Chapter 225: Chapter 223: Joining the 5-School Alliance

On the high platform, the many Martial Arts Hall Masters fell silent, waiting for Hong Jingtian’s answer.

In this feast of carved-up power and profit, these lower-tier martial arts halls were destined not to get a single slice.

But even so, they absolutely did not want the future Outer City to be completely monopolized by these three families. If an emerging power like the White Ape Martial Arts Hall could forcefully break in and disrupt the tripartite stalemate, the pros would outweigh the cons for them.

Before Hong Jingtian could speak, Hall Master Yan of the Iron Armor Martial Arts Hall spoke coolly, "Hall Master Qin, no one doubts Su Yu’s strength, of course. The boy is a fine seedling who will surely break into the Muscle Forging Realm in the future."

"But." Yan Xiao’s tone shifted, his eyes turning cold and sharp. "If you want to enter the five-family alliance, a junior who has yet to mature is not enough to hold the line! I’ve heard your first disciple met a foul end some time ago. If the White Ape Martial Arts Hall has no expert at Refining Flesh Realm Perfection, I’m afraid you won’t be able to keep up appearances!"

Qin Fangqiong sat calmly in the Grandmaster’s Chair, her expression composed. "I appreciate Hall Master Yan’s concern. My second disciple, Lin Wanzhu, broke through to Refining Flesh Realm Perfection a while ago! With her aptitude, shattering the shackles of the Muscle Forging Realm within the next two years is only a matter of course."

As soon as these words were spoken, envy appeared in the eyes of the many hall masters on the high platform.

The White Ape Martial Arts Hall is truly producing one talent after another. With such signs of prosperity, who could possibly suppress them?

"The Lin Family’s girl has already come this far? Truly, the new generation surpasses the old." Liu Cheng of the Chasing Wind Martial Arts Hall stroked his goatee and sighed at length.

"Back in the day, I was extremely optimistic about her talent. I even personally gave her pointers on her Lin Family’s Snow-Treading Traceless Steps technique in my early years. It’s just a pity that the White Ape Martial Arts Hall ended up snatching her." Liu Cheng shook his head with considerable regret.

Although he was complaining, his tone suggested he had some history with the Lin Family.

"Since the Lin Girl has already broken through to Refining Flesh Perfection, then I have no objection to the White Ape Martial Arts Hall taking a seat in this five-family alliance." Liu Cheng turned to Qin Fangqiong and nodded slightly.

Seeing that Liu Cheng had so smoothly changed the direction of the wind, Hong Jingtian paused briefly before speaking decisively to set the tone, "Since Old Liu agrees, my Hongshan Martial Arts Hall naturally has no objections either. Do the rest of you now recognize the strength and foundation of the White Ape Martial Arts Hall?"

His gaze swept across the other hall masters.

Everyone nodded in agreement. With two of the three hegemons having relented, and the White Ape Martial Arts Hall’s hard power on full display, no one was tactless enough to jump out and make themselves a target.

"Good! Then it is settled. The White Ape Martial Arts Hall is now officially part of the five-family core alliance!"

With a wave of his great sleeve, Hong Jingtian made the final verdict. He then turned his gaze toward the Hongshan Martial Arts Hall’s contingent below the stage, his voice suddenly rising:

"Of these five seats, only the last one remains. Whichever family believes they have the matching strength, come up on stage and show us your blades!"

"Wanhe, go up and defend the arena!"

As Hong Jingtian’s voice fell, Cui Wanhe, who had been resting with his eyes closed below the stage, slowly stood up.

His black hair was unbound, and on his back, he carried an extremely heavy Nine-Ring Saber. His face was as cold and severe as ever.

He took a single step, and the terrifying Qi and Blood fluctuations of the Late-stage of the Flesh Refining Realm instantly swept out like a gale. Wherever he passed, the once-crowded throng of people retreated to both sides, clearing a wide path for him.

