“An Astral Refiner… and a Vessel Augmentor even?”
Old Tong looked very surprised. “How on earth did they make it in? Interesting. How interesting!”
Old Tong clapped his hands like a kid and said excitedly, “Say girl, do you want to make a bet with me? Who do you think will survive?”
The young woman calmly placed another black stone on the board. It slowed down the dragon’s offense a little, but in terms of the big picture it was like trying to extinguish a house fire with a glass of water.
“Are you sure, Old Tong? Distracting yourself whilst playing a game seems like a bad idea.”
Old Tong skipped over to the young woman’s side with a cheeky smile. “But you’ve already lost, girl! You cannot win even if I give you a move for free! Since you already lost, you might as well make a bet with me! Come on!”
The girl shot him a smile and declared with surprising confidence, “Very well. If this is your wish!”
“Wonderful! Wonderful! You’re a nice person, girl! I, Everyoung Tong, love friends like you!” The old man did a little dance of joy before asking, “You may make your pick first, girl!”
That was what he said, but Everyoung Tong kept sneaking glances at Xiao Yang. They were betting on who between the two would survive, and he was afraid that the young woman would pick Xiao Yang.
The young woman chuckled. “I’m a junior. Of course I should go second.”
Delighted by her generosity, Everyoung Tong said immediately, “Okay! I bet that the Astral Refiner would survive!”
His choice was perfectly within expectations. The young woman smiled as brightly as ever as she declared, “Then I’ll bet on the Vessel Augmentor.”
“Hahaha! You’re going to lose, girl! There’s no way you can win this!” Everyoung Tong taunted while performing a series of backflips. The Burning Wind in the sky stayed well away from him.
“Look, girl! The Astral Refiner’s fingers are twitching!”
“Look! His mouth is twitching as well!”
“His eyelids are twitching as well. He’s about to wake up, girl!”
“Hahaha! Any moment now! Any moment until your defeat, girl!”
Everyoung Tong would not stop yelling and rolling in the sky as he observed Xiao Yang. He was just about to declare his victory when suddenly, he fell silent like a duck that was grabbed by the neck. Ye Qing, who had been unmoving this whole time like a corpse, suddenly opened his eyes and climbed to his feet. Then, he shook off the charred black substance clinging to his body to reveal smooth, unblemished skin. His physique was so flawless and perfect it was like a work of art.
“Phew… that was too close!” Ye Qing let out a long sigh of relief. His breath was hot, twisting, unfading and dark red in color just like the Burning Wind around him. When he stomped his foot, the ground within fifty meters of him caved in like it was struck by a giant hammer, kicking soil and dust everywhere.
This should not be possible as the ground of this valley was constantly beset by the Burning Wind. It had long since become as hard as refined steel. Forget a foot, an actual hammer or a sharp blade would be hardpressed to leave a mark on the soil. And yet, Ye Qing had made it seem as weak as tofu.
“Hahaha. Fortune and misfortune really are two sides of the same coin!”
Earlier, his body had burned, reformed, burned, and reformed again over and over in the deadly hurricane, tempering his flesh, blood, bones, and even his soul to unimaginable heights. He was now resilient enough to withstand even the hottest temperatures.
Not only that, every inch of his flesh, blood, bone and true qi was infused with Burning Wind. That’s right, he was now a full-fledged Astral Refiner. Normally, it would’ve taken years to infuse every wisp of true qi in one’s body with astral qi, and most never made it past this first step despite decades of hard work. He couldn’t say he was keen to relive such an experience again, but thanks to this unexpected boon, he had entered the Astral Refinement stage in one fell swoop.
“Now that I’m an Astral Refiner, it’s time to get my revenge!” A diabolical smirk crossed Ye Qing’s lips when he spotted Xiao Yang lying not far away from him.
Honestly, he would’ve thought that Xiao Yang was dead if his spirit hadn’t ascended to greater heights. That was how close to death the Astral Refiner was. He was going to make sure that the two-faced man would never menace him again.
“He’s entered the Astral Refinement stage? But how?” Everyoung Tong blinked in disbelief.
Contrary to the old man’s reaction, the young woman didn’t seem surprised at all. While stroking her hair and looking down at Ye Qing, she said, “You’ve lost, Old Tong!”
“I lost?” Her words jolted Everyoung Tong back to reality. Judging from the way his face scrunched up, and his eyes were darting all over the place, it was clear he was unwilling to admit defeat.
“You’re the one who made the bet, and you’re the one who picked first. You’re not going to renege on your own bet, are you?” The woman pressured Everyoung Tong without missing a beat.
“I… er… I…” Everyoung Tong was scratching his head profusely and looking all over the place for a way to get out of the bet when suddenly, an idea occurred to him. He immediately tossed something that shot through the Burning Wind and landed on Xiao Yang before he declared, “Say girl! The bet is who will survive, not who will wake up first, right? In that case, I haven’t lost yet!”
Everyoung Tong had noticed that Ye Qing was brimming with bloodthirst. It was clear that the two were sworn enemies, which gave him an idea.
Everyoung Tong believed himself to be an exceptionally smart man, and his smarts were telling him that there was no way a new Astral Refiner could possibly defeat one who had already begun to create his Expression.
