Chapter 401 : Duel with Ancestor Tingyou!

Chapter 401: Duel with Ancestor Tingyou!

Lü Yang had always been quite curious about Ancestor Tingyou’s strength.

If one were to say he was strong — that was for certain. His monstrous comprehension made him nearly unbeatable in duels, and his ability to mimic divine abilities was absurdly exaggerated.

He was undoubtedly a perfect sparring partner.

Not only was Ancestor Tingyou powerful, he had also seen much of the world, and his astonishing insight allowed him to accurately gauge Lü Yang’s current strength level.

“You want to fight me.”

After hearing Lü Yang’s request, Ancestor Tingyou was briefly stunned, but he quickly reacted and nodded, “Mm, I suppose it’s fine now.”

Truthfully, he was also quite curious.

After all, Grade-Two True Arts were still a rather unfamiliar domain to Ancestor Tingyou. Merely observing wasn’t enough for him to determine Lü Yang’s current level of strength.

Moreover, there was something even more important.

‘If Lü Yang’s strength is sufficient, and with the incense system to bolster him, perhaps… I can attempt to pass on the true secret method of the 【Yama Palace】 to him.’

The False Gold Rank Method!

Ancestor Tingyou’s lifelong masterpiece — one that never had the chance to fully shine before it was cut short. But at this moment, he saw hope in Lü Yang.

At the same time, Lü Yang was rolling up his sleeves with a cheerful smile.

“Well then, Ancestor, I won’t hold back.”

With that said — his blade was unsheathed!

Though this was only a spar, Lü Yang showed no hint of carelessness. He opened with 【Tribulation Wave】, and a brilliant star-like glint suddenly flared upon the edge of his sword.

That single glint of starlight was not ostentatious.

Even its underlying imagery was extraordinarily simple — unyielding, indestructible, a resolve to cut through all trials and tribulations with a single sword strike!

“Boom!”

Ancestor Tingyou’s figure didn’t block it at all and was instantly slain by Lü Yang’s sword. However, the moment he “died,” his form shattered into a phantom remnant.

A second later, the remnant collapsed.

Behind it, Ancestor Tingyou’s true body appeared, still carrying a look of amazement on his face as he remarked, “So strong… truly too strong.”

Lü Yang was momentarily speechless.

‘【Trapped Intent】!?’

One of the innate divine abilities of the Sword Dao Avatars — within the area it covered, it could erase all disadvantageous phenomena, preserving only what benefited oneself.

Naturally, Ancestor Tingyou could not perfectly replicate its essence, but he still managed to mimic a rough version — creating a fake body to bear the consequence of Lü Yang’s sword, while his real body calmly escaped, completely unharmed, even shaking off the lock of the 【Sword Intent】!

“Watch out — I’m striking back.”

Before the words even faded, Ancestor Tingyou’s figure vanished on the spot.

“This is…”

A familiar scene caused Lü Yang’s pupils to contract slightly. Although he had lost that divine ability after rebooting, he still recognized it instantly.

‘【Determining Closeness】!?’

His once most-reliable innate divine ability — now somehow cast by Ancestor Tingyou using a Dao Art, weakened countless times yet unmistakable!

In the next moment, Ancestor Tingyou had already reappeared behind Lü Yang.

If it had been the true 【Determining Closeness】, it could’ve enabled long-distance teleportation. But the Dao Art variant used by Ancestor Tingyou had a limited range.

‘【Minor Celestial Escape Art】!’

With divine light coiled in his fingers, Ancestor Tingyou pushed forward, and Lü Yang’s figure vanished from his spot, reappearing hundreds of meters away.

‘Moving a few hundred meters? What’s the point—’

Lü Yang was still pondering when suddenly the sky was filled with surging black clouds, from which thunder serpents weaved — transforming into a sea of lightning!

Heavenly Punishment Thunderclouds!?

In the next second, a sea of thunder crashed down, engulfing Lü Yang completely.

But before Ancestor Tingyou could sigh in relief, a sword light tore through the thunderstorm — shredding the clouds apart. Lü Yang strolled out, unharmed.

Though Ancestor Tingyou had taken the initiative, Lü Yang wasn’t the least bit frustrated.

Instead, he was a little excited.

‘He can fight!’

