King of Creation
Chapter 269: Chapter 266: The Gains from the Gathering
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
In an instant, dozens of azure crane shadows pecked at Ye Zhen from all directions, making it impossible to distinguish between the real and the illusory.
However, if you thought that out of these dozens of azure crane shadows only one was real, then you would be gravely mistaken. Once hit by any, each of these azure crane shadows could deal a lethal attack to Ye Zhen.
To others, these true and false, solid and ethereal crane shadows were a fatal killing move, exceedingly clever, but to the current Ye Zhen, they held no secrets.
Under the blessing of Sword Heart Enlightenment, Ye Zhen saw through the reality and illusion of these dozens of azure crane shadows clearly.
"Is this your killing move?"
Suddenly, Ye Zhen’s gaze sharpened, and he lightly tapped with his index finger. A jade-colored finger appeared abruptly by Ye Zhen’s side, pressing down on one of the azure crane shadows.
Floating Cloud Finger.
"Impossible?!"
As Wei Wuji screamed in horror, his eyes were filled with disbelief.
Crack!
Wei Wuji’s azure crane shadow shattered abruptly, and as the true body fractured, the dozens of illusory shadows that aimed for Ye Zhen dissipated in an instant.
Not only that, but because Wei Wuji fused with his azure crane shadow, as the shadow shattered, Wei Wuji was struck as if by lightning.
Puh!
A mouthful of blood spurted violently, Wei Wuji stared at Ye Zhen with eyes full of disbelief, involuntarily staggering backward, more blood gushing out with each labored breath.
Ye Zhen’s Floating Cloud Finger had not only broken Wei Wuji’s azure crane shadow but had also severely wounded Wei Wuji. It was only a sparring match, otherwise, Wei Wuji would have already become a dead man.
"This... Hiss!"
The sound of sharp intakes of breath rippled through the crowd.
The fact that Ye Zhen had been evenly matched with Wei Wuji already shocked people like Sha Muchao and Bao Hong to the extreme, but now, witnessing Ye Zhen gravely injuring Wei Wuji with a single finger completely shattered their perception.
Since when did a martial artist at the peak of the Spirit Summoning Realm become so strong?
"If Luo Jingtian, the Six-Fingered Eagle Demon, hadn’t died, perhaps he would be at this level too, right?" Sha Muchao inadvertently compared Ye Zhen to Luo Jingtian, the fallen genius of their Phantom Divine Sect.
"You have my thanks!"
With a bow, Ye Zhen casually returned to his seat.
Wei Wuji, who sat on the ground with his chest covered in blood, was incredibly humiliated. His face fluctuated between green and white. He had been defeated by a martial artist at the peak of the Spirit Summoning Realm. If word got out, no one would believe it.
He had initiated a challenge to vent his frustrations, but instead, he was the one who had been dealt with. With this incident, it was natural that Wei Wuji couldn’t stay any longer at the gathering. He snorted coldly and left the Martial Arts Institute without looking back.
"Brother Zheng, your skills have truly opened our eyes. To your honor, I drink this cup to the fullest!"
After this battle, the attitudes of the people towards Ye Zhen changed dramatically, each one eager to toast and befriend him.
This is how relationships between martial artists work. If you have strength, you are sought after; if not, no matter how enthusiastic you are, your warmth will only be met with cold indifference.
With this fight as a prelude, the Martial Arts Institute became thoroughly lively.
First, two martial artists at the Spirit Transformation Realm came to blows, and in the end, a Loose Cultivator won a hard-fought victory. Then, Luluo engaged another female martial artist at the Second Stage of the Spirit Transformation Realm and, with fierce tactics, managed to beat the female martial artist.
After a few bouts, Sha Muchao, the host of the gathering, personally entered the fray.
The first to fight with Sha Muchao was Liang Ji, a swordsman also at the Third Stage of the Spirit Transformation Realm.
Liang Ji came from a martial arts noble family within the Phantom Divine Empire, and his family’s cultivation technique was also remarkable, but in front of Sha Muchao from the Phantom Divine Sect, it wasn’t enough.
Sha Muchao, the sixty-eighth-ranked young expert on the Black Dragon Ranking, truly possessed extraordinary strength. The moment they engaged in battle, he dominated Liang Ji, easily defeating him with the Phantom Divine Sect’s middle-grade Earth Level palms skill, Thousand Extremes Palm.
