Chapter 208: Omnipotent Yang Dragon Riding Flight Technique
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
“Bang, bang—!”
Ear-deafening sounds echoed through the sky as the enormous Lion flanking Junior Leopard tackled and grappled the yellow wolf. It seemed they wouldn’t be separated anytime soon.
This was the first time that Junior Leopard fully unleashed the strength of the Lion. After releasing the Lion, he felt all his Internal Qi dry up. The Lion drained the Internal Qi in his body and from the External Elixir embedded between his eyebrows.
“That’s suprising. Though my Internal Qi created this Lion, it has a powerful fighting force all its own. Where does its marvelous fighting techniques come from?”
At first, Junior Leopard thought the second or third states of the Nine Dragons Heavenly Fire Technique would both be shaped by his Internal Qi practice once it reached a certain phase. In reality, these states were manifestations of his Internal Qi, so he needed more self-control to wield their strength.
He certainly didn’t expect to loose control over the Lion upon releasing it. All he could do was allow the Lion to go fight the huge yellow wolf. Thanks to this decision, he discovered something surprising; one of the nine real dragons purified by his Internal Qi possessed consciousness and fighting instincts of its own. The dragon actually enjoyed the battle and seemed to have strength that could prevail over the wolf. The huge wolf that had made Junior Leopard suffer was now being pushed back by the Lion’s attacks.
“How utterly bizarre. Could the ninth form of the real dragon be self-aware?”
Junior Leopard was impressed. “Had I known this earlier,” he thought, “I would have already released the Lion. Now I don’t need to fight the wolf!”
As his mind churned with ideas, Junior Leopard saw a black shadow detach from the huge wolf and streak straight towards him. Junior Leopard cried out in alarm and flung himself back.
Junior Leopard’s Internal Qi was all dried up. All he could do was grind his teeth as he saw the incoming attack. The External Elixir attached to his ear started trembling violently, a signal that the wolf had launched an Infinite Trembling Contemplation attack. Junior Leopard quickly strategized: if he couldn’t take this man down, he would have to escape by launching the Three Realms Division.
As he prepared to evade, the Lion fighting the huge yellow wolf suddenly let out a mighty roar. Leaping off the yellow wolf, its body dissolved into nine big golden red fireb.a.l.l.s that flew towards the dark shadow with astonis.h.i.+ng speed.
“About time!”
The man groaned, golden light spilling from every pore in his body. His charge towards Junior Leopard slowed down slightly. Junior Leopard was about to seize this chance to escape when to everyone’s surprise, the brilliant golden-red flames swooped past the man and collided with Junior Leopard himself.
“Hiss!”
Junior Leopard took a deep breath, red-hot strength infusing his body. An abstract idea came to Junior Leopard’s mind, an idea inspired by the flames. Unconsciously, Junior Leopard a.s.sumed it was a new Internal Strength mental cultivation method, one he didn’t have the time to figure out.
Once the man noticed he wasn’t the target of the fireball, he accelerated again. He felt a strange sense of unease: his cultivation may be higher, but the lad he fought seemed to have endless techniques. Against all odds, this boy had acquired the third form of the Nine Dragons Heavenly Fire Technique, an art no one had practiced for ten thousand years. This art was so much more powerful than he could have imagined; the boy could actually use this third form to counter his fist intent. Moreover, this weird third form seemed to have a special battle technique and a devastating heat aura which could damage his previously unconquered fist intent.
Panic crept over him: he needed to kill Junior Leopard quickly, before this eccentric lad surprised him with more amazing techniques.
“I was wrong this whole time!”
As he felt Internal Qi flow though his body again and sensed black fire flickering merrily in his Dantian, Junior Leopard was filled with joy. “I shouldn’t have countered him with my Hammer Spirit at all,” he thought, “or even thought about using the Hammer Spirit to defeat him. His Internal Qi is much more dense and clarified than mine. I was countering his strong points with my weak points. What a fool I was!”
