Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

”Great Uncle, may I ask, is this the Arena Hall of the Shang Family?”

Yun Xiao spoke calmly. At this moment, he didn’t want to completely fall out with the Shang Family, so he respectfully addressed him as ”Great Uncle,” but his question made Shang Ying’s eyes sharpen.

Seeing that Shang Ying did not respond, Yun Xiao spoke loudly on his own: ”Since this is the Arena Hall, if we still stubbornly stick to the rule of stopping at light touches, how much of our real strength can be displayed?”

Upon hearing this, both Shang Li and Yun Wei from below the platform nodded repeatedly. In fact, the Arena Hall of the Shang Family never had such a nonsensical rule of stopping at light touches. Once on the platform, it was a battle of life and death.

Of course, among ordinary members of the Shang Family, there might be mercy shown after victory, but if both parties are evenly matched, harboring such thoughts could only lead one towards a path of certain death.

”Moreover!”

Yun Xiao said, stretching out his hand pointing at Shang Huiyu with a resentful face, and chuckled softly, ”At the beginning of my battle with cousin Huiyu, we had agreed to a fight without consideration for life or death. Doesn’t that count?”

Just having his left forearm burnt by Yun Xiao and now being pointed at and mocked by this youngster, Shang Huiyu’s chest was about to explode with fury, but what Yun Xiao said was indeed true. The phrase ”irregardless of life or death” was still ringing in his ears.

”Snort, irregardless of life or death, that was what you said, Huiyu didn’t agree. Your attack was so ruthless, you must pay some price!” Who knew that with a twist of his eyes, Shang Ying spoke and Shang Huiyu’s eyes immediately lit up.

These words left Yun Xiao dumbfounded for a moment, his face finally darkened. This old man from the Shang Family really was shameless to the extreme. Although he uttered those four words, it was actually at the instigation of Shang Huiyu; he had just spoken on his behalf.

Shang Ying was precisely exploiting this loophole in the phrasing to pin the ruthless and harsh crime on Yun Xiao, so that he could justifiably make a move against Yun Xiao.

”Ha ha ha!”

Seeing Shang Ying looking at him with a playful gaze, Yun Xiao laughed in anger, shouting loudly: ”Old man, if you want to make a move, just say it directly. I see that the Shang Family is full of bullies and protectors of their own, such a clan is not worth staying in!”

”Yun Xiao, you said this yourself, don’t regret it!” A trace of a cunning smile flashed in Shang Ying’s eyes as he immediately nailed down his argument.

The words just now were intended by Shang Ying to provoke Yun Xiao into losing his senses, giving him grounds to act. He believed that no one from the entire Shang Family, except for Shang Li and her daughter, would stand up for Yun Xiao.

Yun Xiao was well aware of the old man’s intentions, but in such a situation, he had no way out but to coldly watch Shang Ying’s poor performance.

”Let’s do this, Yun Xiao, don’t say I didn’t give you a chance. If you can withstand three moves from me, today’s battle will be considered your win, how about that?” Feeling the slightly unusual gazes of the surrounding clan members, Shang Ying’s old face couldn’t hang on, and he spoke again.

Upon hearing Shang Ying’s words, many of the Shang Family clansmen smirked but said nothing; in fact, they believed that once Shang Ying made a move, whether it was one move, three moves, or more, Yun Xiao would be defeated instantly.

In the path of cultivation, the higher and stronger ranks dominate, Yun Xiao could burn off Shang Huiyu’s left forearm with the power of the Ancestor Vein in a single move, which was indeed fierce and strange, but if he confronted Shang Ying, the situation would likely be reversed.

Moreover, in the eyes of Shang Yan and others, Yun Xiao defeating Shang Huiyu was only due to a bit of luck, which led to an easy victory.

Had Shang Huiyu known about Yun Xiao’s activation of the Ancestor Vein, especially a Fire Attribute Ancestor Vein, he would definitely not have allowed those blood-red flames to touch his body, and thus would not have been defeated so miserably.

Compared to the young talent Shang Huiyu, Shang Ying was several times stronger in both Meridian Qi Cultivation and battle experience, and with all of Yun Xiao’s details exposed, it was impossible to employ the element of surprise anymore.

Shang Ying only had to guard against Yun Xiao’s powerful blood-red flames, not letting them touch his skin, and this three-move agreement was unlikely to have any mishaps; offering three moves was in fact Shang Ying’s high regard for Yun Xiao.

”Agreed!”

Yun Xiao didn’t hesitate for a moment, and once he spoke, he seemed to think of something and called out loudly towards the north: ”Family Head Sir, this time, you must bear witness.”

Shang Ying had no intention of wasting words with Yun Xiao, and after gently pushing Shang Huiyu to the side, the breath that emerged from between his palms felt somewhat familiar.

”Is it the Black Gold Palm again?”

