Chapter 57

Ning Daoqi's palm, at first glance, seemed very steady. But if one observed closely, they would see that from his shoulder to his wrist, his entire right arm was trembling slightly. It was as if at any moment, he could change the trajectory of this palm strike at will. It could go up or down, left or right, diagonally or straight, and was impossible to predict.

At the same time, this palm strike contained countless variations. Hooking, grabbing, pulling, tearing, clawing, supporting, leading, dragging, entwining, pressing, guiding... a myriad of changes, leaving one's eyes dazzled.

Once it struck, the true power in his palm could either absorb or release, collapse or shock, flicker or shine, advance or retreat, combine or separate, be yin or yang, hard or soft, and even transform according to the five elements and the eight trigrams. It was incredibly complex, and the changes were endless.

If not seen with one's own eyes, it would be truly hard to believe that someone could deliver such a miraculous palm strike.

In contrast, Xiao Sheng's palm strike was simple and plain, with no variations or follow-up moves. It was not only simple but could even be called clumsy. Even a village boxer who had practiced for just a few days could strike more beautifully and with more variations.

In the blink of an eye, the two palms met with a light "slap," then separated. Ning Daoqi's countless variations and follow-up moves were completely useless.

Great skill appears clumsy, and by remaining unchanged, one can overcome all changes. By being infinite, one can counter the finite. Under Xiao Sheng's simple and genuine palm strike, Ning Daoqi's attack, no matter how complex and varied, was powerless.

Ning Daoqi's face darkened, and he forced a smile, "Good. Here comes the second palm." He raised his palm again, extremely slowly.

In an instant, the sky darkened, the stars and moon dimmed, and all the life and death in the world seemed to concentrate in Ning Daoqi's palms. This feeling was incredibly strange and inexplicable, defying description.

In the next moment, Ning Daoqi's palm, with the utmost gentleness, slowly pressed down. The world, which had been stagnant and silent, suddenly came to life again. The surging river, the towering mountains, the sun, moon, and stars... all became part of Ning Daoqi's power, accompanying his palm, which seemed to fill the heavens and earth, as it pressed down on Xiao Sheng. It was as if he was not striking with his palm but with the entire world.

Xiao Sheng had no world; he only had himself. One person against the world.

But is one person necessarily smaller than the world? When there is no "I" in the world, is the world still a world? If "I" do not exist, does the world's continued existence have any meaning?

No one knows. This is an ultimate question that countless philosophers have pondered but could never answer. However, at this moment, Xiao Sheng provided his own answer to this question.

No! The entire world has meaning only because of the existence of "I." If there is no "I," then there is no world. Without a world, what power could Ning Daoqi's palm strike have?

Another "slap" sounded. The two palms separated again. Xiao Sheng remained Xiao Sheng, Ning Daoqi remained Ning Daoqi, and the world remained the world. They were independent and unrelated.

Xiao Sheng did not change at all because of this palm strike. However, Ning Daoqi, the foremost of the three great masters of the world, suddenly had countless wrinkles on his forehead, and his originally black beard turned half white. It was as if he had suddenly aged twenty years.

The three palms on the boat were a test of their "Dao." The first palm was purely exploratory. Ning Daoqi's palm strike was infinitely varied, both purposeful and purposeless, too subtle to describe. But Xiao Sheng responded to all changes with no change, breaking through this strike.

The second palm, Ning Daoqi immediately used his true skills. He pushed his mental cultivation to the extreme, embedding his spirit into the world, thus transforming into the world and mobilizing the power of the entire world to attack Xiao Sheng.

Of course, the power of the entire world did not mean that mountains and rivers actually moved to attack Xiao Sheng. It was the spirits of the mountains and rivers, fused with Ning Daoqi's spirit, creating a grand momentum to support his attack.

Unfortunately, Xiao Sheng's understanding of his "Dao" and his firm belief were beyond Ning Daoqi's imagination. Therefore, this incredibly profound and mysterious move was not only ineffective but also forced Ning Daoqi to detach from the state of his spirit being one with the world.

As a result, Ning Daoqi suffered a great loss of energy, suddenly appearing to have aged twenty years.

In the two previous palm strikes, Ning Daoqi failed both in technique and momentum. If he wanted to turn the tide, this third palm absolutely could not fail!

