A Bet

Exploding Essence Palm allows the practitioner to condense one's essence force into the palm. It uses a unique circulation method to explode the essence force and create a robust shock wave to damage the enemy. But… how do you even condense the essence force?!

Jiang Yi's injuries were almost at a complete recovery after around seven or eight days. Jiang Yi was still staying within his room to either cultivate or research on the Exploding Essence Palm.

With his current strength at the fourth stage of the Cast Tripod Realm, the effects of the low-grade cultivation elixirs were limited. Jiang Yi didn't even consider earth-grade cultivation elixirs, as he assumed that one or two pills wouldn't provide much difference.

During these days, he asked the black-armored guard to scout for some news. The results were that the Jiang Clan was in a state of peace and didn't have any commotion.

Jiang Yi quickly understood why. He assumed that there was a huge commotion within the internal side of the Jiang Clan, but it was suppressed by Jiang Yunshan. With the recruitment of Mt. Spirit Beast College and West Garrison Army starting, Jiang Clan didn't want such a scandal to spread among the outsiders.

Jiang Yi understood clearly that if he was to spread rumors in the city, Jiang Clan's members would appear within an hour to eliminate him.

With Jiang Clan lying low for now, Jiang Yi's worries about Jiang Xiaonu was now at a relaxed state. Jiang Xiaonu had guaranteed safety—at least before the recruitment event of Mt. Spirit Beast College. If anyone dared to create any havoc in the Jiang Clan now, they would definitely suffer from the wrath of Jiang Yunshan.

Jiang Yi was peacefully recuperating in the Technique Practicing Room while there was chaos going on outside. That group of young masters and ladies persistently pestered Manager Yang. As the recruitment ceremony was about to start in just a dozen more days, they knew it was impossible to raise their cultivation stage, but it would be perfect if they could increase their martial art skills slightly. Majority of the young masters and ladies tripled or even quintupled their prices. Manager Yang got pestered so much that he didn't want to appear in the Technique Practicing Room anymore.

Sigh… I have comprehended everything else except for the essence force condensation portion of the Exploding Essence Palm. Without the technique to condense my essence force, I couldn't complete the cultivation of the Exploding Essence Palm.

Sigh… so many days have passed, and I do not seem to have any clue on comprehending it. Seems like this martial art cannot be perceived anymore.

Jiang Yi retrieved his thoughts with a sigh. Without the Exploding Essence Palm, he wasn't certain that he could grab one of the spots for the Mt. Spirit Beast College. Even though the Mt. Spirit Beast College was only recruiting youths below the age of 18, one had to consider that the Skyplume City had a population that numbered in hundreds of thousands. There must be countless exceptional martial artists from the younger generations. The top ten prodigies of the city were all at least at the seventh or eighth stage of the Cast Tripod Realm. This was just the prevailing information, who knew if there were any hidden prodigies?

Consuming one of the recuperation elixirs, Jiang Yi didn't want to wait for his broken leg to naturally recover anymore. This elixir was of high-grade, and after being enhanced by the black essence forces, his recovery speed shocked Manager Yang. Had he not intentionally withheld the recovery speed just to have a few more days of rest, he should already be completely healthy.

…

Three days later, Jiang Yi had fully recovered which lifted the spirits of the young masters and ladies who waited for a long time. Jiang Yi was forced to increase his sparring sessions from three per day to five per day. In addition to that, each session's sparring fee increased from 100 to 200 taels of purple gold.

Even so, the number of people that requested Jiang Yi as a sparring partner was just like the overpopulated carps in the river. Furthermore, with every sparring session, they all had some slight improvement in their martial arts techniques.

Five days later, Jiang Yi attracted a special guest. One that he didn't want to see the most.

Jiang Henshui!

Jiang Henshui had a rather good innate talent; if not, it would have been impossible for him to break through to the ninth stage of the Cast Tripod Realm. He had great instincts, too—good enough for him to achieve phenomenal stage for various Jiang Clan's martial arts. The reason why he requested to spar with Jiang Yi was to see if he could comprehend an earth-tier martial art called Mist Collecting Steps, which he recently acquired from the Jiang Clan.

"Greetings, Lone Wolf! For this sparring session, I wish for you to attack me in full strength. If I can achieve phenomenal stage for the Mist Collecting Steps, I will definitely offer you a great reward to express my gratitude."

