Chapter 70: Chapter 68: Pushing It Too Far
Zhaang Ye’s brow furrowed slightly as he looked at the four people before him.
It was within his expectations that Wu Guanghai would come looking for trouble. What he hadn’t expected, however, was that Wu Guanghai would bring four experts at the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage to do it.
These four who had come with Wu Guanghai were around eighteen or nineteen years old. Each was an expert at the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage, and the auras they exuded were even a bit stronger than Wu Guanghai’s.
’He managed to call on four Martial Artists at the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage for backup. It seems this Wu Guanghai has some connections after all. Still, they can’t be that significant. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be stuck as an Outer Disciple...’ At this thought, Zhaang Ye’s mind was put at ease.
Just then, Wu Guanghai let out a sinister chuckle and said, "Haha, Zhaang Ye, are you scared? If you are, then obediently hand over your Golden Tickets and Elixirs. If you can satisfy us, we might consider only breaking one of your legs, haha..."
"Break my legs?" Zhaang Ye slowly put away his Thick-Backed Saber, a ghost of a smile on his face as he said, "With a bunch of losers like you? You couldn’t do it even if I gave you another ten years to practice."
"How audacious!"
"You’re courting death!"
"Kid, how dare you speak so arrogantly! You’re dead!"
"Zhaang Ye!" Wu Guanghai sneered darkly. "We were thinking of letting you off easy, but we didn’t expect you to be so clueless. You actually dared to call us losers! Let me tell you, you’re a dead man this time. No one can save you!" fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
"That’s right, no one can save you. You’re dead, Zhaang Ye." A young man strode forward, pointed a finger at Zhaang Ye, and said arrogantly, "Remember my name. It’s Lin Yong. So you don’t die with lingering regrets..."
Zhaang Ye glanced at Lin Yong and cut him off. "Nonsense!"
"You! I’ll kill you!" Lin Yong flew into a rage. In a flash, his two palms chopped toward Zhaang Ye like lightning. The sound of his hands slicing through the air could be heard clearly even from dozens of paces away.
Lin Yong’s twin-palm attack was called the Iron Grinding Palm. The Iron Grinding Palm was a low-level cultivation method, one of the Outer Sect Martial Arts. During cultivation, the Cultivator would rub their palms against iron blocks and circulate their cultivation technique to continuously absorb the Gold Essence Qi from the iron.
The Iron Grinding Palm didn’t have a pleasant name, but its power was quite impressive. Once cultivated to the Great Success Realm, one could shatter stones over a zhang tall and easily chop down trees thick enough to wrap one’s arms around, using only their bare hands. Lin Yong had been cultivating this technique for over a decade and was on the verge of the Great Success Realm. Even a simple palm strike from him packed considerable power.
As he struck with both palms, Lin Yong was already picturing Zhaang Ye’s bones breaking and tendons tearing, defeated miserably on the spot!
BANG!
Lin Yong’s two palms struck Zhaang Ye’s.
Lin Yong was overjoyed. Just as he was about to exert his force and sever both of Zhaang Ye’s hands, he suddenly felt a jolt in his own palms. An utterly terrifying force pressed down his arms!
’Zhaang Ye actually managed to attack first despite being at a disadvantage! What a terrifying and bizarre technique!’ freewebnovёl.ƈom
"ARGH—" Lin Yong roared as the True Qi in his body erupted, and he resisted with all his might.
Zhaang Ye’s cold voice was heard, "My Reverse Flow Slash is not something you can withstand!" Before his voice had even faded, Zhaang Ye’s palm twisted like a sharp blade. With a series of sharp CRACKS, all ten of Lin Yong’s finger bones were shattered by the twisting motion. Zhaang Ye then tossed Lin Yong’s body several zhang away.
Defeated in a single move!
Lin Yong was, after all, an expert at the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage. To be so miserably defeated on the spot, unable to even take a single move from Zhaang Ye! The bones in all ten of his fingers had been shattered. It would take him months to recover!
Wu Guanghai sucked in a sharp breath. The three young men beside him did the same.
"Attack! Let’s get him together!" Wu Guanghai shouted sternly. "He only won because of his technique! His actual cultivation is only at the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage. If we attack together, we can definitely take him down! I’ve already looked into it—he bought a huge amount of Elixirs at the Elixir Pharmacy the other day. Once we take him down, all those Elixirs are yours!"
Hearing the word "Elixirs," the three young men’s hearts burned with greed. For a Martial Artist, Elixirs were undoubtedly the most practical of treasures. If Zhaang Ye truly had a large batch of Elixirs on him, they would strike it rich!
The three young men moved, joining Wu Guanghai to surround Zhaang Ye.
"Men die for wealth as birds die for food. You’re all courting death!" Zhaang Ye sneered, his hands chopping like blades. Coordinating with his Footwork Technique, he instantly delivered four strikes!
These four strikes from Zhaang Ye were tyrannical and fierce—it was his self-created technique, the Reverse Flow Slash!
The Reverse Flow Slash was one of the Sword Techniques that thrived on countering momentum, making it most suitable for counterattacks.
After advancing to the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage and mastering the first level of the Dragon Elephant Skill, the power of Zhaang Ye’s Reverse Flow Slash had increased considerably. A casual strike now carried an unstoppable momentum. Just moments ago, Lin Yong had been defeated, unable to withstand even a single blow.
