Chapter 45: Exposed Ident.i.ty
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The seventh stage of the Cast Tripod Realm?
Jiang Yunshe and Jiang Yunshan exchanged eye contact once again, but their eyes were filled with anger. If the previous Jiang Yi deserved the death sentence in their hearts; right now, they wished they could kill him a few dozen times.
They recalled that Jiang Yi mentioned he consumed the thousand-year blood ginseng to improve his strength. Right now, there was a huge suspicion that arose. How could a high-grade spirit herb like the thousand-year blood ginseng be consumed and refined by a martial artist at the first stage of the Cast Tripod Realm? Would his body burst from the sudden onset of the medicinal effects?
If it wasn’t the thousand-year blood ginseng, then it must be Jiang Yi who was hiding a lot of things. Had Jiang Yi been a descendant of the Jiang Clan and had that day’s incident not happened, the members of the Jiang Clan would be happy for him for his sudden increase in strength. But Jiang Yi had already been judged as an ingrate by the two of them. Hiding so many things from them, they felt that he had ulterior motives and deserved to be executed.
“536, nine consecutive victories!”
The veteran’s voice echoed again, which was followed by the ear-piercing arrogant voice of Jiang Yi, “Next!”
None of the audience cheered, it was rather a patch of silence. Even the fight on the other stages seemed to have halted. The ma.s.sive plaza had the echoes of Jiang Yi’s presumptuous voice.
No one went on stage; Ma Heiqi and the young masters of Ma Clan had twitching mouths but restrained themselves. Ma Gu already went and humiliated their clan; if another Ma clansman went up and lost again, it would be a huge blow to the morale and reputation to the Ma Clan. Most importantly, Jiang Yi’s strength was still an unknown, which everyone thought was just at the fourth stage of the Cast Tripod Realm. Who would dare to enter the stage carelessly without making sure?
“Let me do it then!”
A white figure floated onto the stage with legs that seemed to walk on air. He took around seven or eight steps to reach the stage. His elegant maneuvers invited the cheers from the audience.
Liu He!
Jiang Yi got a shock. Liu He was one of the top ten prodigies, and he actually came on stage at this early phase? If he had won, everyone would treat it as a norm; but if he were to lose, would he still have the shame to join the knock-out tournament later?
“Great! Clan Head Liu, your son is remarkably brave!”
An elder of the Leng Clan had a heartfelt sorrow while the rest of the people nodded in approval. Even the mentors and Deputy General took a few looks at Liu He. To enter the stage at the current juncture would mean either he was confident in his skills or he was a r.e.t.a.r.d. He who was a sixteen-year-old youth prodigy that had attained the eighth stage of the Cast Tripod Realm; could he really be a r.e.t.a.r.d?
“Hahaha!”
Clan Head Liu—Liu Feng—smiled slightly while cursing in his heart, thinking if Liu He’s brain had something wrong? Going on stage at this juncture? That Jiang Yi was full of unknowns… wouldn’t his reputation be thrown out of the window if Liu He lost?
Jiang Yi already had nine consecutive victories, and if he won against Liu He, it would be ten consecutive victories. Most importantly, Liu He was one of the strongest partic.i.p.ants, and if Jiang Yi could win against him, it would mean Jiang Yi had the chance to achieve 100 consecutive victories.
Every eye on the spectator’s stand was setting its sight on Jiang Yi’s stage. Most of the audience was looking over here, too. Many of them were rather excited for this match as they considered this fight to have the highest standards for today.
“Liu He, eighth stage of the Cast Tripod Realm. Brother Lone Wolf, please give me your guidance!”
As the eldest young master of Liu Clan, Liu He had an exceptional bearing, humble and poised. He bowed slightly at Jiang Yi with a calm face that had eyes filled with battle intent.
If others were polite to him, Jiang Yi would always return the favor. He withdrew his presumptuous behavior and nodded, “Lone Wolf, fourth stage of the Cast Tripod Realm. Brother Liu, please make your move!”
“Then I shall not hold back!”
As Liu He shouted, he stepped hard with one of his legs; and the entire stage shook slightly. His body darted towards Jiang Yi like the wind. Not only was his speed fast, but it also felt as though his body was floating in the air, making it hard to predict.
“Clear Breeze Dance!”
