Top-Tier Perception Starts From Basic Fist Techniques

Chapter 192.2: Five Drops of Heavenly Demon Essence Blood; Lu Changsheng Shocks Everyone By Overpowering a Dao Foundation Expert! (II)

Zhao Yuanshan led Lu Changsheng out of the Exchange Hall and brought him straight to Wang Yun's cave residence.

At the gate of the cave residence, Zhao Yuanshan announced himself. "Zhao Yuanshan here!"

Boom!

With a rumble, the gate of the cave residence opened, and Zhao Yuanshan took Lu Changsheng inside.

The moment they stepped inside, several gazes fell on Lu Changsheng. In return, he swept his eyes across the room and saw a few Dao Foundation martial artists, and recognized none of them. Among them was a woman with sharp, spirited brows, though her vital essence, qi, and spirit all seemed depleted, and her face was drawn with grief.

That must be Wang Yun, Lu Changsheng thought.

Zhao Yuanshan cupped his hands. "Greetings, Fellow Daoist Wang."

"Brother Zhao, what brings you here?" Wang Yun asked.

"I know you've been looking for capable Dao Foundation experts. As it happens, a friend of mine, who is remarkably strong, wishes to offer his services."

"Oh?" Wang Yun's eyes lit up. She turned to Lu Changsheng and looked him up and down. "And how should I address you?"

"Lu Changsheng."

Wang Yun's eyes narrowed slightly. "Lu Changsheng... That name does sound somewhat familiar."

As she pondered, one of the Dao Foundation martial artists present spoke up with a smile. "Are you the Lu Changsheng who, back in the Divine Treasury Realm, dominated the entire generation of both the Immortal Dao and Martial Dao? If I remember correctly, you ranked first on both Candidate Lists..."

Lu Changsheng nodded. "That's me."

Indeed, Lu Changsheng had once been extremely famous. However, that fame belonged to his time in the Divine Treasury Realm. Since reaching the Dao Foundation Realm, he had kept to himself, and his name had faded accordingly.

"First on both Candidate Lists, and dominated an entire generation of Immortal Dao and Martial Dao..." Wang Yun muttered. "May I ask, fellow Daoist Lu, have you only entered the Dao Foundation Realm?"

"More or less.." He did not try to hide it. Even if he did, it would be exposed sooner or later.

When Wang Yun heard his answer, her expression shifted to disappointment. She turned to Zhao Yuanshan and sighed.

"Brother Zhao, you know my situation. I need supreme Dao Foundation experts to deal with Dao Lord Shan Hai. No matter how talented someone is, if they haven't had enough time to grow..."

She did not finish the sentence, but Zhao Yuanshan knew what she meant. Regardless of Lu Changsheng's talent, she was not satisfied. After all, what could someone who only had forged their Dao foundation barely a year ago really achieve?

Zhao Yuanshan, however, let out a smile. "Fellow Daoist Wang, I wouldn't have brought Lu Changsheng here without reason. If I may ask, who are the candidates you currently favor? These three fellow Daoists here, perhaps?"

Zhao Yuanshan glanced over at the three other Dao Foundation martial artists in the cave residence.

Wang Yun hesitated but eventually nodded. "I haven't made a final choice yet. I'd prefer them to work together, but each of the three of them insists on working alone."

"I see..." Zhao Yuanshan immediately understood why.

The three of them working together would give Wang Yun the best chance of killing Dao Lord Shan Hai, so of course she preferred that arrangement. However, the three martial artists clearly had other concerns. They were here for the five drops of Heavenly Demon essence blood, and if they joined forces, the reward would have to be divided among them. Five drops were already difficult to split evenly.

But even if the rewards were divided, each person’s share might not be worth the risk of taking on someone as dangerous as Dao Lord Shan Hai.

"If I'm not mistaken, these are Fellow Daoists Zhang Changtian, Zhao Qiaoshan, and Ouyang Mo," Zhao Yuanshan continued. "I know they are all supreme Dao Foundation experts of the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect. They are powerful, and I'm sure they all have a chance of killing Dao Lord Shan Hai. However, Fellow Daoist Wang, I still hope that you will give my friend a chance."

