HSSB62: Repelling them head-on
As the two Martial Grandmaster experts clashed, the natural phenomena in the sky and the ambient temperature changed for a distance of a hundred li in all directions.
Luckily, Jingyang City’s grand formation kept the resulting tempest contained within a limited, restricted area.
Within that area, however, it was already like the world had been turned upside down.
“Broad Creed Mountain is intent on opposing my Sacred Sun Clan?”
Now, an imposing voice resounded in the air above Jingyang City.
The next instant, a massive golden sun that was even larger than that of the golden-robed Elder appeared within the air.
As this massive sun appeared, the sun which the golden-robed man had transformed into instantly dimmed.
And as for the purple flames of Yan Xu’s Tushita palm, in that same instant, they dimmed even more so and were almost extinguished!
Yan Xu let out a muffled groan as the pill furnace formed of the purple Tushita flames immediately filled with cracks before it finally collapsed and broke apart.
Despite leaping around in mid-air for a bit, even the flames that were left over from the collapsed pill furnace seemed like they were going to die at any moment.
That second sun hung high in the sky, actually contending with the real sun itself in terms of radiance. It actually seemed at that moment that there were two suns present in the sky, illuminating the Eastern Tang capital of Jingyang City together.
At this moment, Jingyang City’s grand formation no longer appeared as undisturbed as it had been against Yan Xu and the golden-robed Elder.
In the air, line after line of spirit patterns lit up, distorting over and over again.
Within the mansion, the eyebrows of the seated Elder Qin lifted slowly. “If you want to show off your power, you’ve come to the wrong place.”
From within the mansion, a majestic sword-qi suddenly shot out and surged into the skies.
Where the sword-qi passed, the unbearable heat brought about by the two suns decreased instantly, as the entire land turned cool.
After the coolness, though, actually came a gloomy coldness!
Elder Qin’s form now also appeared above the mansion as he stared enraged at that massive golden sun.
With his low shout, the winds gusted and the clouds surged as though a gigantic, formless blade had appeared, piercing open a fissure in the very air itself.
The fissure spread in the direction of the second sun, desiring to split it apart along with everything else!
“Eight Extreme Arts—Chaotic Elements Uniting Blade?” An imposing voice resounded from the massive golden sun.
The next instant, instead of retreating, the massive golden sun actually advanced, smashing straight down toward Elder Qin!
It was as though the sun had tilted westward—an incomparably bright radiance illuminated the ground below, looking like it was going to incinerate the entire mortal realm!
It was precisely the Sacred Sun Clan’s West-tilting Heaven Incinerating Blade!
On the golden sword-light that portrayed the setting sun tilting towards the west, a huge divine talisman suddenly lit up. Vast and intricate, it appeared as if it was going to engulf the entire Jingyang City.
Elder Qin activated the Chaotic Elements Uniting Blade—the formless blade that slashed the heavens and split the earth wherever it passed also lit up with a huge divine talisman.
The power of the two sides having increased by yet another level, when they clashed, it was as though Jingyang City was about to be shattered.
Now, the voice of the King of the Eastern Tang Kingdom resounded within Jingyang City, “If the two of you want to fight, please go somewhere else; do you want to tear down my Eastern Tang Capital?”
Jingyang City’s grand formation abruptly brightened, as the intertwining spirit patterns grew clearer and more densely packed.
The grand formation began operating at its maximum power, its power rising steadily.
Elder Qin stopped his sword-qi, as he snorted, “If someone wants to create trouble out of nothing, this old man will accompany him to the very end; does he think that my Broad Creed Mountain is so good to bully?”
From that massive golden sun suspended in the sky, a voice resounded, “Zhao Shicheng, you want to interfere in the matter between Broad Creed Mountain and my Sacred Sun Clan?”
The calm voice of Zhao Shicheng, the King of the Eastern Tang Kingdom, now resounded from Jingyang City’s grand formation itself, “The East Rising Lord speaks too heavily. My Eastern Tang is naturally unable to interfere in a matter between two Sacred Grounds.”
“However, with the two of you fighting it out in my Jingyang City, this King is unable to sit back and do nothing.”
From within the mansion, Yan Zhaoge stoked his lower jaw, “Ah, so it’s the East Rising Lord, one of the Seven Reigning Suns. However, according to my memories, the East Rising Lord should have changed just a few years ago.”
After the Sacred Sun Clan had risen to prominence, it had possessed seven outstanding experts, who had been known by the world as the Seven Reigning Suns.
Their titles corresponded with the Seven Great Sun Arts: Dawn, East Rising, Heaven Striking, World Illuminating, West Tilting, Sunset as well as Twilight.
Afterwards, the Seven Reigning Suns became a fixed title. After any one of these experts fell or retreated into seclusion, there would be a replacement who would inherit the title.
Swivelling his head, Yan Zhaoge saw that Feng Yunsheng had a rather strange expression on her face.
