Chapter 1488: Not Today, But Tomorrow

Vast and boundless, the loneliness of being the sole entity under heaven and earth naturally did not instill fear in Dou Zhao.The surging black tide enveloping the mountain likewise failed to alter his countenance.He possessed the option to enter the Central Mountain, but he did not immediately do so.The strong always possess many choices, and he, too, held the prerogative to be willful.At this moment, he stood beside the stone stele on the Central Mountain, more silent than the stele itself.He knew that an unprecedented change had occurred in this world, but he did not care.He merely felt regret, a subtle yet ineradicable regret — that in this journey, his long saber was ultimately unable to be wielded to its fullest.Zhu Yan was a fearsome beast whose movements caused great armies to rise, and he greatly desired to face Zhu Yan's pressure directly, to experience the legendary capability of mastering all killing techniques. Even if the exotic beasts within the Mountain Sea Realm always fell short of legend, being crushed by a Divine Proclamation realm cultivator while he was merely at Outer Manor stage would certainly bring him sufficient pressure.Alas, Zhu Yan had vanished.He had originally anticipated the return of Jiang Wang, the perfect collaboration of Jiang Wang, Yue Tiannu, and Zuo Guangshu, and the distinct possibility of an eighth, or even ninth, trial team having appeared.But the terrifying black tide had already surrounded the entire Central Mountain. This endless surge was no longer something cultivators below the Divine Proclamation realm could break through.Even he himself lacked the certainty of breaking through.Had he arrived late, perhaps he could only sigh at the sight of the tide.And thus, he became the final victor.The sole victor.It was somewhat lacking in interest.The divine light of the Central Mountain emanated outwards, like a vast barrier, resisting the black tide.It appeared indestructible, yet it was clearly being compressed, receding inch by inch.When this black tide finally surged onto the Central Mountain, perhaps that would be the moment this Mountain Sea world met its demise—Who knew?Dou Zhao did not care much.He casually took a jade disc, embedding it into the recess behind the stone stele. It was precisely the chapter of Xi Song.The jade disc and the stone stele merged, and the barrier of light enveloping the Central Mountain, which was resisting the boundless black tide, visibly brightened, as if infused with power.And Dou Zhao also sensed that at the end of the winding mountain path, a certain obstruction at the level of rules had opened up for him.The Nine Chapter Jade Discs could help the Central Mountain resist the black tide?This fleeting thought passed through his mind, and Dou Zhao casually removed the Xi Song jade disc, stepping towards the end of the mountain path—What concern is that of mine?But in that very step, he abruptly turned around!The boundless black tide surrounding the Central Mountain surprisingly surged violently, like a dragon's roar, like a tiger's roar; some intense change was occurring within it.And then he saw—A flash of sword light.A person like a celestial being descended from beyond the heavens!He naturally recognized Jiang Wang.That person had come from a distance impossible to estimate, actually piercing through the surging black tide.The gentle hum of the sword momentarily suppressed the sound of the swirling snow.That was not ordinary tide water, but boundless malevolence, a terrifying black tide that even he himself was not certain he could break through.And Jiang Wang had arrived.Behind him, one, two, three, four.Four figures lined up with him, their momentum unified, like a sharp sword pointing forward without resistance, roaring, twisting, directly piercing through the boundless black tide!Multicolored, powerful Dao techniques surged forth with the sword wind, maintaining a huge void within the black tide with unimaginable默契, allowing Dou Zhao to see the vastness of this terrifying black tide for the first time—it was actually over three hundred zhang wide!A black tide of resentful worms, ghostly souls, and malevolence, over three hundred zhang wide… had actually been forcibly broken through!He had already witnessed Jiang Wang's swordsmanship.He was not surprised by the sharpness of Chang Xiangsi, and he deeply understood Jiang Wang's tenacity, comprehending his锋芒.But the remaining four people, with such complex and powerful Dao techniques, and in the extreme environment of the black tide, how could they be coordinated so perfectly?Almost not causing a single bit of waste!The strength of the five people was completely integrated, complementing each other, only then could such a miracle be created.Whose功勞 was it, exactly?The barrier of the Central Mountain only resisted the black tide, but it did not affect the entry and exit of people at all.A group of five landed before the mountain path.Dou Zhao looked over with scrutiny.Zuo Guangshu, known.Yue Tiannu, known.An ordinary, thin person, not much of a threat.His gaze continued to move.A man with hanging hair and distant eyes.Almost at the same time, the man looked towards him!Their two gazes collided as if solid.On Dou Zhao's body, golden light burst forth as if by reflex, which he forcibly suppressed, gathering it within his body.A hint of surprise also flashed in Wang Changji's eyes."Dou Zhao," Dou Zhao said, initiating the conversation."Wang