strokinit Chapter 440 Heavenly Ranking No. 1
Chapter 440 Heavenly Ranking No. 1
Chapter 440 First Place on the Heavenly Ranking
The Heavenly Ranking Dharma Body is dead!
It wasn't a defeat, it wasn't a serious injury, it was utter annihilation, a complete and utter destruction!
He died at the hands of Li Xijun, who had just advanced to the Dharma Body stage and was only about twenty years old!
Moreover, he was killed by a strange demonic blade that was never heard of before, specifically designed to counter Buddhism, and suspected of having activated the ancient forbidden power of "Buddha and Demon"!
The amount of information contained here is too explosive, too subversive, and too terrifying!
After a brief period of deathly silence came a completely out-of-control tsunami of souls that swept across the entire world!
"Master Liaokong—has he fallen? The third-ranked Arhat on the Heavenly Ranking—is dead?"
"Was it Star Lord Li Xijun who killed him? He used a demonic blade, drawing upon the power of both Buddha and demon?"
"Buddha and Demon—what are those? Even the Tathagata's Palm couldn't stop them?!"
"Complete annihilation of body and soul—absolutely no return to the cycle of reincarnation—this is the most complete death!"
"Li Xijun—not only has he become a Dharma Body, but he also possesses the terrifying power to kill Dharma Bodies of the same realm and—forbidden methods?!"
"The world is changing! The world is truly about to change!"
"Shaolin lost its Dharma Body, and its thousand-year-old prestige collapsed in an instant! Meanwhile, the Great Xia—has produced a ruthless star capable of killing even a veteran Dharma Body!"
Exclamations, horror, fear, ecstasy, bewilderment, and scheming—all sorts of emotions surged wildly in the hearts of countless people.
The leaders of the major powers changed their expressions drastically and began to reassess everything as quickly as possible.
Countless low-level martial artists and ordinary people were simply too shocked by the "Buddha-killing" feat to bear. In their minds, Li Xijun's image had become synonymous with "invincible," "forbidden," and "unfathomable."
The text on the golden canopy was not yet finished; the final judgment and commentary were about to begin:
In this battle, Li Xijun, a newcomer, reversed the situation and defeated a veteran Arhat, revealing a corner of the ancient Buddha-Demon secrets. His courage, combat power, and the power he wielded have all completely transcended the conventional realm.
[The celestial secrets resonated, the laws trembled, and the Heavenly Rankings were forever reordered!]
[The third-ranked Shaolin Arhat, Liao Kong, has fallen and been removed from the Heavenly Ranking.]
[Now, there is a star lord, Li Xijun, who has just attained the Dharma body. He has already slain an Arhat of the same realm outside the heavens. His power is terrifying, and his momentum is already established.]
[Heaven, in its judgment, has specially elevated him to the top of the Heavenly Ranking]
All eyes were fixed on the position that was about to appear.
How many? Third? Second? Or ———
A burst of golden light erupted, and three enormous characters, seemingly forged from stars and laws, bearing supreme pressure, were imprinted on the top of the sky, symbolizing the highest and most supreme place:
[First place!]
The number one on the Heavenly Ranking, Star Lord, is Li Xijun!
As a newcomer, he killed a god in one battle and directly ascended to the top of the Heavenly Ranking!
He replaced the position of Dao Jun, who had been recognized as the strongest in the world for hundreds of years!
This is not merely an acknowledgment of strength, but the highest assessment of its danger, potential, and disruptive nature by the Heavenly Dao. As the Book of Mortals nears its end, a final commentary from the Heavenly Dao, seemingly both a summary and a prophecy, resonates deeply, each word like the clash of swords, shaking the very core of one's being:
[Comment:]
[The demonic sword is drawn, the Buddhist kingdom falls; darkness descends upon the world, and the Arhats grieve!]
[A celestial slash severs cause and effect; from this day forward, the Star Lord reigns supreme over the universe!]
The sixteen-character commentary perfectly captured the strangeness of the battle, the uniqueness of Li Xijun's laws, and the terrifying power of that earth-shattering strike. It also predicted that after this battle, Li Xijun's name would truly possess unparalleled weight to intimidate the world!
"Boom!"
