“Leader, should we go and interfere?” Inside the palace, the head inner master asked with concern.
However, Li Zhangfeng did not agree with that suggestion, “This is a business between these young kids, so do not interfere for now. If we go there, it might make the whole thing even worse.”
There was nothing much they could do if they went over as Ling Huyi and Yun Xiaoshui’s power were nothing they could handle anymore. Of course, if things actually reached a critical juncture, then they would have to go there regardless, since he had the responsibility to maintain the reputation and dignity of the school as the leader.
“But, Zhiyuan could not likely fight with Yuan Xiaoshui! He has just reached peak level Mid Sea of Souls Realm! If those people came by a couple of months later, then it would be much better!” The inner master did not doubt Gao Zhiyuan’s talent at all; he just did not think Yun Xiaoshui was that simple to take on. After all, one realm of difference would not be easy to overcome.
“We have to believe in Zhiyun. After all, he has rarely revealed his power in the recent years.” Li Zhangfeng was rather confident in Gao Zhiyuan. He thought that the other being able to end up without being heavily wounded would be the best result. And if they could have an even match, then that would be a great reputation boost for Zhang Tian Martial School.
…
On the peak of the mountain, Ye Chen said strangely. “How come Master Lu is not out there?”
But, he answered his own question in the next instant.
Before, the reason Master Lu was targeting him was because he did not hide his cultivation at all, so master Lu could sense him clearly. But right now, Ling Huyi had not revealed much yet, so Master Lu would naturally not know what was happening. Although he was a bit confused in the head, he was still instinctively protective of the school.
“Gao Zhiyuan’s qi is not weak at all. This battle with Yun Xiaoshui is not a completely doomed battle. But, it all depends on his profound level. Oh yeah, he also trained a special kind of sword intent, didn’t he? I wonder what kind of element it was?”
Thoughts flashed through his mind as Ye Chen continued to use his soul power to observe the people at the main plaza.
…
“Since you are this confident, how about we compete in a battle then? Don’t worry, I will not kill you.” Yun Xiaoshui licked his lips and suggested.
“Alright, sounds good!”
Gao Zhiyuan agreed to it, feeling sure that the other would not give up at all if he did not. If that were the case, then why not just do it?
“Brother Gao, take care!” Li Cui reminded him.
“Brother Gao, beat him!” Wu Zhangxing did not have much concern as he yelled out loud from behind.
“I know.”
Gao Zhiyuan looked quite serious, his eyes looking sharp. After reaching peak level Mid Astral Reaching Realm, he had experienced a unity of body and nature, allowing all of his profound to improve as well. However, Yun Xiaoshui had one more such experience than him, so his understanding of the profound might not be weaker than him; it might even be deeper and more powerful. The only advantage he had was his sword intent. Only with it could he have a bit of hope.
Regardless, Yun Xiaohai was still one of the most powerful warriors.
The two were about to start their battle, but Mo Xiaotang had a relieved expression on her face. She took a step back and glanced at Yun Xiaoshui, but obviously looking at Gao Zhiyuan more.
‘Zhiyuan, I hope you will not blame me for this.’ Mo Xiaotang thought to herself secretly.
On the plaza, everyone took couple of steps back, emptying out a big space for them. The two were now standing a hundred steps apart.
“Take this!”
Yun Xiaoshui did not have the time to fool around with Gao Zhiyuan. He needed to beat the latter in the shortest time possible so that he could assert his power.
His body flashed once and poured out like water. As his body was in the air, he tightened his fist, causing a black light to appear and cover it within. The space seemed to start vibrating as a punch was thrown at Gao Zhiyuan’s head with the slightest twist.
“Earth Shatter!”
Chin! On the other side, Gao Zhiyuan’s sword had been taken out of its scabbard already. He groaned lightly as his body leaned forward and suddenly jumped at his opponent. His dark yellow great sword turned into a beam of bright sword light, vibrating drastically and giving people the feeling of heaviness.
Boom!
Both of them were just trying to test each other’s power, so the first attack was indeed a head-on clash. The explosive qi flow spread out with the two at the center, shaving the plaza ground a layer down while the cracks spread out like spiderwebs.
