It was at that point that Meng Hao coughed up a mouthful of blood. His body was now withered virtually to its limit, to the point where it seemed that if Fang Wei took only one more step, Meng Hao would be left behind and would be unable to keep up.
Fang Wei looked at Meng Hao, and his eyes blazed with the desire to fight. From the very beginning until this very moment, Meng Hao had constantly seemed to be on the verge of death. And yet, as he advanced, he was not melted by the sun.
Fang Wei had already gone all out, and had almost reached 270,000 meters, and yet, it seemed that he would be incapable of surpassing Meng Hao.
Both Meng Hao and Fang Wei hovered at 267,000 meters, and neither one of them was in the lead position.
“Fang Hao….” said Fang Wei. He gazed at Meng Hao with a look of madness. Panting, he slowly lifted up his right foot. It was a simple motion, but it caused his body to tremble violently, clearly on the verge of complete collapse.
At that point, back down in the ancestral mansion, Fang Wei’s father’s face fell, and he suddenly called out.
“Wei’er, just remain in that position and meditate! Get used to your surroundings before proceeding higher!” It wasn’t just Fang Wei’s father who had such a reaction. There were other Elders of his bloodline who all started calling out to Fang Wei to stop trying to get higher.
“Fang Wei, don’t fall into his vicious plot! Don’t be rash!”
“Fang Wei, you need to rest and adjust your breathing! Your goal has nothing to do with other people, it is Heaven itself!”
Fang Wei said nothing. Neither did Meng Hao, who simply hovered off to the side, looking coldly at Fang Wei.
Time passed. After the space of several breaths had passed, Fang Wei’s eyes suddenly filled with determination and he stared at Meng Hao.
“I know the meaning behind your actions earlier,” he said. “I also know what you’re trying to do. You want to coax me into competing with you in the hopes of delivering a blow to my Dao heart. Such things… I understand.” His eyes gleamed with the light of obsession.
“However!” he continued. “I am Fang Wei, and I won’t lose to anyone. You want to fight? Then let’s fight! You want to compete? I’ll compete with you! I’m going to move one step further, and if you’re good enough, see if you can keep up!” Eyes bloodshot, Fang Wei lowered his right foot and moved higher again.
In that instant, his grandfather let out a bellow of rage.
“Fang Wei, get back here!”
Rumbling echoed out. As Fang Wei finished moving up, blood spurted out all over his body, and his hair was burned completely away. His skin began to burst, and he appeared to be engulfed in a sea of flames.
He even began to stagger, as if he couldn’t support his own weight. However, at the same time that this was happening, Meng Hao also moved higher. Similar rumbling echoed out, and he was also inundated in a sea of flames. He also began to tremble, and yet… he remained solidly in place. Then he looked back at at Fang Wei.
Blood sprayed from Fang Wei’s mouth, and he tumbled backward.
Meng Hao expression was a complicated one. There were actually some things about Fang Wei that he felt to be worthy of praise. He had stubbornness, which was something incredibly valuable to cultivators. However, everything was a matter of perspective, and because of the way things were, Meng Hao could never sympathize with him.
“You’re simply not good enough,” he said calmly. “You even have my Nirvana Fruits, and yet you still don’t measure up.” Those words were like a sharp sword that stabbed directly into Fang Wei’s heart. His face went ashen, and he coughed up more blood.
“All you did was get one step past me!” he said, gritting his teeth as the flames surged around his body. He had only fallen back one pace, but then held his place, forcing his body to stay together as he glared at Meng Hao.
“One step?” said Meng Hao softly. It was at this point that he unleashed his Eternal stratum. It exploded out, and in the blink of an eye, Meng Hao’s withered frame began to heal. His hair grew out long, and his skin shone with a gleaming luster. All of his injuries were now completely restored!
This development caused Fang Wei’s face to fall again. His mind reeled, and the blood drained from his face as he tumbled further backward.
“Impossible! This… this….”
“Why do you think it’s impossible?” Meng Hao said coolly. With that, his body flickered, except, instead of moving up higher, he appeared directly in front of Fang Wei.
“You lose,” he said, and with that, he punched out toward Fang Wei.
Fang Wei’s three Dharma Idols reappeared as Meng Hao’s the punch descended, and the aura of reincarnation exploded out. He went all out to resist Meng Hao, and yet, at that moment, Meng Hao said four words.
“A Bit of Karma!”
BOOOMMM!!