No! He was a black horse a long time ago!
From the outer disciples contest to the main tournament to the genius summit, Zhao Feng had been creating miracles.
“Too strong!” Happiness shone in Zhao Yufei’s eyes.
“Hmph! Before he said that he could exchange thirty, no…fifty moves!” Zhao Ling clenched his teeth and said unwillingly.
Although Zhao Feng’s performance was even better than Zhao Linlong’s, he didn’t want to bow down to him!
“Xin Wuheng, your so called ten moves must have some sort of connection with your Cloud Chess Step. With ten steps setting up a trap and using the smallest amount of energy to deal the most damage possible,” Zhao Feng said, smiling.
“You’re right! You lasting ten moves means that your strength is at least on par with mine, or even stronger than mine.” A dangerous light flashed in Xin Wuheng’s eyes.
The two were eye to eye, either of them could attack immediately.
“Haha! You’re being too humble if your cultivation is only at the peak fifth rank,” Zhao Feng said with deep meaning.
Xin Wuheng’s face suddenly became more solemn.
Flaming Metal Fist!
Zhao Feng attacked while Xin Wuheng was distracted. This time he didn’t use Angry Dragon Fist or even Star Finger, he used the most basic skill – Flaming Metal Fist!
In the short gap, the simplest, fastest attack had the best effect. And Flaming Metal Fist was Zhao Feng’s most used skill.
But Xin Wuheng wasn’t lacking either, his senses had exceeded the limits of the sixth rank and were was on par with Martial Masters. The instant Zhao Feng condensed his Inner Strength and threw out his fist, he reacted by throwing out his palm.
Peng!
The collision between the fist and the palm knocked Xin Wuheng backwards. Zhao Feng had trained Metal Wall Technique and so had the advantage on defense and power. The fact that he attacked first also made his punch stronger than Xin Wuheng’s palm.
Angry Dragon Fist!
Zhao Feng pressed on since he was winning and his Inner Strength started to slowly rise to the peak fifth rank.
After their first ten moves, Zhao Feng was pushing Xin Wuheng back!
The spectators watched in fright. No one could have imagined that there would be another talented youngster who could fight Xin Wuheng.
Eleven moves…twelve moves…thirteen moves…
Zhao Feng held control for the first twenty moves. With his left eye, he saw that there was a slight injury inside Xin Wuheng’s body, so he didn’t give him any rest.
Xin Wuheng had to retreat to gain some time to heal that slight internal injury, but since Zhao Feng knew that with his left eye, he didn’t give Xin Wuheng any time to recover. The audience was stunned.
Inside the Zhao family’s pavilion...
Zhao Linlong’s face was extremely ugly and his two fist were tightly clenched. Zhao Feng’s cultivation wasn’t even as high as his. Why could he fight on par with Xin Wuheng?
Under the big tree...
“Zhe zhe, interesting. I can’t believe that a small city like Sun Feather City would have two talented geniuses, the potential of these two could be ranked in the top five of Jun City,” one of the silver figures said.
“We must report this to My Lord in case these two are taken in by other factions…” the other one said cautiously.
In the middle of the stage, the two figures exchanged blows, but no one was able to decide the winner.
Twenty moves…twenty-one moves…twenty-two moves…
After twenty two moves, Xin Wuheng started to recover slowly. His Cloud Chess Step specialized in using slow and steady speed to counter fast speed. Furthermore, he restrained himself from clashing head on with Zhao Feng.
Zhao Feng was too strong in terms of pure strength, and once he used Star Finger, the damage dealt was on par with peak sixth rankers. This meant that even Zhao Linlong, who had reached the sixth rank, would be beaten. Therefore, Xin Wuheng had to retreat occasionally and win some time to rest.
Thirty moves…thirty-five moves…
Finally, on the thirty-fifth move, Xin Wuheng managed to slightly gain the upper hand.
The battle became more intense and dangerous. Xin Wuheng would sometimes sneak attack and when he used with Cloud Chess Step, it made the sneak attacks even more unpredictable. But Zhao Feng’s reflexes were unbelievably fast, and at the key moment he would see how Xin Wuheng would attack.
“How did he do this? Is he the same as me? Does he have the senses of a Martial Master?” Xin Wuheng thought curiously.
