Chapter 1691: "Arena (3)"
"One wouldn't have missed anything not watching these people fight. The real show has not even begun." Zhuge Yin said contemptuously, his gaze falling in the direction towards Gu Xin Yan standing at the back.
Gu Xin Yan was standing among a group of disciples from the Blood Fiend Palace, her gaze indifferent and there was no sign of Gu Ying beside her. Among a whole group of youths, Gu Xin Yan's beauty was even more eye catching and Zhuge Yin's heart was inadvertently moved when he looked at her. Coincidentally, as that highly loathsome Gu Ying was not here, Zhuge Yin quickly put on his most winsome smile and went walking towards Gu Xin Yan.
Gu Xin Yan had been rather distracted this day and she was feeling rather uneasy with the words she had said to Gu Ying last night at the banquet. She had asked some of their own disciples to go invite Gu Ying to come with them this morning but they had been rejected.
Towards this elder brother of hers, Gu Xin Yan was really unable to fathom his personality well and her heart only felt a kind of fear against him.
Truth to be told, on the entire journey here to the Pure Grace Palace, Gu Ying had almost not departed from her shadow which rather unnerved her. With Gu Ying absent today, she was instead feeling a little more relaxed, her attractive looking eyes peering around at her surroundings. It was not known what she was looking for as her gaze passed over the youths one by one in the crowd, only to be disappointed time after time.
[That person did not come.]
"Little Sister Xin Yan." Zhuge Yin's voice rang out right in front of Gu Xin Yan. Gu Xin Yan quickly recovered her senses and saw Zhuge Yin's smiling face before her eyes. Her heart felt a little helpless but she put on a faint smile out of politeness.
"Young Master Zhuge."
Zhuge Yin however did not feel that Gu Xin Yan was distancing herself at all but instead stepped in closer to ask: "Did Little Sister Xin Yan manage to sleep well last night? I beg that Little Sister Xin Yan would not take offence with the incident yesterday as I merely had a drink too many which brought about that uncharacteristic behaviour. I must have caused my Little Sister to laugh at me."
"You're being too kind, yesterday was just a minor misunderstanding that's all." Gu Xin Yan replied with a smile.
"The arrangements the Pure Grace Palace made today is just too boring. Although the Pure Grace Palace has many species of flowers and much fishes to see, they are rather dull and uninteresting. I saw this morning that you were quite interested towards the flowers. If an opportunity arises, I will be sure to invite you to the Dragon Slayers Palace to see the flowerbeds in our gardens, it will be a sight that the Pure Grace Palace cannot hope to compare to." Zhuge Yin said with a smile.
Gu Xin Yan was a little at a loss for words. She really did not know why this Zhuge Yin kept coming to badger her. If it had been anyone else, she could easily just disregard them or block them off with a few curt words. But as the other party was the Young Lord of the Dragon Slayers Palace, she had no choice but to be a little hold back a little.
The Blood Fiend Palace and the Flame Demons Palace were jostling for the top position of the Twelve Palaces and if they earned the enmity of the Dragon Slayers Palace at this point of time, it would only create unnecessary trouble for them.
Gu Xin Yan had no choice but to deal with Zhuge Yin patiently.
It was a wave after another for the youths on the arena stage and upon the platform now was already a couple of youths with indigo spirits.
But to the true prodigies who held back without making a move below the stage, such insignificant power wasn't even worthy enough for them to strike at.
Zhuge Yin continued to find excuses to strike up a conversation with Gu Xin Yan. It must be said that with Zhuge Yin's looks, background, and powers, it was enough to draw him a whole clump of admirers. But Gu Xin Yan's mind was not on him at all, merely answering him with indifferent replies, her eyes highly distracted, intermittently straying over the crowd, seemingly looking for something among them.
When she caught sight of the figures of Yue Yi and Zi Jin, her eyes then showed great disappointment.
[Those two people from the Shadow Moon Palace are already here but there is still no sign of Jun Wu. It seems that he really did not come today.]
The emotion in Gu Xin Yan's eyes was well noticed by Zhuge Yin, that look of great disappointment highly stinging to his eyes. He then turned to follow Gu Xin Yan's line of sight to see.....
Chapter 1692: "Arena (4)"
Among the crowd of people, he saw a youth and a young girl standing together. They were watching the battle on stage and the young girl seemed to be occasionally asking questions by the youth's ear with the youth then answering her patiently.
The youth possessed extremely striking looks and even Zhuge Yin had to admit that the other party was good looking. But.....
Zhuge Yin's eyes narrowed up slightly. It was impossible that he would mistake the uniforms the two people were wearing as anything else. They were disciples of the Shadow Moon Palace. How count the Shadow Moon Palace count as anything before the Dragon Slayers Palace? Here he was standing right next to Gu Xin Yan but why did Gu Xin Yan's gaze refuse to stay upon him but was instead drawn to look upon that youth from the Shadow Moon Palace?
