Chapter 268: Chapter 243 Lu Yan Challenge_1
Chu Hongye’s eyes revealed a strong sense of admiration as her desire to perfect the Four-pole Divine Sword grew even more urgent.
The breakthrough in Martial Arts not only increased her power but also accelerated her cultivation speed—it was incredibly important.
Although Chu Hongye, with her potential to become an Internal God-man possessing a King’s True Body, was considered a rarity, she could not match the potential of a genius like Wang Tianyu.
"This area is too small. My sword can’t be fully displayed. Let’s fight in the wilderness."
Lu Yan suggested.
Chu Hongye nodded.
The two of them changed their clothes for disguise and left the Mingwang City and came to a wide open area.
The sound of swords echoed, two beams of Sword Light soared, clashing fiercely.
Lu Yan used his Inner Strength in twenty-one ways, while Chu Hongye also unleashed all her Inner Strength, pushing her Swordsmanship to the extreme.
Clang!
Every dozen moves or so, their swords would clash, with free-flowing Sword Qi, leaving trails of sword marks on the ground.
Gradually, Chu Hongye’s Swordsmanship became stronger, with dragon-like Sword Light, seemingly ready to fly into the sky.
A moment later, Chu Hongye let out a soft cry, her Sword Light surged. With a single swipe, she pushed Lu Yan back a hundred meters.
"Your Swordsmanship has broken through," Lu Yan sheathed his sword.
With his profound understanding of Swordsmanship, he recognized in an instant that Chu Hongye had finally broken through her shackles and perfected the Four-pole Divine Sword.
For someone of her age to perfect Top Martial Arts was extremely difficult.
Not everyone could be exceptional like Wang Tianyu and Lu Yan.
Some True Body Realm powerhouses managed to achieve Unity of Man and Martial Arts with Top Martial Arts through profound cultivation and a large amount of time.
For those in the True Body Realm, the lifespan was five hundred years.
Some of them spent hundreds of years to achieve Unity of Man and Martial Arts with Top Martial Arts.
Chu Hongye’s Swordsmanship did not stop—her sword aura kept increasing, her Sword Light soared, and eventually, a sound like a dragon’s cry and a phoenix’s song rang out.
After a while, the Sword Light began to gradually recede.
Chu Hongye, standing with a sword, looked overjoyed.
"Lu Yan, thank you for practicing swords with me during this time. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have broken through so quickly," Chu Hongye smiled.
"I keep my word. What I promised you, I will naturally do," Lu Yan smiled back. "It seems that you can make a big jump in the Hidden Dragon List this time."
"You have broken through to the fourth level, you should take action. Even if you don’t want to reveal your twenty-one Inner Strengths, using only sixteen should be enough to get into the Hidden Dragon List," said Chu Hongye.
Lu Yan nodded.
Then, the two returned to the Hidden Dragon Camp.
In the blink of an eye, it was the day of the Hidden Dragon List challenge match.
Lu Yan also saw Feng Yuanyi, who had returned from his mission outside.
The challenge began, and a fierce battle unfolded on the battle platform.
Soon, more than a dozen matches had passed.
"Who wants to continue the challenge?"
An old man on the battle platform yelled.
Swish!
Lu Yan’s figure moved and appeared on the battle platform.
Many people were taken aback when they saw Lu Yan.
Lu Yan wanted to challenge?
He had only been in the Hidden Dragon Camp for a few years, not even five in total.
What kind of breakthrough could he have made in less than five years?
Even if Lu Yan was as talented as Wang Tianyu, his cultivation was still insufficient.
Xiang Chongyang also arrived at the scene and was quite surprised to see Lu Yan.
"Who do you want to challenge?"
An old man in the True Body Realm on the stage asked.
"Number 36 on the Hidden Dragon List, Chu Qiao," said Lu Yan.
Lu Yan’s words made the people even more surprised.
They originally thought that if Lu Yan challenged, he would only challenge the ones at the end of the Hidden Dragon List. They did not expect that Lu Yan would directly bypass more than a dozen people to challenge Chu Qiao at number 36.
