Chapter 977: Combat Masters
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
The young lady whom Zhou Ye had chosen was none other than Yu Fei-er.
She had been with Zhang Xuan for two months while he was undergoing the Empire Building test, cultivating diligently under the other party"s guidance. To date, her cultivation had already reached Chrysalis realm pinnacle, and her fighting prowess was even more fearsome. The reason she had gone to the Xuanxuan Faction was to have a chat with Zhang Xuan, but who knew that the latter would just turn around and leave? She was already frustrated by this matter, so when she heard that someone was foolish enough to actually challenge her to a duel, she agreed to it.
Having been brought up in a doting environment, Yu Fei-er tended to allow her emotions to dictate her actions. No matter who he was, as long as the other party had provoked her, she would pummel him unhesitatingly!
She wasn"t an official member of the Xuanxuan Faction, but given her close relations.h.i.+p with Zhang Xuan, there was no one in the Xuanxuan Faction who considered her an outsider.
"Yu Fei-er? What a beautiful name!" Zhou Ye remarked with a fine smile.
"Let"s begin!" Yu Fei-er couldn"t be bothered to waste her breath with the other party, so she raised her hand coldly and beckoned for the other party to begin.
"Sure, let"s begin!" Zhou Ye nodded excitedly. With a confident glint in his eyes, he said, "Since we are only sparring, I think there is no need to use weapons. It will be bad if we accidentally injure one another. Don"t worry, I will try my best not to injure you…"
To be able to reach Chrysalis realm at such a young age, the other party was indubitably a talented individual. However, he, Zhou Ye, was not an easy opponent either!
So what if she was from the Xuanxuan Faction as well?
He might not be a match for Zheng Yang, Wei Ruyan, and the others, but he didn"t believe that he would lose twice to opponents who had only sat through an afternoon lecture from Princ.i.p.al Zhang.
Hu!
With such thoughts in mind, Zhou Ye stepped forcefully against the ground and began charging toward the young lady.
Driving his zhenqi furiously to gather his full strength, a loud rumbling reminiscent of thunder boomed from his palm.
Upon seeing that sight, Liao Song nodded in approval. "Sevenstar Thunder Palm! Zhou Ye sure isn"t going easy on the other party at all."
Perhaps due to the loss he had suffered the previous time around, he didn"t go easy on his opponent just because she was a lady. Instead, he was proceeding more careful than ever. In the very first move, he had already executed his strongest attack.
The Sevenstar Thunder Palm made use of seven acupoints on one"s palm in order to construct the Sevenstar Formation to harness one"s zhenqi with the might of thunder. It was a Spirit pinnacle battle technique, and even Half-Saint cultivators would have to flee before this technique, needless to say, a delicate young lady like the other party.
On the other hand, the unbelievably beautiful young lady remained completely motionless on the spot, seemingly scared out of her wits by the incredible momentum of Zhou Ye"s attack.
Frowning, Zhou Ye exclaimed in alarm, "Be careful…"
But before he could finish his words, the young lady before him suddenly flicked the delicate sleeves of her robe.
"What is she doing…"
Just as Zhou Ye was perplexed as to why the other party would abruptly flick her sleeves in the middle of the battle, his entire body suddenly jolted. An unbelievable force reminiscent of a devastating hurricane was rus.h.i.+ng right toward him.
Hu la!
Before he could fully exert the might of the Sevenstar Thunder Palm, it was extinguished like a candle flame amid a storm. Following which, he felt a dull pain in his chest, and with a cry of agony, he was knocked out of the dueling ring.
Putong!
He collapsed on the ground.
"This…" Liao Song and Zhuo Qingfeng glanced at one another, and their bodies stiffened in astonishment.
How could that young lady possess such fearsome strength?
They had once crossed hands with the members of the Xuanxuan Faction on a previous occasion, and the opponents they had faced did possess combat sense far greater than theirs. But in terms of strength, their combat masters had still held the upper hand.
Yet, the sheer might from a casual flick of the young lady"s sleeves had actually sent Zhou Ye flying… Just how powerful was she?
This was way too exaggerated!
After knocking Zhou Ye out, Yu Fei-er turned to Liao Song and the others and said, "Suppress your cultivation down to my level and come at me all at once!"
