Chapter Sixty: The End of the Battle

"Boom!!"
The clash of two fists erupted with a thunderous roar. In that instant, Di Yuan’s figure was sent flying like a withered leaf caught in a tempest, crashing down from the bluestone platform like a cannonball amidst a sea of astonished gazes.

Incredulous eyes fell upon Su Yi, who stood there unscathed, then shifted toward Di Yuan, whose body had slid several meters across the ground. Despite his desperate efforts, he had yet to stand. Blood trickled from the corner of Di Yuan’s mouth, his face drawn and pale, filled with shock and disbelief—he could not fathom how he had been defeated in a single blow, and so utterly at that.

As the crowd caught sight of Di Yuan’s right arm, their initial trance of astonishment erupted into an uproar. His right hand was grotesquely twisted from the impact, a jagged shard of bone, still clinging with bits of flesh, pierced violently through his forearm—a chilling sight indeed. Clearly, Di Yuan’s right arm had been rendered useless.

A chorus of gasps swept through the onlookers around the bluestone platform. That someone could shatter Di Yuan’s defenses with a single blow—even after he unleashed a mysterious martial technique of the Profound rank—was already astonishing. Yet to break his right arm so thoroughly with sheer force was beyond belief.

Di Yuan’s strength was already at the seventh level of the Battle Practitioner, and with the support of his Profound-rank technique, he could conceivably challenge even those at the eighth or ninth level. What’s more, his punch moments ago had been a carefully prepared, full-force strike. Anyone weaker would never have survived it.

Did this not mean that Su Yi—who just defeated him—possessed at least the power of a seventh-level practitioner as well? But had it not been said that Su Yi had only just broken through to become a Battle Practitioner? How could he wield such overwhelming strength?

If it was already shocking and inexplicable that Su Yi could recover his Battle Qi core and become a practitioner after it was destroyed, then the strength he now displayed—so wildly disproportionate to his level—was simply uncanny.

Standing at the most prominent spot in the crowd, Meiya’s beautiful eyes flashed with surprise. She glanced at Di Yuan, who was still coughing blood and unable to rise, then turned her gaze to Mo Ben beside her, frowning delicately, “Uncle Mo Ben, what do you think?”

Mo Ben’s expression grew solemn. Slowly stroking his short beard, he looked at Su Yi on the platform with a strange glint in his eyes and muttered, “Something is very odd... By all accounts, Su Yi’s true strength is only at the first level of Battle Practitioner, but the power he just unleashed was nearly that of a ninth or tenth-level practitioner. And from what I sensed, the Battle Qi he emitted was minimal; most of it seemed... pure physical strength?”

“Pure physical strength?” Meiya’s shapely brows arched with playful intrigue. Turning back to Su Yi on the stage, she remarked with a hint of amusement, “It seems something happened to that boy Su Yi that none of us know about…”

Under the varied and intense gazes on the bluestone platform, Su Yi flexed his right arm, which still ached from the impact, and looked at the wretched Di Yuan below. In truth, even he was surprised. He had expected that, given his current state, a full-force attack would be enough to defeat Di Yuan, but he had not anticipated shattering his right arm so completely.

Shaking his head slightly, Su Yi took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil of blood and Battle Qi within him. Though he had relied on sheer strength to overpower Di Yuan, he had not escaped unscathed from the impact of the Profound-rank technique.

After steadying himself, Su Yi descended the platform and approached the weakened Di Yuan. In a calm voice, he said, “You’ve lost. Let’s end this here.”

“Hmph…” Di Yuan glared at Su Yi with a mix of malice and resentment, but in his eyes, fear and astonishment were far more apparent than hatred.

Su Yi paid no mind to Di Yuan’s thoughts. Turning to leave, he felt the exhaustion of the day’s events weighing on him. Just as he was about to take Lie Feifei and depart, Meiya’s voice called out from behind, “Su Yi, come with me for a moment.”

He turned to see Meiya and Mo Ben already some distance away. With a wry smile and a sigh, he gave up the idea of returning to his little hut immediately. He beckoned to Lie Feifei, asking her to follow, and then trailed after the two elders.

