Chapter 288: Layered Fist of Tong
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
Lie Jian’s soul energy reached two hundred and thirty. If it were anyone else, the amount of soul energy at display would be considered significant, but it was relatively unimpressive compared to Lie Jian’s real power.
The unusual tension in the air told Wang Tong that Lie Jian’s power was beyond the simple soul energy and the GN force. After all, the five major tactics were at par with the Tactics of the Blade. Within Lie Jian’s seemingly normal soul energy, Wang Tong could sense something lurking behind, something more powerful and sinister.
Both Michaux and Patroclus had sensed the strong energy behind Lie Jian’s facade, but neither of them seemed to be surprised by it. They knew what they had felt; it was the power of the double GN force.
By then, Wang Tong had also realized that his opponent had double GN force at his disposal, so he cherished the intense training he had endured in the crystal that had brought his skill to the next level. Otherwise, Wang Tong concluded, he would be defeated in an instant.
As soon as Wang Tong initiated his tactics and opened up his soul energy, the other three’s faces turned black.
They had sensed a fifth level soul energy in the Einherjar Wannabe’s start-up phase, which meant that Einherjar Wannabe’s real soul energy ought to be even higher. This was not the power they had been expecting from the mysterious fighter.
Wang Tong cranked his soul energy to just above two hundred, and felt that it should be enough to counter the belligerent pressure emanated from his opponent.
Einherjar Wannabe’s display of strength had finally satisfied Patroclus’s curiosity; all of his questions were answered by then. Patroclus no longer wanted to watch the battle, so he went up to the audience section, found a seat and sat down with his eyes closed, savoring this blissful moment.
“Good evening everyone, this is the live broadcast of the fight between Einherjar Wannabe and Lie Jian. Although, we cannot see what is going on inside the arena, we can still feel it with our soul energy. As we know, this is a fight of the century, and both combatants had invited —Oh! We have noticed that Einherjar Wannabe’s soul energy has reached the fifth level. This will be the first time Einherjar Wannabe ever reached the fifth level. If I recall correctly, he was able to defeat a fifth level warrior while he was only at the fourth level. It really makes one wonder what would happen today behind those closed doors!”
The people outside of the arena shouted in excitement, despite the very little data they had about the situation inside.
Lie Jian felt exhilarated by his opponent’s level of strength. He knew that Einherjar Wannabe had been hiding his real power, but he didn’t expect the mysterious fighter to be so powerful.
With a blaring sound, Lie Jian dashed forward. There was only one word in his combat vocabulary: attack.
The blazing GN force quickly spread throughout Lie Jian’s body, turning him into a weapon. Despite the fact that the Martians were masters of modern military style combat, Lie Jian knew how to use all kinds of ancient weapon, and was also a master of fist and palm strikes techniques. Lie Jian knew that the Martians were a relatively new civilization, and therefore, they needed to learn from their more ancient counterparts. Lie Jian had spent a lot of time and money, seeking masters of martial arts from earth and moon, and invited them over to Mars as guests. Due to the restriction of their soul energy, these martial artists might not be deadly on the battlefield. However, the new techniques they had brought to the Martians were invaluable. Lie Jian had then improved his own techniques by merging the essence of the old masters’ techniques with his.
The Li were the masters of the sword, and the Dower were the masters of the spears, but Lie Jian was the master of everything, and he didn’t even need a weapon.
Lie Jian’s attack was powerful, direct and came with strong intent. As the cultivator of the Tactics of the Blaze, Lie Jian was able to unleash any technique’s full damage potential.
In addition to the Tactics of the Blaze, which had given the attack a unique elemental attribute, the technique was an improved version of an ancient martial art called the Zhong Zheng Fist. It was an old technique that focused on the attack with wide open forms, to achieve maximum damage. It had become doubly deadly, with the added effect of the Tactics of the Blaze.
So far, Lie Jian had only met one person who had countered this move, and it was Li Shiming.
What would Einherjar Wannabe do?
Michaux’s expression remained calm; he knew exactly how powerful Lie Jian’s attack was. However, he reasoned that if Einherjar Wannabe couldn’t even counter Lie Jian’s first move, he would not deserve this stage.
Facing such a deadly attack, Wang Tong didn’t even flinch. He arched his back into a defensive posture as lights flashed in his eyes.
Wang Tong attacked at Lie Jian with a knuckle-whitening fist, as he roared out his battle cry.
Wang Tong moved so fast that even his shadow could not catch up with him.
The two fists collided, and Lie Jian stumbled back a step. The power carried by the fist told Lie Jian that this was going to be a much tougher fight than he had expected.
