Chapter 8 I Alone Am Enough

Wang Lei threw his head back and laughed. The sound bounced off the walls of the courtyard and echoed over the silent crowd.

"All of us? Are you trying to give yourself an excuse when you lose?" Wang Lei sneered. He pointed the tip of his heavy wooden staff directly at Ye Chen. "I alone am enough."

The disciples surrounding them erupted into cheers and jeers. They stepped backward in unison. Their movement created a wide circular arena in the center of the packed dirt training ground.

Ye Chen stood still in the center of the ring. He did not take a combat stance. He kept his eyes locked on the tall disciple. A translucent blue screen materialized in his field of vision with a soft chime.

[Ding!] [Enemy Detected.] [Name: Wang Lei] [Cultivation: Body Tempering Stage 4] [Combat Power: 48] [Known Skills: Heavy Staff Art Level 2, Iron Body Level 1] [Estimated Victory Rate: Host 73 percent] [Reward Prediction: 75 System Points]

Ye Chen absorbed the system data instantly. The information confirmed his own senses. Wang Lei was a full cultivation stage above him. The Iron Body skill meant strikes would feel like punching solid granite. This would not be a brief slaughter like the fight in Copper Row. This would be a genuine test of his newly repaired foundation.

"Are you done staring at me like a dead fish?" Wang Lei barked. He gripped his staff with both hands and dropped his weight into a low stance.

Wang Lei kicked off the dirt. He crossed the distance between them in the blink of an eye. His speed was terrifying for a lower realm disciple. The wooden staff swept horizontally through the air aiming straight for Ye Chen's ribs. The wood whistled sharply as it cut through the wind.

Ye Chen recognized the opening move of the Heavy Staff Art immediately. He had taught the very same technique to these disciples years ago. He stepped backward and pulled his torso out of range.

The tip of the staff missed his ribcage by a fraction of an inch. The pressure trailing the weapon ripped a clean tear through his gray servant robes.

Wang Lei did not pause. He used the momentum of his missed swing to pivot his body. He brought the staff up over his shoulder and smashed it downward in a vertical strike aimed at Ye Chen's skull.

Ye Chen shifted his weight and dodged to the left. The wood slammed into the packed dirt where he had just been standing. A cloud of dust exploded into the air. The ground cracked under the force of a fourth stage cultivator.

"Stop running away, trash!" Wang Lei roared.

He pulled the staff from the dirt and launched a flurry of rapid thrusts. Ye Chen weaved through the attacks with precise footwork. He ducked under a high swing and parried a low sweep with his bare forearm. The impact sent a painful jolt up Ye Chen's arm. The Iron Body technique made Wang Lei's physical strength incredibly oppressive.

Ye Chen realized he could not win a prolonged war of attrition. His stage three chaos energy was potent but his stamina would eventually drain against a superior stage. He needed to find an opening and break the Iron Body defense.

Wang Lei thrust the staff forward like a spear. Ye Chen leaned sideways and let the wood slide past his shoulder. He stepped completely inside Wang Lei's guard. He channeled his chaos energy into his right palm and struck the center of Wang Lei's chest.

A sharp pop rang out. Ye Chen unleashed the Thunderclap Palm.

The compressed air exploded against Wang Lei's torso. The tall disciple grunted and slid backward a few inches but he did not fall. A faint metallic sheen shimmered across his skin beneath his blue robes. The Iron Body skill absorbed the majority of the  shockwave.

[System Notice: Thunderclap Palm mastery increased by 12 percent. Current Mastery: 12 percent.]

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes at the floating text. The system rewarded combat experience based on the resistance of the target. Hitting a fortified opponent provided a surge in skill comprehension. He felt the pathways in his arm widen slightly as the martial technique refined itself mid combat.

Wang Lei laughed and slapped his own chest. "Is that it? Is that the dirty trick you used on Li Hu? It feels like a mosquito bite against my Iron Body!"

Wang Lei gripped his staff tightly. He stopped using standard sect techniques and resorted to pure brute force. He swung the staff in sweeping arcs that forced Ye Chen to retreat continuously. The crowd cheered louder with every step Ye Chen took backward.

The edge of the arena approached rapidly. Ye Chen had nowhere left to dodge.

Wang Lei raised the staff high above his head. He drew a breath and locked his leg muscles into the earth. The sheen of his Iron Body skill visibly darkened his skin. He poured every ounce of his stage four strength into one final downward smash.

"Die!" Wang Lei screamed.

The wooden staff descended like a falling tree. Ye Chen did not retreat. He planted his feet firmly into the dirt. He watched the heavy wood approach his head. He remembered the core flaw of the Heavy Staff Art. The technique required the user to hold their breath for maximum power on a downward strike. That brief pause in respiration created a momentary gap in the Iron Body defense.

