HSSB176: If you want to make a move, just shut up and do it already
Looking at Yan Zhaoge, Chen Lin was enraged to the point of her soul almost leaving her body, throwing her aura-qi into turmoil and almost causing a cultivation deviation.
A hand suddenly landed on her shoulder. Looking over, she saw that it was Xie Ziyi.
Chen Lin wailed mournfully from the depths of her heart, "Ziyi…"
Patting her shoulder, Xie Ziyi then turned to look at Yan Zhaoge, "Yan Zhaoge, is it?"
He pointed to Pan-Pan, "I can tell you very honestly now that I want to slaughter your Pixiu."
Around thirty years of age, Xie Ziyi had a robust body, his features carrying a ruthless air about them.
His gaze was filled with confidence and fighting intent just like his junior apprentice-brother Yan Shan, just that his disposition was somewhat steadier than Yan Shan's. Still, his entire body emanating arrogance, he appeared even more forceful and domineering.
Yan Zhaoge shrugged, "You actually want to kill me as well, don't you?"
Looking at Yan Zhaoge, Xie Ziyi suddenly laughed, the coldness within his eyes skyrocketing, "Well said; very well said indeed!"
"Yan Zhaoge, I know that you defeated that trash Liu Shengfeng, but if you think me to be like him, you're wrong."
"Yes, while Liu Shengfeng is very trashy, you being able to defeat him of the late Xiantian stage with a cultivation of the early Xiantian stage is already sufficient in proving how remarkable you are.
Xie Ziyi extended his palm and lined up his fingers to form a sabre with which he made a chopping motion in the air, "Being very remarkable, it is inevitable that you possess some arrogance. However, remember the old adage-only geniuses who are amongst the living can be called geniuses; dead ones, amount to nothing at all."
"These words can apply to anyone; we should work hard together to prove this point," Looking at Xie Ziyi, Yan Zhaoge shook his head and laughed.
He slowly made a cutting motion against his throat directed towards Xie Ziyi, "If you want to make a move, just shut up and do it already."
Rotating his wrists, Xie Ziyi walked towards Yan Zhaoge, saying coldly, "My intentions exactly."
"I want to see how many punches of mine you can receive."
Yan Zhaoge said mildly, "Not even one."
Xie Ziyi was momentarily stunned.
"I'll directly put you down with a few punches; when did I ever say I was going to receive your punches?" Yan Zhaoge laughed.
Xie Ziyi's faced darkened, "Sharp-tongued fellow; I really hope that your abilities do not all lie in that tongue of yours."
Saying thus, he strode out, directly arriving before Yan Zhaoge, punching out with a Green Thunder Justice Fist.
Xie Ziyi's entire body was densely covered with thunderbolts, to the point that he resembled a divinity of thunder descending to this world.
His terrifying aura-qi was concentrated on a single point, the illusory heaven and earth full of thunderbolts compressed to the size of a fist, resembling a ball of thunder as it accompanied Xie Ziyi's punch, weighing down on Yan Zhaoge.
While it had been greatly compressed, its power was much more dense and refined, far surpassing the illusory heaven and earth formed of a typical Xiantian Martial Scholar's aura-qi.
Yan Zhaoge's expression was as per normal as he similarly pushed out with his palm, aura-qi resembling numerous fire dragons surging as they instantly came together to form a world of blazing flames.
At the centre of the world of blazing flames sat a purplish-red pill furnace, stabilising the heavens and the earth.
As this scene appeared, everyone here was rendered wide-eyed and tongue-tied.
Even Xu Fei and Tang Yonghao, who were silently recovering their strength by the side, revealed stunned looks.
The Seven Seas Young Master Song Chao, who had been sitting silently by the side following his clash with Tang Yonghao as though the entire Heavenly Connection Meet no longer concerned him, was similarly shocked.
As the Illuminating World Young Master Huang Jie- he who should have been a focal point following his appearance but had kept low-key to the point of seeming non-existent – watched Yan Zhaoge, a light abruptly flashed within his eyes.
Zhang Yao blurted out, "Aura-qi forming an illusory heaven and earth- the mid Xiantian Martial Scholar realm!"
She turned to look at Xie Youchan and Ruan Ping, "But, wasn't it said that Senior Brother Yan only just stepped into the Xiantian stage not long ago?"
Ruan Ping also could not bother about bearing and appearance at this time as he opened his mouth slightly, appearing rather out of sorts as he looked towards Yan Zhaoge.
