Aspiring to the Immortal Path - Chapter 295
Chapter 295: Tactics
Now that Tang Jie had made his decision, he no longer had a reason to keep waiting.
He needed to move.
To Ten Direction Valley!
To the Nine Executions Formation!
To do what he needed to do and not keep waiting at this boring conference, for that so-called better chance.
There would not be a better chance.
And he did not need one.
When Tang Jie decided to go in and not come out, his greatest problem, “escaping”, ceased to exist.
As for how to get in, it was now a problem that didn’t need much thought. Godhead Palace would let him in.
All of his restraints had disappeared, and all the conditions had been met. So what was he waiting for?
Perhaps his only worry was how to ensure that he could survive in that isolated world.
“That being the case, let’s go and see what we need to prepare,” Tang Jie said.
He spent a busy night racking his brain.
It was only when the sun rose in the east that Tang Jie and Yiyi finally finished their analysis, getting a rough idea of what they needed.
“That’s quite a lot of money,” Yiyi worriedly said.
“It can be solved.” Tang Jie smiled.
He whispered something into Yiyi’s ear, and her eyes brightened. She laughed and ran around Tang Jie while saying, “I like this idea!”
Seeing that it was daybreak, Tang Jie went back to his bed and meditated for a while. Only after recovering his energy did he walk out of his courtyard. All of the other students were also emerging at this time.
The battle with the Beast Refining Gate was about to begin, and everyone had finished their preparations.
Everyone greeted each other and then solemnly made their way to the arena.
They sat down in their seats and quietly waited for the final moment.
The golden bell on the summit let out a resounding clang, and everyone knew that another day of gruesome fighting was about to begin.
Peng Yaolong was the first to stand. Before he could walk out, Tang Jie stood up and said, “Senior Brother Peng!”
Peng Yaolong turned to look at him, and Tang Jie loudly said, “I wish for Great Brother’s swift victory!”
All of the students stood up and shouted, “We wish Great Brother a swift victory!”
Their voices resounded through the arena, stirring everyone’s will to fight. Even the distant Ming Yekong nodded in satisfaction.
Peng Yaolong laughed and said, “Junior brothers, thank you for the strong show of support. I’ll be back in a flash!”
He rushed onto the stage.
He had been one hundred meters from the stage, but with this charge, he became like a meteor and flew up into the sky. He crashed into the ring, stirring up a giant plume of dust. Even the ring which had been made from White Radiastone and protected by the great formation shuddered. This impressive display caused the distant spectators to cheer in excitement.
The Beast Refining Gate student that was about to get onto the stage was clearly shaken. For a moment, he was trembling so badly that he didn’t dare to get onto the stage.
In truth, everyone knew that he had no chance of beating Peng Yaolong, nor did they ask him to win, only to withstand the storm. But with Tang Jie’s encouragement, Peng Yaolong had put on an intimidating show that had bolstered the aura of the Basking Moon Sect. The Beast Refining Gate could not permit this situation. Seeing a student of his own side shrinking back, Helian Hu grabbed him and threw him into the ring.
This single throw covered a hundred meters—a truly jaw-dropping display of strength.
The student flailed in the air as he flew toward the stage, finding it difficult to control his body. As he saw Peng Yaolong thrust out his palm, he mentally groaned, I’m done for!
He closed his eyes and waited for death.
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But to his surprise, his body turned in the air and smoothly landed on the ground.
It turned out that Peng Yaolong’s palm hadn’t been meant to kill him, but to neutralize his momentum and help him land safely on the stage.
The student confirmed that he was all right and then exhaled in relief.
Peng Yaolong said, “You haven’t even released your refined beasts. Killing you like that would be an honorless victory.”
Did he want to get a proper and fair win?
At this stage, this student was no longer afraid, and he gradually began to recover from Peng Yaolong’s intimidating pressure.
He took a step back and saluted. “Beast Refining Gate’s Qian Hanyuan. Senior Brother Peng, thank you for your mercy.”
