Chapter 71: Cheers
Suspended in the air and bathed in heavenly golden light, Jesse looked like a God. Everyone could feel the power and pressure radiated from Jesse.
The weaker outer disciples were so overwhelmed by this pressure that they were forced to kneel on the ground.
The golden light turned into a huge golden circle and fell toward the battle ring. Eventually, it surrounded the arena.
Jesse stood by the edge of the golden circle with outstretched arms. A few quick gestures later he said, “Destruction Hoop! Go!”
A person who was able to reach the nature level was said to have surpassed the limits of human life. Usually, such people had not only profound wisdom but a trump card as well.
Destruction Hoop was Jesse's trump card.
However, this move cost him a large amount of life vitality.
After the exhausting battle with Zen, Jesse still had more than fifty percent of his life vitality. The moment he summoned the Destruction Hoop, the remaining life vitality was depleted. Standing by the edge of Destruction Hoop, Jesse turned pale and almost fell to the ground.
Jesse had been reluctant to use the Destruction Hoop.
He had cultivated this method with the hopes of using it to clinch a win during a Sect contest. If he revealed his secret weapon in advance, his future opponents would be cautious and prepared.
Given how the battle between him and Zen was going, Jesse couldn't think of a better idea.
Aside from the Destruction Hoop, Jesse was unsure of what other attack methods would secure his victory against Zen.
What upset Jesse more was that he was forced to use this key advantage for a boy at the marrow refining level!
The marrow refining level...
Jesse had been confident that he could beat Zen easily. For a nature creature, dealing with a refiner at the marrow refining level would be as simple as squishing an ant. However, he didn't expect to face such a difficult situation.
He could not accept defeat!
“Since you want to die, I'll fulfill your wish!”
Jesse roared. When the challenge began, Jesse had intended to incapacitate Zen so that he would be unable to retaliate. He had not planned on killing Zen. However, as the battle wore on and Jesse felt humiliated, he became eager to terminate Zen.
Of course, Jesse was quite confident of the power of the Destruction Hoop. Even nature creatures trapped within the circle would be seriously injured. Since Zen was only at the marrow refining level, Jesse was sure that he wouldn't be able to survive the destructive powers of the circle.
The Destruction Hoop began to emit a brilliantly colored light. People could feel the fluctuations of life vitality starting to gather in the battle ring.
Since the cultivation method used the word Destruction in its name, people sensed that it might have the strength to destroy everything encircled by it.
However, Jesse was only at the first stage of the nature level, so the Destruction Hoop would only draw a relatively small range to eliminate the lives within it.
If Jesse broke through the nature level and reached a higher level, his Destruction Hoop would be powerful enough to destroy all the creatures on a mountain.
When the energy of the Destruction Hoop gathered to its limit, it flashed a magnificent golden light that shot toward the sky followed by the sound of a loud explosion.
The Destruction Hoop was so peculiar that it could concentrate all of its power within itself. Even if someone was standing outside but near to the circle, he would not suffer any injuries.
Thus, the energy within the Destruction Hoop was concentrated, just like a volcano waiting to erupt.
The outer disciples of Drizzle Peak turned pale when they saw the terrible power of the Destruction Hoop.
The area inside the Destruction Hoop looked really bad. Under such a powerful attack, they all thought that Zen's body would be torn to pieces.
Most disciples were horrified and shook their head when they thought that Zen would not survive this time.
Since the Destruction Hoop's golden light continued to twinkle, the disciples of Drizzle Peak did not have a clear view of what was happening inside the enclosed area. Helpless, they closed their eyes and prayed that Zen would survive.
After a short while, the energy of the Destruction Hoop dissipated, and the golden light began to fade.
As the light receded, the edge of the arena could be seen.
The battle ring was badly damaged. Whereas earlier it had been smooth, now it was covered in potholes.
As for Zen, people didn't see him. They thought that Zen had been killed.
They all felt sorry for Zen.
However, just after the golden light faded, a figure suddenly rushed out.
This person was devoid of all clothing. But his body was covered in wounds. He darted to the edge of the battle ring and aimed a punch at Jesse.
Since Jesse's life vitality had been used up, he couldn't stand steadily. Focused on maintaining his balance and staying upright, Jesse didn't see this person headed toward him. The surprise blow caught him off-guard, and Jesse was thrown out of the battle ring. Upon impacting on the ground, Jesse passed out.
Zen stood at the edge of the arena. His chest heaved with the effort to breathe.
With his spiritual-weapon-like body, he had survived the Destruction Hoop.
Zen was still a bit afraid of Jesse's final attack.
Although he was well aware of the terrible power of nature creatures, he had to fight harder than when he faced White and Black Fiends at Dragon Fort.
With careful thought and precision, Zen had taken advantage of the flying knife to kill White and Black Fiends. They didn't get the opportunity to use their weapons before their death.
