Chapter 134: The Lonely Defender on Stage
Editor: Atlas Studios
After settling the issue here, Jiang Li reported the information to the Demon Vanquishing Hall.
This sort of thing was under the jurisdiction of the Demon Vanquishing Hall to begin with, and Elder He attached great importance to it.
Who was the mastermind? He actually dared to stretch his dirty hands into the Scripture Storage Valley. Did he really think that the four great hooligans of the Great Mountain were useless?
What mastermind? What untouchable network?!
That was only true for outer sect disciples and ordinary rogue cultivators.
What if they had the so-called powerful backers? No matter how strong they were, could there be a Nascent Soul cultivator?
In other words, would Nascent Soul cultivators be greedy for such small gains?
If they started a sect, countless people would swarm over in support.
Therefore, the high-level cultivators behind these networks could not be Nascent Soul or even Golden Core cultivators.
It was already the limit for them to be at the Foundation Establishment or Core Formation realm.
Therefore, the Scripture Storage Valley was not afraid of such people.
They immediately gathered many elders and disciples and organized an emergency operation to subdue the offenders. With a thunderous strike, they annihilated this group of evil demons.
According to the clues provided by Jiang Li, it was said that the operation was going quite smoothly. There were also several famous demonic cultivators and a small sect who had succumbed to greed.
However, because Jiang Li was preparing for the sect martial competition, and his cultivation had reached a critical moment, he did not participate in this operation. It was quite a pity.
On Jiang Li’s interface, after he added the new status that day, his Mind and Enlightenment attributes received a drastic change again.
Affected by this, the “Great Carefree Bodhisattva Heart Sutra” that had been stagnant and unable to improve for a long time finally obtained a breakthrough in these two days.
In his sea of consciousness, Jiang Li’s consciousness shook lightly, and another parallel mind split out from between his brows.
The palm-sized parallel mind landed on the ground. It had a nose and eyes, and its thoughts were clear and agile. It was almost no different from the main body.
The connected consciousness turned from two to three. That feeling was indeed very wonderful.
The most obvious change was that the strength of the body that had not been completely grasped had become extremely well controlled under the cooperation of the main body and the second parallel mind.
This feeling of perfectly controlling his strength was something that Jiang Li had not experienced in a long time.
Apart from that, Jiang Li also thought of another method to use it.
That was the flaw of being unable to move when using the Overlord Body Art.
When Jiang Li had a parallel mind in his body, theoretically speaking, he could use two different attribute spell techniques at the same time. He could even cultivate body refinement and Qi Refinement spell techniques at the same time.
Then, while maintaining the Overlord Body Art, it might also be possible that he could use the parallel mind to activate the power of the Armored Horse Divine Travel.
As he thought like this, Jiang Li began to try. The strength in his entire body contracted. After wrapping spiritual qi around him, it spread evenly throughout his body, causing his body to seem as if it was made of molten iron and become indestructible.
At this moment, the muscles on Jiang Li’s legs had completely constricted, causing his joints to stiffen and be unable to move at all.
However, in his legs, other than the most basic muscle strength, there was also an even more powerful force, the Armored Horse Divine Travel.
His parallel mind quickly connected to this force. With a thought, his originally stiff legs suddenly moved, and he agilely ran forward. The situation was smooth beyond Jiang Li’s expectations.
Bang!
Jiang Li had just gotten excited when his head collided with the wall in front of him.
Fortunately, this cultivation chamber was the most expensive and sturdy place in the entire small courtyard. Even though Jiang Li had collided with it, only a small depression appeared, and it was not too damaged.
He had gotten too carried away. The meditation room was so small, yet he dared to run using the power of the Armored Horse Divine Travel. It would be a wonder if he did not crash into something.
However, this small matter was not a big deal. He could practice a little outside and this cooperation would be resolved quickly.
Many of the problems that Jiang Li was extremely troubled about previously were easily resolved. He could even use his parallel mind to cultivate a second cultivation method at the same time, greatly accelerating his cultivation.
Leaving a parallel mind in his body could actually bring so many benefits to Jiang Li.
