Astral Pet Store (WN)

Chapter 1154: Failure

Mu Xuefeng merely snorted.

Moon Watching Mountain was always competitive. Fortunately, she had found six disciples with deity constitutions and all of them had built their foundations; Tang Jingyu in particular was already forming his core.

Having made such progress in only one year, he was certainly a rare cultivation genius.

“Fine. Let’s have a contest then.”

Mu Xuefeng casually waved her hand, quickly modifying the terrain around her all of a sudden; the distance between buildings and the people was lengthened, making the place even vaster. There were deafening noises as the arena where the disciples had been practicing rose to more than twenty meters tall.

The ground around the arena had sunk, creating a deep ravine, and making the arena a couple of meters higher than the audience, just like before; they could still see what was going on.

“Enter the arena from the bottom; whoever is capable of ascending to the arena may participate,” said Mu Xuefeng casually.

Changing the terrain was a piece of cake for her, but stunned all the new disciples from both parties; they were all shocked by her methods.

Mu Xuefeng’s casual actions were exactly related to the behavior of a deity they looked forward to attaining!

“Ascending from the bottom?”

Everybody looked down. Twenty meters didn’t sound a big deal, but it was actually a five-story height!

Jumping to the top of such a height was too hard for those who had just cleansed their marrow.

Their bodies would become extraordinary after marrow cleansing, but that was just the beginning of their cultivation. They could defeat ten enemies at the same time, but they couldn’t leap five-floors high; only those with foundation could do that.

The rule that Mu Xuefeng had stipulated extinguished the opportunity for most of the new disciples to show themselves.

He Buyu smiled, not too surprised after seeing the arrangement; he had never planned to send too many disciples anyway. He only needed one victory to awe them.

At this moment, in the arena—Ma Bo was rather stunned and panicked because of the turn of events.

He noticed that the arena was almost twenty meters high; he would have surely died in the past, if he were to fall.

Still… He had yet to try falling from such a height.

It hadn’t been easy for him to build his foundation in the past year; he didn’t make time for any field battles.

You can fight all you want, but can you please help me down first? Ma Bo cried in his heart, then looked at Su Ping with stoked hatred; he wouldn’t have been caught in such an awkward situation had it not been for Su Ping’s slap

Fortunately, he was rational enough not to attack Su Ping.

Their competitive clashes were rooted in mere rivalry between fellow disciples. However, their master’s external enemies had shown up. Even if he were to win if he attacked Su Ping again, his master would definitely not feel happy about it.

“Which of you will go first?” He Buyu asked.

Mu Xuefeng was rather indifferent, as if she hadn’t heard the question.

Zhuang Bizhe instantly understood what she meant; the guy wasn’t qualified to speak to her directly. Naturally, he had to speak on her behalf as he was on par with He Buyu. He said, “Junior Brother Ma will be our first champion; you may send yours now, Junior Brother He.”

Ma Bo, still in the arena, was rather stunned by such a decision; he looked at Zhuang Bizhe with astonishment. Still, before he could even curse—Zhuang Bizhe’s voice echoed in his head. “Try your best. This concerns the honor of our sect. Master will surely award you if you win.”

Ma Bo was dazed for a moment, but then instantly became serious.

He was confident in himself, even though he knew that it would be hard for him to win the first duel.

Although it’s dangerous for me to spearhead the event, it’d be awesome if I secure the first victory! Ma Bo thought. He instantly dropped his grudge against Su Ping and stood up and said, “I am Ma Bo. Please send your champion, Senior Brother He!”

He Buyu casually looked at Ma Bo, who was apparently an ignorant newbie that didn’t understand how strong he was.

Is the guy confident because of his deity constitution?

But so was he; his deity constitution was also extremely powerful. He was admitted as a disciple rather late, so he was a junior brother to Zhuang Bizhe in terms of seniority. However, he didn’t think the latter was stronger than him.

Even though they had never fought, he was absolutely confident in his abilities.

“Junior Brother Qin will be our champion,” said He Buyu while chuckling.

Su Ping raised his eyebrows; he couldn’t help but look at Ma Bo sympathetically, thinking that the guy had already lost, even though the duel had yet to start. After all, his opponent had a protagonist’s surname; those who had such surnames were usually very strong.

