Chapter 278 We pay our respects to...Master Zhang!

"Open the sky!"

When Zhao Duan handed out the sword, time seemed to stop for a moment.

In countless gazes, this precious sword that had accompanied Emperor Taizu of Dayu in his conquests six hundred years ago seemed to have a bright light flashing across its blade.

The sword blade cut through the air silently and effortlessly.

The front end of the sword suddenly pulled and rolled up the air currents, condensing them into a huge air column as thick as a wild python.

Not just a ring!

At this moment, above the square, the sky covered with dark clouds like blocks of sky was suddenly separated by a thin line.

Just like the East China Sea that was split in two by a sword, the dark clouds in the sky also split in the middle.

The sunlight shines through the cracks, forming dazzling golden lines.

On the ring.

Suddenly, a strong wind blew, and an unstoppable powerful force knocked Tianhai, who was in a state of "possession by a god", out.

The Buddha's light gathered in the vertical pupil on the forehead was suddenly interrupted.

The little monk's indifferent face also showed surprise, fear, confusion and other vivid emotions that belong to "human beings".

"How can..."

The moment this thought arose, the thick and huge turbulent sword energy descended like a mountain.

Tianhai raised his head, as if blocking out the sky and the sun.

He almost instinctively summoned all his magical power, his body suddenly curled up, and an illusory golden bell appeared around him.

However……

The solid and thick light shield only lasted for a breath under the powerful sword energy before it collapsed.

The sword energy hit Tianhai's lower abdomen fiercely. The young monk bent like a shrimp and flew backwards like a cannonball, his back hitting the light shield at the edge of the ring.

Then, the wildly shaking cover shattered with a loud bang for the second time, sweeping up a strong wind and causing chaotic turbulence.

"puff!"

Tianhai spat out a mouthful of blood in mid-air.

It flew ten feet away and crashed heavily into the stands of Shenlong Temple, causing people and horses to fall to the ground, tables and chairs to break, and dust to fly.

The young monk who had been as awe-inspiring as a god just now was lying on the ground, his pupils closed and blood oozing from his forehead.

Due to the "vertical pupil backlash", exhaustion of mana, and the collision of sword energy, he fell into a coma.

It was defeated at the first blow!

The dust has settled!

It was not until this time that the crowd of onlookers, who were shouting in panic because the barrier was broken for the second time, finally realized what was happening.

Staring at the wind and waves, looking at the cracked sky, the ray of sunlight cast, and the figure standing on the ring with a sword.

silence!

In such a large square, you could even hear a pin drop for a moment.

Many officials from the imperial court stood up at the same time, unable to hide their loss of composure.

The old eunuch in the dragon robe was stunned and dazed.

The women of the Zhao family sat there in a daze, unable to come back to their senses.

Haitang, Zhang Han and other colleagues in the imperial court were stunned and confused, and suspected that they had seen it wrong.

"Brother Zhao..."

Gongshu Tianyuan was dumbfounded. Behind his broad body, Jin Jian, who had regained his ability to move after swallowing the elixir, stretched his neck and stuck his head out, looking particularly cute.

Deep inside the Tianshi Mansion, the Empress and the Old Tianshi, who were watching this scene through the water curtain, were also slightly moved.

Win!

One sword!

Zhao Duan, who fought on behalf of the Dayu royal family, secured victory with this stroke of genius!

Wow——

The crowd erupted in the loudest noise in three days since the fight began.

The people don't know anything else and can only judge based on instinct.

In their opinion, the previous battle between Jin Jian and Tian Hai was obviously much weaker than the scene before them.

This judgment is not wrong!

Because, from the moment Tianhai tore off the ribbon on his forehead and exposed his "vertical pupils", the power level of this battle should have been limited to the "Divine Chapter" realm.

You have already entered the realm of the "world".

The power level of Zhao Duan's sword that opened the sky... is clearly in the "worldly" realm.

"Tianhai!"

Inside the Shenlong Temple, the monks were the first to react. They screamed and rushed over to check the injuries of the unconscious little monk.

The head monk of the temple's Discipline Hall, who was Tianhai's de facto master, was furious.

He leaped forward with a huge stride, his gray eyebrows trembling violently, his face flushed with anger, and the old monk shouted towards the arena:

"Zhao Duan! How dare you break the rules of the fight?! Is this what gives you the confidence? Do you think my Shenlong Temple is weak and can be bullied?!"

A loud shout immediately ignited the emotions of the monks.

For a while, something like:

"Cheating!"

"Breaking the rules!"

Such shouts and curses were like a boiling tide.

Even the monk Bian Ji who was standing next to him had a changed expression and lost his gentle demeanor.

The sudden shouting and accusations drew the attention of everyone, who were still shocked by the sword strike, back to the scene.

Especially the officials of the imperial court, their faces all changed color.

The celebratory shout in his mouth was stuck in his throat. He didn't expect Shenlong Temple to suddenly attack.

"Cheating?"

On the ring, Zhao Duan, who had just swung out a sword, slowly put it away, feeling a strong fatigue in his body and a little surprised.

Although this sword of creation consumed most of the power, it relied on the hidden power inside the magic sword.

But as a swordsman, the energy in his sea of ​​​​qi has been almost drained at this moment, and he can only stand with difficulty.

In the Discipline Hall, an old monk wearing a cassock, with gray eyebrows and a grouchy look, angrily accused:

"The rules of fighting for a victory are that you cannot rely on external forces. Your sword move is comparable to the world, but it is simply relying on the Taia Sword and mobilizing the sword's magic power! Are you cheating?!"

The monk's voice was like a loud bell, and it spread far and wide. Many onlookers suddenly realized why Zhao Duan had turned the tables.

It turns out that he relied on the Taia Sword.

"These bald asses!"

In the distance, Mochou also came to her senses and suddenly realized that Shenlong Temple was trying to restore its reputation.

The Shenlong Temple has been working hard and accumulating strength for decades in preparation for this battle, all in order to suppress the Tianshi Mansion, expand its influence, and attempt to annex the ancestral temple of Buddhism in the Western Regions to complete the grand plan of merging the East and the West.

It had already been successful, but was interrupted by Zhao Duan who suddenly jumped out.

Tianhai suffered a crushing defeat. If it fails to recover in time, all decades of preparation will be wasted.

If the news spreads among the Jianghu, people all over the world will not care about anything else and will only remember:

Shenlong Temple is not acceptable.

The next battle between Buddhism and Taoism will not happen for at least several decades!

Shenlong Temple cannot accept such a huge loss of reputation!

Therefore, the old monk reacted quickly, took the opportunity to clarify and accuse the emperor, and would rather offend the court than make amends.

"Bullshit! That old bald man always turns the tables!"

Suddenly, from the Tianshi Mansion, the chubby Gongshu Tianyuan shot out like a ball, rushed out with a small trumpet in his hand, and cursed loudly:

"Who broke the rules first? Isn't Tianhai's vertical eye also in the 'worldly' realm? Only you are allowed to make exceptions, but Brother Zhao can't?"

Behind him, the priests of the Tianshi Temple also woke up from their dreams and echoed him, accusing the bald monk of turning the tables.

pretty!

The imperial court secretly praised it.

The Tianshi Mansion has already lost, so instead of handing over its fame to its old rival, the Shenlong Temple, it would be better to give it to Zhao Duan.

He even took the opportunity to accuse Tianhai of cheating and make up for Jin Jian's defeat.

Seeing the pot of shit coming at him, the white-robed wizard who had been silent and watching from the sidelines could no longer sit still.

Bian Ji frowned and said unhappily:

"Priest Gongshu is wrong. Tianhai's vertical pupils are a natural physique, not an external artifact. How can they be compared to weapons like the Tai'a Sword? Moreover, Tianhai never used it in his previous battle with Jin Jian."

Gongshu Tianyuan was not fooled at all, and rolled up his sleeves, looking ready to go:

"Bah! Stop changing the subject! As expected of Bian Ji, he's a powerful talker, but I won't be fooled! The eyes are indeed from Tian Hai's body, but do you dare to say that the Buddha light in the eyes is also his own?!"

Bian Ji said calmly, "Of course he accumulated and cultivated it himself."

"Haha! What a great way to accumulate and cultivate!" Gongshu Tianyuan laughed:

“Tianhai accumulates his magical power day by day and month by month into that vertical eye. When it is accumulated enough, he releases it all at once, which is comparable to the realm of the mortal world.

If you say this is not a bad rule, then we have a talisman master and an alchemy master in our Tianshi Mansion. I might as well let my junior sister tattoo a human skin talisman on her arm. She can store magic power in it when she has nothing to do, and then throw it out as a talisman when fighting, okay?