Fifty moves…sixty moves…
No one was winning!
Plop!
Zhao Ling fell helplessly to the ground, his face was pale. Before, he had bet with Zhao Feng that if he could manage to exchange ten moves, then he would lose.
But at that time Zhao Feng had laughed. “Ten moves is too little, at least thirty, no, fifty moves… ”
And at this moment, the two had exchanged over sixty moves with no signs of winning or losing.
Sixty moves…seventy moves…
The two’s offense speed grew faster and faster. Finally, they reached eighty moves.
Xin Wuheng took a deep breath and his ‘One with the Heavens’ aura became clearer and clearer. This aura was similar to the one from the shy girl at the canyon, but much fainter.
Facing this aura, Zhao Feng felt like an ant. That feeling stopped him from breathing properly.
After ninety moves, every attack Xin Wuheng sent out contained deep insights. Zhao Feng’s left eye slowly opened and a faint green-azure glow covered his eyeball. Suddenly he went into super-vision mode. Every movement Xin Wuheng made was now tens of times slower.
Shua!
Inside the pitch-black dimension, a hollow figure of Xin Wuheng appeared and every action that he took was replayed back and forth. The hollow figure’s actions contained deep insights and they were easier to understand than the girl’s. Since he had already gained some insights from that Mysterious Wind Palm, Zhao Feng immediately learned this aura.
Open!
Zhao Feng suddenly merged his Lightly Floating Ferry, Lightly Micro Step and Flaming Metal Fist into one. An aura similar to Xin Wuheng’s appeared on his body.
Pah—-
Zhao Feng thrust a palm out at Xin Wuheng.
Teng teng teng…
Xin Wuheng retreated, his face full of shock. “What!? His palm…”
He had a weird feeling that the aura from Zhao Feng’s palm was stolen from him. If that was true, then it would be too terrifying…
Xin Wuheng took a deep breath and condensed his Inner Strength. His senses were on par with Martial Masters, and his condensing speed and strength far surpassed sixth rankers. This meant that any cultivator under the sixth rank couldn’t beat Xin Wuheng in terms of Inner Strength. This was also why he could beat Zhao Linlong.
But he didn’t know that Zhao Feng’s left eye had kept track of all his Inner Strength and blood flow changes.
So it’s like this…
Zhao Feng quickly gained more understanding of that aura.
Star Finger!
Zhao Feng’s finger stabbed through the air and this time it was even more powerful than before. Star Finger was also about condensing Inner Strength. After he learned how Xin Wuheng condensed his chi, Zhao Feng’s Star Finger pushed forwards slightly.
“Fantastic! Star Finger is closing in on the peak third level.” He really wanted to thank Xin Wuheng.
First, he had gained some insight to that mysterious aura. Second,he had learned how to condense Inner Strength more efficiently.
Ninety-one moves…ninety-two moves…
Zhao Feng fought more and more bravely.
Although Xin Wuheng wasn’t losing, he wasn’t gaining the upper hand either. What made him turn cold was Zhao Feng’s potential, he could feel Zhao Feng getting stronger and strong
er.
Zhao Feng’s aura and Inner Strength were almost completely similar to his.
What kind of person was this guy!?
Xin Wuheng couldn’t help but admit that he had met his nemesis. His specialty was enlightenment, yet his opponent’s understanding speed was even faster than his.
Ninety-five moves…ninety-six moves…
They were closing in on one hundred moves. Everyone present held their breath, their eyes were full of anticipation and excitement for the end result. According to the rules, when they exchanged one-hundred moves the geniuses and hosting person would decide the winner.
However, at the ninety-ninth move -
Teng!
Xin Wuheng spun and jumped tens of meters into the air. “It ends here!”
Chapter 54 – Four Great Geniuses Ranking
“It ends here!”
Everyone looked on in anticipation, wondering what kind of killing move Xin Wuheng had.
Zhao Feng was also full of anticipation as he slowly circulated his Inner Strength.
In terms of offense, he had Star Finger and his strongest stance, One line Star Finger, hadn’t been used yet. In terms of defense, his Metal Wall Technique had reached the fifth level, all attacks under the seventh rank wouldn’t be critical to him. Furthermore, Zhao Feng’s real cultivation was at the sixth rank.
