Chapter Nine: The Martial Duel

Tang Yi arrived at the large courtyard in front of the Divine Sword Sect’s residence and was immediately struck by the crowd—it was teeming with people. Not only had the six major sects assembled, but other families and sects, having caught wind of the event, had come as well. All were eager to see the person named by Su Xiong for a duel and to find out what he looked like.

Su Xiong was a legendary genius in the cultivation world. A hundred years ago, he had broken through to the early Nascent Soul stage, and with less than four centuries of cultivation, his progress was considered astonishingly swift. Moreover, his cultivation technique, the Blood Fiend Blade, was terrifying. After reaching the Nascent Soul stage, during the battle for the Blood Fiend Sect’s leadership, he had defeated three other Nascent Soul experts single-handedly, becoming the current sect master.

Now, someone was about to duel with such a prodigious figure; surely the challenger must also be a genius. When Tang Yi was pointed out, the crowd buzzed with speculation. No one could discern his cultivation level.

“This Tang Yi looks so young; could he really be a rare, once-in-a-generation genius?” someone remarked.

“I bet he’s actually some thousand-year-old monster!” another immediately refuted.

“That’s impossible. If he were a millennia-old demon, there’s no way he’d have such a youthful appearance,” the first retorted.

“Maybe he’s mastered some technique to preserve his looks.”

“Isn’t that something only women cultivate? I’ve never heard of a man practicing such techniques.”

“But have you ever seen or heard of anyone in their twenties daring to spar with a Nascent Soul master, especially one who reached that stage a century ago?”

“…”

Ignoring the crowd’s chatter, Tang Yi strode up to Su Xiong, cupped his hands, and said, “Sect Master Su, it’s almost noon. How about we all have lunch, take a nap, then enjoy some afternoon tea? The weather will be just right then for a duel.”

“Fine, that works. Two hours from now, I’ll wait for you at the martial arena!” Su Xiong replied briskly and led his disciples away.

Seeing this, the crowd also dispersed, planning to return to the arena for the duel. Some started spreading the news and even set up betting pools.

Time passed quickly, and soon two hours had gone by. The trading conference was paused early to allow everyone to witness Su Xiong’s duel. The entire crowd gathered at the martial arena, eager for a spectacle.

Su Xiong leapt from the VIP stands to the center of the platform, hands clasped behind his back, eyes slightly closed, waiting for Tang Yi’s arrival.

Observing this, the crowd speculated anew—Tang Yi must be extraordinary if Su Xiong would wait for him.

At last, Tang Yi and Zhang Qiang entered the arena, making their way to the Divine Sword Sect’s VIP area. With a nod to Elder Lu as a greeting, Elder Lu chuckled, stood, and cleared his throat. Instantly, silence fell.

“Today, Sect Master Su will spar with Fellow Daoist Tang Yi. It is a friendly exchange, hence the chosen venue. It is a rare opportunity to witness Sect Master Su’s sparring, so I hope all will learn and stand out in the upcoming talent selection. Now, please welcome Fellow Daoist Tang Yi!” Elder Lu gestured invitingly.

With a stylish sweep of his robes, Tang Yi soared steadily to face Su Xiong. The crowd’s suspicions were confirmed—Tang Yi was indeed a Nascent Soul-level expert.

“Please!” Su Xiong spoke, and a flash of light from the platform signaled the activation of the protective array. Both men stepped back.

Without hesitation, Tang Yi unleashed his psychic abilities. Suddenly, the space around Su Xiong tightened, immobilizing him. Shocked, Su Xiong wondered what kind of technique this was—Tang Yi hadn’t moved, yet he could restrain someone with mere thought. He quickly activated the Blood Fiend Blade technique, freeing himself, and a blood-red saber appeared in his hand. With a shout, he swung the blade at Tang Yi, sending a scarlet blade energy hurtling toward him.

“Damn!” Tang Yi exclaimed—the blade energy was too fast. With no other option, he stopped time, dodged aside, and resumed time. The audience was dazzled; they couldn’t quite see how Tang Yi had moved.

