Can't Land a Hit

The Azure Eagle Tournament was in full swing, but the person drawing the most attention at the scene was Zhang Yu. So many junior sisters surrounded him.

"What a bunch of short-sighted women." The male disciples' eyes began to burn with envy.

"Just wait and see. Zhang Yu is only at the early stage of Transformative Force. Who knows how Senior Brother Ma Xuan even lost?"

"Exactly. If Zhang Yu runs into Senior Brother Gu Zhibei later, he'll definitely get beaten half to death."

All sorts of sour remarks came from the male disciples.

Zhang Yu felt a little depressed and signaled Li Feifei with his eyes to chase them away.

Li Feifei was indeed dependable. She immediately started cursing, driving away the female disciples surrounding Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu moved away from the arena and let out a breath. "Finally, some peace and quiet. Is one Everlasting Flower Pill really worth all this?"

He understood women far too little.

Chen You walked over again and pulled out a secret manual, handing it to him. "Senior Brother Zhang, I don't have any ranked cultivation arts, but I have a first-rate art here. It includes stance training, breathing techniques, and methods for opening the mortal field. It's a complete first-rate cultivation art."

Zhang Yu's heart stirred when he heard that.

Why had he infiltrated Hidden Spirit Academy? Wasn't it to get his hands on a first-rate cultivation art and break through to the True Qi Realm?

Although he had now learned Shi Cangyue's mystic-grade Bedrock Mountain-Forming Art, that cultivation art could not be passed on casually.

Before he surpassed Shi Cangyue, he could not pass it on to Niu Mancang and the others.

He reached out, took the secret manual from Chen You, and opened it.

Demon-Subduing Staff.

It was a staff technique, indeed a complete first-rate cultivation art. It included stance training, breathing techniques, and a method for opening the dantian.

Zhang Yu tucked it into his clothes and looked at Chen You. "I agree to what you asked."

"Thank you, Senior Brother Zhang." Chen You immediately bowed and scraped in thanks.

A man had to bow his head under another's eaves.

Besides, there was no conflict of interest between him and Zhang Yu. His main opponents were the descendants of the great families.

One hundred and thirty-six disciples had registered, and the first round soon ended.

Sixty-eight disciples were eliminated, and the sixty-eight who advanced drew lots again.

This time, Zhang Yu drew number nineteen.

After drawing his number, Zhang Yu returned to the chair beneath the tree shade to continue resting, while Li Feifei fanned him at his side.

His behavior not only infuriated the male disciples, but even the elders on the raised platform felt somewhat annoyed.

"Disciples these days enjoy themselves too much. We're sitting here under the blazing sun, yet look at that disciple named Zhang Yu—female disciples fanning him and feeding him fruit. It's utterly outrageous."

"Old Freak Chang, my disciple has the ability. What business is it of yours?" Shi Cangyue immediately spoke up for Zhang Yu.

Matches were held simultaneously on three arenas, so the pace was very fast.

Gu Zhibei sent his opponent flying off the arena with a single sword strike. He did not look at his opponent, instead glancing toward Zhang Yu beneath the distant tree shade. Li Feifei was holding a grape to Zhang Yu's mouth for him to eat. At the sight, Gu Zhibei nearly lost his composure.

"Outrageous. You'd better make it to the end. Hmph!" Gu Zhibei decided that if he encountered Zhang Yu on the arena, he would teach him a proper lesson.

"Disciple number nineteen, please step onto the arena."

Soon, it was Zhang Yu and Chen You's match.

Chen You felt extremely depressed. Drawing the same number as Zhang Yu had been something he had asked his third uncle to arrange, but to keep Zhang Yu from beating him too badly and making him lose too much face, he had also given him the first-rate cultivation art Demon-Subduing Staff.

He had dug his own pit and buried himself in it.

Chen You used a saber. After stepping onto the arena, he looked solemnly at Zhang Yu and cupped his fists. "Senior Brother Zhang, please enlighten me!"

Zhang Yu returned the salute.

Whoosh!

Chen You slashed toward Zhang Yu's head. Strike first and gain the upper hand; strike late and suffer disaster.

[Following Wind]

Zhang Yu used another application of Following Wind, the limit-breaking ultimate move of the Clear Wind Stance.

His body seemed to lose all weight, like a feather in the wind, moving with the wind.

