Chapter 2073: Master Kong Escapes

"Of course!"

Gone was his earlier scholarly grace; Master Kong stared back with ferocity and aggression: "Why not? Tell me, in what way am I not?"

"Master Kong embraces all things—how could you do something like this!"

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Though he had never truly met Master Kong, he had heard of his deeds, followed his legacy from the Master Teacher Academy, and felt his power. Feigning for a moment was nothing, but no one could feign forever!

Even Jiang Biehe could not!

"Embraces all things? Ha! Once I kill you, everyone will still think I embrace all things!"

With a cold laugh, Master Kong wasted no more words; his incantation quickened, and the flames on the altar seemed ready to devour Zhang Xuan entirely.

"I always thought you were an idol worthy of my lifelong respect. I never imagined that meeting you in person would be so disappointing..."

Zhang Xuan, engulfed in flames, did not panic; he shook his head, a look of regret on his face.

"Your Library of Heaven's Path will soon appear on me, and you, having lost control of the Heavenly Dao, will be crushed by its laws into dust... This should be your last lament!"

Master Kong said dismissively.

The other practiced the Heavenly Dao technique, protected by the Library of Heaven's Path from harm. Once the library left, he would immediately be crushed by the laws—surviving? Impossible!

"Last lament? Not necessarily..."

A voice sighed.

Master Kong was startled; he clearly saw that Zhang Xuan in the flames had not opened his mouth. Where did the voice come from?

He quickly looked and saw another Zhang Xuan not far away, his face full of deep disappointment.

He had always regarded Master Kong as his goal and idol, but now that he had met the real person, his conduct and character were like this!

"You... you..."

Another Zhang Xuan had appeared; Master Kong was filled with disbelief.

"The Divine Temple has been trying to capture me. How could I enter without preparing in advance? That was just my clone..."

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Before the Heavenly Bridge set out to find the Divine Temple, he had hidden his true body in a spatial ring and sent out his clone.

That was why, when Master Kong took him through space, he could be squeezed flat without injury.

As for using the library earlier and the increase of gray energy in his body, that was merely borrowing the power of the true body's witch soul!

He had disguised himself and followed the other's arrangements, hoping only to find answers. But when the real answer came, it was unbearably painful.

"Very good, very good. Truly the one chosen by the Heavenly Dao—not so simple. It seems I underestimated you..." Master Kong realized. "But since the true body has appeared, don't think of leaving. Do you believe you can still escape safely now?"

Boom!

With a light step, Master Kong walked out of the flames. His powerful aura surged through the hall, as if space itself could not bear it and might collapse at any moment.

In the Divine Temple, he had withstood eight pseudo-god experts with a single move; his strength was more than double Zhang Xuan's!

"Since I dared to come out, I naturally didn't plan to leave so soon..." Zhang Xuan shook his head. "Since we're going to fight anyway, let me ask one last thing... Has the Divine Temple already fallen under your control?"

From Fushenzi to the previous phantom Divine Temple Master, this man's shadow was everywhere.

"The Divine Temple Master and the former Divine Temple warriors have been killed cleanly by me. They were butchers suppressing the Upper Firmament—they deserved to die! I am only seeking a way out for the Upper Firmament. I am not wrong, I have never done wrong! Now, whether it's the Divine Temple or the Tongtian Temple, both are under my control... Even if you weren't here, you couldn't escape my pursuit!"

Master Kong gritted his teeth.

The so-called phantom Divine Temple Master was him; the one who captured Du Qingyuan was also him.

His goal was to seize Zhang Xuan's Library of Heaven's Path and make it his own.

"I have no more questions..."

Zhang Xuan said no more, turning to look at the clone trapped on the altar: "Hurry up and get out!"

"Got it!"

The clone gently shook, becoming as soft as noodles; the next moment, he slipped out of the binding chains and landed before Zhang Xuan.

At the same time, he released his inner power; all his acupoints hummed, and like Master Kong opposite him, he had also reached the pseudo-god realm!

Whoosh!

Then, the Xuanbei Turtle, the three Jiaosha brothers, the Jiaolong, and other spirit beasts, along with many weapons, all flew out and hovered in the air.

"Very good, you certainly have many trump cards..."

Master Kong smiled faintly. "But against me, they still fall short!"

As he spoke, he stepped forward, flipped his palm, and pressed down. The Xuanbei Turtle, the three Jiaosha brothers, the Jiaolong, and the other beasts were instantly pinned to the ground, unable to move.

Though also pseudo-gods, these beast pets were far inferior to him.

"In your eyes, they fall short; in my eyes, you're nothing special either!"

The clone sneered, and with a "whoosh," he appeared before Master Kong, raising his fist and striking directly.

Bang! Bang!

They clashed, and space around them shattered continuously.

