Chapter 90 – Faster, Harder, Stronger
The thin hand carried Tian Hai Sheng Xue’s body off his horse and moved towards the end of Hundred Blossom Street. Tian Hai Sheng Xue’s body moved as fast as an arrow as it cut through the rain. A clear mark was seen on the marble floor as the hand and Tian Hai Sheng Xue traveled several dozens of yards away.
The hand belonged to a tall and thin elder. His attire was casual and his shoulders were high. He looked ancient but there was a trace of a warlike scent. Under his thin hands, Tian Hai Sheng Xue looked like a child.
The blank spots in the curtain of rain rushed forward and finally stopped in front of the battle horse. A person appeared and it wasn’t until he appeared did the rain from the sky finally start dropping again. The previously broken rain curtains connected and became dense again.
Just from these scenes, you could already tell how fast this person was.
He was just a very normal middle aged man. His shirt was filled with pictures of gold coins and he wore several gold rings on his fingers. Golden light was flashing from his body and he seemed to be a regular rich man often seen in villages or the countryside.
Just from his appearance, no one could guess that the punch came from him. He appeared suddenly in the morning rain and sent dozen of knights flying. His single punch easily broke through Tian Hai Sheng Xue’s iron spear and made a thin and tall elder come out as well.
The Officer Jin of the Herb Garden. His true identity was revealed just last night at Wei Yang Palace. He was Jin Yu Lu.
The thin and tall elder looked at Jin Yu Lu. His white eyebrow raised slightly while raindrops started to sink into his hair. The atmosphere was heavy. He opened his lips to speak.
Jin Yu Lu’s appearance made Tang Thirty Six realize that there would be no trouble for the Tradition Academy today. He was in extreme joy but as he saw the tall elder about to speak, Tang Thirty Six yelled, “Talk after we fight.”
This sentence was targeted towards Jin Yu Lu. Normally, at Tang Thirty Six’s age and generation, it would be disrespectful for him to yell at such a legendary figure but Jin Yu Lu didn’t mind, he just replied, “True.”
Right after he finished his sentence, Jin Yu Lu disappeared once again into the morning rain.
The pond on the marble floor splattered and foot marks appeared on the wall of Hundred Blossom Street. Several dozens of blank spots broke through the intense rain curtain. In a flash, he was dozens of yards away.
People who were watching this scene couldn’t believe their eyes. How could a person in this world be this fast?
The thin tall elder squinted his eyes slightly and his expression turned heavy. As an elder who participated in the previous war, he obviously knew how powerful Jin Yu Lu was, especially in the aspect of speed. The elder therefore, used his ultimate technique without hesitation.
He raised his thin hands and pushed forward. A cold but powerful aura mounted Hundred Blossom Street immediately and the rain started falling slower from the sky. In the duration of their landing, frost appeared on the surface of the rain drops. When they fell onto the marble floor, they flashed and scattered like pearls.
The rain curtain transformed into a ice curtain. This curtain was formed to defend against Jin Yu Lu’s attack but even so, multiple frozen spheres were crushed and thrown into street walls by Jin Yu Lu.
Just as the shadow appeared, Jin Yu Lu’s hands were already raised. He stared at the elder who was sealed behind the ice curtain and squinted his eyes slightly. The pupil of his eyes lost focus and dark light seemed to emit from its terrifying coldness.
Countless friction sounds were heard on Hundred Blossom Street. Thousands of flashes appeared and vanished on the street.
Those flashes were slightly curved and extremely sharp. If someone looked closely, they would notice that the flashes appeared to be claw marks of some kind of beast.
The tall, thin elder used his powerful and dense qi to set up a durable defense wall and froze the rain curtain into ice. Surely it effectively slowed down Jin Yu Lu’s terrifying speed, but it couldn’t hinder Jin Yu Lu’s attack patterns. No matter how tough his defense was, he couldn’t stop a string of rapid blows.
In just the brief moment of few water drops landing on the ground, Jin Yu Lu launched several hundreds of blows into the rain curtain. Of course Tang Thirty Six, Chen Chang Sheng and the knights in the pond couldn’t see these scenes. These two were truly powerful xiuxingists.
A tearing sound was heard and the dense rain curtain was pierced through. Jin Yu Lu passed the defensive line and arrived in front of the thin tall elder. He swinged his arm and the elder yelled while blocking Jin Yu Lu’s fist forcefully with his thin palms.
Shock waves splashed the raindrops everywhere and cracks started to appear on the walls of the streets.
Although Tian Hai Sheng Xue was protected behind the tall, thin elder and he wasn’t harmed by the direct impact of the shock wave, he still felt the damage and let out a deep moan as his face turned even paler.
On the other hand, the tall, thin elder felt the immediate impact. The enormous strength of Jin Yu Lu’s fist was endured entirely by him. His face grew pale as blood started flowing out of the corner of his lips. The elder’s legs shook slightly.
Jin Yu Lu looked at him expressionlessly but he stopped attacking. He placed his hands back into his pockets, turned around and walked in the direction of Tradition Academy.
His walking posture didn’t present himself as a rich man anymore, but rather more of a farmer.
The battle between the powerful figures happened quickly and ended quickly. It was faster than any observer imagined because Jin Yu Lu was very hasty. His speed was out of this world. It was even faster than flying birds that were famous for their immense
speed. Even in the entire continent, his speed could be ranked at the top.
“What is a farmer like you doing here and not harvesting crops in the eastern fields?”
The tall, thin elder looked at Jin Yu Lu’s slightly curve back and yelled angrily.
