He was invincible from the beginning of the Heaven-Covering Era.

Whether it's his first or second incarnation, as long as he is invincible, he can easily sweep away everything.

Even if the Heavenly Venerable were to revert to his youthful self, he believed he would not be defeated!

Chapter 194 Comprehending Combat Techniques

After a period of training, Zhou Qing absorbed all the combat experience and set off again.

On his journey, he quietly watched the years flow by, as one genius after another emerged, shining brightly in the universe before fading into obscurity.

Ning Fei and Chuan Ying, one is the number one general of the Heavenly Emperor Dynasty and the other is the number one general of the Ancient Heavenly Court, both have the potential to attain enlightenment.

If they hadn't been born so late, and if it weren't for the limitations of this Dharma-ending Age, these two would have become emperors directly, instead of only being able to reach the level of alternative enlightenment.

Unfortunately, there aren't that many "what ifs" in life.

Fate is something unpredictable and difficult to grasp. Neither innate talent nor acquired environment is something that people can choose.

Some people are born at the finish line that others have worked their way up, while others struggle their whole lives only to end up with a despairing ending.

Speaking of immortality, discussing the path to immortality, it's all a desolate dream, all the ages have vanished. So-called struggles are sometimes far less important than a single choice.

A single choice can lead to two completely different paths over time. Looking back, one can only sigh in despair, unable to make any changes.

For Zhou Qing, this road was truly a spiritual baptism. He saw too many magnificent scenes and too many partings and reunions. He felt like he was almost numb, but sometimes a certain scene would suddenly make his blood boil.

He walks on the road, composing a powerful battle song!

Each of these great emperors and ancient sovereigns, regardless of what happened to them later, at the stage of severing the Dao, when they were still considered young, each of them possessed an unwavering will and a terrifyingly strong desire to pursue the Dao.

In the process of fighting against these great emperors and ancient kings, he constantly pondered their Daoist beliefs, and his mind was continuously elevated.

This is a supreme spiritual baptism. It may not actually show how much stronger a person becomes, but when faced with spiritual difficulties, it will become an impregnable fortress, protecting against any attack that could weaken the spirit.

The fog flowed, the world was gloomy, there were no living beings or sounds, and even the sun, moon and stars of the outside world could not be seen, as if it were isolated from the world.

Such a road, its origins and age unknown, whether it evolved from a celestial calamity or was passed down from ancient times, is difficult to say.

Deep within the ancient road, a young man emerged, looking down upon all realms and all living beings with an air of superiority. His power was not to be underestimated; Zhou Qing could see strands of Dao principles passing by him, embodying an unparalleled Dao fruit.

A pair of deep eyes looked over, piercing through the void, and met Zhou Qing's gaze.

An invisible force spread between the two, then exploded with a bang, instantly causing the wind and clouds to change, the world to lose its color, and a vacuum to appear in the field, squeezing out all the chaotic energy.

This is the power of a peerless genius. Even without actually making a move, the invisible killing field during the confrontation is something that ordinary people cannot withstand; those caught in it are doomed to die.

“This is the second incarnation of a young boy,” Zhou Qing quickly concluded.

True masters can assess their opponent's strength even without ever fighting, simply through some rough probing.

It's pretty much a 100% accurate estimate.

This is not his youthful form when he was one of the Nine Heavenly Venerables, but his youthful form when he was an Emperor Venerable. This is definitely the most terrifying enemy Zhou Qing has encountered since embarking on this path.

To be precise, this is not a young Celestial Venerable at all, but a Celestial Venerable who has returned to his youth with cultivation experience.

Having the cultivation experience of being one of the Nine Heavenly Venerables in his previous life, the shortcomings in some realms of his previous life will inevitably be brought to their extreme in this life. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he has reached the extreme in every secret realm and every minor realm.

Although he abandoned the divine arts of his previous life, Zhou Qing believed that he would definitely not abandon the secret of the "All".

As the creator of the All-Encompassing Secret, it is impossible to calculate how much power the Emperor would unleash when using this secret. In addition, he has already reached the extreme in every minor realm. The combined power of these two factors makes it unimaginable how terrifying his combat strength would be.

"boom!"

An extremely powerful aura erupted from the Emperor, making his entire body crystal clear, like glazed divine gold, with even the flow of his blood clearly visible.

"boom!"

This punch was unparalleled in the world, dominating heaven and earth, and could almost be called the strongest strike in the entire history of the Heavenly Tribulation of Severing the Dao.

If this were placed in space, this punch would be enough to easily shatter a planet, and smaller meteorites would be blasted apart in large quantities.

Zhou Qing had been calmly waiting and circulating the All-Encompassing Secret Technique until the Emperor also unleashed the All-Encompassing Secret Technique. At the same time, his All-Encompassing Secret Technique was also successfully triggered, increasing his combat power tenfold!

