The same hundred-and-eight-strike combo—yet two wholly different fighting styles.

One was a gorgeousness that took your breath away.

The other was a marvel so flawless it left you quietly heartbroken. After watching little Titan’s combo, every onlooker would be seized by the illusion that even were a god to come in person, it likely couldn’t have done it better or more wondrously. Before this, people had thought Qingmo’s gorgeous combo was already the very limit of a warrior’s control in this world. Who’d have guessed that, after watching little Titan’s combo, everyone would discover that combo-control was, in truth, merely the threshold onto another world of martial technique—the endless, boundless marvels still lay ahead…

The same hundred-and-eight-strike combo.

Who was stronger, who weaker?

No one dared give a definite answer.

But one thing could be said for certain now: piloting a silver wolf, little Titan had finished off Yangping—owner of the gold construct “Thorn-Back”—with a combo.

Whereas Qingmo had only finished off a same-tier silver construct!

This didn’t necessarily mean Qingmo’s combat technique was inferior to little Titan’s, but on the record of results, little Titan was, for now, indeed the more astonishing!

In fact, the hundred-and-eight-strike combo wasn’t even the most shocking, most explosive news… The most astonishing thing was that the ones possessing silver wolves weren’t only little Titan and Qingmo, but also Tiange, Silver-Eyes, Void, Blood Shave, Golden Bones, and other students—and even the previously crowned Young Lord Mingzhu, and Dusk Young Lord, one of the Four Young Lords of the Light Alliance, possessed identical silver wolves.

What did this mean?

It meant that all these people might have mastered that combo which, once unleashed, left the opponent no chance to strike back!

Perhaps not every one of them was the monster Qingmo and little Titan were, able to open with a full hundred-and-eight strikes—but if Tiange, Silver-Eyes, Void, Blood Shave, and Golden Bones could chain even eight or ten strikes, that too would make an opponent’s head swell threefold.

And there was one more thing.

If all these silver wolves came from a single person’s hand, then that creator would be the finest master puppet-construct crafter in Human Valley.

Because he had pioneered the new field of “transforming constructs”… This new field represented the pioneering of a new mode of warfare. The reason Qingmo’s and little Titan’s construct combos were so gorgeous, so wondrous, was precisely that their silver wolves could “transform.” Qingmo’s earlier combo had been too gorgeous; people had only noticed the flash of the strikes and the sparks of collision, only remembered to count the number of moves in the chain—and with the speed too fast, they hadn’t realized that Qingmo’s silver wolf had performed lightning-quick transformations during the fight. But after little Titan’s bout with Yangping—the former likewise unleashing all one hundred and eight strikes, yet because the difficulty of the matchup differed, finishing off a gold construct being no easy thing (a gold construct’s defense doesn’t collapse at a touch the way a silver one’s does, but held out to the very end)—the watching students and instructors saw every one of little Titan’s steps with perfect clarity, saw with perfect clarity every strike of his combo and every wondrous transformation the construct made under his control…

Who had made these silver constructs?

How many more people were there who could use the transforming combo?

And finally—what realm might little Titan’s and Qingmo’s ultimate combat capabilities reach?

These three questions deeply troubled the heart of every instructor and student atop the Ancient Pavilion Terrace. No one knew the answers—or perhaps someone did, and simply wouldn’t say…

“The situation seems a bit unfavorable!” When Ranfeng and Wanmo got the news, they knit their brows deeply.

“Impossible!” Young Lord Yangquan and the others quite simply couldn’t believe their ears.

“Ha, I knew it all along.” Hearing it, Zhonghua threw back his head and laughed to the heavens. He hadn’t actually known Yue Yang would put on such an astonishing showing, but as a Hall of Light Master of the Central Divine Hall and a rival of Ji Wuri, clever as he was, he had a hundred reasons in his heart to believe that little Titan—an outstanding junior of the Eastern Hidden Clan—was not someone the small fry of Human Valley could bully at will. Whatever else, the man was of an Eastern clan. Zhonghua not only harbored no doubt about the possibility of Yue Yang using a hundred-and-eight-strike combo, but believed that those transforming silver wolves were all masterpieces from the hand of this “old friend” of his.

