Chapter Eighty-Nine: Counterattack Strategy

Is it comparable to a false golden core? Hearing this, Zhou Yi smiled inwardly. If ten strands of heaven and earth’s hidden meaning could form a small world and rival a false golden core, then what about a perfect world built from three hundred sixty-five strands?

No wonder I feel so good now.

With sudden clarity, Zhou Yi finally understood why, after condensing his world, everything about him and the world around him felt different. Even the wooden sword in Mo Hu’s hand, which had once threatened his life, now seemed ordinary.

At first, he had thought it an illusion, merely the same kind of delusion that came with surging strength and the sense that even the sky could be shattered by one’s own hands. But no—it was not an illusion. It was real.

To him now, a wooden sword truly was nothing.

And besides... it seems that none of them really bear any heavenly and earthly hidden meaning. No, that is not right...

Zhou Yi studied Mo Hu carefully, frowning. After a long while, he reached his conclusion: the other two indeed had no heavenly and earthly hidden meaning at all, but Mo Hu did. Though faint beyond measure, it was there.

Zhou Yi thought for a moment, using the three hundred sixty-five strands within himself as a standard, and quickly calculated the amount present in Mo Hu.

One strand.

That was right. By Zhou Yi’s reckoning, Huang Yue and Xue Kai had none, but Mo Hu had one. Not much, but undeniably present.

According to speculation, the human body has a total of three hundred sixty-five acupoints, and throughout history, nearly everyone who obtained heavenly and earthly hidden meaning did so at the Gate to Heaven. Thus the final conclusion: this kind of hidden meaning should number three hundred sixty-five in total.

If ten strands can combine to form a small world and make one’s strength comparable to a false golden core, then what level would one reach after constructing a perfect world from all three hundred sixty-five strands? As he spoke, Mo Hu’s imagination ran wild, his face filling with longing, like a child dreaming of the future.

A perfect world?

Zhou Yi unconsciously glanced at the illusory little world within his own body.

Strength?

He estimated his own power, yet still could not pin down its exact level. Though the existence of the attribute panel made him fully aware of everything within himself, that awareness was limited to himself alone.

All things are relative. Without comparison, there can naturally be no answer.

Still, he should be very strong.

Zhou Yi smiled and did not dwell on it. Even if he did not yet know exactly how powerful he had become, he could not be weak. As for the matter of strength, he would surely know in time.

All problems arise from the limits of one’s vision. When time passes and the vision broadens, problems cease to be problems.

You...

The words had been spoken, and matters had reached their end. Mo Hu had come to terms with it. Since death was inevitable and escape impossible, his heart gradually settled. Looking at Zhou Yi, he spoke softly.

You...

Mo Hu then looked toward Song Hai, uttering the same word again. Countless questions in his heart had, the moment they escaped his lips, suddenly already found their answers, like the ancient rite of drawing lots.

What slip you draw did not matter. What mattered was that the answer had already entered your heart the moment you held it.

What Mo Hu wanted to ask was this: Zhou Yi had definitely comprehended heavenly and earthly hidden meaning, and certainly not just one strand. Perhaps he could even set a historical record, surpassing ten strands.

Wait. Was that even necessary?

Because Mo Hu could be certain that Zhou Yi had already condensed a small world. In the earlier attack, the aura of heavenly and earthly hidden meaning had been far too intense.

As for himself, he had only been lucky enough to obtain heavenly and earthly hidden meaning when he broke through the two hundred and eighty-seventh gate.

It had been a heaven-sent blessing. At the time, he had believed that with that experience, more such hidden meaning would follow in time.

But clearly, he had thought too much.

Now, having reached the peak of the Heavenly Human realm and opened all his acupoints, he had never again obtained even a single strand of heavenly and earthly hidden meaning.

After personally experiencing the benefits it brought, Mo Hu had nearly gone mad with obsession. Unfortunately, no matter what means he tried, if there was none, then there was none.

Now, seeing the dense aura of heavenly and earthly hidden meaning upon Zhou Yi, the helplessness in Mo Hu’s heart only deepened, surging forth like a fountain.

Human effort cannot match inborn talent.

Mo Hu gave up. It no longer mattered. So what if he knew exactly how much heavenly and earthly hidden meaning Zhou Yi possessed? So what if he knew Song Hai’s strength?

It was meaningless now.

Under Mo Hu’s gaze, Huang Yue and Xue Kai also fell silent. They lowered their heads, then after a while looked up again, each wearing a smile.

Song Hai walked up before Zhou Yi and stood half a step behind him.

Zhou Yi looked at the three of them, raised both hands before his chest, and slowly pressed downward.

Boom.

A thunderous sound rolled through the air like a mountain collapsing. The already heavy atmosphere around them suddenly grew even more oppressive. Mo Hu, Huang Yue, and Xue Kai felt a block in their chests, a breath lodged high and low alike, leaving them all breathless.

Come then.

Mo Hu slowly closed his eyes.

It is over.

Huang Yue smiled and also closed her eyes.

At last... at last it is truly ending.

A trace of release appeared on Xue Kai’s face. He turned his head, looking at Zhou Yi, then at Song Hai, yet in the end he still could not tell which of the two was stronger. So, in the end, it no longer mattered.

Rest in peace.

Seeing the three of them close their eyes, Zhou Yi blinked, then suddenly pressed both hands downward.

Boom.

A peal of thunderous force exploded between heaven and earth. Instantly after came the compressed air, churning and bursting repeatedly.

Boom rumble boom rumble boom rumble...

Song Hai, along a winding little path, walked ahead with Zhou Yi behind him, skipping lightly as he went.

Hmm? What is it? Song Hai looked back, asking with a puzzled expression.

Shouldn’t we do something?

Huh? Song Hai froze.

They came all the way to our door. If we do nothing, won’t it make us seem too easy to bully? Zhou Yi explained.

Oh. Song Hai understood at once. Turning back around, he continued skipping along, his voice drifting back: You decide.

Still just a child.

Zhou Yi smiled, looking at Song Hai, warmth filling his heart. No matter how mature he acted, he was still really just a child. They had grown up together, always together after Zhou Yi had first met him. His nature had never changed. That was good.

Before, it was you who came to us. Now, it is time for us to return it.

The thought passed through Zhou Yi’s mind, and though his face still held a smile, his heart had already turned cold.

The Isle of the Supreme is too far away. There is no way to reach it. Then we can only start with you.