She was already unhappy at having been deprived the opportunity of speaking to Zhang Xuan, and these fellows had actually provoked her at such a sensitive moment. They were simply courting death!
Who of Hongyuan Empire didn"t know that she, Yu Fei-er, had an explosive temper? She was never one to hold herself back. A bunch of puny combat masters actually dared to provoke her while she was in a bad mood. If she didn"t knock the teeth out of their mouths, her surname wouldn"t be Yu!
"What an arrogant woman. Allow me to teach her a lesson!" Hearing Yu Fei-er"s words, a Chrysalis realm combat master couldn"t stand it any longer and leaped onto the dueling ring.
However, before he could even land on the ground, a figure abruptly materialized before his eyes, and in the next instant, a palm struck his chest.
Peng!
Before he could even get onto the dueling ring, he had already been pounded into the ground, coughing huge spurts of blood.
She had been listening to Zhang Xuan"s lessons every single day in the two months she had accompanied him. The result of that was a tremendous surge in her cultivation, as well as a frightening growth in her fighting prowess.
"d.a.m.n you!" Seeing how their companion had been knocked down before he could even get on the dueling ring, the other combat masters were enraged.
Roaring furiously, they suppressed their cultivation to Chrysalis realm pinnacle and charged forward.
"Why don"t you try speaking with your fists instead of your mouth?" Paying no heed to the furious roaring of the combat masters, Yu Fei-er leaped forward and dashed into the midst of the combat masters.
Pili pala!
Ten minutes later, other than Liao Song and Zhuo Qingfeng, the remaining combat masters were lying on the ground with looks of despair in their eyes.
Many of them possessed strength beyond Chrysalis realm, but with their cultivation suppressed to Chrysalis realm pinnacle, they found themselves being severely outmatched by the young lady. In fact… they couldn"t even withstand a single blow from the other party!
The young lady was indeed beautiful, but she felt like a rampaging dinosaur shaped in the form of a human. The overwhelming strength that she wielded was far beyond their means!
Staring at his fallen subordinates, Liao Song clenched his fists tightly. "You aren"t an ordinary member of the Xuanxuan Faction, are you?"
He had met the ordinary members of the Xuanxuan Faction, and while they weren"t weak either, they were nowhere as fearsome as the rampaging young lady before his eyes. Even compared to Zheng Yang and the others, she didn"t pale far in comparison.
There was no way a single lecture or two from Princ.i.p.al Zhang could make her that powerful!
With such thoughts in mind, Liao Song asked, "If I am not mistaken, you… are Princ.i.p.al Zhang"s student, aren"t you? Otherwise, there is no way you can be that powerful…"
"You are the one who is Princ.i.p.al Zhang"s student, your entire family is Princ.i.p.al Zhang"s students!" Triggered, Yu Fei-er bellowed furiously as she charged straight toward Liao Song.
At this moment, the words that she dreaded to hear the most were that she was Zhang Xuan"s student. If such a relations.h.i.+p between the both of them were to be affirmed, she would have to sever all of those thoughts of hers.
Yet, that fellow just had to pick right at her wounds. Unforgivable!
"You…" Not expecting the other party to fly into such a rage at a casual question from him, Liao Song nearly keeled over. He hurriedly dodged the attack and began suppressing his cultivation down to the other party"s level. Shortly after he did so, he saw the young lady"s palm raining down on him frenziedly.
"Liao s.h.i.+…" Upon seeing this sight, Zhuo Qingfeng couldn"t help but turn his gaze away.
No doubt about it, his old friend was in for a round of suffering.
And as expected, five minutes later…
Liao Song"s entire body was swollen red, and his face was ghastly paled.
Even after suppressing his cultivation to Chrysalis realm, his fighting prowess was still on par with that young lady"s. But… it was as if that young lady had completely lost her rationality! Without any care or concern, she threw out blow after blow in quick succession. Even with his strength, it didn"t take long for him to succ.u.mb.
It was fortunate that he had managed to protect his face right to the very end. Otherwise, he would have no face to face the others for many days to come.