"Cui Wanhe is going up! He’s at the Late-stage of the Flesh Refining Realm! In a fight between those of the same realm, even those older masters the other families have been hiding away probably can’t withstand his tyrannical Hongshan Saber Qi, right?"

"Sigh, this last spot is going to be tough. With this God of Slaughter holding the stage, who would dare to go up and court disaster?"

On the stage, Su Yu dusted himself off and walked calmly toward the steps.

Now that the White Ape Martial Arts Hall had achieved its goal of establishing its might and secured a spot, there was no need for him to remain on stage as a public target.

One going up, the other down, the two figures brushed past each other at the stone steps on the edge of the stage.

In the instant they passed, Cui Wanhe’s steady steps suddenly halted.

He turned his head slightly. His eyes, which were usually as still as an old well, now seemed to burn with two scorching flames. "Su Yu. Care to spar?"

Su Yu’s steps also stopped in the same second.

He slowly turned his head to meet Cui Wanhe’s gaze. In those cold, severe eyes, Su Yu saw pure battle intent.

Feeling this incredibly pure battle intent, the corners of Su Yu’s mouth lifted slightly.

’The fight with Dai Xing was satisfying, but that kid’s foundation was ultimately too weak. He couldn’t force out the true limits of my Demon Ape Fist at all.’

’This Cui Wanhe, however, is a truly rare whetstone, one worthy of an all-out battle.’

"I was just thinking the same thing!"

The two didn’t deliberately lower their voices, and their conversation was instantly and clearly heard by the Martial Artists standing closer to the stage.

The crowd gasped, and an uproar erupted as if a pot had exploded!

"Did I hear that right? Cui Wanhe actually challenged Su Yu?"

"Are the two greatest geniuses of Black Stone City’s Outer City finally going to face off?"

"But even though Su Yu is amazing, there’s a realm difference. This isn’t a fair fight, is it?"

At the edge of the stage, seeing Su Yu accept the challenge without hesitation, Cui Wanhe burst into hearty laughter.

"Excellent! Su Yu, I have waited far too long for a good fight with a prodigy like you! You can rest assured, in today’s battle, I, Cui Wanhe, will not take advantage of your lower realm! I will suppress my cultivation to the mid-stage of the Flesh Refining Realm and compete with you using only pure Martial Techniques!"

However, Su Yu simply shook his head, his tone calm. "It’s fine. You don’t need to suppress your realm. Just bring your best."

Cui Wanhe was stunned for a moment, then he threw his head back and let out an even more unrestrained laugh. "HAHAHA! Interesting! I, Cui Wanhe, always thought I was arrogant enough for Black Stone City, but I never expected to meet someone even more arrogant than myself today!"

"Good! Since you’re so confident in your profound foundation, we’ll let our fists do the talking! But where is your saber?"

Cui Wanhe’s gaze was like a torch, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. "Your single saber strike at the Yuan Lantern Festival was world-shocking; you are an exceptionally rare saber prodigy. I, too, have cultivated my Hongshan Saber Qi to the Great Success Realm. Don’t you want to draw your saber and test it?"

’Saber Qi at the Great Success Realm?’

Hearing this, Su Yu felt a strong sense of a hunter finding worthy prey. This was the first time he’d ever heard of someone his own age, besides himself, who had managed to train a saber technique to the Great Success Realm!

But he immediately replied with regret, "It’s not that I’m being arrogant and don’t want to use a saber. It’s just that I recently sent my personal saber away to be forged, so I don’t have a suitable weapon on hand right now. However, these two fists of mine are not the least bit weaker than my saber!"

"Good! Since you have no saber to use, then I won’t take advantage of you with a weapon either!"

Cui Wanhe backhandedly drew his signature thick-backed Nine-Ring Saber from his back, and without even looking, casually tossed it toward the ground at the edge of the stage.

BANG!

A loud crash echoed.

