Chapter 237

"Jiezi," a realm that only those with exceptional comprehension can attain.

The characteristics of "Sumeru" and "Vajra" are simple and easy to understand, summarized by just "true energy" and "sinews and bones." "Jiezi," however, is much more complex.

This realm has three characteristics.

First, mastery of all martial arts. No matter the type of martial art, one can grasp the fundamentals of simpler ones with just a glance; for more profound ones, as long as there is a remnant manual, one can deduce the general gist.

Second, ignoring temperament and internal energy to maximize the power of a move.

Third, gathering strength and true energy to concentrate the power of a move into a single point, greatly increasing its lethality.

In Li Miao's view, the usefulness of these three characteristics depends on who the opponent is. If the opponent is merely a Peak expert, the first is most useful. If the opponent is a Heaven-Man, as long as they haven't reached perfection in all three paths, the second is most useful.

But when facing an opponent like the Emperor, who has perfected all three paths and possesses vast knowledge, only the third characteristic is effective.

Since the opponent has no flaws, there is naturally no martial art to exploit; one can only fight head-on, trading blood for blood.

In such a situation, one naturally uses the martial arts they are most comfortable with.

Ji Tianrui performed a sword flourish, flicked the fresh blood off the blade, and spoke with a light laugh.

"Gu Sword."

Li Miao raised his hand to press on his shoulder and shook his neck.

"No name. If I have to give it one."

"My Fist."

On Mount Tai, Li Miao once told Mei Qinghe: martial arts are like clothing; no matter how well-fitting someone else's clothes are, they can never fit perfectly.

An arm an inch longer, fingers a fraction shorter, a slightly different build—all have a huge impact on a move.

Therefore, even after attaining "Jiezi," the most comfortable and powerful moves will always be the ones one creates oneself.

Li Miao and Ji Tianrui are both prodigies standing above the crowd of Heaven-Men. If the inheritance of Nature Cultivation had not been lost, and they hadn't spent a vast amount of time avoiding the "Five Decays of Heaven-Man," both would definitely be far beyond their current realms.

Both are prodigies capable of forging their own paths.

Naturally, they have their own martial arts.

Once unleashed, the Emperor, caught off guard, first took an elbow strike from Li Miao and was then slashed by Ji Tianrui's sword, immediately suffering a loss.

The injuries on the Emperor's body had dissipated; he lowered his head and glanced at the ground.

After fighting Li Miao and Ji Tianrui for a long while, he had only managed to push the dividing line forward a few steps, but now it had all been returned, and he had even lost three zhang.

He looked up at Li Miao and Ji Tianrui.

"Good, good, good."

"The thieves who dare to personally enter the arena to fight Me are indeed capable. None of the attendants and Heaven-Men collected by the court over the past hundred years can be compared to you two."

"If you two had been born at the founding of the dynasty and followed the Grand Ancestor to conquer the world, your military achievements would never have been lower than any great general."

"Your Majesty is too kind."

Ji Tianrui laughed lightly.

"But, you were testing Us, and We were also testing you. In the end, you were the first to fail to hold on and reveal your true colors."

"You revealed a flaw."

The Emperor sneered.

Before the words had faded, he suddenly raised his hand into a claw.

Ji Tianrui and Li Miao, who were already fully focused and guarding against the Emperor's moves, immediately braced themselves.

But the Emperor did not target either of them; instead, he reached out and grabbed toward the Jianwen Emperor!

Swish!

The Jianwen Emperor was fully immersed in his mental battle with the Emperor and had no attention left for the outside world.

Suddenly, he felt an extremely powerful suction force coming from all around him, which, with his martial arts, he found difficult to resist! Caught off guard, his stance broke, and he stumbled several steps forward!

Boom!

He stomped his foot on the ground, using a "Thousand-Catty Drop" technique, and only then did he stabilize his stance.

"Oh no!"

The Jianwen Emperor was suddenly startled.

The Emperor's goal was not to attack him, but to force him to shift his attention back to reality!

His mental battle with the Emperor was already putting him at a disadvantage; it was only because Li Miao and Ji Tianrui were distracting the Emperor that he could maintain a balance.

Now that he was distracted, the Emperor's "Mountain of Corpses and Sea of Blood" immediately rolled back!

In an instant, the dividing line reached Li Miao and Ji Tianrui, and the two immediately dodged backward.

The closer one is to the dividing line, the weaker the Emperor's control over the illusion, and the harder it is to affect their minds. But the further in one goes, the stronger the Emperor's control becomes.

If they were truly pulled into that mountain of corpses and sea of blood, with the Emperor's martial arts and the endless illusions, the two would be in danger.

The three zhang of territory they had just fought for was returned in an instant.

"Your Majesty!"

Li Miao spoke suddenly, drawing the attention of both Emperors present.

"Not you, I'm calling your ancestor."

Li Miao didn't forget to tease the Emperor at this moment, then shouted to the Jianwen Emperor.

"Your Majesty, you've seen it too. I reckon we really might not be able to push him to the edge of the square."

"Let's change tactics."

When the Jianwen Emperor was fighting the Jingnan campaign, he had fought many times against the Heaven-Men under the Ancestor, so he was no stranger to life-and-death combat. He immediately understood Li Miao's meaning.

If the Emperor could attack him from across the entire square, he would never be able to focus on his mental battle with the Emperor. Li Miao and Ji Tianrui would also be unable to secure a victory.

The strategy formulated earlier—to first break the Emperor's "Jizhao"—was no longer viable.

Then, there was only one path left.

He also pressed forward! He only spared a small portion of his mind to maintain a narrow gap around the three of them, trying to keep the Emperor's illusions from interfering with their senses.

Let's see if the three of them working together can directly decide life and death with the Emperor!

Once the thought was set, there was no more hesitation.

The Jianwen Emperor immediately dispersed the illusion of the Hall of Supreme Harmony and slowly walked forward.

But he did not notice that, in front of him, Li Miao cast an imperceptible glance at Ji Tianrui.

"How is it?"

"No rush, the Jianwen Emperor still has a trump card."

Ji Tianrui laughed lightly and shook her head slightly.

"Just wait a moment, now is not the time."

"Fine, then we wait."

Li Miao nodded slightly and turned to look at the Emperor.

"Sorry to have kept Your Majesty waiting."

"No matter, whatever other tricks you have, use them all."

The Emperor sneered.

"No matter what ghostly schemes you have, they cannot defeat the grand trend."

"Since I mastered martial arts, this is the first time I have fought someone outside of 'Jizhao.' It just so happens that today is also the day I will get what I wish for."

"Two Two-Path, one Three-Path. In My hands, you cannot make any waves."

"I am going to uprightly—grind you thieves into dust."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Li Miao scoffed.

"What kind of world is this, where a law-abiding citizen like me becomes a rebellious thief, while a man-eating monster thinks he is the grand trend."

"Fine, fine, in the end, it's about who lives and who dies."

"Come!"

(End of chapter)