Chapter 92: Establishing the Bright Lord

Popular recommendation: On the high platform, the Bright Fire behind Lu Li crackled and popped.

Everyone's gaze was fixed upon Cult Leader Shi and the Dharma King.

One was the current Cult Leader who had lost the hearts of the people, while the other was the Dharma King who had gained the momentum.

Everyone knew that only one person would be able to walk off the high platform today.

Cult Leader Shi was seen slowly standing up, his eyes carrying an unprecedented coldness.

"Hehehe!

Dharma King, I still underestimated you; I never expected you to actually discover the secret of the Bright Fire."

"But, so what?"

Cult Leader Shi stepped forward, the aura on his body suddenly soaring.

He spread his hands and turned to the crowd, saying: "The reason I led the elite of the cult to Guangming Ding was to avoid unnecessary sacrifices!

How can you all listen to the words of the Dharma King alone?"

"Dharma King, oh Dharma King, I intended to treat you as the sharpest blade in my hand, but unfortunately, you do not know what is good for you."

"Relying on a little cleverness within the Bright Fire, what can you do? Since you dare to stand out, do not blame this Cult Leader for showing no mercy."

Having said this, Cult Leader Shi's body suddenly twisted, and the aura on his body erupted abruptly.

Everyone felt a powerful pressure sweeping over them, and for a moment, they even had a sense of the universe being turned upside down.

Ordinary cult members were already kneeling on the ground, unable to stand.

The expressions of the other three Dharma Kings changed immediately, and the Eagle King shouted: "You actually mastered the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth!

Didn't you say that setting off today was to go to Guangming Ding to practice the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth?"

Elder Hou said contemptuously: "Hmph!

Ignorant, the Cult Leader had already mastered the first two levels of the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth long ago.

This trip to Guangming Ding was merely for further practice."

Cult Leader Shi snorted coldly, his icy and intense killing intent already shrouding Lu Li.

The face behind Lu Li's mask remained calm, only his brows slightly raised.

He said indifferently: "Oh? This technique is somewhat interesting."

Judging by his tone, he did not hold Cult Leader Shi in any regard at all.

Cult Leader Shi was furious upon hearing this, and as he moved, his figure flashed toward Lu Li like lightning.

He grabbed at the empty air with his right hand as if seizing a great hammer, and smashed it down fiercely.

This punch was as fast as lightning and as heavy as thunder.

As the punch roared out, the air in front was instantly compressed, emitting popping sounds.

This punch was very simple, yet it was violent and fierce, whipping up a gale of wind.

Seeing this punch, everyone under the platform could not help but feel secretly shocked.

Almost no one had seen Cult Leader Shi make a move; everyone knew his martial arts were high, but they had not expected his martial arts to reach such a level.

The moment he struck, it was with the force of a thunderbolt, unstoppable.

The Eagle King asked himself, he could not block this punch.

Among the three Dharma Kings and four Elders, not one could block it either.

Yet, as it happened, Cult Leader Shi's opponent was Lu Li.

This was the man who had suppressed the Five Greats with his sword during the Huashan Sword Debate; even the Divine Eagle Hero Yang Guo, the Northern Hero Guo Jing, the Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi, and the Old Urchin Zhou Botong were not his match.

Having lived through two lifetimes, Lu Li had never known defeat.

Moreover, at this moment, Lu Li had already mastered both the Nine Yin and Nine Yang, and combined with the Purple Cloud Skill he had practiced and refined on the Tianxuan Continent, his internal energy was no longer something that experts of this world could withstand.

Lu Li's right hand was seen suddenly reaching toward the direction of the Bright Fire behind him, grabbing at the empty air; the Bright Fire behind him seemed to be grasped, and it shook violently.

Following that, Lu Li swung his arm fiercely.

This movement was just like swinging an arm around to slap someone in the face.

Logically speaking, such a crude movement could never hit an expert like Cult Leader Shi.

Yet, a powerful energy field locked Cult Leader Shi in place.

It was as if a massive mountain was being held in Lu Li's palm and smashed down; it was simply powerful to the extreme, and impossible to resist by force!

"Bad."

The warning signs in Cult Leader Shi's heart rose to the extreme.

People are high-spirited when young, but the older they get, the more they fear death.

Cult Leader Shi's figure retreated suddenly, and he sealed his hands up and down, precisely blocking Lu Li's palm.

Bang!

A loud noise came, and intense energy fluctuations dissipated in all directions.

Everyone saw that half of Cult Leader Shi's face had turned blood-red, while the other half had turned pale.

His body was also twisting slightly, and with every twist, it seemed as if a massive force was being transmitted from his arms to his feet.

The ground of the high platform beneath his feet suddenly began to crack with several fissures.

One, two, three... suddenly, Cult Leader Shi spat out a mouthful of blood, and his entire body flew backward.

Boom!

