197 Unfolding brilliance of the king.

As the crack above them started to slowly expand, the various people in the dining room quickly stood up and pulled out their weapons, their bodies tensing up. Just as the crack seemed like it was going to expand to cover the entire ceiling, the ship around them vanished, everyone appearing in empty space.

It was pitch black around them, Yao Jun able to see colorful and strange planets far off into the distance. Not far to their left floated several gray rocks of various sizes, a fine layer of dust surrounding the rocks. This was the vast and mostly empty void between planets, space. There was no air here, and Yao Jun had yet to reach a stage where he could go without air, so he quickly started to erect a thin layer of Qi around him to sustain himself.

But as he was doing so, he quickly noticed something wondrous. While there was no oxygen in space, there was plenty of it inside his God Gate, and now that oxygen seemed to be transported directly into his body, sustaining him and allowing him to save himself the Qi that he would otherwise use to set up a shield around him. While Yao Jun was marveling at the new function he had just discovered, a loud voice thundered across the area.

"Saraya, Tobyn, what a coincidence that we would encounter you here!"

Yao Jun quickly regained his senses and traced the origins of the voice, quickly finding a group of people clad in armor that seemed to be made out of the strange gray rocks that were floating to their left. The one who had shouted was the man standing at the front, a tall and thin man with curly orange hair and nearly completely white skin. He had a mouth that was far wider than any Yao Jun had ever seen, reaching all the way to his ears. After he shouted out, a response quickly came.

"Don't fuck around, Garin. Do you really want us to become your enemies? Do you really think you have what it takes to defeat me?"

Yao Jun once again traced the voice, spotting a young girl, Saraya, and an old hunchbacked man, Tobyn. Saraya stood at about a meter and a half, had a single crimson eye, flowing pink hair, and was clad in a light blue robe. Tobyn, on the other hand, looked like a human and was a bit taller, but because of his hunched back, he appeared shorter. His face was covered in wrinkles, but his short black hair was surprisingly silky and glossy.

He supported himself with a gnarled cane, but his entire body radiated a strong sense of power, showing that he was not a weak old man. The power he radiated was a bit weaker than the power Diana and Gilberd had radiated when they fought, so Yao Jun guessed that he was the Earthly Deity that served as Saraya's guard. Garin and his men, on the other hand, did not have anyone who radiated the same power as Tobyn, the strongest among them seemed to be Garin and two others who had all seemingly reached the Transcended Immortal stage. Hearing the sharp words of Tobyn, Garin merely let out a chuckle and shrugged his shoulders.

"Defeat you? Not at all, we are far too weak to do that. But temporarily sealing you? That can be done rather easily."

Garin gave a clap of his hands, four large silver flags carved with a strange round seal appearing in front of him. Garin waved his hand, the four flags teleporting through space and appearing around Tobyn. Once the four flags were in place, Yao Jun could sense space all around Tobyn harden and freeze, preventing him from even moving. Tobyn's eyes quickly widened after he was sealed, he tried to free himself, but it only resulted in his body trembling, so he could not help but shout out.

"This?! Where did you find this?!"

This seal would not be able to stop him forever, but it would still take him a bit of time to free himself, allowing Garin and the others to do as they pleased. Garin did not respond to Tobyn's loud question, clapping his hands once more and turning towards his men.

"Alright guys, the problem has been dealt with, so let's go and grab our reward! Leave them nothing!"

Garin's men let out a loud shout, drawing a variety of weapons and charging towards the passengers of the ship. Saraya quickly turned towards the various passengers, her face a bit paler than earlier as she pleaded with them.

"As you can all see, they do not intend to let us keep anything, so please aid me in repelling them!"

Her words were completely unnecessary, as it was clear that the bandits in front of them were targeting all of them. The ones that were closest to the bandits quickly engaged them, but there were still quite a few that managed to approach the passengers that were a bit further away. Gideon, who was still next to Yao Jun, gave him a calm pat on the shoulder and spoke with a light chuckle.

"Guess we'll have to step forward and protect our stuff. Brother Yao, where did your aides go?"

Gideon had scoured the surrounding area for Du Xiao and the rest of Yao Jun's aides but had been unable to spot any trace of them. Yao Jun simply shrugged his shoulders, giving a vague answer.

"A safe place, no need to worry about them."

The moment Yao Jun felt that space around the ship had been frozen, he immediately had Sirius and the others return into his God Gate, standing by in case they were needed. Now was not the time to pry further, so Gideon gave a quick nod of his head and then dashed forward to engage one of the bandits.

