War is never truly initiated by a single individual.
A new day often heralds a fresh start, yet the echoes of yesterday are not so easily forgotten.
“Oh! Why are the two elders, Fenghu and Yunlong, walking with such heavy steps? Could it be that the palm strike I delivered yesterday sprained their ankles?”
Le Sishu, sprawled on a makeshift stretcher, mocked the approaching Fenghu and Yunlong.
Although he had only sustained some internal injuries the previous day, Ren Du’s palm strike had been vicious, its power surging through his entire body, leaving his limbs utterly immobile.
He Shouwú, the ‘medicinal cook,’ had diagnosed that it would take several days before he could walk normally again.
By all accounts, having narrowly escaped death from Nandou Star, he should have found a quiet corner to celebrate his good fortune.
Yet, who could have imagined such a contrarian spirit? Unable to walk, he insisted on being carried to Qingfeng Peak to continue his arguments with Nandou Star, a demand Director Ji readily indulged.
The moment Yunlong laid eyes on Le Sishu, a surge of anger flared within him.
Fenghu, standing beside him, gestured, indicating there was no need to waste words on such a vile scoundrel.
Yunlong, thus, suppressed his fury.
“What a truly picturesque place this East Bamboo is! Those two mountain peaks are as white as snow…”
Hearing the words drift over from the Polaris contingent, Yi Ranchén’s face flushed crimson.
She glanced towards Polaris, yet saw no one actually speaking.
“And within those peaks, a faintly discernible valley…”
Anger simmered within Yi Ranchén, igniting a desire to find the speaker and deliver a harsh beating.
However, the Polaris group was numerous, and she could not pinpoint the culprit at that moment.
“Why are you shy now? I wonder who was beaten until their bare bottom was exposed here yesterday…”
Just as Yi Ranchén was about to erupt in fury, Ren Du lunged forward, letting out a thunderous roar at the Polaris members.
“Get out here!”
The Polaris members felt as if a clap of thunder had exploded beside their ears, followed swiftly by a gust of strong wind.
Yu Wusheng and the others knew instinctively that something was amiss and moved to intervene.
Yet, before they could, Director Ji reached out and seized one man’s ankle, while that man’s head was already pinned beneath Ren Du’s foot, resembling a large radish stomped into the ground.
“Do you wish to live or die!”
The man’s mouth and eyes were askew, and faint streaks of bloody tears seeped from his eyes.
Under Ren Du’s fierce reprimand, his entire body trembled uncontrollably, as if he had lost his sanity.
“No reply? Then you wish to die!”
Ren Du brought his foot down with crushing force.
Director Ji swiftly channeled his internal energy to intervene, but Ren Du’s power was too immense.
Immediately, the man’s brains splattered, his skull utterly crushed beneath Ren Du’s heel, and blood instantly stained the ground.
The ferocity of that single stomp was so formidable that it even severed half of the man’s body, creating a truly horrifying spectacle.
Director Ji’s intervention, however, only managed to salvage one of the man’s legs from beneath Ren Du’s foot…
A simmering resentment brewed within the Polaris members, as they felt Director Ji’s cultivation was inferior to Ren Du’s, which had led to one of their own being killed on the spot.
Although the deceased was merely a weakling, not warranting their intervention, a pervasive sense of unease lingered, akin to Polaris being overshadowed by Nandou Star.
“Director Ji, you ought to control the mouths of those you bring! This is a place for dining, not for assholes!”
“Ren Du, you have killed one of my men; I cannot let this pass today!”
Director Ji was incensed, having never anticipated Ren Du would act with such swiftness, intent on killing from the very start.
“So what if I killed one of yours? Dissatisfied? Come at me if you want to fight!”
Ren Du flicked his sleeve, casting a disdainful gaze upon Director Ji.
“Very well! Ren Du, you brought this upon yourself!”
Director Ji glared coldly at Ren Du, then stomped his foot, his body rocketing forward like an arrow released from its bowstring, aiming directly for Ren Du’s heart.
