Chapter Ninety: The Force of Fighting Spirit

So that is how it is. The city lord of Chet and the others nodded, looking as though they finally understood. Although Su Yi’s words were somewhat vague, with their experience and insight they could still guess that he had actually begun cultivating one of those ancient arts long since lost to time.

This method of cultivation, so far removed from the orthodox path of fighting aura, had long since been forgotten. Almost no records of it had survived, and no one had expected Su Yi to go against the grain. Only, how far could he possibly go?

After speaking, Su Yi slowly stepped before the city lord of Chet and, with solemn expression, extended his arm. “If the city lord does not believe me, he may inspect me with fighting aura.”

The city lord of Chet no longer doubted him. He nodded, placed his hand on Su Yi’s wrist, and sent a trace of fighting aura into Su Yi’s body. After a long moment, he relaxed his brows and said, “Indeed, there is no trace of fighting aura at all. Nor is there a battle vortex within him. It seems to be purely the power of body cultivation.”

No battle vortex, no fighting aura, and therefore no ability to practice any battle arts. In any case, Oben Yu’s accusation had now completely fallen apart.

At this thought, the suspicion on Lie Chen and the others’ faces faded greatly. Though Meyer had hidden her true strength before, she had not shown any unusual behavior over these past two or three years. The person who had robbed the battle art, though, also seemed to be a Dragon Fighter expert.

But it was hard to say that this alone had anything to do with Meyer. Moreover, with Meyer’s strength, that secret art of hers, and the family behind her, she might not necessarily value a high-grade earth-tier battle art so highly as to seize it by force.

After all, compared to a volume of battle art, the reputation of the auction house was clearly more important. Once its credibility was ruined, very few people would ever enter it again. Having paid an enormous price for an auction item only to have it snatched back by force—hardly anyone would willingly endure such a thing.

With a faint smile, Meyer looked at Oben Mountain, whose expression kept shifting. Her alluring lips curved with a hint of charm. “Well then, Clan Head Oben Mountain, will you still strike?”

Faced with an impossible situation, Oben Mountain’s expression darkened. He coldly snorted to himself. Now that he had already been injured, he was certainly no match for Meyer. If he struck, he would only bring humiliation upon himself.

He also knew that some people, especially Lie Chen, might not have dispelled all their doubts. But clearly, at this moment, Lie Chen would rather investigate secretly later than stand out now and make things difficult for the auction house.

“Since Miss Meyer has chosen this, then this clan head will not say more. I will remember this account for now! However—” A cold light flashed in Oben Mountain’s eyes, and he laughed viciously. “Opposing my Oben family, your auction house will not have any good days ahead!”

After uttering these harsh words, Oben Mountain stumbled over to Oben Yu’s side and slowly helped him up. Just as everyone relaxed and let down their guard, a bolt of fighting aura suddenly shot out from Oben Mountain’s palm, streaking straight toward Su Yi, who had not yet reacted from not far away. In an instant, it had reached right before his chest!

At once, everyone’s faces changed!

No one had expected that the dignified clan head of the Oben family, a fourth-rank Dragon Knight expert, would have just said to let the matter rest for the time being, only to turn around and commit such a shameless sneak attack!

Seeing Oben Mountain launch this despicable strike from the shadows, the crowd let out a gasp of shock amid their contempt. Even the city lord of Chet and Lie Chen on the stone platform had not anticipated that Oben Mountain’s killing intent toward Su Yi would be so intense, so utterly determined to leave no room for survival!

Before the two of them could react, or rather, before they could recover from their surprise in time to stop it, Meyer, standing calmly not far away, finally let a glint of coldness flare across her face. With a soft snort, a terrifying and unstoppable pressure of fighting aura burst violently from within her like a storm, instantly sweeping across the entire stone platform!

The raging force was like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves. The bolt of fighting aura aimed at Su Yi’s chest instantly exploded with a thunderous boom, vanishing in an instant like drifting smoke!

Under such immense pressure, Oben Mountain, the city lord of Chet, Lie Chen, and the others all went pale with terror. They only felt their fighting aura clog and stagnate in an instant, their entire bodies unable to move the slightest bit!

Su Yi, though not feeling such overwhelming pressure, was still greatly shocked when he saw the shattered dark arrow of fighting aura and the reactions of the others. Even the hatred and killing intent he had felt toward Oben Mountain in that moment of danger were temporarily cast aside.

Fine beads of cold sweat slowly seeped from Lie Chen’s forehead. At this moment, he only felt numb all over. Though he had vaguely sensed Meyer’s formidable strength from her earlier strike, he had never imagined she would be powerful to this extent.

With nothing but her aura, she had left him, a fifth-rank Dragon Knight, unable to move and without any power to resist. Could she already be at the strength of an eighth-rank, or even a ninth-rank Dragon Fighter?

Lie Chen’s pupils suddenly constricted. With the present strength of the Lie family, they might perhaps have the power to contend with a seventh-rank Dragon Fighter for a battle. But against an eighth-rank Dragon Fighter, disaster would clearly outweigh hope. It could even be said that a single eighth-rank Dragon Fighter could sweep the Lie family clean, while a ninth-rank Dragon Fighter would be able to run rampant through Changling City without restraint!