The Nine-Ring Saber, as if slicing into a block of soft tofu, plunged straight into the hard ground over a foot deep! On the wide blade, its nine massive iron rings vibrated from the aftershock of Qi and Blood, letting out a crisp and piercing RATTLE.

This move instantly made the hearts of the crowd below pound with fear, and a burst of heated discussion followed.

"What terrifying Penetration Power! To be able to embed a saber a foot deep into the stone slab with a casual toss... if that kind of force landed on a person, who could possibly withstand it?"

"That saber is also an extremely rare divine weapon! No ordinary iron could be that sharp!"

Su Yu looked at the saber embedded in the stone slab, a trace of envy flashing in his eyes. Cui Wanhe’s dense and powerful force was certainly terrifying, but the material of this saber was also absolutely top-grade. ’I hope my Mo Yuan Saber, after it’s reforged and upgraded, will also have this terrifying sharpness that can slice through metal like mud.’

"In that case, I shall use the Hongshan Fist Technique to experience your esteemed moves!"

A series of CRACKS echoed from Cui Wanhe’s bones as the vast Qi and Blood of the Late-stage of the Flesh Refining Realm was about to erupt from his body.

A smile also touched the corners of Su Yu’s mouth, and he was just about to lift his foot and step back to the center of the stage.

However, in the next instant.

The corner of Su Yu’s eye suddenly twitched.

"Watch out!" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Before the words had even faded, a figure shot up from the crowd of spectators below the stage without any warning! SWOOSH!

This figure’s speed was extreme. The Qi and Blood hidden within his body exploded in that instant like a dormant, wrathful dragon, lunging straight for Cui Wanhe on the stage!

"Master Song? Master, what are you doing?"

The moment this figure burst forth, several disciples from a nearby martial arts hall who had been watching the show turned pale with shock, completely unable to understand why their normally respected master would suddenly launch an attack.

But before anyone could react, the old man known as Master Song had already appeared behind Cui Wanhe in an instant.

"Die!"

A hoarse voice rang out.

The old man struck like lightning. His right fist, accompanied by a terrifying sonic boom, descended like a falling black meteor, smashing ferociously toward the fatal acupoint on Cui Wanhe’s back!

"Not good!"

"How dare you attempt a killing blow in public? What audacity!"

On the high platform, the expressions of Hong Jingtian and the others changed drastically, and they all roared in anger.

But the timing of the old man’s sudden, vicious attack was extremely precise. Coupled with his teleportation-like speed, it was clear he was an expert of the Muscle Forging Realm!

Even if the hall masters on the high platform wanted to intervene, it was already too late!

At the edge of the stage, Cui Wanhe felt a chill shoot up his spine straight to the top of his head.

He only had time to turn his head as his pupils contracted to their absolute limit. In his vision, the iron fist magnified at an incredible speed, like an approaching mountain.

Fist Intent!

Without a doubt, this punch wasn’t just terrifyingly powerful in its Qi and Blood; it also contained a powerful Fist Intent that directly suppressed Cui Wanhe’s spirit, leaving him no way to evade.

Cui Wanhe’s heart sank to the depths. No matter how tough his willpower was, he couldn’t help but be scared out of his wits at this moment.

He never would have imagined that a Muscle Forging Realm expert was hidden among the martial arts hall crowd below!

At this moment, he truly felt the threat of death. That punch was unstoppable!

In the nick of time, Su Yu, who was standing to the side, made his move.

He had already detected the abnormality in the attacker, thanks to his Five Senses Divine.

Coupled with the Black Lotus Sect’s sneak attack during the Yuan Lantern Festival, he was naturally on high alert.

In the next instant, the Qi and Blood in his body, enhanced by the Black Stone Body Forging Skill, circulated at full power, instantly gathering in his arms.

At the same time, the Ape-Demon Baleful Qi within him erupted from his body, infusing his fists.

"Ape-Demon Drumbeat!"