I Cheated While Cultivating

Chapter 112: Divine Power

Or rather, accurately speaking, it was more like a smash!

The “Black Smoke Sword” was simply too massive, and the moment it was swung, it tore through the air, emitting booming sounds that thundered like lightning.

Li Tonghe’s strength was incredibly formidable. Even though the great sword was forged of special material and weighed tens of thousands of pounds, the speed at which he wielded it was extremely fast, with no hint of sluggishness.

In almost an instant, the Black Smoke Sword was bearing down upon Zhou Heng’s head.

It looked as if it would smash this newly emerged top-tier martial artist into meat paste, leaving no intact corpse behind.

The audience around the stage couldn’t help but cry out in alarm, many with expressions of terror on their faces. Some even covered their eyes in fear, not wishing to witness the imminent bloody, flesh-scattering spectacle.

Of course, there were also those in the crowd who felt pity, thinking that Zhou Heng was being far too presumptuous by choosing to fight Li Tonghe with swordsmanship, which he was not adept at. This was no different from seeking his own death.

What a pity.

A seventeen-year-old martial artist of the Eighth Rank, the forty-second on the human rankings.

Had he not died young and continued to grow, he might have one day reached the Middle Third Rank, becoming an important figure who traveled the high heavens and entered the Azure Void.

Now, a single moment of misjudgment, and all his potential success…gone.

Clang!

At that moment, the sound of metal clashing suddenly rang out, accompanied by a series of tremors that were painful to the ears.

Was that sound from Zhou Heng blocking and neutralizing Li Tonghe’s attack?

Many who had originally closed or covered their eyes couldn’t resist looking back up at the stage.

And then, they all froze.

All of them were dumbfounded, their expressions filled with shock.

“How, how is this possible?!”

“Inconceivable, absolutely inconceivable!”

“Is he still human?”

They exclaimed one after another.

Bai Jingtian also widened his eyes, feeling a shiver throughout his body. He stared fixedly at the scene on the stage, astonished, and said, “This, this, what kind of strength is this?!”

“That’s too exaggerated!” The girl who was eating melon was shocked, suddenly finding the sweet melon tasteless. She was truly astounded, “Is this Innate Divine Strength?”

“Too impressive, Brother Heng is so strong!” YunXiu too was round-eyed, full of wonder.

“I told you big brother is amazing!” Bai Yuejian was completely satisfied, beaming with joy.

At a nearby restaurant.

Liu Changsheng stood up straight, his expression one of disbelief as he looked at Zhou Heng on the stage, shocked, and said, “His strength is simply too overpowering, is the Pure Yang Body really this formidable?”

“Perhaps he has had some other extraordinary adventures,” Wang Lang was also somewhat unsettled, marveling, “However, this level of strength truly defies common understanding.”

Meanwhile, back on the stage.

Zhou Heng held the sword single-handedly, lifted it above his head, and firmly blocked the enormous Black Rock Giantsword without so much as a single step back or the slightest tremor in his arm; he was steady as a rock.

The Zhi Zhi Sword was of a normal longsword size, two fingers wide and three feet and one inch long, while the Black Smoke Sword was over a foot in width, an inch thick, and over nine feet in length—immense by comparison.

When compared, Zhou Heng seemed like he was using a toothpick to block the attack of a large tree.

The visual impact was tremendous.

To bystanders, this was truly inconceivable.

There was no helping it, the Giant Strength +2 base attribute bonus was just that powerful, just that unreasonable.

Zhou Heng might have only been of the Eighth Rank, but the Inner Qj cultivated from his Innate Skill was of high quality, offering stronger nourishment and tempering to his body. The strength of his blood and bones had already surpassed that of an ordinary Eighth Rank martial artist.

Furthermore, with his base attribute bonus, his strength was even greater. Since the Zhi Zhi Sword was a semi-sharp weapon with the “hard” special effect, there was no need to worry about it being smashed by the Black Smoke Giantsword; therefore, it was quite normal for him to be able to block the immense Black Smoke Giantsword single-handedly.

