The Resolution of Deng Vs Mo

Zhongming's brows narrowed as he witnessed Chen Jing using brute force to break free from his array of binding.

Even many Soul Integration cultivators would find such a feat to be very difficult to accomplish. Of course, there were many other ways that cultivators of that level could break free from the array; however, brute force was usually not a viable method.

Not only would they require the strength to break free from the array, but they would also need a certain level of physical durability.

Without a sufficiently durable constitution, they would simply be ripped to shreds even if they had the strength to break from the array.

"Careful." Zhongming sent out a warning to his teammates. "Even a soul integration cultivator would be hard-pressed to perform a feat like that."

Gao Liang observed Chen Jing meticulously; so far, it seemed as if the array he had cast allowed him to obtain the physical body of a potent Soul Integration cultivator. Whether or not he had obtained the conceptual and comprehensive aptitude of one remained to be seen; if he had, this would be a most troublesome battle indeed.

He decided to test and see if this was the case. So he covertly conjured an offensive array; this particular array was a dimensional array that Hualing had developed.

It gave the caster the ability to pick any two objects or persons. Then, once the user confirmed the targets, the array would instantly swap the location of both.

Once Gao Liang's finished activating his array, he targeted a speck of dust in the air before him as well as Chen Jing's head.

The result should have been Chen Jing's head being instantly severed from his body, subsequently removing him from the match.

Unfortunately, this was not even close to the reality that had unfolded.

The end result of Gao Liang's array was utterly detrimental to their victory; Zhongming was unceremoniously removed from the match.

A slight frown marred the faces of Gao Liang, Xiuying, and Lihua; It seemed like the array was co-opted by Chen Jing, allowing him to redirect the consequences to Zhongming. This was not good; their opponent had the comprehension of a Soul Integration cultivator.

Right after Chen Jing had removed one member of the Mo Sect group, he capitalized on his momentum and took a mere step forward. Instantly he was in Gao Liang's face.

The master of the Dao of Karma barely had any time to react to his attacker's fast movement.

Instinctively he flicked his wrist and brought his sword up into a defensive position. He was just barely fast enough to get his sword into position to intercept Chen Jing's blade.

Unfortunately for him, Chen Jing cleaved through his blade as if it was made out of some flimsy wood.

Although Gao Liang's blade had instantly shattered like a cheap toy, it had slightly slowed the arc of Chen Jing's attack. Luckily, although it didn't slow down the attack by much, it was just barely sufficient for Gao Liang to move his head out of the way as he leaped back.

Had he been even just a brief moment slower, his head would have been cleanly severed from his body.

With cat-like agility, both Lihua and Xiuying leaped upon the last remaining Deng Sect cultivator from behind.

Yet, without even turning around, Chen Jing stretched out his free arm and made a gripping motion. Two ethereal arms materialized into existence, both of them catching each of the incoming female cultivators.

The two furiously struggled to break free from the grasp of Chen Jing; however, they were both unsuccessful. Utilizing their Dao was a fruitless endeavor for the two girls; against the Soul Integration cultivator of the Dao of Principles, they both lacked the metaphysical comprehension for their abilities to function correctly.

For Xiuying Chen Jing became akin to a black box, she could neither access nor read any of the information that pertained to his being or any of his actions.

And as for Lihua, her Dao of Change was unable to reject any changes that could be attributed to the sole remaining Deng Sect cultivator.

This was due to Chen Jing possessing a passive principle that made himself and, by extension, his actions unalterable by a third party.

Gao Liang quickly went on the offensive. If he was to land a successful attack, it would need to be in the momentary gap of Chen Jing's awareness.

Without a sword, Gao Liang could only attack with an array. This array was a special one that he had personally developed; it could solidify the conceptual threads of karma, giving them an indestructible physical form.

This would allow Gao Liang to quite literally turn karma into a physical and conceptual weapon, one that could render any cultivator asunder.

Yet once again, Chen Jing was able to redirect Gao Liang's attack. This time, both Xiuying and Lihua were impaled by an uncountable number of physical karmic threads; this caused the two members to be removed from the match instantly.

As only one Mo Sect cultivator remaining Chen Jing decided not to drag out the match any longer.

Once again, he appeared before Gao Liang with incredible speed. However, unlike before, Gao Liang could not react before he was impaled through the abdomen by Chen Jing's thin blade.

Yet, the most curious outcome occurred, somehow Chen Jing realized that he was the one who was teleported out of the arena, and Gao Liang somehow had remained inside and unharmed.

"How?" Chen Jing asked the sole remaining Mo Sect member.

Gao Liang merely smirked and gave a cryptic answer, "It's just karma."

And indeed, it was karma.

Even though Chen Jing was on the power level of a Soul Integration cultivator, physically and conceptually, the array he used did not give him the karmic manipulation that a true Soul Integration cultivator would have. And this was precisely the weakness that Gao Liang had been able to take advantage of.

By Chen Jing being directly responsible for the '"deaths" of each of his teammates, strong karmic ties were naturally established between the two.

As the karma between the two grew stronger and stronger, it became easier and easier for Gao Liang to manipulate the karma between them. Eventually, it was enough for Gao Liang to swap their respective karma.

And thus, what was originally Gao Liang's fate due to karma, instead became Chen Jing's fate.