Free Web NovelChapter 8: Chapter 8: Fierce Battle
Match two: Victory!
Match three: Victory!
Match four: Victory!
Shen Daoxing won the next three matches consecutively.
He stood in the center of the stage, steady as a monolith, not having moved a single step from the very beginning.
Every challenger, regardless of their cultivation level, was knocked off the stage with the very same move. There were no exceptions.
"His power is incredible! Nie Yuan is at the Seventh Layer of the Acupoint Opening Realm, yet he was sent flying off the stage with just a scabbard. He didn’t even have a chance to fight back." A sixteen-year-old girl from the Shen Family stared at Shen Daoxing, her curiosity piqued.
Shen Daoxing’s casual demeanor made it obvious to everyone that his strength was immense.
Those below the Seventh Layer of the Acupoint Opening Realm, let alone forcing him to draw his sword, couldn’t even force him to take a single step back.
"That young man is quite impressive."
Below the stage, Zhao Zicheng, a teacher from the Royal Academy, nodded.
He had grown bored staying with the Shen Family, so he’d decided to take a walk. It just so happened that he ended up at the Martial Arts Arena, checking out the caliber of Baiyun City’s Martial Artists.
The appearance of Shen Daoxing caught his eye.
His Sword Technique was masterful and refined. Moreover, he remained calm and composed when facing his opponents. For a remote place like Baiyun City, he was quite exceptional.
Shen Lin also nodded repeatedly. "Not bad. If he’s young enough, he could be recruited into my Shen Family as a Household Slave."
An elder beside him asked quietly, "Elder Shen Lin, you mean to...?"
"I’ll go handle it."
Shen Lin walked toward the stage.
Shen Daoxing stood on the stage, waiting for the next Shen Family expert to appear.
Just then, Shen Lin called out with a smile, "Alright, I’ve seen your strength. On behalf of the Shen Family, I welcome you to join us."
Shen Daoxing let out a light laugh. "You might have misunderstood. I didn’t come here today to join the Shen Family."
Shen Lin froze. "Then what do you mean by this?"
Shen Daoxing said, "I heard the Shen Family’s stage is the easiest to conquer and their Elixirs are the easiest to win, so here I am."
The moment he finished speaking, the entire Martial Arts Arena erupted in an uproar.
"So this kid is actually here to challenge us!"
"Does he have a death wish? How dare he provoke the Shen Family?"
"He’s insane! Utterly insane!"
...
The crowd below the Martial Arts Arena burst into discussion, all of them looking at Shen Daoxing as if he were an idiot.
Shen Lin’s expression instantly darkened. "Sir, it seems you’re intent on doing this the hard way."
Shen Daoxing said, "Enough talk. Send your men."
"Fine. Fine. Just fine."
Shen Lin flicked his sleeve and stormed off the stage.
Next, the Shen Family sent two more experts, both at the Seventh Layer of the Acupoint Opening Realm, but without exception, they were all defeated.
Soon, a burly man holding two hammers walked onto the stage.
"It’s Guo Wang! He has Innate Divine Power, and he’s at the Seventh Layer of the Acupoint Opening Realm. He once fought a Martial Artist at the Eighth Layer and held his own!"
"This kid is probably going to lose."
Seeing the man come on stage, the sound of whispers reached Shen Daoxing’s ears.
ROAR!
Guo Wang roared, his bones emitting a series of CRACKLING sounds. He began to swing the two iron hammers, whirling them like a windmill and kicking up gusts of wind.
"Frenzied Martial Hammer Technique!"
Guo Wang unleashed a high-grade Yellow Tier Martial Technique, erupting with his full power. Both hammers smashed toward Shen Daoxing at once.
One hammer attacked Shen Daoxing’s head, one hammer attacked Shen Daoxing’s legs.
Under such a frenzied attack, no matter how strong Shen Daoxing’s cultivation was, he would definitely have to retreat.
The moment Shen Daoxing retreated, Guo Wang’s follow-up attacks would strike relentlessly, overwhelming and defeating him with lightning speed.
CRACK!
Shen Daoxing still used only a single move. He struck out with his scabbard, slamming it against one of the hammers.
That hammer immediately changed direction and struck Guo Wang’s chest.
BANG!
Guo Wang and his two hammers were sent tumbling off the stage.
"How... how can this be?"