“Someone said little Titan was just a good-for-nothing who could create a sacred-grade quill pen. That line still echoes in my ears—but low-key as I am, I didn’t go correcting those fools. Little Titan was right: you can’t stoop to bicker with little rats or little maggots. Anyone who loses his temper with those base, filthy creatures is only degrading himself. As a noble and elegant aristocrat, how could I possibly do something so cheapening? That would truly demean my station as foremost of the Four Young Lords of the Light Alliance.” Astride his silver wolf, Chimu preened smugly, showing off to the watching students. “I’m a very low-key person. Were I not so low-key, so modest, I’d have told you long ago about my intimate relationship with little Titan. Yes, that’s right—he and I are iron-clad bros. No—closer than iron-clad bros: we’re brothers. We’re brothers, you understand? You think a little matter like him casually gifting me a few gold constructs is something I’d go blabbing about all over the place?”

“Little Titan has gold constructs too?” Mige, the Tall Tower War Wolf, got a real fright.

“Please—don’t use your brains to grow grass; break some new ground now and then. Heaven gave us a head not just for drinking and eating; it can also think.” Chimu, putting on airs like he was worth a fortune, sneered and pointed at the crowd. “The sacred-grade quill pen is the hardest thing to make—you couldn’t all be unaware of that, could you?”

“…” The watching students were choked speechless by this fellow, eyes rolling, but none would admit their own ignorance.

Was the sacred-grade quill pen the hardest thing to make?

Give it some thought.

It really did seem to be so.

Making a sacred-grade construct did feel, in truth, easier than making a sacred-grade quill pen—one was a construct possessing “wisdom,” the other a pen possessing “wisdom”! Put that way—good heavens, this little Titan really was a monstrous prodigy! No wonder the Heavenly Pride Chairman and the other instructors had handed him the creativity and creation crown outright; turned out the man simply wasn’t an existence on the same level as ordinary students…

Mige, the Tall Tower War Wolf, hesitated a long while, then suddenly asked, “Going by that, then—little Titan, who can make a sacred-grade quill pen, has a sacred-grade construct too?”

Chimu showed a face full of smarmy grinning, and shot back a punchable retort: “You tell me?”

Seeing this fellow so utterly self-assured, Mige and the others drew a sharp cold breath. “He really does? No way? Then what’s the bloody point of this whole duel?!”

Chimu gave a little shrug. “Maybe being tormented is your hobby—how would I know? Besides, even if I bet ten thousand Heaven Crystals with you right here, some people still wouldn’t believe it, and would think we were trying to scare everyone off, deliberately pressuring you all to withdraw so we could take the crown. Ha ha ha—that’s just how the world is: sometimes you try to be kind-hearted, and people take your good intentions for a donkey’s liver and lungs. For the sake of us having drunk together over flowers once, big brother here will offer a word of advice: never mind little Titan—the several others, you can’t afford to provoke a single one of them. Believe it or don’t; if you enjoy asking for a beating, that’s fine too—just don’t come crying afterward that big brother didn’t cover for you!”

“Big talk. And here I thought some warty toad was yawning—turns out it’s the ‘foremost of the Four Young Lords of the Light Alliance.’ Since when did you, Dusk Young Lord, ranked dead last, get to sit at the top? What a joke! Sacred-grade construct—how could there be a construct in the world that possesses wisdom? You might as well just say little Titan is a god! Bragging without so much as drafting it first!” Jinji—arrived at some unknown moment—shoved his way out of the crowd. “Pity this young master was raised on scares and isn’t swayed by certain people’s bad breath. Withdraw? There’s no way I’m withdrawing. But here, I can tell you lot the reverse: whether it’s the paltry little trick of a combo, or some ‘transforming,’ it’s all a clown’s laughingstock antics. With me, Jinji, taking the field, all of it will become the joke of Human Valley!”

“Ai-ya, your daddy’s scared to death!” Chimu wasn’t the least bit angry. “Idiot—I hope you can still stand here spouting nonsense tomorrow. All right, all right—ignorance isn’t your fault, but coming out to show it off, that’s on you…”

“If you’ve got the guts, take the field yourself and fight me a round—this so-called ‘foremost of the Four Young Lords of the Light Alliance.’ This young master awaits at any time.” Jinji seemed brimming with confidence.

“I don’t waste words on a man about to die—it’d only waste my time.” Astride his silver wolf, Chimu left in a flash.

Jinji gave a cold sneer.

And turned to leave as well.

Once the two figures had vanished at the distant street corner, Mige, the Tall Tower War Wolf, knit his brows. “That little Titan has a sacred-grade construct is too astonishing—I find it a bit hard to believe right now. The strangest thing is, Jinji actually isn’t the least worried he’ll lose. That—that’s just too abnormal!”