Right now, he could not bear to send out this parallel mind. Or perhaps, he had long regretted turning the first parallel mind into a sword cultivator clone.
Occasionally, he would send it into the bodies of mayflies, mosquitoes, flies, butterflies, and other short-lived insects to obtain a short period of comprehension. It could improve his mental power and advance his cultivation of the Bodhisattva Heart Sutra.
However, if it was a long-term clone like the sword cultivator clone, even though Jiang Li already had a target, that second parallel mind would definitely be able to bring him great benefits.
The issue was that in a short period of time, the parallel mind that could not be retrieved would cause Jiang Li’s Bodhisattva Heart Sutra cultivation to stop. His Mind and Enlightenment attributes would not increase further.
This would cause quite a bit of trouble for him. So, after weighing the pros and cons, Jiang Li decided to temporarily suppress a certain thought in his heart.
…
Three days later, the final round of the sect competition officially began.
The enormous floating platform in the sky was divided into five. 11 outstanding Foundation Establishment disciples below the age of 30 would be competing for the top five.
In front of the ten venues on the ground, the 22 Qi Refinement realm disciples were already itching to try.
In this final round of the martial arts competition, besides needing extraordinary strength, one had to have the confidence to go on stage to defend their spot, have the courage to challenge others, have the wisdom to accurately judge the situation, have the ability to judge the strength of the challengers, and even have the luck to take advantage of the situation…
These factors would ultimately affect the final rankings.
For example, there was a possibility of a tag-team battle in this round.
Even if one was very strong, they could not withstand the continuous attacks of others.
Therefore, the best and wisest choice at this time should be to watch from the bottom of the ring. After figuring out their position compared to everyone’s strength, they would find a ring that was not too close to the front positions and had less intense competition to defend.
Along with the passage of time, due to the intense competition in the nearby arenas, the disciples in charge of guarding the arenas would definitely suffer great losses. At that time, if they went forward to challenge others, perhaps they would be able to defeat the strong while being weak, and this method was undoubtedly the best solution for sensible people.
On the contrary, in this ranking competition, the bravest thing to do… or rather, the stupidest and most brainless thing to do was to be the first to go on stage and defend the arena that represented the first place, the “A” stage.
Dong!
A heavy knock sounded on the gong.
The 17 disciples who won the first round and the five disciples who won the next round did not move. For a time, they looked at each other, their eyes shining with “wisdom”.
Then, at this moment, a burly figure yawned in boredom and stepped out of the crowd. Then, the tip of his feet left the ground as he directly jumped onto the ‘A’ stage that represented the champion of the Qi Refinement realm.
“What? Aren’t we going to start?”
Jiang Li rubbed his sleepy eyes and looked at the 21 senior brothers who still had not moved.
The 21 Qi Refinement realm disciples below the stage looked at each other, not knowing what to say to Jiang Li.
They really admired Jiang Li, this person who broke the stalemate, but whether he was brave or stupid depended on whether he could stand firmly on the ‘A’ stage.
While the 21 disciples were calculating, the first brave (stupid) disciple had already appeared.
Now, who was going to be the second brave soul?
A moment later, a disciple with a sword on his back shook his head and sneered. After he walked out of the crowd, he similarly leaped onto the ‘A ‘stage and stood before Jiang Li.
However, based on his expression, his sneer was not targeted at Jiang Li, and it was a form of self-ridicule.
“Junior Brother Jiang Li is brave. As senior brothers, we feel ashamed of our inferiority.”
The sword-bearing disciple cupped his hands towards Jiang Li, and he seemed to be extremely displeased by his earlier hesitation. His praise towards Jiang Li was sincere.
“Senior Brother is too polite. It’s just that I, Junior Brother, have fought four rounds in this Arena A and have some feelings towards it. I naturally have to continue fighting here.”
Jiang Li returned the greeting, but the ease in his tone was obvious.
I’m not brave, I’m just confident.
“Hahaha! Junior Brother, you’re right. A sword cultivator should be brave. I, Mu Luo, will be your first opponent.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the sword behind him flew out automatically and landed in his palm.
