by Translator: Pokka; Author: 我本纯洁 (I Am Pure); Licensed From: Migu
Cling! Clank!
Instantly, sparks filled the arena as an intense exchange unfolded. After a while, Xiang Shaoyun's hand started to grow numb. But he could still hang on. Li Tianba was not enough to defeat him. As for Li Tianba, the more they fought, the worse he felt. In a head-on collision, Xiang Shaoyun had actually suffered no disadvantage. In fact, Xiang Shaoyun countered all his attacks perfectly, and Li Tianbe couldn’t accept this result.
Right this moment, electrical currents started crackling around Xiang Shaoyun's spear as the spear shot forth from a tricky angle and went right through Li Tianba’s defense before striking him. Li Tianba’s heavy armor, however, was no ordinary item. It stopped the spear's advance, and he was only forced to take a step backward.
Xiang Shaoyun continued his attack, this time aiming for Li Tianba's limbs, which weren't protected by the heavy armor.
Kill!
An intense killing intent surged out of Xiang Shaoyun as his spear stabbed forward and unleashed 80 percent of the Lightning Spear Technique's power. His astral energy turned into a bright purple radiance that flooded the arena as he launched attack after attack. This was not something a fourth-stage Astral Realm cultivator was supposed to be capable of. His combat prowess had already reached the sixth stage, or perhaps even higher.
"Ahhhh!"
Li Tianba's defense finally faltered and several bloody holes appeared in his arm. The pain caused him to wail. Xiang Shaoyun took this opportunity to push on. He dashed forward and flung his spear at Li Tianba's axe, sending the axe flying. He then jumped and sent a kick at Li Tianba's face.
Bang!
The attack landed, causing blood to spray from Li Tianba's nose as he was sent flying toward the edge of the arena. The crowd, witnessing this scene, sank into absolute silence. Li Tianba, one of the top 10 disciples and the number one overlord of the Martial Hall Palace, was defeated just like that?
They felt like they were dreaming. This was too unbelievable.
"Get up. Is that all you got? If you don't get up, I will kill you right now." Xiang Shaoyun's blood was still boiling from his raging battle intent.
Li Tianba was indeed still able to stand. As he held his injured arm with his other hand, a look bordering insanity surfaced on his face. He yelled, "You asked for this! You asked for this!"
As he yelled, his entire person suddenly turned blood red, and a bloody aura flooded his surroundings. The bloody aura emanated an intense murderous intent, one that caused everyone's hair to stand on end.
"Tianba, stop!" an anxious voice suddenly rang out. The voice belonged to Li Xuemeng, who had been observing the entire battle. He did not wish to see his son using that technique. It was a forbidden technique. But Li Tianba acted as if he did not hear anything. At this moment, Li Tianba’s vitality suddenly erupted.
Blood Eruption Technique!
This was a technique that gathered a person's vitality into the person’s stars to forcefully increase the person’s cultivation level for a limited time. It would only last an hour, and the user would suffer a terrible backlash after the hour was up.
Thus, from the seventh stage, Li Tianba's strength grew to mid seventh stage, late seventh stage, all the way to primary eighth stage. A certain presence seemed to be appearing in the air as well. This was different from the power of presence one would unlock during the Transformation Realm. Instead, it was a presence reeking of blood.
"He actually reached the eighth stage?" Ever since Xiang Shaoyun unlocked his presence of a king, he gained an ability to judge a person's cultivation level from their aura. That was how he could see Li Tianba's new strength with a single look.
"Xiang Shaoyun, die!" Li Tianba roared and charged Xiang Shaoyun like an insane beast.
He charged at a breakneck speed and reached Xiang Shaoyun in the blink of an eye. A fist enveloped with a bloody aura shot out towards Xiang Shaoyun.
Chapter 80: Useless
When one reached the eighth stage of the Astral Realm, each punch would carry with it a might beyond 1,000 catties of weight. Such a punch could turn even stone into powder. Facing such a terrifying punch, Xiang Shaoyun did not dodge. Instead, his battle intent surged as he yelled, "Excellent!"
The stars within him started shining brightly as astral energy rippled out of him. His body dashed forward, and he met Li Tianba's punch with his own punch.
Rushing Qi Fist, full power!
