Apotheosis – Ascension to Godhood

Chapter 70: Fantastic Scene

“Ah, Jesse went too far. It is only a challenge between two peaks. Why did he use that fierce strike? Does he want to kill Zen?”

“The battle ring is made of pure iron, which is very hard. But it was easily cut by the sky-rending hoops as if the ring was as soft as mud. If the sky-rending hoops touch a human, his body will be split in two!”

“It's too dangerous. How will Zen deal with this attack?”

Now, everyone was worried about Zen. They watched him with bated breath.

When the sky-rending hoops neared Zen, he twisted his body at a strange angle and slid through the space among the hoops.

At the same time, leveraging his momentum, Zen dodged another four sky-rending hoops that had been flying above and below him. After his successful dodges, he ran toward Jesse at full speed.

The previous round of fighting between the two contestants had only been a prelude. And now formal combat, with fist to fist strikes, would begin between the two.

Jesse's face was calm as he watched Zen rushing toward him. He didn't seem to be flustered. Instead, his expression reflected the seriousness he felt. He waved his hand, and the seven sky-rending hoops left behind by Zen adjusted their directions and turned toward Zen again.

These seven sky-rending hoops were produced by Jesse's life vitality. Their weights were as light as air, and they could fly at a fantastically high speed.

Even though Zen was also very fast, he still needed to consider whether to boost his speed or to keep away from the hoops chasing him. If he did not dodge, he would be cut into pieces by these hoops before he could get close to Jesse.

This was also the reason why Jesse stood still and regarded Zen with his steady gaze. He had used the sky-rending hoops many times to defeat dozens of rivals. He understood how powerful the hoops were and what would be the result if someone met the sky-rending hoops directly. It could not be different this time, and he was sure that Zen would not dare use his body to fend off the attack from the sky-rending hoops.

However, Jesse was wrong this time.

If Zen's body had still been at the level of mysterious weapon, he would have been terrified of the cutting power of this sky-rending hoops.

However, his physical body had improved in strength after being cultivated by the fire of the Earth's core. His physical strength and body hardness were different from what he was at the level of mysterious weapon. So, Zen intended to use his body to counter the attack of the sky-rending hoops.

'Oh, my goodness! Why doesn't he run away? Is he crazy? Or does he want to die?'

Jesse was very confused when he saw that Zen did not have the slightest intention to dodge the attack. Such actions by Zen, in his eyes, were equal to suicide. How could a person face the sharp hoops without any hesitance?

“Zen, run away! Be quick!”

“Oh, no! If he doesn't get out of the way, he will be cut into pieces by the sky-rending hoops!”

“Is Zen crazy? Let's stop here. Stop the sky-rending hoops. Come down from the arena, Zen. Please! Be quick!”

Seeing that Zen was not avoiding the attack, all the disciples of Drizzle Peak voiced their concerns. They shouted to get Zen's attention, hoping that he would listen to them and dodge the hoops or even give up the fight.

Although disciples within the peak were known to hold grudges and fight among themselves, when it came to challenges between peaks, the disciples of each peak stood united. They shared the same worry about Zen's safety.

'We can afford to lose this challenge, but Zen should not die!' All the disciples of Drizzle Peak clenched their fists. They kept shouting at Zen to avoid the attack.

The refiners from Vulture Peak, however, were satisfied to see the current scene in the arena. Their lips curled in a contemptuous sneer.

“Look! This guy must be insane!”

“Yes, I think so. Maybe it's better for him to die. There is no friendship in a battle. If he wants to die without any defense, the hoops will not have any mercy on him.”

“Well, that is a pity! Drizzle Peak just enrolled a genius disciple, and Jesse is going to shred this genius!”

According to the disciples of Vulture Peak, Zen's nonresistance would eventually lead to his death. That was a good result for them.

Zen, as a representative of Drizzle Peak, had defeated three of Vulture Peak's top 20 disciples. And he only used one punch to win each fight. That was a big shame for every disciple of Vulture Peak!

This failure had never happened in the history of Vulture Peak, and it could not be forgotten or recovered by any means.

Besides, Zen was only at the marrow refining level. If he did not die today, he would grow quickly and become a significant threat to Vulture Peak. They were afraid that he would challenge all the disciples of their peak in the future.

Though it was too early to foresee what would happen in the coming years, their concerns were not unfounded.

