Chapter 40

"Explosive Essence Palm, compressing essence energy in the palm, using unique techniques to make the essence energy explode, forming a powerful impact to injure the enemy. But... how do you compress the essence energy!"

Jiang Yi’s injuries were already about 70-80% healed, and it had been about a week. He still lingered in his room, spending his days either cultivating or studying the Explosive Essence Palm.

After reaching the fourth level of the Cauldron Formation Realm, the effects of low-grade cultivation pills were indeed limited. As for Earth-grade pills, Jiang Yi didn’t even consider them; even if he could buy one or two, the effect would be minimal.

In the past few days, he had sent the black-armored guard to gather information. The result was that the Jiang family was calm, with not a single piece of news leaking out.

Jiang Yi quickly figured it out. There must have been a huge upheaval within the Jiang family, but Jiang Yunshan had definitely suppressed it. With the Spirit Beast Mountain Academy and the Western Garrison recruitment approaching, the Jiang family couldn’t afford to create such a scandal that would be known to outsiders.

He was very clear that if he dared to parade around the city now, it wouldn’t take half an hour for the Jiang family’s people to appear and kill him directly.

The Jiang family’s low profile actually reduced Jiang Yi’s worries about Jiang Xiaonu to the minimum. At least before the Spirit Beast Mountain Academy recruitment, Jiang Xiaonu would be absolutely safe. Anyone who dared to act rashly would face Jiang Yunshan’s wrath.

Jiang Yi was comfortably recuperating in the training room, while outside, the young masters and misses were causing a commotion. They visited the steward Yang every day, as the recruitment ceremony was only a little over ten days away. In such a short time, it was impossible for their realms to improve. If they could enhance their martial techniques, it would be the best. Many young masters and misses had tripled or quintupled their prices, and Steward Yang was so pressured that he dared not show his face in the training room anymore...

"Alas, I’ve comprehended everything about the Explosive Essence Palm except for the part about compressing essence energy. Without the technique to compress essence energy, the Explosive Essence Palm can’t be cultivated. Alas... I’ve been pondering for several days, but I still have no clue. It seems this martial technique can’t be comprehended."

Jiang Yi sighed deeply, retracting his thoughts. Without the Explosive Essence Palm, his chances of securing a spot at the Spirit Beast Mountain Academy were not great. Despite the academy only recruiting youths under eighteen, there were countless talented martial artists among the young generation in the entire Tianyu City. The top ten geniuses in the city were mostly at the seventh or eighth level of the Cauldron Formation Realm, and that was just what was known publicly. Who knew if there were any hidden geniuses?

After swallowing a healing pill, Jiang Yi stopped thinking and continued to nurture his broken leg. The pill was quite advanced, and with the enhancement of his black essence energy, his recovery speed amazed Steward Yang. If he hadn’t deliberately controlled it to rest for a few more days, his injuries would have been fully healed by now.

...

Three days later, Jiang Yi’s injuries were fully healed, and he reappeared, causing the young masters and misses who had been waiting for days to be greatly invigorated. Jiang Yi was forced to increase his daily sparring sessions from three to five, and the fee for each session rose from a hundred to two hundred purple gold pieces.

Despite this, the number of people seeking Jiang Yi for sparring was countless, and each session brought some improvement in their martial techniques.

Five days later, Jiang Yi welcomed a special guest, someone he least wanted to see.

Jiang Hen Shui!

Jiang Hen Shui had excellent talent; otherwise, he wouldn’t have broken through to the ninth level of the Cauldron Formation Realm. His comprehension was also good, and he had long mastered various martial techniques of the Jiang family. He sought Jiang Yi today because he had been comprehending a certain Earth-grade martial technique of the Jiang family, the Luo Yan Step.

"Hello, Wolf! I hope you will attack me with all your strength in this sparring session. If my Luo Yan Step can truly reach mastery, I will surely offer a generous reward."

