Chapter 257: Chapter 232: The Relationship with Chu Hongye_1
Lu Yan’s curiosity was piqued, eager to see what these four top-notch figures had to offer, how their battle strength was like.
"Speaking of which, you have quite a connection with Chu Hongye, if not to describe it as deep." Feng Yuanyi suddenly said mysteriously.
"What kind of relationship?"
Lu Yan asked curiously.
"Isn’t your master Chu Chenzhou? Chu Hongye is Chu Chenzhou’s biological granddaughter." Feng Yuanyi explained.
Lu Yan was taken aback, this was unexpected.
The darling of heaven, Chu Hongye, was actually Chu Chenzhou’s granddaughter.
However, he had heard from Xiang Chongyang that before Chu Chenzhou was demoted to Lingdong, he had a wife and children, so having a granddaughter was pretty normal.
The lifespan of martial cultivators was long and their peak period lasted quite a while, so they generally got married and had children much later than ordinary people.
Dong-dong-dong...
The sound of the gong echoed, silencing the crowd.
A tall and burly old man standing about two meters two or three high took the stage.
Feng Yuanyi introduced him as one of the deputy leaders of King Ming’s bodyguards, a man of unfathomable strength.
When the challenge began, there must be a strong individual standing on the stage to avoid fatalities.
"The Hidden Dragon List challenge begins. Within the Hidden Dragon Camp, everyone has two challenge opportunities, so who wants to go first?" The old man’s voice boomed.
Lu Yan was already familiar with the rules of the Hidden Dragon List challenge. Whether you are already on the list or not, everyone has two challenge opportunities.
Those not on the list can challenge those who are.
And those on the list can challenge the people ranked higher.
"I will."
Immediately, a middle-aged bald man who looked to be in his forties jumped onto the stage.
"Yue Zhong, who do you want to challenge?"
The old man asked.
"I want to challenge the 48th on the Hidden Dragon List, Yang Kai."
The bald man declared.
"Yang Kai, the Internal God-man."
This stirred up interest within Lu Yan.
Over the past seven days, he had roughly learned about those experts on the Hidden Dragon List.
Yang Kai was an Internal God-man, reputed for his peculiar stomach and internal miracles.
Reportedly, he was born in an ordinary family and had shown extraordinary attributes since his childhood - an astonishingly large appetite, ten times that of a normal person. His name became known far and wide. When his tale reached the ears of King Ming’s bodyguards, they came to examine his internal organs; and sure enough, he was an Internal God-man, and was thus brought up in the Hidden Dragon Camp.
Lu Yan had heard a lot about the Internal God-men, but had never witnessed one in action and was naturally curious.
Understanding one’s self and one’s enemies ensures victory in all battles.
This Hidden Dragon List challenge was a fantastic learning opportunity. The more knowledge he gained, the better he could deal with enemies who were also Internal God-men.
Boom!
A silhouette jumped onto the stage, causing it to reverberate as if a giant beast had landed.
Indeed, Yang Kai’s physique resembled that of a giant beast.
The bald man was already enough of a sturdy figure, but when compared to Yang Kai, he seemed like a child.
Yang Kai stood an astonishing three meters tall, his muscles twisted and burly like a gigantic bear.
Honestly, even for Lu Yan, this was the first time he had seen such an amazing physique.
Martial cultivators usually did not grow much taller after reaching the Martial Marquis stage unless they experienced an exceptional breakthrough.
"Yue Zhong, are you challenging me again? You’re always outmatched, why put yourself through the humiliation?" Yang Kai questioned in his deep, resonant voice.
"This year, I am definitely going to defeat you." Yue Zhong asserted, brandishing his War Knife. His internal strength exploded and brilliant sword light filled his blade. Like a tiger descending from a mountain, he swiftly lunged at Yang Kai, aiming for his neck.
A light yellow internal strength flooded around Yang Kai, covering his entire body.
On the surface of his body, a layer of light yellow crystals condensed, like a layer of armor covering his body, limbs, fists, feet, and even his head.
Boom!
With his bare hands, he threw a punch right at the blade’s edge.
With a loud crash and sparks flying, Yue Zhong’s attack was blocked. His body swayed slightly, and he retreated two steps.
On the other hand, Yang Kai’s fist didn’t even have a single scratch.
"Is this the internal strength of the Internal God-man? It has the attribute of the earth, incredible and formidable, boasting a powerful defensive capability." Lu Yan silently pondered.
Internal God-men have miracles within their organs, and the internal strength they cultivate is very unique, carrying various terrifying attributes which make their internal auras extremely solid and formidable, possessing infinite power and various mysteries.
However, the world is fair.
Generally, an Internal God-man can’t have an Innate Martial Body.
For an Innate Martial Body, the organs are usually quite ordinary.
The two are incompatible.
Historically, there have been very few who were simultaneously an Innate Martial Body and an Internal God-man.
Moreover, even Acquired Martial Bodies are very difficult for an Internal God-man to cultivate.
Or it is more accurate to say, not a question of difficulty.
After achieving true Martial Unity in a Martial Art, an Internal God-man can also receive gifts from heaven and earth, and strengthen their body and Qi-blood; but it’s challenging for them to increase the amount of internal or bone strength.
While it’s tough to increase, it’s not that it can’t increase at all. This is because while first-rate, second-rate and third-rate martial arts can’t be effective on the Internal God-men, Top Martial Arts can be.
History has shown that if one cultivates three Top Martial Arts to Martial Unity, the number of an Internal God-man’s internal strength or bone strength can increase by one.
However, in the Master Level, those who have cultivated three Top Martial Arts to Martial Unity have been very few in history.
Therefore, Internal God-men usually only have one type of internal strength.
