Top-Tier Perception Starts From Basic Fist Techniques

Chapter 189.1: Void Incineration Showcased Its Power. Lu Changsheng Set Skeleton Mountain Ablaze and Crushed the Seven Dao Foundation Experts! (I)

"Hmm? Who's that?"

"Another one trying to stir things up? We've been fighting here all this time, and you show up now, trying to take the spoils for yourself? Quite the opportunist, huh?"

"Hmph, anyone who wants to get involved has to prove he's strong enough first!"

There were seven Dao Foundation experts besieging the three Skeleton Heavenly Demons. While each had mastered a Principle, only one of them had mastered the Mental Principle in particular. This Principle was extremely rare. Mental-attribute heavenly demons were already difficult to find, and martial artists who had mastered that Principle were even more so.

However, just because the other martial artists had not mastered the Mental Principle did not mean they had no use for the Skeleton Heavenly Demons. Perhaps they intended to exchange Skeleton Heavenly Demon Essence Blood for other kinds of Heavenly Demon Essence Blood, or perhaps they were trying to master a second Principle.

Ultimately, as long as it was a heavenly demon, it was incredibly precious. For Dao Foundation experts, there was no such thing as capturing too many heavenly demons. Even if they could not use one themselves, they could still trade its Heavenly Demon Essence Blood for something they needed.

The seven Dao Foundation experts each had their Principles quiver and extend over a large area. Anyone who wanted to enter this zone had to break through the blockade of Principles. Those who could not get past the barrier had no business getting involved to begin with.

Seeing this, Lu Changsheng merely gave a faint smile.

"Fire."

Woosh!

In an instant, the Fire Principle in Lu Changsheng’s Mind Space released a surge of flames. The fire swelled wildly and took the form of a blazing dragon, which slammed fiercely into the seven-layered Principle barrier.

Rumble...

The seven Dao Foundation experts were taken by surprise. Their Mind Spaces shook violently, and the barrier formed by the seven Principles was torn open in an instant. There had been no resistance at all.

"What? He pierced the barrier just like that?"

"That Fire Principle is crazy. How can that aura be so powerful?"

"He smashed open the barrier of seven Principles in one blow. Sure, we weren't using our Principles at full strength, but still... there's no way an ordinary Dao Foundation expert is capable of something like that. Even if he's grasped a Fire Principle, judging from its aura, his progress doesn't seem high. He probably only just comprehended it, so how can it have this much power?"

"Yeah, that Fire Principle is still at the initial stage, and yet its power is incredible. Just how strong is that guy's Mind Space?"

The seven Dao Foundation experts were all dumbfounded.

A Principle was only as powerful as its wielder's comprehension of it. Indeed, some Principles were exceptionally powerful on their own, but those were rare. In most cases, the power of the Principle was proportional to the mastery of the wielder. In the case of Lu Changsheng's Fire Principle, his progress was only at four percent, still far from Perfection.

However, there was another variable, namely the Mind Space. If the martial artist's Mind Space was particularly powerful, then the Principle contemplated within that space would naturally also be powerful.

That was exactly the case with Lu Changsheng's Fire Principle. The foundation of his Mind Space was exceptionally deep and solid. In fact, it was stronger than the Mind Space of any other Dao Foundation expert. As such, it was not surprising that his Fire Principle could release such destructive power.

Having breached the barrier of seven Principles, Lu Changsheng stepped into the zone the Dao Foundation experts had tried to seal off.

"Alright, you've proven yourself. You deserve the chance to fight for these three Skeleton Heavenly Demons!" grumbled one of the Dao Foundation experts with a solemn expression.

Indeed, it had become apparent to everyone that Lu Changsheng was no weakling—not with such a fearsome Principle.

Some said that a strong Mind Space made one strong at every step. In some sense, that was true: the Mind Space was indeed the foundation of a Dao Foundation martial artist. The more powerful the space began, the greater the Principle would become.

Now, it was finally time for Lu Changsheng to reap the rewards for the solid foundation he had laid for his Mind Space back at the Divine Treasury Realm. The power of his Mind Space was slowly becoming apparent to all.

However, Lu Changsheng paid no mind to the other Dao Foundation martial artists. His eyes were focused on the three Skeleton Heavenly Demons. Although the demons had been subdued, their mental shockwaves still surged out in vast, ceaseless waves, sweeping in every direction. That was why the seven Dao Foundation martial artists could only do so much as suppress them.

Even though these seven martial artists have the means to deal with mental shockwaves, they can only withstand them, barely.

As for how much strength they had left to deal with the three Skeleton Heavenly Demons, that was hard to say. Perhaps the fact that they had yet to take down the Three Skeleton Heavenly Demons, despite having formed a group of seven people, already said enough about their remaining strength—and about the fearsome mental shockwaves of those three Skeleton Heavenly Demons.

Lu Changsheng was also feeling the mental shockwaves, but with the support of his Mind Space, the Fire Principle directly absorbed nearly half of the impact. This alone proved that Principles could be somewhat efficient against mental attacks—the stronger the Principle, the stronger the resistance.

