Chapter 404: Flying Tiger Response, Hammering Like a Staff

The entrance to the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall had already been cleared of all onlookers.

Zhou You and Fu Nianzhang stood in a basin with a diameter of one thousand meters; the surroundings were empty, without a single bystander.

All the martial artists watching the battle stood on the surrounding high ground, walls, and rooftops.

Several previous exchanges had left the surroundings in a state of great disarray, even causing several civilian houses to collapse.

As the intensity of the battle grew higher and higher, it could no longer be as careless as before.

Therefore, both sides voluntarily cleared a wide space so they could unleash high-power techniques to their hearts' content.

"Zhou You, you are no ordinary person, so I won't waste any more time. I will use my blade in this battle."

Fu Nianzhang untied the cloth wrapped around his waist, and a long blade shimmering with cold air appeared in his hand.

As mentioned before, the blade techniques of Dayin Mountain are peerless in the world, and the Disciples in the mountain all compete for supremacy with their blade skills.

"What about your weapon?"

Zhou You pointed to his sleeve, "Just a hammer head."

Fu Nianzhang nodded; it was just hammer techniques, and he had never heard of any formidable routines.

He held the blade in his hand, supporting the back of the blade with one hand, his gaze following the blade edge straight forward, winding like flowing water, finally condensing and fixing on the tip of the blade.

Merely from the opening stance, he had already created an oppressive atmosphere that made it hard to breathe.

Zhou You pinched the Bone Hammer with two fingers, his breathing becoming slightly heavier as he prepared to meet the fierce battle to come.

Swish! "One Blade Determines Life and Death!"

Fu Nianzhang swung his blade down, and the thousand-meter-diameter basin was instantly filled with cold blade light.

Zhou You felt that the skin all over his body, whether exposed or covered by clothing, was facing an onslaught of sharp blade edges that penetrated everywhere.

It truly was One Blade Determines Life and Death; wherever the blade pointed, not a single living soul was left.

Compared to the blade art before his eyes, the martial arts hall Disciples who had fought earlier were like children waving around wooden toy blades.

Zhou You flipped up, stepping on the air to ascend, his figure moving like a streak of light, passing through the gaps in the heavy blade light.

As he moved, his silhouette changed and shifted rapidly, at times turning into a producer, at times turning into a wisp of light smoke.

The blade art was spectacular, but his Lightness Skill was even more spectacular; he could often find a path to survival even in desperate situations.

The surroundings were deathly silent; it wasn't that everyone had become mute, but rather that their minds were blank, and they had nothing to say.

They had assumed that when a Dayin Mountain Disciple struck, it would surely be a crushing victory, but Zhou You's Lightness Skill was too powerful, actually able to weave through the blade edges without losing even a single strand of hair.

"Too terrifying."

Such a gifted Lightness Skill could not be obtained through hard work alone.

"Even if you grew wings, you wouldn't be able to avoid my Nine-Hand Shura Tiger Gate Blade."

Fu Nianzhang took a deep breath, and muscles as knotted and intertwined as tree roots bulged on his back; the muscles twitched and trembled, flying upward diagonally from both sides, like a pair of wings made of thousands of feathers.

Flying Tiger Response Technique!

This secret movement technique of Dayin Mountain is the foundational secret method for using the secret treasure, the Flying Tiger Shirt.

One technique and one treasure complement each other; wearing the Flying Tiger Shirt and executing the Flying Tiger Response Technique allows one to fly freely in the air.

Fu Nianzhang's goal was to become a Biao General, accumulating merit to exchange for this technique, all so that he could one day obtain the Flying Tiger Shirt and become a glorious Biao General.

Even without the secret treasure of the Flying Tiger Shirt, the power of executing the Flying Tiger Response Technique was extraordinary.

Swish, swish, swish! Fu Nianzhang kicked off the ground, and a transparent sphere the size of a millstone exploded under his feet, pushing him over a hundred meters and instantly catching up to Zhou You.

Relying on his high-speed approach, he stuck close to the area around Zhou You, closing the distance to execute the Shura Tiger Gate Blade.

A heart-wrenching howl! The roar of the fierce tiger was like a Shura claiming a life, and the blade light piercing from above, below, left, and right locked down the directions in which Zhou You could dodge.

