Shocking the Nine Heavens With My Sword
Chapter 313 - 301: Great Heaven-reaching Array (2/3)

Chapter 313: Chapter 301: Great Heaven-reaching Array (2/3)

The Nine-Headed Hydra’s aura filled everyone with unparalleled terror, while the Purple Heavenly Dragon inspired awe and submission, as if it were an ancient Heavenly Venerate or Great Emperor incarnate, compelling profound respect and devout worship from the depths of their hearts.

With a series of pats, the surrounding people kneeled in unison, except for Ying Mengfan and the other women, none were exempted!

Zhou Heng stood proudly, like a Divine King on a royal tour, accepting the kneeling tributes of his subjects.

Ying Mengfan and the others gazed at him with misty eyes, yearning to throw themselves into his embrace and claim this godlike man as their own, basking in the envious gazes of others.

The purple flames dissipated, revealing Mao Yuheng’s body. The Nine-Headed Hydra had been burnt to ash long ago. His face was ashen, and his pupils were greatly dilated. He looked at Zhou Heng, but his focus was gone, it was doubtful he could even see Zhou Heng.

"Sp-, Spirit Sea Realm!" Mao Yuheng uttered the last words of his life unwillingly, as his body collapsed with a thunderous sound, still wearing an expression of indignation on his face.

Naturally, he was unwilling!

Risking the depletion of spiritual power, he executed his family’s secret technique and summoned the true bloodline of the ancient ancestors—the Nine-Headed Hydra. He barely elevated his cultivation to the Spirit Sea Realm, thinking he could easily overpower Zhou Heng, but he didn’t expect...

That Zhou Heng was actually in the Spirit Sea Realm!

Could a forced promotion to the Spirit Sea Realm compare with a true Spirit Sea Realm expert?

What a clown he was!

Mao Yuheng died with eyes wide open, like a clown who had jumped around only to be smacked to death with a slap, dying so miserably that he would be taken as a warning for who knows how long.

Zhou Heng withdrew his imposing aura and gestured to the women to come over; Ying Mengfan and the others immediately leaped out of the room. Their meal had been interrupted, and naturally, none of them had any appetite left; it was better to head back to the inn to wash up and sleep.

Besides, having seen Zhou Heng’s authoritative side, Han Yulian, Ying Mengfan, and the rest were now only interested in entwining with Zhou Heng intimately to release the passions within them.

...

A night passed, and Zhou Heng, accompanied by several women, headed to the Shangtian Martial Pavilion. Not only did he want to brave the Heaven-reaching Array, but so did Ying Mengfan, Han Yulian, and the others, as only official disciples of the Martial Pavilion could enter.

This renowned martial arts academy, known throughout the human empire, was situated to the west of the Imperial Capital and occupied one-tenth of the entire capital. If Saint Yangtian were willing to sell the land, it would undoubtedly fetch an astronomical price.

From the outside, this Martial Pavilion looked no different from an ordinary large estate, with vermilion walls enclosing the entire pavilion and one entrance on each of the cardinal directions; each gate was guarded by sentries.

Don’t think about scaling the walls to get in. This place had a Divine Infant Realm expert in residence, with the entire Martial Pavilion under the sweep of this powerhouse’s Divine Sense. Who would dare to force their way in? With a mere thought, an attack from the Divine Infant Realm would instantly arrive, compelling even Nascent Soul Realm old ancestors to retreat, while others would be instantly slain!

This peerless expert, while having the great kindness of imparting martial skills, did not mean he was soft-hearted. Who wouldn’t get angry if their lair was breached?

Moreover, this Saint had made great contributions to humanity, and just for his heart of advancing martial prowess, he deserved respect and admiration.

Zhou Heng and the women arrived at the east gate. He clasped his hands towards the four guards and said, "I am Zhou Heng, here to challenge the Heaven-reaching Array!"

"Hmm?"

The four guards were taken aback at the same time. The Heaven-reaching Array was not a trivial matter — often causing severe injuries, and it wasn’t impossible to die within it! They had served as guards for various lengths of time, but it was rare to encounter someone bold enough to challenge the Heaven-reaching Array.

Since Saint Yang Tian decreed that anyone who reached the Open Heaven Realm was qualified to take on the Heaven-reaching Array, Zhou Heng, having expressed his intention to challenge, left them no choice but to immediately inform the Martial Pavilion’s higher ups and activate the array.

"Please follow me!" One of the guards said to Zhou Heng and the others, his gaze drifting across the faces of Ying Mengfan and the several women, revealing an expression of amazement.

He led Zhou Heng and the rest into the Martial Pavilion, and soon they arrived at a massive Stone Palace. Turning around, he said, "Everyone, the Great Heaven-reaching Array consists of ninety-nine stages. As ordained by Saint Yangtian, passing through fifty stages qualifies one as a disciple of the Martial Pavilion, and those who overcome all ninety-nine stages can become direct disciples of the Saint!"

"If you find yourselves unmatched, you may crush this Talisman at any time to be transported out! However, you must act quickly, do not harbor greed, otherwise you might perish, and it truly wouldn’t be worth it!"

Zhou Heng smiled, took out an Upper Grade Spirit Stone and handed it over, saying, "Thank you for the warning!"

The guard’s eyes widened instantly at the sight of the Upper Grade Spirit Stone; it wasn’t something someone of his status could obtain. With the enlightenment contained within it, his breakthrough to the Land Cleaving Realm was now hopeful!

He hurriedly received it, bowing continuously with gratitude.