He paused, and glanced back at Lu Changsheng. "Lu Changsheng, I've brought you this far. But whether you can prove yourself to Fellow Daoist Wang is up to you."

Lu Changsheng nodded. Wang Yun's eyes flickered as well, seeming to catch what Zhao Yuanshan meant.

Wang Yun looked at Lu Changsheng with hesitation. "Fellow Daoist Lu, you..."

"Fellow Daoist Wang, would it hurt to let me try?" Lu Changsheng replied calmly. "Perhaps one of these Fellow Daoists could spar with me and allow me to prove my strength?"

The three Dao Foundation experts frowned slightly. They exchanged glances for a moment, then Zhang Changtian stepped forward.

"I'll take you up on that, Lu Changsheng. If you beat me, the other two will likely stand aside as well. How does that sound?"

The other two Dao Foundation experts nodded in agreement. The three of them were roughly equal in strength, so if Lu Changsheng could defeat Zhang Changtian, he would naturally be stronger than the two of them as well.

"Great. Should we do it here, or somewhere else?" Lu Changsheng asked.

"Right here is fine," Wang Yun said. "This is just a sparring match. Once you make your move, your strength will be clear at a glance."

Lu Changsheng and Zhang Changtian both took their positions, and after a moment, they both unleashed their Mind Space.

Boom!

As the Mind Spaces collided, Lu Changsheng stood with cool confidence. In a contest of Mind Spaces, he had never feared anyone.

The more Principles a Dao Foundation martial artist had, the stronger their Mind Space would be. Lu Changsheng's Mind Space had been stronger than most Dao Foundation martial artists from the beginning, and now that three Principles filled it, its power had become even more extraordinary.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Their Mind Spaces crashed against each other over and over again. The impact of the collision rumbled through the cave residence, and fragments of their Mind Spaces crumbled away from time to time.

Suddenly, Zhang Changtian's expression changed. My Mind Space is actually losing?

He had never expected this. Lu Changsheng had only just reached the Dao Foundation Realm, so this contest should never even have been close to begin with.

However, reality was undeniable. His Mind Space was clearly at a disadvantage, and with every collision, it crumbled a little further. If this continued, it would not be long before his Mind Space completely crumbled.

"Hmph!" Zhang Changtian snorted coldly and unleashed three Principles.

Boom!

Three beams of light erupted and filled Zhang Changtian's Mind Space with a dazzling radiance.

It was clear that Zhang Changtian's strength was beyond dispute. A Dao Foundation martial artist who had actually comprehended three Principles was, without question, a supreme Dao Foundation expert.

As soon as Zhang Changtian's Principles manifested, his Mind Space swelled with power and began pushing back on Lu Changsheng's Mind Space.

Seeing this, Wang Yun shook her head. "Fellow Daoist Zhang is clearly stronger. With three Principles, even if my Dao companion and I joined forces back then, we probably wouldn't have been a match for him. But whether he could go up against Dao Lord Shan Hai..."

Wang Yun trailed off.

Truth be told, she was still somewhat worried. She had faced Dao Lord Shan Hai herself, and the price of that battle had taught her better than any rumor could. Lu Zhenkong, her Dao companion, had died before her eyes, and she had barely crawled back to the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect with her life.

Watching Zhang Changtian in action, she knew he was undoubtedly powerful, but probably only a cut above what she and Lu Zhenkong had been combined. Whether he was strong enough to kill Dao Lord Shan Hai she was still uncertain.

Still, among all the Dao Foundation experts she had found over the past few days, Zhang Changtian was the strongest. There was little else she could do.

At that moment, Zhang Changtian's Mind Space continued to push forward, and just when it was about to crush Lu Changsheng's Mind Space...

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

Three beams of light blazed brilliantly in Lu Changsheng's Mind Space, and the moment they appeared, his Mind Space surged with power.

