A Martial God’s Bloodline - Chapter 53

Chapter 53: The Biggest Dark Horse
With the first round over, only twenty-eight people were left.

After a discussion among the Three Great Clans, each one of the remaining twenty-eight were to fight against the other twenty-seven one by one. One point would be awarded for every win and one point would be deducted for every defeat. The one with the highest score would be crowned the strongest prodigy in Wu Prefecture City.

Hearing that rule, the remaining twenty-eight individuals had a solemn expression.

Even those on the level of Martial Masters felt a bit of pressure.

In the first battle, Li Yuanjia was set to face a peak Level Seven cultivator from the Wu clan. The opponent conceded as soon as he stepped onto the stage, thereby conserving his strength.

For the second battle, Wu Batian, one of the four prodigies of Wu Prefecture City, blasted his opponent with a direct punch. The peak Level Eight Eminent Master had a bitter look on his face. He finally understood the disparity between himself and a member of the four prodigies.

It was Li Ye’s turn soon. When he saw his opponent, he froze slightly.

“Li Ye, I’ve wanted to fight against you for a long time! People say that both you and I are the two biggest dark horses in the Li clan. But I’m not convinced. I am the stronger one, and therefore we must battle it out to decide that today!”

Li Ye’s opponent was Li Datou of the same clan. Li Datou, born with divine power, was an earnest-looking character, but Li Ye was the only one who noticed the coldness masked behind that earnest expression.

The Wu and Yuwen clans laughed and anticipated the excitement of two Li clan members going head-to-head with each other.

Boom!

Li Datou took the first shot and went on a bull-like rampage!

Whoosh! Li Ye disappeared in situ, leaving only an afterimage in his wake. Concurrently, his body split into four doppelgangers to confuse people of his position.

“Li Datou appears to have met his match. Although he is born with divine power, it’s impossible for him to make a move against a speed-type opponent. The only thing he can do is delay his foregone conclusion.”

Some people looked at the situation in the arena and began analyzing to themselves.

“Not necessarily. After watching the boy’s previous battles, none of his moves are really brilliant except for that Yellow Rank Advanced physical technique. It won’t be easy to attack the young man with the natural-born divine power. ”

“Li Ye! Come at me if you have the balls!”

In the face of Li Ye’s omnipresence, a flash of anger appeared on Li Datou’s face. However, he was helpless to do anything.

“As you wish!”

Just when everyone thought that Li Ye would ignore Li Datou’s invitation, they did not expect to hear a sound. Li Ye’s four figures were then seen to deliver a punch at the same time!

“Ice Crystal Fist! Ice Seal!”

A cold current extended across the ground and covered it in a layer of ice.

Up in the stands, the Li clan’s Head Elder had a cold look after watching the scene unfold. Several of the elders around him were similarly stunned. One of them whispered, “Li Ye has cultivated the Ice Crystal Fist to greater attainment!”

Only ten percent of a battle technique’s power could be achieved in the introductory stage, increasing to thirty percent once the technique reached lesser attainment. The average person would require several months of training to achieve lesser attainment and it took upward of ten years to refine it to greater attainment. Seventy percent of the technique’s power could then be wielded once greater attainment was achieved.

Generally, if a Level Seven Martial Master wanted to strengthen his Yellow Rank Advanced technique to greater attainment, it would be an impossible task if he did not spend at least four to five years on it!

Li Ye however, broke that rule and surprised some Li clan elders. They had mixed feelings about his progress. Due to that, they were unsure whether to rejoice or feel worried that the clan had another prodigy that was talented in battle techniques.

“Good shot!”

Li Datou roared and delivered a wild punch. He exuded a fierce aura, and the formidable air current from his fists turned into a ball of air.

Crack!

The Ice Seal’s layer cracked immediately, while three of the four doppelgangers were dispelled. Only one figure was left—that of the true Li Ye.

“Such strength! Even a Level Seven Martial Master might not have such a strong attack!”

Li Ye had deepened his understanding of Li Datou’s strength. The power of Li Datou’s earlier punch had already surpassed Level Seven Martial Masters like Li Gei, and in fact, it was almost approaching the level of most Eminent Masters’ attacks!

“Is this the natural-born divine power! It really is extraordinary!”

Even Wu Batian, one of the past edition’s Four Great Prodigies, began paying slightly more attention at that time. He was also known to be born with divine power and had little difficulty in dealing with other people of the same level.

“Li Datou’s strength may be comparable to Wu Batian’s, but unfortunately the gap in their levels is too big. Otherwise there would be some serious competition when the time comes!”

Some people were feeling sympathetic, but it was clear that in the future, the Li clan would surely be blessed with an insanely-powered heavyweight similar to Wu Batian!

“It’s useless to use only the strength of the Ice Crystal Fist and the Windstorm Kick. Looks like I have no choice but to try the Cloudflip Palm.”

With that decision in mind, Li Ye pulled back some distance and thrust his palm out!

“Cloudflip Palm!”

Among the three major battle techniques that Li Ye possessed, the Windstorm Kick has the fastest speed and the widest range while the Ice Crystal Fist slowed down opponents through the use of frost. On the other hand, the Cloudflip Palm was purely an offensive technique and also the one that consumed the most power.

Bang!

