Chapter 116: True Inheritance Ceremony

"That was actually Gao Gang making a move?!"

On the open ground before the great hall, the several inner disciples who had been about to step forward couldn't help but freeze at the sight.

The True Inheritance Ceremony was not held lightly, yet any disciple ascending to True Inheritance had to go through a martial contest with fellow disciples.

Either you possessed the Wu Gong to overpower all inner disciples, or you had the leadership to make many fellow disciples follow your lead.

In past years' True Inheritance Grand Contests, disciples of the same mountain hall would often step in to block the others, lending Wan Wan Zhuli to their fellow disciples' ascent to True Inheritance.

At the very least, they would stand by and watch.

Who was Gao Gang?

A direct disciple of Han Han Chuijun, of the Hammer Bingtang lineage—Li Yuan's true senior martial brother.

Wasn't he afraid Han Han Chuijun would hammer him to death?

"Why would he make a move?"

The inner disciples were all stunned; Shao Shao Fangbai, who had been pressing his sword ready to act, also froze. His peripheral sweep revealed that the other disciples of the Hammer Bingtang were likewise dumbfounded, seemingly caught off guard as well.

Bang!

The twin hammers collided, sending up a shower of sparks.

They touched and parted in an instant. Li Yuan lowered his twin hammers, his expression slightly grim. Gao Gang retreated several steps, feeling his arms go numb, and could not help but be somewhat taken aback:

"Junior brother actually still has innate divine strength?"

"Then…"

Gao Gang laughed and once again burst forward to attack:

"Then this senior brother can rest easy!"

The spear pierces in a line, the staff sweeps a swath.

Hammer swings like a staff, sweeping sideways like a spear—Gao Gang's downward cleaving strike reached the crown of Li Yuan's head, leaving a clearly visible white line in the air.

Fast to the extreme, and ferocious to the extreme.

Screech!

Li Yuan even heard the sharp cry of a raging ape.

Gao Gang's Qi was fully charged—this was a sign he had already touched the threshold of Form Transformation.

Bang!

Li Yuan pushed off with his feet, his internal force and Qi-and-blood surging. Every great tendon in his body tensed at once; his long, slender arms instantly swelled, nearly bursting the loose sleeves apart.

Twin hammers rose from below to meet the hammer descending from above.

Touching the threshold of Form Transformation is still just Internal Strength Great Completion—if you want to clash, then clash!

Boom!

Like a thunderclap exploding across flat ground.

"Such tremendous strength?!"

Gao Gang's eyes flew wide. The downward momentum of his strike halted, as if it had struck an invisible wall of Qi, and he was sent flying backward several meters, hammer and all.

He stumbled upon landing before steadying himself; his sinews and bones went numb all at once, and an irrepressible rush of salty, fishy blood welled up in his mouth.

He almost thought the one who took that hammer was his eldest martial brother, Ba Ba Wanli.

Even innate divine strength wasn't this exaggerated, was it?

He had held back, but he himself was at Internal Strength Great Completion—how could a Body Tempering martial artist possibly…

"He actually took that?!"

In the crowd, Shao Shao Fangbai was somewhat dumbfounded. Not only had Li Yuan taken it, he seemed to have gained the upper hand?

That was Internal Strength Great Completion!

"This vicious?"

An inner disciple's eyelid twitched. He had previously suspected Gao Gang was using this method to block them.

But seeing that hammer strike, he was once again uncertain.

If someone failed to take one of those, the elders and fellow disciples present wouldn't have time to save them…

"Internal strife within the Hammer Bingtang?"

Whoosh~

Under the head-on clash, Li Yuan's feet down to his calves sank into the cracked bluestone floor.

He could feel his muscles and skin trembling violently as the rebounding force was swiftly neutralized.

However…

"Is that all the strength he has? Held back? Doesn't matter whether he held back or not—you want to clash, then…"

With a sudden spring from flat ground, Li Yuan shot up. Mid-air, the great tendons and muscles across his entire body swelled.

As the twin hammers swung in a full arc from above, his whole frame had visibly expanded by a full size.

Blood energy, internal force, the Ten-Form body…

"Come and clash!"

Li Yuan

His eyes lit up. In a certain sense, this was his first time exchanging blows head-on with someone.

Moreover, it was against an elite inner disciple of the Divine Weapon Valley at Internal Strength Great Completion.

"Come!"

Seeing Li Yuan's entire frame swell by more than a full size, Gao Gang's eyelids twitched wildly, yet retreat was impossible.

