The Ten Heroes of Huaqing

"It's nothing. Just search the martial artist website, and you'll find information about the Azure Ghost Race," Wang Xueqing said with a smile.

She disliked owing people favors. After learning that her father had recovered so quickly because of Ning Yue, she had always felt indebted to him.

Now that she could help Ning Yue, she was glad to do so.

"The Azure Ghost Race doesn't come from Blue Star, but from another world. Unlike ferocious beasts, they're an intelligent race, just like us humans."

"You know Ghost-Suppressing City, right? It's the fortress city not far from Xinyuan City. It was built to suppress the Azure Ghost World."

"The Azure Ghost Race's greatest strength isn't its martial might. Among the worlds humanity has encountered, the Azure Ghost World doesn't rank in the top twenty in strength. Its greatest advantage is an innate divine ability that lets its members create countless clones. As long as one clone lives, the true body cannot be destroyed."

At this point, Ning Yue couldn't help interrupting.

"That's way too powerful. Does that mean they're immortal?"

"I don't know either. I've only heard that the Azure Ghost Race normally looks like humans, but when fighting, they take on the appearance of evil spirits with green faces and fangs. When facing a powerful enemy they can't defeat, they turn into countless bats and flee," Wang Xueqing said helplessly.

She had pieced that together herself from information on the martial artist website.

She wouldn't tell Ning Yue anything she couldn't verify. If false information led to some bad consequence, that was something she didn't want to see.

Ning Yue nodded.

He had never logged onto the martial artist website. Apparently, it contained a lot of information ordinary people couldn't know.

Just then, he saw a familiar figure leap onto the arena.

"Wen Xi?"

[Wen Xi, First Rank]

He took a look with the Eye of Heaven Observation. After more than twenty days apart, Wen Xi was still in the First-Rank Realm.

Ning Yue thought of himself. More than twenty days ago, he had been a qi and blood martial artist.

Now, he had broken through to Martial Arts First Rank and even opened four heavenly meridians, becoming a mid-stage First-Rank martial artist.

By his reckoning, after his next simulation of the myriad heavens, he could begin breaking through to Martial Arts Second Rank and enter the Tiger Strength Realm, gathering the strength of nine oxen and two tigers within himself.

His physical strength would rival that of a ferocious beast.

Depending on one's foundation, the strength of nine oxen and two tigers was divided into beast, ferocious beast, supreme, and divine levels.

Sure enough, I really am a genius.

Seeing Wen Xi step onto the arena, he couldn't help feeling a little worried.

But could Wen Xi win?

He looked toward the edge of the arena, where ten spirited youths stood. Under the Eye of Heaven Observation, every one of them was in the Martial Dao First-Rank Realm.

Ning Yue could only wish him luck.

If Wen Xi couldn't manage it, Ning Yue was prepared to take the stage.

The school's honor did not belong to one person alone, but to all its students.

At the edge of the arena, the ten people from Huaqing City spoke loudly, their words full of contempt for Xinyuan Martial Arts High School.

"Pang Dewen, get down. It's my turn next."

A youth with a tattooed arm spoke eagerly.

He looked less like he was preparing for a match than waiting to collect a prize.

"Hu Zhe, you pervert, stay off the stage. What if the next opponent is a young lady? She won't be able to withstand your rough treatment," a delicate-featured youth beside him said disdainfully.

"How am I a pervert? Liao Siyuan, are you looking to die?" Hu Zhe flew into a rage.

"Tch. Can you beat me?" Liao Siyuan folded his arms and spoke disdainfully.

"Stop arguing. We're all from the same school. We came here only to bring glory to the school, so what is there to argue about?"

Their quarrel had displeased the youth at the head of the group, and he shouted at them.

"Brother, with these crooked melons and split dates from Xinyuan High School, any one of us could sweep the whole field. Do we even need to continue?" a girl with a perfect figure asked in puzzlement from beside him.

