Chapter 114: Contention Among the Powerful

The black spear pierced through the head of a ferocious beast, while Wang Mang’s fist punched straight through the creature's chest. Both men looked haggard, their breathing ragged and their internal energy in turmoil.

Li Tianzheng shook the blood from his left arm and slowly withdrew his spear, its handle gripped firmly in his right hand. Even as he urged Wang Mang to collect the divine spring, he circulated his internal arts, guiding his true essence through the meridians of his left arm to mend his wounds.

"The power of the Earth Law is impeccable in its defense. Had these two beasts not lacked intelligence, the outcome of today’s battle would have been far from certain!"

After cleaning the blood from his spear with a surge of true essence, he looked toward the pool holding the divine spring. Wang Mang had already reached the stone trough, holding a small purple gourd, a few inches in size. As Li Tianzheng watched, Wang Mang pointed the mouth of the gourd at the deep green spring water and uttered a single command: "Collect!"

"You court death!"

With a roar, Li Tianzheng lunged toward a gray-clad old man who was charging at Wang Mang. "The divine spring belongs to everyone! By what right do you claim it for yourselves?" the old man cried out indignantly, his long staff unleashing waves of energy toward Wang Mang.

Li Tianzheng’s spear shot out like a bolt from a taut bow, streaking toward the old man’s chest. "Hmph... don't think everyone fears the Chief of the Xuantian Sect. I, Di Long, do not hold you in high regard!"

The gray-clad old man dodged the lethal strike, his black iron staff dancing in wide, sweeping arcs, unleashing a torrent of energy that enveloped the incoming Li Tianzheng.

The overwhelming force of the staff stirred up an invisible gale, tearing the carcasses of the beasts on the ground into shreds within the storm of energy. The old man leveled his staff and charged forward, his body moving like a released sword, trailing a violent gust of wind as he followed the wake of his own attack.

Li Tianzheng’s expression remained grim. Watching the fierce assault, he offered a faint smile, joined his right fingers into a sword-hand, and slashed through the air toward the old man.

"Overestimating yourself. Such opportunism does not suit a warrior!"

Seeing Li Tianzheng’s gesture without any accompanying surge of energy or ripple of power, the old man assumed his opponent’s true essence was exhausted and that he was merely putting on a show to buy time for his companion.

"Li Tianzheng, today is your day of death! Once I kill you, I shall become famous throughout the world. Everyone will know my name, and none will remember yours!"

The old man laughed wildly in mid-air, his speed doubling. Gripping his staff, he pierced through the heavy layers of energy like a gray lightning bolt. In an instant, the tip of his weapon was inches from Li Tianzheng’s brow.

"Die!"

With a savage grin, the old man thrust his staff forward, intending to shatter Li Tianzheng’s skull.

Li Tianzheng smiled. He was indeed weakened, having exhausted most of his true essence in the battle against the beasts, and he had been forced to use a trick to deal with the old man.

The old man’s expression froze. Seeing the mocking smile, he felt a sudden sense of dread and tried to withdraw his staff, but it was too late.

With a cold sneer from Li Tianzheng, the old man’s brow was pierced by the cold, shimmering spearhead. The tip of his black iron staff was caught firmly between two fingers, unable to advance a single inch.

In his final moments, the old man watched as Li Tianzheng seized his staff with a backhand grip, swung it, and smashed it against his own head. Darkness finally engulfed his consciousness; he died without ever understanding how the spear had pierced his skull.

Li Tianzheng tossed aside the weapon, stepped through the void to appear behind the body, and caught the corpse with his spear to keep it from hitting the ground. He looked sharply at Wang Mang, saw that the collection of the divine spring was complete, and kicked the body aside.

The corpse slammed into the ground, blood pooling around it.

"Hmph," Li Tianzheng grunted, appearing beside Wang Mang. "Did you collect it all?"

"Not a drop left!"

After receiving the confirmation, Li Tianzheng held his spear across his chest and spoke coldly to the group of powerhouses at the entrance of the plaza: "The divine spring has been claimed by us; you would do well to seek your luck elsewhere! If you persist, we two will see this through to the end!"

Wang Mang handed a small vial to Li Tianzheng. "Brother Li, restore your essence first. There is a drop of the divine spring inside. I have already consumed one. A bloody battle is inevitable; we must recover as quickly as possible to handle what comes next."

Li Tianzheng took the vial and downed the drop without hesitation. In an instant, his face turned crimson, his veins bulged, and he let out a long, involuntary roar.

