Chapter 358: Fire Breathing Serpent
Chapter 358: Fire Breathing Serpent
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
Based on the opinion poll from the online magazine "VAIN," Li Ruoer was most men's dream girl. Not only did she have a look that belonged to the centerfold, but her Tactics were also rumored to have enhanced her cardinal knowledge. Any hot blooded man could not resist fantasizing her naked body under that cold and aloof cover.
As everyone fixated their eyes on the Enchantress, Han Linu, the puppeteer, also walked into the arena. As a seeded player in the third section, he decided to study his opponents carefully. After the fight with Wang Tong, he had quickly patched up his puppets. However, the defeat still took a toll on his confidence. Before he had met Wang Tong, he had thought that there were no real roadblocks for him in the third section— not even Li Ruoer or Guan Dongyang. He had wagered that the fight against the two-seeded fighters would be tough, but it was not impossible to win. However, the fact that the no-account Wang Tong had so easily defeated him had made him doubt his previous estimate of his opponents' strength. Even the Lunar Sect could not figure out how Wang Tong was able to disable both of their sect's secret weapons.
Han Linu pondered over the cause of his defeat as he sat quietly, waiting for the start of the fight. Sooner or later, he would have to meet either Wang Tong or Guan Dongyang, and he did not want to be humiliated again.
Right before the match started, another famous fighter, Michaux Odin, showed up.
The young master had just finished a fight mere minutes ago, and he had come to watch the match without even taking a break. But, why? Did he really think that either of the fighters was worth his time? If so, was it Guan Dongyang who he had come to see? Unlikely! Although the members of the Hidden Path were brave fighters who wouldn't flinch even when they were up against the House of Lie, they would never dream of challenging the absolute authority of the Divine Master.
Although Guan Dongyang had never met Michaux Odin, he had publicly claimed that the latter was his only equal and worthy opponent on Mars. He didn't even care to acknowledge the House of Lie.
In fact, Guan Dongyang feared to fight the young master, especially after watching his last fight, which had proved how futile soul energy defense methods were when used against Michaux.
The audience was surprised by Michaux's sudden appearance, but they failed to find a reason for it. Some had even speculated that Michaux had shown up because he had taken an interest in Li Ruoer, despite the sect's celibate doctrine.
Michaux didn't mind the murmurs that surrounded him. He walked to the other side of the arena and sat down quietly by himself. Nothing in this world could interest the young master, as he cared only one thing and one thing only—immortality.
Michaux had heard many stories about Guan Dongyang on Mars, and he knew that he was not an easy target, even for himself. Therefore, he was interested to see how Wang Tong would deal with him.
By then, Michaux was sure that the Einherjar Wannabe that had defeated Zambrotta was not Wang Tong, as he could tell that the latter was not as strong as the former.
As the referee finally announced the start of the match, Guan Dongyang started the attack right away. Guan Dongyang crossed and layered his fingers as they quickly changed through a few dozen different hand signs. As the Martian's soul energy soared, he suddenly folded his hands and thrust his arms out at Wang Tong.
After a blaring explosion, Wang Tong was struck by a hidden force, as if he were struck by lightning.
"Thunder Fingers!"
It was an advanced version of the soul energy burst attack.
Invented by the members of the Mastery, the soul energy attack was miraculously enhanced by deadly GN force. Although GN force deteriorated quickly upon contact with soul energy, the Hidden Path had invented a method to prolong the effect of GN force after it was fused with soul energy. Thanks to the Thunder Fingers' long range, it was a very deadly strike that was almost unavoidable.
Guan Dongyang threw a glance at the referee, suggesting him to announce the end of the match. He was convinced that Wang Tong was already defeated, since his Thunder Fingers was as powerful as any attacks used by Michaux Odin, although it was less well known.
Just as Guan Dongyang was about to turn around and start off the stage, he saw Wang Tong stand up, dust himself off, and then crack a smile. "Is that all you got?"
Guan Dongyang gasped as he saw his opponent was well and alive after sustaining a deadly blow. The Thunder attack was not only able to subdue any level five fighter, but it would also gravely injure any level six fighter. Looking at Wang Tong, the Martian noticed that he was practically unscratched.
Wang Tong's patience was wearing thin, so he attacked with his arms open and disappeared into thin air.
"The Earthling's Inch Step?"