However, in Li Tonghe’s mind, this was another matter entirely.

Initially when the Black Smoke Sword clashed with the Zhi Zhi Sword, he had been confident that he could at least seriously injure Zhou Heng, to get some revenge.

But as soon as the two swords crossed, he felt a terrifyingly powerful rebounding force that made his hands ache. Had it not been for his robust physique and dense Inner Qi, the Black Smoke Giantsword might have flown out of his grip just from that one strike.

“Damn it, what kind of strength is this? This kid looks so thin, how can he be so terrifyingly powerful? Although he’s just an Eighth Rank in cultivation, his strength seems even greater than mine!”

This made Li Tonghe start to doubt his life, wondering if all the years he had spent training were in martial arts that were phony?

But what shocked him even more was the scene that immediately followed.

Clang Clang!!

Amidst the clashing sounds of metal, the Zhi Zhi Sword in Zhou Heng’s hand actually cut a notch in the Black Smoke Giantsword, cleaving into it, seemingly about to split the Black Smoke Sword in two!

“How is this possible!?” Li Tonghe was horrified, hastily raising the Black Smoke Sword to retreat, looking at the Zhi Zhi Sword in Zhou Heng’s hand with disbelief, “A sharp weapon!?”

The Black Smoke Sword was made of a special material, extremely hard. Although it hadn’t reached the levelof a sharp weapon’s special effects, it was still easy to shatter refined weaponry.

To be able to cut through the Black Smoke Sword so easily, it had to be a sharp weapon without a doubt.

“No,” Zhou Heng shook his head and smiled, “Just a semi-sharp weapon. I merely used a little trick just now. Are you scared?”

“Who are you calling scared!” Li Tonghe had a fiery temper and could not tolerate such words. He roared, “I want to see how you handle this sword strike!”

No sooner had his words fallen—

Boom!

Li Tonghe swung the Black Smoke Sword in his hand once again. This time, he swung it even faster, creating multiple afterimages in the air that seemed like pitch-black smoke, swiftly moving towards Zhou Heng.

This “Pitch-Black Smoke” contained sword moves of immense lethality, and even a Martial Artist at the peak of Seventh Rank would have to avoid it at all costs.

The Black Smoke Sword was simply too large. With such a mode of attack from Li Tonghe, it almost covered all of Zhou Heng’s range of movement, forcing him to face it head-on.

Yet facing such dense sword strikes, sheer strength alone wasn’t enough; without sufficiently exquisite maneuvers, he surely wouldn’t be able to withstand it. Even if the weapon in hand was sharp enough, there wouldn’t be the opportunity to maintain long contact with the Black Smoke Sword, making it difficult to sever it.

In Li Tonghe’s eyes, this sword move was the perfect counter to Zhou Heng’s tactics.

“Li Tonghe is executing the martial art ‘Black Smoke Destroying City Great Sword Skill’ [Eighth Rank] to attack you. With enlightenment in your heart and drawing on higher-ranked swordsmanship insights, you gain +1 proficiency in this martial art.”

“Congratulations! Your proficiency in ‘Black Smoke Destroying City Great Sword Skill’ [Eighth Rank] has reached 1, officially mastering this martial art. With the enhancement from a higher-ranked similar martial art, you gain +3000 proficiency.”

Zhou Heng, listening to the succession of prompts, saw Li Tonghe’s “sword strikes” as riddled with flaws. Now, those flaws were even more glaringly obvious to him.

He didn’t even need to think; a casual thrust of his sword landed on the weakest spot of Li Tonghe’s “sword strike.”

Sword Breaker!

Clang!

Just a sound of metal vibration, and Li Tonghe’s entire offensive movement came to an abrupt halt.

Then, Zhou Heng’s Zhi Zhi Sword flicked upward, the blade sliding across the vast Black Smoke Sword. The sharpness +1 bonus property took effect, and the giant sword was instantly chopped into two halves.

“Congratulations! You have defeated an evenly matched opponent, Li Tonghe. You’ve received a Fortune Bag [Silver] +1.”