Ren Du’s body recoiled in response, and thus, the two began to fight fiercely at the cliff’s edge.
“Do not concern yourself with me! Focus entirely on the match!”
The Polaris members exchanged glances.
Chi Yiheng, the scholarly man, reflected that he should have entered the fray yesterday, but the subsequent cessation of fighting had robbed him of the chance.
His words from yesterday could not be unsaid; today, he vowed to be the first…
“I’ll go!”
No sooner had Chi Yiheng taken a single step than Tie Xin, the middle-aged stout man, soared onto the stage, unexpectedly cutting in front of him, which caused Chi Yiheng to feel a pang of displeasure…
“Jade Arm Sect, Tie Xin.”
This man possessed a burly physique, broad-shouldered and stout-waisted.
After bowing, he cast aside his outer garments, revealing a body of pale, tender muscles that bore no resemblance to those of a martial artist.
Yu Wusheng knew Tie Xin was the sect leader of the Jade Arm Sect, renowned for his mastery of horizontal training.
The martial arts of the Jade Arm Sect differed from other schools: the more diligently one trained, the paler and more supple their muscles became.
Conversely, if a Jade Arm Sect disciple’s body was riddled with bulging, knotted muscles, it signified they possessed the weakest cultivation within the sect; it was those whose muscles appeared least like a martial artist’s who were truly the most formidable.
When cultivated to its profound depths, the Jade Arm Sect’s martial arts often allowed one’s bare flesh to withstand blades and swords.
By conventional logic, this should indicate a path of fierce rigidity, yet precisely the opposite was true: their martial arts emphasized using softness to overcome hardness, with their ‘Soft Cloud Fist’ serving as a prime example.
However, Yu Wusheng merely cast a few glances at Tie Xin before redirecting his attention to Director Ji.
Director Ji and Ren Du exchanged perilous moves, each strike targeting the other’s vital points and deadly acupoints, as if driven by a profound, blood-deep hatred.
Witnessing Director Ji’s desperate struggle against Ren Du, fought for his fallen comrade, those who had previously underestimated him now felt a burgeoning sense of respect.
After all, they knew they would not have risked their lives against Ren Du in such a manner.
Tie Xin was quickly defeated… though he could hardly be blamed.
While his protective divine skill was formidable and his Soft Cloud Fist exquisitely subtle, for the East Bamboo Immortal, these were simply not enough.
Chi Yiheng was itching for action, having long wished for Tie Xin to step down so he could fulfill his promise from yesterday.
Thus, the moment Tie Xin exited the stage, Chi Yiheng could no longer restrain himself and stepped out from the crowd.
“I’ll go!”
No sooner had Chi Yiheng taken a single step than a dark-faced man soared onto the stage, unexpectedly cutting in front of him, which caused Chi Yiheng to feel a pang of displeasure…
Tian Qi hastily followed, shaking hands with the dark-faced man just as he had with Tie Xin earlier, not forgetting to add a word of encouragement.
“Go for it!”
The dark-faced man was thoroughly reluctant in his heart.
Tian Qi’s hands were slick with roast chicken grease, yet he insisted on shaking hands with every contestant and offering useless words of encouragement… truly…
However, considering it was a kind gesture, the dark-faced man found himself unable to say anything.
He merely mused that when he faced the East Bamboo Immortal shortly, the grease on his hands would inevitably touch her body… which seemed quite rude.
Yet, recalling that the East Bamboo Immortal had not expressed any objections before, the dark-faced man grew less concerned.
“Divine Fist Sect! Meng Chong!”
“Iron Sword Alliance, Shang Buzheng.”
“Flower Basket Sect, Yang Mingzhu.”
“Invincible Gate, Guo Sanzhao.”
“Profound Wind Manor, Zhu Zhuxia.”
One after another, several more contestants from the previous round fell in defeat…
Most notably, Guo Sanzhao, the sect leader of Invincible Gate, was defeated in just three moves…
Witnessing this, Yu Wusheng found their sect’s name utterly ironic.
