Chapter 587 - 369: Humiliation
Chapter 587: Chapter 369: Humiliation
THUMP!
THUMP!
Two muffled thuds rang out almost simultaneously.
Xu Yang’s Qi-Blood scattered under the impact. His clothes exploded, revealing bronze skin as his bones and muscles roared. His body trembled uncontrollably, and he took a massive step forward, his Qi-Blood surging like crashing waves.
At the exact same moment, his large hand tore through Du Ziming’s Protective Gang Yuan and slapped him ruthlessly across the face.
SLAP!
A crisp smack echoed as Du Ziming’s head was knocked sideways. His mind buzzed, his cheek turned numb, and the coppery taste of blood filled his mouth. Unable to hold it in, he spat out several teeth along with a mouthful of blood.
"You deserve to die!" Du Ziming was consumed by sheer fury. The killing intent he had deliberately concealed erupted from his body.
He knew Xu Yang was intentionally humiliating him for associating with Huo Xiaochen. The slap did not carry much physical force, but the sheer insult was profound; after all, who slapped their opponents during a clash between Martial Artists?
With a furious roar, his eyes bloodshot, Du Ziming appeared behind Xu Yang like a phantom. His fist, wrapped in majestic Gang Yuan, struck out with the force of a collapsing mountain and a raging tsunami. His target was the exact same spot he had punched earlier.
"Not bad speed," Xu Yang remarked. He spun around rapidly and threw a punch of his own.
His fist, propelled by churning Qi-Blood, shot forth like a meteor tearing across the night sky, aiming directly for Du Ziming’s head. Even before the strike landed, the pressure alone caused Du Ziming’s Protective Gang Yuan to ripple.
Du Ziming had not expected such a fast reaction. If he followed through with his attack, he would only strike Xu Yang’s abdomen, causing minor internal injuries at best. However, if Xu Yang’s fist connected with his head, the consequences would be far more severe.
Gritting his teeth, he retracted his punch and vanished from Xu Yang’s sight, reappearing in another location. Xu Yang countered with a backhanded strike, but Du Ziming vanished once again.
"So what if he has great strength? What use is it if he can’t even hit his target?" Huo Xiaochen said with a laugh.
Du Ziming’s Body Technique was incredibly exquisite, almost like teleportation. The students at the Celestial Essence First Layer could not even catch a glimpse of his movements.
"Jumping around like this... are you a flea?" Xu Yang paused his attacks. Since Du Ziming constantly relied on his Body Technique to evade, Xu Yang could not hit him, but Du Ziming could not harm him either.
"It just means your Body Technique is lacking," Du Ziming retorted as his figure slowly materialized on the opposite side. As a genius ranked in the top thirty of the Lingyun List, it was only natural that he possessed some formidable skills.
"Are we going to keep fighting? If not, let’s just call it a draw," Xu Yang chuckled.
Du Ziming’s expression shifted slightly. He was the one challenging Xu Yang, not the other way around. Gritting his teeth, his body suddenly disappeared from its original spot.
A split second later, a fist coated in Gang Yuan appeared at Xu Yang’s side, tearing through the air with a massive roar.
Xu Yang completely ignored the incoming fist and aimed a punch directly at Du Ziming’s head. His physical body was incredibly tough, so he did not need to defend at all; a simple and brutal head-on clash was enough. Du Ziming could land ten punches on him, and he would likely be completely fine. But if Du Ziming took even a single punch from him, it would be enough to make him suffer tremendously. Knowing this full well, Du Ziming relied on his extreme speed and evasive Body Technique, not daring to clash directly with Xu Yang.
"You can’t hit me."
As soon as his voice rang out, Du Ziming had already vanished again. He found this game of toying with Xu Yang quite amusing.
"Is that so?"
Xu Yang’s calm voice echoed. In the next instant, he too disappeared from where he stood.
Wandering Dragon Void Step!
This was the reward he obtained after the top ten ranking battles in the Purple Sun Sect. Having comprehended it until now, his Wandering Dragon Void Step was on the verge of reaching Great Success.
