"To put it simply, it's my turf, my rules." Daniel couldn't help but shake his head at Zhuge Qing's misfortune. With his abilities, Zhuge Qing could have fought anyone, including Daniel himself, and held his own. But against Wang Ye, it was a different story. Fenghou Qimen completely countered him.
"Controlling the heavens and understanding the changes in the universe, transforming oneself into a king. In theory, a skilled Fenghou Qimen user could even create an entire world." Of course, this was just theoretical and nearly impossible to achieve in practice.
"I surrender," Zhuge Qing finally admitted, looking disoriented as he raised his hand. What he had believed to be immutable truths had been shattered by Wang Ye. The fact that Zhuge Qing still retained his sanity after this realization was already remarkable.
For the average yi ren, Wang Ye's demonstration of Fenghou Qimen might seem merely impressive. But for a sorcerer like Zhuge Qing, it was a paradigm-shattering experience. Lesser sorcerers could have gone mad from such a revelation. The saying "nine out of ten sorcerers are mad" wasn't just an exaggeration.
As Zhuge Qing admitted defeat, his younger brother, Zhuge Bai, rushed onto the battlefield in tears, while Wang Ye sighed in resignation and left the arena.
Wang Ye could have avoided revealing Fenghou Qimen, but he had to make Zhuge Qing accept his loss. Otherwise, Zhuge Qing's stubborn nature wouldn't have let him walk away peacefully.
"To suppress Wuhou Qimen with another sorcery technique, it can only be that one," Lu Jin mused from the stands, marveling at Wang Ye's prowess. In the realm of sorcery, if the Zhuge family claimed second place, no one would dare claim first—not even the current head of the Shu Sect, Chen Jinkui. There was still a significant gap between him and the Zhuge family's Qimen techniques.
Given this, it was easy to guess the nature of Wang Ye's abilities, especially for those familiar with the Eight Great Techniques. As the Old Heavenly Master and others looked at Wang Ye with admiration, Lü Ci and Wang Ai, two other elders, also had their eyes on him.
"Technically speaking, the Zhuge family hasn't really lost here," Daniel thought to himself. While Zhuge Qing might view this as a crushing defeat, it wasn't entirely so. After all, Fenghou Qimen owed part of its creation to the Zhuge family. One of the Thirty-Six Bandits was a dual-trained disciple of the Zhuge family.
The Zhuge family was renowned not only for their Qimen techniques but also for another equally famous skill: Shenji, or mechanism arts. In the past, Zhuge Liang's wife had been a master of Shenji, and her skills were on par with the best of her lineage.
To this day, the Zhuge family upheld the traditions passed down from their ancestors: Shenji was taught to the women, while Qimen was passed to the men. Zhuge Qing, as a male heir, was the current Qimen successor, while there was also a female Shenji successor in the family.
This rule had never been broken until the era of the Jia Shen Rebellion, when a female genius in the family nearly mastered Shenji to the level of their ancestors. Recognizing her talent, the family secretly passed on Qimen techniques to her as well. Had she not joined the Thirty-Six Bandits, the Zhuge family would have boasted a rare dual-trained master of both Qimen and Shenji. Shenji Bailian may even have been influenced by her.
Now, though, it was all in the past. Every one of the Thirty-Six Bandits had been a genius in their own right, each the first choice to inherit their respective legacies.
With Wang Ye and Zhuge Qing leaving the arena, the Longhu Mountain Taoists quickly leveled the field for the next match: Feng Shayan versus Jia Zhengliang.
The two were evenly matched. Jia Zhengliang's twelve Zhanxian flying knives would have given him an advantage over most opponents, even Zhuge Qing. After all, they were long-range weapons. However, Feng Shayan's spatial abilities rendered most of Jia Zhengliang's attacks ineffective.
Feng Shayan's powers were undoubtedly top-tier—spatial abilities were rare and powerful. However, she was personally dissatisfied with her abilities, as they prevented her from practicing her family's Juling Qianjiang technique.