In the next second, the two of them both backed out. Yun Xiaoshui backed out ten steps while Gao Zhiyuan backed out seven steps.
“Brother Gao got the upper hand!” The disciples from the school yelled out of joy.
“No. It is quite the opposite.” A peak level Astral Reaching Realm core disciple shook his head, looking rather serious.
“What do you mean? Brother Gao had only stepped back seven steps!”
“On the surface, he indeed had the upper hand, but Yun Xiaoshui did not perform a martial art. It was just a normal physical attack.”
With his explanation, everyone understood the situation, and could not help but start to get concerned about Gao Zhiyuan.
“Indeed at peak level Late Sea of Souls Realm! My mud profound martial art only got a little bit of upper hand.” Gao Zhiyuan did not dare to be reckless and stared at Yun Xiaoshui without even blinking.
“Haha! Not that powerful after all! Take another attack of mine!” Yun Xiaoshui laughed and jumped at Gao Zhiyuan once again, a bright thunder light appearing on his fist like a loud thunder.
“So fast!”
Gao Zhiyuan learned two types of profound—the mud profound and fire profound. This time, he performed the fire profound sword art, which was like an explosive flame containing a great devastating power. In the next instant, it blocked in front of Yun Xiaoshui’s fists.
Pap!
Thunder light exploded and Gao Zhiyuan was blown away completely. On the contrary, Yun Xiaoshui had only been shaken slightly.
“Thunder Light Step!”
Stepping on the thunder light, Yun Xiaoshui turned into a beam of lighting, chasing behind Gao Zhiyuan’s body.
“Sky Thunder Fifteen Fists!”
With only dozens of steps in between them, Yun Xiaoshui threw out dozens of punches in a row. The fist light was like thunder striking out one after another, all unbelievably fast. Gao Zhiyuan only took fifteen punches before puking out blood. Yun Xiaoshui was just as talented in training martial arts as him, and his cultivation was way higher than his. So, the failure was an expected result.
“Stay down!”
The sixteenth punch came with Yun Xiaoshui’s evil look as he threw it onto Gao Zhiyuan’s abdomen, prepared to ruin the other’s future cultivation for good. He believed it was only by doing so could he make sure his woman would not change her mind on him.
“Yun Xiaoshui, didn’t you say you would not wound him heavily?” Mo Xiaotang suddenly cried.
However, Yun Xiaoshui continued as if he had heard nothing, that fist aura more powerful than ever.
“Burning Flame Sword!”
In the most critical moment, Gao Zhiyuan performed the most powerful Fire Mud fusion profound sword art, blocking out Yun Xiaoshui’s attack immediately.
“Eh? He managed to block it out! But, I will see how you are going to block this out!” Yun Xiaoshui’s seventeenth punch was about to take place, and it would be even more powerful than before.
“No!”
Just as he was about to get to Gao Zhiyuan, Mo Xiaotang suddenly reacted. She waved her hand and three Iron Pear Flowers were shot out toward Yun Xiaoshui. If he continued to attack him, he would be hit by the incoming attack as well.
“Huh!” A cold light flashed through his eyes.
An air-slicing sound was heard, and the expression on Yun Xiaoshui’s face changed drastically. His body flashed once and managed to avoid the incoming attack immediately. Of course, he had also lost the chance to heavily wound Gao Zhiyuan.
“Xiaotang, what are you doing?” He had a bad look on his face.
She did not reply as she walked toward Gao Zhiyuan with determination and stood in front of him.
“What do you think you are doing?” Yun Xiaoshui had a bad instinct.
“Brother Yun, could you not see? She had been playing you all this time.” Ling Huyi said suddenly.
“Me?” Yun Xiaoshui could not believe it as he said with a low voice, “Xiaotang, move away now and I will pretend as if nothing happened. Do not push me!”
“No!” She shook her head with determination.
“B*stard, the head disciple was right! You have never liked me. You have just been lying to me this whole time.” Seeing her not moving at all, he started roaring with rage.
