Chapter 489: Chapter 309: Battling the Divine Spirits_1

“Great Qian Holy Master!”

Jiang Ming walked towards him, his expression solemn.

His arrival spoke volumes without a word.

“Indeed!” The Holy Master looked middle-aged, exuding an aura of authority without displaying any anger or exhibiting anything out of the ordinary. He simply stood in the air, his voice indifferent, “Today, the world has been swept clean, leaving only you behind. The next step is for you to head to the Holy City to hunt me down, isn’t that correct?”

“You know all about it?” Jiang Ming nodded.

Shi Lei and the others all came over and stood behind him.

Each of them exuded an immensely powerful presence, creating waves of phenomena that stirred the Heavenly Phenomenon; the starry sky seemed on the verge of collapse.

“If I didn’t know, how could I be the Holy Master?” The Holy Master spoke quietly, “My mission is to be hunted by you.”

He tilted his head up, gazing into the depths of space, a mocking smile on his lips. He continued, “Obviously, you are not yet ready to confront me, and I will not make a move today either, but we must establish an agreement.”

“Please speak,” Jiang Ming admitted he had no intention of initiating the confrontation.

After all, Shi Lei and the others had not yet become Prefecture Lords.

Moreover, whether they had enough points was uncertain; if they were to have their final battle today, and ranked too low once the Genius War ended, that would be quite the problem.

“One year from now, we will fight one-on-one. If you lose, I will not kill you— you will simply remain quietly in your place. If I lose, you must leave a thread of vitality for the Dynasty,” the Holy Master made his demand.

“No way!” Shi Lei stepped forward, “Brother Jiang, he is a Divine Spirit, even if your combat power defies the heavens, how could you possibly contend with him! Only if we join hands might we stand a chance.”

Ran Xin, Luo Qingchen, and the others also became anxious.

Even with their utmost confidence in Jiang Ming, they didn’t believe he could contend with the Divine Spirit before them.

As for the previous battle countering the golden finger?

That was clearly a situation after being restrained by a supreme power, and it was only one strike.

“Inside the Holy City, there are more than a thousand entities of the Twelfth Realm. Are you sure you will not let Jiang Ming fight alone?” The Holy Master laughed, “You are born with the Supreme Bone, a rarity in all ages, yet within my Holy City, we also have the Sun and Moon Divine Body, Earth Treasure Body, Qiankun Divine Body, and more. Had it not been for the fact that you all are Tianjiao of the Human Clan, without me lifting a finger, if they were to join forces, how could you possibly survive? Do not mention that all of you have combat power that defies the world—for, besides you, there are many who defy the heavens; and I have numerous Divine Artifacts. For instance, the Guiyi Tower, which can accommodate one hundred and eight Twelfth Realm beings. When activated together, they can stack all their powers on top of each other, plus the might of the Divine Artifacts. Can you resist that?”

Shi Lei’s expression changed.

If what the other party said was true, they wouldn’t stand a chance of surviving, let alone contending.

Ye Bai and the others also fell silent.

“Why?” Jiang Ming did not understand.

“The human world is dull, and I have grown tired of it,” the Holy Master waved his hand and then vanished without a trace.

There wasn’t the slightest ripple in space.

He simply disappeared into thin air.

This scene caused even Jiang Ming’s pupils to contract.

“Have you really decided?” Shi Lei asked gravely.

“I have an ultimate move. Should it be unleashed, I may not be able to block a thousand and twelve realms, but I am confident I can contend with a great many of them,” Chen Bei came forward.

“I am no worse,” Jun Qiuye said with hands clasped behind his back.

“Not enough for even a mouthful,” Fang Qinghan’s eyes were filled with merciless cold light.

They were all proud individuals and naturally would not be intimidated.

“I, too, want to test the extent of my abilities—let’s first battle him and see. Regardless of the outcome, the conclusion won’t be too dire,” Jiang Ming said. The others nodded in silence.

Especially after learning of the frightful nature of the Divine Spirits—if they were to face them together, even with their towering confidence, injuries would be unavoidable.

In the following time, they basically stayed here, constantly engaging in debates and contests with Chu Yang and his two companions. While honing their skills, they further stimulated their potential and strengthened their foundation, preparing for the ultimate leap in the future.

