Chapter 168: 157 Break Part 1

As Zhang Rongfang focused daily on studying the Extreme State, waiting to break through the Nine-Turn Golden Core Stage.

Dingcheng District, Wushan Prefecture.

In the dead of night.

Three strong and burly figures, cloaked in black, swiftly traversed the shadows of the street.

The three moved in a triangular formation.

The one at the front was the tallest and most muscular.

His stature was at least two meters, with broad shoulders and a wide body. Even with the cloak covering him, it was hard to conceal the outline and volume of his muscles on his arms.

The other two had slightly slimmer builds, but were still far stronger than ordinary people.

The trio pressed on without stopping, heading straight for the ancestral land of the Yue family, the current residence of Yue Hanquan, Prefect of Wushan Prefecture.

The Yue family was replete with experts, though the Patriarch, Yue Hanquan, was not a martial artist.

But his brother, Yue Shenwei, was a renowned staff expert in Wushan Prefecture. Years ago, he had already broken through the Ninth Grade. Now at around thirty-six or thirty-seven, although his Qi and Blood were entering a declining phase, his experience and skills meant his overall combat power hadn’t decreased much.

At his peak, Yue Shenwei’s seventy-two style Heaven-Climbing Staff techniques won him matches throughout Wushan Prefecture without a single defeat.

His worst performance was only a draw. This earned him great fame in Wushan Prefecture.

Soon, the trio stopped beside a wall of the Yue family’s ancestral land.

The leading man looked up, gazing at the wall as if he could see the experts inside through it.

“Last time, He Xinhong was just a weakling. He was beaten to death in three moves.

Let’s hope Yue Shenwei won’t let me down this time.”

One of the others chuckled, “Big brother may be disappointed again. I’ve roamed the mountains and forests of Wushan for over ten years, and before meeting you, I also encountered many high-grade experts.

Among them, I’ve witnessed one or two Ninth Grade, none of whom were as strong as you.”

He paused, “In fact, the Ninth Grade is more about tapping into one’s inherent potential. When it’s fully tapped, that’s the Ninth Grade.

It seems as though every Ninth Grade is a genius, but they’re not all the same…. People differ…. Generally, a Ninth Grade is only slightly superior to us Eighth Grade in terms of physical attributes and nothing more.”

“Old Xu is right,” agreed the other, “The higher you go, the less the grade improvement. The gap between the Ninth and Eighth Grade is far less than between the Second and First Grade. But the true strength of the Ninth Grade lies in the Extreme State.

Unfortunately, only those practicing superior Martial Arts can achieve the Extreme State. We’ll never have a chance in our lifetime.”

These three were the “Wild Mountain Tigers,” who had recently killed the chief captain, He Xinhong.

The leader was Ding Yu, known as the Wild Mountain Tiger.

The second in command was Xu Xin, known as the Cannibal Sword.

The third in command was Sun Xiaohui, known as the Sunrise Palm.

Ding Yu was dismissive.

“I don’t agree with you. The Yue family has held Wushan for so many years. Their martial strength is far beyond what most people can imagine.

The name Yue Shenwei sounds so grand, Yue Shenwei, Yue Shenwei. Anyone daring to take such a homophonic name must have extraordinary skills.”

He finished, his expression becoming excited, eyes filled with anticipation. He seemed eager to rush in and fight.

The other two saw this, both offering wry smiles and saying nothing more.

This leader was young and ambitious, possessing the strongest talent they had ever seen.

Aside from his Divine Power, his endurance was also incredibly high, far exceeding that of ordinary people.

It’s said before achieving any grade, his arms already possessed a strength of sixteen hundred pounds. After achieving his grade, advancing one grade per year, exploiting his potential, now this strength….

Xu Xin sighed internally. He too was naturally strong, but even among those with natural strength, there were differences.

“Since big brother doesn’t believe it, let’s go in and see.” He said in a deep voice.

The three stopped talking, suddenly grabbing forward, utilizing their skilled hands to push off the wall repeatedly, and agilely climbed up to the wall’s edge, leaping inside.

Two patrolling hounds opened their mouths, ready to bark wildly, but before they could make a sound, were struck by two stones to the head, falling unconscious.