Yao Jun didn't have to move or wait long, one burly bandit with needle-like brown hair quickly reaching him. This bandit was a bit different from the rest of the group, as he was not clad in the same armor as the others. Instead, he only wore a simple pair of pants, not even wearing a shirt, freely revealing his wide and hairy chest, as well as the crescent-moon shaped pendant he wore. The bandit stopped in front of Yao Jun, quickly stretching out his left arm and waving Yao Jun over.

"Alright kiddo, you should know the drill, hand over everything and you can leave with your life."

Yao Jun did not respond to the statement, calmly inspecting the man. He channeled Qi into his eye to inspect the man, checking what he could see. When he had done so on his home planet just before he absorbed Sirius, he had been able to see into Yun Yantian's body, even seeing his then unawakened God Gate.

But as he looked at the man in front of him, it seemed like his body was filled with fog, obscuring his insides. Yao Jun was unable to properly inspect the man, but he was still able to tell his cultivation, thanks to the power he radiated, which was in the transitory stage between the Ascending Immortal and the Soaring Immortal stage. Yao Jun rubbed his chin slightly as he inspected the man, a slight mutter escaping from his lips.

"So you're the one I'll have to face? Guess you'll make for an excellent gauge."

Yao Jun had not taken part in any proper fights since he absorbed Du Xiao and Siwang. In the only battle he had taken part in after that, he had been supported by an array, so he had not been able to test his own power. Now he had also carved the fourth channel of the Crumbling the Nine Heavens technique, so he was rather interested in finding out exactly how strong he had gotten.

Yao Jun instantly opened all four channels, pushing his power to the peak. His unadorned black sword appeared in his hand and he took a step forward, vanishing through space. He reappeared in front of the bandit, stabbing out with the strongest piercing attack he knew, One Sword To Free The Heart.

The bandit had already reached the Immortal Rebirth realm, so he should have already formed his Immortal Foundation within his dantian, so that was what Yao Jun aimed for, looking to cripple him with a single attack. But when his sword struck the bandit, he felt like he had stabbed into a block of pure iron. His sword dug deep into the bandit's dantian but was then unable to move further. It was unable to move further, but it was still deep enough to pierce the Immortal Foundation. But despite that, the Qi within the bandit did not disperse, causing Yao Jun to tilt his head in confusion.

"This?"

With his Immortal Foundation pierced, all the Qi within the bandit should have started dispersing, leaving him as a normal mortal. So how was it that he was still fine? In response to Yao Jun's head tilt, the bandit let out a loud and boisterous laugh, sending vibrations up Yao Jun's sword and into his hand.

"Hehe, sorry kid, but destroying my dantian won't do you any good. I am a body cultivator, my Qi is perfectly fused with my body. In short, you'll have to do better than that!"

Body cultivators also existed on Yao Jun's home planet, but they were a bit different there, training their bodies using sheer physical power. True body cultivators trained their bodies using Qi, fusing the Qi into every inch of their body and forcing open all their acupuncture points, even creating new ones. Yao Jun knew that body cultivators had different names for their cultivation stages, but he hadn't asked Leylan about them, so he didn't know what they were called. The bandit reached out with both his arms, grabbing onto Yao Jun's head and sending him a grim smile.

"Well, not that you'll have the chance. Know this, you died in the hands of Barda!"

Barda exerted force into his hands, aiming to crush the head of what he assumed to be a stunned Yao Jun. But as he put force into his hands, he felt a sharp pain run up his arms. Blood splattered and his fingers were separated from his hand, forcing him to pull back his hands and let out a stupefied grunt.

"Wha...?!"

Yao Jun took the chance he had created by slicing off Barda's fingers, pulling his sword out of Barda's body and putting some distance between the two of them. His eyes gleamed with interest as he looked at Barda, his lips curling into a slight smile as he spoke.

"A body cultivator? I can't say I have ever faced one before, so this will make for a very interesting experience. Hopefully, you'll be able to teach me a few things."

This would be Yao Jun's first time ever facing a true body cultivator, so not only could he test his strength, he could maybe even learn something new. If possible, he might even learn a little about body cultivation, possibly using it to help strengthen his body further.

Yao Jun dashed forward and slashed at Barda's neck, normal crimson flames coating his blade. He had not altered the flame using his laws, so he expected the flame to be a pure crimson, but he noticed that there was a faint blue tint at the very center of the fire, showing that Zhuyin's fire had grown slightly stronger after devouring so many corpses and fire element resources.

Barda didn't pull out a weapon, simply raising his right arm to block Yao Jun's oncoming attack, punching out with his left arm at the same time, aiming to trade attacks. Yao Jun's blade cut into Barda's arm, the flames scorching his flesh into charcoal, even making it show signs of melting. At the same time, he stretched out his left arm, a crystal clear shield of ice appearing in front of his fingers.

