Chapter 589 - 371: 19
Chapter 589: Chapter 371: 19
"WHOOSH!"
The Qi-Blood around Xu Yang’s body was instantly shattered. He felt a fierce and overbearing force, no weaker than his own, surging from his opponent.
He couldn’t help but shudder. His bones and muscles rumbled, and his deliberately suppressed physical body almost lost control.
The sleeve of the arm he used to meet Wan He’s palm had long been pushed to its limit. Under the impact of their clash, his muscles swelled another fraction. With a RIP, the entire sleeve burst into shreds, revealing a muscular, knotted arm.
Instead of taking the blow head-on, he hurriedly took several large steps back.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t suppress Wan He’s strength. Rather, forcing himself to suppress it might cause the Formless Thousand Illusion Skill to temporarily fail. If he accidentally exposed the Dragon Symbols Heart Scripture, it would be troublesome.
"Hmph!"
Wan He wasn’t having an easy time either. He let out a low, muffled groan. His muscles and bones rumbled in the same manner, and the Protective Gang Yuan shielding his body became covered in spiderweb-like cracks. Immediately after, it exploded with a BOOM, just like Xu Yang’s Qi-Blood.
The pure physical strength was far fiercer than he had imagined. Unlike Gang Yuan, it was not easy to dissipate. His palm went numb, and he too staggered back, his heavy footsteps causing the runes on the arena floor to flicker wildly.
"Xu Yang actually blocked it!"
"They both took five steps back. It looks like they’re evenly matched."
"Wan He is ranked nineteenth, yet he couldn’t gain the upper hand."
"Xu Yang’s physical body is tyrannical. The last thing he fears is a head-on clash."
The crowd below the arena was in an uproar, astonished that Xu Yang hadn’t fallen into a disadvantage.
"Nothing more than this!" Wan He roared, suppressing his churning Qi-Blood.
A physical body in the Qi and Blood Transformation Realm was much weaker than he had imagined. It never occurred to him that Xu Yang was actually suppressing his true strength to fight him.
"We’ve only exchanged one move. Let’s exchange a few more and see if it’s still ’nothing more than this’," Xu Yang shouted.
The prowess of a Body Refining Martial Artist did not just lie in their physical strength, but also in their defense and seemingly endless stamina.
"You think I’m afraid of you?!" Wan He strode forward.
Xu Yang also took a step forward. With that single step, specks of golden light surfaced on his body. In an instant, the gold covered him entirely, transforming him into a giant seemingly cast from solid gold. Coupled with his explosive muscles, the visual impact was staggering.
"The Body-Protecting Golden Gang Skill!"
"I almost forgot that Xu Yang also knows the Golden Gang Skill. That’s exactly how Lin Jingyu was beaten to death back then."
"Protective Body, Body Refining, and a Combat Enhancement Secret Skill... Xu Yang truly has no weaknesses. It’s just a pity he wasted two opportunities and failed to cultivate a top-tier Heart Method."
"No, he’s still lacking a Physical Body Martial Technique."
Wan He’s eyes turned cold. He, too, had forgotten that Xu Yang possessed the Golden Gang Skill—a Body-Protecting Technique he had trained to Great Success. To be honest, it was extremely rare for someone of this age to cultivate the Golden Gang Skill to such a Realm.
This was because this particular Martial Art required the Water Grinding Technique. No matter how exceptional one’s Root Bone or talent was, it could only be refined bit by bit. Without seven, eight, or even ten years of painstaking effort, achieving Great Success was a pipe dream. As a result, very few people chose to cultivate such Body-Protecting Techniques.
BAM!
The next moment, their large hands clashed once more. The deafening sound was like two massive mountains colliding.
Golden light flowed across Xu Yang’s body. His legs were rooted to the ground like an ancient tree, standing entirely unfazed. This was the ’Immovable as a Mountain’ aspect of the Bright King Unmoving Body.
With the reinforcement of the Body-Protecting Golden Gang Skill, he didn’t need to retreat to disperse the force this time, nor did he have to worry about leaking the power of the Dragon Symbols Heart Scripture. He took the blow head-on, his strength pouring out madly like a river bursting its banks.
