Chapter 543 - 325: Sneak Attack
Chapter 543: Chapter 325: Sneak Attack
"Since you’re all here to sever my path in the Martial Dao, did you really expect me to be polite to you?"
A piercing light surged in Xu Yang’s eyes. "Worry about yourself."
Huang Xiao’s face fell.
"Senior Brother Huang, hurry up and forfeit!" Luo Ying shouted, ignoring the blood spewing from her mouth.
Xu Yang’s ruthlessness had far exceeded her expectations. She had assumed that because she apologized before the fight, stating they were in different camps and meant no offense, Xu Yang would take their past friendship into account. Even if he could defeat them, he wouldn’t strike too harshly.
Who would have thought that despite the bright smile on his face, his attacks would be utterly lethal?
Now that Huang Xiao was the only one left, he was no match for Xu Yang. If he didn’t surrender, his fate would likely be even worse.
Luo Ying’s reaction was quick, but it was still too late.
By the time she spoke, Xu Yang’s large hand had already struck out like lightning, tearing through Huang Xiao’s Protective Gang Yuan to land a heavy blow on his chest.
"BANG!"
"CRACK!"
Huang Xiao shuddered as if struck by lightning. His robes burst apart, his eyes bulged, and horrifying fractures crawled across his chest.
"Ah..."
Amidst a bloodcurdling scream, he was sent flying backward as if rammed by a crazed bull. His chest caved in, and blood spewed continuously from his mouth.
The pain made his vision go black, blinding him completely. The piercing agony alone nearly made him pass out.
"Senior Brother Huang..." Luo Ying roared. She struggled to stand, but her body refused to obey.
Although Xu Yang’s punch had only crippled one of her arms on the surface, the internal injuries were the truly terrifying part.
"Xu Yang, you’re courting death!" In the distance, Lin Jingyu, who was teaming up with Huo Xiaochen to besiege Gu Qingfeng, widened his eyes in fury, a murderous intent surging from him.
Luo Ying was crippled, and Huang Xiao’s injuries left him half-dead; his internal organs were likely shattered. If it weren’t for the formidable Life Energy of a Celestial Essence Martial Artist, Huang Xiao would already be dead.
He never expected Xu Yang to be this strong, taking out Huang Xiao and Luo Ying in just two moves, and with such lethal force.
"You’re so ruthless, Xu Yang!" Luo Ying glared at him with venomous resentment.
"What a vicious little beast, striking with such heavy hands! Doesn’t he know that both Yellow Maple Valley and the Purple Sun Sect are Fufeng County Sects that share a common enemy? How could he be so vicious? The Purple Sun Sect must give my Yellow Maple Valley an explanation for this!"
Outside the battlefield, Huang You’s face was filled with murderous intent. Xu Yang had not only crippled Luo Ying and Huang Xiao but had also severed their chances at the Dragon Ascension.
"What explanation does Yellow Maple Valley need? Knowing full well that Huo Xiaochen has a grudge against my Purple Sun Sect’s disciple, your Yellow Maple Valley disciples still formed an alliance with him. Forming an alliance is one thing, but they even initiated an attack on Xu Yang to eliminate him.
"Luo Ying and Huang Xiao were about to sever Xu Yang’s path in the Martial Dao, and you expect him to show mercy to your disciples? Does Yellow Maple Valley have no shame?" Bai Shaoling scoffed coldly. "Xu Yang has already shown mercy. If it were anyone else, they’d be dead by now."
Indeed, Xu Yang had shown mercy!
In truth, he had wanted nothing more than to beat Luo Ying and Huang Xiao to death on the spot. But he knew it would be pointless. If he killed them, he would have to kill Lin Jingyu as well. And even if he managed to kill Lin Jingyu, he couldn’t possibly kill Huang You and the others outside the arena.
Outright murdering those two would only escalate the situation beyond repair, sparking a full-blown war between the Purple Sun Sect and Yellow Maple Valley in Fufeng County. Therefore, he held back his surging killing intent and merely crippled them instead.
"You call that showing mercy? They’re completely crippled!" Huang You roared furiously.
"Or would you prefer your Yellow Maple Valley disciples crippled him instead?" Bai Shaoling sneered. "When your Yellow Maple Valley disciples attacked him, where was their mercy? Whining here because they lack the skill is simply too shameless of Yellow Maple Valley."