Junior Leopard threw back his head and laughed. As he noticed the man’s figure drawing closer, he waved his hands and condensed three more golden-red Fire Dragons that swirled around his body.
Nine Dragons Heavenly Fire Technique: the Second State!
If the man had observed the Fire Dragon carefully, he would have realized the boy had condensed a different one from last time. This newly condensed Fire Dragon’s skin was a darker red than before. Unfortunately, the man didn’t look closely enough.
“Your Nine Dragons Heavenly Fire Technique can’t stop me, boy!” he shrieked. “Not even if you use the second state!”
“Just wait and see,” Junior Leopard sneered. “This won’t be anything like last time!”
His Internal Qi gave him an advantage. Having endured numerous primal fire energy eccentricities, his Internal Qi, cleansed of fiery Evil Qi, had acquired devastating force. This force far exceeded the power of the Nine Dragons Heavenly Fire Technique.
Within his Internal Qi hummed the black fire power, along with the Earth Fire Yuan Essence and Blood Essence Evil Yuan powers he’d gained from the underground fire vein. Combined with his well-practiced Nine Dragons Heavenly Fire Technique, these four strengths had long since merged into an inseparable whole.
What was Earth Fire Yuan Essence?
Hidden in the deepest crevices of the geocentric fire veins, Earth Fire Yuan Essence was the most powerful primal fire energy in the world. For Fire Way Methods such as Nine Dragons Heavenly Fire Technique, it was a tonic that could eliminate all impurities from Internal Qi, leaving only the property of fire. After being purified by Earth Fire Yuan Essence, Junior Leopard’s Internal Qi had actually become a ma.s.s of fiery spiritual qi, purified of all foreign matter. This was why he could clear the second state of Nine Dragons Heavenly Fire Technique so easily. But what about the third state, Blood Essence Evil Yuan?
This state was one of the most domineering, devastating forms of fiery Evil Qi in the world. If Junior Leopard hadn’t been lucky enough to know the practice methods of Yin and Yang Heavenly Sword, he would never have been able to refine Blood Essence Evil Yuan.
Though he had successfully practiced with the Extreme Yang Through Sky Sword technique, Junior Leopard’s Internal Qi still inevitably bore traces of that devastating Evil Qi energy. Because the Lion was one of the Nine Forms of the Real Dragon, it could turn from gold to golden-red.
As for the Mysterious Fire in his Dantian, it was a kindling born in primitive times that had gained intelligence as it was pa.s.sed from wielder to wielder. This fire could improve the power of his fiery Internal Qi exponentially.
By combining these three factors, he had finally formed Internal Qi for the Nine Dragons Heavenly Fire Technique, his greatest edge yet.
The only problem was, he hadn’t realized this yet.
Unconsciously, he had still treated his legendary fist intent and Gang Qi as strongest technqiues and spared no thought towards his Internal Qi.
But now he understood.
Junior Leopard knew right away when he released the Lion and saw its power.
“This is actually my biggest advantage! Your Internal Qi may be more intense and clear, but my Internal Qi burns hotter and has a devastating power!”
With a wicked glee in his heart, Junior Leopard waved the three Fire Dragons towards the man’s approaching body.
“Break for me!”
The man let out a harsh cry. The yellow light surrounding his body grew more intense. He quickly raised his hand and tried to brush the three Fire Dragons away. The last time he used this movement it was quite effective; this time, though––
“Ah!”
The man’s body movements suddenly slowed. The three Fire Dragons wound around his body and arms like snakes, squeezing him tight like a python trapping its prey.
And then––!
––they constricted.
His couldn’t move his body. Fear crept across the man’s face. He realized that the three Fire Dragons were not just binding him, but also burning up his Gang Qi.
Can Gang Qi even burn?
How is this possible?
Why is my Gang Qi burning?
The man couldn’t answer these questions. Junior Leopard didn’t understand it either; he didn’t even know the reason for his current confidence. He’d unleashed the three Fire Dragons without moving his body, as if he had already known his Fire Dragons could stop this man.