Jiang Li was stunned. He looked at the other party and also became serious. This senior brother was obviously a sword cultivator as well. However, unlike Qi Tianya who was an embarrassment, the sword in this senior brother’s hand gave Jiang Li a familiar feeling.
It was the feeling of… the Sword Heart talent!
Jiang Li had experienced the wonders of the Sword Heart quite a few times through his parallel mind, so it was impossible for him to not recognize this little thing.
However, were there still disciples who had talent in Sword Heart but did not choose to join the Shu Mountain Five Elements Peak?
The green sword in Senior Brother Mu Luo’s hand shook slightly, but he did not throw it out. Instead, he held the spirit sword in his hand as he walked step by step towards Jiang Li.
When Jiang Li saw this, he was even more surprised.
He did not expect that this senior brother was actually a non-mainstream person. He did not cultivate sword kinesis but instead practiced swordsmanship.
Jiang Li’s mouth curled up slightly, and his fists were covered in a layer of pitch black as he walked towards the other party.
One step, two steps, three steps, their speed gradually increased.
The attainments in movement techniques of the sword cultivator, Mu Luo, were truly rather extraordinary. His feet were swift and illusory, and after a short moment, his entire body moved along with the sword. He actually transformed into a gust of wind and dragon roar as he charged towards Jiang Li.
That scene could be said to be as ethereal as an immortal.
If the other party was said to be a breeze, then Jiang Li was a heavy truck that was speeding at full speed. His entire body carried a tremendous force as it concentrated on the iron fist.
Ding!
Amidst the crisp sound of metal colliding, the sword edge that stabbed forward collided with Jiang Li’s fist.
The stalemate only lasted for a short moment before the gust of wind was defeated by Jiang Li.
Under the pressure of the enormous force, the sharp longsword bent extremely flexibly. Then, all of the power passed through the spirit sword and landed on the sword cultivator Mu Luo, sending him flying several times faster than when he had arrived.
It felt too light!
This was the first feeling Jiang Li had after he blasted his opponent flying. At least 30-40% of his strength had been dispersed by his opponent’s movement technique, and the remaining strength was buffered by the spirit sword, so he should be unable to heavily injure his opponent.
As expected, the figure that was sent flying was carried by the wind again. After flying outside the area of the arena, not only was he not captured by the gravitational force and fell to the ground, he even rode his artifact to rise into the sky.
It had long been said that Jiang Li would be at a disadvantage when facing an agile opponent, and he had never had such a chance to experience it. Now, he had finally encountered it.
‘Let’s see how much force you can deflect from my next punch.’
Jiang Li smiled and assumed a high jump position. He clenched his fists and was about to jump again.
However, a sharp pain came from his fist.
Jiang Li stopped what he was doing and raised his right hand to look. On the third knuckle of his right hand, a bright red bloody hole had actually appeared on the hardest part of his fist.
The collision just now had clearly broken his defense.
As expected of the Sword Heart talent, this Senior Brother Mu Luo’s Sword Heart should be close to awakening.
To be able to break through Jiang Li’s skin defense at the Qi Refinement realm, he would definitely be a genius disciple even on the Shu Mountain Five Elements Peak.
Although it had only taken a few breaths of time for the small hole to completely heal and no traces could be seen, it was still a fact that he had broken through Jiang Li’s defense.
“Armament Hard Skin really can’t keep up with my growth. Looks like I have to get the Overlord status as soon as possible.”
Jiang Li stood on the combat ring and muttered to himself. When he saw that the bloody hole on his hand had completely healed, a thought arose in his mind.
Swoosh!
The chains on his waist automatically flew out and nimbly climbed up to wrap around Jiang Li’s fists. Soon, they formed two pitch-black iron chain gauntlets!
The two fists collided, and a metallic sound immediately sounded.
“Senior Brother Mu Luo, I apologize in advance!”
The sword cultivator Mu Luo, who was flying in the sky, was gasping for air with lingering fear. He used his sleeve to wipe away the bright red blood flowing out of the corner of his mouth. He looked down in disbelief.
