CHAPTER 927: CHAPTER 903: SETTING A TRAP WITH A COUNTERPLOT (3/3)

Although Ximen Shan was asking Zhou Heng, he clearly wasn’t expecting an answer. He immediately continued, "Because, in order to retain me, Dayuan Academy has provided me with countless cultivation resources!"

"If I had gone to Great River Academy, although I might not have faded into obscurity, there would have been at least eighty or a hundred people on my level. There, I would receive attention, but never to the degree I get at Dayuan Academy!"

"I still remember my opponent at the academy competition back then; he made a choice opposite to mine by entering Great River Academy. As a result, he is still a Star Sovereign, whereas I have already become a Four Thousand Stars Star Emperor!"

"Junior Brother Zhou, do you understand now?"

Even if Ximen Shan’s opponent had reached the peak of the Nine Stars Ultimate Star Sovereign, he would still be three thousand stars away from Ximen Shan! You must know that forming a single star normally takes about a hundred years; how many years of cultivation is a difference of three thousand stars?

Such is the gap created by different cultivation resources!

Yet there are people in this world who can’t see through it. They believe "water flows to low places while people strive for high places," but they forget another saying, "Better to be a chicken’s head than the tail of a cow"!

"So, Junior Brother Zhou, please don’t blame me! Although we are fellow disciples, Ximen Dong is my own brother, so naturally I have to favor him, don’t you think?" Ximen Shan smiled broadly without a hint of anger.

Zhou Heng clenched his fists and said, "I think it’s all bullshit; clearly you want to deprive me of what’s rightfully mine! The academy competition is held every century; if Ximen Dong takes it this time, then what about the next time? Do you want to do it again?"

"That’s so troublesome!"

"I guess after Ximen Dong gains the qualification to participate in the competition this time, you’ll find a way to make me die in an accident, right?"

After a slight pause, Ximen Shan revealed a smile and said, "Junior Brother Zhou, you are indeed clever. Unfortunately, clever people never live long!" That was exactly his plan, to let Zhou Heng die in the duel two days later.

By then, even if the academy suspects something, nothing can be done because the Ximen brothers’ influence has formed, and punitive measures against them would only provoke public anger!

"Haha, enough talking already, come at me!" Zhou Heng took a deep breath, channeling all his spiritual power to the extreme. Though he seemed to be in a ready-to-punch stance, he gave off a feeling of a sharp sword being unsheathed.

Indeed, he was operating the Sword Intent of the Crimson Flame Sword Technique, but with significant restraint, only enhancing the cultivation technique to the level of Ten Stars.

In this fight, he had decided to lose!

Because only then could he face Ximen Dong two days later, accidentally "losing control" and eliminating the opponent!

He didn’t like people owing him for too long. Today, Ximen Shan bit him, so in a couple of days, he planned to slap back, and slap hard enough to let the opponent taste the pain of losing a brother!

When he truly reaches the Star Sovereign realm, with a star much larger than ordinary Stellar Realm martial artists, a peculiar big star, and the forty-fold power boost of the Crimson Flame Sword Technique, reverse-cutting a Star Emperor would be no issue!

Collect the interest first and the principal later!

If he wanted to escape now, he’d have at least an 80% chance of succeeding, but if he did so, Ximen Dong wouldn’t dare to duel him the day after tomorrow! He’d have to wait a long time to settle today’s grievance, which doesn’t align with Zhou Heng’s character.

"Bring it on!" Zhou Heng shouted with grandeur; he was eager to test the battle power of a Star Emperor.

Ximen Shan didn’t naively believe a few words could make Zhou Heng yield willingly. After all, what counts is that no matter how exceptional a Star King might be, it’s vastly different from a Star Emperor!

Nine is the ultimate number, and now with four thousand stars, who knows how many times he’s exceeded the ultimate nine! If it weren’t exceptionally difficult to break into the Milky Way Realm, he would have stepped into a higher realm by now!

However, the more solid the foundation, the broader the growth path. Although he couldn’t yet break into the Milky Way Realm, his cultivation level continued to rise, and his number of stars slowly increased.

"Let me show you the gap between a Star King and a Star Emperor!" Ximen Shan sneered as he stretched out his palm, lightly twirled it, and boom, the universe immediately collapsed. Countless meteorites fell from the sky, bombarding Zhou Heng.

So powerful!

Zhou Heng’s expression turned solemn; the power of a Star Emperor was terrifyingly strong. Although it didn’t reach the heaven-defying level of doubling the strength with a single star, passing through ultimate nine numerous times, that power could at least be ten thousand times greater than his!

The Crimson Flame Sword Technique can at most enhance force by forty-five times, which simply can’t bridge such a gap!

Zhou Heng changed position swiftly, implementing the Carefree Step. His speed soared immediately, and he moved unpredictably, navigating smoothly among the falling meteorites.

"Hmm?" Ximen Shan couldn’t help but show a hint of shock. He easily recognized Zhou Heng was using the Carefree Step. In fact, he could use it too, but upon reaching Star Emperor, he had developed a new movement technique, replacing the Carefree Step.