Just two years before, a genius from Lady Peak, Yan, had defeated all disciples of Day Peak. And as a result, the ranking of Day Peak dropped from sixth to somewhere in the mid-twenties. What a horrifying experience for the disciples of Day Peak and the onlookers of other peaks.

Therefore, at this moment, the disciples of Vulture Peak did not feel uncomfortable about the scene in the arena even though it meant that Zen might die. In their minds, it would be prudent to kill Zen, a genius, at this time before he refined himself further and became a more significant threat to them.

However, Zen was not a normal refiner as they had thought. What happened next was entirely out of their expectation and dumbfounded everyone watching the fight.

“Bang!”

The first sky-rending hoop crashed into Zen and made a clear sound like a piece of gold bumping into an iron weapon. To everyone's surprise, the golden hoop did not cut Zen into pieces but instead, it bounced to the side.

Even though the hoop did not cut Zen's body, it did shred his white robe. The torn white robe exposed Zen's back to the public.

On his naked back, people could only see a light trace of blood. They held their breath and couldn't utter a word. They could not believe that such a powerful weapon only left such a small injury on Zen's skin. That was so unimaginable!

However, this was only the start of how much Zen would astound them today. The remaining sky-rending hoops continued to hurtle toward Zen. When they crashed into him, each of them also made the clear sound like the first hoop. “Bang!” The second hoop clashed with Zen and bounced away.

“Bang!” The third hoop was also deflected after touching Zen's body.

“Bang!” The fourth hoop ricocheted off Zen.

Each of these sky-rending hoops struck Zen's back, made a loud sound, and then bounced away. None were able to do Zen any harm.

In all previous fights where Jesse had used his sky-rending hoops, his opponents had been shredded. But now, none of the hoops could injure Zen beyond a small gash on his skin. Aside from the depth and shape of the injuries, the outcome of all the hoops was the same. None could cut Zen into pieces.

On seeing this fantastic scene, same as the crowd present, or maybe more surprised than the public, Jesse's eyes widened. Fear and trepidation rose in his heart.

Even though Jesse was in great shock by the hardness of Zen's physical body, he soon regained his senses. Other spectators, however, were still deeply immersed in the surprise. As the most outstanding outer disciple of Vulture Peak, Jesse did not rely only on his powerful weapon, but his strength and his sensitivity to danger. And this time, a feeling of danger awoke in him from the threat Zen posed.

On the other hand, Zen who had withstood this wave of attacks from the sky rending hoops rushed toward Jesse and aimed a punch at him.

His fist was hard, and the force contained in it was overwhelming. The blow was like stormy sea waves, continuous and unrelenting. That was the power Zen obtained after he awakened seven dragon scales.

And his rival was not weak. Jesse soon recovered from his surprise and raised his hands before Zen's punch reached him. The life vitality condensed between Jesse's hands soon formed light green rings.

“Thick earth hoops! Come out!”

Jesse shouted out as his hands moved up and down, making quick gestures. Thick Earth Hoop was Jesse's defense refinement method. It generated circles of green rings from life vitality and then combined these rings to form a solid shield. The shield glimmered in the sun as it stood before Jesse protecting him from Zen's powerful punch.

“Clink! Clank! Clink! Clank!”

The thick earth hoops withstood Zen's heavy blow. The rings rattled against each other and gave out a burst of clinking sound.

Even though Jesse's thick earth hoops protected him from Zen's punch, most of the force from the blow did not disappear and was transferred from the rings to Jesse, which pushed him back.

The force of this punch was so tremendous that Jesse flew out of the battle ring! Jesse did not break the one-punch defeat record of Vulture Peak.

However, Jesse was not a normal refiner.

If he had only relied on arduous training and consistent hard work to enter the nature level, he might become a common inner disciple of Vulture Peak, an ordinary refiner.

But now he was the top-ranked outer disciple of Vulture Peak!

Becoming the top-ranked outer disciple in any of the thirty-three peaks in Cloud Sect required many skills. Becoming a top-ranked disciple only through hard work was impossible.

Jesse was an absolute genius at Vulture Peak. He was ranked the highest among the outer disciples, and he had the potential to become the best of the inner disciples in the future because of his hard work and talents.

Even though Zen's blow pushed him out of the arena, his feet did not touch the ground. Jesse stayed suspended in the air. According to the rules, he did not fail the battle.

Jesse did not give up and grasped any means available to him to return to the battle ring. He soon threw his thick earth hoops out before he could land on the ground.

