Harry fearlessly stood on the dueling arena, facing down Maynard and his massive Magic Spirit. Around them, nearly the entire sect was gathered to watch this frightening battle. Even though the combatants were just Outer Disciples, they were two of the most famous juniors in the Swan Sea area. Even some fights between Inner Disciples weren't so intense and bloody.
Up until now, James was dominating the fight. It left them all in disbelief and awe. But now that Maynard was forced to bring out his Magic Spirit, it seemed to be over for James. Even though low-level Qi Absorption Realm cultivators could only keep their spirits manifested for a few minutes, it was more than enough to deal with James. The elephant only needed to run over James one time, and it would be enough.
Yet, James was talking about not using his full strength?
'Even now, James is still going to fight?' people thought in disbelief.
And for the first time, Harry activated Burning Blood at full completion.
His flesh was already hardened, his muscles were already exerting their full strength, but this entire time, he had yet to use the power lying in his bloodstream.
Within his abdomen, the Nameless Seed was letting out a stream of Wood Qi into his flesh, and another stream of Earth Qi into his muscles. Now, it released pure Fire Qi into his veins. The seed was heating, his blood was burning, fire was racing across his body, like an electric shock jolting him into action.
Not just that – he could feel himself warming up, and at a dangerous rate. Heat was radiating off him as if his body turned into a furnace.
And as his blood and body burned, so did his emotions. All of a sudden, he was consumed with rage. It came out of nowhere, with neither warning nor explanation. One moment, he was calmly planning his next move, in the next, he felt nothing but violent anger towards Maynard.
Who is he to challenge me?
Who is he to insult my parents?
Who the hell does he think he is? Who the hell does he think he is?
It was an invisible voice, whispering violent and poisonous thoughts into his mind.
In a flash, his angered surged, and he saw a vision of himself viciously beating Maynard until he was no more than a broken body on the floor. His vision was clouded with red.
'You want to torture me on this stage?' Harry raged. His thoughts were overflowing with anger, anger that burned alongside his blood.
"Not your full strength? One move to defeat my spirit?" Maynard sneered from the other side of the stage, not having noticed his opponent's condition. "Shameless boasting! After my spirit crushes you, I'll definitely teach you a lesson about running your mouth! I'll –"
Finally, Harry lost control.
"Maynard, your mouth is very dislikeable. For that, I will rip out your tongue," he spat.
Everyone in the Dueling Hall heard that threat very clearly, and they all jolted in shock. Where did that come from?
"Rip out my tongue?" Maynard repeated incredulously. And then he began laughing.
"Haha, I haven't heard a joke that funny in a long time. You're stronger than I thought, but at most, our strengths are equal. And as for ripping out my tongue, I don't believe you dare! Defeat my Magic Spirit before you even talk about that!"
"Ivory Crushing Elephant, go! Trample him over! Break every bone in his body!"
The elephant was thundering towards Harry, who didn't even seem to notice it. Instead, he was staring at Maynard with a cold and murderous expression. When the two of them locked eyes, Maynard involuntarily shuddered. A sensation of fear crawled down his spine.
The Ivory Crushing Elephant charged towards Harry, fully intent on trampling him into a bloody paste. And Harry fearlessly charged forwards too, unable to think of anything other than the endless anger in his heart.
Now that he completed Burning Blood, he could feel its increased effects. Not only could use it more often, but the effects were spread throughout his entire body – including his muscles. With both accomplishments activated, the combined effects of Rebirthing Muscle and Burning Blood were more than just additive – far, far more. The two elements shared their strength, the stream of fire in his veins linking with the strength of his muscles to become something much greater.
Wood feeds Fire, Fire produces Earth – those were the words written in the Nameless Technique. Fire, that was the missing link between Wood and Earth. And now that all three skills were activated, he could feel a miraculous change in his body.
The Wood Qi was feeding the Fire Qi, adding even more strength into his blood. And in turn the Fire Qi was producing more Earth Qi, adding even more strength into his muscles. He was overflowing with power, with only one way to release it.
Before, he estimated he could reach 336 on the Strength Pillar if he activated both Burning Blood and Rebirthing Muscle. Now, he realized that he was still underestimating the Nameless Technique. His true strength was even higher.
Harry crossed the stage in huge strides, fueled by the blood burning in his legs. And right as the man and the beast were about to collide, Harry leapt to the side, dug his back foot into the ground, and stretched out both hands like claws.
He grabbed onto the massive trunk, and with a guttural roar of rage, he pulled and twisted his body.
"ARRRRGHHHHHHH!"
Along with the roar, his power exploded out. His blood erupted and his muscles activated, and he yanked the elephant as hard as could. That massive elephant, thundering and unstoppable, was suddenly jerked to the side by an enormous force. Its trunk was being used like a handlebar. Harry pivoted on his back foot and spun.
From there, physics did the rest. The elephant lost its footing, and was spun in a tight circle. Its weight acted against it, not allowing it to stop in time, and Harry's surging strength lifted the beast clear off the ground. After rotating 270 degrees, Harry let go and watched as the beast uncontrollably skidded across the length of the stage, nearly falling off the edge. It started dissipating right afterwards. Looking at Maynard, Harry immediately knew he was so shocked that he lost his concentration over his Magic Spirit.