Wan He’s Gang Yuan exploded. He felt a torrential Force, like a landslide or tsunami, crashing into him from the opposite side. It was overwhelmingly unstoppable. If he didn’t retreat to disperse the impact, his hand bones might snap on the spot. Although his strength was comparable to Xu Yang’s, his physical sturdiness was far inferior. In a true contest of raw power, his hand would break first.
Gritting his teeth, he took several large steps back, unloading the force into the arena floor beneath his feet.
"Wan He was knocked back!"
The audience stared in shock. Xu Yang stood perfectly still, while Wan He was forced into a rapid retreat. The latter’s face was flushed red, the Martial Dao Imagery behind him briefly vanished, and he couldn’t even maintain his Protective Gang Yuan.
"How is this possible?" Lu Ren revealed a look of sheer disbelief. That was the nineteenth-ranked Wan He, yet he had been forced back in their second clash.
"Even Wan He is no match for him." Ye Qiuling’s beautiful eyes widened, her regret over her past choices deepening even further.
"Wan He, aren’t you a piece of trash too? Why are you retreating? Weren’t you supposed to be incredibly strong? Turns out you’re just all talk!" Though shocked internally, Du Ziming seized the opportunity to ruthlessly mock Wan He.
"Damn it!"
Wan He felt his Qi-Blood churning like wild waves. His arm was completely numb, and tremors wracked his internal organs. Even more agonizing, however, were Du Ziming’s mocking words.
"That was only our second clash! How are you already failing?"
Xu Yang let out a long howl, his wild hair dancing in the wind. Refusing to yield his advantage, he surged forward with giant strides and launched another Palm strike. His pure physical strength erupted. The golden Palm tore through the air like a bolt of rushing thunder, blasting a white crescent arc into the atmosphere and sending white air currents billowing in all directions.
Even before the Palm landed, the accompanying gale was already battering Wan He’s body.
"You’re just a meathead with all brawn and no brains!" Wan He shouted coldly.
Having yet to suppress his churning Qi-Blood, he didn’t dare clash head-on with Xu Yang again. He had no choice but to dodge. With his Body-Protecting Golden Gang Skill fully active, Xu Yang was completely unrestrained. A direct collision with Wan He seemed to have absolutely no effect on him.
BOOM!
The missed Palm Force slammed into the arena, causing all the runes to light up simultaneously.
Suddenly, a finger thrust out silently, like a long-hidden venomous snake striking its prey, aiming straight for Xu Yang’s armpit. At some unknown point, Wan He had appeared at Xu Yang’s flank, executing a Finger Technique.
The fierce Finger Force was as sharp as a knife’s edge, instantly piercing the Qi-Blood shrouding Xu Yang’s body. Just as the finger was about to make contact, another finger tapped in from the side.
"I know a Finger Technique too," Xu Yang’s indifferent voice rang out. It was his long-unused Pure Essence Gold-Splitting Finger.
THUD!
The two fingers collided instantly. As their Forces clashed, Xu Yang felt a sharp, piercing power traveling from his opponent. A stinging pain shot through his flesh, and the golden light on his finger dimmed.
Wan He fared no better. He felt a tearing power envelop his finger, seemingly intent on ripping it to pieces. His condensed Gang Yuan shattered with a loud POP.
He thought to himself, "What fast reflexes!"
Realizing things were taking a turn for the worse, he tried to dodge backwards, but Xu Yang’s other hand was already shooting toward him like a golden lightning bolt. The fist rapidly magnified in his vision.
"It’s too late."
Just as Wan He crossed his arms over his chest to block, a fist carrying Mountain-Shattering and Mountain-Breaking power smashed down heavily.
BAM!
The Gang Yuan coating his arms didn’t even last a single breath. Cracks spread across it like fragile porcelain before it blew apart entirely. The crushing Fist Force drove through like splitting bamboo, hammering heavily against his arms.
BOOM!
Wan He felt as if he had been rammed by a frenzied bull. His raised arms instantly went limp, unable to withstand the ferocious power. The struck arm spasmed wildly, temporarily losing all sensation.
