True Martial World - Chapter 228: Hard-Soft

The entire Divine Wilderness Stage, that was a hundred feet in radius, was engulfed by a thick fiery serpent. The fire serpent whipped around the stage with a tumultuous burning sound and it surrounded Chu Xiaoran.

Fang Jihai thrust his spear towards Chu Xiaoran's shoulder!

Fang Jihai's spear was nine foot long and it was made of black iron. On the other hand, Chu Xiaoran was using a sword. Using a sword, which is considered a light weapon, against a spear's strike, it is inevitably inferior in strength!

At that moment, many broke out into a cold sweat for Chu Xiaoran.

However, Chu Xiaoran remained nonchalant within the fiery storm. As Fang Jihai thrust his spear downwards, the thrust threatened to swallow Chu Xiaoran within the flames. Only then, did she make her move!

The four foot long sword had a long yet soft blade. Like a tumbling leaf, it clashed with Fang Jihai's spear.

Oh!?

Using a soft sword to parry a heavy black iron spear!?

People were shocked. How could this happen? Wouldn't this strike from the spear deform Chu Xiaoran's sword, which in turn would break her arm?

Before they could even gasp, they saw a sword beam rise up into the heavens!

Cha!

The engulfing flames were sliced apart by Chu Xiaoran's sword!

Furthermore, Chu Xiaoran had broken Fang Jihai's fire Yuan Qi with her sword. The sword tip came into contact with the black iron spear's shaft.

Suddenly, space seemed to freeze. Fang Jihai's spear was apparently stuck in a mud pool. It was restrained by a sword that was as soft as water. The heavy black iron spear could only bend the sword's blade slightly and it could not go any further!

Chu Xiaoran suddenly pulled out the sword, separating from the spear with ease.

"Boom!"

Fang Jihai's spear slammed into the purple tungsten ground, causing a huge dent.

But at that moment, Chu Xiaoran struck with her sword again!

Her sword reached an extreme speed as it stabbed towards Fang Jihai's heart!

What happened?

Fang Jihai was struck dumb with astonishment. When he crossed weapons with Chu Xiaoran earlier, he felt a very odd feeling. It was as if all his strength had been restrained by Chu Xiaoran.

And he couldn't figure out what method Chu Xiaoran had used.

Now, Fang Jihai had no time to ponder over it. Chu Xiaoran's blade beam was right in front of him!

"Fiery Shield!"

Fang Jihai swept with his spear and a fiery vortex formed in front of him. In that split second, a thick crimson fiery shield was formed!

"Whew!"

Chu Xiaoran's sword sent out a ear-piercing screeching sound and it struck the flame shield!

"Peng!"

Even after the energy impact, Chu Xiaoran's blade beam carried on flying forward. It had broken through the flame shield completely!

The fiery explosion caused a rain of fire to spread out indiscriminately. In it, there was a girl wearing a yellow swan dress, this made the scene look extremely beautiful.

Fang Jihai retreated again and again. He was amazed that his Reckless Fire attack had been blocked by Chu Xiaoran, and then his Fiery Shield had been completely broken by Chu Xiaoran.

How could this girl be this strong!?

Chu Xiaoran began sending a flurry of sword attacks. Fang Jihai rapidly retreated as he tried to use his spear to break through Chu Xiaoran's blade beams.

However, Chu Xiaoran's sword seemed to possess an incredible resilience within it. No matter how strong Fang Jihai's spear beams were, Chu Xiaoran's sword was pervasive. A thin sword Qi pierced through Fang Jihai's Yuan Qi protection, making his whole body feel numb as if he was electrocuted.

"How is this possible...?"

Fang Jihai clearly felt that Chu Xiaoran's Yuan Qi was not better than his, yet he was restrained again and again. He felt that he could not use all of his strength at all.

In the audience when everyone saw this scene, a person suddenly realized, "It's a nomological truth! Didn't you hear? Chu Xiaoran has already gained insight on the 'hard-soft' truth!"

The hard-soft truth was a combination of hardness and softness. Chu Xiaoran's weapon may look like a soft sword, but after Chu Xiaoran gained insight on the hard-soft truth, this soft sword gained incredible strength!

"Swish!"

With the blade beams rising up, Chu Xiaoran forced Fang Jihai into a corner of the ring. Then, an attack came from above, flying directly towards Fang Jihai's head!

Fang Jihai raised his spear to block it.

"Puah!"

Fang Jihai's fiery Yuan Qi was split apart. This sword slashed down on Fang Jihai's spear shaft. The blade carried on with its momentum and it bent the shaft as it carried on towards Fang Jihai like a whip!

Oh!?

Fang Jihai constricted his pupils. He had no way of dodging because it was too close!

The sharp blade beam had broken through Fang Jihai's protective Yuan Qi and it opened a wound across Fang Jihai's chest.

This wound allowed Chu Xiaoran's Qi to rush into Fang Jihai's meridians. With the sword Qi entering his body, Fang Jihai's body trembled as a stream of blood gushed out of his mouth.

Before he could counter, Chu Xiaoran had struck again.

"Peng!"

Chu Xiaoran’s attack completely split Fang Jihai’s protective Yuan Qi apart. He flew back before slamming heavily onto the ground.

Chu Xiaoran wins this battle!

When the referee announced the result, Fang Jihai was dazed. He lost? He lost to a rookie girl, who was 2-3 years younger than him?

He had been training in the Tai Ah Divine City for 2 years, yet he could not compete with someone who just arrived in the Tai Ah Divine City!

Many rookies in the audience, looked at each other. They were all supporters of Chu Xiaoran and they believed she could win. But they never expected Chu Xiaoran to win so cleanly. And it seemed like she did not use all of her energy.

She had defeated a senior cultivator ranked 3780 without using all of her energy...

Terrifying!

"Amazing...The strength Chu Xiaoran that showed was on a different level compared to those on the rookie rankings! Previously someone ranked 7th on the rookie rankings challenged a senior cultivator ranked in the 5000s and they still lost...but Chu Xiaoran beat someone in the 3700s easily! This gap is too great!"

"And it's said that Qiuniu is on par with Chu Xiaoran, could Qiuniu also have similar strength?"

Many rookies were shocked. They had already heard that while they were doing their miscellaneous jobs, Qiuniu and Chu Xiaoran had already entered the Divine Wilderness to hunt desolate beasts. The danger involved was obvious.

Back then, they were just impressed, but they did not know to what extent these two's strength was. But now, it seems that there was a big difference in strength between those ranked third, fourth or fifth on the rookie rankings, even though there is only a very small difference in their rankings!

The other rookies ranked in the top 10 like Liu Yuxing can be ignored. Only Yi Yun had an impressive battle. But he did not have the stunning result like how Chu Xiaoran easily defeated Fang Jihai.

Within the hearts of many, Liu Yuxing could not compare to a senior cultivator like Fang Jihai.

And the rule set by the divine city for the rookie rankings was that fights had to carry on till a winner amongst the rookies was decided!

The divine city had prepared rich rewards to the number one rookie!

Now Chu Xiaoran might seem the strongest, and the only person that could compete with Chu Xiaoran was Qiuniu and possibly Yi Yun...

"Chu Xiaoran has understood the hard-soft truths. This is the foundation of the Defender Duke's family. From a young age, Chu Xiaoran was under the tutelage of good teachers in the Defender Duke's residence. The resources she received were also extraordinary. Compared to us, she's on a completely different level." Someone sighed with emotion. After all, no one could compare with a descendant from a family with great accumulative heritage.

"We might not be able to, but Yi Yun might be able to barely compete. I am really looking forward to Yi Yun and Chu Xiaoran's battle. Yi Yun has even weaker roots than us. Although his chances of winning are slim, he can still fight an exhilarating battle. If he can force Chu Xiaoran to use all her strength, then it would be something to be proud of."

Although many were jealous of Yi Yun, some cultivators were impressed with Yi Yun's origins. Those who came from small family clans knew the difficulty of climbing up.

"How is it? Any thoughts?" Baldy Qin asked while stroking his chin as he stood beside Yi Yun. He had always been hypercritical, but he could not help but praise Chu Xiaoran's performance.

Yi Yun smiled and nodded, "She is indeed strong..."

In the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, there were all sorts of hidden monsters. If this was three months ago, when he just arrived in the Tai Ah Divine City, Yi Yun would feel like he could do nothing against a person like Chu Xiaoran.

They were of a completely different level!

Chu Xiaoran had great sword play, cultivation techniques and had gained insight on a nomological truth. As for states like the Tempered Body, Dragon Pulse, even a pea-sized brain could figure out that Chu Xiaoran had reached them earlier on.

Back then, Yi Yun with only his large success stage of Minute Subtlety would have no advantage against Chu Xiaoran. They were from completely different realms.

