If Tang Jie had not comprehended a sliver of the Dao of Insight, if he did not himself cultivate the Parting Classic, if Ji Wujiu had not played out the illusion zone repeatedly, if he hadn’t been so restless at this moment, Tang Jie might not have been able to comprehend the truth behind the punch so quickly.
But at least he now understood.
Moreover, in Tang Jie’s view, this problem of true blood consumption was not totally unsolvable. Otherwise, the Gigantes King would not have made those punches so lightly.
In the end, it was because he had been cultivating for too little time, and his foundations were too shallow to take much messing around. Perhaps after he broke through, he wouldn’t be consuming true blood anymore.
Even if it was really no good, he could try to find a solution on his own. While the spell arts of the world took on many forms, they all shared the same root. So long as he was diligent, the vast majority of problems would have a solution.
Tang Jie said, “Right, I have to give this attack a name. It’s not like I can call it ‘Reverse Parting Classic’, right?”
“It has to be a domineering name!” Yiyi shouted, waving her arms.
“‘Domineering’?” Tang Jie stroked his chin. “Then what about ‘Tyrant Dragon Heavensoar’?”
“So crude!”
“‘Tyrant Ocean Comet’?”
“Crude to the extreme!”
“‘Tyrant Tide Punch’?”
Yiyi glared. “Why do you insist on the ‘tyrant’ word?”
“You said you wanted something domineering…” Tang Jie resentfully said.
After thinking it over, he said, “I comprehended this fist by observing the battle between the Gigantes King and the Nine Disaster Fiend Monk, and the Nine Disaster Fiend Monk is an Archdevil of the Primordial Fog Domain, and I also comprehended it on the Devil Crushing Path, so I’ll call it the Devil Crushing Fist. It will be in remembrance of this path, and also in remembrance of that war 1800 years ago in which the worthies of the cultivation world worked together to fight back against the fiends and devils of Primordial Fog!”
After saying this, he sat back down and quietly waited.
Having comprehended the Devil Crushing Fist, he had calmed down his restless mind, and he calmly waited for the students to arrive.
The flower formation continued to ceaselessly grow, and on occasion, the sound of the little tiger hunting could be heard from the forest.
But the Devil Crushing Path was eerily quiet.
Time quickly flowed by.
After some time, a figure finally appeared on the distant path, but it was a girl wearing a purple gown, with a large black wolf following her.
The woman who had appeared on the Devil Crushing Path had a cold and beautiful face, showing no sign of fatigue.
“Eh? Su Xinyue? How could it be her?” Tang Jie couldn’t help but be taken aback when he saw this girl.
While waiting, he had considered multiple times who the first person to step onto the Devil Crushing Path would be.
In terms of strength, the most likely person was Peng Yaolong. In terms of family background, the one with the greatest hope was Long Dao. In terms of understanding of formations, it was Peng Shaoqing, who was Zhao Xiliang’s disciple. In terms of speed, Ye Tianshang was placed first. An Rumeng was fast, but she was not qualified to become a True Inheritor and wasn’t here for this, having come primarily to increase her experience and gather resources.
But none of these people were it. Instead, the rather obscure Su Xinyue had appeared.
Su Xinyue was part of the same class as Meng Shixue, but she was far less famous, and she was usually rather low-key. Tang Jie mostly knew about her because of her outstanding beauty. After all, female students in Basking Moon Academy were a minority, and few of them were pretty. Besides that, this girl also raised a giant black wolf, which was said to be a middle-grade fiend beast. But no one had ever seen Su Xinyue fight before, so no one could confirm if this was true.
He hadn’t expected her to be the first to appear, and Tang Jie couldn’t help but sigh in praise. Basking Moon Academy was truly brimming over with talents. There were always some people who would surprise you in unexpected ways.
As Su Xinyue arrived at the Devil Crushing Path and saw that fog in the distance, she faintly smiled. “As expected, you were the first to get here, yes? Tang Jie.”
Tang Jie was in the fog, but she seemed to see through it, her eyes resting on his body.
Slowly standing up, Tang Jie walked out of the fog. “It seems that Miss Su already knew that I would be here, but I did not expect you to be my first opponent. Basking Moon Academy has many students, yet not a single one knew of Miss Su’s real strength. Let me express my admiration for your ability to keep it hidden!”
Su Xinyue slightly raised her head. “Spell arts are to be used in battle, so why use them if one’s life isn’t at stake? Moreover, the world is vast and full of capable people. Better to stay low rather than flaunt one’s clumsy ability. It’s just that many people still don’t understand this principle.”
Tang Jie smiled. “Miss Su is the young lady of the Wanquan City Su Clan and does not want for resources, so you can naturally cultivate in secret and shock everyone with a meteoric rise. But people like us who were born in poverty have to sell our fists and feet for some money to eat.”
“If that’s the case, why don’t I give you some money, and you can let me through?” Su Xinyue smiled.
Tang Jie shook his head, saying nothing.
Su Xinyue knew that this wasn’t happening, and her beautiful face darkened. “Tang Jie, I know that you’re very strong such that even Peng Yaolong might not be able to beat you. I might not be able to beat you either, but in this battle, I don’t need to beat you. I just need to get through that road!”
She pointed at the fog-covered road. “I don’t believe that you can stop me.”
Her words were brimming with impressive confidence.
Tang Jie simply glanced at her, and then he looked at the black wolf.
He said, “No wonder you didn’t appear at the battle of the Valley of No Return. I’m guessing that you were putting all your energy into raising this Violet Ember Wolf. It looks to me like it’s almost reached Mind Opening.”
Su Xinyue grimaced at his words.
Just as Tang Jie had said, she had not appeared at the battle of the Valley of No Return because she had been raising her Violet Ember Wolf.
