Chapter 1179: Everyone Wants to Bully Me

The battle between Jin Guoqian and Xueyang finally began.

Xueyang had no reason to refuse, nor was there any need to. Facing a regular Rank-Five human, he possessed absolute confidence. Ban Rongchen was even less likely to refuse. He wished Jin Guoqian would beat Xueyang into a vegetative state; then the world would finally be peaceful. Hatefully, Ban Rongchen was cursed by Bihui Cave and couldn’t attack Xueyang. Otherwise, he would have been the first to cripple him.

Mu Jingliang was in no rush to leave, and the students hadn’t dispersed either. Xueyang was very strong. So far, other than Su Yue, no one had been able to even touch Xueyang, let alone defeat him. And with Jin Guoqian’s return as a King, his opening move was breaking the record with eighteen tidal waves. Could he actually break through Xueyang’s evasive maneuvers? Everyone waited with bated breath.

SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH!

The battle began, filling the air with a tense atmosphere. Jin Guoqian had found an unsharpened, blunt saber and directly engaged Xueyang in close combat. Flashes of the blade rose from all directions, filling the air with a sharp, cutting edge.

Xueyang had absolute confidence in himself. Actually, his confidence lay in Bihui Cave. The Celestial Saint was invincible, so the power he had bestowed upon him was bound to be invincible as well. His careless mistake of letting Su Yue find an opening earlier was simply due to his own lack of mastery. He needed to add another supreme soul to the World-Penetrating Holy Book.

“As expected, just another piece of trash that’s slightly stronger than the rest.” Amidst the net of blades, Xueyang smirked, his face full of mockery as he moved with unhurried ease.

SWISH SWISH SWISH!

SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH!

Admittedly, Jin Guoqian’s saber arts were quite impressive. Not only was he fast, accurate, and ruthless, but his strikes were particularly vicious. Almost every slash aimed at a fatal spot, never missing its mark. Such saber intent could never be forged by simply chopping wooden blocks. It had to be fed with countless lives.

However, no matter how terrifying the net of blades was, it was completely useless against Xueyang’s evasiveness. Xueyang was slashed countless times, but every hit struck only an afterimage. Every single time, Xueyang calmly dodged away.

The battle immediately devolved into a stalemate. Although it looked like the two were evenly matched, everyone knew that Jin Guoqian was doomed to lose. Just like all the Martial Artists before him, once he exhausted himself, Xueyang would find an opening and defeat him in a single move. If he was lucky enough to lose gracefully, it would be like Bai Xiaolong—defeated by a single, clean palm strike. But if he was unfortunate enough to be targeted by Xueyang, he would end up like Meng Yang and likely be beaten to a pulp. Jin Guoqian was probably a bit stronger than Bai Xiaolong and Meng Yang, but the gap wasn’t significant.

“As expected, it’s still not enough.” Principal Nanwu sighed.

To this day, the only defeat Xueyang had ever suffered was at the hands of Su Yue. Even Jin Guoqian, whose aptitude surpassed Bai Ziqing’s, was still unable to break this nightmare.

Mu Jingliang’s expression was grave. His eyes remained fixed on Jin Guoqian. As for victory or defeat, no one could say for sure until the very last second. Earlier, Mu Jingliang had used his general’s authority to view the classified records of the Warring States Military Academy.

Sure enough, Jin Guoqian had learned a peerless combat tactic in the Wetland. This was also the source of Jin Guoqian’s confidence in taking the initiative to challenge Xueyang. In truth, Jin Guoqian’s peerless combat tactic wasn’t much of a secret anymore. At the very least, the Four-armed Race and the Steel Bone Race had already experienced it firsthand. Soon enough, the Divine Land Martial Artists would know of it as well. But while the secret hadn’t been fully publicized, it could still be used to catch enemies off guard. As to whether this peerless combat tactic could defeat Xueyang, they would have to wait until the end of the battle.

“This Xueyang is so bizarre. Su Yue, how did you manage to hit him earlier?” Mu Cheng asked with a frown.

At the Rank-Five stage, Jin Guoqian’s strength could definitely dominate the top three. Yet against Xueyang, he couldn’t land a single strike. This made Su Yue appear even more unfathomable.

“I don’t know either. Maybe it was the suppression of my domineering aura and personal charm.” Su Yue was equally baffled. Ultimately, he chalked it up to his outstanding temperament.

“That’s possible,” Mu Cheng nodded earnestly. She proudly thought to herself that the boyfriend she had found was undeniably domineering; there was no need to even mention it.

“Meng Yang, once everything here is settled, I’m going to the Wetland to cultivate. If I don’t become an Unbreakable Grandmaster, I won’t return to Earth. Do you dare to come with me?” Bai Xiaolong suddenly said, watching the battle not far away.

“You’re still quite a ways away from being a Grandmaster. Are you trying to die in the Wetland?” Meng Yang looked at Bai Xiaolong in astonishment, wondering if this idiot had lost his mind. Was it a trend nowadays to make such grand vows? How was this any different from bragging?

“It’s up to you whether you go or not, but I’m going,” Bai Xiaolong shook his head.

He was genuinely provoked by Jin Guoqian. Even if Jin Guoqian couldn’t defeat Xueyang, both his saber arts and the murderous intent he had cultivated in the Wetland made Bai Xiaolong feel a deep sense of defeat. After all, Jin Guoqian used to be someone he had defeated. If he didn’t join forces with Meng Yang now, he might not even last twenty exchanges against Jin Guoqian. He wondered what this fierce guy had experienced over the past year.

The phalanx of the Warring States Military Academy remained uniform and orderly. Although they also worried about Jin Guoqian’s victory or defeat, every student maintained ironclad discipline.

RUMBLE!

After fighting for a few more minutes, Xueyang finally found a fatal opening in Jin Guoqian’s defenses. He threw a punch as swift as a lightning bolt. Xueyang’s strength was not weak, not to mention he had already been in an invincible position.

Accompanied by an explosive thud, Jin Guoqian’s body was violently knocked back more than twenty paces.

SPURT!

The impact was so severe that Jin Guoqian even spat out a mouthful of blood. It wasn’t an internal injury, however; he had simply bitten his tongue by accident when Xueyang struck him.

The entire audience was stunned. As expected, it was the exact same ending. Jin Guoqian was also defeated.