She looked puzzled, her face like that of a first love. If the slyness in her eyes hadn't betrayed her thoughts, one might really have believed she was confused.

"Little sister, crushing weaklings can still give us more real combat experience, and there's no danger involved. Why not?"

The youth leading them explained softly, though he had something of a headache.

Why did the school send her along? I can't keep her under control.

The youth was named Yang Yifei, a genius from Huaqing Martial Arts Middle School. He had held first place throughout his three years of high school, and his talent was so great that he was already preparing to break through to the Martial Arts Second Rank Realm.

Even so, his combat strength was no less than that of someone at Martial Arts Second Rank. He could even fight and defeat one.

But he had a lifelong nemesis: his younger sister, Yang Zihan.

His sister was even more talented than he was. Two years younger, she had skipped straight from first year to third year in high school, and her combat strength was not much weaker than his.

The principal had said that his sister had awakened an innate spirit physique and was a true heaven's chosen.

If that were all, things would have been fine.

But his sister had always had a dream: to suppress her older brother.

The reason: she had never once beaten him as a child.

"Don't speak. Someone's coming. He looks like one of Xinyuan High School's top three," Yang Yifei said, speaking first when he saw his sister was about to say something.

Just then, Wen Xi stepped onto the arena.

He roared, "Huaqing High School! Your grandpa will fight you this round! Who's coming? Or are the so-called Ten Heroes of Huaqing going to come at me together?"

Wen Xi roared, forceful and domineering. Wielding a Green Dragon saber more than a zhang long, he looked utterly imposing.

He had arrived at school early and watched the arena battles from beginning to end, seeing his schoolmates defeated one after another by the people from Huaqing City.

Not only that, some of them had been mocked.

The tattooed student in particular had shown no restraint, severely injuring three people: one had an arm broken, and two were so badly hurt they couldn't get up.

He had mocked them relentlessly as well.

At the thought, Wen Xi thrust out his Green Dragon saber and pointed it at Hu Zhe, looking as awe-inspiring as a god of war.

"You. Get up here."

With Wen Xi's blade pointed at him, Hu Zhe felt a flicker of apprehension.

He ranked sixth among the Ten Heroes of Huaqing, awkwardly stuck in the middle, with people behind him who had greater talent and better family circumstances.

Ahead of him were the Yang siblings.

At this rate, the closer the college entrance exams got, the further his ranking at Huaqing Martial Arts Middle School would fall. He might even drop out of the top ten.

Narrow-minded as he was, jealousy turned his face ashen, and his mind grew increasingly twisted. Anyone who fought him, man or woman, ended up so badly injured they couldn't get up.

Some were left disabled, affecting their future path in martial arts.

That was why his schoolmates disliked him, and why no one had backed him up when Liao Siyuan mocked him just now.

Then Hu Zhe grew angry again.

"Brat, anyone can talk big. Don't be like that He Yang just now. Supposedly one of your school's top ten, but he couldn't even stand up to one claw from me."

With that, he sprang onto the arena.

"Heh..."

Before Wen Xi could speak, he closed in and raked a claw at him.

"Fuck!"

Wen Xi hadn't expected a sneak attack in the arena and hurriedly twisted aside.

Rip!

A scrap of cloth fluttered down. Wen Xi's clothes had been torn, and bloody claw marks streaked his chest.

What a pity, Hu Zhe thought.

"Shadowless Claw!"

His hands traced a series of afterimages, darting up and down around Wen Xi. In an instant, nothing could be seen on the stage but claw shadows, with no sign of his body.

Wen Xi could only fend off attacks from every direction. Even with his zhang-long saber in hand, he had no room to wield it.

"A sneak attack!"

"Bastard! Fight him without a sneak attack if you've got the guts!"

"Fucking bastard..."

The crowd below the stage consisted entirely of Xinyuan Martial Arts High School students. Seeing Wen Xi caught by a sneak attack and immediately put on the back foot, the furious boys and girls cursed without pause.