In the world of yi ren, innate abilities often came with significant limitations. While innate yi ren could cultivate their qi, it only enhanced their innate abilities, limiting their potential. This was why there were no top-tier innate yi ren in existence.
"No way! We're breaking up!"
"Get away from me, don't touch me!"
Daniel's attention was drawn to a few quarreling couples in the square between the two competition arenas. The source of the conflict was simple: the men had all been inexplicably attracted to another man.
"Bone-scraper Xia He," Daniel surmised. There was only one person who could make men react this way despite being in the guise of an ordinary-looking man: Xia He, one of the Four Madmen and the woman who had taken Zhang Lingyu's first time.
Xia He was the only member of the Four Madmen Daniel didn't completely dislike. To be fair, her involvement with Quanxing was forced. While most innate abilities were powerful, Xia He's ability was a major issue—it was the power of attraction. In simple terms, she could control lust, and most troubling of all, her ability was passive.
This meant that whether she liked it or not, any man who saw her would inevitably fall for her. The men in the square were reacting because of this passive ability. Even disguised as an ordinary man, Xia He's power still affected them. One could only imagine the effect if she revealed her true appearance.
If this ability had manifested in a man, many might envy it. But for a woman, it was a nightmare. Even in the modern world, where societal values were more progressive, Xia He's reputation was nearly synonymous with the term "femme fatale." In ancient times, she would have easily been labeled as such by so-called righteous men.
Fortunately, as Xia He grew stronger, she learned to better control her power, preventing most incidents. But as her reputation spread, she became known as the Bone-scraper, one of the Four Madmen of Quanxing. Her active control over lustful desires was incredibly dangerous. Even the company's Earth Monkey had been turned into a sex fiend after a single strike from her.
"Thousand-Faced Human Domain Hua Du—so many innate abilities in Quanxing," Daniel thought. The fact that so many Quanxing members had snuck into Luo Tian Dajiao undetected was largely thanks to Hua Du's unparalleled disguise abilities.
"And if Xia He is here, the other one must be Curse-Root Miao Shenchong," Daniel guessed. The Four Madmen had unique powers, with Poison Vein Dou Mei and Thunder Cannon Gao Ning often working together. Their abilities complemented each other so well that even one of the Ten Elders had fallen victim to their combined attacks. If the Old Heavenly Master hadn't intervened, Lu Jin might have been killed.
"Zhang Lingyu is pretty bold to treat Lu Linglong like this," Daniel muttered as his attention shifted to the match being broadcast on the large screen, where Zhang Lingyu was repeatedly striking Lu Linglong with Palm Thunder.
Zhang Lingyu had originally planned to go easy on Lu Linglong, not just because she was a woman but also because she was Lu Jin's great-granddaughter. However, Lu Linglong's Xingming Shuangxiu from the Quanzhen sect granted her incredible resilience. Though she wasn't as strong as Zhang Lingyu, her tenacity was remarkable, and her refusal to concede forced Zhang Lingyu to use increasingly powerful strikes.
The Luo Tian Dajiao had two arenas, and since the matches often took place simultaneously, some spectators had to choose which match to watch.
To accommodate those who wanted to watch both, two giant screens had been set up between the arenas to broadcast the fights in real time.
"Zhang Lingyu's luck is really good this time," Daniel noted. Originally, Zhang Lingyu had to contend with opponents like Wang Bing and Feng Shayan, but this time, due to Daniel's interference, all of those opponents were in Daniel's bracket.
That didn't mean there were no formidable challengers in Zhang Lingyu's bracket, though. The yi ren world was full of experts from countless sects and families. For instance, a member of the Tang family, who had originally fought Zhang Chulan, had ended up in Zhang Lingyu's bracket instead.
In addition to the Tang family member, there was also a strikingly beautiful woman in traditional clothing from the Miao ethnic group. Miao women were renowned for their mastery of poisons, making them feared even by the poison experts of the Tang family.
Though the woman was stunning, few dared to approach her. In the yi ren world, Miao women were known for being passionate but also ruthless. They were said to be ideal partners for those who were loyal,
but for anyone unfaithful, it was best to avoid them. Their practice of using poison in love and revenge was notorious.
