Chapter 105: You Jiu
At the peak of the dragon's head mountain, wreathed in mist, stood the imposing figure of Emperor Wei—along with a hidden black-robed figure, yet another avatar of You Shi. You Shi stood at the final plaza as he watched the fights unfold before him.
"The Red Emperor's here, too? And she even gave Nanfeng a portion of the empire's fortune?" You Shi gnashed his teeth.
He took one step toward the plaza below his, but his body instantly began to hiss and give off smoke. He turned and glanced hatefully at the remnant of Emperor Wei. "A thousand years, and this Plaza Stairway's still preventing me from descending? Well, I came prepared. As long as anyone approaches the peak of the mountain, I'll be able to break through some of your restrictions at the cost of my spiritual power. Not only that, I'll be taking your true inheritance with me."
You Shi turned back to the plazas below as he waited patiently for a few more days. "The successor of the Specter King? And a cursed effigy? What a mess!" [1]
As though planning something, You Shi fell deep in thought. This time, he had no intention of allowing anything else to go wrong.
After a few days of fighting, Xiang Kun and his group had reached the hundredth plaza, but they spent over a full day there.
"You Jiu, we're almost at the peak. Why have we wasted so much time here? Don't you know that bastard's right about to catch up?" Xiang Kun exclaimed coldly.
You Jiu frowned. "This champion's weaknesses are too hard to identify."
"All my subordinates are helping you test his techniques, and they've done three whole cycles already! And you claim you can't identify any of his eidolon-specific weaknesses? Are you doing this intentionally?"
You Jiu shook his head. "This champion is the Specter King. You should all be aware of how strong he is."
Before them was a black-robed champion that gave off a phantasmal aura, bordered with white fog. It was as though he had a group of ghosts surrounding him.
A black-armored cultivator leapt toward the champion, who waved a hand and sent countless spirits of white fog rushing into the cultivator's body. The black-armored cultivator, as though possessed, fell paralyzed to the ground as he spasmed.
"The Specter King's abilities are sinister and strange, and he can induce spiritual paralysis to kill those around him in a formless fashion. None of the cultivators can even get close, and it'll be difficult to find any weaknesses," the crow king commented.
"You once summoned a ball of white fog during one of your fights, didn't you? Why does it seem as though this Specter King's techniques are very similar to yours?" Xiang Kun suddenly turned toward You Jiu.
"He's the founder of my sect," You Jiu replied.
"Oh?" Xiang Kun was clearly unaware of this connection.
"I am far too inferior compared to my esteemed ancestor, even his mere eidolon," You Jiu murmured, sighing.
"Nanfeng's right about to catch up. No matter what, you have to strike immediately. If you're wounded, the crow king will help replenish your spiritual power. Go now!" Xiang Kun ordered.
You Jiu shot Xiang Kun a cold glare. He hated being commanded in this fashion.
"Do you want your sweetheart to die?!" Xiang Kun threatened.
You Jiu sucked in a deep breath, quashed his anger, and strode toward the Specter King. He bowed deeply, a bow the king returned.
Specters wreathed in white mist appeared over You Jiu's body. As he waved a hand, they shot toward the Specter King, but the Specter King was far more practiced with this technique than was You Jiu. With a wave of the Specter King's hands, even more specters formed.
The clash of the two mirrored techniques formed waves of energy.
"These specters can take physical form?" Xiang Kun gaped.
"At its core, this appears to be a sinister fist technique. These specters are like qi constructs, but the technique is far too advanced for me to understand anything beyond that," the crow king analyzed.
"Why does a native of this realm like You Jiu possess such an advanced fist technique? Compare this to the likes of all the other natives—aren't the natives' techniques all incomplete? What makes You Jiu the exception?" Xiang Kun asked.
"There may well be something wrong with him. Despite being an Ascension-realm cultivator, he almost hurt me during our confrontation. When you acquire Emperor Wei's inheritance, Young Master, let's interrogate him further," the crow king replied.
Not far in the distance, the two combatants' specters clashed against each other as the Specter King and You Jiu engaged in a melee. Their fight seemed like one between two specters, their bodies phasing in and out of existence, killing intent surging on both sides.
"What a frightening assassination technique!" The crow king felt chills down its spine. An opponent of this sort at a similar level of cultivation would be a nightmare to face.
Just then, a number of specters rushed into You Jiu's body, sending him flying out as though paralyzed. He fell to the ground with a crash.
You Jiu had lost.
The crow king immediately stepped forward and transfused its spiritual power into You Jiu, allowing him to slowly recover from his paralysis.
"Continue!" Xiang Kun demanded.
You Jiu had no choice but to do so, but the result remained the same. The Specter King was overwhelmingly strong, and even a genius like You Jiu, supported by the near-boundless spiritual power of the crow king, was unable to defeat him.
You Jiu challenged the Specter King a few dozen times and lost each fight, causing Xiang Kun to grow more and more annoyed.
"Young Master, Nanfeng is here," a black-armored cultivator warned.
Indeed, Xiao Nanfeng had stepped up onto the Specter King's plaza. Fighting spirit billowed out from him. He had mastered nearly a hundred complete fist techniques, and his aura had undergone an overwhelming transformation. His every action seemed to convey the essence of Hegemon's Fist, and even his gaze had grown dominating.
"Bastard, are you here to die?" Xiang Kun asked coldly.
Xiao Nanfeng ignored Xiang Kun as he focused on the strongest cultivator present: You Jiu, who was in the midst of fighting against the Specter King.
Just then, several black-armored cultivators attempted to launch a sneak attack on him from the back. Xiao Nanfeng didn't even look back. Based on the air currents alone, he could sense their positions. He dodged instinctively and sent an arm arcing back.