“Don’t be disheartened, Blacky! Look, Widow Yang lost too, just like you, but she isn’t as upset as you are!”
“Say what you will, but stop bumping my ribs!”
Listening to the idle chatter around him, Chi Yiheng grew increasingly agitated.
He couldn’t quite pinpoint the source of his impatience, only that he felt an urgent need to enter the arena and compete, rather than being repeatedly outmaneuvered by others.
As Zhu Zhuxia stepped down, Chi Yiheng swiftly surged forward.
Just as he was about to stand opposite the East Bamboo Immortal, a figure finally blocked his path.
“Gou Changsheng, the ‘Earth-Shifting Grand Duke,’ requests guidance from the East Bamboo Immortal.”
Chi Yiheng could only retreat back into the crowd, gazing helplessly at the arena.
Meanwhile, Director Ji and Ren Du were locked in a relentless struggle, their spirits seemingly growing stronger with each passing moment.
To sustain such an intense entanglement in such a confined space truly attested to their remarkable strength.
As both fighters simultaneously stomped their left and right feet near the cliff’s edge, half of the small precipice instantly crumbled.
Their bodies plummeted downwards, yet their hands and feet continued their fierce entanglement.
The crowd gasped in alarm, believing the two would surely perish from such a fall.
Yi Ranchén’s face, in particular, turned deathly pale with fright.
However, the spectators soon saw Director Ji and Ren Du reappear on a nearby mountainside, and a collective sigh of relief swept through them.
These two navigated the mountain’s ascents and descents with effortless grace, their power truly beyond anyone’s match.
As they fought amidst the mountains, their figures receded further and further, until they vanished from sight, only to reappear on another side of the mountain.
The crowd’s gaze shifted ceaselessly, finding the ongoing match between Gou Changsheng and the East Bamboo Immortal far less captivating than the clash between Director Ji and Ren Du.
These two constantly changed positions, transforming virtually all the surrounding mountains into their battlefield, like two runners who, while sprinting, also found time to fight.
Moreover, their battlegrounds were rarely level platforms, but rather rugged, rock-strewn mountain faces.
During their exchanges, their bodies often remained parallel to the ground, where a single misstep could send them plunging into a ravine, destined for a shattered demise.
Yu Wusheng observed the situation in the arena.
He knew Gou Changsheng, the ‘Earth-Shifting Grand Duke,’ to be skilled in excavation and tomb raiding.
Remarkably, this man always took only the least valuable items among the tomb owner’s many burial objects—a truly perplexing habit.
However, a martial arts competition was not tomb raiding, and Gou Changsheng was clearly no match for the East Bamboo Immortal.
Nevertheless, he had performed far better than the previous contestants.
Yu Wusheng mused that once Gou Changsheng was defeated, it would be his turn to enter the fray.
Indeed, it was evident that in today’s competition, whoever entered later held an advantage, as the East Bamboo Immortal’s cultivation would be gradually depleted.
Whoever ultimately benefited from this would gain significant prestige before Polaris.
Although Yu Wusheng believed Director Ji would not share this sentiment, for in his eyes, the credit for victory belonged to everyone… without the preceding rounds of attrition, how could there be a final triumph?
Gou Changsheng was defeated… but compared to the others, he had performed admirably.
Yu Wusheng prepared to take his place, but someone beat him to it.
Given his speed, few present could surpass him; Xu Tuzhi, Qi Su, and Jie Shu had not yet moved, meaning the only one who could have outpaced him was Zhu Peiqi, the ‘Cloud-Soaring Constable.’
“Zhu Peiqi, the ‘Cloud-Soaring Constable’ from the Heaven-Reaching Crossroads Gate, requests guidance from the East Bamboo Immortal.”
Chi Yiheng was utterly despondent.
Was he too slow, or were others too fast? Why was he always beaten to the punch?
He scratched his head, resigned to temporarily holding his ground.