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Fang Wei’s eyes were bright red as he glared at Meng Hao. The pride in his heart had been trampled upon; he had already consumed the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill, and yet… he was still not able to shake Meng Hao.

Even more impossible for him to accept was that from the very beginning until now, Meng Hao still had not used any external aid. He was relying only on his fleshly body and cultivation base, and yet was still capable of reaching this incredible height.

That fact was a ma.s.sive blow to Fang Wei.

“I’m the number one Chosen of the Fang Clan!” he thought, gritting his teeth. “From the moment I was born, I was destined… to shake the Ninth Mountain and Sea!” He lifted his right hand, within which appeared a bone fragment.

It was covered with intricately carved magical symbols, and emanated a barbaric aura, as well as a feeling of incredible ancientness. Fang Wei violently clenched his hand around the bone fragment, which did not fracture, but rather sank down into the flesh of his palm.

Drops of blood appeared, along with a faint, bizarre power. As the pieces of the bone fragment merged into his body, Fang Wei began to tremble, and blue veins popped out on his face.

“I, Fang Wei… will never lose!” As he spoke the words, rumbling echoed out, and he once again rose higher into the sky.

Meng Hao’s eyes flickered. He could have allowed his Eternal Stratum to heal him, but had not done so yet. He wanted to completely and utterly destroy Fang Wei’s self-confidence, to thoroughly crush him and drag him down into destruction.

Enduring the intense light and heat, Meng Hao also shot upward.

The two of them became beams of colorful light as they ascended. Anyone who could see them, be they the Chosen from the various clans or the Fang Clan experts, watched as Meng Hao and Fang Wei shot up into the sky with determination and roiling energy.

249,000 meters!

Rumbling echoed out at this incredibly high position. Blood sprayed from Fang Wei’s mouth; even with the power of the bone fragment, he had barely managed to force his way those extra 9,000 meters higher. This position was truly his final limit.

He had possessed only one Skypalace Sunspirit Pill. Such pills were rare, even for Fang Wei. His father and grandfather had paid a steep price to get their hands on a single Skypalace Sunspirit Pill from the Dao of Alchemy Division.

After all, the Dao of Alchemy Division could act autonomously in the clan, and not even the Grand Elder could give them orders, unless the clan was in a state of war.

In the same moment that Fang Wei couldn’t hold out any longer, the black sun surrounding Meng Hao suddenly crumbled away in layers, transforming into countless fragments that rapidly evaporated due to the intense heat.

Meng Hao was now completely exposed, and his skin began to wither up. Soon, he looked like nothing more than a desiccated corpse that might melt away into death at any moment.

And yet, his eyes sparkled as he looked at Fang Wei.

“Admit defeat?” he asked, his voice hoa.r.s.e.

Fang Wei’s heart trembled as he gazed upon Meng Hao’s intense strength. He saw Meng Hao’s withered body, and to Fang Wei, it appeared as if he could proceed higher only a few hundred meters, Meng Hao would be unable to keep up, and would be killed by the power of the sun.

As he hovered there silently, a gleam of madness suddenly appeared in his eyes. He said nothing, but instead threw his head back and let out a mighty roar. His body shook as his three Dharma Idols suddenly appeared.

“Three Lives of Reincarnation! Glory of a Lifetime!” he howled, flas.h.i.+ng an incantation gesture that caused all three Dharma Idols to superimpose. Next, an aura that appeared to be Fang Wei’s rose up, growing stronger and stronger until it reached a boundless level.

“I am Fang Wei, and I… will NEVER lose!” He clenched his teeth and once again rose up higher, surrounded by rumbling sounds. As he soared higher, his body began to wither, and the flame of his life force began to grow dim. And yet, looking every bit like a shooting star, he continued to rise higher.

252,000 meters. 258,000 meters. 267,000 meters!

Fang Wei’s blood was being transformed into mist as he pushed himself higher. Meng Hao followed silently, and his body became even more withered. His cultivation base was in full rotation, and his Dharma Idol was supporting him from behind. His energy was operating at the full peak.

Especially noteworthy was his Immortal meridian, which glowed with intense light that filled his body. A Blood Demon head materialized around him, and the Ninth Mountain appeared, as well as the Black White Pearls.

He also used A Writ of Karma, as well as various other divine abilities and magical techniques. His aura surged to its limit as he combined everything at his disposal to keep pace with Fang Wei. Soon, he too arrived at the 267,000-meter position.

It was at that point that Meng Hao coughed up a mouthful of blood. His body was now withered virtually to its limit, to the point where it seemed that if Fang Wei took only one more step, Meng Hao would be left behind and would be unable to keep up.

Fang Wei looked at Meng Hao, and his eyes blazed with the desire to fight. From the very beginning until this very moment, Meng Hao had constantly seemed to be on the verge of death. And yet, as he advanced, he was not melted by the sun.

Fang Wei had already gone all out, and had almost reached 270,000 meters, and yet, it seemed that he would be incapable of surpa.s.sing Meng Hao.

Both Meng Hao and Fang Wei hovered at 267,000 meters, and neither one of them was in the lead position.

“Fang Hao….” said Fang Wei. He gazed at Meng Hao with a look of madness. Panting, he slowly lifted up his right foot. It was a simple motion, but it caused his body to tremble violently, clearly on the verge of complete collapse.

At that point, back down in the ancestral mansion, Fang Wei’s father’s face fell, and he suddenly called out.