Unable to reconcile with that fact, hatred rose up in Zhuge Yin's heart. Suppressing the displeasure within, Zhuge Yin then said to Gu Xin Yan with a smile: "Is Little Sister Xin Yan finding this competition boring?"
Gu Xin Yan was slightly taken aback and just nodded her heart distractedly.
Towards the battle going on up on stage, she had not paid them the slightest notice.
A venomous glint then flashed within Zhuge Yin's eyes as he said to Gu Xin Yan: "Will Little Sister Xin Yan just wait a little while for me to inject some excitement into this hopelessly dull competition?"
Before Gu Xin Yan could fully comprehend what Zhuge Yin meant with his words, Zhuge Yin had already stepped away.
From the moment that Zhuge Yin had run over to go try chat Gu Xin Yan up, Fei Yan had self consciously hidden himself in the shadows to not be an eyesore but had still continued to secretly pay attention to Zhuge Yin's actions. When Zhuge Yin's eyes had flashed with that venomous glint earlier, he had naturally noticed it. Seeing Zhuge Yin walking quickly towards the crowd, Fei Yan immediately followed behind, a faint uneasy feeling creeping into his heart.
Zi Jin was talking to Yue Yi about things happening up on the stage and though Yue Yi was a rather gloomy person, things that needed to be said would still be pointed out. And as his deep voice was never tempered with any impatience, it was greatly pleasing to Zi Jin which made the corners of her mouth lift up slightly with a smile.
But just as Zi Jin was going to ask a little more, another voice suddenly rang out behind them.
"You guys are from the Shadow Moon Palace?"
The voice was considerably loud which drew the stares of the youths in the surrounding area.
Zi Jin and Yue Yi turned their heads and saw Zhuge Yin standing there conspicuously right before their eyes, the folding fan he held in his hand swaying slowly, the young man's slightly upraised chin tinged with arrogance.
Zi Jin was immediately feeling rather nervous, both her hands subconsciously grabbing onto Yue Yi's arm. Yue Yi creased his brows and looked at Zhuge Yin and from Zhuge Yin's dress and his countenance, he recognized Zhuge Yin as who he was.
"We are indeed disciples from the Shadow Moon Palace. I wonder what brought Young Master Zhuge to come here?" Yue Yi said unaffectedly. Zhuge Yin's reputation among the Twelve Palaces wasn't all that great, conceited, arrogant, and a person who would not think of consequences for his actions, well known to be the most troublesome person to deal with among the Dragon Slayers Palace's younger generation.
Zhuge Yin glanced at the pale faced Zi Jin and he jeered inwardly in his heart before he said: "It's nothing but it's just that I noticed that the two of you seem to be very interested in the arena battles. So, aren't you going to try it yourself?"
Zhuge Yin's tone was filled with intense enmity. Yue Yi could not understand the reason for the hostility.
The Shadow Moon Palace and the Dragon Slayers Palace had always steered clear of each other without any feud between them. Moreover, there wasn't any grudge between them and Zhuge Yin where they had not even come into any form of contact before, so why had Zhuge Yin suddenly come running here to find trouble with them?
"There's no need, with our weak powers, it's not enough to grace such a grand event. We'll rather not embarrass ourselves." Yue Yi said carefully, discreetly shielding Zi Jin behind him.
Chapter 1693: "Wicked Intentions (1)"
Zhuge Yin lifted up his eyebrow slightly. "Are people from the Shadow Moon Palace all so modest? If I remember correctly, you should be called Yue Yi right?"
Yue Yi's eyebrows creased slightly. Having his identity pointed out by Zhuge Yin so suddenly, Zhuge Yin felt a foreboding premonition looming over him. Zhuge Yin had come prepared.
"Yes."
"And your Grandfather should be Elder Yue of the Shadow Moon Palace. Is that right?" Zhuge Yin asked thoughtfully, staring at Yue Yi as he continued to fan his folding fan lightly.
"That's right." The unease in Yue Yi's heart intensified. [What was Zhuge Yin pointing out his identity and background at this point of time for?]
"Elder Yue of the Shadow Moon Palace is one of the top three pugilist of the Shadow Moon Palace and he is the only Elder who holds powers comparable to the Palace Lord. He has also been in the Shadow Moon Palace longer than the the current Shadow Moon Palace Lord and has served three Palace Lords. It could be said that he is easily the most experienced and senior person in the Shadow Moon Palace. Someone once said, that with Elder Yue's skills, he even possesses the capability to override the Shadow Moon Palace Lord but Elder Yue is instead unswervingly loyal to the Shadow Moon Palace. Not only had he committed himself fully to assist three generations of Palace Lords, he had not been married, without any children of his own." Zhuge Yin's eyes flashed with a venomous and chilling glint as he stared at Yue Yi, the smile at the corners of his lips deepening.
