I Can See Your Combat Power

Chapter 769: Chapter Sixty-Three: Clearing the Stage

The challenger, drained of Spiritual Power, was defeated, leaving the defending champion – the victor – with a gloomy expression rather than joy.

Being a child born out of wedlock to the Chuanyuan branch of the Liu Clan, it was already a blessing to be able to apprentice at the outer gate of Martial Saint Mountain, but earning a place in the sacred land of the Human Race was no easy feat.

Every year, the grand competition of Kunwu saw thousands upon thousands of fighters under the age of twenty battle it out in the Mortal Realm. Only a hundred would end up realising their dream of gaining admission to Martial Saint Mountain.

After becoming an outer disciple, they had only just begun. For outsiders, who weren’t descendants of the Martial Saint Mountain, they had to prove their martial prowess before they hit thirty to have a chance to continue training in the sacred grounds.

But the entities that Martial Saint Mountain chose to take on were all prodigies; one in ten thousand or even one in a hundred thousand possessed unique bloodline traits. Everyone practically had street-level standard talents — sharp minds and extraordinary comprehension abilities.

Getting in the inner gate before reaching thirty was easier said than done. For most outer disciples, they did their utmost but still ended up struggling against the constraints imposed by their natural talent. Eventually, they would numbly depart in despair.

Liu Zhiming was fortunate. At the age of twenty, he had excelled in the grand competition of Kunwu. After training for nine full years in the outer gate of Bifang Mountain, he managed to rank among the middle disciples in the outer gate, only after the monstrous talents in his batch had advanced to the inner gates.

At twenty-nine, Liu Zhiming was close to repeating his earlier success, but the appearance of Tang Luo shattered his dreams.

“Why are you making things difficult for us?” Liu Zhiming wailed, “Don’t you know that if I can’t advance to the inner gate this year, I have to leave Martial Saint Mountain? You’re destroying my path in martial arts!”

“What does your defeat have to do with me?” Tang Luo replied nonchalantly, while raising his fist. “If you have no way forward after leaving Martial Saint Mountain, then even if you stayed here, you wouldn’t amount to anything. Hurry up and make your move. I’ve got other things to deal with after our fight.”

Liu Zhiming trembled with anger as he pointed at Tang Luo, yelling, “So you’ve made up your mind to beat me?”

“Hmm…” Tang Luo scrutinized the trembling young man. He then answered seriously, “Suppose I finish this fight with one punch. If you can avoid it, you win. How does that sound?”

“Deal! But remember, it was you who made this offer!” Liu Zhiming forcibly suppressed his excitement. He activated the ultimate secret technique of the Chuanyuan branch of the Liu Clan. Five-colored Spiritual Power gushes from the pores all over his body, forming a spectacular cloud of color across the entire arena.

Liu Zhiming’s form disappeared in the cloud, and when it appeared again, there were dozens of duplicates of him standing on the edge of the platform, making it hard to tell which one was real.

Once the Illusion Demonic Body Technique appeared, everyone in the audience recognized the similarity between it and the secret technique of the Liu Clan lineage.

Simultaneously, dozens of Liu Zhimings at the edge of the ring addressed Tang Luo in the center. “If you can break the Illusion Demonic Body Technique of the Liu Clan, I’ll admit defeat willingly. Please go ahead and do so.”

The ringmaster, who had been in severe distress just moments ago, now stood leisurely with his hands behind his back, a contemptuous smile playing across the faces of all his duplicates. No trace was left of his miserable state earlier.

“This technique is quite interesting.” Tang Luo praised as he looked at the dozens of identical figures of Liu Zhiming standing around the platform. “The reputation of the Chuanyuan branch of the Liu Clan is well-known. I finally get to witness their work today. The mudman created with their Five Elements Spiritual Power looks exactly like a real person; it’s remarkable.”

Having had his family’s secret technique analyzed and revealed, Liu Zhiming was taken by surprise. He yelled out in rage, “You dare to covet the Liu Clan’s secret technique!?”

