Eternal God Emperor: Only I Am Emperor One

Chapter 75 First Battle with Zhang Ruochen

After circling around the outside of the Evil Wood Palace and gazing at the imposing protective array from afar, Emperor Yi didn't have many options for the time being.

Even a powerful expert with the sixth or seventh transformation of the Fish-Dragon technique couldn't force his way in when the magic array left behind by the demigod was fully activated.

Although the protective holy array cannot be kept open indefinitely, it is not difficult to sustain it for half a month or a month. By then, the Holy Academy students' assessment will be over, and without the constraints of the rules, Di Yi will have no choice but to leave.

"Zhang Ruochen is not doing a good job. Why couldn't he break through the Evil Wood Palace?"

He sighed softly. In the original timeline, Zhang Ruochen used a trick to lure the Divine Corpse Dharma King away from the Evil Wood Palace.

But right now, the Divine Relic Dharma King is clearly much more alert and shows no intention of coming out of the turtle shell that is the Palace-Protecting Holy Array.

On second thought, Di Yi could understand.

The Three Saints Palace and the Two Evil Palaces have ruled the Five Elements Ruins for thousands of years, and no one has ever been able to threaten their position. However, in just half a month, three of the five major forces have been destroyed. If he were the Divine Corpse King, he would also choose to hide in the safest place at this time.

"Is it really true that we are destined to miss out on the primordial energy of the wood element?"

Di Yi felt somewhat unwilling. If he missed this opportunity, it wouldn't be so easy to obtain the primordial energy of heaven and earth.

With these thoughts in mind, Di Yi continued to observe the great formation around the Evil Wood Palace, searching for a possible way to break it.

……

Meanwhile, Zhang Ruochen stood on the demonic ape's shoulder, making no attempt to conceal his aura, and a soaring sword intent pointed directly at the Evil Wood Palace.

"Divine Corpse Dharma King, you are a Dharma King powerhouse, do you not dare to come out and fight me? Do you think you can escape this calamity by siding with the Xu Saint Clan?"

"Xu Qing is dead. Once the assessment is over, the Xu Sheng Clan will never let you go."

"I killed Xu Qing. If you can capture me and hand me over to the Xu Sheng Clan, you might be able to save your life."

……

Despite Zhang Ruochen's shouts and curses outside the mountain gate, the great formation of the Evil Wood Palace remained completely unaffected. It was clear that the Divine Corpse Dharma King had made up his mind to seal off the mountain and not come out, completely ignoring Zhang Ruochen.

After cursing for half an hour, just as Zhang Ruochen was about to give up and return, he suddenly sensed an extremely subtle aura approaching him.

"Who?"

Zhang Ruochen looked toward the location of the aura and saw a figure in black robes slowly walking toward him, carrying an ice-blue longsword and wearing a highly recognizable white jade dragon-patterned mask.

"You are... Master of the Hidden Dragon Hall?"

Zhang Ruochen had met the Master of the Hidden Dragon Hall once before in the martial arts arena of Yunwu County. He remembered that the Master's figure and attire were almost identical to the person in front of him.

A smile appeared on Di Yi's lips; Zhang Ruochen's reaction was exactly what he had expected.

He was originally looking for a flaw in the Evil Wood Palace's formation when he heard Zhang Ruochen shouting and cursing from afar, so he followed the sound.

After observing secretly for a while, he had an idea in mind.

Zhang Ruochen is a successor of the Time and Space lineage, possessing the power of space. While the Sacred Array can withstand attacks from Fish-Dragon Realm experts, it may not be able to withstand the power of space.

After reaching the forty-first level of spiritual power, Di Yi was able to set up even more powerful formations and was somewhat confident in breaking the semi-saint formation of the Evil Wood Palace, which had existed for thousands of years.

If we can cooperate with Zhang Ruochen and use the power of space to help him break the formation, we will have an 80% chance of success.

"I never expected that Zhang Ruochen, the king of the new generation in the Eastern Region, would still remember me."

Zhang Ruochen found it strange that the Hidden Dragon Hall Master appeared in the Five Elements Ruins Realm, but he did not connect it with Di Yi.

After all, the Master of the Hidden Dragon Hall is a renowned martial arts legend in Yunwu County, while Di Yi is just a boy under seventeen years old. They don't seem like two people who could be connected at all.

He had interacted with Ziqian and Ale before and recognized that the cultivation techniques they practiced were the top inheritance of the Daoist sect. He had long suspected the identity of the Hidden Dragon Hall Master.

He suspected that the Master of the Hidden Dragon Hall was not a martial artist from the Heavenly Demon Ridge, but rather a powerful Taoist force from the Eastern Divine Land, most likely a disciple of the Two Elements Sect.

"Master Qianlong is very famous in Yunwu County. As the King of Yunwu County, how could I not remember Master Yi?" Zhang Ruochen stood on the demonic ape's shoulder, exuding youthful vigor, but also feeling a little wistful.

When Xia Shaoyang led a group of experts from the black market to Tianmo Ridge, he brought a catastrophe to all thirty-six counties and kingdoms of Tianmo Ridge.

The Yunwu royal family suffered a particularly tragic fate. The seventh prince, Zhang Tiangui, a traitor who defected to the black market, almost wiped out the entire royal family. Only the fourth prince, Zhang Shaochu, who was studying at the Tianmo Ridge Martial Market Academy, and the ninth princess, Zhang Yuxi, escaped the calamity.

What's even more hateful is that Zhang Tiangui is not actually the son of the Prince of Yunwu, but rather the illegitimate child born from the affair between the Queen and his cousin, who is also the Grand Preceptor of Yunwu.

However, the chaos in Tianmo Ridge has now been quelled. The Queen and the Imperial Advisor have been executed, leaving only Zhang Tiangui to follow Xia Shaoyang out of Tianmo Ridge and escape to the Eastern Evil Land.

"Does Prince Yunwu intend to conquer this Evil Wood Palace? Coincidentally, I also have designs on the Evil Wood Palace. Perhaps we can cooperate?" Di Yi chuckled.

Zhang Ruochen sized up the person in front of him. Even with preconceived notions, he still felt that there was something strange about this Hidden Dragon Hall Master.

Ah Le and Zi Qian cultivated orthodox Taoist techniques, their auras vast and natural. However, the Hidden Dragon Hall Master gave him a feeling that was both righteous and evil; he lacked the carefree spirit of a Taoist master, instead carrying a dark aura. "Is he really a disciple of the Two Elements Sect? Could I be mistaken?"

Thinking of this, Zhang Ruochen's eyes suddenly sharpened, and he laughed, "The Evil Wood Palace is guarded by the Divine Corpse Dharma King and protected by the Palace Protection Holy Array. It is not a place that ordinary people can conquer. Hall Master Yi is renowned in Yunwu County. I just don't know if he has the strength to cooperate with me?"

Di Yi looked at Zhang Ruochen with great interest and smiled, "You want to fight me?"

"Let's have a friendly spar, stopping when we've reached our limit, so I can see if the Hidden Dragon Hall Master is all talk and no action." Zhang Ruochen held the tenth-tier True Martial Treasure, the Purple Thunder Sword, his fighting spirit soaring.

“Perfect timing, I also want to witness the power of the new generation of kings in the Eastern Region.” Di Yi chuckled, and the tenth-order True Martial Treasure longsword in his hand, which he had obtained from a student of the Martial City Academy, emitted a crisp sword hum as it was instantly unsheathed and hovered in front of him.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Ruochen was greatly surprised and exclaimed, "Sword Heart Clarity!"

Those who can reach the Sword Heart Clarity in the Heavenly Realm are all sword prodigies. Zhang Ruochen was able to raise his sword skills to the Sword Heart Clarity in a short time in this life because he had already comprehended the Sword Heart Clarity after cultivating sword techniques for more than ten years in his previous life.

"excuse me."

Having finally encountered a master swordsman, Zhang Ruochen became more serious and unleashed the newly learned high-grade spirit-level sword technique, the Thirteen Swords of Soul Chasing. He leaped off the demonic ape's back and launched an attack on Di Yi.

The Thirteen Swords of Soul Chaser was created by a half-saint in the Sword Dao Department of the Eastern Domain Holy Academy, and served as the assessment content for the saints of the Sword Dao Department.

Zhang Ruochen possesses exceptional skill in swordsmanship and top-tier comprehension. He mastered the first move to the highest level in just three days, displaying remarkable talent. Combined with his performance in the previous assessments, he caught the eye of Elder Xuanji, who intends to take him on as a personal disciple.