As man struggled fiercely against his bindings, the huge yellow wolf rose up behind his back. The wolf had originally intended to charge Junior Leopard, but now it threw itself at the man and fused with his aura of yellow Gang Qi.
Dazzling yellow light immediately poured forth from the man’s body. This light gradually started to melt Junior Leopard’s three Fire Dragons.
In terms of density and clearness, Junior Leopard’s Internal Qi could not compare to that man. Still, even though the man had successfully practiced Gang Qi and condensed his fist intent, he could not compare with Junior Leopard’s powers of destruction.
As a result, Junior Leopard’s three Fire Dragons and the man’s Gang Qi were now in a stalemate.
It soon became obvious that Junior Leopard was the disadvantaged party.
Faced with such a rival, the most important thing was to finish the battle quickly. The yellow aura of light was forcing the glow of the three Fire Dragons to fade. However, Junior Leopard also noticed that the man’s face was growing pale. Two of the three Fire Dragons had wound tightly around his neck. The third wrapped around his Dantian. Although he had s.h.i.+elded all these points with his Gang Qi, as the Fire Dragons burned away his Gang Qi, Evil Qi from the Blood Essence Evil Yuan started seeping into his body. He had to be feeling lousy at this point.
If the Fire Dragons could hold on long enough to infect his body with Evil Qi, even his Internal Qi would be burned to ashes. However, Junior Leopard didn’t have much time left.
No, he was out of time. Once his rival escaped his trap, he would be in serious trouble. For this reason, Junior Leopard decided to take a risk while he still held the advantage!
Junior Leopard clenched his teeth and rolled up his sleeves. He deployed the 49 Demon Devil needles, hurling them straight at the man. He separated the needles into 7 groups, each aiming for one of the man’s death acupoints.
Acupoints were always the weakest parts of a man’s body. Even when one had cultivated Gang Qi to protect the body, that protection was still the weakest around the acupoints. The man had concentrated all his Gang Qi’s power against Junior Leopard’s three Fire Dragons in order to burn them away, so this was the best time for Junior Leopard to attack.
The man’s face twitched as he saw the 49 black needles fly from Junior Leopard’s sleeves. The light from his Gang Qi immediately dimmed as he stopped trying to burn away the three Fire Dragons.
“Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding…!” Ringing like chimes, the 49 Demon Devil Needles all pierced the man’s seven death acupoints.
“You have celestial devices too! No wonder you became so famous in the Central Plains!” Constrained by three Fire Dragons, unable to move, the man could only smile coldly. Less than half of the 49 Demon Devil needles pierced through his Gang Qi and frozen him in place. He couldn’t even twitch a single muscle. The other needles were repelled by his Gang Qi and gathered back up in Junior Leopard’s sleeves.
“I’m far more than just a celestial device wielder!” Junior Leopard replied with a matching sneer. With a sudden motion, he closed the distance between him and the man. Now face to face, the man could see a glimmer of cruelty s.h.i.+ne in the boy’s eyes. Junior Leopard opened his hands with a smile. Dazzling golden-red light rose off his body. This blinding, sun-bright light enveloped the man within seconds. n.o.body could see what transpired inside this gleaming shroud.
“You snuck into the Central Plains to steal our grain!”
“You tried to kill me!”
“You tried to solve your country’s problems by destroying Northern Yuan!”
“You sought to rain destruction on the hinterlands of the Central Plains!”
“Keep on day-dreaming!”
“Keep on dying!”
Junior Leopard roared. s.h.i.+mmering with boundless light, he swayed forward and head-b.u.t.ted the man right on the forehead. Red Sword Qi shot from his forehead at the point of impact and pierced his enemy’s skull.
The man ducked his head, unconsciously sensing the incoming attack. However, his move came too late.
Because they were so close, and because Junior Leopard’s Extreme Yang Through Sky Sword was too quick, it was simply too late for him to dodge.
Keening Sword Qi struck his forehead, boring a small round hole in his yellow Gang Qi. The Sword Qi drilled a similar hole through his forehead, shattering his skull and his Gang Qi in the same instant.
