Chapter 354: Storm II (1/2)
Chapter 354: Storm II
Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Bang bang bang! Wang Zishi knocked his forehead hard on the floor for nine times. Every knock was like a hammer on Wang Lu’s heart, and Wang Lu’s face twitched with every knock.
”Your disciple is disloyal. Your disciple has thought long and hard after the defeat that day. After 10 days of consideration, your disciple realized that, while not an expert myself, the Wang Family’s combat style has many innate flaws. Your disciple has come to this decision after much consideration,” Wang Zishi spoke every word clearly, but the pain in his eyes were apparent, betraying how much he had suffered to come to his decision, and the determination that he had within him.
Wang Lu’s heart ached at the sight of his beloved disciple’s haggard look, but was immediately angered when he heard him said that the Wang Family’s combat style was flawed.
Everyone around them was silent. All the villagers looked to Wang Zishi with anger, but none of them said a word.
”Well, well, well,” Wang Lu spoke staring straight at Wang Zishi. His voice was so low and strained to the limit, so near the breaking point. ”Who’d have thought that the Wang Family combat style would be looked down upon by one of our own.”
With that, his eyes left Wang Zishi and went for Rui Bing, still sitting straight in her room.
He breathed in deeply and raised his voice, ”Wang Family’s Wang Lu would like a match with my Lady, please do me the honor!”
Rui Bing opened her eyes, but she sighed inside.
From the moment Wang Zishi kneeled, she knew that this fight was inevitable. No combat school could accept his behavior, much less letting it happen in their own backyard. Ye Chong might not understand these subtleties, but as someone who was well versed with all the rules in the world of combat since she was young, Rui Bing knew the consequences of Wang Zishi’s actions.
She had no way of backing out. They would not let her. Even if she admitted openly that the Wang Family’s style was better, it was too late now.
Every school had their own reputation and pride that should never be stepped on.
Knowing that words would do no good now, Rui Bing stood up and came out. She said plainly, ”Please go easy on me, Mr Wang.”
At that moment, Ye Chong was still discussing alchemy with Master Yan. While they frequently discussed things, they never tried to pry into each other’s lives. Since they had both disguised themselves, it was clear that neither wished to share their own histories.
At first, Master Yan did not mind the problem of Ye Chong’s background. Unless it was some very obscure school, he could usually quickly tell which school an alchemist belonged to. However, to his surprise, he could not say the same for Ye Chong. As they discussed more and more subjects, he found himself unable to come to a conclusion.
”The cottonia grass, for example, is a good neutral reagent, but its dosage is a bit troublesome, requiring a supplanting technique. You can use the tristellar rock in powder form instead, using an alternating hot and cold treatment process, but the result is more inferior. There are 31 kinds of neutral reagents that are so sensitive to temperature, and I’ve never seen many of them,” Ye Chong said this with regret.
Master Yan was surprised, shocked even. Use of the cottonia grass was a secret amongst the Qian system, and he himself had known about it due to some connections with members of the Qian system. This man here was aware of even the supplanting technique! Could he be a member of Qian system?
What Ye Chong said after that surprised him even more.
Using tristellar rock powder in place of cottonia grass was an idea that came from one of the ancestors of Master Yan’s own school of alchemy.
Who was this man? Master Yan’s face was unreadable. His facial disguise was the only reason he did showed a wild range of expressions right then. That he was able to sit calmly as someone else spoke of a secret technique of his own school, which also spoke volumes of his mental fortitude. Moreover, he was chilled by the thought of there being 31 kinds of reagents - he himself could only think of 17 kinds, where the other 14 kinds were unknown to him.
Ye Chong was quickly becoming an enigma to Master Yan.
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Wang Lu was a respectable person in the Wang Family Village, not because of his expertise in combat, but his honorable and down to earth nature. Many of the people present had never seen Wang Lu fight before. It was only now that the Wang Family villagers realize that this inconspicuous and honest elder was actually a master of combat.
The Wang Family’s combat style specialized in sword techniques, and Wang Lu was able to demonstrate the full power of this technique. Wang Lu struck again and again with his sword in a seemingly leisurely pace, but the long sword was like a cocoon, trapping Rui Bing’s movements.
Rui Bing wore a calm expression, stepping lightly and quickly as she returned an occasional blow, always enough to interfere with Wang Lu’s attack. She seemed to be in a tight spot, but the reality was the exact opposite. There were not many people in this world who could fight on the same level as Ye Chong in close combat. Rui Bing and Ye Chong sparred frequently, never going easy on each other. Hence, Rui Bing did not panic while facing her current opponent.