A killing move executed with full force by an Intermediate Martial Master would tear the skin and draw blood even from a Primary Martial Master.

By comparison, the gap between Zhou You and him was so huge it was despairing. "Hoo, hoo, hoo!"

Zhou You breathed heavily; with every inhalation and exhalation, one Mysterious Heart was activated and awakened.

One, two, three, four...

One original heart, plus seven Mysterious Hearts; the Eight Hearts Power was unleashed in unison, and vigorous Qi and blood flooded his limbs, erupting with astonishing power in a brief moment.

Zhou You's fingertips were trembling; this was a wariness and fear of power that exceeded his own limits.

Holding his breath, he struck with the Bone Hammer that had been gathering momentum in his sleeve; the whistling sound of it tearing through the air was more piercing than ever before.

"Chaotic Scale Expansion, strike!"

The hammer was the Bone Hammer, but the striking method was a staff technique he had created himself—Chaotic Strike.

White shadows dotted the air; they appeared chaotic, but in reality, they followed a specific trajectory, like thousands of scales overlapping.

When the blade light arrived, the originally tightly defended gate was actually shaken by the chaotic white shadows of the hammer head.

Thump, thump, thump; each impact was heavier than the last, making the blade light hum loudly and the tiger's roar sound eerily shrill.

Seeing this, Fu Nianzhang changed his move, his figure gliding through the sky as the blade light reversed, hooking upward from below.

Relying on his high-mobility fighting style, he switched blade technique patterns seamlessly, tricky and sharp, catching his enemy off guard.

However, encountering Zhou You was his bad luck!

Zhou You kept him company to the end, his speed of changing moves even faster, his limbs' vigorous Qi and blood urging him on every moment.

The Bone Hammer was launched like a cannonball, smashing straight down and hitting the blade edge that You Nianzhang had sent piercing through the air.

"You..."

Fu Nianzhang's internal Qi and blood were in turmoil; he had never expected such an uncomfortable exchange, suffering suppression in terms of strength.

This wasn't right; he was an Intermediate Martial Master, and the opponent was a Primary Martial Master; he should be the one suppressing the other.

The sound of surging ocean waves reached his ears—it was the sound of Qi and blood flowing within Zhou You's body.

"Gifted with talent, Qi and blood more vigorous than ordinary people, strength exceeding the current realm."

Fu Nianzhang suddenly realized; he remembered a legendary figure among the Biao Generals who was born with Qi and blood different from ordinary people, and after joining Dayin Mountain, relied on his talent to overcome obstacles and become a Biao General.

As one of only two or three Intermediate Martial Masters among the fierce generals, his comprehensive strength actually exceeds that of most Advanced Martial Masters.

That's right, the Zhou You before him is just like that fierce general, his natural Qi and blood are different from ordinary people!

"Li Hao, your friend's weapon is somewhat interesting!"

On a certain high platform, a middle-aged man with a black beard and long whiskers narrowed his eyes as he watched the competition in the direction of the martial arts hall.

Behind him, Li Hao smiled awkwardly; he was only at the Qi and blood level, his eyesight could not reach the martial arts hall thousands of meters away, so he subconsciously nodded, "I heard his hammer technique is quite formidable, it is the Tiger Head Hammer."

"That is absolutely not the case!"

The middle-aged man is Li Hao's uncle-in-the-family and the person in charge of the local Righteous Hall of Wanxiu Mountain; although he is not outstanding in martial prowess, he has quite a keen eye.

"Others cannot tell, but I can see at a glance that he is using a hammer head, yet his fighting style is that of a staff."

"What?"

Li Hao's eyes widened into circles, "Could it be that Zhou You is a successor of my Wanxiu Mountain?"

"Hard to say, I have never seen such a chaotic fighting style from him; it is clearly messy, yet there is order hidden within the chaos, possessing a unique style!"

The middle-aged man patted Li Hao on the shoulder, "Don't worry about him anymore, this challenge to the martial arts hall will be a long fight!"

He is in the Wanxiu Mountain camp and is happy to be a bystander, watching Bo Xiaolin and his party busy and flustered.

Li Hao pursed his lips, the look of worry on his face still not fading.

(End of this chapter)