But now, everything was different. With the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique', it had filled the gap in Yi Yun's many shortcomings.

Now, Yi Yun deeply understood the importance of cultivation techniques and nomology. It could increase a person's strength to an entirely new level.

Without a good cultivation technique and without understanding any nomologies, any amount of energy that his body absorbed would be useless. It was like a group of strong soldiers without a general commanding them. The battle prowess would be greatly reduced.

True Martial World - Chapter 227: Lixiao Association

"Thank you, Brother Xu." Yi Yun cupped his hands at Xu Qingyun.

Xu Qingyun shook his head and said, "It’s a small matter. I just can not stand seeing the Chu royal residence doing such despicable acts!"

Xu Qingyun's carefree attitude gave Yi Yun a pleasant impression.

"What is a soul contract?" Yi Yun asked. It was best to be wary of others, so knowing an additional tidbit of information would always be better.

Xu Qingyun explained, "In some ancient family clans, they have many types of contracts. Once the contract is signed, it will be a soul-binding one. There is no way of removing it. Some of the high-handed contracts can even make you a slave. You would completely lose your own will. Lan Bai, the person from before, wanted you to sign a contract that wasn't that terrible. If it was, the Tai Ah Divine City would not sit idly by, but… once the contract had been signed, you would have to become a servant in the Chu royal residence for several years. There were many unfair terms included within it."

"The Chu royal residence has eyed your potential. The benefits they offered to you may look good now, but once your strength reaches an extraordinary level, the Chu royal residence could trap you for centuries with this contract. They would make you do a lot of things for them."

"Thanks to Brother Xu's tip, I have broadened my horizons."

Besides Yi Yun, Zhou Kui and Song Zijun also felt that they had benefited greatly too. They had to be extremely careful when signing any contract in the future, otherwise, they would suffer the consequences.

"Little Brother Yi, I am also from the Jin Long Wei and I can be considered your senior. In the future, if you have any problems , just come look for me. Also… this old brother wants to give you a heads up. Your future is limitless. Do not sell yourself cheaply for some immediate benefits! Do not frivolously sign contracts, especially those from the large family clans."

Amongst the rookies, Yi Yun was at the top. This implied that in the next five years in the Tai Ah Divine City, Yi Yun would likely reach the Heaven roll’s top five.

Typical cultivators in the Tai Ah Divine City, who attained a position in the Heaven roll’s top five, had a great possibility of being one of the best Human Lords if they did not falter in the future.

Upon reaching this stage, they would receive attention from all of the various large factions in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom. Wealth and noble titles would be at their fingertips.

Of course, such talents were impossible to rope in with mere wealth and titles of nobility. To rope them in, the factions would have to use cultivation techniques or other treasures.

Xu Qingyun said, "If you wish to join a faction, you can consider joining an association. There is much more freedom in this. This older brother is from the Linxiao Association. If you are interested, I can introduce you."

Xu Qingyun casually said this. But by the side, Zhou Kui and Song Zijun were secretly alarmed.

The Linxiao Association… it was the true number one association in the Tai Ah Divine City. Its influential power was even larger than the Luohuo Association’s power.

The Luohuo Association had many people, but its quality in talent was lacking.

It was allegedly set up by Luo Huo'er on a whim. Due to Luo Huo'er's extreme popularity, many young elites rushed to join the association because of her name. Later on, Luo Huo'er gave up control over the association and she began researching the Desolate Heaven technique by herself. The Luohuo Association was run by key personnel after that.

As for the true elites, most of them chose to go to the Linxiao Association, this included Li Xiao and the Tai Ah Twin Heroes' Qiao brothers.

The Linxiao Association had few people, because they only accepted the best elites!

Zhou Kui felt that it would be difficult for Yi Yun to join the Linxiao Association in his present position. He still lacked the qualifications!

Therefore, he was surprised to find Xu Qingyun appreciating Yi Yun that much.

"Thank you for Brother Xu's appreciation." Yi Yun cupped his hands. In fact, joining an association wasn't too bad. There were no obligations. Also, with people backing him, it would prevent other associations from bullying him.

...

It was the fifth day of the rookie ranking competitions. By this day, all the rookie-rookie battles had been completed. The rookies had a certain understanding of their own strength and their corresponding ranking.

Many rookies were now ranked beyond 10,000. They knew where they stood, so they were not dissatisfied with it.

Having just recently arrived in the Tai Ah Divine City, the people they were competing against were elites. The rookies had a much shorter cultivation time than the others, and they were younger than the others. What did the rookies have that would make them overcome this difference?

They could only take it step by step in a slow fashion.

However, there were some monstrous figures amongst the rookies who had outstanding talent. These people would not stick to their own spot. To them, the fifth day of the rookie competition was when the real fight began!

On this day, they could challenge the senior cultivators that were ranked higher than them!

Those who had been in the Tai Ah Divine City for two to three years were their targets.

To the rookies, these matches were much more exciting than the rookie-rookie battles!

They wanted to see what strength the senior cultivators possessed.

As such, the challenge battles against the senior cultivators began. The grade of the matches were completely different from the ones in the past few days.

Those rookies who ranked in the top 100 to the top 20 came forward to challenge senior cultivators who were in the top 8000, and even in the top 6000.

The battles were in full swing!

However, although the experts amongst the rookies fought beautifully, there were many who lost!

As the saying goes, 'ginger is hottest when it's old', the senior cultivators, especially those ranked in the top 6000 almost never lost when they were challenged.

Rookie after rookie was defeated.

"Hmph, this bunch of rookies, they think that they are marvelous. They have just arrived in the Tai Ah Divine City, they have only been here for a few months and they think they can rise above us? So naive." A senior cultivator said disdainfully.

The recruits that gathered in Tai Ah Divine City every year would have their egos inflated after doing well in the rookie ranking competitions. They wanted to rise up high by battling the veterans.

But most of the time, these people would fail.

Very few veterans in the Tai Ah Divine City were weaklings.

"There are some pretty good ones in this batch of rookies, such as that brat named Yi Yun. He has some talent, but he's still too young. If he dares challenge me, I'll teach him a good lesson." A cultivator, who had spent two years and three months in the Tai Ah Divine City, wiped his long sword and proudly smiled.

His position on the Earth roll of honor hovered around 4000. Amongst the cultivators who had spent more than 2 years in the Tai Ah Divine City, he was considered one of the better ones. It was obvious that he was better than the rookies.

But at that moment, the referee shouted loudly; "Divine Wilderness Stage, 3780, Fang Jihai, come on stage!"

With this shout from the referee, the cultivator wiping his sword was surprised. What? 3780!?

Isn't that someone ranked around 3700 in the Earth roll?

Fang Jihai...

The name flashed within the sword-wiping cultivator's mind. He knew Fang Jihai. They had arrived in the same batch and have spent more than two years in the Tai Ah Divine City. However, Fang Jihai’s strength was higher than his!

Amongst the third year’s, Fang Jihai was considered one of the stronger ones. This name was quite a famous one!

Someone actually dared to challenge Fang Jihai? Someone is courting death?

The youth, who was wiping his sword, looked over to see who was so naive as to court death.

At that moment, he saw a girl in a yellow swan dress appear on the Divine Wilderness Stage like a gust of wind.

"Challenger: 10,001 – Chu Xiaoran!"

Chu Xiaoran! Isn't she one of the two strongest people amongst the rookies?

Hearing Chu Xiaoran's name, the sword-wiping youth froze. So it was Chu Xiaoran who had challenged Fang Jihai. But so what if it was Chu Xiaoran? Did she think that the senior cultivators, who had spent 2-3 years in the Tai Ah Divine City, were here just to enjoy the meals?

Did she think that they, as veterans, could be so easily stepped on?

Chu Xiaoran’s popularity was high amongst the rookies. The moment she appeared on stage, the arena heated up!

Many rookies cheered for Chu Xiaoran!

There were few females in the Tai Ah Divine City, so females were relatively more welcomed. For a person of Chu Xiaoran's stature, and with her great strength, it was pretty much obvious why she was popular.

"Chu Xiaoran is sure to win!" Wave after waves of shouts made many excited in this high level competition.

And right in the middle of the stage, a youth in blue was unmoved hearing these cheers.

"So you are Chu Xiaoran..."

Chu Xiaoran's opponent was Fang Jihai. He looked 15-16 and he held a spear in hand. He stood upright and had an imposing aura.

"Amongst the rookies, you are indeed not bad. In five years time, you will definitely have the opportunity to enter the top 3 of the Heaven and Earth rolls. You might even be number one! But now, it's still too early. I will go all out to defeat you!" Fang Jihai said this before pulling out his spear. Hu!

A heatwave exploded like a tsunami. A flame began burning on the spear! It made it difficult for one to approach it.