Jiang Hen Shui was still as graceful as ever. When he first saw Jiang Yi, he was slightly dazed, feeling a vague sense of familiarity. However, seeing the defiant and wild eyes under Jiang Yi’s mask, he quickly shook his head and dismissed the thought.

Jiang Yi’s personality had always been gentle and low-key; how could he have such sharp eyes? Moreover, Jiang Yi should be hiding and secretly recuperating, right? It was impossible for him to recover so quickly.

Seeing Jiang Hen Shui’s expression, Jiang Yi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The moment he saw Jiang Hen Shui, he immediately changed his demeanor to be more aggressive, and it seemed to be working well. However, he still didn’t dare to let his guard down, and he nodded arrogantly, activating the Extreme Spirit Step and lunging at Jiang Hen Shui with ghostly hands.

"Come on!"

Jiang Hen Shui’s eyes lit up. His legs moved slightly, and his body retreated straight backward. From a distance, it seemed his legs didn’t move at all, and his body floated backward, which was quite amazing.

"Whoosh!"

Jiang Yi relentlessly attacked with his powerful hands, and Jiang Hen Shui didn’t counterattack, only dodging. His movements were graceful, and his footwork was bizarre. Jiang Yi attacked for half an incense stick’s time without touching a single piece of Jiang Hen Shui’s clothing.

"Indeed, he is a heavenly genius. The Earth-grade lower-grade Luo Yan Step is hard for Cauldron Formation Realm martial artists to cultivate, yet Jiang Hen Shui has mastered it in such a short time. Earth-grade martial techniques are indeed powerful. My Extreme Spirit Step is already at mastery, but my speed is still slightly inferior to his. However, Jiang Hen Shui is at the ninth level of the Cauldron Formation Realm, and even though his essence energy is sealed, his physical strength is much greater than mine..."

Jiang Yi sighed inwardly, his eyes flashing with black light. He began to use his black essence energy. Without it, he feared he wouldn’t touch Jiang Hen Shui’s clothing even if he attacked for a whole day.

"Whoosh!"

With the black essence energy, Jiang Yi’s vision became terrifying. He could clearly see the trajectory of Jiang Hen Shui’s movements. He slid his feet and moved to where Jiang Hen Shui was about to dodge, then struck a palm at Jiang Hen Shui’s chest without using any martial technique.

"Hmm?"

Jiang Hen Shui’s eyes narrowed, and his face showed surprise. Jiang Yi, who seemed harmless a moment ago, had suddenly changed. He had anticipated Jiang Hen Shui’s dodge and struck with such a bizarre angle that it seemed impossible to avoid.

"Ha!"

The ninth level of the Cauldron Formation Realm was no joke. Jiang Hen Shui forcibly twisted his body, leaned backward, and slid his feet to narrowly avoid Jiang Yi’s attack.

"Hmph!"

Jiang Yi sneered. Jiang Hen Shui only dodged and didn’t attack, which was too arrogant. Since someone was offering to be beaten for free, he wouldn’t be polite. As Jiang Hen Shui dodged, Jiang Yi’s leg kicked out like lightning, aiming for Jiang Hen Shui’s crotch...

"You..."

Jiang Hen Shui’s face changed again. Jiang Yi was so vicious? If this kick landed, he would be left childless! His body was leaning backward, and it was hard to dodge, so he could only use one leg to push himself, flipping in mid-air and rolling to the side.

"Whoosh!"

Jiang Yi’s body moved like a venomous snake, his legs kicking out rapidly, forcing Jiang Hen Shui to roll forward continuously without time to stand up.

"This Wolf’s reaction speed is too abnormal, no wonder he became a purple gold sparring partner!"

Jiang Hen Shui felt aggrieved. He had said he wouldn’t attack, so he couldn’t strike back. But with Jiang Yi’s abnormal reaction speed, he could only be beaten. He had never been so embarrassed in his life...

"Whoosh!"

