by Tinalynge
Without caring for the doubtful expression on the face of the young man, Xue Wei found two gold coins and handed them to the apothecary who instantly accepted them and returned the few silver coins and coppers that were extra.
Then he remembered that he still had not found the items and he hurried to pick out the items he had just sold. The core was placed in a jade box while the herbs were placed in metalwood boxes. He then packed all the things in a bag and handed it to Xue Wei.
Metalwood was a specific kind of wood that was used for storing herbs and other valuable items. It was highly sought after, and was often farmed by farmers in the northern areas of the Kingdom of Heping.
Accepting the packed-up items, Xue Wei nodded his head and turned to leave. Yet the moment he left the shop, he saw that a whole group of experts were waiting for him outside. Sighing, Xue Wei put the items he had just bought into a pocket and looked at the Young Master Li that stood in front of him.
Young Master Li was now a nine-layer Ordinary Warrior much like Shen Mu, but he used his power for bullying others, and Xue Wei had no good impression of him.
"Shen Mu, leave now, and I won't beat you up too," Young Master Li said in a dangerously low voice as he took a step towards Xue Wei.
"Sorry, it turns out that Xue Wei is a friend of mine. How can I step aside while a friend of mine is in danger?" Shen Mu asked with a slight smile on his face, and the color started draining from Young Master Li's face.
"So you only dare to venture into town when you have protection, huh? You useless piece of trash. If I don't cripple you today, then I won't be the young master of the Li family any longer!"
He was livid with anger as he never expected that Shen Mu would actually stand up for Xue Wei.
Everyone looked at Xue Wei, and their eyes were filled with enmity, and suddenly a chill flashed by the eyes of the number two man under Young Master Li.
"Young Master, take care of Shen Mu. The rest of us will thrash that piece of crap!" he exclaimed, but shockingly enough, all he heard was a chuckle from Xue Wei.
"Would you look at that. It is like watching two monkeys playing King of the Mountain." He said lightly, yet his words were heard by everyone present, and their faces turned pale from the shock of his choice of words. Was this the young piece of trash? Where did he get the courage to say such words?
"What did you just say?!" Young Master Li suddenly exclaimed, his face alternating between red and blue, anger flashing in his eyes. He had never before been insulted in such a way.
"I said, since you are a monkey, you are acting just as I'd expect," Xue Wei continued as he shrugged his shoulders, a sinister grin appearing on his lips. He had endured for long enough; now it was time for some payback and to see just how powerful he was compared to these soon to be experts. At worst, he would be beaten badly, but that would not be the first time it happened.
Chapter 11 - Trash No More
Xue Wei was fully aware that he was not Young Master Li Jian's match in a direct confrontation, but he had no intention of playing fair. Li Jian had never been fair before when beating him up, and Xue Wei was not going to be fair either.
Xue Wei had touched upon the Forbidden Rush movement skill which allowed him to merge with the wind. Wherever the wind was, he could be too. Moving like the wind, coming and going as he pleased.
Not only had he touched upon the Forbidden Rush movement skill, but he had also reached a high proficiency in using the Azure Light Finger, a superior martial art attack.
Martial arts were split into five ranks. First were the low martial arts, then came the middle martial arts followed by the high martial arts. Then came the superior martial arts and finally the profound martial arts. There were legends of martial techniques stronger than these, but Xue Wei had never cultivated and reached a realm where he was allowed to know such secrets, and thus he did not know whether or not this was correct.
From this, one could see that Xue Wei's abilities were some of the most outstanding martial arts in the entire kingdom, and although it was possible to buy superior martial techniques, they were expensive, and supply could not follow demand. Most families, even the Li family, which was a major family within one of the biggest cities in the southern region of the Kingdom of Heping, only had a few of them, and Xue Wei was sure that Li Jian could at most have learned one, if he had even been allowed to train such high ranked ability with his current strength.
Although it was possible that Li Jian had trained a superior martial arts, he and Xue Wei were in the same position. Both of them were only Ordinary Warriors, and although Li Jian was at the ninth layer and Xue Wei the fourth, neither of them would be capable of unleashing more than five percent of the abilities' full potential.
Since Li Jian was a ninth layered Ordinary Warrior, he should be able to exert five percent, while Xue Wei, who was only a fourth layer Ordinary Warrior, should be able to show off around three percent.
Although there was a difference between a ninth layered ordinary warrior and a fourth layered ordinary warrior, it was not impossible for Xue Wei to surprise Li Jian and injure him, giving him payback for all the years he had been bullied by him.
Xue Wei looked at Li Jian with cold eyes. "You really think you are the king of the city just because you have a bit of talent?" Xue Wei asked, his every word causing young Master Li to be stunned, he was almost about to start laughing when someone finally seemed to notice.
"Young master! That trash is an Ordinary Warrior of the fourth layer! Fourth layer! Just what did that piece of trash eat in these four months to make his cultivation base soar to the fourth layer?!"