Moving like a wandering dragon, he caught up to Du Ziming in a flash, throwing a punch that tore through the air. The atmosphere erupted with the sound of muffled thunder, and overbearing fist pressure surged in all directions. Before the punch even landed, the shockwave forced Du Ziming’s hidden figure out into the open. He felt as if a massive mountain was crashing into his back, the heavy pressure causing his speed to plummet.
"Oh no!" Du Ziming was horrified. He never expected Xu Yang to possess such terrifying speed.
He tried to turn around, but it was too late. The fist, crashing forward like monstrous waves, shattered his Protective Gang Yuan and slammed heavily into the center of his back.
THUD!
Like a heavy hammer striking a leather drum, Du Ziming’s entire body shuddered. His bones and muscles groaned under the immense strain as he was sent flying like a bundle of hay, spraying a mouthful of blood mid-air.
"Seeing you jumping around so happily like a monkey, I just decided to let you have your fun for a bit. Did you really think you were the only one with speed?"
Xu Yang slowly retracted his fist. His surging Qi-Blood subsided, and amidst a series of cracking sounds, his body returned to its normal size.
Du Ziming flew back over a dozen meters before finally crashing onto the arena stage. Upon landing, he spat out another mouthful of blood. His face was deathly pale, his internal organs were displaced, and his spine was fractured from the devastating blow.
"I refuse to believe it!" Du Ziming roared, forcibly suppressing his churning Qi-Blood. Channeling his Gang Yuan, he turned and charged at Xu Yang, unwilling to accept defeat at his hands.
At the same time, an aura of Realm emanated from his body, rapidly sweeping toward Xu Yang. He had actually invoked his Realm.
"Enough!"
A clash of Realms between Celestial Essence Second Layer Martial Artists was no trivial matter. A single misstep could cause irreversible damage to their Heart Spirits.
Jin Yu’s cold and stern voice rang out, "Xu Yang already showed you mercy. Otherwise, you wouldn’t even have the strength to stand. If you can’t win, you can’t win. No one is invincible. If you don’t even have the courage to admit defeat, then you are a true joke."
Hearing this, Du Ziming was forced to stop unwillingly, his face turning an ugly shade of green. He had actually lost!
"Du Ziming lost. He was jumping around for ages, but it turns out Xu Yang was just toying with him the whole time."
"He thought he could take advantage of Xu Yang being injured by the Azure Dragon Dominating Body, but he just ended up humiliating himself."
"The authority of the Lingyun List isn’t so easily challenged. Those teachers have a sharper eye than anyone."
"The funniest part is how he’s such a sore loser. He really thought he had it in the bag."
...
The surrounding discussions pierced Du Ziming’s chest like sharp blades, causing the Gang Yuan he had barely managed to suppress to riot once more. His body trembled violently.
"Get down and treat your injuries," Jin Yu’s expression grew even more unpleasant. "But if you can’t even handle a single defeat, you will be able to see the limits of your future achievements at a single glance unless you change this temperament of yours."
He wasn’t afraid of his students losing; he was only afraid they couldn’t handle the loss.
"This student will take his leave!"
Sensing Jin Yu’s disgust, Du Ziming didn’t dare to linger any longer. Enduring his injuries, he quickly stepped down from the arena, burying his resentment toward Xu Yang deep within his heart.
"Brother Du, I have a healing Elixir here. Take it quickly."
Huo Xiaochen, Kong Cheng, and others from their faction went forward to greet him, handing Du Ziming an Elixir to consume.
"I’ve disappointed everyone," Du Ziming said bitterly. He had originally hoped to use a victory over Xu Yang to make a name for himself in Yun Province and secure a firm foothold within Huo Xiaochen’s group. Instead, he ended up losing face.
"Brother Du, treating your injuries is the priority. We can talk about everything else later," Huo Xiaochen reminded him.
Du Ziming nodded. After swallowing the Elixir, he immediately closed his eyes and began meditating.
"This student will take his leave!"
On the arena, Xu Yang cupped his hands toward Jin Yu.
Jin Yu nodded. "Go on. It is not easy for your physical body to reach this Realm. It would be best for you to practice a Physical Body Martial Technique to truly bring out its power."
With his sharp eye, he naturally saw that although Xu Yang had defeated Du Ziming, he hadn’t used any Physical Body Martial Techniques. If he had, his Combat Power would have been even greater. As a teacher, he was also well aware that Xu Yang simply didn’t know any; ordinary Sects didn’t possess such Martial Techniques to begin with.