He waved his refined beast token twice, and a giant bear and an iron-backed gray wolf appeared on the stage.
The Beast Refining Gate was best at taming beasts. The beasts they tamed normally didn’t exceed the level of the tamer, and the number of beasts that could be tamed depended on the strength of the tamer.
As this student could control two refined beasts of the same level at once, it was an indicator that he had reached the second level of the Myriad Beast Union Mantra. As for Helian Hu, he could control three, meaning that he was at the third level.
The Beast Refining Gate’s Myriad Beast Union Mantra was its strongest technique. It was said that it had thirteen levels and was extremely difficult to cultivate. Once one reached the peak, one could control thirteen refined beasts of the same level at the same time, which was an immensely powerful force.
In the Beast Refining Gate, mastering the second level in a few short years was no easy task. If he weren’t being compared to Peng Yaolong, this Qian Yanyuan would have been considered a talent. After all, was anyone who could participate in the Immortal Fortune Conference really weak?
Upon seeing Qian Hanyuan take out two beasts, Peng Yaolong laughed. “Good! Then I won’t be polite. Watch closely!”
He punched out with both hands, creating a powerful shockwave, and a dragon and a tiger manifested on his arms.
The Dragon-Tiger Fist!
Peng Yaolong’s Dragon-Tiger Fist was much more powerful than it had been two years ago. Tang Jie could sense that the Dragon-Tiger Fist no longer contained solely Peng Yaolong’s strength, but also the strength of the world. Through the Eye of Insight, Tang Jie felt like he could see countless threads of energy linked to Peng Yaolong’s body, granting him abundant strength.
The Peng Yaolong of today was not the same Peng Yaolong from two years ago. He had already completely grasped the power of the Mortal Shedding Realm. He could draw on the strength of the world and use it to infinitely increase his power.
If Tang Jie had to fight with Peng Yaolong again, he would no longer have the confidence to exchange fifty blows with him.
Raaaa!
With a roar, Peng Yaolong punched at Qian Hanyuan, the dragon and tiger phantoms charging out as if they were the real deal.
Qian Hanyuan backed away in fright, his hands moving as he formed hand signs. The iron-backed gray wolf went out first, firing off an azure blade at Peng Yaolong. At the same time, the giant bear stood in front of Qian Hanyuan and thrust out a bear paw at Peng Yaolong.
The two refined beasts were a complementary pair, one on the defense and one on the attack. Qian Hanyuan also had applied a Glacial Armor barrier onto his body. He was clearly set on defending himself, and once he had endured this wave of attacks, he would immediately concede.
But Peng Yaolong just laughed. “Pointless!”
He let the iron-backed wolf’s azure blade strike him, and it only left a white impression on his body. At the same time, his fist plunged into the bear’s body. This giant bear was tough enough to take a blow from Tang Jie’s Heartbreak Saber, but it unexpectedly moaned in pain. As the tiger and dragon phantoms crossed, they punched a bowl-sized hole through the bear and rammed into Qian Hanyuan, sending him flying.
“Nooo!” Qian Hanyuan screamed in fear.
He wanted to concede.
But Peng Yaolong’s brazen laughter drowned out his cries. At the same time, Peng Yaolong punched at the ground.
Immense power traveled through the earth, and with a boom, it exploded beneath Qian Hanyuan’s feet, blasting him into the air.
This was the Power Conduction spell. By conducting energy through the ground, a cultivator could make their attacks less predictable, but this would also reduce the lethality.
Peng Yaolong didn’t care. As Qian Hanyuan was sent flying into the air, he punched with his right fist, sending out a savage gale that slammed into Qian Hanyuan’s body.
Blood splattered!
Peng Yaolong’s punch obliterated Qian Hanyuan’s body, not even leaving behind an intact corpse.
An elite student of the Beast Refining Gate hadn’t even been able to last three exchanges against Peng Yaolong. Everyone shivered in fear at the brutal method of killing.
