Volume 1 Chapter 26: Battle!

"So is this considered as the first lesson or the second lesson?"

Li Tianwen merely slapped Fang Zhaoge's head. This kid is more idiotic than he thought. Obviously, the whole smithing thing was only a ploy, and the substance is to not consider mistakes as sins.

An unbending heart is a heart that pursues the best of everything. What everyone considered as a catastrophe, they will treat it as a chance! What everyone considers as a sin, they will treat it as a chance to improve!

Indeed, it is considered as inconceivable for the ordinary. But it's the heart a cultivator must nurture. For a cultivator was meant to steal the qi of heaven and earth. Such an extraordinary task cannot be accomplished by the ordinary.

However, he knew he could not teach Fang Zhaoge in such a way. This kid must experienced it himself. As cultivation is not about memorizing, it's about understanding, comprehending and marching!

"What do you think? Wait, you know what? I have no time to waste on you. Now, listen to my instructions."

Fang Zhaoge felt like everything had been unfair to him. He felt like his human rights had been detached from him. However, the cultivation world has no such thing as human rights. Humans were considered ants here.

That only makes him more depressed.

"Also, from this on, I will not be here to guide you. The energy of the formation that keeps this place going will be depleted faster if I keep materializing. This will be your true tests. So I hope you could truly give your all and would no longer treat this world as a place you could claim yourself as invincible."

Li Tianwen's void eyes turned sharp as they landed on Fang Zhaoge. But his intention was not to intimidate, but to remind him seriously.

Fang Zhaoge also caught on to him, and all of his unwillingness and disobedience ceased. He merely lowered his eyes and intently listened to his master.

Indeed, this world… is not a place where he could carelessly claim himself with such a title. If he did so, there's no different than playing with his own life.

"Cultivation is a hard, cold journey paved in a road of razors sharper than the sharpest of swords and hotter than the hottest of fire. It has no time for a freeloader and an idiot who keeps yapping that he is invincible. It was a matter of life and death, and I hope you'll realize this sooner, my disciple. You're not even a decade old yet in the cultivation world. You're too young."

"For you, these tests will take a very long amount of time. It will test your perseverance and your will. Your Dao Heart and your mind. And if you're careless, you will face true death."

Li Tianwen paused. He wanted to let these words sink into his disciple's head. After all, as the strongest cultivator, his disciple can't be just anyone. It's also a pity if such a monster incarnate is to be devoured by stupidity and naivety.

Such a person deserved a heroic death…

"Remember, if one day, you find that you lost your way again. Just remember one thing. In that cottage, at that peak, my daughter is waiting for you to reach my level. If necessary, fight to the death with that Demon Heart! For a man cannot be called a man if he can't even prove that he's worthy of the woman he loves!"

Thus, with a reluctant gaze and a daunting smirk, Li Tianwen stabbed his sword into the ground, and his figure turned into countless dusts of light. They scattered randomly before a formation absorbed them.

In the Immortal World, in an inconspicuous hut, a dazzling, mysterious man opened his void eyes with a reluctant sigh. He looked up to the turquoise, gleaming moon in the sky, carefully stroking a jade slip.

"Although it was utterly, absolutely impossible for you to reach my level, you're a monster incarnate who could fight 14 realms above your level. Maybe it's alright to use my daughter to motivate you. I'm worried you're too dumb to figure out your Dao Heart, so I must prepare you a bargaining chip to keep you from going astray."

"It's also fine. After all, it's the same Dao Heart I've formed to reach my current strength. Disciple, your master bid farewell, for I have a wife I must bring back!"

A fluctuation could be felt within the radius of billions of miles, and a shocking, heaven-turning authority burst out! From afar, a celestial-like figure rises from the rumbles, his void eyes turned into glaring, azure light as his sword was unsheathed!

Various major forces of the Immortal World turned their heads upwards, and a shiver ran through their spine. Such an overwhelming aura!

"Ji Yuntian, prepare yourself! I have been waiting for a decade and a half for this moment!"

In the mortal world, Fang Zhaoge was oblivious to this all. He was still struck by the declaration of his master. He got his permission, just like that…?

"Wait! He said I must reach his level first before I was allowed to pursue Li Mengzhi. Shameless! My master is truly too shameless! He's clearly too powerful for his own good, and he used it as a prerequisite I must fulfil before I could marry Li Mengzhi?!"

It's like telling a mortal to be a god on his own accord if he wants to marry his daughter! Who the f*ck could be so shameless?!

Fang Zhaoge may look like he is furious, but inwardly, his heart has no fluctuation. It was as stable as an old dog's.

He has read countless works he could use as references, and his heart was like an old man, very stable and unexpectant. At the moment, even if a naked girl is seducing him, he will think that she has the wrong person…

With such stability, how could he keep getting shocked?

The only thing that could shock him is his master's shamelessness.

Fang Zhaoge calmly closed his eyes and tried to analyze the things he got from the repetition of seven days. It was indeed very simple, merely repeating the same phrase continuously.

But a conviction was made exactly by that. By repeating it over and over again. And magically, he could indeed feel that he was convinced of what his master wanted him to engrave on his mind.

He no longer hates the fact that he formed a Demon Heart. Instead, he wished to crush it to further stabilize and strengthen his Dao Heart!

