Lost in his attack, Cao Yun was unable to stop himself. At the very last moment, he saw the image of his spear piercing through Yun Ping's heart. His Wei Qi had completely been blown away and his body would not be able to sustain the attack.
Thankfully, Chief Elder Baishen had appeared right in front of Yun Ping. With a single hand, she grabbed Cao Yun's spear. Instead of simply stopping his attack, she changed its course. Otherwise, Cao Yun's arms would have been destroyed by the sudden halt. A huge part of the force behind his attack would have been sent back directly into his limbs. And just as he was sent flying away toward the other side of the platform, Cao Yun felt a warm sensation around him.
Xiao Xuefeng was using her spiritual senses to cancel the force of Cao Yun's strike. It merely vanished as if it had never existed. Once more, Cao Yun realized how powerful a Spirit Warrior was. It was as though the natural laws had been suspended by her will alone. Even his most powerful attack had been negated. From start to finish, Xiao Xuefeng had not moved at all.
In fact, Chief Elder Baishen could have intervened without moving either. But as the chief elder in charge of those duels, she had preferred to appear on the platform. This was also a part of the show for the audience. She checked on Yun Ping. The colossus was a bit pale. He had just seen his life flash in front of him. Strangely though, he was excited like never before. The spear technique he had just witnessed had given him a lot of ideas. In this attack, Cao Yun had achieved unity with his own weapon.
Such a state was known as Spear Heart. It was what happened when a martial artist made one with his weapon. Right now, Cao Yun had not achieved this state at all, but for a mere instant there, he had slightly touched upon it. And Chief Elder Baishen had also seen it. Even she had been shocked by Cao Yun's attack. Usually comprehending Spear Heart was something that could take decades to achieve. And some never even reached it, or needed a fateful encounter to succeed.
Chief Elder Baishen had developed several states relative to weapons. And among them, she had indeed mastered the Spear Heart. As such, she was able to see through Cao Yun's technique without any problem. Of course, he had not reached that state yet, but he had shown that he had the potential to do so. After such a feat, he would have weeks worth of insights. Maybe he had a real chance to reach the Spear Heart state in less than a few decades.
The man of the hour was now kneeling on the other side of the platform. Every ounce of energy had left his body. He was at the extreme limit of what he could bear. Right now, he had barely enough strength to not fall flat on the ground and lose consciousness. In fact, only the excitement coursing through his veins was keeping him going. Then, he felt a bit of a warm Qi that was delicately entering through his acupoints. Looking at the chief elders, he saw Xiao Xuefeng smile at him.
Thanks to this energy, he was able to stand up.
Witnessing this fight, the audience had been left utterly speechless. Some did not even register what had just happened. Suddenly, Cao Yun had disappeared and the 'Wall of Eternal Thunder' had been blown away. The next instant, Cao Yun was on the other side of the platform and Chief Elder Baishen had appeared in front of a pale Yun Ping.
The old woman looked at Yun Ping and whispered to his ears. The man nodded and walked toward the center of the platform. There, Cao Yun joined him. Both of them bowed toward one another. Finally, Chief Elder Baishen announced the result of the fight.
"Chen Guo is the winner!"
Some people were still unsure of what had happened. But the instructors as well as some very perceptive disciples explained to everyone that Cao Yun's technique had broken through Yun Ping's Qi Manifestation. If Chief Elder Baishen had not intervened, Yun Ping would have died. So, of course, Cao Yun had won the duel.
Hence, Cao Yun climbed in ranks instantly. He was now 63th on the fighting scroll, even exceeding Zhi Yin's record of 79th. Cao Yun was even higher than all fourth-years. As of now, except for the fifth-years, everyone could challenge him. Otherwise, every single disciple understood that only a Mortal Warrior could fight him on an equal footing. Even without his last technique, he was already powerful enough to crush any Mortal.