With one punching and the other thrusting a palm, both individuals staggered back from the shock.

Feeling the numbness in his right hand, Li Ye had a new understanding of Li Datou’s power.

On the other side, Li’s Datou was forced to retreat more than ten steps before coming to a halt. Instead of fear, there was excitement in his expression as he roared, “Let’s do that again!”

The two of them exchanged several blows and remained even.

“Li Datou has natural-born divine power, but this kid is extraordinary too. To think that he could withstand the blow to such an extent!”

Many people were shocked, but Li Ye was more shocked than anyone out there after realizing how capable Li Datou was!

“Not even a Level Seven Martial Master can resist my attacks. This Li Datou is getting even braver as we fight! He’s insane!”

Little did he know that he was also regarded as a person of insane strength in everyone else’s eyes.

Three Yellow Rank Advanced battle techniques and one Yellow Rank Advanced physical technique—many Martial Masters, and even some Eminent Masters, sighed lamentably!

“Although the two of them are both low-level, they certainly do have combat strength that is Level Seven or above. We just have no idea who’s going to come out victorious.”

Many prodigies at the venue had a somber look. Both Li Ye and Li Datou’s strength was enough to make them feel a little daunted.

Just as everyone was thinking that things would continue being stuck in a deadlock, they suddenly saw a figure on the edge of the arena.

Li Ye turned into an afterimage instantly, and at the same time, a terrifying wave of air rushed out!

Boom! A shot of air from Li Ye’s palm! Before Li Datou could even react, the air struck him in the chest and sent him flying out of the arena.

“That’s!”

Up in the stands, the Wu and Yuwen patriarchs stood up abruptly and looked absolutely shocked!

Besides them, even the three mysterious individuals who might be Innate Sovereign Level Masters had a look of disbelief.

The beautiful woman whispered, “His move just now. You saw it clearly didn’t you?”

The poker-faced man next to her nodded slightly. His voice was a little low when he said, “This boy has a strong cognizance. He even merged two techniques in the battle!”

A moment ago, there were only a few who clearly saw what happened.

“I never expected that to be possible. He integrated the Windstorm Kick’s speed into the Cloudflip Palm, causing the strength to increase by at least three times!”

It was a very bold attempt. The biggest feature of the Windstorm Kick was speed, but it lacked power. However, the Cloudflip Palm’s[1] power topped all Yellow Rank Advanced techniques in terms of strength, which rendered it rather slow to execute.

Therefore, Li Ye boldly integrated the two techniques together and was surprised that it actually succeeded.

“I’ll name this the Stormcloud Palm!”

The Stormcloud Palm that Li Ye just created could be considered to approach the level of Black Rank Primary techniques.

Li Ye won the subsequent games with ease. Several of his opponents were Level Seven Martial Masters, but none could survive a few of Li Ye’s moves.

“Anyone below Level Eight is no match for me if I pair the Footstep Mirage with the Stormcloud Palm!”

Li Ye soon won eight games in a row, accumulating eight points in the process.

Others, like Li Yuanjia, even lost twice. He forfeited to conserve energy after being matched with Wu Batian and unhesitatingly did the same when he met Li Mo.

By then, there were only six people who remained undefeated. Four of those people were the four prodigies from the past Prodigy Summit: Li Mo, Yuwen Wushuang, Yuwen Lihua, and Wu Batian.

As for the remaining two, they were Li Ye and Li Xuan!

“Li Yue lost to Li Xuan?”

In all honesty, that result was somewhat unexpected, even for the Head Elders and other members of the Li clan. Instead, it was Li Huangran who smiled proudly.

However, Li Ye was still the biggest and most eye-catching dark horse. After all, there was little surprise with four of the other five consecutive winners, as those four bore the title of the Four Great Prodigies. Besides, Li Xuan’s strength was evident even though he was merely at peak Level Seven.

Li Ye, the sole individual who was at latter phase Level Six, left many people scratching their heads as to how he accomplished the feat.

“I heard that this kid was once the Li clan’s famous piece of trash. There was even a period of time when he was banished from the clan. I didn’t expect him to turn his fortunes around, and so dramatically at that!”

“Don’t forget whose son he is. Back then, that man struck fear in everyone throughout Wu Prefecture City.”

Those who inquired about Li Ye’s identity were quite surprised at how fate had its way. Who would have thought that a piece of trash could grow up and mature to such an extent?

Li Ye was quick to amass twelve points, and he soon saw who his next opponent was.

“Li Ye!”

Li Ye had a sneer on his face after laying eyes on his opponent. It turned out to be Li Yue. Li Ye did not see him much ever since their last encounter, so it was rather surprising to see him then. The last time they met, Li Yue was at latter phase Level Seven, but since then, Li Yue had already achieved peak Level Seven!

“Li Ye, I have waited far too long to settle our past scores! Today, I will prove to countless people that trash will always be trash, unable to fully change their fortunes even if they had moments of brilliance!”

[1] Author wrote Cloudlining Palm here but we are certain that it was the Cloudflip Palm that was being mentioned (since the Cloudflip Palm is the incomplete remnant of the Cloudlining Palm, as mentioned during Li Ye’s time inside the martial arts pavilion), hence the amendment in the translation and the note to bring this to the reader’s attention.