Chapter 266: Exerting the Extraordinary Meridians
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
He had defeated Yi Qing with one knife attack?
After Crimson Moon, others who had expected Jiang Chen to be a joke also realized what had happened, and they were stunned.
Countless people looked in the same direction, where a middle-aged man was.
He was Mo Cangliu, the master of the Mos and chief editor of the Sacred City Daily.
It was the newspaper that had given Jiang Chen the name “the worthless Reaching Heaven State,” and that was why people were laughing at him, but at that moment people felt like they had been cheated by the paper. They were extremely embarra.s.sed, especially those who had scorned Jiang Chen.
Mo Cangliu curled his lips. His expression was unreadable.
“Gos.h.!.+ Could what he said be true?” Yi Yuechuan, among the higher-ups from the west courtyard, lost her cool and shouted.
The top figures had known about Jiang Chen and his claims.
Of course they didn’t believe him, but as long as there was a slim chance, they would have to verify it. That was why they had sent the Department of Discipline to bring Jiang Chen there.
“Haha!” s.h.i.+ Gandang burst out into laughter. Those of the east courtyard finally relaxed.
“He defeated Yi Qing, but it doesn’t mean he was able to develop extraordinary meridians in the Reaching Heaven State,” the Dean of the south courtyard sang in a different tone. He refused to believe Jiang Chen.
“When Yi Qing broke through to the Reaching Heaven State, she was in the middle of developing her third extraordinary meridian, and she achieved the Reaching Heaven State long before Jiang Chen. If it isn’t as he claimed, how would you explain what happened just now?” Yi Yuechuan said unhappily.
Yi Qing was a disciple of the west courtyard. While she wouldn’t like to see her defeat, what the Dean of the south courtyard had said underestimated Yi Qing’s strength too much.
If Jiang Chen had defeated Yi Qing with one knife attack, not having developed any of his extraordinary meridians, didn’t that mean the latter’s strength wasn’t first-cla.s.s at all?
“Both of them are in the initial phase of the Reaching Heaven State. Before they get through this phase, there can’t be a huge gap between them, and don’t forget one thing—Jiang Chen has a holy pulse,” the dean of the south courtyard refuted.
s.h.i.+ Gandang couldn’t put up with him anymore. He said, “Even so, that means Jiang Chen can make up for what he’s lacking with his holy pulse even though he hasn’t developed any extraordinary meridians.”
“If he has both extraordinary meridian and a holy pulse, will he be unbeatable?”
“But you can’t deny that Jiang Chen deserves our investment,” s.h.i.+ Gandang said.
“You two, quiet down.”
The old dean raised his palm to stop the quarrel, then said, “Jiang Chen’s holy pulse hasn’t recovered completely. All that he has now comes from his practicing. That knife attack had nothing to do with his holy pulse.”
“Does that mean…?” Yi Yuechuan didn’t go on, but everyone understood what she was implying.
“We need to continue observing his performance. We’re valuing the extraordinary meridians too much, but don’t forget that it isn’t the only factor that leads to a victory. That was only one knife attack. It’s too early to jump to conclusions,” the old dean said.
So those of the four courtyards once again laid their eyes on the platform.
“You!”
Holding her broken sword, Yi Qing’s expression was distorted. Her confidence had been completely shaken by this knife attack.
Unwilling to accept failure, she looked towards the spectators. A disciple of the west courtyard threw a spiritual knife onto the platform right away.
“Don’t waste your time, Yi Qing. I was surprised to see you’re still as weak as ever,” Su Li insulted her when she was about to attack. He wouldn’t give her the chance.
Yi Qing was unwilling to accept her failure, but she had no excuse to refute him.
“I’ll go first?” Su Li ignored her and looked towards Gao Yunge.
Gao Yunge frowned and glanced at Fang Yi, who was sitting with the Gaos.
“Thank you.”
Su Li stepped forward with his spear. He wasn’t affected by Yi Qing’s defeat at all.
