The Demon Lord's Invasion

Chapter 36: New Martial Arts Techniques

Jiang Tang was happily polishing his Cold Iron Fist, completely oblivious to being called out. It wasn’t until Senior Brother Tinghua told him it was his turn that he stopped, stepped down from the stands, and walked onto the arena. He looked at the youth across from him and felt a sense of familiarity. “Jiang Tang! You ambushed me last time—this time, I’m going to make you suffer!” the youth said coldly. “Cai Shang?” Jiang Tang recognized the youth and couldn’t help but chuckle. “You must’ve spent a fortune on crystal stones, huh? Otherwise, how could a nobody like you make it into the top three of the Ding Rankings? The price I quoted back then hasn’t changed, by the way—five hundred crystals for a chance.” “Die!” Cai Shang roared with rage, disregarding all etiquette as he slapped a talisman onto his body. Just as a brilliant blue light surged forth, a flash of golden light suddenly appeared at his side, and a palm of light sent him flying off the stage. “Golden Gangs True Qi!” In an instant, many disciples in the three stands jumped to their feet in surprise. “So it’s another scion of a great clan who’s changed his name!” “It’s no wonder. This Jiang Tang can identify ten thousand varieties of spiritual plants and is a master of formation arts. If he wasn’t raised by a great clan, could he possibly be the reincarnation of an ancient demon?” “First a daughter from the Tang family, then a young man from the Zhao family—since when has Xian Zong been held in such high regard by these martial arts clans?” “Competition within their clans is fierce, and it’s easy to get sidelined. None of them treat their disciples as well as Xian Zong does.” As they were discussing this, Jiang Tang had already returned to his seat. No sooner had he sat down than he sensed someone approaching him. Before long, a young man in his early twenties approached Jiang Tang and cut straight to the chase: “Junior Brother Jiang, which lineage do you belong to?” “My parents passed away when I was young; they never told me.” Jiang Tang’s words startled the young man for a moment, but then he nodded with understanding and said, “I’m Yuan Tian from Beihan Island. If you ever need help, Junior Brother, feel free to come to me!” “Of course.” Jiang Tang clasped his hands in a bow, exchanged a few polite words, and watched as Yuan Tian departed. But not long after Yuan Tian left, several others—who didn’t bear the surname Zhao—insisted on asking Jiang Tang which branch of the Zhao family he belonged to. Like Yuan Tian, they left quickly after offering words of mutual support. Only then did Jiang Tang have a moment to take out his Cold Iron Fist and carefully polish it. Hua Mo Leng, while watching the matches on the stage, remarked, “Your upcoming opponents are all up there. Keep a close eye on them.” “Someone’s keeping an eye on them for me,” Jiang Tang said, pointing directly at Dongfang behind him. Hua Mo Leng was also somewhat curious about this spirit-bound golem, but what puzzled him even more was the object Dongfang held in his hand. “I’ve figured it out!” Suddenly, Dongfang’s words startled Hua Mo Leng. “Oh, what’s going on?” Jiang Tang asked curiously. “See for yourself.” Dongfang handed the spirit brain to Jiang Tang. Jiang Tang took it, looked at it, and immediately frowned. “The cooldown’s way too short!” “Can’t be helped.” Dongfang took back the spirit brain and watched as the match on stage continued, keeping track of the progress. This left Hua Mo Leng and Ji Yukui, who were standing nearby, completely baffled. Jiang Tang wasn’t in the mood to explain; he focused on wiping down his Cold Iron Fist, his mind instead occupied with figuring out how to counter the signature techniques of those Thirty-Six Caverns disciples. There were quite a few disciples as powerful as Wang Jianlun on the A-Rank list. The intervals between their spellcasts were far too short—Wang Jianlun’s Qi-Transformation spell had a cooldown of only three seconds, which was just the blink of an eye. Senior Sister Ji had taken advantage of that brief moment to land a punch on him. Yet Wang Jianlun could only rank in the top twenty on the Class A List; it was now impossible for him to break into the top ten, as he had expended far too much energy fighting Ji Yukui, and with the number of participants in the Grand Competition having plummeted, he simply didn’t have time to recover. The Yuan Energy from crystals needs to be purified, and the spiritual energy from elixirs and medicinal pills requires time to be refined; otherwise, it dissipates rapidly. Jiang Tang could only hope that the disciples on the A List would engage in a fierce battle, leaving each other battered and bruised. However, things did not go as planned. While the top ten on the B List had been decided after a hard-fought series of matches, there was a huge disparity when it came to