Even though Ancestor Tingyou now only maintained a Peak Foundation Establishment Rank through incense offerings — far from his peak strength —

— in terms of actual combat strength, he was definitely not weak.

That Lü Yang could spar with him proved that even in harsher environments, he wouldn’t be easily crushed by those of the same realm. At the very least, he had the power to resist.

“Again!”

With a thought, Lü Yang retracted his Sword Intent and instead activated the white jade halo behind him. Radiating solemn brilliance like a deity, he formed seals with both hands:

‘【Bearing the Heavenly Principle】!’

This time, he was no longer casual like when dealing with Grand Ancestor Yan or the City God. A true divine light surged outward, manifesting visions of sun, moon, and stars, mountains and rivers — both hands drew inward, closing together to encompass Ancestor Tingyou within a splendid divine display.

“What is this?”

Even Ancestor Tingyou, with all his worldly experience, looked on with visible curiosity. Clearly, he had never seen a divine ability manifest in this manner.

“This is — my world.”

Lü Yang grinned and then raised one finger, pointing at Ancestor Tingyou. “Ancestor, do you think my divine ability is any different from yours?”

With those words — brilliance flashed.

“【Determining Closeness】!”

The next second, Ancestor Tingyou vanished and was likewise transported several hundred miles away — straight into a surging sea of thunder!

In that instant, Ancestor Tingyou let out a hearty laugh. Bringing his palms together in a clap, he raised a towering mountain projection — which smashed downward onto the lightning sea, instantly suppressing and dispelling all divine powers, wiping away every last trace of thunderbolts.

‘【Mountain Embrace】?’

Lü Yang understood at once — another Dao Art derived by Ancestor Tingyou from divine abilities. No matter how many times he saw it, this level of ingenious insight always seemed absurd.

Little did he know, on the other side, Ancestor Tingyou was equally stunned.

“How did you do that?”

Without a doubt, Lü Yang had just done the same thing — recreating a divine ability he had supposedly lost!

Yet for Ancestor Tingyou, this was only possible due to his high comprehension.

But Lü Yang… Ancestor Tingyou knew his aptitude all too well. Just average. Passable, but far from extraordinary. So how did he manage this feat?

“Just a little trick.”

Lü Yang modestly waved his hand. “Merely one of the wonders of 【Bearing the Heavenly Principle】. Didn’t I say? Right now, this world is mine.”

My world — my rules!

Within the small world crafted by 【Bearing the Heavenly Principle】, Lü Yang could manifest his will to a certain extent. Mimicking divine abilities was naturally no issue!

Although he merely captured their surface — the internal logic was completely different, and the power was drastically diminished, just like Ancestor Tingyou’s Dao Art replicas.

But what he lost in raw power, he made up for in diversity. As a means of counterattack, it was more than enough.

“Like this…”

Lü Yang shifted his hand seals, conjuring a towering mountain projection of his own, crashing down upon Ancestor Tingyou — another replica of 【Mountain Embrace】!

“Boom!”

Ancestor Tingyou countered with a matching technique, the two mountain projections colliding and annihilating each other. The two immediately switched tactics, unleashing new divine arts!

“Die!”

Lü Yang invoked divine decree, using the technique from the Profound Spirit Realm where speech became law.

“Live!”

Ancestor Tingyou was just as swift. He immediately discerned the flaw in Lü Yang’s technique and countered with thunderous words, washing away the divine effect.

“【Doom】! 【Trapped Intent】!”

Ancestor Tingyou used a two-pronged tactic — first conjuring a false body, then using it to unleash a 【Doom】 sword strike straight at Lü Yang!

He even mimicked 【Perceptual Obstruction】, briefly blinding Lü Yang’s senses. By the time Lü Yang escaped its effects, the sword light was already upon him — piercing his flesh, crushing his bones, blasting his entire body into a bloody mist.

Yet the next second, the scene shifted.

The blood mist vanished like an illusion, and Lü Yang’s true body reappeared several hundred meters away, frowning. This back-and-forth was just draining them both — not a path to victory.

At that thought, Lü Yang immediately dispelled 【Bearing the Heavenly Principle】.

‘Let’s try this move—’

Five divine abilities floated behind him like stars, linking into a ring that hovered at the back of his head. A pure white radiance cascaded down like jade light.

【Uniting with the World】!