He tapped lightly with his feet; his numb arms were instantly enveloped by Qi-and-blood, and internal force erupted across his palms.

The heavy hammer rose once more, emitting the clang of metal on metal.

"Martial Arts!"

Li Yuan swung the hammers down, the twin hammers trembling, also emitting the sound of metal striking metal; though his Soldier Dao Battle-Killing Hammer technique had not yet reached the Minor Success stage, he had mastered the complete fighting style.

Bang!

Bang!

Cloak Hammer, Battle-Killing Hammer, Green Serpent Spear, Tiger Roar Blade...

Qi and blood surged upward; Li Yuan struck hammer after hammer, experiencing the illusion of returning to the forge to beat iron, unleashing all sorts of Wu Gong in a single rush.

He had long wanted to find someone to spar with; at this moment, he felt only joy in his heart, every hammer strike feeling thoroughly satisfying.

"?! "

The more Li Yuan fought, the more excited he became, but Gao Gang felt so uncomfortable he wanted to vomit blood; every time hammer met weapon, he felt a numb tingling as if electricity had passed through his whole body.

"I've seen a ghost in my life!"

Once again, the base of his thumb went numb; Gao Gang nearly vomited blood for real, retreating violently dozens of meters.

Glancing from the corner of his eye, he saw inside the main hall, Ba Ba Wanli slam the table and rise, shouting praise:

"Just like that, just like that!"

I believed your ghost!

Gao Gang dared not block directly anymore; dodging and shifting, wherever he passed, a crowd of inner sect disciples scattered to avoid him.

Many inner sect disciples on the square wanted to intervene, but they were also happy to let Gao Gang exhaust Li Yuan's strength first.

A war of attrition lies not in the fighting, but in the wheels.

No matter how strong the physique, it is still flesh and blood; once strength is mostly exhausted, then it is their turn to strike.

"Is the gap between him and me really this large?"

Shao Shao Fangbai murmured, his heart icy cold, lacking even the courage to draw his sword.

"Not good!"

Suddenly, Shao Shao Fangbai heard a roar; following the sound, he saw a giant man holding a long spear rise up in fury:

"Gao Gang, you dog!"

Boom!

Heavy hammers collided; this strike, Gao Gang held back no strength, exploding with internal force and qi and blood, his arms even bleeding slightly:

"Junior Brother Li's hammer technique is astonishing; this elder is ashamed..."?

Massive force surged; Li Yuan, caught up in the fight, finally realized his back was right against the main hall.

"He really held back..."

Li Yuan was speechless in his heart.

It was rare to have such a good opportunity to unleash himself fully without worrying about being ambushed; he truly wanted to test his skills more.

But seeing Gao Gang bleeding from mouth and nose, yet still helping him enter the hall, he could only use the force to leap backward,

landing straight into the main hall; saving some strength would do.

"Gao Gang, you bastard!"

"Laozi will beat you to death!"

"Gao Gang..."

On the square, chaos erupted; more than a dozen inner sect disciples were furious, glaring angrily.

Gao Gang, knocked back with blood spurting from his mouth and nose, deeply regretted taking on such a broken task; now he could only grit his teeth and curse back.

"Scoundrel!"

Inside the main hall, Qiu Qiu Zhengxiong slammed the table and rose, pointing angrily at Ba Ba Wanli: "You dare interfere with the True Disciple Ceremony..."

It wasn't just the inner sect disciples outside the hall who were deceived; he hadn't even reacted in time.

Only Qiu Qiu Changying raised an eyebrow; when her great-grandfather erupted in rage, she swiftly drew her bow to just under half:

Snap!

The arrow pierced the air; everyone in the main hall changed expression; Ba Ba Wanli even slapped across.

"Damn!"

The instant Qiu Qiu Changying drew her bow, Li Yuan sensed something was wrong, but he was in mid-air with no room to dodge; he could only raise his twin hammers horizontally.

Then, with a 'Bang

', he flew backward dozens of meters, landing heavily and shattering the floor tiles.

"What a little wench!"

Stumbling to the ground, this arrow's power was far less than what he had seen that night; obviously, she had held back,

but when he looked up, he saw the inner sect disciples, their faces filled with rage.

"..."

"Faking it; do you even deserve to be a True Disciple!"

A long spear pierced the air; an inner sect disciple's hair stood on end with rage.

Behind him, more than a dozen inner sect disciples quickly spread out, blocking every direction.