Flame control?

People were surprised seeing this. Even Yi Yun stared attentively.

In this world, there were all sorts of cultivation techniques. It was not surprising for a cultivation technique to be able to generate a flame.

For example, in the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique', the Yuan Qi that was condensed was named 'Radiant Sun Qi'. It was also a form of Qi, but its elemental property was not fire, it was pure Yang!

In terms of energy grade, pure Yang was greater than fire!

"This Fang Jihai is quite strong. With his Purple Blood realm level, he can condense a flame with his Yuan Qi. That's pretty amazing. Who do you think will win?" Just this display of Fang Jihai's powers was an eye-opening experience for many rookies. Indeed, none of the senior cultivators were weaklings.

"Of course it’s Miss Chu! But… to win against Fang Jihai, she will probably need to put in some effort..."

Rookies were biased towards Chu Xiaoran; however with Fang Jihai's strength displayed, this battle was probably not going to be easy.

"Junior Chu, the battlefield is heartless. Watch out now!" Fang Jihai raised his spear and charged forward. He raised the long spear above his head and slashed downwards!

"Phew–"

The flame flared up, sending waves of flames that indiscriminately swept the area.

"Reckless Fire!"

Facing Chu Xiaoran, Fang Jihai did not go easy. He used one of his signature moves from the start, so that he could beat Chu Xiaoran as quickly as possible. If he were to take a long time to battle a rookie, and actually end up failing miserably at such an easy task, it would be extremely embarrassing.

True Martial World - Chapter 226: Xu Qingyun

Song Zijun could not tell what the real killing move of the 'Star Picking Hand' was. Many of the youths present couldn’t tell either.

This made Song Zijun feel like a failure. There was a saying that a bystander sees through everything, but him being a bystander could not understand what happened. If Liu Yuxing had used the 'Star Picking Hand' against him, the outcome was obvious.

He wouldn't even know how he died.

Yi Yun said, "The 'Star Picking Hand' is a finger technique that is hidden within the sword technique… The sword technique was just a farce to cover it up."

The essence of the 'Star Picking Hand' was to condense Yuan Qi. This Yuan Qi would then be able to move objects, and could also be used to kill an enemy.

The two words 'Star Picking' described the result of cultivating the 'Star Picking Hand' to an extreme. One could use this Yuan Qi to pick the stars from the sky.

Of course, this was just an exaggeration.

Under unexpected conditions, the 'Star Picking Hand' indeed did wonders. But if the other opponent was prepared against it, its effectiveness would be greatly reduced.

That was why the Liu family tried so hard to hide the effects of the 'Star Picking Hand' attack. This made many inexperienced young warriors unclear on how the 'Star Picking Hand' worked.

Liu Yuxing's sneak attack on Yi Yun was well done in all aspects. Unfortunately, Yi Yun had not only formed the Heaven's eyeball, he also had the Purple Crystal within his body. He was extremely sensitive to energy.

Liu Yuxing's intangible force attack was invisible to the naked eye; but in Yi Yun's vision, this intangible force attack was practically like a flame in the night sky. How could such an obvious attack catch Yi Yun by surprise?

This was why Liu Yuxing was doomed to fail.

"So that's the reason..." After hearing Yi Yun's words and thinking back to the scenes when Yi Yun fought against the 'Star Picking Hand', Song Zijun finally understood the principles behind the 'Star Picking Hand'.

In fact, cultivation techniques that employed sneak attacks were not the best. When it reached the levels of sages, with their Heaven's Eye fully opened, their senses would be so sensitive that it would not be easy to attack them in a sneaky fashion.

Yi Yun sat in his own seat. In the following matches, no one dared to challenge Yi Yun.

Even Liu Yuxing was beaten to a pulp by Yi Yun with his one brick. What was there for them to fight? Going on stage with Yi Yun was just asking to be beaten.

Having spent a large sum of dragon scale runes to make themselves unhappy, those who had previously challenged Yi Yun were too deep in tears.

Yi Yun sat in his seat, and every time it came to his turn, he did not need to stand up because the other party would immediately throw in the towel.

Having beaten Liu Yuxing, Yi Yun won 15 matches in a row.

Following that, it was 18 matches, 19 matches, 20 matches...

Without any doubt, Yi Yun won 20 consecutive matches, winning him the bet with the Hongdao Association.

Li Hong's face had already frozen up.

What else could he say at this point?

Among the rookies, Yi Yun had already reached the top. The only people who could compete with Yi Yun was probably Chu Xiaoran or Qiuniu!

Li Hong could only admit his failure.

"Brother Hong, we sure lost miserably this time..."

A Hongdao Association member said to Liu Yuxing with a gloomy expression. He had lost 1200 dragon scale runes. These dragon scale runes were obtained from pawning his items and borrowing from his friends.

Now that the match results were set, those friends came to press for payment. After all, the Tai Ah Divine City did not protect any loans between cultivators.

Thinking of that sum of dragon scale runes, the Hongdao Association member felt bitter. How was he to return it?

Li Hong stayed silent. He estimated that in the next few matches, Yi Yun's wealth would accumulate to more than 100,000 dragon scale runes.

A rookie managed to earn 100,000 dragon scale runes in the Tai Ah Divine City within a few months. It was a heaven defying feat!

Li Hong was correct in his estimations. After the third day's matches ended, the dragon scale runes Yi Yun accumulated had officially exceeded 100,000.

Adding the dragon scale runes he had previously spent, Yi Yun's total of dragon scale runes reached 120,000.

This amount of dragon scale runes allowed him to enter the Man roll of honor!

The Man roll of honor's method of calculating was to add up a person's present dragon scale runes amount and all the expenditures they’d previously made in the Ten Thousand Pagoda and the various cultivation grounds in the Tai Ah Divine City. With the total amount, one was ranked on the Man roll of honor.

Glory points were not included in the Man roll of honor. This was because the Man roll of honor assessed the cultivator's ability to earn wealth in the future. As for glory points, most of it was awarded to cultivators after they completed an achievement. It did not embody the ability to earn wealth, so it was not included.

Since the Man roll of honor calculated the total accumulation of wealth, it was more advantageous the longer someone stayed in the Tai Ah Divine City.

Typically, a cultivator who had lasted in the Tai Ah Divine City for 2-3 years with reasonable strength would earn about 100-200 dragon scale runes a day. This added up to about 40,000-50,000 dragon scale runes a year.

Yi Yun's 120,000 dragon scale runes was no doubt number one amongst the rookies. Even among the second and third year cultivators, Yi Yun exceeded a vast majority of them.

Now, Yi Yun's ranking on the Man roll of honor was around 6000, somewhere in the middle!

It was a first to reach a ranking of 6000 in three months for the past few centuries in the Tai Ah Divine City.

In time, Yi Yun's reputation in the Tai Ah Divine City became even more prominent. Many of the powerful senior cultivators began to pay attention to Yi Yun.

Initially, they thought Yi Yun had only good luck, but now, by using his Heaven Upheaval Seal to put down Liu Yuxing, it proved his terrifying potential.

Such a person was bound to skyrocket in the future!

"Are you Yi Yun?"

On the third night, after the arena's competition finished, Yi Yun, Zhou Kui, Song Zijun and company went to have dinner. A youth with curly hair appeared before Yi Yun.

"Oh?" Yi Yun glanced at the youth. He saw a faint smile on the other party's face. He looked extremely friendly.

"It's me." Yi Yun said.

"Ha! Nice to meet you!" The curled hair youth cupped his hands at Yi Yun. "My name is Lan Bai. I'm from the Chu royal residence. I had previously reported Brother Yi's news to my family. Our elder is very interested in Brother Yi. In a few more months, there will be a short vacation for the rookies. I wonder if Brother Yi would have the interest to come to our Chu royal residence for a visit?"

While saying that, the curled hair youth handed Yi Yun a jade scroll.

Yi Yun was stunned for a moment. He interfaced his spiritual energy within the jade scroll and scanned through the jade scroll's contents. He immediately understood the curled hair youth's purpose. He was representing the Chu royal residence to pull him in. The letter promised many benefits to Yi Yun.

A mid-sized city fiefdom under the jurisdiction of the Chu royal residence, a large tract of arable land, a luxurious mansion and nearly a thousand servants.

Every year, the Chu royal residence would provide Yi Yun with a considerable amount of elixirs, relics, a variety of armor, weapons and magical items.

As for the last line, the Chu royal residence even promised to give seven stunning beauties to Yi Yun after his fifteenth birthday as his concubines.

And the condition was for Yi Yun to be a guest of the Chu royal residence.

Yi Yun was stunned. He had been roped in!

This was really the first time he had encountered such a thing.

