Chapter 418 - 226: Defeating the Grandmaster

Chapter 418: Chapter 226: Defeating the Grandmaster

Yao Yilong’s brow twitched.

Although his injury wasn’t severe, it slightly affected the dexterity of his dominant hand. But for a Grandmaster, wielding a sword with his left hand to deal with a few juniors shouldn’t have been a major issue.

That’s how it should have been.

However, the memory of that seemingly invincible axe strike made Yao Yilong’s heart tremble.

He actually felt a lingering fear.

The rumor that Xie Yuan could injure a Grandmaster was no lie.

In fact, the rumor didn’t just say he could injure a Grandmaster; it actually concealed his true danger.

As someone in the Second Transformation Realm, he truly possessed the ability to grievously wound, or even kill, a Grandmaster!

The axe was heavy and its moves were ferocious, making it difficult to land a hit given the vast difference in their cultivation levels. However, when paired with his inscrutable Body Technique—one that even a Grandmaster would struggle to break—the danger he posed skyrocketed.

That last strike... if he had been even a split second slower, he would have had to use his life-saving techniques to flee back to his ancestral home for treatment just to survive!

Yao Yilong tightened his grip with his left hand.

Before coming here, he never would have imagined that he would nearly capsize in a gutter while dealing with a few young men in the Second Transformation Realm.

Feeling his heart pound in his chest—an experience he hadn’t had in many years—the Elder Grandmaster found it deeply unfamiliar. A sense of shame and anger welled up inside him.

And beneath that feeling, there was a trace of fear and apprehension he couldn’t admit to others, or even to himself.

It was partly because he had almost been defeated, but more so, it was a wariness of Xie Yuan himself.

’He has such abilities now,’ Yao Yilong thought. ’What if he reaches the Qi Blood Third Transformation Realm? Wouldn’t he then have a real chance of killing me?’

’And given more time, once Xie Yuan also becomes a Grandmaster, who in the Yao family, in its current state, could possibly stand against him?’

Yao Yilong’s thoughts raced. At this realization, his gaze darkened. He looked at Xie Yuan, who had been sent flying, and his knees bent, ready to give chase.

He had changed his strategy.

Originally, he had planned to capture Xie Yuan alive. But now, unless he could subdue him easily and return to his estate at once, he was prepared to kill him on the spot. He could not leave any future trouble or opportunities for his enemy!

Just as Yao Yilong took a step, a sharp stream of pure, clear Sword Qi suddenly slashed at him from the side. It was so upright and pure, its power so immense, that even he could not ignore it.

He swung his sword with his left hand, scattering the clear light with a single blow. With a flicker of thought, he shifted slightly to the side, dodging the Arhat’s Iron Fist that came from the other direction.

Brushing past the brilliant golden Arhat dharma body, Yao Yilong flickered, moved around the two of them, and was about to leap into the air when he abruptly froze.

Xie Yuan had vanished again.

At that moment, Xie Yuan was already slinking along the shadows of the street, circling back to a spot not far from the battle. His face was flushed crimson.

While still in mid-air, he had swallowed the Small Returning Pill he had prepared. He refined it at top speed, and the medicinal power had not yet fully subsided, which was why his face was still flushed red.

The Grandmaster’s strike had been agonizing, but he had anticipated it. He had first taken a Great Strength Vajra Pill to enhance his power and defense, then prepared a Small Returning Pill in advance to suppress his injuries. In that instant, he had already recovered eighty percent of his combat strength.

Taking advantage of the moment Huie Jue and Zhang Junyi were holding Yao Yilong back, Xie Yuan once again concealed himself in a place that defied heavenly perception, vanishing from the battlefield as if he had never been there.

His Celestial Concealment Skill had already reached a level where even a Grandmaster would find it difficult to track him. As long as Yao Yilong was distracted for even a moment and didn’t keep a constant lock on Xie Yuan’s qi, he would have to start searching all over again.

Xie Yuan stood silently in the shadows, untouched by the moonlight. He held his great axe, his head slightly tilted, watching Yao Yilong’s figure from the corner of his eye to prevent the Grandmaster’s perception from detecting anything.

Yao Yilong scanned the area again but couldn’t find any trace of Xie Yuan. A sense of anxiety gnawed at him.

’Did that guy actually run away?’

Yao Yilong’s heart grew heavy. He had now personally experienced just how dangerous Xie Yuan was.

He had originally thought Xie Yuan was just some ignorant madman from the remote lands of Yunzhou, someone who could be eliminated with a little effort and wasn’t worth mentioning. He never expected that after their encounter, he would discover that this was, in fact, a colossal problem!

On the field were the youngest high monk of Prajna Temple’s Bodhi Institute and the Closed-door Disciple of the Xuanzhen Sect’s Sect Leader. Yet, the threat these two posed did not compare to the one he felt from Xie Yuan.

Yao Yilong had been a Grandmaster for many years. The last time he had felt such a threat, these juniors probably hadn’t even been born...

If an enemy with such limitless potential were allowed to escape, the already precarious Yao family would truly know no peace, day or night.

Yao Yilong spun his Long Sword, knocking back Huie Jue and Zhang Junyi, who had charged forward again. The blow nearly made the Daoist lose his grip on his sword, while Huie Jue was sent flying backward, crashing through a nearby wall with a loud BOOM.

He had unconsciously put more force into his attack. Extremely impatient, he roared:

"You two! I show respect to your Sects and your masters, yet you repeatedly fail to appreciate my kindness! Today, I will teach you a lesson on their behalf, and I imagine they won’t have much to say about it!"

Huie Jue coughed twice and climbed out of the rubble. His Arhat dharma form was so brilliantly golden that it was hard to look at directly.

He held up one hand in a palm salute and laughed heartily.

"Amitabha! Old Man Yao, if you dare say that to my master, Wisdom Spirit, when he arrives, then I’ll consider you a real man."

Zhang Junyi twirled his sword in a flourish and sneered.

"The monk’s right. Since you have a problem and want to call our parents, I’ll have my old master come to Jinling to find you when I get back."

Yao Yilong’s eyelid twitched. He hadn’t expected these two juniors to fall for his threats at all. With Grandmasters backing them, they were more arrogant than anyone he had ever met.

Usually, it was the Yao family that threw its weight around and bullied others. He never thought he’d see the day when he, of all people, would be bullied by those with even greater backing—and two young men at that. There was nothing he could do about it, and the feeling left a sour taste in his mouth.

He could only say with a grim face: