Chapter 44: Invincible in Battle
Zhang Ruochen's first opponent was a young martial artist in a yellow robe, appearing to be eighteen or nineteen years old, with a cultivation reaching the Middle Extreme Position of the Yellow Extreme Realm.
Being able to cultivate to the Middle Extreme Position at such an age could be considered a martial arts prodigy.
The young martial artist in the yellow robe held a sharp war blade, speaking with a full, confident voice: "Hao family, Hao Seventeen, the first to challenge you, sir. Draw your sword!"
Zhang Ruochen pressed his right hand on the hilt of the Flash Soul Sword, gently shaking his head, and said, "You are not worth me drawing my sword. If I did, I might hurt you."
"Arrogant!"
The young martial artist in the yellow robe infused his true qi into the great blade, activating the two force-system inscriptions within it. The weight of the blade rose to two hundred and eighty-seven jin.
Holding the blade with both hands, he swung it in a dense, impenetrable arc, charging quickly toward Zhang Ruochen.
With his momentum, even a martial artist at the Great Extreme Position of the Yellow Extreme Realm would not dare to clash head-on with him.
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen stood still on the spot, unmoving. He raised his arm and swung the scabbard, striking the young martial artist in the yellow robe on the neck.
"Clang!"
The great blade fell to the ground.
The young martial artist in the yellow robe screamed, fell off the battle platform, and landed in a dizzy, disoriented state.
Holding his neck, he climbed back onto the platform, picked up the great blade, and looked at Zhang Ruochen with some awe, saying, "Thank you for sparing my life."
If Zhang Ruochen's sword had been drawn, his head would have flown off his neck.
Second match, victory!
Third match, victory!
Fourth match, victory!
In the next three matches, Zhang Ruochen won consecutively.
He stood at the center of the battle platform, as steady as a rock, never moving his feet from start to finish.
Every opponent who challenged him, regardless of their cultivation level, was all struck off the platform with the same move, without exception.
"How can this young man be so powerful? Luo Tian, who has reached the Great Extreme Position of the Yellow Extreme Realm, was also knocked off the platform by him with just the scabbard, without even a chance to fight back." A sixteen-year-old noble girl stared at Zhang Ruochen with curiosity.
Zhang Ruochen was too young, yet his strength was too terrifying. A martial artist at the Great Extreme Position of the Yellow Extreme Realm couldn't even force him to draw his sword, let alone make him take a single step back.
"He must have already cultivated his sword intent to the 'Sword Follows the Heart' realm. If you can't break his sword intent, no matter who goes up, they'll only be struck off the platform with one move."
Xue Bingsheng, holding a folding fan, had a hint of a smile on his face, saying, "Haha! Don't you all know his identity?"
"What identity?" the crowd asked.
Xue Bingsheng said, "He is the Ninth Prince of the Yunwu Commandery. During the year-end assessment, with his cultivation at the Minor Extreme Position, he could defeat a prodigy at the Great Extreme Position. Given his cultivation speed, he should now have reached the Middle Extreme Position. Unless a martial artist at the Great Perfection of the Yellow Extreme Realm steps forward, no one can defeat him."
"Haha! So it's the famous martial arts prodigy, the Ninth Prince. I'll go and test him."
From the spectator stands, a bald, burly man lifted two iron hammers, leaped with both feet, crossed over ten meters, and landed on the battle platform.
"Ninth Prince, I, Guo Sihai, will fight you in the fifth match. Be careful—my pair of iron hammers weigh a total of eight hundred jin. If you get hit, even an iron man will be crushed." Guo Sihai said.
Anyone who could win five consecutive matches in the Yellow-Level Martial Combat Palace was almost always at the Great Perfection of the Yellow Extreme Realm, with only a few prodigies at the Great Extreme Position.
Guo Sihai was a martial artist at the Great Perfection of the Yellow Extreme Realm. He was eight feet tall, with arms thicker than Zhang Ruochen's thighs, and his body was covered in palm-sized muscle blocks.
"Guo Sihai has innate divine strength. At the Great Perfection of the Yellow Extreme Realm, he can unleash the power of thirty bulls. The Ninth Prince is probably going to lose!"
Hearing the crowd's discussion, the Ninth Commandery Princess also began to worry, after all, that was a martial artist at the Great Perfection.
A martial artist at the Great Perfection and one at the Great Extreme Position were not on the same power level.
"Roar!"
Guo Sihai let out a loud shout, and the bones in his body made a "crackling" sound. He swung the two iron hammers with his arms, spinning them like windmills, creating waves of wind.
"Mad Martial Hammer Technique!"
Guo Sihai unleashed a human-grade, lower-rank martial technique, unleashing all his power. Both iron hammers struck toward Zhang Ruochen simultaneously.
One hammer aimed at Zhang Ruochen's head, the other at his legs.
Under such a fierce assault, even if Zhang Ruochen's cultivation was stronger, he would surely have to retreat.
As long as Zhang Ruochen retreated, his subsequent moves would attack one after another, defeating Zhang Ruochen with overwhelming force.
"Slap!"
Zhang Ruochen still only used one move, swinging the scabbard and striking one of the iron hammers.
That iron hammer immediately changed direction and slammed into Guo Sihai's chest.
"Bang!"
Guo Sihai, along with both iron hammers, fell off the battle platform.
"How... how is this possible?"