"Speaking about this, Elder Yue is really a living example of the word loyalty! But on the other hand, I heard that the Elder Yue seems to have a penchant for....." Zhuge Yin's voice raised up slightly in pitch. "From a very long time ago, Elder Yue had already developed a habit of adopting young children. Those children would follow at Elder Yue's side from young and were brought up by Elder Yue. But there's one very strange thing. For youths who possess good gifts, after they grew up, they would mysteriously go missing, and Elder Yue does not seem to find that there's anything strange about it, and had never conducted any investigations at all. Yue Yi..... Can you answer me this? What is the reason for this strange phenomenon?"
Zhuge Yin's gaze fell upon Yue Yi, his face obviously smiling but made Yue Yi felt as if a venomous viper was eyeing him.
Zhuge Yin's words attracted the curiosity of quite a number of the youths surrounding them. Some of them had heard of the Shadow Moon Palace's Elder Yue before but had not known about such a deep secret hidden behind, and they could not help but to turn their gazes upon Yue Yi.
[Isn't Yue Yi exactly the adopted grandson of Elder Yue?]
Yue Yi's face had turned slightly pale. He could faintly detect the danger within Zhuge Yin's words. Zhuge Yin must have known something for him to ask such a question!
The reason the children that Elder Yue had adopted in the past had gone missing in the end, that was a point that even within the Shadow Moon Palace, it was a secret that was not known to anyone. Yue Yi himself had only become aware of this matter through sheer coincidence but he still did not know what had exactly happened.
"What? Yue Yi, you don't know?" Zhuge Yin asked mockingly as he stared at the pale faced Yue Yi, arrogantly raising up his chin.
Yue Yi clenched his jaws tight and did not reply, but Zi Jin standing beside him became rather nervous. Through the conversation between Jun Wu and Yue Yi, Zi Jin had become aware of Yue Yi's bitter experience straight from the horse's mouth. Zhuge Yin had already carried his words so far, he wouldn't possibly have anything good to say about Yue Yi after this.
Zi Jin drew in a deep breath and she suddenly walked to stand in front of Yue Yi, to face Zhuge Yin with his malicious intentions.
"Young Lord Zhuge, at this moment, with so many people fighting battles in the competition to exchange pointers, with you as the Dragon Slayers Palace's Young Lord, coming here to reveal the private secrets of other people, might not be all that appropriate at all!"
Chapter 1694: "Wicked Intentions (2)"
Zhuge Yin stared at Zi Jin who had suddenly jumped out and the corners of his mouth curled up in a sneer. "Not appropriate? I think this young lady here must have misunderstood something. I am merely here to remind Yue Yi that with the kind of personality Elder Yue has, if he comes to know that his adopted grandson has backed down from battle in this gathering of the Twelve Palaces which would embarrass the Shadow Moon Palace, Elder Yue would surely not let Yue Yi off easily. If Yue Yi is not careful, he might follow in the footsteps of those youths that have gone missing, then what good could it possibly do for him?"
"We wouldn't dare to trouble you to worry about that!" Zi Jin said as she looked warily at Zhuge Yin. Even she could feel the animosity Zhuge Yin had against them.
Zhuge Yin continued to stare at Zi Jin, not having any intention to waste his breath on her any longer. His target had been Yue Yi right from the beginning.
"Whether I need to worry about that, I think Yue Yi knows it best himself. The temperament of that grandfather of yours, isn't that patient at all. I think you would have tasted his "care and concern" quite a bit and you wouldn't want to have another taste of it right?"
Zhuge Yin strange words and his queer tone of voice made everyone feel there was something more behind his words. More youths who had been paying attention to the battles up on stage were now drawn over here, the crowd surrounding Yue Yi, Zi Jin and Zhuge Yin in layer upon layer of people, everyone with their ears pricked, seeking to hear more of this juicy news.
And among the big pack of nosey youths, someone was also breaking out in cold sweat for Yue Yi's and Zi Jin's sakes.
Looking at the current situation, Fei Yan realized the situation was dire. Zhuge Yin must have diverted the rage he felt from being disregarded by Gu Xin Yan to vent it all upon the Shadow Moon Palace. If it had been anyone else caught in this situation, Fei Yan could just have ignored it totally. But this was happening to people who had come to the Pure Grace Palace together with Jun Wu Xie.
Zhuge Yin was acting suave and elegant on the surface, but his heart was petty and vicious, avenging himself for the smallest grievance. When Fei Yan was in the Dragon Slayers Palace, he had witnessed Zhuge Yin teaching those disciples not to his liking a lesson, and his methods had been cruel. Not that Zhuge Yin had taken the initiative to seek trouble with Yue Yi and Zi Jin, this matter would surely not end so easily!
Fei Yan clenched his jaws tight discreetly. With his position, he could only go up and try to dissuade him a little, but Zhuge Yin was not someone easily persuaded. His eyes then involuntarily looked at his other companions among the crowd and on the faces of Qiao Chu and the others, he saw similar expressions of worry.
With the current situation, none of them could step forward or it might very well destroy the entire grand plan of having them infiltrate into the various palaces!
At that moment, Fei Yan could only discreetly retreat to the back of the crowd, to soundlessly hide himself in a unnoticeable corner before he pulled out the jade token hidden upon his body.
