True Martial World - Chapter 238: Clinching Victory

"'Trapped Ox Lock'? What's that?"

Hearing Qiuniu's words, everyone focused their gazes on him. They could not see anything happening on the stage, but when they concentrated, they could feel the odd Yuan Qi fluctuations in the middle of the Divine Wilderness Stage!

The Yuan Qi was converging together without dissipating!

"Trapped Ox Lock? He is using compacted Yuan Qi to trap Yi Yun?"

A few veteran cultivators had a keen perception of Yuan Qi. They could also understand Qiuniu's plan. Yi Yun's movement techniques were too good, so Qiuniu had to use his 'Trapped Ox Lock' to hold Yi Yun in one place.

Even if the lock only lasted for a few seconds, it was still enough for Qiuniu!

As Qiuniu's frontal assault was too terrifying, no one would be able to take it head on! As long as Qiuniu managed to force Yi Yun to take his blow head on, then Qiuniu would win the match!

"This battle strategy is very effective. As expected, Qiuniu does not plan on letting Yi Yun deplete his stamina. Yi Yun is in trouble now!"

People held their breath. Qiuniu's attack could easily kill someone!

Below the stage, there were some doctors on standby. Many of these doctors were past cultivator graduates of the Tai Ah Divine City. They could be considered the seniors of the rookies present here. Their jobs were to treat the seriously injured participants and they were responsible for their lives.

However, as weapons were hard to control, there would be a few accidental deaths in the arena every year.

They had to pay special attention to dangerous characters like Qiuniu. There was a high probability of his opponents dying!

Qiuniu slowly circulated his Yuan Qi. He was like a hungry tiger that was stalking it’s prey. He was staring at Yi Yun ferociously.

"My 'Trapped Ox Lock' isn't strong. You just need a short amount of time to break it, but… I will not allow that to happen! I will do my best by using my strongest attack to defeat you!"

"This attack is one of the last three moves of the 'Divine Strength Ox King Skill'. I can barely use it as its strength is too great. Even I cannot control it well. Just using it might kill. There is still time for you to admit defeat!"

As Qiuniu said this, he lowered his body into a squat, before half-kneeling on the ground. In this weird pose, both his hands held the large battle polearm's shaft. His body's Yuan Qi was like a simmering volcano!

Yi Yun was silent as he faced Qiuniu. He gently flipped the Thousand Army Saber and he pointed the tip of his blade at Qiuniu.

This was Yi Yun's answer.

Qiuniu laughed, "As expected, you will not admit defeat. Yes! If you admitted defeat, you would not be a respectful opponent that I can look in the eye. Now, try to handle this attack!"

"Boom!"

Qiuniu's Yuan Qi exploded. The surge of Yuan Qi was condensing behind Qiuniu as it slowly formed a single horned Sky Ox’s phantom image!

Qiuniu's body seemed to slowly rise up, which made it look like he was holding up the sky.

"Sky Ox Tyrannous Blood!" Qiuniu roared as his aura reached an extreme point. He charged forward with this indomitable aura leaking out of him. Each step Qiuniu took left a crater on the purple tungsten stage!

With the Sky Ox's phantom image boosting his surging strength, Qiuniu swiped his large battle polearm downwards at Yi Yun!

There was no doubt that this strike would be able to slash open the stage!

Facing this strike, that resembled a ravaging storm, Yi Yun was amazingly calm. He held his saber with both hands, the Thousand Army Saber's tip forming an angle with the ground. At that moment, Yi Yun's mind was exceedingly tranquil, because his mind was completely at one with the Thousand Army Saber.

The various insights he had gained from the saber tomb now rushed into Yi Yun's mind.

Yi Yun had spent many days in the saber tomb, trying to understand its teachings. Yi Yun had imprinted the energy trajectories of those words deeply in his mind.

The energy and the word's strokes all contained a saber truth within them!

Now, it was time to validate his understandings!

As Qiuniu's attack moved downwards with an unshakable pressure, Yi Yun's eyes lit up. The Thousand Army Saber slashed directly upwards with a green flash that flew straight into the sky!

At that instant, it was as if Heaven and Earth had turned silent. Time had stopped, leaving behind that blade slash. With an indomitable presence, it had sliced through everything!

The Saber Truth's 32 Words – Reigning Supreme!

"Cha!"

The blade beam and the polearm's beam collided. Yi Yun was like a god and he moved past Qiuniu with his Thousand Army Saber! As he held onto the saber, he charged into the roaring Sky Ox phantom image!

This Sky Ox image was formed from Yuan Qi using Qiuniu's "Sky Ox Tyrannous Blood'! But Yi Yun's saber slashed upwards with unstoppable onslaught.

The sky ox phantom image was split in half by the Thousand Army Saber!

"Boom!"

With the Yuan Qi exploding and the Trapped Ox Lock Yuan Qi wall shattering, a chaotic force erupted, causing the weapons surrounding the Divine Wilderness Stage to rattle. Even the purple tungsten protective wall experienced severe tremors!

However, Yi Yun's Thousand Army Saber had pierced the force field. His body opened up a distance of thirty meters from Qiuniu before he landed steadily on the ground.

With the Thousand Army Saber's tip placed on the ground, Yi Yun turned around.

On stage, Qiuniu’s back was facing Yi Yun. His body had completely frozen.

With his hand holding onto the battle polearm, he stood there, petrified in this position, without dropping the polearm.

His gaze had stagnated and his face muscles twitched. He lowered his head with great difficulty to look at his chest with disbelief in his eyes.

A bloody line had appeared, which went from the middle of Qiuniu's eyebrows, following down the bridge of his nose to his chin, all the way to his chest.

Under Qiuniu's muscular pressure, it took a few seconds before blood started spilling out from this wound, issuing a "Si Si" sound.

Yi Yun’s saber had sliced Qiuniu from the middle of his eyebrows to his left rib. The wound was about two feet long and even his ribs were broken!

This saber had not only sliced through the Sky Ox phantom image, it had also broken through Qiuniu's protective Yuan Qi and at the same time, cut Qiuniu's iron-like muscles open and broke the ribs on the left side of his chest!

Blood flowed out more rapidly, covering Qiuniu's face, neck and chest. It made Qiuniu look extremely savage.

He could clearly feel that Yi Yun's saber had sliced open his ribs and cut the muscles around his heart!

If Yi Yun had gone an inch further, his heart would have been cut open and he would have died!

But Yi Yun's control of his energy in that slash was excellent. There was not a millimeter of inaccuracy!

That slash was too terrifying!

Qiuniu felt his palms begin sweating. He did not expect such an opponent amongst the Tai Ah Divine City's rookies. Just one slash was enough to completely defeat him!

And Yi Yun had taken his 'Sky Ox Tyrannous Blood' head on!

This was Qiuniu's strongest attack, one that he could not completely control. To be defeated while using this move, he admitted defeat from the bottom of his heart!

"In the battle of Yi Yun versus Qiuniu, Yi Yun wins!" The referee gave Yi Yun a deep glance and announced the results of the match.

Qiuniu had broken nine ribs, and his chest had been split open by the Thousand Army Saber. His left lung and heart were no longer protected by his Yuan Qi. It was difficult for him to even breathe, so it was natural that he had lost his ability to fight.

At that moment, four doctors who were on standby below the stage rushed onto the stage. They took out some medicine that they had prepared to treat Qiuniu's wounds.

The doctors included three females and one male. They thought that they were going to treat Yi Yun at the end of this and that he might even be mortally wounded.

But unexpectedly, it was the complete opposite. The person who was injured was actually Qiuniu.

And Qiuniu's wound was shocking. This slash was extremely precise, it was similar to a surgeon using a surgery knife.

It was a terrifying slash!

A few doctors looked at Yi Yun and they felt that this junior of theirs was unfathomable. In the future, he was likely to skyrocket!

"Thank you!" Yi Yun held his Thousand Army Saber and cupped his fists before turning to get down the Divine Wilderness Stage!

He knew that Qiuniu would be alright. He had deliberately avoided Qiuniu's vital organs in this final slash.

He had learned this slash in the saber tomb. Yi Yun had only managed to understand two slash moves throughout his time spent in the saber tomb.

This 'Reigning Supreme' was the first saber move. In fact, this move did not completely display the essence of the the Saber Truth's 32 Words. If one had to say how much it contained, it was just a thousandth of the essence of the Saber Truth's 32 Words' and it only had a ten thousandth of the charm.

Even so, by combining it with Yi Yun's pure Yang Yuan Qi, it was still extremely powerful!

