Chapter 51: The Might of a Two Star Warrior
Silence surrounded the audience sitting and the experts standing. Everyone stared at Xu Min; they finally understood his strength was authentic. Acknowledging this reality, many of the two-star Warriors hesitated to accept a challenge since they knew they were not stronger than the two opponents who had already been defeated.
Seeing that no one stepped forward, Xu Min pointed at a random cultivator. This cultivator was an internal expert, and as soon as the battle begun, Xu Min once more wielded his Qi devouring sword. Similar to the first match, Xu Min’s third opponent collapsed on the arena’s floor without even putting up a fight. Xu Min’s sword swiftly and efficiently drained all of his energy. Unable to stand up and walk, he needed assistance from the other experts to leave the stage.
A pattern developed. One person Hui Yue actually fought while the next opponent he would use his sword. Thus, he rotated between his sword and his physical strength. It didn’t take long for many of the most skilled experts in the audience to understand Xu Min’s sword had a draining ability. Many experts greedily looked upon Xu Min’s now coveted sword; the older experts restrained themselves from charging down and forcefully stealing the sword from the young man. Their reputations would be tarnished, and they would appear unsightly; especially since they assumed it was a treasure the Alluring Treasure Pavilion had gifted him.
What these families did not know was that even the patriarch of the Yong family was shocked to see this important treasure in the hands of Xu Min. A peerless treasure, helping its owner defeat this many experts without relying on his Qi within.
The fights were quick and short. Xu Min kept on devouring as much energy as he possibly could.When he felt his body filled with energy, then he would use his external attacks and outstanding speed to deal with the rest.
All the two-star experts were swiftly defeated. None of them managed to hit Xu Min even once, let alone touch the corner of his robe. Xu Min defeated them in rapid succession of each other, and he never had to leave the arena. Looking at him, all the spectators were filled with disbelief.
Xu Min had been using some of his Qi here and there, but he never seemed low on Qi, not even when he fought the twenty experts in a row. In front of Xu Min, only six experts remained.
These six experts were Xiao Lei, Han Shi, Wu Weisheng, the young master Wei, young master Tang, young master Shiu and young Master Guo. All of them, apart from young master Tang Jin, were three-star warriors while Tang Jin was a four-star warrior.
Finally, the casual expression on Xu Min’s face turned serious; he knew the easy fights had ended. Although the sword had managed to subdue third-star experts at the Yong family compound, this time, it was different.
These experts in front of him were the sons of influential families within Ri Chu City.
They had been raised far differently than the guards of the Yong family home. The families fed them medicinal pills and gave them anything they needed to enhance their training. They were the best, the most outstanding and dangerous youngsters in the younger generation. These experts should be able to quickly deal with the devouring effect of the sword, understand how it works, and counter its effects.
While Xu Min earnestly looked at the experts in front of him, the Yong family was already satisfied with the results Xu Min had achieved. In the tournament’s history, this was the first time one person defeated twenty opponents in a row. Even a high-ranked fighter without a devouring sword would be limited by his or her Qi and after defeating twenty opponents would be definitely at their limits.
The record-setting young man did not seem to be at his limit at all. There was no sweat on his face, no fatigue in his eyes, and no exhaustion in his movements. He seemed as vigorous as when he first entered the arena. This sight alone shocked the spectators.
The experts on the ground were numb and worried since they were the ones fighting not the audience. After seeing one person getting defeated after another, they felt apprehensive. They all waited for Xu Min to reach his limit while he was fighting, but now looking at this young man he was far from his limit.
Looking at each other, the reality was clear; no one was interested in being the next person in the arena.
“Hahaha,” suddenly a laughter rang out, “don’t tell me that all of you have become scared of a mere two-star Warrior?” a voice mockingly interrogated. Everyone turned their heads to the speaker and Xu Min’s eyes narrowed. It was Tang Jin.
“If not one of you dares to challenge an expert a whole level below you then allow me to demonstrate the large difference between the ranks, as if a two-star Warrior is capable of defeating me.”
“You don’t consider this bullying, do you?” Xiao Lei asked. However, his question only made Tang Jin laugh even more, “Bullying? He just bullied twenty experts; should we just let him do whatever he wishes to do?
True, I might be twice his age and twice his rank, but I will show him that he has been on stage far too long. I will prove to him he is not the only genius around here.”
Hearing these words from Tang Jin, Xiao Lei said no more; but, he and Han Shi and Wu Weisheng all looked dismayed. It was evident they were displeased with what Tang Jin said, yet none of them dared to say more. They were young masters indeed; nonetheless, their families could not afford to insult the Tang family.