More inner sect disciples who did not wish to participate also retreated in tacit understanding, blocking the entrance to the main hall completely.

"..."

Shaking his numb hand, Li Yuan was speechless in his heart.

Such a stupid thing; only Ba Ba Wanli could do it.

How was this helping him? It was clearly tormenting him?

However...

Raising his hammers to flick the long spear away, Li Yuan took a deep breath, his qi and blood surging and boiling, then strode forward to kill toward the main hall's front door.

With so many inner disciples, if they all rushed him at once, even if he triggered the Soldier-Rearing Scroll, he'd be beaten to death on the spot.

But since it's a wheel battle, then...

"Eleven inner-strength warriors — though far inferior to Gao Gang, they still pose some difficulty!"

Li Yuan gripped his hammers tight, and before making his move, he sensed the Soldier-Rearing Scroll — Four heavy weapons gleamed brilliantly.

You're all using wheel battle; if I use a few more weapons, that's not too much, right?

Boom!

Outside the great hall, the sounds of weapons clashing were dense; inside the hall, it was as if thunder had exploded.

Ba Ba Wanli staggered back over a dozen steps, his massive frame seeming to shrink by half, both legs sunk deep into the floor tiles.

"You damned thing, dare to run wild in front of me — do you think you're Han Han Chuijun?!"

Raising a palm to send Ba Ba Wanli stumbling back, every table and chair around Qiu Qiu Zhengxiong shattered. His anger not yet spent, he slapped toward Qiu Qiu Changying:

"Using Soul-Chasing Arrows on fellow disciples — you're a damned thing too! Is this how I taught you?"

Bang!

Qiu Qiu Changying stood ramrod straight, but from the side a fair, slender hand reached across and blocked that slap.

"Hammer Bingtang broke the rules first; Qiu Changying only struck out in a fit of rage. Why must the Elder fly into such a fury?"

Inside the great hall sat several dozen people. Besides the sect masters of the various great and small sects within Dragon Dormant Manor, the four inner-gate Grand Elders, the eight outer-gate Grand Elders, and the nine True Disciples had all arrived in full.

The one who blocked Qiu Qiu Zhengxiong was a youth in a blue shirt, unremarkable in appearance, around thirty years of age, a long blade carried on his back — none other than the foremost True Disciple of the present generation of Divine Weapon Valley.

Young Valley Master Shi Hong.

"Young Valley Master."

Qiu Qiu Zhengxiong's expression softened slightly.

But Qiu Qiu Changying did not appreciate his kindness, gave a cold snort, and closed her eyes.

"Bullshit!"

Ba Ba Wanli pulled his legs free, caring nothing for what occasion this was, and cursed the moment he opened his mouth:

"I broke the rules, and she just lost her temper?"

"Senior Brother!"

A short, fat middle-aged man leapt up and grabbed Ba Ba Wanli's wildly gesticulating hand, his face full of misery: "Young Valley Master, please don't take offense — Senior Brother is also just acting in a fit of rage..."

"Fang Fang Bao Luo, whose side are you on?"

That short, fat middle-aged man was no taller than a meter and a half, yet his strength was tremendous — Ba Ba Wanli couldn't break free for the moment.

"Without rules, nothing can be made square. If everyone afterwards follows your example, won't our Divine Weapon Valley's True Disciples become a laughingstock?"

Shi Hong gave a Longhu Longhu Dandan glance at the Hammer Bingtang people, then bowed slightly toward the seat of honor and said:

"This disciple believes such a trend must not be encouraged. Hammer Bingtang should be punished, and that Li Yuan should be heavily punished as well!"

"Shi the Shorty, what dog-fart are you spouting!"

Ba Ba Wanli flew into a rage, and with a shake nearly sent Fang Fang Bao Luo flying to the rooftop.

"Damned thing!"

Qiu Qiu Zhengxiong's face darkened, and he nearly struck out on the spot.

"Enough!"

At the very seat of honor, Lord Master Gongyang Yu's face darkened slightly. He swept a glance at the other sect masters and elders who were glaring sideways, a hint of anger in his eyes:

"Three True Disciples, one inner-gate Elder — cursing and striking each other inside the great hall. What kind of propriety is this?!"

The moment he spoke, even Ba Ba Wanli could only grunt and sit down. Qiu Qiu Zhengxiong's expression was unfriendly, yet he said no more.

"Today's matter requires a ruling."

Lord Master Gongyang Yu spoke calmly.