Young Lord Yangquan drifted over from afar and picked up the analysis. “There are two possibilities. One, Jinji has a trump card—a powerful construct that fears not in the slightest whatever sacred-grade construct little Titan might possess. Two, Jinji knows little Titan’s true depths, has sufficient confidence and a method to break him, and can easily counter and win when facing little Titan’s hundred-and-eight-strike combo.”

Hearing this, everyone shook their heads vigorously. “Impossible!”

Whichever the conjecture—

—both were far too fantastical!

In the students’ quarters, Yue Yang and Young Lord Mingzhu—having heard Chimu’s report back—sank into deep thought.

Earlier, Chimu hadn’t been purely showing off; he’d had a target in mind, deliberately putting word out to gauge the reactions around him and soak up intelligence from every quarter.

The Silver-Eyed Great Sage, after exchanging a glance with Ren Tiange, seemed to have thought something through—a flash of wisdom-light passing through his eyes—but he only observed the assembled faces, not sharing the secret in his heart at once, merely smiling in silence.

And the several who’d likewise come to call—Void, Blood Shave, Golden Bones—kept their brows tightly knit, not yet having found the final answer.

Qingmo held that silence is golden; Hauge’s head was a muddle, and he stood up in irritation and slapped the table. “Think, think, think, my ass. Even if the evil god possessed him, this Jinji punk still couldn’t beat us. I’m hiding my strength, saving it for Ji Wuri—otherwise, I could squeeze his egg-yolk out with one hand.”

The moment his crude words were out, Void and Blood Shave sprang to their feet. “That’s it—possessed by the evil god! Without that, you could give Jinji a water vat for a gallbladder and he still wouldn’t dare mouth off at us. We can say for certain: the evil-god bargain must involve exactly this—when these evil-god mouthpieces run into trouble, the evil god leaps out to wipe their backsides for them. Otherwise, there’s no way Jinji could be this confident!”

“Possession by the evil god isn’t very likely… a projection-avatar, though, is possible!” Yue Yang waved a hand, signaling everyone to quiet down. “Jinji’s trash, not worth fearing. What we need to think about is Ji Wuri, who’s bargained with the evil god. I can say for certain this two-faced, back-stabbing fellow is up to no good—he’ll very likely use the evil god to scheme against us. But on which front, and at what time, that I haven’t yet reasoned out.”

“If Ji Wuri means to make his move and we want to stop him, that’s not very feasible. But we could set an ambush—try whether we can lure him onto the hook.” Mingzhu thought a long while, then made a proposal.

“With what for bait, say?” The Silver-Eyed Great Sage had half guessed Mingzhu’s plan.

“With, say, one of the evil god’s Sealing Pillars!” The moment these words were out of Mingzhu’s mouth, all four sides were stunned—including Yue Yang, who had the most confidence in Mingzhu.

“Think again. Ji Wuri’s no ordinary man—I only fear we’ll fail to steal the chicken and lose the handful of rice too. What we need most right now is to buy time; too anxious a showing, and Ji Wuri will see through it at a glance. He won’t take the bait.” Yue Yang hurried to signal Mingzhu to calm down a little. If this plan were to deal with Ranfeng and Wanmo, or Zhonghua, Yue Yang wouldn’t much object—but using it against Ji Wuri really was dangerous!

“There has to be bait, or else, with Ji Wuri’s suspicious nature, if we do nothing at all, he’ll know we’re preparing a plan to deal with him. So even knowing full well he won’t take the bait, even if it’s just handing him a free fish-lure to swallow, we have to do it. We absolutely cannot let him learn our real plan, or he’ll stop at nothing to lay waste to the whole of Human Valley. I know this kind of man—he’s absolutely the sort of vile wretch who’ll wreck the whole banquet table of food and wine if he can’t have the grand feast himself!” Mingzhu seemed to have a certain understanding of Ji Wuri; there was deep loathing in his words.

“Let’s worry about the evil god’s projection-avatar first. Tiange and I have talked it over: we’ll withdraw from the competition, hide our strength, and try to seize a chance to take out Wanmo and Ranfeng in one stroke. As for the rest—leave it to Qingmo and little Titan to play out, since destroying the enemy’s morale is precisely what you two excel at!” The Silver-Eyed Great Sage suddenly voiced a plan he’d been mulling for a long while.

“Sounds pretty good, actually.” Hauge scratched the back of his head. At any rate, he didn’t have to fire up his own brain—just raise his hand in support—and nothing could be better than that.

(End of Chapter)