Qin Shi: I went astray in the Heavenly Sect

Chapter 167 A Fist Without End: The Ultimate Clash
Yan Wu,

Perform martial arts.

This martial arts master, who came from the Armored Sect, was a madman born for battle. Today, with the help of a thousand people, he has finally built a ladder to the Grandmaster realm.

Although brief, it was an ultimate sublimation.

His fist tore through the sky, his fist intent soaring, like a god beating a drum, full of fighting spirit, ready to fight heaven and earth for three hundred rounds.

Standing in mid-air, Xiu Yuan seemed to have expected this. He flicked the wooden sword in front of him with two fingers.

A loud buzzing sound came from mid-air, and the star power contained in the sword seemed to have found a breakthrough, rushing wildly in all directions.

From afar, a burst of starlight exploded in front of the boy, the stardust swirling and forming an indestructible barrier that rapidly extended in all directions.

One side is a fist with fighting spirit at its peak, and the other side is the Dao that embodies the will of heaven and earth. When these two sides collide, heaven and earth lose their color.

Of course, this time the world lost its color not because of the supernatural powers of the Taoist Heavenly Sect, but because of the collision of forces.

An incredibly terrifying shockwave instantly spread outwards from the point of impact.

Below, looking at the silver-haired old man who appeared in front of the Stardust Ring, Dian Qing, Mei San Niang, and the Imperial Guards of Daliang City couldn't help but feel their hearts pound.

In battle, one must strike with full force at the first attempt, then weaken at the second, and finally exhaust oneself at the third.

This principle also applies to the martial arts world. If Yan Wu cannot gain the upper hand from the beginning, he will be at a disadvantage in the subsequent battle, since he cannot maintain his current state for long.

As the protagonist of this confrontation, Yan Wu's expression became extremely cautious.

It is said that the higher one's level of understanding, the more different things one sees.

When he was still at the Grandmaster level, the young man he saw was also a Grandmaster, a Grandmaster with abundant true qi.

But when he reached the Grandmaster level, he could sense even more.

"Ten Thousand Rivers Autumn Water, Heart as Still as Water, Harmony with the World—you've actually mastered all these techniques completely?!"

Taoist skills are known for their emphasis on internal strength, and the opponent has mastered several of these techniques. With just one technique, the depth of his true energy is already superior to that of any other school.

By cultivating all three techniques simultaneously, the depth of one's true energy is likely to surpass that of others, potentially allowing them to transcend a major realm.

In other words, when one reaches the Acquired Realm, their true energy is comparable to that of the Innate Realm.

However, upon thinking of this, Yan Wu shook his head again.

If one cultivates all three techniques simultaneously and reaches mastery, one will have long since become a grandmaster.

Among grandmasters, there are varying degrees of combat strength, but this young man before us is probably unmatched in his realm, and could even rival ordinary grandmasters.

Today, once the opponent reaches the Grandmaster level, their combat strength will likely be among the top among Grandmasters.

"A Grandmaster who is not a Grandmaster"

Yan Wu's eyes lit up. At this point, he no longer had many distracting thoughts. A worthy opponent would make him even more satisfied.

"break!!"

With a sudden shift in his energy, Yan Wu's fist neither dodged nor evaded, but charged forward again, propelled by the exaggerated ring of stardust.

A powerful fist-shaped energy blast exploded in mid-air, creating a surging shockwave that pierced through space for dozens of meters, like an air cannonball.

However, what lay before them was no ordinary object, but rather a manifestation of starlight, carrying a wisp of the grand power of heaven and earth, and containing the great Dao of heaven and earth.

With each step the fist energy advanced, the space emitted a series of ear-piercing explosions, as if an invisible force was vying for dominance between heaven and earth, causing the space to tremble.

In the arena, Xiu Yuan's brow twitched.

He was unaware of Yan Wu's current situation.

But he could sense that the aura emanating from the old man in front of him had undergone a qualitative change compared to before.

Furthermore, he could sense a hint of crisis within it, a situation that had never occurred since he joined the Heavenly Sect.

Back then, in Sanyang Village of Zhao State, he had a similar feeling when facing those thugs from Flying Tiger Village. But at that time, he was just a child, a child who knew nothing.

