Chapter 54: A Person of the Demon King's Caliber
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
In order for a person to comprehend advanced level cultivation technique, he needed to have high levels of skill. The martial arts training institute was a place where geniuses gathered. As such, there were a few demon students who had access to advanced level cultivation techniques; but, even as demon students with access to the required materials, it was very rare for any but a few to fully comprehend the books successfully.
Dong Lin's successful comprehension of an advanced level cultivation technique implied very high levels of skill.
Nine distinct vital energies headed towards Du Yuntian and, for the first time, Du Yuntian's apathetic eyes narrowed into a serious glare.
"A Streaming Cold Sword!" Du Yuntian finally drew his sword!
Clang, clang－
The light from his sword shone in all directions, it was dazzling and glimmering.
His sword was like an icy cold firefly, it pierced the sky!
Titter－
Ah－
His attack was extremely fast—it caused the nine distinct vital energies to dissipate.
The remaining energy around Du Yuntian's sword following his first attack twisted like a thunderbolt and attacked Dong Lin's chest fiercely.
Dong Lin gave a horrible shriek and a long wound appeared on his chest.
His body was sent flying backward, and he fell off from the arena!
Dong Lin had been defeated!
Dong Lin was defeated after two moves by the legendary Du Yuntian of the Three Mythical Moves!
When Dong Lin fell off the arena, Third Prince's heart cracked.
Unable to restrain his feelings any further, the Third Prince's face paled.
His only opportunity to gain an advantage over the First Prince had been completely destroyed!
He had no way out; there were only two paths he could now take.
Resign himself to his fate and wait for the First Prince to find an opportunity to kill him. Or, escape from the empire and live in exile, like a stray dog.
In one moment, all the Third Prince's hopes for the future had been shattered.
Lin Xiao was terrified. His eyes turned slightly red and tears streamed down his cheeks. In his heart, he felt devastated!
Even though the Third Prince was a good prince; why was his luck so terrible? Why had he ended up in his current state?
Lin Xiao knew what future the Third Prince faced, and it broke his heart!
As he wiped away his tears, he knelt down in front of the Third Prince. Perhaps, that was the last time he would be able to pay respect to the Third Prince in his life.
"The horse-drawn carriage has been prepared…Master, please leave the imperial capital!"
The escape route had been prepared a year ago; plans had been made in case Dong Lin failed. A group of selected soldiers would escort the Third Prince; they would carve a bloody path of escape for the Third Prince.
As for Lin Xiao, he would command the Third Prince's secret bodyguards and resist the pursuing troops.
With their weak and tiny force, how would they compete with the imperial capital?
In truth, they could not compare to the force they would eventually face; one day, either tomorrow or long after, Lin Xiao's body would collapse in a pool of blood. His corpse would be laid out on a field, and he would be erased from the world.
But, even if he were to die here, he would hold the sword in his hands tightly and use every last bit of his life to try and fight for the Third Prince—for hope.
The Third Prince had saved his parents who were critically ill and given Lin Xiao the opportunity to achieve something noteworthy—the Third Prince had trusted him, as no one had before.
Alive, Lin Xiao would be the Third Prince's most obedient servant. Dead, he would be the Third Prince's shadow.
To die for the Third Prince was something he would never regret!
The Third Prince looked up to the Heaven and smiled sadly; "The situation is hopeless. Does my crippled life require all of your blood in order to open a path for me?"
"Master, we cannot waste any more time, please leave now!" Lin Xiao's eyes were red as he the urged the Third Prince on solemnly.
The First Prince witnessed the scene from a distance away and he laughed coldly within his heart; "Did you really think I would let you escape from the city?"
In order to round up Su Yu, the imperial capital had been sealed off by the First Prince. He had made the imperial capital easy to enter, but difficult to leave!
There were a great number of selected soldiers keeping watch at the city's entrance. Anyone who wanted to leave the city would have to undergo a check by the soldiers. The Third Prince's plan to escape by opening up a bloody path was nonsensical.
At the distinguished guest's platform, the Fiery Minister's stern face had a gratified smile. His mouth, formerly pursed with displeasure, finally opened up for the first time; "Du Yuntian, not bad."
The thirteen inspectors who were with the Fiery Minister knew in their hearts that it had already been decided that Du Yuntian would be the Fiery Minister's disciple, and they smiled obsequiously.
The referee declared the victory of Du Yuntian. After the declaration, he took out another two numbers from the sealed black box.
"The next match; number nine, Su Yu, versus number seventeen, Chong Nanfei!"
After the announcement, the audience boiled with excitement.
The Demon King, Chong Nanfei?
There were a lot of rumors regarding Chong Nanfei—he was the most dazzling genius in the current Holy Meet.
