Dust Palace.

Boom!!

A burst of silver shattered the wall and shot out.

Looking through the broken wall hole, you could see the entire Dust Palace shrouded in gray-white mist.

Faint silver glimmers seemed to be lurking within the mist.

"Go!" The silver that broke the wall belonged to a silver-haired man clad in tattered armor.

His entire body was covered with flowing silver liquid, but several holes marred the silver liquid in certain areas.

These holes were desperately trying to heal, but to no avail.

Following behind him, emerging from the breach, was another black-haired, bearded man.

He carried three different weapons on his back, a deep handprint was sunken into his chest, and blood faintly trailed at the corner of his mouth.

Yet this did not dampen his wild demeanor in the slightest.

"The green hills remain, the blue waters flow, Sect Leader Yue, I’ve learned today!"

Quickly taking a bag of medicinal powder from his waist, he poured it into his mouth.

Glancing back at the mist within Dust Palace, he laughed heartily and in a blink chased in the direction of the earlier departing silver-haired man.

At that moment, the doors and windows inside the entire Dust Palace exploded outward.

Amidst the thunderous blast, a large cloud of gray-white mist erupted forth.

The palace’s main door revealed extensive cracks as it too collapsed with a crunch.

Yue Dewen walked out first, his expression displeased. His body still seemed to glow faintly silver, though this luminescence rapidly faded.

"Quite skillful... no wonder you’re called Tian Gong... you’ve got quite a few strange gadgets."

Having just fought, he felt targeted everywhere, clearly the opponent had prepared thoroughly to face him.

Various troublesome weapons and tools had given him quite a lot of trouble.

"Jin Yuyan is likewise an outstanding figure of the previous era. Emperor Jiang’s Emperor Kun was crafted by him personally. Definitely not to be underestimated."

Jin Yuyan slowly walked out from behind.

"Is Master Uncle still angry? Hahaha, it’s nothing really, I was too rash earlier. My Great Dao Teaching relying on only one side’s strength can’t claim dominance over the world. But if we join forces, it’ll be different." Yue Dewen laughed.

"I don’t know what you’re planning, but after integrating this time, I will lead my people back to Jade Void Palace.

The grievances of that year are almost settled, the ones chasing us have mostly perished. My goal is sufficient." Jin Yuyan replied calmly.

"Doesn’t Master Uncle wish to stand with me, Yue, at the pinnacle of the world and overlook everything?" Yue Dewen asked in surprise.

"From the beginning, my goal was revenge! How they treated me back then is how I treat them now! The rest is your business." Jin Yuyan couldn’t be bothered to speak more, she found Yue Dewen increasingly inscrutable.

Maybe she suddenly felt she had never truly understood this person.

Moon King? Yue Dewen? Or perhaps another identity?

There was too much in this person’s heart.

Currently, they were merely using each other.

Watching her departing figure, Yue Dewen maintained a smile, only glancing back at Dust Palace.

"Such a large palace, what use is it built in this desert?"

He spoke softly.

"People should go to the most prosperous places, avoiding... yet unable to achieve greatness."

Suddenly, he waved his sleeve, turned, and transformed into a gray blur, swiftly darting into the distance.

It wasn’t until dozens of breaths later that people quickly approached the area.

Upon entering Dust Palace, the three God-worshipping Grandmasters who had turned to black ashes greeted their eyes.

And Cosimo, the Alliance Leader of the Great Brightness Religious Alliance, was long gone.

The entire religious alliance suddenly lost its core leadership this day.

The alliance began gathering people to prepare for the revision of the reversal secret document.

This spark that had just ignited was swiftly extinguished.

*

*

*

Five days later.

The peak of Linghua Mountain.

Two towering figures, like playing hide and seek, continually exchanged pursuits on the open ground at the summit.

This was Zhang Rongfang chasing Ostend.

He had already activated Blood Lotus, for him, Blood Lotus state could remain open always.

Ostend similarly had accessed Extreme State; the dual-layer Extreme State dramatically boosted his strength and speed.

In this form, combined with proactive defense predictions, he could easily evade Zhang Rongfang’s pursuit.

But....

Five days ago, he could predict Zhang Rongfang’s actions with normalcy.

Now.... he had to elevate his speed to keep up with reactions.

Because the time Zhang Rongfang left for his response was increasingly less.

This level already approached a general Grandmaster realm.

This should have been a level those genius Martial Artists might achieve after spending more than ten years.

Even Ostend himself only reached this level in his forties.

But....

Swish!

Distracted slightly, Ostend’s stride faltered, losing his prediction of Zhang Rongfang.

He immediately squinted and dodged to the left.

But it was too late.

He suddenly turned and raised his hand to block a palm attacking from behind.

Bang!

Both separated simultaneously.

"I lost...." Ostend sighed, his eyes complicated.

This chase game was his idea.

Because according to Zhang Rongfang’s poisonous blood trait, as long as he touches the god-worshippers, he can cause them immense and permanent damage.