At this moment, even without Xie Youchan having to say it, he himself was also feeling a little regret over his previous action of testing Yan Zhaoge. Luckily, he had been stopped in time by Xie Youchan.
As the others were all stunned on the spot, Xie Ziyi was even more shell-shocked, "Earlier, when he defeated Liu Shengfeng, wasn't he still in the early Xiantian Martial Scholar realm?"
Yan Zhaoge did not conceal his cultivation first so as to take his opponent unawares later on, instead putting his abilities on display immediately.
He laughed lightly, "The scene that I have always wanted to see, has finally been realised."
As Yan Zhaoge pushed out with his palm, between the heavens and the earth, the purplish-red pill furnace suddenly shuddered, as though there was something trying to rush out from it.
The next instant, the lid of the furnace opened, blazing fire surging out from within.
Then, a gigantic ape leapt out from within, lifting up the skies and setting down the earth, moving mountains and shifting seas.
Howling madly, that ape punched outwards, a boundless sea of blazing fire surging up madly along with it, the terrifying explosive power that resulted instantly shattering the illusory heaven and earth in the form of a ball of thunder formed of Xie Ziyi's aura-qi!
Combining the Tushita Palm, the Wind Fire Calamities and the Mighty Ape Demonic Fist into one, the explosive power sought to flip the heavens and overturn the earth!
Xie Ziyi's face changed, "No wonder he was able to defeat the late Xiantian Liu Shengfeng at the early Xiantian stage; he is indeed skilled."
Not daring to slacken his guard in the slightest, he executed the Heavenly Thunder Hall's direct lineage Thunder Shadow Body, his figure seemingly transforming into a series of phantom images as he flickered about at lightning speed.
However, Yan Zhaoge was not slower than Xie Ziyi in the slightest, executing the Aura Wind Heaven Warping Qi alongside the Wind Fire Calamities as he closely chased after his retreating figure, not leaving him any breathing space whatsoever.
Xie Ziyi's expression grew darker and colder as a light flickered within his hands, a sword-light speedily shooting towards Yan Zhaoge.
As this sword sped over, its technique, precision and speed had all reached the peak of fast swords.
Of the Heavenly Thunder Hall's direct lineage martial arts, one of the Supreme Thunderbolt Trio, Thunderbolt Flash!
Sword-lights shone repeatedly in Xie Ziyi's hands as multiple flickering sword-lights seemingly came together to form a single line.
Thunderbolt Combined Flash!
Not even blinking once, Yan Zhaoge's Jade Dragon Sword left its sheath, transforming into a jade sword-light which clashed together with Xie Ziyi's low-grade spirit artifact, the Vapour Sealing Sword.
The Big Dipper Sword was executed, starlight flooding the area as an all-encompassing sky of stars appeared, multiple bolts of lightning instantly vanishing without a trace as they landed within.
Xie Ziyi's face grew even more solemn as he brandished his sword once more.
This time, his sword-light transformed into a purple waterfall, solid to the point that of seeming real, possessing a majestic momentum as it resembled a long rainbow streaking through the sky.
Of the Supreme Thunderbolt Trio, Thunderbolt Quake!
As opposed to Thunderbolt Flash which pursued speed and technique, this sword consisted of the instantaneous eruption of the entire body's true qi, a killing move which generated a large boost in power.
But this could still not be considered over as a red light abruptly flickered on Xie Ziyi's face.
Just as he had let fly his first sword, his second sword was already retracing its path as he was virtually using his sword like a sabre, slashing vertically with the pose of mightily striking down a mountain as he hacked out towards Yan Zhaoge.
The power of this sword was not inferior to that of the first sword in the slightest as the two terrifying sword lights, one horizontal, one vertical, formed a huge '十' character in mid-air.
The final stance of the Supreme Thunderbolt Trio, Thunderbolt Combo!
The first sword was already a full-powered blow with Xie Ziyi's cultivation at the peak of the late Xiantian stage.
But after such a big move, he immediately let fly with a second sword without even requiring a moment to for his qi to return, with a power not any weaker than the previous sword in the slightest.
Having not held back whatsoever in using his first sword, having already unleashed his strongest offensive strength, under such a situation, he was still able to immediately let fly with a second sword!
Already having to spend much effort in receiving the first sword, an opponent of the same cultivation level would be even more hard pressed to deal with the second sword.
