Chapter 150 – Flesh and Bone
The sun rose from the east as dawn slowly rose the screen of darkness. The soft morning lights dyed the dark curtain of mist in the sky red, and the martial platforms glittered in the morning sun contrasted against the otherwise plain mountaintop.
Today people were squeezing together under the platforms, and hair was flowing in the wind like grass in a field. Today there were more people watching on the cloud platform than even the first day of the tournament. The matchup between South Star and Seven Star, more precisely between Ye Wei and Tu Fusheng, attracted everyone that wanted some entertainment. It also attracted the most powerful men who wished to strengthen their small armies.
“It’s such a rare occasion; I don’t remember the last time when the first, second, and third place of the tournament were decided on the same day. I could barely sleep last night thinking about what could happen today.
“South Star Academy and Seven Star School are going to be fighting for the championship on platform one, whereas Zhoutian and Galaxy will have their showdown on platform two to determine runner-up!”
“I don’t really see Galaxy winning after witnessing the fight between Ye Wei and Jian Chen. The three God’s Seven from Galaxy are strong, but Jian Chen showed the power of a six-star condensed prime Warrior!”
“I wouldn’t be so certain. I heard that Galaxy’s Feng Yi took the defeat very seriously and has been training behind closed doors since the day he lost to Tu Fusheng. Rumour has it that one of the elites from Galaxy had a breakthrough.”
“Ha, that’s vague. What kind of breakthrough? Feng Yi was already a four-star condensed prime Warrior; therefore, he would need two breakthroughs to stand a chance against Jian Chen!”
“Your discussions are pointless. Don’t act like you care about anything else when South Star and Seven Star are going to be fighting! Ye Wei, that sixteen year old monster, showed the power of an eight-star condensed prime Warrior! Eight-star! He is stronger than the patriarch in my family for crying out loud!”
“Well, you can’t count Seven Star’s Tu Fusheng off. His body was so strong that he didn’t even need to use Qi when he single-handedly crushed the Galaxy team.”
“That is true… I wonder what kind of training he must have gone through to achieve such bodily strength. His capabilities are almost unnatural.”
“Ye Wei and Fu Tusheng, a matchup between two super geniuses what a perfect ending to this year’s tournament!”
The crowd had gathered long before the fights were going to start. They were speculating with undisguised excitement on their faces.
“I saw you talking to Ye Wei the other day! You have to introduce me after the fight!” Said a young and playful-looking cultivator who was standing together with the Golden Wood Academy team. He looked at his sister with his puppy eyes as he begged.
“Who do you think you are? Why don’t you take a good look at yourself before using me, you two are the same age and you’re still a seven-star Warrior! You are not worthy to know Ye Wei!” Xue Yao knocked her brother’s skull while lecturing him.
‘Ye Wei’s power is astonishing! No wonder why he was chosen to be the Glacial Emperor’s inheritor!’ She thought to herself while trying to remember all the extraordinary attacks he showed throughout the tournament. While thinking this an air of solemnity was visible on her soft face. ‘He is going to get so many offers from these families…’
She looked to the cloud platform with a smile, ‘and maybe even the Green Army or the City Lord, who has Supreme Chen Feng’s blood running through his veins.’
Under countless pairs of excited eyes, gazes of respect, Ye Wei and the South Star team stepped onto platform one. They looked confident as Fu Tusheng led the Seven Star School team on the opposite side.
The rest of the teams were less eager to fight than these two top contestants. The City Lord made an announcement after all the teams reached their platforms to kickstart the thirty-sixth and last day of fights of this year’s tournament.
“Brother Chen Yuan, between Ye Wei and Seven Star’s Fu Tusheng who do you think will win?” A bearded, rough-looking man in golden armor spoke enthusiastically as his sharp eyes swept across platform one.
The bearded man from the military as was returned prime Warrior commander Shi Qing. He came all the way from the army’s Qing state headquarters to attend the anticipated fight.
Although most of the cultivators on the cloud were strong and respected, even the weakest of them was still an eight-star condensed prime Warrior. The bearded man in golden armor was the only person worthy enough to address the City Lord so informally.
The special patterns on Shi Qing’s golden armor were earned with his blood, sweat, and tears. Only the man who was in charge of the Green Army in the Qing State had such prestigious decoration on his armor plates that protected him from countless lethal strikes from both men and demons.
“Brother Shi, both these kids are impressive. I really can’t say until the fight ends, I think they both have a few tricks up their sleeves. You will just have to watch the whole fight together with me as it unfolds! Haha!” Chen Yuan said while looking at the two unexpected talents and smiling, he was actually surprised the fight attracted someone so high up in the ranks. If it wasn’t for his bloodline, then he would not have the privilege to talk to the commander as equals.
On platform one, South Star Academy and Seven Star School’s representatives stood glaring at their opponents.
Tu Fusheng’s eyes were bright green as he glared at South Star line up with a strange, snake-like gaze. They finally landed on Ye Wei, who was standing in front of his teammates. He smiled, and a burst of violent pressure flowed towards Ye Wei like a stream of scorching hot magma.
Lie Jian, Chen Mo, and the South Star representatives that stood behind Ye Wei became pale and started trembling under the immense pressure imposed by Tu Fusheng.
Ye Wei saw what his opponent was doing so he took a half step forward. The moment his toes landed again on the amethyst, a screen of Qi rose from the ground blocking the violent pressure helped relieving his teammates from its terrible oppression.
“All of you get off the platform.” Ye Wei said.