But now he has undergone earth-shattering changes, and his cultivation has reached the level of a martial arts grandmaster. Yet he can still sense this aura.

"This is what a Grandmaster is?"

Xiu Yuan guessed to himself.

With this thought in mind, the boy looked up and, under the twinkling starlight, he could clearly see the aged face behind the stardust ring.

At this moment, the other person's eyes held a hint of fanaticism, as well as a resolute determination to not return until they reached Loulan.

The eyes are the pupils of the heart; in a daze, the two combatants seemed to see the scenery in each other's eyes.

On one side, atop a majestic mountain, stands a man laughing at the heavens, raising his fist to question the sky, as if asking if the world is bright enough. His punch could punch a huge hole in the sky.

On the other side, there was a boy standing by the river, watching the water silently, his aura becoming increasingly ethereal. Until one day, the boy stepped onto the river and walked upstream, as if stepping into a long river of time, where he asked the patriarchs of the Hundred Schools of Thought.

It was a vast ocean that could hold all rivers. The young man emerged from the long river of time and appeared there. After a long period of silence, he reached out to the world and then scooped up the entire Seven Kingdoms.

A madman who raises his fist to question the heavens, and a madman who bends down to catch seven kingdoms—faced with this chaotic world, it's impossible to say who is more mad.

The ultimate sublimation made Yan Wu seem to understand the Dao that the young man was seeking.

"Killing is for the sake of protecting life, cutting off karma is not the same as killing people. To have such insights at such a young age, that old fellow Bei Mingzi has really struck it lucky."

"However, if you can hold on, this little girl probably won't be able to!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Wu's fist sharpened even further. Everyone has their own path to walk, and so does this young man.

Heaven and earth wept once more.

Xiu Yuan turned to look over and saw that the silver-haired girl behind him had a striking crimson mark on the corner of her mouth.

He kept her by his side with the intention of protecting her, since she was only at the Innate Realm and was no match for those below.

Then there are some unexpected situations where the distance is too great to respond effectively.

However, judging from the current situation, it is still somewhat ill-considered. When he fights Yan Wu, not only will there be a strong collision between their auras, but there will also be a clash between their intentions.

He could withstand the effects of the aura, but he couldn't withstand the intrusion of the artistic conception.

Looking at the girl who was already swaying precariously, Xiu Yuan gently shook his head.

Using the power of the stars, he could easily engage in a protracted battle with the person before him, since the time limit of the secret technique was limited. He could sense that the other party's abnormal state could not last long, but the current situation seemed to no longer allow it.

Xiu Yuan reached out and grasped the peach sword in front of him. A wisp of energy was drawn in once again, and the Big Dipper constellation rose from behind him, with immeasurable power bestowed upon him.

Just then, Yan Wu broke through the defense and appeared in front of the boy in a flash.

Feeling the energy within his body gradually declining, Yan Wu grinned.

"They're quite troublesome!"

"However, the next punch will be my last. Although I don't understand where you get the courage to take on the lives of the seven kingdoms, I will not hold back. If you cannot withstand this punch, then you will have to stop here."

As he spoke, Yan Wu adopted a strange boxing stance, with bright red blood slowly trickling down from the corner of his mouth.

But his aura was like adding fuel to a fire, making him even more powerful.

"A man who practices martial arts should be loyal to his ruler and defend his country. In my life, I have experienced more than 1,200 battles, big and small. I have won more than I have lost, but I have never given up climbing to the peak of martial arts. Today, I will write an ending to this climb."

"I call this punch 'Endless'!"

The young man looked at the person in front of him and sighed inwardly. After all, he was a Grandmaster. He sensed a killing intent in this punch, a killing intent that could be fatal. If he was careless, he might be killed by this punch.

"The old gentleman said that loyalty to the emperor and defense of the country is not accurate in my opinion. How much of the responsibility for the state of Wei falling to this state lies with the emperor and how much with the court?"

"If a ruler is not worthy of being called a ruler, why should one be loyal? If the King of Wei is a wise and virtuous ruler, why did the old gentleman use us, his brother and sister, to kill this Grand Minister of Works of Wei?"

