THE MARTIAL KING, VOLUME 5 - Season 14 Episode 33

Zen was made familiar with the might of divine weapons back when he was still in the four divine kingdoms.

The Upper World, however, offered a more defined grading standard for divine weapons. Fiona’s jade bracelet, for example, was a secondary third-rank divine weapon.

The divine weapons the emperors of the divine kingdoms wielded were at the third-rank. Meanwhile, Fenton’s divine weapon was a secondary first-rank divine weapon – two levels higher than the divine weapons Zen had encountered.

That meant that the power of this State Sword was not to be trifled with!

The moment the weapon was activated, it felt as if the wielder had transformed into a mighty and aggressive monarch who ruled his state with an iron fist! Zen felt the suppression try to overwhelm him, to force him to bow down to this figure of authority. However, he refused to yield.

His eyes glinted with scorn, “You want to suppress me?”

Boom!

A strong, equally oppressing force was suddenly released from Zen’s soul!

A warrior improved in three areas during their cultivation: their bodies, their life vitality, and their souls.

Zen’s body refinement and life vitality cultivation were completely different from other people.

However, his soul training remained pretty standard in terms of technique.

During his final stay in the Central Region, the cyan dragon had planted a soul seed for him so that his soul might finally be able to enter the Jasper Fighting Soul Realm.

Although he had made a great effort to enter the Jasper Fighting Soul Realm, Zen did not really have much of an edge when it came to soul training and stayed in the Fighting Soul Realm for quite a long time.

The Saint Lord of the Spiritual Force Sacred Place was already privy to the strength of Zen’s soul. However, even if reaching the Jasper Fighting Soul Realm as a fifth-level Life and Death Realm warrior was impressive in the Lower World, the standards were much higher in the Upper World.

Nonetheless, the soul seed planted by the cyan dragon helped Zen a lot and gave him extraordinary powers.

As Zen released his oppressing force, the soul seed was activated and increased his soul pressure threefold!

Not only that, but his soul was also fused with the will of the great world he lived in. The imposing aura of the great world was fused and inseparable with Zen’s own soul pressure.

The State Sword Fenton wielded was a secondary first-rank divine weapon forged long ago by a tenth-grade divine kingdom emperor’s lifeblood.

That emperor had imparted his knowledge and passion of rule which made the sword emit such an intimidating aura.

However, the sword was merely a container of the emperor’s long-dead inspiration. It couldn’t ever hope to compare to the living, throbbing aura that was the will of the great world contained in Zen’s soul.

This will had been accumulated for countless years, from the birth to the flourishing age of the great world.

The will of the great world had added to Zen’s aura significantly. In the Lower World, he carried the disposition of a ruler but in the Upper World, his aura made him feel as if he was an incarnation of an entire, different plane of existence.

The State Sword’s aura was quickly overpowered by Zen’s, to everyone’s amazement.

Fenton’s face darkened as Zen stood before him. At that moment, he felt as if he was facing against an entire world. He was rooting on the State Sword’s power to suppress Zen but he did not expect that the tables would turn this fast. ‘How many secrets is this guy hiding?’ he couldn’t help but wonder to himself.

Zen smirked and brandished the long sword in his hand, “So, this will be your fourth strike?”

Fenton shook his head, “No, I’ve already used six strikes.”

He had included the times when he had to defend against Zen’s attacks.

“You are an earnest guy!” Zen laughed. “Well, it is the seventh strike then.” Fenton nodded in agreement, “If I can’t defeat you with this last strike, I will admit defeat.”

Despite being proud, Fenton was still a man of integrity. Zen took his words to heart and his face grew solemn, “Okay, let’s continue!”

It was, at that moment, that the warriors in the Dragon Tiger Hall finally realized that Zen wasn’t someone to be trifled with.

Mervin also realized that he did not have the qualifications to challenge this mighty warrior. Not even Fenton could stand up to Zen. What more could someone like Mervin do?

Those popinjays that had caused trouble for Zen also realized just how big of a mistake they made in the Holy City. It was lucky that Zen had a fairly good temper, otherwise, they would all have perished in his rage.

Everyone held their breaths as they watched the two face off in the last round.

The Saint Lord and the other elders, meanwhile, had lost all interest in the fight.

They already knew what to make of it despite the still remaining round.

Truth be told, the odds had already been skewed at the very onset of the fight. Fenton had a higher cultivation base than Zen, after all.

The Saint Lord had thought it would be their chance to recommend Fenton to the thirteen palaces. He was a youth with endless potential considering that he had already experienced nine Heavenly Tribulations.

Zen, on the other hand, was only at the fifth level of the Life and Death Realm. There was clearly a large gap between the two.

However, despite this handicap, Zen was able to fight with Fenton so it could be surmised that it shouldn’t be too difficult for him to also undergo nine small Heavenly Tribulations. Zen would surely be able to surpass Fenton’s strength.

The results of the battle had already been decided.

Still, there was another thought that crossed through the Saint Lord’s mind.

“This boy has already experienced five small Heavenly Tribulations. Has he ever summoned a Lotus Flower? How many petals did his Lotus Flower reveal?” he couldn’t help but ask aloud.

Elder Gong seconded this, “Such a talented boy must have also summoned his Lotus Flower. How many petals must he have had?”

“I think it was seven,” the Saint Lord said.

Elder Gong hummed in disagreement, “I think it may be nine!”

The Saint Lord actually thought it was also more than seven but he was too annoyed to say it out loud. He couldn’t bear the fact that such an outstanding talent was going to be plucked out from this place and only by deluding himself into thinking that Zen was less talented than he looked could he remain at ease.

Elder Gong, on the other hand, was frank since he had long since accepted the truth.

The Saint Lord sighed in resignation, “Had I known this earlier, I should have taken Zen’s name off when the alliance asked us to hand over the list of those who had just ascended from the Lower World.”

Elder Gong let out a loud laugh, “We couldn’t have known that he would be so talented! Besides, if the thirteen palaces hadn’t discovered him, then he would still be down in the mines, digging for life vitality jades!”

Elder Gong’s words seemed to have stirred the Saint Lord’s fury, “Check out the information of all the ascenders. Make an assessment of each person’s strength and talent and report everything to me. I’m giving you a month!” the Saint Lord ordered coldly.

Elder Gong visibly paled, realizing the Saint Lord had unfortunately vented his anger on him. The data to be collected would be useful for the Spiritual Force Sacred Place, but not on such a large scale. There was no way they were ever going to find a second Zen anytime soon.

Unfortunately, there was no going against a Saint Lord’s order. Elder Gong knew it was going to be a long, arduous time-waster on his part, but what could he do?

During this time, Fenton was finally preparing his last strike – the final attack that would determine the winner of this fight.

“Sword painting! May the sight of the entire state appear in front of me, and a wisp of wind shall create everything!” he chanted as he started swinging the State Sword in the air.

A magnificent picture materialized from the State Sword’s movements as if it was a giant brush instead of a sharp blade. This picture drew the entire sight of the state!

The gold signified the power of the Metal Law while the green was the Wind Law.

The process of painting cut Fenton’s arms several times, letting the red blood essence swirl and add to the magnificent picture.