At that moment, everyone in the audience looked at Yi Yun with a completely different look.

Thinking back to the last slash, they felt like they were in a dream and they had not woken up from it yet.

Qiuniu's 'Sky Ox Tyrannous Blood' attack was earth-shattering, but Yi Yun actually used his long and thin Thousand Army Saber to block it and then, he sliced through Qiuniu's protective Yuan Qi to secure victory!

It was a shocking reversal!

Everyone thought that Yi Yun had no way of taking Qiuniu's attack head on. But Yi Yun not only took it head on, he even defeated Qiuniu!

Think about it. A primordial ox charges at a person with a domineering aura, while that person stood still, but the primordial ox was defeated with one punch!

It was simply insane!

Even when Yi Yun returned to his seat, many people still had their mouths open from the shock.

"Amazing… Amazing… Is Yi Yun planning to get first place amongst the rookies!?"

Yi Yun's amazing defeat of Qiuniu was beyond all forms of imagination.

Who could still compete with him?

Previously, Yi Yun had used one brick to smack his opponents unconscious one after another. It was quite impressive to do that, but not many people feared it.

Yi Yun had never used his saber, so no one knew how good his saber techniques were. But now, they had seen it.

It was chilling to the bone!

"The gap between us is too great… I really… can't believe it..." In the crowd, Gu Mu, whose fame was not inferior to Yi Yun's, turned pale after seeing this battle.

He had no way of comprehending Yi Yun’s strength!

He had been wanting to battle Yi Yun, but now that notion was a complete joke.

At that moment, in the Elder seat of honor on the side of the stage, a law-enforcer revealed an odd look after seeing the match under his black hood, .

"This saber technique… Did I see it incorrectly? At such a young age and having only been in the Tai Ah Divine City for only three months, it's impossible..." He frowned.

And then he asked an arena administrator, "Do you have a video recording disk array of this battle?"

"Of course..." The administrator replied respectfully. They would use a disk array to record all the important matches and then archive them for future reference.

"Give me a copy!" The law-enforcer exclaimed. He was not sure and so, he planned on passing on the disk array footage to a divine city Elder to confirm his guess...

He felt that it was impossible, but still, he needed an Elder to confirm it.

True Martial World - Chapter 237: Divine Strength Ox King Skill

"Taking off his armor to battle?"

Hearing Qiuniu's words, the audience were stunned. Most people thought that one's battle power would be stronger when covered in full body armor.

If he took his armor off, wouldn't Qiuniu's defense strength drop down a notch?

Qiuniu could not withstand Yi Yun's saber even while he was wearing armor!

"This is so terrifying. How is Yi Yun's saber so sharp? Qiuniu has never been hurt while fighting!"

No one could understand it. Previously when Qiuniu entered the top 3000, he had fought a veteran cultivator who used a long battle axe. That battle axe was extremely heavy, but when it struck Qiuniu's armor, Qiuniu was still able to withstand it using his armor that was protected by his Yuan Qi!

Yi Yun's saber did not look as powerful as the long battle axe, so how did he break through Qiuniu's defenses?

People looked with wonder and awe at Yi Yun's saber.

That sharp long saber was still dripping blood.

"Pa Da! Pa Da!"

Drop after drop of blood bloomed upon landing onto the purple tungsten ground, like plum blossoms.

This saber was too terrifying!

By now, Qiuniu had taken off his helmet and removed his chest plate and back plate.

Every part of this armor set resounded loudly when it was thrown onto the stage. It was hard to imagine how heavy it was when every part was added up.

"The armor is used to provide defense. This set of white metal armor has outstanding defense capabilities! But..." As Qiuniu said this, he threw the large glove from his right hand.

"The white metal armor is too heavy. I wear it not for protection, but to limit myself and to train my strength! I am constantly using my family's secret technique, 'Divine Strength Ox King Skill' to counteract the white metal armor's weight. As such, I am constantly cultivating!"

"And only by taking off the white metal armor can I push my power to an extreme!"

While saying this, Qiuniu had completely removed all of his armor. He was wearing black, tight-fitting clothes. His muscles stretching out the fabric of his clothes.

Qiuniu roared.

"Ha!"

A surge of Yuan Qi exploded from Qiuniu's body as his muscles began expanding!

Vein after vein bulged and twisted. Even Qiuniu's height grew taller as a result.

He was originally 1.9 meters tall. Now, he was more than 2 meters tall. His arms were as thick as an adult's thigh. The long hair, on his nearly bald head, also grew longer under his power, all the way to his back.

After revealing his 'Divine Strength Ox King Skill', Qiuniu's aura was completely different.

He took out a large polearm from his interspatial ring!

This polearm was as long as Qiuniu's height. The polearm's shaft was as thick as a child's wrist. And the polearm's head was about three feet wide!

This peerless weapon gave people chills when they saw it!

"Hahahaha! This feels great! It really feels great!"

Qiuniu laughed heartily, "It's been a while since I completely removed all of my armor to use the 'Divine Strength Ox King Skill'!"

Qiuniu stretched his body comfortable as his joints crackled. The wounds that were previously opened by Yi Yun's Thousand Army Saber had also stopped bleeding from the expansion of Qiuniu's muscles.

"Let me warn you. My body is an impenetrable body! This is a form of blood lineage! Although I have taken off my white metal armor, it has also released my 'Divine Strength Ox King Skill'. With the support of the 'Divine Strength Ox King Skill' protective Yuan Qi, my defense ability only strengthens and doesn't weaken!"

Hearing Qiuniu's words, the surrounding audience were secretly horrified. Qiuniu was too terrifying!

An impenetrable body of a blood lineage! This was a rare physical state. It was no wonder Qiuniu had such odd strength.

By taking off his armor, Qiuniu's defense actually strengthened! With increased defense, with his enormous strength, just being hit by that polearm was an obvious result!

Qiuniu seemed to not possess any weakness at this point!

"Are you ready?"

Just after saying this, with his large polearm, his figure moved like a gust of wind!

His figure also formed many afterimages. He was too fast!

People thought that Qiuniu was not proficient in his speed. In fact, in the previous battles, Qiuniu's speed was indeed slow. He even seldom took more than a few steps. Most of the time, he stood in the middle of the arena like a fortress.

But Qiuniu, who had now taken off his armor, was completely different!

Only now did people realize that Qiuniu's speed was as terrifying as his strength!

Qiuniu's power that exuded from his body was extremely overwhelming. Although he was heavy, but with his terrifying strength, the weight from his body was nothing!

Although Qiuniu's movements lacked style, just from the burst of speed he could muster, he was definitely amongst the best compared to warriors of the same level!

His defense was strong, his attack power was strong and his speed was also fast. How was one to win against such an opponent?

People began to worry for Yi Yun.

Qiuniu, whose position could not be determined by the audience, suddenly appeared in front of Yi Yun!

In an instant, the chaotic afterimages formed as one. With the large polearm in hand, all of Qiuniu's strength exploded!

"Quaking Heaven Strike!"

Huge amounts of energy was imbued into the large polearm. Qiuniu's polearm strike could easily flatten a mountain!

"Boom!"

The Yuan Qi within the large polearm exploded. A crater appeared in the purple tungsten arena. With a leap, Yi Yun floated away like a swan!

He dodged it!

Qiuniu sneered and swiped the polearm at Yi Yun!

Yi Yun's body was in midair as it twisted in an incredulous manner. He dodged it again as if he was blown away!

"Sha! Sha! Sha!"

The large polearm moved in a dazzling manner!

But Yi Yun's body seemed to be weightless. Every swipe of Qiuniu's large polearm was avoided, it was as if he was blown away by the Yuan Qi. Even the overwhelming Yuan Qi blast was easily avoided by Yi Yun.

Qiuniu was fast, but Yi Yun was faster!

By reaching the large success stage of Minute Subtlety, and with the pure Yang power's impetus, Yi Yun's speed had reached an incredible level.

People's eyes were fully occupied by the scenes on stage. One violent explosion after another appeared while Qiuniu and Yi Yun's afterimages weaved together!

It was hard to imagine that this was a battle between two thirteen year old kids!

"What's happening on stage!?"

The weaker warriors could not see what was going on. They only knew that the battle was extremely intense. As for who had the upper hand, they did not know!

"Qiuniu has been continuously attacking while Yi Yun has been dodging them all!" A better-ranked rookie explained, "Now it seems like Qiuniu has the upper hand. Yi Yun has not exchanged blows with Qiuniu at all!"

