Yàn Lìqín landed in front of the field he had gotten Yù Quán from last time. He knew he would come here. Yù Quán seemed to have a tendency to be alone when cultivating. He had a lot of secrets. Sure, with his intelligence and wisdom, Yàn Lìqín could probably figure them all out with or without Yù Quán knowing. But, he trusted his disciple and wouldn’t put him at any more risk of exposure than he wanted to be.
When he got there, we felt the heat. It wasn’t hot enough to really affect him, but if it was a weaker cultivator? Or even a mortal? This heat was nothing to underestimate. With the heat came an ever so slight pressure. Most cultivators of Yàn Lìqín’s strength wouldn’t notice such pressure, but Yàn Lìqín did, and he was sure this pressure was enough to affect most weaker cultivators. As Yàn Lìqín continued, he found Yù Quán sitting in a lotus, surrounded by crimson red flames.
Yù Quán didn’t notice Yàn Lìqín until he was standing close enough to him. As soon as he felt someone in his vicinity, he retracted his Murderous Flame. He couldn’t stomach it if he accidentally harmed a mortal during his cultivation. Normally, he would be in a hurry, but he stopped making substantial progress a while ago and was just trying to squeeze out as much strength as possible.
“Seems you’ve made some good progress,” Yàn Lìqín said softly, which was a little out of character. Yàn Lìqín was elegant and formal otherwise, he was loud and cheerful when relaxed, but he rarely spoke softly in such a way.
Yù Quán cupped his hands and bowed. “Thank you for the gift, Grand Elder.”
Yàn Lìqín waved his hand and continued to analyze Yù Quán. “The eyes did help boost your strength and qi capacity… but it might not be helpful. The strange fire just might be enough, though.”
Yù Quán was a little skeptical. He had raised his strength by a lot; how could he not be able to contend with the people in the tournament? And how could Yàn Lìqín even tell his strength just from sight alone, anyway? The more Yù Quán interacted with his Grand Elder, the more he realized he didn’t really know much about him, just that he was strong and in charge.
Seeing the look on Yù Quán’s face, Yàn Lìqín’s eyes slightly dropped. “Something’s changed, something I couldn’t possibly have predicted…”
Yù Quán thought that the day had finally come. He felt mad and was too proud of his calculation and prediction abilities. He was excited to hear what finally did him in, but he didn’t let that show on his face.
“After you left, Yin Mengxia faced Yin Qiuyue and won. Then Liang Ping faced Wū Shòu and won with great difficulty.”
Buzz~
Yù Quán was dumbfounded. Not about Yin Mengxia, he had had full faith in her since the beginning and didn’t find her distant relative to be worth much praise or worry. But, the Wū Shòu that so many people had been worrying about was beaten by his senior brother? Was Liang Ping so strong? He had seen Liang Ping handle people effortlessly in this tournament, but this was an amazing feat. That didn’t mean Wū Shòu was weak, either. Even if he wasn’t a favorite for the top spot, to be able to contend with Liang Ping should take a level of power and skill that not many at their level possessed. This was great news; this pretty much secured top five spots for all Yellow Qilin Academy students. He couldn’t tell how any of it could be bad enough for Yàn Lìqín to react in such a way.
“After those fights, I was able to stall your fight with an excuse, so they went to the next fight instead. This pit Rèn Chāngmíng against Tiān Zhēbì.”
“So? Even if Rèn Chāngmíng lost he is still int he top five. What are you so worried for, Grand Elder?”
Yàn Lìqín closed his eyes and shook his head. “Tiān Zhēbì… heavily injured Rèn Chāngmíng. He was brutal.”
Buzz~
Yù Quán was in shock. He had just seen Rèn Chāngmíng; he was smiling and joking, and now he’s hurt? Not just hurt, but hurt bad? He didn’t know how to feel. He felt his chest get warm and his face go numb. Whatever it was that he was feeling, he didn’t know how to describe it.