"If we talk about loyalty to the emperor and defense of the country, I think it's more accurate to say protection of the homeland. This world does not belong to one person, but to all the people. The future of Wei and the future of the seven kingdoms are not in the hands of any one person, but in the hands of all the people of the seven kingdoms."

Yan Wu was taken aback upon hearing this and did not know how to respond. Although this strongly conflicted with the education he had received since childhood, he understood that time brings not only an increase in age, but also an increase in experience and a clearer judgment of right and wrong.

The king of Wei bears an unshirkable responsibility for the state's current state; the rise and fall of a nation rests on the shoulders of one man.

How can the world truly belong to all people?

The boy shook his head.

"The world originally belonged to all people."

Yan Wu seemed to be deep in thought and did not respond.

At this moment, Xiu Yuan gently raised his hand, which was not holding a sword, as if lifting up the entire city of Daliang. Then he softly said again: "Drunk, I know not if the sky is reflected in the water, a boat full of dreams presses down on the Milky Way. Let the years pass by and sing loudly, for even in a foreign land, I am still home."

The next moment, a dazzling light shone from mid-air, illuminating the entire Daliang as if it were daytime. The martial arts practitioners and ordinary people instinctively closed their eyes.

Then came a bolt from the blue. An invisible shockwave, like the ripples caused by an exploding cannonball, appeared. Through the gaps between their fingers, all that could be seen of the martial arts figures in mid-air was a clash of fists and swords.

The sword light resembled an inverted Milky Way, and in a trance, it seemed as if an immortal was painting with a brush, the starlight flowing and creating a magnificent scene of mountains and rivers.

The fists were like mountains, devastating and crushing. They saw a mortal raise his fist to the heavens, seemingly questioning why fate was so unfair. The extreme collision brought extreme destruction. The fist energy and sword energy descended, completely destroying a long street. The sword light landed on the river in the city. This river, which ran through Daliang City, seemed to have been hit by a boulder weighing millions of pounds. Waves splashed up, and the water curtain covered the sky.

The aftershocks lasted for fifty breaths before gradually subsiding. Seeing a dark shadow falling from mid-air, Dian Qing and Mei San Niang quickly stepped forward, leaped high, and caught it.

"Master!"

Mei San Niang gritted her teeth. This person was none other than Yan Wu, the patriarch of the Armored Sect. At this moment, this patriarch, who had crossed the Grandmaster realm with the help of a thousand people, was already devoid of life.

The girl then stood up and looked around at the air, but there was no one there.

"He succeeded?"

Previously, Yan Wu had told her and Dian Qing that the young man was now facing the threshold of becoming a Grandmaster. If he won the battle, the threshold would disappear, and they should not seek revenge.

"do not know."

Dian Qing picked up the old man, his voice heavy. The Great Liang had changed because of two people tonight, but he also knew that the Wei Kingdom would probably undergo even greater changes because of this.

Since Yan Wu appeared, strictly speaking, he only threw three punches, three all-out punches, but now half of Daliang City has been reduced to ruins. Those martial arts masters hidden in the shadows all coughed up blood. Without enough internal energy, they simply could not bear to watch such a deadly battle.

Furthermore, the aftershocks of their fight were still quite powerful, and many martial arts practitioners who were unwilling to leave were swept away by the aftershocks, some even losing their lives directly.

In the Wei Kingdom's palace, King Wei, who had been startled awake from his sleep, sat on the throne in the main hall, his expression frighteningly cold. He had never imagined that someone would cause such a disturbance in Daliang City.

It wasn't until dawn that a palace attendant brought back the intelligence from the Imperial Guards. Upon seeing this, the King of Wei fell silent.

Yan Wu died, Wei Yong died, Li Qing died, and thousands of imperial guards suffered heavy casualties.

He assumed that the Qin army had invaded, but when he saw that the culprits were a young couple, he was at a loss for words.

Should they order a manhunt, or suppress the news?

"What did Dianqing and Mei Sanniang say?"

"Commander Dian said that Master Yan Wu once said that the young man has probably already become a Grandmaster, and if he is defeated, do not seek revenge!"

"These two are here because of the massacre of Chenjia Village in Guancheng two years ago. Wei Yong and Li Qing colluded with Qin's net to let Qin troops into Wei, which led to the massacre of several villages near Guancheng. They deserved to die long ago."

