Chapter 101: With Irresistible Force
The Red Emperor activated the seal with spiritual power. The three figures vanished in a puff of smoke, returning to reality, as the Red Emperor sealed herself within her dragon-quelling spike.
They raised their heads to see the serpent flying through the air amidst the distant peaks.
"Lad, you're dead meat! I'll eat you whole!" the serpent howled.
A wave of spiritual power surged through the mountains and forests, causing the spirits within to clutch their heads in pain. Human yells punctuated the landscape.
Hearing the yells, the serpent rushed over. The cultivators had bullied it within the illusory realm; it intended to take revenge in reality.
The serpent swept through the forest, furiously striking at every human it could identify. A large number of hidden cultivators cried out as they were ferreted out, sent flying by the serpent's rampage.
A few crow spirits in the air quailed in fear, fleeing from the scene, not daring to provoke the serpent.
Xiao Nanfeng's spiritual power was vast enough to protect Yu'er. Neither of them were harmed; they hid where the serpent couldn't find them.
"This serpent's really petty, isn't it?" Yu'er remarked.
"Ignore it. Let's find a place to settle down for now," Xiao Nanfeng replied.
Yu'er nodded. The two of them found a mountain cave within which they could rest, then covered up the cave entrance. Even if the serpent wanted to find them, it would have a very hard time doing so.
"Elder, rest here with Yu'er for now. I'll do my best to learn all the fist techniques as quickly as I can, then fetch both of you while I ascend the Plaza Stairway once more. I promise I'll allow you to reunite with Emperor Wei's remnant," Xiao Nanfeng stated firmly.
"This seal can distinguish cultivators by spiritual power, and you'll be transported back to the plaza from which you left. There's no need to start from scratch," the Red Emperor explained.
"That's good to know. Your Majesty, Senior Sister, I'll be leaving now. Take care," Xiao Nanfeng replied.
Yu'er nodded.
Xiao Nanfeng sat cross-legged in meditation as he held onto the seal. The Red Emperor had instructed him on using it to access the illusory realm as they headed to the cave. He constructed a spiritual facsimile of the seal and overlaid it atop the real thing. The spiritual resonance produced a burst of blue light.
This time, Xiao Nanfeng hadn't infused too much spiritual power into the seal, so the light enveloped only him and not Yu'er as well.
Xiao Nanfeng felt his body tremble as his spirit returned to the illusory realm, but he reappeared outside the divine capital of Great Wei.
This was the first time Xiao Nanfeng was activating the seal himself, so he had to start from scratch. He could sense the presence of the seal clearly with his mind. When he confirmed that he was able to exit the realm at will, he stepped into the city and toward the first plaza, where he encountered Black Vajra once more.
Black Vajra bowed, gesturing for him to start the fight.
Xiao Nanfeng stepped forward and began the challenge. Within just a few dozen breaths, Xiao Nanfeng had defeated Black Vajra and headed toward the second plaza. Dealing with opponents he had already defeated once was trivial for Xiao Nanfeng.
He stepped toward the second plaza, where he faced a Taoist wearing a robe of seven stars. A ferocious aura emanated from him.
Xiao Nanfeng bowed, as did the Taoist, before he rushed toward Xiao Nanfeng.
The two combatants began to fight. Xiao Nanfeng's superior yin pearl helped him learn the Taoist's fist technique at an accelerated rate, and the fortune of Great Wei resolved any issues with karmic consequence. Xiao Nanfeng's understanding grew by leaps and bounds at an incredible rate, from basics to mastery and then to quintessence in just an hour. By that point, Xiao Nanfeng was able to use the fist technique better than the Taoist himself.
The Taoist was sent flying in defeat.
"Immeasurable talent." The Taoist bowed and departed.
Behind the Taoist rose a new set of stairs, allowing Xiao Nanfeng to walk up to the third plaza.
He rose steadily, one plaza after another, barely stopping to rest, winning fight after fight.
Each champion boasted a different fist technique from varying schools of interpretation—the spiritual, the ghastly, the devout, and the righteous among them. Each taught Xiao Nanfeng something new.
As he advanced through plaza after plaza, not only did Xiao Nanfeng learn the fist techniques of each of these champions, he also learned the manifold aspects of Hegemon's Fist, as well as the origins of each stance within. His understanding of the technique evolved and deepened, becoming more and more compatible with him as he strove toward quintessence.
By the time he defeated the twentieth champion, he was certain that he could take on ten copies of himself from yesterday and come out victorious.
Xiao Nanfeng's success did not go unnoticed by the group of challengers on the twenty-fifth plaza.
There were two camps of cultivators there, one in red armor and the other in blue armor.
"Isn't that lad rather ridiculous? He's going straight up through the plazas without any breaks at all. How many days have we been here? We spend all our time taking turns trying to find the flaw, the weakness, in every champion's techniques—while that lad, working alone, is about to catch up to us in less than a day!"
The two camps of cultivators were shocked by his rapid advancement. Among them, two elegantly dressed young men narrowed their eyes.
"Crown Prince Yan, do you recognize him?" a red-robed man wondered.
The other man, in blue, shook his head. "Do you not know him either, Crown Prince Qi?"
The two men were none other than the crown princes of the empires of Yan and Qi.
"Is he a foreigner, then?" Crown Prince Qi frowned.
"It's possible. There are black-armored cultivators above us, too. They must be laughing at us down here!" Crown Prince Yan was visibly irked.
Indeed, on a plaza even higher up, a group of crow spirits had just been sent flying by a distant champion. Intense fighting was taking place all around them. By the edge of that plaza, Xiang Kun was peering down at Xiao Nanfeng. His face was cold as he tracked Xiao Nanfeng's progress.
"If not for the fact that they're being protected by a Spiritsong-realm crow spirit, we'd have taken them down already. This opportunity is meant for those of us of this realm, not these foreigners!" Crown Prince Qi remarked coldly.
"That lad down there barely managed to win against the honored envoy, and I have to acknowledge his strength. However, the fact that he's still daring to continue this challenge after offending the envoy—he really is reckless," Crown Prince Yan opined.
"Shall we inform the envoy?"
"Trying to identify the weaknesses of these eidola is too slow. If we continue in this manner, those black-armored cultivators above us will surely get Emperor Wei's inheritance first." Crown Prince Yan narrowed his eyes.
"What are you planning, then?" Crown Prince Qi asked.
"This lad doesn't seem to be working together with the black-armored cultivators above us. Perhaps he might be able to guide us up." Crown Prince Yan's eyes flashed.
"And if he's unwilling?" Crown Prince Qi asked.
"That's not up to him, is it?" Crown Prince Yan narrowed his eyes.
Crown Prince Qi considered Xiao Nanfeng coldly. "Very well. We'll wait for him, then."
The two camps of cultivators watched on patiently as Xiao Nanfeng advanced one plaza after another.
After defeating a strange, drunken champion, Xiao Nanfeng climbed up the stairs leading to the twenty-fifth plaza. He was completely immersed in analyzing Hegemon's Fist in light of his recent experience and understanding. A palpable aura flared up around him. He looked like an invincible god of war, his eyes seemingly deconstructing all the enemies before him with just a glance.
He slowly walked up to the twenty-fifth plaza, where almost a hundred cultivators from Yan and Qi stopped him.
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