chsdbacks Chapter 142, Stage 2
Chapter 142, Stage 2
With a hissing sound, the three virtual opponents vanished into thin air, and Gao Sheng could see the road ahead. Dozens of kilometers away, there was a huge high platform.
He rose to prominence in one leap.
On the high platform, an old man with a long beard and pointed horns on his head looked at him with a smile: "Not bad, Gao Sheng, you've passed the first stage. Would you like to continue?"
"Of course," Gao Sheng said.
"Very good. Remember, you should use the 100,000 Glory you gain in the first stage to exchange for suitable secret techniques. Go."
Gao Sheng sighed.
The higher-ups of the human race have indeed put a lot of thought into this. Whatever strength you have, you can get whatever reward you receive. Ten thousand honors are indeed urgently needed by most of the cosmic mercenaries who can pass the first stage of this path of honor. If they can exchange for suitable secret techniques and cultivate them successfully, they will have hope of passing the second stage.
On the high platform, a smooth gravel road stretches into the distance, shrouded in a gray mist.
Gao Sheng continued on his way, and soon a stone tablet appeared by the roadside with the character "二" on it.
After traveling several dozen kilometers, the gray fog condensed, and the masked man in black reappeared.
"Newcomer, you're quite good. You get a reward on your first visit." A hint of a smile appeared in the black-clad man's eyes.
"However, I am not someone you can defeat right now. You should go back and cultivate for a few hundred more years before coming back."
Gao Sheng drew his Azure Flame Sword from behind him: "We have to give it a try."
"Hmph! You must be a mentalist, right? Use your Ember Divine Weapon. If you had some tricks up your sleeve, you might have had a chance," the man in black said disdainfully.
Without further ado, Gao Sheng unleashed his movement technique and thrust his sword forward.
In fact, Gao Sheng has now reached a stage where he lacks secret techniques.
He had already mastered the second level of the Falling Leaf Sword Technique, the Seven Kills of Blazing Fire, and the fourth level, the Rise to Power. As for the subsequent levels, he couldn't afford to replace any of them.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! The two swords clashed, exchanging dozens of blows in an instant.
The two figures separated immediately upon contact.
"So strong!" Gao Sheng confronted the masked man with his sword, both of them secretly surprised.
This man in black is far stronger than the first stage, at least ten times stronger!
"His movement technique is pure Myriad Threads Flow... it has reached the Hundred Threads Flow level. In terms of understanding of spatial laws, he is above me. In terms of swordsmanship, he is no less than the second level of the Falling Leaf Sword Technique."
Gao Sheng himself, his spatial movement technique is only at the nine-line level, still some distance from the hundred-line level.
Fortunately, his Leaf Shadow Illusion technique was a close-combat movement technique that combined wood and space, so he was not at a disadvantage.
The man in black also looked at Gao Sheng in surprise.
"Your skills are indeed impressive, but you'll need to improve further if you want to pass my test."
Gao Sheng launched his attack again, but this time, his swordplay had changed.
The sword shadows were like meteors and fire rain, the sword tips carrying scorching energy, and when they were thrust out, they were like fire dragons soaring through the air.
"Reincarnation Kill"!
Like crimson flames swirling and waves rising, creating scorching heat.
"Purgatory Kill!"
The sword light was like a net of fire covering the sky, and the sword shadows intertwined like a fiery inferno in purgatory.
"Wildfire Kill!"
It spreads as rapidly as wildfire, with an overbearing momentum that can burn everything in its path.
"One-line kill!"
"Formless Kill!"
The Seven Kills of Blazing Fire! Gao Sheng rarely uses it in combat, and he spends far less time cultivating it than with the Falling Leaf Sword Technique.
Because he has the Serpent Fire Realm to cultivate the Law of Fire, and only the Falling Leaf Sword Technique for the Law of Wood, he uses the Falling Leaf Sword Technique more often when he is honing his close combat skills.
However, in close combat, the Seven Kills of Blazing Fire is his strongest technique, since his understanding of the laws of fire is the deepest.
He had created his own sword technique before, which was slightly better than the Seven Killings of Fiery Blaze. However, he stopped spending time on it later. After the Seven Killings of Fiery Blaze continued to improve, it naturally surpassed the secret technique he had created.
The Seven Kills of Blazing Fire is different from the Ember Divine Weapon. The Ember Divine Weapon is a secret technique that combines fire and space, requiring similar understanding of the two major laws, with the space law taking precedence in the later stages.
The Seven Killings of Fiery Blaze primarily uses the law of fire, with space as a secondary element, and its requirements for the law of space are not as high.
Therefore, among the secret techniques for Gao Sheng's cultivation, the Seven Killings of Blazing Fire is the most suitable for his understanding of the laws, and it is the easiest to cultivate. He easily completed the first four levels without spending much time.
"No!" The man in black panicked and could only use all his defensive moves, completely trapped in a predicament.
However, if one holds out for too long, one will inevitably lose. Once one completely loses the initiative and is at the mercy of the opponent, defeat is only a matter of time.
After his opponent barely managed to block dozens of sword strikes, Gao Sheng suddenly appeared behind the man in black, unleashing dozens of streaks of sword light with a single strike.
"Annihilation Strike!"
*Swoosh!* A thin line appeared on the black-clad man's head, followed by a burst of sword energy that turned his consciousness into a jumbled mess.
The man in black collapsed to the ground with a thud, disappearing into the mist before he could say anything.
"If I only practice the Falling Leaf Sword Technique, it won't be easy to defeat him in close combat. If his strength were in the original Genius Battle, I'm afraid only Bolan could surpass him; no one else could," Gao Sheng sighed.
