Chapter 462: The General Trend, Trinity Form |
What is momentum?
This is momentum!
Tong Zhuo's expression was very unsightly. With his background and current status and strength, no matter where he went, he was the center of attention.
But right now, the gazes looking at him didn't hold the reverence of the past; instead, they contained some different meanings.
Some gazes harbored malice, seemingly wanting to see him defeated by a Star Seed who had just joined Lingxiao. Some gazes harbored worry, seemingly afraid that he would also be defeated.
There were also some gazes carrying expectation, as if hoping he could defeat this Su Chen.
But no matter which kind it was, he disliked them all very much, because they were all forcing him to do something he hadn't anticipated at all today.
"Climbing from tenth step by step to second, what great spirit." Someone a bit further away spoke. Tong Zhuo had an impression of this person; he seemed to be a guy ranked somewhere past ten on the Morning Star Ranking.
This guy's speed is too fast... Tong Zhuo's heart sank heavily. He came today to observe the battle, not to accept others' challenges.
The other party had swept through step by step. To say he would stop at second and not challenge the first was clearly impossible.
However, he had stayed in this position for several years anyway, so naturally he wouldn't be affected by the outside world. He still possessed extremely strong self-confidence in himself.
Azure Deity talent, all seven Holy Classes were top-tier, and he had even harmonized with a Cultivation Technique. The gap between Du Yunfei, Zhong Yue, and him was not ordinary.
But as the first, as the superior, he naturally held a disadvantage.
Bronze Heaven came from the Outer Realms, and this Su Chen seemed to be very young. Coming to this level step by step was already shocking enough. Even if he failed, it was only natural.
If he were injured in the battle or something similar, it would instead make his momentum even fiercer.
And it was expected of him to win. Furthermore, since the other party was completely unknown before and was already second on the Hidden Star Ranking, coupled with the fact that Bronze Heaven wasn't very strong to begin with, there naturally wouldn't be any damage to them.
In other words, if Zhong Yue took the opportunity to challenge him now, he wouldn't be so resistant. After all, suppressing Eternal Dragon Heaven was the common goal of the Upper Three Heavens in recent years.
Winning brought no benefits, and after the battle, unless he defeated the other party with absolute crushing momentum, it would only bring harm.
No matter how confident he was in himself, he didn't think he could really defeat the other party with crushing momentum. After all, Zhong Yue and Du Yunfei were already extremely extraordinary.
Suddenly, Tong Zhuo's eyes twitched, becoming even more gloomy.
He really dared to challenge him!
The token within his body trembled. He had already received Su Chen's challenge request. Anticipating that the other party would challenge was one thing.
But actually receiving the other party's challenge was another matter.
Jiang Yue stroked his big beard. Zhong Yue had just defeated Du Yunfei and then lost to Su Chen. The momentum he had accumulated today had actually paved the way for the other party.
But there was no helping it. He didn't know what was going on with this Su Chen either, his strength was unimaginable. Defeat was defeat, and the impact would have to be discussed later.
At present, his gaze drifted, but he said, "Although this Su Chen swept his way up here with striking spirit, it seems he still has some self-awareness. He actually didn't challenge Tong Zhuo?"
Qi You's brows furrowed. This Jiang Yue seemed to be praising Tong Zhuo, but in reality, he wanted to force the other party to state his position.
Tong Zhuo naturally could hear it. Under the public eye, no matter how resistant he was, it was impossible for him to refuse.
It was just that going in so rashly, he also had some worries. After all, his profile and some past battle recordings were hanging on his page, available for viewing at any time.
But he knew nothing about Su Chen's profile or even what direction his profession excelled in. Fragments of the person's battles would only be intercepted by the Martial Proof Hall and uploaded to the profile page several hours later.
Having detailed information to reference had an enormous impact on the outcome of a battle, and in some moments, it could even turn the tables in a desperate situation.
"Before challenging, this person has probably already studied the battles of everyone on the leaderboard. Know thyself and thy enemy." Tong Zhuo remained expressionless and didn't respond to Jiang Yue's words. He was waiting...