“Wei’er, just remain in that position and meditate! Get used to your surroundings before proceeding higher!” It wasn’t just Fang Wei’s father who had such a reaction. There were other Elders of his bloodline who all started calling out to Fang Wei to stop trying to get higher.

“Fang Wei, don’t fall into his vicious plot! Don’t be ras.h.!.+”

“Fang Wei, you need to rest and adjust your breathing! Your goal has nothing to do with other people, it is Heaven itself!”

Fang Wei said nothing. Neither did Meng Hao, who simply hovered off to the side, looking coldly at Fang Wei.

Time pa.s.sed. After the s.p.a.ce of several breaths had pa.s.sed, Fang Wei’s eyes suddenly filled with determination and he stared at Meng Hao.

“I know the meaning behind your actions earlier,” he said. “I also know what you’re trying to do. You want to coax me into competing with you in the hopes of delivering a blow to my Dao heart. Such things… I understand.” His eyes gleamed with the light of obsession.

“However!” he continued. “I am Fang Wei, and I won’t lose to anyone. You want to fight? Then let’s fight! You want to compete? I’ll compete with you! I’m going to move one step further, and if you’re good enough, see if you can keep up!” Eyes bloodshot, Fang Wei lowered his right foot and moved higher again.

In that instant, his grandfather let out a bellow of rage.

“Fang Wei, get back here!”

Rumbling echoed out. As Fang Wei finished moving up, blood spurted out all over his body, and his hair was burned completely away. His skin began to burst, and he appeared to be engulfed in a sea of flames.

He even began to stagger, as if he couldn’t support his own weight. However, at the same time that this was happening, Meng Hao also moved higher. Similar rumbling echoed out, and he was also inundated in a sea of flames. He also began to tremble, and yet… he remained solidly in place. Then he looked back at at Fang Wei.

Blood sprayed from Fang Wei’s mouth, and he tumbled backward.

Meng Hao expression was a complicated one. There were actually some things about Fang Wei that he felt to be worthy of praise. He had stubborness, which was something incredibly valuable to cultivators. However, everything was a matter of perspective, and because of the way things were, Meng Hao could never sympathize with him.

“You’re simply not good enough,” he said calmly. “You even have my Nirvana Fruits, and yet you still don’t measure up.” Those words were like a sharp sword that stabbed directly into Fang Wei’s heart. His face went ashen, and he coughed up more blood.

“All you did was get one step past me!” he said, gritting his teeth as the flames surged around his body. He had only fallen back one pace, but then held his place, forcing his body to stay together as he glared at Meng Hao.

“One step?” said Meng Hao softly. It was at this point that he unleashed his Eternal stratum. It exploded out, and in the blink of an eye, Meng Hao’s withered frame began to heal. His hair grew out long, and his skin shone with a gleaming l.u.s.ter. All of his injuries were now completely restored!

This development caused Fang Wei’s face to fall again. His mind reeled, and the blood drained from his face as he tumbled further backward.

“Impossible! This… this….”

“Why do you think it’s impossible?” Meng Hao said coolly. With that, his body flickered, except, instead of moving up higher, he appeared directly in front of Fang Wei.

“You lose,” he said, and with that, he punched out toward Fang Wei.

Fang Wei’s three Dharma Idols reappeared as Meng Hao’s the punch descended, and the aura of reincarnation exploded out. He went all out to resist Meng Hao, and yet, at that moment, Meng Hao said four words.

“A Writ of Karma!”

BOOOMMM!!

One devastating punch slammed into Fang Wei, sending him hurtling from a height of 270,000 meters in the sky all the way down toward the ground.

One devastating punch shattered two of Fang Wei’s three Dharma Idols. Those Dharma Idols had been formed from Meng Hao’s Nirvana Fruits, and by forming ties of destiny with them using A Writ of Karma, they were instantly shattered and sealed.

The deeper the Karma, the more intense the power!

In the instant that Meng Hao’s blow landed, seven or eight figures shot up from the ground below to appear around Fang Wei. They grabbed him, and immediately poured cultivation base power into him to heal him. Then they looked up angrily at Meng Hao, killing intent surging.

At the same time, more than a hundred powerful streams of divine sense immediately formed near Meng Hao. From the look of it, if he made any further threatening actions toward Fang Wei, they would exterminate him immediately.

Even more shocking, the Grand Elder’s gaze shot up to the 270,000-meter position, where it hung over Meng Hao like an infinitely sharp blade, ready to cleave his life force away.

When Meng Hao sensed all of the divine sense focused on him, as well as the murderous looks being given him by the seven or eight elders down below, he simply smiled arrogantly.

He had never had any plans to wrest back his Nirvana Fruits and kill Fang Wei. If he did do something like that, it would be in a way that n.o.body in the entire clan could voice a word of dissent.

He had punched Fang Wei just now for the purpose of teaching him a lesson, nothing else.

Of course, it was a very tough lesson.

Ignoring all of the divine sense, the murderous looks from the seven or eight Elders down below, and the gaze of the Grand Elder, Meng Hao looked up into the pitch black sky, and his eyes gleamed with antic.i.p.ation.

“I wonder… how far up I can get?!” With that, he turned and transformed into a beam of light that shot upward. Everyone down below watched in shock as he rocketed upward. Apparently… Fang Wei was nothing more than a pa.s.sing distraction who, after being surpa.s.sed, wasn’t worth looking back at.