Lu Li's palm was seen pressing toward the ground in the empty air, stopping in mid-air.

The entire ground shook for an instant; many disciples kneeling under the platform fell over directly, and the high platform, which had already cracked with several fissures, suddenly collapsed on one side, a massive crevice like a canyon extending from in front of Lu Li all the way to the other side.

"This... is this still martial arts?"

It was not just Cult Leader Shi who looked horrified; even the eyes of Elder Hou, the Eagle King, and the others were wide open.

Bright King, could he truly be a deity of the Bright Fire descended to the world? Cult Leader Shi did not hesitate; the moment his body touched the ground, he disregarded his injuries and instantly shot backward like an arrow.

Retreat quickly!

Cult Leader Shi no longer had any heart for battle, even though his martial arts had reached the pinnacle of perfection, and he had even cultivated the supreme art of the Ming Cult, the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth.

In terms of raw strength, he was not beneath the Five Greats.

But as for the current Lu Li, how could the Five Greats possibly oppose him? "Too strong."

"Escape!

I must escape."

Only this single thought remained in Cult Leader Shi's mind; he felt he could not stay for even an instant longer.

Since he first debuted, he had never encountered such a formidable enemy.

If it could be said that he had relied on martial arts and the white phosphorus Bright Fire to deceive his followers, then now, he truly believed that Lu Li was a celestial deity of the Bright Fire, and perhaps he was truly the reincarnation of the Bright King!

That power was not something he could withstand, nor was it something a human should possess!

However, Lu Li did not pursue.

Do not forget, before he struck with his palm, he had grabbed a handful of the Bright Fire.

Everyone only noticed the might of his palm, but forgot the Bright Fire that had been blasted outward by Lu Li's True Qi.

Four streaks of Bright Fire had already flown out from behind Lu Li, and like meteors in the sky, they smashed directly toward the fleeing Cult Leader Shi.

The falling fire-stones instantly sealed off all of Cult Leader Shi's paths of retreat, and immediately following, Lu Li struck out with a punch from afar.

Everyone only saw Lu Li's right hand clench into a fist, and then he struck a punch into the empty air.

The next moment, Cult Leader Shi's entire body shuddered violently, and a deep fist print appeared out of thin air on his chest.

His body swayed, and he slowly knelt down onto the ground.

"Cough, cough!

I am defeated..."

Cult Leader Shi laughed miserably: "What kind of fist technique is this?"

"This was just a punch I put some force into,"

Lu Li said nonchalantly.

In truth, this punch did not contain any of the artistic conception found in the Kongming Fist or the Xianglong Shiba Zhang.

All it had was the explosive force of Lu Li's peerless True Qi.

If Lu Li had used his sword, Cult Leader Shi would not even have had the time to conceive the thought of running away.

"Heh heh, a punch with force... you won't even tell me its name..."

Cult Leader Shi's complexion turned ghastly, his breathing growing weaker and weaker; as he spoke, his eyelids drooped, and his entire body collapsed onto the ground.

Lu Li's punch and palm had already shattered all the bones and internal organs in his body.

Amidst the falling flames, the thirty-first generation Cult Leader of the Ming Cult was dead!

Lu Li stood with his hands behind his back, looked at the crowd, and said slowly: "From this day forth, I am the master of the Ming Cult. Who objects?"

The surroundings were silent.

Eagle King and the others seemed stunned, their hearts filled with a complex mix of emotions; they did not know if they felt more awe or more excitement and agitation.

Yesterday, they had gone to find Lu Li, thinking of helping him build momentum and assisting him in opposing Cult Leader Shi, but they had not expected that Lu Li would have no need for such help at all.

What Lu Li needed was merely the attitude of the crowd and an opportunity.

Once the three Dharma Kings revealed their willingness to follow Lu Li, Lu Li knew he could proceed to kill.

Elder Hou and Elder Niu felt their bodies go soft and collapsed directly onto the ground.

Their hearts were filled with utter despair; even Cult Leader Shi, who had cultivated the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth, had been beaten to death by Lu Li, so who else could possibly defeat this Bright King? Few people remember the loser, and no one will stand up for the defeated.

Even Elder Hou and Elder Niu would not dare to blather on for Cult Leader Shi at this moment.

The crowd was as silent as cicadas in winter.

Eagle King and the other two Dharma Kings exchanged a glance, knelt on one knee together, and said in unison: "We respectfully invite the Bright King; we are willing to accept the Bright King as our Cult Leader."

Immediately, everyone shouted together, and all present gave their support.

No one objected.

"Very good."

"From now on, there is no more Bright King; I am the Bright Venerable."

The strong are honored; thus, he is the Bright Venerable.

Everyone knew that from this day forward, the Ming Cult would have to change to a different voice, and that would be the voice of the Bright Venerable.

From then on, the entire Ming Cult held Lu Li in the highest esteem.