As the young man spoke, everyone was filled with astonishment, but Young Master Li just sneered. "So what if you are a fourth layer Ordinary Warrior? I am a ninth layer, there is a massive difference between the two of us, and still you think you can talk as you please?" Li Jian forced himself to be calm.
More and more spectators started watching what was going on, and he knew that if he showed even the slightest bit of hesitation, he would lose face. On the other hand, he could no longer back out with so many people observing him, and he truly did not believe that a fourth layered Ordinary Warrior would be able to pose any threat to him.
It was within human nature to want to see a scene, and this scene was especially thrilling. The younger generation was always fighting amongst each other, but the words that had been spoken this time were simply too arrogant. Coupled with them being spoken by someone that had been considered trash, it was simply outrageous and everyone wanted to see him getting beaten.
"Everyone, move to block Shen Mu! I will personally deal with this piece of trash!" Li Jian called out before he pounced on Xue Wei.
While Li Jian's friends looked completely stunned and not very happy, they did not dare delay. They knew that they were in for a beating since Shen Mu was a ninth layered Ordinary Warrior, but they were only at the seventh layer most of them; a few were at the sixth layer, while others were at the eight.
No matter how much they ganged up on Shen Mu, if he decided to take them out one after another, they could do nothing to stop him.
Although Li Jian’s speed was faster than Xue Wei's normal speed, one could not forget that Xue Wei had touched the threshold of the superior movement technique Forbidden Rush and that movement techniques were all incredibly rare. Xue Wei was certain that he was the only one within all of the younger generation of Tiankong City that had a movement technique.
As he saw Li Jian move closer to him he just stood there, waiting for him while everyone in the audience sucked in a breath of air.
"He has given up," someone said. "He is accepting his inferiority, but did he have to rile up this young master? He is definitely going to be beaten badly this time," another said.
"He has forgotten that his uncle is no longer here to look after him, and is now getting what he deserved!" a person in the audience sneered, and many nodded their heads. They all disliked Xue Wei, and seeing him
getting beaten up made them feel superior, a feeling these commoners did not often feel.
But just as the words had left their mouths everyone was stunned silly as they saw Xue Wei moving in a strange and elusive manner.
It was as if he was the wind, his body moved as if it was slow and gentle, but truthfully it was fast and ferocious.
The first movement was seen by everyone, his body almost seemed to fall forward, but then suddenly he was gone from sight.
This was a risk for Xue Wei. He knew that if he moved too early, then Li Jian would be able to follow up with another strike in the direction that he was moving, but if he moved too late, then he would have been seriously injured by the attack.
Xue Wei was after all only a fourth layered Ordinary Warrior. He was nowhere near Li Jian’s match, but he understood that as long as he had the Forbidden Rush and kept his head cool, then he would be able to avoid the attacks and keep himself safe.
Since this was the case, Xue Wei felt the need to try something else. He knew that he would be able to use the Azure Light Finger, but he was also aware that if he used this attack then he could at most attack twice before running out of Qi. Since this was the case he decided to gamble.
"Got to try something new," Xue Wei thought to himself. He had never before practiced the Shattering Mountain Palm, but he had read all about it before. With that in mind, he started gathering the Qi within his body.
Xue Wei's eyes never left Li Jian as the feeling of vanishing from sight and re-appearing behind his target felt all too real.
The moment he appeared behind Li Jian, he immediately thrust out his palm, which was infused with his Qi.
Shattering Mountain Palm!
The wind howled as his fist hit out with all the strength he could muster. Azure Qi covered his fist and when it made contact with Li Jian's back, the young master was shot forward like an arrow leaving its bow.
Everyone stopped gossiping about how Xue Wei was trash and deserved to be beaten, and instead stared at Xue Wei with wide open eyes; no one spoke, even the henchmen who were supposed to attack Shen Mu had stopped in their tracks, and Shen Mu had not retaliated, as all of them stared at Xue Wei and the Li Jian who was lying on the ground.
Li Jian was a ninth layer ordinary warrior, close to becoming an Earth Warrior, and although he had taken a hit right to his back without any defense, he was not severely injured.
Xue Wei stopped using the Forbidden Rush and stood where he was, looking at his palm with a smile on his face. This was the first time he had used the Shattering Mountain Palm, and the results had far exceeded his expectations.
A mortal could on average lift fifty kilos of weight, while a first layer Ordinary Warrior could lift a hundred kilos of weight. A second layer could lift two hundred and a third layer could lift three hundred kilos. It continued like this up until the ninth layer where one could lift nine hundred kilos of weight.
Xue Wei was unaware of how much he could lift as he had never measured it before, but when his hit connected with Li Jian's back, he noticed that his strength was more than the four hundred kilos he should be able to control.
This was also the reason that Li Jian had been injured and shot out like an arrow.
His face was planted solidly in the ground, his body in a miserable state. The reason he had lost the exchange so miserably was exactly because he had underestimated Xue Wei and because Xue Wei had taken him by surprise with his movement technique.