In recent days, Xiao Huoshui, Orchid Concubine, and Nangong Yuerong had also made their breakthroughs to the Open Heaven Realm, leaving only Mei Yixiang, the daughter of a Nascent Soul Realm old ancestor, pitifully stuck at the Spirit Gathering Realm, and she had neither shame nor shyness, always causing a commotion!

But Orchid Concubine and Xiao Huoshui were aware of their own limitations; they were not cut out for martial arts, and their advancements to Open Heaven were solely due to the effects of Spiritual Medicine. They chose not to embarrass themselves — a mishap in the array resulting in a marred appearance would be too great a loss!

With their company, Mei Yixiang was saved from the awkwardness of being alone watching the scenery, yet with her thick-skinned nature, she likely wouldn’t mind.

"Enter!"

Lin Fuxiang, An Yumei, Gu Zi, Feng Lianqing, Ying Mengfan, Han Yulian, Nangong Yuerong entered the Stone Palace one by one, with Zhou Heng being the last. As he stepped through the door, he felt a heaviness in his body and a blur in his vision; the figures of the women had vanished from sight.

It was a teleportation portal, scattering everyone into different locations, preventing any form of assistance or joint tactics to break through the array.

Zhou Heng was now in a long corridor, with a glowing stone slab embedded in the ceiling that stretched along. The corridor was divided into black and white sections, alternating every fifty yards as if a serpent winding in monochrome.

Each "loop" was inscribed with a number, starting from "one," and with Zhou Heng’s vision, he could only see up to "ten." Thus, when he arrived at "ten," the corridor came to an end.

The numbers likely represented the stages of the Great Heaven-reaching Array, but with ninety-nine stages in total, why were there only ten here?

Zhou Heng wasn’t concerned and walked on with hands clasped behind his back. Whatever it was, he only needed one punch to blast through!

Clack, clack, clack, clack!

When he took his first step, the originally empty corridor immediately filled with ten metallic figures. Each was made of a silvery-gray material, and each metallic person was guarding a "ring."

Should I fight my way through?

Zhou Heng smiled faintly and strode forward.

Boom!

The first metallic person immediately launched an attack on Zhou Heng. Its fist tore through the air, creating a sonic boom as it furiously swept towards him.

Zhou Heng chuckled, his right hand thrusting forward suddenly, transforming into a fist.

Smash down!

Clang!

The metallic person was instantly hammered into a discus by him!

"Hey, hey, these materials are of the Spirit Sea Realm grade, la. It’s a pity I can’t loot them; that Saint would probably burst out and give me a beating if I did," Zhou Heng lamented as he tossed the metal disc aside. These past days had seen his Spiritual Power Realm improve, but his physical strength had slightly diminished. He was in dire need of supplementation, such a waste!

He continued moving forward and entered the second ring.

Swoosh—the second metallic person also lunged at him, stretching out his arm in a sudden motion, which transformed into a sword and thrust at Zhou Heng.

Clang!

Zhou Heng threw another punch, and the second metallic person became an iron disc as well, casually discarded by him.

Clang!

The third one!

Clang!

The fourth one!

Zhou Heng bulldozed his way through, quickly reaching the end of the corridor, where ten metallic figures were scattered around, all flattened.

Clack, clack, clack. The wall at the end rose, revealing a new section of the corridor, still alternating black and white every fifty zhang, marked with numbers from eleven to twenty.

"The first ten metallic people had only the strength of an ordinary Spirit Sea Realm. Afterwards, each metallic person’s power doubled. If this increment continues, then the metallic person at the ninety-ninth ring will only have ninety-nine times the strength of the ordinary Spirit Sea Realm, hardly frightening!"

Zhou Heng smiled to himself as he mused. His Dantian Space was so vast that none among his peers could compare. Who else among his peers possessed a Dantian Space 360 times larger?

An increase in strength by nearly a hundred times was absolutely terrifying!

No wonder anyone who passed fifty rings was deemed to have succeeded. Fifty times the strength of an expert of the same realm—a true genius, indeed a prodigy capable of catching Saint Yangtian’s eye.

Zhou Heng stepped forward, and clack, clack, clack, twenty metallic people appeared.

In every ring, there were now two metallic people.

Zhou Heng was fearless, marching on, and one by one the metallic figures were smashed into iron discs without any doubt, none withstanding even a single move from him.

After all, these metallic figures were inanimate objects, incapable of using Martial Arts Techniques. No matter how strong, they couldn’t exhibit the power of an expert of the same level.

Without pausing, he strolled through as if wandering in his own backyard, easily reaching the end of the second section of the corridor.

Rumbling, the wall rose, revealing the third segment of the corridor, similarly arranged, but the numbers on each ring had now changed to "twenty-one" through "thirty."

After Zhou Heng took a step, thirty metallic people appeared.

The power of these metallic people increased with each level, and the number multiplied by ten with each group of ten.

Still not enough!

Zhou Heng moved forward, his fists dancing. As before, the metallic people could not escape being flattened, his strength already surpassing the level that mere numbers could compensate for. Like a tiger among sheep, he reigned supreme.

Before long, he had reached the fifth section of the corridor.

Fifty metallic people appeared simultaneously, bristling with murderous aura, like the Golden Armored War Gods.

Zhou Heng marched on, his fists pounding rhythmically—unstoppable, he made his way to the end.

Rumbling, the sixth section of the corridor opened up to him.

Zhou Heng smiled but did not proceed. Instead, he took out a Talisman. With a thought, he shattered it, and a surge of power enveloped him. His figure trembled and he reappeared outside the Stone Palace.

For him, it was enough to have the opportunity to listen to Saint Yangtian’s teachings. As for taking the Saint as a mentor? Zhou Heng harbored no such thoughts.

(To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)