Chapter 72: One Surprise After Another

A tempest raged within the entire Pinesong Pavilion. Every spectator, including the disciples of the four great clans, felt a hysterical surge within their hearts—a tumult of awe, envy, hatred, and boundless fear. The hatred stemmed from the simple question: why was there someone in this world who could possess such terrifying Nether Artifacts and an indomitable body? The fear, naturally, belonged to the disciples of the four great clans, for the existence of the Langya Trading Guild had ever been their gravest threat. Should the leadership of the four great clans shift, the one to inherit the dominion would surely be among them. Yet, before such a scion of the Langya Guild, they seemed so insignificant, so utterly powerless.

In their eyes, Xue Qiming’s victory in this bout was all but certain.

“Congratulations to the Langya Trading Guild! With such a dazzling young talent, who possesses both the mightiest spear and the strongest shield, the future of Jiuyan Town will remain under the Langya Guild’s sway!” a member of the guild shouted from the stands, unable to conceal his excitement.

“Prepare the gifts at once! We must properly celebrate with Guildmaster Xuan Xingzi!” cried another member, overjoyed.

These members had long lavished wealth upon the guild, and their less-than-reputable dealings had flourished under the Guild’s protection within Jiuyan Town. The strength of the Langya Trading Guild was the guarantee for their business; seeing Xue Qiming was like gazing upon endless riches.

Yet, seated beside Xuan Xingzi, the four patriarchs of the great clans wore grim expressions.

All had misjudged; each had thought that the Langya Guild boasted only Duan Xingyun. At best, Xue Qiming could aspire to compete for second place. To their horror, they now saw that Xue Qiming’s strength far surpassed even that of Duan Xingyun!

Fang Yichen exhaled long and slowly, perhaps the only member of the great clans who could feel a measure of happiness at that moment. A sweet smile graced his lips. “This young man, Xue Qiming, is destined for greatness, Brother Xuan Xingzi. I truly wonder how you acquired such a prodigy. Perhaps the mightiest spear was borrowed from a Nether Artifact, but that shield—surely that is his own accomplishment in Nether Arts?”

“Indeed,” Xuan Xingzi replied, his face aglow with satisfaction at their praise. “That particular Nether Art was an incomplete technique from our Langya Guild. I never imagined anyone could master it. Yet Qiming threw himself into its study and truly succeeded in forging the Nether Power Armor. Only then did I bestow upon him the Ruyi Sky-Pillar Rod. Thus, he wields both the strongest offense and defense. This Nine Rocks Tournament, heh…”

He left the rest unsaid, but the smile on his face revealed his intentions.

“Hmph, let us see if his shield is truly the strongest,” Jiang Yuehai sneered, clenching his fingers, his gaze sharp as he stared at Xue Qiming on the arena, as if to pierce through all his secrets.

It wasn’t just Pinesong Pavilion; the entire Jiuyan Town was ablaze with excitement. The air in the arena itself was thick with surging Nether Power, stoked to fever pitch, a storm ready to break. All the practitioners, inflamed by the duel between Jiang Feng and Xue Qiming, began unveiling their most ferocious Nether Arts.

For a time, the battlefield was awash in a myriad of lights—some bright, some dim, some vast, some minute.

Liu Mengbai, the most outstanding disciple of his generation in the Liu family, was boiling with anger. He had already eliminated many competitors here, yet had not caught the attention of the patriarchs; even the audience barely glanced at his bouts. Witnessing Jiang Feng’s display of the Heaven and Earth Manifestation, Liu Mengbai’s face turned ghostly pale. He knew the Jiang family well but had never suspected that the most powerful among their young generation would be Jiang Feng. The realization struck him hard.

Gazing at Jiang Feng, who hovered high above, aloof and cold-eyed as he looked down on Xue Qiming, Liu Mengbai felt the sting of utter neglect. Yet that humiliation quickly turned into a burning anger, extreme frustration, and defiance.

“Jiang Feng, just because you’ve acquired a fine Nether Art, don’t think you can act so high and mighty! With my Ninefold Chain Blade, I can defeat you. Today, I’ll show you the true might of the Ninefold Chain Blade!”