After they fought, they could talk especially since they knew each other from a long time ago. Jin Yu Lu didn’t turn back. He continued walking with his hands in the pockets, “Fei Dian, what are you doing here and not sweeping snow in the north?
Hearing the name “Fei Dian”, Tang Thirty Six’s expression changed slightly and some noise was heard in the depth of the street.
That tall, thin elder was Fei Dian!
Fei Dian was the one of the oldest and most powerful Generals of Zhou Dynasty. He participated in the previous war against the Demon race, and his contribution and recognition was huge. Even the most famous General right now, Xue Xing Chuan, would bow in respect when encountering him.
Who knew such a powerful figure would appear outside of Tradition Academy in the morning and help Tian Hai Sheng Xue.
But no one expected that such a powerful figure would lose to that middle aged man.
All citizens of Zhou Dynasty knew that Fei Dian learned and practiced the Way of Cold Hawk. He was recognized for his swift and deadly speed. But that middle aged man was even faster and more powerful than him.
The people who didn’t know the identity of the middle aged man were shocked. They wondered, who is this man?
But Chen Chang Sheng and his crew obviously knew.
“Even after all these years, you, Jin Yu Lu, still rely on your strength and speed.” Fei Dian looked at his back and mocked.
Only after hearing this, the people in the street knew who Jin Yu Lu was. They were shocked without words.
After last night’s Ivy Festival, many people knew that Jin Yu Lu followed Princess Luo Luo and settled in the capital. The Yao General that even Emperor Tai Zong admired became a living legend so many years after the War. If he’s the middle aged man, then the outcome of this battle was determined before the fight even started.
No matter how fast Fei Dian was, he couldn’t be swifter than him.
Jin Yu Lu’s speed could rank amongst the top five in the entire continent.
Hearing Fei Dian’s swords, Jin Yu Lu still didn’t turn around, “Seven hundred years ago, you said the same words. Seven hundred years later, you haven’t changed a bit……..You specializes in strength and speed, but you are worse than me in both fields. What can I do about it?”
Truly talented young members of great background were protected by powerful people to insure their growth of becoming real xiuxingists. For example, when Tang Thirty Six came to the capital from Wen Shui, the principals of Heavenly Academy cared for him which is why no one from his family followed. But it was clear that his family didn’t expect him to leave Heavenly Academy after such a short period of time.
For three hundred years Fei Dian and Tian Hai Family had a good relationship. He was responsible of guarding the Northern Border so the Tian Hai Family sent Tian Hai Sheng Xue to the Northern Border so that he could learn and mature. Obviously Fei Dian became the protector of Tian Hai Sheng Xue in the Northern Border. Even after they returned to the capital, the relationship stayed the same.
This morning when Tian Hai Sheng Xue came to Tradition Academy to punish Chen Chang Sheng and his crew, Fei Dian didn’t say anything. He just followed behind with stealth because he knew something was off. As he expected, the three students of Tradition Academy were extraordinary, and at the end, even Jin Yu Lu appeared.
“If I remember correctly, you should be in Academy of Li Palace right now.”
Fei Dian accepted the handkerchief that Tian Hai Sheng Xue handed over and lightly wiped off the blood in the corner of his lips
At the same time, Jin Yu Lu reached the entrance of Tradition Academy. He took the handkerchief that Chen Chang Sheng handed over and wiped the rainwater off his face lightly. He turned, glanced at Fei Dian and said, “Why do I have to be in Academy of Li Palace?”
“Princess Luo Luo is currently living in Academy of Li Palace. This was requested by the Pope and the Queen.”
Fei Dian squinted across the dense rain curtain and said.
Jin Yu Lu laughed a little and asked, “And what does it have to do with me?”
Fei Dian wrinkled his eyebrows lightly, “You should understand, Emperor Bai let the Queen take care of your princess, therefore the words of the Queen is the same as the commands of Emperor Bai. That’s why even Princess Luo Luo needs to listen to her. You, as an official, dare to disobey the command of Emperor Bai?”
“The commands of Emperor Bai……I stopped obeying them several hundred years ago. If I remember correctly, you were also present at that moment. Have you forgotten?”
Jin Yu Lu’s smile vanished as he said expressionlessly, “Starting from the day my emperor announced that command, I was no longer an official of him. I’m not under the control of his orders anymore. My princess listened to the Divine Queen’s words because she’s the elder and Emperor Bai agreed to it. I don’t have to listen to the Divine Queen’s words because I’m not a Zhou Citizen, and the Queen isn’t my elder. Plus, Emperor Bai can’t command me anymore.”
“I’m an officer of my princess. I only listen to her words.”
“My princess told me to look after Tradition Academy, so I came to look after them.”
“Is there a problem?”
Fei Dian looked at him and his mood was complicated. He knew which command of Emperor Bai Jin Yu Lu was talking about. It was the one which members of Mountain Li delivered the military supplies late, and that they should be prosecuted. At that time, this event was known throughout the entire army and it split the force into two sides. It nearly destroyed the alliance between humans and Yao race.
Fei Dian sighed, “After several hundred years, your personality is still so stubborn. Your tone is still so forceful.”
Jin Yu Lu said expressionlessly, “At that time, I was responsible for carrying out military punishment, I killed countless people. I didn’t listen to Emperor Bai’s words, Emperor Tai Zong couldn’t handle me either. Why is this? Because I’m right. If I’m right, then why should I not be stubborn? Why should I not be forceful?”
Silence filled the Hundred Blossom Street. The only sound that could be heard was the noise of raindrops landing on the marble floor.
Of the dozens of people in front of the entrance of Tradition Academy and the hidden crowd in the depths of Hundred Blossom Street, no one spoke out.