Chapter 35 Elite

A-Er saw the person disappear and hurriedly followed, trying to discern the direction through the traces left by the figure.

As he was about to leave the forest, he looked towards the distant mountain path, but no figures were visible. The stone-paved path under the moonlight was exceedingly clear, like a winding ribbon, connecting to the brightly lit halls of the academy palace.

"Lost them, so quickly?" A-Er analyzed silently.

"No way! The mountain path is so obvious, and tonight's moonlight is bright. If one walks on the path, they'd be highly conspicuous. If it were me, I'd definitely choose a smaller path to avoid the patrolling senior brothers." A-Er looked up at the bright moon in the sky and shook his head, "Best to be careful, this person may still be hiding nearby. If he took a small path, I just need to search carefully here."

Having made up his mind, A-Er began to search through the bushes for traces left by the person.

"Here's a footprint. If I weren't looking closely, I wouldn't have noticed it," A-Er's face showed a change, as he vaguely saw a string of very subtle footprints under the dappled moonlight in the forest.

It must be that person.

A-Er suppressed his excitement as he looked at the footprints' direction, which seemed to be heading down the mountain. He quickly and quietly followed.

He walked for about several dozen breaths.

"Hmm? The path ends, no more traces." A-Er followed the footprints to the end, only to be confronted by a dead-end path.

"Where did he go? I must keep searching!" A-Er felt anxious when he saw the traces disappear. If he delayed any longer, there'd be no chance to find that person.

"Are you looking for me?" a low voice sounded in his ear.

"It's you!" A-Er was struck with intense shock.

It was as if thunder roared in his ears.

"Poof!"

Before he could react, a tremendous force suddenly hit his chest. Caught off guard by the punch from the other side, his eyes bulged, his face turned bluish-red, veins popping from his neck, and a mouthful of fresh blood suddenly spurted from his mouth.

He bent over like a cooked shrimp.

The figure's right leg then swung out, kicking A-Er in the heart.

"Boom!"

With a kick, A-Er flew backward, smashing into a tree with a thud, causing the crown to shake continuously. Having suffered a severe blow, A-Er naturally lost consciousness, his neck tilted, lying beneath the tree.

After resolving this, the burly figure hesitated no more and intended to leave.

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

A sound of a wooden stick striking a palm arose.

Upon hearing this, the figure sighed: "Still a bit slow, trouble has come!"

Under the moonlight, another figure stepped out from the mountain path into the woods. The man had broad shoulders, holding a Mountain Stick in one hand, incessantly striking his left palm, his eyes filled with murderous intent, his aura formidable.

"What boldness!" the man glared with wide eyes, thick murderous aura shooting from his eyes, coupled with his large frame standing atop the mountain path.

In the moonlight, his shadow seemed to engulf the entire forest.

In the shadows, only the opponent's glowing pupils flickered.

The speaker arrived just in time to see A-Er being knocked away.

"Daring to create chaos in my Elixir Hall, no matter who you are today, you shall stay!" he said as he advanced, amassing the Qi-Blood within his body.

At this point, leveraging the terrain from above, his martial aura continually rose, aiming to gain dominance. When close enough, he planned to launch a surprise attack on the instigator.

Meanwhile, under the moonlight, the burly figure who had just prepared to leave clearly saw the familiar Mountain Stick in the newcomer's hand.

"It's him!"

Upon a closer look, it all became clear to him. On the day of lugging the pot, the sound of footsteps was too loud, catching the elite disciple of the Mountain Stick unaware.

The word 'Scram!' left a lasting impression on him.

"Let's see today how much weight this so-called elite disciple holds!" Unbidden, a tinge of battle intent surged from the burly figure's body.

"Great Qi-Blood stage, first a probe!"

The burly figure hesitated no more, igniting his Qi-Blood, launching towards the opponent's face like a cannonball.

"Dare to fight!" The elite disciple in black robes, aura soaring, swung the Mountain Stick in hand repeatedly, then mobilized his body's Qi-Blood.

The swiftly swinging wooden stick resembled twin dragons, dancing under the moonlight.

Bang!

Stick met palm.

The oncoming palm was swifter than he anticipated, striking exactly the mid-defend part of the Purple Sandalwood Stick before its full power could unleash, effectively blocked by the palm.

"Interesting," the stick-wielder bared white teeth, sneering, "Watch the stick."

Dragon Exploration!

With that, he leveraged strength to rotate the upper part of the stick, using the momentum to thrust the bottom forward, a move that, if hit, could mean death or disability.

The shadow, well aware of the opponent's method, naturally knew the might of this move and instantly changed tactics.

Instant Water!

Seizing the rotation gap, he changed his move once again.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The two figures weaved in and out of the forest's shadows constantly; if A-Er were awake, he would be utterly awed by the duel.

After dozens of moves, they separated once again. They were about two meters apart, each panting while watching the other.

The fierce clash just now had worn both of them out a bit, but after mutual probing, both understood the other's depth.

The stick-wielding elite disciple, eyes filled with caution, observed the masked burly figure opposite him: "This person is indeed formidable; my Nine Dragon Stick within the Elixir Hall rarely meets an adversary. Yet, he almost evenly matches me with mere fists and palms."

