppress this Master Zhang until he couldn't resist, but who would have guessed that before he even struck, he fell straight from the sky...

Holy crap!

Can you be any more ridiculous?

Walking out of the palace wouldn't tire a master like you, but you had to show off, flying so high, wanting to deliver punishment from heaven, looking down from above, using your momentum to intimidate... Well, now you've got your punishment, but it's yourself who got it.

All eyes turned to Ancestor Ding Hong, whose head was buried half a meter deep in the ground. Everyone's mouths twitched, feeling his pain for him.

Even a Mortal Transcender couldn't fly. Falling directly from a height of fifty or sixty meters without any protection, though it wouldn't kill him, would leave him dizzy and disoriented, unable to tell north from south.

Fortunately, he was strong; otherwise, even a Supreme would lose half his life from this.

The Ironback Winged Dragon, a half-step Mortal Transcender super beast, how could it lose its balance and fall from the sky?

After the shock, voices rose like waves, everyone full of confusion.

It wasn't that the untamed beast was playing tricks. The Ironback Winged Dragon had been the轩辕 royal family's guardian of national fortune for centuries, almost becoming a totem and deity worshipped by everyone in the kingdom.

Such a great beast suddenly fell down, crashing so hard its eyelids fluttered, groaning and unable to get up...

Even having seen it with their own eyes, no one knew what had happened.

Just now... it seemed Master Zhang let out a strange cry, and then this guy fell down!

Yeah, I heard it too. That sound was loud and clear, like an ox's bellow, or like thunder rising from the ground. I don't know what it was, but why was the Winged Dragon so panicked?

Someone sensed something was wrong and couldn't help speaking up.

It was fine before, then a scream, and it fell. Could there be a connection?

While everyone was puzzled, Ancestor Ding Hong finally recovered. He got up from the ground, nearly exploding with rage.

He had thought that appearing on the Winged Dragon and killing Zhang Xuan with a single hand would establish supreme authority and restore the轩辕 royal family's prestige. He never dreamed he would almost be摔死.

If he became the first Mortal Transcender to be摔死, he would be a huge embarrassment.

Cleaning the mud from his head, eyes bloodshot, he stared at the young man nearby, his gaze murderous.

Kill him!

He looked at the Ironback Winged Dragon, still lying on the ground and spitting blood from the fall, and shouted.

After shouting, he noticed that the beast was looking at the young man with terror, as if seeing a ghost. It wouldn't even step forward, let alone kill.

Useless!

Ding Hong was nearly bursting with anger.

What the hell!

You have dragon blood, you're lawless in the palace, you don't care about anyone. How come when it's time to kill, you're like this?

Can't you have some backbone?

He's just a Supreme peak. You've even killed spirit beasts before...

After scolding him a couple more times and finding that this idiot wouldn't fight the young man even if beaten to death, Ding Hong suppressed his anger and turned to Zhang Xuan.

It's impressive that you can make it not attack, but... I'll do it myself. Dying by my hand is your honor!

Even if he didn't know why the Ironback Winged Dragon was so scared, he knew it had to do with this young man.

But so what?

He was just a Supreme peak, still far behind a Mortal Transcender. Once he struck and killed him, whatever tricks he had would be useless.

Boom!

With a cold snort, Ancestor Ding Hong attacked.

Pushing out his palm, violent true qi, mixed with heaven and earth energy, formed a huge palm print and struck over.

Spirit-grade lower-class martial skill, Energy Palm!

Earlier, standing on the beast's back at a distance, he only used long-range attacks like sound. Though it was powerful, there was no clear feeling. Now on the ground, they realized how terrifying it was to reach this realm.

In an instant, Zhang Xuan felt an extremely powerful force rushing at him, pressing his whole body stiff, and his true qi circulation became difficult.

I'll go all out!

Knowing that a Mortal Transcender controlled the surroundings and he couldn't escape, he raised his brows, circulated his Heavenly Dao true qi to the limit, and threw a punch.

Heavenly Dao Fist!

Muscles moved, true qi surged from his fist, a force exceeding sixty thousand cauldrons, like a primordial beast tearing through heaven and earth, colliding with the opponent's Energy Palm.

Bang!

Under the violent impact, Zhang Xuan involuntarily stepped back more than ten paces, his face reddening, nearly spitting blood.

Although he had improved greatly in recent days and his strength exceeded ordinary Supreme peaks, compared to a true Mortal Transcender, he was still far behind.

He couldn't withstand it at all.

You blocked it? Not bad, but let's see how many moves you can take!

Seeing that he blocked his Energy Palm, Ding Hong was slightly surprised.

No wonder this guy could defeat Hall Master Luo Qianhong; his strength was indeed astonishing.