Fang Fang Bao Luo, quick-eyed and deft-handed, pressed down Ba Ba Wanli and spoke first, bowing:

"May I ask the Valley Master and Elder Qiu — my Junior Brother Li only joined a month ago, he's young in years. We fellow disciples aiding him — did that truly break the rules?"

"May I ask Valley Master and Elder Qiu—my junior brother Li has only been with the sect for a month, and he's still young in years. If we fellow disciples help him out, does that truly break the rules?"

Qiu Qiu Zhengxiong's face was dark as water.

Without the aid of fellow disciples and the connections of one's masters, no matter how fine the talent, it would be absolutely impossible to become a True Disciple the moment of entry.

But that was an unspoken rule — it couldn't be brought out into the open.

"Then, back when Junior Sister Qiu was promoted to True Disciple, not a single person in the entire inner court stepped forward to challenge her — who broke the rules then?"

Fang Fang Bao Luo's manners were exceedingly respectful, but his words were sharp, fast and dense, giving Qiu Qiu Zhengxiong no chance to reply:

"Does Elder Qiu and the Young Valley Master truly believe Hammer Bingtang broke the rules, or do you hold some grudge against my master, seizing the moment he's away suppressing the sect's rebellion to make trouble?"

"Elder Qiu, Young Valley Master—are you truly of the opinion that Bingtang has broken the rules, or do you hold some grudge against my master and choose to make trouble while he's off quelling the rebellion for the sect?"

Ba Ba Wanli nodded repeatedly — that was exactly what he thought too.

"Sharp-tongued!"

Qiu Qiu Zhengxiong's face turned green, yet he could find no words. Qiu Qiu Changying beside him, however, opened her eyes:

"Fang Fang Bao Luo, Ba Ba Wanli — if you have any grievance against my position as True Disciple, bring your hammers and come try!"

"You think I wouldn't dare..."

Fang Fang Bao Luo was half a beat slow clamping his hand over Ba Ba Wanli's mouth, then cupped his hands slightly:

Fang Fang Bao Luo was half a beat slow in covering Ba Wuli's mouth, and offered a slight cupped-fist salute:

"Junior Sister Qiu's Wu Gong is certainly formidable now, but back in the day it wasn't necessarily stronger than my Junior Brother Li Yuan's current..."

Fang Fang Bao Luo was very calm.

He knew clearly that he absolutely could not let Qiu Qiu Zhengxiong latch onto the rules, otherwise even if Master returned it would be hard to handle.

He knew even more clearly that this was Qiu Qiu Zhengxiong's revenge after the Zhao clan was wiped out; even without the Eighty Thousand Li arranging this little scene, someone else would have made a move.

"What are you trying to say?"

Qiu Qiu Zhengxiong's tone suddenly softened.

Fang Fang Bao Luo's expression couldn't help but shift slightly.

Because outside the great hall, the sounds of weapons clashing had grown sparse.

"Valley Master!"

Fang Fang Bao Luo grew a little anxious—if Li Yuan was intercepted, everything would be too late.

He looked up at Lord Master Gongyang Yu, saw his expressionless face, and couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart...

"Follow the rules."

Lord Master Gongyang Yu's tone brooked no argument:

"Before noon, if Li Yuan cannot..."

Bang!

Like a heavy mallet striking a drum, accompanied by screams, the crowd before the great hall was smashed apart in an instant.

Li Yuan, blood on his body, staggered in form, hauled in a disciple whose life or death was unknown as he walked into the great hall,

his peripheral gaze sweeping across the hall, his heart couldn't help but furrow its brows.

The struggle for profit within the Divine Weapon Valley was probably even more intense and bare-knuckled than he had imagined.

Even the True Inheritance Grand Ceremony could be fought over to such a state...

"You..."

The great hall was utterly silent; Shi Hong's heart gave a jump, and he couldn't help but look toward the hall doors.

He saw six or seven inner disciples clutching their hands and feet and wailing, while more disciples fled in terror,

and on the messy ground lay a dozen or so broken weapons and shattered blades.

This kid had actually broken through the wheel battle?!

The great hall was very quiet. Li Yuan tossed the person he was carrying onto the ground, his gaze lingering briefly on Qiu Qiu Changying, then he bowed with hands clasped:

"Li Yuan pays respects to the Valley Master and to all the Elders."

PS: Big shots, begging for a monthly ticket—it's the end of the month, if you don't vote they'll expire!