Huang You choked on his words, instantly rendered speechless. He could only leave a cold remark, "This isn’t over. My Yellow Maple Valley’s genius, Lin Jingyu, will not let him off."
"He and Xu Yang were already enemies. Don’t make it sound like they were friends before," Bai Shaoling replied, completely unbothered.
"If I were Xu Yang, I would have beaten them to death on the spot," Yue Zhong snorted coldly.
Huang You’s expression changed slightly, for at that very moment on the battlefield, Xu Yang was strolling toward the fallen Huang Xiao, looking every bit like he intended to finish the job.
"What are you doing?"
Sensing Xu Yang’s icy killing intent, Huang Xiao’s face filled with terror.
"Forfeit, or else I’ll have to butcher you," Xu Yang said with a smile.
Merely crippling Huang Xiao and Luo Ying wasn’t enough; he needed to eliminate them as well. Despite their grievous injuries, neither had verbally forfeited yet.
Huang Xiao and Luo Ying paled dramatically. Once they forfeited, their chances would truly be gone.
"Don’t you dare, Xu Yang!" Lin Jingyu bellowed.
He abandoned his joint assault with Huo Xiaochen against Gu Qingfeng, breaking away from the fray and charging ferociously toward Xu Yang to save Huang Xiao and Luo Ying.
"BOOM!"
The air tore with a muffled boom as a fierce sword beam swept out, slashing toward the charging Lin Jingyu’s waist. In the nick of time, he threw a punch that slammed into the sword beam.
"BANG!"
A violent wave of air exploded outward, sending out visible shockwaves. The disciples from various Sects fighting nearby felt their Qi-Blood churn wildly.
Looking back in shock, they saw that Lin Jingyu had actually been forced back by that sword beam. A figure slowly appeared in front of Lin Jingyu, standing tall with a sword in hand.
"Sun Tao!" Lin Jingyu’s pupils shrank violently.
Although the strike had an element of a sneak attack, who was he, Lin Jingyu? He ranked eleventh on the Lingyun List! Even for a sneak attack, forcing him back proved that Sun Tao possessed terrifying strength—far beyond what a rank of ninety-nine on the Lingyun List would suggest.
"Sun Tao forced Lin Jingyu back with one strike?"
"To think his strength is actually this great."
"Another dark horse."
Everyone looked at Sun Tao with shock and uncertainty, completely awed by his sword strike.
"If you want to save them, you’ll have to get past me first." Sun Tao spoke nonchalantly as a black sun slowly rose behind him.
The Sun-Eroding Sword Technique!
This was originally a Sword Technique exclusive to the disciples of Tianquan Peak. When he broke through to the Celestial Essence Realm and received a Sect reward, he chose this very technique. In just a short period of time, he had already comprehended its Martial Dao Imagery.
Scorching heat swept across the area, causing blue smoke to rise from the ground.
"Junior Brother Xu, leave this to me. Focus on taking care of those from Yellow Maple Valley," Sun Tao said. Compared to the Iron Sword Sect, he harbored a deeper dislike for the people of Yellow Maple Valley.
"Alright!" Xu Yang shouted.
Since Sun Tao had comprehended his Martial Dao Imagery, facing off against Lin Jingyu wouldn’t be much of a problem.
"Get lost!" Lin Jingyu roared. Behind him, the imagery of a white tiger roared to life as he abruptly charged at Sun Tao, plunging the two of them into a fierce battle.
"If you still won’t forfeit, then die!" Xu Yang slowly raised his fist.
"I forfeit!" Huang Xiao yelled, his face filled with unwillingness. But he had to surrender to save his life; he didn’t dare bet that Xu Yang wouldn’t kill him.
Furthermore, from the moment they attacked Xu Yang, their past friendship ceased to exist. They were officially enemies now, making it highly unlikely that Xu Yang would hold back from killing him.
"What about you?" Xu Yang turned his head toward Luo Ying.
Luo Ying’s face was ashen. "I forfeit."
She originally thought that with a genius Junior Brother like Lin Jingyu, they would be able to follow him into the Celestial Strategy Academy and participate in the Secondary Dragon Ascension. She never expected it would end like this.