The battle on the stage was still continuing.
Immediately after Yue Zhong retreated, he twisted his body around and charged forward again, wielding his knife.
Those who could step onto the stage for the challenge were no weaklings. They all had some confidence in their own abilities, and Yue Zhong was no exception.
He had reached the fifth-level master in cultivation, and from the look of it, he seemed to have grasped about seven traces of inner strength.
After exchanging blows with his opponent for dozens of times, it was clear that Yang Kai had the upper hand. Relying on his strong and unique inner strength,
Yang Kai managed to knock Yue Zhong off the stage after about fifty rounds.
"You should go rest for a while."
The old man said to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai bowed in reply and jumped off the stage, taking out a piece of dried martial food to chew.
After having just engaged in a round of battle, he was significantly drained. By rule, no one could challenge him before he had completely recovered his strength.
"Next up, who will challenge?"
The old man asked again.
"I will..."
Another person leaped onto the stage, challenging the one who was ranked forty-ninth.
Soon, another intense battle broke out.
Both of them had innate martial bodies and possessed the same amount of inner strength, which had reached eight paths.
It was hard to gauge the quantity of one’s inner strength solely through observation if you were not engaged in direct combat with them.
However, everyone was already familiar with these fighters’ capabilities. The moment they began to fight, people beside them started to discuss, and Lu Yan could hear clearly.
The two fighters were equally powerful, clashing on the stage like two ferocious beasts, their explosive energy echoing loudly.
Either one had a power that far exceeded Lu Yan’s.
However, one of them held a slight edge in terms of martial arts mastery. After a series of fierce battles, he defeated his opponent.
Soon, the next challenge began.
Those who were not yet on the list wanted to challenge those ranked at the bottom of the list.
There were thirteen consecutive challenges. The confrontations between the Internal God-men and those with innate martial bodies, along with frequent displays of top martial arts, greatly broadened Lu Yan’s horizons.
The fourteenth challenge sparked everyone’s interest.
Because this time, the challenger was Chu Hongye.
A stunning woman dressed in a long red dress jumped onto the stage, immediately drawing everyone’s eyes.
Chu Hongye, though in her thirties, looked very young, as if she were only around twenty. Her skin was as smooth as white jade. Despite being enveloped in a long red dress, her alluring figure could not be concealed.
From afar, she looked like a vibrant red rose.
"Last year, Chu Hongye, who had just reached the fourth-level master, nearly made it to the Hidden Dragon List. I reckon she should be able to make the cut this year, right?"
"Definitely. She possesses a dragon and phoenix in her kidneys, which gives her cold internal strength that can penetrate anything. Her only deficiency is her youth, which means her level of martial arts isn’t that high. But after a year of intense cultivation, she must have improved. Add that to an increase in her cultivation level, and entering the Hidden Dragon List should not be difficult."
"Only those with potential for the King’s True Body are capable of getting on the list with the fourth-level master rank."
Around them, many people were discussing.
"I challenge Chu Lingxuan."
Chu Hongye pointed her war sword.
Swish!
Another comely figure appeared on the stage. Though not as stunning as Chu Hongye, she was also quite attractive.
Chu Lingxuan, she was also a descendant of King Ming and ranked forty-fifth on the Hidden Dragon List.
Without saying anything more, the two old acquaintances started to fight fiercely, one wielding a sword and the other a spear.
As they clashed, a layer of ice rapidly covered half of the stage.
The temperature within a radius of hundreds of meters plummeted sharply.
"What an astonishing coldness. This coldness is far more exaggerated than that of the Cold Magic Palm. So, this is Chu Hongye’s special inner strength. It’s indeed amazing."
Lu Yan was secretly shocked.
The inner strength of the Internal God-men possessed a special property, which generally fell within the five elements.
There were a few people whose strength fell outside of the five elements and had even more unique properties, such as thunder, wind, and ice, which often made their strength even stronger.
Chu Hongye was one of these people.
Facing Chu Hongye’s iciness, Chu Lingxuan was obviously at a disadvantage. Even by combining several internal forces, she found it hard to defend. Gradually, her body was covered with a layer of crystal ice, slowing her movements.
In the end, from Chu Hongye’s body echoed the cries that sounded like the cooing of a dragon and a phoenix.
A surprising scene ensued. Vague figures of a dragon and a phoenix appeared on either side of Chu Hongye’s waist, soaring into the air and diving into her longsword, greatly enhancing the power of her inner strength.
Bang!
Her longsword hit Chu Lingxuan’s spear. An astonishing chill surged along the spear and quickly spread over Chu Lingxuan’s body. Instantly, she was turned into an ice statue, unable to move.
Beside, the old man’s face changed, and he arrived beside Chu Lingxuan in a flash. He pressed his hand on her shoulder.
The ice layer on Chu Lingxuan’s body quickly melted away, emanating a misty fog.
"I’ve lost."
Chu Lingxuan bowed, her face slightly pale, and then she stepped off the stage.
"Dragon and phoenix shadows, is that the miracle contained within Chu Hongye’s kidneys?"
Lu Yan murmured.
"Lu Yan, do you feel that I have a special connection with Chu Hongye? We both have miracles within our kidneys."
Feng Yuanyi said.
"I don’t think so."
Lu Yan shook his head.
"Are you jealous that I’ve cultivated a pair of iron kidneys?"
Feng Yuanyi glanced at Lu Yan.
Lu Yan: "..."
The challenge continued.
After Chu Hongye, the skilled fighters on the Hidden Dragon List started to challenge those with higher rankings.
Generally, those who dared to initiate the challenge were the ones who had made progression in the last year. Some had increased their cultivation level, while others had made breakthroughs in martial arts.
The battles became increasingly intense and exciting.
