Chapter 29: A Huge Loss

Last week, the attempt to climb the rankings failed. Xiaomo learned a bitter lesson, and it hurt a lot.

How will things go this week? Xiaomo urgently begs for everyone’s recommendation tickets and member clicks! I am screaming at the top of my lungs, calling for the support of all you heroes and heroines so that Martial Refining can stand on the new book rankings!

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Having suffered a hidden loss once, Li Yuntian dared not be careless. Relying on his nimble Body Technique to maneuver, he dodged and darted around Yangx Kai, striking with his palms whenever he found an opening. Soon, he had landed over a dozen palm strikes on Yangx Kai.

Li Yuntian thought gleefully, "This is for being so petty! This is for making me run to the Contribution Hall early in the morning just to suffer!" His strikes were incredibly heavy, and every time they hit Yangx Kai, loud THUDS rang out. Watching from a short distance away, Su Mu was completely mesmerized. It felt as if he were landing the blows himself, and he couldn’t have been more thrilled.

The two clashing martial artists were both in the Body Tempering Realm. Their Cultivation had only just begun, so they possessed very few tricks and methods in a fight. Furthermore, Yangx Kai was intentionally testing his current physical constitution, which allowed Li Yuntian to take quite an advantage.

After a short while of fighting, Yangx Kai came to a conclusion. He thought, "My body is doing alright now. It’s much better than it was a few days ago." Having achieved his goal, Yangx Kai didn’t plan on tangling with this junior brother any longer.

Li Yuntian was just about to press his advantage when he suddenly noticed a change in Senior Brother Yangx, who had been retreating in defeat under his blows. Senior Brother Yangx’s expression suddenly became exhilaratingly intense, like a lecherous Evil Ghost catching sight of a naked maiden. That gaze, brimming with excitement, gave Li Yuntian goosebumps all over.

However, upon closer inspection, this kind of excitement was slightly different from lust. It was a cruel and bloodthirsty thrill.

Li Yuntian cried out inwardly, "This isn’t good!" He was just about to pull back and create some distance, but Yangx Kai took a step forward, blocking his path like a towering Gaoshan and steep mountain ridge.

Li Yuntian leaped high into the air, wanting to shake off Yangx Kai’s pursuit. Yangx Kai launched a flying kick, sweeping heavily into Li Yuntian’s waist with great Momentum.

With a miserable shriek, Li Yuntian flew out like a torn burlap sack, crashing to the ground several dozen feet away. Before he could even crawl up, Yangx Kai dashed forward with a vigorous stride, straddled Li Yuntian’s body, and rained down his fists like Yur drops. Agonized screams instantly rang out.

This sparring match ultimately ended with Li Yuntian begging for mercy.

Initially, when Li Yuntian was thrown to the ground and fiercely pummeled by Yangx Kai, he had wanted to put up a desperate resistance. However, Yangx Kai completely ignored Li Yuntian’s counterattacks, adopting a crazed posture of trading injury for injury. In no time at all, Li Yuntian could no longer hold on. He discovered something strange: after being hit, his and Yangx Kai’s reactions were completely different. When he hit Yangx Kai, the more he struck, the more excited Yangx Kai became. But when Yangx Kai hit him, the more he was struck, the more excruciating his pain grew.

Who in this world would get excited from being beaten? In the end, Li Yuntian even saw that Yangx Kai’s flesh had turned slightly red. The blood surged beneath his skin, and his Qing veins bulged. He looked ferocious, just like a mad demon.

For a moment, Li Yuntian thought Yangx Kai had truly gone mad. Yet, after the sparring match concluded, this senior brother actually returned to normal. His face became amiable and friendly as he warmly pulled Li Yuntian up from the ground. With a smiling face, he said, "I let you win," before grabbing his broom and leaving. He was completely two different people when fighting and when not fighting!

Li Yuntian’s entire body was in immense pain. Having eaten quite a few of Yangx Kai’s fists, how could he not have sustained some injuries? This time, he had truly shot himself in the foot. Li Yuntian felt utterly devastated. The other party had repeatedly declined and didn’t want to spar with him. Yet, he had gone out of his way to take herbs exchanged with twenty Contribution Points and begged the guy for a fight. In the end... he was the one who got beaten up. Not only were his herbs taken away, but he would also have Contribution Points deducted for losing this match. He thought, "I really took a huge loss this time! Wasn’t I just asking for it?" Li Yuntian was filled with endless regret.

