<b>Chapter 1104: Mighty Spear</b>
Zhan Shi took a calming breath with a battle spear in his hand. He pointed at Li Qiye and slowly spoke: “Brother Li, please give me pointers.” [1. This phrase, 请赐教, is harder to translate. It is a very common phrase in Wuxia; it is a polite phrase to say before combat. Zhan Shi isn't being overly respectful here with this sentence, even though it sounds like it. People will say this to each other before fighting.]
Li Qiye looked at his spear and smiled. He reached out and asked: “Does anyone have a spear? Let me borrow one for a bit.”
“Young Noble Li, this lowly one has a spear, but it is just a vulgar piece of trash, please don't laugh.” An expert immediately let Li Qiye borrow his spear.
Even though this expert called his spear a common weapon, this was an extremely humble way to put it. His spear was actually quite extraordinary. Even though it was not as strong as Zhan Shi's, it was still a treasure.
Li Qiye accepted the spear. With a buzz, his majestic and tyrannical blood energy poured into the spear. In an instant, the spear seemed to have gained its own spirit and emitted a zestful light.
Even a piece of scrap metal would become a ferocious weapon under Li Qiye's majestic energy.
“Go.” He became quite domineering with the spear in his hand and resembled an overlord.
Zhan Shi prepared himself and shouted out loud. Like a true dragon roaring in the sea, his spear slightly moved. Just this little shift caused the stars to move and reversed the heaven and earth.
His technique was not overly embellished with sophisticated and beautiful variations. It was a straight stab, yet the world screamed when it came forth.
The most direct and ordinary move had absolute power. Overbearing, destructive, and powerful — this was Zhan Shi's grand dao. With just the spear in his hand, he was ready to fight continuous battles.
This spear represented his courageous will, one that would never falter.
“Good.” Li Qiye voiced his praise in the face of this technique and responded with the same type of thrust. It was also ordinary without any transformations or techniques. This was the simplest and most natural of grand dao that didn't rely on an overly complicated style. It didn't carry an earth-shattering presence or a startling momentum. Nevertheless, such simplicity encompassed the power of myriad dao within.
“Clang!” The two spears collided with the sparks flying from the collision like the eruption of a volcano. A sound wave assaulted the world like a tidal wave.
“Thump, thump, thump!” Zhan Shi's destructive thrust was not actually stopped by Li Qiye's simple strike. However, he suffered a backlash vibration that caused him to stagger several steps back and shattered the space beneath his feet!
Zhan Shi stabilized himself and took a deep breath. He had a powerful foundation from previous battles. In a direct confrontation, he had never been afraid of anyone, but today, not only did he fail to move Li Qiye, he was shaken by the first exchange instead.
“Try mine now!” Li Qiye raised the spear all the way behind him and slammed it straight down. At this moment, his spear looked just like a whip that lashed straight out. No matter how fast one might be or where they fled, they wouldn't be able to evade this blow.
Zhan Shi made up his mind and let out a battle scream before swinging his spear horizontally with both hands to resist Li Qiye's strike head-on.
“Clang!” His spear was a supreme treasure, but under the impact of Li Qiye's attack, it bent and couldn't stop the strike.
“Boom!” Although Zhan Shi still managed to stop this attack, his entire body was sent flying like a falling star straight into the ground, creating a pit.
“Boom!” Small debris shot out chaotically. Zhan Shi climbed out of the pit with a very embarrassed expression. Without a doubt, he was not a match for Li Qiye in spearmanship.
Zhan Shi stared at Li Qiye with an indescribable hint of sadness: “I thought my dao was firm with no one able to shake it, but after seeing Brother Li's dao today, I finally realize that I am but a frog at the bottom of a well.”
Li Qiye smiled and gently shook his head: “From the ones I have seen in the current younger generation, none of them can compare to you in persistence.”
Zhan Shi sighed softly. Even though his dao might be firmer than others, he still had a long way to go compared to Li Qiye.
The spectators were quiet at this moment. Lin's speed and power as well as Zhan Shi's determination were top notch, but they were still quite far off from Li Qiye.