A slim and shy young man stepped forward, coming from behind He Buyu as he spoke. However, there was a sharp aura between his eyebrows; he was like a young wolf that hadn’t grown up yet but was already showing an aggressive side.

The young man cupped his hands at He Buyu, then jumped to the bottom of the deep ravine. After that he leaped and reached the arena which was more than twenty meters high.

He landed steadily.

His fall and rise were so smooth that many people narrowed their eyes as they watched.

Ma Bo secretly cried and changed his expression upon seeing such moves; he resented Su Ping again.

Seeing Ma Bo’s grim look, the young man said with a casual expression, “Junior brother, can you ascend to the arena?”

Ma Bo snorted and said, “You don’t need to ask.”

After that, he leaped off the stage, feeling slightly panicked. He soon landed back in the arena, although a bit unsteady; he shook and nearly fell.

He blushed because of this; his opponent’s landing was awesome, while on the other hand his performance was embarrassing.

Everybody was looking at him at the moment; he felt that his cheeks were burning. He gritted his teeth and rose. Since he had miscalculated the distance, he didn’t land on the arena until he jumped to almost thirty meters high.

“So high!”

Many new disciples were surprised by this; they had almost laughed at Ma Bo’s unsteady landing earlier, but they were now intimidated by the strength he had just revealed.

However, those with keen eyes frowned.

Some disciples next to He Buyu had expressions screaming mockery.

Clearly, they had all realized it wasn’t because Ma Bo was strong, but because he wasn’t able to fully control his strength yet.

Jumping thirty meters wasn’t too difficult for anyone who had built a foundation.

He will surely lose. Su Ping shook his head after a quick glance. He then looked at the ever-smiling He Buyu, not revealing his scheme. The Qin-surnamed young man was the second strongest disciple behind him, and had obviously built his foundation a long time before.

They want to crush us in the first battle. Su Ping looked up at Mu Xuefeng, only to see her furrowed brow. Her normal expression returned in a flash; no one knew what she was thinking.

What a shame. It’s boring to fight kids. Otherwise, I would have been able to avenge you, Su Ping thought.

The guy was his fellow disciple anyway. Alas, he wasn’t interested in those rudimentary battles, at all.

He felt absolutely bored.

Up on the stage—

Ma Bo was no longer embarrassed upon hearing the exclamations; he even felt rather proud of himself. Once he landed, he looked at the young man and said casually, “You seem to be younger than me. You may attack first; I won’t take advantage of you.”

“Ha.”

The Qin-surnamed young man couldn’t help but laugh. He didn’t say anything, though; he merely crossed his arms.

Zhuang Bizhe flew to the sky above the arena and said, “I’ll be the temporary referee of this practice. You may begin.”

The Qin-surnamed young man didn’t waste any time talking after he heard the cue. He even skipped formalities and simply charged at Ma Bo.

Whoosh!

He moved as quickly as lightning, reaching Ma Bo in the blink of an eye.

Ma Bo was definitely shocked, not expecting the guy to be that fast. He hurriedly resisted the guy’s punch.

After a bam, he was pushed back and his arms became numb.

Is his fist not made of flesh? How can it be that hard? Ma Bo was shocked, and in pain. He grimaced, wanting to wave his arm; still he held back, as it would have been embarrassing.

“I won’t go easy on you anymore!” he shouted and punched back at his opponent ruthlessly.

The young man with the Qin surname moved nimbly and dodged Ma Bo’s attacks. He then suddenly extended his fist. Having no time to dodge—Ma Bo was hit in the chin, being instantly flung back. Blood splashed out of his nose and mouth.

The Qin youngster sneered and stayed where he was, not intent on giving chase.

Ma Bo rose to the ground in embarrassment, then wiped off the blood from his nostrils and mouth. He couldn’t have looked more awful; the guy was too strong for him to resist.

He couldn’t have formed the core; he could have only built the foundation. Had he formed the core, he would have been capable of flying. Furthermore, it’s impossible to form the core in a year, but why is he so much stronger than me? Ma Bo was puzzled, infuriated and humiliated.

“Get off the stage. You’re no match for me,” said the Qin-surnamed young man with a casual attitude.

Ma Bo snapped out of his daydreaming, where he was thinking random thoughts. He instantly wore a grim expression and said angrily, “Are you underestimating me?”

He charged forward as he spoke, waving his fists.

