Chapter 2163 - 2156: Where Did This Old Man Learn That?

"Looks like we’re going to have to throw down no matter what." The old man was full of regret, yet there was a hint of excitement—he wanted to see just how monstrous Zhang Menglong could get.

"You two, back off a bit!" the old man said to Zhenshan King and Lanyu.

The two of them very tactfully retreated far away. Even the Grand Emperor was showing such a solemn, cautious expression that they both understood: even the aftershocks from this battle might be more than they could withstand.

"Sir, let’s begin!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the bloodline power in Zhang Menglong’s body surged. A Transcender close to the seventh order was no longer someone he could handle casually.

White hair, starlight flickering over his body—Zhang Menglong’s current strength was already enough to sustain him entering the Divine Realm of Ultra Instinct without relying on any external aid.

"What a terrifying Transcendence Technique!" The old man’s pupils dilated slightly. In that instant, not only did the Energy Intensity surging off Zhang Menglong undergo an earth-shaking transformation, it even had a qualitative change.

He had the illusion that no matter what kind of attack he used, it would be flawlessly blocked.

"The waves of the Yangtze River really do push the waves before them, huh?" The old man didn’t hold back his praise at all. "I haven’t stretched these old bones in a long time!"

As the power within the old man’s body was activated, his appearance visibly grew younger to the naked eye. His white hair slowly darkened to black, and even that dry, skinny frame swelled into the physique of a bodybuilder.

"Grandfather Emperor actually went straight to using that Transcendence Technique!" Lanyu stared at the scene, utterly shocked.

When his Grandfather Emperor was young, he had studied at an academy.

Normally, only people with outstanding Gift could get accepted, and the minimum graduation requirement there was being a fifth order Transcender.

Within the academy were countless powerful Transcendence Techniques. His Grandfather Emperor had learned quite a few before graduating, and what he was using now was one of them.

Back then, he’d relied on this peerless art to turn around many battles, giving him formidable ability to fight above his level. Lanyu had once pestered his Grandfather Emperor, hoping to learn this move, but was refused.

The things learned in that academy were strictly forbidden to be passed on; even one’s own flesh and blood were no exception—unless they, too, entered that academy.

Back then, Lanyu had also wanted to study at that academy, but his Gift was slightly lacking, and he wasn’t accepted. Disheartened, he ended up inheriting the throne instead, and figured he’d never achieve anything too great in this lifetime.

"Old man, you’re still as vigorous as ever!" Zhang Menglong complimented. "Old man, you’re a decent guy, I’ll try not to hurt you—but you’d better be careful!"

Zhang Menglong’s body didn’t leave any trace of movement at all; he appeared in front of the old man as if via Instant Teleportation.

"So fast!" Lanyu and Zhenshan King hadn’t managed to catch his movement. If it were them taking this, they definitely wouldn’t be able to withstand such a ferocious offensive.

But the old man seemed to have already seen through Zhang Menglong’s attack pattern, had even pre-read it. The moment Zhang Menglong struck, he had already assumed a defensive posture!

"Boom!" The old man was sent staggering by a punch; clearly he had misjudged Zhang Menglong’s strength. But his combat experience was extremely rich. He rode the momentum, letting his body spin half a turn, and using the force of that spin, snapped out a whip kick as he turned back.

That kick pierced straight through Zhang Menglong’s body—the figure he’d left there was actually just an illusion!

Suddenly, a sense of danger surged from behind him. He turned around purely on instinct and slammed a punch forward.

"Boom!"

His fist happened to collide with Zhang Menglong’s. The powerful wind pressure from the impact made Lanyu and the other man, thousands of meters away, sway where they stood.

"So this is what a showdown between top-tier experts looks like?" The Martial Dao Lanyu had given up on long ago suddenly rekindled in his heart at this moment.

"Your Majesty, can the Grand Emperor win?" Zhenshan King watched the two of them in this perilous dance; every strike seemed about to land, yet missed by a hair’s breadth. They’d already exchanged several thousand moves, but neither had taken a single direct hit.

Which meant their strength was extremely close.

"Don’t worry. Grandfather Emperor hasn’t even used his full strength yet!"

"He hasn’t used his full strength?" Zhenshan King said. "He’s already brought out the Transcendence Techniques he learned in the academy. What other trump card could he have?"

"Hahaha, I dare say that among Transcenders of the same level, no one can defeat Grandfather Emperor!" Lanyu said with absolute confidence.

"Your Majesty, do you know something this king doesn’t?"

"Doesn’t hurt to tell you," the Emperor laughed. "You know our Bloodline comes from the same origin, so why was Grandfather Emperor the only one to gain the academy’s favor?"

Zhenshan King shook his head. The Grand Emperor’s achievements were truly unprecedented. Alone, he had led the entire Qinglan Kingdom to heights it had never reached before. Neither before nor after him had anyone in the Royal Family of Qinglan Kingdom ever caught the eye of the academy factions.

"Do you know that Grandfather Emperor, when he was young, once met a great benefactor?"

"Benefactor?" Zhenshan King really had never heard of this.

"Grandfather Emperor, back when he was around fifteen or sixteen, met a senior. That senior... how should I put it? I haven’t seen him myself. Grandfather Emperor said that in this world, that man almost had no equals."

"The Grand Emperor has never spoken of anyone so highly. Not even the seniors, mentors, or deans from his academy days have ever been described like that by him."

"I don’t know the details either. Since Grandfather Emperor described him like that, he must have his reasons," Lanyu said. "He and that senior had a bit of a fated encounter, so on a whim, that senior taught Grandfather Emperor a Transcendence Technique."

"What kind of Transcendence Technique?"

"I haven’t seen it myself," Lanyu said. "But I heard from my father that Grandfather Emperor has only used that move three times, and each time he defeated an enemy stronger than himself—no, he killed them."

"How have I never heard of this?" Shocked, Zhenshan King’s gaze toward Zhang Menglong grew colder. With such a killing move in hand, the Grand Emperor probably had no chance of losing today.

Their battle was unimaginably fierce. Every fist-on-flesh impact made one’s bloodline surge with adrenaline.

"Old man, our warm-up’s about done, right? Isn’t it about time we settled this?" Zhang Menglong shook out his slightly numb hand.

"Indeed," the old man nodded. "I’ll use just one move. If you can win against that move, I won’t interfere with whatever happens afterward."

"Alright, then I’ll also use just one move. You’re the elder, you go first."

"Then I won’t be polite." A weapon appeared in the old man’s hand—a Giant Ruler almost three meters long, looking unbelievably heavy just from its appearance.

"Here it comes!" Lanyu shouted excitedly. "Father said the move Grandfather Emperor uses is a ruler-style technique, called... I can’t remember the name. Didn’t expect I’d get to witness it today."

"A ruler-style Transcendence Technique, that’s really rare," Zhenshan King said, eyes fixed on the Grand Emperor’s figure.

The old man raised the Giant Ruler, Energy gathering along its length. For some reason, the scene felt incredibly familiar to Zhang Menglong.

"Flame Divi..."

"Huh?" Zhang Menglong froze. "What the hell, where did this old geezer learn that move?!"