The moment Gong Shuren tried to push through toward the dais, Zhou Li darted out like lightning with a flaming black sword. Concurrently, he pushed Cha Ming away with a dragon of flame. Unfortunately for him, Cha Ming had expected this. His combat formations shifted and turned into a maze consisting of metal and ice spikes and poisonous miasma.
Zhou Li was forced to adjust his trajectory, which bought enough time for Gong Shuren, who was a fierce cultivator herself, to push through. Her trident deflected his sword, and her powerful legs pushed off a freshly frozen platform that appeared out of thin air. When Zhou Li tried to chase after her, Cha Ming swung down at him with a well-timed Crushing Chaos, forcing him to turn around and deflect with his black blade.
To Cha Ming’s surprise, the sword held its own against the Clear Sky Staff and didn’t shatter as expected. They grated against each other, and in that instant, he realized that the pale man’s sword was much more powerful than he’d originally thought. It was a transcendent treasure, not a half-step transcendent one. Moreover, it was stronger than most transcendent treasures he’d seen before.
Zhou Li slashed out at him, taking advantage of their close distance to attack him with impunity. Cha Ming shrank his staff and used several instances of Splitting Heaven and Earth to deflect his many strikes. Despite his best efforts, however, several trickles of black flames landed on his body. They burned away at his flesh at an alarming rate, but fortunately, his regeneration could keep up with the flame’s potent energies. Barely. They retreated after the exchange to reevaluate their opponent.
“Do you like it?” Zhou Li asked, flicking his black sword with a slender white finger. It let out a dissonant sound. “The sword’s name is Sin Eater, the karma-severing blade. It’s always the first thing I retrieve whenever I reincarnate, and I’ve possessed it twelve times. It’s a sword that can be used for more than killing, if you know how to use it.”
Cha Ming’s eyes narrowed. “Twelve times? You mean to tell me that you remember twelve lifetimes?” They exchanged a few more blows. Black chains appeared and threatened to entangle Cha Ming. In response, he retracted a combat formation and summoned a shield of ice to hold it back. The two cancelled each other out, but withdrawing the ice formation gave Zhou Li room to breathe and press the attack. He cut a shallow gash on Cha Ming’s chest. Though it wasn’t deep, the cut took much longer to heal than normal, even with Cha Ming’s late-marrow-refining cultivation. He’d need to be careful and take as little damage as possible.
“Heavens, no,” Zhou Li said, content to chat mid-clash. “The memories of twelve lifetimes would be too much to bear. No, I remember snippets, important ones. It’s important to pick and choose when you manipulate samsara like I do.”
By now, Gong Shuren had reached the dais, and the aura around the crown was shifting. On top of the blue-covered artifact, a new blue film was beginning to overlay with the previous one. It wasn’t converting Gong Xuandi’s attunement, but rather both attunements were happening concurrently. If she didn’t at least catch up before the Space-Time Camera’s power ran out, she would still lose the race.
“Since this battle will go on for a while, why don’t we have a nice chat?” Zhou Li asked. “I’ve been dying to have one for a while now, and whenever I try to talk, you ignore me.”
They exchanged several more blows, and though Cha Ming’s were technically more powerful, Zhou Li’s strikes were more precise and well-timed.
By now, Cha Ming’s curiosity was piqued. “I’m all ears,” he said, executing Crushing Chaos once more. This time, he infused water qi into the attack. The destructive water caused Zhou Li to yelp and dodge. He executed a fierce counter-lunge that forced Cha Ming to divert his strike and roll against the man before pushing him away to a safer distance, just in time to avoid a swift upward slice.
“I just thought it would help if you understood our situation,” Zhou Li said. “Our people are suffering, Cha Ming. This world, and all the other worlds out there, are unfair to our kind. Karma is skewed against us. It judges our very reasonable actions as sin, forcing us down to the dregs of society. We can’t rise from our stations. Meanwhile, the angels lord it over us, acting all high and mighty. But they’re hypocrites. I’ve died to their hypocrisy many times.”
Cha Ming had heard this argument before. “Have you considered not doing bad things? Not trying to assassinate kings, not trying to corrupt the destiny of a nation?” Their weapons were tangled together, so he kicked out at Zhou Li. The physical blow was deflected by a shield of flame. Both leg and shield regenerated as he pulled away.
“I’ve considered everything,” Zhou Li said. “But tell me, Cha Ming. The angels believe in self-sacrifice, and we believe in self-interest. Wouldn’t it make us hypocrites if we followed a code we don’t believe in?”
Cha Ming shrugged. “Hypocrisy is better than wrongdoing.” They broke off from each other, panting.
“Is it wrong to seek to better yourself?” Zhou Li said. “Is it wrong to try to benefit your family, to strive for a better life? Those who don’t do so are just asking to be punished. The heavens help those who help themselves, Cha Ming. You know that.”
“An interesting philosophy,” Cha Ming said. A few exchanges later, they retreated once more.
“Since I know I can’t overpower you right now, I’ll offer a trade,” Zhou Li said. “You release the space-time lock on Xuandi, and I’ll give you a way to further your body cultivation