Xin Wuheng’s face was like water, but then he slowly put his hands down and his Inner Strength stopped condensing.
Hmm?
Zhao Feng was slightly surprised.
“I admit defeat,” Xin Wuheng said expressionlessly.
Admit defeat?
Why?
Chaos broke out in the audience, most of them were confused.
Xin Wuheng admitted defeat?
Even some of the older generation dropped their jaws. No one would have expected Xin Wuheng to admit defeat on the ninety-ninth move.
After all from the current situation, Zhao Feng and Xin Wuheng both had equal chances of winning.
“He… he beat Xin Wuheng?” Zhao Ling sat helplessly on the ground as he stared into the air dazedly.
He had finally realized what kind of monster he had aggravated. Zhao Feng had not only surpassed the top genius of the sect, Zhao Linlong, he had even made the top genius of Sun Feather City admit defeat.
“No, you haven’t lost,” Zhao Feng said formally as he looked deeply at Xin Wuheng.
His left eye could sense Xin Wuheng’s the Inner Strength and blood flow, Zhao Feng could see that Wuheng’s Inner Strength was even stronger than Zhao Linlong’s.
Therefore, Xin Wuheng’s cultivation wasn’t at the peak fifth rank. His real cultivation was at the peak sixth rank! Peak sixth rank!
He had already crushed all of the geniuses of Sun Feather City under his feet. From the first time he had inspected Xin Wuheng, Zhao Feng had thought, This person isn’t simple…
Obviously, Zhao Feng wouldn’t fear Xin Wuheng with his real cultivation. He not only had strong cultivation himself, he also had the help of his left eye, which gave him confidence of not losing.
“There’s no point in continuing our battle,” Xin Wuheng shook his head.
He didn’t lose, but the reason he said so was because his real cultivation and killing moves would be seen by others.
There was also two more reasons. First, he was older than Zhao Feng by two years and he didn’t want to use this advantage to beat him. Second, Xin Wuheng’s aura and techniques had been stolen by Zhao Feng. From Xin Wuheng’s point of view, Zhao Feng was a monster, to show more tricks would only benefit Zhao Feng.
“How about we call it a draw?” Qiu Mengyu asked as the host.
Draw?
Zhao Feng looked towards Xin Wuheng and the two nodded their heads simultaneously.
“Sure,” Zhao Feng agreed, and didn’t forcefully continue their sparring.
After all, according to the rules, the battle wasn’t going to last any longer than one hundred moves.
“I’ll be waiting for our next battle,” Xin Wuheng said, smiling.
After he finished his words, he immediately left the summit. The whole scene confused many people.
Was Xin Wuheng leaving halfway through?
No one knew that after Xin Wuheng left, he would never appear in Sun Feather City again…
His existence slowly faded away. Only much later did Zhao Feng meet him again...
The summit continued, but Xin Wuheng and Zhao Feng’s battle had pushed everything to a climax. The sparring matches afterwards had lost their flavor.
Now, the four great geniuses finally had their rankings.
First place: Zhao Feng and Xin Wuheng.
Third place: Zhao Linlong.
Fourth place: Qiu Mengyu.
At this point, there shouldn’t have been any disagreements, but this summit didn’t have just one black horse.
“This one Zhao Yufei would like to see your skills.” Zhao Yufei was like a clear lotus, pure and holy. She immediately attracted the attention of many youths.
Discussion broke out.
Zhao Yufei had reached the fifth rank at such a young age. Her potential was only inferior to Zhao Feng’s, but Zhao Feng understood that all the credit went to his left eye. If he hadn’t received his eye, Zhao Yufei would certainly have been the most talented in the Zhao family. Even Zhao Linlong didn’t reach her level at the same age.
Furthermore, Zhao Yufei came from a branch sect and in terms of resources, she was far inferior to Zhao Linlong.
“I’ll go!” From the Xin family came a youth of the fifth rank.
This person was Xin Chen, ranked second in the Xin family, behind Xin Wuheng and in front of Xin Tong. He had only lost to Zhao Linlong and Qiu Mengyu before. In terms of strength, Xin Chen was on par with Zhao Chi, just one step behind the four great geniuses.
