Chapter Ninety-Six: Xuánwǔ Arena

Chapter 96: The Xuanwu Arena
Chapter 12: Preaching at Lingshan, Obtaining the Mystical Method, Traveling Ten Thousand Miles on Clouds Alone (Part 6)

The pockmarked youth was enraged by these words and shouted, "Boy, stop relying on your glib tongue!"

Before he had even finished speaking, he lunged forward. His ten fingers curled slightly into claws, striking rapidly toward Ye Hua’s throat. Ye Hua smiled faintly, his figure shimmering and abruptly vanishing from the spot. Missing his mark, the pockmarked youth spun around, delivering a fierce flying kick. A beam of red light erupted from his toe, causing the space several dozen feet behind him to ripple. Suddenly, a giant golden hand, as broad as a lotus leaf, manifested out of thin air. With a flash of gold, it gripped the red light, crushing it into nothingness.

By now, the pockmarked youth had turned back. Sneering, he slashed his claws horizontally, sending out dozens of razor-sharp, wire-like gusts of wind. However, the golden hand that had just appeared to block the red light vanished as quickly as it had come, leaving the wind gusts to strike only empty air.

Seemingly confident, the pockmarked youth took a step to the right, retracted his claws, bent his left elbow backward, and unleashed another volley of wind gusts toward the right. The silver threads sliced through the mid-air, but just as they appeared to hit nothing, a muffled "thud" echoed. Ye Hua slowly materialized in the air.

He looked down at his own hands with a hint of surprise, noticing a thin red line across his fingers. Several beads of blood slowly welled up and dripped onto the ground.

Seeing this, the pockmarked youth chuckled, "You kid, are you wearing some kind of treasure made of heavenly silkworm silk? Ha! Even so, you can't withstand my Nirvana Claw!"

Without further ado, he lunged again. With his left claw high and his right low, he suddenly flipped and circled, a ball of lightning manifesting between his palms. He struck directly at Ye Hua’s chest, his ten fingers acting like tiny bolts of lightning that tore through the void to viciously seize his opponent.

Seeing the claws descending, Ye Hua sneered, "Do I need a magical treasure to deal with your Nirvana Claw? Heh, I can handle these chicken claws of yours with my bare hands!"

With that, he made no attempt to dodge. A brilliant golden light suddenly erupted from his body, making him look like a statue of bronze. He clenched his fists and struck out at his opponent with a raw, unadorned blow. Hearing Ye Hua’s boast, the pockmarked youth laughed loudly, about to retort, "You’re just blowing hot air!"

Before the words left his lips, he felt an incredibly violent pressure rushing toward him. Even before the blow reached him, his breath was stifled, and his chest felt tight. He cursed inwardly, "What a brat! Such domineering fist energy! Let’s see if your fists are stronger or my claws are!" As he thought this, the lightning ball on his fingers crackled and hissed, transforming into tiny electric arcs that wrapped around his digits like ten glowing thimbles, striking toward Ye Hua’s fists.

The dozen or so disciples on the eighteenth floor, seeing the two men begin to fight, watched intently. When they heard the name "Nirvana Claw," their expressions shifted, as if they had heard of its reputation and knew of its lethality. They thought to themselves, "That frail youth might not be a match for the pockmarked one!"

To their amazement, the moment the frail youth transformed into what looked like a bronze statue, the air was flooded with silver and gold light, so dazzling that they could barely keep their eyes open. The two clashed with all their might. A series of muffled "clacks" sounded, and a figure was sent flying, crashing into a bookshelf several dozen feet away.

Before the figure could hit the shelf, a transparent light barrier flickered, slowing his flight before he collapsed to the floor. The onlookers took a closer look and saw that it was indeed the pockmarked youth.

Back at the original spot, the golden glow on the frail youth had faded, and he was smiling down at the pockmarked youth groveling on the ground.

The crowd of disciples felt a chill. After a moment, the pockmarked youth struggled to his feet, a trail of blood at the corner of his mouth. He looked at Ye Hua with deep malice and hatred, shouting, "Fine, fine! You just wait! One day I will pay you back tenfold!"

Without looking back, he hobbled down the stairs. Ye Hua laughed, "Very well, I shall wait for you here at the Grand Scripture Pavilion!"

Seeing the youth descend in a rage, Ye Hua turned to the onlookers and cupped his hands, "My apologies for disturbing your meditation, senior brothers. I hope you can forgive me!" With that, he also turned and walked downstairs.

The dozen or so spectators looked at each other in confusion. This battle had started abruptly and ended just as quickly; it seemed that the outcome had been decided within a few rounds.

One youth asked another, "Senior Brother Zhao, did you see that?" The youth surnamed Zhao smiled, "Brother Ding, that Nirvana Claw is merely a hollow reputation; the pockmarked one hasn't mastered it at all. However, the technique of that frail youth is hard to decipher. How could a simple, plain punch have such immense power?"

Brother Ding chuckled, "Senior Brother Zhao, don't underestimate that pockmarked guy's Nirvana Claw; I think he has attained at least thirty percent proficiency! It’s just that the Buddhist technique of the frail youth from Mount Wutai is far too overbearing. If it were me, I wouldn't want to face that punch head-on either!"

The youth surnamed Zhao nodded and sighed, "Brother Ding is right. Both of them are unfamiliar faces; they must be newcomers. We should try to befriend that frail youth in the future."

As Ye Hua descended the stairs, he felt waves of agony in his body. His previously injured meridians had not yet fully recovered, so it was truly unwise to force his "Great Brightness Body-Crossing Technique." He had been pushed into a corner and had no choice but to break the pockmarked youth's Nirvana Claw.