Seeing Yan Zhaoge looking at her, Feng Yunsheng just shook her head. “My Grand Master was the previous East Rising Lord before him. After Grand Master fell, the title was naturally passed down, and the one who inherited it was that guy out there.”
“He is the youngest among the Seven Reigning Suns and also has had the least experience. However, his cultivation and skill in martial arts are fairly astounding.”
The massive sun within the sky gradually vanished, as a middle-aged, golden-robed man now materialised. He was precisely the current East Rising Lord.
The East Rising Lord stared at Elder Qin before his gaze swept down across the Jingyang City beneath him, as he slowly said, “Someone has been harbouring a disciple who betrayed my Sacred Sun Clan; naturally, I’d have to get myself involved.”
“Hand the person over and apologize to redeem your sins.”
“Otherwise, we fight.”
Elder Qin’s burly frame stood steadfast and tall in mid-air, his expression not changing whatsoever, “This old man has already said that we do not have the one you seek here.”
“If you want to fight, then we’ll fight. This old man has nothing else, but he has a sword and a pair of fists to accompany you as you’d like.”
The golden-robed Elder beside the East Rising Lord said angrily, “My Sacred Sun Clan disciples saw with their own eyes how your Broad Creed Mountain’s Yan Zhaoge took away that rebel disciple. How is this something that you can completely absolve yourself of with just a few words?”
Standing beside Elder Qin, Yan Xu’s face was expressionless. “It is true because you say it is?”
“This old man still says that your Sacred Sun Clan stole my Broad Creed Mountain’s treasures. Return them swiftly.”
A golden light flickered within the East Rising Lord’s eyes, piercing till Yan Xu’s entire body hurt. “What words! You’re courting death!”
Elder Qin strode forward, “If you want to show off your power, please return to your Sacred Sun Clan’s World Illuminating Peak to do so.”
Suddenly, Yan Zhaoge’s voice resounded from within the mansion.
“Before the East Rising Lord, Broad Creed Mountain’s Yan Zhaoge pays his greetings.”
“In the Luliao Mountains, I indeed clashed with your Sacred Sun Clan’s Xiao Shen and Chao Yuanlong, and I also encountered the Feng Muge that your Sacred Sun Clan is currently looking for.”
“However, after that, I no longer had any interactions with that Feng Muge,” Yan Zhaoge said mildly. “It’s just that, after talking with her a bit before this, I actually came to know about some interesting things.”
“For example, a certain Sacred Ground whose fame resounds throughout the entire Eight Extremities World actually shelters evil people and accepts wrongdoing, allowing the grandson of a certain Grand Elder to try to forcibly taint a fellow female disciple without doing anything about it.”
“Him having failed in his attempt, they actually shielded the culprit and oppressed that female disciple instead.”
“The most interesting part was that, a certain person whose lust consumed his life actually received Heaven’s retribution in having his descendants’ root broken…”
Yan Zhaoge said leisurely, “Well, at least there is no fear of such a thing ever happening again in the future.”
“A load of utter nonsense!” The East Rising Lord spoke coldly, “Just from you smearing my Sacred Sun Clan’s good name alone, I could kill you right here on the spot, and no one would be able to say anything about it!”
“If your father Yan Di is unhappy about it, ask him to come to the World Illuminating Peak. I wonder if he’ll live to reach the summit alive?”
Saying thus, he clapped down with his palm.
Elder Qin laughed heroically, “Not being fair in dealing with matters, not knowing how to educate your own disciples. Rather than caring about that fugitive of yours, you should spend the effort on examining yourself more closely instead!”
“This is still not a place where you can run amok and do whatever you like!”
As the two sides began clashing once more, the King of the Eastern Tang Kingdom remained silent throughout, just suppressing the combatants simultaneously with Jingyang City’s grand formation.
Without doubt, he was naturally skewing towards Yan Zhaoge’s side.
Although he could not afford to offend the Sacred Sun Clan, and, as much as possible, tried to remain neutral whenever the two Sacred Grounds clashed, this matter involved his old friend Yan Di’s only son. Zhao Shicheng chose his side without any hesitation whatsoever, running the massive risk of offending the Sacred Sun Clan as he threw all thoughts of sitting on the fence to the back of his mind.
The East Rising Lord’s gaze was cold. If things were as usual, Jingyang City’s grand formation would be unable to do much to him at all.
However, with him being in an intense fight with Elder Qin at the same time and having to deal with two threats at once, the power of Jingyang City’s grand formation gradually shone through.
With Elder Qin fighting him as if he had the home advantage, the East Rising Lord, who had originally been evenly matched with him, was slowly being put at a disadvantage as time passed.
“Good… Very good!” The East Rising Lord retreated from the battlefield, turning his head to glance one final time at Jingyang City before he transformed into a massive sun once more, disappearing beyond the distant horizon without saying anything else.