“It’s not even External Incarnation. Who would be interested in a secret technique that makes a mudman?” Tang Luo waved his hand dismissively, showing a lack of interest. He then raised his fist, “Drawing a dragon or a tiger is hard without knowing the bone structure. The same principle applies to making a mudman. I’m about to make a move. Are you ready?”

“You dare to belittle me!” yelled the dozens of duplicates of Liu Zhiming on the platform at Tang Luo, “I can’t believe you could find my real body!”

Standing in the center of the platform with his fist raised, Tang Luo, after taking one lap around the platform and scanning all the faces of Liu Zhiming, said with an inexplicably amused smile, “Your real body isn’t… right here?”

The figure as strong as a deity suddenly disappeared, only to reappear above the colorful clouds in the sky, at the back of Liu Zhiming. His right arm, whipping up a storm, pounded a punch into the unsuspecting Liu Zhiming’s back, sending him crashing down to the platform, creating a crater half a foot deep.

With the five-colored Spiritual Power from the Five Elements dissipating, everyone saw clearly that there wasn’t any Liu Zhiming on the platform. The figures were nothing more than mudmen. But how was it that these mudmen looked just like Liu Zhiming?

Naturally, Tang Luo wouldn’t explain to the crowd why they perceived each and every mudman as Liu Zhiming. Instead, deep down, he admired Liu Zi Ming’s ancestor, who was truly an exceptional person for having discovered that the images seen by human eyes are just reflections of light, and from this enlightenment, created the Illusion Demonic Body Technique, making a name for himself in the world.

Such a martail art technique displayed a deep and clever understanding of the world. This was why he decided to come out and explore after two years of seclusion. In these two years, he had read many records and scriptures. While these martial arts knowledge was like blocks of ice huddled in his Sea of Consciousness, they were not completely his yet.

So he knew that it was time to go out and explore the world, to witness how interesting martial arts could be as interpreted by the world, and hopefully understand what his mysterious black soul-core actually was.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Although Liu Zhiming’s Illusion Demonic Body Technique was seen through by his eyes, which could perceive Spiritual Power, the underlying mechanics had still immensely benefited Tang Luo.

An hour later, all twenty five southern platforms were closed!

On the vast Bifang Mountain, only the eastern area still had momentum. Not only were the ringmasters gone in the other three areas, but even the medical officers and referees had left. There were even some outer disciples with light injuries hiding in the crowd, watching as Tang Luo won one platform after another.

Of course, they weren’t waiting to see Tang Luo defeat their peers, hoping for an all-out defeat. They were hoping that someone could stand up, even if it was just to withstand a punch.

But this simple hope was repeatedly dashed. Now when these outer disciples of Martial Saint Mountain saw Tang Luo mounting a platform and raising his fist, they couldn’t help but tremble with fear.

Even Liu Zhiming’s Illusion Demonic Body Technique had been broken. What hope could they have…

When all hope seemed lost, the eastern platform erupted with a roar. It was the 27th Ringmaster — the top disciple of the year from Bifang Mountain Outer Gate, who was a direct descendant of the Bu Clan’s Qilin Mountain, and the possessor of dragon spirit bloodline — Bu Lin.

At a time when the morale of all the outer disciples of Bifang Mountain was at its lowest, this outer gate leader, known for his high-handedness, finally stepped forward to declare war on Tang Luo!

“Hey, kid, it’s quite impressive that you’re taking people down with one punch. Do you dare to match up against me on my ring and see whether your fist is harder or my dragon claw is stronger?”

Tang Luo looked up to see a sturdy young man standing on the edge of a platform with his arms crossed. The young man bore a strong resemblance to Bu Xiao, looking at him coldly and extending an invitation to fight.

“Don’t be anxious. You’ll be the last.”

After saying these words nonchalantly to the other party, Tang Luo stepped onto the nearest platform in the eastern zone and raised his fist.