“You want to defeat me in ten moves! That seems rather unlikely!” Ye Chu said with a beaming smile at Sha Tianyun, a teasing curve at his lips, while quietly regulating his blood and qi. He had the breathing technique from Qingmi Mountain. Though the shocks had left him uncomfortable, it would not be a serious problem.
“If you want to die, I will oblige!” Sha Tianyun refused to believe that he, an innate realm expert, could not deal with a mere intent transformation realm cultivator. His hand formed a claw and struck viciously at Ye Chu, swift and ferocious.
Ye Chu moved with agile speed. He no longer used the rigid fierceness of the Vajra Circle, but switched to the soft, concealed vigour of Snow Hide, meeting the attack directly.
Two completely opposite intents clashed, shocking all the cultivators present. Cultivating intents was not necessarily difficult, but mastering several, especially contradictory ones, was extremely challenging.
It was like a man who liked sleeping on a woman, then suddenly being asked to sleep with several women at once; he might not cope. Or asking him to sleep on a man; that would be even harder.
Yet Ye Chu had cultivated multiple intents, including contradictory ones. This left the onlookers amazed.
Using Snow Hide’s soft vigour against Sha Tianyun, the latter held the upper hand but could not breach Ye Chu’s defences. Defeating him was even harder.
Ye Chu blocked strike after strike. The scenes left the surroundings in collective silence. Their hearts followed Ye Chu’s movements, tightening sharply with each exchange.
Though they believed intent transformation realm could not prevail against innate realm, seeing Ye Chu advance and retreat in perfect order, hope suddenly surged. They hoped this youth could hold off Sha Tianyun and save them from the nightmare of national ruin and family destruction.
The sudden quiet affected the nearby fight between the Weiyuan Marquis and the Sand Country national teacher. They exchanged a palm strike and retreated several steps each. Their gazes involuntarily turned towards Ye Chu and Sha Tianyun.
During his own fight, the Weiyuan Marquis had heard the crowd’s exclamations and knew who had arrived. Yet seeing with his own eyes Ye Chu fighting Sha Tianyun with orderly advance and retreat, his body, which had not trembled even against innate realm, now shook with excitement. Tears welled in his eyes, streaming down his aged face.
“You little rascal, you little rascal…”
Tears fell onto his beard. His whole face flushed red. His breathing grew rapid from agitation.
…
The Sand Country national teacher saw Sha Tianyun held in check by Ye Chu and frowned slightly. More and more soldiers and cultivators were gathering. Once the royal city’s imperial guards arrived, capturing the Yao king would become difficult.
The Weiyuan Marquis was a master of military formations. Though the two were innate realm and feared no ordinary soldiers, facing the marquis’s army arrays, they might not fare well.
They had dared to storm the palace because they knew its defences were limited. Their plan was a swift decisive strike to seize the Yao king and force the entire country to submit. Dragging on like this, the imperial guards would soon arrive, making capture far harder.
“Sha Tianyun, what is wrong with you? You cannot even handle an intent transformation realm?” the Sand Country national teacher roared in dissatisfaction.
The shout nearly made Sha Tianyun curse aloud: Damn it, if you are so capable, you deal with him. This kid is no ordinary intent transformation realm.
He cursed inwardly but grew angry nonetheless. His foot swept out viciously. “Innate-level martial skill, Mountain-Cleaving Kick!”
Sha Tianyun roared. The kick lashed out. It was the same leg technique Sha Shan had used, but far more terrifying. Each strike could truly shatter stone and split metal.
“You think you can really stop me?” Sha Tianyun’s face darkened. Being forced to this point by an intent transformation realm cultivator shamed him.
“Useless! Killing you might be difficult, but blocking you is no problem. The world does not have innate-level martial skills only for you.” Ye Chu laughed. As a disciple of Qingmi Mountain, what were innate-level skills? He had access to higher ones. Only that fat master had said haste makes waste and forbidden him from cultivating superior techniques.
“The Mountain-Cleaving Kick is fierce, yes, but too clumsy!” Ye Chu smiled. “Let me show you what a true innate-level leg technique looks like.”
As he spoke, Ye Chu’s leg struck out repeatedly. Compared to Sha Tianyun’s ferocious clumsiness, Ye Chu’s was more agile and fierce.
Boom…
Their legs clashed with a muffled thud. Though Ye Chu’s explosive power fell short, his agile speed compensated perfectly. He was not inferior at all.
Sha Tianyun’s face remained grim. His feet split out in brutal arcs, each kick ferocious, stirring the surrounding spiritual energy. The crowd watched with pounding hearts, thinking a single hit would pulverise their bones.
Each time Ye Chu blocked, their hearts leapt. Yet he blocked every time.
Seeing soldiers continually arriving, Sha Tianyun finally grew anxious. Unable to overcome Ye Chu, he suddenly pulled a box from his robes and took out a pair of gloves. The gloves carried baleful qi, clearly quenched in poison.
He donned them. As his foot swept out, his hand struck simultaneously.
“Careful!” Many shouted, faces changing dramatically. An innate realm expert using such underhanded means against Ye Chu filled them with indignation and fear. If Ye Chu fell, then…
Amid everyone’s dread, Ye Chu actually met the punch head-on. This left everyone, including the Yao king, pale as death. Baleful qi invading the body was a nightmare for cultivators. Had Ye Chu not recognised it?
“Do you think I fear your petty tricks?” Ye Chu sneered, thinking these people were fools. When he fought Sha Shan and the others, had they not seen he was immune to baleful qi? Yet they dared to try the same again.
Sha Tianyun was not stupid; he simply refused to believe Ye Chu was truly immune. His face grim, he punched. A cruel smile appeared as he awaited Ye Chu’s screams.
Yet the result shocked him. The baleful qi from the gloves invaded Ye Chu’s body along his arm, but Ye Chu did not scream. Instead he looked invigorated. His other arm swung fiercely. As it moved, grey baleful qi actually surged from it.
Sha Tianyun’s face changed drastically. He tried to retreat.
But Ye Chu gave him no chance. He pressed forward aggressively. Another palm struck out. Baleful qi surged, filling the space and inhaled by Sha Tianyun.
“I might not have been able to finish you otherwise, but you brought this on yourself. Using baleful qi against me!”
“Ah…” Baleful qi entered his body. Sha Tianyun screamed. It felt as if his vitality was being destroyed. Agonising pain spread through him.
Seizing the moment, Ye Chu struck another palm directly into his chest, sending Sha Tianyun flying.
All this happened in a flash, too quick for anyone to react. They stared at Sha Tianyun smashed to the ground, throat pinned under Ye Chu’s foot. Pupils dilated. Throats went dry. Everyone swallowed hard, drew deep breaths, and stared blankly ahead.