Xu Yang’s eyes calmly locked onto Wan He as his strength erupted once more. Wan He let out a muffled grunt. His face flushed completely crimson as he staggered backward.
"Wan He was knocked back again."
"Their overall strength isn’t that far apart, but a Body Refining Martial Artist can effortlessly suppress their opponent. They don’t even need time to catch their breath and gather their energy. Their explosive power is simply too immense."
The spectators watched in awe. Xu Yang’s strength was so utterly domineering that even Wan He couldn’t fend him off.
"Haha! Wan He, are you trying to make me die of laughter?" Du Ziming laughed uproariously.
Up on the arena, Xu Yang took a step and shot forward like an arrow released from its bowstring, catching up to the retreating Wan He in the blink of an eye. This time, he didn’t give Wan He any chance to dodge. His golden fist punched a hole straight through the air. Left with no other choice and unable to even catch his breath, Wan He was forced to raise his hand to counterattack.
However, he couldn’t rival Xu Yang at his absolute peak, let alone during such a hasty retaliation.
BAM!
The two fists collided with a thunderous boom. Wan He shuddered violently as if struck by lightning. His Martial Dao Imagery vanished entirely, and his body was sent flying through the air like a bundle of hay.
A trail of blood blossomed in mid-air. The flesh on the fist that had clashed with Xu Yang was completely cracked open, leaving the white bone clearly visible.
"Ah!" Wan He roared, his power surging out wildly. Just as he managed to halt his backward momentum, a golden fist stopped mere inches from his eyes. The rushing wind it carried sent his hair wildly dancing.
"Wan He is defeated. Xu Yang’s challenge is successful," Jin Yu’s voice slowly rang out.
Wan He froze. The swelling power receded like a fading tide, leaving his face painted with absolute disbelief.
He had actually lost?
"Wan He lost!"
"Just a moment ago, he was stepping on Du Ziming and belittling Xu Yang. I thought he would suppress Xu Yang with ease, but it turns out he’s just a joke."
"How laughable! Throwing around phrases like ’nothing more than this’ and ’a meathead with all brawn and no brains,’ only to make a complete fool of himself in the end."
"Qi and Blood Transformation... Did he think that was just a title for show?"
The chatter from the crowd filled him with such profound shame that he couldn’t even lift his head. His face burned hot and his ears flushed red, making him entirely forget the agonizing injury on his hand.
"Brother Wan, thank you for letting me win!"
Xu Yang slowly retracted his fist. Amidst a series of crisp pops, his physical body shrank back to its original size, and the golden hue faded completely.
Wan He remained silent, entirely devoid of his previous arrogance. Having suffered two consecutive defeats, he had become an utter laughingstock in the eyes of the crowd. The worst part was how wildly arrogant he had sounded before the fight even began.
"Xu Yang is now ranked nineteenth on the Lingyun List. Wan He is twentieth, and the rest will be pushed down accordingly," Jin Yu announced the new rankings for the Lingyun List.
With Xu Yang’s victory over Wan He, those ranked from twentieth to twenty-fifth all dropped by one spot.
"He actually succeeded. How could this happen? Isn’t his talent inferior to mine?" Lu Ren was in complete disbelief. Xu Yang had actually broken into the top twenty of the Lingyun List, and he had ended the battle remarkably fast. By the looks of it, he might even be able to advance another rank or two.
"Senior Brother Yuan, do you still think Xu Yang is biting off more than he can chew?" Sun Tao smiled, looking at Yuan Chengji not far away.
When Xu Yang had challenged Wan He, everyone else was optimistic. Only this fellow disciple from the Purple Sun Sect had thrown cold water on him, acting cynical and assuming Xu Yang was being arrogant. Now that Xu Yang had succeeded in his challenge, Sun Tao naturally couldn’t pass up the chance to throw those previous sneers right back in his face.
"I... I..."
Yuan Chengji’s face flushed bright red, burning as if he had just been slapped. He stuttered for a long time, unable to form a complete sentence. He never expected the humiliation to arrive so swiftly, nor did he anticipate that Sun Tao would defend Xu Yang so staunchly by confronting him directly in public.