HSSB63: No longer in the early outer aura stage
Having forced the East Rising Lord into retreat, Elder Qin nodded in thanks towards the Eastern Tang royal palace far away. “Many thanks, King Zhao, my Broad Creed Mountain will remember this favour.”
“If the Sacred Sun Clan comes back to find trouble with the Eastern Tang later, my Broad Creed Mountain will bear the burden for you.”
The voice of Zhao Shicheng, the King of the Eastern Tang Kingdom, resounded from far away. “Elder Qin is too polite—Broad Creed Mountain is the true owner of the Heaven Domain.”
Although Zhao Shicheng was not there to see it, Yan Zhaoge got up and bowed in his direction from within the mansion. “I have caused trouble for Uncle.”
Elder Qin and Yan Xu returned within the mansion, getting seated once more.
“It was only the East Rising Lord who came here. This shows that the Sacred Sun Clan has not yet reached the point of thinking about this as an extremely urgent matter that they must deal with.”
Yan Xu said slowly, “What they are concerned about now is the matter of one of their disciples betraying them and fleeing, and then our Broad Creed Mountain taking that disciple in.”
“They don’t realize that they’re losing a Maiden of Extreme Yin, and moreover, it’s even to Broad Creed Mountain.”
As he said this, Yan Xu’s gaze line of vision was directed at Yan Zhaoge and Feng Yunsheng.
Yan Zhaoge nodded his head. Yan Xu’s analysis was indeed not wrong, happening to coincide perfectly with his own.
Feng Yunsheng had already gone through the various diagnostics and examinations of many peak Sacred Sun Clan experts, with all of them arriving at the conclusion that her Extreme Yin Physique was completely crippled for good.
Otherwise, the incident of two years ago would not have happened. Furthermore, Yan Zhaoge and Broad Creed Mountain would also not have been able to pick up a Maiden of Extreme Yin who had slipped through their net like they were doing now.
Elder Qin said, “This is a good thing for our clan.”
This way, the Sacred Sun Clan’s retaliatory actions would not be excessively intense.
While they didn’t fear the Sacred Sun Clan, Broad Creed Mountain would also not want to start a war between the two sides when it wasn’t necessary. A confrontation between two Sacred Grounds would inevitably result in a scene that no one would be able to control.
While the Sacred Sun Clan held the position of strength, Broad Creed Mountain would naturally be happy to continue working on bolstering its own strength in peace before it truly obtained the power to contend with the Sacred Sun Clan head-on.
Therefore, when Yan Xu had gone out, while his attitude had been rather tough and he had not held back with his attacks, he had also stubbornly not admitted that their side had taken in Feng Yunsheng, thus leaving some face for the Sacred Sun Clan and leaving it a pedestal to step down from.
Even Elder Qin, who had adopted an even more tough and unyielding stance, also silently agreed with this.
With them having reached a consensus on this, Yan Zhaoge naturally hadn’t spoiled things for his clan’s Elders.
The Sacred Sun Clan disciple Feng Muge, naturally wouldn’t have any more interactions with himself and Broad Creed Mountain.
However, the vagrant Maiden of Extreme Yin Feng Yunsheng… now that was a different matter altogether.
You say they look exactly the same?
Under the vastness of the heavens and the earth, many wonders abound; it would also not be the first time that there are people who so strikingly resemble each other.
So beautiful, and yet also looking exactly the same?
That’s also not impossible, isn’t it? Maybe they are even twin sisters who were separated at birth…
At the end of the day, if you want people there’s none; if you want a fight there’s some.
I’ll give you a pedestal; if you get down from it, everyone will be safe just like that. If you don’t, well, we’ll just do it the hard way then.
Yan Xu said, “In the last Extreme Yin Bout, Meng Wan failed and lost the Extreme Yin Crown, which fell into the hands of Jade Sea City, which is on bad terms with the Sacred Sun Clan while on rather good terms with us.”
“Their Clan Chief went into secluded meditation and has not emerged for a long time. If it’s not an extremely major issue, the Sacred Sun Clan also won’t want to fight all-out with our clan at present.”
Elder Qin looked towards Feng Yunsheng, “The crux of this matter lies with this Little Friend Feng.”
“All things considered, you should not continue staying in the Eastern Tang, in the East Heaven Region.”
“After the people dispatched from the main headquarters of the clan arrive, they will escort you back to Broad Creed Mountain.”
Elder Qin now turned to look at Yan Zhaoge. “Zhaoge, you go with her as well. Having encountered a setback this time, the Sacred Sun Clan will very likely target you after this.”
“After returning to the clan, you can just focus on helping this Little Friend regain her Extreme Yin Physique.”
Yan Zhaoge answered, “Thank you for your concern, Elder. However, I am preparing to continue staying in the Eastern Tang for a period of time. There are still some things that require my preparations.”