Lu Changsheng had unleashed his Fire Principle, Wind Principle, and Mental Principle. With the support of three Principles, his Mind Space quickly stabilized and stopped crumbling. Then, it began pressing back against Zhang Changtian's Mind Space.

The shift was so sudden that it left everyone stunned.

"What? Three Principles?"

"He forged his Dao foundation less than a year ago. How could he possibly have three Principles? Am I seeing things?"

"No, it's true. He does have three Principles. And one of them is the Mental Principle, an extremely rare one."

"Incredible... I never truly understood what it meant to be peerless and unparalleled before, but now I do."

Even Wang Yun rose to her feet, her face filled with shock. The truth was, Lu Changsheng’s name had long circulated through the third layer of the Ancient Region, but only for his achievements as a Divine Treasury martial artist.

Ranking first on both Candidate Lists and dominating an entire generation of Immortal Dao and Martial Dao cultivators might have been astonishing, but to Dao Foundation martial artists, they still belonged to a lower realm. After all, who among those who had forged a Dao foundation was not a genius?

At the Dao Foundation Realm, strength was what truly mattered. No matter how dazzling Lu Changsheng had once been, that past glory meant little unless he could prove that his talent had already translated into real strength.

And now, to everyone's astonishment, that was exactly what he was doing. Seeing Lu Changsheng, these Dao Foundation experts finally understood what it meant to be a peerless and unparalleled prodigy who dominated an entire generation.

Zhang Changtian's expression darkened. He's also mastered three Principles... He leaves me no choice then. I'll have to use a divine technique.

Zhang Changtian had not wanted to take it that far. He knew that if he resorted to divine techniques to deal with Lu Changsheng, Wang Yun's confidence in him would take a hit. But at this point, he no longer had the luxury of worrying about that.

His eyes turned cold as he shouted, "Divine Technique, Heaven and Earth Suppression!"

Heaven and Earth Suppression was a compound divine technique formed from three Principles. Although Zhang Changtian had only gone as far as activating it—not even getting it to Initial Mastery yet—a compound divine technique of three Principles still carried petrifying power.

Lu Changsheng felt an immense pressure bear down on him at once. However, he was not afraid.

"Divine Technique, Mental Millstone!" Lu Changsheng yelled, unleashing his own divine technique.

Inside Lu Changsheng's Mind Space, a massive millstone appeared. The Mental Millstone was a mental-type divine technique, one that targeted the mind directly. Other divine techniques could affect it to some extent, but not by much.

The Mental Millstone descended toward Zhang Changtian, and his expression darkened further. Before he could react, it drove straight into him. And in that instant, he felt his mind begin to tear apart, while portions of his mental strength dissolved under the pressure.

"Ahhh!" Zhang Changtian let out a piercing scream. At the same time, his divine technique became unstable, then collapsed soon after.

Boom!

Seizing the opportunity, Lu Changsheng unleashed a second divine technique—Firestorm Purgatory.

Although Firestorm Purgatory was only a two-Principle compound divine technique, it had already reached Perfection. Its power was in no way inferior to Zhang Changtian’s three-Principle divine technique that had not even reached Initial Mastery.

But none of that mattered now. Under the assault of the Mental Millstone, Zhang Changtian had come to a point where he did not even have the mental strength to unleash his divine technique again. In this state, he could do nothing to stop Lu Changsheng's Firestorm Purgatory from tearing through his Mind Space.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Sure enough, Zhang Changtian's Mind Space eventually shattered, and Firestorm Purgatory surged forward, about to engulf his body and grind him into ashes.

But at that final moment, Lu Changsheng stopped it. He withdrew his Mind Space and stood quietly in the cave residence, his expression still calm and cool.

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, thank you." Lu Changsheng's voice echoed through the cave residence, but no one responded.

The entire cave residence had fallen into a deathly silence, and everyone stared at Lu Changsheng with wide eyes, their hearts churning with shock. None of them could believe he had defeated Zhang Changtian. By any normal measure, it should have been impossible, but what had just unfolded before their eyes was the undeniable truth.