Not caring what the crowd thought, Peng Yaolong casually sauntered out of the ring.
He sat in his seat and said, “The rest will depend on you guys.”
Cheng Fengshan, the second to go, stood up.
Compared to Peng Yaolong, he wasn’t as strong or as confident. He knew that his life was at stake in this battle, and his face was solemn.
Just as he was about to step onto the stage, Tang Jie suddenly said, “Senior Brother Cheng, please wait a moment.”
“Oh? What’s this about?” Cheng Fengshan looked at him.
Tang Jie replied, “The Beast Refining Gate is skilled at using beasts, so their specialty is combo attacks. But this also makes them far inferior to us in explosive spell arts.”
“What about it?” Cheng Fengshan didn’t get it.
Tang Jie smiled. “Being strong in combo attacks and weak in explosive strength means that they lack the ability to kill. That being the case, it would be better to seize the advantage and attack, and if you can’t win, you can just concede.”
Cheng Fengshan’s eyes flashed.
He instantly understood what Tang Jie was getting at.
Tang Jie was telling him to not hold back in the battle and attack the Beast Refining Gate with everything he had. He would either crush his opponent or else immediately concede and leave the stage. The Beast Refining Gate’s strength was in combination attacks, not explosive power, so their ability to corner and kill their opponent was greatly lacking compared to the Basking Moon Sect. This greatly increased the survivability of the Basking Moon students.
Cheng Fengshan didn’t have much of a relationship with Tang Jie, but after receiving this advice from him, he couldn’t help but nod in gratitude. Only then did he step into the ring.
In the following battle, Cheng Fengshan really did go all-out, throwing all the spell arts he knew at his foe without any regard for how he would fight the rest of the battle.
The Beast Refining Gate student didn’t expect the Basking Moon Sect students to be this crazy, and he was instantly caught off guard by Cheng Fengshan’s assault.
He had actually been rather close in strength to Cheng Fengshan, but this tactical loss immediately resulted in a loss of advantage, and Cheng Fengshan’s barrage blasted him off the stage. But Cheng Fengshan had just barely won and didn’t have the strength to give chase, so he had to let his opponent leave alive.
The six major sects had internal rules. Killing a student of an opposing sect would result in a reward of five thousand coins.
Cheng Fengshan couldn’t get this money, but for him, keeping his life and winning this battle was already the ideal result.
Next was Qi Shaoming, and he did as Tang Jie had advised and went on an all-out assault.
But the Beast Refining Gate student this time was ready. Qi Shaoming was tired out after his furious assault, and the Beast Refining Gate student was able to turn the tables. Fortunately, Qi Shaoming’s Passing Shadow movement technique excelled at escape, and the Beast Refining Gate wasn’t good at chasing down the enemy. Moreover, that student hadn’t been able to completely take control of the situation after weathering Qi Shaoming’s assault, and so although Qi Shaoming lost, he easily managed to survive, not even suffering a flesh injury. On the other hand, the Beast Refining Gate student was covered in wounds.
Tang Jie said to Cai Junyang, “Junyang, have you noticed yet? The Beast Refining Gate students all use different refined beasts.”
“Mm, yes. Is that weird?” Cai Junyang scratched his head. “With different kinds, they have different abilities, so they can complement each other, making them stronger.”
“But if that’s the case, why are Helian Hu’s three refined beasts all tigers?”
“Hm? That’s true.” Cai Junyang was taken aback. “I didn’t think of that. Tang Jie, why do you think that is?”
“There are two possible reasons. The three fiend tigers might have some union ability that makes them stronger the more there are. But I don’t think this is the case, because he didn’t use any sort of combination spell art when he lost to Lan Yu. Then it can only be the second reason: he only has a basic grasp of the third level of the Myriad Beast Union Mantra.”