"Xu Yang, must you be this ruthless?" Lin Jingyu glared, his eyes nearly splitting at the seams. Because of him, Luo Ying and Huang Xiao had been directly eliminated.
"It’s about to get even more ruthless!"
Xu Yang took a step forward, his figure suddenly vanishing from where he stood. Yellow Maple Valley had more than just Luo Ying and Huang Xiao; there were two other disciples.
In the next moment, he appeared beside another Yellow Maple Valley disciple, delivering a devastating punch to the man’s armpit. With a miserable shriek, the disciple was sent hurtling backward.
"Forfeit, or die!"
Xu Yang pursued him with seething murderous intent. The man hastily surrendered, rolling on the ground in agony.
Xu Yang then spun around and charged at the final disciple. The man turned ghastly pale from fear. Before Xu Yang could even get close, he opened his mouth and surrendered.
With that, out of all the Yellow Maple Valley disciples who had come to participate in the Secondary Dragon Ascension, only Lin Jingyu remained. The rest had all been eliminated by Xu Yang.
Outside the arena, Huang You looked as though he wanted to swallow Xu Yang alive, his eyes projecting astonishing murderous intent.
"Well done!" Yue Zhong couldn’t help but roar in approval.
Yellow Maple Valley and the Purple Sun Sect had an incredibly close relationship. Yet, of all the people Lin Jingyu could have chosen to ally with, he had to pick Huo Xiaochen. To the Purple Sun Sect, this was tantamount to an outright betrayal by Yellow Maple Valley.
Seeing Xu Yang eliminate four of Yellow Maple Valley’s disciples brought him an immense sense of satisfaction. Whether or not they could make it to the Secondary Dragon Ascension was beside the point; they had finally vented their frustration.
"Jingyu won’t let him off," Huang You spat viciously.
"Lin Jingyu? He’d better worry about himself first. With Xu Yang and Sun Tao joining forces, do you really think they can’t eliminate him?" Bai Shaoling’s eyes burned bright.
To think Sun Tao was the biggest hidden dark horse. He had already exchanged seven or eight blows with Lin Jingyu and was not losing out in the slightest. If Xu Yang were to step up and join forces with Sun Tao, there was a high chance they would eliminate this genius ranked eleventh on the Lingyun List.
Huang You’s pupils shrank. "How could they possibly be a match for Jingyu?"
In truth, unease had already begun to gnaw at his heart. Sun Tao’s strength was not inferior to Lin Jingyu’s, and if Xu Yang were to lend a hand, Lin Jingyu would be in real trouble.
"You’re next!" Xu Yang abruptly turned to look at Lin Jingyu. He was very curious to know how the Kong Family would treat Lin Jingyu if he were eliminated and barred from entering the Celestial Strategy Academy.
Everyone was paralyzed with shock. Xu Yang was actually going to team up with Sun Tao to eliminate Lin Jingyu.
"Brother Xu, watch out!"
Just as Xu Yang was about to join forces with Sun Tao, Zhang Jun’s shout suddenly rang out.
At the same time, Xu Yang’s senses caught a vicious sword beam thrusting at his back. Quick as lightning, it aimed straight for his vitals. It was a strike intended to kill. Before the sword beam even arrived, a prickling sensation washed over his flesh.
His physical body couldn’t withstand this sword. Even if it didn’t kill him, it would severely injure him.
"Despicable!" Liu Rumei cried out.
"Pathetic clown!" A sharp glint flashed in Xu Yang’s eyes.
Wandering Dragon Void Step!
His body vanished from the spot. Taking a step forward to open up the distance, his five fingers clamped down on the hilt of the Burning Separation Saber like lightning.
"SHING..."
Amidst a crisp ringing sound, the Burning Separation Saber burst from its sheath as a streak of silver light, its Spirituality surging.
Infusing it with Gang Yuan, Xu Yang struck backward as if he had eyes on the back of his head, launching a backhanded slash that perfectly intercepted the shadowing sword beam.
"CLANG!"
Saber and sword clashed, producing the sharp ring of metal against metal. The sword beam shattered, sending a violent shockwave sweeping in all directions and revealing a long, entirely crimson sword.
Behind the crimson sword was a rather pale face.
It was none other than Li Yunzhou!