Back With The Gang!

Ying stood on the square ranking ring with her opponent. Her sword was hung over her shoulder with one hand and her posture was casual. It was another Huan clan member she was facing off against. He glared at her and she smirked back. These weaklings from the Huan clan are a good source of contribution points, pills, and training. With the bounty on her head, there's no small number of opponents to challenge her in a ranking match.

The amount of resources she's gained thanks to fighting against them has improved her mood about these ranking matches. At first, she thought that this would just be a waste of time when she could be doing tasks to gain resources instead but this is a far better way of getting contribution points. Especially since she has a bounty on her head that seems to get higher every few weeks.

When she first started fighting in these ranking matches, she only thought about ending it quickly but as time went on, she started using it to train her martial art techniques. Even if it meant prolonging the fight, she would use the techniques till she felt like she understood how to use them better. If she was being honest, she actually got the idea from Lei Zhi and Bing. After watching those two battle in their ranking matches, she wondered why didn't they just crush their opponents from the start?

They both talked about how they should use the chance to improve their skills for the Treasured Plains. Bing said that it isn't often that he's able to train his martial art skills on an actual opponent that isn't just a spirit beast from the Immortal Forest. That made Ying think, she never really trained with her martial arts on humans either. They either died from a few swings or she nearly dies. The spirit beasts in the Immortal Forest also weren't the best to test skills with because of how simple they were.

The referee started the match and her opponent ran towards her with a normal blade. He was one stage above her at the 7th stage but as far as she knew, he was an unknown. If he was unknown that meant he wasn't special and had no fame. Ying didn't expect this battle with him to help her progress in any meaningful way. As he came close, he slashed down with his sword to split her in half from her shoulder to her waist.

Ying countered with her own sword slash and knocked the boy away with just pure strength. He was sent flying across the stage and had to stab his damaged sword into the ring just so he didn't fly out. His sword snapped in half but he managed to save himself from falling out of the ring.

"For someone at a higher stage than me, you sure are weak. I barely used any strength in that swing and you're already done." Ying said.

"I'll show you to mess with the Huan clan, you gorilla bitch!"

He ran towards her with just his hands. Ying scoffed at the disarmed disciple. She halfheartedly swung her sword, already picturing him headless and spilling blood all over the ring. Her sword's tip made a deep gash on his face but didn't take his head off like she expected. He had a bit more skill than she thought he did because he managed to place a talisman on her stomach during that exchange as well. She struck out with her foot and kicked him in the gut, making him roll away like a wheel.

The talisman was already lit. There was no point in trying to avoid the impossible. Ying used her cultivation technique and set herself ablaze to defend against the spell. The talisman exploded into a giant water bubble with her trapped inside. She was floating in the middle of the bubble and was forced to hold her breathe as her opponent was setting up a formation while she was trapped!

Ying could barely move her sword around. This guy wasn't like the others from the Huan clan. This was made specifically for her and her fire martial arts. Ying would have to give actual effort in this fight if she didn't want to rely on sword. Fire qi is weak to water qi and very rarely could a cultivator that practices fire arts best one that practices water arts. However, Ying didn't care about things like that.

With enough strength, nothing can stand in your way. If she wanted, she could handle this water spell with just her sword but this time, she decided not to rely on her weapon. Ying's body started heating up. The water around her started bubbling as she used her qi as fuel to increase the heat even more. Steam began to spread out across the arena as the bubble rapidly decreased in size.

Ying's qi was basically gone by the time she freed herself but she didn't need her qi to defeat her opponent. All she needed was one good hit. Spellmasters are known for not being able to take a hit. The steam surrounding the arena was a problem but it didn't take much to get rid of it. With a final wave of fire blasting out from her body, she was able to spot the weasel hiding inside a qi barrier. He must have not been able to handle the heat of her steam and fire.

Her qi was gone but her physical strength wasn't. She lifted her giant sword up and took off towards him with great speed. Ying's blade struck against the barrier like a mallet, ripples violently shook on the surface of the barrier and it started to crack.