Tang Yi’s left hand clawed toward Su Xiong, causing the air around Su Xiong to tighten into a net, preventing him from swinging his blade. The Blood Fiend energy surged, increasing by thirty percent, finally breaking the confinement. At that moment, Tang Yi’s right hand formed a sword with two fingers, lightly slashing at Su Xiong. Su Xiong’s brows furrowed as he barely avoided the invisible sword energy, but his clothes were torn, a large piece falling to the platform.

Spectators gasped—what was this technique? It resembled sword energy but lacked its usual characteristics. Typically, when sword energy is released, spiritual energy fluctuations occur around the wielder. With Tang Yi, however, there was no such sign; the sword energy seemed to materialize directly in front of Su Xiong. Tang Yi himself had no spiritual energy fluctuations—indeed, he had barely any spiritual energy, his cultivation still in the Qi Refining stage, with only a sliver of true energy obtained from absorbing spirit stones, just enough to use storage items.

Su Xiong had avoided the sword energy solely through battle experience and quick reflexes—otherwise, he might have been injured. Any previous underestimation of Tang Yi vanished; now Su Xiong released his full aura. Tang Yi suddenly felt the air grow thin and breathing became difficult.

“Is this the legendary turtle aura?” Tang Yi wondered. “Let’s see mine!” He triggered his psychic ability, one he’d only used during practice before. Gone was his earlier composure. With a heavy stomp, an invisible wave radiated from Tang Yi, thoroughly neutralizing Su Xiong’s aura.

Su Xiong was stunned—Tang Yi’s technique was bizarre, able to dispel the aura of a late-stage Nascent Soul master with ease. Perhaps Tang Yi’s cultivation rivaled Elder Lu’s, or was even greater. No wonder Elder Lu was so courteous and had declared Tang Yi a Divine Sword Sect VIP. Su Xiong decided it was time to use a magic treasure—at least a spiritual device.

He put away his blood-red saber and produced another treasure. Someone in the audience shouted, “The Five-Colored Pagoda—a high-grade spiritual device!” Su Xiong raised the pagoda above his head, its multicolored light enveloping him.

Tang Yi’s sword energy was now ineffective, but he had other abilities. With a point of his finger, black threads erupted, instantly wrapping around Su Xiong. Though blocked by the pagoda’s light, Su Xiong’s movements were still hampered. He swung his blade at the black threads; they broke but rejoined immediately as long as Tang Yi maintained the ability.

More alarmingly, Su Xiong realized the black threads were pure yin energy—the most refined he’d ever seen, and from a man no less. Fortunately, his Blood Fiend Blade technique, though not purely yang, was still of the yang attribute.

Su Xiong spat a mouthful of blood, containing a drop of essence, onto his blade—the Blood Mist Blade, a mid-grade spiritual device. The blade absorbed his blood, glowing brighter. Wherever it swung, red mist lingered, gradually dissolving the black threads. Seeing the mist take effect, Su Xiong attacked Tang Yi.

Tang Yi grew anxious as his abilities were steadily neutralized—the cursed abilities consumed far too much energy. After releasing the black threads, he felt his strength beginning to wane. Fine, if he couldn’t defeat Su Xiong, he could at least defend. He activated the Invincible Vajra Body—unlike his other abilities, which drained him, this one only consumed energy when his body was struck, neutralizing external harm.

Blade energy flew everywhere as Su Xiong unleashed over a dozen attacks in all directions. Tang Yi couldn’t dodge, so he took them head-on. Unfortunately, he had underestimated Su Xiong’s power; hit by six or seven blades, his clothes were nearly shredded. Though uninjured, Tang Yi was gasping for breath, drenched in sweat—the blade energy was terrifying. Just a few attacks had drained him completely. He couldn’t go on, so—

Tang Yi raised his hands and shouted, “Stop!” Su Xiong, about to deploy his clone for a pincer attack, forcibly withdrew his spiritual energy, nearly suffering backlash. “I concede!” Tang Yi flew toward the VIP stands, but—

With a cry, he was bounced back by the array, landing hard on the platform.

…If the audience had been standing, half would have been floored by shock.

Witnessing such an anticlimactic duel, the crowd was displeased—Tang Yi hadn’t suffered a single scratch. Though his clothes were torn, he hadn’t really exerted himself before conceding, especially disappointing those who had bet on his victory, who now cursed him to the twentieth level of hell.

