Chapter 128: Chapter 127: Western Border Wu Family
"Nine straight wins! He’s won nine in a row!"
"Even Guo Dongchang of the Black Death Sect fell to him, and he was completely suppressed from start to finish. The entire arena match didn’t last more than three minutes!"
"It seems he’s gotten stronger again. Guo Dongchang is a Five Qi Tongxuan expert, not much different in strength from Gao Wujie of the Sanmei Sect. On top of that, the Black Death Palm is far more sinister and bizarre. But this man handled it with ease the entire time. He didn’t show any of the strain he had when facing Gao Wujie. Or... could it be that he was hiding his strength before?"
"He’s defeated two Five Qi Profound Level masters in a row. He probably won’t face another real opponent before he reaches the A Class arena. Even other experts will likely avoid him unless they’re absolutely certain they can win."
"..."
The arena match was over, but the crowd continued to buzz with discussion.
Many people believed that with the strength Zhao Xuanqi had now shown, he wouldn’t encounter any more real opponents before reaching the A Class arena. Even other powerful fighters would most likely avoid his matches unless they felt certain of victory.
This was the method most Martial Artists used to deal with powerhouses on a winning streak.
If you can’t beat them, avoid them.
The strength Zhao Xuanqi had now displayed was enough to make many experts avoid a fight with him.
"That’s not certain. As far as I know, there are still plenty of experts in the B Class arena. With his winning streak, he could run into the top fighters as soon as he gets in. Besides, forget the B Class arena for a second. What about the C Class arena? Have you all forgotten about *that* person? When Guo Dongchang of the Black Death Sect first entered the C Class arena and got seven straight wins, wasn’t he defeated by that person in under ten moves? That man is still in the C Class arena, and his record is also nine straight wins!"
"Right, now that you mention it, I remember. You mean that monster? I really don’t know how the Martial Arts Association agreed to let a guy like that compete. What he uses can’t even be considered the Martial Dao, can it?"
"The Western Border Wu Family may keep to their own territory and rarely appear in the Martial Arts Realm, and their methods are a bit strange and bizarre, but at their core, they still have the foundation of a Secret Transmission. With all the turmoil in the Divine Land this time, the Wu Family was willing to leave the Western Border and send their heir to the arenas. The Martial Arts Association had to give them some face."
"That makes sense. After all, they are a great family that dominates a region. But I feel like I’ve heard of this person’s name for a long time. With his strength, how is he still in the C Class arena?"
"With his status and power, like those from top-tier schools with deep foundations, he no longer needs the arena rankings to prove himself. The power backing him will support him no matter what. Therefore, he only fights in the arena for fun. After getting five straight wins in the D Class arena to enter the C Class arena, he only shows interest in fighting when he hears of a powerhouse on a winning streak."
"That’s right, that is his habit. And I’ve heard that if he becomes interested in a particular Martial Artist, he will directly send someone with a written challenge, stating the date. If the other party doesn’t want to accept the challenge, he will never force them. He has a lot of magnanimity."
"..."
The crowd chattered for a while.
The night’s arena matches came to an end, and news of Zhao Xuanqi’s nine-win record continued to spread through the Martial Arts Arena circles. Furthermore, this record included two experts from the Sanmei Sect and the Black Death Sect, making it incredibly impressive and causing Zhao Xuanqi’s fame to grow even louder.
At the same time, the heir of the Western Border Wu Family was also being brought up in conversation once again.
Both men had nine wins in the C Class arena. Would Zhao Xuanqi be able to catch the eye of the Western Border Wu Family’s heir?
...
...
「Nighttime. A large mansion in the suburbs, somewhere in Jinmen.」
The mansion was in a very remote location, nearing a desolate forest. It was said to have originally been the summer manor of a wealthy family, but after the family’s decline, the manor was gradually abandoned due to its remote location. It wasn’t until recently that it was bought and cleaned up by the people of the Western Border Wu Family.
CHIRP! CHIRP! CHIRP!
Nearing the mansion, one could hear a sound like the chirping of cicadas.
However, this sound seemed more dense and ear-piercing than natural Cicada’s Chirping. In fact, if an ordinary person got too close to the mansion, they would feel their heart palpitate with panic, forcing them to leave as quickly as possible.
Inside the courtyard, the lights were brightly lit.
Guards dressed in simple white cloth, with the attire and features of mountain folk, were stationed throughout the courtyard.
Inside the mansion, a Guard in white hurried over and reported something in a low voice to an old man in a long robe. The old man immediately left the house and went to the rear courtyard. He twisted a mechanism on the rockery in the back, and a section of the ground instantly opened up, revealing a set of stairs leading to a secret underground chamber.
The old man walked down. Beneath the manor, there was a secret chamber of considerable size. It was precisely because of this underground chamber and the surrounding environment that the Western Border Wu Family had purchased this place as their foothold.
The secret chamber was filled with all sorts of strange things.
Woven bamboo cages, Medicinal Materials emitting strange odors, and even some mottled bloodstains and white bones could be seen.
RATTLE! RATTLE!
As the old man entered, the bamboo cages of various sizes immediately reacted, beginning to shake violently. If they weren’t firmly chained to the walls, they probably would have toppled over by now.
HISS HISS HISS!!
BZZZ BZZZ BZZZ!!
Hisses and buzzing vibrations emanated from within the bamboo cages.
Clearly, these bamboo cages contained some kind of unknown living creatures.
The old man’s expression was calm, as if he were already accustomed to these things. He walked straight to the end of the chamber where there was a stone gate. Behind the stone gate was another secret room made of stone.
"Young Master, this old servant has something to report."
The old man stood bowed outside the stone gate and spoke in a low voice.
"Come in."
A faint voice sounded from within the stone room. Hearing this, the old man straightened up and pushed open the stone gate before him.
RUSTLE! RUSTLE! RUSTLE!
As the stone gate opened, the scene within the secret chamber entered the old man’s view.
Inside the stone room, it was pitch black. A tall man, naked except for a loincloth, was standing in the center of the room in a special Pile Technique stance.
What was most eye-catching was that the man’s body was completely covered in countless unknown black insects!
The insects were like a suit of armor, covering the man’s entire body. They were a dense, teeming mass, still moving slightly. Their long, sharp mouthparts continuously pecked at the man’s skin, seemingly injecting some substance beneath it. The sight was enough to make one’s scalp crawl to the extreme.
As if sensing the old man’s entry, the tall figure trembled slightly. A faint vibratory force gently shook the unknown insects off his body. At the same time, he tossed a dark green stone from his hand into a nearby bamboo cage.
BZZZ BZZZ BZZZ!!
The unknown insects immediately took flight, swarming towards the dark green stone like moths to a flame.
SLAM!
The man picked up the lid of the bamboo cage and slammed it shut, sealing all the insects inside.
GURGLE GURGLE!!
But that wasn’t all. A gurgling sound echoed from the man’s stomach and organs. He then picked up a palm-sized Jade Bottle, opened his mouth, and streams of viscous liquid immediately flowed out and into the bottle.
Looking closely, one could see it wasn’t liquid at all, but countless tiny insects!
Only after doing all this did he turn to the old man and ask:
"Fu, is something the matter?"