Barda's fist crashed into the shield, denting and cracking it, but failing to shatter it. At a speed faster than the eye could see, he pulled his arm back and sent out another punch, cracking the shield even more. In the blink of an eye, he sent out a total of five punches, shattering the shield and landing a punch on Yao Jun's waist.

Even with Yao Jun's strengthened body and the fact that the attack was weakened by the shield, Yao Jun still felt his bones ache, a sweet taste appearing in his mouth as he was pushed back.

After being pushed back, Yao Jun glanced at the wound on Barda's arm, ending up slightly shocked to see that it was quickly healing, even the molten flesh restoring itself to normal. This was the advantage that body cultivators had, insane regenerative powers and the physical power to crush mountains. Of course, it also had disadvantages, mainly in the fact that they had no ranged attacks and the fact that it was very hard to cultivate one's body.

Yao Jun licked his lips, the taste of blood filling his mouth and letting him know that he had thrown up some blood after taking that one punch. He stepped forward, vanishing through space and appearing behind Barda. He slashed out three rapid attacks, using the sword moves he had learned after carving the second and third channel.

The soul-based attacks didn't seem to harm Barda, so it seemed like his soul was also strengthened by a bit, and the physical part of the third attack only left a gash on his back that was quickly healed. Barda spun around and sent a sideways punch at Yao Jun, but he quickly forced the attack to change direction by piercing the arm with tendrils of darkness that spawned from the shadow in Barda's armpit.

Yao Jun once again slashed out with his sword, this time reinforcing the edge of his blade with a thin layer of space, cutting directly through Barda's left shoulder and removing his arm. He grabbed the arm and coated it in flames, quickly turning it to ash to see if it was effective. But it seemed like it was useless, as Barda simply let out a loud laughter.

"It's useless, kid! No matter how many times you break my body, it will only rebuild itself, growing stronger than before! I have even tempered myself in the horrifying gravity inside this Hollow Waste, you cannot hope to kill me!"

Barda tightened the muscles in his left shoulder, his arm quickly regrowing out from the stump, actually appearing a little thicker than the previous arm. Seeing that Barda was able to perfectly regrow an entire arm, Yao Jun couldn't help but give a slight nod of his head.

"So this is a body cultivator. I can see why it is considered a rather troublesome breed of opponent. Makes me wonder what a soul cultivator is like."

A soul cultivator was just that, someone who focused on cultivating the soul. Just like body cultivators, they used a different way of cultivating, even having different names for the ranks. But Yao Jun hadn't asked Leylan about them either, so he knew next to nothing about them. At the same time as he spoke, Yao Jun's mind moved slightly, inspired by the words of Barda, the outline of an attack forming in his mind.

Yao Jun and Barda continued to engage in combat, Yao Jun carving up Barda with every attack, quickly covering his body in blood. But he didn't get out unscathed, Barda landing several heavy punches on him. He thought about putting some distance between the two of them, taking down Barda with ranged attacks. But Barda was surprisingly fast for his burly body, able to almost instantly catch up with Yao Jun.

Because of that, Yao Jun decided that continuously putting distance between them would only be a waste of Qi. Of course, there were certain attacks he did not use just yet, as he was still interested in trying out his strength. After the two had engaged in a bloody and somewhat lengthy battle, Barda took a bit of distance from Yao Jun, looking at him with a solemn expression.

"You, what is your name?"

Yao Jun couldn't help but be caught slightly off guard by the question. Whenever he had spoken up to then, Barda had simply referred to him as Kid or Kiddo, so he couldn't help but wonder about the sudden change.

"Why do you suddenly care?"

Barda clenched his fists several times, rolling his shoulders and flexing all his muscles. His body seemed to grow a little taller, his muscles bulging outwards as the power he radiated grew a little stronger. After growing slightly, Barda gave a nod of his head, looking at Yao Jun with a dignified and serious expression.

"Calling a freak like you kid or kiddo is shameful. I have recognized that I need to use my full power to kill you, and so I wish to honor you by remembering your name after I kill you."

Barda could tell that Yao Jun was very young, not even having reached 20 yet. For someone that young to be so strong that he could fight him to a standstill, even force him to unleash every drop of his power, such a person could only be called a freak. Yao Jun's lips curled slightly after hearing the response, the grip on his sword tightening as he nodded his head.

"Heh, very well. The person who killed you is Yao Jun, remember it for as long as you still can."

The two both dashed forward, turning into blurs as they crashed against each other. Yao Jun's sword dug into Barda's shoulder, only leaving a small wound. Barda's fist, on the other hand, crashed into Yao Jun's abdomen, only a shield of ice in place to dampen its power.