In fact, Cao Yun could probably advance further in the ranks and beat many fifth-years who had either not reached the Mortal Warrior realm, or just barely. Yun Ping himself had showed that he was probably in the top 20 or more. He would probably become the next Long Jian and Cao Yun the next Chan Weifeng. All the disciples imagined a future in which this young boy would dominate the entire sect as soon as he would leave the Ancient Ruins. And what would happen once he would break through to the Mortal Warrior realm?
-
After that epic fight, Yun Ping was very satisfied. Although everyone was bringing Cao Yun up, they also talked about him now. And they all recognized his achievements. In front of the absolute monster that was Cao Yun, Yun Ping's talent had shined even more brightly. Only by fighting a great opponent could one show his worth.
It took Cao Yun two whole days of meditation within his Seamless Qi Vortex array formation to recover. He even consumed an entire high spirit stone. With a few pills, he could have achieved the same result faster, but he preferred not to ingest any toxin if it wasn't necessary. Using such pills would be best done out in the wild to recover faster. Moreover, slowly accumulating Qi through the spirit stone was also useful to work on both his acupoints and his meridians.
If he could open more acupoints, he would be able to gather Qi even faster. Another way was to increase the resistance of his acupoints already mastered. With his meridians, Cao Yun could bear even denser Qi in his system, but his acupoints were still too weak to stand it.
While he was focused on replenishing his Qi, Cao Yun also diverted a bit of his intent on the stars within his sea of consciousness. The one who kept his attention the most was the giant red star lost in the sky, the Heart Star. It was incredibly larger than all other stars but it was so far that it looked tiny in comparison. After using 'The Son of Heaven's Cavalry' another time, but in a secure environment, Cao Yun felt like he was close to finally master it entirely. Once he would, he could unleash the technique without depleting all his energy in a single strike.
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The more Cao Yun was meditating on that Heart Star, the more the Insight Writings hidden deep under the surface of the ocean were becoming vivid and stable. Some were even slowly floating up to the surface. They were still way too deep to even be noticed by Cao Yun though.
Once he had fully recovered, Cao Yun was pleased by the result of the duel. Not only had he increased his rank, he was also confident that no one would challenge him in the entire year. Now, Cao Yun was free to leave how long he wanted without caring for his rank. In the first place, he didn't really mind that. But he had to be honest with himself. That felt good.
-
Within the tent of Xiong Nixie, the demonic cultivator was sitting cross-legged inside an array formation. It had taken some time and some fits of rage from the beast tamer, but now it was working perfectly. Thanks to this array formation, he could contact Mo Tian who, much to Xiong Nixie's disappointment, was in charge of the entire operation. Both Spirit Warriors were now talking through their telepathy. While Xiong Nixie was in his tent, Mo Tian was in the same secret room of the Wubei Sect he used to meet his disciple.
"Are all your demonic beasts ready?"
"Of course they are. We've put them exactly where you wanted them. By now, all our targets should have figured out that something is going to happen. As soon as you give the order, I can unleash hell everywhere. The entire Hongchen Kingdom will suffer from the stampede."
"Good. But remember our main objective!"
"Did you think I had forgotten?! I sacrificed many of my own beasts for your plan! I swear, if it doesn't work..."
"Unless you're incompetent, it won't fail! According to our information, everyone is moving as planned. As long as you do not fail, Gu Song will complete our objective. Do not forget our main purpose, but if you're able to kill a few powerful cultivators, that would be for the best."
Xiong Nixie was more than annoyed. However, the idea of slaughtering some orthodox cultivators brought a smile to his face.
"Give the order and your plan will be executed precisely as you asked. I can assure you that there won't be any problem on my part. But if your Gu Song fails, do not blame me!"
"Do not worry yourself with something that won't happen. Instead, worry about what I'm going to ask of you. We must change our plans a little."
"What?!" Xiong Nixie was so furious that he even shouted for real. "After all the crap you put me through just to respect your so-called perfect plan, you're going to alter it at the last minute?! What the hell...?!"
"Xiong Nixie, if you want to blame someone, say it to the Demon King. I personally asked his authorization for this change."
Hearing the Dmeon King being brought up, Xiong Nixie froze and stayed silent.
