Chapter 84: Fierce Fight!
Chapter 84: Fierce Fight!
Heh heh!
Tang Xingchi stood up, excitement spreading across his face. He had no plan to wipe away the blood all over his mouth, chuckling as he slowly walked towards Tang Bi.
Thump!
For some reason, the moment Tang Bi saw Tang Xingchi covered in blood, the word ‘vampire’ instantly popped into his mind. At the same time, he glanced slightly at his own hand, and that look shocked him into silence.
Earlier, he had only felt a cool sensation on his neck without much thought; he just habitually touched it. Unexpectedly, his hand was now drenched in blood, naturally frightening him and turning his face slightly pale.
“Ah, I Bought a Watch Last Year!”
But at that very moment, only a cry of agony was heard, and Tang Jinbiao transformed into a shadowy streak, flew over in front of him, and slammed heavily onto the ground.
“Ouch, I last year…”
Tang Jinbiao groaned in pain while massaging his butt, attempting to rise. But just then, Tang Xingchi suddenly sprang into action.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Seeing Tang Jinbiao fly over, excitement lit up Tang Xingchi’s eyes. With a swift motion, he lunged towards Tang Jinbiao.
“Brother Biao, be careful!”
Instantly, Tang Bi bellowed loudly upon seeing Tang Xingchi charge at Tang Jinbiao.
“Hmm?”
Tang Jinbiao froze slightly, confused. But abruptly, he sensed a chill behind him; something was pouncing his way. His face changed; not daring to delay, he flung himself flat onto the ground and rolled away.
As for Tang Huaxi, for some reason, he stood off to the side in the distance, a faint smile on his face, not interfering at all, just watching silently.
Heh heh!
Tang Xingchi missed the pounce, yet his face showed no disappointment—instead, he appeared even more thrilled. Like a starving tiger leaping at prey, he pushed off the ground with his limbs and lunged once more at Tang Jinbiao.
Roll roll roll!
Tang Jinbiao still wasn’t entirely clear about the situation, but when that eerie and fearsome aura assaulted him, he didn’t hesitate. He rolled endlessly on the ground, constantly dodging Tang Xingchi’s lunges.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Tang Xingchi was like a phantom, nimble as a swallow, continuously plunging towards Tang Jinbiao below. The more he chased, the greater his excitement grew on his face, though his eyes were starting to glow crimson, like a furious beast.
…
Meanwhile, Tang Hu and Tang Shan had similar cultivation levels. Tang Hu might not have been as experienced as Tang Shan, but after recent training, he was long past his callow youth. Moreover, Tang Shan seemed injured then, often unable to fight freely, so the two battled evenly.
“Tang Hu, let me see how you evade this!”
Tang Shan’s earlier scorn had vanished entirely, replaced by a stern expression. Within that severity, a trace of shock was evident, clearly because he hadn’t expected Tang Hu to advance so far in just three short months.
During their test bout, Tang Hu had been utterly defenseless—beyond taking hits, he’d offered no other response. Now, even though Tang Hu’s cultivation level hadn’t risen, his reactions and tactics were worlds apart from before. The longer they fought, the more troubled Tang Shan grew, for Tang Hu seemed tireless, not a trace of weariness on his face. Instead, he fought increasingly fiercely, with speed and responses much faster than at the start.
Hum hum hum!
Tang Shan patted his storage pouch, releasing over ten flying swords that glinted frostily. With soft chimes, they instantly formed a thin line of flying swords and shot towards Tang Hu’s forehead.
“Humph, Tang Shan, I reckon you’ve run out of tricks, right?”
Noting the small flying swords, a flicker of disdain crossed Tang Hu’s face. Without halting his steps, he kept following closely.
“Hmph, presumptuous! Scatter!”
Upon seeing Tang Hu’s disdain, Tang Shan’s face revealed a trace of mockery. He snorted coldly before bellowing.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
As soon as Tang Shan’s voice fell, the swords that had been flying in a straight line suddenly scattered like flowers strewn by a fairy, whooshing as they spread out in all directions. Immediately, they changed course again. Tang Hu seemed like a magnet, attracting the Flying Swords that shot towards him from every conceivable angle.
“What? Not good!”
Seeing the swords instantly disperse and attack him from every corner, Tang Hu’s face changed drastically.
…
“Ah Xing! Ah Xing!”
Seizing the moment, Tang Bi rushed to Tang Xing’s side.
However, the moment he saw Tang Xing’s complexion, his stomach lurched violently, and he nearly vomited.
Tang Xing’s face was deathly pale, his eyelids and lips pitch dark. Clear bite marks were visible on his neck. Thankfully, Tang Xing wasn’t dead, only unconscious from severe blood loss, as his body still twitched involuntarily.
If Tang Xing weren’t a Body Refiner, such sucking from Tang Xingchi might already have killed him.
“Ah Xing! Ah Xing!”
Tang Bi felt utterly helpless for the first time, unsure what to do. He desperately wanted to cry, but no tears came.
“Heh heh!”
Tang Huaxi, for some reason, merely watched from afar. He didn’t move to deal with Tang Bi, simply standing there observing Tang Xingchi ruthlessly toying with Tang Jinbiao.
Bang!
Just then, a tremendous bang echoed out. Not far away, Tang Bu, using some unknown Secret Art, had actually shattered the Bronze Bell from within and emerged.
“What?”
Seeing Tang Bu break free, Tang Huaxi’s expression shifted, showing an apparent lack of anticipation.
“Old dog Tang Huaxi! Die!”
