novelraw Chapter 34 Starting late but finishing early
Chapter 34 Starting late but finishing early
Xuanjian Sect, Martial Arts Arena.
Realizing that he was no match for Chu Xiao in terms of his suppressed cultivation level, Peng Yan started resorting to underhanded tactics.
"I can't defeat you with the power of the Qi Refining stage, but how could I possibly lose with the power of the Foundation Establishment stage?"
Peng Yan laughed loudly, disregarding whether such behavior was shameful or not, and unleashed his strongest killing move at Chu Xiao.
The third-tier finger spirit skill [Formless Finger] released by the Foundation Establishment stage would most likely kill an ordinary Qi Refining stage cultivator instantly if it hit them.
Even if Chu Xiao is at the tenth level of Qi Refining, taking this hit would definitely not be good for him.
Therefore, when Luo Xingyi, who was watching from the sidelines, realized that Peng Yan had violated the rules, a look of astonishment flashed across his face.
She never expected that Peng Yan would be so lacking in martial ethics.
"Chu Xiao, get out of the way..." Luo Xingyi quickly stepped forward and shouted for Chu Xiao to step back.
Because she was too far away, and Peng Yan launched his attack suddenly, Luo Xingyi didn't have time to rescue Chu Xiao directly.
She could only watch in horror as Peng Yan's attack drew ever closer to Chu Xiao, and her junior brother was about to die a horrible death on the spot...
At the critical moment, Chu Xiao, whose aura had been locked by Peng Yan, made a move.
Faced with the Foundation Establishment stage's killing move, Chu Xiao neither dodged nor avoided it, and his expression did not even change.
Instead of retreating, he advanced, delivering a powerful punch to meet Peng Yan's thrust.
The punch was swift and fierce, and a dull whistling sound suddenly burst forth.
His sleeves fluttered in the wind, and a fierce gust of wind pressed down on Peng Yan's face.
But even faster than the strong wind was the unstoppable force of the fist.
That was Chu Xiao's [Heart-Shattering Fist], which struck first despite being behind.
"Varied……"
Peng Yan didn't have time to react; he couldn't even see the trajectory of the fist.
How could he be faster than me? What makes him think he can be faster than me?
A few doubts began to arise in his mind.
But before these questions could be answered, Peng Yan's consciousness began to gradually fade away.
Because Chu Xiao's fist struck his face, the terrifying force instantly destroyed everything.
The confidence of a Foundation Establishment cultivator coming to stand up for his sister, the cunning of breaking promises and violating rules, and the disbelief in Chu Xiao's strength...
Everything, everything, was reduced to laughable dust by that one punch.
With his nose bridge collapsed, Peng Yan flew backwards like a kite with a broken string, flying straight out of the training ground.
Finally, he crashed heavily onto the stone steps beside the mountain road and rolled downhill due to inertia.
"Chu Xiao!" At the same time, Luo Xingyi rushed to Chu Xiao's side. "Are you alright?"
"Do I look like something's wrong?" Chu Xiao withdrew his fist and smiled.
"Senior sister, instead of worrying about me, you should worry about whether this fellow Daoist might accidentally fall and die on the stone steps of our sect."
"You..." Luo Xingyi looked Chu Xiao up and down, and seeing that the latter was indeed not seriously injured, he felt a little relieved.
But she still looked at Chu Xiao with suspicion and asked, "Your cultivation level...?"
"Yes, just as Senior Sister Luo observed," Chu Xiao readily admitted.
"Thanks to Fellow Daoist Peng's guidance and sparring, I found a way to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage."
That's right, Chu Xiao is not at the tenth level of Qi Refining now.
But...
The foundation stage is one layer.
During the battle just now, Chu Xiao sensed Peng Yan's malice.
So he directly consumed the souls accumulated in the Myriad Souls Banner and crossed the threshold of Foundation Establishment.
In other words, his cultivation level has been classified into the same category as Peng Yan's—early Foundation Establishment stage.
That is why Chu Xiao was able to truly defeat Peng Yan.
"..." Upon hearing Chu Xiao admit that he had broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage, Luo Xingyi was at a loss for words.
Is this right? This isn't right.
If she remembered correctly, just a few days ago, Chu Xiao was still just a mortal, right?
Yet this mortal without spiritual roots suddenly rose to the eighth level of Qi Refining in a single day.
This is undoubtedly quite exaggerated.
I thought this was the limit of Chu Xiao's talent, but I never expected...
In just a few days, Chu Xiao actually broke through in battle and became a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
As the ancients said, "A scholar should be viewed with new eyes after three days of separation."
But Chu Xiao's condition is more than just a matter of looking at someone with new eyes after three days apart.
In just a few days, he went from a mortal to the Foundation Establishment stage... This is a level of achievement that should be met with utmost respect after three days of separation.
Even though Luo Xingyi knew that Chu Xiao was a promising genius before losing his spiritual root.
But why did she feel...?
Having lost his spiritual root, has Chu Xiao evolved from a genius into a cultivation monster?
It should be noted that Luo Xingyi was also a renowned genius cultivator.
But compared to Chu Xiao...
Luo Xingyi suddenly became a bit withdrawn.
It turns out she wasn't a genius at all.
She was just an ordinary person born in an era without Chu Xiao.
"...Never mind, it's good that you're alright."
In the end, all the words Luo Xingyi wanted to say were condensed into this complex sentence.
Chu Xiao could sense that his senior sister was somewhat disappointed, but he didn't say anything comforting like "Senior sister, you're not weak either."
Because if he were to say such things, they wouldn't serve as comfort, but rather as a blatant Versaillesian revelation.
After all, humility is a virtue, and humility is even more valuable...
That's called pretending to be weak to catch a tiger.
So Chu Xiao didn't say anything, he just smiled at Luo Xingyi.
He then walked toward the landing site where Peng Yan's plane crashed.
When Chu Xiao and Luo Xingyi arrived beside Peng Yan, they both subconsciously looked away.
There was no other way, because Peng Yan's condition was too terrible, and it was almost unbearable to look at.
Scattered on the ground were crimson white cubes, clearly broken front teeth;
The nose bridge that collapsed and turned into putty was broken off by Chu Xiao's punch;
His face was covered in bruises, probably from falling down the steps...
"Um... Senior Sister, if I said I was actually holding back, would you believe me?" Chu Xiao said.
Luo Xingyi glanced at him, said nothing, yet it seemed as if he had said everything.
"It's normal that you don't believe me, senior sister, but I really did hold back."
Yes, Chu Xiao wasn't lying; he really didn't use his full strength.
If Chu Xiao hadn't held back a little, Peng Yan's injuries probably wouldn't have been so minor.
Most likely, the moment the fist hits, Peng Yan's brain will explode like a watermelon falling from a great height and crashing to the ground, bursting into a bloody spray.
"I believe everything you say," Luo Xingyi said simply.
After saying that, she walked to Peng Yan's side, squatted down, and reached out to feel his breath.
"Yes, he's still breathing," Luo Xingyi said.
"It's good that you're still breathing." Hearing this, Chu Xiao breathed a sigh of relief.
To be honest, he was a little worried that this punch would kill Peng Yan.
After all, the two were just sparring.
However, if such a sparring match resulted in a death, it would undoubtedly harm the reputation of the Xuanjian Sect.