Chapter 9: Astonishing All Present

Facing Yang Kui's fierce attack, Yang Qi's mind quickly calmed down. His body, like a reef in the ocean, remained steadfast amidst the turbulent currents, waiting for the force to strike. Suddenly, he twisted his body, moving like a fish, continuously spiraling. As Yang Kui attacked with the power of an eagle, Yang Qi responded with "Fish Swimming in Shallow Water."

The air currents surged, and the martial arts techniques raged. Yang Kui's momentum was fierce, and he attacked from a superior position, repeatedly striking with his hands shaped like eagle claws. Layer upon layer of claw shadows pressed down like a mountain, determined to capture Yang Qi.

The crowd saw Yang Kui in the center of the arena, resembling a giant eagle soaring in the sky, repeatedly diving with an unimaginable ferocity. Yang Qi, on the other hand, moved like a fish in the air currents, facing the eagle claws and repeatedly encountering danger. However, at the critical moment, he always managed to dodge, causing Yang Kui to waste his true qi in vain.

It wasn't that the eagle was not agile and powerful, but the fish was too cunning and slippery.

"This kid, how resilient must his body be to perform the 'Fish and Dragon Transformation' to such an extreme?" Everyone who witnessed the confrontation was shocked.

The "Fish and Dragon Transformation" that Yang Qi displayed was a high-level movement technique of the Yang family. While many experts had learned it, few could perform it to this level, even those at the sixth or seventh stages. The technique required an extremely high level of physical conditioning.

Like Yang Qi, who could twist his body at will, his bones and muscles could instantly harden like iron, then become as flexible as a bowstring, and as soft as cotton. This level of skill was truly rare.

"Good, good, good..." Yang Zhan's eyes were filled with surprise. At this moment, his two sons, who had been on stretchers, had also awakened. Although they still had the "Shadow Poison" in their bodies, their minds were clear. They watched the battle between Yang Qi and Yang Kui with intense shock.

"Father, didn't the third brother's qi sea break?" The eldest son asked with difficulty.

"Your third brother has had a unique encounter, something extraordinary," Yang Zhan said. "This time, heaven has not abandoned our lineage. Just when everything seemed to be collapsing, a glimmer of hope has appeared."

"Even though the third brother has had a unique encounter, the difference between the fifth and sixth stages of qi gong is too great. What if..."

"No need to worry. Your third brother's qi is long-lasting, and his true qi is almost inexhaustible. Yang Kui's relentless attacks will eventually tire him out, and his true qi will be severely depleted. At worst, your third brother can at least achieve a draw." Yang Zhan's gaze was sharp.

Yang Zhan could see this, and Yang Kui felt it even more deeply. He had unleashed his mad qi gong to teach Yang Qi a lesson, but his attacks repeatedly missed. Now, he was in a difficult position, with his true qi rapidly depleting. If this continued, he might actually lose.

Losing to a fifth-stage practitioner would be a complete disgrace, and he would never be able to hold his head high again.

"Kill!"

He bit his tongue, and a mouthful of blood spurted out, forming a blood arrow that shot up to his head. Under the influence of his qi gong, it exploded, enveloping his body in a blood mist and spreading a pungent smell of blood.

The power of his attacks doubled in the blood mist. His fingers, shaped like eagle claws, formed iron hooks, each three feet long. When he struck the ground, deep furrows appeared.

"Blood Qi Gong!"

Seeing this, the Yang family's experts stood up. "To be forced to use the Blood Qi Gong, which twists the meridians and burns the qi sea, is a self-destructive move. It should only be used in dire situations."

"A fifth-stage practitioner forcing a sixth-stage practitioner to this extent is something I've never seen before, even among geniuses."

"Yang Zhan has truly been blessed by misfortune. To have such a son, the elders will likely cultivate him heavily." Some neutral Yang family experts thought.

"This is as far as it goes. Once the Blood Qi Gong is used, Yang Qi is bound to lose."

Yang Shi's eyes flashed with killing intent. Seeing Yang Qi's outstanding performance, he was filled with murderous thoughts. If Yang Qi continued to grow, the consequences would be unimaginable.

However, as soon as his killing intent arose, Yang Zhan's gaze followed, making him hesitant to act.

"Yang Qi, lie down!"

A roar erupted from the arena. Yang Kui, using the Blood Qi Gong, descended from the air, his clothes billowing, his fingers like iron hooks, and his aura completely restraining Yang Qi, forcing him to engage in a direct confrontation.

"Let's go!"

Yang Qi, forgetting all honor and disgrace, knew that life and death hung in the balance. His qi gong surged, connecting with the Thunder Giant Elephant. He punched out, his fist colliding with the eagle claws.

Crack!

The Thunder Giant Elephant, struck by the qi gong, suddenly erupted. A thick current of lightning flashed around Yang Qi's body, like a dragon wrapping around him.

