Chapter 940: The Invincible Zheng Yang (3)
Chapter 940: The Invincible Zheng Yang (3)
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
"What did you say?" Hearing those words, the combat masters behind Zhuo Qingfeng flew into a rage.
Even Wo Tianqiong, Shen Pingchao, and Wu Ran were stunned by the sight before them.
For the powerful combat masters to be easily defeated by an individual and even mocked that their reputation preceded them. Everything was happening right before their eyes; however, they couldn't help but wonder if they were in a dream.
With a hand on his spear and the other behind his back, Zheng Yang remarked impassively, "I've always wanted to know how powerful combat masters are. It seems like this is all there is after all!"
Honestly speaking, after all he had heard about the combat masters, he was indeed a little disappointed with what he was seeing.
"What arrogant words!"
Seeing a fellow who had come out of nowhere criticizing them arrogantly, Wu Xu bellowed furiously and stepped forward. "Do you dare fight me in a battle?"
Wu Xu had already reached Half-Saint. Even though he was only at primary stage, his cultivation felt irrepressible like a relentless river. An ordinary Half-Saint pinnacle would be no match for him at all.
"Is there any reason I wouldn't fight you in a battle?" Gazing at the other party provocatively, Zheng Yang raised his spear skillfully.
"Good. I will suppress my cultivation and fight you then!" Wu Xu said as he flicked his wrist and took out a sword.
Over the past three months, not only had he achieved a breakthrough in his cultivation, his comprehension of swordsmanship had also deepened significantly. The current him was significantly stronger than back when he met Zhang Xuan at the valley.
"There's no need for that. A Half-Saint primary stage cultivator, it will just take me a single spear!" Chuckling softly, Zheng Yang leaped forward powerfully, bringing him before Wu XU in a single step. The spear in his hands burst forth with might reminiscent of a powerful dragon.
"You are courting death!" Seeing that the other party actually dared launch such a simple attack that was devoid of complexity and technique against him and intended to go head-to-head against him, Wu Xu's face turned livid.
No matter what, he was a Half-Saint combat master, an invincible existence among his peers. It would be difficult for a cultivator whose cultivation was lower than him to defeat him even when exploiting despicable tricks, and yet, the other party actually intended to face him head-on? That was no different from courting death!
Harrumphing coldly, Wu Xu's sword flew forth to strike the other party's spear, his movements also devoid of complexity and technique.
At the same time, he also pumped his zhenqi through his body at an incredible speed reminiscent of river water gushing out of a hole in a dam, augmenting the strength of his stab.
Since the other party intended to face him head on, he would use his superior strength as a combat master to make the other party understand how laughable his action was.
Peng!
The sword came into contact with the spear.
Wu Xu was thinking that the other party would surely be unable to withstand his overwhelming zhenqi and fall in defeat instantaneously, but in the moment that both weapons collided, he felt a might superior to even his own rushing at him like an overwhelming torrent.
It was as if the other party's offense was a tsunami, devouring the river of zhenqi in his body in an instant.
Deng deng deng deng!
Overpowered, Wu Xu was forced to retreat eight steps consecutively. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead, and his eyes revealed his disbelief toward the situation he was facing.
That fellow's strength is actually stronger than that of Wu Xu, who is a cultivation realm higher than him? How in the world did that fellow cultivate?
Seeing such a sight, Zhuo Qingfeng and the others who were spectating the duel by the side were shocked.
Combat masters were representative of the strongest fighting force in terms of physical strength and zhenqi in their respective cultivation realm… Yet, a sixteen or seventeen-year-old young man had actually managed to knock back Wu Xu when his cultivation was beneath the latter; this was too frightening!
"Continue!" After knocking Wu Xu back, Zheng Yang roared grandly as he charged forward once more.
At the same time, his spear shot forth and sealed everywhere Wu Xu could possibly evade to precisely.
What swift and profound spearmanship that is… Zhuo Qingfeng narrowed his eyes in astonishment.
Possessing great strength granted one an advantage, but if one was unable to utilize it skillfully, one would still be unable to pose a threat to one's enemy. This was similar to the duels between the candidates from Hongyuan and the combat masters earlier in the day; none of the candidates from Hongyuan possessed strength greater than their opponent, but they had still been able to subdue the combat masters they were facing with ease.