Nianxiang," Wang Changji replied.Distant and cold as he was, he unusually spoke a few extra words: "I know of you. Actually, I have no interest in this place. The initial decision to enter was merely to come into contact with the strongest people at this level and see what shortcomings I still possess that I haven't noticed.""Then you've found the right person," Dou Zhao said slowly.Zuo Guangshu looked at Dou Zhao with murderous intent, but said nothing.Qu Shunhua was defeated in a frontal battle of three against one; he had nothing to say, and could only find his own shortcomings.At this moment, surrounding one with five did not make him feel imposing.Of course, he would avenge Qu Shunhua one day, but relying on Jiang Wang or Wang Changji would not count.The spirit of youth is always thus.Some saw recklessness, others saw cuteness.In truth, they were merely pure.Wind urged the Central Mountain.Snow pressed down for thousands of miles.At this moment, Dou Zhao stood alone with a single saber, his back to the mountain path, facing the five figures who had just landed. He showed not a trace of fear, but rather eagerness to try: "Who will come first?""My apologies," Jiang Wang said, opening his mouth. "We are preparing to go at it together."Dou Zhao: ...Dou Zhao was no fool; he naturally understood that he could not defeat such five people. Otherwise, with his personality, he would not have asked who would come first; he would have simply charged forward with his saber.Did he not, when Xiao Shu and Chu Yu led a thousand and two hundred Mao people warriors and actively sought cooperation, Dou Mou also drew his saber and charged without hesitation?In the current situation, facing such opponents... in fact, the chance of winning even in a轮战 is very slim.Just Jiang Wang alone, after his severed arm, if he wanted to defeat him, it would be impossible without suffering some further injury.And among the remaining people, Yue Tiannu was no longer a weak opponent, and that Wang Nianxiang was even more alarming...It was only he, Dou Zhao, who possessed the courage to engage in a輪战 with these few people!His fighting spirit was already boiling, resolved to break through himself here, fight desperately in continuous battles, and carve out that faint glimmer of victory.But this fellow Jiang Wang, he actually wouldn't even give him the chance for a轮战!Where was the honor of a peerless Heavenly Chosen?Where was his pride?This was too much!"Hey," Jiang Wang extended his hand and waved it in front of Dou Zhao's eyes. "Don't just stand there. Actually, I also feel that winning this way is unfair. How about you just give me your Nine Chapter Jade Discs, and we won't have to resort to force, how about that?"Their group of five had charged all the way from Liubo Mountain, rushing to the Central Mountain, only to find that the Central Mountain was already surrounded by the black tide that had surged from Diao Nan Yuan.At Wang Changji's suggestion, the five of them joined forces to try and break through this terrifying black tide.Jiang Wang needed to unleash his greatest killing power and continuously forge ahead.Wang Changji needed to integrate the Dao techniques of the four, making them harmonize with each other, achieving a result where one plus one was greater than two. He made sure every ounce of power was directed at the critical points consuming the black tide. Of course, this was inseparable from the help of Yue Tiannu's Pure Land power.Zuo Guangshu and Fang Heling only needed to unleash their full power.A distance of over three hundred zhang, almost every zhang of advancement, was the result of thousands and tens of thousands of clashes.And they won every victory, finally breaking through the black tide and standing on the Central Mountain.They had worked so hard to get here, not to spar and discuss martial arts with Dou Zhao!There were plenty of opportunities to challenge the strong.From the beginning, Jiang Wang's goal in the Mountain Sea Realm was very clear—to help Zuo Guangshu obtain the Chapter of Nine Phoenixes.He also didn't mind letting Dou Zhao see his attitude.Dou Zhao was angered and laughed: "So that's what '勝之不武' means!""There's nothing to be done, Brother Dou, just calm down. Look, you're so many years older than Guangshu, how many years was it?" Jiang Wang waved his hand. "Forget it, you can count it yourself."He continued to earnestly persuade: "Think about it, you are so many years older, you've cultivated for so many more years, wouldn't it be unfair for you to fight Guangshu? Isn't that bullying the young with the old? You can't exactly cut off those extra few years, can you? By the same token, we have a few more people than you now, and we can't just cut them off either."At this moment, facing Dou Zhao, his aura was powerful, and his demeanor was calm.Behind him, the black tide surged, with countless evil forms, pressing against the barrier of the Central Mountain, as if cheering for him.In this situation, it truly resembled a world-dominating demon lord bullying the outnumbered protagonist, who shines like the sun in storytelling, and even has a set of warped logic, forming its own system.Surprisingly, Dou Zhao was different from the protagonists in those storytelling tales. He didn't feel righteous indignation, didn't loudly refute, and after being momentarily stunned, he actually said, "What you say makes sense!""I have a friend who is very good at explaining these principles. I'll introduce him to you if there's