The black-armored men clutched at their bleeding throats as they stumbled to the ground, gaping in shock. They hadn't even seen Xiao Nanfeng's strike clearly.
"What?" Xiang Kun glanced at Xiao Nanfeng in alarm.
Xiao Nanfeng finally looked toward Xiang Kun. "Xiang Kun, is it? It's time to settle the score between us."
"Crow king, You Jiu, get over here!" Xiang Kun shouted.
With a great crash, You Jiu was soundly defeated by the Specter King once more. The crow king restored his spiritual power before both of them were called to Xiang Kun's side.
Black-armored cultivators surrounded Xiao Nanfeng. Above his head, crow spirits swooped back and forth, cawing loudly.
"For killing my sister, even if I can't destroy your physical body right now, I'll make you suffer so much pain you'll wish you were dead. Everyone, take him down!" Xiang Kun commanded.
The crow spirits and black-armored cultivators rushed toward Xiao Nanfeng, whose eyes glimmered darkly. He stepped forward and punched at his opponents. Dozens of fists appeared in the air around him, striking the cultivators' and crow spirits' weak spots as they were sent flying. They knelt on the ground and coughed out blood as pain wracked their bodies.
Xiao Nanfeng grabbed the crow king by its sharp claws and began to pull them apart. A wave of spiritual power surged toward the crow king's body as it felt its body split.
"No!" the crow king shouted.
Just as it was about to be torn apart, a horde of specters in white mist flew toward Xiao Nanfeng.
Only then did Xiao Nanfeng release his hold on the crow king as he punched at the flying specters.
The specters dissipated with a huge gust of energy as a black figure appeared before him, his finger like a sword as it struck at Xiao Nanfeng's throat.
"Insolence!" Xiao Nanfeng smacked at the finger with a punch, forcing the figure back two steps.
You Jiu's assassination attempt had failed.
Xiao Nanfeng glanced at You Jiu with narrowed eyes. This cultivator boasted no small amount of skill to have determined his weakness so quickly while he was distracted by the crow king.
Xiang Kun and the crow king, who had barely escaped an ignoble death, retreated in fear. Xiang Kun shouted, "You Jiu, you almost made it! Go on, kill him quickly, or I'll kill your sweetheart!"
You Jiu scowled. He had no choice but to strike at Xiao Nanfeng again.
"Are the rest of you idiots? Go on, help You Jiu take down that bastard!" Xiang Kun commanded.
The remaining black-armored cultivators and crow spirits struck at Xiao Nanfeng with fear and trepidation, but to him, even their combined efforts couldn't match half of You Jiu's.
Xiao Nanfeng's fists struck like a rain of arrows, sending the black-armored cultivators and crow spirits flying. None of them had managed to deal any damage to Xiao Nanfeng.
This shocking result gave Xiang Kun and the crow king chills. How had Xiao Nanfeng's fist technique developed to such an extent?
Just then, You Jiu struck at Xiao Nanfeng once more. Specters wreathed in white mist blocked Xiao Nanfeng's line of sight as You Jiu phased through his guard straight toward his heart.
Xiao Nanfeng easily dispersed all the specters with a rapid-fire attack, but he only barely managed to send You Jiu flying as well.
You Jiu spat out a mouthful of blood in mid-air as he fell to the ground, his injuries severe.
The crow king hurriedly replenished his spiritual power, restoring him to his peak again.
"Continue, You Jiu! Kill him!" Xiang Kun urged. He had no intention of giving up here. How could he let Xiao Nanfeng have Emperor Wei's true inheritance? All he could count on now was You Jiu.
"I can't beat him," You Jiu replied as he got up.
"Fight him anyway! Go now!" Xiang Kun commanded.
You Jiu's eyes flared with resentment. Did they intend on treating him like livestock? If not for the fact that they had captured his sweetheart, he would teach them a lesson.
Exasperated, You Jiu had no choice but to walk toward Xiao Nanfeng once again.
Xiao Nanfeng narrowed his eyes. He more or less had an understanding of You Jiu's plight.
It would be useless for Xiao Nanfeng to kill Xiang Kun now. In this realm, he was only a spiritual avatar, one who could awaken in reality and run away at any time. On the other hand, if he could cooperate with You Jiu...
"Well? Come on!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.
Countless specters clashed against Xiao Nanfeng's fists in a cloud of dust. You Jiu attempted to strike at Xiao Nanfeng several times, but was sent flying by his fists each time.
The two cultivators clashed against each other on seemingly even footing. Everyone thought that You Jiu had finally managed to hold out against Xiao Nanfeng, but You Jiu himself was growing more and more alarmed.
Xiao Nanfeng's fists suddenly summoned bursts of white mist with specters within. His footwork had become as strange as You Jiu's. The two cultivators slowly synchronized, as though each were a mirror image of the other.
"Y-you're learning my fist technique?!" You Jiu cried out.
Xiao Nanfeng was indeed doing so, and his mastery was growing at a rapid clip. In just an hour, he had reached quintessence. He noticed a weakness that You Jiu revealed in mounting terror and swiftly took advantage.
You Jiu was sent flying, smashing into the ground once more. He had lost again.
The cultivators and spirits gaped at the sight. In just an hour, he had learned You Jiu's technique and defeated him with it! How could this be?
"Your technique is flawed. My technique can augment what yours is missing," Xiao Nanfeng told him.
You Jiu narrowed his eyes, as though understanding Xiao Nanfeng's hidden intent. However, he schooled his features and didn't reveal anything.
1. The characters for Specter are 幽灵 ('you ling'). 幽 is shared by Specter, You Shi, and You Jiu, likely suggesting some sort of connection between the three. ?
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