"Of course he doesn't dare to exchange blows. Who would dare to parry that large polearm's force. Yi Yun's saber is so thin. If their weapons were to clash, Yi Yun's arms might go numb and his saber might even break! But Qiuniu might not have the upper hand! Indeed, Yi Yun might not have the ability to clash with Qiuniu, but Qiuniu can't hit Yi Yun. If this drags on, Qiuniu's stamina will rapidly deplete. No matter how strong he is, his stamina will gradually run out. Once that happens, Yi Yun can turn the tables and win!"

Someone held an opposing view.

With the large success stage of Minute Subtlety, Yi Yun indeed held the upper hand. By using his movements to deplete Qiuniu's stamina and finally counterattack when Qiuniu was exhausted, that would be the smartest approach and was Yi Yun's only chance of winning.

Yet again everyone became stumped, not knowing what the outcome of this match would be. People held their breaths and opened their eyes wide. They were afraid to miss even a single exhilarating move.

But… At that moment, Qiuniu's speed began to slow down till he eventually stopped.

He held his polearm in one hand and looked at Yi Yun with a burning fighting spirit.

Oh?

Yi Yun looked all around.

"Ah! You noticed it?" Qiuniu again twisted his thick neck out of habit. "My previous attacks had all been dodged by you, but I actually set up a Yuan Qi cage."

"This is also a move of the 'Divine Strength Ox King Skill', named 'Trapped Ox Lock'. It can create a blockade in empty air from the Yuan Qi released in each attack. It is especially used to deal with fast opponents like you!"

"With my powers, I can only maintain the Yuan Qi blockade for less than a minute, and I can only use it once. After that I will be too tired to use it a second time..."

Qiuniu did not mind exposing the weakness of his attack, "But… This is already sufficient. As long as I can obtain a chance to strike with the 'Trapped Ox Lock', that would be enough!" Qiuniu confidently said!

He was extremely confident. He was planning to win the battle with one strike!

True Martial World - Chapter 236: Fighting Qiuniu

Although Qiuniu was lower in the rankings than Chu Xiaoran , if someone was forced to make a decision on who to fight between the two, they would still face Chu Xiaoran rather than Qiuniu.

This was because Qiuniu gave people a sense of immense pressure!

Many people were unable to muster up their courage while standing in front of Qiuniu.

On the other side of the stage, Yi Yun held his Thousand Army Saber and walked onto the stage.

He stood a hundred feet away from Qiuniu and faced him directly.

Yi Yun was finally going to use his weapon for a battle. This was reasonable; after all, his opponent was Qiuniu!

"This Yi Yun is finally going to use his saber. I wonder if his saber technique is any good." People discussed. Previously, Yi Yun only used a brick to stomp his opponents. This was indeed very formidable, but this did not mean that by not using the brick and switching to the Thousand Army Saber, his strength would become even more perverse.

Of course, the Thousand Army Saber was stronger than the brick, but no matter how much stronger it was, it all depended on Yi Yun's saber technique.

"Yi Yun's saber is too long. Against any typical opponent, a long weapon is advantageous. But against Qiuniu, once he grabs it, Yi Yun will not be able to use it anymore! Even if it is not caught, just trying to slash Qiuniu's body might not be enough to break through his defense."

Qiuniu had an ability, which was that once a weapon was caught, there was no way of getting it back.

This was the reason why many people did not have the confidence when facing Qiuniu. It would be too embarrassing to lose their weapon to him.

And Qiuniu was very fast. Trying to keep the weapon away from Qiuniu’s clutches?

It would be very difficult!

Everyone acknowledged that a light weapon was useless against Qiuniu. Yi Yun's saber was long and light. It could stir up a whirlwind by slicing and dicing and it looked cool, but against Qiuniu's heavy armor, it was absolutely useless.

"Can we begin?" Qiuniu looked at Yi Yun with a grin. It was as if he could not wait any longer.

"Sure..." Yi Yun also laughed. He casually placed the Thousand Army Saber vertically beside his body. The extremely long Thousand Army Saber seemed to stand vertically on the ground without falling. It was a strange scene.

Many cultivators were stumped. According to normal circumstances, a saber had no chance of standing vertical on the ground, as it would lose its balance, but Yi Yun's saber seemed to have a spirit within it!

Qiuniu was shocked too, but instantaneously, he licked his lips, "Interesting! I'll see if you can keep your saber away from me!"

Saying this, Qiuniu leaped up towards him!

"Boom!"

Like a pounce from a primordial beast, every jump caused the stage to tremor!

Even while wearing his heavy armor, Qiuniu's speed was not any slower.

"Ka-cha!"

Qiuniu landed heavily on the ground with a foot, while Yi Yun disappeared.

"Whew!"

Yi Yun had unsheathed the Thousand Army Saber. The scabbard still remained standing vertically on the ground while the sharp blade began to send out beautiful blade beams!

Yi Yun had finally started to use his saber. Like a dragon traversing the ocean, the Thousand Army Saber made a screeching sound!

In that moment, the blade beams formed a web as they enclosed Qiuniu. Yi Yun's attack speed was so fast that it dazzled everyone!

Qiuniu's eyes lit up.

"Nice one!" He shouted and contracted his body. He charged forwards with his shield leading the charge.

"Crackle!"

Numerous blade beams exploded on Qiuniu's shield. The thick shield was like an impregnable fortress wall. Every blade beam that came in contact with it was destroyed from his charge!

Pa!

Yi Yun and Qiuniu passed each other. After Qiuniu stopped, he turned to face Yi Yun, "Your saber technique is not bad! Too bad, it cannot break through my defenses!"

As he said that, Qiuniu cracked his neck. His joints issued a crackling sound.

People were left in wonder. Just from this defense alone, it allowed Qiuniu to stand unbeatable!

"Your armor is also not bad." Yi Yun gave his review.

Qiuniu laughed, "You are still in the mood to review my armor?"

As he said this, Qiuniu began walking towards Yi Yun. He was walking slowly and he was compressing the space Yi Yun could use to dodge bit by bit.

"Ka-cha! Ka-cha!"

As Qiuniu walked, the metal armor clanked around. The sound that approached people gave them an immense pressure.

Shield bash!

Suddenly, Qiuniu charged forward at Yi Yun with his huge shield.

Yi Yun dodged and avoided Qiuniu's shield bash. With Yi Yun's speed, it was very difficult for Qiuniu to hit Yi Yun with his shield attack!

Qiuniu took a step forward and swiped with his claw, but Yi Yun's body was like a willow that was blown up by the wind, easily dodging the attack once again.

At that moment, Qiuniu sneered. With a slight turn of his body, the huge glove on his right hand followed.

"Cha! Cha! Cha!"

The three sharp claws suddenly protruded and shot towards Yi Yun!

The metal claws contained within them an array method. When Qiuniu injected them with Yuan Qi, he could cause the claws to shoot out. This attack would catch people off guard at a close distance!

Oh!?

Yi Yun’s eye focused on the three flying claws and he twisted his body in the air to avoid them. At the same time, Yi Yun's Thousand Army Saber reversed and slashed at Qiuniu's throat!

Without taking another glance, Qiuniu stretched his hand towards the Thousand Army Saber to grab it!

He wanted to grab Yi Yun's saber!

This scene made every warrior hold their breath. In the previous battles during the competition, no matter who it was, whenever Qiuniu attempted to grab their weapon, they would all pull it back. If Qiuniu grabbed their weapon, there was no point fighting on.

Yi Yun's saber was narrow and long, so it was obvious what would happen once it was grabbed.

Everyone thought that Yi Yun would pull his saber back. But he did not. With an expressionless face, the saber continued slashing downwards!

The way of the saber, has no end in sight!

The saber truth's first line had already explained the saber's nature. How could Yi Yun pull his saber back just because he was afraid his opponent would steal his weapon?

Oh? Not retreating?

Qiuniu was surprised and with a grin, he grabbed the saber.

"Clang!"

A metallic clang ensued. Qiuniu had grabbed onto the Thousand Army Saber without any concern!

This scene quaked the hearts of everyone. The saber has been grabbed!

This...

No one knew what to say. With Yi Yun's speed, they felt that he could use his speed to embroil Qiuniu in a long battle. If he did not face him head on, this fight would drag out, without him losing his saber and with it, his reputation. But no one expected Yi Yun to carry on slashing down with his saber, which allowed Qiuniu to grab his blade easily.

What was there left to fight!?

Was he just going to lose just like that?

