Chapter 233: Giving Him A Good Beating
“Mack showed an extraordinary talent for the array as soon as he joined Blackrock Peak. You arranged a secret cultivation place for the outer disciples of our peak at that time, called the Brilliance Body Refining Array. Do you remember it?” Master Yu asked with a smile.
Saint Yang nodded and said, “I remember it. At that time, only a few peaks such as Blackrock Peak, Skytop Peak, and Azure Peak, owned secret cultivation places for outer disciples. The Brilliance Body Refining Array was what I arranged for outer disciples of your peak to refine their bodies.”
Most of the outer disciples of Cloud Sect hadn't reached the nature level. Many of them remained at the marrow refining level, the 5th grade of the body refining realm. So Saint Yang arranged the magic array at that time to help the outer disciples clear the impurities from their bodies.
“One day, the array didn't work properly. I didn't know what happened. Maybe it was the torrential rain and the thunderbolt the day before that led to the malfunction. I knew you were busy, so I didn't want to bother you. But I couldn't find a person who knew how to repair the array. That's when Mack offered to help me. I didn't believe he could fix it as he was just a new outer disciple while the magic array was sophisticated and powerful. But I permitted him to try, and to my surprise, he did it! So far, the magic array has been running smoothly! Haha!” said Master Yu with a smile.
“Oh, really? He fixed the array? Well, well, I'll take a closer look at his battle. If he can make it to the top 100, I will consider accepting him as my personal disciple,” said Saint Yang as he stroked his beard.
Master Yu smiled and said, “Mack has been focused on the research of array for years. He has great attainments in arranging magic array, while his fighting ability is relatively weaker.” Master Yu knew that if Saint Yang accepted Mack as a personal disciple, he would get a huge reward. He was aware that it didn't matter whether Mack was good at fighting or not. Saint Yang was more interested in Mack's gift for magic array. What was more, Mack's ranking in the All Peaks Competition was not that important either. As the second most powerful peak in Cloud Sect, Blackrock Peak had many talented disciples, some of whom had reached the Illuminating Soul Realm. They were the key disciples to the victory of the All Peaks Competition.
“It doesn't matter. One can practice step by step to improve his realms of cultivation. This is true for a person's fighting ability as well. But the attainments in the magic array are determined by his gift. If Mack is really a talented young man, I'll not overlook him.” Saint Yang waved his hand and answered.
“Let's watch the battle first. I believe he should easily win the game. Look! The light of the magic array is turning dim!” As they talked about the battle, the light in the arena gradually dimmed, which meant that the battle on it was over.
Master Yu turned to the arena and was about to say something, but his voice was caught in his throat, and no words came.
Mack lost?
Mack was lying on the arena, while Zen stood in the center, straight as a tower.
Others might not know Mack's real strength, but Master Yu was familiar with what Mack could do. Even a strong man at the Illuminating Soul Realm would not find it easy to escape if trapped by Mack's magic array.
There was an incredible expression on Saint Yang's face. Mack's opponent was only at the second-grade of the nature level. How could he break and destroy the Heaven-Fire killing array? Even though Mack was only at the consummation of the nature level, and he couldn't unleash all the power of the Heaven-Fire killing array, it was unlikely to be destroyed by a disciple at the second-grade of the nature level!
Mack struggled to his feet. After Zen punched him, Mack felt as though he had been in a savaged head-on fight with a wild animal.
He struggled to open his mouth and wanted to tell the referee that he admitted defeat. As he opened his mouth, another powerful blow landed on his face.
“Bam!”
Zen gave Mack a bash on the nose and broke his nose bone.
An expression of fear came over Mack's face. He looked up at Zen and gasped, “Zen, how dare you beat me? The battle is ... over!”
“Why? It's not over. You haven't admitted defeat, nor have you passed out,” said Zen scornfully.
Zen was avenging Yehudi. He would give Mack a good thrashing just as Mack had done to Yehudi.
Mack realized at this time that Zen, who appeared to be an ordinary inner disciple, was more ruthless than he had thought! He had no choice but to wait for the opportunity to admit defeat to the referee.
But as he opened his mouth, another punch came. Zen didn't give him the slightest chance.
“Bam!”
Zen punched him on the face. Blood spurted all over Mack's face, and a few of his teeth broke and fell on the ground. Although pills could cure these injuries, and broken teeth could regenerate, Mack was afraid that it would take him a long time to recover from the damage.
Zen didn't give Mack any chance to admit defeat. He controlled the power of his fists so that Mack wouldn't pass out. At the same time, he tried to make Mack feel as much physical pain as possible!
The referee watched the scene coldly. As a referee, he was just following the rules. He didn't care about the life and death of these disciples.
Seeing this, many disciples of Cloud Sect began to whisper among themselves.
“Zen is so cruel! He won't allow his opponent to admit defeat! He has gone too far!”
“You didn't watch the previous match, did you? In my opinion, Mack is getting what he deserves!”
“What do you mean?”
“Earlier today, Mack defeated Yehudi, the topmost inner disciple at Drizzle Peak. But Mack didn't spare Yehudi. He went on beating him until Yehudi fainted. He didn't let Yehudi go at that time. I think it fair that he is now being attacked violently by Zen, who also comes from Drizzle Peak. Mack deserves it!”