Sha Muchao, having defeated Liang Ji, still seemed unfulfilled, turning his gaze towards Bao Hong, who had yet to make a move.
"Since Brother Sha is interested, I shall accompany Brother Sha in a battle!"
With a hearty laugh, Bao Hong leapt toward Sha Muchao. As he rose, his legs lashed out in a series of kicks, his spiritual power conjured up layers of mountains, attacking Sha Muchao with the force of collapsing peaks.
Bao Hong was adept at legwork.
"Brother Zheng, do you think Brother Bao has a chance of winning?"
After the previous events, Han Tai had completely accepted Ye Zhen, subconsciously considering him as a senior brother figure, so he asked for advice in a very humble manner.
"Judging by the current situation, it’s difficult, but if he has a unique ace up his sleeve, then it’s not necessarily so," Ye Zhen said.
"Actually, Bao Hong is probably on par with Sha Muchao. Over four years ago, during the ranking battles at Black Dragon Ancient Land, Bao Hong was unlucky to face a martial artist at the Fifth Stage of the Spirit Transformation Realm in the first round, resulting in his direct elimination."
"Luck..."
Ye Zhen gave a bitter smile.
What can I say? Among martial artists, the most widely circulated saying is that luck is also a form of strength.
"Brother Bao, it seems that you have made significant progress over the past few years," Sha Muchao laughed loudly as he enjoyed the battle with Bao Hong.
"Of course!"
"I missed out on a ranking in the Black Dragon Ancient Land four years ago, but this time, I absolutely will not let the opportunity pass. Brother Sha, you better watch out for being pushed out of the ranking by me!"
"You think you can push me out of the ranking with just this level of strength?"
"Is that so? Then take this move and see!"
In an instant, Bao Hong’s leg shadows swelled enormously, twisting like a tornado to form a circular cage of leg shadows that trapped Sha Muchao in place, leaving him extremely passive as he was relentlessly bombarded by Bao Hong’s leg attacks.
"Brother Sha, what do you think of this ’Circular Leg Cage’ move?"
Seeing Sha Muchao trapped, Bao Hong felt quite smug, as spiritual power surged from his body to maintain the cage of leg shadows, continuing to pound Sha Muchao with heavy blows.
If this situation continued for just a few more breaths, he would have defeated Sha Muchao.
"Hmm, not bad!"
Surprisingly, Sha Muchao nodded in acknowledgment.
"Hahahaha, does that mean, Brother Sha, you are admitting defeat?"
"Admitting defeat?"
"Brother Bao, when I said ’not bad,’ I meant that your move would have been impressive four years ago. If I had encountered it four years ago, I would undoubtedly have lost. But now? Humph!"
Sha Muchao’s voice suddenly rose by an octave. He squatted slightly in a horse stance, and as his hands came together, spiritual power swirled around him like a roaming dragon. A bear-shaped apparition, vague and indistinct, suddenly erupted within his grasped hands.
"Bear King Moving Mountain Hammer, break for me!"
Roar!
A bear’s roar, faint and indistinct, burst forth as the bear-shaped apparition in Sha Muchao’s hands shot out like a meteor!
Boom!
The prison of leg shadows that Bao Hong had used to trap Sha Muchao instantly shattered into pieces. Not only that, but the bear-shaped apparition, like a meteor, shot out, crossing a distance of four hundred meters in an instant and smashing a practice stone of extremely hard quality in the courtyard to smithereens!
This scene left Bao Hong dumbfounded and astonished.
He hadn’t expected that, after breaking his leg shadow cage, Sha Muchao’s Bear King Moving Mountain Hammer would still possess such terrifying power. He was lucky that the Bear King Moving Mountain Hammer had been directed at open ground. If it had been aimed at him, he would have been either dead or seriously injured.
Ye Zhen was also slightly taken aback by the power of the Bear King Moving Mountain Hammer, which was already comparable to the attack of a martial artist in the Fourth or even Fifth Stage of the Spirit Transformation Realm. Indeed, the Phantom Divine Empire was a place where hidden dragons and crouching tigers abounded.
