Chapter 137: Chapter 137: The 5 Great Prodigies Gather
Thousand Fish Lake, the Lake Tower!
Silence. A dead silence. A strange, terrifying silence!
The crowd seemed frozen in place, staring motionlessly at the white-robed young man on the fighting ring. Their faces showed nothing but shock—and more shock.
Suddenly, they recalled something Qin Ya had said before he got on the stage.
"The gap in our strength is too vast. There’s no need to fight."
They had thought Qin Ya was being arrogant, but now it was clear he hadn’t been arrogant at all—he had been completely confident. The arrogant ones, it turned out, were them!
One palm. A single palm strike had sent Lu Chen flying into the lake. Such combat prowess was simply terrifying. The very thought of it was unbelievable.
"Am I seeing things?" someone gulped, licking their dry lips as they spoke in disbelief. "Lu Chen was sent flying by a single palm strike."
"I think... it’s real."
BOOM! The silence shattered, replaced by a deafening uproar of discussion.
"Holy hell, this Qin Ya is just too damn ferocious!"
"Indeed. I’ve never seen such a monstrously powerful genius."
"Too damn terrifying."
...
The crowd had considered that Qin Ya might win, but they never expected him to win so decisively, so effortlessly. It was a complete and utter steamroll, with no suspense whatsoever.
"This..." Even the ever-composed Yao Qingming had a look of shock on his face. "That palm strike was infinitely close to the power of Earth Element Perfection."
He was an Extraordinary Strong Person, so he could tell that Qin Ya’s Cultivation was only at the Earth Element Second Grade Realm. Yet, the power of that palm strike was no less than that of the Earth Element Perfect Realm.
What he didn’t know was that Qin Ya possessed the Leakless Body and cultivated the Nine Heavens Shocking God Record. The strength, reserves, and explosive power of his True Essence were incomparable to that of an ordinary Martial Artist of the same Realm. They were fundamentally two different tiers of Martial Artists.
For that palm strike just now, Qin Ya hadn’t even used his Cold Flame Power.
At the banquet, the two great prodigies, Su Ming and Su Chang, wore grave expressions. Only now did they realize how terrifying Qin Ya’s combat strength was. Even though both of them were at the Earth Element Realm Perfection, neither would dare claim they could defeat Lu Chen in a single blow.
Although both of them were at Earth Element Realm Perfection, their true combat strength was comparable to that of a Celestial Essence Realm Martial Artist. But from Qin Ya’s single palm strike, it seemed his combat strength was also likely above Earth Element Realm Perfection, perhaps even rivaling their own.
And they were already at Earth Element Realm Perfection.
Yet Qin Ya had only just stepped into the Earth Element Realm, and he already possessed combat strength equal to theirs in this Realm? What did this mean? It meant that Qin Ya’s Talent was far superior to their own. The thought was nothing short of shocking.
It seemed the ranks of the Imperial Capital’s Seven Great Prodigies were about to expand by one.
And he wasn’t just any prodigy. He was a Young National Hero, an Advanced Academy Teacher, and the Empire’s one and only Seventh-Grade Alchemist!
All these titles combined were enough to leave anyone utterly aghast!
"Qin Ya, I knew I wasn’t wrong about you!" Nangong Luoyu’s beautiful eyes were fixed on the white-robed young man on the ring, a fanatical light glinting within them. She was now even more resolute about the decision she had made in her heart!
As fellow women, Li Peiyi and Muu Xue seemed to sense this. They watched Nangong Luoyu, who was staring at Qin Ya like a hungry wolf eyeing a lamb, and their brows furrowed slightly.
BOOM...
Lu Chen, who had been knocked into the lake, suddenly leaped out, sending a huge splash of water into the air. His face was terrifyingly grim, yet his eyes held a trace of fear. He circulated his True Essence, and steam rose from his body, his drenched clothes instantly becoming neat and dry again. But the faint, throbbing pain inside his body told him the truth: that last palm strike was no illusion. He had been defeated with a single blow!
If not for the Protective Profound Soldier he wore, that palm strike would have been enough to severely injure him.
Even so, he had lost all courage to continue the fight.
He never imagined the gap in their strength would be so vast—so vast he couldn’t even withstand a single palm strike. A wave of dejection washed over him.
All his resentment, all his anger... in that moment, it all felt like a bitter joke. The truth was, the other man had never even considered him a threat. All along, he had just been a pathetic, posturing clown, nothing more than a laughingstock.
"I have lost..." Lu Chen said with a sigh.
Just then, a cold voice rang out. "A disciple of the Lu Family, giving up so easily? Lu Chen, you are a disgrace to the Lu Family..."
The words had barely faded when a figure walked into the Martial Tower. Before the crowd could get a clear look at him, he had already appeared on the ring in an instant.
When Lu Chen heard this voice, his pupils shrank and his face filled with fear. With a sharp SLAP, a palm print appeared on his cheek, which quickly began to swell. "Hmph. You useless piece of trash."
Though he had been slapped, Lu Chen didn’t dare show the slightest hint of dissatisfaction.
The young man before them wore a silver robe with a golden belt inlaid with light blue gems. He wore an earring, his eyes were narrow, and a scar marked his forehead. A cold, sinister Evil Qi swirled around him.
"It’s him... Lu Yin," Su Chang said, looking somewhat surprised. "I didn’t expect him to be here. What a surprise."
"Three of the Imperial Capital’s Seven Great Prodigies are here... no, four now. This year’s Martial Tower Banquet is certainly full of surprises," Yao Qingming said with a faint smile.
"Haha, Brother Lu, you walk a bit too fast, don’t you?" At that moment, another laugh was heard, and a figure in yellow appeared on the ring in the blink of an eye.
Unlike the cold Lu Yin, this person’s face was wreathed in smiles, giving off a fiery, enthusiastic feeling. He was practically Lu Yin’s polar opposite.
"Xiao Yunchen. How interesting."
Su Chang smiled indifferently and then also landed on the ring. After a moment’s thought, Su Ming followed suit. In an instant, the stage was crowded with several of the most outstanding prodigies in the Imperial Capital today: Xiao Yunchen, Lu Yin, Su Ming, Su Chang, and Qin Ya. As for Lu Chen, he had become a complete afterthought.
"I didn’t expect you two, Lu Yin and Xiao Yunchen, to come. What a surprise. It’s been quite a while since we’ve all seen each other," Su Chang said with a smile.
But Lu Yin simply stroked the scar on his forehead and gave a cold smile. "Hmph. Two years ago, you gave me this scar. I’ve never forgotten it. I went into seclusion for two years, and the very first thing I did upon coming out was to look for you."
"Heh. Lu Yin, getting rid of that scar would be no trouble for you at all. You’re just choosing to keep it," Su Chang said with an indifferent smile.
"Get rid of it?! This scar serves as a constant reminder, so I don’t dare relax for even a moment. It’s what allows me to become stronger," Lu Yin said coldly.
Xiao Yunchen laughed. "Hey, Brother Lu, can you not start talking about fighting and killing the moment we meet? What a mood killer." He then turned to Qin Ya and said, "This must be the recently renowned Teacher Qin, I presume."
"I am," Qin Ya said indifferently.
Lu Yin’s pupils contracted. Like a venomous snake staring at its prey, he fixed his icy gaze on Qin Ya. "You’re the one who injured Lu Chen!"
"That’s right."
"Very good." Lu Yin gave a cold smile. Although he was wary of Qin Ya’s status, he wasn’t about to do nothing. "This is the Martial Tower Banquet. So, let’s have a match. What do you say?"