“Just escort Junior Sister Feng back to the clan as quickly as possible—I will return as soon as I have finished the matter at hand.”
“In this period of time, I will try to keep indoors as much as possible, as well as act in a low profile manner, not giving the Sacred Sun Clan a chance to make a move.”
Elder Qin knit his brows slightly. “What other matters are there that you still have to handle?”
Before Yan Zhaoge could reply, Yan Xu said slowly from the side, “Indeed, there are some matters that require his clarification.”
As Elder Qin directed his gaze over, Yan Xu said, “Our clan’s disciple Lin Yushao was killed in the Eastern Tang, and she was killed by our clan’s direct lineage martial art, the Tushita Palm.”
“Lin Yushao, this name…if this old man doesn’t remember wrongly, Zhaoge…” Elder Qin’s tone did not fluctuate as his gaze fell on Yan Zhaoge once more.
His expression steady, Yan Zhaoge nodded. “It was this disciple who brought her back to the Mountain, and guided her into our clan.”
“Like Ye Jing, she also hailed from the East Heaven Region’s Eastern Tang Kingdom.”
“In the past, we were lovers.” As he said this, Yan Zhaoge choked up a little.
Yan Zhaoge naturally felt some sadness and pity within his heart at the harm that befell Lin Yushao. After all, it was a human life. Regardless of who had been right or wrong, it had at the very least not been to the extent that a life had to be claimed.
Strictly speaking, though, the two had never even spoken a single word, his only understanding of her having come from looking through the memories of his body’s original owner, which had been like watching a movie being projected.
Putting aside the memories of his body’s original owner, Yan Zhaoge had never even met Lin Yushao in person before.
If he said that he was inconsolable over this incident, who would believe it?
However, in the eyes of others, the two were lovers. Thus, Yan Zhaoge could only put on a sad expression on his face, slowly saying, “While in the Luliao Mountains, I had already received news of this.”
“It was only that I had an important task on hand back then, and could only complete it first before caring about my own personal matters.”
“Now that the matter about Junior Sister Feng is temporarily at an end, I request to personally investigate and hunt down the true culprit, to put at ease junior apprentice-sister Lin’s soul in heaven.”
Yan Xu looked at Yan Zhaoge, saying indifferently, “As this old man sees it, you’d do better to avoid suspicion.”
Yan Zhaoge looked at Yan Xu, who did not mind it one bit as he said, “Over at Overlooking Abyss City, there are many rumours flying about which are unfavourable to you.”
Elder Qin frowned, “What rumours?”
Yan Xu answered, “It is rumoured that Yan Zhaoge came to walk closer and closer with a young female disciple, Sikong Qing, in the Sealing Dragon Abyss. They now share a close relationship.”
“It was having heard this piece of news that Lin Yushao felt insecure and quickly hurried over to the Eastern Tang.”
Before he had finished all that he had to say, Elder Qin had already understood what was being implied by his words. “These rumours lack substance. They are completely insufficient.”
“While Lin Yushao was from Eastern Tang, she did not have any enemies here,” Yan Xu said. “And what she died to was our clan’s direct lineage martial art, the Tushita palm.”
He looked towards Yan Zhaoge. “This old man checked it personally—the culprit should have had a cultivation of the early outer aura Martial Scholar realm.”
“The Blood Recollection Ceremony is something that can only be used in situations where both parties that were involved are still alive.”
“If both people communicate beforehand in order to tell the same story, the ritual’s effect will still appear normal. Therefore, you, your men, and this Little Friend Feng here are all not suitable witnesses.”
“Now, with Lin Yushao being dead, there is no one to confirm the facts.”
Yan Xu swivelled his head to look at Elder Qin. “It’s still too early to say anything for sure right now, but this old man believes that Yan Zhaoge should at least avoid suspicion for the moment.”
Hearing his words, Elder Qin slowly nodded.
Yan Zhaoge, however, sniggered.
Elder Qin frowned. “Zhaoge, be mindful of your surroundings.”
Yan Zhaoge retracted his smile and nodded—the very picture of earnestness. “Regarding the early outer aura Martial Scholar realm… I’m no longer in it.”
Having spoken, he externalised his aura, materialising a weapon with his qi to hover in the air around his body.
Yan Xu shot up from his seat, nearly knocking over his chair in the process.
Yan Zhaoge had not made a move all along, keeping his aura-qi within this body such that it was only now that Yan Xu realised that he had actually already stepped into the mid outer aura Martial Scholar realm.
“But… how is that possible?!” Eyes wide, Yan Xu was flabbergasted to the point of nearly being unable to speak. “He only just broke through from the inner aura stage to the outer aura stage right under this old man’s very eyes not that long ago!”
HSSB64: Actions always speak louder than words
“How long has it been since he broke through from the inner aura stage to the early outer aura Martial Scholar realm?”