"Impossible... Just what kind of spirit weapon could destroy my qi barrier!?"

Ying didn't even spare him a single word. She swung her sword down and destroyed the barrier with ease. The Huan clan member couldn't even try and resist against the mountain-like pressure her sword gave off as it was coming down. It crushed him like a bug and caved in the arena. The referee called the match after seeing her opponent still barely alive but only barely. She did use the back of her blade but only because he made her try just a bit harder than usual.

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"Heh. I heard you've been giving our clan a bit of trouble have you Fatty?" Bing's opponent smashed his fist into his palm.

He was only a 4th stage Qi Gatherer. Bing had no idea why he was so cocky. He seemed no different from any other Huan clan member he's fought against. He should be cautious and careful in this upcoming battle then. They should know his prowess and strength by now after all these fights he's had against them. He must be a secret weapon, really talented, or an idiot. Bing was really hoping for the last one.

"That's incorrect. Your clan is the one that actually giving me trouble. I never really asked for all this conflict."

"Shut your ass Piggy! Get ready to die for causing my kin so much trouble!" He charged just as the referee started the match.

Bing guarded his punch with his shield. His strength wasn't anything to take note of. He was watching for anything strange about his opponent. His speed was good but not something to be wary of. Just what was it that he was so confident about? Watching the Huan clan members in the audience with sneers on their faces and laughing at him, only made him even more cautious against this guy.

Bing used his shield to block his aggressive attacks. He controlled his breathing and focused on the Art of Blocking style from his shield art. He was ready to flee at a moment's notice or strengthen himself for any attack. Will his secret ability be something he should run from or defend against? He could only find out when his opponent wanted to reveal it himself.

"Stop blocking and fight me coward! What kind of cultivator uses a shield as a weapon!? Aren't you ashamed of yourself? Where are your balls?!" His opponent shouted while attacking him.

Bing didn't even give him a response as he continued his strategy of only defending. A punch towards his face? Raise his shield just before it connects. A kick aiming for his privates? Lower his shield and block the kick. A grab towards his face while his shield is still blocking the kick? A carefully timed sway of the head and a jump back for some distance.

"You're pissing me off Piggy! Why won't you just fight me and stop running!? Do you think this is a joke? A game? This is a fight! Treat it like one or just surrender already!" His qi flared up.

Bing knew exactly what he was doing right now. He isn't an idiot. Any normal person wouldn't fall for the taunts of their opponents. That's how you fall into their pace and lose your advantage. But maybe he could use this to his advantage...

"Fine. You want me to fight. I'll give you a fight!" Bing's body started to shape into muscle.

His fat was being dispersed throughout his body and strengthened with his qi. The flesh on the sides of his ribs were shifting and pulsating before two additional muscled arms popped out. The air around him turned dangerous. A simple flick of the wrist seemed to cause the air around him to follow in its movements. It looked like if he wanted, he could punch the air and shoot out a fist made of air that could do as much damage as a normal punch.

"Hahaha! That's what I'm talking about! Now come on! Fight me Tubby!"

"Swift Devil!" Bing shot off like an unstoppable arrow.

His opponent used his fists and moved his hands in a mystical way in front of him. Inside the strange circle made from his movements came a bright orange light made of qi. The light was shaped into the characters for the word Counter. A huge grin was on his face as Bing headed straight towards the strange technique. So, this was what he was counting on and from the sounds of the people in the stands, this had to be the special move they were hoping to take him out. It's a shame that their hopes would be dashed.

Bing stopped himself just before he made contact with the technique. It was nearly going to scrape the tip of his nose and the amount qi coming off this technique was enough to make him want to pee his pants. It seemed like his opponent couldn't move during this skill and was actually hurting him. Blood dripped down his nose, eyes, and mouth as he kept the move going for some strange reason. Could it be that he couldn't drop this technique without suffering some terrible backlash?