"Humph!" After venting her frustration, Yu Fei-er tilted her face upwards and harrumphed before turning around to leave.
Right after she left, Hu Yaoyao walked into the headquarters with an expectant look. "Is Princ.i.p.al Zhang around?"
"Princ.i.p.al Zhang isn"t around, but the members of the Combat Master Hall are. Does Senior Hu want to try fighting them?" Ruohuan gongzi replied respectfully.
"There are combat masters here? Sure…"
A ravis.h.i.+ng smile blossomed on Hu Yaoyao"s lips.
…
With the combat masters tempering the fighting capabilities of the members of the Xuanxuan Faction, Zhang Xuan could finally put his mind to ease. He returned to the manor to take a look at Wei Ruyan. After confirming that he had managed to suppress the poison aura within her body for the time being, he heaved a sigh of relief.
After which, he had Sun Qiang gather w.a.n.g Ying and the others.
"Teacher…"
w.a.n.g Ying and the others greeted upon seeing Zhang Xuan.
"I am going to take Wei Ruyan to Jingyuan City to uncover the whereabouts of the Poison Hall. Here are several manuals containing the cultivation techniques and comprehension of battle techniques I have compiled. Read through them quickly and voice whatever doubts you have regarding them now!"
Flicking his wrist, Zhang Xuan took out a few books and pa.s.sed them over.
On the way back from the academy, he had quickly penned down his newfound comprehension of the Saint Ascension Decipher and several new insights regarding battle techniques.
He had no idea how long he would be gone for, so he decided to leave these items for them so that his departure wouldn"t impede their cultivation.
"Yes!" w.a.n.g Ying and the others nodded before hurriedly taking the books.
The knowledge contained in the books was very profound, but having learned the Saint Ascension Decipher, it didn"t take too long for them to comprehend it. Within less than six hours, they had already gained a deep understanding of the material.
Zhang Xuan also explained the parts that they were uncertain about in detail.
By the time they were done, it was already late at night.
"Alright. w.a.n.g Ying and Liu Yang, you will be challenging the Dragon Gate Formation tomorrow, so make sure to internalize what I have taught you today," Zhang Xuan instructed.
One of the reasons he was in such a rush to teach them was to prepare w.a.n.g Ying and Liu Yang for the Dragon Gate Formation.
He had never seen it before, but after hearing Zheng Yang"s account on clearing the trial, he could tell that it wouldn"t be easy.
w.a.n.g Ying and Liu Yang had become his students rather early on, and they were diligent in their studies as well, but with their current strength, it would be difficult for them to clear such a difficult trial within two hours without resorting to special means like Zheng Yang.
However, if they could further their cultivation of the Saint Ascension Decipher and deepen their comprehension of combat, they could stand a pretty good chance.
"Yes!" w.a.n.g Ying and Liu Yang nodded before turning their attention back to internalizing the knowledge they had just learnt.
Some time later, they finally managed to fully digest the new knowledge that their teacher had imparted to them, and their fighting prowess rose significantly.
Getting to their feet, w.a.n.g Ying and Liu Yang turned to their teacher and declared confidently, "Teacher, we will surely clear the Dragon Gate Formation!"
They hadn"t been too confident about clearing the trial previously, but after digesting everything their teacher had just taught, they felt that they were ready to face it.
Furthermore, they had also shared the battle techniques they had just learned with one another, thus granting them more cards to play against the combat masters. In their current state, they were confident of victory.
"Good!" Zhang Xuan nodded in approval. Taking a look out of the window, he saw that the sun had already risen; it was daybreak.
"Alright, let"s head to the academy now."
Together with his two students, Zhang Xuan headed to the Master Teacher Academy, but barely after stepping through the entrance, School Head Mo suddenly rushed up to him with an anxious look on his face.
"Princ.i.p.al Zhang! I just went to the combat masters" accommodation and… they are all gone! They have left without bidding farewell, leaving just a letter behind."
"They have left?" Zhang Xuan was taken aback.
Weren"t they going to a.s.sess w.a.n.g Ying and Liu Yang? Why would they suddenly leave overnight without bidding farewell?
Perplexed, Zhang Xuan took the letter from School Head Mo"s hands and quickly scanned it.