Chapter 1074: Chapter 602: First Grade Showdown (Double Chapter)

It’s just very far from here.

The Blind Arrow intends to draw his bow and snipe, pinning those heroes who weigh good and evil atop the Dragon and Tiger to the sky.

At that time, his gaze held a touch of pity, both lamenting the valor of these younger generations and resolute with an air of necessity. The top ten in the world and those outside the Martial Arts List do not belong to the same Jianghu; this is not the amazement and self-mockery of Jianghu people’s discovery of a towering mountain, but an obvious fact. The higher a person stands, the more they see, and like those ten who stand at the peak, what they see includes not only the view of the world but also that of the heavens.

The Heavenly Dao of this world cannot endure much longer; the collapse of the heavenly pillar is an inevitable event, sooner or later. Countless people have foreseen the great momentum and are plotting for it, like the Penglai Daoist of Penglai Island, the Heavenly Masters of Dragon and Tiger Mountain, the reawakening ancient gods from various places, and like himself... There’s yet no sign of great changes, only because a celestial curtain temporarily maintains the calm before the storm, but even so, people’s hearts have long been uneasy.

The Buddhist Sect speaks of three calamities, the birth and death of heaven and earth is one great calamity. How long is a great calamity? It’s like a forty-mile stone mountain, gently wiped by a long-lived person every hundred years; so lengthy, yet eventually it will be leveled to the ground, and right now, the stone mountain is too thin to be thinner; this calamity is about to pass.

The Red Sun Calamity is ending; the White Sun should arise.

The gods and Buddhas of the heavens are too busy to look after themselves, only the Mother of Non-Birth can ferry the people to the next calamity.

The Blind Arrow gathers his thoughts, and as he draws his bow, suddenly hears a rapid wind sound.

Only he can hear the sound falling into his ears, his eyes involuntarily widen, his face turns solemn, and he turns around.

Those two familiar figures emerge once again.

Moreover... the Sword Armor of Yin Sword Mountain seems different from before...

Becoming... true to its name?

His heart stirs, but only slightly.

Being the ninth in the world is no longer enough to block his path.

The Blind Arrow’s vacant eyes face Zhou Yitang and Chen Yi, the bow he had drawn is now slowly turning toward them.

The whole large bow is opened extremely fully, bent as if trying to form a circle.

There is no arrow in the middle of the bow, no arrow on the bowstring, not even an arrow in the Blind Arrow’s hands, as if no tangible arrow in the world could sustain the power condensing on this string.

In the next instant, at the peak of readiness it was released, the bowstring and longbow bent like a full moon are distorted by the massive rebound force, bursting into cracks.

The sea of clouds spreads outward with the Blind Arrow as the center, this arrow has no "arrow."

An arrow cannot be drawn without an arrow, even a layperson can speak a few words on this truth. Strong, hard bows and expensive crossbows require complex craftsmanship and massive force to draw, and if the bow lacks an arrow, the immense force of drawing it rebounds onto the bow itself, damaging even the finest strong bows and hard crossbows, causing them to crack on the spot.

With the bow drawn and held aloft, how could it remain unbroken for long?

However, the Blind Arrow deliberately went against this principle, making a mistake that even a layperson wouldn’t make, leaving people astonished. But Chen Yi had no time to ponder; this arrow without an arrow descends from above like a mountain.

As if out of the void, someone presses the sky downward.

Chen Yi feels heaven and earth drawing closer, seeming completely closed together to crush the two of them. He looks around, attempting to escape but feels caught like trying to flip out of the Five Fingers Mountain. In that blink of an eye, Zhou Yitang commands Sword Qi before them, erecting six towering walls of Sword Intent.

With heaven and earth merging, how could it be resisted so simply?

Chen Yi’s heart skips slightly, but to his surprise, the sword-blade barrier and the descending sky stand firm, forcibly holding the descending trend.

Chen Yi finally breathes a sigh of relief.

The Old Saintess watches this clash of immortals in awe, then quickly says, "Borrow heaven and earth to support heaven and earth?"

This brief, seemingly ambiguous phrase enters his ears, and Chen Yi immediately understands the reason behind it.