"His movement technique is a weakness; even so, capturing him won't be easy in a short time."

"But once other elite disciples arrive and see me fail to take him down, where will my face be?"

"Then," the elite disciple's eyes gleamed ferociously.

"No more holding back, go all out, defeat him under my stick."

After the deliberation, he looked at the opponent again, eyes filled with hard resolve. His Qi-Blood surged once more, operating several times faster than it had moments ago.

With a sudden leap forward, the Purple Sandalwood Mountain Stick cleaved out.

Under the berserk Qi-Blood's boost, massive power was infused into the Purple Sandalwood-made Mountain Stick. The straight Purple Sandalwood stick, harder than gold and iron, seemed unable to bear the immense force, turning into an arc, fiercely smashing forward.

"The stick is faster than before, dodge! Must dodge!" The figure rapidly dodged, feeling the gust coming head-on, knowing at this moment, physical fists should not clash directly.

Ugh~!

The stick broke through the air at speed, crashing down.

"Bang!"

The stick fell, brushing against the figure's robe, hitting the ground. A ditch about a foot wide formed on the ground.

The elite disciple who had turned bloodthirsty, using the stick's rebound leverage, again charged at the shadowy figure.

He bellowed, "Nine Dragon Secret Kill Mist Rain Dragon."

Centered around the elite disciple, fierce gusts seemed to rise up, the fierce whistling of air sounded like wind tearing through holes, humming incessantly.

Following came the tumultuous stick shadows, continuously attacking the burly silhouette.

At this moment, avoiding amidst the stick shadows was no longer an option.

The previously somewhat hurriedly responding figure felt rage surging within.

"If not using a kill move now, when?"

With rage flaring in his heart, seeing the elite disciple seemingly possessed, "If you go mad, I shall subdue you!"

A change in stance, commence!

Mighty Ox Shaking the Mountain!

The burly figure launched into his strongest frontal stance, his skin fluoresced, cyan stone-like hues revealed on his arms. The rapidly circulating Qi-Blood flushed his face red, veins bulging, the seething bloodstream injected with energy resembling a raging gorilla.

He violently charged into the stick-shadow storm.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Another dozen or more exchanges, the explosive air resounded like a series of thunderous blasts.

The two figures constantly shifted and flickered.

Block! Stick out! Split! Punch!

At one moment, watching the countless stick shadows, the gorilla's reddened eyes suddenly caught a trace within.

"Found you!" The gorilla-like burly figure grinned, having waited long for this moment.

Back Stick Bell!

He gathered strength and delivered a punch, focusing on the traced Purple Sandalwood Stick, suddenly exerting force.

Stick met fist.

"Bang."

Crack, crack!!

The sturdy Purple Sandalwood stick produced cracking lines.

The elite disciple hastily retreated several steps to barely nullify the stick's force.

"Ugh!" The hands holding the double sticks showed cracked tiger mouths, trembling continuously. The overwhelming power had already disrupted his secret technique state, reversed blood surging to the throat, forcibly pressed down by him.

The opponent had shattered his secret technique state, along with his pride.

"Unmatchable!"

"Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!"

The elite disciple, suppressing inner震撼, gritted his teeth: "Stalling for other elite disciples, or even Inner Sect disciples to come!"

"You, who exactly are you? No ordinary elite disciple could possess your strength! Which hall of the Transmission Hall are you from?" Looking once more at the formidable but calmed figure, the elite disciple's expression turned stern, forcing himself to remain composed.

The back once soaked in sweat now felt a piercing coldness.

He spoke while retreating, dragging his severely injured self to forcibly carry Qi-Blood to his legs, starting to flee the scene: "I admit, I'm no match for you indeed. Today's matter will be settled next time."

Watching the figure about to depart, the opponent remained unmoved, his tone very composed, contrasting with his previous explosiveness: "Next time?"

The burly figure's dark eyes revealed a fierce glow: "Today's the time for resolution!"

Red Spirit, ignite!

Stone-breaking Hand Shattering Jade!

"What?" The elite disciple, hastily fleeing, turned back mid-run, but his pupils constricted abruptly, "This person still has a trump card..."

At this moment, his eyes no longer captured the opponent's figure, that shadow had vanished from his view. Before he could react.

The next instant, a red-skinned shadow suddenly appeared at the corner of his eye.

He barely turned his head to see the shadow's punching right hand cleaving through the air, seemingly carrying a white ring-like airflow, meeting his held stick, colliding.

"Bang!"

The Purple Sandalwood stick snapped with the sound!

And the elite disciple, akin to a handkerchief fluttering mid-air, was struck by a rapidly flying stone, landing amongst the trees, life or death unknown.

The red shadow followed closely.

A series of concentrated dull sounds erupted repeatedly, only ceasing like a sudden rain.

Finally, the burly figure fumbled around.

Before long, the shadow reappeared on the mountain path, exiting the Red Spirit State, skin color gradually returning to normal.

"So this is what it means to be elite."

Then he shook his head, strolling along the mountain path, disappearing into the boundless moonlight.