"My advantage still lies in the Law of Fire, and my domain is stronger than yours."
Gao Sheng continued onward, and after several dozen kilometers, he encountered the golden-armored man again, as expected.
"You passed the first stage again? Newbie, how could you pass the second stage on your first try?" the golden-armored man asked in surprise.
Behind him, countless blades flew up, forming nine tangible throwing knives. Then, more strands of psychic energy connected, forming a spherical space.
"The Blade of Heaven? Nine blades? Completely linked to form a domain? This is the third level of the Ember God Weapon, 'Heavenly Blade Style'!" Gao Sheng exclaimed in surprise.
In the first stage, the gatekeeper wielded only six Blazing Blades, which was merely the first level of the Ember God Weapon.
The second stage suddenly jumped to the third level.
"It should only be the initial level of the third stage," Gao Sheng judged after comparing the strength of the man in black in front of him.
The third level of the Ember God Weapon, the Heavenly Blade Style, also known as the "Domain of Blades," is divided into stages. It unleashes nine heaven-shattering blades, which are linked together as a whole through the laws of space. Even if you have just entered the realm, you have only just begun. The subsequent combinations of two blades, three blades, and even nine blades are all considered Heavenly Blade Styles, but their power differs by several times!
Before, Gao Sheng could only use the Heaven-Shattering Blade. He could use ten or twelve blades, let alone nine. However, he had enough fire law to master the third level of the Ember God Weapon, the Heavenly Blade Style. But his understanding of the spatial law was insufficient, so he could not connect them into a whole. Even if he forcibly combined them, he could not maintain them for more than a few seconds, making them unusable in battle.
It was only because he achieved a breakthrough in the ninefold integration of his domain on the Kukan Continent that he was able to unleash it.
Although it can be used, it is quite lacking in spatial laws, making it very difficult to use.
"Not to be underestimated," Gao Sheng thought quickly. "I remember when Luo Feng used the Divine Weapon to break through the first level of the Heavenly Bridge, his opponent was only wielding three golden swords at the second level of the Divine Weapon, yet he still defeated Luo Feng's forcibly combined sword domain. My Heavenly Blade Style is also a forcibly combined technique, barely managing to combine three swords into one. It's probably not much stronger than Luo Feng when he first entered Chaos City. In terms of power and agility, it's inferior to my close combat, and far inferior to the Fire Dragon. I'd better not use it."
"This virtual opponent is using the Heavenly Blade Style, clearly much stronger than the opponents on the first level of the Bridge to Heaven... Could it be at the level of the second level of the Bridge to Heaven?"
With lightning speed, countless short needles flew up from his arm and instantly combined to form a giant fire dragon in front of him.
"This fire dragon is much easier to handle; it's much more powerful. Go!"
The fire dragon flashed and pounced on the golden-armored man opposite.
Gao Sheng had long been aware that he was simultaneously cultivating two types of psychic weapons. The second level of the Serpent Fire Realm was extremely powerful, and the fire dragon that had reached the second level was comparable to the combined nine blades of the third level of the Ember God Weapon! In addition, his domain had also been unified, making its power even greater than that of a normal fire dragon.
Because what he comprehended most deeply was the Law of Fire! It far surpassed his understanding of the Law of Space, and also surpassed his understanding of the Law of Wood.
The golden-armored man's expression was solemn. One of the nine flying knives forming a domain in front of him met the fire dragon head-on. This flying knife, after being enhanced by the Heavenly Blade-style domain, had grown a size larger, and its power far exceeded that of the normal Heaven-Breaking Blade. This was the Heavenly Blade! Of course, it was only the most basic stage of the Heavenly Blade.
Boom! The flying knife collided with the fire dragon. The fire dragon paused slightly, and the flaming heavenly knife was shaken far away. The golden-armored man quickly stepped off the fire plate and flew up, using his mental power to recall it and stabilize the knife's domain.
With a whoosh, the fire dragon rushed into the domain of the blade, and with a swing of its claw, the entire domain trembled.
Another tail whip, and the domain collapses!
With the second claw strike, the golden-armored man's head exploded, and he fell to the ground, dying instantly.
Gao Sheng, standing on the Fire Disc, remained suspended in the air. With the Fire Dragon Technique now fully mastered, all the power of his domain was concentrated within the Fire Dragon's body. As long as he remained within attack range, there would be no longer any issue of domain enhancement weakening due to distance. There was absolutely no need to chase.
Gao Sheng continued forward, and as expected, the girl in red reappeared. This time, the illusion was much stronger, but Gao Sheng's consciousness amplitude had reached ninety times, and his willpower was no longer what it used to be. He easily broke through the illusion and passed the third level. In a one-on-one situation, the illusionist was actually the least threatening to him.
In the fourth level, all three opponents appeared, but the controller was the least afraid of being surrounded. Under Gao Sheng's fire dragon, only the girl in red caused some trouble. Gao Sheng took off early on the Fire Disc and broke through the illusion. It was just a matter of the fire dragon swinging its claws a few more times.
They ascended to another high platform, where the long-bearded old man was sitting as a guide.
"Congratulations on your promotion! You've passed the second stage on your first attempt at the Path of Glory. That's something that hasn't happened in years. You're qualified to apply to become a core member of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance. Would you like to apply?" The old man stroked his beard, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
"I'm willing, how do I apply?" Gao Sheng asked.
"Very good, I've already submitted your application. Just wait for a response," the long-bearded old man said with a smile. "Would you like to try the third stage?"
"certainly."