Chapter 639: Number One Genius in Alchemy City
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
All of the Holy Zhi Palace students on the battlefield, even Huang Jiuge, retreated. They had all experienced Di Gang’s powers firsthand, and he was indeed more powerful than they were. He was truly the genius of the highest order in the Alchemy City regions. His reputation preceded him and he had what it took to back his immense reputation. His unbelievably exceptional talents for combat made it so that even those ranked high on the Law Rank of the Holy Zhi Palace would find him difficult to deal with.
Di Gang proved himself to be the number one genius in all of the southwestern regions of the Barren State. While rumor had it that the prestige of both Li Futu and Gongsun Ye were almost equal to his, the truth was that Di Gang’s combat ability was several orders of magnitude higher than either of them.
Di Gang stood proudly in the air, basking in the light of the Golden Raven and watching Ye Futian move, who was then attacking Chi Lian. Chi Lian ranked fourth in the Alchemy Conference. His combat ability was immensely high and there was no way Ye Futian would be able to easily overpower him.
The fire and golden light around Chi Lian burst in a crazed manner and it seemed as if his body was being turned into a large painting. It was as if countless runes were coalescing into a matrix of sorts, forging a terrifying giant sword. Sword aura from all around him whooshed, and the golden light and fire resonated with the aura. The shadow of the Roc descended upon Chi Lian and at that very split second, the space around him felt frozen. He then felt a very strong, oppressive pressure bearing down on him, freezing the space around him.
Boom, boom, boom! Incredibly terrifying golden fires exploded in the air in an attempt to destroy that power that seemed to be placing everything around him under lockdown. However, he still felt incredibly heavy and cold, as if all forces around him made it a point to pin him down, preventing him from moving.
Sharp, high-pitched ringing noises were heard, and appalling light burst from the giant sword, tearing everything around it apart.
“Go,” Chi Lian uttered a single word with a cold voice. The giant sword, under his control, went about tearing apart everything in its path, making its way to the Roc.
Voom. The golden mirage was unbelievably quick as it zipped past the giant sword. At that second, the giant sword suddenly blew up into countless pieces of small rune swords, bursting with incredibly sharp sword will, attempting to tear apart the space. Despite his frightening speed, Ye Futian was unable to evade the attack. The countless rune swords went for him, yet clanging sharp noises were heard soon after. There seemed to be an absolute defense field with Ye Futian at its center. The rune swords zipped past the starlight, yet they were still unable to break his defenses. The Roc soon descended upon Chi Lian.
Chi Lian shouted. Using his body as the container, countless runes flashed about and spread all around. It was a dazzling scene to behold, like his body had been turned into a giant sword of alchemy. However, Ye Futian, clad in the shadow of the Roc, remained unfazed as he attacked. The blow landed directly onto Chi Lian’s body, and it seemed as if the attack hit the giant sword squarely as well. Intense, heavy power burst suddenly as the giant sword blasted countless shimmering runes, trying to defend against the attack in a crazed manner.
Kaboom… Lightning of incomparable magnitude burst, like the god of thunder himself was hammering on the giant sword in a rage. Cracking noises sounded out, and cracks began to form on the giant sword. The giant weapon was soon torn apart as dazzling lights flashed. Chi Lian’s body was sent flying by the move. He spat out blood in the air and his face looked as pale as paper.
“Even Chi Lian, a Grade One Noble, was utterly incapable of defending against the attack.” The hearts of many shuddered. While it was easy to say that what happened between Gongsun Ye and Ye Futian was simply due to everyone having overestimated what Gongsun Ye was capable of, what happened right there and then was a testament of Ye Futian’s unparalleled capacity ability which was deemed to be at the pinnacle of Noble Plane. There was no one that Ye Futian was unable to simply swat aside, other than Di Gang.
“That fellow…” Xu Que watched Ye Futian with a startled look. He fought with Chi Lian before and knew well of Chi Lian’s prowess. He was incapable to defend against Chi Lian’s attack before, and that alone spoke volume of Ye Futian’s current prowess.
Not having fought for two whole years, Ye Futian’s rank on the Law Rank of the Holy Zhi Palace remained at tenth place. However, everyone knew that he should have advanced a long time ago. Speculating Ye Futian’s prowess happened very often in the Holy Zhi Palace. That one battle enabled them to see it for themselves personally.
The number genius of Alchemy City, Di Gang, stood before Ye Futian.
“You all, back off,” Di Gang addressed everyone who was being attacked by Ye Futian. Everyone retreated as told; even Li Futu did so without hesitation. He knew if Ye Futian were to attack him, there was no way he would come out on top. That Grade Three Noble from the Holy Zhi Palace now felt like a demon god of some kind. Everyone else who had fought before retreated, with only two people left within the Alchemy Pillar area—Di Gang and Ye Futian.
Both of them stared at each other. Di Gang was basking in the light of the Golden Raven, while Ye Futian was clad with the Roc. Those two were deemed kings among birds. The upcoming battle was one that would reveal Ye Futian using his full power and how long he would last facing off against someone like Di Gang.
Di Gang locked gazes with Ye Futian as he said, “You are a Grade Three Noble, and as such, it has not been my place to bully you. But you invaded the Emperor family residence and overpowered the Emperor family with numbers. As such, I see no other way than to fight you personally. However, I will only injure you very badly in this fight, as penance for those you have injured that day. When you reach a higher plane in the future, I welcome a challenge from you again.” Di Gang spoke with an incredibly prideful tone. Despite the immense talents like none other and combat ability second to none, Di Gang still deemed Ye Futian no match for him.