Jiang Henshui looked poised as usual. He got into a slight daze when he first saw Jiang Yi who looked familiar, but he shook his head in denial when he saw the wildly violent and untamed eyes underneath the mask.

Jiang Yi's temperament had always been mild and tamed. How could someone who wanted to keep a low profile have such sharp eyes? What's more, the current Jiang Yi should be hiding somewhere and recuperating, right? It was impossible for him to recover so quickly.

Seeing Jiang Henshui's reaction, Jiang Yi let out a silent breath of relief. When he first saw Jiang Henshui, he immediately let out an aura that showed off his ability, and it seemed like it worked rather well. Remaining vigilant, he nodded arrogantly without speaking. Circulating the Extreme Divine Steps, he scratched at Jiang Henshui with hands that looked like phantom claws.

"Right about time!"

Jiang Henshui's eyes lit up as he moved both his legs slightly to retreat. When looking afar, it didn't seem like his legs were moving much, but his body was mysteriously drifting backward.

"Swish!"

Jiang Yi swung his hands dominantly and followed up on his assault. Jiang Henshui didn't counterattack but just kept on dodging with his drifting maneuvers. With strange footwork, his body drifted around, not allowing Jiang Yi's attack to even touch his robes for more than two minutes.

No wonder, he is a prodigy. This earth-tier inferior-grade Mist Collecting Steps must have been hard to cultivate, right? But Jiang Henshui actually achieved the Entry Stage in such short notice. The earth-tier martial arts is indeed formidable, even the speed of my Extreme Divine Steps which was of Phenomenal Stage, is still slightly inferior. Although our essence forces are sealed right now, this Jiang Henshui, who is at the ninth stage of the Cast Tripod Realm, has much superior physical strength compared to me…

Jiang Yi lamented silently. With a black flash of light, he began to utilize the black essence force. If he didn't use it, he would probably be unable to touch the edge of Jiang Henshui's robes even after an entire day.

"Swish!"

With the black essence force activated, Jiang Yi's vision got instantly enhanced to horrifying levels. All of Jiang Henshui's maneuvers and movement trajectories were clear in his eyes. He took one step ahead to where Jiang Henshui would dodge to and sent a palm strike at Jiang Henshui's chest without the use of any martial arts.

"Huh?"

Jiang Henshui squinted his eyes and let out a surprised expression. Jiang Yi, who previously wasn't a threat, had suddenly changed into another person. Jiang Yi actually took a step ahead to the direction where he was going to dodge to. In addition, the attack came from an odd angle that made Jiang Henshui felt that there was no way to avoid it?

"He!"

His ninth stage of the Cast Tripod Realm wasn't just for show. Jiang Henshui forcefully twisted his body to lean backward and barely slid away from Jiang Yi's attack.

"Hmph!"

Jiang Yi let out a scoff. This Jiang Henshui only dodged and didn't launch any offense, wasn't he overestimating himself? Since someone volunteered to be tortured, he shouldn't hold back. Just as Jiang Henshui dodged the palm strike, his leg kicked with lightning speed; and the target was Jiang Henshui's crotch.

"You…"

Jiang Henshui's expression changed yet again. The Lone Wolf was actually this vicious? This kick could have ended his future bloodline! Jiang Henshui's body was still leaning backward and didn't seem to be able to dodge to the side. With a tip using his feet, he turned in mid-air and rolled to the side.

"Swish!"

Jiang Yi scuttled over like a venomous snake and consecutively kicked with lightning-fast speed. Jiang Henshui could only continuously tumble forward, without any chance to recover.

This Lone Wolf's reaction speed is too insane! No wonder he can become a Purple Gold Token-Grade Sparring Partner!

Jiang Henshui's heart was filled with a grievance. He initially declared that he wouldn't attack, which was why he couldn't. With Jiang Yi's insane reaction speed, he would be lopsidedly oppressed if he didn't counterattack. He had never been this battered in his life.

"Swish!"

Jiang Yi was currently content with the current situation. He constantly launched quick strikes, not allowing Jiang Henshui to have an opportunity to catch his breath. With an endless storm of punches and kicks, Jiang Yi didn't utilize any martial arts; instead, he used his insane reaction speed to predict Jiang Henshui's dodging direction in advance. He easily oppressed Jiang Henshui into a state where he was whining non-stop.

