You and I Are Destined to Fight

Old Wang did not even blink. True Qi surged forth from within him on its own, forming a Golden Bell.

The tiger slammed into the bell, and the Tiger-Leopard Thunder Sound instantly intensified tenfold before abruptly cutting off the next moment.

The clash of True Qi kicked up dust that filled the sky.

When the dust settled, Old Wang was still standing with his hands behind his back, his sleeves hanging loosely.

Lei Gong hovered in a bow stance before him, left fist at his waist and right fist extended. It was less than ten centimeters from Old Wang’s nose, yet it could not advance even half a millimeter.

Deep surprise creased Lei Gong’s chiseled face.

With an amount of True Qi nearly equal to his own, Old Wang had actually blocked his full-force punch. No wonder he had been able to break open the Kunlun Gate alone and tear a crack in the spatial barrier.

Such terrifying strength was practically enough to shatter the void!

"Again!"

Lei Gong withdrew his fist and leaped over ten meters into the air.

Reaching behind his back with one hand, he drew the weapon he had always carried there.

He was the master of Iron Fists, having trained more than twenty of them. He was also K’un-Lun’s martial arts instructor, the teacher of everyone but the Jade Emperor, and proficient in nearly every weapon.

A true weapons master.

He often changed weapons, and today he had brought a saber.

A Ring Pommel Greatsword.

The spine faced upward, the edge downward.

K’un-Lun revered martial prowess. Once a fight began, no mercy was shown. Every contest for the right to challenge Shenlong Shou Lao left people injured, and sometimes dead.

Lei Gong did not think he could kill the martial arts grandmaster before him with a single strike.

But at the very least, he had to break through that golden True Qi barrier and force him to make a move!

What if he could not even break the other man’s protective True Qi?

I, Lei Gong, could not afford that humiliation!

"Impressive."

Old Wang looked up at Lei Gong and the Ring Pommel Greatsword descending from the sky, as well as the massive blade aura that arrived even faster, and softly praised him.

K’un-Lun martial arts were not merely for show.

Lei Gong, who had lived for who knew how many centuries, truly had qualities worthy of respect.

Madame Gao, Murakami, and Bokuto could barely condense True Qi into blade aura, but reaching this level—with such momentum, such concentration, and such razor-sharp force—was no simple feat.

Even if Old Chen before his promotion to Grandmaster or Taran Zhu had been brought here to fight him, they would have been evenly matched at most.

Feeling Lei Gong’s resolve, Old Wang understood what he meant.

Since that was the case, he naturally had to show him some respect.

The Golden Bell suddenly dispersed and condensed around Old Wang’s fist.

Then he punched toward the sky.

"Fall back!"

In an instant, the green fist aura collided with the golden blade aura.

Boom!

Amid an explosion like a popcorn machine bursting open, Daredevil, Stick, and Elektra were blasted away by the terrifying shockwave. They flew more than thirty meters through the air before crashing heavily to the ground.

Their faces were bruised and swollen, and every bone in their bodies felt as though it had been struck by a sledgehammer. Every inch of skin hurt.

Elektra clutched a vine tightly to keep herself from falling off the cliff.

She climbed back up and stared blankly at the ground below.

The center of the vast platform remained intact, but a blade mark had appeared on each side, nearly splitting the platform in half.

They were deep enough to plant people in.

The green fist aura shot into the sky, transforming into an ever-larger fist. It flew several hundred meters before finally vanishing beyond the horizon.

The sturdy Ring Pommel Greatsword shattered inch by inch, becoming dozens, perhaps hundreds, of fragments. Some plunged into the ground, some soared into the sky, and some flew toward distant cliffs, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Elektra kept her head raised for a long time, speechless.

What kind of immense power could split mountains and rend the earth?

She had thought that cracking steles and shattering rocks was the limit for martial artists. Only now did she realize how laughable that belief had been.

The fist aura soaring into the sky and the deafening blast attracted thousands upon thousands of people.

Gazes turned in this direction. The busy young people wore envious expressions, wondering when they could become as strong as those two.

The leisurely elders were quickly drowned in memories, recalling the battle from a century ago that they had witnessed personally or heard their parents describe. They wondered whether Lord Lei Gong had achieved another breakthrough and actually dared challenge the Jade Emperor.

In a courtyard deep within K’un-Lun, a glimmer of silver flashed in the Jade Emperor’s eyes.

That man was actually stronger than Lei Gong?