Tang Jie chuckled. “I’ve never learned the Myriad Beast Union Mantra, so I don’t understand it very well. But I”m sure that when it comes to taming fiend beasts, taming different kinds of refined beasts must be much more difficult than taming beasts of the same kind. That’s precisely why three refined beasts of the same grade and different species… isn’t something that Helian Hu doesn’t want, but is something he can’t achieve!”
“What about it?” Cai Junyang was confused.
“This means that he has a weakness when it comes to control. If you focus on this weakness, even if you can’t win, you can teach him a good lesson. If he handles it poorly, you might even be able to win.” Tang Jie went up to Cai Junyang’s ear and whispered some things to him, and Cai Junyang’s eyes glinted.
After some thought, he said, “It’s an idea, but I don’t…”
Tang Jie passed something over. “I’ve already prepared it for you.”
Cai Junyang trembled as he took the item. “Brother…”
Tang Jie chuckled. “No need to be polite. Since you want to go out there like a hero, as your brother, how can I not help you solve this problem? I can’t guarantee that you’ll win this battle, but if you still die to Helian Hu after this, I can only say that it’s because you’re useless and deserve to die.”
Cai Junyang laughed. “Relax. This time, I’ll give Helian Hu a good show!”
As he spoke, the fourth match concluded.
The Beast Refining Gate had won again, but alas, they had not been able to kill the Basking Moon student.
After launching a furious assault, that student had run out of strength and backed away while he still had the upper hand. Truly, this was to attack as fiercely as fire and flee as swiftly as the wind. Just like with Qi Shaoming, the loser was unharmed while the winner was all mangled.
The result was that although he had lost, when the Basking Moon student left the ring, quite a few people patted him and said, “Good job!”
The student smiled and replied, “It’s all because of Senior Brother Tang’s idea, or else I might not have been able to so easily get through this trial.”
He cared little about victory, only about getting out alive, so he was very thankful to Tang Jie for this tactic.
Peng Yaolong also laughed. “When it comes to weird ideas, nobody can beat him.”
Ye Tianshang worriedly said, “But the Beast Refining Gate is going to notice something if this keeps up and will definitely start taking countermeasures. If we continue with this tactic, our chance of victory will be low.”
If the Beast Refining Gate understood the tactic the Basking Moon Sect was employing, it would inevitably develop a counter, at which point it would be very difficult for the Basking Moon Sect students to come out victorious.
Tang Jie smiled and replied, “Is there anything in the world that comes for free? Brother Ye is right. Once the enemy gets used to this tactic, our chances of victory will inevitably plunge, but this doesn’t mean that they have a way to chase us down. I don’t care what others think. All I know is that nothing is more important than coming out alive.”
Ye Tianshang was alarmed by these words. “But this will give victory to the Beast Refining Gate!”
“Correct!” Tang Jie replied.
“The teachers won’t accept it. This is a battle of life or death, and our Basking Moon Sect must win!” a student immediately said.
“No!” Tang Jie sternly replied. “This is a battle of life or death for the students, but for the teachers, it’s a struggle of spirit!”
“‘A struggle of spirit’?”
Tang Jie firmly replied, “Yes! In a struggle of spirit, feeling is more important than victory. Just winning or losing today’s matches has no effect on the overall situation. And if the Beast Refining Gate wins these matches against the Basking Moon Sect but doesn’t manage to kill a single person, who has gained and who has lost will instantly become obvious. Trust me. The teachers will be satisfied by this conclusion. For them, this is a perfect chance to mock the Beast Refining Gate for lacking offensive power and being unable to kill anyone.”
All of the other students smiled at these words.
Tang Jie continued, “Of course, the teachers will still make a show of rebuking, but what does that matter? We’ll still be alive.”
He said to them, “In these battles, just go all-out and try to get victory, but if you can’t win, do your best to keep yourself alive… Let the Beast Refining Gate keep the victory while we of the Basking Moon Sect keep our lives. Isn’t that fine?”