Yan Xu stared at Yan Zhaoge, unable to speak for a long time.
“Before, he was holding himself back, having always been hiding his true cultivation realm?” This was the first thought that flashed through Yan Xu’s mind.
Other than that, he really couldn’t find any reason to convince himself with.
Over the many years of his life, Yan Xu could be considered as having seen many things and accumulated much knowledge. Being from Broad Creed Mountain, a Sacred Ground, he had naturally also seen who knows how many geniuses and outstanding figures.
Moreover, when he himself had been young, he had personal experience associating with many prominent figures of the same generation.
Yan Xu himself having been able to step into the Martial Grandmaster realm was also a feat that few others could claim to match.
From the past to the present, the stories of various legendary figures that had entered his ears were even more numerous.
But there had never ever been a single person who had, soon after breaking through from the late inner aura stage to the early outer aura stage, been able to immediately progress a step further and step into the mid outer aura stage of the Martial Scholar realm.
In the past, the speed of cultivation shown by Yan Zhaoge’s father Yan Di had shocked the world, achieving what many other geniuses might not even be able to achieve in their entire lifetime.
However, in comparing simply how fast they stepped from the early outer aura stage into the mid outer aura stage, even Yan Di was left in the dust by Yan Zhaoge.
True, cultivation rates differed among martial practitioners. There were indeed some people who progressed especially quickly during one or more particular cultivation stages, not only training faster than the ordinary practitioner but also being more successful in their daily cultivation.
But Yan Zhaoge’s speed… Really, this was just too much!
It completely overturned Yan Xu’s worldview and common sense.
Considering it was already like this for Yan Xu, even less had to be said for the others who understood the implications—they were all staring wide-eyed and slack-jawed at this revelation.
Those who had not been clear on the relevant details also froze up on the spot after listening to the explanation.
While there was a saying that ‘geniuses who died young did not truly count as geniuses’ and only those who were successful in converting their innate potential into true power could then be counted as such, the Yan Zhaoge before them really surpassed all their expectations by far too much.
Those geniuses who were truly able to reach the heights initially predicted of them were few in number. In trying to do so, they would inevitably face numerous hardships and difficulties—much like how huge waves would sweep over and engulf pebbles to clean them. However, with the level of potential that Yan Zhaoge was exhibiting now, it was truly hard for one to believe that he would die young.
Seeing this scene from the side, Feng Yunsheng felt her heart grow much more at ease.
Initially, having found out that Yan Zhaoge had managed to step from the early to the mid outer aura stage in such a short time, she too had been greatly shocked.
Now that there were so many people ‘accompanying’ her, Feng Yunsheng finally managed to regain a bit of her self-confidence. “So it was indeed not just me being ignorant and ill-informed.”
She appraised Yan Zhaoge, murmuring in a low voice that only she herself could hear, “But however I look at it, it just doesn’t seem like something that a human being can achieve…”
Hearing this, Elder Qin was also slightly dazed. As Yan Zhaoge’s position was unique, he had sent a report to Elder Qin and the clan to notify them about his breakthrough when he had successfully stepped into the early outer aura Martial Scholar realm in Overlooking Abyss City.
Therefore, Elder Qin was also taken aback by this. However, Yan Zhaoge had just formed weapons with his aura, which were now hovering and surrounding him. This was already sufficient to prove that he indeed currently had a cultivation of the mid outer aura Martial Scholar realm.
“Good. Very good.” Elder Qin sucked in a deep breath as he nodded repeatedly.
Whether or not Yan Zhaoge had been intentionally concealing his cultivation base, having caused all this commotion on purpose, was something that Elder Qin did not care about at this moment. He could just slowly investigate whether such was really the case on a later date.
However, to the current Broad Creed Mountain, having produced such a dragon among dragons who looked to be able to suppress all the other monstrous geniuses would inevitably come as a huge boost to their morale.
Finally regaining his wits, Yan Xu said in a heavy tone, “Early outer aura Martial Scholars would be unable to falsify and create the scene of a mid outer aura Martial Scholar making a move.”
“However, the contrary would be a very simple thing.”
Yan Zhaoge said in a tone that was neither strong nor mild, “For anyone with a cultivation above the early outer aura Martial Scholar realm who has cultivated our clan’s Tushita Palm, doing such a thing would indeed be simple.”
Yan Xu’s eyes gradually narrowed, the gaze with which he looked at Yan Zhaoge turning cold.
Looking totally at ease, Yan Zhaoge continued, “Elder Yan, your men examined the corpse—you should know when calamity befell junior apprentice-sister Lin?”
Yan Xu immediately reported a time.
He looked towards Yan Zhaoge, “The time of death was before you met with Zhao Shilie, Zhao Yuan, Zhao Sheng and the others.”
“Those who were with you at the time were only your followers and her,” Yan Xu said with a sidelong glance at Feng Yunsheng, “All of whom are unable to testify for you.”