The surrounding gazes crisscrossed and gradually became suspicious. Su Chen had already reached this step; could it be he wouldn't try to challenge Tong Zhuo?
If he challenged, what attitude did Tong Zhuo have now?
Accept or not?
The crowd didn't wait too long. Before the Martial Proof Hall, ripples appeared in the void, and a figure gradually surfaced. The gazes of the nearby high-level figures from various heavens instantly turned over.
A sharp gleam flashed across the bottom of Tong Zhuo's eyes. The one who came out was precisely Du Yunfei. His expression was very unsightly, but his gaze was scanning the surroundings, and he quickly found his target.
The moment they made eye contact, Tong Zhuo felt the mental ripple sweeping over from the other party—
"Physical-type profession, should excel in extreme bursts. The level of his burst is astonishing."
Those present were all Morning Stars, so they naturally felt the mental fluctuation from Du Yunfei.
Jiang Yue gave a cold snort inwardly. This Tong Zhuo looked boorish but was extremely cautious, and there was also this Du Yunfei, actually thinking of coming out to provide intelligence for Tong Zhuo.
"Physical, extreme burst..."
This intelligence was very simple, but Tong Zhuo already had a rough template of Su Chen in his heart.
There were quite a few people walking this kind of professional path in Lingxiao. By strengthening their own physical bodies through multiple professions, they could squeeze out powerful strength far exceeding their own level in a short time.
"The flaw lies in the short duration..." Tong Zhuo pondered slightly in his heart, and only then said indifferently, "This newly arrived Star Seed is very confident. He has already initiated a challenge against me."
Sure enough... the crowd was not surprised in the slightest.
Jiang Yue's heart stirred slightly. In a flash of lightning, he suddenly said, "Since that's the case, when Junior Brother Tong Zhuo goes in, if you don't ask Su Chen if he's willing to project the battle scene, it's really boring for us waiting outside."
"Of course, if Junior Brother Tong Zhuo has misgivings, then forget it."
Tong Zhuo cast a cold glance over, but he heard Qi You's voice ring in his ear, "You can ask him, remember... your goal is the Dao Sovereign position. The Dao Sovereign is open-minded like the sea receiving all rivers. You should feel gratified that Bronze Heaven has a person like Su Chen."
Tong Zhuo withdrew his thoughts and nodded: "Since Senior Brother Jiang Yue has spoken, I will ask him."
With that, he directly accepted the challenge to save any more unexpected incidents from happening, and his figure also vanished from the spot.
Everyone had their own thoughts, but Qi You's gaze turned to the newly emerged Du Yunfei, secretly comforting him: "You are still young, no need to be discouraged..."
"Young?" Du Yunfei's mouth twitched, and he couldn't help but ask, "Is he as young as Su Chen?"
Qi You fell silent for a moment. Du Yunfei pressed, "Is he really only twenty-seven years old?"
Qi You sighed and responded, "That's what he said himself when registering. We didn't really test it, but he shouldn't lie about this. It's not like we don't have ways to go to the Dust Star Sea to verify."
Du Yunfei's brows twitched. He stopped speaking, allowing the gazes filled with various meanings to sweep over his body.
.........
"Thank goodness..."
Seeing the surrounding clouds and mist transform into a battlefield, Su Chen couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. This guy's response time was a bit long; he was really afraid the other party wouldn't agree.
Once it was delayed, the matters involved would likely be many. It would probably be very difficult to fight this battle in a short time, and missing out on these five hundred Faith Essences would be quite uncomfortable.
The battlefield evolution finished. He had already seen the burly figure standing three meters tall, wearing a specially tailored robe with golden cloud patterns embroidered on a white background, which looked like it had no defensive effect.
At their level, the external weapons and armor allowed to be used by this Martial Proof Hall were far from enough to support their battles against each other.
"Su Chen..." Tong Zhuo looked over from afar. The other party indeed looked excessively young, appearing even younger than the profile picture on the leaderboard.
