Shattering the Void (Bonus Chapter for Speeding Guoba’s Reward)

Kunlun Summit, Jade Emperor’s Courtyard.

The discussion of the Dao had ended, and Old Wang rose to his feet.

Seven days and seven nights without sleep or rest meant nothing to a Grandmaster.

Every second, their minds had been racing. Every word and gesture from a Grandmaster carried profound meaning. The three exchanged ideas and verified each other’s insights, gradually displaying the deepest martial arts of the Kunlun People and the Pandaren through their discussions and demonstrations.

K’un-Lun martial arts truly had their merits and had been somewhat helpful to him.

Naturally, the Jade Emperor and Lei Gong had gained even more.

The Jade Emperor’s silver eyes flickered faintly, while lingering astonishment remained on Lei Gong’s chiseled face.

At first, they had thought this would be an evenly matched exchange of the Dao. They soon realized that was not the case at all.

Master Wang had previously boasted that he would give K’un-Lun a Grandmaster.

Lei Gong had not exactly scoffed at the claim, but he had still believed that even with this exchange of martial insights, it could only provide him and the Jade Emperor with some help. The odds of seeing any hope of advancing to Grandmaster were less than ten percent.

And even if they were to advance, it would take at least another hundred years.

But the moment Master Wang began speaking, Lei Gong was stunned. The Five Great Elders all dropped to their knees in unison before he had even finished his opening words.

Master Wang was more profound and more remarkable than either him or the Jade Emperor.

On the first day of the discussion, Lei Gong had mainly lectured while the Jade Emperor and Master Wang listened.

On the second and third days, the Jade Emperor had mainly lectured while he and Master Wang listened.

From the fourth day onward, however, he and the Jade Emperor had barely spoken at all. They could only listen.

Master Wang’s teachings were profound yet easy to understand. He spoke of everyday necessities, then moved on to the art of brewing wine and the ways of tasting it. His words seemed ordinary, but they actually contained the unity of man and heaven, as well as the art of longevity. He had opened the door to a new world for them and pointed out the path ahead.

Before Master Wang, they seemed to have become students again.

Strange.

Master Wang’s realm had unquestionably reached the Grandmaster level, yet his cultivation was insufficient. How could that be?

The Jade Emperor and Lei Gong exchanged a glance, then both rose and bowed deeply to Old Wang.

All the elders stood and bowed as well.

This was the proper way to honor a teacher. To them, Master Wang was like half a teacher.

Old Wang accepted it calmly, just as he had back then.

"Let’s begin." He raised his hand and checked his watch.

Seven days had passed. Who knew what things were like outside? The matter of Afterlife had to be resolved as soon as possible. He did not know whether Winter Soldier had found Captain America yet. Egghead’s shady deal should be wrapping up soon, and he still had to help Fitz and Simmons find top scientists. There was still much to do.

He could not delay for too long.

"Everyone except the five of you, leave." Lei Gong gave the order.

The elders hurried away.

In a battle between Grandmasters, they were not even qualified to observe up close. The slightest aftershock could kill them.

Only the Five Great Elders remained where they were.

They had listened for seven full days. Although they had not understood most of it, Master Wang’s simple explanations had still touched upon certain principles and stirred the bottlenecks within them.

Barring any surprises, they would all break through those bottlenecks and become Masters within ten years at most.

They had originally been somewhat resistant to Master Wang’s demand, believing Iron Fist had to remain in K’un-Lun.

But now, none of that mattered.

Even if the Jade Emperor could not become a Grandmaster anytime soon, once they advanced to Master level, K’un-Lun would have seven Masters. There would be nothing to fear, and they could safeguard K’un-Lun for centuries.

The Five Great Elders retreated outside the courtyard to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

Only Lei Gong remained in the courtyard, though he too stepped back several paces.

This was a battle between the Jade Emperor and Master Wang. Even he was not qualified to join it.

"Please." The Jade Emperor stood with his hands at his sides.

"Please." Old Wang stood with his hands clasped behind his back.

Suddenly, winds howled and clouds churned as thunder and lightning erupted.

The battle of the peaks had begun!

"It’s starting, it’s starting!"

"Look, the battle has begun!"

At the foot of the mountain, heads packed together as everyone looked up toward the summit.

A thunderclap like the wrath of heaven startled the candied hawthorn skewer from Elektra’s mouth and the cotton candy from Matt’s hand.

Dark clouds blanketed the sky. Thunder roared, and rain poured down as if the heavens themselves were collapsing.

Surging True Qi formed a terrifying vortex of energy. The magnetic fields of human bodies drew upon the magnetic fields of nature, bringing wind, rain, and lightning that filled the sky.

Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of lightning bolts struck at once, illuminating the dusk.

The entire mountaintop seemed like a prison of lightning.

"Someone’s undergoing a tribulation…" Elektra, who had recently become obsessed with web novels, muttered to herself.