The audience was full of vigor. To be able to observe the match of a strong martial artist like him would be extremely beneficial to their training.
What left the audience in deep thought was the Demon King's opponent, Su Yu!
Su Yu was considered a favorite due to his luck at the Holy Meet. He had been assigned to the six-man group, where all his group members' abilities were common and weak—allowing him to fight into the top fifteen!
"Maybe Su Yu used up all his luck since now he has to face Chong Nanfei, the Demon King."
"Hah—is there anyone who disagrees? What if his opponent was some random Level Five Peak? Wouldn't it be lucky if he were able to fight his way into the top ten and become a Sanctuary disciple straightaway?"
Of course, all that gossip was just fantasy. Even if Su Yu was lucky enough to fight his way into the top ten, he could still fail the assessment. If he failed, he would be declined entry into the Sanctuary. There had been many in the past who had ridden their luck all the way to the Sanctuary doors—however, luck failed them all and, in the end, none achieved entry into the Sanctuary.
When he heard Su Yu's name, the Third Prince's eyes—which stared into space—gradually returned to normal. He smiled sadly; "Let's get Su Yu, we will leave together."
Su Yu had suffered the same poor turn of fate as the Third Prince, and the prince considered him a close friend—therefore, providing Su Yu with a chance to escape would be his final gift to the martial artist.
Lin Xiao became anxious. Their chances were better if they made their escape immediately; things became more difficult with each passing moment.
"Su Yu, you have indirectly caused the death of the Third Prince!" Lin Xiao blamed Su Yu secretly in his heart.
The First Prince started to ponder: "Chong Nanfei? His abilities are slightly stronger than Dong Lin. Su Yu, seems like you're not fated to get into the top ten, haha…"
Once Su Yu was defeated, the whole empire would be waiting for him—ready to fall down upon his head!
Chong Nanfei was sixteen years old. He was charming, elegant, and refined. He wore a white shirt which glided along the air, and he smiled. When he was called, he went into the arena peacefully and naturally.
After a moment, he attracted the screams of young ladies who fancied him—those young ladies could be found everywhere.
Su Yu's eyes shone brilliantly. With his toes, he leaped into the arena quickly with the grace of a floating cloud and the fluidity of duckweed on a stream.
His purple shirt drifted along the wind in a flash. Su Yu had a brilliant face that was as handsome as a celestial being and a build that was refined, dazzling, and sparkling. He was full of confidence, and he was pure.
"Actually, not comparing their abilities, Su Yu is also very handsome…It's a pity that he is slightly weaker…" An eighteen-year-old young lady moved her mouth.
"Haha, I also feel that Su Yu is more handsome then Chong Nanfai." Another extremely gorgeous young lady with beautiful eyes said.
Having heard the whispers of those young ladies, Xia Jingyu became worried. She couldn't help but smile; "What is charming about Su Yu is not merely his looks alone. It is the charisma within him that is so charming." She said softly.
Chong Nanfei was surprised. Even though he was extremely handsome, when compared to Su Yu he felt unworthy.
His eyes held a thread of admiration for Su Yu.
"Brother Su, both of us are elegant people. I do not like to use my power to bully the weak. Therefore, if you can last beyond twenty moves of mine, I will admit defeat. How does that sound?" Chong Nanfei was proud of himself. Even though he felt he was still stronger than Su Yu, he admired Su Yu's exceptional elegance, Su Yu reminded him of himself, and he did not want to use his power to bully someone he related to so strongly.
Chong Nanfei's actions had left a good impression on Su Yu. He smiled and rejected Chong Nanfei's offer, however; "Brother Chong, thank you for kindness. However, I want to do my best in this battle!"
"Understood! Since you are a noble person, I will grant your wish!" Chong Nanfei admired Su Yu even more. The fact that Su Yu wanted to fight on equal terms meant he was truly an honorable man!
"Brother Su, be careful!" Chong Nanfei took a huge breath and reminded Su Yu of the impending danger. Chong Nanfei stretched out his index and middle fingers. The two fingers were side by side, pointed like a sword.
"Lotus Sword Finger!"
Whiz－
His hand was covered by an extremely green light shaped like a summer lotus leaf.
As the sword-gesture fluttered in the air, a faint white light covered Chong Nanfei's fingertips.
Moreover, the green light helped to make the sword finger look as if it were a white lotus, holy and pure.
The green light and white lotus which circled around the sword hand created, for a moment, the illusion of endless blue waves filled with pure white lotuses—rather than sea foam.
"That is a medium level cultivation technique of Stage Three Upper Class. How average. " The Fiery Minister commented coldly.
The word "average" caused Jiuchuan prefecture's martial arts training institute's inspector to heave a sigh of relief.
The Fiery Minister was famous for his strict nature—it was not easy to even elicit an "average" reaction from the Minister.
It looked like the martial arts training institute of Jiuchuan prefecture had managed to avoid being punished. If the martial arts training institute's performance was poor, the corresponding inspector would be punished.
The remaining twelve inspectors failed to hide their envy as they continued to watch the match.
Su Yu faced the attack calmly. His eyes shone brilliantly; "Tempest!"
At that moment, a snowstorm formed and the cold wind whistled.
The surrounding atmosphere instantly became thirty percent colder!
The cold air filled the atmosphere with mist; suddenly, it felt like winter!
Su Yu's leg carried a vast amount of ice and frost; it was as if an ice dragon had been born, causing everything in the world freeze!
"Another medium level cultivation technique of Stage Three Upper Class? He is only fourteen years old. Yes, it's average." The Fiery Minister commented indifferently.
Apart from Fang Yun, the twelve other inspectors were full of admiration.
"For him to be able to comprehend the cultivation technique to his current level…His level of comprehension might be above Chong Nanfei and Dong Lin. The Royal Family has indeed managed to nurture someone very talented."
There were very few people who knew Su Yu's past. After all, Su Yu did not make a name for himself across the continent, and only citizens from Xianyu prefecture knew him.
Fang Yun's forehead broke into a cold sweat. He did not know whether the Fiery Minister would reproach him if the Fiery Minister knew that he had expelled Su Yu. After all, the martial arts training institute was a subdivision of the Sanctuary, which searched high and low for geniuses in the world.
As for the Royal Family, to be nurtured by them was not as reputable as being nurtured by the martial arts training institute.
If the martial arts training institutes were surpassed by the Royal Family in terms of finding and cultivating genius, then the Sanctuary would be extremely embarrassed.
In the arena, the two attacks collided!
Chong Nanfei was trying very hard to ascertain his opponent's strength by repeatedly striking with his sword finger.
Su Yu caused snow and ice to form—it was very interesting.
Clang, bang, rub－
Rub, rub－
As both of their attacks collided head-on, the audience realized this would not be a short fight.
The Demon King, Chong Nanfei's face was astonished. He retreated about three steps and swung his fingers that were covered with thick ice and frost. He was quite shocked; "A medium level cultivation technique at Stage Three Upper Class?"
Su Yu retreated about four steps!
It was the first time that Su Yu's attack was slightly inferior to his opponent's.
It was quite rare, however, to see the Demon King astonished. He was at Level Six Lower Tier, which was two tiers higher than Su Yu. With such a great difference in their skill levels, how could Su Yu's attack be only slightly inferior to Chong Nanfei's?
The balance of power despite the imbalance in skill levels was all due to Su Yu's physique; After being baptized in the Jade Fire Marrow, his physique was many times strong than average.
Under normal circumstances, Chong Nanfei's attack would have sent Su Yu flying—but Su Yu was not normal.
"Again!" Su Yu's eyes were filled with excitement—he could feel pressure building closer and closer to breaking into Top Class!
Indeed, actual combat was the best way to strengthen his abilities. Moreover, Chong Nanfei's abilities were about the same as his, making Chong Nanfei the most fitting whetstone for his skills.
Chong Nanfei stopped belittling Su Yu and he became full of fighting spirit; "Brother Su, be careful; I will not hold back anymore!"
"Lotus Sword Finger!" As the sword finger was fluttered in the air, it was as if a lotus was blooming. The effect was beautiful and dazzling.
Even though it was the same attack, its power was stronger by more than thirty percent!
Su Yu was not agitated. Instead, he was delighted.
Rub, rub, rub－
That attack caused Su Yu to retreat about six steps—he almost fell off the arena.
Su Yu's eyes, however, were wide with joy. He gave a light roar and mingled with Chong Nanfei, the Demon King.
Thump, thump, clang, clang－
Clang, bang, rub－
Their silhouettes danced like the wind—their abilities, unmatched. Two beyond-average artists displaying their raw power simultaneously.
Beneath the stage, the audience was dumbstruck.
"Su Yu…He is actually fighting head to head with the current Holy Meet's Four Great and Proud Martial Artists?"
"Doesn't this mean that he has the abilities get into the top ten?"
At some point, without anyone realizing, the First Prince had stood up—his face full of astonishment. His heart was filled with more fear than he'd ever felt.
Su Yu's abilities had exceeded his expectations!
If Su Yu continued the way he was, there was a possibility that he would get into the top ten.
If he became a Sanctuary disciple and came back after training in the Sanctuary in order to take revenge for the Duke of Xianyu, then…
For the first time, the First Prince's heart filled with an unfamiliar emotion; remorse.