He remembered taking two months to comprehend those profound characters initially, a half-year to get started, and three years to reach a minor success! Even so, the academy praised him as a genius that only appeared once every several ten thousand years!

But how long had it been since Zhou Heng became a Star King, and he could already manipulate the Carefree Step so freely? Such talent was simply terrifying!

In a flash, Ximen Shan even felt an impulse to cut down Zhou Heng right there!

He immediately suppressed that urge; getting rid of Zhou Heng now would be more trouble than it’s worth. He must first diminish Zhou Heng’s momentum, allowing Ximen Dong to replace him, so that once a genius’s curtain has fallen, who would care about his fate?

He wouldn’t cause serious harm to Zhou Heng, only weaken his battle power to a lower level than Ximen Dong’s. Then, in the duel two days later, Ximen Dong could suddenly use his Bloodline Power to "accidentally" kill Zhou Heng in front of everyone.

Such "fairness" would be beyond reproach from the academy, and the die would be cast. Thus, they would have to put all their hopes for the Star King Court on Ximen Dong, nurturing him fully!

Therefore, Ximen Shan first needed to determine Zhou Heng’s battle power to decide how heavy-handed he should be, lest the fight between Zhou Heng and Ximen Dong be too one-sided and embarrassing.

"Can he escape?" Ximen Shan sneered, launching another palm strike that enveloped the surrounding space within a league.

He was a Star Emperor, vastly superior in strength to Zhou Heng, with no need to bother with fancy tricks. A broad attack would suffice, even if the power was dispersed many times, it could still crush Zhou Heng.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Zhou Heng punched wildly at the sky; with their large-scale attack, his movement technique was useless, and the only thing he could do was break through a gap!

Of course, he hadn’t used the Five Elements Rune, nor the Black Sword, nor the Purple Flame Heavenly Dragon, because even with these, he couldn’t defeat his opponent; he could only use them to escape. So, he chose to endure it and take revenge with interest in two days!

His fists danced wildly, with tenfold power amplification and his Star Sovereign level Spiritual Power, he forcibly shattered Ximen Shan’s blockade, spraying a mouthful of blood as he soared into the air.

Though he had decided to lose, he couldn’t lose foolishly; he had to show an effort to escape.

Go!

This guy!

A chill rose in Ximen Shan’s heart. Even dispersed, the attack of a Four Thousand Stars Star Emperor should theoretically annihilate any Star King, yet it merely made Zhou Heng spit blood!

As expected of the man who broke all the academy’s Star King records, truly not to be underestimated! He should not be treated as a Star King, but as a Star Sovereign!

Ximen Shan also deployed his movement technique, launching a fierce attack on Zhou Heng.

Being a Star Emperor, his speed naturally surpassed Zhou Heng’s. Now, with his movement technique, he completely outclassed Zhou Heng. Bang bang bang, his palms struck swiftly as lightning, leaving Zhou Heng unable to dodge or parry, only taking the blows head-on.

Poof! Poof! Poof!

Zhou Heng spewed blood. The opponent’s strikes were skillfully placed, bypassing his physical defenses and directly penetrating his Dantian Space, damaging his star, and not heavily impacting his body.

This was the kind of strike that wouldn’t show on the surface but would genuinely weaken his battle power.

This guy really put a lot of thought into it for Ximen Dong!

Zhou Heng kept enduring the attacks.

He also had to put in a lot of thought; otherwise, if he unleashed his full power, it wouldn’t have been hard to escape. But to deceive his opponent, he held back from counterattacking, gradually decreasing his power, appearing increasingly clumsy.

"Hahaha, this is the end for you!" Ximen Shan struck with a palm aimed at Zhou Heng’s dantian, and with a boom, he exerted force, blasting Zhou Heng away with violent power. Bang bang bang, Zhou Heng crashed through over a hundred towering giant trees before falling down.

With a cry, Zhou Heng spat a large mouthful of blood, his body shuddered, and he fainted away.

"That should be enough!" Ximen Shan said, a trace of hesitation flashing in his eyes. He really wanted to kill Zhou Heng now. But... he decided to wait two more days. Anyway, this kid was sure to die at his brother’s hands; he still needed him to play out his final use.

Turning around, he soared back to the academy—he still had work to do, to hype up the atmosphere for the duel between Zhou Heng and Ximen Dong, forcing the confrontation even knowing he would be defeated in public.

What Martial Artist hasn’t lost? But if one doesn’t even have the courage for an equal-level battle, how could such a person face others in the future?

As long as Zhou Heng fought, it would be his death!

Ximen Shan’s lips curled into a cold smile, full of killing intent. As he soared upward, his speed was swift as a ray of light, quickly disappearing without a trace.

...

A little half a day later, Zhou Heng twitched his body and awoke.

Earlier, he really had fainted, otherwise, he couldn’t have fooled Ximen Shan! It was a huge risk; if Ximen Shan had changed his mind, Zhou Heng would be doomed!

But he gambled correctly!

"This hurts like hell!" cried the Fire Divine Furnace in the Dantian Space. The force that had blown into Zhou Heng’s dantian had hit it directly. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)