The impact was like a meteor strike. A massive crater over fifty meters wide caved into the earth, kicking up a colossal cloud of dust that blinded the spectators.
Most assumed Fang Zheng was dead. He was only a Rank 4 Gu Master; not even the most top-tier among first-class Rank 4 defensive gu worms could survive such raw kinetic force head-on.
Xue San Si paid a heavy price for the move. Dizzy and with her primeval essence completely drained, she stumbled out of the crater, relief washing over her as she assumed her victory was absolute.
Then the dust parted.
A surge of Rank 4 aura burst forth, revealing Fang Zheng standing directly in front of her!
"Impossible..." Xue San Si gasped, her eyes widening in horror.
Fang Zheng was covered in dirt and his clothes were reduced to tatters, but there was not a single scratch on his body, nor a single broken bone. He looked slightly miffed, but was perfectly fine.
"That attack wasn't bad..." Fang Zheng said once he was done dusting himself off, his eyes flashing coldly. A massive beast phantom materialized above Fang Zheng - a majestic, imposing dragon-elephant! The dragon-elephant was a kind of mutant beast, even among elephants its power was first-rate! This beast phantom had been summoned from Rank 4 Dragon-Elephant Huge Strength Gu! Xue San Si paled. She had exhausted all her primeval essence and concentration on her three strikes! Facing a Rank 4 dragon-elephant phantom, she had no strength left to defend herself. "...for a woman, that is."
That was the last thing that Xue San Si heard before the dragon-elephant phantom smashed down, crushing her head like an egg.
Silence fell over the crater.
Fang Zheng of the righteous path had defeated and slain Xue San Si of the demonic path!
Normally, such an outcome would have the righteous path cheering in triumph, but no cheers came for Fang Zheng; he had already ruined his reputation among them.
Naturally, the demonic path was angered by the death of one of their experts, but none felt inclined to avenge her immediately.
"He may have dealt with Xue San Si, but her backer is still around," some demonic Gu Masters whispered.
"Indeed, her godfather, Century Boy, will soon take revenge for her."
Watching from afar, Tie Ruo Nan turned to her father. "Father, how did he survive those attacks? Not only were her strikes powerful, but Fang Zheng didn't even attempt to dodge. He took the full impact head-on!"
She felt that even her father would have needed to exercise caution against that final dive if he took it head-on, yet Fang Zheng appeared virtually unharmed!
Granted, there was no strongest move, only the strongest Gu Master. While the strike was powerful, it was also relatively easy to dodge as the user had to telegraph what they were doing and the enemy would have quite some time to get out of the way. The only issue was that Fang Zheng had agreed to only defend.
"That, I must admit, I do not know," Tie Xue Leng admitted quietly.
The secret to Fang Zheng surviving all three hits was a Rank 5 Gu worm shining within his aperture, protecting him from all harm: the Human Path Rank 5 Justice Gu!
Justice Gu's effect was incredible - when activated, it protected the user from all incoming damage. However, it carried two major drawbacks. First, it could not heal pre-existing injuries or cure poisons that had already been ingested; it only prevented new harm and delayed ongoing effects while active.
The second, most restrictive drawback was that to activate it, the Gu Master had to truly, unshakably believe they were acting on the side of absolute justice.
'I am working on Elder Brother's behalf, one of the greatest righteous path Gu Masters alive,' Fang Zheng thought. 'Without a doubt I am on the side of justice!'
Someone like Bai Ning Bing or Fang Yuan would struggle to activate Justice Gu, but Fang Zheng was stubborn, self-righteous, and firmly believed he was always in the right.
That was just the kind of person Fang Zheng was; he would almost always find a way to paint himself as the victim and the wronged one.
Much like Tie Ruo Nan, he was the ideal candidate for using Justice Gu!
As for how a Rank 4 Middle Stage Gu Master had the primeval essence required to sustain a Rank 5 gu worm, the Heavenly Essence Treasure King Lotus resided within his aperture, constantly replenishing his reserves.
Combined with an array of additional top-tier gu worms provided directly by Fang Yuan, Fang Zheng was far more dangerous than anyone on San Chao Mountain realized.
"Stupid woman, she should've stayed either in the kitchen or the bedroom - the only places women belong," Fang Zhen muttered, retrieving a fresh pair of robes from one of his storage gu. He then glanced at the members of the Ten Tyrants, who were still hanging around the periphery. "You all! Tell your boss, Heng Mei, that I, Fang Zheng, issue him a formal challenge! I will be staying over there," he said, pointing to a group of isolated caved. "I will fight him one-on-one! I'll even take all ten of you at once if he feels unsafe! If he is truly a man, tell him to come seek me three day's from now! Else, tell him to send his mother instead, and maybe I'll let him off if I'm satisfied!"
The Ten Tyrants gnashed their teeth.
"Fang Zheng, you dare!?"
"Just when we were warming up to him..."
They all scurried off, carrying Fang Zheng's message back to their leader.
"Let us go," Qing Shu said, and the two of them wandered off towards the cave system Fang Zheng had pointed to. "Are you injured?"
"No," Fang Zheng said. The gu worms he had been given had worked exactly as his brother had described, and Fang Zheng had had some practice with them before coming here.
The two of them sat down in the cave, setting things up. They were going to be here for the long haul.
Fang Zheng removed a Rank 5 gu worm from his aperture. It was called Moving Perspective Gu - it consisted of a silver top and a golden bottom. Fang Zheng placed a letter to Fang Yuan on the top and activated the gu worm, a second later, the cup vanished and was replaced by a similar cup - but this one was gold on the top and silver at the bottom.
Moving Perspective Gu consisted of two similar cups and together they made up the Moving Perspective Cup Gu. It was a Space Path gu worm which transported objects straight through the Space Door regardless of distance.
Fang Yuan had sent them a response.
Fang Zheng's brow was sweating, the amount of primeval essence needed to power Moving Perspective Gu was incredibly high.
"You should consider using some gu worms and advancing to Rank 5," Qing Shu said, noting Fang Zheng's strain.
"I want to," Fang Zheng said. "But I have to remain at Rank 4 for now..." If he charged forward to Rank 5 recklessly, those like Heng Mei and other targets he needed to get rid of would never even meet with him. Would Xue San Si have challenged him if he was at Rank 5? No! And he had to get rid of them.
For that, he had to remain at Rank 4 Middle Stage for now.
"Mmm..." Qing Shu said. "Well, get some rest then. You must be tired. I'll keep a lookout for the time being."
This was why it was necessary to send two people - one had to stand guard while the other rested. Additionally Fang Zheng was not experienced enough to go about such a battleground alone - San Cha Mountain would soon turn into a fierce battlefield where experts would clash, even someone at Rank 4 could easily meet with their doom if they were not careful enough.
Fang Yuan initially wanted the other person to be Bai Ning Bing, but had to modify his plan to make it Qing Shu instead.
Fang Yuan had other methods in place as well; a Will that both of them carried in their apertures and other remote ways of discreetly keeping an eye on the situation.
Additionally, to take the heat off of Fang Zheng, Qing Shu had also been given a few targets of his own.
"Certainly," Fang Zheng said, closing his eyes.