Bang!
The fists collided, sending astral energy rippling everywhere. The clash forced Xiang Shaoyun to take several steps backward. He was slightly disadvantaged in the collision.
"Die!" Li Tianba's murderous intent was still growing, and each step he took caused the ground to shake. Once again, he punched out with his crimson fist. The terrifying fist carried with it a murderous and bloody aura.
"Bring it on!" Xiang Shaoyun did not cower as he sent his own punch out again.
Bang! Bang!
Punch met with punch again and again. Even the air itself seemed to be vibrating from all the clashes. The intense battle raged on, and the viewers' blood boiled with excitement.
"Strong. Both of them are so strong. I won't be able to take even one punch from them."
"Yeah. Xiang Shaoyun has actually pushed Li Tianba so hard he resorted to a forbidden technique. Xiang Shaoyun is too strong, but unfortunately, I don't think he will win."
"We don't know that yet. If Xiang Shaoyun can last an hour, Li Tianba will be the loser."
"No matter the result, Xiang Shaoyun will qualify to be one of the top 10 disciples from now on. His might is unquestionable."
"A day will come when I'm also as strong as them!"
...
Among the spectators, Lu Xiaoqing was incredibly nervous. She kept thinking inwardly, Shaoyun will win! Shaoyun will win!
"Victory to my boss! Victory to my boss!" Xia Liuhui howled as he waved the white flag repeatedly. He was completely engrossed in his role as a little underling.
On the arena, Xiang Shaoyun was still resisting Li Tianba's domineering attack. Several fists had already struck him, and a trail of blood could be seen dripping from the corner of his lips. Although Xiang Shaoyun was very powerful for someone at the fourth stage, Li Tianba was still four stages above him. Such a gap was not something that could be easily overcome. If he did not try his best, he could very well lose.
"Come on, Xiang Shaoyun! Let me show you who's the actual overlord! I, Li Tianba, am the true overlord!" Li Tianba howled madly as his attack grew even more intense. One could say that Xiang Shaoyun was already doing very well for a fourth-stage Astral Realm cultivator. But this much was not enough for him.
Xiang Shaoyun yelled, "What kind of overlord are you? Let me crush your pathetic confidence!"
Abruptly, purple qi appeared around Xiang Shaoyun's body. The purple qi seemed to have transformed into actual electrical currents carrying an extremely destructive force.
Lightning Bolt Fist!
Xiang Shaoyun moved like a rumbling thunder while his fist punched out like a lightning bolt. When the ferocity of his fist reached a certain level, a terrifying lighting bolt suddenly shot out of his fist, one that was no weaker than a lightning bolt from the heavens. At the same moment, Li Tianba unleashed all his vitality power and sent a crimson fist straight at Xiang Shaoyun.
Bang! Bang!
Continuous sounds of explosions rang out in the arena. Purple and crimson radiances seemed to have turned solid as they splashed everywhere. Even the disciples near the arena were scattering for fear of being hit by the aftermath.
Finally, a fountain of blood sprayed high into the air, and a figure was sent flying far away. When that figure crashed to the ground, everyone was stunned. The person sent flying was Li Tianba, the one who had used a forbidden technique. As for Xiang Shaoyun, he stood there motionless, still assuming a punching posture. Electrical currents swirled around his body, making him look mighty impressive.
"Truly...useless," Xiang Shaoyun said with dis
dain as he withdrew his fist.
Li Tianba tightly held his now badly mangled arm, and his aura started dropping rapidly. He yelled like a madman. The hour was up, and he was now suffering the repercussions of using a forbidden technique.
"Tianba!" Li Xuemeng cried out in alarm. He jumped onto the arena and stuffed a healing pill into Li Tianba's mouth.
Even the martial officer did not dare to say anything. Xiang Shaoyun did not bother stopping Li Xuemeng. He merely spoke indifferently, "You are the reason this is happening. Before long, I will extend a challenge to you as well, thirteenth elder."
Then, Xiang Shaoyun got off the arena and swaggered off under everyone's gazes. Countless young ladies gazed at his back with a smitten expression.
"Xiang Shaoyun is so strong! Is he declaring a war against the thirteenth elder? This is how an overlord should be!"