The three quickly tapped their toes on the fake mountain, swiftly heading toward the Yue family corridors.

Among them, Ding Yu’s body technique was the most agile and dexterous.

Despite his height of over two meters, he moved like a nimble ape, silent yet precise and flexible. He could already be compared to high-grade experts specializing in body techniques.

Three patrolling household servants, holding lanterns, walked over, a black shadow suddenly flashing past behind them.

The three silently fell to the ground.

A lantern was picked up by one of them.

“Pour the oil, ignite it,”

Ding Yu said in a deep voice.

“Alright.”

The three took out oil they carried with them and began to spread and ignite it.

At such a late hour, most of the experts were asleep except for a few on patrol.

Even the few on patrol were no match for the three who excelled in assassination and lurking, experts of the Eighth and Ninth Grade.

In just a few minutes, smoke and fire arose all around the Yue family estate.

“Who dares cause trouble at the Yue family!!”

A thunderous roar suddenly spread across the entire Yue family grounds.

Yue Shenwei, standing two meters and twenty tall, holding a copper staff, burst from his bedroom with his shirt open.

Several experts from the family followed him, patrolling everywhere.

But before they could gather more people, three figures suddenly pounced down from the wooden beams on one side of the corridor.

The leading man growled low, like a hungry tiger rushing for prey.

His two-meter frame pounced from above, bringing with it a fierce wind.

Yue Shenwei, undaunted by the crisis, raised his copper staff and thrust it toward the man.

Boom!!

The two collided head-on, then separated.

The man landed steadily, his bright eyes revealing a hint of excitement at the hunt.

“Again!!”

Whoosh!

His cloak was torn off and flung away as he once again charged at Yue Shenwei.

With heavy crashes, the two engaged in high-speed combat.

One wielded a copper staff, the other was bare-handed with twin palms.

It was supposed to be a disadvantage for the bare-handed man, yet after several exchanges, Yue Shenwei’s hands holding the copper staff began to tremble.

He was shocked; the opponent’s strength was overwhelming, having him feel numb in his hands after just five or six moves.

He had met people with natural great strength, but one on this level, it was indeed a first.

Immediately, he switched his moves, no longer meeting the force head-on, shifting to techniques to deflect and evade, then counter-attack.

But after only a few moves like this, the man grew discontent.

“Retreat and dodge are not what a real man should do! You’re such a disappointment!”

“You break into my house in the middle of the night for a sneak attack and still expect me to be easygoing? Ridiculous!” Yue Shenwei sneered.

“Forget it.” The man’s words showed boredom, “You’re worthless; I’ll kill you first, then go find Yue Shenwei!”

Before he finished speaking, he didn’t wait for the opponent’s reply and suddenly moved forward, smashing down a palm at the top of Yue Shenwei’s head.

The palm came suddenly, exploding with far greater speed than any move before.

Yue Shenwei couldn’t react in time and could only horizontally block with full strength.

At the same time, he instantly used his Limit-Breaking Skill with both legs; a force far stronger than before surged into his body, boosting his strength.

The Limit-Breaking Skill he used was called “Return of Force.”

This is a defensive counterattack technique; as long as he can withstand the opponent’s strike, he can borrow part of the force to augment his own power and counterstrike hard.

At the best of times, it can enhance this move over half its power.

Crack.

Unfortunately, Yue Shenwei miscalculated.

The massive force from the copper staff far exceeded what he could withstand.

His arms broke on the spot, and he could only watch as the copper staff fell and smashed hard into his chest.

Then his chest collapsed, and reverse blood spat out from his mouth.

Poof!

He didn’t even have time to use the Extreme State; his entire body flew backward, crashing into a wooden pillar sufficient for a man’s embrace.

The surface of the pillar shattered, indenting inward.

Yue Shenwei’s body also bent backward, hung on the pillar, and blood flowed from his mouth, swiftly losing breath.

“He’s dead, let’s go find Yue Shenwei!” Tang Shihu, Ding Yu said impatiently.

Initially, he only exerted fifty percent of his strength to probe, then discovered the opponent was just so-so and slightly exerted ninety percent power. After that, it was over.