After a series of chaotic attacks, Jiang Henshui couldn't even keep track of how many attacks did Jiang Yi land on him. However, Jiang Yi had good control of his strength and didn't injure him. But his poised young master look got ruined by his messy hair and robes. Drenched in sweat, he witnessed Jiang Yi's huge leg about to trample on his face. Feeling that his stamina couldn't hold up anymore, he feared he wouldn't be able to continue dodging. Jiang Henshui then frantically yelled, "Stop!"

Jiang Yi's leg stopped in mid-air while Jiang Henshui leaped up. He gave a wry smile with cupped hands. "Brother Lone Wolf has some insane reaction speed. Henshui is still lacking in strength. Let's end here today then! I will be back to seek guidance from you again…"

Jiang Henshui tidied up his hair and robe; he restored his calm look and walked out. Jiang Yi stood in the Technique Practicing Room without uttering a single word. He lamented at the thought that Jiang Henshui was just as scheming as his father. Jiang Henshui obviously hated him but acted all courteous and modest. This type of hypocrites, who hid daggers behind their smiles, was much more terrifying than people like Jiang Yunshe.

Getting ready to walk out, Jiang Yi saw a black-robed young master walk in. He had a stalwart figure and handsome features—a pity that his skin was slightly tanned which actually brought out the manliness. From far away, he could already be seen smiling wholeheartedly. "Brother Lone Wolf is indeed formidable, that even Henshui sang praises of you. Heiqi recently picked up a new martial art, too; and he hoped Brother Lone Wolf can be generous enough to offer me some insights!"

Ma Heiqi?

Jiang Yi stared with cold eyes. If he was discouraged towards the Jiang Clan, then towards the Ma Clan, it would be complete animosity. It was because it happened once: Jiang Xiaonu almost got beaten to death by the members of Ma Clan.

If it was in the past, he would probably not mind sparring a few rounds with the members of Ma Clan. But now that he was aiming for a spot for the Mt. Spirit Beast College, he naturally couldn't allow Ma Heiqi's strength to have an improvement. With the exceptions of Jiang Henshui and Ji Tingyu, the rest of the top ten prodigies—Ma Heiqi included—were all his competitors. His heart was actually quite contradicted.

"I'm sorry!"

After a brief silence, Jiang Yi spoke indifferently, "During my match earlier, this young master's wounds got reopened. I'm afraid that I cannot spar with you!"

"Huh?"

Ma Heiqi's smile froze up. He looked at Jiang Yi with doubtful eyes and asked, "Is it really impossible?"

Jiang Yi nodded. "Absolutely true."

"Fine then!" Ma Heiqi abruptly turned and walked away. He turned back and said, "I shall be back tomorrow. Brother Lone Wolf, please have a good rest!"

Soon after Ma Heiqi walked out, Manager Yang came in. He shut the doors and criticized, "Lone Wolf, what's the matter with you? Weren't your wounds completely recovered? Young Master Heiqi is the young master of the Ma Clan. Offending him would mean to offend the entire Ma Clan."

After staying silent for a moment, Jiang Yi raised his head and replied, "Manager, I didn't have a choice. If I offended him, then so be it. I will not spar against them. From now, I will not spar with any of the top ten prodigies!"

Manager Yang's eyes had a flash of chill. He spoke with a severe tone, "Why? Have you gone mad? Don't forget your status!"

"Keke. To tell you the truth, I am thinking of quitting as a sparring partner. I want to participate in the Mt. Spirit Beast College's recruitment ceremony. I want to enroll in the Mt. Spirit Beast College!"

Jiang Yi said everything that he had thought of in his heart. Seeing that Manager Yang instantly turned furious and was about to open his mouth, Jiang Yi raised his hand and said, "Manager— don't be in a hurry and listen to what I have to say. I ain't an ungrateful brat, and I will always remember that the Martial Arts Hall once nurtured me. This is why I would like to have bet with the Martial Arts Hall.

"The Martial Arts Hall shall allow me to participate in the Mt. Spirit Beast College's recruitment ceremony. If I am able to successfully enroll, we shall resolve the sparring partner agreement that we had. Of course, if I, Jiang Yi, were to become successful in the future, I would repay the Martial Arts Hall by a hundred folds. But if I were to fail the recruitment ceremony, I should unconditionally be a sparring partner of the Martial Arts Hall for ten years! How about it?"