Rise of Humanity

by <unknown>

  To visualize lotuses as a platform to support her every step and to do so almost unconsciously, such meticulous control.

  As compared to Yu Feiyan, Zhong Yue could see more than just that, he praised in his heart, Visualizing something with a single thought is already a very high-level achievement and it could increase one’s combat efficiency. But this Li Shan young maiden has achieved a level even higher than that. She is already doing it subconsciously without the intention of visualizing. This means that she has taken visualizing as something very natural for her, just like how a baby automatically learns how to breathe when they arrived into the world. Core disciples from the big clans do really have some amazing qualities, they aren’t merely just useless people.

  Zhong Yue then looked at Yu Feiyan and said in his heart, Senior Martial Sister Yu has not achieved this level yet, I’m afraid that there is still a gap between her and Li Xiuniang. She may not maintain her title as the strongest female disciple in the female house anymore. Li Xiuniang is walking towards us with a strong desire for battle, I think she wants to challenge Senior Martial Sister Yu for the title.

  Yu Feiyan's face remained very cold and she was preparing herself as she could also sense the strong battling desire from Li Xiuniang.

  “Zhong Shan Clan, Zhong Yue?

  As the many Li Shan Clan disciples approached them, Li Xiuniang suddenly stopped her footsteps and looked at Zhong Yue instead of Yu Feiyan. She then said, “I’ve been looking forward to challenging you for a long time but you were hiding in your courtyard. I now challenge you to a duel, shall we?”

  Zhong Yue was stunned, so were Yu Feiyan and the other girls.

  Out of their expectations, Li Xiuniang did not challenge Yu Feiyan but she was aiming at Zhong Yue!

  Yu Feiyan lamented but she did not want to admit defeat and said in her heart, Is she thinking that I am less threatening than Junior Martial Brother Zhong? How did she know before competing with me?

  Zhong Yue frowned and asked, “Senior Martial Sister Li, you want to challenge me?”

  Li Xiuniang laughed and said, “You can view this as a challenge if you want. I do not have any ulterior motives like Shui Qinghe. After all, this challenge is going to end with me crushing you easily!”

  Her clothes waved with the wind as she stood on a lotus and she appeared very alluring. She then said, “My target is to crush the aces like you to build up my invincible aura and use it to crush and mow down every elite from every clan in the Lawless Battle! Let’s begin, shall we?”

  Zhong Yue took a long breath as thunder started forming around him which transformed into polished totem carvings around him. He then murmured, “Crush me?”

  Li Xiuniang laughed and said, “You don’t have to take my words so seriously. If you had the ability to crush me, I’ll gladly accept my defeat as long as you beat me fair and square.”

  Her aura became stronger and stronger. A terrifying specter then appeared behind her, it was the totem of Li Shan Clan, the Monster Lotus Flower!

  The lotus was very big and a monster god raised up from the lotus. The monster god was a hundred feet over tall and it had three faces and four arms with its monstrous Qi piercing through the skies!

  The monster god that stood in front of everyone was the materialization of Li Xiuniang’s psyche!

  The girl was only about the same age as Zhong Yue but she really was amazing as she had achieved a level that high!

  Whereas for Zhong Yue, following after a dragon roar, a fierce looking Jiao Dragon slowly slithered out from his brows and wound around his body and limbs. The dragon’s head then slowly raised up from his back and stared at the monster god behind Li Xiuniang with a palpable killing intent.

  At that moment, Zhong Yue’s aura changed drastically. Previously when he was with the girls, he appeared to be very gentle and showed little difference with the other normal young man, but now, the girls could feel a wild and ferocious aura emitting from this young man!

  The aura was exactly like an ancient beast being awoken from its slumber by hunger, emitting a feeling of danger!

  Roaaaarrr——

  Behind Zhong Yue’s head, the dragon formed with Zhong Yue’s psyche roared. Its roar rocked the mountains and the discordant roars of the monsters deep in the mountains could be heard following after the dragon’s roar.

  “Not bad.”

  Li Xiuniang praised as she walked on light and tiny steps but with incredible speed towards Zhong Yue. As she walked, the huge monster god followed behind her tightly and raised its four arms before creating strange totem carvings and smashing towards Zhong Yue!