As he spoke, the blade in his hand underwent a bizarre transformation—swelling in size, swelling madly like the Ruyi Sky-Pillar Rod. With crackling sounds, it morphed into a gigantic python. Though less imposing than the Sky-Pillar Rod, it was still a formidable Nether Artifact.

The blade’s unique quality was its serpentine ferocity—within three feet of Liu Mengbai, Nether Power surged and lashed, slicing and twisting. Anyone daring to approach would be shredded to pulp in an instant.

With a hiss, Liu Mengbai exploded into motion, becoming a streak of light as he charged at Jiang Feng, a python in pursuit of its prey, launching a savage, desperate assault.

“Why is Bai’er so reckless?” Liu Tao exclaimed in shock. In his mind, Liu Mengbai was a gentle and courteous youth. His Nether Arts were fierce, yes, but never his temperament. Yet today, he seemed a frenzied python, wild and desperate.

He had warned Liu Mengbai beforehand to find Jiang Feng, to avoid getting too close, and certainly not to harm him. He knew well Jiang Yuehai’s fierce protectiveness; he could not risk the alliance between the Liu and Jiang families.

“Wait! Boy, watch below—someone else is attacking you!” Jue shouted, his eyes blazing with fury. He had seen countless battles but rarely such shamelessness—an attack from behind.

Jiang Feng looked down, recognizing the Liu family attire, and realized it must be Liu Mengbai. Anger flared within him. “The Liu family and my Jiang family have always been allies, and yet you make such a reckless move? Ha! So the Liu family are nothing but backstabbing cowards!”

He raised his hand, fingers splayed, and grasped at the air.

The surrounding currents, driven by Nether Power, thickened like gelatin, seizing Liu Mengbai as if he were frozen midair. He struggled like an insect trapped in a spider’s web, thrashing and roaring in rage.

“What? That Nether Artifact—it’s a supreme dark-grade! If I hadn’t used all my Nether Power, it would be impossible to bind him.” Jiang Feng, channeling his power, condensed the currents and enveloped Liu Mengbai, feeling the immense strength of the Ninefold Chain Blade. It could probably slay a first-tier Void Nether practitioner in an instant—comparable to a third-tier master.

Yet Jiang Feng, with his profound command over Nether Power, was undaunted. After binding Liu Mengbai, he sent his spiritual energy surging into the blade’s radiance.

He intended to seize the blade by force of will, then devour it utterly, refining it into his own treasure.

His true opponent was still the one desperately trying to withdraw the Sky-Pillar Rod—Xue Qiming. Jiang Feng’s own power maintaining the Heaven and Earth Manifestation was already wavering. Should Xue Qiming succeed in drawing his weapon, the situation would become perilous.

“Not good!”

Liu Mengbai suddenly felt his mind in turmoil as Jiang Feng’s power encircled him, infiltrating the Ninefold Chain Blade and shaking his spirit. Should his spirit be erased, the treasured blade would change hands.

Jiang Feng, relying on his vast Nether Power, attempted to wrest control of the blade.

At such a critical moment, Liu Mengbai showed the resourcefulness of the Liu family’s heir. He bit his tongue, the pain clearing his head, then began chanting the family’s Heart-Cleansing Incantation. The resonant soundwaves shook the Nether Power, and the Ninefold Chain Blade sensed the call. Instantly, the python coiled into a meat grinder.

Ninefold Vortex!

The moment the vortex appeared, Jiang Feng felt his own Nether Power being drawn inexorably toward it, as though all rivers flowed to the sea. The vortex could absorb Nether Power.

His control faltered, his power flooding away.

Liu Mengbai, feeling the pressure lessen, knew the vortex had worked. Without hesitation, he cast a glance at the frustrated Xue Qiming and surged with renewed power toward Jiang Feng, intent on seizing the moment to kill him.

“No!” Liu Tao’s face went ashen. He glanced at Jiang Yuehai, seeing the same grim pallor. Both understood that Jiang Feng was in extreme danger. Should he fall, the Jiang family would lose a scion of immense promise—a grievous loss.

But just then, Jiang Feng’s lips curled into a cold smile. Suddenly spinning, he reached out, grasping and pulling inward. His body whirled like a top, and the Nether Power about to be drawn into the vortex slowed, condensed into an invisible drill. It spun with a thunderous roar, the air exploding and gales howling. With a sudden jolt, he reversed its momentum, recoiling like a taut bowstring, and slammed it into Liu Mengbai from behind.