What followed could only be described as a brutal melee. Barda smashed Yao Jun with repeated punches, while Yao Jun rained rapid slashes onto Barda, favoring speed over power. Since he favored speed, each attack was only able to leave a small bloody wound, which then quickly healed and vanished.

But even though it seemed like he had the upper hand, Barda did not lower his vigilance for a single second, his vigilance even grew greater with each passing second, a strong sense of unease filling him. Through the use of a secret technique, he had strengthened his body temporarily, but it was not to a point where Yao Jun's attacks would leave such small wounds. Because of that, he guessed that Yao Jun was planning something.

Barda continued to punch out, but his attacks slowly grew slower and slower, his movements dull and his vision blurry. By the time he realized that his fears had become real, it was already too late for him, his movements completely halting, his head thundering in pain. He didn't know what was happening to him, but he could feel himself dying, life leaving his body, The only thing he could do was look at Yao Jun with half-closed eyes, doing his best to curse him in a low voice.

"Yao...Jun...You...Monster..."

Not only had Yao Jun been able to resist his attacks, but he had also been able to use a wide variety of laws, even killing him without Barda knowing how. All this mixed with his young age, Barda could only think that Yao Jun was an absolute monster, a being that should not exist. Yao Jun calmly looked at the dying Barda, giving a casual response.

"Yeah, I've been getting that a lot."

Since Barda had decided to go all out, Yao Jun had, of course, decided to do the same. Every attack he launched was the second technique he got from the Crumbling The Nine Heavens, One Sword To Free The Soul. The attacks were also empowered by the laws of death and poison, the poison eroding Barda's body, while the law of death followed the attack and struck Barda's soul, weakening it with each attack. In the end, his soul became too weak to support Barda, collapsing in on itself and shattering.

Almost all the time Yao Jun spent cultivating, he had been fighting against people stronger than him, often relying on sneak attacks and reckless fighting to take them down, often even fleeing. It was especially bad after he arrived at the World Tree Clan, where he had to fight in a war that was far above his level, where he was nearly useless in the grand scheme of the war. Because of that, Yao Jun's brilliance was often hidden away by the power of his enemies. But now that he was slowly getting stronger and seeing more of the universe, his brilliance started to slowly shine through and reveal itself.

After Barda died, Yao Jun grabbed onto the pendant he wore, tearing it off and checking it. The pendant was the same as his interspatial ring, so Yao Jun quickly went over the contents, pulling out a thick book bound in scaly leather. He opened the book and read a few pages, his lips forming a slight smile when he learned what the contents were.

"A book about body cultivation? Should be useful."

The book detailed the earlier stages of body cultivation and how to train in it, as well as what herbs and resources were best for strengthening the body in the early stages. It only detailed up to the stage that corresponded with the 9th Xiantian Heaven, a stage called the Boulder Crusher stage, but it was a start. After putting away the book and the rest of the contents in the pendant, Yao Jun turned towards the still sealed Tobyn, muttering to himself.

"Now then, about time we lend a hand and settle this quickly."

Yao Jun covered himself in a layer of space, hiding himself from sight as he moved closer to the sealed Tobyn. After getting closer he used his law of space to interfere with one of the four flags that made up the array that sealed Tobyn, loosening it slightly. Not enough to look suspicious, but enough to let Tobyn free himself.

Tobyn quickly noticed that one of the flags had gotten looser, focusing his efforts on the flag. With Yao Jun loosening the flag, and Tobyn focusing on it, the flag was quickly shaken completely loose, crumbling to dust and undoing the seal around him. Garin quickly noticed that the seal he set up failed, his expression twisting as he let out a deep growl.

"What?! That seal shouldn't have loosened that much yet, what did you do?!"

He knew that the array couldn't seal Tobyn for too long, but it should have sealed him for long enough to let them finish their job. Yet now, not only had Tobyn gotten free early, they had barely managed to acquire anything! Several of his men had even died! Tobyn stepped forward, space around him warping as he let out an angry laughter.

"Heh, didn't you want to seal me, Garin?! Well how about we play together now, you and I?!

Garin's expression distorted further, but he did not think that he could defeat Tobyn, so the only thing he could do was call for a retreat and flee back into the Hollow Waste, which was the area filled with gray stone. His men tried to quickly follow him, but some were still caught by Tobyn, quickly crushed into meat paste by his law, the law of pressure. After dealing with the bandits that failed to flee, Tobyn turned towards the remaining passengers, putting on a smile and taking the shark-shaped ship out from his interspatial ring.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, let us continue on our journey as fast as possible."