Even if one's strength was inferior to one's opponent, one could still make up for it with skill, searching for the opponent's weaknesses and exploiting them to achieve victory.
As such, while Zhuo Qingfeng was astounded by the brute strength displayed by the young man before him, he had still thought that Wu Xu would still stand a good chance. However, he had never expected for the young man to possess exceptional combat sense and precise control over his movements as well.
That spear that burst forth was clearly a maneuver exploiting the flaws in Wu Xu's moves. It was aiming to seal the space around Wu Xu completely so that the latter would be swept into a momentum that would prevent him from executing any powerful battle techniques.
Incredible strength and a profound comprehension of combat… Just where did this fellow come from?
Wasn't he way too terrifying?
Peng peng peng peng!
While Zhuo Qingfeng was still deep in thought, Wu Xu was already pushed into a corner. After retreating several steps, he finally reached his limits. His sword flew from his hand, flying several rounds in the air before stabbing into the ground a dozen meter away.
On the other hand, he faltered to the ground with the opponent's spear pressed against his neck. It was a chilling sensation, which penetrated down to his bone, and he felt as if a hole would be made through his neck at any moment.
"I have lost…" Wu Xu's body stiffened.
He had never thought that after achieving a breakthrough to Half-Saint, he would still be defeated by a Chrysalis realm primary stage young man so easily.
"You are formidable. Why don't I become your next opponent?" Seeing that his friend had been defeated so utterly, Lu Cheng couldn't help but step forward and challenge the young man.
"Lu Cheng, you aren't a match for him." Zhuo Qingfeng placed a hand before Lu Cheng and shook his head
With his eye of discernment, he was able to sense vividly how fearsome the young man before him was.
Zhenqi, strength, speed, battle technique, combat sense… It was as if the young man before him was infallible; there was no apparent flaw that one could exploit against him!
Lu Cheng had achieved a breakthrough to Half-Saint rather early on, and he was also the strongest combat master in the group he led. However, it was still clear as the day to him that Lu Cheng was no match for the other party.
"Leader…" Lu Cheng turned to look at Zhuo Qingfeng anxiously.
The other party had infringed on the dignity of the combat masters right to their face. If they didn't teach him a lesson, how could they possibly walk outside with their heads held high in the future?
"I will fight him."
Shaking his head, Zhuo Qingfeng stepped forward and looked at Zheng Yang.
"I won't take advantage of you. I will suppress my cultivation down to your level."
Hu la!
Right after saying those words, Zhuo Qingfeng's aura weakened from the initial Saint 2-dan to Chrysalis realm primary stage.
Even though he had suppressed his cultivation, his battle techniques, combat sense, and reflexes still remained the same. Even with a cultivation of Chrysalis realm primary stage, his fighting prowess was still more fearsome than the Half-Saint Lu Cheng.
"Let's begin." Zheng Yang nodded as he raised his spear. In an instant, his presence suddenly felt like a towering spear, as if he was a spear himself.
The highest realm of Spear-Man Union—Spear-Man Convergence!
On the other hand, with a grim expression on his face, Zhuo Qingfeng whipped out a sword and pointed it over as well.
Hu!
Knowing the fearsome strength that the young man before him wielded, Zhuo Qingfeng didn't hesitate to make the first move and dashed forward.
His footsteps were incredible profound, and they carried a peculiar rhythm to them. Even when it seemed like he was right before Zheng Yang, if Zheng Yang were to attempt to attack him, he would realize that Zhuo Qingfeng was beyond his reach.
"It is a formation… Combat Master Zhuo has fused his movement technique with a formation! The movements he is making are aligned with the steps required to form a certain formation!" Wo Tianqiong's eyes narrowed in alarm.
Even though it was not necessary for combat masters to study supporting occupations, some would still choose to learn a handful of combat-oriented ones so as to augment their fighting prowess.
This was exactly what Zhuo Qingfeng was doing.
Through harmonizing his footsteps with a formation, he was able to confuse his opponent with his movements, rendering them unable to determine the perfect time and position to strike.