"Hehe..." Qiuniu laughed, "Your saber is mine! You should get another weapon."

Saying this, Qiuniu tightly grabbed the saber with his right hand as he planned to pull it away from Yi Yun.

Yi Yun remained expressionless. With a slight rotation of his wrist, his body's Yuan Qi circulated and the Thousand Army Saber seemed to be covered in flames.

Oh?

Qiuniu was stunned. The saber in his hand suddenly became hot. It was scalding!

What… is this Yuan Qi?

Before Qiuniu could react, Yi Yun's eyes flashed!

The emperor amongst weapons, reigning supreme

"Cha!"

The Thousand Army Saber whistled through the air like a long dragon cry. A sharp blade beam rushed up to the heavens!

Blood appeared!

The Thousand Army Saber easily returned into Yi Yun’s hands, while Qiuniu's hand was left frozen in midair as it trembled.

"Pa Da!"

"Pa Da!"

More and more blood began dripping, like pearls dropping from a cut necklace.

The entire arena fell silent. Only the clear sound of dripping blood could be heard.

This...

Everyone was stunned.

Qiuniu… was injured!

His hand, which was encased in metal armor had grabbed Yi Yun's Thousand Army Saber, but… Yi Yun still managed to reclaim his saber and at the same time, sliced Qiuniu's palm open!

After so many battles, this was the first time Qiuniu was injured!

How could that happen? Did Qiuniu's glove armor rip open?

"You actually..."

Qiuniu looked at his palm in disbelief. The armor on his hand had cracked open and not only that, the armor even had traces of having melted.

Melted?

Thinking back to the burning sensation, could it be… fire?

"Are you a fire elemental warrior?" Qiuniu was shocked. Even a fire elemental warrior was not supposed to be this strong. His armor was made out of white metal, obtained from the deep sea. It was extremely hard and it was almost impossible to break through. It would be almost impossible to melt it with the capabilities of the Purple Blood realm!

Yi Yun shook his head.

Fire?

The Yuan Qi in his body did resemble fire, but there was an essential difference!

After learning the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique', Yi Yun's Yuan Qi had transformed. If one had to describe its elemental property, then it should be Pure Yang!

"If this is the limit of your power, then this battle is over." Saying this, Yi Yun slashed his Thousand Army Saber downwards again!

"Whew!"

The splendid blade beam slashed towards Qiuniu!

Qiuniu contracted his pupils. He felt that this blade beam was much stronger than the ones before. This was because Yi Yun had injected pure Yang into it!

Qiuniu retreated and placed his large shield before his chest. However, Yi Yun's blade beam was everywhere!

The pure Yang saber Qi completely melted through Qiuniu’s protective Yuan Qi! Deep marks were left on Qiuniu's white armor. The saber Qi had also entered his body, now raging through him.

This saber Qi had a terrifying burning power in it. It burned Qiuniu, causing his blood to go turbulent.

Yi Yun's saber attack was too strong! A weapon's strength was determined not by its weight, but by how much Yuan Qi could be injected into it.

The blade beam sent out by Yi Yun was matchless in terms of sharpness!

"Cha!"

Another beam flashed!

Qiuniu's body tremored as another bloody line appeared on his chest.

Deng! Deng! Deng!

Qiuniu retreated several steps with a look of shock!

At that moment, even his face had a saber scar. Blood was dripping from all of his wounds.

The surrounding audience’s mouths were agape. This scene had gone beyond their comprehension. They could not understand how this had happened. Qiuniu's armor was imbued with his Yuan Qi, and his defense was extremely strong. People thought that Qiuniu was invincible.

But… His defense had been broken by Yi Yun?

Yi Yun's attack did not look special in any way!

Qiuniu wiped the blood off his mouth and said, "Powerful!"

With that said, he took the shield off his left hand. "It looks like I cannot defeat you while wearing this armor…It seems like I have to take my armor off to do battle with a person like you...”

True Martial World - Chapter 235: The first match’s opponent

With the sun high up in the sky, there was finally a trace of warmth flowing through the snow-covered Tai Ah Divine City.

It was midday on the ninth day of the rookie ranking competition!

There was a short lunch break at midday during the competition, but many spectators did not leave the venue. After all, as long as a warrior had a sufficient amount of Yuan Qi stored within his body, he would be fine without eating for a few days.

However, the most important reason why most of the spectators stayed was because there were two important matches in the afternoon.

The first match was Qiuniu challenging a veteran cultivator ranked at 2800 on the Earth ranking.

The next match was even more ridiculous. Chu Xiaoran was challenging someone ranked at 2600 on the Earth ranking!

Both of them had just entered the top 3000 and many of those veterans who were around this ranking had spent four years training in the Tai Ah Divine City!

These people were basically peak-Purple Blood experts and were outstanding compared to other warriors at the same level!

Going beyond 3000, it was not easy to proceed forward. The competition they faced became increasingly intense!

Of course, people wanted to see such a battle.

Compared to Qiuniu and Chu Xiaoran, the other rookies were only there to accentuate their prominence.

Actually in the last two days, there were not many rookie battles. Now, if one did not challenge someone ranked in the top 7000, one would feel embarrassed to go up on stage!

People were fighting against the top 3000, yet you are fighting someone ranked over 10,000. Would you have the face going up?

"I think Qiuniu can still win challenging the 2800 ranking. As for Chu Xiaoran, she is really bold to challenge the 2600 ranking. The chances of losing are high..." Someone expressed his view. Many had been discussing for a long time about the results of the two matches Qiuniu and Chu Xiaoran were taking part in. Everyone had their own view, which created a fiery atmosphere.

At that moment, someone suddenly said, "Eh...Isn't that Yi Yun over there?"

Everyone was shocked and they looked towards the direction of the voice. All they saw, nearby in the participant benches, was a youth in linen clothes walk to his seat before sitting down.

This youth was indeed Yi Yun!

"It's really Yi Yun! He finally came!"

The rookie ranking competition was almost over. It was already the second to last day, yet Yi Yun was still ranked at 10,003.

People were speechless when they saw Yi Yun. He had no sense of urgency and he was sitting at his seat in a carefree manner!

It was alright if he did not have the capability, but he clearly had the chance at entering the top three.

"Yi Yun still has four matches. It can actually be in time...If I were him, my first match will be to battle someone in the top 8000. By securing the lowest ranking, he can next challenge the top 6000 and win it. The first battle on the last day can be used to directly challenge Gu Mu! If he were to win, then everything will be settled. If not, he still has one more match to secure his fourth place." Someone said. Many people found this reasonable.

They were all weaker people. They had to go through more than ten matches to find their ranking.

But Yi Yun was strong, so he could be more wilful. He could use Gu Mu as his measuring stick. He could secure his ranking in three matches.

At that moment, people saw Yi Yun take out his Thousand Army Saber from his interspatial ring. He unsheathed it and began polishing the shiny blade.

Seeing this made people speechless.

It sure was an unordinarily calm scene.

Yi Yun slowly polished his saber. Actually, only the blades of mortals had to be polished with a tarp to maintain its sharpness. But a treasure saber like the Thousand Army Saber did not need polishing.

But Yi Yun still polished it bit by bit in a careful manner. This was not a useless act. Yi Yun was actually reaffirming the knowledge gained from the saber tomb as he tidied up the thoughts in his mind.

Through polishing the saber, he could feel more compatible with the saber. At the same time, he could empty his mind and optimizing his understandings.

Yi Yun silently polished his saber for an hour. The afternoon competition was about to begin.

Yi Yun stood up and picked up a form. After filling it, he raised his head–

"Referee!" Yi Yun shouted out. Immediately, the surrounding people's gaze was focused on Yi Yun.

They knew Yi Yun had most likely chosen his opponent!

In the first few days of the rookie ranking competition, Yi Yun was so popular that many people challenged him. So his matches had to be arranged in advance by handing out challenge tokens, so as to ensure that everyone did not fight more than twelve matches a day.

But in the last few days of the rookie ranking competition, this system was not needed. Those that wanted to fight were mostly done fighting.

As such, the timing for battles were freely chosen. It was not a problem to decide on fighting an opponent right at that moment. Once the opponent was up on stage, the battle could immediately begin.

"Guess who Yi Yun will be challenging in his first match?" Someone asked.

"The first person should be a veteran cultivator ranked in the top 7000-8000. This would be the more certain choice.”

