Overcoming the Odds
Mu Yu didn’t just sharpen his fangs but also polished his wisdom. Ku Mu’s teachings were engraved to memory. The teacher and disciple once had a conversation that went as below.
“Old Man, what’s bone disintegrating powder?” Mu Yu asked, shaking a vial around.
Mu Yu popped the lid off to pour some out on his hand, but Ku Mu smacked his hand with a rod. “T-t-touch it and you’ll lose your f-f-finger.”
“Pfft.” Mu Yu pulled his hand back and rubbed it on his thigh.
“I-i-it’s for ‘fixing’ f-f-fiends with thick sk-sk-“
“Skin. It’s for ‘fixing’ fiend beasts. Why don’t you concoct something to fix your stutter-, ah! Wait! Stop! Stop!”
Mu Yu’s joke landed him upside down on the roof.
Recalling the conversation, Mu Yu let himself be distracted, thinking, “I wonder how he’s doing.”
The smell from the empty vial in Mu Yu’s hand restored his awareness of his surroundings.
“Hahaha, you think you can win in your state when you couldn’t at 100%?”
“You think?”
“Y-“
The rhino spotted a tiny hole on his horn that he never noticed. He had no time to process how it happened. Blood gushed up his throat and forced its way out of his mouth. He pointed to Mu Yu and tried to speak, but nothing would come out. His horn gradually cracked more and more. He could feel sword qi running berserk inside him. Soon, his horn crumbled, allowing the sword qi to escape.
Thud! The rhino convulsed on the ground.
“If you don’t help him, he won’t last much longer,” Mu Yu warned in a soft voice.
The fiend king raced to the rhino who had fallen into a coma. He scowled at Mu Yu. “You’re ruthless!”
“It would’ve been me who died if I couldn’t defend the charge, no?”
Mu Yu couldn’t control the rampaging sword qi in the rhino – not that he would’ve held back when his life was hanging by a thread. As such, he spread the bone disintegrating powder onto the tip of his wood spirit. His aim from there was to puncture a small hole in the rhinoceros’ horn so that he could sneak the powder inside. An impregnable exterior didn’t imply an invulnerable interior. That was the crux of Mu Yu’s plan.
Mu Yu’s victory rendered humanity shocked rather than leaving them in awe. It was frightening to think he felled an opponent markedly stronger than himself. At the very least, nobody in the young generation present could imagine themselves accomplishing the same feat.
Daoist Yuan Hua nodded to himself, entertained. The image displayed in the emerald pearl of his was no longer clear. He had the ability to see through all disguises as long as they were cast using spiritual energy.
Qiao Xue was first to exhale a breath of relief.
“I will remember this,” fumed the fiend king.
The fiend king called for Long Xingyun. Because of Qiao Xue being out of sorts ever since her bout, Long Xingyun almost thought Lan Feng was Mu Yu until he figured the fiend king would’ve recognised Mu Yu. Nonetheless, he was irritated and burning to avenge his race.
Cang Wanzi’s anxiety continued to climb. Mu Yu’s fatigue had overwhelmed him, and his arm was history.
Mu Yu decided to return to the ground, judging he had done more than needed.
“Haha, you scared now, are you?” Long Xingyun taunted from behind.
“I’d have liked to hear that before my last bout,” Mu Yu conveyed.
Long Xingyun turned to the other humans and voiced, “Is there nobody else among you capable of fighting? I was hoping to do unto you what he did unto Rhino.”
They all took Long Xingyun’s fighting words lying down.
The crowd made way for Mu Yu as he silently walked through to a tree. Daoist Yuan Hua approached him to hand him a white vial. “This is a healing pill. It’s for you.”
“What a lucky guy,” someone commented.
Mu Yu hesitated to accept the offer because he didn’t like those affiliated with Pill Cauldron Sect, including Daoist Yuan Hua, who appeared affable. He accepted it reluctantly as Daoist Yuan Hua was a respected elder. Furthermore, he didn’t want to be misunderstood as stuck up. Howbeit, he didn’t consume it.
Mu Yu folded forward at the torso. “Thank you, Elder.”
Mu Yu went to sit down under a tree and commenced his healing process. Daoist Yuan Hua didn’t question why Mu Yu didn’t consume the pill. He silently watched Mu Yu go about his business for a while before refocusing his attention on the contest area.
“Are you surrendering?” Long Xingyun inquired.
Despite the ridicule, nobody stepped up.
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