On the other side, Zhuge Yin's aggressive and overbearing words made Yue Yi turn white as a sheet. The other people might not be able to discern what Zhuge Yin was hinting at with his words, but to Yue Yi himself, every single one of those vicious words filled with insinuations, was like a dagger that stabbed him right in the heart, slowly breaking down the mask of unyielding resilience he had pretended to hold up for ten years, to slowly crumble into pieces.
"Oh, that's right! Yue Yi, don't you have a little sister as well? Just like you, who is also adopted and taken care of by Elder Yue?" Zhuge Yin said evilly. He looked on with great satisfaction as he saw Yue Yi's face turning more and more pale, admiring the lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
[Such a lowly piece of trash, even if he possessed a set of good looking countenance, was still only be useless good for nothing.]
[He will have Gu Xin Yan know, that things from the Shadow Moon Palace, are not fit to even carry his shoes!]
The instant Yue Yi heard the words "little sister", he immediately stiffened.
Zhuge Yin must have come to know the real face of Elder Yue. Every word he said had been filled with innuendos, like he was warning Yue Yi, that otherwise, that unspeakable truth would be revealed before everyone present.
Chapter 1695: "Wicked Intentions (3)"
Zhuge Yin must have come to know the real face of Elder Yue. Every word he said had been filled with innuendos, like he was warning Yue Yi, that otherwise, that unspeakable truth would be revealed before everyone present.
Yue Yi did not care if his own reputation fell into tatters, but he could not make himself not care about his sister's!
Zi Jin was going to say something for him with Yue Yi held her back with a hand placed on her shoulder. He then took one step forward, suppressing the fear he felt in his heart, to look straight at Zhuge Yin.
"I understand what the Young Lord Zhuge means. You want me to step up onto that arena stage?"
"That's right, I want you to be able to answer to your grandfather when you go back later. I am just concerned about you." Zhuge Yin laughed, highly arrogantly.
"Then Yue Yi would have to thank Young Lord Zhuge for his kindness." Yue Yi said before drawing in a deep breath. Giving Zi Jin a reassuring glance, Yue Yi then turned himself around resolutely, to walk up onto the stage under the numerous curious stares upon him.
Upon the stage, two disciples with indigo spirits were actually battling each other in a very close fight. They were completely unaware of the turmoil that happened off the stage when they suddenly discovered that a astoundingly quick figure had appeared right them between in a flash.
A pair of arms suddenly pushed the two youths apart in the thick of battle, the dominating strength rendering the two youths helpless against it. In a blink, they found that they had been pushed right off the stage!
At the moment that the two youths fell off the stage, they still did not know what had actually happened till the sore ache that shot through their bodies caused them to snap awake. The immediately stood up in furious rage, to glare at Yue Yi who was standing alone up on the stage.
"Filthy scoundrel! What are you doing! ?"
"Damn it! Are you asking for death! ?"
The two disciples berated fiercely, impossibly infuriated. But Yue Yi who stood up upon the stage did not pay their shouting any heed but just stood there coldly with his good looking countenance, his gaze sweeping over everyone before he looked at Zhuge Yin standing among the crowd.
This, was the result that Zhuge Yin seeked to see.
"My humble name is Yue Yi, I ask for all of you to give me some pointers." Yue Yi turned his gaze back, to clasp a hand over his fist in polite greeting.
The two youths who had been pushed off the stage by Yue Yi, immediately wanted to rush up to teach that pretty boy who didn't know the rules a good lesson.
But as Yue Yi bent his back to offer his greeting, purple coloured spirit energy enveloped Yue Yi's entire body!
Purple Spirit!
The Purple Spirit's spirit glow was just absolutely blinding under the sun. The two disciples who had wanted to rush up onto the stage immediately froze in their tracks, not daring to take another single step forward.
Who would have ever thought that this youth from the Shadow Moon Palace who kept such a low profile would suddenly exhibit the powers of a Purple Spirit! ?
The Shadow Moon Palace did not stand out among the Twelve Palaces and most of the guests who came to the Pure Grace Palace this time were mostly only young youths. At their age, to be able to attain the level of the Purple Spirit, it would mean they possessed almost Heaven defying gift. Even for the Flame Demons Palace, among the youths they sent here, only Qiao Chu was the lone Purple Spirit.
It could very well be imagined, to someone at Yue Yi's age, what the powers of a Purple Spirit really stood for!
Yue Yi straightened up his body to stand there, his face without the slightest trace of self absorbed pride nor flaunting pretentiously. He stood quietly upon the stage, to await the challenge of others.
The two disciples who had wanted to find trouble with him earlier slunk back into the shadows, not daring to make a sound. How could their puny little indigo spirits ever hope to vie to reign with a Purple Spirit? Wouldn't that be asking for torment upon themselves! ?
"Yue Yi possesses great gift as expected. The powers of a Purple Spirit is rather rare." The voice of Zhuge Yin rang out once again as he came walking out from within the crowd, laughing as he stared at Yue Yi up on the stage.
