Mo Zong's Mechanical City!
At the entrance of the dense forest at the foot of the mountain, Zhang Yuanqing held a golden shield, his legs in a horse stance, knees bent, resisting the arrows shooting towards him!
The Third Mountain Goddess leaned sideways, pulling her bow, her slender jade fingers spitting out golden light, condensing into arrows!
Each arrow she shot stirred a gust of wind that lifted her gorgeous skirt and caressed her flowing hair, both beautiful and valiant!
"Clang clang clang..."
The arrows struck the shield's surface, emitting a dull, harsh sound, scattering golden shards!
Suddenly, the Third Mountain Goddess withdrew her bow and instantly lunged to Zhang Yuanqing's side, golden light flickering in her palm, transforming into a three-foot-long sword, stabbing towards her disciple's kidneys.
In haste, Zhang Yuanqing moved his shield to block, while his other hand condensed a long blade, stabbing towards the Third Mountain Goddess's chest in an act of betrayal!
The old hag didn't evade at all, adopting a stance as if her few pounds of flesh on her chest could block the blade, and thrust her sword straight at Zhang Yuanqing's neck!
Helplessly, Zhang Yuanqing retracted his blade, performing a 'teppanyaki' to avoid the sword's edge, and was about to thrust his waist and kick his opponent, but the old hag retracted her sword, her face cold, and said, "Yinyao, forty lashes!"
Not far away, Princess Yinyao, who was sitting in a cross-legged position, watching the battle, grabbed the black long whip wrapped in Yin energy beside her, excitedly leapt up, and rushed towards her nominal junior brother, her actual master!
"Wait!" Zhang Yuanqing protested, "Where did I do wrong?"
Although the old hag looked like a celestial being with a perfect figure, she was also a strict teacher through and through. Zhang Yuanqing had been whipped to the point of near-death these past few days!
Every time he was 'papped' by Princess Yinyao, he had to lie down for half an hour to recover!
The old hag had bestowed Yinyao a high-quality Saint-level item specifically for whipping spirits.
"Weapon switching is too slow, the utilization of the Sun God's power is not pure enough!" the old hag stated her reasons!
"We clearly agreed to switch weapons every quarter of an hour, but Master, you moved it up five minutes, I wasn't prepared at all!" Zhang Yuanqing argued.
They had agreed on sword against blade, spear against staff, shield against bow and arrow, in order to enhance their proficiency in the Sun God's power!
"If you truly master it to perfection, weapons can be gathered at will, no preparation time needed!" the old hag said lightly!
"Then that's still twenty lashes, how can you add more without permission?" Zhang Yuanqing still protested!
"What 'add more'?" The old hag frowned and reprimanded, "Don't use worldly slang with me. Also, the other twenty lashes are for your retreating actions. As your teacher, I have repeatedly emphasized that if you want to cultivate the Sun God's power to the peak, your temperament must be fierce and domineering. Dominance values offense, unyielding and indomitable! If you don't even have the courage to perish together, what Sun God's power are you cultivating?"
She knew that Yuanqing Tianzun was not lacking in fierceness, but he was too slippery in his daily life, and even in battle, he was unwilling to suffer losses, unwilling to confront head-on, thus, he lacked dominance!
Before Zhang Yuanqing could explain, the old hag continued to scold, saying, "Yinyao told me that your nickname in the pugilistic world is 'Supreme Treasure of Items,' covered from head to toe in flashy magical artifacts. Coupled with the Star Official's fighting style, you like to rely on tools and strategize behind the scenes!"
"Many exceptionally talented Night Wanderers encounter bottlenecks when advancing to Golden Crows because they cannot shake off their previous combat habits and temperament, leading to a long delay in fusing the Sun God's power and achieving the Golden Crow body!"
"The Way of the Extraordinary have role card empowerment, so there's no need to worry about breaking through realms, but if you cannot change your habits and align with the Sun God's power, even if you become a Ruler, you will not stand out."
Zhang Yuanqing was convinced, "Master is right!"
He glanced at the long whip wrapped in Yin energy and swallowed, saying, "Can the forty lashes be put on account? Please give your disciple a few more days. If I still can't..."
Princess Yinyao "barked" and said, "Any bargaining is evidence of insufficient dominance, I suggest Master add ten more lashes!"
Zhang Yuanqing shouted, "This disciple willingly accepts the punishment."
Yinyao, you old trickster.
Princess Yinyao waved her whip and happily 'papped' away!
The Third Mountain Goddess watched coldly, saying, "There are seven days left until the Slaughter Instance. I hope that you become a Golden Crow God who can surpass the vast majority of those at the same level, or you will not be worthy of being my disciple!"
Having a son in her old age, her expectations for Yuanqing Tianzun were far higher than for Yinyao. Yinyao was considered useless. What would happen in the future depended on what achievements Yuanqing Tianzun could achieve.
The Military God Church!
In the Gobi Desert of the Northwest, dilapidated mud houses stood scattered along a rural path, resembling a backward little village!
The only remaining Arrogance God General, Wrath God General, and Six-Fingered God General among the Eight Great God Generals walked through the narrow village path to the scenic platform on the mountainside!
Fear Heavenly King and Demonic Eye Heavenly King sat at a round table, drinking and enjoying a plate of braised edamame, a plate of braised peanuts, and a platter of pork, pig tongue, and pig ear meat!
The Six-Fingered God General took the lead in asking, "Heavenly King, what are your orders for summoning us?"
"If there are no orders, I'll go back to rolling dice." The Six-Fingered God General was addicted to gambling. He was just gathering with the church members to gamble when Fear Heavenly King summoned him with a phone call, making him extremely impatient and annoyed.
Fear Heavenly King, dressed in a suit and wearing a silver ear stud, peeled edamame while asking, "I heard from Silver Moon that the three of you plan to participate in the Slaughter Instance. Six-Fingered God General is aging, Yuanqing Tianzun is already dead, and Fu Qingyang advanced to Ruler in the Slaughter Instance in the middle of the year. The end of the year is a void period. The only enemies we have in the orthodox camp are Jiang Ju and Huang Taiji!"
"I bet with them that the Military God Church will definitely add another Heavenly King in this Slaughter Instance!"
The Six-Fingered God General nodded.
The Demonic Eye Heavenly King sneered, "Do you think you can defeat Fear Heavenly King, or defeat me, or one of the Military God Church leaders like Extinction and Ghost Blade?"
No matter how many Rulers there are, there will only ever be four Heavenly Kings. The three God Generals looked unconvinced, but they dared not retort!
Fear Heavenly King flicked the peeled edamame into his mouth and said, "The Military God Church will not participate in the Slaughter Instance at the end of the year!"
"Why?" The three God Generals were stunned!
Fear Heavenly King scolded, "It's so that you can live a few more years. Of course, if you insist on participating, I won't stop you, that's your freedom. But I hope you'll listen to my advice!"
He waved his hand, too lazy to explain, and sent the Demonic Eye Heavenly General away!