Chapter 47: The Five-Step Grandmaster (Please Bookmark)
Chapter 47: The Five-Step Grandmaster (Please Bookmark)
Three Yuan City was far from peaceful tonight.
Especially near the Huang family compound, teams carrying torches swarmed out, like fiery dragons spreading in all directions.
Wind seemed to rise beneath Fang Xi's feet as he moved with extreme speed, yet closely pursuing him from behind was a single person: none other than Huang Yuanwu!
Originally, if he went all out, he could have easily shaken off his pursuers, then used his camouflage cloak to vanish without a trace.
With a cultivator's methods, not even a Nine-Lives Mastiff could track him down.
This was his confidence in daring to cause such a stir in Three Yuan City!
However, his target this time was Huang Yuanwu, so naturally, he wouldn't flee.
The two, one chasing and one fleeing, arrived at the backyard of an abandoned mansion in the blink of an eye.
Under the moonlight, Fang Xi turned, gazing calmly at Huang Yuanwu: "You dare to follow me? You've got guts!"
"Heh. . . A mere Martial Master who just stepped into the realm dares to boast so wildly!"
Huang Yuanwu, with his ape-like arms and wasp-like waist, stood motionless, exuding an imposing aura, like a deep abyss or towering peak.
Beside him, the pitch-black Nine-Lives Mastiff, resembling a lion, let out low growls and roars.
"Nine-Lives is here, so I can confirm there are no ambushes around. . . As for you! " Huang Yuanwu's gaze was slightly grave. "During our previous exchange, I confirmed that you haven't yet condensed your fist intent, yet your strength is comparable to a Second-step Martial Master. You're a genius! But if you provoke my Huang family, a genius from even the greatest power will die!"
It seemed he had mistaken Fang Xi's identity.
But then again, given Fang Xi's recent breakthrough to the Martial Master realm, yet possessing strength comparable to a Second-step Martial Master, he truly seemed like an extraordinarily gifted genius from a major power, guided by a renowned master!
If Huang Yuanwu knew that Fang Xi was merely a penniless martial artist, and that this entire endeavor was simply because he was desperate enough to steal the Huang family's secret manuals, he'd be utterly speechless.
"Enough talk. . . Your subordinates will take another fifteen minutes to arrive."
As Fang Xi spoke with a casual air, his Hunyuan Force circulated throughout his body, and his figure suddenly swelled.
The next moment, the earth seemed to tremble slightly as a terrifying power generated from the soles of his feet, passing through his waist, spine, and arms. . . finally connecting into a single line, transforming into a killing blow of a punch!
"Today, I'll make you realize that a genius who hasn't matured yet is no genius at all!"
Amidst Huang Yuanwu's roar, his hands pushed out as if moving a mountain.
CRASH!
Fang Xi's fist collided with his palm, like a raging tide crashing against a reef. No matter how violent the Hunyuan Force, it was ultimately shattered, scattering into splashes.
Huang Yuanwu was a Third-step Martial Master, a top expert in Three Yuan City, so his strength naturally surpassed Fang Xi's!
He let out a sinister laugh, his terrifying true force about to counterattack.
The next moment, he suddenly felt something was wrong!
A terrifying penetrating force, like a sharp needle, pierced his hand, breaking through his skin and flesh, and even injuring his bones!
It turned out that just now, as Fang Xi's fist scattered, a small, pitch-black needle within it suddenly burst forth.
A one-time use artifact—the Bone-Penetrating Nail!
"You. . . Despicable!"
Huang Yuanwu retreated three steps, looking at his palm, where a pitch-black blood hole had appeared.
"Damn it, Body Cultivators are such a hassle!"
Little did he know, Fang Xi was also grumbling to himself at this moment.
If a cultivator had been hit with such a move, the Bone-Penetrating Nail would have long since pierced through their hand, and then continued to pierce their heart.
Alas, the physique of a Third-step Martial Master was truly astonishing; even though the Bone-Penetrating Nail's power neared the limit of a low-grade artifact, it was stuck by those iron-like bones.
"To use such vile methods, despicable!"