Although Zhou Kui and Song Zijun, who were standing beside Yi Yun, did not know the contents of Yi Yun's jade scroll, they could easily guess that the other party was roping Yi Yun in. Their hearts were filled with envy.

This was the difference between a top genius and an average genius...

Yi Yun was being snatched up after being in the Tai Ah Divine City for three months.

"How is it? Are you satisfied?" The curled hair youth rubbed his hands, awaiting Yi Yun's reply. However, at that moment, a pleasant male voice rang out. It gave the feeling of a fresh Spring breeze.

"Lan Bai, it's been awhile since I've seen you. Why haven't you improved at all. Here you are cheating rookies again!"

Yi Yun turned around in shock. All he saw was a green-shirted youth walking over. This youth looked eighteen years old. His eyebrows looked sharp, his teeth were white and he had a heroic aura.

Seeing the green-shirted youth, Lan Bai's face immediately turned ugly. He opened his mouth and said with a dry tone.

"Xu… Xu Qingyun..."

Oh? Xu Qingyun!?

Upon hearing this name, Yi Yun was shocked.

Fourth on the Heaven roll of honor, Xu Qingyun was him!?

Yi Yun had a strong impression on Xu Qingyu. He was ranked top five in both the Heaven and Earth rankings!

Xu Qingyun was already in the Tai Ah Divine City for five years, and this year was his last year.

He was a senior cultivator to the very core!

Song Zijun and Zhou Kui were stunned. To rookies like them, Xu Qingyun's stature was too high. They had no chance of interacting with him.

The recent rookie ranking competition, which was filled with shocking events had many events that made the headlines, attracted many to the arena to take a look no matter who was competing.

But to those who ranked in the top hundred of the Heaven and Earth rolls of honor, such a competition was nothing. There was no reason for them to pay heed. This was because the difference between their strength and the rookies were too great!

The curled-hair youth laughed without any humor and smiled saying, "Brother Xu must be joking. I'm not cheating any rookies."

"Ah." Xu Qingyun swept the jade scroll in Yi Yun's hands. In a blink of an eye, he finished reading the contents within. He shook his head with disgust and said, "This again. Giving such small benefits to cheat rookies into signing a soul contract with your Chu royal residence. You guys sure calculated it well..."

"Oh? Soul contract?" Yi Yun quickly thought. Just from the name, he could roughly guess what it was.

It appeared that the benefits offered by the curled-hair youth was on condition of signing a soul contract.

This curled-hair youth may not have explained the soul contract clearly, but Yi Yun was better. He was mature in his thinking, and he had ambitious goals, so he was not easily fooled. Other rookies, who were just thirteen or fourteen years old, would have poor discernment. Together with supreme beauty sex cultivation slaves and all sorts of possible temptations, it was not impossible to be conned.

"In the Tai Ah Divine City, besides fighting, other things can also be sinister..."

Yi Yun shook his head in his mind. When the curled-hair youth came forward with a friendly smile, Yi Yun could not completely tell what the other party was up to.

"You better leave this place immediately, or else..." Before Xu Qingyun finished his words, the curled-hair youth laughed without any humor and said, "Brother Xu, Brother Xu, my bad. I'll disappear right now!"

After saying this, the curled-hair youth bowed and retreated.

Yi Yun glanced at Xu Qingyun with surprise. This Xu Qingyun didn't seem to have the airs of an expert.

Dual Sword God - Chapter 68: Soul Eater Ghost Fiends!

The heavens shook, as massive ripples of energies pulsated throughout the sky. A massive golden door that gave off an ancient noble aura was currently being bombarded by rays of green ominous energies that beamed from a mass of dark clouds that surrounded the entirety of the sky.

As these beams and the golden energy pulsations collided with each other, the world below began to fall into turmoil, as ripples of fragmented Dao Truths began to lay waste to this region of the world.

The Rogue Practitioners and Major Influences that were gathered on their floating platforms were tossed in a state of confusion, as the weaker practitioners that were affected by the nefariously cold energies that lingered in the vicinity couldn't properly maneuver an avoid the Dao Truth ripples, thus creating a calamity.

"Argh!" a scream rang out as a lower tier expert was bombarded by straying green ominous energies that scattered from their collisions with the door, within a very short moment his body was corroded as corpse qi soon began to shroud his form his soul dissipating into nothingness.

The surrounding experts who barely managed to avoid these attacks seeing this scene were stunned as fear began to fill their hearts.

"Quickly, run away!" one individual said as he recovered his composure running further away from the beams and door fluctuations. A pity, however, the platform they stood on was too high in the air as was closely located at the edges of the Chosen Battle Platform.

"What the hell is going on? Who dares to interfere in the Golden Dragon Empires affairs?" Xun Yanshan said as he channeled his powers creating a barrier that covered the entirety of his group members. The other powerful Major figures quickly followed and did the same which after a short moment caused the casualties within the area to fall.

A few powerful Rogue Cultivators quickly grouped together creating a massive barrier that covered all practitioners on their platforms. amirjianva.blogspot.com

As he saw that the casualties had lessened a sneer could be seen on Xiang Shu's face as he glanced towards the crowd and spoke once more. "Foolish humans! You think by placing up barriers you will be able to survive today's purging. Naive, not only will your struggled to prove futile, each of you will be offered as a sacrifice to rising of my Soul Eater Ghostfiend Clan. Jie Jie Jie Jie! I must have a look to see who will survive today!"

The moment he finished his statement, a few individuals who were observing the ancient door finally focused their gazes towards him in shock.

"Soul Eater Ghostfiend Clan! It's actually that clan, how can they still exist?!" exclaimed an aged practitioner with both surprise and fear in his eyes.

"Damn! How could a force like this be here? Remnants of that terrifying Pre-Calamity Race?!" said Xun Yanshan as he looked at Xiang Shu with shock.

The Midnight Temple man, Southern Revolution Factioner strange elder, Xuan Lie, Xin Zhu, Tang Lie, and all other Major Influential characters became solemn as the tension in the air became so thick it began to congeal into visible energies.

On the side of the Feng Clan, was a fiery looking red barrier that covered all members of the clan, Feng Yunlong, Feng Junling, Feng Xingyu and all core members and elders looked at the scene with knitted brows.

Miren Fei who was at the side looked at Feng Junling and asked. "Senior, what is this Soul Eater Ghostfiend Clan?"

Hearing her question Feng Junling responded calmly. "This is a clan from ancient times, said to have been one of the few high-class Fiend Races from the Pre-Calamity Era. It is said that in order to cultivate they would eat the souls of any living creatures the stronger the souls the faster their growth, but this isn't the most terrifying thing about this clan. Their bodies are elusive and have no real form enabling most attacks incapable of affecting them, because of this, it is said that they are capable of seizing bodies. Thus, enabling themselves to continuously incarnate into new forms over and over again giving them an almost inexhaustible lifespan."

As Miren Fei and Lang Kuang heard this they became stunned as they looked at the floating form of Xiang Shu with fear.

"This Xiang Shu is he..." as Lang Kuang was inquiring about Xiang Shu, Feng Junling responded.

"Yes, he is precisely a newly incarnated ghost clan expert, the thing that worries me now though is which class expert he is?" said Feng Junling as he looked at Xiang Shu with deep eyes.

"Junling, protect the others, I will be retrieving Yu'er from the formation the moment he lets his guard down," said Feng Yunlong as he silently channeled his energy.

As the woman in white stood on her platform, she couldn't help but frown as the scene with WhiteMask appeared once more within her thoughts. The words that WhiteMask said soon quickly resounded within her mind once more.

"What say you, speaker? Shall you only continue to speak?" as these words ended, a bright light shone instantly changing the scene to that of another, there was a divine place, a place that was shrouded with pure holy energies. There were bright golden clouds that blanketed the world as far as one could see, as a brilliant star shone an apex of heavens towering above the world. It was an unusual star, filled with energies gathered from a myriad of places, streams of runic symbols lit up brightly in this star as if it was constantly calculating all things.

A pillar stood at the center of this world within this sea of clouds, it extended out passing through the heavens reaching the apex of the sky. A woman with a unique aura stood calmly on this pillar with her back turned as she spoke softly.

"Destiny is what you make it..." as she said this, ripples of energies rang out which covered the woman white's vision as she quickly awakened from her dazed stated and looked towards the door with a firm light in her eyes.

"Jing Yi, Jing Er, it is time for us to make our moves, we cannot let the fruit of our ancestors fall into hands of outer races." said the woman in white as she turned into a stream of white light that beamed towards the door.

"Yes, Young Lady Mingyun!" replied the two individuals in white that stood beside her, quickly they followed her into the air by using artifacts to soar through the air as they flew towards the ancient door in the sky.

Xiang Shu who had now moved his gaze back towards Feng Yu and Zang Xu was about to take action.

Bang!