This was precisely the Heavenly Thunder Hall's direct lineage killing move!
HSSB177: You do a two-combo, I'll do a three-combo
The set of martial skills known as the Supreme Thunderbolt Trio exhibited the trademark swiftness and violence of the Heavenly Thunder Hall's martial arts to the point of perfection.
The previous two stances, Thunderbolt Flash and Thunderbolt Quake, aside, the final stance, Thunderbolt Combo, deeply contained the essence of the Heavenly Thunder Hall's martial legacies.
While possessing great power, it was also extremely profound, and thus extremely hard to cultivate in.
Even many Martial Grandmasters were unable to successfully master it. Those who were able to do so whilst only in the Martial Scholar realm, in the entire history of the Heavenly Thunder Hall, could be counted one one's fingers.
Just based on this Thunderbolt Combo stance alone, it seemed that there was good reason for Xie Ziyi to have previously been dubbed by many as the strongest Martial Scholar beneath Heavenly Connection.
Looking at this move, Xie Youchan shook her head slightly.
In her earlier battle with Xie Ziyi, she had been defeated without him using Thunderbolt Combo.
If it was Liu Shengfeng, the result would most likely also be the same, with him unable to force out this supreme trump card of Xie Ziyi's before being defeated.
As Thunderbolt Combo was unleashed, even Xu Fei, Tang Yonghao and Song Chao had to pay more attention to it.
Him having fallen a step behind Xu Fei and the others had always been one of the things plaguing Xie Ziyi. In his eyes, he was definitely no weaker than Xu Fei and Tang Yonghao.
This move had originally been kept in reserve by Xie Ziyi as a killer trump card for challenging them.
It was only that facing Yan Zhaoge at this moment, in just a few short exchanges, Xie Ziyi had already realised that this was an enemy that he might not be able to defeat even unleashing his full strength.
Xie Ziyi did not dare to hold anything back whatsoever as his two-sword combo that rather defied common logic chopped out, aiming straight at Yan Zhaoge.
Xie Ziyi's low-grade spirit artifact, the Vapour Sealing Sword, merged with his sword-intent, transforming into two purple streaks of lightning, forming a '十' character as they sliced apart the heavens and the earth.
Seeing this, Yan Zhaoge smiled slightly. The Jade Dragon Sword within his hands shook, the roar of a dragon seemingly resounding as jade light flashed, meeting Xie Ziyi's Thunderbolt Combo.
A streak of jade light first struck the purple cross of lightning in mid-air.
Similarly not pausing in the slightest, a second streak of jade light shot into the air, closely following the first as it too struck the purple cross of lightning.
Xie Ziyi's pupils abruptly dilated, "How is it that he also knows my Heavenly Thunder Hall's Thunderbolt Combo?"
Chen Lin and the other Heavenly Thunder Hall disciples were all in an uproar.
His gaze like lightning, the Martial Grandmaster of the Heavenly Thunder Hall who had led his clan's disciples here abruptly turned, staring at Fang Zhun.
The others were also all stunned and lost for words. But before they had regained their wits, Yan Zhaoge's third sword had already chopped out.
Xie Ziyi's jaw dropped, "Impossible!"
The Heavenly Thunder Hall's Thunderbolt Combo could only strike out a two-hit combo.
Attacking at full strength like this, if a third blow was struck, the martial practitioner's own meridians would first collapse instead.
But however hard it was for Xie Ziyi to accept, under his horrified gaze, Yan Zhaoge's third sword let out a roar of extermination as it easily shattered the remnants of his already scattered aura-qi.
The world-dominating cross-shaped sword-light, collapsed.
The next moment, a massive fist quickly expanded in Xie Ziyi's field of vision.
It had completely enveloped the world before his eyes!
Blood spurted out within the air!
Yan Zhaoge's heavy punch landed a direct hit on the bridge of his opponent's nose, causing it to bleed heavily.
Xie Ziyi's entire body flew backwards, a stream of light flickering on his body.
A jade pendant around his neck shattered. If not for this precious treasure having protected his body in time, this blow of Yan Zhaoge's would have directly splattered out his brains.
Even so, he smashed into the ground, unable to move for a while.
Everyone stared at the incomparably messed up Xie Ziyi, really finding it hard to believe that this was that same high-spirited Heaven's favoured son of earlier.
But following that, their attentions were no longer on Xie Ziyi as they instead turned to look at Yan Zhaoge.
