Chapter 169 : The Power Of A Grandmaster
Master Hen Tian, a peak level Internal Force cultivator, such as he was, was killed by Tong Shan with one blow! Lu Tianlong and the others felt a chill down their spines.
“Arrrr!”
Tong Shan roared again after he laid Master Hen Tian low, and then he threw himself at Su Wudi. The Phantom Tiger Demon glowed all around him and enhanced his strength and speed significantly.
Su Wudi fought back with a Cannon Fist punch. His fists landed on the phantom that hovered before Tong Shan and caused the phantom to shimmer slightly. Then he realized that the phantom had absorbed all the force in his punch.
“What is going on?”
Su Wudi rounded his eyes and gaped in surprise. He reckoned the similarity between the Tiger Demon Phantom and the Four Righteousness Protection Aura. He wondered if the big man was not a Physique Refinement Master but a Martial arts Grandmaster?
He had little time to ponder such questions. He tapped the ground with the tip of his toe and sprung backward. Meanwhile, he shouted: “Old Man Qi, are you going to go after him? If not, I am going to call it quits.”
The words reminded Elder Qi of the quickly escalating situation. He turned his palm down as a bell appeared in his hand out of nowhere. He started to chant something under his breath as he tolled the bell rhythmically. The bell’s sound formed an invisible soul energy wave that rippled toward Tong Shan.
“Bell of Misguided Heart”
The bell arrested Miss Jin Yi’s attention. She recognized it as her Master’s most prized Dharma Artifact.
This Dharma Artifact required a great deal of energy to be activated. However, once it was activated, it would release illusions that would beguile the enemy, numbing their senses with imaginary debauchery until they were practically immobilized. Elder Qi had defeated countless powerful martial artists using this artifact. Those martial artists who fell victim to the spell had powerful physical strength but were weak in their mind.
“Arrrr!”
To his surprise, when the sound wave infused with energy reached the Tiger Demon, it seemed to breathe new life into the previously flickering image, giving it more substance than it ever had obtained in this world. It let out another roar, this time, it seemed to come from right next to everyone’s ears.
Yet, this roar was silent to the audience, it only affected his enemies that were within a ten-meter radius. Everyone within the spell’s effective range felt a giant hammer fall upon them, stupefying them with the deafening blare. The bells in Elder Qi’s hand broke into pieces as blood started to seep out from his ears, nose and all other holes on his face. Elder Qi stumbled back a few feet and collapsed to the ground.
Soul Energy Bite Back!
Elder Qi had used his Dharma Artifact on Tong Shan, however, The Tiger Demon’s Physique Refinement Art was a dual-cultivation technique using one’s nature and fate. It was not only an effective art for aggressive and defensive purposes, but it also had the unique Bite Back effect to any soul energy attack that landed on the cultivator.
“Master!”
Miss Jin Yi was under the protection of the wooden beads on her wrist and therefore she was barely affected by the roaring attack. As soon as he noticed Elder Qi’s defeat, she hurried to help him to his feet. By then, the peak level Spellcaster was bleeding all over his contorted face, making him look like a tormented soul from hell.
Su Wudi was hurt even worse than the old man since he stood the closest to Tong Shan.
The shock wave from the tiger roar had temporarily immobilized him before he could regain control of his body, Tong Shan threw a Tiger Demon Claw at him. At the last moment, Su Wudi forced his body to turn sideways.
“Sthla!”
Tong Shan’s attack caught the side of Su Wudi’s arm and tore it right off from his body.
“Fuck! Asshold Qi! Liar!”
Su Wudi let out a painful cry as he darted out of harm’s way. After he quickly steadied himself, he turned around and ran toward the exist. He was well known for his fist techniques, so losing his arm would put a dent on his abilities.
In just one minute, all the powerful martial artists were either dead or had ran away. There had been Master Hen Tian, The menacing looking man, Elder Qi, and Su Wudi, but now none were still standing.
Everyone was rendered speechless.
No one had expected such an outrageous outcome.
“Lu Haixuan, does your offer still stand? Can I still be the elder of your family?” Chen Fan asked languidly.
The Young Master of the Lu family pulled a taut face and kept his fingers clutched tightly. He dared not move a muscle as he registered the death star from the giant Tiger Demon.
Lu Tianlong was a peak level Internal Force cultivator, and therefore he was able to pull himself together quickly and replied: “Mr. Chen, the fault was mine. For the sake of your friendship with Xiao Xue, please, forgive us for once.”
“You want me to let it slide?” Chen Fan smiled a little. “You stood right near me with your body tense and energy charged up, ready to strike at me if I so much as moved a finger. It’s true that you didn’t attack me, but you are in it together with all the other perpetrators. How dare you ask for my forgiveness?”
“Then what do you want?” Lu Haixuan’s voice had an icy edge to it.
As the young lord of the Lu family, he had never been talked down to like this.
“Well, if you want to make a deal with me, you will have to be worthy of sitting at the same table with me.” Chen Fan waved a hand.
Tong Shan charged out like a primordial beast. Lu Tianlong’s face darkened, he self-estimated his power to be on par with the man with a menacing face, but weaker than Master Hen Tian. If Tong Shan could so easily do away with Master Hen Tian, defeating Lu Tianlong would be a stroll in the park.
“Whatever, If I die then I die!”
Lu Tianlong let out a burst of helpless laughter as he tightened his muscles and launched out for a counter attack.
Suddenly, a faint sound drifted into everyone’s ears: “That’s enough.”