"Since no one is willing to go up and exchange some pointers with you, then I will have to practice a little together with Young Master Yue." As he spoke, Zhuge Yin stamped off on his feet, to leap up as he flew right onto the stage!
Chapter 1696: "Wicked Intentions (4)"
Yue Yi looked at Zhuge Yin through narrowed eyes as he sneered inside his heart. [What a great show of modesty and reluctance. If he still could not see that Zhuge Yin had set him up for this, he must be a moron!]
But in order to seal up Zhuge Yin's mouth, Yue Yi had no choice but to do it.
Below the stage, everyone had gathered around. The earlier battles had many of them think them dull and uninteresting but the current one was greatly different.
Yue Yi with his Purple Spirit powers against the Dragon Slayers Palace's Young Lord, Zhuge Yin would definitely be a show not to be missed.
Yue Yi's reputation was not widely known but it was different for Zhuge Yin. As the Young Lord of the Dragon Slayers Palace, the disciples from the other palaces would have heard of him before.
Zhuge Yin was not only the Dragon Slayers Palace's Young Lord, he was always known to be the most powerful person among the Twelve Palaces' younger generation in that year.
Before the last Battle of Deities was held when Qiao Chu and his companions had not yet exhibited their astounding powers, it could be said that Zhuge Yin had reigned over them all. No matter how mighty the Blood Fiend Palace and the Flame Demons Palace were, not a single one of their descendents could match up to Zhuge Yin's prodigious gift. Zhuge Yin had then naturally become the Dragon Slayers Palace's pride, revered by countless.
In that year, Zhuge Yin had only been sixteen when he broke through to attain the Purple Spirit, which could be said to have surpassed innumerable youths of his age. Now that six years had passed, his powers had only continued to grow and had not reduced!
The ruckus around the stage had immediately attracted the attention of Gu Xin Yan and Gu Xin Yan's brows creased up as she stared at Zhuge Yin who was faced off with Yue Yi standing upon the stage. With her intelligence, she had naturally immediately realized that her highly distracted gaze earlier had brought this disaster upon Yue Yi.
The Shadow Moon Palace had never attracted much of people's notice at all and if not for the attention she had focused on them earlier, why would Zhuge Ying bother to go pick a fight with the Shadow Moon Palace?
But now, Yue Yi had already been forced to go onto the stage and even if Gu Xin Yan wanted to say something to reverse the situation, there was already nothing much she could do. The arena stage would naturally have the arena's rules and nobody could interfere with them. Even if she managed to rescue him off the stage, it would surely not end on a good note.
Afterall, with so many pairs of eyes on the arena stage, if Yue Yi backed down without a fight, then not only would he be completely humiliated, even the Shadow Moon Palace's reputation would be trampled into the mud.
Gu Xin Yan secretly blamed herself for not being able to control her own emotions earlier, which had invite so much trouble for others.
Standing down below the battle platform, was the equally nervous Zi Jin. But when Zi Jin saw the purple coloured spirit glow upon Yue Yi's body, that nervousness then abated slightly, her heart holding on to that one fortunate turn of events. Yue Yi had not reveal his powers before Zi Jin before this and she had had no idea what level Yue Yi's powers had been at. But with his powers at the Purple Spirit level, it wouldn't turn out to be all that bad or bring them too much trouble even though he had gone up onto the arena stage.
"Young Master Yue, please give me some pointers." Zhuge Yin said as he clasped his hand over his fist. The words coming out from his mouth were extremely polite, but his slightly raised chin and that haughty demeanor of his betrayed the contempt he felt for Yue Yi.
Yue Yi cupped his hand over his fist in greeting, his eyes wary.
A corner of Zhuge Yin's mouth lifted and at the same moment his hands came down, the purple coloured spirit glow around his body flared a more brilliant purple!
The Purple Spirit first stage!
Although the Purple Spirit first stage was just one level higher than people who have just broken through to the Purple Spirit, the difference with that one single level was equivalent to that between Heaven and earth!
After one stepped into the realm of the Purple Spirit, the advancement every single level brought them, was a unbridgeable chasm.
After everyone realized the true extent of Zhuge Yin's powers, everything suddenly dawned upon them. No wonder Zhuge Yin had gone up onto the stage to challenge Yue Yi so confidently. It was because he held such high dominating power!
Chapter 1697: "Wicked Intentions (5)"
After Yue Yi saw Zhuge Yin's real powers, he was still not the least bit surprised, but merely a kind of understanding. He had tried to probe out Zhuge Yin's powers before but he had not been able to see it clearly. The only possibility for that to happen was that Zhuge Yin's powers were above his own.
And Zhuge Yi had walked into the stage so highly naturally, and it had been after Yue Yi exhibited his powers. Such confidence already revealed enough information to him.
"Your powers and mine do not differ by all that much and I would think that this match would surely be rather interesting." Zhuge Yin said with a smile.
This words must be an absolute joke!
