Chapter 275: I Will Seek To Avenge!
“Even if you do have a helper — what do I have to fear?” Solitary Eagle laughed mischievously. He snorted as his hands turned into bright claws like those of a falcon, “Lei Wu Bei, your Xuan cultivation is indeed slightly better than mine. And I admit this. However, winning a battle doesn’t solely depend on the level of Xuan Qi. But it’s your lucky day today because I’ll teach you an important lesson. This old man has come up with an exceptional move. My move will make the Fifth Great Master ‘eat dirt’! Ha Ha...”
Solitary Eagle’s body accelerated and became very erratic as he burst into laughter. His body had suddenly taken the shape of a demonic and ghostly bird. The entire realm under the firmaments seemed to be screeching as his claws came together in a crisscross shape; this move had given rise to a strong gale. His claws formed a large network of airtight angle which could seemingly penetrate through any angle.
If this bird was ‘supposedly’ a Falcon — then it appeared as if the Ghost of a Falcon had launched an attack.
The Nine Claws of the Ghostly Falcon!
“An excellent Falcon-Claw!” Lei Wu Bei suddenly shouted in praise. He had never seen anything like this before. This move had attracted all his attention. His brain even forgot to counter-attack.
Chi Chi Chi...
Lei Wu Bei had never seen such a fantastic martial arts move before. This move had left him at a complete loss. Solitary Falcon’s claws inflicted three cuts on Lei Wu Bei’s body. However, Lei Wu Bei didn’t get frightened... even though he wasn’t prepared to face this attack. He calmly retreated a few steps. Solitary Falcon howled as he gained the upper hand. Then, he unleashed the second move.
The Supreme Master Solitary Falcon had only been able to learn the first two steps of the ‘Nine Claws of the Ghostly Falcon’. His confidence increased when the first step showed results. Hence, he decided to strike with the second move while the iron was still hot.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!” the sounds of explosion emanated from Lei Wu Bei’s body. He then let out a fierce roar and started to accumulate an exceeding amount of Xuan Qi in his body; the Xuan Qi started to surge like a tsunami. Lei Wu Bei was the Fifth Great Master. He couldn’t allow himself to get pushed to such a state while fighting the Solitary Falcon. He made no attempts to hold back as he unleashed his Cold-Blooded Finger.
There was a loud explosion and the two men stumbled back in recoil.
Lei Wu Bei was extremely shocked when he looked at his chest and saw five bloody palm prints. Then, he looked up, “What is the name of this remarkable Falcon-Claw technique? How many steps are there?”
Solitary Falcon’s face was flushed, and his chest was heaving rapidly. He answered coldly, “How did my new technique taste, huh?! It’s called the Nine Claws of the Ghostly Falcon! As the name implies — it has nine steps. How did you like your lesson, huh?”
“Nine steps? So this wonderful move has nine steps? The Nine Claws of the Ghostly Falcon?! It is worthy of the name ‘Ghostly Falcon’!” Lei Wu Bei groaned in a depressed manner. He then added, “Solitary Falcon, you’re different from before! This Old Man has no interest in dawdling with you today. So I am dropping this matter for the time being. Humph! But I’ll find you whenever I want!”
Solitary Falcon laughed heartily, “You can seek-out your senior whenever you wish to taste his new and unique skills!”
“Solitary Falcon, we’re both called the ‘Eight Great Masters’. So I shall give you a warning. Stay away from the Jun Family.” Lei Bu Wei snorted, “The Jun Family has provoked two powerful entities. And now they’ve added this Old Man to that list as well. It seems that it will be necessary to take action against them! This Old Man doesn’t wish to see you there when he annihilates their entire family! Otherwise I doubt I will let you off either!”
“Annihilate the Jun Family? How?” Solitary Falcon snorted coldly, “Why should the Solitary Falcon listen to this nonsense when he can sort Lei Wu Bei out easily? And you wouldn’t be delaying this matter if you could contend against my ‘Nine Claws of the Ghostly Falcon’!”