Is it considered a violation?

This is not an external object, it is my junior sister's body!

Or maybe just swallow a few divine pills and digest them temporarily... is that okay?"

He took a breath and continued:

"Also, when Tian Hai fought with my junior sister before, he didn't open his eyes. Was it because he was noble and modest?

Or is it because you know deep down that this thing is suspected of cheating, so you just hide it and try not to use it as much as possible? You bunch of sanctimonious bald donkeys know it in your hearts! "

Bian Ji frowned more and more. Seeing the people around him talking about it, he felt that their comments made sense and couldn't help feeling anxious.

Just as he was about to speak to mediate, the chief monk of the Discipline Hall next to him turned his gun around and started arguing with Gongshu Tianyuan.

The Shenlong Temple clings to the magic power hidden in the Taia Sword, which is an external force, while the "vertical pupil" is not an external force.

Gongshu Tianyuan insisted that "Shutong" had committed a foul, so Zhao Duan's use of the power of the Tai'a Sword was a reasonable counterattack.

For a while, both sides held their own opinions.

The crowd of onlookers also split into two groups, some thought that the monk was wrong, and some thought that Zhao Duan was definitely a foul.

Noisy and noisy.

…

"Zhaorong, please report to your Majesty immediately where he is."

The actress Yuan Li also felt the situation was difficult and looked at Mo Chou.

From the perspective of the court officials, they should support Zhao Duan, but the Buddhist and Taoist forces are fighting each other, and the court is a third party with interests. Without the approval of the empress, no one dares to express his opinion rashly.

Mo Chou shook her head and said bitterly, "I'm afraid it's too late..."

Xu Junling said nothing, his eyes cast towards Zhao Duan on the ring, thinking: How are you going to end this?

At this time, Bian Ji saw that the wind was blowing in a bad direction, sighed, and said:

"Which one broke the first foul is debatable. However, if Envoy Zhao has the means to defeat the enemy, why did he strike so hard? Was it not enough to defeat Tian Hai that he had to beat him to this extent?"

Gongshu Tianyuan was temporarily silent, which was indeed a problem.

Zhao Duan's attack was a bit too heavy-handed. The sword he just struck was clearly beyond the scope of "reasonableness" and seemed to be a fatal blow.

The monks also turned their guns on Zhao Duan and condemned him for the murder.

"Master Bianji, please don't speak carelessly."

On the stage, Zhao Duan had not spoken a word just now, but now his clear voice, tinged with fatigue, slowly spread.

He stared at the "chief steward" beside the abbot Xuanyin, the "spokesperson" of Shenlong Temple, and said calmly:

“Others may not know, but with your level of cultivation, Master, you should have been able to hear the conversation between Tianhai and me through the shield.

He said that if I untied the vertical pupil, I couldn't hold back. I replied that I couldn't hold back either.

Today is the first time I've wielded the Tai'a Sword, and I'm not sure how powerful the sword technique is. The mighty sword energy far surpasses the divine chapter, and it's beyond my control to stop."

After a pause, he seemed to take a breath with difficulty, and said calmly:

"If the Master insists on thinking that I did it on purpose, then I have to ask, why didn't Tianhai stop when he had already forced me into a desperate situation by sending out three beams of Buddha's light?

It's nothing more than giving someone a taste of their own medicine."

Treat others the way they have treated you!

Bian Ji was speechless for a moment.

In fact, with his keen eyesight, he had indeed seen that when the sword energy swept across the arena, Zhao Duan had already lost control.

How powerful is "Kai Tian"?

Or... to be more precise, with the help of the dragon soul in the body, stepping on the Taia Sword in the air, mobilizing the tremendous power contained in the sword, how powerful would it be to perform "Kai Tian"?

Zhao Duan doesn’t know!

Just as he said, today was the first time he held Tai'a, and he had only practiced the "Kai Tian" sword technique in his mind for two days.

Two days ago, on the night he broke through, he learned this sword in the Martial God Diagram.

Especially when he was in his study, sitting among a pile of calligraphy and paintings.

When he was looking through the many biographies of Emperor Taizu that he had collected, he found several records in the books that Old Xu had summoned swords from the air many times.

Combined with what he saw in his dream, he tried to use the dragon soul to summon the sword. At that time, he did clearly sense the faint response from deep within the palace.

