Free Web NovelChapter 197: Chapter 194: Treasure
"Gasp! Who is that? How can his methods be so formidable?"
The fierce battle between Nangong City and the black-robed man had attracted the attention of many onlookers from the very start.
Some Cultivators, confident in their own strength, had even discreetly drawn closer.
They wanted to see why they were fighting,
to see if there was a precious treasure involved,
and if they could scavenge something if both sides ended up gravely injured.
As a result,
they witnessed with their own eyes Shen Changchuan burst onto the battlefield,
cleanly shatter the combined assault of the four black-robed men—all at the Ninth Layer Realm—and then, in the span of just a few breaths, cut down two of them!
His incredible speed,
and the sheer variety of techniques he displayed while killing his enemies,
caused the surrounding Cultivators who were watching the battlefield, still hoping to scavenge, to suck in a sharp breath of cold air.
"Every single one of his magic skills is instantaneous... This person must have cultivated all of them to the Perfection Level!"
"To master nearly ten Perfection Level magic skills... He’s an absolute monster!"
"Does anyone know this person’s background?"
"No idea. I’ve never seen him before. He must be from another region."
"Never seen him. Haven’t heard of anyone like him recently either. But someone with his kind of power is bound to make a name for himself."
"The allure of the Cyan Essence Water Grass... It’s really brought all the monsters out of the woodwork..."
Many of the onlookers discussed the matter animatedly,
and one sighed in amazement.
This sudden, dramatic turn of events at the Wu Family Collection first lured out a dozen or so Soul Emergence Realm experts for a massive battle,
then flushed out hundreds of Cultivators hiding in the mountain forests.
Now they were all battling to the death over the glowing white treasures that had flown out from the pillar of light.
A scene of this magnitude...
It was probably something those present could brag about for the rest of their lives.
As for those who had initially hoped to scavenge, they now quietly slipped away.
They acted as if they were just there to enjoy the view,
with no other intentions at all.
They had no choice.
Even scavenging required picking the right target.
With that man’s level of skill,
’Even those famous cultivators at the Peak of the Ninth Layer are probably only on this level!’
As long as no Soul Emergence Realm experts intervened,
he was practically a titan of the Qi Introduction Realm!
’Who are we to think’
’we could scavenge from someone like that?’
’We should count ourselves lucky we weren’t just farmed for experience like common mobs.’
A good number of the onlookers quietly dispersed,
but at the same time,
they had all firmly committed Shen Changchuan’s face to memory.
Of course, they had no way of knowing
that the face Shen Changchuan wore was a fake.
Ignoring the reactions of the onlookers,
Shen Changchuan stood where he was and turned to look at Nangong City.
"Brother Nangong, are you alright?"
"I’m fine... Thank you for your assistance. May I ask who you are...?"
Nangong City asked, hesitating for a moment.
At that moment,
it dawned on Shen Changchuan.
He was currently wearing another face created through the Transformation Technique.
He quickly coughed, altered his voice, and said in a low tone:
"Oh, ahem. My name is Yang Ming. I’m a good friend of Zhang Qingyuan and am also acquainted with Shen Changchuan. I’ve heard him speak of you."
"Ah, is that so? Well then, I’m Nangong City. A pleasure to meet you, Brother Yang!"
Nangong City had a strange expression on his face.
’Before, I wasn’t entirely sure just from his voice,’
’but now I’m positive.’
’It has to be that Yang Qingyun, the one who loves to run around wearing other people’s faces!’
’That Zhang Qingyuan persona was one,’
’and this Yang Ming before me is another.’
’And when I think about it, his fighting style and techniques just now were so similar...’
Nangong City was now 100% certain that the man before him was Shen Changchuan!
But along with this strange feeling,
Nangong City suddenly realized something.
’Wait a minute,’
’This aura... he’s... at the Qi Introduction Ninth Layer?!’
’If I remember correctly, wasn’t he only around the Qi Introduction Eighth Layer Realm just two months ago?’
’Back then, to repay him for saving my life and helping me on my path to the Dao, I gave him the fortuitous encounter involving the Earth Vein Spiritual Milk.’
’At the time, his cultivation was around the Early Stage of the Eighth Layer. After being tempered by the Earth Vein Spiritual Milk, he managed to advance to the Middle Stage of the Eighth Layer.’
’How long has it been, and he’s already advanced to the Qi Introduction Ninth Layer?’
For a moment,
Nangong City was filled with incredibly complex emotions.
He couldn’t help but feel this way.
All along,
he had been a genius in the eyes of others.
He had reached the Qi Introduction Eighth Layer Realm in his early twenties. Although he later suffered a tribulation that set him back a year or two, he then received the aid of the Earth Vein Spiritual Milk and broke through to the Ninth Layer in one go.
With the Soul Emergence Realm in sight, his future was incredibly bright.
Even the people from ’over there’ had said that for him to have reached such a realm by himself in this remote and barren land, with no family backing, was an achievement far beyond that of any ordinary cultivation genius.
Regarding this,
Nangong City was quite proud,
and deservedly so.
’After all, across the entire cultivation region of Southern Qing City, the average age for a Cultivator to reach the Qi Introduction Ninth Layer Realm is over sixty!’
’Even for those at the Peak of the Ninth Layer, individuals seen as having a chance to ascend to the Soul Emergence Realm, reaching the Qi Introduction Ninth Layer by the age of forty is considered an extraordinary achievement!’
’The Spiritual Qi here is thin, and there’s a scarcity of Spirit Stones and Spiritual Objects for cultivation... so such a pace is actually quite normal.’
’But what about me?’
’I reached the Ninth Layer Realm at twenty. How could I not be proud of that?’
But then came that day when Shen Changchuan revealed his true strength, when Nangong City learned that the rather famous Zhang Qingyuan was just his alias, and when he displayed his unparalleled ability to fight above his realm during the battle in the underground cavern.
At that moment, Nangong City’s pride had taken a heavy blow.
’I was a genius in the eyes of others,’
’but in this world, there’s always a greater genius!’
’Not only had he reached the Eighth Layer Realm while he was still just a teenager,’
’but his combat prowess was also astounding. He had mastered far more Perfection Level magic skills than I had.’
’Fighting opponents above his realm was as easy for him as breathing.’
Back then, Nangong City could still take some small comfort in the fact that the boy’s cultivation was, after all, only at the Eighth Layer Realm—a full realm below his own.
But now,
perceiving the undeniable aura of the Ninth Layer Realm radiating from him,
Nangong City fell completely silent.
’Some geniuses just defy all logic!’
’I had been pleased with my own progress from cultivating diligently these past two months.’
’A part of me even wanted to compete with Shen Changchuan, that junior.’
’But in the blink of an eye,’
’his cultivation level has already caught up to my own.’
’With a casual wave of his hand, he unleashed more than a dozen Perfection Level magic skills and effortlessly cut down the very same black-robed men who had driven me into a desperate corner...’
The turmoil in his heart...
how could any outsider possibly understand?
For a moment,
Nangong City’s thoughts were in turmoil.
"Brother Nangong, what’s wrong?"
Seeing Nangong City frozen in place, his expression shifting through complex emotions, Shen Changchuan couldn’t help but prompt him.
"Oh, I’m fine... Wait, She... Brother Yang, don’t let those two get away!"
Snapping out of it at Shen Changchuan’s call,
Nangong City suddenly remembered something. His expression changed, and he quickly exclaimed,
"Those people are all Demon Cultivators from the Nanyue Kingdom, and they just acquired a priceless treasure! If they’re allowed to assimilate it, their strength will skyrocket, and that would be an absolute disaster!"