"I heard you are the disciple of Celestial Lord Bronze. Strictly speaking, I should also call you a junior brother." Tong Zhuo's tone was relatively gentle. "Junior Brother Su Chen, can the scene of our battle be projected outside? Many people want to see it."
"Projected outside?" Seeing the other party being polite, Su Chen also called him Senior Brother: "Like how Zhong Yue and Du Yunfei battled just now?"
"That's right." Tong Zhuo nodded. Remembering what Qi You said, although he was displeased in his heart, he still added a sentence: "Since Junior Brother wants to help Bronze Heaven establish a foothold, this is exactly a great opportunity."
Help Bronze Heaven establish a foothold... Su Chen's eyes shifted slightly. Although he swept his way up from tenth place for the sake of Faith Essence.
He could also predict that this situation would inevitably be helpful to Bronze Heaven.
As for whether his excessive dominance would draw joint exclusion from the other heavens, Su Chen had also considered this problem, but after roughly understanding Lingxiao's internal situation, he figured nine times out of ten it wouldn't.
Eternal Dragon Heaven was so arrogant, and the other heavens were very dissatisfied with them, but no exclusion was seen either.
The transition between the old and new, the strong remaining strong, the Dao Sovereigns sitting high above overseeing the whole situation—although there was friction between the various heavens, it was merely friction.
Even the Upper Three Heavens wouldn't dare to strike secretly in the dark; these were the Ancestral Laws.
Except for the danger of exploring the Guixu Abyss, Lingxiao's interior was incomparably safe.
This meant that future potential was bound to be realized. This was also the reason why the Upper Three Heavens never concealed their junior generation; it was to let the Outer Heavens see exactly how strong the Upper Three Heavens were, thereby inspiring reverence.
"Thank you, Senior Brother, for the reminder." Su Chen nodded. A holographic screen had already popped up in front of him—[Tong Zhuo requests to project the battlefield outside, do you agree?]
Seeing the other party agree, Tong Zhuo's eyes narrowed slightly, and he chuckled lightly: "It is rare for a newly integrated heaven to have a junior brother with such strength. My Lingxiao is indeed becoming more and more prosperous."
"This Tong Zhuo's mind is quite broad..." Su Chen muttered secretly in his heart, or was he acting?
He hadn't been here for long either, spending over 90% of his time in secluded cultivation undergoing talent metamorphosis. He only knew the general overall information. If you asked about someone's specific temperament and such, he truly had no idea.
But he never minded speculating on others with the worst intentions.
"Is Junior Brother ready?"
The countdown had long ended, but neither of them made the first move. Tong Zhuo asked amiably.
......
"He vanished, Tong Zhuo vanished. He accepted the battle!"
Those standing a bit further from the Martial Proof Hall naturally couldn't hear the conversation of the few people in the core zone.
But seeing Tong Zhuo's figure suddenly disappear, they instantly became incomparably excited.
"We truly didn't come for nothing. I didn't expect Zhong Yue fighting Du Yunfei to become just a warm-up. This Bronze Heaven is not to be trifled with. Their Star Seed is actually so abnormal, fighting his way up from tenth step by step. How mighty!"
"If, on the one in ten thousand chance, he defeats Tong Zhuo, this person will truly make history." Someone looked excited. In Lingxiao's history, it was common for an 8th-Tier True Radiance to hold the first place on the Hidden Star Ranking.
Sometimes it was because there were no Azure Deities on the entire Hidden Star Ranking. Other times, it was because the Azure Deity had just advanced to the 8th-Tier, while the 8th-Tier True Radiance was about to advance to Morning Star.
The gap in a short period naturally couldn't be compensated for by talent.
However, everyone knew that the current situation was different from the past.
Tong Zhuo, as an 8th-Tier Azure Deity, was the one about to advance to Morning Star.
"One in ten thousand chance? It shouldn't be a one in ten thousand chance, right? Being able to fight his way to second, the win rate should be around forty or fifty percent, right?" Someone shook his head repeatedly, quite expectant: "If he really succeeds, I really want to see what kind of expressions those guys from the Upper Three Heavens will have."