Xu Min was standing still, leaning on his sword and feigning interest. To him, it did not matter which one of them would fight him. However, if it truly were the young master Tang, then Xu Min would not be upset. He was fully energized to focus solely on this high ranked expert. Having the strength to fight Tang Jin made Xu Min feel somewhat excited even. Tang Jin reminded him of the young master of the Zhong family, and this comparison made Xu Min’s eyes burn with anger and hungry to do battle. He wanted to prove he had become stronger, and a spoiled young master was now going to become his stepping stone.
Hearing that Tang Jin stepped forward, the young master of the Guo family cleared his throat. “The winner of the next match will be the winner of the entire tournament,” he declared, “We cannot defeat Young Master Tang Jin; thus, if he wins we will all forfeit. If by any chance, this young man were to win against Tang Jin, then we will declare him the winner as he has managed to defeat the one fighter we could not defeat.”
His words caused a slight displeasure, not only by the audience but also amongst the participating experts. The audience wanted as many battles as possible while the experts also wanted to battle Xu Min. After thinking and discussing the matter, they finally agreed. The chance of Xu Min winning was so slim.They knew it was not possible for them to fight him in the arena. After a few minutes, all the experts nodded their heads and left the arena floor, heading to some seats that had been set up for them. They contented themselves to be just spectators as well, ready to watch the final match of this year’s competition.
The audience fell silent, seeing Tang Jin step onto the arena floor. Tang Jin was an internal expert. Most of the young masters were internal experts since they were considered the strongest and easier to train. However, internal experts did have some disadvantages, and Xu Min knew every benefit and drawback there was. He had a few stances he could use alongside his external strength.
“I will not kill you; I will only cripple you, so you better be glad,” Tang Jin hostile and coldly said with a sinister grin, baring his teeth. Every expert heard his words, and many of them sighed, thinking this would be the end of one more rising star. With this in the mind of many of the spectators, Xu Min was deemed to become a cripple after today; but even so, the short while he fought he had shined. He had shined as the brightest star in Ri Chu City. He set new records for the tournament by defeating twenty experts and brought pride and honor to the Yong family. It was just a shame that he had to pay this high price by doing so.
Shockwaves appeared in the entire arena as Qi energy ripples started appearing around Tang Jin, encircling him like a snake does with its prey. Xu Min had seen this attack before, so it did not impress him; rather, he disdainfully looked at the snake Qi. He had met snakes many times before, and more dangerous than a snake made from Qi.Unsheathing his sword, a low sound could be heard before Xu Min took a defensive stance. Unlike the other defeated experts he had faced so far, Xu Min knew he would be able to devour some of the snake’s energy, but his opponent was not easy. He could not only rely on his sword’s devouring ability but had to fight using all of his strength. Everything he had within him needed to be used now.
The snake latched out like a whip. So swift it was almost impossible to see it, but Xu Min specialized in speed and with a simple sidestep he avoided the Qi snake. The snake shot right past him, yet it did not even touch the corner of his sleeve.
He then brought the sword down, with a clean cut, and a swishing sound the snake’s head separated from its body. Xu Min’s sword quickly devoured the Qi that made up the snake’s head while the other body instantly retreated into Tang Jin’s body.
Everyone including Tang Jin was shocked to Hui Yue quickly escaping the Qi snake. As well, Seeing that he could destroy Tang Jin’s attack with one sword strike was even more shocking. Looking at the two experts, it did not quite seem they were two full star’s a part.
Some of the experts in the audience started observing the Yong family. When they saw the serene expression on Yong Meilin’s face, doubt welled up within them, doubt and a slight fear. They started praying Tang Jin would take the fight seriously; so, seriously he would trample upon this young genius. Allowing the Alluring Treasure Pavilion more strength was enough to frighten everyone present.
While the audience was busy in their thoughts, Xu Min was entirely focused on Tang Jin. Though he had managed to escape the attack, he had only done so because he correctly guessed when Tang Jin was going to attack. His focus on speed also allowed him to read his opponent easier, but there was a whole two-star difference between them. Although Xu Min could dodge and avoid, what was this worth if he could not attack?
Thinking while dodging, Xu Min and Tang Jin exchanged one attack after another. While Xu Min’s attacks were completely useless against Tang Jin, the older and higher-level expert’s attacks were not much more useful since none of them hit their target. It was evident both experts were in a desperate deadlock. A situation none of the experts assumed would happen. Their eyes bulged in surprise; their hearts raced, and none dared to breathe, blink, or move. They feared of missing that one mistake, which would determine the winner.