a chance. Just coincidentally, your forehead also looks quite full..." Jiang Wang said casually, extending his right hand and motioning twice: "Come on, just give me the jade disc, and let's not hurt our feelings."Bullying the outnumbered, Dou Zhao would never be convinced.Jiang Wang actually didn't care about offending Dou Zhao, but he could just walk away, while Zuo Guangshu couldn't leave the Chu country.Offending the top young talent in the Chu country too severely would bring a lot of unnecessary trouble to Zuo Guangshu.So if a few extra words could solve the problem, Jiang Wang didn't mind being a little more flexible.But Dou Zhao shook his head: "My point is, hoping for fairness is indeed the choice of the weak."He lifted his long saber with his single arm, holding it horizontally in front of him. His red-bottomed, gold-trimmed martial attire was radiant and flashy: "Come on, you all come at me together!"His voice rose, high and clear, and the saber blade hummed.His fighting spirit was boiling, and the golden light on his body was burning.He was ready to fight to the death, and he only wanted to know, under this extreme pressure, to what extent he could go, and how many people on the other side would die!This was the last battle in the Mountain Sea Realm. He, Dou Zhao, wanted to see his own limit!Swords were drawn, bows were strung, the battle was on the verge of breaking out.However, at this very moment, a point of cold light seemed to tear through the night sky, piercing through the surging black tide.It came at an inconvenient time, yet it was too coincidental.A man whose eyebrows and eyes were full of pride, arrogantly overbearing, was brought out by that point of cold light, landing before this extremely lively mountain path!Like a cold star descending upon the world, he grasped the dragon light to form a spear.And closely following behind, was a burly man as massive as a mountain, falling like a meteorite.He landed beside the man holding the spear.Raising a cloud of dust.This dazzling entrance represented extraordinary strength, or rather, being able to pierce through the black tide was itself a manifestation of strength.Dou Zhao's eyes lit up.The ninth team participating in the Mountain Sea Realm!Of course, he was not excited by the gathering of the Nine Chapter Jade Discs.He was pleasantly surprised by the change in the situation.Even if he had made the resolute decision to fight to the death, if there was a chance to win, how could he be willing to let it go?At this moment, even someone as arrogant as Dou Zhao couldn't help but recall Xiao Shu's words—"Why don't we join forces?"He was not a person who would regret.But there were still those few moments when he would think—If he had agreed to Xiao Shu back then, perhaps he would have more room to maneuver later.Fortunately, there was still a chance now.However, joining forces is about mutual benefit and harmony, so he certainly could not swallow his pride. He, Dou Zhao, had his own pride.Moreover, the situation was so clear. Jiang Wang, Zuo Guangshu, and the others had silently formed an alliance of five. If the remaining two groups of them did not cooperate, the only outcome would be being driven out of the arena.So he merely glanced at the man holding the spear.One glance was enough.Presumably, those who could enter the Mountain Sea Realm were not fools, and these two newcomers should know what to do.A strong man holding a spear with such a magnificent aura.A powerful martial artist whose qi and blood were no less vigorous than Zhong Liyan's.That should be enough to hold back the man named Wang Nianxiang.And he, Dou Zhao, fighting Jiang Wang, Yue Tiannu, and Zuo Guangshu alone was already a planned battle. What was there to fear! He was determined to give that fellow Jiang Wang a profound lesson, to let him know what martial virtue was!We, cultivators of the Heavenly Chosen generation, are not street ruffians who readily resort to group brawls!Dou Zhao's gaze, filled with burgeoning fighting spirit, swept over.Oh, and there was an extra as well.This extra could be given to anyone, and where they were assigned on the battlefield would not affect the overall situation.Dou Zhao had already quickly allocated the battlefields in his mind, and was filled with anticipation for the upcoming battle."Senior Brother!"Jiang Wang's voice, both surprised and delighted, reached his ears.Wait...A vein pulsed on Dou Zhao's temple.Did I hear something?Jiang Wang wasn't a new Qi person, he had no sect or lineage in Qi country, did he? Who was he calling?Dou Zhao looked over in confusion.He saw the man whose eyebrows and eyes were full of pride suddenly smile brightly: "I've always wondered when you would return me a cup of wine!"Jiang Wang also smiled, like layers of clouds parting, revealing the moon's light—"Not today, then tomorrow!"They were there, Senior Brother and Junior Brother.Dou Zhao, the number one Heavenly Chosen of Great Chu, felt his head ringing, somewhat unable to react.In the entire Mountain Sea Realm, with the Nine Chapter Jade Discs gathered, there were a total of nine teams. Apart from himself who came alone, everyone brought allies, so there were a total of seventeen people participating in this Mountain Sea Realm journey.You bastards, you actually have seven people who are in the same group!Adding Qu Shunhua, who had already been eliminated, that would be eight. Accounting for nearly half!What a fine trial.Playing a private show, are you?!