“Yi Qing broke through when she was developing her third extraordinary meridian, while I was developing my fourth. This is the first difference between us. The second is, my martial arts techniques are better than hers,” he said proudly.
“There’s a third,” Jiang Chen said.
“Yeah?” Su Li knew he wouldn’t say anything nice, so he was prepared for it.
“You trash talk more.”
Su Li had antic.i.p.ated this, so he managed to control his expression. Only his eyes became colder.
He did have a reason to be so confident.
Yi Qing had never been a match for him when both of them were in the Mental Wander State. She had broken through to the Reaching Heaven State before him because she couldn’t hold down her strength any more.
He looked down on Yi Qing, and Jiang Chen as well.
“Thousands of Changes!”
He waved his spear like crazy, das.h.i.+ng around ruthlessly. He held nothing back.
“A Strike without Shapes!”
Jiang Chen drew his knife out of the sheath. It was another elusive knife attack. The spear and the knife clashed when the two met.
Two or three seconds later, Jiang Chen rushed to the other end of the platform.
“Oh?”
Su Li raised his eyebrows when he saw Jiang Chen putting his knife into the sheath. He said complacently, “Your knife method is combined with the technique to draw the knife out. The complete movement starts from drawing the knife out and ends when you put it back in. You didn’t crack my movement in one attack, so you’re keeping your distance from me. At least you know yourself well!”
Jiang Chen had to admit that he wasn’t wrong. His strength was, indeed, different from Yi Qing’s.
“You’ve mastered the minor doctrine of the creation of metal. Your spear skills are great, but it’s actually a stick-fighting technique. You’ve achieved the full spirit of the stick. It’s impressive that you can master the use of long weapons to this extent,” Jiang Chen, not to be outdone, also commented on Su Li.
“Of course. I haven’t used the effect of the extraordinary meridians yet. Are you going to admit your defeat so quickly?”
Su Li pressed his spear down so that Jiang Chen wouldn’t get any chance to admit his defeat.
Jiang Chen straightened his back and relaxed the posture that would allow him to draw the knife out at any minute. He took out the Redcloud Sword with his left hand and said, “So, let’s get serious.”
The disciples of the Sacred Inst.i.tuted didn’t recall Jiang Chen was actually a left-handed swordsman until then. The local people hardly knew, so they exclaimed.
“I almost forgot about it.”
Su Li was surprised. He had heard about it, too, but he had never bothered to keep it in mind, since he had never taken Jiang Chen seriously.
“I’ve developed four extraordinary meridians, so I’ll show you what the difference between us is!”
As soon as he finished speaking, he started to exert his three extraordinary meridians. He had broken through when he was developing the fourth, so the fourth was actually useless.
However, even though he only had three, he couldn’t be underestimated.
It was as if three fierce beasts were roaring in his body. A formidable power diffused through each of his pores. A gale was created, his black hair flying in it.
When he picked up his spear again, his arm muscles had acc.u.mulated tremendous power. The spear in his hands was s.h.i.+ning.
The Reaching Heaven State was related to the force of the whole body. Each extraordinary meridian would strengthen this force.
Compared to people without any extraordinary meridians, a Reaching Heaven State with eight extraordinary meridians was like a man with three heads and six arms.
Su Li hadn’t achieved that level yet, but he was already very powerful.
“Dragon Flight!”
Su Li jumped into the sky like a dragon, then he ran down with his spear once he had reached a certain height. The red glow given off by the spear tip turned into a holy dragon, winding around him.
“You’re talking like you’re the only one who has developed extraordinary meridians.”
Jiang Chen stayed calm in the face of such a powerful movement. He exerted his extraordinary meridians like Su Li had, his force continuously acc.u.mulating.
“What?!”
The higher-ups of the Sacred Inst.i.tute couldn’t sit still any more.
“It’s true. I can’t believe it’s true!”
s.h.i.+ Gandang was on Jiang Chen’s side, but he still found it incredible. He was pleasantly surprised.