Seeing Yue Shenwei dead, the surrounding Yue household servants suddenly scattered in terror.

The remaining Yue family members turned and fled.

“Second Master is dead!! Second Master was killed!!”

“Quickly call the First Master to dispatch troops!! A strong man killed the Second Master!!”

“Fire broke out!! Quickly put it out!!”

Crying, shouting, and screaming became particularly chaotic amidst the ever-rising flames.

The Yue family experts who were entangled with the three just now, seeing this Ninth-Grade expert Yue Shenwei killed, turned and fled without a moment’s hesitation.

“Who is Second Master?” Tang Shihu asked speechlessly.

Xu Xin and Sun Xiaohui exchanged wry smiles.

“Brother, it’s Yue Shenwei… Second Master is the one you’re looking for, Yue Shenwei…”

Tang Shihu was taken aback.

He looked at the two.

“Don’t joke around, that’s supposed to be the Yue family’s strongest Ninth-Grade expert, how could it be that weakling just now?”

“…..” The two were at a loss for words.

At this moment, a faint voice was heard from afar.

“Shenwei is dead! The strong man is formidable, everyone flee! Report to the authorities to surround and kill!!”

“Run!! The strong man is Ninth-Grade!!”

The chaotic calls drifted in the wind.

The three Tang Shihu stood in place, momentarily neglected by everyone.

“This… Yue Shenwei… is this weak??” Ding Yu fell into deep suspicion after a moment of silence.

The other two didn’t know what to say, only smiling wryly.

Ninth-Grade experts are human too, at most they’re not much stronger than the two of them.

Without using the Extreme State, naturally, they’re far weaker than Tang Shihu.

If Yue Shenwei had exploded with the Extreme State initially, there would still have been some hope of escaping.

Unfortunately, he missed the best opportunity.

“This Wushan Prefecture… has been oppressed by this weakling for so many years??” Ding Yu looked incredulous.

He originally anticipated that the three of them would surely engage in a fierce battle here, and after a thrilling experience, get injured before managing to kill Yue Shenwei and escape.

Who would have thought…

Suddenly, all former reputations established by Wushan Prefecture, the authority, and impressions formed in his mind collapsed.

Empty reputation, strong appearance but weak essence.

This new impression emerged in his heart.

“Forget it, let’s go.”

He suddenly lost interest, turned, and quickly left.

The other two, helpless, could only follow.

The three figures vanished in the shadow of thick smoke in the blink of an eye.

Not long after the three left.

Near the Yue family, atop a club building.

Zhang Rongfang was listening to Bao Ning and Qingsu reporting on the situation at Golden Wing Pavilion.

At this moment, seeing the firelight, he looked out of the window from afar.

“Over there… is that the Yue family?”

He frowned and asked softly.

“Yes, sir, judging by the direction and distance, it should be the Yue family estate on fire.”

Bao Ning had memorized the entire topography and buildings of Wushan Prefecture.

At this moment, upon a brief look, he calculated the position, knowing where the fire was.

“But this fire… is clearly visible even from so far away; it’s obviously significant. The Yue family estate is heavily guarded; how could they allow the fire to spread to this extent? Could there be some variable?” He frowned and speculated.

“The Yue family has Yue Shenwei, a Ninth-Grade expert in charge; what problem could arise?” Qingsu said indifferently nearby.

“On the contrary, though Yue Shenwei is Ninth-Grade, a few years ago, he was secretly challenged by the Huang family Patriarch Huang Yixi, and within thirty moves, he lost twice. His strength has started to decline.”

“So in your opinion, who is the strongest in combat in all of Wushan Prefecture?” Zhang Rongfang curiously asked.

Huang Yixi was killed by him with a single double-heavy mountain strike, and that was just that. Since Huang Yixi couldn’t win, it seems Yue Shenwei is just a minor figure.

“Wushan Prefecture has two Super Grade experts in seclusion. One is Thousand Mountain One Sword Tan Xiao; the other’s identity is unknown, but once defeated Huang Yixi and Cyan Horn together in three moves. His strength is extremely formidable.

If you talk about the strongest, it should be these two.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep