Chapter 458: That I Shall Break Through

Silence.

The tens of thousands of soldiers at the Altar of Heaven, along with the spectators, were all dumbfounded.

Grandmaster Ding Hong, whose formidable aura commanded the scene, effortlessly made everyone submit with a single word. His appearance atop the Iron-backed Winged Dragon was awe-inspiring, his presence like a gathering storm.

Everyone had expected him to effortlessly subdue Master Zhang, rendering him unable to resist. Yet, to their surprise, before he even made a move, he plummeted directly from the sky…

What the hell! Could it get any more absurd?

Walking out of the palace wouldn't tire a master like you, yet you chose to show off, flying so high, intending to descend from above, imposing your will with overwhelming force as if delivering divine punishment… Well, punishment did come, but it landed squarely on yourself.

Everyone simultaneously turned to look at Grandmaster Ding Hong, whose head was buried more than half a meter deep in the ground. Their mouths twitched, feeling his pain.

Even a Leaving Aperture realm expert cannot fly. Falling unprotected from a height of fifty to sixty meters, while not fatal, would leave anyone completely disoriented, unable to tell up from down. Fortunately, his strength was immense; otherwise, even a Supreme realm expert would have lost half their life from that fall.

“How could the Iron-backed Winged Dragon, a Half-Leaving Aperture super spirit beast, lose its balance and fall from the sky?”

After the initial shock, a wave of voices erupted, everyone filled with confusion.

This wasn't an untamed beast acting out. The Iron-backed Winged Dragon belonged to the Xuanyuan Royal Family, having guarded the nation's destiny for centuries, almost becoming a totem and deity worshipped by everyone in the kingdom. For such a magnificent spirit beast to suddenly plummet, crashing down and flailing its eyelids, grunting and struggling to get up… Even witnessing it firsthand, no one could understand what had happened.

“Just now… it seemed Master Zhang let out a strange cry, and then that creature fell!”

“Yes, I heard it too! The sound was loud and clear, like the bellow of an ox, yet also like a massive thunderclap rising from the ground. I don’t know what it was, but… why was the Winged Dragon so terrified?” Someone sensed that something was amiss and couldn't help but speak up. It was fine just moments before, then it shrieked and fell. Could the two events be connected?

While everyone was puzzled, Grandmaster Ding Hong finally recovered, climbed to his feet, and was nearly bursting with rage. He had intended to appear on the Winged Dragon, single-handedly slay Zhang Xuan, establish his supreme authority, and restore the Xuanyuan Royal Family's prestige. He never dreamed he would nearly be killed by a fall. To become the first Leaving Aperture realm expert to die from a fall would be utterly disgraceful.

Wiping the mud from his head, his eyes burning crimson, he glared at the young man nearby, his gaze seemingly wanting to devour him.

“Kill him!” he roared at the Iron-backed Winged Dragon, which was lying on the ground, also somewhat dazed and spitting blood from the fall.

After roaring, he realized the creature was staring at the young man with utter panic, as if it had seen a ghost. Forget killing him; it wouldn't dare take a single step forward.

“Useless!” Ding Hong was nearly exploding with rage. “What is all this?! You have dragon bloodline! You're usually lawless in the palace, caring for no one. Why do you act like this when I ask you to kill someone? Can't you be useful for once? He’s just at Supreme peak, yet you’ve even slain spirit beasts before…”

He reprimanded it twice more, realizing that even if he beat this fool, it wouldn't confront the young man. Ding Hong suppressed his fury and turned to Zhang Xuan.

“To prevent it from acting is a skill in itself, but… I will personally make a move. Dying by my hand will be your honor!” The Iron-backed Winged Dragon was suddenly terrified. Even without knowing the reason, he knew it must be related to this young man. “But so what? He’s merely at Supreme peak, still a long way from his Leaving Aperture realm. Once I strike and kill him, whatever tricks he has will be useless.”

Boom!

With a cold snort, Grandmaster Ding Hong made his move. With a push of his palm, violent true qi, mixed with the world's vital energy, formed a massive palm print and slammed towards him.

Spirit-tier low-grade martial art, Vitality Palm!

Previously, standing on the spirit beast's back, he was far away, only using sound and other long-range attacks. Though he knew they were powerful, he hadn't truly felt their impact. Now, standing on the ground, he understood just how terrifying it was to reach such a realm.

Instantly, Zhang Xuan felt an extremely powerful force rushing towards him, pressing him until his entire body stiffened, and even circulating his true qi became difficult.

“I'll fight to the death!” Knowing that a Leaving Aperture realm expert controlled his surroundings, making escape impossible, he raised his eyebrows. His Heaven's Path true qi circulated to its limit, and he met the attack with a punch.

Heaven's Path Fist!

His muscles tensed, true qi surged from his fist, unleashing a colossal force exceeding sixty thousand ding, like a primeval beast tearing through the heavens and earth. It collided with the opponent's Vitality Palm. Under the violent impact, Zhang Xuan involuntarily reeled back more than ten steps, his face flushed, almost spitting blood. Although he had made great progress in the past few days, and his strength surpassed that of an ordinary Supreme peak expert, it was still far too inferior compared to a true Leaving Aperture realm expert. He couldn't resist at all.

“He actually blocked it? Not bad. However, I’d like to see how many moves you can withstand!” Seeing his Vitality Palm blocked, Ding Hong was slightly surprised. “No wonder this fellow could even defeat Hall Master Luo Qianhong; his strength was indeed astonishing. Let alone Supreme peak, even other Half-Leaving Aperture experts would have been severely injured by a single Vitality Palm, yet he only retreated a few steps and was fine. Putting everything else aside, just the strength of his physical body was no worse than his own. A mere Supreme realm expert possesses physical strength comparable to a Leaving Aperture realm expert? Impressive!”