Everyone's faces were filled with incredulous expressions as they watched Yan Zhaoge.
A Sacred Sun Clan disciple asked Tang Yonghao quizzically, "Senior apprentice-brother Tang, was that a Thunderbolt Three Combo just now?"
Frowning, Tang Yonghao shook his head, "It only looks similar to the Heavenly Thunder Hall's Thunderbolt Combo, but it is actually quite different. However, I too cannot glean the profundities within in a short period."
Yan Zhaoge retracted his fist, reciting a long chant, "An instant's production, Finger Flicking Shocking Thunder."
Keeping his Jade Dragon Sword, he looked calmly at Xie Ziyi, "I said earlier-I don't have to receive your fist; you just have to receive mine."
Currently, Xie Ziyi still looked rather dazed, the entire group of Heavenly Thunder Hall disciples also looked rather dazed, and even the Martial Grandmaster expert of the Heavenly Thunder Hall was frowning deeply, having fallen into deep thought.
Everyone present had looks of shock and admiration on their faces.
Regaining her wits, Chen Lin glared at Yan Zhaoge, "Where did you steal and learn my Heavenly Thunder Hall's Thunderbolt Combo from?"
Yan Zhaoge looked at her a little pitifully, "It's fine if you do not know; but since you are ignorant, you should speak less. Not knowing but pretending to know; you will only make a fool of yourself."
"Go back and ask your clan's Elders whether that really was your Thunderbolt Combo."
"As for stealing and learning martial arts, I have always been pretty curious about where your clan's Lin Zhou learnt One Line Edge from."
Chen Lin ground her teeth, wanting to persist all the way, first accusing Yan Zhaoge of thievery and then sticking to that stance before anything else.
However, her clan's Elders not having said anything up to this point, she found herself lacking of confidence.
Them not having spoken meant that Fang Zhun, Shan Shiweng and the others had all determined that the martial art Yan Zhaoge had executed was truly not Thunderbolt Combo.
But such a result was even harder for Chen Lin and the other Heavenly Thunder Hall disciples to accept.
Ah Hu secretly sent a sound transmission over to Yan Zhaoge, "Young Master, that three-sword combo of yours just now, what exactly…"
Not having to hide anything from him, Yan Zhaoge answered leisurely, "It is not a sword art, but a force exertion technique just like Thunderbolt Combo. Swords, fists, even sabres-it can power all of those."
"The essence of Thunderbolt Combo lies in being able to get back force after having unleashed a blow at full force, so as to follow up by immediately unleashing a second sword not inferior in power to the first in the slightest."
Ah Hu nodded. Even facing an opponent who possessed a slightly higher cultivation base than them, martial practitioners would be able to counter and defeat them with such a combination of killing moves.
If the opponent was of similar or inferior cultivation to the user, it would very be possible for this Thunderbolt Combo to achieve an instakill.
"Not having cultivated in Thunderbolt Combo, I am not familiar with the specifics of its force exertion techniques. However, I still understand the general principle, the crux of its consecutive force exertion lying with the circulation of true qi," Yan Zhaoge explained, "This is a move which requires the investiture of all the body's force, with the aura-qi within the dantian and the pores of the body having to erupt simultaneously."
"After the user's first sword, the true qi should originally circulate a cycle through the body's meridians, returning to the dantian before force can be exerted once more, the true qi once again being emitted through the meridians with the dantian as a starting point."
"The martial arts which use Thunderbolt Combo require forcibly breaking off the usual flow of true qi within the body after the first force exertion, preventing the true qi from circulating back to the dantian, pushing it back in reverse as soon as possible following the breaking off of its flow, from this unleashing the force behind the second sword."
Yan Zhaoge said, "In becoming a Martial Scholar, cultivating out aura-qi is achieved from tempering inner qi by circulating it in reverse. However, circulating aura-qi in reverse about the entire body is still not a common practice, and is more like a life and death struggle, because this places a very huge burden on a martial practitioner's body. Let alone inner aura and outer aura Martial Scholars, even Xiantian Martial Scholars and Heavenly Connection Martial Scholars would seldom be able to achieve it."'
"Therefore, few Martial Scholars ever manage to successfully cultivate in Thunderbolt Combo."
Here, Yan Zhaoge shrugged, "While this may sound a little rude, this supreme martial art of the Heavenly Thunder Hall that is famed throughout the entire world actually holds a great defect."