"This student thanks the teacher for the guidance." Xu Yang cupped his hands and turned to step down from the stage.
A so-called Physical Body Martial Technique was simply one that relied more heavily on the use of the physical body, and he indeed lacked any such skills. Among all his current Martial Techniques, whether it was the Black Tortoise Mountain-Suppressing Fist or the Extreme Prison Heaven-Slaying Technique, they both leaned heavily toward the use of Gang Yuan.
He knew he needed a combat-oriented Physical Body Martial Technique, but he hadn’t even exchanged for the subsequent Cultivation Techniques for the Eight Ferocious Hidden Dragon Strength or the Blood Prison Heart Blade Scripture yet. How could he possibly have spare credits for a Physical Body Martial Technique?
"Brother Xu, congratulations on your victory."
"Your strength is truly astonishing, Brother Xu."
As Xu Yang stepped off the arena, Wenshan, Zuo Mu, and the others approached to congratulate him.
Although Du Ziming had aligned himself with Huo Xiaochen, not everyone was afraid of Huo Xiaochen or the Xiao Family backing him. While there were not many Thousand-Year-Old Noble Families in Yunzhou City, there were quite a few factions with strength equal to theirs. The only difference was that their family legacies had not endured for quite as long.
"I knew that Du Ziming was nothing more than a leaping clown. That punch of yours was truly satisfying, Brother Xu," Gu Qingfeng said with a smile. Since Du Ziming had mixed in with Huo Xiaochen, he considered him an enemy as well.
"How could a mere Du Ziming shake my Junior Brother Xu’s ranking? Even Lin Jingyu is dead; what does he count for?" Sun Tao chuckled. He had never been worried about Xu Yang. It was merely a matter of how much of his true strength Xu Yang was willing to reveal.
"Sun Tao, Wan He, take the stage!" Jin Yu’s voice suddenly rang out across the arena.
Wan He, who had been struggling to hold himself back, stepped through the air and was the first to board the stage, casting a sharp glare at Sun Tao.
"Be careful, Senior Brother Sun!"
"May you win on your first try, Brother Sun."
Xu Yang, Gu Qingfeng, and the others offered their encouragement.
"I’ll be right back!" Sun Tao replied confidently, his figure flashing as he drifted onto the arena.
"Stop before you go too far. Remember, you are not permitted to severely injure or kill anyone." Jin Yu didn’t waste any words and directly announced the start of the match.
"Pardon my offense, Brother Sun." Wan He cupped his hands. He wanted to take advantage of Sun Tao’s current state, but he didn’t want to offend him to the point of making an enemy out of him. Sun Tao’s Comprehension was on par with Wu Xiuyuan and Gu Qingfeng, meaning his future achievements would far surpass his own.
"Feel free to go all out, Brother Wan," Sun Tao smiled.
"Be careful then, Brother Sun."
Vigorous Gang Yuan surged from Wan He’s body, and the Power of Heaven and Earth rapidly converged upon him.
BOOM!
A violent shockwave of air exploded outward. His aura instantly surged, doubling in strength. It was clear he had activated a Secret Technique that amplified his Combat Power; he was going all out from the very start.
With his Martial Dao Imagery shaking the heavens and the earth behind him, Wan He took a step forward and vanished from his spot. In little more than a flash of light, he materialized right in front of Sun Tao, striking out with a Palm.
His speed was absolutely blistering, no slower than the recently defeated Du Ziming. Aside from the Celestial Essence Second Layer Martial Artists, no one else could even catch a glimpse of his shadow.
This palm strike was like crashing ocean waves, carrying a sense of endless continuity. Before the Palm even connected, the tyrannical pressure was already causing Sun Tao’s robes to flutter violently and his hair to whip wildly in the wind.
"Good timing!"
Sun Tao shouted lightly, his fighting spirit surging as he rapidly shifted backward.
Accompanied by a rumbling sound, his aura erupted like a volcano, blanketing the area in a wave of scorching heat. At the same time, his body glowed with a faint purple light that shrouded him completely.
In the very next moment, he thrust his palm forward, intercepting Wan He’s incoming strike head-on.