Chapter 157: Chapter 156: Grandmaster
Not long after Jiang Qiu left the Xia Country Management District, the vast area was thrown into chaos by Martial Artists from unknown factions. Some Xia Country Martial Artists were injured, and some even died.
Grandmaster Wang, who was responsible for guarding the area, frowned deeply. He mobilized Martial Artists with the utmost speed to cut the Xia Country district off from the outside, using a large section of the Inner City Wall to block the incoming tide of Martial Artists.
After all, North Border City was not Xia Country’s native territory. Its management district was separate from the one run by the Belli Family. The Inner City Wall was over ten meters tall and offered excellent defense, though it had yet to be tested in real combat.
At that moment, standing atop the Wall, Grandmaster Wang looked down upon the strangely-dressed Martial Artists gathering at the gate. Some had horns sprouting from their heads, some had tails, and others had scales on their faces. They came in all shapes and sizes.
This was the most common type of Martial Artist in North Border City. They practiced a cultivation method that involved mixing their bloodline with that of the Demon Race, and could be considered partial Demon Cultivators. In the eyes of the people from Xia Country, they were simply Independent Martial Artists.
If you placed them in a crowd of Transformed Great Demons, it would be hard to tell who was the demon and who was the human.
The moment the gate closed, their true nature was revealed. The chaos, which had started for unknown reasons, came to an end. The two sides were now in a standoff. A murderous aura solidified in the air, punctuated by the occasional strange, snarling cry.
They made no move, nor did the large number of Xia Country Martial Artists standing guard with Grandmaster Wang on the Wall. However, there was still some clamor from behind them; the minor disturbances within the Xia Country Management District had not yet been fully suppressed.
"North Border City is in peril! What are you doing surrounding our Inner City gate?"
Grandmaster Wang roared, his voice booming as he unleashed his aura as a Grandmaster, suppressing the crowd of Independent Martial Artists!
As the sole Grandmaster defending the district, he was naturally on a different level from the likes of Beligi. He followed the pure path of the Spirit Control System, and on his home turf, his power was immense.
The Xia Country Management District had been established in North Border City for nearly a century and was not as placid as it seemed. Every single brick in its streets was carved with a unique Ancient Inscription.
When he required power, he could activate the entire district simultaneously. It was equivalent to a third of North Border City channeling its energy into him, allowing him to summon a Dharma Aspect of immeasurable power.
Within all of North Border City, only the Great Grandmaster Zhu Weiyi could keep him in check. Even the old patriarch of the Belli Family did not dare to underestimate him.
After all, the Xia Country had numerous Cultivation Systems, and Spirit Control was one of the three primary combat disciplines. It granted powerful control abilities, and coming from someone in the Grandmaster Realm, who wouldn’t be afraid?
The thousands of Martial Artists below the Wall felt a sudden jolt. Even the dozens of Dharma Realm experts at the front took two steps back, their gazes shifting as they dared not meet his eyes.
But at that very moment, a resonant laugh erupted from behind the crowd. A terrifying aura parted the Martial Artists in its path. "Haha! North Border City is in peril. They are merely looking for a safe place to seek refuge. I’ve heard that your Xia Country Management District is the very safest place in the city, so they wish to go inside and wait out the storm."
Grandmaster Wang’s eyes narrowed, his murky pupils fixing on the black-robed old man strolling in from the street. He asked in a grim voice, "A Grandmaster from Sang Island?"
The old man in the black robe appeared plain and harmless, like a grandfather who just happened to be passing by. Yet, even the Dharma Realm Independent Martial Artists parted for him and bowed. The weaker Martial Artists instinctively took a step back.
His black robe was embroidered with the purple pattern of an Eight-headed Snake, signifying his identity as an Elder of the Sakai Family from Sang Island. Hidden beneath his dark hood, a pair of purple, serpentine eyes were frighteningly cold.
"I am Sakai Fuji."