"Sorry to disappoint you all but it was a bait. I wanted to see what your trick was to deal with me. That's why I made it look like I was going to attack you." Bing could see the fury in his eyes. That glare is in the top 10 glares he's seen so far in these ranking matches.

Bing calmly walked around the frozen boy and cupped his face with his muscled hands.

"You seem kind of dangerous. I don't know what kind of special ability that was but seeing how so many of your allies were counting on you to defeat me makes me scared for my future. Plus, those eyes of yours look like the type I'm most afraid of. The type of eyes that would stoop to any lengths just for revenge."

"You...coward... you won't get away with this..." He spat blood through his teeth as the veins all over his body was completely visible.

Crack!

The beloved Huan clan member's head was twisted 180 degrees behind him. The sound of the bones in his neck snapping was all too audible for anyone nearby. His orange technique shattered and his body dropped to the ground with his eyes open wide. Seeing one of their own dying right in front of them sent the Huan clan into an uncontrollable rage. The referee glared at the Huan clan from the ring, daring them to break the rules of the sect and intrude in the middle of a ranking match. But he was nothing but a simple 6th stage Qi Gatherer. On the stands were Huan clan members of various stages with not too few being above the 6th stage.

"Would you mind calling the match Referee?" Bing asked as he took out a movement talisman from his robe.

He nodded and called the match in Bing's favor. Once the match was officially over, they pounced like wild animals. Bing already lit his talisman once the referee made him the winner and just before those savages could get their hands on him, he was already more than 50 steps away. Now he would have to be much more careful in the upcoming few weeks. Buy a few more Lesser Escape talismans, cultivate to increase his stage, and plan his movements to avoid being caught in a bad situation. He just had to last until it was time for the Treasured Plains to open. Once he could get his hands on the treasures inside, dealing with the Huan clan one by one won't be much of an issue. It would take some time but their leader is only in the Qi Consolidation stage. With enough resources, getting there shouldn't take too long, even with his average talent. If worse comes to worst, he can always rely on his freakish teammates to help him.

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Hu Tao chuckled as he stood over the body of another weakling trying to recruit him into their little political group. With his throat torn out from Hu Tao's final attack, he breathed his final gurgle. With only being one stage above himself, he still wasn't good enough to make Hu Tao go all out. How could a weakling like this ever expect to make him follow his lead? Now a monster like that bitch Jing was the only leader worthy of following. Even now with him being 1 full stage above her, he still couldn't find himself any closer to making that sadistic freak fight with her life on the line. It seemed like as time went on, she only got stronger and stronger.

'Good! Anything less than that would be boring! I will defeat that strong bitch one day and when it comes, I will make sure it's the greatest fight that I could ever experience! I wouldn't even mind if we both died by the end of it!'

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Lei Zhi was fishing outside his home into the small pond full of lively fishes. His current thoughts were on what type of cultivator should he strive to become in the future. Although he knew that he couldn't control what fate had in store for him, he could still ponder. Becoming a body cultivator like Bing and Yue didn't seem like it would fit best with his current martial arts. That strength would only be a small boost to him. Becoming a qi cultivator could be a small gain or a large gain depending on what type of qi he would have the fortune of gaining. Becoming a balanced type like Hu Tao wasn't possibly with his talent. Hu Tao had fearsome strength and terrifying qi techniques with neither of them lacking in the slightest.

Perhaps he should become a lesser known type of cultivator. With the fishing rod Jing gave him, it was hard not to think of becoming a Beast Master. She herself claims to be a beast master along with a Spellmaster. Lei Zhi had no luck with those occupations. Becoming a pill refiner, blacksmith, or a spellmaster was impossible for him. He had no talent for any of those fields and could only produce trash. Even in his youth before he was blind, he attempted to join each one of those occupations and was kicked out not even 2 weeks before joining.

He would have to think of something to explain how he has so many different type of beasts eventually. For now though, he'll keep his mouth shut and let those curious simply wonder. He has no reason to tell anyone of his abilities and his ways. Lei Zhi might be considered a hopeful kind naïve fool but he didn't make it to this age on luck alone!