Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 74 Tree Branches are Swords

After the first match, only two matches were played that morning.

One match was between a sixth-rank clerk from the Xiao Kingdom's Martial Arts Envoy and a sixth-rank chief from the Black Dragon Stronghold; the other was between a sixth-rank disciple from the Jade Void Sect and a sixth-rank镖头 (bodyguard) from the Huiyou Escort Agency.

The former was fine; the battle was over in just half an hour, a clean and decisive victory. The latter, however, dragged on for over an hour before the Jade Void Sect disciple finally managed to win by sheer luck, thanks to his profound inner energy.

They only rested for half an hour at noon before the competition continued.

Ye Chengyu was the first to compete in the afternoon. When he stepped onto the stage, he had changed his clothes and was no longer as disheveled as he had been in the morning. He looked like a handsome young gentleman again.

"The fourth match of the tournament is between Ye Chengyu of the Ye family from Jiangnan and Chang Ping'an of the Baishi Immortal Sect from Baozhou. As the saying goes, true skill is revealed in fists and feet, and righteousness is shown in swords and sabers. I urge you both to stop here and not spoil the harmony..."

After the names were called, Ye Chengyu looked at his opponent with a puzzled expression.

Unlike Ye Chengyu, who used his lightness skill to fly onto the dueling platform, his opponent walked up to it honestly.

Moreover, he couldn't even sense the other party's cultivation level... or even their true energy!

If this kid's cultivation is unfathomable, then... he simply doesn't understand martial arts at all!
But neither of them is possible!

Ye Chengyu frowned and looked Chang Ping'an up and down.

They are younger than me, so it's impossible for their cultivation level to be higher than mine.

But if you don't know martial arts, what's the point of signing up for the championship?
Ye Chengyu was completely baffled.

"Clang—clang clang—"

After the gong sounded, Ye Chengyu's expression turned serious.

Because he saw that his opponent, the kid named Chang Ping'an, had somehow produced a tree branch!
A very thin, simple branch!

Ye Chengyu was taken aback, and the others watching the competition were equally astonished.

"What's that kid doing with that tree branch?"

"Isn't that incredibly disrespectful? Using tree branches?!"

"Are you two stupid? Didn't you hear about their background?"

"What is your background?"

"The White Stone Immortal Sect! The renowned White Stone Immortal Sect!"

"White Stone Immortal Sect? Never heard of it! What kind of lousy sect is this, making such a big fuss about it!"

"Alas! Fools! They don't even know about the White Stone Immortal Sect!"

The distant commotion reached Ye Chengyu's ears, making him feel somewhat irritated.

Half of it was anger at being looked down upon, and the other half was panic at knowing nothing about Chang Ping'an.

He tried to suppress the turmoil in his heart. After the gong sounded, he did not make the first move, but instead asked loudly, "Hey, Chang, Chang Ping'an, right? I'm good at fists and palms, what are you good at?"

Chang Ping'an was taken aback, seemingly not expecting that the competition would require a "self-introduction." He glanced at the branch he had casually broken off in his hand and honestly replied, "I am skilled with a sword."

Ye Chengyu asked again, "With a sword? Is your sword just a tree branch?"

Chang Pingan nodded: "Using it won't hurt anyone."

As soon as he finished speaking, the martial artists with good hearing in the distance erupted in an uproar.

What a loud tone!
Even Ye Chengyu thought the same thing. "Then I beg Brother Chang to show mercy!"

Ye Chengyu stopped testing the waters and decisively channeled his inner energy, striking out at Chang Ping'an with a palm strike, shouting, "This is the Dewdrop Palm, Brother Chang, be careful!"

Seeing this, Chang Ping'an did not dodge. Instead, he slowly raised his arm, held the tree branch, gathered spiritual power on the branch, and stabbed it towards Ye Chengyu.

At first, Ye Chengyu was a little confused, but soon he realized that the "qi" attached to the tree branch was like a mountain rock pressing down on him, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

In desperation, he switched from palm techniques to finger techniques, using his signature move, the Listening to the Wind Finger. He then channeled all his inner energy, hoping to use his superior agility to strike first, avoid the tree branches, and attack his opponent's pressure points.

But just as he touched the ground with his toes, intending to take the Flying Leaf Step, he seemed to be locked in place, unable to move—

Or rather, his body was no longer under his control, and he could only watch helplessly as he was enveloped by that strange "qi" and as his fingers brushed against the branches.

Then, the branch unmistakably pierced Ye Chengyu's shoulder, and a tremendous force rushed over, sending him flying and crashing into Laishui Lake.

He can't even transform his true energy into protective energy to shield his body!

Fortunately, after flying a few meters away, the terrifying feeling of being locked up all over his body disappeared. Ye Chengyu hurriedly adjusted his posture in mid-air, and the instant he fell into Laishui Lake, he used the momentum to fly up again, and then used his lightness skill to leap into the air and land on the empty fighting platform next to him, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

"What an amazing kung fu!"

Ye Chengyu couldn't help but give a thumbs up.

Chang Ping'an put away the branch, scratched his head somewhat apologetically, and replied, "I'm sorry, this is my first time sparring with a martial artist like you, I didn't control my strength well..."

"..."

Even though Ye Chengyu had a good temper, he was quite annoyed at this moment.

But when he thought of that unavoidable, inescapable "sword" strike, even if he was unwilling, he could only shut up.

So Ye Chengyu cupped his hands, gathered his energy, and leaped off the dueling platform.

Now that it was over, Ye Chengyu headed towards the tower that the Ye family had booked to meet up with his cousin.

As soon as they entered the tower, they heard their cousin Ye Shuyun ask, "Chengyu, that person's true energy is very strange, it doesn't sound right."

Ye Chengyu shook his head: "That person doesn't seem to be using true qi. At least I can't sense any trace of true qi on him!"

Ye Shuyun was quite interested in this: "Really? There is such a strange skill in the world."

"Yes, I also find it strange... hiss—"

As they were talking, Ye Chengyu suddenly realized what was happening and cried out in pain.

It turns out that Chang Ping'an's "sword" just now was quite powerful. In addition to sending Ye Chengyu flying, it did leave a wound even though it didn't pierce his clothes. However, he hadn't noticed it because he was in a tense state. It wasn't until he came to his cousin's side and relaxed that the pain came all at once.

Shen Bo was startled by Ye Chengyu and quickly stepped forward: "Is Eighth Young Master alright?"

"That kid poked me with a twig, it should be fine!"

As Ye Chengyu spoke, he casually unbuttoned his coat, only to find that his right arm had already lost sensation and he couldn't lift it at all.

Shen Bo hurriedly stepped forward and helped remove Ye Chengyu's clothes from his shoulder. He saw a dark purple dot on his shoulder, which was obviously caused by the accumulation and necrosis of blood clots. His entire shoulder had lost its color and turned deathly pale, which was quite frightening.

"How can you not be concerned about such a serious injury!"

Shen Bo had been following Ye Chengyu and Ye Shuyun all the way here to take care of them. When he saw the wound, he was so distressed that his face scrunched up like a chrysanthemum. He immediately ordered the maids and servants standing in the tower to bring water and medicine to help bandage Ye Chengyu.

(End of this chapter)