“Fantastic technique! Its power was definitely above that of the Fist of the Racing Tiger. Do you have a name for it?” Lie Jian’s knuckle ached at the impact. Einherjar Wannabe countered his unswerving attack with ease. Looking at his opponent, Lie Jian registered that Einherjar Wannabe’s defense had dissolved even the effect of the poison fire.
Lie Jian registered that not only Einherjar Wannabe possessed exceptional tactics, he must have also learned his techniques from a great master.
“Layered Fist of Tong!”
“Good name! You have opened my eyes today. But I think our fight will end here!”
Lie Jian brought his fists back and set it about his waist while he charged them with more GN force. Lie Jian conceded that the GN force in his previous attack wasn’t enough to penetrate his opponent’s defense, and therefore, he decided to pump more GN force into his second attack.
Should Einherjar Wannabe be able to counter his second attack, Lie Jian reasoned he would be able to reveal his real power to the mysterious fighter finally. The first two attacks were merely probes. Lie Jian also hoped that Einherjar Wannabe would be able to pass this test, because the martian was eager to study his ability to control double elemental attributes.
Lie Jian’s fists turned red, and he was about to use the Zhong Zheng fist again. When combined with the Tactics of the Blaze, the Zhong Zheng fist was almost invincible. It was also difficult to master compared to other fist techniques, as it focused a lot on projecting fear into opponents’ hearts, similar to the Fist of the Racing Tiger. That being said, with the discovery of the GN force, the Zhong Zheng fist would become useless without being complemented with powerful tactics such as the Tactics of the Blaze.
Lie Jian didn’t invest too much GN force in his first attack, since he was not sure about his opponent’s strength. However, after sensing that his opponent’s skill was on the same level as him, if not better, Lie Jian had increased the effect of the Tactics of the Blade in his second attack. Lie Jian reckoned that his opponent’s strike was very similar to the Firmament Palm Strike from the Ivantians. However, Einherjar Wannabe’s execution seemed to give the technique a more sinister undertone. Luckily, the Zhong Zheng fist was well known for its ability to ward off sinister and devious tricks, so it allowed Lie Jian to attack with abandon.
A tremor shot through Wang Tong’s body, not because of terror, but excitement. A million words of appreciation rushed through his mind that he wanted to say to Mr. Wannabe. Without him, Wang Tong would never be able to stand against such a powerful opponent and enjoy such a thrilling fight.
Two lightning bolts suddenly appeared in Wang Tong’s hands, and he rushed forward to meet his opponent’s charge head on.
Michaux’s face finally betrayed a hint of surprise; he had never seen a lightning attribute before.
For the longest time, the Lie’s fire attribute was considered the most aggressive attribute. Although the fire and ice were technically adversarial elements, overall, the fire element had always been the more aggressive one. Despite the fact that Wang Tong’s ice attribute was rare, its rarity did not amount to its dominance.
The lightning attribute, however, was not only never seen before, but also seemed more aggressive and powerful than the fire.
In a blink, the two fighters exchanged a dozen round of punches. Despite the crazed looked in Lie Jian’s eyes, his attack was meticulously woven into each other, without leaving any loose ends.
Wang Tong’s move, on the other hand, had some rough edges, but he carried out his seemingly random attacks with confidence and with apparent ease.
Lie Jian had to be watchful of Wang Tong’s lightning element, as it crackled and sputtered, eager to lick its opponent’s flesh.
Lie Jian’s patience was wearing thin, so he cranked up the intensity of his attacks. He found it hard to believe that Einherjar Wannabe was able to counter his attacks with a much lower soul energy than his.
While the two were in the heat of the battle, Lie Jian suddenly changed his techniques from fist to palm. Lie Jian was famous for his unique palm technique, that was deadly despite its rather slow and mellow method of delivering. It was living proof that most people’s stereotype of the Lie’s blunt and aggressive nature was wrong.
Once the Tactics of the Blaze had transitioned to its higher form, it became much deadlier despite the change in its method of delivery. The abrupt change in the flow of the battle would also throw opponents off balance.
While Lie Jian was switching forms, Wang Tong seized the opportunity and attacked Lie Jian with Ice Finger Strike. The transition from lightning to ice was so fluid and flawless that no one else would have been able to do it.
Michaux had finally witnessed Einherjar Wannabe’s ability to command two attributes, and he found that there was no need to watch the fight any longer. Wang Tong’s perfect transition between the two elements made the young master believe that this young boy would be able to dominate the whole world, as long as he wanted to.
Michaux threw a glance at Patroclus and their eyes locked onto each other.
They both knew that the dominance of the five major tactics would finally come to an end after three hundred years.