Nevertheless, the crowd gained much; Tang Yi’s abilities were bizarre, unseen or unheard of before, especially the black threads—some thought they were from equipment, others a special technique. In any case, witnessing a Nascent Soul-level duel was a rare treat, and the opening exchanges, especially Tang Yi’s evasive maneuvers, were spectacular.

The array deactivated, and Tang Yi returned to the VIP area, plopping down and waving both hands. The snacks and fruit on the table vanished rapidly into his mouth.

Su Xiong approached Tang Yi and said, “Fellow Daoist Tang, I appreciate the favor you’ve shown me today. I will repay you in due course.” Su Xiong believed Tang Yi had given him, as sect master, face, and considered Tang Yi a shrewd man; in reality, Tang Yi was simply famished.

“Repayment? Wonderful! I’m short on spirit stones—just give me eighteen thousand, and we’ll call it square… Oh, and make sure they’re mid-grade.” Tang Yi seized the opportunity to bargain.

Su Xiong’s face soured at the mention of eighteen thousand spirit stones, while the other sect masters chuckled. When Tang Yi specified mid-grade stones, Su Xiong relaxed; at his level, “spirit stones” usually meant high-grade, which were a hundred times more valuable. He’d feared Tang Yi would extort eighteen thousand high-grade stones—a painful prospect, considering the two-month talent selection only required two thousand high-grade stones. The other sect masters admired Tang Yi’s cunning, making Su Xiong’s heart rise and fall without diminishing his dignity.

“Haha, mid-grade spirit stones? Then I’d be stingy indeed. Here, I’m giving you a thousand high-grade stones. It’s a gift—I consider you a friend. And as I said, I owe you a favor.” Su Xiong handed Tang Yi a storage pouch and laughed, leaving with his disciples. Su Xiong judged Tang Yi’s strength to be on par with his own.

Tang Yi checked the pouch—indeed, it contained a thousand high-grade stones, making him a bit embarrassed. Elder Lu spoke up, “No need to feel bad. Little Su has been making a fortune lately; don’t be polite with him.”

The crowd began to disperse, streaming out of the arena, though a few moved against the flow, heading toward Tang Yi. First to arrive were Hua Shaojie, Lü Zhengyang, and Ding Pengfei.

“Senior Tang!” they greeted, bowing, then paid respects to Elder Lu and the others.

“So it’s Brother Hua, Brother Lü, Brother Ding—hungry? Come eat with me,” Tang Yi said as he ate.

“No, no, Senior Tang, please address us by our given names,” Hua Shaojie replied, sweating.

“Alright, alright, I can’t stand such formality. Call me Tang Brother, like Qiangzi does. Don’t keep calling me Senior—it makes me feel old.” The sect masters broke out in cold sweat.

“Uh… Since Tang Brother insists, we’ll gladly comply,” Hua Shaojie said. “It’s our honor to know a Nascent Soul-level senior. My father asked me to give this to you… Tang Brother.” He handed Tang Yi a golden invitation. Lü Zhengyang and Ding Pengfei quickly handed over similar golden invitations.

“Oh, what’s this? Let me see… An invitation to your family’s residence. I’ll be sure to visit when I have time,” Tang Yi replied casually, pocketing the invitations. He felt he owed Hua Shaojie some sentiment, so this would repay it.

The three were delighted by Tang Yi’s answer and each produced a jade token, identical in shape but inscribed with their family names—Hua, Lü, and Ding. “These are our communication tokens. We await your call. We won’t disturb you further—farewell!” They bowed to Elder Lu and the others and departed.

It turned out the three families had learned Hua Shaojie was friends with Tang Yi—a Nascent Soul-level senior, and a rarity among solitary cultivators. Most solitary cultivators lack resources and progress slowly; only geniuses reach the Nascent Soul stage without joining a sect or family. For smaller families like Hua Shaojie’s, befriending such a figure was all gain, no loss, so they instructed their juniors to invite Tang Yi to their homes at any cost.

Before they’d gone far, another group arrived, all bearing invitations—families and smaller sects alike. Tang Yi accepted them all, planning to use the opportunity to make some profit. The other four sect masters of the six major sects were not to be outdone; though Tang Yi was alone, the saying goes, “the more friends, the more paths.” They also extended invitations, which Tang Yi accepted without hesitation.