Ye Chen raised his left arm above his head. He caught the descending wooden staff with his bare forearm.

Crack.

The sound of splintering wood echoed across the courtyard. The disciples gasped in unison. Ye Chen's knees buckled slightly under the weight but his arm held firm. The stage three Chaos Body Tempering Art possessed a durability that defied normal cultivation logic. The wooden staff cracked down the middle but did not break Ye Chen's bones.

Wang Lei froze in shock. His ultimate strike had been stopped by a bare arm. His breath remained held in his lungs just a second too long.

Ye Chen dropped his center of gravity. He pulled his right hand back to his hip. He compressed an amount of chaos energy into his palm. The Level Two Thunderclap Palm demanded focus and he poured all of his intent into a single concentrated point.

He drove his palm forward into the center of Wang Lei's solar plexus.

The sound was not a muffled pop this time. It was a deafening crack of thunder that physically shook the dust in the air.

The concentrated force bypassed the fading Iron Body defense entirely. The shockwave pierced through Wang Lei's skin and exploded internally against his ribcage.

Wang Lei let go of the broken staff. His eyes bulged wide. All the air evacuated his lungs in a single bloody cough. He lifted off the ground and flew backward through the air like a discarded ragdoll.

He crashed into the dirt ten feet away. He rolled three times before coming to a complete stop at the feet of the spectating disciples. He did not move again.

Total silence fell over the training ground.

Two hundred disciples stared at the unconscious body of their senior brother. They looked at the splintered wooden staff lying in the dirt. Then they looked back at the servant boy standing calmly in the center of the ring. The mockery and laughter were completely gone. Pure unadulterated fear replaced their arrogance.

A chime echoed in Ye Chen's mind. The blue screen updated his status.

[Ding!] [Enemy Defeated. +75 System Points.] [System Notice: Combat data processed. Thunderclap Palm mastery increased by 45 percent. Current Mastery: 57 percent.]

Ye Chen exhaled a slow breath. He felt a dull ache in his left forearm where he had blocked the staff. He had taken a risk and it had paid off beautifully. His system balance sat at three hundred and fifteen points and his primary attack skill was over halfway to a discounted level up.

He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. He looked at the circle of terrified disciples. Lin Xue was covering her mouth with trembling hands. The swordsman from the entrance had dropped his weapon in the dirt.

They finally understood the reality of the situation. The genius had not returned to beg for scraps. He had returned to collect his debts.

Ye Chen stepped over the broken half of Wang Lei's staff. He rolled his right shoulder to loosen the tight muscles. He looked directly at a group of older disciples standing near the back of the crowd. They wore silver trim on their robes indicating they were at the peak of the fifth stage of Body Tempering.

"I told you all to come at me together," Ye Chen said. His voice was steady and carried across the silent courtyard easily. "Wang Lei was not enough. Do I need to start dragging you out of the crowd one by one or are you going to step up and defend your pride?"

The older disciples exchanged nervous glances. They were stronger than Wang Lei but they had just witnessed a crippled servant shatter an Iron Body defense with a single strike. None of them wanted to be the next person lying unconscious in the dirt.

"You are using a demonic art," a voice called out from the back of the crowd.

The disciples parted quickly. A young man with sharp features and a pristine white robe walked into the circle. He carried a real steel sword at his hip rather than a wooden practice blade.

Ye Chen recognized him instantly. It was Zhao Ming. He was a cousin of the sect master and a dedicated follower of Su Rou. He was widely known as the strongest fighter in the outer sect.

"Only a demonic art could allow a crippled piece of trash to defeat a stage four cultivator," Zhao Ming stated loudly. He drew his steel sword. The metal hissed sharply as it left the scabbard. "Lady Su Rou warned us you might try something desperate before her ascension ceremony. I will cripple your limbs permanently right here and hand you over to the discipline hall for interrogation."

Ye Chen stared at the drawn steel blade. He felt a familiar rush of cold fury in his chest at the mention of Su Rou's name. The system screen flickered again in his peripheral vision.

[Ding!] [Enemy Detected.] [Name: Zhao Ming] [Cultivation: Body Tempering Stage 6] [Combat Power: 110] [Known Skills: Flowing Water Sword Art Level 3, Gale Step Level 2] [Estimated Victory Rate: Host 22 percent] [Warning: Lethal threat detected. Evade or upgrade skills immediately.]

Ye Chen ignored the system warning. He did not step back from the glowing steel blade. He had three hundred points in his balance and a burning desire for vengeance.

"You talk too much," Ye Chen said to Zhao Ming.