The Qin-surnamed young man sneered and quickly approached the other with his body movement technique. He dodged Ma Bo’s attacks and punched him right in his cheek. Ma Bo was instantly thrown away, and was unable to get back to his feet in a long time.

Zhuang Bizhe heaved a sigh after seeing that; the gap between them was too vast. Even if both had built a foundation, they weren’t as strong as each other, at all. Some of the strong cultivators who had built their foundation could even fight those who had just formed the core.

The Qin-surnamed young man was undoubtedly a rare genius; Ma Bo on the other hand was just a normal person with a deity constitution.

“We admit failure,” Zhuang Bizhe announced. He didn’t want Ma Bo’s embarrassment to increase, as the man would fail no matter how harder he tried. So, just admitting failure and preserving his dignity was for the best.

Ma Bo sat up on the ground, feeling anger, frustration and pain. From the corner of his eye, he could tell that everybody was looking at him. Still his performance had been truly humiliating; he had been crushed.

Ma Bo struggled to get back to his feet, and said in a low voice, “Senior brother, I’m sorry…”

Zhuang Bizhe smiled and replied, “It’s no big deal. The cultivation journey is very long; one year is too short for anything to be decided. You’ll have a lot of opportunities to catch up in the future.”

Ma Bo took a deep breath. “Thank you, senior brother.”

“Leave now,” said Zhuang Bizhe with a smile.

Ma Bo nodded and jumped off the arena. His landing was unsteady, again, probably because he had been wounded.

He went to Mu Xuefeng and apologized again, his head lowered.

He looked at Su Ping from the corner of his eye, seething with hatred.

Su Ping glanced back at him but ignored him. The guy was as insignificant as an ant to him, and his hatred didn’t matter whatsoever.

Every important person in that world was hated. They would have a lot of enemies just because their status was high and they were known by many; it was unrealistic to kill everybody who hated them.

“It’s nothing. Just work harder later,” Mu Xuefeng comforted him.

On the stage—Zhuang Bizhe looked at He Buyu and asked, “Who are you going to send next?”

“Senior brother, let me,” the Qin-surnamed young man replied on stage.

Dazed, Zhuang Bizhe was rather cold. “You want to continue challenging? You’ve already been challenged!”

“But I didn’t enjoy myself; that senior brother was too weak for me, so I couldn’t display my full strength.” The Qin-surnamed young man chuckled. “I’m here to seek guidance from my opponents; it would be a shame if I leave without learning anything.”

Zhuang Bizhe narrowed his eyes with coldness and fury.

It was clear that the young man was planning to crush all opponents, all on his own.

“Indeed. Senior Brother Zhuang, since this is a practice, everybody should enjoy themselves,” said He Buyu with a chuckle.

Zhuang Bizhe gave a gloomy snort and said, “Fine. Let’s enjoy ourselves then. Xiao Tang, you’ll be next.”

He simply sent Tang Jingyu, who was the strongest on his side.

Off the stage—many disciples couldn’t help but fix their eyes upon the handsome young man.

There was affection in the eyes of many female disciples, who liked him for his appearance, talent and background.

“Sure.”

Tang Jingyu calmly nodded with a smile. He then leaped to the bottom of the deep ravine. After that, he hopped from the ground like a swallow, landing on the arena in a spot twenty meters high.

His movement were agile and beautiful.

Many female disciples’ eyes were glowing;they had realized the gap between Ma Bo and him.

“Humph!”

Ma Bo felt rather uncomfortable upon seeing his opponent’s movement, but he didn’t show any of it. He simply glimpsed at Su Ping angrily now and then, laying all blame on him; he wouldn’t have been the first to fight if it weren’t for the latter.

Tang Jingyu landed on the stage and said casually, “Let’s start.”

The Qin-surnamed young man smiled, showing interest in his eyes; he suddenly attacked after Zhuang Bizhe announced the beginning of the duel, this time even faster. He moved as unpredictably as a butterfly when he approached Tang Jingyu.

The latter punched and stopped the Qin-surnamed young man from moving forward, as having seen through the guy’s technique. The Qin-surnamed young man had to retreat and defend himself.

He put on a solemn expression. “Interesting. You are a worthy opponent.”

He then dashed forward again, instantly throwing dozens of punches; it seemed as if three of him were punching at the same time.

Tang Jingyu resisted all of the punches. Their fists would clash constantly, and neither of them could win.