Chapter 1802: Chapter 233: Falling Flowers
“Wait for here, I’ll return shortly.”
After softly instructing Yun Xiu, Tang Luo’s figure disappeared. When he reappeared, he was already standing atop the Dao Platform at He Shou Peak, his robes fluttering in the wind as he gazed into the distant horizon with his hands folded behind him.
A trace of green lotus leaves appeared in the wind. After flickering faintly a few tis from afar, they blood fully at He Shou Peak.
The shimring erald-green lotus leaves sparkled dazzlingly. Jiang Fushen, with a pair of sinister dark green eyes, stared at the man on the Dao Platform and drifted montarily into a trance.
Perfection. Wholeness.
Only those who have truly walked the path of transcendence understand just how arduous it is.
To achieve a complete sense of self is never a matter of effort alone. Many must leave pieces of themselves behind on this journey toward transcendence.
It could be an innate emotion, a deeply ingrained mory, or even a favored indulgence…
Buddha’s Country calls this “cutting off karma;” the Beast Taming Sect refers to it as “driving away apes and horses.” The Divine Court nas it the “threshold of life and death.” Xu Clan’s swordsn live most romantically, calling it “swinging the sword to sever emotions.”
The great minds of Martial Saint Mountain once studied the transcendence path. For those with shallow attachnts, the path is shorter; for those deeply rooted, the path grows longer.
Many astonishingly gifted Martial Arts Grandmasters spend their entire lives attempting to walk the full path only to exhaust their lifespan and face life energy depletion in regret.
With so many failed examples, so Grandmasters begin to prepare by relinquishing certain attachnts before embarking, hoping to shorten their path.
But shortcuts always co at a price. Those who transcend their path by “cutting off karma” tend to achieve a form of wholeness marked by imperfection or unnaturalness. Lower realms might not perceive it, but those of equal standing sense it faintly.
Thus, the art of concealing or completing this imperfection becos a critical undertaking for those in the King Realm.
Jiang Fuling spent a full century filling in the emotional void he had abandoned during his journey, achieving complete wholeness in his Kingly form.
In his estimation, for Tang Luo to achieve enlightennt and beco a king at such a young age, he must have made trendous sacrifices to reach this point. Yet, surprisingly, Tang Luo’s Kingly form displayed such completeness.
“Youthful brilliance—it truly makes an old man envious.”
Jiang Fushen remarked with a complex expression, his tone filled with admiration.
“It’s your defiance of heaven itself, senior, that truly earns my respect.”
In Tang Luo’s eyes, the elder before him emanated overwhelming vitality. Even though constrained by certain rules, this life energy continued to trickle away.
If this state occurred in a martial artist, it typically would be referred to as “life energy depletion,” also known as the aura of death or the fifth decay of a celestial being.
Yet the King before him had sohow reversed this state. His vitality at this mont even surpassed that of a Kingly Beast, blazing like a roaring fla.
Within his Kingly form, however, it was as serene as a deep valley or still pond. The life energy, assimilated with his spiritual power, guided this overwhelming vitality, constructing a complex circulatory system within his body.
This system enabled the King to substitute life energy for himself entirely. Simply put, as long as his vitality was not exhausted, he could be regarded as a form of immortal existence.
To drain the King’s life energy completely, Tang Luo glanced at the blinding green light in the elder’s body and at the energy overflow resembling life energy depletion…
No wonder the dicine God Sect hasn’t appointed a new King for a century or expanded its recruitnt. With such an old master guarding the mountain, it’s indeed as unshakable as Mount Tai.
Given his current state, it wouldn’t be surprising if he ascends the Saint Realm within another three or five decades.
Indeed, among sects, these kings who have lived three or four centuries are never simple.
Though it was their first eting, the two Kings held each other in high regard, and this mutual recognition made their ensuing conversation omit many unnecessary probing exchanges.
“The Heavenly Dragon is the most outstanding descendant of the Yiqi lineage, the dicine God Sect’s most promising disciple to transcend. To shatter his Dao Heart—one Kingly path will not suffice.”
If disciples of the Divine Sect heard Jiang Fushen’s words at this mont, the warmth in their hearts would certainly shatter into pieces.
Tang Luo, however, was unfazed. If each stage of a martial artist’s journey has an essential characteristic, then the defining trait of kings is selfishness.
In the eyes of every Human King, the world of Xiehe revolves around the first-person perspective. In such a self-centered universe, they’ll choose the most efficient and straightforward ans to achieve their goals.
The willingness to negotiate indicates that the opponent recognizes your realm because if Tang Luo revealed even the slightest weakness, this King before him, overflowing with life energy, would opt to strike directly rather than bargain.
In this regard, Tang Luo was both pleased and dissatisfied.
Jiang Fushen undeniably had perceptiveness and mastery. rely seeing Tang Luo’s flawless Kingly form dictated a shift in strategy.
But unfortunately, Jiang Fushen’s perceptiveness and mastery were insufficient—or rather, Tang Luo’s displayed realm and abilities weren’t forceful enough to inspire fear in the elder, which ant this matter required further negotiation until mutual acceptance was reached.
Truly, it was a pity.
Tang Luo let out a sigh and replied, “The terms are already sufficient because this Kingly path may be the pinnacle of the martial world for the next century.”
“Pinnacle?”
The green marks resembling flowers and leaves between Jiang Fushen’s brows sparkled with Divine Light as he demanded, “I want to see the goods.”
“Reasonable.”
Tang Luo smiled, reaching out to pluck a flower. Amid the mountains, a vibrant peony was severed from its stem and drifted up gracefully, carried by the wind to his fingertips.
The three-layered pink and white petals carried dewdrops from the morning, delicate and shyly hidden among the folds. Its soft, yellow center curled slightly as one, as beautiful as springti.
“I wish to wager with senior on the petal’s ti to fall.”
Jiang Fuling glanced at the peony in Tang Luo’s fingertips, his tone calm as he asked, “How do we wager?”
“Separated from its stem and leaves, while still stunningly beautiful, it won’t take long to wither.”
With the flower in hand, Tang Luo spoke softly to Jiang Fuling, “I believe this peony will shed its petals, turn yellow at the core, and completely die within two days.”
“Oh?”
Jiang Fushen chuckled. “I, on the other hand, believe this mountain peony is extraordinary enough to complete its full bloom.”
“Then let’s see whether it is senior’s brilliance or the junior’s correctness.”
Tang Luo gently released his hold, and the pale pink flower floated quietly between their gazes.
A wager on a flower’s bloom ti between two Kings—in Jiang Fushen’s eyes, this was a ready-made victory brought to his doorstep by this audacious youngster.
If it were a wager of strength or endurance, even if it were a contest of raw power, Jiang Fushen might not have absolute confidence against the Taiching Divine Pupil. But to compete in the area he excelled the most?
A King bearing the title “Hundred Herbs Immortal King,” whose life revolved around mastery over flora, controlling blossoms with a thought—victory seed a foregone conclusion.
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