“Hah, do you think we will give you an opportunity to close in on us?”
“Humph!”
Seeing Zheng Yang’s spear warping into a bolt of lightning, the three combat masters maintaining the Dragon’s Tail harrumphed coldly. They converged their zhenqi together, and in that moment, the spiritual energy within several dozen kilometers felt as if it had been absorbed cleanly by the formation, resulting in the surrounding air becoming extremely dry and stifling. Following which, the gigantic Dragon’s Tail lashed at an unbelievable speed toward Zheng Yang.
Knowing that the combat masters would retaliate in such a manner, Zheng Yang stepped forcefully against the ground, creating a three cun1 depression beneath him, and calmly executed a powerful flick to fend off the Dragon’s Tail.
Tzz la!
As the spear and the Dragon’s Tail met one another, overwhelmingly powerful gales rippled forth from the collision with incredible momentum, causing the crowd beneath to squint their eyes before the strong winds.
“Scram!”
Widening his eyes, Zheng Yang roared as he pushed his spear forward with even greater force.
Boom!
Under the incomparable might of his spear, the massive Dragon’s Tail was forcefully flicked up into the sky.
With a single strike, he had overpowered the three combat masters and fended off the Dragon’s Tail!
Pu! Pu! Pu!
With the Dragon’s Tail being flicked away, the three combat masters each spurted a mouthful of blood as they hurriedly took a single step back. They raised their gazes to look at the young man before them once more, but this time, with incredulity etched into their faces.
They had guessed that they might not be a match for Zheng Yang when they heard that Combat Master Zhuo wasn’t a match for the latter, and the other party accepting the challenge of the Dragon Gate Formation trial despite hearing of its difficulty showed his confidence. But… they never could have imagined that they would be overpowered in a clash of brute force! The other party had actually succeeded in flicking the Dragon’s Tail away in a clash of brute force!
And more importantly… this was only the first move, and they were already injured!
How were they supposed to continue the battle?
“The Dragon Gate Formation is supervised by the Combat Master Hall headquarters, so no cheating of any sort is allowed. He might have flicked away the Dragon’s Tail, but if he wishes to clear this section, he must defeat us!” one of the combat masters said grimly.
So what if the other party had managed to flick away the Dragon’s Tail?
The three of them were only lightly injured in the encounter. With the combined force of three Hundred Men Commanders, it was not entirely impossible for them to stop the other party!
“You’re right!” Another combat master nodded in agreement as he prepared his stance.
However, in that split moment, the weakest of the three, the Chrysalis realm primary stage combat master, was abruptly impaled by a spear in his shoulder and collapsed to the ground.
“His spear is so swift?”
The other two combat masters narrowed their eyes in shock.
They might have been talking, but they had been on guard all along, prepared to retaliate should Zheng Yang attempt anything. Yet, the other party had actually managed to breach their defense so easily and defeat one of their comrades.
If they were to just speak a few more words, would their team be completely annihilated?
“Humph!”
But as combat masters who had braved through countless battles, as shocked as they were, they didn’t allow themselves to panic. Roaring furiously, the remaining two combat masters made their moves simultaneously.
Their teamwork was seamless. One of them took care of the offense while the other one covered them both. Two men with four hands, there were far more maneuvers they could execute than their opponent. If their opponent couldn’t deal with their attack promptly, he could very well find himself cornered.
In face of the offense of the two combat masters, Zheng Yang raised his spear and pushed it forward to perform a pierce.
Huala!
Even before the spear reached its target, it had already devoured the spiritual energy in the surroundings to warp into a majestic dragon, threatening to devastate all in its path.
Peng!
The spear tip struck the sword of the combat master responsible for defense, and with a resounding metallic clang, the combat master felt his arm numbing under the immense force, and his purlicue1 ripped apart glaringly.
The other party’s attack was not only focused and powerful, it was also relentless like a river current. As powerful as his defense was, he still failed to fend off the other party’s spear.
Zheng Yang successfully knocked away the combat master’s sword, but he didn’t push his spear on. This was because the attack of the combat master in charge of offense was already right before him.
“Go!” Instead of dodging, Zheng Yang made a sharp swerve in the trajectory of his spear, sweeping it sideward in an arc toward the other combat master.
Peng!
It struck the other combat master’s waist squarely. Before the combat master had any time to react, he was already sent flying under the immense might of the slash, spurting blood furiously as he flew through the air, eventually crashing to the bottom of the stage.
Weng!
