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nTranslator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

nThe room was completely silent.

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nBehind Jiang He, Bai Feifei and Cheng Dongfeng were left utterly confused. The latter turned to Duan Tianhe by instinct, and realized that he was a little confused as well.

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nWhat the heck?

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nThis isn’t how things were supposed to go, was it?

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nYou’re a rank-four martial artist. Who gave you the confidence to look for a rank-six pinnacle martial artist for a spar?

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n“Hmmm…” Suddenly, Duan Tianhe’s eyes tightened and he couldn’t help exclaiming, “Are you about to ascend?”

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nOoom!

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nIn the next split second, Jiang He’s aura burst out as he immediately rose from rank-four pinnacle to rank-five novice. Abundant and powerful True Qi rolled within his body and surged like waves.

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nJiang He let out a long, drawn-out breath and muttered, “This crappy ascension method requires too much energy! It’s lucky I had a few qi pellets or it wouldn’t have been so smooth.”

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n“Wait…” Duan Tianhe was at a loss for words. “You’ve ascended, Jiang He? Weren’t you only rank-four yesterday?”

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n“Yep,” answered Jiang He. “I was popping pills, that’s why I’ve ascended so quickly.”

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nEven though he was stunned, Duan Tianhe was still a martial arts grandmaster. He therefore quickly recovered and smiled. “You shouldn’t excessively rely on medicinal pellets for your martial arts cultivation, or your foundation will be shaky, and it could affect your ascension to grandmaster in the future.”

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nInwardly, however, Duan Tianhe was thinking, ‘what the hell’?

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nPopping pills?

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nWho would believe that?

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nNo way popping pills would improve a person from rank-four to rank-five in just a day.

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n‘This kid must have gained some sort of grand opportunity.’

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nIn the ten years since the Revival of Qi, there were many individuals who gained such opportunities. Without these, there wouldn’t be a group of elites who developed so quickly. Of course, Ferals had even more opportunities in that respect. Otherwise, would there have been so many powerful Ferals prowling around?

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nAs he looked at Jiang He, Duan Tianhe’s eyes brightened even more.

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nIf Jiang He were to be properly groomed, another martial arts grandmaster may just rise in Linzhou. Even if Jiang he didn’t want to join the Martial Arts Department, having another grandmaster stationed at Duan Tianhe’s jurisdiction would still be a great help.

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nMeanwhile, Cheng Dongfeng did a double take before recovering.

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nHe smirked after one look at Jiang He. At first, he had been prepared to fight for two reasons: Duan Tianhe’s request, and his own keenness to test the kid since Duan Tianhe held him in such high esteem.

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nAnd of course, the three bottles of qi pellets were the most important thing here.

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nNow, however, Cheng Dongfeng was left enraged, and he said quietly, “You are a feisty one, kid, but I, Cheng Dongfeng, like young men of your personality. You have just ascended, so I will give you an hour to strengthen your threshold, and the martial arts world won’t scorn me for bullying a kid like you when word gets out.”

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n“Strengthen my threshold?” asked Jiang He.

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nTaking out three qi pellets, he stuffed them into his mouth, quickly crunching and swallowing them. However, the pellets converted to pure medicine as soon as they reached his stomach.

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n“Urgh… well, popping pills are less effective after reaching rank-five,” mumbled Jiang He, before looking up to smile at Cheng Dongfeng. “But I think I’ve strengthened my threshold… oh, right. Master Cheng, I’m not too sure about the rules in the martial arts world—should I send a challenge letter or anything like that before we spar?”

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nCheng Dongfeng’s mouth twitched as he watched Jiang He down another three pills. “No need. We are just having a casual sparring session, so there’s no need to be so formal.”

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nStanding up, Cheng Dongfeng clasped his hands behind his back as the air around him stirred, his aura as a rank-six pinnacle individual extending.

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n“Jiang He, I’ll go easy on you because you’re a junior. I will hold back my threshold and fight you on equal footing. If you win, I’ll forget that you beat up my fellow disciple.”

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nHis aura rapidly diminished, and was soon restrained at rank-five novice.

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n“That’s… not quite right, is it?”

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nJiang He gave a blank look.

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nHow is this a proper sparring session? My intention was to check if I can defeat a rank-six individual with my ability. How am I supposed to test myself if you hold back?

