Page 46: Matched without skills

Days left before the sect's martial and alchemy competition: 154 days

It was morning but the woods are still covered with thick fog. Outside, the temperature has dropped 5°C from the usual measure. Everyone who tried to go out were armed with thick clothing however one person was casually walking with his usual robes. Greetings came from left to right as he passed from his hut towards the encampment area. Although yesterday's issue was confusing, he opted to let it slide and go with the flow.

As he reaches the area, most of the tents are already brought down and fixed. Some are rolling the tents while some were still removing the roof in a hurry. At the site of the biggest tent, five disciples were working on it at the same time while the owners were already drinking their morning cup. Watching such scenario was a bit nostalgic for Long Bai as he remembered his boy scout days during his high school days. Those were the days when they had so much adventure on a mountainous area.

When the rest were done fixing things, Elder Yang Dingxin stood and gave his orders. Long Bai hurried next to the other members and listened to the instructions.

"Today, we will be walking around 20 kilometers. Leave your heavy things and just bring your weapons. No need to worry about food since Yang Kai has stocked enough food in his cosmic pouch. We will be sending some scout ahead and meet them at the 16 kilometer mark. From there, we will approach with caution and by the time we reach the place, it might already be dark. That is our chance of attack. If we can give them a surprise attack, we can hold the upper hand. Another thing, Since the Big boss was reported to be at the mid layer of bone tempering, I'll be handling him. Yang Kai on the other hand will take on the West Tiger leader who's at the early layers of bone tempering and the volunteers listed here on this paper will hold the East Tiger leader and buy some time until Yang Kai subdues or kills his target. Here are the names, Zhu Guozhi and Long Bai. This raid is an opportunity for everyone to become stronger and since such theme is set, I will not interfere with you lots except tying up the Big boss. Your presiding leader will be Yang Kai and if there are problems, report it to him. Now, we start moving!"

Long Bai's expression was that of wanting to laugh but was hindered as he doesn't want to create a scene. Since he saw alchemist Hong on the side trying to stifle his laughter, now he knows why he's in such predicament. Although alchemist Hong may have something to do, why does he feel there's more to it? Anyway, the plan has now been set in motion so there's no turning back. In addition, this ploy has no threat or whatsoever since he's confident in his escaping skills.

After two hours, everyone can already feel the heat from the sky. Now they were able to travel 4 kilometers and still everyone was in great spirits. Never did they met any ferocious beast thanks to the scouts who were doing their jobs properly.

Along the way, Long Bai was able to interact with Zhu Guozhi and discuss some strategies upon making contact with their target. They were even able to share some personal experiences which made them become more close than acquaintances. Another six hours passed just like that, unnoticed and relatively quick for the two who were enjoying each other's stories. Before they could share another story, they were alerted by the sudden stop. Everyone gathered and were divided into four groups, two groups attacking from the sides while the third will go frontal. The remaining ones, the leader's group would wait for the big shots to come out before attacking. With the remaining time, everyone approached the base which can be seen from their position with caution. After more than an hour, the siege started from both sides of the base, followed by the frontal attack group. The base was in chaos as they did not expect such surprise attack. With the great commotion, there is no way the leaders would not be alerted. From Long Bai's position, everyone was able to see the three main dish for the day's menu, the big boss, east tiger and the west tiger. Everyone from the watching platform readied and made the move.

At the side, Long Bai can see Yang Kai's eagerness to fight his target. Checking the opponent's level, they are just matched in terms of cultivation level.

[West Tiger leader

Age; 78

Cultivation: Bone tempering layer (2nd)

Core grade: Average

State: Confused]

[East Tiger leader

Age: 57

Cultivation: Bone tempering layer (2nd)

Core grade: Average

State: Excited]

[Big Boss Tiger

Age; 87

Cultivation: Bone tempering layer (5th)

Core grade: Average

State: Worried]

Elder Yang Dingxin started to move and used an attack that covers a large area to separate the three from each other. As the three made their own way, the group went to their respective opponent.

At the middle, Elder Yang and the Big Boss can be seen standing face to face but are not making any movement. It seemed that they were having a conversation. At the same time, Yang Kai immediately rushed towards his opponent. His attacks were continuous, not giving any chance for the West Tiger to make a big move. On the other side, Zhu Guozhi has already been sent flying by the East Tiger's palm attack. The only one left was Long Bai who stood in front. Each leader have one opponent but each of them were trying to check each other's abilities. Since each of the leaders are now far from each other, there are no worries about being watched. Among the three, Yang Kai's fight sparked first to its climax. Since both were on the same cultivation level, it became a fight of skills. While Yang Kai is using palm related skills, the opponent was using a beast type attack.