Boom!

Though surprised inwardly, he didn't stop his attack, chopping down with another palm. Knowing Zhang Xuan's physical body was robust, he used even greater force this time. The palm print hadn't even reached Zhang Xuan yet, but it already carved a deep gully into the ground.

“Vitality Palm, formed by connecting with the world's vital energy through the power of the Leaving Aperture realm. Flaws: One, only cultivated to the Proficient realm, thus not able to be executed freely…” The flaws of the opponent's martial art appeared in his mind.

The Vitality Palm, a Spirit-tier low-grade martial art, was powerful, but Ding Hong was only at the initial stage of the Leaving Aperture realm. Even after much study, he had only grasped its superficial aspects; there was still a long way to go before fully mastering it to perfection. For martial art cultivation, the Master Teacher Pavilion had also established ranks: Novice, Proficient, Minor Accomplishment, Major Accomplishment, and Perfect Mastery. Novice means having just begun to understand the martial art, able to barely execute it. Proficient is a step up, allowing one to exert its power, but without complete freedom of execution. As for Minor Accomplishment, it means one has a deep understanding of the martial art and can use it as a life-saving ultimate move. It's important to note that most cultivators only manage to cultivate martial arts to this level. As for Major Accomplishment and Perfect Mastery, they are simply impossible to achieve without dedicating decades of time to a single technique.

Although Ding Hong had possessed the Vitality Palm for a long time and had studied it for several decades, his personal strength couldn't improve, and he explored it on his own, so his understanding was limited. Despite having studied it for so long, he had only reached the second stage, Proficient.

“The Proficient realm Vitality Palm has a total of seventeen flaws…” Knowing that a direct confrontation would eventually lead to his death, Zhang Xuan raised his eyebrows and began searching for weaknesses. Currently, he couldn't directly contend with a true Leaving Aperture realm expert; he could only rely on finding flaws to counterattack.

“Found it!” His eyes flashed, suddenly locking onto a spot.

Having found an exploitable weakness, he didn't hesitate. With a flicker of his feet, he directly dodged the opponent's frontal attack. With a flick of his wrist, a long spear appeared in his palm, and he thrust it towards the weak point.

Heaven's Path Spear Art!

After searching the Lin Clan, he had acquired many weapons and stored them in his storage ring for emergencies. They came in handy right then. This flaw was precisely the moment in Ding Hong's Vitality Palm when the old force had dissipated and the new force had not yet formed.

The long spear whistled, thrusting as swiftly as a dragon.

“Amazing! Master Zhang's insight is truly terrifying!” On the back of the spirit beast, Jin Conghai's pupils contracted as he watched the spear thrust. As a Leaving Aperture realm expert himself, he hadn't found the flaw in Ding Hong's technique. Yet, Zhang Xuan had found it in an instant. His insight was terrifying. “However… it’s a pity; his attack power is too weak. Even with the spear art, it won’t work!” After his shock, he couldn't help but shake his head.

“Useless?” The “Young Master” asked, puzzled. “Since he found the flaw, why would it be useless?”

“Indeed!” With his hands clasped behind his back, Jin Conghai's gaze was like a deep pool. “The Leaving Aperture realm… it's not as simple as it seems!”

Unaware of their conversation, Zhang Xuan's Heaven's Path Spear Art, like a venomous dragon's drill, thrust straight towards the flaw.

“Hmph!” Ding Hong's pupils contracted. He quickly took a step back, his entire body trembling simultaneously.

Whoosh!

The surrounding air seemed to instantly solidify. The spear, which had been moving like lightning, entered this space as if it had plunged into a swamp, its speed instantly plummeting. The next moment, the spear tip was pinched between Ding Hong's fingers, like an earthworm trying to escape but utterly helpless.

Crack!

With a surge of true qi, the Ghost-tier spear was instantly shattered into several pieces. Zhang Xuan felt a dull ache in his chest and retreated more than a dozen steps again, his face as pale as paper.

“Damn it!” His fists clenched. He hadn't expected that even after finding the flaw and striking it, he couldn't injure the opponent in the slightest. The Leaving Aperture realm was indeed terrifyingly powerful, utterly beyond what the Supreme realm could defeat.

“To find the flaws in my technique so quickly and exploit them is indeed extraordinary; even I didn't expect that!” Ding Hong looked over. For a mere Supreme realm expert to find the flaws of his Leaving Aperture realm technique so quickly, his insight was truly formidable. If his own strength hadn't already reached the Leaving Aperture realm, he might have been injured just now.

“However, your strength is too weak! If you had the power of a Half-Leaving Aperture expert, perhaps I would have been injured just now. But alas… Supreme peak is still too far! Even if you know the flaws, what can you do to me?” Ding Hong coldly smiled, “To show my respect, I will use my full power to kill you!”

“You're right!” Facing the opponent's threat, Zhang Xuan showed no fear. Instead, he nodded, “My attack power is indeed too weak. Supreme peak truly cannot injure you! Since you say Half-Leaving Aperture realm can succeed, then… I'll just break through!”

As he finished speaking, Zhang Xuan flipped his wrist and tossed a lotus-seed-like object into his mouth.

Boom!

In an instant, his entire being seemed like ignited lamp oil, blazing fiercely.