Liu Jian and Chen Mo couldn’t help themselves and had the same thought. ‘Looks like we won’t be needed again.’ The South Star team jumped off the martial platform while the Seven Star cultivators left Tu Fusheng, the only person on the platform with Ye Wei.
Although both of them were revered by their teammates, they were also seen as monsters.
“This is nice. I have honestly lost interest in everyone taking part in this tournament apart from you!” Tu Fusheng licked his lips while staring at Ye Wei, admired his opponent’s capability of casually neutralizing the greeting he sent just by taking a step forward. Hidden in his voice was a vicious bloodlust, “I am ready to beat you anytime, just bring it.”
When Tu Fusheng’s insolent voice went quiet, he stomped forward and became a flash of light. He disappeared and reappeared in the middle of the circular amethyst platform. His movement brought a whirlwind to the nearby audience.
The turbulence fluttered Ye Wei’s robe and hair, but he stood as still and steady as a mountain in a storm; he was untouched and unconcerned. He coldly looked at Tu Fusheng as he calmly strode out to meet his opponent in the circle’s center.
Ye Wei could feel an indistinct, strange aura around Tu Fusheng. This aura caused him to be cautious as he recognized it as a great threat.
“Here we go! Show me what you’ve got!” Tu Fusheng chuckled and turned into a phantom again. He suddenly appeared in front of Ye Wei clenching his dark fist. He then threw it ferociously.
“Boom!”
Tu Fusheng’s fist fell onto Ye Wei like a guided meteorite. Without any signs of him using Qi, his fist tore through the air at incredible speed, and it bombarded the ears of the audience with a shrill sound. A fearsome force wave shortly followed, fracturing the strained amethyst platform.
Debris was flying around on the platform, and the audience on the cloud platform was shocked. They could all tell that Tu Fusheng’s fist carried the strength to easily topple a six-star condensed prime Warrior.
In the previous thirty-five fights, Tu Fusheng managed to defeat his opponents with only one punch every time, with no exceptions. Even when he faced Zhoutian Sword School and Galaxy Academy, it was just a simple strike but an astonishingly effective one.
“This it the result of years of body quenching training! I assume all his body parts were strengthened by enhancing stances!”
“I think so too!”
The crowd on the cloud platforms and down below couldn’t help but widen their eyes; they were getting nervous for Ye Wei. They knew it was already too late for Ye Wei to perform a defensive stance because of the sheer speed of Tu Fusheng’s strike.
“Tu Fusheng can fire this Qi-less strike before his opponent even moved.”
‘Zodiac Sword!’ Ye Wei said while calmly staring at the enlarging fist in front. He lifted his finger and gently touched his opponent’s knuckles.
Tu Fusheng’s face changed as he felt a sharp prick on his fist followed by immense pain. He reflectively retrieved his fist and stopped the momentum by the tip of his toes. He kicked the ground sending himself flying backwards and brought his back down parallel to the platform to reduce drag.
Not only did Ye Wei stopped the strike that kept Seven Star’s winning streak alive, but he also just became the first cultivator who was able to knock back the undefeated Tu Fusheng.
The South Star team let out their breath, relieved to see what they thought to be a good sign; an advantage Ye Wei managed to gain.
“Zodiac Sword!?” City Lord Chen Yuan and Commander Shi Qing exclaimed in unison. They could not believe what they just felt and saw.
Both of them were experienced enough, knowledgeable enough, to recognize Ye Wei’s technique. They were surprised to see a partial Sky stance that was pretty much extinct in the dynasty since centuries ago.
Although unfinished, the best stance the Runemaster Union had access to was still rare and powerful enough to shock the two strongest men in the audience.
The audience became lively, they were here expecting a fight but were still shocked to see Ye Wei stopping the strike that had never been successfully defended throughout the tournament.
“Ye Wei is too incredible. Even Feng Yi, and the rest of last year’s winning team were not able to react before they got knocked out!”
“This is more like it, things are going to be interesting I think. I really cannot tell who is going to win now!”
Although nobody else recognized the stance Ye Wei was using, they could tell they were in for a ride seeing him backing Tu Fusheng off with only one finger.
“How incredibly sharp…” Tu Fusheng looked at the scar on his fist, while furiously mumbling.
“You dare injure me!” Tu Fusheng’s expression became aggressive, and the platform began to rattle as his eyes shone green. The debris around him mysteriously began to float.
“Zoom!”
The green glow within his pupils filled his eyes and leaked into his skin. It spread all over his dark, toned body with a rune-like pattern.
It did not take long before the green pattern covered his face and made him looked more like a beast, wrapped in raging Qi to match his wild appearance.
“This time it’s over!” Tu Fusheng aggressively rushed towards Ye Wei as the strength of a seven-star condensed prime Warrior behind his fist was decorated by a green, web-like pattern. A cloud of smoke formed around the punch created by friction.
“How can Tu Fusheng have such strength?” Xu He’s face became pale. He was threatened knowing that he himself would struggle to defend against such a powerful strike.
“This is the scary thing about this kid is that he never needed to use a stance because of his strength. It’s harder to defend against a strike than a stance because it takes no time, no runes to punch giving his opponent less time to react. Why do you think Jian Chen lost? It was obvious, he could not keep up with Tu Fusheng’s speed.” Zhoutian Sword School’s principal Jian Shiyu sighed. “The new age of youngsters will soon replace us!”
Ye Wei observed quietly at his rampaging opponent, realized luck and intuition played a big part in why he could defend himself just in time. Otherwise, he would have been crushed by the punch that could easily knock out a seven-star condensed prime Warrior.