At the same level, even Zhang Xuan could not defeat the clone. Now that the clone had advanced to the pseudo-god realm, he was not at all inferior to Master Kong. Coupled with his undying body, even the mighty Master Kong could not overcome him in a short time.

"How can a clone of yours be so strong?"

After several exchanges, Master Kong could not believe it.

He had been watching the other since he entered the Upper Firmament. Though several encirclements had failed, he knew well his true strength.

When had a clone appeared, and... so powerful?

He had lived for thousands of years, standing at the pinnacle of the Upper Firmament, unmatched. Otherwise, how could he have slaughtered the Divine Temple's experts and taken their place?

Yet even so, he could not defeat this clone...

What was going on?

"Attack together!"

Ignoring his shock, the clone pointed a finger, lifting the array suppression around them. The many pseudo-god spirit beasts stood up again.

Boom!

Eight pseudo-god spirit beasts and over a dozen pseudo-god weapons formed a great formation and attacked in unison. Master Kong, already locked in a stalemate with the clone, could not withstand so many experts.

With one blow, he was struck in the chest, sent flying, and crashed heavily to the ground.

"Kill him..."

Seizing the advantage, the clone charged again, another fist hurtling toward him.

The force was profound, as if to crush space itself.

"If I hadn't been suppressed by him for thousands of years and not fully recovered, and had to divert power to unseal the Divine Temple, do you think you could have hurt me? Hmph, even so, this is my domain. Want to kill me? No way..."

Whoosh!

With a slight shake, Master Kong tore through space and vanished, leaving the hall empty, with no trace of him.

"Quick, leave!"

Seeing him disappear, Zhang Xuan's pupils contracted, and he swept his hand.

In an instant, all the weapons and spirit beasts vanished; the next moment, he too disappeared, entering the clone's storage ring.

Whoosh!

The clone dashed in one direction.

That was the weak point of the hall's array, which the true body had communicated to him.

Boom!

Just as he reached the spot, before he could fully escape, the hall exploded. The immense force surged out, as if to tear heaven and earth apart.

The clone, still within range, was sliced in two by a dark spatial rift.

Whoosh!

After the explosion, the two halves of the clone reconnected and continued flying forward.

Fortunately, it was him. If it had been Zhang Xuan, he would have been killed instantly.

"To have set such a powerful destruction array in his lair—ruthless enough..."

Zhang Xuan appeared beside the clone, looking at the space now like ruins, his scalp tingling.

If he hadn't reacted quickly and entered the storage ring, he might have been annihilated along with the space.

"Search for where he went. We must not let him escape..."

He ordered.

The clone nodded and looked around.

With the hall's explosion, the Tongtian Temple headquarters was mostly destroyed. The surroundings were empty—whether no one had been there before or all had died was unclear.

"He's probably already fled..."

After circling and finding no trace of Master Kong, the clone came over and said.

Master Kong was indeed powerful, but a clone alone was nearly his equal. With so many pseudo-god spirit beasts and weapons, it was indeed hard for him to win.

So, after detonating the hall, he had simply fled.

Zhang Xuan was filled with helplessness.

He too could not detect the other's aura; it seemed, as the clone said, he had truly fled!

But... Master Kong fleeing? He would never have imagined it before!

This was the teacher of ages, the true foremost figure of the Master Teacher Continent. In tens of thousands of years of history, no one had dared to deny or erase his existence... To meet him in person and find him corrupted, in such a state!

He would never have imagined it before!

Even if he sent this news back, the Master Teacher Academy and the Hundred Schools of Thought would likely charge him with slander and make him their greatest enemy!

"Your pendant..."

The clone looked at him.

Master Kong had fled, but the pendant was still in his hands...

"That was a fake. Actually, after Fushenzi appeared, I suspected something was wrong with the Tongtian Temple... Otherwise, I wouldn't have let you go to the Divine Temple in my place."

Zhang Xuan smiled.

From Fushenzi onward, he had suspected Master Kong. Though he dared not say it aloud, he had his guesses. Given that, how could he have given the real pendant to the other?

When Luo Ruoxin gave it to him, she had repeatedly warned him not to take it off. He wasn't foolish enough to actually give it away to lure the other into a trap.

"A fake? And it fooled Master Kong?"

The clone was startled.

He hadn't known about this; the true body had never discussed it with him.

It seemed that anything involving Luo Ruoxin, the true body did not share with him.

"I find it strange too... It seems he doesn't know where this pendant comes from or what power it holds."

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

To be honest, this fake pendant contained his essence blood. He had thought it wouldn't fool the other, but unexpectedly, Master Kong hadn't seen through it.

It seemed that the Heavenly Order the other controlled could not identify the authenticity or flaws of items like the Library of Heaven's Path could.

Just as he was puzzled, a voice sounded in his ear.

"Haven't you noticed?"

It was the ruthless man who had just broken through to the pseudo-god realm using the platform's energy.

"What?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

"He... is not the real Master Kong!" said the ruthless man.