Su Mu and the others were also dumbfounded as they watched from a short distance away. When Li Yuntian and Yangx Kai had first clashed, they couldn’t help but let out a cheer, celebrating the final success of Li Yuntian’s plan. They thought they were about to witness the scene of Yangx Kai getting thrashed. Su Mu had even planned it all out: after Yangx Kai was beaten to a pulp, he would go over and mock him a few times to relieve the pent-up frustration in his heart. But when the battle began, everyone was momentarily shocked because Yangx Kai and Li Yuntian actually fought to a draw.

For a moment, Su Mu felt his vision sway. He asked suspiciously, "What Realm is Li Yuntian at again?"

"He has reached the Seventh Level of Body Tempering Realm. A bit of Primordial Qi has already been generated in his body, but because it hasn’t been long, he hasn’t practiced any Martial Skill yet," a person beside him answered.

"What about Yangx Kai?" Su Mu asked again.

"He’s probably at the fourth level of the Body Tempering Realm, right?" The tone was somewhat uncertain.

The group of people looked at each other in horror. The difference in strength between the two was three levels, yet they were evenly matched. This was simply too sensational. No wonder Zhao Hu had been taken down in just three moves yesterday. With the strength Yangx Kai was currently displaying, Zhao Hu wouldn’t be his match even if he went all out.

However, how could this rumored punching bag have such formidable strength? If he truly possessed this kind of power, why did he lose every single battle in the past? Yangx Kai had been in the Sect for over three years. He had basically started being challenged a year after joining. From then until yesterday, he had never won once, and that spanned a period of more than two years.

What shocked Su Mu and the others even more was yet to come. Originally, they thought it was already a miracle that Yangx Kai could match Li Yuntian and temporarily hold his ground. They believed there was absolutely no way he could win. But when Yangx Kai actually defeated Li Yuntian, this group of people instantly fell dead silent, unable to believe their eyes from beginning to end.

A fourth level of the Body Tempering Realm defeating a Seventh Level of Body Tempering Realm—such a thing had never occurred in the several hundred years of the Lingxiao Pavilion’s history. Could it be that even a useless loser could have his day in the sun?

While lost in a daze, Su Mu suddenly felt a pat on his shoulder. Turning his head to look, he saw Yangx Kai holding a broom and gazing at him with a beaming smile. With a face full of warmth, Yangx Kai said, "Junior Brother Su, the next time there’s such a good deed, remember to notify me."

"You knew all along?" Su Mu’s mouth twitched slightly.

Yangx Kai chuckled. "Although Junior Brother Li hid behind the crowd yesterday, as a senior brother, I might not have any other strengths, but my memory is quite good."

"How sinister!" Su Mu gritted his Yar in hatred. It wasn’t until now that he realized his entire group had fallen for Yangx Kai’s massive trick.

"The feeling is mutual," Yangx Kai smiled. "Oh, right. I can still challenge someone tomorrow. Everyone gets one chance a day, right? Have fun, guys. I’ll look for you all again tomorrow."

The expressions of the group instantly turned cold. Judging by Yangx Kai’s words, it seemed he had tasted the benefits and actually developed a liking for this sort of thing? Looking at Li Yuntian’s current state and comparing their own strength to Li Yuntian’s, basically everyone shuddered. They asked in horror, "Young Master Su, what should we do about this?"

Su Mu was also out of ideas. After all, challenging was a custom of the Sect. Which Disciple had never been challenged before? Although he had a backer, he still didn’t dare to recklessly break the Sect’s rules.

"Don’t worry. He’s probably just trying to scare you guys. If he truly dares to come and challenge you, I’ll make him pay a heavy price."

Hearing Su Mu say this, everyone’s hearts finally settled down a little.

Yangx Kai had also acted on a spur of the moment. Lingxiao Pavilion Disciples had one opportunity to issue a challenge every day. Since he had never used this right before, he had actually forgotten about it. It was only after being reminded by Li Yuntian today that Yangx Kai recalled this matter. With one challenge a day, even though winning against one of the ordinary disciples only yielded two Contribution Points, every little bit helped. Accumulated over a month, the amount would be quite substantial. Furthermore, on the path of Cultivation, one absolutely couldn’t practice in isolation. Sparring and exchanging moves with these fellow brothers every day was genuinely beneficial without any drawbacks. Since it didn’t take up much time anyway, he could treat it as a relaxing pastime while also earning Contribution Points. Why not go for it?

Calculating it all, today’s challenge was the most profitable. Not only did he gain two Contribution Points, but he also obtained ten stalks of the Desolate Dried Wood Grass that he desperately lacked. He had simply made a killing.

He daydreamed, "How wonderful would it be if someone came to deliver ten stalks of herbs to me every day!"

Returning to his wooden hut, he took out the Incense Burner and lit the Exotic Fragrance. Yangx Kai then continued his arduous Cultivation.