The golden sky slowly faded away, and the overwhelming pressure of the Heavenly Dao that covered the universe receded like a tide.
The sun shone again on the earth, and the sky returned to its azure blue.
It was as if the earth-shattering scene that had just enveloped the entire world, proclaimed the fall of the Dharma Body, and changed the Heavenly Ranking was just a collective illusion.
But everyone knows that's not the case.
The faint, lingering sense of desolation and Buddhist sorrow in the world, along with the golden characters and profound shock deeply imprinted on their souls, constantly reminded them that an old era was slowly coming to an end with the fall of Arhat Liaokong.
And a new era, more magnificent and more fraught with danger, centered on the name of Li Xijun, has been opened with a bang by the sword that severed his Dharma body!
At the foot of Mount Song, in the deathly silent Suxin Tower, a teacup in someone's hand suddenly fell to the ground with a "crack" and shattered into pieces.
The sound seemed to awaken everyone who had been stunned.
Countless gazes, filled with unparalleled fear, awe, and a hint of bewilderment, slowly turned toward the summit of Mount Song, toward the direction from which the one who had just been personally recognized by the Heavenly Dao as the number one on the Heavenly Ranking was about to return.
At this moment, in the void beyond the heavens.
Li Xijun withdrew his gaze from the now-vanished golden sky, his face expressionless.
For him, the announcement of the Book of Mortals was nothing more than a confirmation of established facts.
In the present world, the great changes have not yet occurred, and these Dharma Bodies cannot fully exert their power. I am a fully realized Martial Saint who wields the original dark laws. Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that my combat power surpasses that of these Dharma Bodies on the Heavenly Ranking.
However, after a few months, when the world undergoes a great change and all restrictions are lifted, Li Xijun estimates that his combat power is inferior to that of the true number one Dao Lord on the Heavenly Ranking, and even to the other Dharma Bodies who have been on the Heavenly Ranking for hundreds of years.
"But no matter what, for the past few months, I've been number one on the Heavenly Ranking, number one in the world!"
He took a step forward, his figure transforming into a dark stream of light that seemed capable of swallowing up light, swooping down towards the Shaolin Temple below, which had lost its greatest support and was plunged into apocalyptic panic.
The real reckoning has only just begun.
A dark, flowing light descended from the heavens silently, yet in the instant it landed, it absorbed the last trace of noise and light in front of the mountain gate.
Li Xijun's figure reappeared clearly on the open ground, which had been smoothed by the power of the laws and was as smooth as a mirror.
Less than an hour later, he stood there again, but the atmosphere had completely changed.
There was deathly silence in front of the mountain gate.
It was not the intimidating silence of before, but a silence mixed with extreme awe, deep-seated fear, and bewildered silence as if one's fate was no longer in one's own hands.
Everyone's heads were bowed low, their gazes only touching the ground or their own trembling toes.
Inside and outside Suxin Tower, all the martial arts heroes who had been talking loudly, the merchants who had come and gone, and even the shop assistants who had been secretly peeking out, were now holding their breath and not daring to breathe loudly, for fear that the slightest extra sound would attract the attention of that tall Dharma master.
They no longer harbored any curiosity, discussion, or stance; only the purest form of submission remained in their hearts.
An even more breathtaking sight appeared in the direction of Shaolin Temple.
The heavy mountain gate, which has witnessed a thousand years of wind and rain and symbolizes the majesty of Buddhism, is now wide open.
Inside the gate, led by the few remaining grandmasters, including the head of the Bodhidharma Academy and the head of the Discipline Academy, followed by the elders, deacons, and elite disciples of each hall and academy—a dense, dark mass of several hundred people—filed out in single file.
There was no resistance, no questioning, no chanting of Buddhist prayers.
These usually respected and revered Buddhist monks now looked utterly defeated and despairing.
They walked to the edge of the open space in front of the mountain gate, and under the gaze of countless complex eyes, they knelt down in unison and without hesitation in the direction of Li Xijun, pressing their foreheads deeply into the cold stone slabs or soil, performing the most solemn kowtow in the world.
The humility he displayed was unprecedented.
The arrogant Shaolin lay disciples who had been in the restaurant earlier were now mixed in with the crowd, their faces ashen and their bodies trembling like leaves. They were no longer the arrogant figures they had been earlier.