Although he has no definite aspirations as a foundation for his Dao Heart, for the time being, he truly has a goal he's willing to climb the mountains of the sharpest of blades and the sea of the hottest of flame so he could attain it!

"Master, just you wait! I'll definitely surpass you!"

Even if it seems impossible, so what? Sister Zhi told him not to be afraid, but be courageous!

With a regained valor and bravery, Fang Zhaoge confidently stepped into the colosseum before him, and a formation lit up.

In the colosseum, the arena was boundless. It was truly like a playground made by the heavens.

Fang Zhaoge's expression suddenly changed when a form of restraint locked on his being, and his ungodly physical strength was actually being ameliorated. He could no longer feel the strength of trillions of suns.

He wordlessly performed a punch, and it only produced a tiny wave of wind. Fang Zhaoge soon turned solemn. Only 100 kg! Just how long has it been since he felt like a mere mortal? An ant?

"1 out of 100 battles, 1st Qi Refinement realm!"

"100?!"

Fang Zhaoge stumbled as a familiar wooden puppet appeared before the lifted gate. It has a yellow strip on its flat, woody face. He smiled wryly as a materialized panel above showed his progress.

"So I have to fight 100 battles before I can go to the next test.."

"I wonder how long it'll take?"

He doesn't even know if he could beat the first level. Worst of all, when he tried to cast the Fury of the Demon God, his body automatically broke down. If not for the formation, perhaps he'll be dead by now…

Taking a deep breath, he got into a stance as he solemnly observed the wooden battle puppet. It was running to him, ready to perform its flurry of attacks.

Just as it reaches his personal space, Fang Zhaoge instigates a punch that strikes the battle puppet on the back of its head! It was the forgotten Mountain Breaking Fist at Pinnacle proficiency!

To his horror, the battle puppet simply tilted its head before punching him in the face, sending him backwards.

Fang Zhaoge swiped the blood on his nose as he stood up quickly. His heart unconsciously recites the phrase from his master, and his shaky heart stabilizes itself. If before such a mistake would have embarrassed him, now, he merely considered it as a lesson he must understand.

His eyes formed a sharp look, and his sense heightened! With a leap, he initiates an exchange as he intends to strike the combat puppet's head! However, he was too naive, and the latter simply ducked itself before delivering a frightening punch to his middle.

He once again crashed into the ground. His face hurts, his stomach hurts… His opponent also showed no mercy, as it immediately jumped on him when he was down!

Unconsciously, as he fought tirelessly, a battle instinct was formed, and with an inhumane reaction, just a thousandth second away from being jumped on, Fang Zhaoge quickly rolled away while delivering a kick to the back of its head.

The battle puppet was stunned, and he used it as a chance to perform an uppercut to its woody chin! It crashed against the ground, giving him a few moments to breath and pant as he liked.

"Haah… Damn battle puppet, it's truly a fighter without sympathy."

Fang Zhaoge spits out his bloody saliva to the ground as he craned his head and motioned his limbs around. However, he couldn't deny this sense of excitement.

A brutal, fist to fist fight like this also has its own charm! Rather than beating an opponent up to the ground senselessly like an adult would do to a child, it's more thrilling and exciting to fight a fair battle like this!

With a bloody grin, Fang Zhaoge's handsome face distorted as he forcefully make a fist-to-fist exchange with the battle puppet's wooden fist. It hurts like hell, but it's also invorigating!

He roared as he forced his fist to withstood the damage while his other fist made an attempt to smash the battle puppet's face. Enough force to chip a bit of its woody, flat face!

"That's what I'm talking about!"

The battle went on for hours. It was not a battle of attrition, but power! As Fang Zhaoge's physique was like a god, especially with the Blazing Physique, while the battle puppet has unlimited stamina, the decider of the fight is which one could burst out stronger!

After a day's worth of fighting, the bloody Fang Zhaoge widened his insane eyes as he clenched his fist like a mad gorilla, and he roared like a tiger! His physique emits a blazing intent as the fire that sets ablaze burns his own fist!

"Die you little sh*t!"

The accumulation of experience, rage and momentum made up an incomparably powerful punch! It was perfect whether it was in its precision, power or distance!

Before the battle puppet could react, Fang Zhaoge appeared with a burst of speed! His fist made a straight line, right to its wooden head!

With a burst of sound, the combat puppet's head exploded, and its form fell to the ground. Fang Zhaoge panted as he held up his fist. It was scorched black.

He smiled in relief, sitting in the ground. He wanted to sleep for a while, unfortunately…

"2 out of 100 battles, 2nd Qi Refinement realm!"

"Progress: 1%."

A second puppet with an additional yellow strip simply appeared and rushed to him like a rabies dog. Before he could react, he was sent back again by a punch from a wooden fist…

Although his physique was impossibly strong, the pain was still unreal. It's too painful. It was like being smashed by a wooden hammer on top of his wound.

"F*ck! You f*cking sh*t! I was so f*cking tired, so why the f*ck did you have to do that?!"

Fang Zhaoge was incomparably furious! It was especially so since the puppet actually has a movement technique! He was speechless and was filled with rage and hatred enough to wake hundreds of his ancestors!!!

"I'll stake it all against you!!!"

Thus, an unwanted second battle was initiated…