Under the powerful current, Yang Kui's Blood Qi Gong dissipated, and he was thrown into the air, crashing into a pillar and falling to the ground, his body charred and groaning in pain.

After the lightning flashed, the current around Yang Qi's body disappeared.

He stood still, looking around at the shocked faces of the crowd, feeling a surge of pride.

What does it matter if you commit a great mistake? With strength, everything can be remedied. In this world, strength is the eternal truth.

"Qi gong containing lightning? Our Yang family has never had such a technique. Among the thousands of sects, only a few can harness lightning to refine true qi. How did he manage to do it? Could it be because he was struck by lightning, causing a mutation in his body?"

The crowd was stunned for a long time. Yang Xu flew over, helping Yang Kui up and checking his injuries. He found that Yang Kui was only slightly burned by the lightning, but his true qi was severely depleted and would take at least ten days to recover.

They all looked at Yang Qi as if he were a monster.

Yang Qi remained unmoved, closing his eyes to examine his body. He found that the Thunder Giant Elephant had loosened a bit, releasing some of its essence into his meridians, bones, and muscles. The second tiny particle showed signs of loosening.

When he meditated, he felt as if he had transformed into 840 million particles, scattered throughout the universe. Each particle was as powerful as a star, and these stars formed a galaxy, like a giant elephant floating in the cosmos. Inside each star was a giant elephant embryo, waiting to awaken.

"Great! The second particle is about to awaken. When it does, my true qi will double, and I will possess the strength of two ancient giant elephants. Then, I can quickly advance to the sixth stage of qi gong, the Weapon Qi Realm, and shock everyone again."

Today, he had already made everyone's eyes pop out. Imagine what it would be like if, in a few days, the Yang family discovered that he had advanced to the sixth stage. It would be impossible to achieve such a feat in just a few days, as it usually takes over twenty years of hard practice to advance from the fifth to the sixth stage.

This battle, where his true qi clashed, and the Thunder Giant Elephant was further refined, gave him hope of quickly advancing to the sixth stage.

Clap, clap, clap... A young man with a steady gait stepped forward, facing Yang Qi and clapping his hands. "Cousin Yang Qi, to defeat a sixth-stage practitioner with only fifth-stage cultivation is truly astonishing. Your talent is well-deserved. I am excited and would like to spar with you. How about it?"

"It's Cousin Honglie. You are already a genius among the younger generation, having entered the sixth stage of qi gong early. Now, you must be at the seventh stage, right? But you are over ten years older than me, aren't you?"

Yang Qi recognized the young man as Yang Honglie, the top genius among the younger generation of the Yang family. He was ten years older than Yang Qi, but at the age of fifteen, he had already entered the Explosive Qi Realm. Over the next ten years, he had made rapid progress and was now a seventh-stage qi gong expert, with true qi forming shapes and solidifying, capable of floating in the air.

It was highly likely that Yang Honglie would reach the eighth stage, the Qi Transformation Realm, before the age of thirty, where his qi gong would be almost divine.

A thirty-year-old eighth-stage qi gong expert was a genius in the Fertile Continent.

At this moment, Yang Qi knew he was not yet a match for a seventh-stage qi gong practitioner. He had only defeated the sixth-stage Yang Kui by relying on the sudden burst of the Thunder Giant Elephant's power, releasing thunder true qi. Moreover, Yang Kui was not the strongest among sixth-stage practitioners.

The seventh stage of qi gong was fundamentally different from the sixth stage.

However, with the "Divine Elephant Imprisoning Hell Technique," Yang Qi felt he could soon surpass Yang Honglie and become the top expert among the younger generation of the Yang family.

"Qi, come back. Your performance today has already brought great honor to your father," Yang Zhan called out, using his qi gong to pull Yang Qi back to his side. "Don't be overconfident. Your cousin Honglie is ten years older than you, and his qi gong cultivation is definitely deeper. You must admit this."

"What? Yang Qi, you were so arrogant just now, even daring to fight the elder Yang Kui. Now, you're afraid to face someone of your own age?" A young man taunted.

"Right, right, where is your earlier bravado?" Another young man chimed in, stirring up trouble.

"Sparring among the younger generation is only natural," an elder said coldly.

Although they knew that Yang Qi's achievements were already those of a world-class genius, his prominence was too great and needed to be curbed.

"Yang Qi, you say Honglie is ten years older than you. Will you wait ten years to fight him? But even then, he will still be ten years older. That's not a good excuse," someone laughed.

"I don't need ten years, just three months," Yang Qi said coldly, looking at the group. "Yang Honglie, starting today, in three months, I will challenge you again. In any case, in three months, it will be the time for our Yang family to hunt in the Black Corpse Mountains. We can settle the score then, how about it?"