During this period, Zhang Ruochen put a lot of effort into the Thirteen Swords of Soul Chasing, and has already mastered this sword technique.

At this moment, the sword was drawn, and purple light burst forth, like a bolt of lightning slicing through the void. Its speed was incredibly fast, and the sword light almost completely blocked Di Yi's vision.

"interesting……"

Putting aside martial arts cultivation, just looking at swordsmanship alone, Di Yi felt that Zhang Ruochen was no less than him. It wasn't just that he had just entered the stage of Sword Heart Clarity; he had already reached the second level of Sword Heart Clarity.

"With sufficient skill in swordsmanship, even ordinary sword techniques can unleash astonishing power."

He reached out and grasped the ice-blue longsword, thrusting it directly at the white dot in the center of the purple light. The purple lightning instantly shattered and dissipated as if struck by a heavy blow.

"not good……"

Zhang Ruochen was shocked to see his sword move broken in an instant. He was very familiar with the sword move his opponent had just made; it was the low-level spirit-grade sword technique [Heavenly Heart Sword Technique] from the Liangyi Sect.

"Soul-Suppressing Image!"

Zhang Ruochen turned around in mid-air, gathering all his true energy into the Purple Thunder Sword, and slashed out with the sword. The powerful sword energy condensed into a dazzling purple light, constantly approaching the place where Di Yi was standing.

"Your swordsmanship is good, but your cultivation level is a bit weak..."

Di Yi smiled faintly, easily deflecting Zhang Ruochen's attack with his long sword. At the same time, he unleashed the "Heavenly Heart Plum Blossom Breaker," in which six plum blossoms bloomed in the void, aiming straight for Zhang Ruochen's brow.

In terms of swordsmanship, the two are evenly matched, but in terms of martial arts cultivation, Zhang Ruochen is only at the minor extreme level of the Heavenly Realm, while Di Yi is already at the great perfection of the Heavenly Realm.

In terms of physique, Zhang Ruochen had just cultivated the Water Spirit Body, and was far inferior to Di Yi.

The same exquisite sword strike becomes simple when faced with a vastly different power level.

Even though Di Yi only used 20% of his strength in this sword strike.

The moment Di Yi swept away the Soul-Suppressing Shadow, Zhang Ruochen understood that without using spatial power, he was no match for him. This Hidden Dragon Hall Master not only had extremely high swordsmanship, but his martial arts cultivation was also unfathomable, having reached the pinnacle of the four realms of martial arts.

The Heavenly Heart Plum Blossom Sword was coming with overwhelming force. Zhang Ruochen had a premonition that if he didn't find a way to dodge it, his brow would really be pierced.

"not good!"

Driven by the life-or-death crisis, he disregarded everything else and subconsciously used 'spatial teleportation,' instantly disappearing and reappearing three zhang away.

Having dodged the attack using spatial techniques, Zhang Ruochen looked back at the spot where he had been standing, still shaken. To his astonishment, he found that the tip of the ice-blue longsword was still firmly positioned between his eyebrows, about half an inch away.

"What exquisite swordsmanship! The mastery of one's own internal energy has reached its peak."

This was the first time Di Yi had witnessed the methods of the Dao of Space, and he was equally amazed.

As expected of one of the nine ancient paths, cultivators who have mastered the path of space can move beyond the realm of speed when they perform spatial teleportation. Whether for self-preservation or attack, it is impossible to defend against.

"The power of space, as expected of the new generation king of the Eastern Region, you were able to use spatial teleportation to dodge my sword."

Zhang Ruochen's identity as the successor of the Time and Space Technique was one of his biggest secrets. When Di Yi revealed it to him, he couldn't help but panic. However, he quickly calmed down. He would have to use the Time and Space Technique to fight his enemies sooner or later, and it was only a matter of time before he was recognized.

“Even with the power of space, I can only choose to run away in the face of your Heavenly Heart Sword Technique,” ​​Zhang Ruochen said, shaking his head. He had already decided in his heart that the person in front of him was a disciple of the Two Elements Sect.

If one were not a disciple of the Liangyi Sect, how could one have cultivated the Heavenly Heart Sword Technique, a low-level spiritual martial art, to such a level of mastery?

"I think we can have a good talk about cooperation."

(End of this chapter)