Out of Gao Zhiyuan’s expectation, she had actually admitted it. “Yun Xiaoshui, I indeed had never liked you, because I only like Zhiyuan and only him. The reason I decided to be with you was to stimulate him to leave the school and try to better himself.”
The reason that Yun Xiaoshui came to the school this time was indeed because of her manipulating him. She had been intentionally mentioning that she thought Gao Zhiyuan was really talented, since she knew that Yun Xiaoshui’s personality would definitely push him to come and find the other. With Yun Xiaoshui’s power, he could definitely beat Gao Zhiyuan, whose cultivation was lower than his. She hoped that it could beat him enough to wake him up and leave the school eventually.
Hearing her, Yun Xiaoshui finally woke up. It was no wonder that this woman had approached him actively, yet would not be too intimate with him, to the extent that they had only held hands. It turned out that she had never liked him, and had been using him to get to Gao Zhiyuan.
“Xiaotang…!” Gao Zhiyuan looked at her in shock.
Mo Xiaotang looked back at Gao Zhiyuan with the most tender look. “Zhiyuan, I have liked you since the first time I met you when I was thirteen. Moreover, I have liked you a little bit more with each passing year. How could I leave you like that and be with someone else? The reason I did it was because I do not want you to waste your life here. You, of all people, should not have an ordinary life. You should be on top of the world. As for me, I do not care about fame or money. I just want to watch you conquer the world.”
“Then why don’t you let him beat me completely? Perhaps I will leave and rapidly increase my power?” Gao Zhiyuan said.
She forced a chuckle. “I thought I could control my emotions, but I realized that I simply cannot do it. The second you were in critical situation, all I could think about was to stop him at all costs.”
She knew Yun Xiaoshui’s personality. Even if he did not plan to kill Gao Zhiyuan, he might cripple the latter easily. That was not something she wanted to see happen. Her original wish was just to see Yun Xiaoshui beat Gao Zhiyuan, and not almost kill him.
‘Rather complicated, but devoted enough!’ Seeing that, Ye Chen thought to himself.
“Leader, should we go and interfere?” Inside the palace, the head inner master asked with concern.
However, Li Zhangfeng did not agree with that suggestion, “This is a business between these young kids, so do not interfere for now. If we go there, it might make the whole thing even worse.”
There was nothing much they could do if they went over as Ling Huyi and Yun Xiaoshui’s power were nothing they could handle anymore. Of course, if things actually reached a critical juncture, then they would have to go there regardless, since he had the responsibility to maintain the reputation and dignity of the school as the leader.
“But, Zhiyuan could not likely fight with Yuan Xiaoshui! He has just reached peak level Mid Sea of Souls Realm! If those people came by a couple of months later, then it would be much better!” The inner master did not doubt Gao Zhiyuan’s talent at all; he just did not think Yun Xiaoshui was that simple to take on. After all, one realm of difference would not be easy to overcome.
“We have to believe in Zhiyun. After all, he has rarely revealed his power in the recent years.” Li Zhangfeng was rather confident in Gao Zhiyuan. He thought that the other being able to end up without being heavily wounded would be the best result. And if they could have an even match, then that would be a great reputation boost for Zhang Tian Martial School.
…
On the peak of the mountain, Ye Chen said strangely. “How come Master Lu is not out there?”
But, he answered his own question in the next instant.
Before, the reason Master Lu was targeting him was because he did not hide his cultivation at all, so master Lu could sense him clearly. But right now, Ling Huyi had not revealed much yet, so Master Lu would naturally not know what was happening. Although he was a bit confused in the head, he was still instinctively protective of the school.
“Gao Zhiyuan’s qi is not weak at all. This battle with Yun Xiaoshui is not a completely doomed battle. But, it all depends on his profound level. Oh yeah, he also trained a special kind of sword intent, didn’t he? I wonder what kind of element it was?”
Thoughts flashed through his mind as Ye Chen continued to use his soul power to observe the people at the main plaza.
…
“Since you are this confident, how about we compete in a battle then? Don’t worry, I will not kill you.” Yun Xiaoshui licked his lips and suggested.