After the 30th, although all were at the fifth level, the number of Inner Strengths they mastered was different.
Those ranked 30 to 40 had almost all mastered eight Inner Strengths, some even had more than ten.
Like Chu Qiao, who mastered eight Inner Strengths and had an extremely domineering Divine Fist Eight Styles.
A burly figure stepped onto the stage. His arms were very long, almost reaching his knees, and his palms were extremely large.
"Begin."
The old man announced.
As soon as his voice fell, the burly figure of Chu Qiao, like a giant bear, pounced on Lu Yan.
His fists swung toward Lu Yan.
A wild wind howled, the air compressed by the Fist Strength, forming a terrifying Fist Pressure as if it could crush everything.
Lu Yan stood still, but his palms turned white as jade. When the opponent approached, he sent out continuous palm strikes.
Bang!
Their fists and palms collided, like a mountain collision. The overflowing power caused both figures to retreat.
"What? In a head-on clash, Lu Yan actually blocked Chu Qiao’s iron fist?"
Many people were surprised.
"Lu Yan is impressive. His cultivation level has reached the fourth level, and he controls not eleven, but sixteen Inner Strengths. Furthermore, his palm technique has reached the Unity of Man and Martial Arts."
"He’s practicing Chu Chenzhou’s Cold Magic Palm. It’s highly probable that the increase in his Inner Strength is because he practiced the Cold Magic Palm to the stage of Unity of Man and Martial Arts."
At the scene, there was no lack of high-ranking experts from the True Body Realm. Although it was only a single exchange, they had already seen Lu Yan’s details.
"Whew, Unity of Man and Martial Arts in his Top Martial Arts. Someone previously said that this guy’s comprehension is comparable to Wang Tianyu’s. I thought it was an exaggeration. It seems that his reputation is well-deserved."
Someone exclaimed.
Down on the stage, Wang Tianyu’s eyes flickered, as if in deep thought.
Feng Yuanyi was left dumbstruck.
"This guy, he was certainly hiding his true abilities when we first met."
A smile appeared on Xiang Chongyang’s lips.
Chu Qiao took on a serious expression, his aura intensifying, and he fully activated all the styles of the Divine Fist. He launched another attack on Lu Yan.
Each punch was more ferocious and domineering than the last, with every one having the power to shatter mountains and rocks.
But Lu Yan was always able to respond with the Cold Magic Palm technique.
Chu Qiao’s cultivation level was one rank higher than him, mastering eight Inner Strengths. Even though he only displayed sixteen Inner Strengths, he was certainly at a disadvantage in the contest of Inner Strength.
However, the Unity of Man and Martial Arts of the Cold Magic Palm compensated for this gap.
After all, the opponent’s boxing technique was only at the level of Mastery.
There were still the levels of Reaching the Peak of Perfection and Transcendent between them, the gap was colossal.
Both sides were trading blows head-on with over fifty moves coming and going in a flash.
Gradually, Lu Yan started to gain the upper hand.
As the two continued to clash, the cold seeped into Chu Qiao’s body, causing his muscles to begin to harden. The blood vessels in his body were gradually freezing, obstructing the flow of his Qi-blood, diminishing the power of his boxing technique.
Crash!
At the sixtieth move, Lu Yan’s palm hit Chu Qiao’s chest. Chu Qiao stumbled backward a dozen steps, half of his body covered by frost.
A veil of mist emanated from his body as his Inner Strength circulated.
Lu Yan didn’t continue his attack.
This was not a fight to the death, but merely a contest. There was no need to push the situation to extremes, and the other party would understand when to stop.
Sure enough, Chu Qiao gave a bitter smile and said," Brother Lu is truly a genius bestowed by heaven. I admit defeat."
After he finished speaking, he then fell off the stage.
"Lu Yan, you are temporarily ranked 36th, you have another chance to challenge, and also, you have to accept other people’s challenges. Do you understand?"
The old man on the stage said.
Lu Yan nodded.
"It’s best to take your leave and rest. After recovery, you can continue your challenges."