So, today, he tried to imitate the biographical record on stage and summoned the Taia Sword through the air.

Zhao Duan didn't know whether he could succeed, nor did he know how powerful the Taia Sword was, and whether it could allow him to fight against Tianhai.

I don’t even know what the scene will be like when “Kai Tian” is used.

So, he really couldn't stop.

certainly……

Even if he is misunderstood as wanting to kill someone, that's fine. If he cares about what outsiders think, he is not "Zhao Yanwang".

"What nonsense! You're clearly making excuses. Since the Taia Sword is under your control, how could you not be able to control its power?"

The head monk of the Discipline Hall had a gloomy face:

"Everyone knows that Tianhai's 'Compassionate Eyes' can distinguish between good and evil. The god Ksitigarbha must have seen that you are an evil person, so he punished you. Tianhai is simply powerless to stop you. If you were a good person, how could you do this?"

After saying this, the old monk seemed not to want to argue any more, so he waved his hand and said in a deep voice:

"Where are the disciples of Shenlong Temple? Ask this Lord Zhao to step down pending investigation!"

Are you crazy? Bian Ji looked at him in surprise, his face darkening, and he wanted to speak to stop him.

Inside the Shenlong Temple, there are also many forces restraining each other.

The monks in the Jieli Hall are supporters of Bodhisattva Nagarjuna, and are not from the same faction as Bian Ji who follows Abbot Xuan Yin.

"stop!"

Now, the imperial court could no longer sit still. Mo Zhaorong, who was representing the empress, changed her expression slightly and spoke to stop them.

Although she and Zhao are love rivals, she is happy to see him suffer a setback.

But at this moment, we absolutely cannot sit idly by.

Eunuch Hai and Xue Shence took a step forward at the same time and prepared to attack.

The monks from the Discipline Hall, holding Zen sticks and monk staffs, swarmed onto the stage and approached Zhao Duan, who was exhausted and unable to fight anymore.

Gongshu Tianyuan's face twitched, and he turned to look at the many elderly priests beside him.

This matter was getting bigger and bigger, and it was no longer something that he, a Zhudian boy with no real power but only status, could make the decision.

And at this critical moment.

Suddenly, a slightly old voice came from the Tianshi Mansion not far away:

"Who dares?"

The first word "who" is still in the horizon, but the next word "dare" is already here.

Gongshu Tianyuan and the Jinjian priest's eyes lit up at the same time, revealing joy.

The wind suddenly rose.

On one side of the square, the numerous priests from the Tianshi Mansion suddenly stepped forward and bowed deeply, as if in worship.

Just like the many buildings in the city that guard the imperial city, it seems that the secrets of heaven are being drawn to it.

An old man with a tall stature, narrow brows and eyes, wearing a soft black priest robe, came floating in, looking like a god.

The old Taoist priest took a step forward without any worldly concern, and stood from the horizon to the side of Zhao Duan, who was holding the sword with all his strength exhausted. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking calmly at the monks.

"Disciple, I pay my respects to the Heavenly Master!"

Many priests worshipped in unison.

On the Shenlong Temple side, Master Bianji's face changed slightly, and the furious head of the Discipline Hall beside him also subsided.

The monks put their hands together and bowed their heads:

"Amitabha, we have met Master Zhang."

On the court side, Mo Chou, Xu Junling, Yuan Li, Xue Shence... and even the arrogant eunuch Hai were shocked and saluted to show their respect.

"Meet Master Zhang!"

"Meet the Heavenly Master..."

"Meet the Heavenly Master..."

In an instant, as Zhang Yan arrived, everyone present hurriedly stood up and saluted. Many of the thousands of people knelt down to worship the gods.

Zhao Duan's mind buzzed. He didn't expect that the legendary old Taoist priest would show up.

Without time to think carefully, he subconsciously turned his head and looked at the legendary face of Zhang Tianshi, and was already wondering in his mind what kind of posture would be able to please the boss.

However, when he saw Zhang Yanyi's smiling face clearly.

Zhao Duan was completely stunned. He opened his mouth, but swallowed the word "Tianshi" in his throat. His eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost.

“Old…Old Wang?!”

…

Next chapter will be updated before midnight

Thanks to the book friend Xin Zhi Ai Shang for the 2000-point reward! Thanks to the blue most beautiful ball for the 500-point reward!

(End of this chapter)