One party consisted of the right hand-men Yan Di had prepared for Yan Zhaoge, who naturally only followed Yan Zhaoge’s orders.
The other had need of Yan Zhaoge to help her regain her Extreme Yin Physique as well as recommend her into Broad Creed Mountain.
Yan Zhaoge calculated silently for a moment before beginning to laugh nonchalantly. “By coincidence, I had just encountered this Junior Sister Feng at the time. In order to protect her, I even beat up Xiao Shen and Chao Yuanlong for a bit.”
“If my people as well as Junior Sister Feng’s words are insufficient to stand as evidence, you can ask for confirmation from Xiao Shen and the others over at the Sacred Sun Clan.”
Everyone present suddenly all fell into a deep silence.
They had all acutely detected something in the words Yan Zhaoge had just used to defend himself.
As Yan Zhaoge would have it, not only Chao Yuanlong but also even Xiao Shen had been defeated at his hands?
Before this, they had all known that the person who had been in charge of pursuing Feng Yunsheng had been Xiao Shen. They also knew that Yan Zhaoge had clashed with the Sacred Sun Clan in order to protect her.
However, their thoughts then were that it shouldn’t have been a straight-on confrontation with Xiao Shen. At most, Yan Zhaoge had probably only clashed once more with Chao Yuanlong and the other Sacred Sun Clan disciples.
Now that they knew that Yan Zhaoge had already stepped into the mid outer aura Martial Scholar realm, he should indeed have been able to secure his own safety and retreat even if he had to face Xiao Shen himself.
If he could do so even while protecting Feng Yunsheng, as the difficulty of such a feat was really not low, it would already be enough for people to sigh in admiration.
After all, Xiao Shen was no ordinary late outer aura Martial Scholar.
However, it now seemed that the truth of the matter surpassed everyone’s expectations once again?
At first, everyone’s attention had been focused on Feng Yunsheng’s Extreme Yin Physique, as well as the attack from the Sacred Sun Clan that had come afterward.
In doing so, however, they had overlooked the matter of how exactly Yan Zhaoge had managed to wrest Feng Yunsheng from Xiao Shen’s hands, bringing her back to the Eastern Tang in one piece.
Yan Xu stared at Yan Zhaoge, “You mean to say… you defeated Xiao Shen?”
Yan Zhaoge acted as though it was perfectly natural. “Didn’t Elder Yan already know that I met with the Eastern Tang’s Prince Jin as well as Brother Zhao Yuan and the others before this?”
“Looks like there are still some matters that you have not been informed of, huh?”
Yan Xu frowned. “What are you trying to say?”
Yan Zhaoge put both his hands behind his back, smiling slightly, “Oh, it’s nothing. After the matters currently on hand have been settled, I will be reporting it to Elder Qin.”
“If Elder Qin doesn’t mind, someone of your position, Elder Yan, should be able to listen from the side.”
Yan Zhaoge said, not sounding flustered in the least, “As for whether or not I could have defeated Xiao Shen, proving this point will be very easy.”
“Actions always speak louder than words.”
“Out of our clan’s late outer aura Martial Scholars here, just randomly pick one of them, and have them spar with me.”
Arrogant!
This was the first thought that flashed across everyone’s minds.
Yan Xu didn’t say a word. After staring closely at Yan Zhaoge for a moment, he swivelled his head to look at Elder Qin.
A rather interested expression could be seen on Elder Qin’s face. He was not in a hurry at all, as he remained sitting silently on his chair.
Seeing this, Yan Xu knew that Elder Qin had agreed to the matter. Turning, he called out some orders. Very quickly, a big, burly man walked into the hall.
“The two of you can spar here; this old man shall protect the place.”
Just having said this, he saw Elder Qin say with a shake of his head, “At the end of the day, this space is still limited. For the aerial advantage of later outer aura Martial Scholars to be properly displayed, since they want to spar, they should do it outside.”
Yan Zhaoge smiled lightly, “Actually, it’d make no difference at all.”
His words just having landed, he exerted a force with his feet, an explosive power instantly bursting forth!
With a single stride, he was already directly in front of that big man!
…
HSSB65: There was a Yan Wudi before, there is still a Yan Wudi now!
The aura-qi within Yan Zhaoge’s dantian, one active, one passive, clumped together to form the figures of a turtle and a snake that exhibited the profoundness of the transformations of yin and yang.
The Xuanwu Fist technique relied on using the Ocean Stabilising Fist as well as the Heavenly Snake King Fist simultaneously to form the image of Xuanwu and shock the Door of Blood into erupting with an incomparably terrifying power.
Yan Zhaoge strode out and was instantly before the big man.
Never mind that it was within the hall—even if it had been in a wide, spacious region outside, this big man with a cultivation of the late outer aura Martial Scholar realm still wouldn’t have had the time to stimulate his aura-qi and levitate!