In reality, this move was only possible due to the elephant's forward momentum. Harry used its own force against it. Further, his timing was perfect, a skill gained from all his combat experience. If he timed it wrong and made his move a second early or late, the result would have been ugly. But swing at the right time, and the result was perfect.
Yet, it all happened in just a few seconds. His movements were too quick, and it simply looked like James grabbed the huge beast and tossed it clear off the Dueling Hall.
Everyone, from Maynard to the disciples to the Elders, were shocked beyond words. Obviously, Maynard's Magic Spirit should have crushed James! Why did the opposite happen? They stared at the spot the elephant landed mutely, wondering what the hell they just saw. Especially Maynard, who couldn't believe his mighty Magic Spirit was defeated just like that.
It really was just one move!
"Maynard, hand over your tongue!" Harry screamed, and dashed forward.
Burning Blood!
After that draining move, most of his energy was exhausted. But he burned his blood again without any reservations.
Maynard frantically backed up, ready to leap off the Dueling Hall and admit defeat. What just transpired was beyond his understanding. He could never have foreseen James defeating his Magic Spirit so easily, and in just a single move too, so he panicked. When he panicked, fear overtook his brain and he lost his determination to fight.
Suddenly, he remembered the arrogant words he yelled at James, and he felt like he signed his own death warrant. How was he to know that James was hiding this terrifying power?
Harry charged in, throwing a fist at Maynard. And Maynard tried to block with a fist of his own.
For the hundredth time, two fists met in the arena. But this time, the result was completely different.
Harry's fist smashed into Maynard's, again. But this strike was backed not just by the power of Earth Qi in his muscles, but also the power of the Fire Qi racing in his bloodstream. The two elements combined their power to create a devastatingly powerful attack.
There was a sharp CRACK as all the ivory coating Maynard's right arm, from the fist up to the shoulder, exploded into brilliant white fragments.
The next moment, Maynard's expression turned into one of shock, fear, and disbelief.
And the moment after, his right arm was blasted backward, like it was shot out of a cannon. Just like during the recruitment event, his hand instantly went from an armored fist into a mangled mess. His forearm, unable to handle the impact, broke in three places. Shards of bone flew in all directions.
"AHHH – UMPH!"
The next fist caught him right in the chest. A force exceeding the 2nd level of the Qi Absorption Realm smashed into his body.
Like a rock smashing through glass, his ivory armor shattered into thousands of tiny pieces.
The third fist followed right after, and smashed onto his bare skin. Without any armor to protect him, there was no hope for Maynard. Every rib in his chest cracked apart, and his huge frame was sent flying back, sailing dozens of meters before slamming into the ground.
Meanwhile, the spectators stared at the sudden reversal with gaping expressions. The two of them were evenly matched – how come all of sudden, James gained a huge increase in strength?
This entire time, James was still holding back?
Maynard tumbled across the ground of the arena, finally skidding to a halt near the edge. He was screaming in pain, and coughed out a mouthful of blood.
And with another roar, Harry leapt into the air and landed on top of Maynard.
Bam!
The combination of Rebirthing Muscle and Burning Blood was too powerful. Harry's next fist landed on Maynard's right cheek like a sledgehammer. It flattened the right side of his face and knocked his teeth out their sockets.
Bam!
The next landed on his left, making his face symmetrical again.
"DIE! DIE! DIE!" Harry screamed.
In the space of a few seconds, Harry's fists landed all over Maynard's face and chest. Wherever they landed, a bone was broken, flesh was torn, and blood erupted. All this happened in a single activation of Burning Blood.
And when Maynard glanced into James' eyes, he didn't see the eyes of a human, but rather the eyes of a ferocious beast.
BAM!
Maynard's right arm was the next to break, his bones shattering into hundreds of pieces.
BAM!
Right after, Maynard's left arm was crushed into the floor, dislocated and bent in a dozen places.
Harry's punches were like ferocious hammer strikes pounding on Maynard, destroying all that they came in contact with. That vision he saw of himself beating Maynard until he was crippled was manifesting into reality.
"STOP!" shouts rang from the spectators, and six Inner Disciples from the Ivory Fist Clan charged into the arena.
Their actions were obviously against the rules, but how could they care about that at this time? They had to save their Young Master!
"You all fuck off!" Harry screamed.
Burning Blood!
His blood was simmering down, so he burned it a third time, without any hesitation. His body surged with overflowing power again. He lifted Maynard by his ankles, then swung his 250-pound body around like a ragdoll. He flung Maynard into the charging Inner Disciples, who's eyes widened and hurriedly retreated.
Some of them had weapons drawn, one even launched a Qi attack – which were all heading straight towards Maynard. They had to withdraw their strength and attacks.
But once an attack was started, it wasn't easy to stop it. The Inner Disciples tripped over themselves to avoid their Young Master, desperately redirecting their attacks to the side. Except for the giant palm made of Qi – which swatted Maynard's broken body in midair and hurt him further.