"You were going to cripple me today, right?" Xue Wei sneered, and an azure Qi light shone on his finger just as Li Jian stood up once more. The Qi reached Li Jian in less time than it took to blink and a big hole was torn in his clothes around his shoulder, but the Qi light did not stop there, it continued to break through the defenses of Qi around Li Jian’s body and wounded him, causing blood to flow out.
Li Jian’s face alternated between red and white, and his eyes blazed with anger from the humiliation. He gnashed his teeth and seemed to shred Xue Wei to pieces with his eyes, but he was more careful this time as he gathered the Qi he had in his body around his palm.
Sonic Palm!
He shot his hand forward, and the Qi traveled from the palm towards Xue Wei at a speed similar to the speed of sound. This was the only superior martial technique that Li Jian had learned, and it was his killing move. He took great pride in his Sonic Palm, but Xue Wei had already expected this and executed Forbidden Rush. Although he had not managed to dodge too elegantly, he had managed to narrowly dodge the attack.
The attack had grazed his clothes, and torn a hole in his sleeve, but no blood had been drawn.
His clothes and hair fluttered in the wind as he moved and many of the girls in the audience started to feel that Xue Wei was actually rather handsome.
The already ugly face of Li Jian turned even uglier; his fist clenched tight as he looked at Xue Wei with a venomous glare.
No one else was fighting, everyone was observing Xue Wei and Li Jian, almost breathless as they had a hard time believing what they were seeing.
Xue Wei was universally known as trash within Tiankong City, yet right now he was fighting a ninth layer Ordinary Warrior while only being at the fourth layer himself – and not only that, he also had the upper hand!
"So if you can't cripple me today, you will not be the Young Master Li anymore?" Xue Wei mocked Li Jian again, as his mouth curled into a cold and calculating smirk.
"Come on, attack me! Show the world just how great of a warrior you are. I am only a fourth layer Ordinary Warrior – you are an esteemed genius of the ninth layer, so how can you possibly lose to someone as weak as me?"
Xue Wei did not let up, he just stood there and threw every word that Li Jian had said back at him, causing the young master to become more and more furious.
Finally, Li Jian could no longer take it, and he attacked Xue Wei wildly and ferociously without any care for how people looked at him. He screamed as he leaped forward at his fastest speed, Qi wrapped around his palm as he sent one Sonic Palm after another after Xue Wei. Yet, Xue Wei just laughed as he used Forbidden Rush to dodge. Now, the difficulty had dropped as Li Jian no longer thought calmly about his attacks and just sent out attack after attack.
Chapter 12 - Toothless Tiger
"You are going to run out of Qi soon." Xue Wei laughed at Li Jian, who was so furious that he was not even aware of the fact that he was using all the energy he could control without any restraints. Finally, he could no longer execute the Sonic Palm, nor any other martial arts for that matter.
Truthfully, Xue Wei was not much better off himself. He had only executed Azure Light Finger and Shattering Mountain Palm once each, but those two attacks had taken eighty percent of his Qi. And while the Forbidden Rush depended more on external powers than internal, it still used up the final twenty percent that he had.
Xue Wei’s face drained of color, but so did Li Jian’s. Although Li Jian was like a toothless tiger, he still had a body that was much more sturdy than Xue Wei's. If he got caught, then it was evident he would not have a good ending.
"I should have learned Inner Might," he sighed to himself and decided that when he returned home, he would train Inner Might, the only profound ability he had picked out from the ring.
"Anyone else who wants to cripple me today?" Xue Wei asked as his eyes looked over every single person that was standing around him, his eyes as unyielding as ever, and every follower of Li Jian shivered as they looked away.
Shen Mu was astonished too, but he was also feeling a little proud. He was sure that Xue Wei would have been beaten silly, but seeing this friend of his display such skills, he was astonished.
"Man, that was amazing!" he called out and took a step towards Xue Wei. "That has to be one hell of a movement technique! I have never seen anyone use a movement technique before; I bet you are the only one within the entire Tiankong City with one! Your uncle must have passed it on to you before he left?"
Shen Mu spoke just loud enough for pe
ople to hear what he said, and a clamor instantly broke out. So the strange movements were due to a movement technique! They were all enlightened, and many looked at Xue Wei with jealousy.
Xue Wei just shrugged his shoulders. "We should hurry back home,” Xue Wei said as he hurried next to Shen Mu.
He had no more energy in his body, nor did he have a sturdy frame and all of them should be able to beat him easily. Even Li Jian had been inching closer to Xue Wei, but he dared not touch him now that he too had used all his Qi, whereas Shen Mu was by his side with all his Qi intact.
“You were lucky this time!” Li Jian sneered, feeling as if he had lost all his face. He had not lost when it came to cultivation base, neither had he lost because of his strength being inferior, but because the other had an evasion and movement martial art.
Xue Wei had to admit that he had been lucky. Li Jian and his ninth layered strength were many times stronger than he had expected. If not for his cool-headedness and Li Jian losing his calm, then the outcome of the battle was likely to have been different.