“You don’t know how to regret! You always act so recklessly!”
Lei Wu Bei snorted as he hung his head. Then, his body rose-up and suddenly vanished. Lei Wu Bei had decided to act when he saw the peculiarity of the situation. The Solitary Falcon’s ‘Nine Claws of the Ghostly Falcon’ was a very strange and unpredictable move. Moreover, each step was more powerful than the previous one. He felt extremely threatened by this move. He didn’t have the confidence of emerging victorious like he previously did. Moreover, the lowest ranked Great Master was known for his speed. Therefore, it would’ve been very hard for Lei Wu Bei to escape if the Solitary Falcon had a powerful aide in support.”
Therefore, Lei Wu Bei made a prompt decision and escaped.
The Solitary Falcon was silent for a while. He then sighed, “Well, that was a close call!”
His opponent was ranked fifth amongst the Great Eight Masters for a reason.
It would seem that both the fighters had done equally-well in this battle. However, the Solitary Falcon was aware that he would’ve lost.
His ‘Nine Claws of the Ghostly Falcon’ had admittedly been very fruitful. However, he would’ve undoubtedly been in a difficult situation once the opponent increased his power output as the fight progressed. He was already scraping the bottom of his trunk of tricks, and had nearly exhausted them. However, his opponent had just begun to unleash his Cold Blooded Finger. The second step of his unique ‘Nine Claws of the Ghostly Falcon’ had dominated for a short while; nothing more. Further, there had been a mysterious occurrence. The two men had searched throughout the periphery, but hadn’t been able to find any trace of this ‘spectator’s’ presence. The two men had lost the zeal to fight after that incident.
They feared that a fisherman would catch both the fighting fish[1]. And the fisherman had a great advantage in this situation; this fact could not be guarded against! In case the two men were to sustain serious injuries during the battle... the third party could swoop-in and clinch the victory.
He could attack and kill both the Great Masters! How could he possibly attempt something that crazy? Who was this extremely mysterious person?
Therefore, the two men thought of the same thing, and gave-up on the fight.
[I’m afraid I would’ve been humiliated if I hadn’t practiced this Ghostly Falcon’s Claw move. My recent comprehension of the second step was especially pivotal... Lei Wu Bei is far stronger than me!]
[He is truly worthy of being called the most ‘cold-blooded’ master!]
[I am thankful to the man who made that noise; regardless of the intentions he may have harbored!]
It seemed that he needed to learn more about the ‘Nine Claws of the Ghostly Falcon’. It was imperative that he quickly master that move without delay. The Solitary Falcon sighed, and then quickly left.
The Young Master Jun had departed before the two Great Masters.
Jun Mo Xie was bursting with anger at that moment.
Hit-man Jun was extremely mad at Lei Wu Bei.
[Correct! Our family indeed has incurred the grudges of two powerful organizations! But it doesn’t mean that ‘anyone’ can come and step on us as they like!]
His precise words had been — “The Jun Family has provoked two powerful entities. And now they’ve added this Old Man to that list as well. It seems that it will be necessary to take action against them! This Old Man doesn’t wish to see you there when he annihilates their entire family! Otherwise I doubt I will let you off either!” The mere thought of Lei Wu Bei’s words had set Jun Mo Xie’s stomach on fire.
This was a clear threat for the Solitary Falcon to abandon the Jun Family. [Damn it! I’ve somehow duped a Great Master to come and protect my side! So what if you’re the Fifth Great Master! Bullsh*t! You’re merely the Fifth Master, and yet you dare to oppose me? Even if you were the Supreme Master, Yun Bei Chen... what could you do? I will kill you... the first chance I get!]
[Why even wait for an opportunity? Let’s play right now! Let’s see who beats whom!]
Jun Mo Xie was full of rage; extreme hatred had accumulated in his gut.