"The demonic beasts you sent near Yinmen City won't be enough to take care of Chen Guo."
Hearing this, the beast tamer couldn't control himself and had to speak up.
"You think a mere Mortal can kill my beasts. I even made sure that a 5-core demonic beast would be present, just to be sure. If you're worried about City Lord Dun Mofan, don't. He will be way too busy just defending his small village. I can assure you that he won't even be able to interfere. Chen Guo is as good as dead."
"That's what I thought as well. But he just proved me wrong. He's probably strong enough to kill an early Mortal Warrior. Not only is he strong, but he's also smart and a very talented fighter. Also, do not forget that Xiao Xuefeng has probably given him some means to protect himself. I'm not absolutely convinced a 5-core demonic beast will be able to kill him for sure."
"Fine... Let's say you're right. I have no more beast to send there, unless you want me to divert some from Baziyun City. Of course, if you hadn't made me sacrifice my Star Mole Dragon..."
"Do not be petty. You don't just have demonic beasts."
Xiong Nixie hesitated before answering.
"I can't go myself. Thanks to your 'perfect' plan, I'm stuck here for the foreseeable future. What do you want me to do?!" Faced with Mo Tian's silence, Xiong Nixie had an idea of what he was talking about. "You want me to send my disciple?"
"I heard that Can Mouye had broken through not too long ago."
"Can Mouye is very close to finally becoming a Spirit Warrior. You know how hard it is to train a demonic cultivator to this level?! And a beast tamer at that!"
"Are you worried that something may happen to him?" Mo Tian spoke with a very snarky voice.
"Shut the hell up! If you had let me do as I wished, I would have sent a 5-core demonic beast in the Lunar Marsh and your Chen Guo would be digested meat by now! And after that, you want me to risk my disciple? Don't take me for a fool! If you're sending him there, I'm sure things are not a simple as killing a small boy. And why should I care about him?! He's your problem after all! Go kill him yourself!"
"Xiong Nixie! Xiao Xuefeng would find me out if I were to kill her little favorite. Right now, she has no suspicion at all over me. All the chief elders are fooled, even the Sect Leader is in the dark. Near the Wubei Sect, your beasts would have attracted too much attention. You underestimate that woman way too much. Chen Guo is the only thing that may screw up our plans next year. Among the disciples who will go into the Ancient Ruins, he is the only real threat. We have to take care of him right now. Your beast and your disciple should be able to take care of the problem. Or should I tell the Demon King that we'll have to wait seven more years before executing our plan, all because of your reticence to send your own disciple?"
Xiong Nixie clenched his fists and teeth. If he could produce a new Spirit Warrior among the demonic cultivators, he could earn a bit more favors from the Demon King. To be honest, he did not care at all about any of his men. In a fit of rage, he could easily punish Can Mouye way too much. One day, he had even almost killed him. But he needed the young man to try and curry favors. Nurturing demonic cultivators was extremely hard and bringing them all the way to Spirit Warrior was even more difficult. Most of them were killed by their own demonic cultivation, or found out and executed by orthodox cultivators. Of course, a good number of demonic cultivators also killed each other.
Can Mouye was both a 6th-grade Mortal Warrior who was only a bit older than 30, and he was a beast tamer, one of the rarest occupations in the kingdom. With such a disciple, Xiong Nixie was able to flaunt his competence to the Demon King. And now, the man he hated the most, Mo Tian, was asking him to send him out on a mission. How could he not think that this was a death trap? But what if he refused and caused the plan to fail? If the plan failed solely because of Mo Tian that was one thing, but if the sly fox could blame the failure on him for not wanting to kill Cao Yun...
"Fine... I'll send Can Mouye to kill your Chen Guo."
"Good decision. The news should soon reach our Wubei Sect. I'll make sure that Chen Guo goes where we need him. Just send your disciple where I'll tell you and he'll be able to ambush him with no problem. But he must kill him no matter what! You take care of the big targets, we can't risk any mistake in the plan. Can Mouye will take care of Chen Guo."