"I never expected that barbarians are still capable of having such skill. I, Yang Kai, the disciple of the sect's leader will show you the strength of a personal disciple. Eat this! <Dragon Jade Palm>!"

Yang Kai released the first form of his martial skill, a gigantic palm with a green dragon's mark in it. This was an attack that originates from the user and only moves parallel to the user. If one is fast enough, it can be dodged but in this fight, both were just a few meters apart. Dodging the skills each one throw to one another is almost to impossible.

Since West Tiger expected an attack, he gave a counter strike. <White Tiger's Claw>! Clash!

The two skills collided and the shockwaves created a disturbance to the surrounding area. Dust came covering the place and the debris from shattered houses are seen scattered everywhere. A small wind blows over the area which cleared out the floating dust. The clearing of the dust made them see each other and both noticed that they are pushed away from their original positions. Yang Kai tried to hide his pain but same with West Tiger. Since they were located at the heart of the shockwave, their bodies took the full recoil of their skills.

"It seems like you were able to match me, kid. I'll be honest with you. Since you can match me, I'll need to show my strongest skill and finish this fight as fast as I can. Prepare yourself and don't blame me for being merciless."

"I'll say the same. Meet your death!"

Both released an incredible amount of inner essence and formed their strongest skill. In front of West Tiger, a large white paw with dark and sharp claw has shown. Yang Kai on the other hand, made his move and leaped 10 meters from the ground. Above him, a burningJade palm has manifested. Each used all their inner essence and gave their all.

<White Tiger's slash>! <Burning Jade palm> ! clash!

One was coming from above with red flames while the other was like sharp knives that's trying to pierce the skies. When both skills met, Yang Kai, who was still on the air was blown away 20 meters from the area but was able to land with minor injuries. West Tiger on the other hand tried to resist the weight of the palm attack but the claws were not enough to stop its momentum. Accompanied by the hot flames, his body was not able to take it anymore and caused him to be pushed on the ground. Yang Kai went rushing back at the site and saw West Tiger unconscious and with his body planted on the ground. Around his body, a huge palm crater was made and most of the areas were still sizzling hot from the flames. That last attack ended their match and Yang Kai's knees also started to weaken. Due to expending a lot of his inner essence, his body became weak and it can barely support the minor injuries he took during the battle.

In the other side, no one knew but Long Bai's fight ended as well. His fight with the East Tiger happened outside the base of the barbarians. The only match left was the big boss and Elder Yang. On a roof of a tall house inside the base camp, the two were having a conversation.

"Why did an old man came here? You should have left us enjoying our lives just like you're doing. Why would you deprive us with such sweet thing?"

"You talk nonsense. You don't belong to any part of the city. You plunder, take away lives and the freedom of the innocent and force people to your whim. Why shouldn't we eradicate such atrocity?"

"Haha! You hypocrite old man! You sound so righteous but can't you see that what you do is just the subtle way of ours? You horde cultivation resources, make them believe that you can give them brighter future but in reality, you try to instill the idea of "survival of the strongest"! That is why I despise sects who call themselves righteous. You are all hypocrites!"

Without more words, the big boss brought out a red pill and swallowed it in front of the elder. While the pill was taking effect, the big boss gave a smirk to the elder who looked surprised with his actions.

"What the surprise, old man? I know you are at the core foundation (essence gathering) of the soul tempering stage. If I fight you with my current strength, I won't even be able to give you a broken bone but with this, I can even crush your skull. hahaha! Now I'm at the strength of essence condensation layer. Ahh, this feels great!"

"Fool! To take the life expending pill, you are sacrificing part of your cultivation to temporarily raise it one stage . If you will win this fight, your cultivation will regress one stage. You really are a stupid. I have a fair share of experience in this kind of situations so I will have something too."

Elder Yang took out a white pill and swallowed it. It was a berserk pill. Unlike the life expending pill that have a major drawback, this pill would just nake the user exhausted afterwards, causing the inner essence to be fully drained. After a few seconds, his strength has gained 3 layers worth of cultivation. Now his strength is that of at the middle layer of the soul tempering stage, the same as the big boss.