The thick earth hoops hit the ground beside the arena at tremendous speed, then bounced against the wall, and rushed back toward Jesse.

Jesse straightened his body as per his estimation of the direction of the flying rings. His feet landed on the thick earth hoops, and with the help of their force, he flew toward the arena again.

“Great move! What a perfect throw and leap by Jesse!”

“Yes, an excellent move. Indeed, within Vulture Peak, only Jesse is capable of staying calm and solving a problem in such a predicament!”

“When he was in the air, he threw his thick earth hoops. He needed to calculate the angle and the force to return his rings just below his feet. Such precise calculation in a short time is not an easy feat. I think most people would not be able to do this!”

When the disciples of Vulture peak saw that Jesse was out of the battle ring, their hearts sank, and they thought that this challenge was over. But at the critical moment when Jesse used his skillful calculations and actions to get back inside the arena, their hearts raised again. They burst out in cheer.

However, they had celebrated too quickly. Back in the battle ring, Zen was in an advantageous position in this fight. He would not let Jesse back into the arena so easily. Jesse was not weak, and Zen was not a fool either.

He ran to the edge of the arena before Jesse could land on the ground. Then he raised his hands and aimed a punch at Jesse just as he sailed past.

At this moment, Jesse did not have anything to help him to dodge Zen's attack. He felt annoyed at his helplessness. He had witnessed the hardness of Zen's physical body and didn't want to fight against Zen, body to body. How could this man refine his body to such overwhelming strength that he could bear the attacks of the sky rending hoops without being grievously injured?

Unfortunately, he had no other choice but to meet Zen head-on.

With a sigh, Jesse formed his thick earth hoops to protect his body in the hope that they would withstand Zen's punch.

He hoped in vain. Same as the last time, Jesse was pushed back by the force of the blow, and he shot out of the battle ring before his feet could touch the ground of the arena.

Jesse was not the kind of person to give up. And so, he used the reverse force of his thick earth hoops to push himself back into the arena.

The disciples of both peaks watched this strange scene.

On the one side, Jesse struggled to get back inside the battle ring, while on the other hand, Zen was trying to stop him from touching the ground of the arena.

Regardless of which side of the arena Jesse was bouncing toward, Zen would rush forward and punch Jesse.

Just like a grasshopper that couldn't get to the ground, Jesse was jumping all over the arena, from left to right and then from right to left.

For the first few times, the onlookers present felt nervous and held their breath. Their hearts bounced up and down with Jesse's flying route.

However, after seeing the similar scene three, four and even five times, they were speechless, and a dull expression came on their faces.

Even Mia Mu and Aura Su who were standing in the distance felt speechless at the strange fight between Jesse and Zen. They looked at each other, noticed the same confusion in each other's eyes, and turned back to observe the fight in the battle ring.

After a long time, Mia could not resist saying with clenched teeth, “Aura, your outer disciple, Zen Luo is awful. How can he treat Jesse as if Jesse were a ball! Throwing him toward the sky, and not allowing him back to the ground?”

On hearing her complaints, Aura touched her long hair and murmured, “And, that.... I think Zen is afraid of Jesse's strength. After all, Jesse is a nature creature, and he has many advantages over Zen.”

“But isn't it unreasonable for them to keep fighting this way? When will it come to an end?” Mia was a little anxious.

However, Aura was not as anxious as Mia. She was calm most of the time and even smiled slyly when Mia was not looking. She did not need to be worried, as she had thought through this impasse long before. She was well prepared to lose this challenge. And if she happened to win, of course, she would not refuse it.

Mia was concerned about the current situation.

Although Jesse was a nature creature, he had been in the nature level for a short time. The life vitality in his body was not infinite. If the situation continued to go on like this, Jesse would most likely lose the battle after his life vitality was exhausted.

Mia was not the only one aware of this point. Jesse also knew this shortcoming.

Although he could rely on the thick earth hoops to combat with Zen and ensure that he would not fall to the ground, he also knew that if he kept consuming his life vitality to support the thick earth hoops like this, he would eventually use up his life vitality and be defeated by Zen in the end.

Such failure in a challenge between peaks was not a result that Jesse could accept.

So, when Zen deflected him for the ninth time, Jesse used the same strategy to sail toward the arena. However, this time, he summoned almost all his life vitality for one final try.

He needed to exert all his strength for this last action!