Chapter Ninety-Four: The Genius Martial Artist
At present, nothing excited Song Yue more than this news. The Master’s emotions fluctuated slightly, but years of confinement had made him far more composed. He looked at Song Yue and said, “According to your account, the planet where your father and brother are, the one that produces fire essence ore, should be controlled by a major power. I suspect this power might originate from the Ninth Barrier battlefield.”
Song Yue was momentarily stunned before asking, “Isn’t it the cultivation world?”
The Master replied, “It could be, but the odds aren’t high. From what I know, the ancient sect that sealed me contained many grand cultivators skilled in fire elemental arts. Their reserves of fire essence are arguably the greatest in the Nine Barriers.”
Song Yue murmured, “So... it’s an enemy at close quarters?”
The Master nodded, “It’s too early for conclusions. But you were right not to impulsively try to bring your father and brother away. Otherwise, no matter where the other side is from, this would become a very troublesome matter.”
He looked at Song Yue and said, “Give some of your fire essence back to your Master’s wife, just a few kilograms will suffice.”
Song Yue was puzzled, “Isn’t she a Grandmaster of Martial Arts?”
The Master smiled, “You’ll find out once you give it to her.”
Soon, the two stepped outside, and Song Yue saw the Master’s wife preparing dinner. Probably due to a potent medicine, the arm she had injured already looked normal. Upon seeing them, she said, “Dinner’s almost ready…”
As she spoke, her gaze settled on the Master with a hint of surprise. Her bright, lively eyes held a trace of hesitation, as if wanting to ask something but too afraid to do so.
Song Yue, accustomed to seeing her scold her husband so often, found her expression both amusing and tinged with sadness.
Clearly, she sensed something but feared disappointment, so she dared not ask.
The Master said, “The child has grown up and can now help us!”
The Master’s wife looked at Song Yue in astonishment.
Song Yue lifted his chin, puffed his chest out, wearing a proud smile.
Finally, the Master’s wife asked, voice trembling slightly, “Really?”
The Master nodded, “He brought me the Five-Colored Backrest Banner.”
Her expression was a vivid mixture of shock, disbelief, and deep emotion, and then tears streamed down her face without warning.
She wiped her tears and turned away, her shoulders gently trembling.
After a moment, Song Yue said, “I just remembered, I should visit my mother and sister in the capital... Master’s wife, I have something for you; I’ll leave it here.”
He took out five bags of fire essence, exactly fifty kilograms, and casually placed them on the table before slipping away quickly.
Clearly, Master and his wife needed a quiet, undisturbed environment right now.
He was far too conspicuous here.
Before she could stop him, Song Yue was already gone.
“That brat!” The Master’s wife wiped her tears but wore a radiant smile.
She stared at the five bags on the table, stunned again. She immediately sensed the dense fire elemental fluctuations inside and asked hesitantly, “What is this?”
She glanced at the Master uncertainly.
The Master sighed, “I told the kid to keep a few kilograms for you, but he brought half of it. If he understood what fire essence means to you, he’d probably leave it all here.”
“Fire essence?” The Master’s wife’s eyes lit up brilliantly.
The Master nodded, “Yes. Some people tried to trick us, but the little guy and his brother turned the tables. You don’t know the fortune this child carries...”
Before he could finish, a soft body suddenly leapt onto him...
...
After leaving, Song Yue didn’t rush to pilot his flying saucer away. Instead, he activated the Celestial Sovereign’s spiritual method and circled the area.
He spotted at least five groups watching the place.
If the Five-Colored Backrest Banner wasn’t useful to his Master, he would have undoubtedly dealt with these scoundrels without hesitation.
But now, Song Yue just smirked inwardly, pretended not to notice, and flew away.
After calling, he learned that his mother and sister weren’t in the capital. Not wanting to disturb his Master’s household, he piloted the flying saucer back to Hang City.
Back home, he found no sign of Redbird and rested quietly for the night.
Early next morning, Song Yue sent a message to Qian Xue saying he was heading to Anxi City, then set off again in his flying saucer.
It had to be said, this alien cutting-edge technology was incredibly convenient. With it, anywhere on Earth could be reached instantly.
Combined with his official position in the Extraordinary Affairs Administration, he had unrestricted access throughout all of China.
He parked the saucer at Anxi Aviation Base, drawing a crowd of curious staff. Fortunately, they had been informed beforehand; though unaware of Song Yue’s exact background, they knew he was a person of special status and didn’t approach him.