A terrifying cloudly aura spread out from his form as it pressured both Feng Yu and Zang Xu causing them grit their teeth and struggle to remain standing.

"Shit! He is far too powerful, what kind of strength is this?" said Feng Yu as he felt the bones within his body on the verge of being broken, quickly circulated his Nirvana Flame Cultivation Technique to the max as he drew on the power of his bloodline to resist the pressure.

Zang Xu revolved his secret technique causing a dominating spear aura to cover his form enabling him to resist the pressure.

"Well!... You two are more powerful than I'd originally thought, capable of resisting my energies. A pity, in front of true strength all, is use----" Xiang Shu said in surprise as he looked at both Feng Yu and Zang Xu. He was about to continue his statement but was soon distracted as he furrowed his brows, looking towards the 3 light beams soaring towards the ancient door that was being bombarded.

"Eh? It's this woman again, a True Soul Realm expert in this area. Who is she?" Xiang Shu said in shock as he saw her flying along with her guards, the surrounding practitioners and major characters looked at her in surprise.

"She was this powerful!" said Xun Yanshan as he looked at her in shock, Xuan Lie and the others also revealed similar reactions.

"Damn! No matter who you are I will not allow for any hindrances to my plan, Gui Sheng, Guǐ Mei, Gui Zi. Attack! Stop that woman and kill the humans immediately!" said Xiang Shu as his voice sounded throughout the world.

As he saw they saw this opportunity, a light flash in both Feng Yu and Zang Xu's eyes as they both turned into a streak of golden red light and silver light separately instantly appearing in front of the distracted Xiang Shu.

"Extremity Dual Path - Thunder Flash Blazing Swords! " Feng Yu roared as his sword turned into streaks of blazing lightning that slashed towards Xiang Shu's form.

"Absolute Monarch Spear!" Zang Yu roared as his aura congealed into a giant spear that shot towards Xiang Shu at incredible speeds.

Xiang Shu who now noticed their attacks was surprised as he responded. "You dare!" as he realized he didn't have enough time to place up a more powerful defensive measure, he waved his hands to quickly create a barrier of dark wind essence-energies.

BOOM! a loud explosion occurred within battle platform which instantly generated shockwaves that send all three forms flying into the air at opposite directions, however, as each of them powerful they quickly recovered by maneuvering through the air.

Sou! Sou! Sou!

Like a ghostly shade, Xiang Shu transported from the few meters in the distant reappearing at his previous location along with Feng Yu and Zang Xu who appeared shortly after. If one were to look closely, they would see that while Xiang Shu's body was severely injured his wounds began to heal itself at an alarming rate. However, the area where Feng Yu's attack collided was unable to properly heal as fogs of nefarious power was slowly being corroded by the lingering lightning and flame essence-energies.

Zang Xu looked at Xiang Shu with a deep gaze as he spoke. "Such a powerful self-recovery ability, the Soul Eater Ghostfiend Clan is as terrifying as the rumors say indeed."

Feng Yu who stood beside Zang Xu nodded his head, he looked at the hard to heal chest area of Xiang Shu and send a voice transmission to Zang Xu. "Em. However, It looks like he is weak to sacred fire, and lightning elemental attacks. Do you have any attacks of this nature in your spear legacy?"

"I have one more attack, but it is of a holy power. I will have to try it and see if it is capable of hindering his healing abilities along with your techniques," replied Zang Xu as he once more hoisted his spear with a sharp gleam in his eyes.

"Good! Let's go don't give him any more time to recover," said Feng Yu as he quickly channeled his sacred flame energies once more and shot towards Xiang Sh, not wasting any time Zang Xu also turning into a beam of silver light shooting towards Xiang Shu as well.

"Damn! This weak mortal body, why didn't I take a more powerful body. Its resistance to sacred power and lightning is too low. Shit! If I leave this body to restore to my corporeal form I will lose the chance to seize this token," as he saw his injuries Xiang Shu was filled with regret, he looked at the two approaching him at full speeds and a wave anger instantly overcame him as he shouted.

"You damn humanities! How dare you injure me! Prepare to die! "as Xiang Shu said this, his body began to emit a powerful ghostly energy quickly he vanished appeared in front of the approaching Feng Yu and Zang Xu as he launched a series of ghostly attacks.

Massive 'booms' rang out as they battled within the battle arena laying waste to wherever they appeared. However, as they fought amongst themselves the situation outside of the battle arena began to change.

As Feng Yunlong was about to rush towards the battle arena, and the woman in white with her group was about to reach the ancient door. A powerful ghostly aura that could shake world filled the area as three individuals appeared above the chosen battle arena.

A handsome looking man with blond hair dressed in decorated clothing, with two women that stood by his side one with bride purple hair and a curvaceous body and another with a slender petite form with long black hair. Looking closely, each of their eyes glowed with eerie green light as a dark nefarious smile was worn on each of their faces.

The woman in white seeing the individuals before her frowned as she thought. "How troublesome! A True Soul Expert and two late-stage Warrior realm Soul Eater Ghostfiends."

"He He! The leader has been careless, to have your mortal form be injured by baby humans!" the purple haired woman named Gui Zi as she giggled while looking towards the injured form of Xiang Shu in the battle arena that was battling fiercely against Feng Yu and Zang Xu. The handsome man named Gui Sheng hearing his spoke.

"This is no time for bantering, wait until after the mission." as he said this he moved his vision towards the woman in white and everyone who stood below them and spoke once more. "Jie Jie! Humans, you should be honored to die within to our Master Gui Shifu's Ten Thousand Cloudy Corpse Formation. Activate!..."

The world shook, as terrifying darkness descended once again...

True Martial World - Chapter 225: With one Brick in Hand, To Rule the World

Flying swords!?

When Yi Yun saw all the small swords flying at him from all direction, he was stunned. He originally thought that the ‘Star Picking Hand' was some sort of finger technique, but it was unexpectedly a sword technique.

A sword technique, but it's called 'Star Picking Hand'?

One main sword and twelve small swords, a total of thirteen swords shot into the sky. A large number of them did not fly towards Yi Yun, but flew to the empty spaces around Yi Yun.

When the small swords flew somewhere close to Yi Yun's side, they abruptly changed directions in mid-air. The sword tips began pointing towards Yi Yun from all directions!

The flying swords can change directions!?

Upon seeing this scene, the warriors present were alarmed!

To control a weapon to change directions mid-air with Yuan Qi was a technique used by Yuan Foundation realm warriors. But on further thought, Liu Yuxing had previously used one move to send Yi Yun's token flying towards him at the arena hall. It was apparently one of Liu Yuxing's special abilities.

The thirteen swords came at Yi Yun from all directions. This was an attack with no room to dodge. Even with Minute Subtlety, it would be extremely difficult to dodge them!

Everyone stared wide-eyed at Yi Yun and the thirteen swords. They were afraid they would miss this wonderful scene that was filled with suspense!

As people's attention was being attracted by the flying swords, Liu Yuxing secretly did a finger seal. He had circulated his Yuan Qi to its maximum. All the energy was focused on his right hand's index and middle finger.

Both his fingers turned emerald-green in an instant!

Seeing the thirteen swords surrounding Yi Yun, who looked like he was struggling to handle them, Liu Yuxing flashed a savage look and thought "Die… It's impossible for you to figure out that the flying swords are just fake moves, this is the real 'Star Picking Hand'!"

"Picking Star – Deathblow!"

Liu Yuxing held out his fingers and an invisible Yuan Qi force merged with the empty air before shooting towards Yi Yun!

This Qi force was too well-hidden. It could not be seen. It was nearly indistinguishable from a regular, subtle fluctuation in the air. Like a ripple in space with incredible speed, it shot towards Yi Yun!

At the same time, the thirteen swords stabbed at Yi Yun from all directions!

The Picking Star Deathblow's whistling was hidden within the sonic booms of the flying swords.

Its killing intent was also masked by the blade beams! As such, Liu Yuxing's real killing blow was perfectly immersed within the thirteen flying swords. People believed the flying swords were the killing blow, but in reality, it was Liu Yuxing's secret force attack!

"Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!"

Yi Yun waved the Heaven Upheaval Seal, fending off the flying swords in the air!

The razor-sharp flying swords posed no threat under Yi Yun's counters. With a swipe of the Heaven Upheaval Seal, they were all shot down. They seemed impressive but lacked any substance.

Even the main sword was smashed down by the Heaven Upheaval Seal!

"What!?"

Seeing Yi Yun knock away the main sword, the audience stared with wide open eyes. The killing move, the 'Star Picking Hand' that everyone was looking forward to, which took Liu Yuxing so long to prepare for before shooting out, was blocked just like that?

