Martial Cultivator

When Cao Chong arrived, what he saw left him almost unable to speak.

In all his many years of life, he had never seen such a brilliant sword.

One must know that in those years, there had been many great sword immortals in the world, but compared to the Sword Sect Master before him, their swords fell far short.

“Truly astonishing talent!”

Cao Chong sighed endlessly.

The Sword Sect Master had already truly reached a realm capable of spanning an entire era. If not for the Demon Emperor and the Great Liang Emperor, he would absolutely have been the strongest in this era.

But just like Yun Jianyue and others in relation to Chen Chao, the Sword Sect Master, being in this era, could not bypass those two towering mountains - the Demon Emperor and the Great Liang Emperor.

Cao Chong murmured, “I originally wanted to lend you a hand, but seeing you like this now, if I interfere, you would probably feel regretful, wouldn’t you?”

Some people were destined to be proud.

Cultivators who could reach this realm were all proud.

For such proud people, how could they be willing to join hands with others?

Cao Chong shook his head, not knowing what else to say. In the end, he simply sat cross-legged within the sea of clouds, took out an old book from his chest, flipped through a few pages, and said softly, “You go in front, I’ll follow behind.”

......

......

Above Rainfront County.

Countless bolts of lightning struck that equally towering dharma idol, causing the qi and aura of Chen Chao’s dharma idol to be constantly eroded. Yet even so, Chen Chao did not allow a single bolt of lightning to fall into the human world.

This young Lord Warden Commander knew what his mission was.

After tearing apart another bolt of lightning, the towering dharma idol raised its head and gazed into the heavens. Within those eyes, endless brilliance surged in.

A moment later, the towering dharma idol stamped heavily on the ground, and the entire body charged toward the sky!

Even in the face of so-called heavenly tribulation, Chen Chao had never been someone who simply endured being beaten without fighting back. Since these endless bolts of lightning wanted to annihilate him, then he could also smash this so-called tribulation apart!

As the dharma idol rose continuously into the sky, countless bolts of lightning were also drawn upward toward the heavens.

At this moment, the sky above Rainfront County finally gained a trace of light.

Seeing this scene, Lu Ji suddenly shouted loudly, “Chen Chao! Do not act so recklessly!”

The heavenly tribulation represented the will of heaven and earth, and was by nature an incomparably terrifying existence. However, it would still leave a thread of survival for all beings; this was the foundation of the Heavenly Dao. But if Chen Chao were to seek his own death and truly enrage heaven and earth, then that so-called thread of survival would likely no longer exist.

Yet Chen Chao’s current behavior of provocation was clearly leaving no room whatsoever - for himself, nor for the heavenly tribulation before him.

Lu Ji was incomparably anxious. He did not want to watch this young martial artist die just like this, but at this point, even he had no further means.

”No problem.”“Not a problem!”

A confident voice came from above the sea of clouds. The towering dharma idol of the young martial artist slowly spoke, its voice shaking the world, “What heavenly tribulation? My Great Liang Dynasty has never believed in any heaven!”

From the founding of Great Liang onward, its rejection of gods and spirits made it clear: the Chen Family had always believed only in themselves, in their own hands, and that man could prevail over heaven.

“Heaven wants to destroy this official? How can it be that easy?!”

Chen Chao laughed loudly. “All of you need not worry! With this official here, I shall ensure the people of Great Liang eternal peace!”

Chen Chao’s voice continuously spread through the sea of clouds, entering the ears of all the people of Rainfront County. The people first widened their eyes in shock, then began to cheer with joy.

At this moment, the towering dharma idol had already reached above the sea of clouds. If earlier Chen Chao had been holding up the sky, then now this young martial artist was stepping on heaven itself.

He looked at the terrifying lightning pool not far above him. There was no emotion in his eyes, and with every breath of the dharma idol, endless qi surged and churned.

Winds rose, clouds surged.

“Is this truly a so-called heavenly disaster?”

Chen Chao sneered softly.

He possessed an inherited secret technique of the qi refiners lineage, the Qi Observing Technique, and had long since seen that something was wrong with this lightning pool.

