Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Some people seemed to be born for cultivation, and they could cruise along with their training so well that one might even say that their journey on cultivation was entirely smooth sailing.
Such a person would have absolutely become the equal of formidable generals back in ancient times.
The likes of Lu Bu and Xiang Yu had been naturally powerful, so much so that they would have been considered top-notch beings even if they hadn’t walked the path of a cultivator at all. When such beings became cultivators, they could easily become walking killing machines unlike any other.
The notion of everyone being born equal simply couldn’t be applied to the world of cultivators at all. Some were born with blocked meridians, preventing them from being able to cultivate at all, while others were born with meridians totally free of blockages, enabling them to achieve astonishing progress with cultivation.
It was just like the way that some were born short, while others were born tall and imposing, even packing monstrous strength.
Such was the inherent difference between people. In 99 percent of cases, the edge provided by an inherent affinity for cultivation trumped that achieved solely through methods and diligence, so much so that the gap was simply impossible to bridge.
The likes of the Dragon, who had been born with monstrous strength, were easily able to beat a HuaJin Master to death, even if they only resorted to conventional training and never embarked on the path of a cultivator at all.
That was how apparent the level difference between the two parties was.
While Lu Xuan was gauging the Dragon’s capabilities, the Dragon was sizing up Lu Xuan, as well. What he found was that Lu Xuan’s strength differed from the dazzling power waiting to be unleashed within the Dragon.
Lu Xuan looked just too normal in contrast to himself, so normal that the Dragon found it almost impossible. The phenomenon was unbelievably surreal.
Lu Xuan appeared to have loose, untrained muscles and a scrawny frame, making him look like just another normal kid.
If it had not been for Lu Xuan’s past battle records, the Dragon would have been easily duped by him, for he was unable to sense even a hint of power emanating from Lu Xuan.
That was why Lu Xuan felt so weird to him.
Everything seemed so harmonious with Lu Xuan that he sensed only disharmony around the young man.
However, when he blinked, he seemed to catch a glimpse of that surreal aura harbored within Lu Xuan, an aura that differed from all of the others he had seen.
It felt as if there was a god concealed under the facade of a normal man.
It seemed as if Lu Xuan would be able to ascend all the way to the heavens if it weren’t for the limitations posed by that physical frame of his.
While the Dragon was only able to see the aura for a split second, he had no doubt that he wasn’t just seeing things. He was very sure that he had caught a glimpse of the truth.
The Dragon possessed a magnanimous aura. In contrast, Lu Xuan’s aura was inexplicably mysterious, so much so that it appeared otherworldly and unmatched by any other living being.
It could even be said that Lu Xuan was the most terrifying and the most powerful of beings that the Dragon had laid eyes on thus far in his life.
His expression was a severe one. The more average Lu Xuan appeared, the more severe his expression became. After confirming that Lu Xuan was anything but an ordinary being, he understood that the more average Lu Xuan appeared to him, the more he was unable to see all that underlying power hidden behind Lu Xuan’s facade.
All the observers on the sidelines saw how the two combatants kept sizing each other up. No one from either side made any sudden or careless moves.
“Forgive me for being brash, Mr. Lu,” the Dragon announced loudly, choosing to make the first move.
The earlier one made a move, the more advantage one would gain. The one who moved late would end up on the defensive.
It was a fact that all fighters knew, but what stunned the crowd so much was the fact the Dragon had always been the one with absolute edge, to the point where he could make a move late and still be able to overwhelm his opponent.
That was to say that the Dragon had absolute confidence in himself, certain that he was able to counter whatever his opponent could throw at him.
However, at the moment, the situation was such that the Dragon had no choice but to act first. That alone was a remarkable statement that the Dragon saw himself to be at least somewhat inferior to Lu Xuan, as that was the only reason he would choose to such a thing.
Boom!
The Dragon stepped out and launched himself into the air. It took only a split second for him to arrive right in front of Lu Xuan, throwing out a punch.
That punch lashed out like a thrusting weapon, with Spiritual Qi coating the force of his fist, materializing into a huge spear.
That was an utterly terrifying move.
That move was like a dragon shooting into the sky as it headed straight for Lu Xuan’s vitals.
When one’s mastery of the art of the fist had gotten to the level that the Dragon had attained, one could say that they had achieved total mastery of the fist. The way of the fist itself was something developed on the battlefield, with every single move meant to kill.
It was not the same kind of art as the Taichi Fist one might see being practiced in public parks.
The power of that punch was laid bare for all to see. It was a move of unparalleled force.
Lu Xuan frowned, then grinned.
The Dragon was truly at a totally different order of magnitude compared to all the enemies he’d fought before.
Be it Qiu Zhen or Song Lingfeng, no one would have been able to begin to compare with what the Dragon had just pulled. Even if they were to gang up on him, there would have been no way for the two of them to take on the Dragon.
Changes in quality always occurred once there were enough changes in quantity, and such was the realm that the Dragon had achieved.
The Dragon was truly incredibly powerful. The art of the fist that he practiced was known for its lethal moves, and that one punch was sent into Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan did not behave as casually as he had in his past fights. He was able to sense pressure from the Dragon. While that pressure was not great, it was nonetheless an incredible feat coming from someone at his current level.
Both Qiu Zhen and Song Lingfeng had been unable to truly threaten Lu Xuan before. The powers that each of them packed had been far too below what was being demonstrated by the Dragon.
Lu Xuan took a defensive stance right away and easily parried the punch, just like one might parry a thrust from a spear.
It was like a dam holding back a massive body of water, preventing all that force from bursting through.
He was only one man, yet it seemed as if he alone packed enough force to protect everyone in the world. While his moves were simple and there was hardly anything out of place happening, the force demonstrated at that moment was shocking nonetheless.
The Dragon was almost stunned by Lu Xuan’s ability to parry his attack. Regardless of the force that his punch actually packed, his monstrous strength alone would have easily overwhelmed any common man.
He’d had all the advantage he needed during the early days of his cultivation.
He had only begun to train in martial arts back in those days, so his knowledge and proficiency of the moves had been nowhere near those of the old masters, yet even so, he’d won every single fight he entered.
Even if his opponent was able to parry and block his moves, they were still defeated because they were overwhelmed by his monstrous strength.
Some masters who were capable of arts allowing them to disperse and use the force generated by their opponents to their advantage still had a tremendously hard time standing against him.
The Dragon had long known just how monstrous his strength was and that it was his inherent advantage over others. However, he was not complacent enough to think that it was all the advantage he needed.
Among the Awakened ones and the myriad of cultivators possessing extraordinary powers, those packing such extreme strength as himself were one of the most common types. This meant that those people had honed their physical strength to its limits.
Nonetheless, this was the very first time he’d encountered someone like Lu Xuan, someone who was easily capable of taking down his attack. Lu Xuan was indeed far more terrifying than the legends and the video footage made him seem.
The Dragon intended to attack again after his first attack missed its mark. He threw a chop that flashed with aura like the glint of a blade as it sliced through the air.
It was a simple move, but it still packed astounding power.
That chop would easily shatter even granite if the attack were to connect.
However, the Dragon had miscalculated. He gave his all in that attack, yet it took Lu Xuan only two fingers to clamp down on the flash of the blade as it came down.