Leaving the base, Song Yue hailed an autonomous taxi to the local branch of the Elite Martial Arts Academy.
On the way, he called Meng Xudong.
“So soon? Great! That bastard is here again. At this rate, the branch will have to shut down!” Meng Xudong’s voice was thick with irritation.
Any one in his position would share the same anger.
The pressure he had endured recently was immense, and even inside the Elite Academy, negative rumors were spreading.
Some blamed the problems on Meng’s reckless expansion.
Luckily, the Academy’s upper management supported him; otherwise, it was uncertain if he could have held on until Song Yue’s return.
The car soon arrived at the Academy.
Stepping out, Song Yue saw crowds at the entrance, mostly onlookers, with some wearing expressions of schadenfreude.
Most of those sneering people had no real grudge against the Academy, but human nature being what it is, a small number enjoyed others’ misfortune.
As Song Yue pushed through, many shot him angry glares, as if he was too late and should quietly watch from the sidelines.
Someone snapped, “Why are you pushing?”
Song Yue ignored them, putting a little force behind his shoulder and forcing his way through. If not for the crowd, he could have easily sent that person flying.
The heckler immediately shut up, sensing he had met a tough opponent—his shoulder almost shattered from that shove.
Someone mocked Song Yue, “What are you doing here? Want to join this sham Academy at a time like this?”
Another chimed in, “Yeah, it’s about to close down. They get challenged every day, they’re almost too scared to open the doors!”
By now, Song Yue had climbed the steps, looking down at the two mockers.
“Come out here and say that to me,” he said.
Feeling safe amid the crowd, one sneered, “What? You here to defend the Elite Academy? Trash Academy, and no one’s allowed to criticize?”
The other openly mocked, “Exactly. The martial circle needs cleansing! It’s filled with fake matches and rigged fights. The hypocrisy is disgusting. Don’t we have the right to comment?”
Song Yue looked at them, clearly sent to stir trouble. He said calmly, “The Elite Academy is the Elite Academy; the martial circle is the martial circle. You mixing the two shows ill intent. But dogs like you, paid to stir trouble, I wouldn’t lower myself to deal with normally... but...”
Raising his hand, he punched one of them.
“I don’t care!”
Bam!
A fist charged with thunderous energy flew out over ten meters, smashing heavily into the man’s face.
The man screamed like a slaughtered pig, his nasal bone shattered, blood covering his face.
Everyone was stunned and scattered instantly.
The other tried to run but was knocked down by Song Yue’s casual strike, rolling and screaming as if broken.
Though the injuries weren’t so severe—Song Yue had no desire to strike hard against mere talkers.
At that moment, someone inside opened the door, looking surprised at Song Yue.
He ignored them, standing on the steps facing the now-receded crowd.
“There’s a saying in the martial world: ‘A gentleman’s revenge is never too late.’ I’m no gentleman, so whoever crosses me should be careful on the day they do.”
“My name is Song Yue, the image ambassador of the Elite Martial Arts Academy.”
“Welcome everyone to join the Elite Academy.”
He smiled, “Of course, not today. The Elite Academy is not accepting new students today!”
With that, he turned and entered.
Two branch disciples immediately shut the door.
They had to close because daily challenges made normal recruitment impossible.
Inside the Academy’s main hall, on the arena stage, sat a young man in a black robe, legs crossed, upright and composed. He didn’t even raise an eyelid when Song Yue came in.
Meng Xudong hurried over and sighed, “Brother Yue…”
Song Yue waved him off and nodded at the youth on the stage, “That the one?”
Meng Xudong nodded, “He’s been here these past few days. Earlier ones were a bit older.”
There was more than one. The opponent was clearly ambitious, intent on ruining the Academy’s reputation openly.
If the Academy stooped to dirty tricks now, it would be finished.
This was Meng’s headache.
In the audience seats were others—new faction martial artists.
Meng quietly explained to Song Yue, “Their Academy is called New Faction.”
Song Yue had initially thought ‘new faction’ meant just a new force.
“Yes,” Meng confirmed.
“Don’t worry,” Song Yue patted Meng’s shoulder, “I’ll handle it.”
He strode toward the arena.
The young man looked about sixteen or seventeen, younger than Song Yue, with a calm, cold gaze—like a predator eyeing its prey.
“Good at bullying ordinary people, huh?” the youth said, evidently hearing the earlier commotion.
“No problem beating you too,” Song Yue replied as he climbed onto the stage, frowning, “Who brought you that chair?”
Meng smiled bitterly, “He brought it himself; it’s a spatial artifact.”
