157 Break, Part One (Thanks to Silver Alliance Leader Cramp Night)
Just as Zhang Rongfang was focusing on studying the Limit State every day, waiting to break through to the Nine Revolutions Golden Pill stage.
Dingcheng District, Wushan Prefecture.
It was late at night.
Three strong, burly figures, clad in large black cloaks, moved swiftly through the shadows of the street.
The three people moved in a triangular formation.
The person at the very front was the tallest and most robust.
Its height is at least two meters, with broad shoulders and a large body. The muscles on its arms are so prominent that even with a cloak covering it, its outline and size are hard to conceal.
The other two were slightly weaker, but still much stronger than the average person.
Without stopping, the three hurried on their way, heading towards the ancestral home of Yue Hanquan, the current prefect of Wushan Prefecture — the Yue Clan Grounds.
The Yue Family is full of experts, but the patriarch Yue Hanquan is not a martial artist.
However, his younger brother Yue Shenwei is a famous staff master in Wushan Prefecture. He broke through to the Ninth Grade many years ago. Now he is thirty-six or thirty-seven years old. Although his qi and blood are declining, his overall combat strength should not have declined much due to his experience and skills.
Yue Shenwei was skilled in the Seventy-Two Styles Climbing Sky Staff Technique. At his peak, he fought against various schools both inside and outside Wushan Prefecture and never suffered a defeat.
His worst record was a draw. Therefore, he was very famous in Wushan Prefecture.
Soon, the three of them stopped by a wall in the Yue Clan Grounds.
The man at the head looked up and gazed at the wall in the distance, as if he could see the masters inside through the wall.
"He Xinhong was a complete weakling last time; I beat him to death in just three moves."
I hope Yue Shenwei won't disappoint me this time.
The man behind him chuckled and said, "Brother, you're probably going to be disappointed again. I've roamed the Wu Mountain for over ten years, and before meeting you, I've seen many High Grade Experts."
Among them, I've met one or two of the Ninth Grade, but they are all far inferior to my eldest brother.
He paused for a moment. "Actually, the Ninth Grade is more about tapping into one's own inherent potential. When that potential is tapped to its limit, one becomes Ninth Grade."
It seems that every Ninth Grade is a genius, and they are all quite similar. However, people are different. Under normal circumstances, Ninth Grade is only slightly better than an Eighth Grade cultivator in terms of physical fitness, and that's all.
"Old Xu is right," another person agreed. "The further you go, the less you improve your rank. The difference between Ninth Grade and Eighth Grade is far less than the difference between Second Grade and First Grade. However, the real strength of Ninth Grade lies in its Limit State."
Unfortunately, only those who have mastered Superior Martial Arts can reach their Limit State. We will never have that hope in our lifetime.
These three men were none other than Sweeping Mountain Tiger and his two companions who had just killed Chief Constable He Xinhong.
The eldest brother Sweeping Mountain Tiger Ding Yu.
Second-in-command Silkworm Martial Sword, Wu Jian Xu Xin.
Sun Xiaohui, the third Facing Sun Palm Zhang.
Ding Yu disagreed.
"I don't agree with you. The Yue Family has been able to maintain their position in Wu Mountain for so many years. Their martial prowess is far beyond what ordinary people can imagine."
"The name Yue Shenwei is so grand; Yue Shenwei, Yue Shenwei, someone who dares to choose such a homophonic name must possess extraordinary skills."
After speaking, his expression Feiyang, and his eyes shone with anticipation. He seemed eager to go in and fight.
The other two smiled wryly and said nothing more.
This leader was young and ambitious, and his talent was the strongest they had ever seen.
Not only is Innate God, but he also has extraordinary endurance, far exceeding that of ordinary people.
It is said that before he Entering the Ranks, his arms already possessed the strength of 1,600 jin. After Entering the Ranks, he progressed First Grade per year, developing his potential, and now his strength... Xu Xin sighed inwardly. He was also born with great strength, but there are differences between those born with great strength.
"Since you don't believe me, we'll go in and take a look," he said in a deep voice.
The three of them fell silent, then suddenly grabbed forward, using their skilled hands to tap the wall several times, lightly climbing onto the top and leaping down.
Two patrolling hunting dogs suddenly opened their mouths in this direction, about to bark wildly, but before they could utter a sound, they were hit on the head by two pieces of gravel and passed out.
