I am a true person!

As the two separated once more, Zhang Lingyu was actually panting a little. He stared straight at his opponent.

"What exactly have you comprehended?"

He asked the question that everyone present was dying to know the answer to.

At those words, everyone fell silent, as though someone had pressed a mute button on them all. They wanted only to hear how the man before them would answer.

Zhuge Qing and Wang Ye activated Listening to the Wind simultaneously, ready to listen with utmost care.

Wang Zhuo wore the hint of a smile. "Didn't I already tell you?"

"Following the Dao merely exhausts an ordinary man's lifespan; only defying heaven proves the truth of returning to the origin."

"Why not verify it yourself?"

Zhang Lingyu clenched his fists, the corners of his mouth rising uncontrollably. "All right!"

Zhang Zhiwei looked down at the match and said slowly, "Being forced to use Yin Five Thunders in front of everyone... not bad."

His appraisal of "not bad" came after he saw Zhang Lingyu smile.

Watching his opponent, who had remained carefree and at ease from the very beginning, Zhang Lingyu could not help voicing the question in his heart.

"Liu Guanyi, have you ever regretted anything?"

Everyone present was struck speechless by this sudden question.

"Regretted?"

Wang Zhuo fell silent for a moment before saying, "I'm willing to bear the consequences of my mistakes, but I never regret any decision I make!"

"I never doubt myself. When things don't go as I wish, it's simply because my own abilities fall short, whether in experience, understanding, human nature, selfhood, and so on..."

"And no one can get every step right. If you chose wrong, you chose wrong. There's no need to look back, no need for regret, and no need to condemn who you were then."

"Because I know full well that even if I returned to the past, with the understanding and thoughts I had then, and my shallow grasp of human nature, I would still do the same thing."

"So there's nothing to regret. I'm willing to pay the price for everything I've done."

"And there's nothing to blame myself for!"

"I've always believed that the people I meet and the regrets left behind are all things I'm meant to experience."

"Right and wrong aren't determined by the heart. There will never be a correct path in this world."

"To make your choices right, you must believe in every choice you make in the moment."

"What do other people's opinions and insults matter to me? I hold fast to my convictions. Even if I love the wrong person or take the wrong road, I will have neither resentment nor regret!"

"I have a true nature. I am a true person!"

"Because I know full well-"

"Life is like a game of chess. Once a piece is placed, there are no regrets."

By the time he reached this point, everyone who had heard him was silent. The entire arena was deathly still.

They pondered and reflected on the meaning of his words, thinking of the decisions they had once made that they now regretted.

Hearing a different perspective now, they suddenly found themselves in an entirely new state of mind.

Yes.

Such was life. Once a piece was placed, there were no regrets.

Why torment themselves with regret over the past?

Zhang Lingyu felt as though the gloom in his chest had been forcibly shattered. He stood frozen in place, unable to recover for a long time.

"Once a piece is placed, there are no regrets..."

In the stands, many more emotions stirred in Xia He's heart: joy, hatred, jealousy, and, more than anything else, worry.

Zhang Lingyu came to his senses and saluted his opponent with cupped hands. "Brother Liu, hearing your words was like attaining enlightenment. I was attached to appearances, trapped in a prison of my own making."

"You're too kind."

Wang Zhuo smiled calmly, but inwardly thought, How could anyone read that without becoming demonic?

"I have truly learned from you. Next, I will strike with all my strength!"

Zhang Lingyu circulated Water Viscera Thunder at full power, sending the black watery lightning sweeping forth.

Wang Zhuo raised a hand, and countless blades of grass grew wildly, attacking as though possessed of intelligence and battling the watery lightning covering the ground.

Yin Thunder erupted beneath Zhang Lingyu's feet. He forcibly broke free of the weeds and swiftly put distance between himself and his opponent.

His gray-black Water Viscera Thunder Qi slowly coiled around his fingertips as he said quietly, "Brother Liu, forgive me."

Before his words had faded, Wang Zhuo stepped forward first, driving a Xingyi Bengquan straight at his face.

With a sweep of his right hand's sword fingers, he activated the Woods-Woods Fruit's power, and green vines locked Zhang Lingyu's arm in place.