  “Junior Martial Brother Zhong had only entered the upper house for a short time after all. If you want to use your soul weapon, I wouldn’t be surprised!”

  Li Xiuniang taunted and visualized at the same time. As she visualized, lotuses started appearing in thin air and fell from the skies like snow.

  “Falling Flower Sword Array!” shouted Li Xiuniang.

  Zheng zheng zheng——

  The falling petals suddenly transformed into a myriad of crimson red Sword Qi that deluged the entire area before surrounding Zhong Yue!

  She immediately used her strongest attack as soon as they started their duels. She only summoned her monster lotus god and cast the Falling Flower Sword Array so she could destroy, crush and mow down Zhong Yue immediately!

  “Not bad.”

  Zhong Yue said the same thing and he stood firmly in the same spot with a smile. Thunder started erupting around him and thunderous totem carvings started filling up the area around him with extreme speed.

  “【Spring Thunder Swords Skill】!”

  Zheng——

  The sound of the sword unsheathing could be heard along with the thunderous noise and his lightning Sword Qi clashed with the Falling Flower Sword Array. At that moment, the place was illuminated by a kaleidoscope of bright lights that beamed all over the place like fireworks!

  The monster god behind Li XIuniang slammed down with its palms filled with different kinds of totem carvings that contained incredible power.

  The Falling Flower Sword Array was there just to immobilize Zhong Yue so that she could land her strongest attack, which was the monster god, on him accurately!

  Zhong Yue raised his hand with a Jiao Dragon winding around it and clashed with the hand of the monster god, causing a shock wave to be emitted to the surroundings.

  At the outer area from where the duel took place, a few girls suddenly puked as the shock waves rushed through their bodies like a punch that landed on their stomach. They were not those who practiced body refining arts and as such didn’t have the strength possessed by the likes Li Xiuniang and the others, which was why they could not resist the force that was transmitted through those shock waves.

  Zhong Yue’s body shook and the monster god behind Li Xiuniang also shook as they clashed together. At that moment, Zhong Yue unleashed his thunderous lightning and he dashed around Li Xiuniang with incredible speed.

  Li Xiuniang received a shock as she did not think that Zhong Yue would be able to stand back up so soon. Before she could recover from the clash just now, Zhong Yue was already circumnavigating around her and all she could see were just the afterimages of Zhong Yue!

  Among those after images, one after another, the thunderous Sword Qi stabbed towards her along with an overwhelming number of dragon claws lash at her.

  This guy, he is much stronger than the time he fought with Shui Qinghe!

  Sweat started dripping from Li Xiuniang’s forehead and her face turned very serious. She then started moving her hands which was mirrored by the four armed monster god as it tried to fend off Zhong Yue’s Sword Qi and dragon claws!

  His technique is not that strong and his Jiao Dragon is still incomplete, but his explosive strength is just too overwhelming!

  As she continued to fend off Zhong Yue’s relentless attacks, she kept on shaking vigorously by the force exerted on her by Zhong Yue. Although Zh
ong Yue’s attacks were not particularly exquisite and lacked a variety of forms, his strength and speed managed to offset the disadvantages that all his flaws would otherwise bring. As his strength and speed bested Li Xiuniang, he continued to suppress her with immense strength and unstoppable speed, rendering her helpless to launch her skills at all!

  I must do something. At this rate, if I keep on defending, he will eventually breach through my defense!

  Li Xiuniang summoned lots of lotuses and she quickly ascended into the air, trying to maintain a distance away from Zhong Yue.

  Her speed was very fast as with only a few steps, she managed to ascend up a few hundred feet up into the air.

  “Please come down, my dear senior martial sister!”

  Suddenly, a hand with a dragon claw that snaked around it grabbed onto her ankle and hurled her straight down to the unforgiving earth. It was Zhong Yue! He jumped high up into the air like a Jiao Dragon flying upwards with incredible speed!

  Boom!

  Li Xiuniang crashed extremely hard into the ground after being hurled by Zhong Yue. As mud and shattered rocks flew everywhere, she felt livid and shocked. She then tried to get up as soon as possible but a figure appeared in front of her as if it suddenly apparated in front of her as an unstoppable barrage of fists and kicks landed onto her monster god. God only knew how many attacks were landed on the monster god in that instantaneous passage of time!