He was bathed in divine light, like a supreme god descending to earth. He threw a punch that produced an explosive roar. One after another, the great gods merged into this punch, becoming more and more powerful as he swung it. In the end, he could even easily pulverize a small asteroid.

The world outside trembled, and chaotic energy spread, sweeping across the six directions and eight wastelands. The fighting spirit of the two men pierced through the heavens and the earth.

The moment their fists collided, the heavens and earth trembled, the void crumbled, and chaotic light appeared and disappeared. A small world was cleaved open between them, imbued with a new kind of primordial energy.

This was an incredibly powerful attack. Auspicious colors descended from the sky, divine lotuses appeared on the ground, and all kinds of light converged to form a divine sea!

The laws surged, the Dao patterns were dense and numerous, and as the divine sea undulated, the newly created small world was instantly annihilated.

puff!

Zhou Qing and the Emperor's bodies ruptured simultaneously, blood splattered, and they both staggered backward.

The result of this attack was too devastating. Zhou Qing's body was like a piece of glass full of cracks, with streaks of blood appearing on his flesh.

His eyes deepened, as if they contained a black hole in the universe, his gaze incredibly profound.

In this clash, his injuries were clearly more severe than those of the young Emperor. It wasn't that there was a difference in their attacks; in fact, their combat power was equal. The problem lay in his physical body, which was not as resilient as that of the young Emperor.

The physical body is highly dependent on rare and precious materials. With a sufficiently strong baptismal physique, one can far surpass other geniuses of the same level.

The Four Extremes Secret Realm grants a physical body comparable to a powerful being—a standard requirement for imperial sons. Most achieve this level only after establishing their foundation with immortal elixirs. Without high-grade rare and precious materials, relying solely on physical strength is insufficient.

The growth potential is something even the Holy Body cannot achieve; the Holy Body also needs to consume the elixir of immortality to develop its physical potential.

The Emperor was one of the Nine Heavenly Venerables in his previous life, so it's not surprising that he left behind some treasures for his second life. He might have even used some kind of immortal medicine or the Emperor's Blood Baptism.

In terms of physical strength, Zhou Qing was indeed inferior to the Emperor. The reason why their attacks were equally powerful was that Zhou Qing incorporated the divine power of the Great Dao into his fist, enhancing the attack power to a higher level, which allowed him to maintain the same level of power in his punch.

"brush!"

The Emperor's figure vanished in an instant, appearing directly in front of Zhou Qing as if by teleportation, and once again unleashed his domineering fist technique.

Zhou Qing's eyes grew even deeper, but he remained calm. With his left hand, he conjured nine ancient characters from the Ancient Sun Scripture, which shone brightly in the void.

The nine ancient characters glowed, as brilliant as nine starry rivers, making everything else lose its color. Only these nine ancient characters possessed immense divine power, which Zhou Qing used for defense.

His right hand, meanwhile, swung the Instant Divine Fist, charging forward relentlessly.

The moment the divine fist was unleashed, the world was instantly engulfed in a storm of wind and clouds, with lightning flashing and thunder roaring. It was incredibly swift and fierce, like a divine river piercing through the universe, and it blasted directly toward the Emperor's head.

The speed of this punch was simply beyond reason. Since Zhou Qing comprehended this punch, no one has ever been able to react in time to it. The mind may be able to react, but the body cannot.

However, this punch, which had never been countered before, seemed to have no effect when facing the Emperor. In this silent world, the Emperor's fist was forced to change direction slightly and collided with Zhou Qing's fist. At the same time, his other hand manifested nine ancient characters that collided with Zhou Qing's nine ancient characters.

The aura of the Supreme Being permeated the air, and various lights danced in the void, appearing and disappearing as if a Supreme Being was chanting scriptures, ethereal and mysterious.

puff!

The force of their fists collided, and the eighteen characters for "Emperor" struck each other simultaneously, as if the world were being created. A universe of stars appeared around them, and the two seemed to be standing in the starry sky.

Zhou Qing's body was covered in bloodstains, but he remained firmly rooted to the spot, refusing to retreat, and once again raised his fist to meet the attack head-on.

With another strike, everything in the universe vanished, replaced by a colossal World Tree with dense, boundless roots. Each leaf could support a star, vast and immeasurable.

As the third strike was unleashed, it was as if they had arrived at the moment of the collapse of heaven and earth. Everything they saw was collapsing, the universe was constantly shrinking, and all kinds of particles were gathering towards the center of the universe, trying to return to the original point.

The Great Dao resonated, and strange phenomena occurred continuously. Zhou Qing and the Emperor engaged in an extremely fierce battle, with every punch drawing blood. Each strike created strange phenomena in the world, and their fists pierced through each other's bodies several times.

Zhou Qing's clothes were already tattered beyond recognition, and his bones were cracking intermittently, making him a pitiful sight. Yet, he still clashed head-on with the Emperor, his eyes filled with cold ruthlessness, completely disregarding his injuries.