Upon hearing this, the King of Wei raised an eyebrow.

Guancheng and Chenjia Village.

Logically speaking, things that happened in these two places shouldn't have reached his ears, since such things happen frequently in this era. The reason he knew about this matter was because of Li Qing.

He was the younger brother of his beloved concubine, and because of the incident in Chenjia Village, he had specially promoted him.

However, he never expected that the events of that year would lead to such a disaster again, which angered the King of Wei. In the current chaos of the seven kingdoms, a general who is good at fighting is much more valuable than a woman.

And then there's Wei Yong. He thought he had treated him well, but he never expected him to be such a treacherous spy.

"Asshole!!"

"By my decree, all members of the Wei Yong and Li Qing families shall be torn apart by chariots as a warning to others!"

Upon hearing this, the chief eunuch stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Now that the Grand Minister of Works and General Li are dead, there will surely be unrest in the court. It is not advisable to resort to force again."

"Furthermore, it is still uncertain whether this matter is true or false. If we act rashly, it may cause all the officials in the court to feel insecure, which would be detrimental to our dynasty."

"We might as well wait until things calm down before dealing with this secretly. Right now, the priority is to investigate the truth, find out the spies from other countries within our court, and settle our nation."

Upon hearing this man's words, King Wei snorted coldly. He knew these principles all too well. Then he said in a deep voice, "Ximen Dian commands the Wei Wu soldiers. Yan Wu is dead. Do you think I don't need to give him an explanation? Or are you planning to have me issue an edict to arrest a Grandmaster? Or is it a Grandmaster whose moral standing is justified?"

The various countries are aware of the great masters in the martial arts world, and their monarchs generally maintain a policy of non-interference towards them.

The mortal armies could hold off thousands of troops on the battlefield, but they couldn't stop those people. So when he heard that the person fighting Yan Wu was a Grandmaster, he gave up on the idea.

Upon hearing this, the eunuch's expression changed, and he quickly prostrated himself and kowtowed.

"Your Majesty, that's not what I meant. I was only concerned with the stability of the court, which is why I offered those few words of advice."

King Wei flicked his sleeve and coldly replied, "If it weren't for the fact that you still have some loyalty, would I have bothered to explain these intricacies to you?"

Upon hearing this, the eunuch's face turned pale and then red, and he finally gave up trying to persuade him.

Then King Wei continued, "Order this matter to be sent to the General of Hexi by express messenger. I will allow him to return to the city to attend the funeral. Also, instruct the Prime Minister and Grand Minister of Works Wei Yong to first appease them regarding their influence in the court. If it is discovered that they are colluding with other countries, kill them without mercy!"

After a long pause, the eunuch spoke up again and asked, "Your Majesty, where is Consort Liang?"

The King of Wei's face darkened, and he remained silent.

Consort Liang was Li Qing's elder sister and was greatly favored by him. If it weren't for this, Li Qing wouldn't have risen so quickly. Now that Li Qing has been murdered, his beloved consort probably wouldn't let it go easily.

However, the thought of the mess that Li Qing and Wei Yong had made for the State of Wei made the king feel somewhat dissatisfied. If it weren't for his excessive favoritism towards this woman, perhaps such a thing wouldn't have happened in the State of Wei.

"Send someone to keep an eye on Consort Liang. She must not leave the house without an imperial decree. Perhaps she needs to calm down!"

Upon hearing this, the prince's eunuch's expression changed slightly. He had spoken up for Wei Yong and Li Qing earlier, perhaps to save face for Consort Liang. Unfortunately, it now seemed that the Prince of Wei was extremely dissatisfied with the matter, and the concubine who was usually the most favored in the harem was likely to fall out of favor.

On the other side, outside the city of Daliang, in a dilapidated temple, Xiu Yuan carried Xiao Meng out of the void.

In this encounter, he ultimately prevailed slightly.

However, his situation was not good either. After Yan Wu's ultimate sublimation, he achieved the combat power of a Grandmaster, and none of the Grandmasters were easy to deal with, especially since he had not yet reached the Grandmaster level.

