HSSB47: Late outer aura Martial Scholar, don’t just focus on running away ah!
Yan Zhaoge’s left palm was dyed entirely purplish red.
As his aura-qi surged, it was as though a real clump of red-purple flames had agglomerated within his hands.
Where the flames touched, Xiao Shen’s aura-qi instantly looked as though it was going to collapse and dissipate at any moment!
Under that single palm strike, he felt as though he was currently entrapped within a furnace, about to be burned to ashes by those purplish flames.
One of the Eight Extreme Arts alongside the Big Dipper Sword, Broad Creed Mountain’s direct lineage martial art, the Tushita Palm!
Yan Zhaoge and Xiao Shen let out simultaneous exclamations, as on their bodies, aside from the Jade Dragon Sword and the Radiant Sun Wheel, yet more glows lit up.
In the instant that they met within the air, one precious treasure after another erupted with their domineering abilities, clashing strongly.
Looking up from within the valley, the sky was visibly shining with lots of dazzling radiances, making for an enchanting and captivating sight.
Yan Zhaoge and Xiao Shen both had numerous precious treasures on them. They instantly exploded out with power, offence and defence merging into one.
The power of the each side’s great quantity of precious treasures whittled down at each other.
But finally, Yan Zhaoge’s left hand’s Tushita Palm, not giving in an inch, managed to fall heavily down on Xiao Shen’s body!
Xiao Shen let out a muffled groan, as, fresh blood spurting out from his nostrils, his figure tumbled backward in retreat.
The crowd of Sacred Sun Clan disciples let out alarmed cries, their faces all turning the colour of ash.
The late outer aura Martial Scholar Xiao Shen against the mid outer aura Martial Scholar Yan Zhaoge; it had actually ended with Xiao Shen’s defeat!
This result was much more shocking than Yan Zhaoge having previously defeated Chao Yuanlong twice while the two had been at the same level of cultivation.
After all, Xiao Shen was not just an ordinary late outer aura Martial Scholar; this was a genius-level existence who had surpassed levels to defeat opponents in the mid outer aura stage while he himself had only still been in the early outer aura stage!
During his clash with Chao Yuanlong in the Sealing Dragon Abyss previously, ignoring how much strength the two had possessed at the time, a single phrase from Yan Zhaoge had been enough to deter Chao Yuanlong from wanting to make use of weapons in their fight.
While fighting bare-handed, both sides being young Chosen of their generation, they would just be fighting it out based on their respective cultivation attainments. However, if they were to make use of weapons in their fights, even while Chao Yuanlong was a direct lineage genius of the Sacred Sun Clan, how would he be able to compare to Yan Zhaoge, whose father was one of Broad Creed Mountain’s most prominent figures?
Xiao Shen on the other hand, was different. Like Yan Zhaoge, his entire body was full of precious treasures.
However, having been drawn in and contained by both sides’ clashing of precious treasures, he had actually just been defeated by Yan Zhaoge who had even surpassed levels to do so. The difference between their levels of cultivation was clearly laid right there for all to see; it could not talked away.
Worse was the fact that Yan Zhaoge saw bottlenecks as flimsy entities which might as well be non-existent; the gulf from the early to the mid outer aura stage was just to be crossed whenever he felt like it, as his mood dictated.
While in the Sealing Dragon Abyss previously, he had still only been in the late inner aura stage. Now, however, he was already in the mid outer aura stage. The swiftness with which he had achieved this was so exaggerated that it was something most people, if not all, would find hard to believe.
Such a Yan Zhaoge was like a high, towering mountain, causing a sense of desolation to inevitably rise up in the hearts of all who saw him.
As the airborne Yan Zhaoge descended, without any hesitation whatsoever, he threw out his right arm, the Jade Dragon Sword directly flying over toward Xiao Shen!
Xiao Shen bit his teeth as he controlled his Radiant Sun Wheel to block the Jade Dragon Sword.
The two spirit artifacts instantly began clashing.
Yan Zhaoge laughed as he looked at Xiao Shen, “Late outer aura Martial Scholar, don’t just focus on running away ah!”
Having finished his lines, he exerted strength with his feet once more, instantly travelling almost a distance of a hundred kilometres, headed straight for Xiao Shen once more!
Xiao Shen stared at him, his eyelids spread so far wide they very nearly permanently ripped themselves apart for good. Finally, looking towards the other Sacred Sun Clan disciples, he let out a low, dispirited howl, “Let’s go!”
The bodies of the Sacred Sun Clan disciples jolted as they glanced over at Yan Zhaoge and Xiao Shen with complicated expressions on their faces, their hearts all having died along with Xiao Shen’s humiliating defeat. Carrying the fainted Chao Yuanlong who was long since dead to the world, they retreated outside the valley.
Yan Zhaoge also didn’t make things difficult for them, just focusing on that one Xiao Shen as he continued to gift him with injuries as generously as he could.
Xiao Shen dispiritedly performed a Leap of the Rising Sun, this time not for a sudden sneak attack but rather to avoid Yan Zhaoge, before finding a chance to escape.
Though his heart currently felt like it was dripping blood, and he was completely unwilling to admit it.
Things having progressed to this stage, even Xiao Shen had to admit to himself and really recognise that, he truly wasn’t Yan Zhaoge’s match!
The him of the late outer aura Martial Scholar realm, was no match for Yan Zhaoge who was only in the mid outer aura stage!