At the same time, they traveled back and forth between the continents, becoming Prefecture Lords and securing a qualification for themselves.

Though their numbers were few, the Prefecture City of Qingzhou was filled with a large number of powerful figures from the Human Clan, including those in the Twelfth Realm, such as the Blood Robe Marquis, Qian Yuanyuan, and others.

They each occupied a position as a Prefecture Lord.

Out of the One Hundred and Eight Prefectures, besides a few like Holy Heart, they were all governed by humans.

During this period, Jiang Ming once again immersed himself in cultivation.

His main goal was to drive the evolution of his Inner World and accelerate its transformation—this was his fundamental method and core.

The last time he emerged from seclusion, the rules of his Inner World had evolved to the extent of one thousand five hundred. What about this time?

Not the slightest difference.

The number of powerful individuals he suppressed was immense.

Added to those in the Tenth Realm, there were no less than one hundred thousand of them. Although most of the comprehended rules were repetitious, there were inevitably some unique ones among them.

With the process of refining and absorbing, and by fully driving the World Tree to evolve his Inner World, Jiang Ming was transforming every single day.

In the blink of an eye, a year passed by.

“Two thousand rules!”

Jiang Ming opened his eyes.

If it weren’t for his Mind God fusing with the World Tree, even with the power of his mind, he would have struggled to bear it; fortunately, the outcome was pleasing.

The progress was substantial.

Not to mention anything else, just a projection of his World alone was terrifyingly beyond imagination.

“Brother Jiang is becoming more and more terrifying,” said Shi Lei as he caught a glimpse of the sharp essence in Jiang Ming’s gaze the moment he opened his eyes, and he couldn’t help feeling deeply shaken. “I’ve reached the limit of my progress and can only continuously mine the potential of the Supreme Bone, but Brother Jiang, you’re really kicking ass, always advancing valiantly. If I had known earlier, I would have waited to open up my Inner World after comprehending the Zhou Tian rules.”

“Give me a break!” laughed Ye Bai. “Although we possess heavenly talents, in the end, they stem from our physiques, while the rules require comprehension. Furthermore, each additional rule makes the subsequent understanding exponentially more difficult. If we were to start over, I’ve calculated that even with my abilities, even exhausting my lifespan would likely not be enough to comprehend a hundred varieties.”

“That’s something we really can’t learn,” Shi Lei sighed, “Envy doesn’t even cover it.”

“Not just you guys, us too!” Jiang Liuli looked at Jiang Ming with a gaze full of endless curiosity.

In fact, she really wanted to battle against Jiang Ming.

But who would have known that she couldn’t even break through the likes of Shi Lei and others? In her previous battle with Wang Qiutong, although she was not defeated, she was still at a disadvantage.

Let alone the monstrous beings like Shi Lei and Chen Bei.

And above them was the invincible Jiang Ming.

“The Way of Rules belongs to the forces of taboo. Within ten types, it is not difficult, and with peerless genius, one can achieve up to forty-nine. At eighty- one, it becomes truly tough, and ninety-nine is a major heavenly taboo that, unless one has heaven-defying Talent, overwhelming Qi Luck, and boundless opportunities, is basically impossible to comprehend before evolving the Inner World,” Jiang Liuli continued. “To comprehend a hundred varieties, the difficulty increases a hundredfold with each new rule, especially considering the repulsion among them, which can shatter the physical body and crash the Soul. Truthfully, I find it hard to believe that Brother Jiang managed to comprehend three hundred sixty-five rules at the Tenth Realm. It’s incredible, unimaginable.”

“Only by comprehending three hundred sixty-five rules can one open a Perfect World that operates on its own, where Yin and Yang coordinate and the power of creation is manifested. This is the most perfect embodiment of walking the Way of the World. What a pity that, even casting our eyes toward the God Realm, with the greatest of the powerful nurturing, such examples are far too rare,” said Chu Yang, taking over the conversation.

He truly admired Jiang Ming now.

Even without a contest, just being near him made Chu Yang feel an overwhelming pressure, from his body to his soul.

It was incredibly bewildering.

Luckily, they had become friends.

Jiang Ming smiled and then turned toward the direction of the Holy City. “My friends, let us go together!”