Sensing attacks coming from his front, Guan Dong sidestepped and evaded the invisible blow. However, he suddenly felt a chill against the nape of his neck—Wang Tong's fist was already bearing down on him at lightning speed.
Guan Dongyang fumbled to get out of harm's way, and finally evaded the deadly blows after a few close calls.
Wang Tong appeared right where he was standing and announced with a smirk on his face, "Hurry up and show me your true power while you still can!"
Wang Tong could feel the unmistakable sense of power inside his opponent. Although he had learned a great deal from Mr. Wannabe, the Mastery's arcane method of cultivation and channeling energy still escaped him.
With soul essence in his possession, Wang Tong thought that it would be a pity if he didn't master all forms of cultivation in the world. When the GN force was first discovered, everyone felt that they had found the ultimate source of power. However, by then, mastery seemed to have provided human an alternative method to achieve even greater power. The human race was such a fabulous race; driven by their curiosity and will to improve, they were able to continuously broaden the scope of their abilities, and inch towards immortality, slowly but surely.
That being said, the arcane knowledge of the Mastery was well hidden and fiercely guarded. Therefore, only during the tournaments could Wang Tong have a chance to peek into its true power.
Guan Dongyang glanced over the shoulder of Wang Tong and saw Michaux staring at the earthing boy attentively.
Guan Dongyang folded his hands again. As the Martian's lips moved softly, a layer of soul energy appeared and covered his body.
As the soul energy accumulated, everyone was astonished to see that Guan Dongyang didn't channel any GN force out of his body.
"Drake Fire!"
As the Martian shouted out the name of his technique, a dragon made of dancing flames spurred out in between his palm and flew towards Wang Tong. The sudden attack caught everyone off guard.
"Is this magic?"
"The dragon has to be an illusion; it must be useless."
The fiery serpent hit the ground under Wang Tong's feet and caused a massive explosion. Amidst the dust and smoke, Wang Tong saw Guan Dongyang had moved to his side, and his firefly fist was already bearing down on him.
"Fist of the Fire Drake!"
The first punch hit squarely on Wang Tong's chest, and the Martian immediate followed with another punch, which landed on Wang Tong's belly.
Wang Tong stumbled back for a dozen feet and finally lost his balance as he fell to the ground.
Everyone's hearts were caught in their throats as they realized that the fire-breathing serpent was not an illusion. The crumbled floor where the blow landed was a testament to its existence.
"What kind of an attack was that?"
"It is not GN force. It is something much more powerful!"
Guan Dongyang about-turned to face Michaux as he pointed at Wang Tong on the ground and then at himself. Guan Dongyang wanted Michaux to know that the Hidden Path was no any less potent than the Divine Master, and eventually, he would defeat the young master like he did to Wang Tong.
Seeing the martian's incredible power, Li Ruoer furrowed her brows. What troubled her most was the martian's unique technique, as she doubted if anyone in the House of Li would be able to repeat it.
Under most circumstances, the soul energy was merely a medium to release GN force. However, not only could Li Ruoer not sense any GN force in the martian's attack, but she also felt something entirely different and new to her.
Michaux Odin studied the martian as if he had just solved a riddle. He was one of the very few in the arena who knew that they had just witnessed the Mastery cultivators' greatest contribution to the world.
Although Guan Dongyang was far from the strongest soul mastery cultivator that Michaux had ever seen, the young master conceded that his power was immense.
Wang Tong didn't disappoint the audience, as he quickly stood up from the dust and gathered himself.
By then, Wang Tong's clothes had already been reduced to pieces and strands. While he marveled at his opponent's power, he was also disappointed that he had once again failed to comprehend the Mastery's technique. But, he knew that he was close.
Without wasting any further time, Wang Tong started the attack. He conceded that he needed to force his opponents to unleash even more powerful attacks for him to learn the mysterious technique.
Wang Tong stormed at the Martian using the most popular move on Mars, the "Martian Dash."
Enraged by Wang Tong's audacity, Guan Dongyang charged up his soul energy until his right arm was engulfed in flame. Then, he hurled the flaming fist at Wang Tong as he shouted, "You are courting death!"
Wang Tong did not waver at the counter-attack as he carried out his move with unswerving determination. As Wang Tong's soul energy reached four hundred and thirty, he finally unleashed his famous fist strike—the Layered Fist of Tong!