An incredibly fierce aura radiated from Tang Bu. His body had swollen to nearly twice its size, glowing faintly. Spotting Tang Huaxi, he roared and charged towards him.
“What? Foundation Building!”
Witnessing Tang Bu’s charge and sensing the immense aura rolling off him, Tang Huaxi’s face paled dramatically. He instantly leaped backward, simultaneously slapping his Storage Pouch. Five or six low-grade Spirit Talismans flew out and hurtled towards Tang Bu.
“I will have you dead!”
Tang Bu’s face twisted with rage. He roared, utterly ignoring the oncoming Spirit Talismans, and continued his relentless charge towards Tang Huaxi.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The low-grade Spirit Talismans burst into Fireballs or shards of ice, bombarding Tang Bu’s body. He paused only slightly under the impact, shaking it off without hesitation as he viciously pressed his attack.
“What?”
Realizing that even half a dozen low-grade Spirit Talismans had no effect, Tang Huaxi’s face registered shock, and he accelerated his retreat.
…
“Huh? Formidable!”
Not far away, Tang Xingchi also heard the deafening explosion. He paused briefly, casting a glance in its direction. Yet upon sensing the aura radiating from Tang Bu, his expression drastically shifted.
“Ah Bu!”
Tang Jinbiao, who had managed to evade Tang Xingchi’s pursuit, swept his gaze over the scene. A flicker of terror crossed his face as well. Tang Bu actually possessed such formidable strength! Though he wasn’t entirely certain, Tang Jinbiao was developing a firm idea in his mind. Tang Bu must have employed some kind of Secret Art.
“Aaargh!”
Having cultivated the Ape Art for some time, Tang Jinbiao naturally possessed his own Secret Art. He had always been reluctant to use it. But now, he could no longer afford to hesitate. With a roar, explosive cracking sounds immediately erupted from his arms.
Riiiip! Riiiip!
As Tang Jinbiao’s roar echoed, his arms began to swell violently. The fabric of his sleeves strained beyond endurance, tearing apart and scattering in shreds.
“Aaaaaah!”
Enduring excruciating pain, Tang Jinbiao screamed continuously. Within moments, both arms had thickened to more than twice their original size, now even bulkier than his legs and significantly longer. A slight stoop was all it took for his knuckles to scrape the ground.
This enlargement of the arms was precisely one of the Secret Arts within the Ape Art. However, Tang Jinbiao had scarcely used it until now. He had intended to unveil it during the Tang Family competition, but his early entry had denied him the chance.
“GRAAAAAH!”
Tang Jinbiao stood up, his face twisted with ferocity, and bellowed. At that moment, his arms felt surging with overwhelming power. Without further deliberation, he lunged straight towards Tang Xingchi.
“What?! Damn!”
Tang Xingchi froze momentarily, shocked by Tang Jinbiao’s drastic transformation. His face paled with alarm. Not daring to underestimate this, he instantly shot backwards in retreat.
“Profound-rank Body Refining Technique!”
Witnessing Tang Jinbiao’s transformation, Tang Bi’s face mirrored pure horror. Had Tang Jinbiao not erupted like this, he would never have known that his cousin was actually cultivating a Profound-rank Body Refining Technique!
His judgment stemmed from his knowledge of the hierarchical classification of Body Refining Techniques. Much like the cultivation arts of Cultivators, Body Refining Techniques were also categorized into Earth, Heaven, Profound, and Yellow ranks!
Yellow Tier Cultivation Art merely represented basic training methods for physical tempering and fortification, devoid of any Secret Arts. Naturally, practitioners like Tang Hu trained in such rudimentary techniques.
The distinction between the Profound rank and the Yellow rank was not difficulty in training, but the capacity to trigger mutations in specific body parts through specialized methods. This granted powerful strength within a short span, much like Tang Jinbiao’s arms morphing into those of a mountain ape.
Of course, this traced back to the origin of Body Refining Technique. Indeed, on the Divine Wind Continent, Body Refiners were often looked down upon specifically because Body Refining Technique wasn’t an invention of human Cultivators. Instead, it was derived from Demon Beasts who had achieved significant cultivation. Consequently, those practicing Body Refining Technique invariably assimilated certain peculiar traits from those beasts over time.
As for the Earth-rank technique, it naturally represented an advancement, enabling the entire body to transform into the characteristic form of the specific art being cultivated.
It was said that the Heaven-rank Cultivation Technique could directly transform the practitioner into the corresponding Demon Beast entirely.
…
The sudden explosions of power from Tang Bu and Tang Jinbiao caused a dramatic shift; what had been a completely one-sided situation momentarily stalled into a stalemate. Tang Huaxi and Tang Xingchi seemed to grasp that this wasn’t the moment for conflict among themselves. Instead of direct confrontation, they opted to dodge and evade. As for Tang Hu and Tang Shan, due to their overwhelming cultivation suppression, Tang Jinbiao and the others dared not approach their vicinity, fearful of being caught by the residual power of their battle.
Ying!
Just at that moment, a low, pitiable moan escaped Tang Yilin lying nearby. She began to stir weakly, consciousness gradually returning.
“Sister Yilin! Sister Yilin!”
Seeing Tang Yilin regaining consciousness, Tang Bi reacted as if clutching his last life-saving straw. He scrambled over to her, repeatedly calling her name.
Cough! Cough! Cough!
With immense effort, Tang Yilin’s eyes flickered open. Her face was ghastly pale. Violent, ragged coughs instantly racked her frame…