Thus, the rule became that as long as there is contact, it’s a loss.

Ostend’s intention was naturally to use foresight to prevent Zhang Rongfang from making contact with him.

Unfortunately....

Such a method is no longer feasible now.

"You’ve worked hard, senior."

Zhang Rongfang felt a hint of joy in his heart.

To have advanced to this level already pleasantly surprised him.

"You clearly haven’t reached the level of a Grandmaster yet, but in terms of purely anticipating enemy moves, you’re no worse than ordinary Grandmasters. However... you could be faster and stronger." Ostend admitted.

"Are you referring to the concentration of will?" Zhang Rongfang understood immediately.

During these days, the other party had mentioned it more than once.

The biggest difference between a regular Martial Artist and a Grandmaster is the concentration of will.

The self-strengthening will can keep oneself at peak condition, ready to go.

But this will must not waver; it must be forged and refined.

Thus, there is the method of the Grandmaster’s ring.

"Yes, your anticipation in martial arts has already set a foundation. Because your innate physique is so strong, you naturally have reaction speeds comparable to others at the Grandmaster level.

So what you’re lacking is sufficient martial arts experience and quick enough willful reactions." Ostend nodded.

"Please instruct me, senior." Zhang Rongfang clasped his hands together, ready to listen intently.

"There’s nothing much to instruct, from now on, you need to keep winning! Gain confidence from each battle!

Only then can you, from others’ defeats, constantly absorb confidence, absorb will, and solidify yourself. This is a necessary process to stabilize your body state." Ostend replied.

"So... what’s missing for me is just the concentration of will...." Zhang Rongfang pondered.

"Actually, there’s another way." Emperor Jiang appeared suddenly behind Zhang Rongfang.

"What way?" Zhang Rongfang quickly asked.

"Adaptation." Emperor Jiang replied.

He glanced at Ostend, signaling him to proceed.

Ostend understood what he meant, his expression changed slightly, but he still stepped forward.

"From Grandmaster to Great Grandmaster, there’s one crucial point."

He paused, catching Zhang Rongfang’s attention.

"And that is the pressure of will, the clash of atmospheres."

"Clash of atmospheres..." Zhang Rongfang squinted, seemingly reminded of something.

"One’s spirit can be high or low, fluctuating.

Use your highs to strike their lows. That is the clash of atmospheres." Ostend answered.

"Hesitation, doubt, distractions, and all changes of emotion and consciousness outside of confidence will affect your reaction. If you adapt to this clash, you won’t be swayed by opponents, aiding in concentrating your self-strengthening will."

"Words cannot express sufficiently, senior, please demonstrate a bit." Zhang Rongfang said solemnly.

Ostend nodded.

"The simplest way. Like this..."

Hiss.

His whole body suddenly changed, switching to the final form.

His body grew taller, larger, and inflated, while rows of air holes appeared on his surface.

A massive air sack bulged on his back.

Whew!

A subtle airflow swept towards Zhang Rongfang, enveloping his whole body.

In an instant, a strong sense of oppression and pressure surged to Zhang Rongfang’s heart.

"You and I both know, in this form, it would be easy for me to defeat you." Ostend calmly said.

"But here I am, not taking action. Just staring at you. And at this moment, if you were to duel someone... a fellow Master-level opponent, would you spare some focus to watch me?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Rongfang became contemplative.

"I would!" He nodded affirmatively.

"This is one technique. It’s not about confidence, but about strategy, contest, and schemes, etc. But more Great Grandmasters excel at using their special abilities to build an atmosphere that directly suppresses opponents." Ostend continued.

"Sound, airflow, words, environment, even creating illusions, combining multiple factors can create a sense of pressure in the heart. This requires you to comprehend on your own. The momentum of martial arts, the momentum is generated by similar reasons."

These words stirred waves in Zhang Rongfang’s heart.

"Indeed... this is akin to searching for and creating weaknesses on opponents’ minds. Creating vulnerabilities!"

He gained some insight, forming new understanding of the realms of martial arts to come.

"Martial arts, is the art of strategy between people!" Emperor Jiang summarized beside him.

"Supreme strategy wins without fighting!"

Winning without fighting....

Without making a move, yet causing the enemy to fear, hesitate, collapse, and thus losing the power to strike themselves.

Zhang Rongfang suddenly remembered the Grandmaster who collapsed in front of him earlier.

At that moment, he had inadvertently touched this threshold.

Immediately, ignoring both of them, he sat cross-legged by himself.

He closed his eyes.

The attribute bar opened.

In five days, he accumulated five attribute points again.

At this moment, he unhesitatingly placed them on the Illusion Talisman Skill.

’Illusion Talisman Skill - Three Emptiness Third Realm: Evil Energy Emptiness.’

Without any delay.

The attribute points disappeared, the talisman skill improved, directly reaching the third realm of Three Emptiness.

That is the level of Evil Energy Emptiness.