“Alright, sounds good!”
Gao Zhiyuan agreed to it, feeling sure that the other would not give up at all if he did not. If that were the case, then why not just do it?
“Brother Gao, take care!” Li Cui reminded him.
“Brother Gao, beat him!” Wu Zhangxing did not have much concern as he yelled out loud from behind.
“I know.”
Gao Zhiyuan looked quite serious, his eyes looking sharp. After reaching peak level Mid Astral Reaching Realm, he had experienced a unity of body and nature, allowing all of his profound to improve as well. However, Yun Xiaoshui had one more such experience than him, so his understanding of the profound might not be weaker than him; it might even be deeper and more powerful. The only advantage he had was his sword intent. Only with it could he have a bit of hope.
Regardless, Yun Xiaohai was still one of the most powerful warriors.
The two were about to start their battle, but Mo Xiaotang had a relieved expression on her face. She took a step back and glanced at Yun Xiaoshui, but obviously looking at Gao Zhiyuan more.
‘Zhiyuan, I hope you will not blame me for this.’ Mo Xiaotang thought to herself secretly.
On the plaza, everyone took couple of steps back, emptying out a big space for them. The two were now standing a hundred steps apart.
“Take this!”
Yun Xiaoshui did not have the time to fool around with Gao Zhiyuan. He needed to beat the latter in the shortest time possible so that he could assert his power.
His body flashed once and poured out like water. As his body was in the air, he tightened his fist, causing a black light to appear and cover it within. The space seemed to start vibrating as a punch was thrown at Gao Zhiyuan’s head with the slightest twist.
“Earth Shatter!”
Chin! On the other side, Gao Zhiyuan’s sword had been taken out of its scabbard already. He groaned lightly as his body leaned forward and suddenly jumped at his opponent. His dark yellow great sword turned into a beam of bright sword light, vibrating drastically and giving people the feeling of heaviness.
Boom!
Both of them were just trying to test each other’s power, so the first attack was indeed a head-on clash. The explosive qi flow spread out with the two at the center, shaving the plaza ground a layer down while the cracks spread out like spiderwebs.
In the next second, the two of them both backed out. Yun Xiaoshui backed out ten steps while Gao Zhiyuan backed out seven steps.
“Brother Gao got the upper hand!” The disciples from the school yelled out of joy.
“No. It is quite the opposite.” A peak level Astral Reaching Realm core disciple shook his head, looking rather serious.
“What do you mean? Brother Gao had only stepped back seven steps!”
“On the surface, he indeed had the upper hand, but Yun Xiaoshui did not perform a martial art. It was just a normal physical attack.”
With his explanation, everyone understood the situation, and could not help but start to get concerned about Gao Zhiyuan.
“Indeed at peak level Late Sea of Souls Realm! My mud profound martial art only got a little bit of upper hand.” Gao Zhiyuan did not dare to be reckless and stared at Yun Xiaoshui without even blinking.
“Haha! Not that powerful after all! Take another attack of mine!” Yun Xiaoshui laughed and jumped at Gao Zhiyuan once again, a bright thunder light appearing on his fist like a loud thunder.
“So fast!”
Gao Zhiyuan learned two types of profound—the mud profound and fire profound. This time, he performed the fire profound sword art, which was like an explosive flame containing a great devastating power. In the next instant, it blocked in front of Yun Xiaoshui’s fists.
Pap!
Thunder light exploded and Gao Zhiyuan was blown away completely. On the contrary, Yun Xiaoshui had only been shaken slightly.
“Thunder Light Step!”
Stepping on the thunder light, Yun Xiaoshui turned into a beam of lighting, chasing behind Gao Zhiyuan’s body.
“Sky Thunder Fifteen Fists!”
With only dozens of steps in between them, Yun Xiaoshui threw out dozens of punches in a row. The fist light was like thunder striking out one after another, all unbelievably fast. Gao Zhiyuan only took fifteen punches before puking out blood. Yun Xiaoshui was just as talented in training martial arts as him, and his cultivation was way higher than his. So, the failure was an expected result.