Huang Yuanwu frowned, his true force about to compress the wound, but he found he couldn't stop the bleeding at all.
Furthermore, his entire arm began to ache intensely, and he couldn't help but curse angrily.
"Heh heh. . . With a degenerate like you, there's no need to talk about martial world justice."
Fang Xi turned and struck with a palm, landing precisely on the Nine-Lives Mastiff's head.
It turned out that this half-demon had secretly run behind him, intending to launch a sneak attack while he was exchanging blows with Huang Yuanwu.
But at this moment, it was angrily smashed by Fang Xi!
A terrifying burst of true force sent the Nine-Lives Mastiff flying, landing in the pond and splashing up a large amount of water.
Huang Yuanwu's expression didn't change at all; he suddenly turned and fled!
One of his arms hung limply, clearly unusable for a short time.
And even if he was a Third-step Martial Master, fighting other Martial Masters with one hand tied would be a great disadvantage.
However, before Huang Yuanwu could jump onto the wall, he suddenly felt a malevolent gust of wind rush at him.
THWACK!
A dark light flashed towards him, transforming into a ghost-head saber that fiercely hacked at his body.
"Ah!"
Huang Yuanwu cried out miserably, falling back into the courtyard, a deep, bone-visible saber mark shockingly appearing on his chest!
"You. . . Who exactly are you?"
His eyes were filled with despair, yet he couldn't recall when the Huang family had provoked someone with such heaven-reaching methods!
"The one who will take your life!"
Fang Xi pulled out a few more talismans and chuckled.
At the same time, he made a comparison in his mind:
'Although Martial Masters are equivalent to cultivators at the Body Cultivation Second Layer, they are much easier to deal with than cultivators. . . '
'If it were a Body Cultivator, they would never expose such a big flaw, because Martial Masters simply have no experience dealing with cultivators. . . '
'Moreover, Body Cultivators also use various talismans and even artifact armor to enhance themselves. . . '
'The Martial Masters of Da Liang are still too naive. . . 'The next moment, Fang Xi, without hesitation, tore a Goldlight Cover Talisman, charged forward, and engaged Huang Yuanwu in a trade of blows, injury for injury. . .
Not long after, he leisurely departed from the abandoned mansion, carrying Huang Yuanwu, whose limbs were broken.
Soon after, the Huang family's experts and guards finally arrived, panting heavily. They looked at the messy scene, exchanging dismayed glances. . .
...
The next day.
At the Monster Hunting Association.
"Did you hear? The Huang family suffered a great misfortune?"
Some martial artists conversed in hushed tones, their faces alight with glee, an undeniable undercurrent of schadenfreude.
After all, the Huang family had always been notoriously arrogant and overbearing.
"Just yesterday, that Huang family's Second Miss provoked someone she shouldn't have and was killed on the spot. . . The Huang family had just released their threats, and guess what? That very night, the Huang family's Second Master disappeared. . ."
"That was a Captain! Who dares to slap the faces of the imperial court and the Dingzhou Army?"
"Who? A peerless fiend, of course. . . This person is about twenty years old, with the appearance of a scholar, and the martial world has given him the nickname 'Ghost's Sorrow'!"
One martial artist had a smug expression, clearly a well-informed individual, and began to boast.
"Oh? Why is he called Ghost's Sorrow?"
The other martial artists quickly pressed for more.
"Naturally, it's because this Ghost's Sorrow has no background, yet his martial arts are incredibly powerful, and he acts without restraint, treating government laws as child's play. . . Even more terrifying is his character, which is quite. . . dreadful! Do you know under what pretext he attacked the Huang residence last night? I heard. . . it was just because someone from the Huang residence stepped out with their left foot first, which violated his taboo. . ."
The surrounding martial artists, upon hearing this, were all speechless.
Another interjected: "How come I heard. . . it was because they stepped out with their right foot first?"
Even so, everyone's scalps tingled, and they subconsciously looked at their own legs, not wanting to provoke such a bizarre enemy.
"Heh heh. . . Do you think the Second Master Huang's disappearance last night was the end of it?"