Jiang Yi’s pupils shrank as he quickly retreated to the side with eyes locking onto Liu He. He had sparred with the members of the Liu Clan and experienced the prowess of the Clear Breeze Dance personally. Liu He had a much higher cultivation stage than the other Liu clansman and could circulate this Clear Breeze Dance to an even more insane level.
This movement technique was a man-tier superior grade martial skill. When using this movement technique, it allowed the pract.i.tioner to become like the wind which was unable to be predicted. When someone was attacking the pract.i.tioner, he or she could float around like the wind and let all the other party’s attacks be in vain. But once he or she closed in on the enemy, the latter would be unable to get rid of his or her pursuit and could only wait for him or her to attack. This was why—when going against a member of the Liu Clan—one could not allow them to get near and had to find an opportunity to defeat them on a single strike.
Liu He was at the eighth stage of the Cast Tripod Realm while Jiang Yi was at the fourth stage of the Cast Tripod Realm. If Jiang Yi didn’t use his black essence force, would he be able to stop Liu He from entering melee range?
The answer was clear.
Liu He got within melee range quickly, and his long and fair hands came a.s.saulting. Jiang Yi frantically circulated the Gama Hands to withstand the a.s.sault. Every time their hands clashed, Jiang Yi would be forced back. He didn’t dare engross himself in battle frenzy and quickly tried to escape, but Liu He’s shadow pursued him like a phantom and constantly rained down palm strikes.
Pow! Pow! Pow!
The sound of essence force clas.h.i.+ng resonated constantly, which were caused by the countless exchanges between Jiang Yi and Liu He within a short period of time. But the situation was clear—Jiang Yi kept on dodging, and Liu He kept on attacking. It was obvious that Liu He hadn’t utilized his full strength, and Jiang Yi didn’t have the combat strength when he defeated Ma Gu. Jiang Yi got constantly forced to take steps back every time he clashed with Liu He; there were a few occasions where he almost got forced off the stage.
“Not bad. Clan Head Liu, your son is rather smart. He knows that 536 is crafty and full of schemes, so he chose to fight safely and is determined not to fall for any tricks. From what I see, Liu He will definitely win with ease!”
An elder of the Ma Clan who was on the spectator’s stand suddenly sang praises. Everyone present had great eyes, and they all nodded in agreement. It was obvious to them that Jiang Yi’s speed was getting slower, and his reaction speed was dropping, too. This was the sign of exhaustion that affected one’s performance, and it couldn’t be faked.
Doubts began to arise in everyone’s mind. Was Jiang Yi truly only at the fourth stage of the Cast Tripod Realm? If not, why would his performance be this inferior? The question was… how did he defeat Ma Gu earlier?
No one was able to discern Jiang Yi’s strength—not even the most formidable mentor or Ji Tian could. Furrowing their brows, they locked their sights on Jiang Yi and observed his every move.
Liu He could see Jiang Yi’s reaction, too. There were many chances for Liu He to force Jiang Yi off the stage, but he held himself back. Since Jiang Yi could win nine consecutive victories and effortlessly blasted Ma Gu off the stage, then his strength wasn’t limited to this. Since he already decided to deal with the unknown by playing it safe, he wanted the current situation to continue until Jiang Yi couldn’t tolerate any further and had to use his killer move.
Jiang Yi indeed couldn’t tolerate anymore. Both his hukou acupoints were injured, and his essence force was depleting. And yet Liu He remained flawless. If this carried on, he would be fated to lose. As his eyes glowed with brilliance, he finally decided to risk it all.
Black essence force!
Only six wisps of black essence forces were left in his dantian. Jiang Yi clenched his teeth and used one of the wisps to enhance his punching strength to the power of seven horses. He dodged Liu He’s attack and immediately released the Phantom Punch to attack Liu He’s head, left chest, and lower body.
“Finally couldn’t hold back anymore?”
Liu He’s eyes had a satisfied look as his body floated with the wind. Both his hands casually created a few palm prints and sent it to clash with Jiang Yi’s punches.
As expected, Jiang Yi’s punches got neutralized by Liu He. Jiang Yi’s attack speed was too slow, and three shadow punches were nothing to Liu He—even ten of these punches could be stopped.
“Bang!”