After sending the combat master flying, Zheng Yang twisted his spear once more and drove it forward furiously, stopping it only right before the throat of the combat master in charge of defense.
“We… have lost!” Feeling the cold killing intent from the tip of the spear, the sole remaining combat master’s face turned ashen in despair.
Of the three of them guarding the Dragon’s Tail, their opponent first move swiftly incapacitated the weakest of them with a swift pierce before turning the assault toward him. However, the assault turned out to be only a feint to draw in the attack of the other combat master. While the other combat master launched his attack, the opponent swiftly turned his pierce into a sweep, catching the other combat master off guard and knocking him off the stage, thus undoing their teamwork. With that, he was the only one left.
There was no way he could win at this point anymore.
“They lost, just like that?”
“That Zheng Yang only used three moves…”
“Indeed! To defeat the Dragon’s Tail in just three moves… that is too fearsome!”
“Even though it was only three moves, did you notice how he was able to transition from a pierce into a sweep without any pause in between? Such an abrupt change in motion will cause the zhenqi in one’s body to collide forcefully with one another… How strong is his body to be able to endure the backlash without a problem?”
“You’re right. This kind of forceful change in motion can easily result in one’s meridians rupturing, but not only was he fine, his sweep was extremely powerful as well. This only goes to show that his body is powerful, his meridians are resilient, and his zhenqi is incomparably pure. Without any of the three, it would be impossible to pull off such a stunt!”
“If it was me, even without an opponent, I would have surely sustained severe internal injuries…”
Upon seeing this sight, everyone’s faces paled in astonishment.
Zheng Yang’s movements seemed simple, but they were highly demanding on one’s body, zhenqi, meridians, and reflexes.
If any of those were to fail to meet the mark, not only would he have failed to achieve victory, he would even have sustained severe internal injuries on the spot.
On top of that, it was apparent that he had grasped the flow of battle precisely to defeat the three combat masters of the Dragon’s Tail in the shortest time with the minimal depletion. This went to show that not only did he possess superior strength, his comprehension of combat had also reached an unbelievable level.
“Their loss was inevitable…” Liao Song shook his head.
He had been thinking that it was unlikely for Zheng Yang to successfully clear the Dragon Gate Formation, but after seeing this, he couldn’t help but think that perhaps the young man before him might just be able to accomplish this impressive feat that none had accomplished in the past three hundred years.
The three combat masters that Zheng Yang had faced earlier were his subordinates, and he knew very well how formidable their fighting prowess was when they collaborated with one another. Yet, despite the augmentation from the Dragon Gate Formation on top of that, they hadn’t been able to withstand three blows from him.
The other party’s strength was indeed fearsome. With his cultivation suppressed to be of an equal level to the other party, even three of him were unlikely to be a match for the other party.
Hu!
While the crowd below was still recovering from the shocking scene they had just witnessed, on the stage, Zheng Yang exhaled a mouthful of turbid air before he raised his gaze toward the Dragon’s Back and walked with widened strides.
To the others, it might have seemed as if he had achieved an easy victory. However, he knew very well that it hadn’t been as easy as he’d made it out to be.
Had he not internalized the essence of his teacher’s impartation, it would have been impossible for him to defeat the combat masters so swiftly.
Even so, he still felt a stifling sensation in his chest and a sharp pain in his meridians, as if someone had attempted to rip them apart.
Facing the Dragon’s Tail head on and the sharp change in his maneuver had caused him some injuries, but fortunately, they weren’t too serious.
While walking forward, he drove his zhenqi in a way that his teacher had taught him to heal his injuries. By the time he was on his tenth step, he felt the stifling sensation in his chest alleviate, and his strength was restored back to its peak.
Even though he had only cultivated a simplified version of the Heaven’s Path Divine Art, his zhenqi did share some of the miraculous properties that Heaven’s Path zhenqi possessed. He could heal his wounds and stamina far swifter and more efficiently as compared to cultivators with other zhenqi.
“Time to challenge the next opponents!”
With his strength restored, Zheng Yang smirked as he drove his spear forward toward the three combat masters of the Dragon’s Back.
Even the weakest of the combat masters of the Dragon’s Back had a cultivation of Chrysalis realm pinnacle while the other two were Half-Saint experts. Their combined fighting prowess was several times stronger than that of the Dragon’s Tail combat masters.
Grasping the initiative, he pushed forcefully against the ground, and as if a bolt of lightning, he was already standing before the three combat masters in the blink of an eye. With immense force, he thrust his spear forward toward them.
