Chapter 495 - 303: Distant Old Friend, Predicament (Part 2)

Chapter 495: Chapter 303: Distant Old Friend, Predicament (Part 2)

Jiang Nianwei took a step forward, her hands gripping her saber and sword so tightly her knuckles turned white. Her eyes were filled with Evil Qi.

"Yo! Why the big eyes? You look like you want to eat somebody!"

These arrogant words stoked the fires of rage in everyone’s hearts, but they didn’t make a move.

Technically, Yu Wen Baji’s timely intervention had saved them all. But the man was just so foul-mouthed. The moment they met, he mocked the Yulin Army, calling Yu Fei a coward who didn’t dare step onto the battlefield and Jiang Nianwei an incompetent general who had gotten her classmates killed.

His words goaded them into a fight, and after provoking them, he beat up the Yulin Army members and docked their battlefield merit points.

He didn’t spare Feng Hua and the others, either. All six Celestial Pride Classes from the third and fourth years were mocked one by one, and all had their merit points docked.

Unable to stomach the humiliation, Feng Hua and the others joined forces to challenge Yu Wen Baji, only to have the floor wiped with them again.

And now, he had become the nominal commander of the Celestial Tiger Corps, controlling them according to wartime regulations, which made them miserable.

They were targeted at every turn, unable to beat him, unable to leave, and forced to obey his orders.

Yu Wen Baji glanced at the people in the tent, then cursed at the expert and the others, "A bunch of trash. You people are pathetic, hiding behind a woman one by one. Garbage! Ptooey!"

Li Jueyin pointed her spear at Yu Wen Baji and said angrily, "Don’t you think you’re looking down on women a bit too much with words like that? What, have you never seen a female Martial Saint?"

"So are you a female Martial Saint? You’re not even a Grandmaster, yet you dare stand there yapping at me?"

As he spoke, he suddenly attacked, sending Li Jueyin flying with a kick.

The moment he moved, Feng Hua and the others, unable to bear the humiliation, attacked. The expert, seething with rage, raised a hand and sent a streak of light toward Yu Wen Baji’s vitals.

Zhang Xunyi had somehow circled behind him. His sword strike was like wind and shadow, its intent of Sharpness so tangible it seemed real as it stabbed toward the center of Yu Wen Baji’s back.

Jiang Nianwei crossed her saber and sword, projecting an artistic conception of water nourishing all things—a harmony of movement and stillness, a transformation between yin and yang—to block Yu Wen Baji’s path. While her offense was lacking, her skills in control and defense surpassed everyone else’s.

Furthermore, Feng Hua had already struck, his late-moving sword arriving first to press against his opponent’s throat, while Qingshan brought his great-spear down from above.

These geniuses, who had rarely tasted defeat, had been driven into a frenzy by Yu Wen Baji’s bullying over the past few days.

It was a brilliantly coordinated attack, with their artistic conceptions overlapping and complementing one another. Any ordinary Grandmaster facing such an assault would have been killed on the spot. ℯℯ𝘭.

But at that critical moment, they clearly heard Yu Wen Baji let out a cold snort.

He immediately drew a straight-bladed long-saber. Amidst the blade’s cry, an arc of light burst forth. In an instant, Zhang Xunyi was sent flying back, coughing up blood, while Jiang Nianwei’s sword was knocked away as she too was thrown through the air.

The others were all injured to varying degrees. Only Feng Hua managed to retreat at the last second, but he was stunned by the ferocious saber intent and couldn’t recover for a moment.

"Bunch of trash. You really think you’re hot stuff, don’t you? All temper and no skill. You five, take your people and guard Tiema Road. There’s no way I’m giving the main assault to a bunch of useless wastes like you!"

After speaking, Yu Wen Baji sauntered off, followed by a man with glasses. The two of them had been together back during the new student recruitment.

"Sigh! Was all that really necessary?" Zhang Hu said as he stepped forward to help Feng Hua up, only to be forced back by a cold glare.

"No matter how you look at it, Mr. Yuwen saved us. Li Jueyin was just too impulsive."

Zhang Hu wore a seemingly sincere smile, but his words only disgusted everyone further. He was about to say more when Qingshan blocked his path with his spear.

"Zhang Hu, please leave. To each their own. Just don’t regret the choice you’ve made. But don’t you dare try to wipe your shit on us!"

"You...!"

Zhang Hu’s face turned ashen. But then, as if remembering something, he said in a calm tone, "I’ll be the one handling the main assault on Arrow Bamboo Peak. I guess it’ll be up to me to avenge our brothers!"

"Get out!"

Feng Hua roared, staring daggers at Zhang Hu. If he dared say another word, he wouldn’t be leaving.

Zhang Hu looked at the group, who were barely suppressing their rage, and didn’t dare provoke them further. Yu Wen Baji had told him to rile them up, but not to go too far.

Martial Artists tempered their will, seeking a clear and unburdened heart. If pushed too far, they wouldn’t care about any rules or laws.

So, he took the chance to retreat.