A figure hidden behind a blurry whiteness flashed into view right before Tong Shan. Tong Shan snarled at the white figure and attacked him with the Tiger Demon Claws.
The man in white cloak blocked with one arm, his movement was almost lazy.
When his block came into contact with the Tiger Demon’s Apparition, it was unaffected by the phantom’s interference. The arm went through the apparition and landed on Tong Shan’s chest.
“Bang!”
The sound was deep like the morning bell toll of the ancient Buddhist temple.
The man in white looked small in size compared to Tong Shan, however, Tong Shan was staggered by the man’s counter attack. Tong Shan wasn’t able to regain the balance of his hulking frame until he stumbled back a few dozen feet.
On Tong Shan’s chest, a clear impression with the shape a palm was pressed deeply into the surface. If Tong Shan was a normal human, such a wound would have fractured his rib cage and busted his heart. Fortunately, Tong Shan was a Bronze Armored cadaver and therefore he was not decommissioned immediately.
“Such power! Who the hell is he?”
Everyone rounded their eyes in disbelief.
Just a moment ago, Tong Shan seemed nearly invincible. Of all the weapons they threw at him, none could have caused any serious damage. His attacks were so powerful that he would crack open a boulder. The dead bodies on the ground were a testament to his immeasurable strength. However, he was staggered by a languid counter-attack from the man in white.
“Family Lord!”
Lu Tianlong and Lu Haixuan both tightened their face and cupped their fists in the uttermost respect.
“The family lord of the Lu family, the Martial arts Grandmasters, Lu Tianfen!”
Suddenly, the crowd boiled over and countless elated martial artists looked to the man in white ardently. By then, they could finally make out the features on his face. He was a middle-aged man in his fifties, and he was wearing a loosely fitted martial artist exercise shirt, the kind one would find in the morning on old people who practices Tai Chi.
Everyone knew Lu Tianfen’s name. He was of similar age as Lu Tianlong and should be at least sixty or seventy years old by then. It was evident that the Transcendent Masters could slow down their aging. Some Transcendent Masters looked young even when they were over a hundred.
“Another Grandmaster!”
Someone exclaimed with a trembling voice.
In the martial arts world, Grandmasters were the stuff of legends. They existed beyond any ordinary people’s comprehension. To have a Grandmaster in a family meant an instant rise in power for the entire family clan.
Just like Ye Nantian, Lei Qianjue was a dominating figure in his own territory: Lu Tianfen was the one calling the shots in the Tian Nan region while sitting on his seat of power in Lin City.
Lu Tianfen stood in the middle and didn’t pay anyone any attention. He heaved a sigh and lamented: “Tianlong, Haixuan, you two have disappointed me.”
“My lord!” Already, sweat appeared on Lu Tianlong’s forehead. Even Lu Haixuan looked troubled and embarrassed.
“Our family lords over the Tian Nan region, then act like lords. If you want that recipe, you should just take it. Why do you have to conspire with lowly sects such as the Medicine God Valley Sect or the Diamond Temple? Do you really think that we are beneath Su Wudi and Elder Qi? “Lu Tianfen said lightly.
“You are right my Lord. It was my fault. I should have reported back to you.” Lu Tianlong said in fearful respect.
“What a pompous family. Do you mean that I should just give away my recipe?” Chen Fan asked coldly.
“Shut up you little shit. Where are your manners?” Lu Tianfen waved a hand and shot out a white wave of palm-shaped energy toward Chen Fan. In a blink, it appeared right in front of Chen Fan.
“Pa!”
Tong Shan shot out an arm to block the attack for Chen Fan. The strike landed on Tong Shan’s arm and created a shallow but discernible impression. This meant that Lu Tianfen was able to unleash his Internal Force to hurt his enemy.
“Not bad. Your servant seemed to have achieved the Grandmaster level of the Physique Refinement cultivation. And what was that? some kind of Four Righteousness Protection Aura? Interesting.” Lu Tianfen remarked lightly. “However, it was still a mistake for you to defy the Lu family.”
“You have never seen the power of...”
Before he finished talking, Tong Shan threw himself at him. The air crackled as the Tiger Demon Claw tore it open, sending powerful gusts in all directions.
“The power of a Grandmaster!”
Lu Tianfen closed in unhurriedly like a puff of cloud on a windless day. When Tong Shan’s attack came, he dodged and was successful.
Suddenly, countless strands of white smoke billowed up from his body and with a wave of a hand, he somehow gathered the smoke into his palm. When he folded his hands, the smoke turned into a white glow and shot out at Tong Shan.
The white glow looked harmless, however, when it landed on the Tiger Demon’s Phantom, it nearly tore it apart. The impact then sent Tong Shan flying back. On Tong Shan’s shoulder a crack appeared, it was as if someone had stabbed a sharp knife through a tin can and slashed at it.
“Is this the Cloud Hand of the Lu family?”
Someone gasped.
Cloud Hand was a renowned secret technique from the Lu family. When it was used by the Grandmasters, it would create a splendid view of cloudy mists around the user. It was powerful yet extremely adaptable; flexible yet unyielding when it had to. Rumor has it that the infamous art of Thousand Trickeries used by Lei Qianjue from the Hong Sect was inspired by the Cloud Hand.
“Kaboom!”
Tong Shan’s hulking frame thudded into the wall and created a two-meter wide hole.
The family lord had dominated his confrontation with Tong Shan and displayed his unmatched power as a Grandmaster.