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Chapter 1181 The Fall of the East, the Great Thousand Perfection
The dust has settled.

Lian Feihong exhaled, raised his glass and drank it all in one gulp, not forgetting to remind the 'Later', "Let's drink together."

She smiled faintly, covered the wine glass with her sleeve, and touched it to her lips.

Zhou, the fisherman, took advantage of the fierce battle between Hou Zhouyou and Dongfang Daqian, and struck out, piercing through the bodies of the two great masters. The result was quite impressive.

Even more astonishing was Dongfang Daqian's words: "The power of a Martial Saint."

Everyone's gaze instantly shifted from Zhou and Dongfang to Zhou. This guy was actually... a Martial Saint.

Impossible. The former Imperial Guard General is a familiar figure to everyone. This guy has a very shady background, was disloyal to his subjects, and is a fence-sitter.

The masters of the aristocratic families mostly looked down on the so-called 'Zhonglang Zhou', because it was a man-made family, and even its members were 'man-made'.

Even an outstanding individual like Zhou, without the emperor's favor and patronage, would be no different from those independent masters who work alone.

But what happened before their eyes overturned the understanding of many aristocratic masters. Zhou had concealed his strength and, with a single word, had actually taken down two of the most dazzling young masters of the era.

It turns out he was the most hidden and ultimately the final boss.
A cool breeze swept across the Immortal's Terrace, dispelling the sweltering heat of the past. This meant that the effects of the Martial Saint's Divine Weapon of the Eastern Thousand Worlds had faded, and his reign was about to end.

When a person is about to die, their tone softens.

"Zhou You, I never imagined that we, who considered each other mortal enemies, would die here together today!"

Lian Feihong seized the opportunity to enhance the atmosphere, saying, "To commemorate the two of you, I will rename the Immortal's Terrace to the Great Thousand Terrace."

The name "Daqiantai" means "the platform where Daqian fell," and the intention behind its name is malicious.

Unexpectedly, Zhou You's face remained expressionless. Instead, he shook his head and said, "You're mistaken. It can only be considered infinitely close to the power of a Martial Saint. It's still a bit lacking."

He then turned to Zhou and asked, "Is it or isn't it?"

"Not bad!"

To everyone's surprise, Zhou actually nodded in agreement.

"Today, the martial arts tradition has declined. People only know that there is a Martial Saint above the Heavenly Sect, but they don't know how wonderful and diverse the ladder and steps from the Heavenly Sect to the Martial Saint were when martial arts were at their peak in ancient times?"

He shrugged and said, "You two have at least begun to grasp the basics, and you're worthy of being called 'half-saints' by ignorant people. Heh heh, half-saints, what a load of bull!"

"Those half-saints like Lingyun Palace and Tiannan Divine Sword have at least found their way to the top, so calling them half-saints is a stretch. You two, you've only seen the threshold of the ladder and you think you've already succeeded?"

"To tell you the truth, why would I need the power of a Martial Saint to kill the two of you?"

The implication is that he acknowledges Zhou You's statement that he is not yet a Martial Saint, but has only mastered power that is closer to the level of a Martial Saint.

The phrase "ladder to heaven" caught Zhou You's eye.

Good heavens! I thought that between the Heavenly Sect and the Martial Saint, there was at most a Half-Saint as a transition, but now it seems there is still a ladder to heaven.

The ladder to heaven is much more precise than the vague term "half-saint".

After all, Zhou You and Dongfang Daqian had reached the semi-saint level, but compared to their masters Lingyun Palace and Tiannan Divine Sword, they couldn't withstand even ten rounds.

Although both are considered semi-saints, the difference is too great; it is a difference that is difficult to quantify.

The emergence of the "ladder to heaven" concept perfectly fills this gap and clarifies the path to the future.

"So what if you know? You two from the Great Thousand Worlds are destined to perish together today. The mysteries of the Great Thousand Worlds belong to me!"

Dongfang Daqian was the first to die. He exhaled and his eyes were filled with resentment and reluctance.

However, under Zhou's overwhelming power, the flame patterns on his body began to shrink, and his exposed limbs and torso weathered and disintegrated, eventually covering the ground with ashes. Dongfang Daqian had finally made his exit!
But Zhou You was not dead yet. Although he was severely injured, he still had a breath left.

"General Zhou, could you tell me about the ladder to heaven?"

Zhou's dark mask was facing him, and he remained silent for a long time, making him appear as if he were a corpse.

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally spoke, "You're amazing!"

Upon hearing this, gasps of surprise erupted from the stage.

It was only after Lian Feihong and many other bystanders were exposed that they realized that of the two who were attacked together, Dongfang Daqian had been dead for some time, but Zhou You was still able to speak.

Judging from his complexion, he didn't seem to be on the verge of death.

This person is incredibly resilient. Even though Zhou Family Fist is known for its exceptional defense, this performance is simply too exaggerated.

"The ladder to heaven is truly a matter of self-reliance. One must gather wood and stones from the ground to build a foothold and reach the realm of Martial Saint."

"The number of ranks varies from person to person. Some people with exceptional talent may be able to skip a single rank. There is no transition period for half-saints. For example, the original Martial Saint did not know anything about half-saints back then."

"That's right, it's pretty much what I guessed. Thanks!"

Zhou You raised his drooping hand, only to find a smear of blood on his palm, with flames flickering within it.

The flames were none other than the sacred artifact 'Dawn,' and the surrounding area was enveloped in the blood of the Eastern Great Thousand.

With a single puncture, Zhou connected the two worlds, their blood mixing indistinguishably, the distance between them even more 'close' than in the previous fierce battle.

"General Zhou, you've miscalculated!"

Zhou, wearing a mask, raised two bright, shining eyes. "Oh, I'd like to hear more!"

"You know more about the inner workings of Daqian than anyone else, which is why you act so wary, as if you're afraid of facing either me or Dongfang Daqian. You even think that you can take advantage of our weakened state to launch a sneak attack, even if you have overwhelming strength. Heh heh, sneak attacks aren't exactly honorable!"

"It's not honorable, but it's very useful and saves effort."

Zhou readily admitted it, without a trace of shame in his tone.

"My struggle with Dongfang Daqian is a fight to the death. The fundamental reason is that there is only one Daqian. We both want to have it all, so we cannot tolerate the other living!"

"If it's a third party trying to usurp our position, they'll inevitably have to eliminate both of us at the same time. That's exactly what General Zhou is thinking!"

At this point, Zhou You paused, then smiled and said, "Have you ever considered that killing two people simultaneously, without any difference in timing or even the slightest difference, requires an extreme level of skill? Could a Martial Saint possibly do that?"

After a moment of silence, Zhou replied, "If it is a true Martial Saint, he can 'unite heaven and earth,' bringing together the four directions of space and time into one point, making time irrelevant, and thus he can achieve this."

"But you are not, you can't do it, so Dongfang Daqian is dead, but I am still alive!"

The answer will be revealed soon.

"Since I am alive and he is dead, does that mean I have become the only one of its kind in the world?"

Zhou You flipped his palm, and the Holy Artifact Dawn transformed into thousands of flame patterns that drilled into his pores. Then, he formed two completely different hand seals with his left and right hands respectively.

Strangely enough, the mudras on the left and right hands are very different in style and posture, but they give the impression of being twins.

"The Great Thousand Seals, today united as one, have achieved perfect completion!"

(End of this chapter)