The three of them lightly touched the Rockery with their toes and quickly entered the Yue Family's corridor.
Sweeping Mountain Tiger Ding Yu movement.
Despite being over two meters tall and a burly man, he moved with the agility and Essence Aperture of a monkey, making barely a sound. He was already comparable to High Grade Expert specialized in movement techniques.
Three patrolling servants carrying lanterns walked towards them when suddenly a Shadow flashed past them from behind.
The three of them collapsed silently to the ground.
The lantern was picked up by that person.
"Pour Fire Oil and start a fire."
Ding Yu said in a deep voice.
"Good."
The three men took out the Fire Oil they had brought with them and began to spread it out to start a fire.
At such a late hour, most of the experts, except for a few, were asleep.
Even the patrolling men were no match for the three skilled assassins of the eighth or ninth rank.
Within minutes, Signal Flare lit up the entire Yue Family compound.
"Who dares to cause trouble at the Yue Family's residence?!"
Suddenly, a thunderous roar echoed throughout the entire Yue Family compound.
Yue Shenwei, who is 2.2 meters tall, rushed out of the bedroom with his clothes open, holding Bronze Staff.
Several experts from his own clan followed behind him, patrolling the area.
Before they could gather more men, three figures suddenly pounced down from the wooden beams of the corridor.
The man at the head let out a low roar, like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey.
The two-meter-tall body lunged down from above, suddenly bringing with it a gust of foul wind.
Undeterred by the danger, Yue Shenwei raised his Bronze Staff and aimed it at the man.
Bang!
The two collided head-on and then stepped back.
The man landed and stood firm, his bright whites revealing a hint of predatory delight.
"Again!!"
With a whoosh, the cloak was ripped open and thrown into the air, and the man lunged at Yue Shenwei once more.
With heavy thuds, the two engaged in a high-speed battle.
One man held Bronze Staff, while the other was empty-handed with his palms open.
The one who should have been at a disadvantage was empty-handed, but after several moves, Yue Shenwei's hands, which were holding the Bronze Staff, began to tremble.
He was horrified. His opponent's strength was so great that he felt his hands go numb after only five or six moves.
He had seen people with superhuman strength before, but he had never seen anyone this strong.
He immediately changed tactics, no longer fighting head-on, but using skill to deflect and evade the opponent's force before launching a counterattack.
After just a few moves, the man became dissatisfied.
"Giving in and dodging is not the behavior of a true man! You're so uncooperative!"
"You wait until the middle of the night to break into my home and launch a sneak attack, and you expect me to be quick about it? What a joke!" Yue Shenwei sneered.
"Forget it." The man's words were tinged with boredom. "Someone like you is no good. I'll kill you first, then I'll go find Yue Shenwei!"
Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly lunged forward and brought his palm down on the other person's head without waiting for a reply.
This palm strike came suddenly and exploded with incredible speed, much faster than the previous moves.
Yue Shenwei had no time to react and could only use all his strength to block forward with his staff.
At the same time, he instantly used his leg -Breaking Limit Skill, and a surge of power several times stronger than before rushed into his body, boosting his strength.
The Breaking Limit Skill was called Returning Cause.
This is a defensive counter-attack technique. As long as you withstand the opponent's attack, you can use some of the force to combine with your own strength and launch a fierce counterattack.
At its best, this move can be enhanced by more than half its power.
Click.
Unfortunately, Yue Shenwei's prediction was wrong.
The immense force transmitted from the Bronze Staff far exceeded his ability to withstand it.
His arms broke on the spot, and he could only watch helplessly as the Bronze Staff fell and smashed hard into his sternum.
Then his sternum fractured and collapsed, and he vomited a mouthful of blood.
Pfft! He didn't even have time to use his Limit State before he was sent flying backward and crashed into a wooden pillar that was about the size of a person's arms.
The surface of the wooden pillar cracked and dented.
Yue Shenwei's body was also bent backwards, hanging from the wooden pillar, blood gushing from his mouth, and he quickly stopped breathing.
"He's dead. Let's go find Yue Shenwei!" Sweeping Mountain Tiger Ding Yu, said impatiently.
He initially used only 50% of his strength to test the waters, but after realizing his opponent was nothing special, he used 90% of his strength in his attack, and then that was it.
