The Path of the Martial Arts BOSS
Chapter 125 - 121 The Unqualified Backstabber

Chapter 125: Chapter 121 The Unqualified Backstabber

A wicked breeze came from behind his head, aimed straight at a vital point.

"A textbook backstab," commented an expert in the art of backstabbing.

The strike was decisive and targeted a critical area, qualifying as a competent backstab. However...

A competent backstab is no different from a mediocre one. Without achieving one of two extremes with a backstab, you’re often unable to strike the target. Either it should be silent and imperceptible, or it should be incredibly swift and fierce, leaving the target no chance to defend.

Another crucial point is never to let the target detect you before the backstab.

Unfortunately, this backstabber failed on all three counts. The fierce steel blade brought a gust of wind as it struck Qing Yu’s image, pity that it was just an afterimage.

Wait, a blade?

Utilizing "Light Transformation" combined with "Colorless Transformation" to create a phantom and move to higher ground, Qing Yu was puzzled by the attacker’s choice of weapon. Neither the Mountain River Academy nor the philosophers would likely choose a blade as their weapon.

The blade, being predominantly aggressive and lacking in righteousness, has always been disfavored by the literati. Both Mountain River Academy and philosophers are people of the Confucian school. Although the scholars in this world are physically stronger than some martial artists, they fundamentally look down upon pure martial artists, considering them a bunch of brutes. And in the eyes of the Confucian, the blade is indeed the brute’s weapon of choice.

His curiosity was fleeting as Qing Yu would not let a strange thought cause him to hesitate. He immediately launched the "Flying Dragon in the Sky" technique to strike down the inept backstabber harshly.

This palm strike, coming from above with considerable might, sent palm force crashing down ahead of the hand. Although it lacked the grand spectacle of True Qi turning into a dragon, the force was by no means diminished due to its unassuming appearance. The essence of the "Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms" is plain and simple: it lies in the control and release of one’s strength, an area in which Qing Yu was exceptionally skilled.

The attacker used his blade sideways, using the flat of the blade to block the initial, distanced palm force from Qing Yu. The steel blade bent under the unparalleled strike but ultimately held up. Before the attacker could take any pleasure from that, the real palm strike hit the same spot once more. The steel blade bent to its limits, yet did not break, indicating that the quality of the blade was quite high, and that either its owner or his backers had invested significantly.

However, the hand wielding the blade could not withstand the tremendous force transferred from the blade and it flew out of the attacker’s grasp.

What a pity, Qing Yu thought silently. If not for the significant changes "Thirteen Grand Protectors’ Horizontal Training Golden Bell Shield" brought to his body, this move could have broken the weapon and struck directly at the chest.

The "Thirteen Grand Protectors’ Horizontal Training Golden Bell Shield" he obtained from Ao Shaobao wasn’t of a high level, but it greatly affected the body, strengthening the muscles and bones towards rigidity, which was counterproductive to the path Qing Yu intended to take. Therefore, Qing Yu had been using only the medicine refinement technique from it to slowly strengthen his muscles and internal organs, not touching the essential hard skill at all.

While feeling a sense of regret internally, Qing Yu did not slow down his hands. "Qi Dual Flow" burst forth, Tribulation Power emerging from the Yongquan Acupoint under his feet, adding force to his already declining momentum. Taking a breath, with a whoosh, his left palm swiftly appeared underneath his right and struck the attacker in the abdomen.

"Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms·Or Leaping in the Abyss."

The "Or Leaping in the Abyss" was successful, sending the attacker tumbling through the treetops and falling downward.

Qing Yu continued his assault relentlessly, his toes lightly tapping on the trunk of the tree to borrow strength to follow. In mid-air, the "Heavenly Human Rebirth Technique" ran wildly through his Visible and Invisible Meridians, plundering the surrounding Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. The depletion of energy from several fierce moves was nearly recovered within a few breaths.

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"Heavy Clouds Without Rain."

With alternating palms, he delivered a rapid-fire barrage of blows that enveloped the attacker’s upper body and head. By the time both men landed, the attacker was taking in more breaths than he was letting out, teetering on the brink of death.

The fight had erupted and subsided in an instant. With one careless move by the attacker, Qingyu had seized the opportunity to counterattack, striking a series of moves that left the assailant’s life hanging by a thread.

"People from the Daqian Military..." Qingyu thought, looking at his reddened palms.

This strange attacker, despite wearing the blue Confucian robe of a Philosophy student, wasn’t using the martial arts of Philosophy. His True Qi was fierce, tainted with bloodlust and Evil Qi. The distinctly styled battle saber lying not far away was a giveaway. If Qingyu wasn’t mistaken, this person must have had a military background.

He had long heard that every soldier in Daqian, from generals to foot soldiers, practiced the superior battlefield hard skill "Hundred Battle Iron Armor"—solid as stone, impermeable to common swords once mastered. It seemed the reputation was well-deserved.

Even though Qingyu was not skilled in external power, his body was protected by True Qi. Not everyone could survive the relentless onslaught of "Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms," let alone reflect the blow hard enough to redden Qingyu’s palms.

Qingyu stood still for a moment. The unidentified Daqian soldier nearby was breathing faintly, on the verge of his last breath, and yet no miracle occurred.

"It seems their trickery has succeeded," Qingyu thought.

The man lying on the ground had brazenly torn off his disguise and used his real martial arts, which made Qingyu suspicious. Now, as the man lay dying, he hadn’t been rescued from the Small Secret Realm, which suggested that the Daqian side had truly isolated Mountain River Academy’s control over this part of the Secret Realm. Otherwise, by the rules of the current Literary Arena’s struggle for position, they wouldn’t have abandoned this man to his fate.

For this Literary Arena’s struggle, Mountain River Academy had added a rule that if one was on the verge of death, they would be rescued from the Small Secret Realm. This rule was established to protect the students of Mountain River Academy.

You see, the Philosophy students weren’t considered valuable, for they could mass-produce core scholars as their Inner Strength didn’t require a temperament as strict as "Vast Righteous Qi." In other words, they didn’t differentiate between common and core scholars; all incoming students could immediately begin cultivating Philosophy’s Inner Strength.

But the students from Mountain River Academy were far more precious. Each core scholar was a gem, and if even one-tenth of the students managed to cultivate "Vast Righteous Qi" each year, it was considered a blessing from above.

With Daqian’s backing, Philosophy came on strong this time, seemingly confident and far more perilous than any previous Literary Arena contests. Zhuge Longsu and the others didn’t want to see all twenty-five core scholars perish in the Small Secret Realm, so they instituted this rescue provision.

Having confirmed what he needed to know, Qingyu was about to end the suffering of the still supine brother. Logically, they were supposed to be on the same side, but Qingyu felt that since he had practically beaten the man into the grave, he might as well do a good deed by sending him on his way. After all, Qingyu had no intention of lifting a finger to save him.

"Halt."

The voice came from afar, quickly approaching, and a blue figure leapt and landed in front of Qingyu.

"Luo Yan?" Qingyu frowned at the newcomer.

That ethereal True Qi was familiar, and coupled with the Human Skin Mask that couldn’t fool Qingyu’s eyes, he recognized that this unexpected disruptor, Cheng Yaojin, was none other than Luo Yan.

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