Guo Wang clutched his bloody chest and struggled to his feet, staring at Shen Daoxing, who stood ramrod straight in the center of the stage. ’How did he even swing his scabbard? I didn’t see a thing!’
He only knew that he had been knocked off the stage by the hammer in his own hand.
"Even Guo Wang couldn’t make him draw his sword! How can he be this strong?"
"Incredible! He’s won ten matches in a row now."
"Just who is this guy?"
"I think the tenth win has a tenfold reward."
"Tenfold? Who would dare take that? It requires challenging someone from a higher realm. That means the Shen Family can send out a Martial Artist at the Eighth Layer of the Acupoint Opening Realm."
...
Everyone wore looks of utter shock.
Obviously, they had all underestimated Shen Daoxing’s strength.
But they didn’t believe Shen Daoxing would dare to continue challenging.
Because after ten consecutive victories, the next challenge must be against an opponent of a higher realm.
And the Shen Family happened to have an extremely fearsome Martial Artist at the Eighth Layer of the Acupoint Opening Realm—a man with a terrifying reputation, built on the many lives he had taken.
"Is the Shen Family out of experts? If you’re really that desperate..."
Shen Daoxing suddenly pointed at Shen Lin. "...you can come up here yourself."
WHOA!
Shen Daoxing’s words sent the entire Martial Arts Arena into a frenzy, with deafening cheers erupting from the crowd.
No one had expected Shen Daoxing to actually issue a challenge to a higher realm.
He even provoked a Shen Family elder!
Does he truly have a death wish?
"Interesting."
Zhao Zicheng folded his arms, his interest piqued.
As a teacher of the Royal Academy, he had seen too many geniuses.
’If a so-called genius couldn’t even defeat an ordinary Martial Artist from a higher realm, what kind of genius were they?’
When had Shen Lin, an elder of the Shen Family, ever suffered such humiliation? "Get Han Yue! I’m going to flay this brat alive!"
「Just as the crowd was abuzz with discussion.」
DONG!
DONG!
The ground trembled, and the crowd followed the sound with their eyes.
It was a burly, robust man, standing nine feet tall. He was clad in armor and wielded a battle-ax.
"It’s Han Yue!? They say no one who fights him has ever lived to tell the tale."
"It’s really him? He may be a Martial Artist at the Eighth Layer of the Acupoint Opening Realm, but he once defeated someone at the Ninth Layer!"
"Looks like the Shen Family is playing for keeps. That kid is done for."
...
Zhao Zicheng frowned as well. ’This man actually carries the bloodline of the Giant Race, though it’s incredibly faint...’
The Giant Race was known for its Innate Divine Power.
Each new layer in the Acupoint Opening Realm added another hundred pounds of force.
Thus, the Seventh Layer of the Acupoint Opening Realm granted seven hundred pounds of force, while the Eighth Layer granted eight hundred.
Although the Giant blood in Han Yue’s veins was faint, it still allowed him, at the Eighth Layer of the Acupoint Opening Realm, to wield nearly nine hundred pounds of force.
Shen Lin sneered, "You could have walked the path to heaven, but you chose to storm the gates of hell. Kneel now, swear an oath to become a Household Slave for my Shen Family, and I might grant you a chance to live."
Shen Daoxing replied, "Is that right? We haven’t fought yet. It’s too soon to say who will live and who will die."
"We’ll see just how tough you are!"
Shen Lin ordered, "Han Yue, flay him alive!"
GRAAAH!
Han Yue let out a beastly roar as Primordial Energy began to circulate through his acupoints. A powerful force erupted from within him.
THUD!
THUD!
He held the battle-ax with both hands and strode towards Shen Daoxing. With every step he took, the stage trembled slightly.
WHOOSH!
He swung his ax in a diagonal slash.
Though it seemed like a strike of pure brute force, the slash carried a subtle momentum that sealed off all of Shen Daoxing’s escape routes, leaving him nowhere to dodge.
Shen Daoxing’s expression remained unchanged, calm and unhurried. He raised his arm, lifting his scabbard to block the blow, and met the battle-ax head-on.
CLANG!
A deafening boom echoed out!
The scabbard and the ax were locked together in mid-air.
Using only a single hand, Shen Daoxing had blocked the two-handed swing of Han Yue’s battle-ax.
Seeing this, every Martial Artist in the arena was shocked beyond belief. No one could have imagined that Shen Daoxing’s strength was this terrifying.