The power throughout Yan Zhaoge’s entire body erupted. With a flip of his palm, he struck outwards!
The surface of his palm was entirely purplish red, with sweltering heat that caused the big man to feel as though he had fallen into a furnace. It was precisely Broad Creed Mountain’s direct lineage martial art, the Tushita Palm.
While the big man was indeed shocked by Yan Zhaoge’s speed, he was, after all, a late outer aura Martial Scholar. He immediately raised his arms as he moved both his palms as he would blades.
His aura-qi surged, forming two swords which danced about within the air.
The two sword-auras flew, one above, one below, the former moving to meet Yan Zhaoge’s incoming palm, the latter chopping towards Yan Zhaoge’s chest.
The sword-auras glowed brightly, emitting a massive and unending cold, gloomy feeling as tens of thousands of images flickered to life in the surrounding air.
One of the Eight Extreme Arts, the Eight Sceneries Spirit Blade!
Unlike the Chaotic Elements Uniting Blade which was tough and unyielding beyond compare, the Eight Sceneries Spirit Blade had many profound transformations.
It was actually more similar to the kind of martial art that the Sacred Sun Clan’s Sunset Thousand Illusory Palm was.
The only difference was that, amongst the Eight Extreme Arts, the Eight Sceneries Spirit Blade and the Tushita Palm just so happened to possess a suppressive effect on each other. From a certain perspective, the martial art the big man was using now was a counter to the Tushita Palm!
As the sword-light spread and suffused the area, it could vaguely be seen that an Eight Sceneries Palace had appeared right before Yan Zhaoge.
While these furnace flames were not mere lights, as the purple Tushita flames encountered the lanterns which illuminated the Eight Sceneries Palace, they instantly became less vigorous than before.
As the sword-light spun, it was as though it had transformed into a massive palace lantern as it crashed straight towards Yan Zhaoge.
Yan Zhaoge’s expression did not change as he totally ignored the sword-light that was chopping towards him.
His Door of Blood shuddered, the turtle and the snake combining their powers as the power of the descended divine Xuanwu erupted completely, bolstering his Tushita Palm.
The purple colour within Yan Zhaoge’s palm grew even denser. As his aura-qi surged, the vague image of a massive pill cauldron was formed!
The pill furnace slammed straight into the Eight Sceneries Palace lantern that the sword-aura had transformed into, the strong and violent power instantly breaking the lantern apart!
The hairs on the big man’s entire body stood on end as he instantly realized that the power that Yan Zhaoge could erupt with was even fiercer than his, and even his speed was superior!
In this contest of attacks, before his sword-aura could connect, Yan Zhaoge would definitely have already landed a palm strike on the crown of his head!
The big man had no choice. Moving his body, he immediately retracted his sword to defend himself.
Having lost the chance to take the initiative, there was no longer any hope for him to get it back.
Yan Zhaoge let out a breath as he began striking out continuously with his palm. Under his tempestuous storm of attacks, his opponent was forced into constant retreat.
The big man had originally thought that such ferocious attacks would be hard for Yan Zhaoge to sustain for too long. However, he eventually found that these attacks seemed like they had no end.
He couldn’t even put some distance between them, so encompassing was the threat of Yan Zhaoge’s palm.
Biting his teeth, the big man spun his body around and chopped out with his backhand, actually throwing all thoughts of his own safety aside as he decided to fight offense with offense!
However, Yan Zhaoge leapt abruptly, the power that he was currently erupting with actually rising by yet another level!
Of the Six Spirits Demonic Fist, the Mighty Ape Demonic Fist boasted the greatest instant increase in power!
In this moment, Yan Zhaoge’s speed as well as strength increased yet again, completely surpassing everyone’s expectations.
As Yan Zhaoge leapt, he avoided the big man’s Eight Sceneries Spirit Blade, his palm arriving right before the latter!
Elder Qin, who had been silently observing the battle all along, let out an emotional, praise-filled sigh.
With the release of a formless pressure, the distance between the two combatants instantly increased.
The next moment, the two had already regained their pre-sparring positions.
The clash between the two had actually only happened in a single breath, the time it took a leaping rabbit to land back on the ground. However, it had contained a whole series of extremely intense offensive and defensive movements one after another.
Everyone else couldn’t help but simultaneously sigh as the gazes with which they looked at Yan Zhaoge were filled with shock and awe.
The Yan Zhaoge before them had actually really surpassed levels to defeat a late outer aura Martial Scholar expert of their clan.
This big man was no ordinary late outer aura Martial Scholar either; what he trained in were Broad Creed Mountain’s direct lineage Clear Qi Profound Art and Eight Sceneries Spirit Blade.
He was also a veteran of a hundred battles, possessing a rich combat experience. This was the kind of opponent that most young geniuses would be the most unhappy having to face.