Li Qiye gave the spear back to the other person. He stood in the sky and glanced at the two: “You two can come together now.”
Lin and Zhan Shi looked at each other and took deep breaths. Both of them floated into the sky and stood opposite of Li Qiye with solemn expressions.
This was what the crowd was waiting for, the real fight. They were waiting for a miracle from Lin and Zhan Shi, a supreme move. These spectators didn't want to see Immortal Emperor techniques from their forefathers or destructive imperial weapons either.
All they hoped to see was a real fight between the dao that belonged to the three.
In fact, the fighters had the same idea. This fight had nothing to do with grievances or feuds. This was the purest of fights between cultivators, so they would use their own dao for this contest.
Lin and Zhan Shi were extremely unperturbed at this moment; it was like the calm before the storm.
Li Qiye, on the other hand, stood in the sky with a smile on his face while looking at the two.
“Don't worry about life and death in this battle.” Lin told Li Qiye: “It is our honor to fight you, so there will be no regrets if we perish. We didn't waste our time coming to this world by having you as an opponent.”
Li Qiye gently nodded: “Even though I'm a brute, I am excited to have opponents like you two.”
“Brother Li, no need to hold back.” Zhan Shi cupped his fists: “All I want is to see your supreme grand dao.”
“Very well, you will have the opportunity to see it.” Li Qiye slowly responded.
The expressions of those in the crowd darkened after hearing this. A fight between geniuses was an exciting event. The most blood-boiling climax would be the moment someone was defeated or even killed. However, the people here were sad. Some couldn't even bear to watch.
Everyone understood that without imperial weapons and other means, Lin and Zhan Shi were doomed to fail. Despite knowing so, the two still wanted to fight to the very end with wanton regard for death. They coveted a true fight that used their real power!
A bystander murmured: “Both Zhan Shi and Lin are great examples of good cultivators. It is an honor to know people like them.”
“The dreary wind blows while the river freezes. The hero fords, never to return!" Someone mournfully recited this poem. [2. This is a poem/song for Jing Ke, an assassin who tried to kill the Qin Emperor despite knowing how hopeless it was. The popular movie, Hero, is loosely based on this story. It is an extremely well-known tale.]
Li Qiye told the two: “Are you two ready? If so, then make your move.”
The two combatants looked at each other, then Zhan Shi spoke: “Brother Lin, even though our time together was brief, to have had a friend like you and to be able to fight together is my greatest honor!”
“Brother Zhan, I feel the same. It is my fortune to have known you!” Lin let out an unrestrained shout and laughed.
At this time, their heroism soared to the clouds. Their open-mindedness was infecting a lot of people.
“The dreary wind blows while the river freezes. The hero fords, never to return!" Someone loudly shouted in order to send the two off!
“The dreary wind blows while the river freezes. The hero fords, never to return!" Others quickly echoed the sentiment to bid farewell.
Everyone understood that from the moment the fight starts, their wish would be granted and they would certainly die!
“Rumble!” At this time, Lin's and Zhan Shi's blood energies erupted. The world was covered by their power. Each of their steps caused the earth to tremble. These were their most powerful states, capable of shaking the world.
Heavenly Emperor Lin explained: “Brother Li, Brother Zhan and I meditated and created a new heavenly dao that specializes in a combination attack. We gave it the name Divine Ascension War Emperor! Please give us pointers!”
“Divine Ascension War Emperor Dao, good name.” Li Qiye praised: “I'm waiting for your supreme heavenly dao!”
This dao contained the names of both Lin and Zhan Shi. [3. Zhan = War, the Di in Lin Tiandi = Emperor. Divine Ascension Zhan Di Dao.]
“Divine Ascension War Emperor Dao!” Some people murmured and tried to memorize the name of this grand dao.
Perhaps this grand dao was the beautiful but short-lived night-blooming cactus that only blossoms once. After today's battle, the world might not be able to see this supreme heavenly dao again.
In an instant, many people watched with bated breaths without daring to blink. They wanted to see the level of this heavenly dao the two created.
Across the millions of years, many people had created heavenly dao before. However, a combination attack dao was quite rare!