Free Web NovelChapter 80: Chapter 79: 1 vs. 10
The day of the long-awaited Four Mountains Martial Arts Gathering had finally arrived.
Early that morning, Wen Qingye stood with a sword in hand, his arms clasped behind his back. He gazed calmly at the radiant sunrise before him.
Xiaxia walked up to Wen Qingye’s side. "Master, it’s time to go," she said. "The Four Mountains Martial Arts Gathering is starting."
"Mm, let’s go," Wen Qingye nodded.
Little Yunshan stood nearby, blinking before falling in step beside Xiaxia.
The Four Mountains Martial Arts Gathering was held in the Outer Courtyard’s Martial Arts Hall, located just behind the Heaven-Reaching Martial Pavilion.
Behind the Heaven-Reaching Martial Pavilion lay a vast, open plaza. In its center stood a massive Purple Stone Arena, surrounded by towering ancient trees. From a distance, the sight was truly magnificent.
By the time Wen Qingye, Xiaxia, and Little Yunshan arrived, the area was already packed to the brim with people.
Many influential figures from Qig Mountain Academy had come to attend the Four Mountains Martial Arts Gathering. There were powerful elders, Inner Courtyard students here for the spectacle, teachers and instructors from the Three Mountains, Stewards maintaining order, and even some of the academy’s Pharmacists.
As far as the eye could see, there was a veritable sea of people, and the air buzzed with excitement.
Of course, the largest group by far was the students of the Four Mountains.
The stars of the show today were, of course, the students of the Four Mountains—especially those who had passed the selections. Many were on the verge of becoming Inner Courtyard students, and this was their last chance to shine in the Outer Courtyard. These senior students were itching to jump onto the stage and put on a spectacular performance, hoping to win the crowd’s praise and catch the eye of the academy elders.
Each of the Four Mountains had its own designated section. Even though North Mountain had fallen on hard times, it was still afforded its own space.
Everyone was now waiting for the arrival of the person who would preside over the Four Mountains Martial Arts Gathering.
Wen Qingye ambled over to the North Mountain section. Several students from South Mountain and a few from East Mountain were standing there, having occupied the spot to get a better view.
A few of the East Mountain students recognized Wen Qingye and furrowed their brows. They weren’t first-years, and they had witnessed the incident where he had blocked the way to East Mountain. While they weren’t particularly intimidated by his strength, there was something about his natural demeanor that was hard to forget.
"This is the North Mountain section," Wen Qingye said calmly.
The leader of the East Mountain students looked at Wen Qingye and said, "Of course it is. Our apologies."
The East Mountain students promptly left, moving to the back of their own section. freewebnøvel.com
The students from South Mountain, however, acted as if they hadn’t even seen Wen Qingye. They went about their business, completely ignoring his words.
Wen Qingye strode toward the group from South Mountain. The student closest to him was startled and blurted out, "What are you doing?"
Wen Qingye didn’t say a word. His hand shot out, and before the South Mountain student could react, he was hoisted into the air. This wasn’t a first-year but a senior student, with a cultivation at the Refining Essence Third Layer Heaven.
THUD!
The students in the South Mountain section, first-years and seniors alike, were startled to see a figure thrown toward them and hastily scrambled out of the way.
"What do you think you’re doing?" one of the South Mountain students standing before Wen Qingye demanded with a frown.
Wen Qingye’s voice was as placid as a calm lake. "I don’t like to repeat myself," he said slowly.
The South Mountain senior sneered. "Who do you think you are? Just some first-year. So what if we’re in your North Mountain section? I was watching the Four Mountains Martial Arts Gathering from this very spot last year!"
"That’s right! So what if we stand here? You should be honored that we’re gracing your North Mountain section with our presence."
"Don’t get too arrogant. You might be strong for a first-year, but against a senior student? One of us could knock your teeth out with a single punch and have you on your knees begging for mercy."
A dozen or so senior students from South Mountain stood in the North Mountain section, sneering. They looked down on Wen Qingye with haughty arrogance, as if he were completely beneath their notice.
Wen Qingye raised an eyebrow. Xiaxia quickly pulled Little Yunshan aside.
Wen Qingye’s eyes slowly narrowed to slits, and a sharp glint flashed within them.
"Let’s just see how powerful you so-called seniors really are. All dozen of you can come at me at once. We’ll see how many of my moves you can handle!"
His handsome face held an expression as placid as a still well. Disdaining to waste any more words on these arrogant fools, he pushed off the ground and leaped into the air. Like an eagle, he soared with a powerful aura, his figure a nimble flicker as he shot toward the dozen senior students from South Mountain.
Wen Qingye was actually taking on more than a dozen opponents at once—a first-year against a group of seniors!
"Hmph! How arrogant! Get back down here! You have no right to run wild in front of me, Dongfang Jie!"
In the center of the North Mountain section, a tall, powerfully built youth was enraged by Wen Qingye’s actions. With a cold snort, he thrust a palm through the air, unleashing a strike with the force of a sweeping gale.
"Gale Palm!"
His palm strike unleashed a torrential gale that threatened to tear through the air itself! freёwebnoѵel.com
The crowd felt the powerful winds buffet their faces, stinging their cheeks and making them hold their breath.
Dongfang Jie sneered. ’This will put Wen Qingye in his place,’ he thought. He would show everyone that even though he, Dongfang Jie, was leaving the Outer Courtyard, he would go out in a final blaze of glory.
Many of the first-years in the crowd gasped, secretly amazed. The senior students were truly on another level.
Still in the air, Wen Qingye swung his own palm forward without hesitation. The surrounding Primordial Qi surged violently, forming a massive Palm Seal that shot through the air.
"Begone!"
As Wen Qingye’s sharp cry rang out, the two attacks collided in mid-air.
In the morning sunlight, the Hand Seal flashed with a faint reddish glow.
The air instantly became searingly hot, as if the season had flashed from early autumn to the peak of summer. Everyone felt their Heart Spirit involuntarily tense up.
The moment Dongfang Jie’s Powerful Qi met the red Hand Seal, it seemed to melt away as if scorched by an intense flame, dissipating completely.
BANG!
A muffled thud.
In the blink of an eye, Wen Qingye and Dongfang Jie’s palms slammed into each other.
Dongfang Jie instantly felt the air around him turn scorching hot as waves of qi radiated outward from their joined palms.
"Your Hand Seal—" Dongfang Jie didn’t get to finish. His expression changed drastically, and his body gave way as if he could no longer hold on. Like a kite with a broken string, he was sent flying four or five meters by Wen Qingye’s palm strike, tumbling wretchedly across the ground in front of everyone.
In that same instant, Wen Qingye landed steadily, occupying the very spot where Dongfang Jie had just been standing.
"Brother Dongfang!" many of the surrounding senior students from South Mountain cried out in shock.
Among the senior students of South Mountain, Dongfang Jie’s cultivation wasn’t top-tier, but he was still a skilled fighter at the Peak of Refining Essence Third Layer Heaven. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been planning to take the Inner Courtyard assessment. To think he would be sent flying by a single palm strike from this youth from North Mountain.
The surrounding students from South Mountain stared at Wen Qingye in utter disbelief, their hearts filled with shock.
