Chapter Ninety-One: Meya’s True Power!

At this moment, Auburn Mountain was undoubtedly caught in a dilemma. As the head of one of the great families in Changle City, he had watched his son be crippled before his very eyes and in front of everyone else; when he tried to avenge him, he was struck down with a single blow. And now, after all that, he was being threatened by his opponent, forced to swallow his pride and admit defeat as though nothing had happened.

Auburn Mountain had always been a man who could have his way whether in his own family or throughout Changle City, yet now he was expected to retreat in cowardice before a crowd of witnesses. How could he possibly accept such humiliation?

But if he would not accept it, what else could he do? Facing Maya’s strength, the Auburn family was simply powerless to contend.

He exhaled slowly and helped his son up. By then, Auburn Feather, already writhing in agony, had nearly been knocked unconscious by the oppressive force of that overwhelming aura. Looking at the bloodied, incomplete state of his son’s hands and feet, Auburn Mountain’s mouth twitched violently. His hand clenched so hard that his nails dug into his palm, drawing thin beads of blood.

“Of course... it can be...” he said, the words seeming to be squeezed out through his teeth. After shooting Su Yi and Maya a resentful glance, he continued inwardly: as long as the Auburn family still existed, there would still be a chance for revenge.

He knew full well that with Maya here, that chance had become extremely slim, but not necessarily nonexistent. Besides, he did not believe she would remain in Changle City forever. Such a powerhouse should have a far wider world to pursue. Once Maya left, Su Yi would be dead for sure!

A gentleman avenges himself even after ten years.

So long as he endured until Maya departed, there would be no shortage of opportunities for revenge. Since there was such a vast disparity in strength between them now, he would simply bide his time for the moment. Auburn Mountain thought viciously to himself: Su Yi, let us see who laughs last.

“Since Clan Head Auburn Mountain has said as much, then this contest should count as Su Yi’s victory, yes?” Maya no longer paid Auburn Mountain any mind. She smiled faintly and looked toward City Lord Chette.

City Lord Chette could only smile bitterly inwardly. In his heart he thought: with your strength as it is now, how many people would dare oppose a word you speak?

In the past, Maya had already carried some weight as a high-ranking figure of the auction house. But today, that weight had undoubtedly been raised to an unprecedented height by her overwhelming power.

Yet even as City Lord Chette thought this, he still hesitated. Though Su Yi’s astonishing performance today could almost be called the best of this martial contest, what he had just witnessed was the power of his body rather than the power of battle aura. Since the contest’s founding, the top five places in every generation had always gone to battle aura cultivators; there had never been a case of someone with no battle aura cultivation entering the top five, as though a commoner had suddenly broken into a gathering of masters.

Did Su Yi’s situation even conform to the rules of the event? And if it were reported as it stood, would those above accept it?

After all, the final competition would be held in the imperial capital. This could not be concealed there. If he reported the truth, perhaps someone would doubt Su Yi’s future prospects and refuse to acknowledge him. In truth, even City Lord Chette himself harbored a faint doubt.

Though he did not know how Su Yi had obtained this method of body cultivation, it was unquestionably extremely difficult to practice. At present Su Yi possessed such strength solely by virtue of his physical body, but one must not forget that Su Yi had once become a tenth-level fighter.

His body had naturally been nourished and strengthened by battle aura, so perhaps the cultivation process was relatively easier. But if he wanted to reach still greater heights, would it remain so easy?

And if, three years from now at the imperial capital competition, Su Yi had not improved in strength...

Thinking of this, City Lord Chette’s brows furrowed slightly. Then, with a sudden flash in his eyes, he turned toward the VIP seats and respectfully asked the old man there, “Elder Zuo, what do you think?”

The crowd was astonished that City Lord Chette would suddenly ask the opinion of that old man seated calmly in the VIP section. In a martial contest, the city lord usually had the authority to make the decision himself, and the victor could be declared entirely at his discretion.

Yet now City Lord Chette was seeking the old man’s view, as though the old man’s words carried great weight. Many people thus became deeply curious and suspicious about the old man’s identity.

What sort of person, and of what status, could have a voice in a formal event like this martial contest, which was meant to select participants for the imperial capital competition?

One had to know that these contestants would ultimately go to the imperial capital, where they would face the great families and powers of the empire after repeated examinations and tests. There could be no fraud here. If a mistake were made, the consequences would be severe.

Some people still remembered that at one imperial capital final years ago, among the last few finalists, a powerhouse deliberately sent by an enemy empire had actually slipped in. Had he not been discovered in time, the champion of their own empire might have ended up being a man from the hostile nation. If that had happened, the blow to the empire’s reputation would have been immense.

The old man, seemingly oblivious to the countless gazes cast upon him from all directions, smiled faintly. At last he spoke the first words since his arrival: “City Lord, there is no need to worry. I shall write a letter to the imperial capital explaining the matter. Since Su Yi possesses such strength, he naturally has the qualifications to take part in the martial grand contest.”