Tang Jie had found a loophole in the rules by using the spirit herbs on himself, and Su Xinyue had found her own loophole. Using the devouring nature of fiend beasts, she had set her Violet Ember Wolf loose on the Valley of No Return. She had given up on the battle for the Red Lotus because she needed to preserve her strength for the final battle.
This method maximized her chances of later success, and even if she failed, at least she would have a powerful fiend beast. It was an option that allowed for both attack and retreat.
But Tang Jie had seen through it with a glance, and he indifferently said, “Hiding strength and biding your time for a single strike shows Miss Su’s thought and consideration. Unfortunately, hiding your strength doesn’t mean that you’re stronger than the other party. No matter how much a rabbit hides its strength, it will never be able to fight against a tiger!”
As he spoke, Tang Jie unleashed a frightening power that swept through the area.
Just how strong was Tang Jie?
To tell the truth, not even Tang Jie was very sure.
But he knew that he had far more strength than a Spirit Platform student should have.
If one had to put him somewhere, then he would probably be an expert who was one tier above, or an ordinary cultivator who was two tiers above.
Zhang Qinan was proof of this. He was average when it came to the Mortal Shedding Realm, so even without all those traps and sneak attacks, Tang Jie was confident that he could beat him. The only problem was how much of a price he would have to pay.
As for Su Xinyue, she might be strong and hiding her strength…
But just as Tang Jie had said, no matter how much a rabbit hid its strength, it was still a rabbit.
In a rush of wind, spiritual energy surged.
Tang Jie stomped forward.
This one step made Su Xinyue feel a formidable pressure.
She grimaced and pointed at Tang Jie, “Violet, go!”
The Violet Ember Wolf lunged out and spat a violet demonic flame at Tang Jie.
This Violet Ember Wolf had a reason for its name. Its violet flames could melt metal and were extremely difficult to take on. Even Tang Jie didn’t dare to take the attack directly, instantly avoiding the violet flame and swinging his Heartbreak Saber at Su Xinyue.
The edge was as cold as ice!
Su Xinyue hadn’t expected Tang Jie to be this fast, and she hastily retreated in shock. At the same time, her left hand formed signs, throwing out threads of spiritual energy.
Tang Jie immediately felt his energy circulation fall into turmoil, and it no longer became as easy to use the Violet Lightning Lunge. Grunting, he said, “The Binding Hand, pretty good.”
Binding Hand was a rather famous spell art in the cultivation world. It was all about disrupting energy and interrupting art manifestation. At its highest realms, it could even control a cultivator’s casting, turning the opponent into a puppet. Of course, Su Xinyue wasn’t at this level. She couldn’t even interrupt Tang Jie’s casting, at best interfering with the art circulation. Even so, with her Violet Ember Wolf assisting her, the average student would have suffered a great loss.
Binding Hand was abnormally difficult to train. It was clear that she had worked hard to reach this level, though no one actually knew that she possessed this ability.
Alas, she had picked the wrong opponent.
While Tang Jie’s energy circulation was affected, he didn’t slow down, stomping with both feet and shooting out like a cannonball.
Even without the support of a spell art, he was strong enough to deal with this situation. Put simply, his skills were at Level 2 while his equipment, mana, HP, and defense were all at Level 10. This alone placed him above the majority of his classmates and was the basis on which he had dared to vie for dominance.
He instantly rushed up to Su Xinyue’s side, the Heartbreak Saber viciously swinging. Aghast, Su Xinyue instinctively swung her sword to block, but the enormous strength sent the sword flying out of her hand while a steely fist rushed at her face.
A silver light appeared, covering Su Xinyue.
“Silver Shield?” Tang Jie grunted, continuing to punch, not caring that his opponent was a woman.
The silver barrier could block Tang Jie’s fist, but the hammering impact forced Su Xinyue back.
She cried out, “Violet, help me!”
The Violet Ember Wolf rushed over and spat a large gout of purple flame at Tang Jie while swiping at him with a large paw.
A watery light flashed.
Tang Jie had activated the Aquagel Shroud and Formless Golden Body to block the flame this time, and he punched back, shouting, “Out of my way!”
Fist met with paw, and the giant wolf howled as it flew back.
This Violet Ember Wolf was of upper grade, but in terms of strength, it couldn’t compare to the giant ape from the Valley of No Return. As even the giant ape had fallen Tang Jie’s steely fist, how could this fiend wolf fare better?
As it tumbled through the air and crashed to the ground, one of its forelegs was clearly twisted. Its bone had been broken, rendering it unable to rise for the time being.
“Violet!” Su Xinyue cried out in pain. She glared at Tang Jie and shouted, “Tang Jie, you’re not a man!”
“My apologies. Rather than dragging things out, I need to settle this battle quickly!” Tang Jie coolly replied.
If he were only facing Su Xinyue, he wouldn’t need to be this vicious, but the next battle might come at any time. He needed to quickly resolve every battle, for the slightest delay might allow another student to join, which would cast him into a vortex of endless battle.
Perhaps this was unavoidable, but Tang Jie wanted to delay it as long as possible.
He swung his saber at Su Xinyue again. “Let yourself be captured and I won’t kill you.”
“Don’t even think about it! AAAAH!” Su Xinyue let out a shrill scream, like a needle jabbing into one’s ears.
At the same time, her sword erupted with the light of the Sword Ray spell. She raised her left hand and shot out an energy needle, the Shadowless Needle.
Sonic Howl, Sword Ray, and Shadowless Needle—in using three spells in a row, Su Xinyue was going all-out.
“RAAA!” Tang Jie roared in response.
He hadn’t learned any sonic spells, but this tiger roar was like a thunderclap exploding next to Su Xinyue’s ears.