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nAnd as for beating up Su Zhe…

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nSo what if you keep holding a grudge? Even Su Zhe himself was utterly respectful to me afterwards. If he’s still upset, I’ll just have to beat him up again.

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nDuan Tianhe quietly said, “Don’t be reckless, Jiang He. Cheng Dongfeng is an elite of the Eight Trigrams School, and once received instruction from Grandmaster Dong himself. There are no more than ten rank-six pinnacle individuals in the whole world who can best him. Even with his cultivation repressed to rank-five novice, he is still a force to be reckoned with.”

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n“Oh?” Jiang He’s eyes twinkled as he nodded. “That’s good. And here I was afraid that Master Cheng would be too weak after repressing his cultivation.”

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nBoom!

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nHe firmly charged his Strengthened Nine Yang Technique, the abundant True Qi churning in his body and faintly echoing like a surging river. A great sun seemed to hover over his head—a phenomenon of the first Nine Yang Technique being released.

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n“The heck…”

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nAlthough he appeared composed just a moment ago, the look on Cheng Dongfeng’s face changed completely as he muttered ‘Oh, shoot’ inwardly.

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nWas that… a rank-five novice who ascended just a moment ago?

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nWhat rank-five novice could be that brutally powerful? It wouldn’t be a far cry from labelling him an average rank-six!

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n“Hold on…”

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nBut before Cheng Dongfeng could finish his sentence, Jiang He moved.

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nAt the moment, Jiang He only knew two techniques: The Mighty Dragon Shows Penance and the Dragon Soars in the Skies, the first and second styles of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms.

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nMoreover, he had just learnt the Dragon Soars in the Skies while coming up here in the elevator… He could not help it, since he felt pressured after hearing about Cheng Dongfeng from Bai Feifei. Surely he couldn’t only stick to Mighty Dragon Shows Penance while sparring, could he?

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nHe should at least be able switch between two styles…

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nRawr!

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nA draconic roar suddenly boomed, its resounding echoes unfurling across every direction. With a crisp crack, all the glass in the corridors and offices of the ninth floor shattered, as the golden silhouette of a dragon leapt out of Jiang He’s palm and lunged towards Cheng Dongfeng.

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nWhat the **!!!

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nCheng Dongfeng’s face dropped as he exclaimed in expletives. No longer caring to hold back, his rank-six pinnacle aura burst away instantly, his True Qi surging as he released an ultimate technique of the Eight Trigrams School. Only then was he able to nullify Jiang He’s strike.

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nThen, the two men’s True Qi collided, which burst away and stiffly cracked rifts on the walls of the tower.

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nRawr!

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nThe draconic roar echoed once more.

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nWaving his hands, Jiang He followed up his first attack with Dragon Soars In The Sky. For Cheng Dongfeng, it took another burst of his full strength to stop it. And yet, Jiang He continued with another strike of Mighty Dragon Shows Penance.

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nThen, he continued switching between both styles for a total of five strikes. As the rumblings continued, the cracks on the wall of the building widened… and the entire tower began to shake.

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n‘Wh… What the heck… Is a rank-five novice martial artist supposed to be that powerful?’

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nIt was only then that Duan Tianhe came to a realization. No longer caring to hold back his true strength, he burst out with the power of a rank-seven grandmaster. Moving to stand between Cheng Dongfeng and Jiang He in a single stride, he waved his hands to dispel both men’s moves.

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n“Stop, or my tower is going to collapse.”

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nHowever, he couldn’t decide if he wanted to laugh or cry.

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nBlargh!

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nAt the same time, Cheng Dongfeng vomited a mouthful of blood. Pale-faced, he leaned limply against the wall. “What the hell, kid? Don’t you have other moves?” he muttered.

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nJiang He quickly came to him. “Are you alright, Master Cheng? Why are you puking blood, Master Cheng?” His tone became more meaningful as he continued, “Why act strong if you can’t block? You should fight with your full power, so that when I do as well, I just might be able to trade a few blows against yours evenly.”

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n“Wha…”

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nCheng Dongfeng vomited another mouthful of blood the moment he opened his mouth.

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nFull power, my foot! I’m already at my limit, whereas each of your strikes is stronger like the next, as if your palms are turning into dragons of unimaginable power!

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nI’m a rank-six pinnacle, but my True Qi is left boiling and my blood is churning after taking ten consecutive blows. It took me great difficulty to stop my impulse to puke blood, only for you to frustrate me until I did!

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