  Beng——

  The monster god did not hold long and it shattered into pieces. Li Xiuniang immediately dashed back to keep a distance from Zhong Yue as the monster god shattered, but Zhong Yue’s hand grabbed onto her neck with lightning speed before she was able to successfully retreat.

  As her neck was clamped on by Zhong Yue like a draconic vice, she was lifted up and then put back down by him. Zhong Yue then stepped back and casually apologized, “Forgive me, senior martial sister.”

  Chapter 35: Pitfall |

  Li Xiuniang touched her neck while her heart pounded in fright, the Li Shan Clan disciples quickly surrounded her in the middle guarding her safety, they gazed at Zhong Yue with their eyes brimming with killing intent, waiting for the command to slaughter him!

  Yu Feiyan, Ting Lanyue and the others were all dumbfounded by the battle results, they quickly protected Zhong Yue behind them when they saw the Li Shan Clan disciples move.

  Both parties were standing on guard, a war was seemingly about to break out.

  Suddenly, Zhong Yue gently whispered, “Senior Martial Sister Li?”

  Li Xiuniang then recollected back her thoughts, she looked around and then gazed at Zhong Yue, she sneered coldly and asked, “What are you all doing? Is this a riot? All of you, stand down! If we can’t even accept a single failure then how are we considered as one of the Li Shan Clan disciples?”

  Li Shan Clan disciples were all ashamed and they stood behind her, the monster god behind her slowly reformed back, the young maiden once again regained her composure, she stepped forward and returned the formality, “I am thankful that junior martial brother had mercy on me, I will always remember this duel. But today we didn’t use any soul weapons and I’m unclear of your strength, you caught me by surprise, the next time when we meet in the Lawless Battle, we will fight again and decide the true winner!”

  Zhong Yue smiled and acceded, “Alright, it is true that senior martial sister didn’t have the time to unleash your full power. Furthermore, I still have a lot to learn in the ways of cultivation, I wish to learn a thing or two from senior martial sister.”

  He was not being humble, rather, he was just speaking the truth. From the day he started cultivating, he had only acquired one combat skill, which was the【Spring Thunder Swords Skill】. The【Jiao Dragon Winding Body Totem Art】was only a physique-refining art, although it was fused with the【Spring Thunder Swords Skill】into a new combat skill, he was not imparted with the true quintessence of the Jiao Dragon.

  Without the true quintessence, one could not unleash the true power of the technique.

  For example, if two cultivators of the same level visualized the same Jiao Dragons, one could only visualize the skin of the Jiao Dragon, while the other was able to visualize the blood, fleshes and bones of the Jiao Dragon – the power they could both unleash would naturally be vastly disparate.

  While Xin Huo only passed onto him a cultivation art, the【Sui Sovereign Flame Order Palace Visualization Art】, other than that, he had nothing else.

  He did not have any useful arts that could visualize the water, fire, wind or clouds, no flying skills nor any supportive skills at all. In comparison to the other disciples that had various kinds of arts and skills, his cultivation techniques were not systematic, it was haphazard and a would pose a big flaw moving forward.

  Li Xiuniang gazed deeply at him, she found out that the boy was kind-hearted and cheerful, he had his own pride but was not arrogant, she couldn’t help but have a favorable impression on him, she smiled, “Junior Martial Brother Zhong, have you acquired the secret technique of lightning soul-refinement of the Lei Hu Clan? I can see that there is lightning lurking in your psyche, this is quite similar to the lightning soul-refining art of the Lei Hu Clan.”

  “Lei Hu Clan?”

  Zhong Yue shook his head and said, “I have my own ways, but not of Lei Hu Clan’s”

  Li Xiuniang nodded in understanding, she said, “The lightning refining soul technique of the Lei Hu Clan can be said as one of the premier secret techniques in the Swords Gate. It is not a surprise that your speed and explosive strength are so incredible if you are also refining your soul with lightning, catching me by surprise. Junior Martial Brother Zhong, Lei Gun of Lei Hu Clan is also here, his techniques are quite similar to yours, if I knew that you are this strong, I would have taken him as a practice whetstone first.”