the competition for the top ten on the A List! Almost every match ended in an easy victory—which was clearly impossible—so it must have been rigged beforehand! Whether it was for spirit stones or other promised rewards, eight out of the ten matches were practically friendly sparring sessions—one side conceding defeat after a light touch. The remaining two matches were truly neck-and-neck, one of which pitted Wang Jianlun against a disciple of the Burning Heart Cave; in the end, Wang Jianlun was forced to concede defeat after exhausting his spiritual energy. “Why the hell didn’t I run into any of these rich kids or spoiled princesses?” Jiang Tang grumbled. He actually wished someone would’ve just given him a thousand crystals so he could have surrendered and been done with it. What’s the big deal about not going to Spirit Island? Do they really think it’s just a bunch of disciples going in to gather herbs? Back at Nikuang Mountain, he’d heard that the disciples sent to Spirit Island by various factions numbered in the hundreds, yet fewer than one-tenth or one-twelfth of them ever returned—truly a journey where nine out of ten perish! When Jiang Tang stepped back onto the arena to challenge a disciple from the B List, he was still in a foul mood. “Junior Brother Jiang, you’ve crushed your opponents one after another—clearly, your strength is no joke. But to treat me with such contempt… do you really think that B-Rank disciples are just as pathetic as those on the C and D Lists?” The speaker was none other than Jiang Tang’s opponent: Gao Rongsheng, a disciple of the Xuan Kong Cave and one of the top ten on the B-Rank list. “Disdain? Not at all. I give my all against everyone. It’s you who’s lumping everyone together. Are the disciples on the C and D Lists really as worthless as you make them out to be? Do you really think this has been easy for me?” After Jiang Tang finished speaking, many disciples began to growl with indignation—clearly, Gao Rongsheng’s words had stirred up a lot of resentment! “Hmph, you’re just a smooth-talker.” Gao Rongsheng snorted coldly, bowing his hands in a show of displeasure. Just as Jiang Tang returned the gesture, Gao Rongsheng had already cast his spell! In an instant, the temperature on the arena plummeted. Three gourds floated behind Gao Rongsheng, simultaneously spewing three jets of water that, under his spell, transformed into a swarm of ice crystals sweeping toward Jiang Tang. “Ice Wind Spell!” Jiang Tang instantly realized that the ice crystals concealed countless tiny wind blades. If he truly believed that simply shattering the crystals would be enough, he might as well prepare to be torn to pieces! Jiang Tang did not release a protective aura to shield himself, because without spiritual energy to sustain it, the aura would vanish in an instant—yet maintaining it would drain him far too much. Even if he managed to survive this round, what about the next? “Why waste spiritual energy on defense? I’d rather take a gamble!” Jiang Tang decided in an instant. The Yin-Yang Fish within him spun frantically, and overwhelming spiritual energy surged from his body. Guided by the wind from his palm, it transformed into a golden dragon, which, snarling and clawing, smashed through countless ice crystals and wind blades as it lunged toward Gao Rongsheng. Gao Rongsheng was taken aback. Setting aside just how powerful this golden dragon might be, its lifelike and majestic form alone was enough to terrify him! Without a moment’s hesitation, Gao Rongsheng focused his spell formation; the three gourds atop his head immediately spewed jets of water that struck the golden dragon, instantly freezing into ice. At the same time, Gao Rongsheng’s powerful divine sense had already imbued the countless ice crystals filling the sky; with a wave of his hand, the hurricane formed by the ice crystals swept toward Jiang Tang with even greater ferocity. “Hmph! Let me show you what the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms are all about!” As Jiang Tang roared, he brought his hands together and then apart, his ten fingers forming claws as they tore through the air before him. At that moment, the frozen Golden Dragon suddenly burst apart. Countless golden lights broke free from the ice wall, transforming into ten Xiao Jin dragons. Twisting their bodies, they weaved around the ice wall and water jets, attacking Gao Rongsheng from all directions simultaneously. Gao Rongsheng was terrified; no longer daring to divide his attention, he could only focus on defense while dodging. However, this very act of defense played right into Jiang Tang’s hands! Of course, Jiang Tang didn’t actually know the “Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms”—it was merely a technique he’d improvised by imitating TV special effects—but no one else knew that! As Jiang Tang moved his palms in unison, chanting, “The flying dragon soars in the heavens; the