Of course, Xiao Yang looked like he could barely draw breath right now, which was why he had prepared a backup plan. It was what would guarantee him victory!
“Very well. If that is what you wish.”
The young woman didn’t get angry even though Everyoung Tong was clearly bending the rules a bit. Her smile remained as tranquil and clean as a lake.
“I am surprised you would go so far as to spend a Poplar Branch Nectar, however. Even a single drop can renew the flesh, strengthen the vigor, and restore the energies, no?”
“You have sharp eyes, girl!”
Everyoung Tong let out a chuckle. Not at all annoyed that his little maneuver was seen through, he declared triumphantly, “But I’m not cheating, okay? I’m just ensuring fairness is all. Your kid is fully recovered, but my kid is still half-dead. A one-sided massacre wouldn’t make for an interesting bet, no?”
The young woman nodded seriously. “That’s reasonable. We shall see what happens then!”
Meanwhile, Ye Qing was just about to land the last hit and collect that juicy, juicy experience when suddenly, new flesh grew out of Xiao Yang’s body, and blood began rushing in his veins once more. His aura was growing stronger and stronger as well.
“The hell? What’s going on?” Ye Qing blanched. He didn’t know what was going on, but he wasn’t stupid enough to wait until Xiao Yang was fully recovered. He immediately tossed three throwing knives at the Astral Refiner’s forehead, throat and heart before following right behind the projectiles. His hand was also crackling with energy and raised in a ready position.
Unfortunately, Xiao Yang managed to leap away from his original position and dodge the throwing knives at the last moment. He then started laughing like a madman, “Hahaha! I live! I live! Even my wounds are completely healed! Hahahahahaha!”
He then turned toward Ye Qing and shot him a vicious glare, “You’re the first person ever to push me this far. Since the heavens are kind enough to save my life today, I will make sure to repay their favor with your blood!”
He might not know how he survived and even healed back to full health, but that was no reason to get distracted by the real matter at hand. One way or another, today would be the day Ye Qing dies!
“Hahaha! You’re going to lose, girl!” Everyoung Tong exclaimed in delight when he saw that Xiao Yang was awake.
The young woman wasn’t paying attention to the ensuing battle, however. Her eyes were wholly focused on the Go board. “You already said that once, Old Tong, but I haven’t lost yet, have I?”
Everyoung Tong couldn’t say anything for a second and grumbled like a child, “It’s different this time. There’s no way a new Astral Refiner could possibly go up against a veteran who’s already starting to manifest his Expression. I can tell that his astral qi is a superior grade astral qi as well. There’s no way he would lose!”
When he was done, he turned his back on her and hmphed loudly.
The young woman smiled but paid him no heed. She continued to stare at the go board.
In the valley, Ye Qing was smiling wryly at Xiao Yang. “I’ve heard something like that many times already, but I’m still alive, and my enemies are all dead!”
He launched a palm strike as soon as he finished his sentence.
“You must be joking! If you haven’t caught me by surprise earlier, you really think that a—” Xiao Yang retorted disdainfully while throwing a punch to meet Ye Qing’s palm strike midway.
“Sunset Punch, Rising Sun”
However, he lost his train of thought when Ye Qing’s palm strike punched right through his energy and astral qi. The next thing he knew, the unstoppable attack had struck him squarely on the right shoulder and flooded his veins with destructive force.
Xiao Yang was sent flying through the air like a rag doll. His right shoulder exploded, and he crashed into the wall so hard that he was embedded in it.
The sound of crumbling walls reverberated within the valley for a long time.
Xiao Yang looked utterly dazed. He was going to say something when a mouthful of blood sprayed through his lips without warning. He felt like his internal organs were cooked, his qi and blood were boiling, and his mind was on fire. His skin looked dry and withered as well.
“Impossible. Impossible. How do you have so much strength? Impossible. Impossible…”
Xiao Yang couldn’t stop repeating the word “impossible”. It was as if the palm strike had physically ripped his confidence and willpower to shreds.
“How the… How is this kid so strong?” In the sky, Everyoung Tong was just as flabbergasted as Xiao Yang. “His physique is comparable to the bald donkeys [1] who cultivate the ‘Bhaisajyaguru Sutra’ from Lanke Temple!”
Lanke Temple was a physique-focused Buddhist temple. All disciples who cultivated the “Bhaisajyaguru Sutra” must temper their body with medicine from a young age. Once they were ready, they would further refine their body with the Five Poisons (snakes, scorpions, centipedes, toads and spiders) so that their energies and astral qi would be molded into their flesh. Although they would lose the ability to release their true qi like a normal warrior, they would become as strong and tough as a dragon elephant [2], and gain immunity to most poisons and attacks. They would be able to overwhelm skill with pure power and defeat ten thousand arts with a single punch!
The young man was clearly no monk, but his physical resilience and strength was comparable to the Lanke Temple monks who cultivated the “Bhaisajyaguru Sutra”. But unlike the monks, he could release his true qi as well. Most warriors could only choose one path and give up all others, but this guy was powerful both in his body and his arts. Where on earth did he come from?
1. slang for monks 👈
2. an actual creature in Chinese mythology and a symbol of strength 👈