Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
To everyone’s surprise, Jing Yan stood firm on the combat stage.
He was surrounded by such strong Vital Qi that waves of energy twisted and spread around him, shielding him continuously in all directions.
“What?”
“Impossible! This is impossible!”
Many eyes were staring at Jing Yan in disbelief.
What was happening on the combat stage was so incredible that they almost couldn’t believe their own eyes.
Based on everything they knew of martial arts ranks, Jing Yan should have fallen under the power of Jing Lucheng’s attack. Even if Jing Lucheng showed mercy and pulled his punches to keep from killing Jing Yan, Jing Yan should definitely have been pushed off the stage by the terrifying martial arts power.
Because even if Jing Yan really was at the Sixth Heaven, the skill he used was a Low-grade martial system. Even though Jing Lucheng had limited his rank to the Sixth Heaven, he was using a Middle-grade martial system. The result of the match should have been obvious.
After a brief moment of silence, the warriors around started to stir again.
“What happened? Did Jing Lucheng make it easy for Jing Yan on purpose? But if he didn’t really want to defeat Jing Yan, why did he provoke him in the first place?”
“My rank is too low. I can’t figure out what’s really going on here. Can anyone tell me whether they are fighting for real or not?”
Lower-rank warriors suspected Jing Lucheng had done something to throw the fight in Jing Yan’s favor.
On the other hand, warriors at higher ranks knew very well that besides limiting his rank to the Sixth Heaven, Jing Lucheng hadn’t softened his attack in the slightest. That meant that Jing Yan had really stopped the attack from Jing Lucheng’s Middle-grade martial system, Dancing Dragon Spear Technique, with his own Low-grade martial system, the Stance of Autumn Wind and Falling Leaves.
More than that, Jing Yan’s parry had even made Jing Lucheng back up a little. In other words, Jing Lucheng was at a slight disadvantage.
The two Elders standing on the podium watched the fight with an intense look on their faces. Surprise flashed across their eyes, and not a single detail of the fight between Jing Yan and Jing Lucheng had escaped their notice. As strong Precelestial warriors, they were more than capable of keeping up with the moves of the fighters.
“Since when has the Stance of Autumn Wind and Falling Leaves become so powerful?” Jing Mingzhi mumbled to himself in a lowered voice.
“Fourth Elder, did I see that right? He is using the Stance of Autumn Wind and Falling Leaves, isn’t he?” Jing Mingzhi asked as he turned slightly to gaze at Jing Tianying.
There was a reason why he asked Jing Tianying this question. In the past, Jing Tianying had also practiced the Stance of Autumn Wind and Falling Leaves. Out of all the warriors present, he knew the skill the best. Jing Mingzhi had a suspicion that Jing Yan wasn’t using the Stance of Autumn Wind and Falling Leaves, but a Middle-grade martial system that was very similar. Jing Mingzhi believed that Jing Tianying was able to make it out.
Yet Jing Tianying shook his head a little at the question.
“There is no doubt that Jing Yan used the Stance of Autumn Wind and Falling Leaves. That’s a matter of fact!”
“However…” Jing Tianying furrowed his eyebrows a little. “There are some very subtle differences in Jing Yan’s version of the skill. They would be difficult for someone without expertise in the skill to detect.”
Jing Yan had only fixed the hidden flaws in the Stance of Autumn Wind and Falling Leaves. The changes he made were minimal.
If Jing Tianying hadn’t been extremely familiar with the Stance of Autumn Wind and Falling Leaves, even he wouldn’t have noticed the difference.
“Fourth Elder, what do you mean?” Jing Mingzhi was a little confused.
“If I’m not mistaken, Jing Yan must have refined and improved the Stance of Autumn Wind and Falling Leaves. He did an excellent job. This martial system’s power has been increased so much that, I believe, it’s now almost as strong as a Middle-grade martial system,” Jing Tianying said, his eyes glinting with astonishment.
“What?” Jing Mingzhi’s gaze was also filled with surprise.
He improved a martial system?
It was undoubtedly a piece of shocking news. Refining and improving a martial system was incredibly difficult for a warrior. The challenges in the process were unbelievable.
In fact, Dong Lin City would be lucky to have a warrior improve a martial system once a decade. Even the most basic Low-grade martial systems were nearly impossible to enhance.
If a warrior improved a martial system and increased its power, they would earn the kind of honor that was equal to breaking through the Precelestial rank. In other words, if people learned about this, the whole Dong Lin City would be shaken.
“Impossible! That’s impossible!” Jing Lucheng shouted over and over again.
His whole body trembled as he stared at Jing Yan.
Among the warriors present, the one who had the best understanding of the martial system Jing Yan just used, besides two Elders, was probably Jing Lucheng.
He clearly felt the horrendous power contained in Jing Yan’s Stance of Autumn Wind and Falling Leaves. It was as strong as Jing Lucheng’s Dancing Dragon Spear Technique, a Middle-grade martial system.
The fact was right in front of him, yet he couldn’t believe it.
How could a Low-grade martial system be as strong as a Middle-grade martial system?
Moreover, Jing Lucheng felt that Jing Yan had even held back some of his strength. Jing Yan had countered his attack without even going all out.
Jing Lucheng didn’t believe that was what had happened. He couldn’t.
Jing Yan pressed his lips together, suppressing a pleased smile. He was quite satisfied with the power of the Stance of Autumn Wind and Falling Leaves. Of course, he had held himself back. In addition to not using his full Vital Qi, he also hadn’t poured his full concentration into executing the martial system.
He wanted Jing Lucheng to stop limiting his rank and attack with his full strength. Then Jing Yan could openly defeat Jing Lucheng. He wanted Jing Lucheng to be afraid of him so that in the future, he wouldn’t dare to try this sort of idiocy.
This was what Jing Lucheng deserved. Jing Yan had never had any problems or conflicts with him. But now, Jing Lucheng had deliberately provoked and tried to humiliate him. Jing Yan found it necessary to teach him a lesson.
“Is that all you’ve got, Jing Lucheng?” Jing Yan said with a smile.
“D*mn you! Die, Jing Yan! Die!” Jing Lucheng’s eyes blazed red as he gathered all his Qi. He was so furious that his body trembled.
A terrifying wave of Vital Qi roared out of Jing Lucheng’s body. This was way stronger than what he had used in the previous round. He was about put all of his strength into this attack.
“Jing Lucheng isn’t controlling his rank anymore!”
“Oh, no, he’s gonna fight Jing Yan with the cultivation of the Seventh Heaven.”
Several warriors shouted and called out to him. Anybody could see that Jing Lucheng was breaking his promise. Before the fight, he’d given his word that he would limit his rank to the Sixth Heaven. Yet he hadn’t beaten Jing Yan in the first round. He hadn’t even managed to get the upper hand. As a result, he shamelessly ate his words.
“Jing Lucheng!” Jing Mingzhi’s eyes hardened, and he started to stand up.
Jing Lucheng was at the Seventh Heaven, but Jing Yan was only a Sixth Heaven warrior. Jing Yan would be at a disadvantage, and possibly grave danger. That was why Jing Mingzhi wanted to stop the fight.
“Wait!” Jing Tianying, however, rested a hand on Jing Mingzhi’s arm.
“Sixth Elder, why don’t we wait and watch for a moment? I have a feeling that this kid, Jing Yan, held back in the previous round!” Jing Tianying said with a trace of a smile on his face.
“What?” Jing Mingzhi turned to him in surprise.