I Can See Your Combat Power

Chapter 848: Chapter 142: The Fire God Reaps a Bountiful Harvest

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For Tang Luo, the title of a generation’s prodigy might be but an empty honor, but for everyone else, that was not the case.

Mi Bai had returned to the martial path, but in truth had not yet mastered the basics and did not understand the intricacies of the Longzhou martial arts competition, simply nodding with a half-understanding. Meanwhile, Lu Ningxue did know that the platform was not meant for the Longzhou gentry; it was just a way for the two holy lands to see how much progress the martial prowess of the gentry had made.

The real protagonists of this competition were the sect disciples under thirty years old, those top-tier prodigies who, despite their youth, had been immersed in the martial path for over twenty years.

Before the Mora King appeared, even prodigies from families with top-tier bloodlines who managed to break into the top ten were considered extraordinarily lucky. The first three places were always held by various sects. Looking back over the previous nineteen terms, at least thirty percent of the champions had been disciples of the Beast Taming Sect, followed by the remainder divided among other sects.

The fact that a scion of an emerging clan had won was unthinkable, not to mention how startlingly young he was.

Though everyone referred to him as Brother Tang, Tang Luo was just over twenty years old. For someone of his age to suppress the Longzhou sect prodigies with his bare fists to the point of shame?

Even Lu Ningxue, who did not take pleasure in martial combat, had to admit that the title of the unrivaled prodigy was not as insignificant as Tang Luo claimed it to be.

It did not take long for the two beast carriages to arrive at the Beast Taming Sect’s station. Upon entering Kunwu County, Longxi and the others had left their phoenix chariots at this station, and it was the perfect time to retrieve them.

After switching to the phoenix chariots and leaving the station, Tang Luo’s expression grew somber, for that familiar feeling of being watched had returned.

Xiao Jinlin, who also emerged from the station, felt the prying sensation and, glancing at the sky, said indifferently, “There is no need to panic. Let’s start our journey back.”

The world is full of spiritual energy, and spiritual energy has its own eyes. When a martial artist achieves complete spirit qualification of the body, they become connected with the world around them and can also do many things previously impossible. In other words, this feeling of being watched was from a Grandmaster, and Tang Luo’s keen six senses could not detect the source because it was the omnipresent spiritual energy of the world doing the watching.

As the phoenix chariot ascended into the sky and sped westward, those aboard from Longxi, aside from Tang Luo and Xiao Jinlin, were still excited about heading home. They could hardly wait to share everything they had seen and heard back in Longxi.

Especially Li Xuanba and Cui Haoran—if the Tang Clan was already a family with a grand lineage, then these two were prodigies born to mid-sized families in Longzhou. To them, the elite families and sects were once just segments of history and legend.

Yet, at this martial arts competition, they had not only sparred with descendants of those legendary places but also fostered good relations with numerous scions of great families. This exhilarating experience felt so real that they were nearly walking on air.

On the other hand, Xiao Ziyu and Tang Xing were more subdued. Tang Xing was pondering how to connect with the world’s unparalleled beauties, but Xiao Ziyu was troubled by guilt.

Over the years, being led by Xiao Jinlin in the struggle to seize different fires and having numerous close contacts with powerful families, Xiao Ziyu didn’t hold much respect for those clans or sects, feeling that with his own Fire God bloodline and different fires, he could easily crush them.

Yet, what saddened him the most was not his final ranking of thirty-first but the realization that aside from the four Fierce Realm warriors ahead of him, he did not see the remaining twenty-six as being stronger than himself!

The phoenix-like rebirth of the Fire Spirit body, the Earth Level talent of the Divine Fire bloodline, coupled with eight different fires—any one of these attributes, on their own, placed on a person, could shine with a dazzling brilliance.

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And yet he possessed several divine abilities, he failed to utilize them in a way that they enhanced each other. Instead, due to his overwhelming natural talent, his cultivation remained shallow, compounded by an undefeated arrogance that left him with no room for progress.

Lacking in combat experience, even when facing opponents weaker than himself, he couldn’t swiftly and decisively claim victory;

Poorly applying his talents, others might tirelessly explore a single ability thousands of times to fully understand it, but he owned too many and mastered none. He thought he could outperform the world’s heroes by multitasking, which now seems nothing but arrogant pride.

His martial arts proficiency was even worse, believing that focusing solely on the path of the Fire Element was enough. Yet, he forgot the principle that the solitary yang does not last long—sequestered practice led to little advancement. Over the years, he had never considered studying martial arts systematically nor focused on improving his martial arts cultivation.

He had thought such focus was wise, yet now he realized it was just his arrogance, believing that breaking through to the Fierce Realm would naturally make him invincible. As a result, he who made the top ten in the initial rounds, found himself defeated in the last challenge, even falling behind Cui Haoran’s ranking.

His once pride, after the martial arts tournament, turned into dust, leaving behind only deep self-reproach.

If only he had dedicated himself to the art of combat, studied more martial arts scriptures, and been less arrogant, perhaps today’s outcome would have been entirely different.

Only now did he understand why people say, “The greatest pain in life is not that we fail, but that ‘I could have.'”

Such regret was like a ferocious tiger, biting his heart repeatedly, causing a steady bleed yet not resulting in death, only endless pain.

Unable to bear the torment within, Xiao Ziyu fell to his knees before Xiao Jinlin with a thud and confessed with regret, “Patriarch, Ziyu has failed the teachings of the Xiao Family and let down your expectations. Please, punish me!”

Xiao Jinlin extended his hand to help Xiao Ziyu up and said indifferently, “When you realize your weakness, it becomes an opportunity to grow stronger. It’s not too late. As punishment, you are to organize the scriptures in the Scripture Pavilion for three years and be responsible for its cleanliness. Do you have any objections?”

“Thank you for your leniency, Patriarch. Xiao Ziyu accepts the punishment!”

Anybody could hear the sincerity and reluctance in Xiao Ziyu’s voice, but this made it awkward for Cui Haoran and Li Xuanba.

If Xiao Ziyu, ranked thirty-first, felt his performance was poor, what about them, contently placed after seventieth? Were they simply too insensitive?noveldrama

Cui Haoran and Li Xuanba exchanged glances, pondering whether they should also return to their clans to accept punishments like Xiao Ziyu, yet something about it felt off.

Because to advance to the top half among the elite heirs of great families and sect disciples was an honest satisfaction for them, especially for Cui Haoran.

After injuring his martial arts foundation and ending up last in the second round, at one point he felt he would rank at the very bottom. Yet he made a comeback in the third round. His only regret was that if he had seen through the illusion in the second round and fought for jade coins in the Storm Valley, perhaps he could have broken into the top fifty.

But to seek punishment for this might seem a bit too hypocritical.