Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor
Chapter 77: Seventy-seven, a punch on sight

Chapter 77: Seventy-seven, a punch on sight

Originally, it was thought that a youth at the peak of the Meridian Introduction Realm, when up against the joint efforts of two cultivators at the early stage of the Meridian Gathering Realm, would be defeated as easily as crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood. However, the development of the battle was poles apart from what these young geniuses from the major families had anticipated.

This had utterly overturned the cultivation views of many young geniuses. They had never imagined that a cultivator at the peak of the Meridian Introduction Realm could fight against someone from the early stage of the Meridian Gathering Realm, let alone faced with the fact that Yun Xiao currently had two opponents.

No one knew how all this happened. Even Yin Huan and Mo Qing had never imagined that someone at the peak of the Meridian Introduction Realm could stand against a strong practitioner from the early stage of the Meridian Gathering Realm. This was simply beyond their comprehension.

The existence of a Great Rank was the result of many years of experience by countless predecessors. The reason why there was such a distinction between Great Ranks is to highlight the fundamental differences between the two stages. Even within the Mortal Rank’s three realms, the gap between the Great Ranks was always deemed insurmountable.

However, the shabbily dressed youth who had unleashed the Meridian Fire, forcing Zhao Ningshu to flee chaotically around the mountains, had broken this iron law. If it were not witnessed with their own eyes, nobody would believe it.

But no matter what, the fact that Yun Xiao was fighting two against one and still managing to gain the upper hand was undeniably true. Moreover, Zhao Ningshu seemed to be extremely wary of the blood-red flames, and in the blink of an eye, he had been chased for more than ten yards.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Behind Yun Xiao, Cao Luo continued to pound his fists on the Meridian Qi Shield that the former had deployed, each time thinking his next punch would shatter the shield, but always falling just a little short.

This situation was, of course, deliberately created by Yun Xiao. This low-level Spiritual Rank Meridian Technique boasted a defensive power that could withstand a hit from a practitioner at the middle or even late stage of the Meridian Gathering Realm. Given Cao Luo’s Meridian Qi Cultivation, even if he had ten more breaths’ time, he would not be able to break through it.

Yun Xiao did not unleash the full defensive power of this shield intentionally, fearing that Cao Luo would realize he couldn’t break through it and instead change his attack target. In that case, his handling of Zhao Ningshu would be hindered.

Cao Luo always felt his next strike would break the Qi Shield, so he never changed his attacking mindset. Little did he know that by doing so, he had fallen right into Yun Xiao’s trap, allowing the latter to deal with Zhao Ningshu more calmly.

Compared to the brute force of the Cao Family brothers, Yun Xiao found Zhao Ningshu’s hypocritical righteousness even more distasteful. An evil person who could cruelly harm his own blood siblings, yet who always pretends to be benevolent in front of others, was actually more despicable than a truly vile villain.

Sensing that the Meridian Qi Shield behind him could still hold up for a while, Yun Xiao maintained the energy of the shield to continue deceiving Cao Luo, while his figure swiftly shot out, lunging at Zhao Ningshu.

Previously controlled by Yun Xiao, the Meridian Fire was not aimless. At this moment, Zhao Ningshu had been forced by the Meridian Fire to a specific location, where several tall trees growing side by side blocked his path of retreat.

Yun Xiao moved with incredible speed, and under his control, upon seeing that Zhao Ningshu had reached the ideal position he had in mind, he abruptly jabbed his right index finger out.

Zhao Ningshu clearly did not expect Yun Xiao to arrive so quickly. However, there was no fear on his face, instead, there was an obscure sense of pleasure.

In Zhao Ningshu’s view, Yun Xiao’s methods were nothing more than the overbearing Meridian Fire, and aside from this Meridian Fire, the youth at the peak of the Meridian Introduction Realm was nothing to worry about in a face-to-face battle.

So, seeing that Yun Xiao actually gave up the powerful Meridian Fire to attack with his own body, Zhao Ningshu was delighted rather than shocked. His Meridian Qi surged as he swung an arm towards Yun Xiao.

Zhao Ningshu’s movement, which he saw as clever and powerful, had been anticipated by Yun Xiao long ago. Therefore, while controlling the Meridian Fire to block Zhao Ningshu’s retreat, he changed his hand technique and precisely tapped Zhao Ningshu’s wrist.

"Cutting Vein?"

Witnessing this somewhat familiar movement, Yin Huan finally recalled the technique Yun Xiao had used in the Righteous Hall of the Shang Family more than a year ago.

The Cutting Vein Technique was a well-known technique, yet to utilize it masterfully, one had to at least reach the Meridian Rushing Realm, capable of externalizing Meridian Qi.

Fortunately, having already learned that Yun Xiao could externalize Meridian Qi, when the Cutting Vein Technique was used at this moment, neither Yin Huan nor Mo Qing was that surprised.

At this moment, Mo Qing’s curiosity about that sudden shabby-clothed youth grew even stronger. It seemed that this youngster might very well deliver a miracle today.

In fact, as soon as Yun Xiao’s middle finger jabbed Zhao Ningshu’s wrist, his performance had already begun. With the externalization of Meridian Qi in the Cutting Vein Technique, Yun Xiao’s movements were as smooth as drifting clouds and flowing water. Starting from the Zhao Family genius’s wrist, he swiftly brushed through several critical acupoints in an instant.