Guo Sihai, clutching his bloody chest, struggled to get up from the ground, staring at Zhang Ruochen, who stood straight at the center of the platform. He hadn't even seen how Zhang Ruochen swung the scabbard.
All he knew was that he was knocked off the platform by his own iron hammer.
"Even Guo Sihai couldn't force him to draw his sword? How can he be this strong?"
Xue Bingsheng's expression became slightly serious, saying, "The Ninth Prince's sword intent realm has at least reached the middle stage of Sword Follows the Heart, and it might even be at the high stage."
"Impossible! Even martial artists at the Mysterious Extreme Realm rarely cultivate to the high stage of Sword Follows the Heart."
Xue Bingsheng grinned slightly, saying, "Wait and see! It's only the fifth match now. The martial artists that appear later will only get stronger. Someone will eventually test his limits. If he can hold out until the eighth match, I will personally step onto the platform and defeat him."
At this moment, the Ninth Commandery Princess and Shan Xiangling were also extremely shocked. Zhang Ruochen's strength completely exceeded their expectations.
"Defeating a martial artist at the Great Perfection of the Yellow Extreme Realm with one move! Has Ninth Brother's cultivation already broken through to the Middle Extreme Position of the Yellow Extreme Realm?" the Ninth Commandery Princess said.
"It must be the Middle Extreme Position of the Yellow Extreme Realm!"
"How long has it been since the year-end assessment? The Ninth Prince's cultivation has improved by two more realms. It's truly unbelievable." Shan Xiangling said with sparkling eyes.
If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn't have believed that such an extraordinary genius could exist in the world.
A martial artist at the Great Perfection of the Yellow Extreme Realm stepped onto the platform. It was a woman in her twenties, dressed in a blue shirt, also using a sword.
The blue-shirted woman stood opposite Zhang Ruochen, carefully observing his every move, trying to find a flaw in him.
"There's no flaw at all! Since there's no flaw, I'll have to force him to reveal one."
"Shua!"
The blue-shirted woman moved her feet, her speed as fast as lightning. Holding a slender eel-gut sword, she attacked Zhang Ruochen's legs.
Even if she couldn't defeat Zhang Ruochen, just forcing him to move his feet would be an achievement.
Only if he moved his feet would he definitely reveal a flaw. Then, defeating him would be much easier.
Zhang Ruochen finally showed a serious expression. The blue-shirted woman's sword technique was very formidable, reaching the Sword Follows the Heart realm. Although it was only the initial stage of Sword Follows the Heart, she was already much stronger than other martial artists at the Great Perfection of the Yellow Extreme Realm.
Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes, relying only on his ears to hear the sound of the sword cutting through the air.
"Ding!"
He swung the scabbard, pointing it into the void, blocking the sword aimed at his legs.
The blue-shirted woman was momentarily stunned, then quickly changed her moves, unleashing three sword techniques in succession. Each one was accurately blocked by Zhang Ruochen.
When she tried to use a fourth sword, "Dong," a sharp pain shot through her chest, as if her ribs had been broken.
Zhang Ruochen held the scabbard, pointing it at the blue-shirted woman's chest, and said calmly, "You have lost."
Fortunately, it was only the scabbard; if it had been the sword tip, her heart would have been pierced.
The blue-shirted woman withdrew her eel-gut sword into its scabbard, cupped her hands, and bowed to Zhang Ruochen, saying, "The Ninth Prince is truly a martial arts prodigy. I accept my defeat wholeheartedly!"
Another martial artist at the Great Perfection of the Yellow Extreme Realm had been defeated, still unable to force the Ninth Prince to take even a single step back.
"Hmph! How infuriating. He's only sixteen, and his martial cultivation has reached such a level. I can't let him live, absolutely not."
Liu Chengfeng was very angry, saying to a guard standing behind him, "Go and call Han Fu. Tell him that I have a use for him now."
"Subordinate will go and invite Master Han now!" That guard immediately withdrew.
Liu Chengfeng stared at Shan Xiangling, who was standing on the spectator stands below, a lecherous smile appearing in his eyes, "Shan Xiangling, once Zhang Ruochen dies on the battle platform, let's see who can save you then? Hehe!"
Because of Zhang Ruochen's extraordinary performance, the entire Yellow-Level Martial Combat Palace became boiling with excitement, erupting in deafening cheers.
Finally, Zhang Ruochen welcomed his seventh challenger.
Hong Tao, a martial artist at the Great Perfection of the Yellow Extreme Realm, had awakened the Profound Ice Divine Martial Mark. In the Yellow-Level Martial Combat Palace, he had a record of four consecutive seven-match wins.
Moreover, he had also reached the initial stage of Follows the Heart.
However, he didn't use a sword, but a whip. The whip followed the heart.
"Hong Tao pays respects to the Ninth Prince. If I offend you in any way during the match, I hope the Ninth Prince will forgive me." Hong Tao appeared very polite, always with a smile on his face. But his eyes were extremely sharp.
Hong Tao gently touched his wrist with his finger and pulled out a golden long whip.
The golden long whip was thirteen meters long, only as thick as a little finger, and seemed to be a True Martial Treasure refined from the tendons of some barbarian beast.
Just being able to straighten the long whip was not something an ordinary person could do.
"Slap!"
Hong Tao shook his arm, and the golden long whip immediately spun, like a spiritual snake coiling around his body, moving very flexibly, emitting rings of golden light!