"Shit! I think I have fallen in love with him! What should I do? Am I even worthy of him?"
"I've come to a decision. From now on, I will stay by his side at all times. With my looks, he will definitely fall beneath my skirt!"
"Why don't you look at yourself in the mirror? You need to be as beautiful as me if you want to do something like that."
...
One battle shocked the entire Martial Hall Palace. The elders could see clearly that Xiang Shaoyun was still a fourth-stage Astral Realm cultivator, but he was already capable of defeating Li Tianba whose combat power had reached the eighth stage during the match. He was a freak through and through. And he was indeed worthy of the title overlord.
This match also caused Yang Gaochuan to once again call for an emergency meeting between the elders. There, he announced that they must do their best to protect Xiang Shaoyun—and to provide Xiang Shaoyun with all the resources the Martial Hall Palace had. They would give their all in nurturing Xiang Shaoyun.
Nobody objected.
Xiang Shaoyun's potential was clear for all to see. And with Elder Zhen Peng backing him up, nobody could object.
...
Since the match, Xiang Shaoyun's residence had become an extremely popular place. Numerous smitten female disciples gathered there in hope of getting to know Xiang Shaoyun.
"Sister-in-law, things are not looking very good for you! A lot of them are even inner court disciples!" Xia Liuhui said to Lu Xiaoqing at a certain corner. In Xia Liuhui's eyes, Lu Xiaoqing was already his sister-in-law, the romantic partner of his big brother, his boss.
"This only proves that I have good taste. They can freely fight over Shaoyun with me. He will only be mine," Lu Xiaoqing declared confidently. Then, instead of continuing to Xiang Shaoyun's residence, she returned to her own place. She vowed that she had to catch up with Xiang Shaoyun as soon as possible. Otherwise, he would only be further and further away from her.
As for Xia Liuhui, he stood there blanking out, not knowing if he should leave or not. Ultimately, he decided to squeeze into the crowd. "Stop pushing! Stop pushing! Oh shit, even my balls are hurting from this!"
Right after he said those words, punches rained down on him.
"Damn! Xiang Shaoyun is my boss! Who punched me? Do you want to be blacklisted?" Xia Liuhui shouted. His words worked. The girls quickly made way and gave him passage. Many of them were even smiling at him, hoping that he could bring them along as he entered.
Chapter 81: Results of the Seclusion
Xia Liuhui strutted into Xiang Shaoyun's residence, and borrowing Xiang Shaoyun's glory, he basked in all the attention he was getting from the crowd.
This is such an amazing feeling, Xia Liuhui thought to himself, not wanting to ever part from this feeling. When he saw Little White, who was on guard duty in the courtyard, he said, "I know I'm handsome, kitty. Stop staring at me like that."
Little White immediately dashed over and bit his foot.
"AHHH! Stop! Let go! It hurts like hell! Let go, or I won't forget this!" Xia Liuhui yelled miserably as he shook his leg repeatedly, trying to fling Little White away. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake Little White off. He was almost tearing up from the pain.
"Little White, let go," Xiang Shaoyun's voice rang out. At that command, Little White released Xia Liuhui. He meowed once at Xia Liuhui before strutting away proudly to lie down at the corner of the courtyard.
Xia Liuhui had a miserable expression on his face as he complained, "Boss, what was that? It hurts so much!"
"It's your fault for calling him kitty," Xiang Shaoyun said. He then continued, "Tell the people outside to leave. I need some time to stabilize my cultivation."
"Yes boss! On it!" Xia Liuhui answered before running outside.
In the courtyard, Xiang Shaoyun sighed as he muttered, "Looks like fame is not necessarily a good thing. Guess I’ll need to disappear from the public eye for a bit."
Thus, in the coming days, Xiang Shaoyun started cultivating in seclusion. He did not join the Martial Hall Palace so he could fight for power and wealth, nor did he care much for fame. He only wanted a place where he could silently cultivate and quickly grow.
After plundering Wu Fuxiang, Xiang Shaoyun had gained a considerable amount of resources. On top of that, he could also take what he needed from the Martial Hall Palace. Because of that, he no longer needed to worry over resources. With no hesitation whatsoever, he gathered the resources he required to increase his cultivation and expand his astral cosmos sea.