A Purple Spirit in its infancy and a Purple Spirit at the first stage though looked to be rather similar, but in fact, the disparity between them was a chasm wider than that between a Purple Spirit and an indigo spirit! And Zhuge Yin could still unabashedly claim their powers did not differ by much, that really was the biggest joke!
Zi Jin's heart which had just barely calmed down a little immediately jumped up once again upon witnessing Zhuge Yin's power!
With Yue Yi's level of power, it was completely inadequate to take on Zhuge Yin. Zhuge Yin's endless taunts earlier, with all the many words he said, were all just to force Yue Yi upon the arena stage, to give him a right and proper reason to deal Yue Yi a vicious blow!
"Looking forward to your advice." Yue Yi sighed inwardly, but took up a guarded stance.
A sliver of viciousness came into the smile at the corners of Zhuge Yin's lips as he morphed into a streak of light, flying at great speed to charge straight towards Yue Yi!
The higher one's powers was, the faster they would be. With the power levels those youths below the stage possessed, their eyes were unable to keep up with the speed of a Purple Spirit at all. All they could see was at the instant the figure of Zhuge Yin turned into a streak of light, Yue Yi had moved as well. Up upon the stage before their eyes, they could no longer see clearly what was really happening, but just two purple coloured light streaks clashing against each other continuously!
The force erupting from the clash between Purple Spirits spilled over into the area surrounding the arena stage like rolling waves crashing upon the crowd.
Caught up within that intense battle, a group of youths could not hold themselves back but to cry out!
This was what they had been looking forward to. The might of the Purple Spirit!
The youths who could not even see the battle clearly broke into a raucous roar in excitement.
But within the sea of people, several people saw everything clearly with their eyes.
Rong Ruo stood at the back of the crowd, her gaze directed upon the arena stage. With her level of power, wanting to see through Zhuge Yin's and Yue Yi's speed wasn't all that difficult, but the clearer she could see, the more her heart cringed with worry!
Upon the stage, Zhuge Yin was like teasing his prey, striking from all around at Yue Yi, bolts of spirit light shooting out from Zhuge Yin's hands, landing hits upon Yue Yi's body one after another. Those strikes imbued with spirit power looked fleeting and light but no matter where they hit, that heart rending pain was enough to knock one unconscious!
"What a cruel and malicious mind." Rong Ruo whispered to herself through narrowed eyes, her eyes filling with a trace of rage.
Zhuge Yin's method of attack was not unfamiliar to Rong Ruo. It was done by forcibly compressing one's Purple Spirit into compacted force form and its attack did not look powerful. But the terrifying thing about that compressed spirit power was that it would not leave a single external trace upon one's clothes or skin upon impact but its power had already instantly spread into the flesh and bones underneath at the point of contact.
It wouldn't break the skin but its power was strong enough to break the bones under one's skin, capable of rupturing a person's internal organs, taking one's life with having them suffer any damage externally!
Yue Yi kept on defending and although he tried very hard to dodge some of the attacks, the number of those bolts of spirit power landing upon his body were becoming more and more!
Chapter 1698: "Wicked Intentions (6)"
The bolts of spirit power striking Yue Yi's body looked like they just brushed fleetingly upon him but as the colour gradually faded from Yue Yi's face and as his movements grew more stiff, Rong Ruo became certain that Zhuge Yin's attacks had caused Yue Yi highly severe internal injuries!
And Zhuge Yin seemed dead intent on slowly tormenting Yue Yi with his attacks striking only non vital areas, but in places that would cause his opponent intense pain.
Zhuge Yin admired the work he had wrecked upon Yue Yi in satisfaction as the pallor on his face began to look worse and worse. He suddenly moved himself in close to Yue Yi and executed a palm strike upon Yue Yi's left shoulder blade!
A sharp crack was then heard.
Yue Yi's shoulder blade immediately shattered. But from the outside, there wasn't a single wound.
But that excruciating and heart wrenching pain caused Yue Yi to immediately be bathed in cold sweat in that instant, his pale white lips stiffened over tightly clenched teeth, the corners of his mouth trembling with unbearable pain.
"Kid, are you really such a tough nut? You're really not uttered a single cry?" Zhuge Yin asked with a laugh as he looked at Yue Yi almost at the end of his tethers, pausing in his attacks for the moment.
Upon the arena stage, people could finally see the two figures clearly.
They did not know why Yue Yi suddenly looked so pale and his body seemed to be swaying a little whereas Zhuge Yin looked exactly just like he had before.
But none of them could see a single wound upon Yue Yi's body so why did Yue Yi look like he had sustained heavy injuries?
"Is this enough?" Yue Yi asked as he clenched his jaws tight, not allowing himself to cry out from pain. He bit down on his teeth so hard his gums bled and a bloody taste filled up the inside of his mouth.
Zhuge Yin was not seeking to exchange pointers with him at all. His really intention was just to torment himself.
Yue Yi had come to understand Zhuge Yin's motives but he did not know how he had offended Zhuge Yin to have brought such disaster to fall upon him.