Qingshan, furious, stabbed his spear into the ground. "That son of a bitch! Fuck! Who knew he was actually such a dog!"

After Yu Wen Baji started targeting them, Zhang Hu was the first to submit and switch sides, after which he was accepted and given preferential treatment.

Qingshan was the most furious of all. That dog Zhang Hu was always making petty schemes, which everyone could tolerate. But at such a critical moment, for him to suck up to an outsider just to target his own people was unforgivable.

"What the hell is that bastard Zhang Hu after?" the expert cursed in anger.

Feng Hua helped Li Jueyin up and said lightly, "We’re fourth-years now. Do you know what our prospects are after graduation?"

The expert was stunned. ’That’s something I’ve never thought about!’

"After graduation, Martial Artists from the Celestial Pride Class generally have a few paths.

First, you can form your own corps. As everyone knows, Elite Corps are generally divided into three categories: Super, Class A, and Class B. But even for the lowest Class B corps, the minimum requirement for a commander is to be a Grandmaster. So, you can only form a lower-tier battle group. That’s basically like starting your own business.

The second path is to join an existing corps. You can’t get into a Super-class corps unless you’re a Grandmaster, but Class A and B corps are generally easy to join.

The last option is to stay and work at the academy. Of course, you could also go solo, but it’s much harder to acquire resources that way."

The expert suddenly realized something and said in astonishment, "So Yu Wen Baji joined the Celestial Tiger Corps, a Class B corps. But Jee Yang failed against the enemy and is currently under investigation. With the leverage of having saved the corps, Yu Wen Baji is now in command of the entire Celestial Tiger Corps. If he plays his cards right, doesn’t that mean..."

Qingshan said in a low voice, "Exactly. Yu Wen Baji is plotting to take over the Celestial Tiger Corps. We even suspect there’s something strange about this attack from the Tier Eight Primordial Demon Royal Race. The timing is just too coincidental!"

"Yu Wen Baji’s main targets are actually my team and Feng Hua’s. He wants to rope us into the Celestial Tiger Corps, even temporarily. If he can combine the elites of four Celestial Pride Classes and is given time to develop, he might have the potential to become a Super-class corps!"

"Yuwen can’t pull something like this off on his own. He must have a backer!"

Zhang Xunyi’s brow was tightly furrowed in confusion.

"If he wants us to join him, why would he use this method of suppression? Is he a moron? If you want people to join you, shouldn’t you treat them with respect?"

Feng Hua’s expression was ugly. "Zhang Xunyi is right, Yu Wen Baji is a moron," he said with contempt. "You can tell just by looking at how he dresses. There’s something seriously wrong with that guy’s head!"

"In his mind, if I beat you, you should submit. If you don’t, I’ll just keep beating you! I heard he was a delinquent back in his school days. After he got into Shenhan, he actually beat many of his classmates into submission, so he became more and more convinced his way is the right way."

The expert was filled with resentment. "Isn’t that just completely idiotic? He’s only two years older than us and a step ahead on the martial path. We’ll catch up to him sooner or later. Isn’t he just making enemies for himself?"

Qingshan sighed and dejectedly picked up his long spear. "Two years from now, you might not be as strong as he is today.

Yu Wen Baji is already monstrously strong, and over the past four years, he’s cultivated an imperious aura that proclaims ’submit and prosper, for I alone am supreme.’ He only gets stronger in a fight. Give me another year, and I still might not reach the Grandmaster Realm, let alone kill two Tier Eight Primordial Demon Royal Race members back-to-back."

"You should know, for Martial Artists like us, it’s common to fight on par with or even kill a Grandmaster while in the Gang Qi Realm. But for someone in the Grandmaster Realm to kill a Grandmaster is extremely difficult. Being able to fight one to a standstill is already impressive!"

Li Jueyin’s face was expressionless as she simply looked over the battle map.

"This location, Tiema Road... it’s flanked on two sides by the Evil Magnetic Forbidden Land. If you fall in, your five senses will be lost, and it’s easy to get trapped. The area is extremely narrow, making it difficult for us to launch an offensive. If a group of Tier Seven Primordial Demons comes to hold that position, we’ll be stuck here, unable to help the overall battle situation!"

Jiang Nianwei’s chest heaved. This was the dilemma that lay before all of them.

This group of people were all at a crucial point, either tempering their wills or on the verge of perfecting their Gang Qi Realm. Their defeat at the Celestial Sword Gorge camp was a huge blow to these geniuses who had always been invincible. If they couldn’t get back up where they fell, but instead missed their chance in such a ridiculous fashion, this moment would very likely become a thorn in their hearts.

It wasn’t just them; the other members of the Celestial Pride Class faced the same problem, with the exception of those who were naturally aloof and didn’t care about victory or defeat.

This was the very point Yu Wen Baji was using to control them.

From the stage of tempering one’s will onward, the path of martial arts cultivation became more and more a matter of the heart. This counterattack was crucial to their martial path, but now they were being restricted by Yu Wen Baji, all within the rules.