It was one thing for his right hand to not be crippled when he used a fist to collide with the tip of the Wind Chant Sword, but how could he possibly send him flying with a punch?
At this moment, his spirit sword was still sending him mournful sounds.
The body of the Wind Chant Sword was flexible, and under the punch earlier, it was fortunate that it was not directly broken. However, such brute force still caused it to be unable to avoid suffering heavy damages. The sword light flowing on the edge of the sword was already unstable.
The sword cultivator should be brave, but they should not seek death.
He was currently thinking about how he should admit defeat in order to appear more elegant.
Then, he heard Jiang Li’s shout.
Apologize… in advance?
Boom!
The platform below, which had been augmented by the runic array formation, finally could not withstand the immense force. A half-meter deep hole appeared in the center.
Then, there was the intense sound of air being torn apart. When Jiang Li’s figure appeared again, he had already appeared above Mu Luo. Immediately, a fist wrapped in layers of chains smashed down.
Mu Luo was so frightened that his soul was about to fly out. However, with an iron fist coming at him, he had no choice.
He swung his sword horizontally in an attempt to block it.
Ding!
The Wind Chant Sword howled madly as it received a heavy blow that it could not endure at its level.
A trace of blood sprayed through the sky. Senior Brother Mu Luo spat out a mouthful and fell back to the ground. However, he was indeed a genius. Before he landed, he was once again surrounded by a breeze, dissipating most of the momentum.
He could still stand firmly on the stage.
“Impressive! Looks like I can use a bit more force.”
Jiang Li threw out a floating wooden piece from behind him. After crushing it with one foot, he borrowed the recoil to smash back to the ground even faster. Then, he threw out another punch.
Before the fist and the sword were about to collide, Jiang Li seemed to have seen Senior Brother Mu Luo’s mouth move a few times, but because it was filled with blood, he was unable to speak in the end.
The fist and sword collided again!
The fist that was wrapped in the indestructible Dragon Imprisoning Lock naturally could not be injured again. Instead, an even heavier fist pressed down on the spirit sword and smashed into the chest of the other party. Then, Senior Brother Mu Luo’s body flew out like an arrow.
An elder rushed over and caught Mu Luo in the air, preventing him from crashing into the audience.
A few disciples of the Rejuvenation Hall quickly went up to treat him. They cast spell techniques into Mu Luo’s body and quickly healed his injuries.
Although his condition was not good, he could still go on stage after meditating for a while.
After observing for a moment, the Core Formation elder raised his head and took a deep look at Jiang Li on the platform.
He did not blame Jiang Li for being too heavy-handed, but it was the opposite.
The injuries that the sword cultivator suffered from the last punch were not serious. In fact, they could be considered light.
The disciple of the Head Elder of the Demon Vanquishing Hall was probably much stronger than he appeared to be, since he was able to stop so accurately under such circumstances
Jiang Li stood on the arena and was eager to give it a try. This Senior Brother Mu Luo was actually able to receive three of his punches, and this caused Jiang Li to deeply feel that there was always someone better than him.
Right now, he was halfway through his warm-up. He immediately cast his expectant gaze towards the remaining twenty Qi Refinement realm disciples to see who would go on stage to fight him.
However, what greeted him was stunned silence as everyone avoided his gaze.
The genius with the lightning spiritual root, Ma Donggui, acted as if he did not see Jiang Li. He scratched his head before jumping onto the B stage beside Jiang Li.
The other disciples seemed to have awakened from a dream and all of them jumped onto the arena to compete.
As a result, the other nine arenas were in full swing, and only Jiang Li guarded the empty arena by himself, feeling extremely lonely.
‘Didn’t they say that the ‘A’ stage would be the most intense battlefield?’
‘Why are they ignoring me?’
Jiang Li, who showed a face of helplessness, stood on the empty arena by himself.
Now, Jiang Li finally knew the benefits of pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger. If he did not act weak, not to mention a tiger, he would not even be able to eat a pig.
Jiang Li was a little depressed. Under the gazes of everyone, he felt very awkward standing alone.