Jiang Yi was very pleased. He attacked relentlessly, giving Jiang Hen Shui no chance to breathe. His punches and kicks were like a storm, and without using any martial techniques, he easily beat Jiang Hen Shui, who was groaning in pain.

After a chaotic battle, Jiang Hen Shui didn’t know how many times he had been hit by Jiang Yi. However, Jiang Yi controlled his strength well, and he wasn’t injured. But his elegant image was ruined, his clothes and hair disheveled, and he was drenched in sweat. Seeing Jiang Yi’s leg about to kick his face, and feeling his energy depleted, he quickly shouted, "Stop!"

Jiang Yi’s leg stopped in mid-air, and Jiang Hen Shui leaped up, smiling bitterly and bowing, "Brother Wolf, your reaction speed is too abnormal. I can’t match you. Let’s stop here today! I’ll come back to seek your guidance later..."

Jiang Hen Shui tidied his clothes and hair, quickly regaining his composure and walking out. Jiang Yi stood in the training room, silent, inwardly marveling at how Jiang Hen Shui was just like his father, extremely deep in his scheming. Despite hating him so much, he still maintained a polite and courteous demeanor. Such a person who hides knives in his smile was even more terrifying than Jiang Yunshe.

Just as he was about to leave, a black-robed young master walked in, tall and handsome, though his skin was a bit dark, which made him look even more masculine. He smiled warmly from a distance, "Brother Wolf, you’re amazing, even making Hen Shui praise you endlessly. I, Heiqi, have also been learning a martial technique recently. I hope Brother Wolf can give me some guidance!"

"Ma Heiqi?"

Jiang Yi’s eyes turned cold. If he was disheartened by the Jiang family, he was outright hostile to the Ma family. Jiang Xiaonu had almost been beaten to death by the Ma family in the past.

If it were before, he might not have minded sparring a few times with the Ma family. But now, he also wanted to secure a spot at the Spirit Beast Academy, so he didn’t want to help Ma Heiqi improve. Of course, apart from Jiang Hen Shui and Ji Tingyu, the other top ten geniuses were all his competitors, and he was resistant to them.

"Sorry!"

After a brief silence, Jiang Yi said indifferently, "Young master, during the sparring session, my wound was pulled, and I’m afraid I can’t spar with you."

"Hmm?"

Ma Heiqi’s smile froze, and he looked at Jiang Yi suspiciously, "Really can’t?"

Jiang Yi nodded, "Absolutely."

"Alright!" Ma Heiqi turned and left, saying, "I’ll come back tomorrow. Brother Wolf, rest well!"

After Ma Heiqi left, Steward Yang quickly entered, closing the door and scolding, "Wolf, what are you doing? Your injuries are fully healed, right? Young Master Heiqi is the eldest son of the Ma family. Offending him means offending the entire Ma family."

Jiang Yi was silent for a moment, then looked up and said, "Steward, I have no choice. If I offend them, so be it. I won’t spar with them. Starting today, I won’t spar with any of the top ten geniuses."

Steward Yang’s eyes flashed with cold light, and he asked sternly, "Why? Wolf, are you crazy? Don’t forget your status!"

"Ha ha, Steward, to be honest, I don’t want to be a sparring partner anymore. I want to participate in the Spirit Beast Mountain Academy recruitment. I want to enter the Spirit Beast Academy!"

Jiang Yi laid out all his thoughts. Seeing Steward Yang’s face turn furious and about to speak, he raised his hand and said, "Steward, don’t be hasty. Listen to me. I’m not ungrateful. I remember the cultivation the Martial Hall has given me. This time, I want to take a gamble with the Martial Hall. If the Martial Hall lets me participate in the academy recruitment, and if I succeed, you will release me from the original sparring agreement. Of course, if I succeed in the future, I will repay the Martial Hall a hundredfold. If I fail, I will serve as a sparring partner for the Martial Hall for ten years. What do you say?"