Relying on the levitating ability possessed by late outer aura Martial Scholars as well as the swiftness of the Leap of the Rising Sun, Xiao Shen once again managed to barely avoid Yan Zhaoge’s next blow.
However, having come into contact with Yan Zhaoge’s aura-qi, the large beard on Xiao Shen’s face was suddenly separated from its owner, gently flying away on the adjacent breeze.
Xiao Shen was stunned for a moment. Next, his face abruptly turned the crimson of blood. Having lost control of his emotions, his voice was no longer able to sustain its former roughness as he let out a sharp, piercing shriek full of with anger and hatred.
At this, Yan Zhaoge was also momentarily stunned.
The Xiao Shen before him had not had his beard partially slashed off. Rather, his entire large beard had been separated from his face cleanly, leaving behind a completely smooth lower jaw with not even a single bit of stubble to be seen.
Without his beard, Xiao Shen’s form conformed with the image of the handsome youth within Yan Zhaoge’s memories.
However, with that shrill noise which had left his mouth earlier, however he looked, Xiao Shen just seemed a little feminine, and somewhat different from a normal male!
Having his embarrassment turn into rage, Xiao Shen stared at Yan Zhaoge for a moment, before turning to glare at Feng Yunsheng with a venomous expression on his face. Finally, he didn’t continue to linger, as he turned and left.
The corners of Yan Zhaoge’s mouth twitched as he swivelled his head to look back at Feng Yunsheng.
“You said you heavily injured him that year…exactly which part of him did you injure ah?”
Feng Yunsheng, however, had totally ignored all of Xiao Shen’s fury and hatred that had been directed at her, her gaze instead having been focused on Yan Zhaoge all along.
While she was currently heavily injured, her cultivation limited to the Body Refinement realm, her experience and judgment still remained.
And it was exactly because of that that she had been so astonished and amazed by Yan Zhaoge’s performance.
Before Yan Zhaoge had turned back to pose her the question, so surprised had she been that her mouth had all along been slightly open.
On hearing Yan Zhaoge’s query, Feng Yunsheng snapped back to reality, replying with a relaxed expression on his face, “That year, his little brother was being unlawful, wanting to take advantage of me. I naturally helped to discipline it for him lor.”
“……right.” Yan Zhaoge pursed his lips, suddenly feeling like the wind blowing beneath his hips was a little chilly.
He had heard that Xiao Shen’s maternal grandfather had only borne a single daughter, his mother. Having come to Xiao Shen’s generation, he naturally only had that single grandson.
The Xiao family on his father’s side, having come here, also only had him as the sole successor…
No wonder they want to kill you off, when, with your Grand Master being dead, there’s no longer anyone in the Sacred Sun Clan who can protect you.
Feng Yunsheng said carelessly, “Of the so-called Four Rising Suns of the Sacred Sun Clan’s young generation, Xiao Shen and Chao Yuanlong both have their own issues holding them back.”
“Chao Yuanlong is unswervingly determined, not fearing danger or hardship. However, he likes to walk the path less travelled, always thinking of accomplishing things that other people can’t succeed in, as if thinking that that is the only way he can exhibit his capabilities.”
“Actually, if he had just honestly settled down and got on with things, cultivating in the more orthodox Sun Saint Clan martial arts just like the other disciples, rather than veering towards things like the Piercing Sun Needle Art and the Heavenly Snake Silk-Binding Hand, with his talent and perseverance, perhaps his actual combat ability would be slightly lower than currently it is now, but his accomplishments would only be higher in the future.”
Feng Yunsheng shook her head, “While Xiao Shen’s perseverance cannot compare to Chao Yuanlong’s, he is better at comprehending the martial dao than Chao Yuanlong is. However, Xiao Shen is too wild and unbridled in his thoughts, especially being very lustful as well as a spendthrift, unable to control that ‘Little Xiao Shen’ of his. Otherwise, his accomplishments would be greater than they are now.”
At this point, Feng Yunsheng laughed, “Having helped him by ridding him of that problem by the root, his cultivation these past two years has obviously been improving at a much higher rate than before.”
At this, Yan Zhaoge just rolled his eyes, “He still lacks a Sunflower Manual[1].”
Feng Yunsheng was momentarily speechless in her confusion, “What martial art is that; I’ve never heard of it before.”
Yan Zhaoge just waved his hands, no longer speaking. Instead, he began examining the spoils of his battle.
In his fight with Xiao Shen, both sides had clashed with a large amount of precious treasures.
While Xiao Shen had eventually managed to get away, the connection between him and many of those treasures had been forcibly cut off by Yan Zhaoge.
Fleeing in a panic, Xiao Shen had naturally had no time to retrieve them. Therefore, they all now naturally entered Yan Zhaoge’s pockets.
Amongst these, there were two mid-grade artifacts that just happened to be well-suited to him. However, Yan Zhaoge himself did not lack mid-grade artifacts.
Well, there was a high-grade artifact which could still be considered as having some value.
Still, the one which really drew his attention the most was that spirit artifact, the Radiant Sun Wheel!
The value of this spirit artifact was on a completely different level from that of normal artifacts.
Even Yan Zhaoge himself currently only possessed a single spirit artifact, the Jade Dragon Sword.
[1] From The Smiling Proud Wanderer, something that martial practitioners can only cultivate in after having, ahem.