Even so, the remaining force of the impact was still tremendous.

Lu Changsheng acted almost on instinct. "Sever!"

The instant Lu Changsheng gave the command, the Golden Heart Sword in his Mind Space flew out and directly slashed the Skeleton Heavenly Demons' mental shockwaves. Then, the Heart Sword sank into the demons themselves, causing them to roar in agony.

The Golden Heart Sword proved to be quite effective. It had managed to instantly shut down the three Skeleton Heavenly Demons.

I'm not done.

Next, Lu Changsheng unleashed the Fire Principle. Like a mountain bearing down from above, the scorching flames descended in an instant and enveloped the three Skeleton Heavenly Demons.

Under the pressure of Lu Changsheng’s Fire Principle, they looked as if they were on the verge of collapse, but they did not collapse. They held on, which spoke volumes of their strength.

Not bad, but you won't be able to hold on for much longer.

Suddenly, furious roars echoed from the distance. Immediately after, massive skeleton demons emerged one after another, clawing their way up from underground like the dead waking up from a long slumber. Skeleton demons normally slept beneath the earth and only emerged when some great upheaval occurred.

At the sight of this, the expressions of the seven Dao Foundation martial artists changed at once.

"Shit! The skeleton demons have awakened!"

"They usually sleep underground. Why are they waking up now?"

"Did those three Skeleton Heavenly Demons wake them? But we already sealed the three Skeleton Heavenly Demons with our Principles. How could they still pull this off?"

"Could it be that when our Principles were torn open just now, the three Skeleton Heavenly Demons seized that instant and used the gap in the barrier to awaken the skeleton demons?"

"I guess so..."

For a moment, all seven of them turned toward Lu Changsheng.

In response, Lu Changsheng cast them a cold glance. "You guys have been fighting the Skeleton Heavenly Demons for so long, and you still haven't managed to subdue them. Now, I'll step up and get the job done. Who cares about some skeleton demons?"

With that, his Mind Space expanded.

Woosh!

The fierce flames surged forward and enveloped the skeleton demons.

Hah, my Fire Principle is the bane of their existence. This is probably the most efficient way to deal with them.

The fire swallowed the skeleton demons one after another. There were no ordinary flames, as they were released by the Fire Principle. According to people of the Immortal Dao, these would be considered Innate Spirit Flames.

The skeleton demons were trapped in a sea of fire, with no means to extinguish the raging flames. They were reduced to ashes in mere moments. Although these demons were not heavenly demons, they were still comparable to Dao Foundation experts, and yet they were utterly powerless against Lu Changsheng's Fire Principle.

Everyone stared at the scene with wide eyes. Lu Changsheng had wiped out countless skeleton demons all by himself.

"His Principle is terrifying..."

"How can the Fire Principle be this powerful? He obliterated all the skeleton demons by himself, just with one Principle..."

"It's not just because of the Principle itself. His Fire Principle is the perfect counter to the skeleton demons of Skeleton Mountain, and his Mind Space must also be extremely powerful. That's why his Fire Principle was so devastating just now."

"Yeah, but those three Skeleton Heavenly Demons probably won't go down that easily."

Gu Nian could hardly believe his eyes as he stared at the sea of fire engulfing every single skeleton demon. The Lu Changsheng he knew couldn't possibly dominate the entire Skeleton Mountain by himself. And yet, the truth was right in front of Gu Nian, and he had no choice but to accept it.

Is this the power of Principles?

The seven Dao Foundation experts had also become extremely vigilant. After all, they were directly competing with Lu Changsheng for the Skeleton Heavenly Demons, and his show of strength had undoubtedly intimidated them.

"I'll be taking these three Skeleton Heavenly Demons for myself. Do any of you want to fight me for them?" Lu Changsheng’s gaze swept across the seven Dao Foundation experts one by one.

Even though these Dao Foundation experts had all mastered Principles, they had nothing in their arsenal that could compete with someone who had effortlessly incinerated an army of skeleton demons.

"You want to take all three Skeleton Heavenly Demons by yourself?"

"Hmph, those three Skeleton Heavenly Demons aren't ordinary skeleton demons. Their mental shockwaves are tremendous. You really think you can handle all three by yourself, without the help of our Principles?"

"If you're so confident, go ahead and fight them. We'll stop subduing them!"

The seven Dao Foundation experts instantly reached an agreement. They weren't about to start fighting another martial artist when the Skeleton Heavenly Demons were not even properly subdued. Such fighting would be meaningless, and it would only benefit the three demons.

However, they weren't about to just concede the three Skeleton Heavenly Demons to Lu Changsheng either. Rather, they would wait for him to get overwhelmed and then step in to save him and finish the job. With that, Lu Changsheng would have no choice but to share the rewards with the rest of them.

If everything went well, the seven Dao Foundation experts would each get a share of the rewards without having to fight one another.