"Heh, I think it is impossible. Yi Yun actually dared to use a brick to handle Liu Yuxing, this shows that he's extremely confident. There's no way his opponent’s ranking is at 7000-8000. He might be able to challenge the top 5000 straight away. He might even challenge Gu Mu!"

"Challenge Gu Mu? To set it in stone? This is impossible...Yi Yun has disappeared for the past few days. His first battle after appearing should logically be someone who he's confident in beating. By securing his first match, he can build up his morale. After holding back for so long, if he were to lose his first match, it will be extremely embarrassing!"

Many felt that it was most appropriate to fight someone that guaranteed them victory in the first match.

But the previous speaker remained obstinate. He said, "Wait and see. Think about the glorious history of Yi Yun taking down Liu Yuxing with a brick. It is not impossible for Yi Yun to challenge Gu Mu in his first match..."

...

The referee looked at Yi Yun and asked, "You want to challenge someone?"

"Yes." Yi Yun said as he handed the challenge form he had just completed.

The referee took it and with a sweeping glance, he gave an odd look, "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Yi Yun nodded and returned to his seat.

The referee did not say anything else. It was the freedom of the participants to challenge whomever they wanted. He could not interfere in it.

The referee began to arrange the order of the battles.

Many were curious who Yi Yun's first opponent would be,

Very soon, the referee gave the answer because the first battle in the afternoon was Yi Yun’s!

Having been absent from the rookie ranking competition for so many days, Yi Yun was first on stage the moment he came back! It seemed that even the referee wanted to see Yi Yun's performance.

People raised their spirits. Besides Qiuniu and Chu Xiaoran's match, they anticipated Yi Yun's first battle after his reappearance.

But when the referee announced Yi Yun's opponent, everyone was shocked!

"Divine Wilderness Stage, 10,003, Yi Yun! Challenging 2980, Qiuniu!"

What!?

Challenging Qiuniu!

People were shocked. His first match was neither to secure a ranking, nor to challenge Gu Mu, but to challenge the second-placed rookie, Qiuniu!

Challenging Gu Mu was already quite an exaggeration, but he actually challenged Qiuniu. What was he thinking?

People were not able to react in time. Gu Mu who was ranked third amongst the rookies frowned.

In this rookie ranking competition, he had always treated Yi Yun as his greatest rival. When Yi Yun appeared, he had been mentally prepared to fight a bloody battle with Yi Yun. In the past few days, he had accumulated a lot of combat experience in his battles. He was confident he could beat Yi Yun.

But he did not expect Yi Yun to ignore him. Yi Yun had directly skipped over him to challenge Qiuniu.

This made Gu Mu peeved. He had been disregarded!

"This Yi Yun actually dares to disregard me. Does he think I am not qualified to be his opponent?" Gu Mu clenched his fists. Yi Yun was too disdainful!

Having made all the preparations to compete with Yi Yun, yet Yi Yun completely did not put him in his sights.

"He sure has guts...I'll wait till you lose to Qiuniu. I'll then battle you to show you the consequences of disregarding me!" With this thought in mind, Gu Mu looked at Yi Yun with strong fighting spirit.

...

"Challenging me...?" Qiuniu was also surprised. He glanced at Yi Yun and immediately smiled, "Interesting! It's true the young are rash. I thought you would battle me only after you beat Gu Mu!"

Qiuniu stood up. He was always very interested in Yi Yun.

But he never expected that Yi Yun had the guts to challenge him in his first match.

"Since you are so confident, I'll use the white metal armor to take you on. It is me giving you sufficient respect!" Saying this, Qiuniu took out a giant glove from his ring and wore it on his right hand.

"Ka-cha!"

Three steel claws shot out from the claw with a cold shimmer!

At the same time, Qiuniu's left hand was equipped with a large shield.

Following that, with a thought, two circular metal pieces on Qiuniu's chest and back began to shine. A set of white metal battle armor appeared, covering Qiuniu's body!

In a few seconds, Qiuniu was covered in his white metal armor and he was fully armed!

"Ha!"

With a shout, Qiuniu leaped onto the stage!

He was wearing tens of thousands of pounds of white metal armor. He had leaped from more than thirty meters away from the stage and he was like a pouncing tiger!

"Boom!"

Qiuniu's two legs squatted to cushion his landing as he put a hand on the ground. He was like a meteorite that landed on the stage!

The loud bang caused the entire arena to quiver! It made people exclaim!

Under Qiuniu's feet, the thick purple tungsten tiles had clearly sunken in. It was obvious how strong Qiuniu's leap was.

Ignoring Qiuniu's attacks, just this leap was enough to break a person into pieces!

"Terrifying. He's basically a humanoid primordial desolate beast!" Someone sighed. Seeing Qiuniu's stance, one would lose 30% of their willpower. A typical person would not dare fight him.

Even the dark horse amongst the rookies, Gu Mu, did not have the guts to challenge Qiuniu. This was because Gu Mu knew that the gap between them was large. He was no match for Qiuniu at all!

Qiuniu stood up. After his 1.9 meter tall and burly figure was covered in heavy armor, all his muscles bulged out with worm-like veins. It was as if he was about to explode!

The Legend of Futian - Chapter 56: Please, Bring It on

The boy was not talking loudly, but his voice was still rather firm. Suddenly, the banquet was silenced.

"Ye Futian, disciple of the Qin Devil, hereby delivers happy birthday to Lord Luo with White Feather Garments, on behalf of my master."

People were surprised that this young musician was the disciple of the Qin Devil. The White Feather Garments had totally taken over their mind, which indicated that there was strong mental power contained in that music spell.

The power was especially demonstrated by the young men and women who started dancing along. If not for the interruption from the Art Saint, they would still be possessed by the mental power in that song.

Yun Rou now looked at Ye Futian with absolute surprise. This seemingly careless boy was actually quite powerful. The song he just played, the Melody of White Feather Garments, was one of the most renowned royal waltzes. It was said that if this song was played by a powerful sorcerer that specialized in music spells, people listening to it would soon be trapped into a world of illusion. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

Lin Xiyue and Xiao He were also looking at him. They felt shocked that this "ordinary" young musician was in fact the disciple of the famous Qin Devil.

So, was he a musical sorcerer?

"Ye Futian, where did I hear this name before…" Some students of Donghai Academy were mumbling, because this name rang a bell for them. Soon, they realized who he was, and wondered if this boy was the same person who recently became famous in Donghai Academy.

Art Saint and Lord Luo were both staring at Ye Futian, feeling confused. They never anticipated that the disciple of the Qin Devil would show up in this banquet as the musician. If Nandou Wenshan had not mentioned the Qin Devil, or people had not satirized him, this boy would still be playing peacefully.

Nandou Wenshan heard from Nandou Ku that the Qin Devil had high expectations for this disciple. He realized the reason. According to the vibe of this boy, he was almost the younger version of Qin Devil.

Now, silence haunted the place. It was just too dramatic for the disciple of the Qin Devil to show up in this situation.

Xia Fan was sneering at Ye Futian. He did not believe that Ye Futian actually dared to announce his identity under these circumstances.

Meanwhile, Ye Futian stood up, and bowed slightly to the person running the School of Emperor Star in Donghai Academy. "Greetings, Professor, from Ye Futian, the School of Finance Star."

"You are a student of that school?" The supervisor was surprised about the fact that the disciple of the Qin Devil was currently studying at the School of Finance Star. Obviously, he did not pay much attention to this boy, who had recently become rather famous in Donghai Academy.

"I was admitted recently." Ye Futian took out the name tag from his pocket. The supervisor from the School of Emperor Star nodded slightly, without saying anything.

At that moment, Xia Fan's face turned very pale. He could not believe that Ye Futian had been admitted to Donghai Academy.

With his identity as a Donghai Academy student, and that this was a public birthday banquet, it would be difficult to do anything to him. Even though the supervisor from the School of Emperor Star seemed not to like Ye Futian, as long as he was a student in Donghai Academy, people could hardly be harsh to him.

Lin Xiyue was looking at Ye Futian, totally distracted. She remembered that Ye Futian used to tell her that he was studying at Donghai Academy. At that time, she believed that he was bragging, but it seemed that he was actually telling the truth.

In fact, she should not be blamed. She met Ye Futian on a ship to this city, and at that time, the Spring Term Entry Test had ended. That was why she and Xiao He both believed Ye Futian was bragging.

So, there remained only one possibility for Ye Futian to enter Donghai Academy—Ye Futian was well appreciated by someone running the School of Finance Star, so a rare exception was made for him. She totally realized what it meant. Ye Futian was possibly much more talented than other students in Donghai Academy.