His advanced Gang Qi level and iron-like Internal Qi were worthless against the invincible power of the Extreme Yang Through Sky Sword.
Surprisingly, the man didn’t die immediately. He stared at Junior Leopard with wide, incredulous eyes, blood pouring from the hole in his head. “This is impossible!”
Junior Leopard let out a cold chuckle. Suddenly, his face turned blue with shock. He quickly leapt backwards. Unfortunately, his evasion came too late.
…
“I’m taking you with me…!” the man growled, voicing the last words of his life.
“Swoosh–!” There was a faint cracking noise, a sound like a watermelon crushed by a fist. Blood sprayed everywhere, shooting forth like a rain of arrows.
“D*mn!” Junior Leopard stepped back and threw up his sleeves. The Demon Devil Needles in and outside of his sleeves flew forth at lightning speed, forming a finely woven barrier in front of him. The needles blocked most of the blood arrows, but a few broke through Junior Leopard’s defenses and struck his left side.
“Shnk, shnk, shnk–!” With a continual slicing sound, he felt the blood arrows pierce his arm, thigh and shoulder. This explosion was the Level Eight expert’s final blow, so these blood arrows were more than just powerful projectiles: they carried a strong sense of killing intent and deadly Qi.
Pierced by the arrows, the killing intent and deadly Qi of this final attack began to invade his tendons and meridians, destroying his body from the inside. Junior Leopard was forced to immediately seal off his nine important acupoints. Even then, he only stopped the deadly Qi and killing intent from spreading further through his body.
As for the bystanders, some were lucky enough to be far away from the battle. The curious onlookers and soldiers concerned about Junior Leopard’s safety had no way to escape from this final attack. They died on the spot, pierced by the raining blood arrows.
“No––!”
“Help––!”
“This isn’t right; run––!”
“Ah––!”
Panicked voices echoed across the field in a babbling chorus.
“D*mn it! We’ve lost so many!”
Although Junior Leopard managed to contain the deadly Qi and killing intent by sealing his vital acupoints, he also sealed off the circulation route for his own Internal Qi. The instant his circulating channels were cut off, his body stopped moving through the air. He fell to the ground like a rock. He briefly struggled on the ground, but soon fainted from the sheer pain.
…
…
Ride the dragon, steer the Qi. Spiral up to the Heavens Nine…
A carefree mind can bind the wind. Through this Way, soar to the Sky, …
…
…
As this pithy formula appeared in Junior Leopard’s mind, the Internal Qi in his body began to circulate in accordance with this mental cultivation method. This Qi gradually began to resonate and merge with his Yanfu Inner Strength, all on an unconscious level.
“Your Excellency! Excellency! His Excellency Zhou is awake! His Excellency Zhou is awake!” Junior Leopard, his thoughts still muddled, heard short snippets of a pleasantly surprised voice.
“C’mon, hurry up, doctor! His Excellency is awake! Get over here!”
…
…
Junior Leopard felt the fingers of a wizened hand touch his wrist. Moments later, Junior Leopard heard some people whispering inaudibly.
He felt really, truly awful.
The moment his consciousness returned, he felt the deadly Qi and killing intent curdle inside him.
After that man self-destructed, Junior Leopard had sealed away the deadly Qi and killing intent from the blood arrows that pierced his body. Even though the killing intent hadn’t spread further, it had eaten into his injured tendons, meridians, muscles and bones.
Whenever his faint Internal Qi flowed through these injured places, the resulting fierce pain made his muscles spasm.
“Hack! Cough, cough, cough—!”
He took a deep breath of cold air to deal with the acute pain. The cold air trickled down his throat but went no further. Junior Leopard started coughing violently. As he coughed, a painful pressure built in his lungs and chest like the bellows of a forge.
“Your Excellency! Thank heavens you’re awake!”
Junior Leopard opened his eyes and saw Lu Laihong, his comrade from the personal guard camp. Lu Laihong’s face was filled with joy. He helped Junior Leopard sit up on the bed, babbling nonstop all the while.