  She sighed and expressed her regrets for failing to build up the invincible aura she needed for the Lawless Battle, she proposed, “If Junior Martial Bother Zhong doesn’t mind, why don’t you and I join forces together and explore the Beast God Ridge together, let us find out what is going on here.”

  Zhong Yue smiled, “The more people, the more power, with senior martial sister and the others, the pressure on our shoulders would undoubtedly be alleviated.”

  The duo walked side by side, every step she took would be accompanied by the bloom of a lotus flower beneath her feet while Zhong Yue strode forward like a tiger and a dragon. Li Xiuniang turned her head and looked at the young ladies behind them, she smiled, “Although Junior Martial Brother Zhong is still young, you have a lot of little lovers. Well, it’s not a surprise, you are the strongest of the male house, even I was defeated in your hands, how could you have no followers? Only that all your followers are girls, one can tell what a womanizer you are.”

  Zhong Yue’s face blushed, just when he was about to explain, the young ladies shouted out, “Who is attracted to him?”

  “How is the evil demon of the Zhong Shan Clan comparable to the handsome and brilliant Senior Martial Brother Han Qingmo?”

  “Senior Martial Brother Han will always be the strongest male disciple in the upper house as long as this little evil demon doesn’t defeat him!”

  Li Xiuniang turned back, she sneered at them and said, “A bunch of little girls that knows nothing, I’ve seen Han Qingmo before, he is merely mediocre, only as strong as Junior Martial Sister Yu, how could he be of Junior Martial Brother Zhong’s match?”

  Yu Feiyan was enraged, her soul weapon jolted behind her, she challenged coldly, “Junior Martial Sister Li, are you saying that I am only mediocre?”

  Li Xiuniang looked at her with a bright smile, “Your senior martial sister didn’t mean it like that, but if you want to put it that way, that’s fine with me. Junior Martial Sister Yu, you are still not strong enough, challenge me? Maybe your clan’s Yu Zhenglong can but not you.”

  “I would very much like to try!”

  The two young lady glared at each other as if they were enemie
s, the static friction between the two was almost palpable. Zhong Yue’s heart pounded in fear and consternation and he quickly ask Xin Huo in his psyche ocean on solutions to resolve the tense atmosphere.

  Xin Huo was excited, he said, “It’d be a weird thing if a woman can stay quiet for long, it’s only strange if they don’t fight each other. All the Xin Huo inheritors I’ve taught in the past always had their girls fighting over each other….”

  Xin Huo this little flame is a brat that craves nothing but to see the world plunged into chaos, it’d be a waste of time to ask for his help. En, the smell of blood in the air….

  All of a sudden, Zhong Shuo smelt blood in the air, he focused his senses and could then hear shouting and fighting sounds coming from afar, but the two ladies were still squabbling over each other, he quickly shouted, “The two of you, Shut Up!”

  Li Xiuniang and Yu Feiyan were shocked, they immediately stopped their squabbling, Li Xiuniang stood aside and whimpered, “Why are you shouting at me, you shocked me….”

  “Keep quiet, there are sounds of combat.”

  Zhong Yue listened carefully, while the young ladies followed him in focusing their senses, Ting Lanyue closed her eyes and visualized, there was psyche flowing out and that coalesced into four to five feet large beast ears around her ears.

  Through the big beast ears she conscientiously listened to the surroundings, moments later she said, “The fighting sounds come from there, there is someone fighting and running at the same time!”

  “Senior Martial Sister Ting really knows a lot of stuff.” Zhong Yue praised her.

  The disciples rushed out a few miles towards the source of the fighting sounds, the blood smell was getting heavier and the fighting sounds increased in volume as they came closer.

  “Someone is fighting right over there, he is strong!”

  Li Xiuniang focused her senses, her face shifted and said, “Could it be Lei Gun that brat? No, not right, Lei Hu Clan’s techniques rumble like thunder and strikes like lightning, it would not sound like this. This is combat sound is more vague and faint … En, his opponents are two gigantic beasts and the beasts are strong, no weaker than you and I!”