In retrospect, Zen was relieved that he had killed the two Fiends before they used their weapons. Seeing how destructive nature creatures could be, Zen was no longer confident that he would have won against the two Fiends had they used their weapons.
Finally, Jesse, the top-ranking outer disciple of Vulture Peak had failed.
So far, Zen had bested four disciples of Vulture Peak and helped Drizzle Peak obtain an advantage.
Despite the fact that Zen had just secured a huge win for Drizzle Peak, its outer disciples stood still like statues. None had thought that Zen would survive the Hoop. And yet, he stood at the edge of the battle ring, victorious. The situation was so astounding that it was beyond everyone's expectation. The shock was so great that they were rendered speechless.
“Zen won! Drizzle Peak won!”
Nory was the first to regain his senses. As the realization hit him, Nory shouted with glee.
Then countless voices chimed in.
At last, all of the outer disciples of Drizzle Peak began to chant loudly.
“Zen! Zen!”
“Zen! Zen!”
They roared, whistled, and waved their hands.
Zen's face flushed. He had been so focused on surviving the battle that he hadn't noticed that he was standing at the edge of the arena, naked. Although all the disciples at Drizzle Peak were male, Zen felt embarrassed.
Sean noticed Zen's awkward expression. Quickly he removed his outer robe and threw it to Zen.
Zen covered his body with the white robe and then walked out of the battle ring. Accompanied by Nory and Sean, he made his way toward Wurth.
Although injured, Wurth had not left. He had stayed to watch the battle between Zen and Jesse.
“Wurth, how do you feel now?” asked Zen.
The fat on Wurth's face wobbled as the big man chuckled. His small eyes glinted with excitement.
Soon after their acquaintance, Wurth had thought highly of Zen's potential, which was one of the reasons why he had taken the initiative to be friends with Zen. Wurth had a keen sense of judging others' talents.
However, Wurth didn't expect that Zen's strength could rise so fast, just like a flying rocket!
Zen was only at the marrow refining level, but he had defeated Jesse!
What was more, Zen won the battle by surpassing Jesse's secret weapon. It was amazing!
If Wurth's guess was right, Zen also had a secret weapon that he had not yet used. Because of this, Wurth was more awed by Zen.
“You worry about my wounds? Haha. I am not even thinking about my injuries. I'm just happy with your performance!” Wurth laughed out loud. But then he gasped and clutched his chest when he felt the pain from his broken ribs.
Other outer disciples of Drizzle Peak flocked toward the battle ring. They appeared joyful.
If defeated, the outer disciples of Drizzle Peak stood to lose a month's supply of pills and elixirs. This victory by Zen had earned them the supply of elixirs and pills that would have gone to Vulture Peak. The disciples of Drizzle Peak were not celebrating this win because they had earned more supplies. The real highlight had been Zen's perfect performance. He was the hero of Drizzle Peak!
Not far away, Mia's face darkened.
She clenched her teeth and said to Aura, “Well, you can uncover your eyes. That kid has put on clothes.”
Aura pulled her hands off her face and said with a sly smile, “Mia, I'm sorry!”
“What good is an apology? Vulture Peak has been defeated. We've lost a month's supply of pills and money. While that is not a big deal, Jesse, who is my best outer disciple, has been beaten by a little guy at the marrow refining level. It is a big blow for him,” said Mia, sounding depressed.
Since Jesse was one of her key disciples, Mia certainly felt upset.
As Zen had defeated Jesse, Mia worried that his confidence in his martial arts cultivation would be destroyed. The speed of his progress would also slow down.
With a serious expression, Aura said, “While on the road of cultivating martial arts, we all run into strong enemies. If his confidence is damaged so easily, he is too self-conceited. We all know that failure is the mother of success. isn't it?”
Hearing Aura's words, Mia didn't contradict her.
Mia agreed with Aura. The core of martial arts cultivation was to promote determination. Otherwise, if a refiner never suffered any challenges, the first obstacle would result in complete demotivation and the inability to work toward a higher level.
On the contrary, those who suffered failures but still desperately forged ahead were more likely to attain success.
However, Aura's remark sounded like she was showing off.
Seeing that Mia was still unhappy, Aura comforted her with a smile, “Well, Mia. I will compensate you in the future!”
Mia pouted. Considering Master Su's background, she had no choice but to accept Aura's offer. On the other hand, Mia thought that letting Aura owe her a favor was good compensation.
That night, all outer disciples of Drizzle Peak were very excited.
Everyone talked with great relish about Zen's performance in the battle ring.
However, Zen was not that excited. In contrast, he concerned himself with another matter.
After returning to his residence, Zen took out a pile of crystal cores from his space ring. He intended to visit Master Su in the morning to ask her to change the crystal cores into points so that he could go to Perdition Mountain.