But Liu He felt weird because a huge shockwave made left his left hand in pain. His face turned serious when he saw Jiang Yi dashed with lightning speed. Getting a surprise, he immediately activated his maneuver skill to retreat. With his sharp eyes observing every move Jiang Yi made, he knew Jiang Yi was about to show his killer move.
“Phantom Punch!”
Jiang Yi let out an imposing presence. His eyes were terrifyingly bright, and both his hands made phantom fists at the same time. Six fists shrouded Liu He.
“Huh?”
Liu He found it odd while thinking if this was his killer move. He quickly floated back ways and countered Jiang Yi’s fists with a swarm of palm shadows. He cautiously prepared to deal with Jiang Yi’s killer move.
“Tsk Tsk!”
Suddenly, Liu He heard a subtle sound that surprised him. He swept his cold gaze at Jiang Yi’s right hand. When he saw a green dagger suddenly thrusting out from Jiang Yi’s hand, he tensed heart immediately got relief.
Things of the unknown instilled fear in men. But when Jiang Yi exposed his killer move, there was nothing else to be afraid of.
“Treasured Artifact? Hurhur!”
Seeing the weapon that had a green glow in the hands of Jiang Yi, Liu He could help but sneer. Liu Clan had their own Treasured Artifact too, but Liu He didn’t like to use weapons as their Liu Clan’s movement technique wasn’t suited for weapons. Instead of retreating, Liu He advanced and changed his palms into claws. The netherworld ghost claws transformed into shadows which extended towards Jiang Yi’s right hand.
Ghost Shadow Claw!
This was the man-tier superior-grade martial skill that made Liu Clan famous. When coupled with the Clear Breeze Dance, it became the perfect full-contact martial skill. Used to kill without any form, it became an easy task when used to disarm an opponent.
“Tsk!”
As expected by Liu He, he effortlessly grasped the wrist of Jiang Yi. Using his strength to clamp it, forcing Jiang Yi’s hand to loosen due to the pain. The essence force that was injected into the Treasured Artifact dropped off, too. Liu He just smiled slightly as his other hand swiftly reached out to grab the dagger and prepared to end this game.
“Huh? d.a.m.n it!”
Suddenly, Liu He felt a surge of intense insecurity. He abruptly turned and looked at Jiang Yi’s right hand and was appalled once he saw it. Jiang Yi’s right hand, which was restrained by him, suddenly had a surge of essence force. The essence force was so terrifying that it made Liu He’s spirit feel fear. That essence force was still oddly spinning in his palm; it was a blue essence force that had some glow of black light. It made the heart palpitate when one looked at it.
I got tricked! This was Lone Wolf’s true killer move!
Liu He awoke from the shock. He frantically retreated but realized it too late. With a twist of his right hand, Jiang Yi slammed his palm into Liu He’s left hand.
“Bang!”
The essence force explosion shuddered the entire surroundings, causing a layer of translucent ripple. Liu He’s body got sent flying by the blast. Jiang Yi’s body was also forced to step back by the strong shock wave. As Jiang Yi’s attack was meant to explode in Liu He’s direction, he didn’t suffer any injuries. Half of Liu He’s left arm turned into a b.l.o.o.d.y mess and exposed some white bones. It was obvious he suffered a severe injury.
“Clang!”
The crisp sound of the green dagger resonated as it fell on the ground; it echoed in the hearts of countless people. The faces of the audience turned solemn and respectful. Everyone initially a.s.sumed that Jiang Yi was just lucky and relied on schemes to attain victory. But right now, no one dared to doubt Jiang Yi’s strength.
Among all the partic.i.p.ants, except for Ji Tingyu and Jiang Henshui who was at the ninth stage of the Cast Tripod Realm, who could deal a severe injury to Liu He who had an insane movement technique?
“Green Destiny Sword!”
At this moment, countless teeth grinding could be heard. Most of the clansmen from Ma Clan—including the elders—all revealed killing intent in their eyes.
This green colored short sword artifact was named Green Destiny Sword. It was a sword that was bestowed by the Ma Clan to Ma Fei’s father. Some time ago, Ma Fei was crippled and had his Treasured Artifact s.n.a.t.c.hed. How could such a huge incident be hidden? Right now, the Green Destiny Sword reappeared, and Jiang Yi’s ident.i.ty was naturally exposed as well.