Taking a deep breath, Ning Daoqi straightened his back and let out a loud shout. With his divine skill activated, his robe sleeves fluttered without wind, his beard and eyebrows stood on end, and his appearance became overwhelmingly mighty, like a celestial warrior descending to subdue demons. Without delay, Ning Daoqi punched straight at his chest! The surrounding air was compressed by the force of the punch, and thunderous sounds erupted, deafening and terrifying beyond imagination!

Power! This punch possessed the purest, most domineering, and most overwhelming power! After all, any principle in the world must ultimately be demonstrated through power. Without power, any principle is weak and unconvincing.

But facing Ning Daoqi's supreme strike, Xiao Sheng smiled. In a moment, he punched out without hesitation. It was silent but stronger, faster, more domineering, purer, and more concentrated. All the power was hidden until the moment of contact, not wasting a single bit.

This punch was like the first strike that split the chaos and created the world, containing great vows, great perseverance, great courage, great will, great joy and sorrow, great anger and love, great emotion and character. In this one punch, the word "power" was expressed to the fullest, unprecedented and unparalleled, a miraculous realm.

This strike was the result of Xiao Sheng's integration of all the martial arts wisdom he had absorbed, including the Immortal Seal, the Longevity Formula, the Chaos Spiral Force, the One That Fades, the True Mantra Seal, the Eight Methods of the Well, the Heaven and Earth Malevolent Qi, the Separation and Union Dao Qi, the Divine Traveling Eight Methods, the Mad Sand Blade Technique... all combined with his own "True Ripple Immortal Dao" to create a new and powerful move: Chaos Thunder Splendor!

In the flash of lightning, the two powerful punches clashed head-on! Suddenly, the river, which had been flowing eastward, stopped completely. The boat pressed into the frozen water, sinking three feet without a single drop entering the cabin.

In the next instant, the river erupted with a loud "splash," and a seven-zhang-wide depression appeared around the boat. The riverbed, which had never seen the light of day, was suddenly exposed. The boat, however, remained suspended in mid-air, showing no sign of falling. It was like a miracle!

This was a demonstration of power control at its peak, where one could fix the boat in the air without it falling. However, this breathtaking moment could not last long.

In a split second, a "crack" sounded. The boat, unable to withstand the force of the two masters' clash, split into two halves.

Xiao Sheng, along with his half of the boat, remained in place. But Ning Daoqi, along with his half of the boat, was hurled backward like a boulder launched from a catapult, roaring through the air. The depression in the river disappeared, and the surging water rushed in to fill the gap.

The half of the boat floated back to the surface. Xiao Sheng stood proudly with his hands behind his back, calm and composed, as if the three exchanges were nothing more than trivial matters to him.

But both sides knew that this was not a trivial matter. In fact, the foremost of the three great masters, Ning Daoqi, had been punched away. This news would surely spread throughout the world.

No matter who it was, no matter how high their cultivation, when the heavy crown of "the greatest master in the world" was suddenly placed on their head, even the most perfect and unblemished mind would likely waver and show a crack.

This was a rare and fleeting opportunity. The number of people in the world who could seize this brief moment was as rare as a phoenix feather or a unicorn horn. And if someone dared to challenge Xiao Sheng, who had already secured the title of the greatest master in the world, it could only be...

The first great master of the Demon Sect, Evil King Shi Zhixuan!?

Just when no one expected it, a sudden change occurred! A figure leaped out of the water, shouting fiercely, "Where is the Holy Emperor's Relic? Hand it over!" Without waiting for a response, he raised both hands. Two black steel chains shot out from his sleeves like venomous snakes.

The tips of the chains were sharp diamond-shaped points, shooting at Xiao Sheng's eyes with the speed of meteors. The timing and speed of the attack were extremely vicious and deadly.

Ning Daoqi, who had been standing on the other half of the boat, twenty zhang away, was still holding his chest and breathing heavily in pain. Seeing someone leap out of the water to launch a surprise attack, the foremost of the three great masters was taken aback and exclaimed, "Demon Commander?!"

Before he could finish speaking, Ning Daoqi spat out another mouthful of blood, staining his gray beard red.