Now, Zhaang Ye was using this technique to attack Wu Guanghai and his three cronies. With him on the offensive, Zhaang Ye’s aura was even more powerful. His two palms sliced through the air, creating the buzzing sound of a golden blade cutting the wind. The sound alone was enough to set one’s teeth on edge. One could only imagine how it would feel to be struck by it.
"We’ll risk it!" The four of them, led by Wu Guanghai, knew they couldn’t dodge Zhaang Ye’s strike and decided in unison to meet it head-on.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Zhaang Ye’s four palm strikes slammed into their four fists. He felt four terrifying streams of True Qi rebounding back at him, making his body go numb and causing the True Qi within him to churn violently.
Zhaang Ye was shaken, but Wu Guanghai and his men were no better off. All four felt a searing pain in their fists. Zhaang Ye had actually managed to leave a gash on their True Qi-infused fists, as if they had been struck by a real blade!
"Good! Again!"
Zhaang Ye’s Reverse Flow Slash was a counter-momentum Saber Technique; the stronger the opponent, the stronger it became. After clashing head-on with the four, Zhaang Ye felt his blood boil with an indescribable exhilaration. With a soft cry, his hands moved, once again delivering four palm strikes!
With these four strikes, Zhaang Ye held nothing back. He used one hundred and twenty percent of his True Power. The moment his palms moved, the sound of them tearing through the air boomed. As they descended, the surrounding air was stirred into motion. Wu Guanghai’s vision blurred, and Zhaang Ye’s palms were already upon them, crashing forward like a great ship sailing against the current!
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Another four-way clash!
Another gash appeared on the fists of Wu Guanghai and his three men.
"Good, again!" Zhaang Ye had also suffered some internal injuries, but he ignored them completely. With a great shout, he spread his hands and unleashed another four palm strikes.
Seeing how ferocious Zhaang Ye was, the expressions on the faces of Wu Guanghai and his men changed.
Zhaang Ye’s cultivation was about the same as theirs, but his techniques were simply too tyrannical. Every casual palm strike carried the momentum of a rainbow, and that terrifying pressure suppressed them to the point where they couldn’t unleash their true abilities!
Wu Guanghai shouted, "Don’t be afraid! His techniques might be terrifying, but his cultivation is no higher than ours! With the four of us attacking one person, the injuries he sustains will definitely be worse than ours!"
Zhaang Ye laughed. "Is that so?"
As he spoke, he slightly changed the direction of his palms. His four strikes were not aimed at four different people, but all at Wu Guanghai!
"Ah!"
Wu Guanghai never imagined Zhaang Ye would ignore the other three and focus all his power on him. Caught completely off guard, he was terrified, and his face turned pale!
Zhaang Ye’s Reverse Flow Slash was sharp and tyrannical. Wu Guanghai could handle one palm strike, but four at once was far beyond his abilities. Using his palm as a sword, he barely managed to block two of Zhaang Ye’s strikes. However, he had no way to stop the third and fourth. With two soft CRACKS, Zhaang Ye’s two strikes landed squarely on Wu Guanghai’s shoulders, sending him flying several zhang away like a sack of grain, blood spraying from his wounds.
Zhaang Ye had struck as fast as lightning. Before the other three young men could even react, Wu Guanghai had already been hit twice and sent flying.
Seeing Wu Guanghai violently coughing up blood, one of the young men was startled and shouted, "Ah, Zhaang Ye, you dare to injure Wu Guanghai! Zhaang Ye, you’re definitely a dead man now!"
Zhaang Ye sneered, "Whether I die or not isn’t for you to decide. You should worry about yourselves!" With that, his figure flashed, and his two palms chopped toward the three remaining young men.
Zhaang Ye’s combat prowess was far superior to theirs. After a few moves, he swung out three palms, sending all three young men flying, each one spraying a mouthful of blood.
"You’re ruthless! We miscalculated this time!" Wu Guanghai staggered to his feet and said, "But don’t get complacent, Zhaang Ye. In a few days, I’ll be back to settle this debt with interest!"
With that, he motioned for the four young men to leave with him.
"Not so fast!" Zhaang Ye flashed in front of the five of them, blocking their path. He sneered, "Leaving just like that? This is my territory. It’s not a place you can just come and go as you please."
Wu Guanghai’s expression changed slightly. "What do you want?"
Zhaang Ye let out a sinister chuckle. "It’s simple. Each of you will hand over all the Golden Tickets and Elixirs you have on you. Consider it a small price for disturbing me."
The faces of Wu Guanghai and the four young men changed. Wu Guanghai said angrily, "Zhaang Ye, don’t push it too far."
"I’m not the one pushing it too far; you are," Zhaang Ye sneered. "I was minding my own business in my own home, and you people came banging on my door, screaming about killing me and breaking my legs. If the Zhaang Family rules didn’t forbid disciples from killing each other, I would have slaughtered you on the spot. You can come to my door and threaten to break my legs, but when I take a few of your things, that’s suddenly going too far?"
Wu Guanghai was speechless.
Just then, Zhaang Ye barked, "Hurry up and take your things out! If I have to do it myself, you’ll all be going back naked."
The situation was not in their favor. Though reluctant, Wu Guanghai and his four men dared not say another word. They silently placed their belongings on the ground and departed in disgrace.