As Meiya, Su Yi, and the others departed, those left behind exchanged bewildered glances. No one had officially announced the result, but there was no longer any need…

…

Su Yi followed Meiya and Mo Ben down a secluded bluestone path, while Lie Feifei kept a discreet distance behind. Knowing Meiya must have something to say, Su Yi asked as they walked, “Sister Meiya, is there something you wanted to talk about?”

“Why?” Meiya’s tone was teasing, her gaze wandering over Su Yi with a touch of mischief. “Can’t I ask for you unless there’s something important?”

“Uh… that’s not what I meant…” Flustered by Meiya’s ambiguous gaze, Su Yi coughed awkwardly, uneasy about the sinister soul lurking inside him. Today, it had stirred again when he faced Lie Feifei and Geli. Now, being alone with Meiya made him worried that another incident might occur—something he wished to avoid.

“Alright, enough of that,” Meiya said, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear as she looked at Su Yi with curiosity. “What I want to know is, something must have changed in you, right? Whether it’s defying all precedent to restore your Battle Qi core, or matching the strength of a peak tenth-level practitioner with nothing but pure physical power…”

Su Yi couldn’t help but admire Meiya’s keen insight. In truth, he wanted to confide everything to her, but the matter involved too much—elixirs, martial techniques, a mysterious old man, and the evil spirit within him. Too many uncertainties remained, and he did not want to involve Meiya.

“Well… my body did grow stronger for certain reasons. That’s why I could defeat Auburn Yu before, and Di Yuan just now. But it’s not as exaggerated as you say, Sister Meiya...” Su Yi paused, deciding to give her a vague, half-true answer to avoid suspicion.

Meiya shook her head with a sly smile, winking playfully. “Su Yi, when you entered the auction hall, you were quite badly hurt, weren’t you?”

Her words fell lightly, but to Su Yi, they struck like thunder. His expression changed, and he stared at Meiya in shock. “Sister Meiya… how did you know?!”

“Hush—” Meiya pressed a slender finger to her lips, smiling quietly. “No need to worry about that, Su Yi. Since you don’t wish to say, I won’t ask any further. But with a body as strong as yours, are you planning to pursue body refinement instead?”

Meiya’s wit allowed her to see through Su Yi’s evasive answers. In fact, ever since he had so thoroughly humiliated Auburn Yu, she had been suspicious. But seeing that he had never brought it up with her, she realized he intended to keep it to himself. Her questions today were more out of casual curiosity than expectation.

Seeing that Meiya did not press the issue, Su Yi grew uneasy, even wondering if Meiya already knew about Zhong Yuan’s assault on him. Glancing at Mo Ben, he wondered if the elder, with his mysterious power, had already seen through his injuries.

After her previous words, Meiya tapped her forehead thoughtfully and murmured, “Speaking of body refinement… I recall reading in an old family tome many years ago that the four extraordinary elements—wind, water, fire, and lightning—possess powers beyond mortal comprehension. If used to temper the body, they grant miraculous effects…”

Su Yi’s heart leaped. Wind, water, fire, and lightning—could these be the foreign elements the mysterious elder mentioned? And wasn’t the legendary Heaven and Earth Blood a type of extraordinary water?

“Sister Meiya, what else did that ancient text say?” Su Yi asked, unable to hide his excitement.

“I can’t remember; I read it when I was a child,” Meiya replied, shaking her head. “And that passage wasn’t even part of the original text—just a marginal note someone added in passing. The actual book was about Battle Qi…”

At this, Su Yi felt a twinge of disappointment. He had hoped for more information about the Heaven and Earth Blood. Still, he was impressed by the depth of Meiya’s family’s collection. Of the four extraordinary elements, even the Alien Flame was rare and mysterious, to say nothing of the equally elusive wind, water, and lightning. The mysterious elder’s organization only had vague clues about the Heaven and Earth Blood, but Meiya’s clan might possess even more.

Whether by chance or fate, it seemed that Meiya’s family was anything but ordinary…

Martial Peak, Chapter 60: Conclusion of the Battle—updated.