One of the Thirty-Six Bandits had been a Miao woman, and upon her death, she cursed one of her enemies with the most toxic Qianrihong, a poison that caused rapid aging. By the age of thirty, its victims would wither and die, and the curse could be passed on to future generations. To this day, a descendant cursed with Qianrihong lived in Longhu Mountain's Heavenly Master Mansion.
"It's my turn again. After this match, the next one will be the semifinals. If everything goes as expected, I'll be facing Shameless Zhang Chulan." Since it was time for his match, Daniel decided not to follow Xia He and Miao Shenchong. But he had memorized their appearances.
"Wang Bing, huh? His luck really is something." Watching Wang Bing enter the arena, grinning arrogantly, Daniel smirked. Like the infamous Tao Zhi, Wang Bing was destined to receive a beating. Killing him here wasn't an option, but delivering a brutal thrashing was certainly within the rules.
"So it's you, the trash of the Wang family," Daniel taunted loudly as he faced Wang Bing.
"You're dead!" Wang Bing's face twisted with fury. Already angry over Feng Shayan, Wang Bing exploded at Daniel's provocation, charging at him before the referee even signaled the start of the match.
"Hold it! I haven't given the signal yet," the referee snapped, grabbing Wang Bing's fist mid-punch and shoving him back several steps.
"You..." Wang Bing glared at the referee before reluctantly returning to his starting position.
"Begin!" The referee quickly signaled the start of the match and leaped off the arena, retreating to the safety of the stands.
"I won't let you surrender so easily," Wang Bing sneered, charging at Daniel once more, his fist wrapped in powerful qi as he aimed for Daniel's head.
Despite Wang Bing's foul personality, his skills were undeniable. He ranked among the top young yi ren, making it all the way to the semifinals against Zhang Lingyu in the original story.
But the next moment, Wang Bing let out an ear-splitting scream. His right fist had been pierced clean through by Daniel's green bamboo staff, leaving a bloody hole that extended up to his elbow.
The sight of Wang Bing's mangled arm drew gasps from the spectators. The injury was so gruesome that just imagining it made many feel the pain.
Thwack!
As Wang Bing clutched his arm, howling in agony, Daniel's bamboo staff struck him across the face, sending him spinning through the air in a dizzying 720-degree turn.
Before Wang Bing could even regain his bearings, Daniel kicked him into the air and unleashed a flurry of strikes with his bamboo staff, turning Wang Bing into a punching bag.
The relentless assault left Wang Bing unable to even scream anymore. The brutal scene left the crowd in stunned silence, the only sounds in the arena the thudding of Daniel's strikes landing on Wang Bing's flesh.
"Stop!" Wang Ai finally reacted, enraged. He hadn't expected anyone to dare treat his grandson like this in broad daylight. As one of the Ten Elders, the Wang family wielded significant power, even making someone like Feng Zhenghao kneel before them.
With fury blazing in his eyes, Wang Ai charged into the arena and struck at Daniel, his hand filled with deadly force.
Boom!
A massive explosion rocked the arena as smoke billowed into the air. When it cleared, Daniel stood calmly in his original position, while Wang Bing lay crumpled several meters away, his face beaten beyond recognition—so much so that his own mother wouldn't recognize him.
"Wang Ai! What are you doing? Do you have no respect for Longhu Mountain?" Lu Jin, standing beside Daniel, roared in anger at Wang Ai.
Daniel didn't flinch. He had been prepared to retaliate, but Lu Jin stepped in just in time, blocking Wang Ai's attack.
"Step aside, Lu Jin!" Wang Ai bellowed, his cane swinging toward Lu Jin. He adored his grandson Wang Bing, and anyone who harmed him had to pay the price.
"Enough." Before Wang Ai's cane could land, it was stopped mid-air. The Old Heavenly Master had arrived, and with a single finger, he halted Wang Ai's attack.
"Wang Ai, have I been too lenient with you?" The Old Heavenly Master's voice was calm, but his rising qi filled the air with a terrifying pressure.
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