And with Sha Muchao being so formidable yet only ranked sixty-eighth on the Black Dragon Ranking, how astonishing would the power of those in the top ten, top three, or even the first place be?
"Brother Sha, I concede the match to you!"
With such a technique displayed, and Sha Muchao holding back, Bao Hong immediately admitted defeat on the spot.
"Hehe, you’re too kind!"
"Brother Sha, was that move something you acquired from the Black Dragon Ancient Land?" Bao Hong suddenly asked aloud.
Sha Muchao’s gaze sharpened, but he responded with a silent smile, an indirect admission.
"Brother Sha, you must be careful! The Black Dragon Ancient Land will open in a year’s time. I will surely train hard during this year, and we shall battle again when it opens!"
"Good, we’ll battle again in the Black Dragon Ancient Land in one year!"
Sha Muchao laughed aloud in response, but showed no intention of stepping down for a respite. His gaze continued to sweep over the faces of everyone present, searching for his next challenger.
Regrettably, his Bear King Moving Mountain Hammer move that had defeated Bao Hong had shocked everyone, and even those martial artists of the Third Stage of the Spirit Transformation Realm who were comparable in cultivation to Sha Muchao had been defeated. The rest, even if they wanted to challenge and spar, would no longer seek to be masochistic against Sha Muchao.
Seeing everyone’s evasive gazes, Sha Muchao felt a touch of disappointment.
Finally, Sha Muchao’s gaze landed on Ye Zhen, the only martial artist who didn’t avoid his look.
Remembering Ye Zhen’s defeat of Wei Wuji with a single finger, Sha Muchao couldn’t help but get excited. Among all present, Ye Zhen was the only one he couldn’t see through and was not certain he could beat.
Sha Muchao was confident against any martial artist of the Second or Third Stage of the Spirit Transformation Realm, but with Ye Zhen, at the peak of the Spirit Summoning Realm, he felt unsure. The feeling was somewhat absurd, but it was real.
Stirred by excitement, Sha Muchao’s gaze towards Ye Zhen clearly carried an eagerness to challenge.
Yet Ye Zhen firmly shook his head, refusing Sha Muchao’s challenging look, leaving Sha Muchao utterly disappointed.
The reason was simple. Ye Zhen knew his true combat power very clearly.
With Ye Zhen’s strength, even with the enhancements from the Profound Yang Sword and Sword Heart Enlightenment, facing a martial artist in the Second Stage of the Spirit Transformation Realm was already his limit.
If he were to face Sha Muchao, who was in the Third Stage but had the combat power of the Fourth Stage or even higher of the Spirit Transformation Realm, Ye Zhen would need to trigger the War Soul Blood Flag and adopt a desperate fighting style to stand a chance of winning by a narrow margin.
In such a situation, Ye Zhen would be forced to reveal all his trump cards, and he was not that foolish.
Having watched so many battles among martial artists of the Spirit Transformation Realm today, his gain had already been substantial.
With no more challengers, Sha Muchao reluctantly stepped down.
After that, several pairs of martial artists continued to spar and did battle, but none were as thrilling as the earlier matches.
More than an hour later, the martial arts exchange came to an end.
However, the gathering did not conclude with the end of the exchanges.
Meeting is a form of destiny, and with Ye Zhen displaying impressive strength, a grand banquet followed.
And such banquets among martial artists weren’t merely about eating and drinking; the amount of information revealed through casual conversations could be quite substantial.
Sometimes a few words could hint at a renowned martial artist’s secret killing move, the weaknesses of a particular cultivation technique, or the applications of certain heavenly materials and earthly treasures.
While the speaker may be unintentional, the listener could be very interested. In no time, Ye Zhen learned much, inwardly noting the value of attending such gatherings whenever possible.
"By the way, you might not know this, but the Fragrant Pill King’s Spirit Storage Pill has been released ahead of schedule. In three days, the Fragrant Pill King will hold a small auction. Aside from the Spirit Storage Pill, there will definitely be other treasures, too bad there are no invitations," Sha Muchao sighed lightly.
Upon hearing this, Ye Zhen’s ears perked up. The pills were ready earlier than expected, and with just three days left, time was short for him. (To be continued. If you like this work, I invite you to support me by voting for recommendation tickets, and monthly votes on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)

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