Lightning burst from Zhang Lingyu's body as he forcibly tore free of the vines.

He deployed the Ghostly Shadows movement technique, shifting with a dragon's stride and a tiger's transformations as he swept out a Cotton Palm.

Water Viscera Thunder instantly shattered the grass, plants, and green vines. He closed in with that momentum, seizing the chance to catch Wang Zhuo's wrist with Cloud-Seeking Hand.

Wang Zhuo sank his shoulder and redirected his force, unleashing Baji Mountain-Leaning Strike.

The spleen's earth Qi strengthened his body as he slammed into his opponent, the tremendous force sending Zhang Lingyu staggering backward.

"What a powerful body." Zhang Lingyu's gaze sharpened slightly as he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"You've got some fine moves yourself!"

Wang Zhuo pressed his advantage, swinging his arms in broad, sweeping motions as he unleashed successive Pigua Palms. His lungs' metal Qi transformed into several wind blades that sliced through the air toward Zhang Lingyu from all sides.

Zhang Lingyu crossed his arms, blocking the wind blades with Cross Hands. Layer upon layer of gray-black lightning Qi resisted them, and the wind blades shattered continuously against the lightning Qi barrier.

Taking advantage of the moment when the wind blades obscured his opponent's vision, Zhang Lingyu suddenly drove off his feet and lunged forward, his Tiger Claw Hand reaching for Wang Zhuo's left shoulder.

Wang Zhuo swiftly turned sideways and rotated his Tai Chi Cloud Hands. His kidneys' water Qi circulated throughout his body as he attempted to deflect the force of the claw.

The two instantly became locked in close combat, palm shadows flying as the five elemental Qi of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth clashed repeatedly with Yin Five Thunders.

Hidden Dragon's eyes bulged, his expression as though he had seen a ghost. "Holy shit..."

"What kind of battle between immortals is this? This is fucking absurd knocking on absurd's door-absurdity's come home!"

The spectators' jaws dropped as well. It was an eye-opening sight for every one of them.

Who could cycle the five elements so smoothly with every breath?

They had never even heard of such a cultivation method, let alone witnessed one.

Wang Zhuo stirred his heart's fire, and flames blasted forth, scorching palm force bearing straight down on Zhang Lingyu's chest.

Zhang Lingyu forced his vital points aside. The palm force grazed his arm, instantly charring his robe black.

After several fierce assaults, the five-element cycle inside Wang Zhuo was strained by the continuous exchanges of attack and defense.

This is the moment! A sharp gleam flashed in Zhang Lingyu's eyes. Holding nothing back, he slipped in front of Wang Zhuo like a shadow, gathering all the Water Viscera Thunder throughout his body into his right palm.

Cloud-Piercing Palm!

There were no elaborate variations, only a palm thrust straight ahead.

The gray-black lightning Qi at the tip of his palm, bearing the power of Yin Five Thunders, abruptly pierced forward.

With a dull thud, his hand went straight through Wang Zhuo's chest.

The fighting platform instantly fell silent.

Zhang Lingyu's pupils contracted sharply. "I... you?!"

"Hahaha~ This really is interesting~~~"

Smiling, Wang Zhuo lowered his eyes to the hand that had pierced his chest. There was not a trace of blood, as though it had passed through a cloud.

"Three Flowers Gather at the Crown is but an illusion; the auspicious clouds beneath one's feet are no more real!"

The next instant, a vast white mist rose around him.

His flesh, blood, sinews, and bones began rising into the air like curling cooking smoke.

Bit by bit, he transformed into flowing Qi mist.

It was just like Zuo Ruotong performing Threefold Reversal all those years ago.

The radiant mist continually grew insubstantial, deconstructed, and reassembled. His solid body gradually dispersed, becoming a cloud of flowing Qi.

The radiant mist constantly changed colors, its form drifting unpredictably.

Azure, crimson, yellow, white, black!

Faint five-colored light flickered into view, slowly circulating along the five-element heavenly circuit.

Zhang Lingyu abruptly retreated, staring in utter disbelief at the radiant mist in the sky.

Everyone present watched only the golden, humanoid mist slowly taking shape amid the five-colored threads of light suspended in midair, drifting on the wind.

Transformed into radiant mist, he soared into the sky!