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“...Then you still weren’t back, so they put Yin Mengxia against Tiān Zhēbì and she…”
Yin Mengxia, too? This couldn’t have been an accident. Tiān Zhēbì was purposefully hurting the people around him, and it brought what was bubbling deep down to the surface. He was no longer confused about what he felt. Rage. Pure, unbridled rage. Yù Quán wasn’t a vengeful person back on Earth, but he was growing accustomed to the people of this cultivation world. The bonds were deeper and closer. These were people he would fight for and for him, and this stranger, whom he just had a weird feeling about when they first met, had just harmed them.
“I would have tried to give you more time, but they really can’t delay your fight anymore. You’ll be fighting another cultivator from the Supreme Wolf Sect.”
A grunt and a nod were about all Yù Quán could muster at the moment. With that, Yàn Lìqín picked up Yù Quán and went towards the arena.
…
“Now that Yù Quán has arrived, the fight can begin!”
Yù Quán stood still, his chin pointing towards the ground and his eyes staring holes through his eyelids. The cultivator from the Supreme Wolf Sect burst out. After the show many cultivators had put on today, he wouldn’t approach carelessly. But, if Yù Quán wasn’t going to come to him, he had to go to Yù Quán. He wanted to end this in one blow. He didn’t feel close enough to Dong Xiaoli to hold a grudge against Yù Quán, but he wanted to win. If he made it into the top five, the resources his sect would win would be enough to earn him lots of contribution points, especially if he beat the one who crippled the sect’s young master in the process.
He prepared the strongest blow he had in his arsenal. This cultivator focused on nothing but the basics of the sect, meaning he was likely to be further in the base techniques than others. It wasn’t because he really wanted to; he just wasn’t smart enough to understand the more complex techniques and wasn’t lucky enough to encounter an opportunity that would give him one he could understand. Because of this, he had reached the fourth claw of the Five Supreme Wolf Claws at such an early age. It’s the only thing that helped him stand out amongst this generation of Supreme Wolf Sect disciples.
He readied his hand for the strike. If he was going to win in one blow, it had to be done right for him even to have a chance. He was approaching Yù Quán, still standing where he was, when he fight began.
Thud
Just as he got within arm's length of Yù Quán, he felt his head be grabbed and his body be pushed to a halt. Yù Quán grabbed the cultivator and stopped his momentum. Yù Quán clenched his jaw and his open hand into a fist. As it was closed, the crimson flames spread across his fist and forearm. Many people had seen Yù Quán use this technique but had never seen him make the flame so big. It looked like Yù Quán had made a campfire out of his arm.
Without making too many movements or even batting an eye, Yù Quán pulled his fist back and threw the hardest punch he had ever thrown. If he had used the Yellow Qilin Dance to pounce, he might have broken the cultivator in two.
Boom!
The cultivator went flying like a projectile, only losing trajectory when he fell after colliding with the wall. Then he came crashing down to the ground, not even scoring a single hit on Yù Quán. Yù Quán couldn’t care less for such an opponent. How weak. He had bigger things to work about and larger fish to fry. He turned and walked out of the arena without any trace of emotion. This wasn’t enough to quell his rage. He needed Tiān Zhēbì in the ring, and he needed him now.
…
Yù Quán
Realm: Body Tempering Realm
Stage: 1st Level Skin Tempering
Main Cultivation Art: [Stolen-eyed Mùmùlián Body](Level 3)
Strength: 850 Catties
Qi: 2046/2220 wisps
Mùmùlián Core: 22/100
Strange Fire: (Level 2)Murderous Flame(x1)
Techniques:
[Mùmùlián Eye Stealing](Level 3)
[Mùmùlián Eye Refining](Level 3)
[Murder Mantra](Level 1)
[Yellow Qilin Dance](Level 1)
Attributes:
[Strange Fire: Murderous Flame]
[Star Gazing Eyes](Level 1)
[Top-Quality Maned Hog Ferocity Eyes](Level 1)
[Low-Quality Winged Watcher Awareness Eyes](Level 1)
[Low-Quality False Dragon Pride Eyes](Level 1)
[Low-Quality Death-Dealing Dama Killing Eyes](Level 1)(x2)