Di Gang was at the pinnacle of the Noble Plane, and he was literally steps away from becoming a sage. His talents surpassed all others, and both his offensive and defensive capacities were mastered at uncommon heights. His Life Spirit was immensely powerful and he reigned supreme in martial arts at the noble level. Besides Ye Futian, there was hardly anyone in the Noble Plane who was able to truly face him and come out on top in all of the Barren State.
It was not a statement made in arrogance but in confidence. He had thought for a long time, if Bai Luli was of the same plane as him, there would have been an epic battle between two Nobles at the pinnacle of their training.
“There have been many who like you before; arrogant like none other. Be it Bai Ze in the Law Battle three years ago, or Yan Jiu who is here today, or anyone you can think of, they all behaved in such ways. The end result of their arrogance, they know well themselves,” Ye Futian said plainly, embarrassing Yan Jiu who was among the crowd. Ye Futian obviously targeted him for humiliation, yet Bai Luli looked composed and there was little to be found from his expression. Ye Futian was simply telling the truth: Bai Ze’s prowess was far behind that of Ye Futian, and Bai Luli saw no need to deny that. He made it a point to train Bai Ze harder when he returned to the Holy Zhi Palace.
“As for you being of a higher plane than I am, there is no need to fret about that. If we were of the same plane, you would have no business being here.” Ye Futian added plainly, “Those who were of the same plane as I never stood a chance. They were nothing to me, and they had no right to even speak to me.”
“Well…” Everyone within earshot was rendered speechless by Ye Futian’s words. Di Gang was incredibly arrogant as he had what it took to back his claim. However, Ye Futian’s response proved even more insolent. He had no one of the same plane to fight against, as there was simply no one of the same plane who stood a chance against him. What he meant was he was invincible compared to everyone on the same plane in the Barren State. No one of the same plane had the right to even think about lifting a finger against him. These were probably the most insolent words a martial arts cultivator could come up with.
“You brag without shame.” Di Kai of the Emperor family said coldly, “I have never seen one of the younger generation as insolent as you are.”
“He became a Law Battle champion to enter the Holy Zhi Palace as a Grade Nine Noble, and he came to sweep everyone aside in the Alchemy City regions as a Grade Three Noble. All who he fought and defeated were people of a higher plane. As he put it himself, no one on the same plane as him stands a chance against him,” Chu Ji elaborated with a smirk, finding the young man to be rather amusing.
“Hmph.” Di Kai snorted. “He will learn his lesson after this battle.”
Two distinctly terrifying auras permeated the battlefield. Di Gang said nothing else. There was no need for more words. If Ye Futian was behaving in such a confident manner, Di Gang had to do nothing else but to overpower him with sheer force.
Terrifying martial arts will burst out. Di Gang was standing very far away from Ye Futian. However, when Di Gang lashed out with a clawing attack, the Golde Raven appeared, blocking out the sky and went straight for Ye Futian with its fiery golden claws.
“Absolute Territory.” Starlight circled around Ye Futian as it turned into a space of Absolute Territory. When the Golden Raven shadow came tearing at him, sharp, screeching noises were heard. The starlight around Ye Futian seemed utterly impenetrable.
“Good defense. I specialize in martial arts, and I have invented the offensive and defensive techniques of the Golden Raven Armor. Are you ready?” Di Gang stepped forward, flashing like the Golden Raven at a frightening speed, coming straight for Ye Futian.
“Spell, Sky Freezing,” Ye Futian said. Powerful areas of Will permeated the space around him, seemingly freezing everything around it. It was a power that came with intense pressure, as even Di Gang’s speed seemed to have been considerably slowed. Di Gang had a strange look as he came to feel such power first hand. He was surprised to find it nearly impossible to tell what kind of elements were used to create such a fusion power. That meant that what Ye Futian pulled surpassed his current plane limit and gave birth to some completely new area of effect powers. It was a talent like no other indeed. However, that trick still proved inadequate.
Voom. Golden fiery wings spread and devastating power of flames burst in the air. An incredibly huge Golden Raven appeared and blocked out the sky. It seemed as if the space itself was being assailed by a pair of endless golden fiery wings, cutting the frozen space apart with a pair of wings like blades capable of cutting anything in its path, as Di Gang continued to come at Ye Futian.
Incredible pressure soon bore down. Di Gang’s imposing figure soon descended upon Ye Futian, and the Golden Raven covering his body lashed out with a claw of unparalleled sharpness, bashing hard into Ye Futian’s Absolute Territory. Tremendously terrifying starlight orbited around Ye Futian, yet Di Gang’s attack seemed to have tremendous penetration power. The golden flames seeped into his defenses, flaring about in the screen of starlight. Cracking noises were heard as the defensive power of the Absolute Territory shattered. The Golden Raven cried as it continued to tear at everything before it, heading straight for Ye Futian. Golden vines were seen bursting out, heading for the Golden Raven. The attack was, however, quickly torn apart, and Ye Futian backed away like a bolt of lightning.
“Despite Ye Futian being a genius like no other. The difference in planes still makes it so that it is impossible for him to defend against Di Gang’s attacks,” many who were watching the fight noted to themselves. Di Gang’s offensive powers were matchless among all nobles in Alchemy City, and he was second to none even when compared to all the nobles found in the Barren State!