As the divine spring entered his dantian and was absorbed by his core, the energy it released was staggering. Despite his cultivation, the sheer power caused his meridians to swell painfully, his flesh feeling as if it were being flayed by knives and scorched by fire.

"Hold on, Brother Li, it will pass. I felt the same when I took my first drop. Focus your mind, circulate your arts, and absorb the power! I’ve discovered this spring is a divine treasure; even one drop has condensed my soul and purified my true essence. I expect to evolve spiritual energy soon."

Wang Mang clenched his black-clad fists, faint ripples of law-based light flowing over them. He had lied; he had consumed not one, but three drops. One was absorbed by his body, while the other two were drawn into his gauntlets.

The divine spring was scarce, and he had ulterior motives for coming to the Ancient Realm. After passing through the spatial tunnel, he had visited a secret location to retrieve something even more important than the spring. Only after securing that treasure did he join Li Tianzheng at the Azure Sea and Jade Heavens.

Though his primary mission was the other item, the spring was an additional task from the Qiankun Martial Academy. Having secured it, his first thought was his own gain, hence the immediate consumption of three drops.

As he watched Li Tianzheng close his eyes to absorb the energy, Wang Mang sneered inwardly. He had always harbored resentment toward Li Tianzheng. Despite his outward show of brotherhood, he longed to surpass him to satisfy his hatred.

At that moment, the powerhouses at the entrance surged forward with murderous glares. The first to strike was a man from the Demon God Realm—a burly fellow wielding a dark golden hammer. He leaped into the air and swung the weapon at the pair.

The strike felt as if it had solidified space itself. A mountain-like shadow of energy descended with crushing force, darkening the sky. The massive energy hammer reached Wang Mang, its immense pressure bearing down upon him.

Wang Mang narrowed his eyes, staring at the incoming blow. "Well struck..." He shot upward, clenching his right fist and striking out against the descending hammer.

A fist-sized, phantom image of a strike flashed out. It was a plain, unremarkable blow, devoid of energy ripples, looking like nothing more than an afterimage. The two collided.

A heartbeat later, a thunderous "Boom" echoed.

The invisible energy shockwave shook the space. The field of force generated by the collision caused the ears of the surrounding powerhouses to ring. The resulting blast gouged pits into the ground, turning the nearby corpses of warriors and beasts into pulp, filling the air with a pungent, bloody stench.

"Kill!"

The burly man brandished his hammer through the storm of energy, swinging it at Wang Mang, who had returned to the ground.

Wang Mang’s expression remained unchanged. With a stomp, he launched himself into the air. His right fist lashed out, and his figure vanished mid-stride, the phantom fist colliding instantly with the dark golden hammer.

Violent shockwaves swept through the air. The man’s hammer was knocked high into the sky, flying from his grip. "The power of law!" he cried out in terror. "You possess the power of law!"

The phantom fist Wang Mang had unleashed was empowered by the laws within his gauntlets, far exceeding the potency of pure true essence.

"You will understand once you are dead."

Wang Mang appeared above the man, a blade-like light shimmering on his foot. He drove his heel into the man’s crown, piercing straight down to the dantian. The man’s stomach exploded, and blood and viscera showered the air.

As Wang Mang landed, the man’s body slumped to the ground, his own golden hammer crashing down upon him, spraying more blood.

"Brother!"

"I will kill you!"

"Big brother, let’s attack together and avenge Qing Shan!"

The remaining three men of the Demon God Realm, their eyes bloodshot and weapons drawn, flew toward Wang Mang and Li Tianzheng.

Li Tianzheng’s eyes snapped open. A terrifying aura erupted from his body, surging with such power that the three attackers were forced back several meters.

"Aaaah..."

A beast-like roar echoed across the plaza. Dark Night, who had fallen into a coma after his demonic transformation, had awakened. His state, however, was unstable; his demonic energy was chaotic, yet his aura was no weaker than Li Tianzheng’s.

"It’s him..."

"He’s not dead!"

The three Demon God Realm warriors had recognized him earlier as the invisible killer who had slain their companion. They had been certain he was dead after he collapsed following his battle with the wind-blade beast. They never expected him to come back to life.

Li Tianzheng and Wang Mang were equally stunned, having also confirmed that Dark Night had stopped breathing.

"If you share the divine spring with us, you may leave safely. If not..." Chen Yu, seeing two of his companions slaughtered, felt a tremor of fear, but his desire for the spring remained absolute. He knew he couldn't defeat the duo alone, so he sought to rally the others to finish them off before claiming the treasure.

"You have no right to negotiate," Li Tianzheng said coldly, gazing at Chen Yu. "If you can best the spear in my hand, the divine spring is yours!"