However, those lightning-charged fingers were fierce. The moment they touched his fists, ten strands of electricity surged into his meridians. His left arm, which had been sealed by the Golden Eagle, was irritated by the lightning, causing his meridians—which had been improving—to worsen, and the Golden Eagle was inevitably affected as well.

Thinking of this, Ye Hua frowned. By the time he reached the ground floor, the pockmarked youth was long gone.

Ma Sen and Wang Ting, who had been watching from the first floor, were delighted to see Ye Hua descend. They hurried over and called out from a distance, "Brother Ye!" Ye Hua turned and greeted them, "Senior Brother Wang, Senior Brother Ma!"

The two had been incredibly astonished earlier when they saw the Grandmaster of Constant Observance personally lead Ye Hua upstairs. They assumed the young man must have a noble status—otherwise, why would the Pavilion Master himself accompany him to tour the Grand Scripture Pavilion? For decades, they had never seen anyone receive such treatment. What was more, the person looked like an unremarkable young man!

They were perplexed. A short while later, the Pavilion Master had returned alone, and the young man was nowhere to be seen. The Grandmaster of Constant Observance had instructed them, "When Young Master Ye comes down, tell him to find me at the Ninth Preaching Court." The two had hurriedly bowed in agreement.

A moment later, they saw a severely injured, pockmarked man hobbling down in a daze. They were shocked; fighting was strictly forbidden in the Grand Scripture Pavilion, and they wondered who had such audacity.

Immediately after, they saw "Young Master Ye" following behind. Realizing what had happened, they quickly stepped forward and called out, "Brother Ye!"

Ye Hua smiled heartily, "Thank you for waiting, brothers. I will rely on your guidance in the future!"

Wang Ting and Ma Sen hurriedly replied, "Brother Ye, why be so polite? If you don't mind, just call us Brother Wang and Brother Ma! The term 'Senior Brother' is too distant!"

Ye Hua laughed, "Brother Wang, Brother Ma!"

Wang Ting grinned, "Brother Ye, that's better. The Pavilion Master instructed that if you came down, you should find him at the Ninth Preaching Court. We were only meant to pass on the message; we don't know what it’s about!"

Ye Hua nodded, "Thank you, Brother Wang! Since the Grandmaster has commanded it, I must not delay. I will go immediately and speak with you both when I return!"

Ma Sen said, "Brother Ye, you are too kind. Please, go ahead!" Ye Hua didn't say anything more; with a slight cupping of his hands, he turned and headed toward the Ninth Preaching Court.

At the Xuanwu Arena, Ma Fei and the others sat on a high platform, watching the matches in the distance. The more they watched, the darker their expressions became.

They heard Gu Yunqi sigh, "Indeed, the world is full of talented people. My meager skills are far inferior to those competing on the field!"

Shi Lei smiled upon hearing this, "Don't tell me you intend to go back and cultivate for several more years under Zen Master Zihui at Heiwu Mountain!"

Gu Yunqi sighed, "Since my master allowed me to come down from the mountain to travel, how could I return without any achievements? If he were to be truly angry, I would be in trouble. But it is true; watching this, I realize I am truly a frog at the bottom of a well, and I have a long way to go. Perhaps you all should go down and try your hand!"

Ma Fei nodded, "Today is only the preliminary round, and it has already attracted so many experts. There are still ten days of competition left; let's watch for a few more days. Look at that woman in the arena—is she a disciple of the Nine Dragon Palace from Furong Peak of Mount Huangshan? The one fighting her is a disciple of the Manifestation Sect from North Yandang Mountain. If I were to face them, I would have a massive headache; it wouldn't be easy to win without a bitter struggle!"

Zhang Lan stood to the side, looking distracted and uninterested in the match, occasionally glancing around. Shi Lei noticed her anomaly and found it amusing, "If Brother Ye were here, I wonder what he would think. Given Brother Ye's profound internal energy, I imagine he would win easily against the disciples in the arena! Don't you think so, Junior Sister Zhang?"

When Zhang Lan heard Shi Lei mention Ye Hua and address her, her body visibly trembled. She looked at Shi Lei, only to see him staring at her with a strange, mischievous smile. Her face flushed, and she said, "With Senior Brother Shi's insight, I'm sure you're right. Brother Ye's internal energy is indeed heaven-sent, something ordinary people can hardly compare to! I am even further behind!"

Zhang Ke laughed, "Junior Sister Zhang, you are too modest! I wonder if your Laoshan sect has any disciples here this time!"

Zhang Lan nodded, "Although Laoshan is led by the Three Palaces and is known as the Laoshan Sect to outsiders, there are actually many branches within the sect, all independent. Furthermore, there are the so-called Twelve Laoshan Lines, Nine Palaces, and Eighteen Caves! Even if fellow disciples are here, most of them wouldn't recognize each other. That wandering monk who just used the Zen staff is a disciple of the Lion Lotus Institute of Laoshan, and he was using the Nine-Turn Coiling Dragon Technique of the North Water Line of Laoshan, mixed with the Unrefined Lion internal strength of the Lion Lotus Institute!"

Zhang Ke asked, "I have heard of the Nine-Turn Coiling Dragon Technique, but I have never heard of this Unrefined Lion strength. That monk is truly impressive!"

Zhang Lan nodded, "The Unrefined Lion internal strength is quite famous in Laoshan. The Lion Lotus Institute has a stone stele with archaic and precious carvings, and the inscription on it records this very technique. No one knows how many years the stele has been passed down, or whose hand the technique originated from!"