As the audience was in shock, a grin formed on Liu Yuxing's face. All his Yuan Qi had been infused into that sure-kill attack, so the Yuan Qi within the flying swords was of course weak, but Yi Yun was already preoccupied with them.

That death blow had flown straight towards Yi Yun's heart and was no doubt on target!

Even if he had to experience jail time for killing Yi Yun, Liu Yuxing would not regret it.

Hit!

As Liu Yuxing shouted out in his heart, just as the strike was hitting Yi Yun's heart, Yi Yun grinned. He held his hands together, and due to the extreme speed, his arms formed a series of afterimages!

The Yuan Qi within his body exploded. The Heaven Upheaval Seal was placed across his chest!

"Boom!"

With a loud ring, Liu Yuxing's attack hit the brick surface of the Heaven Upheaval Seal!

A huge aftershock from the powerful impact caused a turbulent air flow. As such, Yi Yun's body was lifted high up in the air. The impact was so great that even for Yi Yun, he felt his arms go numb.

"Such a great force. The Liu family's secret technique, the 'Star Picking Hand' sure isn't bad!"

This thought flashed in Yi Yun's mind as he stabilized his body within the air.

Everyone who saw this scene was completely shocked!

What happened!?

All the flying swords had been fended off by Yi Yun, but where did that huge Yuan Qi explosion come from at the end?

And the person who was most shocked was Liu Yuxing. When he saw the final scene, he turned dumbfounded.

How did the victory that was almost in hand end in such a result!?

How was this possible? How could he be so fast as to block all thirteen swords and also block his Picking Star Deathblow!?

The Picking Star Deathblow hit at almost the same time as the other thirteen swords! He was actually fast enough to ward off all of them!?

Not only that, he actually discovered the force attack hidden within the blade beams!?

Liu Yuxing could not accept this!

All his energy had been in that one strike, yet it had been parried away by Yi Yun. He had not even forced Yi Yun to draw out his saber! To him, this was an extreme insult and setback!

And at that moment, he suddenly found that the Yi Yun he was looking at had disappeared...

Liu Yuxing felt like he had been struck by lightning. His limbs turned cold and slow to react. A strong sense of unease surged to his mind!

NOoooooo!

Liu Yuxing cried out in his heart. At the last moment, he struggled to leap forward!

But having used the 'Star Picking Hand', he had expended too much of his Yuan Qi. The instantaneous burst of speed had already slowed down...

It was too late! Yi Yun appeared behind Liu Yuxing like a ghost. His eyes were focused and his foot tip touched the ground. His body was still in the air when he stretched out his hand. And in his hand was the...

Shiny brick!

With his hands raised, the brick came crushing down!

"Dong!"

A crisp sound rang. Yi Yun's solid brick and smacked Liu Yuxing in the back of his head!

Liu Yuxing's body trembled. All he felt was an intense pain behind his head while his eyes saw stars! His whole body turned stiff. He was like someone suffering from Alzheimer's. With great difficulty, he turned his head slowly towards Yi Yun.

At that moment, Liu Yuxing's pupils had lost their focus. However, he still struggled to see Yi Yun clearly. He struggled to prevent his body from falling. He could not fall… at least… not due to a brick...

This was the only thought that was supporting Liu Yuxing's ability to stand!

He finally managed to focus his eyes with great difficulty. All he saw was Yi Yun's blurry figure.

At that moment, Yi Yun had already raised his hands again. That shiny brick flashed before Liu Yuxing's eyes.

I… F**k you...

Liu Yuxing's mouth moved, as he tried to curse. But just as he let out half a syllable, he saw an overwhelming gold beam slam down.

"Dong!"

Liu Yuxing's vision suddenly turned dark. He could no longer see anything.

His heart was filled with great anger and humiliation. But ultimately, he still could not take on that simple but brutal move. With that, he sprawled on the ground with his limbs spread out.

"Peng!"

The sound of a dead dog that crashed to the ground was the only sound that could be heard in the entire arena. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

Except for that, there was complete silence!

Everyone in the audience was stunned. They felt like their hearts had been trampled by 10,000 near-horned beasts with mud-stained hoofs. It was as if that vibration had caused them to be in a daze.

Heavens!

This must be a joke!

Even Liu Yuxing had been taken down by Yi Yun with a brick!

Brick… Brick. A brick can be this ridiculous!?

This was really...

With one brick in hand, to rule the world!

It was really 'if God was in the way, I'll slaughter Him. If Buddha stops me, I'll slaughter him too"!

Everyone looked at Liu Yuxing, whose head had a huge blue-black bump, in the ring. Their eyes were full of pity. A son of a Duke had been taken down with a brick by a bumpkin from the Cloud Wilderness… One could imagine the effect if this piece of news was spread back to the capital.

Liu Yuxing was a well-known figure amongst the capital circles.

He was not only strong, but he was handsome and dignified. He gave people a feeling of a pretty boy.

Many girls from the capital were so infatuated with Liu Yuxing that they were willing to die for him. If Liu Yuxing gave them a glance, it was to die for.

In the hearts of many girls, Liu Yuxing was like a male god who came down from the heavens.

But now, this so-called male god had been smashed into such a state by Yi Yun with a brick.

Seeing his messy hair, and the spectacular bruise on his head...

Where was the slightest hint that he was a male god?

Many of the capital's young masters, who were jealous of Liu Yuxing, secretly used a disk array to take a picture of Liu Yuxing's current state. They planned to send these disk arrays back to the capital, to let the girls see how glorious Liu Yuxing was in the Tai Ah Divine City.

Just imagining the scene of these girls seeing the image in the disk array made these youths chuckle sinisterly. It had to be said that men, as masculine animals, had an innate nature of being jealous of those richer, stronger, more handsome and popular than them.

When these images were sent back to the capital, it would be a wonder how Liu Yuxing would ever be able to hang his face amongst the capital's circle again.

Once they thought of this, these people experienced gleeful joy.

At that moment, Yi Yun had returned to his own seat.

Zhou Kui looked as if he was looking at an ancient emperor when facing Yi Yun. He swallowed his saliva, and was tempted to say the words, "You are too… domineering..."

In the end, Zhou Kui finally muttered these undignified words, but Yi Yun just casually answered, "It was alright. It took me some effort to smash him unconscious. It wasn't that easy..."

To use the brick against Liu Yuxing, and without using the Radiant Sun Qi, Yi Yun found that his victory was indeed quite difficult.

But when these words fell into the spectators' ears, they nearly collapsed.

You used a brick to smash a Duke's son unconscious, and you even say it was not that easy!? Are you only satisfied if you could easily smash Liu Yuxing as if he was a dog?

Zhou Kui decided to simply shut his mouth. He felt that speaking another word with Yi Yun would incur another shock!

"By the way, Brother Yi Yun, what was the explosion at the end?" Song Zijun finally interjected. He was curious from earlier on.

He had looked carefully at Liu Yuxing's final Star Picking Hand. But still, he did not understand much. All he knew was that Liu Yuxing had a technique that seemed to be able to control flying swords.

True Martial World - Chapter 224: Extreme Speed

Liu Yuxing's sword was too fast. It was so fast that even the strong cultivators present had trouble seeing the trajectories of Liu Yuxing's sword. Even if one could see the moves of the other party, it did not mean that one could dodge the attacks. Now that the moves could not be seen, how was one to dodge them?

Even though Liu Yuxing's sword Qi was situated far away, many felt an infinite sense of killing intent. It was as if the intent reached as far as their own eyebrows!

Zhou Kui, Song Zijun and company all broke into cold sweat for Yi Yun.

"Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha!"

In that split moment, dozens of blade beams pierced through Yi Yun's body!

Before people could react in alarm, they saw Yi Yun's figure slowly dissipate before completely vanishing.

What was stabbed was an afterimage!

As Liu Yuxing's sword carried on moving downwards, Yi Yun's body had also disappeared along with his afterimage. He had merged within the wind and could no longer be seen.

Although he had disappeared, people could see Yi Yun's afterimage flash every now and then, before being destroyed by a blade beam!

Liu Yuxing's sword was everywhere. Without any blind spots available, it was stabbing at Yi Yun. This sword's speed was so fast that gave the people an impression that Yi Yun would be stabbed by the sword wind at the very next moment. However, what Liu Yuxing struck was always an afterimage!

In a field that was completely filled with swords, dodging was no doubt much more difficult than attacking!

"Terrifying. This Yi Yun dodges Liu Yuxing's sword by an extremely small amount every time!" "How can this be possible? There's no dodging space amongst such a dense amount of blade beams!"

Someone could not help but ask. In this net of sword beams, within the huge mesh, how was one to avoid them all without shrinking one's body?

Someone shook his head and said, "You're wrong. Liu Yuxing's blade beams might seem like a web, but it's just an illusion from its speed. He is still slashing each sword one by one. There is a first and there is a second, so Yi Yun can completely dodge it."