“Oh, I see. He is getting what he deserves! But Zen is too strong. He is only at the second-grade of the nature level, and he can avenge Yehudi. It's incredible! He must be stronger than the Jacques years ago. Jacques was also at the second-grade of the nature level three years ago, and he was able to become one of the top 100 disciples. Considering Zen's fighting capability, he should be able to make it to the top 100, too. I think he is likely to be selected as a personal disciple!”
There was a lot of discussion about the battle, and many more people were giving their opinions.
“Good! Well done!” Master Wen jumped with joy and his face flustered with excitement. It looked as if he were the man who was beating Mack in the arena.
The disciples of Drizzle Peak held their heads high as pride filled them. Yehudi was the most excited. He sat cross-legged on the ground, but he was no longer focused on the absorption of the pill. His fists were so tightly clenched that his nails broke through the skin on his palm. Blood oozed from the wound.
“Zen, thank you!” murmured Yehudi. The humiliation brought by Mack and the subsequent shame Yehudi felt seemed to be gradually dissipating.
The disciples of Blackrock Peak, however, had sour expressions on their faces at this time. Master Yu's face darkened as he gloomily watched the battle in the arena.
“Master Yu, let me stop him!” said a man next to Master Yu. He wore a blue gown with dragons painted on it. A purple hat glimmered on his head, and a jade pendant dangled on his waist. His dignified bearing marked him out from the common people.
His surname was Su, and he was the sixth son of the Burning Sky Emperor. His name was Nile.
Nile inherited the cultivation talent of his father and entered the Illuminating Soul Realm at the age of 24. Unlike the third and seventh sons of the emperor, who were fighting for the throne, Nile immersed himself in martial arts and cultivation. He had no desire to pursue the throne.
If Nile had to choose which of his siblings would inherit the throne, he would select Ray, the third son of the emperor, because Ray was his elder brother, while the other princes were his half brothers. If possible, he was willing to help Ray ascend to the throne.
Master Yu shook his head and said, “No. If you go in the arena, you will break the rules of Cloud Sect. I'll stop him.”
Master Yu walked up to the edge of the arena and shouted, “Zen, Mack has lost the game. Stop beating him!”
Zen struck Mack again. He gave an icy look to Master Yu. With an expression of contemptuous scorn, he asked, “Why should I stop beating him? When he was attacking Yehudi, I didn't see you come forward and stop him.”
“How dare you! He is a disciple of Blackrock Peak!” Master Yu shouted. He was the master of Blackrock Peak. He thought Zen would obey his order, which would brook no interference. He wouldn't plead with Zen.
“Oh, So what if he is a disciple of Blackrock Peak? Do you mean the disciples of Blackrock Peak have higher status than that of Drizzle Peak? Do you mean the disciples of Drizzle Peak, Vulture Peak, and Sea Peak deserve to be beaten if they lose, while the disciples of Blackrock Peak are superior to them and shouldn't be beaten?” Zen asked.
Zen's words echoed the inner thoughts of many disciples.
Although Zen was merely pointing out the injustice in this competition, in fact, this kind of unfair phenomenon happened from time to time in Cloud Sect. Not every disciple was treated equally. When disputes occurred, it was usually the top-ranking peaks that decided who was right and who was wrong.
Over the years, the disciples and masters of peaks that ranked at the bottom had suffered unfairly.
Therefore, Zen's words mirrored what many disciples and masters of low-ranking peaks felt. Even Master Wang of Sea Peak, who had a feud with Drizzle Peak, nodded his head silently.
Strictly speaking, there was nothing wrong with the rules of Cloud Sect.
Absolute fairness didn't exist in the world. It was reasonable for Cloud Sect to pour good resources into the stronger peaks and the more gifted disciples.
But now, Zen stood victorious in the arena, while Mack was the one who was beaten. According to the rules of Cloud Sect, the stronger man set the rules. Zen's victory showed that he was more powerful, more gifted, and more promising than Mack, so his status should be superior to Mack's. Since his behavior hadn't broken the rules of Cloud Sect, why did Master Yu of Blackrock Peak object?
“You ... Do you know what will happen if you offend Blackrock Peak? In the subsequent battles, you are bound to meet more disciples of Blackrock Peak. If you let Mack go, I'll ask other disciples not to make trouble for you. If you don't agree, I'll let them return to you ten times the pain Mack has suffered!” Seeing that his persuasion didn't work, Master Yu resorted to threatening Zen.
“Really?” Zen threw another punch at Mack before sneering, “All right. I'll wait. I'll wait and see how the disciples of Blackrock Peak will return the pain to me!”
Zen was not afraid of Master Yu. He continued to hit Mack at his own pace. Mack was so weak that he had no power to resist. But Zen ensured that his attacks weren't powerful enough to let him faint, nor did Zen allow Mack the opportunity to admit defeat. It appeared as though Zen was gruesomely torturing Mack.
However, Mack seemed to have forgotten that he enjoyed humiliating others like this.
Finally, Zen kicked Mack to the sky. Mack collided with the light curtain of the enchanted barrier and passed out.
The referee declared, “Zen from Drizzle Peak won. Mack from Blackrock Peak lost.”
Mack's failure had attracted the attention of many people.
A few people knew that Mack was not as weak as he appeared in this fight and that his magic killing array was very powerful. But they didn't realize how strong Zen was.
Most people didn't even know how Zen won the game. After all, the battle between Zen and Mack was carried out in the magic killing array, and the light curtain released by the array had blocked everyone's sight.
Kenneth was an exception. He glared at Zen and frowned. No one knew what he was thinking.