In the ten realms of Martial Arts, after the fifth-grade, there are significant bottlenecks between realms. No matter how the Fourth Rank shines as the pride of heaven, advancing smoothly through cultivation, one will still face barriers at the appropriate realm; some can never progress, even for life. Why is this? Is it merely due to insufficient talent? Many blame this reason, yet those with average talent might find a broad path after breaking through to the Fourth Rank, knowing the key lies not in talent but in heaven and earth.

From Enlightenment to knowing oneself, to Refining God and Returning Void, experiencing the Heavenly Dao, pursuing the Great Dao, to ultimately living alongside heaven and earth, reaching the First Grade—the more one’s Martial Intent aligns with heaven and earth, the easier it is to ascend to the highest peak.

At the peak, living alongside heaven and earth, all the powers of heaven and earth can serve my purpose.

Zhou Yitang thus borrows the power of heaven and earth to support the suppressed sky by the Blind Arrow, whose empty bowstring’s immense force acted between heaven and earth through the twisted longbow.

Upon reaching the Ninth Heaven, the realm of the world’s top ten unfolds.

"Clash of immortals..." Chen Yi suddenly grasps the meaning of this phrase, realizing that even though the Sword Creation of Heaven and Earth he feels at Third Rank is the ultimate expression of Sword Intent, even defeating Wu Buxu of the same rank with it, how could the heaven and earth created by Sword Intent compare to the true heaven and earth?

"You know it too, what’s the next line?" The Old Saintess asks herself, answering with chagrin, "Mortal calamity! I urge you to leave immediately, this isn’t a place you can involve yourself in."

But Chen Yi remains unmoving.

Uncertain of his thoughts.

In the distance, white rainbows continually pierce the sky, countless blue Sword Qi sweeping through wind and clouds with fierce howls, like Jiao Dragons riding the wind and casting rain. The Blind Arrow, indistinguishable from a Heavenly Person, opens the bowstring more than ten times, shooting down the Sword Qi dragons one by one, scenes of celestial anomalies causing awe.

These phenomena grow increasingly grand and expansive, seeming to spread outward relentlessly, rolling clouds like giant waves.

Zhou Yitang pierces the clouds with a sword, twisting his wrist, and as the Ruoque Sword discharges, it entwines with dozens of thunderbolts, striking out. The thunderbolts gather like streams flowing into the sea, a mighty thunderbolt pillar charging forward!

A trail of devastation is left in its wake.

The Blind Arrow holds the bow on his back, grasps the thunderbolts with hands devoid of flesh, tendons, veins, blood, and bone marrow, and his arms enlarge several times as the lightning flashes.

He lifts the heavenly thunder alive!

This maneuver alone is astounding, and even more unbelievable is the Blind Arrow dragging the brilliant heavenly thunder, lowering the longbow from his back, drawing the bow again.

Using the heavenly thunder as an arrow.

The bowstring bends like a full moon; when the heavenly thunder releases, its aura instantly surges several times.

Zhou Yitang’s sword waves out.

The majestic Sword Qi collides with the heavenly thunder, and in the blink of an eye, seventy to eighty percent of the thunderbolts scatter explosively, Sword Qi is consumed by feet, but Chen Yi can’t continue to concentrate on observing. He sees the heavenly thunder, exploded by the Sword Qi, spraying to the sides.

The falling heavenly thunder pours down.

Chen Yi raises both sword and knife, unleashing Sword Qi and Sword Gang simultaneously, techniques pouring out, lightning bursting before his eyes, his form retreats step by step.

Round after round of sword dance, round after round of knife light, desperately contending; around Chen Yi, the black clouds explode and fall, waiting for the thunderous light to disperse, he barely stands firm, coughing blood foam.

The Old Saintess watches in alarm; if Chen Yi remains unharmed, he might manage alongside them, but having absorbed countless obsessions into Heart Lake, he bears an immense burden; a slight mishap in his body might cause a collapse.

The prior heavenly thunder was just a residual wave, tormenting him nearly to death.

"Boy, run away! I’m not blaming you, just run quickly! What are you involving yourself in? Can you fight?" If he died, the gate fire would affect the fish in the pool; the Old Saintess almost shouts.

"Yes, I can’t fight..."

Chen Yi, covered with bruises and scars, cracks a grim smile on his face,

"But how about if I release these obsessions of Zhou Yitang to fight?"

The Old Saintess’s eyes widen, more alarmed than before.

He presses his heart, muttering as if possessed, "Even if it costs a piece of flesh, it’s worth it."