[Damn it Old Man! You had ten apprentices, and four of them are dead! It seems that it’s not enough yet! I can’t sort you out for the time being. Nor can I deal with your remaining Sky Xuan apprentices... However, I can assassinate your crippled apprentices! You think that’s going to be difficult for me? ]
[So your heart aches for your deceased disciples? Then this Young Master will make your heart ache once again!]
Jun Mo Xie was recklessly angry.
The Hit-man Jun couldn’t help but recall the Jun Family’s ancestral teaching — “Having balls does not make you a man! It is the incomparably indomitable spirit which does!”
[Good! I’ll send them to their f*cking ancestors!] Jun Mo Xie cursed in anger as he unleashed the Yin-Yang Escape at full speed. He darted back towards the city like a wisp of smoke. His desired destination was the Li Family’s residence.
[I don’t care if your bullsh*t ranks fifth or sixth in the list of the Great Masters! I will make you cry today. I will tear you down and turn you into a kite!] His speed increased exponentially because of his anger...
He searched the Li Residence thoroughly, but couldn’t find anyone.
[Does no one live in the Li Family’s residence? This is very alarming... What’s going on?]
Young Master Jun scratched his head upon finding the place deserted. Finally, he stamped his foot in frustration and then infiltrated into the ground of the locality. He carefully searched while he listened for a giveaway sound to a hidden private chamber...
One lap of the residence... two laps... then finally...
A strange voice grabbed Jun Mo Xie’s attention...
“...the Xuan Beast crossbows are very important... everything has been arranged carefully... but the good thing is...” several intermittent words reached Jun Mo Xie’s ear. Jun Mo Xie suddenly became alert. He slowly and carefully followed the sound to it source.
[I’ve been making a plan to capture the Xuan-Beast-Tendon Crossbows. But surprisingly I’ve found other interested parties as well? This is an unexpected gain!]
“These are Xuan Beast tendons and materials used in the frame of crossbow’s body make an excellent combination. Their lethality will be immense. Even an Earth Xuan expert will find it hard to evade its attack if they’re caught off-guard! It is a rare and killer weapon! It is a pity that we have to give up on these,” a person with a musical voice sighed.
“Why are we giving it up? Junior Disciple Li, we can’t let them go so easily! This is a very rare opportunity for your Li Family! These weapons are ready-made and good-to-go! These are of a special make. These crossbows will make terrifying killing weapons! Will you let this opportunity pass you by? Why would you do that?” another person spoke in an anxious voice.
Jun Mo Xie could listen properly by now. This was the voice of the Senior-most Disciple — Lei Jian Hong. He was eagerly trying to persuade someone.
“Elder Brother Lei, how could I not see the importance of these crossbows?” the voice that replied was sonorous, graceful and extremely refined. One could imagine this person’s graceful personality by merely listening to his voice.
He was audible to Jun Mo Xie as he continued, “Ten brother-disciple had come to Tian Xiang City to help You Ran. But I’ve done nothing for Master in return. Yet, I’ve only received Master’s aid and my seniors’ affection. I’m truly ashamed! And four of my seniors have left for the heavens because of my matters. And three of my seniors have been crippled for life. This Little Brother is remorseful... what right does this Little Brother have to exert himself in front of his seniors? If some misfortune befalls the senior brothers again... wouldn’t Li You Ran’s behavior be considered worse than a beast’s?”
“Junior Disciple Li, why are you talking like we are strangers? We are brother disciples! Your matter is our matter!” Lei Jian Hong anxiously replied. “And if these crossbows ended-up with the Second Prince... heaven knows what that idiot would do? This could turn into a major threat! The Jun Family won’t be the only one to get affected if the Second Prince succeeds... your Li Family will also be affected... along with the Emperor’s iron clad strength! How can you not see this? Junior Disciple! This matter demands immediate action! You’ve always been so firm. Why are you being so overly sensitive at such an important time?”
Notes:
A slight modification of an Idiom. The actual Idiom is — sandpiper and clam war together (and the fisherman catches both); alternately... two quarreling neighbors lose out to a third party.