The moment he heard the name, Grandmaster Wang’s expression tightened. His palms grew sweaty as fury blazed in his eyes.
And who was Sakai Fuji?
He was one of the ten strongest Elders of Sang Island. He frequently clashed with the Grandmasters from the Southeast Province and had even claimed the life of a Grandmaster Level opponent. He had brutally slaughtered hundreds of Xia Country Martial Artists; the man was cold-blooded and ruthless, his methods strange and unpredictable!
This bastard was a major scourge in the eastern part of Xia Country and one of Sang Island’s most prominent Grandmasters. He had once been a peerless genius who suppressed all others of his generation in the Sakai Family!
"You’ve come here... Don’t tell me you intend to launch a full-scale attack on the Xia Country Management District?"
Grandmaster Wang suppressed his fury, mentally reaching out to the vast array of Ancient Inscription markings behind him. Gale Spirit Charm flowed into his hands, which he kept clasped behind his back.
"Since you already know, why ask?"
Sakai Fuji let out a dry laugh. With a casual swipe of his talon-like right hand, a wave of invisible, sinister energy shot toward the wall, which was over ten meters high.
Grandmaster Wang activated the Ancient Inscriptions carved into the Wall. A cyan-blue barrier of wind instantly sprang up, blocking the invisible sinister energy. The impact sent ripples through the air like a boulder crashing into a lake. The resulting shockwave blew back the hair of the Martial Artists on both sides, causing everyone to draw in a sharp breath.
’That casual strike from Sakai Fuji actually contained Domain Power?!’
The path of Martial Arts was long. The leap from the initial Foundation Establishment stage, to becoming a Martial Artist, and then finally entering the Grandmaster Realm was enormous.
Not even one in a hundred thousand practitioners might become a Grandmaster, and not even one in a generation of Grandmasters might become a Great Grandmaster. The leap in power between them surpassed all previous thresholds combined.
A Grandmaster who has mastered a Realm is a Great Grandmaster. It is said that no number of Grandmasters can hope to defeat a Great Grandmaster within their own Realm, unless their Spirit Charm is completely depleted.
Even to have just glimpsed the surface of the Domain Dao was enough to stand above one’s peers and earn the reverence of all within the Grandmaster Realm!
Even Grandmaster Wang himself had yet to glimpse any trace of a Realm. He never expected that Sakai Fuji was already able to wield it, however slightly!
’Looks like a major battle is unavoidable today.’
Grandmaster Wang took a deep breath, his eyes filled with resolve. The immense Gale Spirit Charm within him erupted skyward like a bursting dam. From between the towering buildings behind him, pillars of cyan-blue light burst forth, converging in the High Heaven above to form a colossal, cyan-blue Peng Bird Dharma Aspect, its presence overwhelmingly powerful.
The Dharma Aspect was hundreds of meters tall and countless times more solid than that of an ordinary Dharma Martial Artist. It looked so real it was as if an actual Peng Bird was looking down upon all of creation from the heavens.
As a Grandmaster of the Spirit Control System, his Dharma Aspect possessed unparalleled offensive power. It would not be an exaggeration to call it a Spirit Pet. Compared to the Dharma Aspects of other Grandmasters at the same Realm, it was the difference between reinforced steel and wet clay.
Without another word, Grandmaster Wang directed the enormous Dharma Aspect to fix its gaze on the ant-like figure of Sakai Fuji. A terrifying wind pressure bore down on every Martial Artist present, causing their hearts to pound and their blood to boil.
A terrifying amount of Spirit Charm gathered in the beak of the Peng Bird Dharma Aspect, like a thousand rivers flowing into the sea. It resembled a black hole undergoing an infinite collapse, twisting the very space around it.
The Independent Martial Artists and the hidden members of the Belli Family standing behind Sakai Fuji all turned ashen. ’Did we make a mistake following him on this mission?’ they couldn’t help but wonder.
’We never should have provoked the Xia Country Management District...’