Such a movement was not too foreign to Zhao Ningshu, for he had witnessed Yun Xiao exert such tactics with his own eyes back in Medicine Valley, except at that time, the one who ended up with a disheveled appearance due to Yun Xiao was none other than the eldest of the Cao Family, Cao Luo.

"Fuxue Technique? And it’s even Continuous Brushing!"

Mo Qing’s eyes gleamed not far away. That plainly dressed youth, who was merely at the Peak of Meridian Introduction Realm, not only could cluster Meridian Qi outside his body but also knew the Cutting Vein Technique. Now, he even displayed an extremely profound method within the Fuxue Technique—where did such a person spring from?

"Within the Xuanyue Empire, is there any powerful family with the surname Yun?"

After pondering with effort in her mind for a while, Mo Qing could not recall a Yun-named family within the Xuanyue Empire. Moreover, observing the techniques Yun Xiao was using at the moment, it was clear that his family was not one of those ordinary, medium-sized or small-sized ones.

The Fuxue Technique, much like what members of the Shang Family such as Shang Huiyu had been exposed to back in the day, had been beyond their reach; he only heard the name. However, this technique came as no surprise to top-tier prodigies from the Jade Pot Sect.

Yet, the Fuxue Technique that Yun Xiao was performing now was not the simple Fuxue Technique, but the most difficult to practice within this method -- called "Continuous Brushing".

The so-called Continuous Brushing is to strike various acupoints on a person’s body in extremely short succession at an extremely fast speed to overcome and defeat the opponent.

Even for Mo Qing, she could only at most brush past five acupoints on a person’s body, and these five acupoints could not be too far apart, or else there would not be enough time, allowing the opponent to react.

Because she was standing a bit far and Zhao Ningshu was wearing sleeves, Mo Qing could not clearly see how many acupoints Yun Xiao had hit, but it was at least no fewer than her own five, which was the primary reason for her shock.

And the distance from the shoulder to the wrist was not short. Yun Xiao’s speed was indeed very fast, but it was unheard of for Mo Qing that he could identify the acupoints so accurately through the sleeve.

If Yun Xiao were a strong cultivator at the Meridian Union Realm or even the Spirit Vein Realm, then Mo Qing would not be so surprised. But this kid clearly only had a Peak of Meridian Introduction Realm Meridian Qi Cultivation, how did he manage to do this?

Mo Qing and Yin Huan, with unique insights, could see more. However, others such as Tan Yun with Ling Wan and those on-looking talented cultivators at the Meridian Introduction Realm seemed somewhat bewildered, and some even did not know what Yun Xiao meant by poking and prodding on Zhao Ningshu’s arm with his fingers?

The one in the field who experienced the Continuous Brushing Technique most profoundly would naturally be Zhao Ningshu himself. At this moment, he finally understood how Cao Luo had been let off by Yun Xiao back in Medicine Valley that day.

And now, Yun Xiao compared to that day, had grown much stronger by more than a notch, so the power of the Fuxue Technique had also doubled. Compared to Cao Luo, the loss Zhao Ningshu suffered was much greater.

Yun Xiao moved extremely quickly, so quickly that he didn’t give Zhao Ningshu any time to react. After brushing across several major acupoints on the latter’s left arm like skimming the water with dragonfly wings, he believed that this genius of the Zhao Family should have already felt numb and powerless in his left hand.

What a pity that Zhao Ningshu hadn’t come back to his senses for the moment. He still thought that his left arm was under his control. Little did he know, just as the Meridian Qi had surged to his left shoulder, it seemed to encounter a strong resisting force, utterly unable to enter the meridians of his left arm.

This was the formidable aspect of the Fuxue Technique or the Cutting Vein Technique; seal the acupoints, and the Meridian Qi can no longer circulate. Startled, Zhao Ningshu saw a shadow of a fist growing larger in his eyes.

Bang!

Everyone saw it clearly; originally, Zhao Ningshu needed only to lift his left arm to block Yun Xiao’s fist. Unexpectedly, this genius of the Zhao Family’s right arm was limp and motionless, allowing Yun Xiao’s fist to pound right into his eye socket, creating a loud noise.

The entire mountainside became silent in an instant. Having taken a punch, Zhao Ningshu staggered back a few steps and hit his back directly against a large tree, causing the leaves to fall from the branches, adding a sense of desolation.

However, at this moment, the eyes of the crowd were not on the scattering leaves but firmly fixed on Zhao Ningshu’s left face, or rather, on that left eye above the left cheek.

For Zhao Ningshu, who was at the Early Stage of the Meridian Gathering Realm, Yun Xiao’s punch was not so difficult to contend with. But, when the punch hit the left eye socket, the outcome was different.

Under the watchful eyes of the audience, Zhao Ningshu’s left eye socket was visibly swelling at a rate discernible to the naked eye, and even the right side of his cheek seemed to be gradually swelling.

The top genius of the Zhao Family, a genuine cultivator at the Early Stage of the Meridian Gathering Realm, was punched in the eye by a kid who was only at the Peak of Meridian Introduction Realm, and this was indeed a great humiliation for Zhao Ningshu.

Especially when he faintly sensed the unusual gazes from around him, Zhao Ningshu wished he could burrow into a hole in the ground. He had always presented himself as prideful and superior, but just one punch had caused his years of cultivated facade to collapse thunderously, which was both pitiful and lamentable.

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