Seeing the abrupt burst of speed from Zheng Yang, Liu Yang couldn’t help but turn to the young lady beside him and ask, “Wang Ying, you imparted your movement technique to him?”
“Un.” Wang Ying nodded.
Their teacher had only imparted the movement art to her, but as fellow disciples, they shared a close relationship and often interacted and learned from one another. In those interactions, she had imparted the movement technique to Zheng Yang, and the latter had also imparted his spear art to her.
However, it was a pity that Zheng Yang’s talent in the field of movement arts was beneath hers. Nevertheless, he was still able to move at incredible speeds with it, making it a powerful tool he could utilize in battle to catch his opponent off guard.
Zheng Yang’s spear was directed at the blind spot of two of the combat masters, catching them off guard. However, the remaining combat master was able to react swiftly, and he slashed his sword toward Zheng Yang’s back.
At this point, it was already too late to retract his spear. Left with no choice, Zheng Yang twisted his body slightly and sent a punch toward his back.
Peng!
His fist collided with the combat master’s sword, and the pale-faced latter was forced to retreat seven steps.
Upon seeing this fight, Wang Ying glanced to Liu Yang and asked with a smile, “You also imparted your fist art to him?”
“That’s right.” Liu Yang nodded.
He had also imparted his fist art to Zheng Yang. In other words, the latter possessed a strong fist art, movement art, leg art, and spear art, granting him plenty of options to maneuver around in a battle.
“It will be difficult for those three to defeat Zheng Yang,” Wang Ying remarked with a meaningful smile.
They knew very well how powerful the battle techniques that their teacher had imparted to them were, especially given that they had cultivated the techniques themselves.
Just by learning a single maneuver in their battle technique, a cultivator could easily go unrivaled by any of their peers in the world. On the other hand, Zheng Yang had learned the full battle technique and achieved deep mastery in each of them.
The three combat masters on the stage each possessed a higher cultivation than him, two of them even reaching Half-Saint, but it would still be difficult for them to defeat Zheng Yang.
While his fellow disciples were conversing, on the stage, Zheng Yang was alternating his usage of fist art, spear art, and movement art, making it difficult for the three combat masters to defend against him.
His fist was forceful, his spear was swift, and his movement art was unfathomable. Facing such powerful battle techniques, cold sweat began to trickle down the foreheads of the three combat masters as the pressure they felt grew progressively greater.
“This won’t do. At this rate, we will surely lose,” one of the combat masters exclaimed.
As they had suppressed their cultivation to the required levels as demanded by the requirement of the Dragon Gate Formation, their eyes of discernment and combat sense exceeded those that were typical of their current suppressed cultivation realm. Yet, despite utilizing all of their means, they were still unable to clinch the upper hand. On the contrary, if they were to make the slightest mistake, they could very well find themselves pierced by a sharp spear. The pressure they were under was so great that they felt like they were going to collapse from it.
The young man before their eyes was young, but his physical strength, zhenqi, eye of discernment, and comprehension of combat were clearly far above them individually. It was as if their opponent had no weakness that they could exploit at all!
“Use our strongest move!” another combat master yelled as he swung the sword in his hands furiously. The immense zhenqi he exerted in the move formed a huge curtain in the air, looming above Zheng Yang like a huge wave that would soon crash down on him.
Not wanting to be outdone, another combat master grabbed his spear tightly, imbuing it with a brilliant blue light. After which, he tossed his spear forward with astounding momentum, and in that instant, even the heavens seemed to have darkened in fear before its sharp tip, seemingly fearing that the spear would pierce a hole through it.
“Don’t forget that there is still me!”
The third combat master leaped into the air and swung his gigantic hammer down furiously. In that moment, it felt like a massive pot lid had appeared above the stage, covering the entire area as it descended with frightening force.
The teamwork of the three combat masters was seamless. Without even communicating with one another, they had each assumed a certain role in the attack, be it offense, defense, or sealing the opponent’s movement. In that moment, Zheng Yang fell into a perilous situation.
Upon seeing that sight, the faces of School Head Mo and the others paled. “This is bad. They have devoted the maximum strength that they can draw from their current cultivation in that attack. I fear that Zheng Yang will be unable to survive the attack.”
If it had been them challenging the Dragon’s Back, it was unlikely that they would have been able to even withstand a single blow. It was truly not easy for a sixteen or seventeen-year-old youth to have held on until this point.
But facing such a dire situation, was it still possible for him to turn the tables and achieve victory?
At this point, everyone felt as if their hearts were about to leap out of their throats.