And yet, the Meyer they had once taken for an ordinary woman had now transformed into a powerhouse who could annihilate their Lie family alone!

As the holder of power within the Lie family and normally someone who stood high above others, Lie Chen now felt that his own life was no longer in his hands. Completely suppressed and unable to move, he found that no matter how hard he struggled, it was useless. A trace of fear could not help but rise within him, even the back of his body seeming to carry a chill of sweat. At this moment, anyone at all might be able to step forward and end his life...

The city lord of Chet was likewise stunned by Meyer’s true strength. Such age, such talent, such power—this woman’s background was likely anything but simple!

As for Oben Mountain, who had borne the brunt of Meyer’s pressure, his face had also gone deathly white as fear in his heart spread to every corner. Though the Oben family was among the strongest forces in Changling City and possessed many Dragon Knight experts, all of that was like passing smoke before an eighth- or even ninth-rank Dragon Fighter. It was nothing at all!

The difference between a Dragon Knight and a Dragon Fighter was already enormous. Though the power of the entire family might compensate for some of that gap, that was only true when facing a seventh-rank Dragon Fighter. The further a fighting aura cultivator advanced, the harder it became. Between each of the eighteen levels, each of the ten ranks, and the three periods of early, middle, and late stages, not to mention the two realms of peering into the void and entering the void, every step forward became even more difficult.

To break through required greater and greater effort and more and more time. Some people might even be stuck for life, unable to advance. Such things were not rare on this continent, for sometimes it all came down to one’s fortune...

Though not as exaggerated as earth-tier cultivators, who could languish for ten or even dozens of years in the three stages, the ten ranks of the mystic tier were by no means easy to surpass. Especially the four ranks from seventh to tenth among Dragon Fighters, which stood just below Dragon Kings—there, the road to advancement could truly be called a single rank ascending to the heavens, with every rank representing a vast gulf!

Take Oben Mountain, a fourth-rank Dragon Knight, for example. With sharp weapons and battle arts, he could still fight across ranks against Lie Chen, a fifth-rank Dragon Knight. For a time, it might not even be easy to determine the victor. But among Dragon Fighter ranks, cross-rank combat was almost impossible! From this alone, one could see just how formidable an eighth-rank Dragon Fighter truly was compared to a seventh-rank one!

The Oben family might rely on the advantage of numbers to stand against a single seventh-rank Dragon Fighter, fully demonstrating the might of a family force, but that was the limit. On this continent, the saying that power behind the scenes determines everything was indeed true—but there was also another saying that came before it.

Personal strength determines everything.

At this very moment, the terrifying pressure radiating from Meyer had already made Oben Mountain fearfully understand that in Changling City, Meyer possessed the strength and qualification to decide everything alone. Even if all the experts of the Oben family and the Lie family were to appear together, once they were pinned down like this, they would be slaughtered as easily as cutting vegetables!

Fear and regret surged through Oben Mountain’s heart. If he had known earlier that Meyer’s strength was so great, even greater than he had imagined, he would never have chosen to provoke a conflict like this. If he truly meant to deal with Su Yi, he could have done so later in secret.

To incur the enmity of such a powerhouse now would, for the already unstable Oben family, very likely amount to a catastrophic blow!

On the stone platform, each person had his own thoughts, yet the audience was staring on in utter shock and stupefaction!

The dignified lord of a city, the dignified clan head of the Lie family, and the dignified clan head of the Oben family—the power holders of Changling City’s three great forces—had all been suppressed into complete immobility by nothing more than the aura Meyer released!

Normally, the three of them were imposing figures whom no one dared meet head-on with their gaze, yet now they stood fixed there like puppets!

Those who saw this scene found their hearts filled with emotions they could not even name. Even the spectators seated near the stone platform more or less felt the faint pressure that spilled outward, and as their bodies stiffened, their hearts grew even more deeply shaken...

With a calm expression, Meyer suddenly withdrew the mighty aura she had released. The fighting aura, deliberately controlled by her and spread only across the stone platform while avoiding Su Yi, gradually began to dissipate. As the pressure on their bodies vanished, the several people on the platform immediately relaxed.

Regaining control of their bodies, the fighting aura within them began to flow once more. They slowly exhaled, looked at one another, and all revealed expressions of lingering fear and relief.

As the culprit who had caused Meyer to unleash such overwhelming pressure, Oben Mountain did not fare nearly as well. The instant the force enveloping him disappeared, his body trembled, and a mouthful of blood spurted from his mouth. He swayed, nearly falling to the ground.

Seeing this, the city lord of Chet and Lie Chen could not help but change expression. Though Oben Mountain had already been injured before, to vomit blood in such a fashion now suggested that Meyer had very likely played some role during the suppression of her aura, carrying out a targeted attack of some kind...

With her aura withdrawn, Meyer’s image seemed to shift once more, as if she had returned to the seductive beauty she had once been in the auction house. Yet no one in the entire hall dared to look at her with the same eyes or the same attitude as before. She glanced at Oben Mountain as though she had done nothing at all, and though a faint smile still rested on her lips, some among the crowd could still hear the trace of coldness in her words.

“Clan Head Oben Mountain, how about we leave this matter here?”

Hearing Meyer’s soft words, Oben Mountain’s face grew even uglier...

This chapter has been updated.