Other people were also confused about this admission. Donghai Academy was the best school in this province, and Ye Futian was given an exception soon after he arrived. Zhou Mu, the disciple of Art Saint, was well-known for his extraordinary talents. However, now, the disciple of the Qin Devil stepped out, and shocked the whole audience with White Feather Garments, which indicated that he was also unusual. Things were getting interesting.

"That's a good song. How's your master doing?" Lord Luo asked him, his voice monotone. Ye Futian played that song as a birthday gift, so he must not lose his politeness in this situation.

"My professor was set up by a villain, and has been crippled for a while. Now he is peacefully living in his own garden, unbothered by the mess happening outside." Ye Futian sounded peaceful. However, Xia Fan felt mad. He had just been referred to as a "villain".

People looked at him. This youth said only what was necessary. He told them that Qin Devil was now living on his own, crippled, and did not care about that what was going on outside. This speech successfully prevented further trouble for his professor.

"Today, I was going to play the song peacefully to entertain the guests here, and did not intend to interrupt the fun going on. However, so many people started to insult Mr. Hua Fengliu." He glanced at the audience and kept talking, "I am not a great student, but still, I have dignity, so does my professor. I cannot act like nothing is going on when people are insulting my professor. I know there are a lot of talented young men in this place who have some negative impressions of him. I will accept any challenge if you believe I am not being appropriate."

He paused for a second, then stared at those who insulted Hua Fengliu. "Please, bring it on."

He was only 16-years-old, and now there were so many big chiefs of this city sitting in the room. However, the way he talked was neither humble nor pushy. Every word from his mouth was firm and solid.

The talented young men were showing off their achievements and complimenting each other. However, suddenly, someone who had been silent announced that he would challenge any one of them. How dramatic was this?

The Qin Devil definitely deserved a disciple with such guts.

People did not know what to say. The girls who used to talk with him felt that, in the past, they did not know him at all. The true self he hid was so different.

Those who insulted the Qin Devil now looked embarrassed. This boy was acting polite, yet had a firm will. They were totally overshadowed by his personality, not to mention being challenged.

"What plane are you on, boy?" Lord Luo asked to err on the side of caution. If he was too powerful, it would be better for the people challenged to just ignore him rather than having their *ss kicked.

"Three-star Glory Plane it is," Ye Futian replied peacefully. Lord Luo did not say anything, but started looking at the young men in this room. Three-star Glory Plane was impressive for a boy his age, but not too rare for other young men attending the banquet.

"I accept your challenge." Someone stood up from his seat. It was the swordsman who responded. He was in the same plane as Ye Futian, a Three-star Glory Plane Swordsman.

"Okay, just show us your best. You don't have to worry about damaging this place at all," Lord Luo told them. There were so many powerful people in this place that the audience would be well protected from the fight.

"Understood." The swordsman unsheathed his weapon, and stepped toward Ye Futian.

Ye Futian went back to his guqin, and slowly sat down. The girls already evacuated the place for him.

Since someone was insulting the Qin Devil, he should absolutely defeat those people with the techniques he inherited from Hua Fengliu, which were the music spells.

He started playing, and suddenly the room was full of a feeling of desolation. Some of the people soon felt as if they were brought to a state of illusion, where they were left alone in a deep woods in a mountain.

"That is a music spell." Some powerful people soon recognized what it was. The Rainbow and Feather Garments he played were not injected with much mental power, so the effect was not truly strong. But since Ye Futian was being serious this time, the song was played with immense power of mental control.

The swordsman also initiated his attack. He charged as fast as thunder toward Ye Futian. However, there was a continuous sound. It pierced through his eardrum with a magical power, and he was also drawn into the illusion. Now, he saw himself charging toward Ye Futian, but in the background was a cliff.

He realized he had been mentally attacked. He soon ignited his blade with the fire-element power he possessed. He jumped off into the air and came down with authority. His hands were holding the sword firmly, and the blade was pointed exactly at Ye Futian's forehead.

Ye Futian suddenly sped up his fingers. His fingers were now insanely fast, and there was a dragon vaguely roaring in the song. Soon, he swung his hand towards his opponent, and the swordsman saw a dragon flying right at him. The dragon was not hurt by the blade at all, and totally engulfed his body in a second.

In reality, people saw the swordsman suddenly stop his attack. He looked painful and desperate, and soon after, he fell onto the ground, severely injured.

Ye Futian finished the last note of his song, and said peacefully, "You all insult my professor but can only train disciples at this level?"

The Legend of Futian - Chapter 55: White Feather Garments

Upon the arrival of the guests, the celebration began. Drinks were exchanged and the sound of laughter and conversation filled the air. The older party-goers formed their own small circle while the younger party-goers did the same. Other than presenting their gifts and exchanging words of common courtesy, everyone was discussing interesting new happenings within the City of Donghai. Somewhere along the line someone brought up the topic of Qingzhou City.

"I heard that the historical remains of 'that person' were discovered in the City of Qingzhou, and that you even went to investigate personally. Is that true, Xia Fan?" someone asked with their sight set on Xia Fan.

By 'that person' they obviously meant Emperor Ye Qing but because he was a taboo character in the Divine Prefectures of the East Sea, it would be inappropriate to use his name in a public place such as this.

"It is true indeed. However, a demon king, or perhaps even higher leveled Snow Ape demon stood guard there and we were unable to enter. My younger brother even lost his life at the hands of that monster," said Xia Feng.

"What Chief Xia Feng said is true. I wanted to take part in it like every else and traveled to Qingzhou City. Indeed, no one was able to get close to the historical site. I heard that the path was blocked by demons and monsters," said Lin Xiyue's father. Many people nodded in agreement. Many powerful individuals have sent their people to Qingzhou, but they all returned with no results.

"If really was a demon of higher level than a demon king, then forget about us. Probably even the Nandou Nation wouldn't be able to do anything about it," someone sighed.

Hearing their words, Ye Futian felt a twinge of sadness. If the Snow Ape had not refused to leave the mountains, then Ye Futian would not have to beware of his every move in Donghai City. He would have been able to do whatever he pleased, even in the Nandou Nation. Ye Futian debated whether or not he should find time to head back to Mount Tianyao to persuade the Snow Ape to leave with him.

"Brother Lin, your daughter, Lin Xiyue should be about 16-years-old now, right? She's getting more beautiful by the day," said Lord Luo. His eyes drifted to Lin Xiyue in the crowd. Her beautiful eyes contained a hint of timidness.

"Thank you for your compliment, Lord Luo," said Lin Xiyue's father.

"Has she been betrothed?" asked Lord Luo.

"Not yet, but she is still young. She is still focusing all her attention on cultivation. There's no hurry," answered her father.

"That is true, but looking around this venue, there are many worthy young men. It couldn't hurt to meet them," chuckled Lord Luo.

"Speaking of worthy young men, I heard that the Art Saint's disciple, Zhou Mu, is already in the five-starred Glory Plane," Lin Xiyue's father said. He looked over at Zhou Mu, who stood behind the Art Saint.

"It's all thanks to Master's guidance." Zhou Mu smiled lightly in response.

"Nandou Kai beside Nandou Wenshan does not pale in comparison to Zhou Mu," the Art Saint said modestly as he looked at Nandou Wenshan.

"Nandou Kai is slightly older and his gift is not half bad, but in comparison with Zhou Mu, he is still lacking. He will need to work harder," said Nandou Wenshan.

"How is she doing?" the Art Saint asked suddenly. Nandou Wenshan was stunned, but then shook his head with a bitter smile and said, "My younger sister is still the same."

"I heard that her daughter is back and is an exceptional person. Zhou Mu keeps pestering me to let them meet," the Art Saint continued to speak. Everyone exchanged a look. Indeed, the Art Saint was trying to set up his disciple with the young miss of the Nandou family. Shockingly, he did not seem to care that she was the Guqin Devil's daughter. It was probably a "love someone and love everything about them" type of situation. After all, the Art Saint had always been madly in love with 'that' person.

"It is true, Hua Jieyu is exceptional. She is now practising cultivation at the School of the Emperor Star within Donghai Academy." Nandou Wenshan smiled.

Upon hearing this exchange, his heart was no longer calm. The Art Saint wanted to set up his disciple with Hua Jieyu? In addition, it seemed that Nandou Wenshan was the older brother of Master's wife, which would make him Hua Jieyu's uncle.

