Chapter 330: A Zhan

"Dare you compete?"

Ming Yu's flying sword still hovered above his head.

He Pingsheng regarded his flying sword calmly, then said: "Fine…"

"But if your magic power is too weak and you get hurt by me, don't come bothering me!"

"Don't worry!" Ming Yu said. "If your magic power truly is profound, I'll die here without a single regret!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, please bear witness for me!"

He looked around.

It wasn't Ming Yu being arrogant—he truly had this strength.

Single Fire Spirit Root, and the top Foundation Establishment disciple among the Ten Great Sects of the Imperial Capital.

Who could match him?

How could I possibly lose to some unknown brat?

"Alright…"

The crowd was happy to watch the spectacle.

Soon, the area was surrounded, three layers deep, boiling with excitement.

No one cared about the fire dragon behind them anymore.

"Esteemed Daoist!" Ming Yu looked at He Pingsheng and asked: "May I ask your esteemed name?"

He Pingsheng said: "When you defeat me, I'll tell you naturally!"

"Hehehe… such bold words…" Ming Yu sneered. "Fine, tell me—are you defending or attacking?"

He Pingsheng said: "Your choice."

He Pingsheng's calm demeanor on the surface stoked Ming Yu's inner fury.

He had never met anyone who dared to look down on him like this.

"Good, good, good!"

"Then don't regret it!"

"Begin…"

Ming Yu roared, and his internal fire spiritual energy surged thunderously into the flying sword above his head.

Flames erupted from the sword.

In an instant, the small sword swelled to thirty zhang in size.

A thirty-zhang flying sword stood in midair, radiating overwhelming might.

He Pingsheng's spiritual sense stirred slightly, and the fire spiritual energy around him instantly surged outward, coalescing into twelve fire crows.

Technique: Fire Crow Art.

He Pingsheng hadn't used this technique in combat for a long time.

Now that his cultivation had reached Foundation Establishment Level Eleven, he wielded it with even greater ease.

Moreover, each of the twelve fire crows was over a zhang in size.

Hovering in midair, they looked as if they had truly come alive.

Even the fire crows emitted harsh, grating caws.

"Slash…"

Ming Yu's body leapt into the air, stepping on the thirty-zhang-long hilt of the sword. With a thunderous crash, the giant blade plunged toward He Pingsheng's head.

Before the sword even arrived, its countless killing intent had already enveloped He Pingsheng.

Besides killing intent, waves of torrential firelight surged forth.

He Pingsheng remained unfazed.

He flicked his finger, and one massive zhang-sized fire crow shot upward.

With a crash, it slammed directly into the tip of the flying sword.

A massive burst of fire spiritual power erupted.

Where sword met crow, a crimson ripple of fire exploded outward, engulfing everything around.

Ming Yu's sword above was suddenly frozen in midair.

The sword's luster dimmed by a third.

"Rise…"

He Pingsheng raised his hand again.

The second fire crow blasted upward and struck the flying sword once more.

Crash…

The ripple surged outward, washing over all sides.

Again, the firelight on the flying sword dimmed another third.

He Pingsheng made no defense—only offense as defense.

He summoned no magic treasure, relying solely on magic power and techniques.

"Rise…"

The third fire crow surged forth.

"Rise…"

The fourth!

When the fourth flame struck the flying sword, the thirty-zhang blade instantly shattered.

At this moment, the twelve fire crows circling He Pingsheng had consumed only four.

Eight remained.

In midair, Ming Yu's face had turned pitch black.

He had already lost.

They had agreed to compare the depth of magic power.

The truth proved his opponent's magic power was indeed stronger.

Moreover, the opponent used no treasure at all, while he himself had used a top-grade spirit weapon flying sword.

How could he possibly compete?

"Retreat!"

He Pingsheng waved his hand.

The remaining eight fire crows instantly dissolved into spiritual energy and flowed back into his dantian.

He did not linger to argue with Ming Yu, but sat cross-legged directly on the rock.

Ming Yu landed on the ground, face flushed red, bowing to He Pingsheng: "I have lost!"

"I accept defeat wholeheartedly!"

After speaking, he walked away directly.

The surrounding crowd erupted in murmurs.

"Incredible!"

"Why is his magic power so profound?"

"It's three times Ming Yu's!"

"Sssss… unbelievable!"

"He must be a single Fire Spirit Root too!"

"And his cultivation scripture is certainly no ordinary one!"

Far away, the Thirteenth and Ninth Imperial Princes both narrowed their eyes.

Especially the Thirteenth Prince—he himself was a single Fire Spirit Root cultivator, and practiced the Imperial Family's supreme Heaven-grade scripture, storing far more fire spiritual energy than Ming Yu.

Yet after seeing He Pingsheng's twelve flames, the Thirteenth Prince felt he could not match his opponent.

"This kid is too strong!" the Thirteenth Prince said. "I wonder, if he faced your Xu Daoist, who would win?"

The Ninth Prince fell silent.

He shook his head: "Hard to say."

At that moment, He Pingsheng plunged again into the hundred-zhang fire sea.

This time, his timing was perfect.

With his speed, magic power, and treasures, he reached exactly three zhang from the fire dragon.

But as soon as he arrived at that three-zhang distance, the tidal force behind him surged once more.

Boom…

Riding the tidal surge, He Pingsheng advanced another zhang and more.

At this moment, he was less than two zhang from the fire dragon pillar—roughly one and a half zhang away.

Yet one breath later, the direction of the tidal force abruptly shifted.

With another boom, it hurled him back from within three zhang of the fire dragon all the way to a hundred zhang away.

"Again!"

He Pingsheng took a brief breath, then stepped once more into the fire sea.

After repeating this over a dozen times, He Pingsheng could now precisely time his arrival at the three-zhang mark just before the tide struck.

Of course, this was his absolute limit.

But each time, he could never truly get close to the fire dragon.

Fortunately, after more than a dozen attempts, He Pingsheng managed to pull out a few phoenix feathers from the dragon's exterior.

But even from this alone, he had gained immensely.

"What a pity!"

After a dozen consecutive charges, He Pingsheng sat back down on the stone, his eyes narrowing: if he could fully refine the prohibition of the Five Elements Poison-Repelling Pearl, he might just be able to reach the fire dragon.

But he was still one layer short.

Yet refining that final layer was unrealistic.

Because the more layers of a treasure's prohibition you refine, the harder each subsequent one becomes.

And the fire dragon's gate would close in just seven or eight days.

Even using the Twin Divine Elixir would not be enough time.

He Pingsheng conservatively estimated it would take at least fifteen days to refine the final layer.

At least fifteen days.

Refining the pearl was impossible—but he was only one zhang away. How could he possibly get inside?