The speed of Xiang Shaoyun's growth had been fast enough. What he needed on top of the speed was a stable growth. The first thing he did during his seclusion was strengthen his battle techniques. He learned a tier-3 primary-grade saber technique called the Berserk Lightning Blade, and he also got the final mantra of the Star Destroying Finger from the Battle Techniques Hall to further improve his Star Destroying Finger.
Xiang Shaoyun did not plan to practice too many battle techniques at once. It was not like he would find it hard to remember all those battle techniques, but he wanted a stable growth right now. In any case, he already had a large number of tier-4 battle techniques in his head that he could start practicing the moment he reached the Transformation Realm.
The Berserk Lightning Blade was a lightning elemental battle technique, and it only had three stances. Each stance was incredibly powerful, and this battle technique was enough for him for now.
As for the Star Destroying Finger, Xiang Shaoyun had been strengthening it. His Star Destroying Finger was much stronger now, as the energy he shot out of his finger could already pierce through stones and tier-2 armors.
Apart from that, after putting some work into the Overlord's Nine Nether Steps, his speed had also increased significantly. Even eighth-stage Astral Realm cultivators would be hard pressed to match him in terms of speed now.
However, the Overlord's Nine Nether Steps was not just a movement technique. Xiang Shaoyun knew full well that this was in fact a battle technique that he could actually use to battle.
Upon full mastery of the Overlord's Nine Nether Steps, a single step could destroy mountains and rivers, awing the heavens with its might. But that level was of course still far from his reach.
Additionally, Xiang Shaoyun had also fully mastered the Golden Wolf Sword Technique and Lightning Spear Technique. He could now unleash 100 percent of the two battle techniques’ strength, greatly increasing his flexibility during combat.
One could say that the one month of cultivation had granted Xiang Shaoyun the number of battle techniques a proper Astral Realm cultivator should have. The seclusion had also helped him fully consolidate his cultivation at the fourth stage.
His previous growth had been too fast. Without properly tempering himself, he would be left with a shaky foundation. Thus, he had been absorbing the purple qi of the first ray of sun and the boundless power of the moon and stars without actually increasing his cultivation. Instead, he suppressed the absorbed energy to temper and stabilize his cultivation base.
One night, Xiang Shaoyun was seated in the courtyard. Like a monk in deep me
ditation, he sat completely motionless. Occasionally, rays of starlight would shine upon him as a large amount of energy gathered in his body. In this condition, his entire being emanated an extremely mysterious and majestic feeling, and he looked like the son of heavens that had descended upon the mundane world.
Generally, when a person reached the Astral Realm, that person would be able to start absorbing astral energy from the stars to grow in strength. But most people could only absorb a small amount of astral energy. In fact, the amount of astral energy a regular person could absorb was so miniscule it was hardly noticeable. That was completely unlike Xiang Shaoyun's current condition where a dense amount of astral energy was surrounding him.
Elder Zhen Peng, who was guarding Xiang Shaoyun in the dark, was shocked by this scene.
"Is the young master's physique really only five-star? From his current condition, even if he actually has a six-star physique, it wouldn't be a surprise. Or perhaps, his actual physique is..." Elder Zhen Peng cut this line of thought short as it was simply too terrifying.
Many people would fight over getting a disciple with such freakish talent.
Within Xiang Shaoyun's body, a wave of starlight rippled everywhere before finally combining with the astral cosmos sea, forming a dazzling river of stars. Purple qi could be seen floating and drifting about on this river, creating an incredibly mysterious world in his body.
Presently, the astral cosmos sea was already two square meters in size. This was the result of him spending one whole month nurturing his astral cosmos sea with spirit medicines. A size of two square meters was already a decent storing space. Xiang Shaoyun was very pleased with this result.
The night passed quickly and morning arrived. This morning, Xiang Shaoyun started absorbing the purple qi to once again grow his strength. After spending a month suppressing and stabilizing his cultivation, it was now time for further growth.
A large amount of purple qi was being absorbed, and when the purple qi entered his body, his lightning bone absorbed a large portion. In truth, the lightning bone only constituted a tiny part of his spine, the tiny part that was purple in color. To fully turn his entire spine into the color of purple lightning, he would require a much larger amount of energy.