For an ordinary Supreme peak, or even a half-step Mortal Transcender, the Energy Palm would have severely injured them. He only took a few steps back and was fine.

Not to mention anything else, just the toughness of his physical body was comparable to his.

A mere Supreme with a body comparable to a Mortal Transcender?

Impressive!

Boom!

Though surprised, his hands didn't stop. He struck down with another palm.

Knowing Zhang Xuan's body was strong, he used even more force this time. Before the palm print even reached him, it carved a deep trench in the ground.

Energy Palm: uses Mortal Transcender power to communicate with heaven and earth energy to form. Flaws: First, only trained to the proficient level, cannot be used freely...

The flaws of this martial skill appeared in his mind.

Energy Palm, a Spirit-grade lower-class martial skill. Though powerful, Ding Hong was only at the early Mortal Transcender stage. Even after studying it for a long time, he had only grasped the surface, far from mastering it completely.

Martial skill training, the Master Teacher Hall also set levels: Beginner, Proficient, Minor Success, Major Success, and Perfection.

Beginner means just understanding the skill and barely able to use it.

Proficient is a step up, able to exert power but not smoothly in execution.

Minor Success means having a deep understanding of the skill and can use it as a life-saving move.

Most martial artists only reach this level with their skills.

As for Major Success and Perfection, without immersing in a single move for over a decade, it's impossible.

Although Ding Hong had obtained the Energy Palm long ago and studied it for decades, his own strength couldn't improve, and he explored alone, so his understanding was limited.

Despite learning it for so long, he only reached the second level, Proficient.

The Energy Palm at the Proficient level has a total of seventeen flaws...

Knowing that if he fought head-on, he would eventually be beaten to death, Zhang Xuan raised his brows and couldn't help looking for weaknesses.

Now, he couldn't fight a true Mortal Transcender head-on; he could only rely on finding flaws to counterattack.

Found it!

His eyes flashed, landing on a spot.

Whoosh!

Having found a usable flaw, without pausing, he shifted his feet, dodging the opponent's frontal attack, and turned his wrist. A long spear appeared in his palm, stabbing at the flaw.

Heavenly Dao Spear Technique!

He had obtained many weapons from looting the Lin family and stored them in his storage ring for emergencies.

Now it came in handy.

This flaw was exactly when Ding Hong's Energy Palm had released its old force and not yet generated new force.

The spear whistled, stabbing like a dragon.

Impressive! This Master Zhang's eyesight is truly terrifying!

On the beast's back, seeing this spear thrust, Jin Conghai's pupils contracted.

As a Mortal Transcender himself, he hadn't found Ding Hong's flaw, but this Zhang Xuan found it instantly. His eyesight was terrifying.

But... unfortunately, his attack power is too weak. Even with the spear technique, it's useless!

After the shock, he couldn't help shaking his head.

Useless?

The 'young master' was puzzled.

Since he found the flaw, why was it useless?

Yes!

Hands behind his back, Jin Conghai's gaze was like a deep pool. "A Mortal Transcender... is not as simple as you think."

...

Hum!

Unaware of their conversation, the Heavenly Dao Spear Technique, like a venomous dragon drill, stabbed straight at the flaw.

Hmph!

Ding Hong's pupils contracted. He quickly stepped back and shook his whole body.

Clatter!

The surrounding air seemed to freeze instantly. The lightning-fast spear entered it as if into a swamp, its speed immediately slowing.

Whoosh!

The next moment, the spear tip was caught in Ding Hong's palm, like a worm trying to escape but helpless.

Crack!

With a movement of true qi, the ghost-grade spear was shattered into several pieces. Zhang Xuan's chest tightened, and he stepped back more than ten paces, his face pale as paper.

Damn it!

His fists clenched.

He hadn't expected that even finding the flaw and stabbing it wouldn't harm the opponent at all.

A Mortal Transcender was indeed terrifyingly powerful, not something a Supreme could defeat.

Finding the flaw in my move so quickly and exploiting it is indeed extraordinary. Even I didn't expect it!

A Supreme finding the flaw of a Mortal Transcender so fast—his eyesight was indeed strong. If he weren't a Mortal Transcender, he might have been injured just now.

But you're too weak! If you had the power of a half-step Mortal Transcender, I might have been injured just now. Unfortunately... a Supreme peak is still far off! Even if you know the flaw, what can you do to me?

Ding Hong sneered coldly: "To show my respect, I'll kill you with all my strength!"

You're right!

Facing the threat, Zhang Xuan showed no fear, instead nodding: "My attack power is indeed too weak. A Supreme peak really can't hurt you!"

Since you said a half-step Mortal Transcender could succeed, then...

I'll break through!

With that, Zhang Xuan turned his wrist and threw a lotus-seed-like object into his mouth.

Boom!

In an instant, he was like ignited oil, bursting into flames.