The martial artist who spoke first chuckled: "That Ghost's Sorrow was truly audacious. After abducting the Second Master, he secretly returned to the Huang residence and reportedly went on a killing spree, killing quite a few people. . . Even the Huang family's First Master, Huang Yuanding, was severely injured. If not for the critical moment when the imperial government and the Dingzhou Army arrived as reinforcements, he would have been beaten to death!"
"Even if he didn't die, after this battle, the Huang family is probably going to decline. . . Not only decline, but they don't even know who their enemy is. Tell me. . . Isn't that utterly infuriating?"
An old man put down his teacup, sighing softly: "The Huang family had committed too many unjust acts; this retribution was well-deserved!"
"Haha, that's true, drink tea, drink tea. . ."
...
Fang Xi was unaware of the commotion and turmoil happening outside, nor did he wish to know.
At this moment, he was in a room, meticulously studying a secret manual in his hand.
He had taken Huang Yuanwu away last night, then extracted a large amount of intelligence using the Soul Confusion Art.
Then, he immediately launched a surprise counter-attack, turning the Huang residence upside down—in reality, it was to search for secret manuals and the Divine Intent Diagram. Injuring the Huang family head was merely incidental. . .
"A Huang family ancestor once studied at Yuan He Mountain, reaching the realm of a Fourth-step Martial Master, a mere hair's breadth away from becoming a Grandmaster. . . Later, he descended the mountain, and the family's inherited art was this 'Heavenly Wind Secret Scroll'!"
Fang Xi carefully read the ancient book. This was the original, the one with the Divine Intent Diagram included.
Now that he had taken it, the Huang family's Divine Intent Diagram heritage would likely be severed. . .
"Martial Master cultivation progresses in four steps: First-step Martial Master, condensing fist intent; Second-step Martial Master, breaking through the Niwan Palace; Third-step Martial Master, achieving steel tendons and iron bones; Fourth-step Martial Master, spirit and force unite. . . And then comes the Grandmaster, where one's spirit merges with heaven and earth, achieving the unity of heaven and man!"
The first two steps of Martial Master cultivation were something Fang Xi had dug out from Linghu Yang's mind.
However, Linghu Yang had only heard his master speak of them and didn't possess the specific cultivation methods!
But the 'Heavenly Wind Secret Scroll' contained them!
Fang Xi knew his own situation; he had indeed just broken through to Martial Master and wasn't even a First-step Martial Master.
Alas, his own accumulated foundation was profound, his blood-qi had broken through human bodily limits, he was extraordinarily gifted, and he had mixed and cultivated several major cultivation methods, creating his own Hunyuan True Art. Thus, his strength was astonishing, capable of fighting a Second-step Martial Master!
If he added a cultivator's small tricks, even Third-step and Fourth-step Martial Masters would fall for them.
But for a Grandmaster, who had taken the fifth step, also known as a True Vigor Martial Saint, it was hard to say. rAN0BEs
"Martial Master cultivation only has four steps. Taking the fifth step makes one a Grandmaster Martial Saint! Thankfully, thankfully. . . I thought there would be at least nine steps. . . and further subdivisions into half-step, half-step peak, and half-step grand completion!"
Fang Xi wasn't prepared to fight a True Vigor Martial Saint right now either.
His philosophy had always been to overwhelm others with power. It was better to fight enemies from a slightly higher minor realm, and excellent to crush enemies from a higher major realm.
To subdue the enemy without fighting was the best!
The immortal dao values life; what kind of conduct is this, fighting and killing?
Not to mention, a True Vigor Martial Saint was equivalent to a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator at the Body Cultivation Third Layer. Asking him to cross a minor realm and challenge a higher stage? Forget about it. . .
Although Martial Saints of this world, when pitted against Body Cultivation Third Layer cultivators from the cultivation world, would most likely die, one shouldn't look down on them.
'The advantage of Body Cultivation Third Layer cultivators lies in the foundation of the cultivation world, allowing them to utilize external objects. . . In terms of character and will, they might not necessarily surpass the Grandmasters of this world. . . '
Comments