Fighting a Grandmaster while only at the Grandmaster level, crossing a whole realm to kill an enemy, has taken a toll on his body.

If it weren't for the sheer power of being one with the world, he would have been severely injured by that final burst of starlight, suffering heavy losses on himself as much as he would have harmed the enemy.

As for the girl behind him, she fell into a coma. He had tried many methods when he left Daliang City, but she never woke up.

Left with no other choice, he could only use the internal energy of the Evergreen Skill to temporarily protect her heart meridian.

"An old madman!"

Xiu Yuan briefly checked his internal condition, cursed under his breath, and then sat cross-legged to recover from his injuries.

Fortunately, Taoist internal energy cultivation is inherently gentle, and his body, nurtured by several internal energy cultivation methods, was resilient enough that he was not fundamentally injured.

It's a bit of a pity that the Grandmaster's trial of the heart was thwarted.

During their previous exchange, the porcelain pillow mark on his left hand was burning hot. It was then that he became certain that the porcelain pillow's reaction was due to their different cultivation levels.

After a long while, Xiu Yuan slowly opened his eyes.

At this moment, his brows furrowed tightly. His injuries were more severe than he had imagined, and it would probably take more than a month for him to fully recover.

He then checked on Xiaomeng's condition, his gaze turning somber and uncertain.

"It seems we need to think of another way."

Xiu Yuan pinched his chin, his mind racing.

Such an event has occurred in Daliang City, and it will probably spread throughout the martial arts world very quickly. In his current state, he can protect himself without any worries, but it's a different story with Xiaomeng in tow, so he has to think of other ways.

After sitting there for a while, Xiu Yuan suddenly remembered something and turned to look southeast.

Among the Hundred Schools of Thought, there is one that can save people.

If I remember correctly, the place they were in was within the territory of the State of Chu. The State of Chu and the State of Qin were in completely different directions, one in the southeast and the other in the northwest. If I went to the State of Chu, I doubt those people would have imagined it.

Recalling his trip to Wei, Xiu Yuan sighed softly. There were some people who surprised him on this trip, but it wasn't Yan Wu, who had reached the pinnacle of the Grandmaster realm, but rather the old general in the pass.

Previously, he had never imagined that Lian Po was also from the Pijiamen (a military academy). But why did he go to the State of Zhao in the first place? And while in the State of Zhao, he was always diligent and conscientious, without any ulterior motives.

Looking at the little girl in his arms, Xiu Yuan reached out and smoothed the silver hair by her ear, his gaze becoming somewhat distant.

According to the timeline in the original work, the other party seems to have not experienced so many things, but only saw Qingxuan's ending and then embarked on another path, and of course did not encounter the current danger.

To be honest, another reason he didn't choose to return directly to Tianzong was that he didn't know how to face that old man. Originally, with him there, there shouldn't have been any problems with the trip to Wei Kingdom, but Xiaomeng was in this state. If Beimingzi was also powerless in the end, then the outcome would not be good. So he planned to go there first and see. If they were also powerless, then he would go back.

"Jinghu Medical Clinic".

Time flew by, and the events in Daliang City could not be kept secret in the end. After all, there were too many martial arts practitioners in Daliang City, and some busybodies spread the news of that day to the martial arts world. However, in the end, they were not sure which sect the young man came from, since the techniques he used were an extremely exaggerated sword energy array and the power of stars.

No sect in the martial arts world would use either of these two items.

However, when the news reached Xinzheng, the people of Liusha still guessed Xiu Yuan's identity.

Wei Zhuang leaned against the door frame and said with a hint of amusement, "It seems he went to Wei again. According to the news that came back, Yan Wu is dead. He was an extremely troublesome fellow, whose strength far surpassed that of the two assassins from Luo Wang."

"Compared to all that, I'm actually more interested in why he went to Daliang."

Beside her, Zi Nu's eyes showed a hint of worry.

Han Fei shook his head and said in a deep voice, "Now is the time for us to close the net. As for Xiu Yuan, he'll probably be alive and kicking even after all of us are dead!"

A gentle breeze blew by, and the people in the Purple Orchid Pavilion looked up at the sky.

The Qin state has already begun its military campaign against Han. The young man was right; they don't have much time left.

(End of this chapter)