This move, though not an advanced Nether Art, was a highly practical physical technique—one of the twenty-five forms, known as the Horse-Kick Reversal.

Boom!

Caught off guard, Liu Mengbai lost his balance. The smooth surface of the vortex dimmed, the radiance of devouring Nether Power froze midair.

Jiang Feng moved in the wake of his strike, gliding through the air like a dragon. Nether Power, instead of spreading out, spun like a spider spinning silk, ensnaring Liu Mengbai once again.

Such precise manipulation of Nether Power was the mark of a true master, not a mere novice. Any ordinary practitioner would have been drained dry by the vortex at first contact.

Liu Tao, only moments before worried for Jiang Feng’s safety, now found himself wringing his hands for his own son.

In truth, Jiang Feng had honed his powers within the Star Soul Flowlight Array, achieving mastery in manipulation—condensing, redirecting, combining, weaving Qi into threads, executing the Horse-Kick Reversal, and many other techniques with consummate skill.

“Jiang Feng, I will never forgive you!” Liu Mengbai, once again ensnared, lost all composure. With venomous curses, he struggled to wield the Ninefold Chain Blade, but its power was much diminished. Jiang Feng, unwilling to be distracted, unleashed eight roaring shouts—the Eight-Tailed Sonic Dragon lashed out, striking Liu Mengbai and drawing blood.

With a thunderous explosion, the Sonic Dragon’s power detonated, countering much of the vortex’s force.

“How formidable! When did Jiang Feng’s Nether Arts become so refined?” Wang Yu praised, his face bright. Jiang Feng, now married to Wang Yingying, and still valued by Jiang Yuehai, was clearly not abandoned by his clan. Meanwhile, Liu Mengbai’s hostility signaled a rupture between the Liu and Jiang families, while the ties to the Wang family awaited resolution.

As these thoughts swirled, Jiang Feng attacked again. Nether Power split into dragons that lashed Liu Mengbai, who was battered and helpless, unable to break free. Every attempt to unleash the vortex was skillfully countered.

“Who is this youth? To leave two such experts at his mercy!” came whispers of amazement from the crowd, watching Liu Mengbai and Xue Qiming struggle in vain.

Seeing his Sky-Pillar Rod still bound, Xue Qiming let out a furious roar. He realized, to his fury, that Jiang Feng was focusing entirely on Liu Mengbai, ignoring him completely—an insult that stoked his rage to new heights.

“Ruyi Sky-Pillar!”

With a shout, Xue Qiming’s Nether Power erupted, light gathering inward. The Heaven and Earth Manifestation was waning, but now, with a surge of indignation, he drove currents from the Sky-Pillar Rod, which, as if invigorated, broke free from its constraints and slashed toward Jiang Feng.

Unstoppable!

The layers of the Heaven and Earth Manifestation crumbled.

Jiang Feng knew nothing of Xue Qiming’s Nether Arts, and this sudden reversal left him shaken. He could not divine what strange powers lay hidden within the rod. With his own power greatly spent, he dared not use another grand technique. Instead, he fell back on his Xuantian Divine Palm, unleashing a flurry of thirty-six strikes.

Each palm condensed his power to the utmost, forming imprints that slowed Xue Qiming’s assault.

Xue Qiming felt as if struck by a boulder, and realized that Jiang Feng’s mastery of Nether Power had soared after his bout with Liu Mengbai. Yet, though fierce, these attacks could not wound him.

“Ha! Jiang Feng, with my Nether Power Armor, your feeble tricks are useless. Spare yourself the effort!”

With a wild laugh, Xue Qiming lunged, transforming his palm into a claw wreathed in chilling light, reaching for Jiang Feng. If he could seize him, the Sky-Pillar Rod would pierce Jiang Feng’s chest.

At that critical moment, Jiang Feng’s expression changed. He sought to evade with his twenty-five forms, but Xue Qiming’s attack left no room for escape.

“Not good!” Sensing danger, Jue scrutinized the fight. With the keen vision of an eagle, he spotted a narrow gap by Xue Qiming’s right hand. If Jiang Feng slipped through, he could evade the attack.

Without hesitation, Jue conveyed his insight to Jiang Feng.