Records of heavenly tribulation did exist in daoist texts, but their authenticity was difficult to verify. Moreover, Chen Chao had already sensed that within this lightning pool were two or three different auras.

It should not be some so-called heavenly disaster at all.

Chen Chao glanced into the distance, and with a thought, merged himself into the towering dharma idol, then directly leaped into the lightning pool filled with endless thunderbolts.

The moment he stepped into this place, countless dormant bolts of lightning suddenly erupted and coiled toward him.

At the same time, in the northeast and southwest corners, two enormous dharma idols radiating thunder appeared. Their faces were ferocious, like the Thunder Pantheon deities of ancient mythology.

One of them held a pair of thunder drums; every strike produced a heavenly bolt from the lightning pool that crashed toward Chen Chao.

The other held a lightning spear; every swing of that spear also stirred up bolts of lightning that struck Chen Chao’s dharma idol.

Each collision of lightning against Chen Chao’s dharma idol caused electric arcs to spread across his body, even leaving lingering traces of endless thunder, crackling and hissing.

Yet Chen Chao merely looked at these two so-called thunder pantheon deities without fear. Techniques like this were not uncommon among qi refiners, summoning spirits and commanding entities was nothing rare.

However, judging from the appearance of these two ancient divine gods, it was likely that no qi refining master of the present age could control them.

“Impudent! How dare you challenge the Heavenly Dao!”

As a bolt of lightning surged again, Chen Chao grabbed it with one hand and shattered it without mercy. At that moment, one of the thunder pantheon deities spoke first.

Chen Chao sneered. “Can you represent the Heavenly Dao?!”

“Common mortal, kneel in submission at once! Otherwise, once you are crushed, your soul will dissipate!”

With the sound of thunder, that Thunder Pantheon god spoke in unison, its voice indeed capable of shaking the heart.

But someone like Chen Chao, who had walked through countless seas of blood and corpses on his path, would not care in the slightest. He simply took a deep breath, looked at the two so-called thunder pantheon deities, and mocked, “You say you are gods. Fine, this official will treat you as gods for now.”

“But so what if you are gods? Could you not still die?”

Chen Chao strode toward one of the thunder pantheon deities, saying indifferently, “If you are gods, then this official will perform the deed of slaying gods.”

As he advanced, countless bolts of lightning struck his body, but he merely waved his sleeve and arrived before one of the thunder pantheon deities, extending a large hand and pressing it down.

Countless bolts of lightning surged up from the lightning pool, trying to resist that hand, but it was all in vain. Chen Chao’s hand pressed down, and endless lightning was directly crushed apart.

The so-called thunder pantheon deity, originally not much smaller than Chen Chao’s dharma idol, was grabbed by the head with one hand and the body with the other. With a sudden tear, it was dismembered.

Chen Chao lifted its head and smashed it heavily toward the other thunder pantheon deity in the distance.

With a thunderous boom, that other thunder pantheon deity also shattered on the spot.

Afterward, the lightning in this place diminished considerably.

Chen Chao looked around and sneered, “Come out. Why hide yourselves?”

His voice spread throughout the lightning pool, still echoing endlessly.

No one responded, but at that moment, a streak of light in the distance suddenly fled.

Chen Chao glanced at it and smiled. “You came to deliver such a great gift, and this official haven’t even returned the favor yet. Why are you in such a hurry to leave?!”

Chen Chao’s large hand suddenly descended, traveling through the sea of clouds, and struck that streak of light.

There was a loud bang.

The light dissipated, revealing a figure in the sea of clouds, though he appeared somewhat disheveled.

“How is this possible? You have not yet stepped into this realm!”

That person’s complexion was deathly pale, as if he had seen something that should not exist, filling him with extreme panic.

Chen Chao said indifferently, “You did not stay out at sea obediently and insisted on returning to seek death, then this official will grant your wish.”

The person opened his mouth, about to say something.

Chen Chao’s hand pressed down again, shaking his head, “Begging for mercy?”

“Too late.”