A sword was almost always faster than a human. For a person to dodge that many slashes, one had to reduce one's range of motion. And Yi Yun was no doubt doing just that.

From this, many became even more alarmed. As Yi Yun slowly unfolded his movement techniques in front of them, many finally understood Yi Yun's state.

This is… the large success stage of Minute Subtlety!

"This kid has reached the large success stage of Minute Subtlety!?"

People looked at each other. Large success stage of Minute Subtlety! This not only needed a strong foundation and a powerful body, it also needed extraordinary perceptivity to accomplish!

Chu Xiaoran gently squeezed her own hand. Her fingers hitting the back of her hand constantly. Back during the battles with the Four Bully Lords, Yi Yun had shown his outstanding talent in movement, but it was not this dramatic.

"It's hard to believe that he came from the Cloud Wilderness. This world is so big, with so many elites!"

Chu Xiaoran muttered. Beside her, Qiuniu also sighed, "We really can't look down on the heroes under the sky!"

...

In the ring, Liu Yuxing was attacking and Yi Yun was dodging. The battle had reached its climax. Yi Yun felt as if he had returned to the Frost Metal Blood Balls array back in the Divine Capital. He had previously used the Frost Metal Blood Balls to hone his movement skills.

But the Frost Metal Blood Balls were inanimate, so in terms of their adaptability in attacking, they were inferior to Liu Yuxing.

But Liu Yuxing's attack speed was not up to Yi Yun's satisfaction.

It's not fast enough!

"Your name is Liu Yuxing, right…? How many… attacks have you used?"

Just as Yi Yun flew past Liu Yuxing, a faint voice entered Liu Yuxing's ears, nearly making him vomit blood.

Liu Yuxing had previously said that he wanted to see if Yi Yun could force him to unsheathe his sword in ten moves.

"Locking On Mountains" could send out ten stabs in a flash, which could be considered one move. But even so, Liu Yuxing had long exceeded ten moves!

Yi Yun and Liu Yuxing had already been fighting for nearly a minute. How many slashes did Liu Yuxing make? It was simply uncountable!

After missing for so long and being ridiculed by Yi Yun, Liu Yuxing was greatly angered!

"You're courting death!"

"Clang!"

With a clear sound, the scabbard flew out from the sword in Liu Yuxing's hand. The shiny blade slashed at Yi Yun!

Liu Yuxing had finally unsheathed his sword! His previous arrogant words had now completely turned into an insult against him!

After Liu Yuxing unsheathed his sword, his attack speed greatly improved.

However, Yi Yun was still dodging.

Even though Liu Yuxing had unsheathed his sword, Yi Yun had still not drawn out his saber!

"Yi Yun, you!" Liu Yuxing's eyes were almost burning! He had always felt that as the son of Duke, it was an insult to his stature to fight Yi Yun, a bumpkin from the Cloud Wilderness. Hence, he did not want to unsheathe his sword or use 'Star Picking Hand' to prove that he and Yi Yun were of different levels.

But unexpectedly, the situation was reversed.

Liu Yuxing had unsheathed his sword, but Yi Yun was still holding onto a brick!

This was going too far!

Liu Yuxing was really mad. His attack speed was getting faster and faster, but he still couldn't even touch the sleeves of Yi Yun!

"This..."

Upon seeing this, the audience stood agape. It was unexpected that the battle would reach such a state!

"Liu Yuxing has already unsheathed his sword, yet he still can't hit Yi Yun!"

Many were in disbelief. Many had thought that Liu Yuxing had a greater chance of winning, but now, he was completely suppressed by Yi Yun!

...

"Your sword is also not very fast!" Yi Yun's voice came from behind. When Liu Yuxing heard this, he was incensed, but he could do nothing to Yi Yun.

At this point, Liu Yuxing suddenly felt a wind behind his head. A murderous intent came attacking.

With the brick in hand, Yi Yun had aimed at Liu Yuxing's head, fiercely slamming it down.

"Yi Yun, you!"

Liu Yuxing's handsome face was already completely distorted.

"Dang!"

With a twist of his blade, Liu Yuxing managed to block Yi Yun's brick in the nick of time.

But after Yi Yun absorbed the primordial herb's energy and had mastered the first level of the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique', his physical strength had reached an extremely ridiculous level. No matter what weapon Yi Yun was holding, it could still manifest unparalleled strength!

Liu Yuxing only felt a surge of energy transmitted over. The shock caused his arm to go numb and pain in his palm! With nowhere for this force to dissipate, it made Liu Yuxing almost lose his balance. As a result, his fast moving body was sent flying by Yi Yun's brick strike.

"Deng! Deng! Deng!"

Liu Yuxing landed and took three steps backward. His blood was in turmoil! His movement technique had been broken by Yi Yun!

Liu Yuxing's face turned red. He had never been so ashamed in his entire life! A kid from the Cloud Wilderness actually knocked him with a brick!

And not only did he knock him, he had knocked him to the point where his blood was in turmoil and he had to retreat three steps!

Liu Yuxing felt that, as the son of a Duke and as a prominent figure amongst the imperial capital's younger generation, it was an insult to be hit by a brick!

Not only that, he did not even manage to parry it.

The surrounding warriors were at a loss for words. In their minds, Yi Yun had sprung up to a mystic realm.

Just a brick was uncrackable by others! Even Liu Yuxing had failed to make Yi Yun use his saber!

Terrifying!

"Yi Yun, you have really annoyed me!"

Liu Yuxing's eyes turned red. He swiped his interspatial ring and he circulated the Yuan Qi within his body. It was as if his whole person had transformed.

The feminine air that originally lingered on Liu Yuxing's body had greatly vanished. What replaced it felt deep and sharp. It was as if a desolate beast hid within Liu Yuxing's body!

Seeing Liu Yuxing in his current state, many were briefly stunned. But the next moment, they suddenly understood what Liu Yuxing was going to do.

"It's the 'Star Picking Hand'!"

Liu Yuxing was finally going to use 'Star Picking Hand'!

At this point, if Liu Yuxing did not use all of his abilities, he was destined to be defeated by Yi Yun.

Many of them had previously heard of the famous 'Star Picking Hand', but they did not know the effects of the 'Star Picking Hand'. Seeing Liu Yuxing about to finally use this secret technique from the Duke Liu family, they couldn't help but become excited.

Would the 'Star Picking Hand' be able to reverse the situation?

Yi Yun looked at Liu Yuxing with the Heaven Upheaval Seal in hand. He too wanted to know how this rumored to be famous cultivation technique would compare with the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'.

"Picking Star Deathblow!" With a growl, Liu Yuxing attacked!

With some tiny Yuan Qi fluctuations, Liu Yuxing's sword quickly whistled through the air towards Yi Yun. At the same time, more than ten small swords flew out from Liu Yuxing's interspatial ring. Each sword was about half a foot long.

These small swords were not thrown out by Liu Yuxing, but were flying towards Yi Yun by themselves. At that moment, it was as if these small swords were alive!

True Martial World - Chapter 223: Battling Liu Yuxing

Liu Yuxing?

Upon hearing Zhou Kui's words, Yi Yun became momentarily dazed. Clearly Zhou Kui's words meant that Liu Yuxing was very strong, or else he would not have rushed over just to tell him that.

Among the rookies, Yi Yun knew of Chu Xiaoran and Qiuniu. As for the other strong rookies, he did not know anything about them. Yi Yun had no idea about any of the rookies after fourth place.

This was because Yi Yun had only been picking herbs or cultivating ever since he came here. He was not aware of almost any of the events that had happened, so he knew very little about the well-known figures.

"Is Liu Yuxing very strong?"

"Of course! He is the son of Duke Liu. He has already gone on the battlefield, he has even killed before. He's ranked sixth amongst the rookies!"

Ranked sixth amongst the rookies?

Upon hearing this ranking, what Yi Yun thought was simply "<a href="http://i.imgur.com/GqRTEkD.png">OK</a>".

But seeing Zhou Kui's expression, as if Liu Yuxing was a heaven defying force, Yi Yun did not want to shock him so he silently nodded. He echoed, "Then it must be someone whose strength is not bad..."

"It's not only ‘not bad’! Liu Yuxing's 'Star Picking Hand' has an uncanny attacking method. You must pay attention to it. It can kill a person from a hundred paces away in an intangible way!"

Zhou Kui knew some things about the 'Star Picking Hand', but his level of understanding was not very detailed.

"Star Picking Hand?"

Of course, Yi Yun had never heard of this cultivation technique. To kill someone from a hundred paces away in an intangible way sounded bizarre.

But bizarre did not equate being powerful. He knew that the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' was undoubtedly the number one cultivation technique in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom. Just from the extreme difficulty in obtaining the opportunity to cultivate it, or its cultivation difficulty, illustrated this point.