Upon seeing that Yue Shenwei was dead, the Yue Family servants scattered in terror.
The rest of the Lineage turned and fled.
"The Second Master is dead!! The Second Master has been beaten to death!!"
"Quickly, go and ask the Master to mobilize troops!! A bandit has killed the Second Master!!"
"Fire! Help! Put out the fire!"
The cries, shouts, and screams sounded particularly chaotic amidst the ever-growing flames.
The Yue Family expert who was just fighting with the three men was so frightened when he saw that Yue Shenwei, Ninth Grade, had been killed that he immediately turned around and ran away without daring to stay for a moment.
"Who is the Second Master?" Sweeping Mountain Tiger asked speechlessly.
Xu Xin and Sun Xiaohui exchanged a wry smile.
"Brother, it's Yue Shenwei! Second Master, that's the Yue Shenwei you're looking for."
Sweeping Mountain Tiger was taken aback.
I looked at the two of them.
"You guys are kidding me. That's the Yue Family's strongest Ninth Grade Master. How could it be that weakling from before?"
The two were speechless.
At that moment, a faint sound came from afar.
"Lord Shenwei is dead! The strongman is powerful, everyone run! Report to the authorities and surround and kill him!!"
"Run!! This strongman is Ninth Grade!!"
A jumble of noises drifted on the wind.
Sweeping Mountain Tiger and his two companions stood still, and for a moment no one paid them any attention.
"Is Yue Shenwei really that incompetent?" Ding Yu was silent for a moment, then fell into deep doubt.
The other two didn't know what to say, and could only manage a wry smile.
Even Ninth Grade person is still human, at most only slightly stronger than the two of them.
Without using the Limit State, it is naturally far inferior to the Sweeping Mountain Tiger.
If Yue Shenwei had used his Limit State burst from the beginning, there would have been some hope of escaping.
Unfortunately, he missed the best opportunity.
"This Wushan Prefecture... has been suppressed by such a weakling for so many years??" Ding Yu looked incredulous.
He had originally anticipated that the three of them would inevitably engage in a fierce battle, and only after a thoroughly enjoyable fight and some injuries would they be able to kill Yue Shenwei and then successfully escape.
Little did he expect that all the reputation he had built up in Wushan Prefecture, and all the authority and impressions he had formed in his mind, would suddenly collapse.
It's all talk and no action, all show and no substance.
This new impression formed in his mind.
"Never mind, let's go."
He suddenly lost interest, turned around and left quickly.
The other two had no choice but to follow.
The three disappeared into the thick smoke and shadows in the blink of an eye.
Not long after the three left.
Near the Yue Family, on the rooftop of a guild hall.
Zhang Rongfang was listening to his subordinates Bao Ning and Qing Su report on the situation at Golden Wing Tower.
Seeing the firelight, he gazed out the window into the distance.
"Is that the Yue Family over there?"
He frowned and asked softly.
"Yes, sir. Judging from the direction and distance, it seems that the Yue Clan Grounds is on fire."
Bao Ning had basically memorized the entire terrain and architecture of Wushan Prefecture.
At this moment, a quick glance and a calculation of the location revealed where the fire had started.
"But this fire, visible from this distance, is clearly quite large. The Yue Clan Grounds is heavily guarded; how could they allow the fire to spread to this extent? Could something have gone wrong?" He frowned and speculated.
"With Yue Shenwei, Ninth Grade official, overseeing the Yue Family, what problems could possibly arise?" Qing Su said dismissively from the side.
"Otherwise, although Yue Shenwei is Ninth Grade, he was secretly challenged by Huang Yixi, the head of the Huang Family, a few years ago. He lost twice within thirty moves. His strength has already begun to decline."
"In your opinion, who is the strongest person in actual combat in the entire Wushan Prefecture?" Zhang Rongfang asked curiously.
Huang Yixi was killed by him with a single Double Heavy Mountain Strike right in front of him; that's all. If he couldn't even beat Huang Yixi, then Yue Shenwei was just a minor character.
"There are two Super Grade hermits in Wushan Prefecture. One is Thousand Mountain Sword Tan Xiao, and the other's identity is unknown, but he once defeated Huang Yixi Qing Jiao in three moves. They are extremely powerful."
"If we're talking about the strongest people, these two should be the top contenders," Bao Ning said in a deep voice.