The old man said.
Lu Yan bowed with a fist and left the battle stage.
Feng Yuanyi immediately gave him a hug and said, "Lu Yan, you’ve been hiding your abilities so well. I’d been away for two years on a mission, and you’ve actually reached such a realm. It seems you’ll soon surpass me."
"What if I challenge you next?"
Lu Yan said with a smile.
Feng Yuanyi was startled and waved his hands, saying, "No way, we’re brothers. Let’s not fight to the death."
"Just kidding."
Lu Yan laughed, then took out a piece of Dried Martial Food to recover. In his mind, he was contemplating whether to continue challenging the higher ranks.
If he continued to challenge, he could only target those within the top thirty.
Otherwise, there would be no significant leap in rankings and he’d get the same reward. It was better not to fight.
Lu Yan valued the rewards, not the false reputation.
Among the top thirty except for the last two positions, all were Sixth-level Masters.
And at the last two positions, one of them was Feng Yuanyi.
Sixth-level Master, not to mention he only revealed sixteen Inner Strengths, even if he revealed all twenty-five Inner Strengths, it would still be far behind.
A gap of two cultivation levels was a nine-fold difference.
The weakest amongst them had mastered seven Inner Strengths.
He would need at least sixty-three Inner Strengths to compete with them on Inner Strength.
Even if he revealed all his cards, he wouldn’t be a match for them head-on.
Of course, this was only because the fight was taking place on the battle stage.
If it were in the wilderness, fighting for their lives, Lu Yan would fear no one.
If he simultaneously used speed-type Martial Arts and Body Refining Martial Arts, along with the Thunder Nine Sounds archery technique, regardless of how powerful the opponent’s Inner Strength is, they would just be moving targets. He could whittle them down until they’re dead.
"If I continue to challenge, the only choice would be the 30th place, Dong Ke."
Lu Yan pondered.
The 30th rank has a significant leap in prize privileges, earning thirty Meritorious Points per month.
Information about Dong Ke surfaced in his mind.
Dong Ke, a Fifth-level Master at peak status, had an Innate Martial Body, a potential Upper True Body, and mastered thirteen Inner Strengths.
If it was about the Inner Strength, the gap was huge.
In addition, Dong Ke’s main cultivation of the top martial art was the Body refining martial art ’Tian Gang Red Dragon Body,’ which bore a striking resemblance to Mo Wenzhuo’s path.
If they fought head-on, unless Lu Yan exposed all of his twenty-five Inner Strengths and the Divine Jiao Gold Body of the Unity of Man and Martial Arts, he wouldn’t be able to compete.
However, Dong Ke had a weakness. He lacked agility.
Dependent on his explosive strength, he could charge forward, but he lacked agility. Lu Yan could completely rely on his own physical techniques combined with archery to defeat him.
After making up his mind, Lu Yan continued to meditate, slowly regaining his strength.
The challenge continued.
Soon, a familiar figure appeared on the battle stage.
It was Chu Hongye.
This time, Chu Hongye directly challenged a top-level expert ranked 26th.
Lu Yan was slightly surprised.
Chu Hongye was also a Fourth-level Master. Even if her swordsmanship improved drastically, she wouldn’t be able to match the expertise of the 26th ranking master.
But right from her first move, Lu Yan discovered that Chu Hongye’s cultivation level had broken through...She had entered the fifth-level master level.
"After her breakthrough in swordsmanship, Chu Hongye surged forward in one breath and her cultivation level broke through too."
Lu Yan thought to himself.
Just a few days ago when they were practicing together, Chu Hongye’s cultivation level was still at the peak of the fourth-level master.
It’s evident that she had just broken through recently.
With Chu Hongye’s potential as a King’s True Body, crossing one level was not a difficult task. After eighty-odd moves, the opponent directly conceded.
Chu Hongye’s ranking quickly moved up to 26th.
As night fell, the day’s contest ended.
The following day, the challenge continued.
At the sixth match on the second day, Lu Yan once again stepped onto the battle stage.