Hearing the old man’s assurance, City Lord Chette nodded, finally relaxing. With this old man’s status, the people in the imperial capital would certainly take his words seriously. He immediately said, “In that case, this contest is won by Su Yi.”

As soon as those words fell, Su Yi on the stone platform also quietly breathed a sigh of relief. The battle aura pressure Maya had released earlier had deliberately avoided him, yet he had still faintly sensed her terrifying strength, and his determination toward her request that he go to the imperial capital for the martial grand contest had grown even stronger.

If he were disqualified because he did not possess battle aura, then that would truly be...

Meanwhile, just as Lie Chen, Auburn Mountain, and the others were guessing at the identity of this Elder Zuo, the old man turned to Maya on the stone platform and asked with a smile, “I wonder if Miss Maya will participate in the Grand Martial Contest of the World?”

The instant he asked this, everyone in the arena was struck by a sudden jolt. Indeed, they had all been too shocked by Maya’s strength to consider anything else. At her age, she certainly had the qualifications to participate, and with her strength, she had the clear advantage.

Three years from now, she would likely be even stronger; perhaps by then she would even seize first place in the imperial capital competition.

In response, Maya smiled and gently shook her head. “For certain reasons, I will not be participating in the martial grand contest.”

Her answer immediately drew a wave of astonishment and regret from the crowd. With talent and strength like hers, not competing was simply too wasteful. One must know that in the grand finals held by the Battle Aura Academy, the championship and even many of the top positions had always belonged to the academy. Among the contestants from the three great empires, very few had ever managed to seize the title.

This had undoubtedly embarrassed the royal academies of the various empires and placed them under considerable pressure. As one of the continent’s four major academies, the gap with the Battle Aura Academy was simply too vast. At times, even the top positions were entirely swept up by the Battle Aura Academy alone.

Though it was true that the strongest cultivators did indeed tend to come from the Battle Aura Academy, this Grand Martial Contest of the World was, after all, held among the younger generation. What it tested was precisely the ability to nurture talent. Surely they could not be crushed so thoroughly in even this respect?

And now, with Maya’s talent and strength, she might not only take first place in the imperial capital competition, but even at the Battle Aura Academy finals she had an excellent chance of competing for the championship. Without question, this would draw immense attention from the empire, and perhaps even her family’s standing would rise to new heights.

Even Elder Zuo seemed to find this regrettable. He shook his head gently and said, “Miss Maya possesses such extraordinary talent. At less than twenty-five years of age, she is already at the peak of the tenth rank of Douluo, and it seems she has even touched the realm of a Dou Wang expert. Presumably, within two years, she will be able to advance to the rank of Dou Wang. Alas, by comparison, this old man is deeply ashamed...”

His words were light and seemingly weightless, yet when they reached everyone’s ears, they were no less than a thunderclap.

There had already been too many shocking events today. First there were Lie Feifei, Lie Zhi, and the other seventeen-year-old fighters, then Su Yi, who had once been considered a waste, instantly defeated a first-level fighter, followed by Auburn Feather silently advancing two ranks to become a seventh-level fighter.

But even that was not the most astonishing. Most incredible of all was Su Yi’s repeated burst of power, with two punches crippling Auburn Feather... Everyone had thought it was over then, yet what shocked them even more was that Maya, who had always seemed calm and ordinary, was actually a powerhouse capable of suppressing the three great families of Changle City.

After so many shocks, they had almost become numb. One would think nothing else could make them scream again. Yet upon hearing Elder Zuo’s words, they still could not help but cry out in utter shock.

What? Peak of the tenth rank of Douluo? And she had touched the realm of Dou Wang? And she could advance to Dou Wang within two years? My heavens, was this not a dream?!

A Dou Wang before the age of twenty-seven was exceedingly rare even in the history of the entire empire.

One must know that a Dou Wang belongs to the earth-rank cultivators, having already stepped into the realm of drawing upon the power of heaven and earth. Nothing else need be said; the mere ability to fly through the air already draws a clear line between earth-rank and profound-rank cultivators.

There was even the saying that beneath Dou Wang, all are mere ants. In front of a Dou Wang, the sea of numbers tactic is virtually useless. Even the once-unrivaled Douluo experts of Changle City would only be a joke if they tried to besiege a Dou Wang.

The distance between a peak Douluo and a Dou Wang is as vast as the gulf between earth and sky. Setting aside the vast reserve of battle aura within a Dou Wang, just the ability to fly alone means that no matter how many Douluo experts there are, they can only wait to be blasted into nothingness.

Thus the leap from peak Douluo to Dou Wang, like a carp turning into a dragon, is exceedingly difficult to cross. In some sense, it may even be harder than advancing from Dou Wang to the next stage. There were even those who remained stuck at the peak of the tenth rank of Douluo for their entire lives.

And yet Maya could become a being above all living things in merely two years?

Was this Maya’s true strength?

The first update! Please send flowers! Please collect!

Martial Peak Ninety-One: The True Strength of Maya! Update complete!