Seeing Shang Ying’s palms turn the color of black gold, Yun Xiao’s expression became somewhat strange, for this was already the third time he had seen this low-level spiritual Meridian Technique in the arena.

However, the Black Gold Palm had been performed by Shang Huiyu the previous two times, and both were easily countered by Yun Xiao. This time, it was performed by the authoritative head of the main branch of the Shang Family, the peak Meridian Gathering Realm cultivator Shang Ying. Could Yun Xiao still handle it with ease?

As it turned out, he could not. Shang Yan and the others’ guess was right. Yun Xiao’s victory earlier had been deceptively easy, catching Shang Huiyu off guard and aided by the overpoweringly strong Ancestor Vein Fire, which even Yun Xiao himself had not anticipated.

With the formidable display of Ancestor Vein Fire shown by Yun Xiao, repeating such a feat unscathed was now impossible. Moreover, Shang Ying had been immersed in the Black Gold Palm for decades. The power this low-level spiritual Meridian Technique could unleash in his hands was many times stronger than Shang Huiyu’s.

Boom!

Shang Ying’s right-hand Black Gold Palm fiercely struck Yun Xiao’s crossed arms in front of his chest, generating a loud sound and shocking Yun Xiao back several meters. His blood surged tumultuously, and a trace of fresh blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, clearly suffering some internal injuries.

At this moment, why didn’t Yun Xiao use some of the powerful Meridian Techniques from his previous life? It was because he knew with such a disparity in Meridian Qi, no matter what he did, it wouldn’t injure Shang Ying, who was at the peak of the Meridian Gathering Realm.

Moreover, there was a great chance that during Yun Xiao’s offensive maneuvers, Shang Ying could seize the opportunity to strike a heavy blow, which Yun Xiao did not wish to see.

Given this, it was better to use all possible means to withstand Shang Ying’s three moves. However, with the first move alone, Yun Xiao had already suffered internal injuries. Could he endure the next two?

”Quite a skillful resistance!”

Despite only being knocked back several meters with blood oozing from his mouth under the powerful strike of his Black Gold right palm, Yun Xiao hadn’t lost his fighting ability. Shang Ying insincerely praised him.

Simultaneously, Shang Ying felt fortunate that he had stipulated the challenge to three moves and not just one. Otherwise, he would have suffered a considerable loss of face.

Thinking about losing face made Shang Ying’s cheeks burn with pain as indignation rose, intertwining old grudges with new. He would not show any mercy in his next move.

A mighty Meridian Qi then erupted from Shang Ying’s right palm, forming a faint lion’s head in front of him. This sight not only shocked all the Shang Family clan members but also brought a pleased expression to the face of the Family Head, Shang Yan.

”This... is this Meridian Qi Coalescence? When did big brother acquire such a skill?”

Next to Shang Yan, Shang Li wore an expression as if he had seen a ghost, for he understood what Meridian Qi Coalescence truly meant. Could it be that his elder brother had already broken through to the Meridian Rushing Realm?

”Hehe, it’s just half a step into the Meridian Rushing Realm, this kid really kept me in the dark!” Shang Yan, clearly sensing Shang Ying’s aura above the arena, couldn’t help but laugh and scold.

It seemed that even Shang Yan, as the father and Family Head, was unaware that Shang Ying had progressed so far in refining his Meridian Qi during this time. This half-step into the Meridian Rushing Realm stage might not take long to progress to the true Meridian Rushing Realm.

The biggest difference in the Meridian Rushing Realm was the external coalescence of Meridian Qi, which was precisely why Shang Huiyu was so shocked when he discovered Yun Xiao could do the same.

On the arena, sensing the indistinct lion’s head formed by Shang Ying’s Meridian Qi, Yun Xiao felt an increasing solemnity. A cultivator on the verge of the Meridian Rushing Realm imposed a greater pressure than a peak Meridian Gathering Realm cultivator.

Handling Shang Ying at the peak of the Meridian Gathering Realm was already difficult enough for Yun Xiao. Now, his earlier confidence had completely vanished. Without any extra strategy, he might not be able to withstand the second move.

Regardless of how many techniques the former Long Xiao Battle God possessed, no matter how strong his Ancestor Vein was, under such a disparity in Meridian Qi, all efforts were futile.

Yun Xiao knew he couldn’t afford to initiate attacks, as that would only allow Shang Ying to exploit his vulnerabilities further. Thus, when he saw the lion’s head of coalesced Meridian Qi barreling towards him, he had no choice but to brace himself with all his means.

Boom!

Another loud sound echoed through the arena, and at this moment, all members of the Shang Family saw a young silhouette flying backward, falling precisely at the edge of the arena.

”Pfft!”

The figure that flew backward was naturally Yun Xiao. The force of the lion’s head Meridian Qi attack was so powerful that he simply couldn’t withstand it, spewing out a mouthful of crimson blood as his vitality sharply declined.