“Butterfly Leaf Palm!”
Zhao Yufei was as light as the wind and her palm was extremely soft and delicate. As she attacked, she immediately used her high ranked martial art Butterfly Leaf Palm which had almost reached the peak level.
Pah! Pah! Pah…
The two figures crossed. Zhao Yufei was graceful and delicate. After exchanging ten moves, Zhao Yufei had gained the upper hand. In terms of damage, she was only on par with Zhao Chi, but her Inner Strength skill was Air Crossing Breathing Technique, which was far superior to Xin Chen’s.
Air Crossing Breathing Technique buffed up her speed and offense skills and when the skills were used together, she could easily defeat others of the same rank.
Thirty moves later, Zhao Yufei’s power had increased once again. Her palm was soft yet hard and from the battle, she seemed to gain more insights.
“She’s also trained a high ranked body strengthening technique like Qiu Mengyu.” Xin Tong was shocked.
Zhao Yufei’s body strengthening technique wasn’t any weaker than Metal Wall Technique, but it was more suitable for women.
“She had great potential and she has probably hidden her true strength.” Zhao Feng suddenly remembered the mysterious one-armed old man. That the old man could take out a high ranked skill such as Metal Wall Technique was incredible.
Thirty moves later, Zhao Yufei’s attacked wave after wave, and she finally defeated Xin Chen.
Zhao Yufei won! There was another black horse this time.
Zhao Yufei rested a while and then, she proceeded to challenge Qiu Changyi. Qiu Changyi was one of the four great geniuses, and although he wasn’t going to be number one this year, he was still strong.
Flowing Feather Step!
Flowing Feather Flying Cloud!
Qiu Changyi used his two speed skills, which had both reached the peak level. Only Zhao Feng could catch up to him in terms of speed.
“Cloud Leaf Ferry!” Zhao Yufei’s skill suddenly changed as she used a skill that had never been seen before. Instantly, her body turned as light as a leaf as she flipped in midair
.
“Cloud Leaf Ferry? What kind of skill is it? It’s not any worse than my Lightly Floating Ferry!” Zhao Feng was shocked.
He had finally realized that he was too rushed in exchanging Air Crossing Breathing Technique for Metal Wall Technique. Maybe it was a good deal, but Air Crossing Breathing Technique suited Zhao Yufei perfectly. This new skill was even more profound than Air Crossing Breathing Technique.
Just as Zhao Feng sighed, the situation changed. Qiu Changyi was losing!
In terms of speed, Qiu Changyi didn’t have the advantage since Zhao Yufei had Cloud Leaf Step.
Fifty-some moves later, Qiu Changyi was defeated. After beating Qiu Changyi, Zhao Yufei would only need to defeat the ones one step higher to become one of the four great geniuses.
Finally, the summit was coming to an end.
At this time, Zhao Yufei challenged Qiu Mengyu. The battle between the two beautiful girls once again pushed the summit to a climax. Zhao Yufei kept on using Cloud Leaf Ferry to counter Qiu Mengyu.
One hundred moves later, the two decided on a draw, once again causing chaos.
The four great geniuses had changed to the five great geniuses: Xin Wuheng, Zhao Feng, Zhao Linlong, Qiu Mengyu, and Zhao Yufei.
The Zhao family had three of the five great geniuses positions, giving the Qiu and Xin family a lot of pressure. Qiu Mengyu and Qiu Changyi looked at each other and they saw the worry in in each other’s eyes. The geniuses of the Zhao family were just too terrifying. Apart from Zhao Linlong, there was also Zhao Feng and Zhao Yufei.
Zhao Feng’s rise was a miracle, he was the first to equal Xin Wuheng. But Xin Wuheng was older than Zhao Feng, so in terms of talent and strength, Zhao Feng was first.
“Mengyu!” Behind the stage, an old man in gray robes called for her attention.
“Elder,” Qiu Mengyu said respectfully.
“There’s something I want you to do, this is really important…” the gray-robed man said softly.
******************
The summit finally ended.
The geniuses of the Zhao sect walked out of their pavilion and were beginning to head downhill. Many looked at Zhao Feng with fear and admiration, but there was also jealously and hate.
King of Gods - (A Chinese Novel Translation): Book 1 Page 30