“Rest a.s.sured, I – *cough, cough* – I won’t die so easily!” Junior Leopard croaked. After a few coughs, his breath came more smoothly and his eyesight cleared up. He seemed to be resting in a guest room of some government house. The room was crowded with people who stared at him like a group of excited panda-watchers. Junior Leopard felt embarra.s.sed by their attention.
Beside his bed, a man dressed like a doctor touched Junior Leopard’s wrist to read his pulse. The doctor frowned in thought.
“How long have I been out?” Junior Leopard asked in a whisper. He spoke softly not out of a desire to be gentle, but because he felt an awful, tearing pain each time he raised his voice.
“Five days, Your Excellency. You were unconscious for five whole days!” Lu Laihong replied.
“Five days?” Junior Leopard exclaimed. A growling noise came from his stomach: after five days without food, he was definitively hungry.
“Hurry up! Fetch us some porridge, quickly!” Lu Laihong said, waving at the others.
…
…
After some chatting, Junior Leopard finally sank back into the bed again. He had learned much about what happened over the past few days. He was staying in the government house of Maojiang Prefecture. Five days had pa.s.sed since he killed the Level Eight expert at Maojiang. He had been unconscious for all five of these days.
To save time, Lu Laihong had sent most of the soldiers on their way after letting them to stay in Maojiang for three days. After Maojiang Prefecture, almost all the roads to Danyang County were officially administered. With the help of the prefectures, there wouldn’t be any problems during the trip.
Even if big problems did arise, they had no other options.
Junior Leopard was severely injured and n.o.body knew when he could wake up. If they all had to wait for him at Maojiang Prefecture, n.o.body knew how long this would take.
Junior Leopard, meanwhile, had no pressing concerns.
Though he’d been injured escorting a mere supply s.h.i.+pment, he had fended off the ambush of a Level Eight expert. He not only protected the s.h.i.+pment, but also blew the attacking expert to smithereens. He’d already accomplished a great deal; even if the s.h.i.+pment was robbed on its way to Danyang County, he was no longer responsible.
Even the biggest twits of the imperial court couldn’t blame him for being disabled by a monster with the combat prowess of a Level Eight expert.
He had also learned the ident.i.ty of his attacker, a Level Eight Expert with a reputation 30-years old. He was one of the Four Prairie Wolves, the senior guard to the golden camp of Northern Yuan by the name of Buyan Gerel!
The Four Prairie Wolves referred to the top Level Eight experts led by three Grandmasters of the Northern Prairie. Their status was on par with the common tribal chiefs, particularly when coupled with their status as Alliance Elders. As promising experts who would most likely inherit the status of Grandmaster in the martial arts world of the prairie, they enjoyed the highest prestige in Northern Yuan.
Against all expectations, an expert like this had snuck into the Central Plains to personally destroy the supply s.h.i.+pments of Great Jin. This move clearly demonstrated how desperate Northern Yuan had become.
What really nettled the people of Northern Yuan was that their Level Eight expert had died to the likes of Junior Leopard. Their champion only managed to kill a few of the soldiers escorting the s.h.i.+pment, destroyed dozens of grain parcels and severely injured the leader in charge of protecting the grain.
A mere Level Four expert had obliterated their Level Eight expert!
Once more, Junior Leopard’s name was on the lips of everyone in the Jianghu. Clearly, the awe he inspired in people’s hearts was stronger than before. One could even say that Junior Leopard was now the most famous star in the Jianghu after this unparalleled display of arms.
This was the reality of his current situation.
During the five days Junior Leopard was unconscious, the entire Jianghu had fallen into disarray.
Junior Leopard couldn’t control what the people of the Jianghu gossiped about, nor did he have the energy to think about it.
All his thoughts were focused on the time he spent unconscious. Although he was half-conscious when he heard that pithy Internal Qi formula, he still remembered the words well. The formula was so clear in his mind it may as well have been carved in his heart. The Internal Qi in his body was actually circulating in perfect accordance with this pithy formula.