Over the tens of millions of years, uncountable number of sages had learned the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique', there were even those who had the capability to add their own understandings and enlightenment into the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'!

In fact, those who could add to the nomological truths in the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' were the greatest sage-level experts. Figures of such levels were not someone that appeared in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom every generation.

Yi Yun arrived at the arena. There were a lot more people in the arena today compared to the previous day.

Many of the second and third year cultivators in the Tai Ah Divine City had come to watch today's matches.

Yi Yun's outstanding performance the previous day had spread throughout the rookie circles in the Tai Ah Divine City.

Yi Yun's performance was still not something that attracted the attention of senior cultivators that had reached the Yuan Foundation realm, like Yang Qian and Yao Dao. But amongst the veterans who were ranked past 2000-3000, a person like Yi Yun was a potential threat to them.

In less than a year, Yi Yun would be coming for their spot. It was always good to pay attention to a future opponent.

"He's Yi Yun."

The moment Yi Yun appeared, he immediately attracted the attention of many. It could be said that Yi Yun barely counted as a prominent person in the Tai Ah Divine City.

"Liu Yuxing has appeared. That's Liu Yuxing."

With a slight commotion in the crowd, a youth in white strolled into the arena.

Liu Yuxing was like a delicate jade, and extremely refined. His spotless clothes and shoes were white and crisp.

Liu Yuxing only took a glance at Yi Yun, no longer looking at him after that. He sat down at his seat and began focusing. It was as if he was indifferent to everything around him, giving off an air of arrogance.

Yi Yun silently used his spiritual energy to interface with the Heaven's eyeball and secretly observed Liu Yuxing from a distance of over a hundred feet.

Having formed the Heaven's eyeball, Yi Yun could gain a rough understanding of the Yuan Qi fluctuation within a person's body, and from that, infer a person's cultivation level.

"He should be in the entry stages of the late-Purple Blood realm..."

Yi Yun felt that Liu Yuxing's cultivation level was just slightly higher than his own, so it was reasonable that he was in the entry stages of the late-Purple Blood realm.

...

The second day's competition for the rookie ranking matches officially began!

Yi Yun's first few opponents immediately gave up, until...

"Divine Wilderness Stage, 10,003, Yi Yun! 10,006, Liu Yuxing! Come on-stage for the match!"

The referee shouted loudly on the Divine Wilderness Stage.

"They're up!"

There were a lot of people who were not paying attention to the ongoings matches and just meditated or discussed privately amongst themselves. But now, they all began to pay attention, looking straight at the Divine Wilderness Stage.

Many amongst them had come to the arena just to see Yi Yun's and Liu Yuxing's match!

Now, it had finally begun!

Liu Yuxing's clothes fluttered in the wind. Like a graceful swan, he gently landed on the stage without kicking up any dust. Just this levitation art was an amazement to many.

Purple Blood warriors did not have the ability to fly, but Liu Yuxing's levitation art looked no different from flying.

Yi Yun walked up on stage. He stood a hundred feet away from Liu Yuxing and faced him.

Liu Yuxing's hands were held behind his back, with his head slightly tilted up.

He glanced at Yi Yun and calmly said, "Someone paid me 8000 dragon scale runes to get me to break your winning streak. So me standing on this stage today is not because I'm interested in challenging you..."

While saying this, a sword appeared in Liu Yuxing's hand.

This sword appeared like magic. Liu Yuxing casually swung the sword and pointed the blade at Yi Yun, but the sword was still within its scabbard.

Liu Yuxing did not unsheathe his sword and said, "Let's begin. If you can make me unsheathe my sword in ten moves, and if you’re able to survive three of my hits, then I'll let you see the Liu family's secret technique: 'Star Picking Hand'!"

The Liu family's ancestors had instructed that the 'Star Picking Hand' was not to be easily used, as they did not want people to see the effects of this cultivation technique.

So if it was possible, Liu Yuxing did not want to use the 'Star Picking Hand' to finish Yi Yun.

What he said was clearly heard by everyone present. Liu Yuxing was really arrogant!

He did not want to unsheathe his sword while facing Yi Yun!

Yi Yun was not a pushover. By previously defeating the Four Bully Lords, he had already proven his extraordinary strength.

But Liu Yuxing still said those words even after seeing his matches. That meant that the strength Yi Yun revealed did not pose a threat to him!

The result of this battle depended on how much hidden strength Yi Yun had!

If Yi Yun had nothing else hidden, then he was bound to lose!

Liu Yuxing was indeed terrifying!

Among the 2000 or so rookies that came to the Tai Ah Divine City, they were all said to be elites. But even amongst them, there were huge gaps! The experts amongst the rookies were not weaker than some of the senior cultivators that had been training in the Tai Ah Divine City for more than three years!

"Force you to unsheathe your sword within ten moves?" Yi Yun smiled. His right hand touched the interspatial ring on his left hand's ring finger. With a flip of his hand, he had taken out the Heaven Upheaval Seal.

Seeing Yi Yun's action, many stared for a while before recovering.

Heavens! Are we seeing right!?

Even at that moment, Yi Yun was still going to use the brick?

Was he planning to use the brick to settle the match with Liu Yuxing!?

Yi Yun planned to brick down Liu Yuxing, a person of great stature, like the Four Bully Lords!?

Was he mad!?

With the Heaven Upheaval Seal in hand, Yi Yun loosened up his wrist and said, "If you can make me unsheathe my saber in ten moves, and if you’re able to survive three of my hits, then I'll let you see a cultivation technique I recently learned."

Yi Yun returned Liu Yuxing's words back at him without much modification.

Liu Yuxing frozed.

"What did you say?"

Liu Yuxing's forehead popped a green vein, his face turning livid.

He was eccentric enough. He knew that Yi Yun was actually very strong, but Liu Yuxing's character was as such. But he never imagined that Yi Yun was even more eccentric than him.

He dared to speak to him in such a manner.

Liu Yuxing did not unsheathe his sword, but it did not mean he would not use his sword. Even a sword placed within its scabbard was much more powerful than a brick!

"Making you unsheathe your saber in ten moves and you'll show me your cultivation technique? Hehe..." Liu Yuxing laughed with anger. He was willing to demonstrate the Liu family's 'Star Picking Hand' to Yi Yun, yet Yi Yun used the same words back at him. But what cultivation technique could he have that could compare with the 'Star Picking Hand'?

Liu Yuxing felt that he and the 'Star Picking Hand' had been insulted by Yi Yun!

"Courting death!"

In his outrage, Liu Yuxing attacked. The calm Divine Wilderness Stage in the middle of the arena was immediately stirred up by a gust of violent wind!

Sword Qi soared up and shot out without restraint!

Liu Yuxing appeared in front of Yi Yun like a ghost!

This violent wind was a result of his movement skills. It was a terrifying speed!

"Whew!"

Liu Yuxing stabbed out straight at Yi Yun's neck. A sheathed sword would be missing out on its attack power, but with Liu Yuxing's Yuan Qi infused within it, this stab's strength was also extremely frightening!

"Cha! Cha! Cha!"

Before the blade arrived, the stirring sword Qi had already sliced the purple tungsten floor like a sharp sword, causing shocking sword marks to appear on it.

The purple tungsten was extremely hard, but the sword Qi still left a mark. It was obvious how strong Liu Yuxing's attack was!

Seeing this sword coming, Yi Yun retreated and used the Heaven Upheaval Seal in his hand to block.

"Ding!"

A metallic clang sounded out. Yi Yun felt the Heaven Upheaval Seal tremble. The unrestrained sword Qi had impacted the Heaven Upheaval Seal, hitting it directly!

It was blocked!

Many were greatly surprised! Yi Yun had used the Heaven Upheaval Seal to block Liu Yuxing's sword Qi. The first move was over!

"Huh!?"

A hideous look flashed within Liu Yuxing's eyes. A short and small weapon like the Heaven Upheaval Seal could barely be used to hit people, but to use it as a shield was almost impossible.

But Yi Yun actually managed to use it to block his attack!?

"Locking On Mountains!"

Liu Yuxing's move changed and a rain of blade beams poured down on Yi Yun!

The dazzling blade beams were immersed within the wind. Only the beams could be seen, not the sword itself! It was hard for people to imagine that an unsheathed sword would be able to send out so many blade beams!

These blade beams had covered a radius of nine meters. Within these nine meters, almost everything was under Liu Yuxing's absolute authority!

Yi Yun was surrounded inside this absolute territory. Being inside this region, he could be attacked by endless sword attacks, and in a blink of an eye, a hundred stabs could be sent out!

"Competing in speed?" Yi Yun smiled. He had never truly been afraid when it came to speed.