"This is indeed a fearsome move; even I wouldn't be able to come up with a countermeasure for it. Let's see how that young man deals with this," Shen Pingchao remarked.
The movements that Combat Master Zhuo utilized was extremely unorthodox. It was difficult for him to see through it even with his current cultivation, so it seemed even less likely that the young man would be able to do so. If that young man failed to deal with this maneuver well, it wouldn't be long before he fell in defeat.
"Humph!" Noticing the peculiarity of Zhuo Qingfeng's move as well, Zheng Yang harrumphed coldly. Instead of dodging, he abruptly pushed his spear toward the ground.
Huala!
With the sharp glint of a spear charging forth, a huge crack of around ten meters in length emerged on the ground.
Following which, the spear was levered up, and countless fragmented rocks and a cloud of dust rose into the sky.
Upon seeing this sight, Wo Tianqiong's eyes lit up in awe. "He is… making use of the fragmented rocks to determine the other party's position? Smart move!"
He had been wondering how the young man would attempt to cope with such a profound movement technique, and he was honestly impressed by the young man's wits for having come up with such a simple solution to the matter.
Zhuo Qingfeng had set up a formation with his leg movements so as to make his current location indeterminable to his opponent, and in a sense, it was even more fearsome than having to deal with afterimages. Yet, the young man had wisely chosen to strike the ground instead of attacking Zhuo Qingfeng directly, creating a cloud of dust in the surroundings.
Regardless of how complicated Zhuo Qingfeng's movement art was or which formation he had set up, one thing was for sure—the dust would only fall on tangible objects. In other words, whatever the dust didn't cloak was all fake!
With this simple maneuver, he had successfully managed to overcome Zhuo Qingfeng's movement art.
Huala!
It took a brief instant for the young man to find Combat Master Zhuo's position amid the cloud of dust, and his spear pierced through the air to strike the other party.
"Humph!" Seeing that the young man had managed to overcome his movement art so quickly, Zhuo Qingfeng's complexion darkened. He swiftly raised his sword to counterattack.
Ding ding ding!
The sword came into contact with the tip of the spear.
In that instant, Zhuo Qingfeng felt a dull pain in his chest, and he was forced several steps back. Astonishment couldn't help but fill his mind.
To his horror, his zhenqi strength was far beneath that of the other party when they were both at the same cultivation realm.
On top of that, he also realized that their zhenqi purities were at completely different levels as well.
For a sixteen or seventeen-year-old young man to be so powerful… just who was his teacher?
Hua hua hua!
Zhuo Qingfeng had to swing his sword several times consecutively before he was able to neutralize the force from the other party's attack. Following which, he swiftly dashed forward to counterattack. However, to his shock, the other party's spear charged forth at a speed even faster than his sword, callously directed at his weakness.
Left with no choice, he could only swiftly pull back his attack to fend off the other party's spear before attempting another one from another angle. However, the same thing only happened again and again.
After trading eight blows in such a manner, Zhuo Qingfeng's face paled, and his breathing became irregular.
The other party's might was simply too great, and with each attack directed precisely at his weakness, he found himself gradually being overwhelmed.
If not for his superior reflexes and nimble movements enabled by his Saint 2-dan cultivation, he had no doubt that he would have already been severely injured by now.
"Stop! There is no need to continue the fight any longer. I am not a match for you." Leaping backward, Zhuo Qingfeng stepped out of the battle and sighed deeply.
He hated to admit it, but the truth was the truth. Under the condition of equal cultivation realms, he was no match for the young man before him.
The other party's comprehension of battle techniques, combat sense, and even sheer strength were far beyond his.
If an expert of the other party's caliber were to enter the Combat Master Hall, he had no doubt that that they would be able to obtain the seat of a Thousand Men Commander, or perhaps even a Vice Captain!
Who would have thought that Hongyuan were concealing such an incredible genius among themselves?
Unable to hold himself back any longer, Zhuo Qingfeng asked, "Are you student of Hongyuan as well? May I know who your teacher is, and whether you have any interest in joining our Combat Master Hall?"
"I am not a student of Hongyuan…"
Keeping his spear, Zheng Yang placed his hands behind his back and said nonchalantly, "… but my teacher is Zhang Xuan!"