Chapter 168: The State of the Middle-Aged Cultivator

The middle-aged cultivator said incredulously: "In this gravity field, even the lightest silk would be suppressed—are you now lighter than silk?!"

Regarding this opponent, Wang Ping felt grateful and also held him in esteem, so he patiently answered his question:

"This is a clash of Dao intent; as long as one remains within the area shrouded by my Starfire Blazing Light Dao intent, it is equivalent to becoming light of extremely slight mass, though my Dao art is only just begun and cannot truly turn into light, but your gravity field is not strong enough to affect light!"

The middle-aged cultivator objected, saying: "Your attack poses no threat at all! It merely happens to counter my gravity Dao technique."

Wang Ping gave a faint smile and said: "Is that so!"

Having said that, his body once again turned into a streak of red light.

Boom!

The middle-aged cultivator was slammed back five kilometers before hitting the ground; his aura flickered, his breath waned, and the gravity in the area vanished.

Wang Ping calmly approached the middle-aged cultivator, helped him up, and said with a smile: "If I had exerted more force just now, your flesh would have been smashed to pieces; even if you possessed heaven-reaching ability, you wouldn't have time to deploy it, and would be helpless—just like your gravity technique: once activated, it immobilizes the target's body, making thought hazy, so how could one cast any Dao art?"

The middle-aged cultivator nodded and said: "This is also an extreme power—speed! Indeed, if speed is great enough, one can dodge every attack! Even the gravity field is the same!"

Wang Ping shook his head and said: "What counters you is not speed, but the Dao intent of Starfire Blazing Light! Under your gravity, any substance with weight is affected! Yet within the range of my Dao intent, I am virtually weightless, and even if I had weight, your present gravity field would have no effect on me!"

The middle-aged cultivator asked doubtfully: "Then why is your speed so fast?"

Wang Ping replied with a light smile: "Because at that moment I possessed a portion of light's attributes, such as speed!"

The middle-aged cultivator nodded, suddenly enlightened: "Ah, I see! However, I have seen cultivators of the light attribute before, and they still fell under my influence! It seems your transformation into light differs from theirs."

Wang Ping laughed: "Perhaps! I thank you for sparing my life!"

Upon hearing that, the middle-aged cultivator shook his head and said: "I am innately averse to slaughter; I am merely a seeker of the Dao. Even if this battle space were to duplicate me, it could not alter my will!"

Curious about the condition of these ancient cultivators, Wang Ping voiced the doubts in his heart.

The middle-aged cultivator pondered, then explained to Wang Ping: "Most of us have long been dead since antiquity; the master of this place gathered a wisp of our remnant souls, fused the memories of some of our past battles into those souls with great supernatural power, and remolded us, all so that present-day cultivators could train against us and thus select the strongest geniuses. But for us to exert our utmost combat power, we must possess our own will—hence I am able to act according to my will."

"'So you say you have lived tens of millions of years at the Foundation Establishment stage!' Wang Ping asked in astonishment."

"'No! We merely possess the combat power of the Foundation Establishment stage, but our state is a peculiar deathless condition; those of us in this stage forever retain peak Foundation Establishment combat power, yet we have lost the ability to learn! Otherwise, the experience of over three hundred thousand bouts against various geniuses—just imagine how terrifying that would be!' the middle-aged cultivator explained with a smile."

Hiss!

Wang Ping sucked in a breath of cold air; indeed, if these people had the ability to learn, how terrifying would they be?

"'You have won this battle! Over endless ages, you are still the first person to defeat me! You humans truly possess extraordinary talent!' the middle-aged cultivator chuckled."

"'Could it be that you are not human?' Wang Ping glanced at the middle-aged cultivator in surprise, discovering that he looked exactly like a human."

"'No, we are merely humanoid in shape; after breaking through Foundation Establishment, we can alter our outward appearance!' the middle-aged cultivator replied."

"'Third round of the Ancient-Modern Debate! Victory! The fourth round will begin in five hours!'"

This time the interval turned out unexpectedly long, but for Wang Ping it was a boon; he could use the opportunity to thoroughly refine his newly created Dao art: Starfire Blazing Light.

Then Wang Ping looked at the middle-aged cultivator before him and extended an invitation: "We still have five hours ahead; why not, fellow Daoist, discuss the Dao together?"

The middle-aged cultivator, who called himself a seeker of the Dao, had spent countless ages here without being able to pursue the Dao at all; he had long yearned for a Dao discussion, and Wang Ping's invitation filled him with extraordinary joy, so he immediately agreed.

The time spent discussing the Dao always passed swiftly; when the prompt sounded, both finally ceased their discussion, still feeling unsatisfied.

"'Fellow Daoist Wang Ping, I hope you will spread the fame of my gravity technique abroad!' the middle-aged cultivator said with a hopeful expression."

Wang Ping solemnly nodded and replied: "Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Nangong! I will, under the gaze of myriad onlookers, use this technique to suppress all who defy!"

Nangong is the middle-aged cultivator's surname; hearing Wang Ping's words, he broke into a satisfied smile.

A flash of light—Wang Ping vanished from this space, and when he reappeared, he was above a great river!

On a small skiff, a cultivator sat leisurely at the bow sipping tea; what's excessive is that two lovely young maidens attended him at his side.

Wang Ping, already aware of their condition, wore a strange expression; could it be that this cultivator cannot exert his combat power without beautiful women beside him? This scene really is rather odd.

"'The fourth round of the Ancient-Modern Debate begins!'"

Starfire Blazing Light!

Wang Ping's body suddenly flared with a red light, and then his azure-bladed sword instantly pierced the cultivator.

Empty!

Wang Ping's expression shifted slightly; after a quick thought, he realized this was an illusion-type Dao art.

But this art is useless against him; his will is sufficiently formidable, his eyes faintly glimmering with a crystalline light, he slightly lifted his head and saw that the cultivator stood three feet before him, smiling as he gazed at him.

Heh! He is extremely confident in his own illusion technique!

Wang Ping gazed ahead at what appeared to be an empty spot, then suddenly smiled faintly; a streak of azure light flashed, and the cultivator's silhouette gradually emerged before splitting in half.

Shaking his head, Wang Ping felt a slight disappointment; illusion-type Dao arts affect him minimally, and after this battle ended he had another five hours of free time.

Too bad Fellow Daoist Nangong is no longer here!

In the ensuing battles, whether opponents cultivated two Dao arts or had mastered two Dao arts to perfection, Wang Ping fought them all, until he met a cultivator who practiced three Dao arts, at which point he encountered slight resistance.

Fellow Daoist Nangong was right: mastering a single Dao art to the utmost enables one to crush all peers of the same level.

Having fought over a hundred battles all the way, Wang Ping's Starfire Blazing Light grew ever more refined, while his abnormal combat situation drew the notice of some unnamed entity high above the battle space.