Zhuge Yin gazed at Yue Yi for a long moment before a chill glint flashed sinisterly in his eyes. Zhuge Yin then said in feigned shock: "Is Young Master Yue looking down on me? Having just executed a few perfunctory moves and you're already calling it quits? Don't you think you're belittling me too hastily? I am really sincere in sparring with Young Master Yue seriously here."
Yue Yi's brows creased up, his stare fixed straight upon Zhuge Yin.
All his internal organs had been stirred up to bunch together by Zhuge Yin's bolts of spirit power and his shoulder blade shattered. If he did not force himself to remain standing with all his might, he would have collapsed to the ground and not be able to stand up anymore. And what made all of it even worse, was though he was already so severely injured, everyone all around him were not able to see it at all on the outside.
In the eyes of the youths below the stage, he would really be seen as one just like Zhuge Yin had claimed, who just wanted to get the matter over and done with halfheartedly!
Not knowing that just standing there was already taking every single ounce of strength he could muster!
"Zhuge Yin, you do you really want to do! ?" Yue Yi asked as the cold sweat dripped onto the ground from his clothes, wetting the ground around where he stood but no one noticed anything.
Zhuge Yin continued to laugh as he looked at Yue Yi. "Young Master Yue, there's no need to get angry. I am merely hoping for you to perform well here today so you can answer to your grandfather properly when you return to the Shadow Moon Palace. You must know this. The glory that you gain, will not just be yours alone but it will surely affect the status you hold in Elder Yue's heart, and..... that of your little sister's I think....."
Zhuge Yin's eyes stared at Yue Yi like those of a venomous viper, his words pushing Yue Yi further into a place of eternal damnation!
His little sister.....
Was Yue Yi's most critical and lethal vital point!
Yue Yi wished for nothing more than to be able to tear Zhuge Yin to a million pieces, but he had no choice but to endure that surge of hatred within him.
Chapter 1699: "Wicked Intentions (7)"
Yue Yi wished for nothing more than to be able to tear Zhuge Yin to a million pieces, but he had no choice but to endure that surge of hatred within him.
He could not allow Zhuge Yin to say a single word of what he was not supposed to say. Otherwise..... His little sister would be finished.
Once that matter was exposed, Elder Yue would definitely silence people, and kill his little sister.
"Then I will have to thank..... Young Lord Zhuge for his kind intentions....." Yue Yi said after drawing a deep breath, and then slowly raising his head up, his sweat soaked hair plastered to the side of his face, outlining the handsome youthful face.
He suddenly lifted a trembling hand up, to exert a forceful strike upon his shattered shoulder blade!
He had actually summoned his spirit powers to forcibly severe the meridians and veins around his shoulder, which would finally bring him relief from that agonizing pain.
Such a firm and resolute method, caused even Zhuge Yin to be startled a while. Seeing the flash of burning resolve in Yue Yi's light coloured eyes, Zhuge Yin suddenly broke into laughter.
"This should be the way. That's how we should play it before the game can get more interesting."
The crowd below the stage were completely unaware of what was happening between Zhuge Yin and Yue Yi. They were all only treating it as a sparring match that they were watching.
However, Rong Ruo standing at the back of crowd could no longer make herself stand there and watch on any further. She had seen the resolve and finality in Yue Yi's eyes. A kind of calm when one threw all caution for his life to the winds. In just that one very single instant where no one was paying any attention to her, the figure of Rong Ruo shimmered, to quietly come to Fei Yan's side.
Fei Yan was wrecking his brains on how he was supposed to resolve all of this when he suddenly saw Rong Ruo so close at his side, his face immediately contorting up in surprise.
"What's happening here? Has Zhuge Yin gone mad? Why does he want to have that guy from the Shadow Moon Palace dead?" Rong Ruo asked in a whisper that could only be heard by the two of them.
Killing someone was merely having someone's head fall to the ground. But Zhuge Yin was obviously wanting to torment Yue Yi slowly bit by bit to death.
Fei Yan only had his mind focused on the situation at hand as well.
"Zhuge Yin has his eye set on the Blood Fiend Palace's Gu Xin Yan but for some unknown reason, Gu Xin Yan kept looking at those two people from the Shadow Moon Palace and it was discovered by Zhuge Yin which infuriated him. That narrow minded and petty fella then went on to want this kid from the Shadow Moon Palace dead! Damn it, I cannot go up there myself now or I will make sure he does not live." Fei Yan said, his hands tightly clenched into fists. If they were not carrying a dire mission on their backs, he might not have been able to restrain himself and severely dealt with that scoundrel, Zhuge Yin right there and then!
That fella was just too venomous!
"Little Xie didn't come?" Rong Ruo's gaze swept over the crowd in search, but saw no sign of Jun Wu Xie at all.
Fei Yan shook his head.
If Jun Wu Xie was here, how could Zhuge Yin's insidious plot ever succeed?