As the last of the Nine Heavenly Venerables, he experienced far more bloody battles in his life than Zhou Qing, which was an unimaginable amount of combat experience.

Even if one loses the laws and cultivation, and only retains the experience of a Celestial Venerable's entire life, that is enough to crush opponents in combat skills.

Despite Zhou Qing's martial arts eye being pushed to its limit and his Qianzi Secret constantly predicting the upcoming attacks, essentially knowing the attack path in advance, he still found it difficult to defend against the attack.

The angle was too tricky. Some changes in body shape were so easy and effortless for the young Emperor, but they were very uncomfortable for Zhou Qing, who was unable to change his body shape quickly.

Up until now, most of the blood was spilled by Zhou Qing. Only a few desperate attacks that killed a thousand enemies but also caused eight hundred casualties on his own were able to pierce through the body of the young Emperor.

"Natural, instinctive, and free."

In the midst of this fierce battle, a wisp of Dao principles would occasionally flash past Zhou Qing. It was the true manifestation of the rules, a result of his comprehension of the Great Dao reaching a certain stage.

To gain enlightenment in battle, to comprehend secret techniques in battle, and to evolve oneself in battle—this is what Zhou Qing is currently doing.

From a combat perspective, if you are not as good as your opponent in terms of combat skills, you should quickly give up on that aspect and choose to fight with your strengths. This is the best way to maximize your chances of winning.

Undoubtedly, this principle is correct. Playing to one's strengths and avoiding one's weaknesses is indeed a major principle for victory. However, the reason why weaknesses are weaknesses is precisely because they are not practiced enough.

Without experiencing fierce battles and pushing himself, his current weakness in combat skills will remain a weakness even after he becomes a saint, a great saint, or even a higher level.

Spiritual practice is a process of fighting against fate and destiny. It is necessary to take a step back appropriately, but some things must be persisted in to the end.

Although Zhou Qing was seriously injured in this fierce battle, his combat skills were indeed improving rapidly, and it was visible to the naked eye.

The blood of the Dao fell, creating ripples of the Dao between heaven and earth, filled with the aura of the Dao, as if it had condensed the origin of the Dao, making it a treasure for enlightenment.

In the beginning, Zhou Qing could only land one hit on his opponent once by attacking dozens of times, in a desperate and mutually destructive manner, while the young Emperor often caused him to bleed.

Later on, Zhou Qing's results improved rapidly; he could make the Emperor splatter blood with just a dozen or so strikes!

Compared to Zhou Qing's previous battles against other young supreme beings, this was undoubtedly frustrating. However, just thinking about how he was once one of the nine Heavenly Venerables who fought his way up through bloody battles, and how his combat skills had already reached their peak and become superb, one would realize that this was normal. Moreover, such a result was already considered heaven-defying!

There is no reason, because the other party has already become a supreme being and has already attained enlightenment once. This is the greatest foundation!

Even Wu Shi and Ruthless would not be much stronger than Zhou Qing here. The difference between the young emperor and the Heavenly Venerable when he returned to his youth is like heaven and earth, enough to cause a crushing defeat!

However, in this desperate situation of close combat, in the duel with the Emperor, he saw another world, a world of close combat that suddenly became many times larger.

His expression was cold and ruthless. He gradually became calm and indifferent to the battle, neither elated by external gains nor saddened by personal losses.

Heaven and earth, the Dao, nature—these are some of the aspects that resonate with him most deeply. There's no other reason than that he is in a state of deep integration with heaven and earth every day, and his Dao perception surpasses that of his peers by countless times.

"Great freedom, great ease"—Zhou Qing's mind suddenly entered an incredibly ethereal state. He felt as if he had become a wisp of wind, gathering and dispersing without form, or as if he had become a lotus flower, swaying left and right, dancing with the wind.

The Emperor's incomparably domineering punch came crashing down, so fierce that the heavens and earth trembled, as if all things were groaning, unable to withstand such power.

However, Zhou Qing suddenly turned around, as light and agile as a piece of paper, and the force of the punch just grazed past Zhou Qing's body, directly dodging it.

Chapter 195 The Ultimate Intent of Freedom

This was a battle with an extremely disparate skill level, but Zhou Qing's gains were also immense. His combat skills improved rapidly, like a rough gem gradually radiating a dazzling brilliance.

His movements suddenly became unpredictable, and his speed and reaction speed had improved significantly compared to before, and they were still improving rapidly!

The Emperor's attacks remained fierce, like surging waves, continuous and relentless. Each move carried a sense of returning to simplicity and authenticity. Even a casual strike contained the trajectory of the Dao, brimming with powerful energy.

Previously, Zhou Qing would have had difficulty dodging such attacks and could only take them head-on, which was a huge disadvantage for his physical strength. Moreover, some punches and palms would always penetrate his defenses, causing him to splatter blood.