Jiang Feng, recognizing the opening, marveled at Jue’s keen eye. He feinted a retreat, luring Xue Qiming in. At the moment Xue Qiming believed he had him, Jiang Feng’s body flowed like smoke through the gap, eluding the inescapable assault.

At once, Jiang Feng executed a flawless Horse-Kick Reversal, propelling himself with a burst of Nether Power, covering ground in an instant, and landed a palm squarely on Xue Qiming.

Xue Qiming was sent flying, soaring five or six heights into the air, colliding coincidentally with Liu Mengbai. As fate would have it, he was drawn into the Ninefold Vortex, wholly enveloped by the grinding mechanism. Yet, with his Nether Power Armor, the grinding produced only wisps of smoke, leaving him unscathed.

“How terrifying!” Liu Tao exclaimed, never having seen such an indestructible armor. With a ghostly Nether Artifact and an impenetrable shield, the Liu family’s losses in this tournament were devastating, with no honors won and the alliance with the Jiang family now threatened.

As he feared, Xue Qiming, enraged that his armor was sullied by the vortex, blamed Liu Mengbai for disrupting his duel with Jiang Feng. Retracting his Sky-Pillar Rod into a short staff, he uttered a soft command. Instantly, the staff lengthened and pierced through Liu Mengbai’s left shoulder.

Without resistance!

Under the mightiest spear, Liu Mengbai’s body was impaled before he could react, blood gushing like a fountain. He fell straight to the ground, bones shattered, meridians torn, his cultivation utterly destroyed.

Then he vanished in a flash of light.

The Liu family’s valiant scion was thus eliminated!

“Defeated!” Liu Tao slumped in his chair, his face ashen. Xuan Xingzi had meant to offer comfort, but with Liu Mengbai’s cultivation so ruthlessly destroyed, he could not speak. Jiang Yuehai, silent, had already resolved to sever the Jiang-Liu alliance.

Thus, the Liu family stood isolated among the four great clans.

“With a Nether Artifact so fine, and sharing the same goal as Xue Qiming, who would have thought Liu Mengbai would be taken out by Xue Qiming’s own hand?”

“He got what was coming—he tried to stab Jiang Feng in the back. Such a scoundrel deserves defeat!”

“Will Xue Qiming take the Ninefold Chain Blade for himself?”

“No way! With the Sky-Pillar Rod, what does he want with the chain blade?”

The crowd murmured, as if it were they who had been crippled rather than Liu Mengbai.

With Liu Mengbai eliminated, his cultivation destroyed and fate unknown, the Nether practitioners were shaken anew. They had known Xue Qiming was formidable, but not so ruthless, so unlike any ordinary youth.

Suddenly, they remembered another youth, whose cruelty surpassed even Xue Qiming’s.

Fang Ping!

Brandishing only a short dagger, Fang Ping moved like a wraith, wasting no time as he rushed straight for Duan Xingyun.

Xuan Xingzi’s face twitched. He no longer worried about Xue Qiming, but this inexplicable and terrifying boy Fang Ping from the Fang family filled him with dread.

That dagger was simply too brazen and ghostly!

As he watched Duan Xingyun intently, he heard a sneering whisper, “Shameless brat, trying to keep the Ninefold Chain Blade for yourself!”

Xuan Xingzi could only laugh bitterly, cursing Xue Qiming’s greed. With the Sky-Pillar Rod in hand, he still wanted to snatch another’s blade.

But as he looked closer, he realized it was not his disciple Xue Qiming who was reaching for the chain blade, but Jiang Feng.

Jiang Feng cared little for the disdainful or contemptuous looks cast his way from outside the pavilion. Even if he knew, he would not care. He simply could not allow the chain blade to fall into Xue Qiming’s hands.

But as he reached for the blade, he felt a strand of spirit emanating from it—and it was his own.

“So, in the chaos of battle, when Liu Mengbai’s cultivation was destroyed by Xue Qiming, his spirit was erased by mine!” Jiang Feng rejoiced. The spirit he had left in the chain blade now surged, and the artifact was his.

Jue urged him, “Now is the perfect time to devour the chain blade! Use the power of the Rivers and Mountains Vessel—unleash that Ninefold Vortex. I know how to defeat him now.”

Jiang Feng’s eyes brightened. Without hesitation, he activated his limitless devouring.