As the blade wind closed in, his body naturally moved with the wind, evading the attack.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Chen You slashed three more times in succession. Each time, he felt he was about to hit Zhang Yu, yet each strike missed by the slightest fraction.

Next, Chen You used all thirty-six forms of his saber technique. Zhang Yu remained standing before him without retreating a single step, but Chen You simply could not hit him.

"Chen You, didn't you eat? He's standing right in front of you, and you still can't hit him!" Chen Liang shouted from beneath the arena.

Chen You dearly wanted to curse him: If you can do it, then get up here yourself.

Not every disciple was superficial. Some recognized the cultivation art Zhang Yu was using.

"That should be the second-rate Clearwind Art. To what level has he cultivated it? He can actually move with the wind."

"How old is he? Yet he has cultivated a second-rate art to such a level."

"It's beyond mastery. I've seen the Clearwind Art at mastery."

The elders on the raised platform naturally had even sharper eyes.

"The Clearwind Art should have broken its limit. Otherwise, it wouldn't have such an effect. Elder Shi, the disciple you took in is no simple matter. His aptitude is absolutely outstanding among his peers." An elder from Cloud Return Institute said enviously to Shi Cangyue.

Cloud Return Institute possessed the complete Clearwind Art.

Shi Cangyue put on airs and said, "His aptitude is passable."

Yet inwardly, he was greatly surprised that Zhang Yu had used Following Wind.

"Thirty-two. I let you have thirty-two moves. Next, it should be my turn to atta—" Zhang Yu had just been about to make his move when Chen You unexpectedly jumped off the arena of his own accord.

"Senior Brother Zhang's martial arts are unparalleled. This junior brother knows he is inferior and admits defeat." Chen You cupped his fists toward Zhang Yu on the arena.

Zhang Yu was so frustrated he nearly felt sick, glaring at Chen You.

Chen You lowered his head, slipped into the crowd, and vanished. He was not stupid. He had slashed with all his strength more than thirty times and had not landed a single blow. If they kept fighting, once Zhang Yu made a move, even if he was not severely injured, he would still suffer.

Though Zhang Yu had won the match, he walked down from the arena in a huff.

For the sake of that first-rate cultivation art, Demon-Subduing Staff, I'll let you off this time. Zhang Yu watched Chen You weave through the crowd and thought to himself.

Gu Zhibei's brows were tightly furrowed. He asked himself inwardly: if he had drawn his sword, could he have struck Zhang Yu while facing his wind-borne evasions?

For all his confidence, he could not come up with an answer.

Pei Wang and Jiang Canglan also stared at Zhang Yu with grave expressions.

Chen You had also been a strong contender for first place on the Azure Eagle Ranking. Yet when he faced Zhang Yu, he failed to land even one saber strike and could only admit defeat in the end.

Neither of them believed themselves much stronger than Chen You.

As Zhang Yu stepped down from the arena, Li Feifei immediately came forward, offering him a towel to wipe away sweat, water to drink, and a fan.

"Senior Brother, letting Chen You slash at you so many times for one staff technique was letting him off too easily." Li Feifei said, "Senior Brother, do you really need cultivation arts?"

"I do," Zhang Yu said.

"My family is a third-rate martial arts family in the imperial capital. We only have one ranked cultivation art, a yellow-grade one, and I can't take it out. But over the years, we've accumulated quite a few first-rate cultivation arts. If Senior Brother wants them, I'll have my family make a copy and send it to you," Li Feifei said.

That was her personality. Once she placed her bet, she went all in, never pinching pennies.

"I want them." Zhang Yu glanced at Li Feifei. If it comes to it, I'll write a letter and have Mancang come to Spirit Hidden City earlier. I owe her more and more favors. I can only repay her with Niu Mancang himself.

This time, the disciples naturally made way for Zhang Yu.

They had all been deeply unconvinced when he knocked out Ma Xuan with one punch.

But this time, Zhang Yu had stood in front of Chen You and let him slash more than thirty times without taking a single step back, while Chen You had failed to land even one blow. He had thoroughly intimidated the disciples present.

"I wonder who's stronger, Senior Brother Zhang Yu or Senior Brother Gu Zhibei?" Someone had already begun to mention Zhang Yu in the same breath as Gu Zhibei.