"Hua Jieyu's gifts are top-notch within the Emperor Star school. It would be hard to find a person who could compare with her in all of Donghai Academy," said an elder of the School of the Emperor Star. Since Hua Jieyu was a student of his school, he knew quite a bit about her.

"You guys are all complimenting her. It makes me want to meet the young miss of the Nandou family." Lord Luo laughed.

"Hua Jieyu?" Xia Fan's lips twitched into a wicked smile. His eyes landed on Ye Futian, who was playing the guqin. In the City of Qingzhou, he had seen Hua Jieyu and Ye Futian together by the lake. The relationship between the two did not seem like that of ordinary friends. Xia Fan wondered, what would happen if the Nandou family found out the ambiguous relationship between Hua Jieyu and Ye Futian?

Just the thought of this brought a smile to Xia Fan's face. Of course, there were other ways to crush Ye Futian. He did not have to do it this way. If he were to expose their relationship in a setting like this, he might offend the Nandou family. After all, they were a big, powerful family, and cared a lot about their reputation. Hua Jieyu was also the apple of their eyes. They would not permit anyone to try to drag her through the mud.

Ye Futian felt that something was amiss and lifted his head to look at Xia Fan. Right now, everyone was talking about Hua Jieyu, so Ye Futian knew immediately what Xia Fan might have been thinking. He could not help but raise his eyebrows at Xia Fan. As a person, Xia Fan was sinister and treacherous, a truly despicable person. Ye Futian had gotten a taste of this back in the City of Qingzhou.

"When the chance comes, I shall have Hua Jieyu come to pay respect to you, Lord Luo." Nandou Wenshan smiled at Lord Luo's words. "You should stop talking about Hua Jieyu now. Since we have so many talented young people gathered here today, and since Lord Luo is in such a good mood, why don't we have the youngster perform?"

"That's right! This would be the perfect opportunity to catch a glimpse at all the young talent in the City of Donghai," someone chimed in.

This piqued Lord Luo's interest as well. Thus, he went on to say, "Then, let's have any youngsters willing to perform show off their skills in front of us elders. There shall be hefty rewards for the best performances."

"Lin Xiyue, how about you go first?" Lord Luo set his sight on Lin Xiyue.

She blinked a couple times then nodded with a smile. With light steps, she carried herself to the middle of the crowd. "Lord Luo, I hope you will enjoy my lacking performance." After she spoke, Water Spiritual Qi began to gather around her. Her hands danced in the air, carrying the Spiritual Qi with her every movement. Slowly, the character for 'longevity' formed in midair and floated towards Lord Luo. It only disappeared once it had reached him.

"Lin Xiyue, you're already a three-starred Glory Plane sorcerer! How fast. That was very interesting," complimented Lord Luo.

"Thank you for your compliments," said Lin Xiyue. She bowed to him and retreated into the crowd.

A young man stepped up. "I will perform a sword dance for you, Lord Luo." He drew out the sword he carried on his person, and it began to dance through the air. With every slash of the sword a stroke was left in the air. When the young man finished his performance, five words were left in midair: May you achieve boundless eternity."

"Nice!" Many people applauded him. Following that, other youths continued to put on their performances to present their blessings and best wishes to Lord Luo. At the same time, they were able to put their talents on display. Their performances brightened up the atmosphere of the party venue.

"Brother Hua, does your disciple not wish to perform?" someone asked the Art Saint. The Art Saint's surname was Hua, a different Hua from Hua Fengliu.

"Go," commanded the Art Saint.

"Yes, Master," answered Zhou Mu. Stepping up, he held a pencil in his hand. Then, he laid out a large piece of paper on the bright golden yellow carpet. Zhou Mu bent down and began to draw.

"It's rare to see Zhou Mu in action. We are all so lucky to be able to witness the Art Saint's disciple in action," said one of the youths in the crowd. All the youngsters at the venue admired Zhou Mu.

"I've never seen a conjurer in action before, so I don't know what it's like," said a young girl. Her eyes glowed in interest as she observed Zhou Mu.

Zhou Mu drew with great speed. His movements were natural and graceful. Lord Luo complimented, "Brother Hua, your disciple has such a grand aura for a person of his age."

"That's true," everyone else agreed. Even Yun Rou and her group of dancers tried to look on as they danced. Ye Futian was also aware of all the happenings, despite playing with his head down.

He was thinking to himself. Hua Fengliu and the Art Saint were old rivals, not only in power, but also in love. To be able to take Mistress away from someone like the Art Saint, Ye Futian could only imagine how charming Hua Fengliu must have been in the past. If Hua Fengliu did not have his powers disabled, then he probably could have been like admired and respected like the Art Saint. To have ended up in his situation, Ye Futian felt really bad for Hua Fengliu.

Zhou Mu drew as Ye Futian played the guqin. One was the disciple of the Art Saint, one was the disciple of the Guqin Devil. However, everyone's focus was on Zhou Mu. Finally, Zhou Mu's work was complete. A Fire Phoenix escaped from the artwork and circled the skies above. Covered in the flames, it let out a screech. Then, it landed by Lord Luo's side and began to dance for him.

"Bravo!"

"Wonderful!"

"The phoenix is a symbol of success. What a wonderful omen. We wouldn't have expected anything less of the Young Art Saint." Everyone was full of praise for Zhou Mu. Even Lord Luo gave him a look and smile of approval. He said, "You shall be rewarded,"

"Thank you, my lord," Zhou Mu bowed and then returned to his spot by his master.

"Watching Zhou Mu, I was reminded of a person. A couple days ago, Nandou Ku paid a visit to the Guqin Gardens and saw Hua Fengliu," said Nandou Wenshan. In a split second, he had captured everyone's attention. The Guqin Devil was back in the City of Donghai?

"However, he's handicapped now and is being protected by Tang Lan. He even took in a disciple," Nandou Wenshan elaborated.

"Handicapped?" Everyone was shocked.

Even the Art Saint was surprised. "What a shame."

"Why is it a shame? Even if he weren't handicapped, he wouldn't dare show his face in front of you, Art Saint." Someone laughed.

"That's right! In the past, Hua Fengliu had no understanding of his own capabilities and brought the humiliation on to himself. Who would've thought he would still have the nerve to come back after becoming disabled? Would he even be able to groom the disciple he took in? If his disciple met with Zhou Mu, he would probably have to walk in the other direction," another person mocked Hua Fengliu.

"He can only live under someone else's protection now. Why is he even thinking about anything else?" People began to speak up against Hua Fengliu. All their words were meant to suck up to the Art Saint.

Xia Fan watched Ye Futian. He could not wait to see how long it would take for Ye Futian to explode in anger.

Just as everyone was enjoying their time making fun of Hua Fengliu, they were interrupted by the sounds of the guqin. The style has shifted. The once soft notes were getting louder and faster as well. Slowly, Yun Rou and the other dancers became influenced by the music. The women began to dance their hearts away, their long dresses flowed with their movements. They all looked like goddesses.

Under the influence of the music, the youngsters got more excited and the elders were in an even better mood now. The atmosphere of the entire party venue was pushed to the highest point.

"What piece is this?" asked the Art Saint. His eyes drifted toward Ye Futian. Not only him, but the other high authority figures as well felt something amiss. Their emotions were being controlled by the music.

The youths at the party were getting agitated and the dancers on stage looked like they were unable to pull themselves away from the music.

Behind the stage, a young man was playing his instrument silently. He seemed to be in a world of his own. His looks could be said to be one of the best amongst the younger party-goers. When he played, he released a mystical force that was incorporated into his music.

"The Melody of the White Feathers Garment. Who are you?" The Art Saint's gaze sharpened and his utterance interrupted the music. Many people began to wake up from their previous trance. The all stared at the young guqin player in shock.

They watched as the young man lifted his head slowly. His eyes were clear and clean with no sense of lowliness. Looking towards Lord Luo, he spoke. "I am the Guqin Devil's disciple, Ye Futian. I am here to convey blessings in place of my Master with a single piece. The Melody of the White Feathers Garment."

The Legend of Futian - Chapter 54: Banquet in the Luo Palace

All the music and dances for the birthday banquet of Lord Luo had been settled, and the musician left after he had taught Ye Futian the songs he was assigned to play. The steward also repeatedly told him some dos and don'ts for the next day.

Ye Futian was left in the palace to rehearse with a group of girls. Their figures and facial features were all top-notch, especially the leader. She was about eighteen-years-old, extraordinarily sexy, but with a face full of the youthfulness of a younger girl. When she was dancing in that dress made of chiffon, it was possible for any man to fall in love with her.