Danny stood with his mouth open, letting rainwater pour into it. Were they even human? This was magic, wasn’t it?

Master Chen sighed. In the outside world, Grandmasters were called "Earthly Immortals." Their divine awareness and immortal spirit were no joke.

At the mountaintop, outside the courtyard.

The elders fled in panic. They could not withstand even a single bolt of lightning. Was the gap between a Master and a Grandmaster really this vast?

The Five Great Elders hurriedly circulated True Qi to protect their bodies. They watched the electric serpents slithering through the sky, felt the vortex of True Qi that seemed ready to drown everyone, then looked at the Jade Emperor and Master Wang, who had yet to make a move. They exchanged glances and smiled bitterly.

What was there left to say?

They had not even struck yet, and it was already like this. This had gone beyond the scope of martial arts. Every gesture altered the weather. These two had already stepped one foot into the Grandmaster realm and could be called half-immortals!

Even for them, this place was not safe.

Moving in perfect unison, the five leaped onto treetops a hundred meters away and stood on branches to watch the battle. Ten seconds later, they retreated another three hundred meters, then backed away again.

Inside the courtyard, Lei Gong had no choice but to circulate True Qi to protect himself. He sighed inwardly once more.

Only now did he realize that the Jade Emperor had held back in that battle a hundred years ago, and Master Wang had also held back in their battle seven days ago. Otherwise, he would not have been able to withstand even one move or last even one second.

Since when had it become so difficult to be a "real man for five seconds"?

Old Wang and the Jade Emperor were both gathering momentum.

This battle was not about victory or defeat, but about reaching a higher level. They had to adjust themselves to their peak states.

At the foot of the mountain, everyone waited.

The dark clouds overhead seemed to turn blacker still, blocking out both the sun and the sky. Dark clouds pressed upon the city, threatening to crush it.

The fierce winds blew without end, and lightning struck without pause. Every animal fled madly. Ancient trees that had stood for thousands of years became lightning-struck wood. Every inch of sky flashed, every patch of scorched earth thundered.

Terror appeared on the faces of the young, reverence on the faces of the old. Those even older had bodies and minds too frail to bear such terrifying heavenly wrath and fainted outright.

Soon, they saw two Azure Dragons emerge amid the lightning.

They were clearly energy dragons formed from True Qi, though their appearances differed somewhat.

One was thicker and more robust, with enormous wings on its sides. That was the Immortal Dragon, also known as Yinglong in Chinese myth and legend.

The other was much smaller, possessing a jade-like texture and looking more like a divine dragon. Auspicious clouds curled around it. That was Yu’lon, the "Azure Dragon," one of the August Celestials from World of Warcraft.

The twin dragons soared into the sky, with a figure standing atop each of their backs.

One was slender, the other slightly plump.

They clashed in an instant.

Danny swallowed a mouthful of rainwater and rubbed his eyes, but he could not see anything clearly.

They were too far away, and the fighters were too fast. He could only see the two dragons entwining with each other while the Jade Emperor and Master Wang had nearly vanished from sight.

Elektra’s eyesight was better. She could barely make out two afterimages, but she could not see how they were actually fighting.

Outside the courtyard, the Five Great Elders watched with rapt attention. They exchanged glances and sighed again.

They could see the two fighting clearly, but they could not understand any of it. Sure enough, this was already another level entirely.

Inside the courtyard, Lei Gong’s eyes widened, and an inexplicable smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

He had thought he would never see any hope of advancing to Grandmaster in this lifetime, but now, through the battle between the Jade Emperor and Master Wang, he saw a glimmer of hope.

Fine Spatial Rifts filled the space around the two fighters. This truly was no longer something a Grandmaster could achieve. This was the power of a Grandmaster.

Any one of those Spatial Rifts could tear the Five Great Elders apart. Even he did not dare take one head-on. If he encountered one, he could only sense it in advance and evade it. If he failed to dodge, he would at least be seriously injured.

Of course, this was K’un-Lun rather than the outside world. This was a small independent space, not as sturdy as the vast universe beyond. If it were outside, then trying to shatter space through sheer power alone would likely be impossible even for an Earth Immortal. Only true immortals would be enough.

"The Jade Emperor seems to be a little stronger than Master Wang?"

Lei Gong frowned slightly, worried for the Jade Emperor.

Although a battle at this level could force out all of his strength, it could not drive him into a desperate situation. Without that, they could not verify each other through battle and achieve a breakthrough.

Lei Gong sighed inwardly, knowing he could not ask for too much.

Master Wang’s cultivation was on par with his own. The fact that he could fight the Jade Emperor at all was already extraordinary.

From that perspective, although Master Wang’s cultivation was slightly inferior to the Jade Emperor’s, his realm was far higher.

This could no longer be described as mere talent.

He was a monster.