“Stay down!”
The sixteenth punch came with Yun Xiaoshui’s evil look as he threw it onto Gao Zhiyuan’s abdomen, prepared to ruin the other’s future cultivation for good. He believed it was only by doing so could he make sure his woman would not change her mind on him.
“Yun Xiaoshui, didn’t you say you would not wound him heavily?” Mo Xiaotang suddenly cried.
However, Yun Xiaoshui continued as if he had heard nothing, that fist aura more powerful than ever.
“Burning Flame Sword!”
In the most critical moment, Gao Zhiyuan performed the most powerful Fire Mud fusion profound sword art, blocking out Yun Xiaoshui’s attack immediately.
“Eh? He managed to block it out! But, I will see how you are going to block this out!” Yun Xiaoshui’s seventeenth punch was about to take place, and it would be even more powerful than before.
“No!”
Just as he was about to get to Gao Zhiyuan, Mo Xiaotang suddenly reacted. She waved her hand and three Iron Pear Flowers were shot out toward Yun Xiaoshui. If he continued to attack him, he would be hit by the incoming attack as well.
“Huh!” A cold light flashed through his eyes.
An air-slicing sound was heard, and the expression on Yun Xiaoshui’s face changed drastically. His body flashed once and managed to avoid the incoming attack immediately. Of course, he had also lost the chance to heavily wound Gao Zhiyuan.
“Xiaotang, what are you doing?” He had a bad look on his face.
She did not reply as she walked toward Gao Zhiyuan with determination and stood in front of him.
“What do you think you are doing?” Yun Xiaoshui had a bad instinct.
“Brother Yun, could you not see? She had been playing you all this time.” Ling Huyi said suddenly.
“Me?” Yun Xiaoshui could not believe it as he said with a low voice, “Xiaotang, move away now and I will pretend as if nothing happened. Do not push me!”
“No!” She shook her head with determination.
“B*stard, the head disciple was right! You have never liked me. You have just been lying to me this whole time.” Seeing her not moving at all, he started roaring with rage.
Out of Gao Zhiyuan’s expectation, she had actually admitted it. “Yun Xiaoshui, I indeed had never liked you, because I only like Zhiyuan and only him. The reason I decided to be with you was to stimulate him to leave the school and try to better himself.”
The reason that Yun Xiaoshui came to the school this time was indeed because of her manipulating him. She had been intentionally mentioning that she thought Gao Zhiyuan was really talented, since she knew that Yun Xiaoshui’s personality would definitely push him to come and find the other. With Yun Xiaoshui’s power, he could definitely beat Gao Zhiyuan, whose cultivation was lower than his. She hoped that it could beat him enough to wake him up and leave the school eventually.
Hearing her, Yun Xiaoshui finally woke up. It was no wonder that this woman had approached him actively, yet would not be too intimate with him, to the extent that they had only held hands. It turned out that she had never liked him, and had been using him to get to Gao Zhiyuan.
“Xiaotang…!” Gao Zhiyuan looked at her in shock.
Mo Xiaotang looked back at Gao Zhiyuan with the most tender look. “Zhiyuan, I have liked you since the first time I met you when I was thirteen. Moreover, I have liked you a little bit more with each passing year. How could I leave you like that and be with someone else? The reason I did it was because I do not want you to waste your life here. You, of all people, should not have an ordinary life. You should be on top of the world. As for me, I do not care about fame or money. I just want to watch you conquer the world.”
“Then why don’t you let him beat me completely? Perhaps I will leave and rapidly increase my power?” Gao Zhiyuan said.
She forced a chuckle. “I thought I could control my emotions, but I realized that I simply cannot do it. The second you were in critical situation, all I could think about was to stop him at all costs.”
She knew Yun Xiaoshui’s personality. Even if he did not plan to kill Gao Zhiyuan, he might cripple the latter easily. That was not something she wanted to see happen. Her original wish was just to see Yun Xiaoshui beat Gao Zhiyuan, and not almost kill him.
‘Rather complicated, but devoted enough!’ Seeing that, Ye Chen thought to himself.