"I have already sent the news over through the jade token and I don't know whether Little Xie would be able to know what I meant." Fei Yan was feeling a little nervous about it. The jade token could only transmit one character and he could only write the character for "arena". Yue Yi was someone who was linked to Jun Wu Xie afterall and they could not very well just stand there to see Yue Yi being tormented to death by Zhuge Yin!
"That guy from the Shadow Moon Palace must have some handle grasped by Zhuge Yin against him. I saw that he had no intentions of stepping onto the arena stage at all earlier and it was Zhuge Yin's words that forced him to go up there." Rong Ruo's brows were creased up tightly together. Truth to be told, Yue Yi possessed quite good gift and being only seventeen, he had already broken through to the Purple Spirit. That was a five year gap against Zhuge Yin and if they were the same age, Zhuge Yin might not even be a match for Yue Yi at all.
But Yue Yi was still younger at this moment and Zhuge Yin possessed a handle against him. Up upon that arena stage, Yue Yi would not dare to fight with everything he had, but had fallen into a situation where he could do nothing but swallow the blows.
Chapter 1700: "Wicked Intentions (8)"
"That should be the case. The Dragon Slayers Palace seemed to hold quite a number of secrets of quite a number of the other palaces." Fei Yan said with a nod of his head.
Rong Ruo was silent for a moment before she said: "We need to get Little Xie to come here as soon as possible or it will be too late." The few of them here were hidden stakes secretly installed into the various palaces and it was impossible for them to step forth to show their faces in this situation. Rong Ruo's gaze then turned to once again fall upon the figure of Zi Jin.
Zi Jin's power wasn't all that strong and she wouldn't understand the intrigue that was happening on that arena stage even after seeing it. But she saw that the pallor on Yue Yi's face was turning uglier and uglier and she could not help but felt worry rise up in her heart, not knowing what to do.
Just as Zi Jin was feeling completely flustered, a voice suddenly rang out right behind her.
"If you want to save Yue Yi, then go get your Fifth Junior here."
That voice had sounded out very suddenly and Zi Jin was slightly startled upon hearing it. She turned her head back quickly but behind her back was only the same group of youths immersed in the excitement, where it was impossible for her to ascertain from who that voice had come from.
[Junior Fifth.....]
[Young Master Jun.....]
The mystifying fog within Zi Jin's highly chaotic heart was seemingly parted by that voice, that let in a ray of light.
[Young Master Jun can save Yue Yi!]
Zi Jin couldn't care less about anything else as she raised up the hem of her skirt to run out away from the crowd.
In the instant that Zi Jin left, the figure of Yue Yi suddenly appeared from within the purple streak of light, his movements forcefully interrupted as his tall slender frame was struck to flip onto the ground, falling heavily upon the arena stage's hard floor with a dull impactful thud.
"Young Master Yue, it won't do if you're just being so slipshod about it." Zhuge Yin said as if he had triumphed, walking slowly to come right before Yue Yi, to stare at the figure lying on the floor as he clutched at his abdomen, unable to get up anymore, his eyes filled with disdain like he was looking at a pile of trash.
Yue Yi's body was curled up tightly, unmoving upon the floor with his jaws tightly clenched and the colour of his face turning a horrendous shade.
His insides felt as if they had been stirred up madly with a blade, the agonizing pain driving his mind a complete blank.
Compared to the sorry figure that Yue Yi was at that moment, not even the corners of Zhuge Yin's clothes were showing a crease.
Zhuge Yin patted the dust off his clothes as he looked at Yue Yi indifferently.
"Indeed a person groomed by Elder Yue himself. How could you be so stubborn? I haven't even heard a cry come out from you." Zhuge Yin said with his eyes narrowed and filled with a sinister glint.
Yue Yi did not move at all, fallen to the ground, his ears filled with an endless hum, unable to hear anything.
He remained lying upon the arena stage, the subject of scorn as the gazes of merciless ridicule from the youths wrecked upon his wretched body.
[Purple Spirit?]
[So what if it's a Purple Spirit?]
[Isn't he just as defenceless here?]
"The Shadow Moon Palace really is as bad as was thought. With both being Purple Spirits, Yue Yi is completely not a match for Zhuge Yin at all."
"No need to mention being a match, I think he was not even able to retaliate at all! How humiliating."
The youths criticised heatedly below the stage.
"All of you shut those damned mouths of yours!" An angry shout exploded from behind that group of youths.
The tongue waggers immediately turned to look nervously in the direction the voice had sounded, and they saw that the face of Qiao Chu from the Flame Demons Palace had already turned so dark that he looked absolutely terrifying, his entire being giving out such a menacing and murderous aura that no one dared to even stand near him.
"Qiao..... Qiao Chu..... What..... What happened to you? ?" Even the other disciples from the Flame Demons Palace had almost jumped out of their boots from that shout.
[It's just a dogfight between the Dragon Slayers Palace and the Shadow Moon Palace, what has gotten you so riled?]
Qiao Chu forced the burning rage within his chest down, his face dark as he said: "You bunch of fools are in the way of me enjoying the show."