1009 Taste of the Realm (Finale)
Swish!
With an understanding of his opponent's technique, it was straightforward for Wang Wei to evade the sneak attack of the ax. However, things were not as simple as he expected. A second ax manifested out of nowhere, heading directly for his head.
His danger senses went on overdrive; he immediately knew if this attack succeeded, he might genuinely die.
Swish!
The second ax passed over his head, and Wang Wei's body was missing that part of his flesh. He did not use his absolute control over his body to scatter the atoms and subatomic particles in his head, returning them to nature as they should be.
No, he knew such an act would still result in his death - this had the ability to ignore pure matter and even directly target his soul. So, at the last minute, he turned his head into a state of void - similar to how he used his Intangibility, but at a higher level.
'Oh, that was close,' thought Wang Wei. 'I missed the thrill of dancing with death.'
He saw the disappearing ax and knew how there was a second - a duel blade, a blade of life, and one of death.
'Maybe it's not that simple.'
As soon as he had this thought, he was proven correct. Two axes attacked him, and he evaded.
However, at the correct time, a third appeared, and he evaded it, too, but a fourth materialized out of nowhere.
'I was right. Besides life and death, there is a good and evil ax.'
[Karma Mirror]
Wang Wei once read a colorful language comment on social media: "Karma is not a bitch, it's a mirror.' The netizen who posted this comment was referring to the fact that karma does not just pay us back for our actions; it reflects our choices and decisions. It's another way to say every reaction has an equal and opposite reaction.
With this comment or idea in mind, he created this technique. As expected, once the evil ax hit him, it immediately bounced back to its owner.
Old Man Nether soon realized he could no longer control his own weapon.
So, without any choice, he had to defend himself.
The black armor around him covered his entire body. Boom! The ax sent him flying back, but he was soon on his feet, perfectly intact.
'Another Empyrean Artifact?' Wang Wei was speechless. He also realized Old Man Nether was still an old fox as the armor appeared like a technique to him. Knowing his disadvantage in the weapon area, Wang Wei decided to be more aggressive.
[Freedom of Obsession]
He used a technique that directly targeted Old Man Nether's mind. Immediately, the ancient Empyrean felt his obsession for a very long time with Samsara rapidly disappearing. He almost groaned in pleasure because of how free and liberating the entire experience felt.
After working for so long with little to no success, he finally realized how great his life would be as long as he abandoned such useless obsession.
"NOOOOOOO." His voice was so powerful that some of it leaked from the Void Battlefield seal.
'Such strong obsession,' observed Wang Wei. He thought his obsession for absolute freedom was deep, but even he had to admit Old Man Nether was probably higher than him.
"How dare you mess with my mind." Wang Wei ignored him and pointed his finger:
[Authority Depriving]
The flame around Old Man Nether's head disappeared, returning to his human visage. The armor on him dimmed slightly as if he had lost something.
"The power of Samsara," said Old Man Nether in shock. He could tell the latter used power similar to a Yama King, depriving him of his control or authority by using Samsara-related Dao. Such an act was not a straightforward application of the Dao but power directly from the source.
"How can you use such a technique?"
"I saw Di Tian using it, so it was easy to replicate after a little study."
Old Man Nether's face turned redder than a baby's butt.
"What? Feeling angry? Jealous? And maybe a little shameful?" sneered Wang Wei. "With your age, you should have long understood fate is unfair and no one is born equal. Since you could not do with the cards granted to you, there was no point in these useless emotions."
"I'll make you pay for your insolence." To Wang Wei's surprise, Old Man Nether reverted to his previous state, dissolving his technique.
'He can ignore a higher authority than him?
Maybe he did have some success in creating his version of Samsara.' He looked at the possible explanation for his events. A dark cloud loomed over this battlefield. He could tell the cloud was simply to hide what was inside. Sadly, none of his methods could penetrate the truth.
[Ultime Samsara]
A sense of dread permeated the entire battlefield.
The idea that nothing was eternal and would eventually die before something was born in the ashes, following a constant and unending cycle, entered Wang Wei's mind. They would feel the same way if there were other life in this place.
Afterward, everything proceeded to come to an end - the universe, matter, life, space-time, energy, the five elements, Yin and Yang, and everything in between. Luckily, this was the Void Battlefield, or absolutely everything in the lower dimension would die; No one would be spared except for Wang Wei, Old Man Nether, and other things. However, the number of survivors would be counted on one hand.