If so, perhaps…

Perhaps I truly still had hope?

The mountaintop platform.

The explosions ceased, and the shockwaves faded.

Old Wang lowered his fist, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his lips.

He looked up at the sky as a black shadow that had pierced the heavens finally fell.

Boom!

The ground shattered and rocks flew in all directions. Lei Gong’s feet smashed two deep craters into the earth.

Dozens of blade fragments had pierced his body, but his taut muscles locked them in place. With a shudder of his entire body, they all shot out. His muscles contracted automatically, and the bleeding stopped.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, drew a deep breath, and cupped his fists. "Master Wang, I am impressed!"

"Grandmaster Lei Gong is impressive as well. My True Qi is exhausted. If you struck again, I truly would not be able to block it." Old Wang smiled.

Lei Gong shook his head. "My True Qi is exhausted as well."

Others might not understand, but how could he not?

Both of them had exhausted their True Qi, but Master Wang had first smashed at the gate with a heavy punch. Though some of his True Qi had recovered afterward, he was at most eighty percent restored.

Then he had passively blocked Lei Gong’s punch, and defense consumed more than offense.

In other words, Master Wang had used only about half his True Qi to form that fist aura, while Lei Gong had used nearly ninety percent to form his blade aura.

And what had happened?

The blade aura had broken, and even the saber had shattered.

The fist aura remained, flying hundreds of meters before finally dissipating.

Who had won and who had lost was obvious at a glance.

The gap between them could not be measured by reason.

"Master Wang, I must take these traitors to the Council of Elders and hand them over to the Jade Emperor and the elders for interrogation and sentencing. Please make yourself at home."

Lei Gong recovered a little True Qi, waved his hand, and prepared to leave with Madame Gao and the others.

However…

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!

Five consecutive impacts rang out as Madame Gao and the rest fell to the ground, their bodies instinctively twitching—

The ground was covered in rubble, and it hurt!

Lei Gong stood with his back to Old Wang, somewhat embarrassed.

Too little True Qi had recovered. He could not carry them…

"Grandmaster Lei Gong, there is no need to handle such things personally… Matt, take them with you. Go to the Council of Elders with Grandmaster Lei Gong, then find me at the training grounds." Old Wang said with a smile.

Lei Gong’s expression froze.

He had actually wanted to refuse. The Council of Elders was not a place just anyone could enter; it was forbidden ground to ordinary people.

But under the circumstances, there was no one nearby, and he was too weakened to let others see him like this…

"Thank you."

Lei Gong quickened his pace. Matt and Elektra each carried two people, while Stick carried one. Together, they headed toward another mountain peak in the distance.

Old Wang smiled and looked in a certain direction, deep in thought.

Just now, he had sensed a faint fluctuation of True Qi. That was when he noticed a small courtyard in that direction, where a man in green robes had been staring at him the entire time.

Had his True Qi and Lei Gong’s True Qi not drawn each other out and caused a faint reaction from the man’s protective True Qi, he probably would not have noticed even now.

The Jade Emperor?

As expected of K’un-Lun’s master. He was indeed powerful.

With him here, it was better not to release his spiritual power casually. After all, he was a guest…

Old Wang nodded in greeting, then roughly checked his bearings and headed toward the training grounds.

The Jade Emperor withdrew his gaze, secretly startled.

From such a great distance, Master Wang had detected such a faint fluctuation of True Qi. His spiritual power was frighteningly strong, seemingly even stronger than the Jade Emperor’s own.

His techniques had been refined through countless trials, and his will was as unshakable as a mountain. Such a being could never be a young man under twenty.

He truly was an old monster who had lived for an unknown number of years. Perhaps he was one of the Kunlun People from his father’s generation, or a descendant of the Kunlun People!

Then why had he come to K’un-Lun at this time?

For the position of Jade Emperor, or for the power of the Iron Fist?

Forget it. It was not important.

Status was like drifting clouds to me. Shou-Lao had been reborn for only a few decades, and that bit of power was not important to me either.

That one at Kamar-Taj was bent on dying, while what I desired most was to enter the Dao through martial arts and become a Grandmaster.

The tempering of time had brought my essence, qi, and spirit to their limits, but that step was the ascension from mortal to immortal, a transformation in the very nature of life. It looked like a single step, yet it was as difficult as climbing to heaven.

Bitter cultivation was meaningless. I could only seek another path.

You and I are destined to fight!