Ah, a young martial cultivator.
He had stifled the Elite Academy so thoroughly that no one dared challenge him. His realm was probably at least second level, capable of wielding a spatial artifact, indicating strong mental power—possibly a third-level Grandmaster.
Given his age, definitely a martial prodigy.
Song Yue stepped onto the stage; the youth remained seated.
“Didn’t your elders teach you arena etiquette?” Song Yue asked.
“To you trash like this...” the youth began coldly but suddenly leapt up, hastily retreating.
Because Song Yue had already struck!
Forget about arena etiquette—when had Song Yue ever cared for that?
He unleashed a Star-Splitting Palm; the arena instantly sparkled with starlight.
This was no casual lesson like outside; Song Yue meant to establish his authority, using about seventy percent of his strength.
Boom!
The black-robed youth, caught off guard by his arrogance and failure to act, was struck and sent flying.
While airborne, blood spurted from his mouth.
Thud!
He slammed into a wall seventeen or eighteen meters away.
The Academy’s walls were tough—yet the youth cracked a fissure upon impact.
He collapsed, unmoving.
Dead?
Everyone was shocked.
Especially the New Faction spectators, who rose in anger and disbelief.
Song Yue lazily approached the now-empty chair and kicked it to splinters.
“Anyone else who dares to bring a chair onto the Elite Academy’s arena will meet the same fate!”
The black-robed youth struggled to get up, wanting to preserve his dignity—not to be knocked down!
But after two tries, he only coughed up more blood and failed.
Song Yue looked toward the crowd, “Come on, all of you, step up. When I’m done, I’ll visit your homes too. You don’t return favors? I’m a polite young man, you know...”
The crowd retorted sarcastically: “Polite? You sneak attack first! Shameless!”
The New Faction was furious.
Even Meng Xudong, who had great faith in Song Yue, clenched his fist hard.
This was exactly what was needed!
The other Academy disciples, many of whom had been demoralized recently, suddenly came alive.
They had almost lost hope, some even wishing Meng would just close the branch and take them home.
But Song Yue had arrived and settled the matter within two minutes by defeating a martial prodigy.
Among the New Faction spectators, a young man around twenty-eight or twenty-nine stepped toward the arena.
He had never intervened before.
Simple reason: he was a Grandmaster of Martial Arts.
Since they had decided to besmirch the Elite Academy through challenges, they could not leave any loopholes.
As a Grandmaster, attacking young challengers casually would bring criticism.
But now he couldn’t hold back.
Though Song Yue had only thrown a palm strike, the Grandmaster instantly recognized his strength rivaled his own.
Among the onlookers, none else could match Song Yue.
As he walked up, some tried to stop him.
“Senior Brother, let us handle this. That sneak attack lacks martial virtue. Let us teach him a lesson!”
“Exactly. He wouldn’t have won without cheating. I’ll go teach him!”
The young man waved them off, face dark, and silently took the stage.
Before he spoke, Song Yue stepped forward, using the Azure Leaf Step Technique, charging at him.
He raised a fist, infusing it with Thunderbolt Qi.
The fist surged with thunderous energy and crackling lightning.
The Grandmaster roared, “Get lost!”
His voice was like thunder, shaking heads.
A terrifying blood aura erupted from him as he met Song Yue’s punch with his own.
His punch radiated flames.
He gave his all in this strike—establishing dominance. “You’re not the only one who can do this!”
He meant to cripple Song Yue in one blow; otherwise, all the New Faction’s efforts would be wasted.
Boom!
Their fists collided, shattering the arena’s sturdy railings.
Even the giant chandelier above shattered instantly.
Flames and lightning intertwined.
Their fists met.
Song Yue’s Thunderbolt-infused punch was ferocious beyond imagination.
Though he didn’t use physical techniques from his body arts, the power was overwhelming.
The Grandmaster howled in pain; his entire hand felt destroyed.
Sure enough, the bones in his fingers cracked audibly—his phalanges shattered.
Song Yue’s other hand followed with another lightning punch to the chest.
Another loud boom.
The Grandmaster’s reinforced armor saved him.
Made from alien materials, the armor shattered under Song Yue’s punch.
The Grandmaster coughed up blood and was sent flying.
He crashed beyond the broken railing edges.
New Faction martial artists caught him just in time.
The entire arena fell silent—so quiet a pin could be heard dropping.
“Still want to fight? Step up! If not...” Song Yue glared at the New Faction crowd below, “Get out!”
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