overbearing dragon meets with regret…,” he sent one golden dragon after another hurtling toward Gao Rongsheng, leaving the disciples in the stands utterly dumbfounded! Those with a keen eye could naturally tell this was Golden Gangs True Qi—yet it surpassed it; it must be an entirely new martial art refined from Golden Gangs True Qi! Those who didn’t know, however, simply gazed at the spectacular swarm of golden dragons. In an instant, their blood ran hot, and overcome with excitement, they cheered wildly! As for Gao Rongsheng, he never expected that the golden dragons would refuse to give up. They attacked relentlessly. No sooner had ten Xiao Jin dragons been shattered than they instantly coalesced into a single massive golden dragon, merging with several others that were charging in from behind to form a colossal beast ten zhang long, which opened its jaws and lunged at Gao Rongsheng. Terrified, Gao Rongsheng mustered all his strength to conjure a massive ice wall, aiming to block the dragon’s attack head-on! But when the colossal dragon collided with the ice wall, it actually shattered piece by piece. As specks of golden light scattered in all directions, they transformed once more into countless Xiao Jin dragons that swarmed toward Gao Rongsheng. “This is madness!” Gao Rongsheng hadn’t expected these Xiao Jin dragons to be so troublesome. With a wave of his hand, three gourds sprayed water all around him, which instantly froze into a thick, turtle-shell-like ice dome, shielding him securely within. He needed to stay calm. He projected his spiritual sense outward to observe the characteristics of the Xiao Jin dragons, but as soon as he did, he sensed a powerful aura surging toward him. “Trouble!” Gao Rongsheng spun around and frantically channeled spiritual energy into an ice wall. “What a pity!” In the eastern stands, just as an unidentified Elder shook his head and sighed, Gao Rongsheng also sensed that something was wrong! In his mind’s eye, Jiang Tang’s full-power punch hadn’t even struck the ice wall. Instead, he had simply charged forward, leaped into the air, and shattered the ice layer above Gao Rongsheng’s head with a single kick. Just as he landed, he unleashed a barrage of punches! Left with no choice, Gao Rongsheng had to take the blows head-on! Gao Rongsheng possessed a high level of cultivation; his spiritual energy was twice that of Jiang Tang, and his mastery of spells ranked among the best of his peers—yet he had virtually no combat experience! This was absolutely fatal! In an instant, Jiang Tang’s fists transformed into ferocious tiger heads—the Spirit Weapon had reached its third transformation! In its common-grade form, the Cold Iron Hand was simply an “Iron Hand.” The first transformation was the “Iron Scale Fist,” the second the “Eagle Claw Fist,” and the third the “Tiger Head Fist”—each transformation possessed distinct effects. The Iron Scale Fist was balanced, excelling in both offense and defense; the Eagle Claw Fist emphasized offense, moving as fast as lightning with such unpredictable angles that it was nearly impossible to defend against; whereas the Tiger Head Fist was direct and sweeping, requiring extreme ferocity and all-out exertion. When facing the Tiger-Head Fist, one must evade—never block it head-on. Otherwise, even a Spirit Martial Realm cultivator—unless they’re a physical cultivator—would be incapacitated for months, if not killed, by a single hit! “Boom!” The ice wall suddenly shattered, and Gao Rongsheng’s figure was flung backward through it. He crashed onto the ring, rolled over a dozen times, and finally tumbled off the platform, collapsing unconscious on the second-tier white jade platform—his condition unknown. Jiang Tang stepped out of the shattered ice, and the tiny Xiao Jin dragons drifting around him immediately twisted their dragon bodies and swiftly retreated into his body. Such was the miraculous power of the Golden Gāng True Qi—unused Gāng Qi could even be reclaimed! As for his hands, they were merely a pair of ordinary palms; the Cold Iron Hands had vanished without a trace. To those with low cultivation levels who couldn’t fathom the mysteries behind it, this was naturally a cause for silent astonishment! However, some elders with powerful spiritual perception—and even extraordinary insight—could only shake their heads with a wry smile; they were truly at a loss for words regarding this disciple of Jiang Tang’s! To conceal his true abilities to this extent—he was truly a match for Wang Jianlun! Yet Wang Jianlun ultimately lost, while Jiang Tang—though rich in combat experience and seemingly having suffered little depletion—was actually straining his current cultivation to sustain the instantaneous energy consumption of the Third-Transformation Tiger-Head Fist! Moreover, the true powerhouses are all on the A-Rank List—this isn’t a contest that can be won by mere cunning or experience alone!