However, he had been defeated by Yan Zhaoge cleanly and decisively.
Although the big man had not predicted that Yan Zhaoge would erupt so suddenly and seize the initiative and thus lost out in that aspect of the fight, there hadn’t been any flaws in how he reacted to the situation throughout the remainder of the contest. He had already performed as well as he could under those circumstances, yet he had still been defeated by Yan Zhaoge.
His defeat had seen Yan Zhaoge fighting him head-on with a higher level of power; it could in no way be dismissed as mere luck.
Yan Xu stared at Yan Zhaoge.
“While the Clear Qi Profound Art was indeed their base, many of the techniques you utilized were not of my Broad Creed Mountain.”
Yan Zhaoge said calmly, “I did not secretly learn the martial arts of other powers—I simply had some fortuitous encounters.”
“Speaking of which, Elder, don’t you also cultivate in martial arts obtained outside of Broad Creed Mountain?’
“The ownerless martial legacies that this disciple obtained from outside can be contributed to our clan’s Martial Repository in exchange for our clan’s elite martial arts. If I want to, I can also keep them to myself. This seems to be in accordance to the clan’s rules.”
Yan Xu let out a cold snort, not saying anything further.
Elder Qin, on the other hand, didn’t really care about this. His face was filled with praise as he slowly nodded to Yan Zhaoge.
This Broad Creed Mountain martial practitioner whom Yan Zhaoge had just defeated was actually somewhat weaker than Xiao Shen.
However, the result of this battle had already proven that Yan Zhaoge at least did have a chance of beating Xiao Shen head-on.
Martial practitioners of a slightly lower cultivation could surpass and defeat opponents of a higher cultivation level by utilizing superior experience, talent, mental strength, or quality of martial arts. While this didn’t often happen, it was still not that uncommon.
However, the higher the overall cultivation of the respective parties, the rarer it was to see the surpassing of levels to defeat opponents of a higher level.
To be able to attain a higher cultivation realm, everyone’s level of talent and fortuitous encounters couldn’t have been too terrible. The higher the level of cultivation base, the more this was true.
Amongst people of the same age and members of the same generation, this was even more applicable.
“I have offended you[1],” Yan Zhaoge cupped his hands towards the big man before continuing, “If Xiao Shen doesn’t admit it, I’ll just find him for another bout whenever—that’ll do.”
At that moment, someone entered to report that the the King of the Eastern Tang Kingdom, Zhao Shicheng, had arrived in person.
As Yan Xu and Yan Zhaoge got up and welcomed him in together, the first thing that Zhao Shicheng said when he saw Yan Zhaoge was, “What cultivation realm have you attained? Under what kind of situation was it that you defeated Xiao Shen and obtained his Radiant Sun Wheel?”
As these words left his mouth, the gazes of everyone within the hall all landed on Yan Zhaoge.
Smiling slightly, Yan Zhaoge said, “I won against him in a one versus one fight, then obtained his Radiant Sun Wheel with the help of my Jade Dragon Sword.”
Having heard the details and the result of that fight, the Broad Creed Mountain martial practitioners all sighed in unison, questioning no further.
Rather it was Zhao Shicheng who was a little surprised as he went on to ask a few more questions.
Yan Zhaoge answered all of them, to which Zhao Shicheng exclaimed emotionally, “Ah, Yan Di has a great successor!”
Everyone present nodded unconsciously.
Someone exclaimed, “Yet another Yan Wudi!”
In his younger years, Yan Zhaoge’s father, Yan Di, had outshone all of his peers to remain undefeated amongst the Eight Extremities World’s younger generation.
Back then, as a Martial Scholar, Yan Di had been invincible amongst all Martial Scholars.
It was to the extent that eventually his contemporary Martial Scholars no longer addressed him by his original name, rather adding a ‘wu’ character between his surname and given name.
Read that way, Yan Invincible[2]!
This title was used all the way up till Yan Di ascended into the Martial Grandmaster realm.
However, as Yan Di’s cultivation had progressed these past few years, his strength had also steadily risen. The suffocating pressure that he had once brought to Martial Scholars everywhere was now gradually beginning to return and envelop all the Martial Grandmasters of this world.
The day that the name of Yan Wudi once again resounded throughout this world was not far off.
As the words left that person’s mouth, even if it was Elder Qin or Zhao Shicheng, they also did not openly refute them, as their gazes instead gradually brightened.
As they looked at Yan Zhaoge, the same thought vaguely appeared within all their hearts.
There was a Yan Wudi before; there is still a Yan Wudi now!
Furthermore, the Yan Zhaoge before them somehow seemed to be growing at an even more monstrous rate than his father before him!
[1] Like how people bow to each other before sparring. It’s manners.
[2] Wudi= Invincible. Note that the Di from Wudi is different from the Di in Yan Di, just as the Yan from Yan Xu is different from the Yan in Yan Zhaoge