"Aren't you guys being too optimistic?" Someone gave a cold snort. "Lord Tong Zhuo has stayed in this position for several years and is only one step away from Morning Star. The gap between him and Lord Zhong Yue and Lord Du Yunfei is not just a little bit."
The few guys exchanging words nearby paused. Exchanging glances, they instantly understood that this person must be from the Upper Three Heavens. No one argued with him, instead echoing, "True, but Su Chen has already defeated Du Yunfei, which is worth it."
Sure enough, that Upper Three Heavens professional's face darkened, unable to speak.
"I just flipped through the top two hundred of the Morning Star Ranking and couldn't find the other two Star Seeds of Bronze Heaven. I guess they haven't done their Martial Proof yet."
"I heard the talent of those two Star Seeds is too low, so they probably can't enter the top two hundred, right?"
"Su Chen is still too young; logically, he shouldn't be able to enter the top ten. Now look? This Bronze Heaven is not to be trifled with, not like those other Outer Realms."
Jiang Ce heard quite a bit of discussion about Bronze Heaven. His eyes occasionally glanced at Wei Zhenghong and Shen Yi'an, only to see the two looking indifferent and expressionless.
"Look, it's projected!" Someone suddenly roared loudly. The crowd hurriedly looked up, and sure enough, a holographic screen surfaced outside the Martial Proof Hall, projecting the figures of Su Chen and Tong Zhuo.
"It's actually projected!" The crowd's emotions surged even higher, the atmosphere passionate, all craning their necks to look.
"Trinity Form!" Jiang Ce was astonished, looking at the two figures stepping out from Tong Zhuo's body on the holographic screen, identical to his main body.
"Is this a clone-type ability?" Wei Zhenghong and Shen Yi'an only now reacted to the outside situation, looking at Jiang Ce.
Jiang Ce nodded, then shook his head: "Yes and no. This is Tong Zhuo's Azure Deity Power, capable of forming three bodies. Each clone possesses its own might, and furthermore, his professional abilities are all prepared around these three bodies."
"To actually utilize the Trinity Form right from the start."
Because there was something to watch, the plaza instantly became noisy again, with discussions buzzing.
......
"Trinity Form..." Su Chen looked at the three figures before him: one tall and thin, one sinister, one indifferent.
As long as one got on the Lingxiao Ranking, their past battles would leave recordings. When Su Chen was in secluded cultivation previously, he would occasionally check them out when bored.
However, he had only watched those of Tong Zhuo and Du Yunfei—who asked these two guys to be Azure Deities—and he had also read quite a few analytical articles about the two.
Tong Zhuo's Trinity Form originated from his Azure Deity Power, inherited from the Blazing Sun Tier. This wasn't its first appearance in history, and it had long been researched thoroughly.
The abilities brought by the Azure Deity talent were all different. For example, Du Yunfei's Sword Sovereign ability couldn't exert its strongest might at his current tier.
But the Trinity Form was different. At the first tier, Tong Zhuo could manifest three clones, meaning he could exert it fully from the very beginning.
But its boost to strength was nearly zero because they weren't pure clones; each body was equivalent to a real person.
It was said that the original possessor of this Trinity Form had the three bodies simultaneously take on different Holy Classes.
Under the piling up of Lingxiao's resources, they even managed to stack twenty-one top-tier Holy Classes and three top-tier Cultivation Methods, sweeping through invincible opponents at the 8th-Tier.
He was also one of the very few people in the history of the Abyssal Domain who could defeat a successor of the Longevity Lineage possessing the Longevity Root at the same tier.
But the problem was, when advancing to Morning Star, the conflicts among so many Holy Classes were too intense. He couldn't withstand the backlash at all and literally played himself to death; not even the Dao Sovereign could save him.
Later, when the Trinity Form appeared again, they took a completely different path.
The current Tong Zhuo seemed to use several special Holy Classes to have the Trinity Form mimic three different people, based on the guarantee of the Lingxiao Creation Refining Method.
Under the condition of no problems occurring when advancing to Morning Star, he possessed extremely strong combat power.