Chapter 52: Let Me First Break Your Legs!
"Woah, look at them go!" Xiang Shaoyun teased.
The outer court disciples around them finally couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out in laughter. In fact, they had been holding their laughter since Gou Zi and Wu Mingliang’s first clash.
"Get away from me!" Wu Mingliang felt an unprecedented sense of shame as he pushed Gou Zai away furiously.
"Calm down, seventh brother," a sonorous voice rang out from a certain corner of the arena.
When Wu Mingliang heard that voice, he immediately suppressed the fury in his heart. A few people could be seen walking toward them. The one leading the group somewhat resembled Wu Mingliang. This was Wu Mingliang's sixth brother, Wu Mingguang.
Wu Mingguang was two years older than Wu Mingliang and was far stronger. He had reached third-stage Astral Realm and was among the top 50 inner court disciples.
"Sixth brother, take him down! He has been pushing it too far!" Wu Mingliang asked for his brother's help.
"Don't worry. Your sixth brother will seek justice for you," Wu Mingguang promised before turning his eyes to the martial officer. "Martial officer, since you have decided to watch on as everything happened, I only hope you can continue doing the same and keep on pretending to see nothing."
The martial officer replied, "Audacious! Are you ordering me around?"
"Interpret it however you wish," Wu Mingguang replied coldly.
"Even if you are a personal disciple, you don't have the authority to order me around!" the martial officer barked gloomily.
"Is that so? How about now?" Wu Mingguang said as a command medallion appeared in his hand. It was an elder's medallion, and the holder of once such medallion was to be accorded the treatment of an elder. Not even overseers could disobey the holder of the elder’s medallion.
The martial officer's pupils shrank while his face became ashen. "I advise you to not do anything stupid. Xiang Shaoyun has already gotten the attention of the palace’s higher-ups."
Wu Mingguang acted like he had heard none of that and proceeded to berate Xiang Shaoyun, "Kneel down and apologize to my brother immediately! Beg for his forgiveness until he is willing to forgive you. Or else, I will make sure you suffer a fate worse than death!"
Wu Mingguang spoke ferociously, his body emanating a faint bloody aura that caused others to not dare look straight at him. The aura he was releasing made it clear he was someone who had taken life before. Meanwhile, many outer court disciples started distancing themselves from the arena, afraid that they would be misunderstood as Xiang Shaoyun's accomplice. No matter what, they couldn't afford to offend any inner court disciples.
Xiang Shaoyun merely dug his ear and sneered, "What's that smell? Have you been farting? Look at how everyone is running from the smell!"
"Boss, not even fart stinks that bad! That's the smell of a pile of shit!" Xia Liuhui said.
"Haha, yes, indeed. You're a smart one, kid. I'll be sure to reward you later," Xiang Shaoyun laughed heartily.
"Impudent!" Wu Mingguang bellowed with an ashen expression as he readied himself to attack Xia Liuhui and Xiang Shaoyun.
But right this moment, someone beside him said, "Sixth young master, what's the point of getting angry over a bug like this? Let me deal with him. I'll cripple all his limbs before handing him to you."
The speaker was a young man with dark skin. He was holding two heavy hammers, and with one look, it was clear he was a martial cultivator specializing in strength. This youth was Tie Gang, a late-phase, second-stage Astral Realm cultivator. He was one of Wu Mingguang’s main underlings.
"Good. Do what you want. I will deal with the consequences!" Wu Mingguang said.
Tie Gang nodded and directly attacked with his hammer. The hammer slammed down with the force of a collapsing mountain. A regular person would be hard-pressed to stop this attack. Of course, Xiang Shaoyun wasn't stupid enough to meet this attack with brute force. He avoided it instead.
Bang!
The hammer missed and landed on the ground, creating a half-meter-deep crater on the ground. Right after the first hammer landed, the second hammer was already swinging toward Xiang Shaoyun.
By dual-wielding hammers, Tie Gang could chain his attacks and avoid the fate of being defeated by sheer speed. He could also sow chaos within his opponent's defense. It had been quite effective against his other opponents, but it was not the case for Xiang Shaoyun.
Xiang Shaoyun had a combat prowess comparable to a third-stage Astral Realm cultivator. Therefore, he was much more powerful than Tie Gang. Apart from that, he also had an advantage in speed.
Overlord's Nine Nether Steps!
Xiang Shaoyun's body danced around like a phantom, and he dodged the second attack before appearing behind Tie Gang. Without holding back, he slammed his palm into the back of Tie Gang's head.
Bang!
The slap slammed Tie Gang’s face into the ground.
"Breaking all my limbs? Let me first break your legs!" A ruthless glint surfaced in Xiang Shaoyun's eyes as he leaped, aiming his knees straight at Tie Gang's legs.
"Stop!" Wu Mingguang howled. He rushed forward and stabbed his spear at Xiang Shaoyun. With a golden flash, the spear arrived before Xiang Shaoyun. If Xiang Shaoyun continued his attack, the spear would hit him.
Sensing the threat posed by the spear, Xiang Shaoyun shifted his position and dodged the spear. But the moment he landed, he slammed one of his feet into the ground and shot straight toward Tie Gang again. When he arrived, he grabbed Tie Gang's arm and gave it a twist.
Crack!
"AHHH!"
First, a crisp crack rang out. Then, a miserable wail akin to a pig being slaughtered filled the air. Just like that, Xiang Shaoyun had snapped Tie Gang’s thick arm. The various disciples in the surroundings were shaken by what they saw. An inner court disciple was defeated just like that. Moreover, his defeat was such a bitter one. It was hard to believe!
They were even more shaken by Xiang Shaoyun's strength. A month ago, at the Evaluation Stele, he was only a third-stage Basic Realm cultivator. Only a short time had passed since then, but Xiang Shaoyun was already an Astral Realm expert. From the looks of it, he was far stronger than a brand new Astral Realm cultivator too.
T-this Xiang Shaoyun is growing so quickly! He is indeed worthy of being a freak capable of surviving the Hall of Limits! the martial officer lamented inwardly.
"Trying to bully me with your strength? I have never been afraid of that!" Xiang Shaoyun said right to Wu Mingguang's face, one foot still stepping on Tie Gang. The current Xiang Shaoyun was overflowing with the aura of a tyrant, looking like an overlord!
"Good. Excellent. I will teach you a lesson today," Wu Mingguang declared, gnashing his teeth.
"All who have spoken that way to me have instead been taught a lesson themselves. If you want to be the next in line to receive my lesson, be my guest," Xiang Shaoyun replied unyieldingly.
While Wu Mingguang and Xiang Shaoyun were declaring war against each other, a different group rushed over.
Li Hong'er, who was part of the newcomers, pointed at Xiang Shaoyun and shouted, "Big brother, that is the scoundrel who bullied me! You must avenge me!"