Bolts of purple lightning descended on the sky, targeting him at all times from different angles.
He had to use all his defensive abilities, like blessing his luck, controlling probability, reversing death with life, and all the others.
His face was pale as he constantly moved to evade the bolts that covered the sky purple.
Despite his best attempts, he was hit a few times, thus severely injuring him.
'No, this battle has to end.' His [Existence] was injured. Now, with his current level, such an injury is dangerous but still controllable. The issue is his injury has reached the point that his realm was about to fall once the pill's effect ended.
[Return to the Void]
He immediately used the ultimate ability of his flesh - returning everything to a state of nothingness, a state where there is no space, no time, no matter, no life, no chaos, no mind or spirit, no soul - it did not even contain the concept of existence or nonexistence.
Old Man Nether's face changed as he hurriedly stopped his technique and rushed back to the Nether Hell; he did not want to have the slightest contact with such a damn technique, even if he had ways to deal with it.
Wang Wei watched him run away and did not pursue; this was his objective. After the latter left, he reinforced the seal on the Nether Hell and removed the one on the battlefield. He then looked around at the countless tears in this empty white space.
"It's still not completely finished," he muttered. If not for the seal, the effect of their battles would have leaked. Wang Wei groaned slightly as he sensed the effect of the pill rapidly running out.
He disappeared before reappearing in the court.
Immediately afterward, his aura drastically decreased.
"As expected, my strength now is barely Third Class."
He felt the very core of his life, or existence, was severely injured. And similar to how mortals cannot use much strength or power when injured or sick, he was in the same situation.
"Is this what she has to live with?" he muttered, thinking of that woman who lingered in his dream.
"No, her case is probably more severe."
The [Existence] of a Paragon is not so easy to be affected, let alone the one of a Boundless one. So, he could imagine the terror of the Ultimate Taboo.
"I need to heal, and it's now your job to protect me," he said out loud to no one. However,
someone appeared in the corner - it was another him. Before this battle, he knew the possible danger, so he used the resources needed to condense a permanent clone.
Although it only had the strength of 40% Grand Dao Source, the latter had the ability to use its full strength for a short period in an emergency.
"Do you want me to hold the court for you?" asked the clone.
"No. Let's release the news about my injury as bait. Let's see if there are some stupid people still lurking around."
"Okay. We should have visitors soon. We can begin with them."
Void Battlefield, after Wang Wei left:
A few people immediately appeared; to be precise, all the Eterna Class Powerhouses showed up - including the hidden ones from the Sea Race. They looked around with pale faces, sensing the remaining aura on this battlefield.
"Impossible," muttered one of the Sea Race, not willing to accept a new Emperor could be this powerful. Everyone gazed at him but did not say anything. Many felt that way but just had better control of themselves.
"Eminent Monk, do you know something?" asked Xu Shi, who was also pale simply due to the aura in the surroundings. Every passing second felt like she was carrying the weight of the world, and even breathing became difficult.
"Why are you asking this poor monk," said Feng Heng with some sweat on his forehead.
"You're probably one of the oldest here, and you have access to all of Buddhism's heritage. So, if you know something, don't hesitate to speak."
Feng Heng paused briefly. "You should have heard about the Ten-Fold Battle Realm?"
Xu Shi, along with everyone who was listening, nodded, both openly and secretly. Recently, with the rise of the Dream World, people have begun to compare Emperors and Eternals. As such, the concept soon became popular when individuals tried to understand why there was such a vast difference between them.
"Well, there were rumors that ten was not the limit - that there was another layer above." Feng Heng stopped talking, and the room quieted for a few seconds.
"Are you saying the Heavenly Emperor had achieved this realm, thus having battle prowess comparable to Tier 11 of the Emperor Path?"
Feng Heng did not elaborate further.
"Hey, monk, don't just speak nonsense not to reveal what you know," growled Ao Shen.
"I cannot do anything if the donor does not believe my words."
"I'll believe your words when you speak the truth."
"The truth is always so cruel, wouldn't you say so, donor?"
"You⌜"
"Okay, there is no point in arguing or fighting,"
butted in Xu Shi. "If we want the truth, we can just ask him."
She immediately disappeared from the place.
Everyone looked at her before following. Since they had someone to follow, why not see what happens?