Ye Futian kept his head low while playing the song. A sweet and charming voice suddenly spoke. "Why don't you raise your head?"

A gorgeous face soon appeared in front of him. He smiled and replied, "You are so charming that once I see you, I feel distracted."

"You do know how to compliment girls," she chuckled. Her skirt swung onto the guqin.

"Just come and join us." She started dancing again and seemed to be luring him intentionally. Most of the musicians were just old men, so she was surprised that the assigned musician this time was such a young and pretty boy.

"Sorry Miss, I have a girlfriend," Ye Futian smiled at her. The girl was dumbfounded for a moment, then started chuckling again along with the girls around her.

"What are you talking about? Remember, my name is Yun Rou, and in the future, I will marry a very powerful cultivator. You are too young to pique my interest," Yun Rou made fun of him.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Ye Futian," he replied, and then the rehearsal continued. They told Ye Futian that tomorrow, at the birthday banquet of Lord Luo, there would be many influential people of the City of Donghai attending.

However, these girls didn't have any further information. In this continent, the talents of cultivation determined everything. Even a gorgeous girl who was born to a mundane family could not gain much advantage from her beauty. She might marry a powerful cultivator, but most likely, she'd end up a concubine rather than a wife. Even worse, since powerful cultivators tended to look for younger women, affairs would become an inevitable fate on the man's side of the marriage as time went by.

　　...

The next day, the Luo Palace became boisterous in the morning. A lot of servants were busy preparing for the banquet and hosting the visitors.

The rehearsals kept going. After lunch, there started to be more and more visitors crowding into the banquet room.

Ye Futian and the girls were already in place.

The banquet was opulent. The center spot was reserved for Lord Luo, the guest of honor, as he was the one being celebrated. Then, there were seats arranged in rows on both sides of Lord Luo's spot. Apparently, the people who were seated closer to Lord Luo were of higher status in this city.

There was a broad space between these two rows, and behind the seats, there was a stage with a golden carpet. That was where Ye Futian and the girls were to perform. It was designed to liven up the banquet without distracting the guests.

Before the guests were seated, the show had already started. The whole room was filled with laughter. Lin Xiyue and Xiao He were among the first group of people entering the room. While they were getting ushered into their seats, Lin Xiyue noticed Ye Futian and smiled at him.

"Such a pity that you're rarely attracted to a boy, and the one you pick is only a musician," Xiao He joked. Lin Xiyue gave her a stare. "Stop that."

A pretty handsome boy came to them and asked with a smile, "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing, Mr. Luo," Lin Xiyue shook her head.

"Xiyue, people told me that you brought that musician to this place. Is he your friend?" the boy asked.

"We've met twice. He told me that he wanted to come here and broaden his horizons, so I did him a favor. You're fine with that, aren't you?" Lin Xiyue answered.

"It's okay. In fact, if he wants, to, he can stay here as long as he wants." The boy was still laughing.

"Okay, I'll ask him after the banquet is over," Lin Xiyue said.

"Sure. See you later." The boy left. Xiao He whispered to Xiyue: "Young Lord Luo seemed to be attracted to you, girl."

"I already told you to stop." Lin Xiyue felt awkward.

"I'm serious. I know he doesn't look as cute as Ye Futian, but what about his status?" Xiao He didn't want to stop. Lin Xiyue gave up; she knew that this girl liked to joke.

Young girls had all kinds of fantasies. Apparently, Ye Futian did not understand what they were thinking at all.

Suddenly, someone entered the room, walking with majestic steps. He was apparently of high status in this place. People stopped chatting and greeted him, "Happy birthday, Lord Luo."

Ye Futian also raised his head and looked at Lord Luo. He had an absolutely commanding and dignified appearance.

"Long time no see, Lord Luo. You actually look younger than the last time we met," someone walked up to him and said.

"Lord Luo, happy birthday from the Lin Family."

People started to queue up to send birthday congratulations.

"Lord Luo, happy birthday from the Xia Family," a bright and clear voice sounded.

"I appreciate it, Lord Xia," Lord Luo replied with a smile. The title of Lord Luo was merely conferred without substantial authority. In fact, Xia Feng, the head of the Xia family, was the most powerful man in this city. Still, there were some other people almost equally dignified in this city, such as the head of the Nandou Family, the supervisors of schools at Donghai Academy, and a few others.

Behind Xia Feng, there was a young man who bowed slightly to Lord Luo. "Greetings, Lord Luo. I'm Xia Fan."

"Mr. Xia Fan, you have grown up!" Lord Luo complimented.

"Don't praise him, Lord Luo. He's been dawdling all the time. With your compliment, I'm afraid it's going to be worse," Xia Feng joked.

Coincidently, Ye Futian raised his head at this moment, and soon noticed Xia Fan. The moment he saw Xia Fan, he gave him an icy glare.

After Xia Feng and Xia Fan were seated, Xia Fan started enjoying the show. When he saw Yun Rou, he felt very attracted to this beautiful girl. However, soon he noticed that Ye Futian was sitting behind her, playing. He frowned and felt very confused.

How could Ye Futian be here?

How had he survived after jumping into the canyon? Had the ferocious Snow Ape just let him go?

Ye Futian was also looking at Xia Fan. They stared at each other, and Ye Futian perceived the contempt in Xia Fan's eyes. Xia Fan had believed Ye Futian was just a nobody, someone that Xia Fan did not care was alive or dead.

Xia Fan was the young Lord of Donghai Province. He could entirely ignore Ye Futian due to their vast gap in status. He knew that Hua Fengliu, the only patron of Ye Futian, was now crippled. The only thing he felt frustrated about was that his uncle had died at the hands of the Snow Ape in that fight.

"Who are you looking at?" Xia Feng asked.

"Nothing. I just saw someone interesting," Xia Fan responded. It was extremely interesting that the disciple of the Guqin Devil was now serving in this room as a musician.

Ye Futian became peaceful and kept playing. He wasn't worried about running into Xia Fan at this place. He was already a student of Donghai Academy, so no one would be allowed to try to kill him this time, no matter how powerful they were.

"Happy birthday from the Nandou family," another congratulation came. Lord Luo looked at the person approaching and started laughing. "Long time no see, Mr. Nandou."

There were two men from the Nandou family. One was middle-aged, and one was young. They were Nandou Wenshan and his son, Nandou Kai. They had come here on behalf of the Nandou family. Since they were the leaders of the Nandou family, attending this banquet represented the respect they held for Lord Luo.

"Long time no see, Lord Luo," Nandou Wenshan replied. Lord Luo ushered these two into the seats closest to himself.

"So, Wenshan, you do come here," another voice said, and Nandou Wenshan stood up from his seat to greet the new group of people that had just entered the room.

"Why did you come here together?" Nandou Wenshan laughed.

"We met each other on the way here." One of them had a complexion as clear as jade. He was casually dressed for this banquet, but it was obvious that he was not someone common. The other one was an old man, but still in good shape. He laughed at Lord Luo and greeted him. "I am here on behalf of Donghai Academy."

"Thanks so much," Lord Luo replied with his body slightly bowed down. He then ushered these two men into their seats, also the ones closest to him.

This group of people was now having a conversation. They were among the most influential people in the city.

"Mr. Art Saint has been friends with Lord Luo for a long time. He's attended his birthday banquet every year."

"It's said that Mr. Art Saint has reached a higher plane than he was in last year. The person who is with him actually runs the School of the Emperor Star at Donghai Academy."

"I believe the young man behind him must be Zhou Mu. He is already a Five-star Glory Plane invoker, a true genius. People say that Art Saint is trying to form a political marriage between Zhou Mu and the daughter of the Nandou Family."

"I think Art Saint is trying to make up for his mistakes of the past. I'm afraid that this job is not going to be easy. The princess of the Nandou family is supremely gorgeous, talented, and so treasured by the Nandou family that they don't want to trade her for political interest," people were whispering to each other.

They lowered their voices to avoid being heard, but Ye Futian still learned a lot of information from all the talk. He looked at the middle-aged man with the bright complexion and realized that this man was Art Saint, who had destroyed Hua Fengliu's natal spirit.

He soon understood why Tang Lan had told him it would be impossible to ask for help from Lord Luo. Lord Luo was long-time friends with Hua Fengliu's nemesis.

He felt upset, as it seemed that his attempt to get help was all in vain.

However, he had obtained a lot of information about the political situation in the City of Donghai.

He was still curious about the relationship between Hua Jieyu and the representative of the Nandou family.