That was all the time Harry needed to land himself in their midst.
"How dare you interfere?" he screamed, and unleashed his power on the nearest Inner Disciple.
That unlucky man was at the 3rd level of the Qi Absorption Realm. Under normal circumstances, he was much stronger than Harry. But Harry was using both Burning Blood and Rebirthing Muscle, and the man had just used all his strength to redirect his own attack. He was caught in the worst possible moment.
Smack!
A fist landed right in his face, and he saw the stars. The next moment, he blacked out.
"Holy shit! James just knocked out an Inner Disciple!" someone screamed. To defeat someone at the 3rd level in one attack… then was James' strength at…
Then all of sudden, it was chaos on the stage. All of Harry's friends, Shaun and Slade and the rest, had been waiting on the sidelines, prepared to save James if something went wrong in the fight. To their shock, their Outer Disciple friend was actually winning – even after Maynard's Magic Spirit was brought out. But now that Maynard's senior brothers were involved, they had to get involved too.
"Get away from James!" they yelled, and leapt onto the stage too. Together, they intercepted the disciples from the Ivory Fist Clan and dragged them off stage, back into the spectator area. From there, the Elders had to intervene to separate them.
That left Harry alone again with Maynard on the stage, who was screaming with pain, trying to crawl off the stage to the Elders of his clan. Those Elders looked furious, and just an inch away from leaping on stage themselves to stop this fight. But they couldn't under the sect rules, and had to endure.
Harry quickly caught up to Maynard, and flipped him over so he was lying on his back. He stared at the broken man with eyes full of hate, and lifted his head up with both hands.
"Why? Why did you challenge me? You were already an Inner Disciple, weren't you? WHY DID YOU HAVE TO CHALLENGE ME?" Harry roared. Their faces were mere inches apart, as a pair of horrified eyes locked into a pair as green as death.
He smashed Maynard's head back into the ground, shattering the back of his skull.
"Didn't you say our strengths were equal?" Harry spat into Maynard's bloodied face. Maynard just groaned in pain, unable to talk or respond. He was full of regrets, but it was far too late.
"Do we look equal to you?"
"Who let you insult my parents?"
He yelled his questions straight into Maynard's face, but the only response was another painful groan.
Finally, he couldn't contain his anger any more. His hand shot forward and into Maynard's mouth, tightly grabbing onto his tongue. It squirmed and tried to break free, but Harry just pinched harder.
He pinched so hard he could feel his fingers touching.
"DIDN'T YOU SAY I DIDN'T DARE?" he screamed.
Maynard's frightened and pleading face said it all, but Harry didn't show a single ounce of pity.
"Let me warn you. There's nothing I don't dare to do," he hissed.
"JAMES! STOP RIGHT NOW!"
A loud roar came from the edge of the stage, where Elder Miles was now standing. His face was ugly beyond measure, full of rage and hate. He could no longer stand in the sidelines and watch as his Young Master was beaten like a dog.
"James, let Maynard go immediately. Take your filthy hands off him, and follow me back to the Ivory Fist Clan to confess your crimes. Follow my orders, or today will be your death," the Elder viciously snarled.
"Haha, hahaha," Harry threw back his head and laughed loudly. He shot a look of disdain at the Swan Sea Elder.
"What happened to Elders not interfering until one of us was about to be killed? And who the hell do you think you are?"
"If you injure Maynard further, the Ivory Fist Clan will get our revenge," the Elder angrily threatened Harry. He didn't even try to hide his allegiance.
"You and Maynard are members of the same sect, and shouldn't take things to this extreme. Let Maynard go, and you can still walk out here alive. If you dare touch him again, the Ivory Fist Clan will find and slaughter your nine familial relations."
"Take things to this extreme?" Harry sneered. "When Maynard was planning to cripple and torture me, did he think about us being members of the same sect? When he said he'd kill my family and clan, did you think about not taking things to the extreme?"
The Elder was momentarily at a loss of words. He thought James would surrender, but it looked like he had no intention of that. Before he could respond, James started yelling again.
"You Ivory Fist idiots are all hypocrites. Do you think your clan is so great? When you attack others, that's justified, but when others attack you, you'll exterminate their whole family? In my eyes, your clan is full of shameless people who can only bully the weak. From your Young Master, to the Inner Disciples, to even the Elders, all of you have thrown away the face of your clan. Do you think I'm scared of people like you?" Harry's features were distorted with rage, no longer aware of what he was saying. The shamelessness on display today set him well over his tolerance.
"Today, Maynard will pay the price for insulting my parents."
"No! Nooooooooo!" Maynard managed to yell out, but it was too late. Those were the last words he would ever say.
Harry ripped his hand back with all his strength, and along with it, out came Maynard's tongue. The entire crowd saw the red organ separate itself from Maynard's mouth, splattering blood all over the area.
Maynard let out a shrill howl of pain. He helplessly watched as James closed his fist, crushing his tongue into bloody pulp.
James – James actually did it!
Everyone's gaze was centered around his bloody fist, and the pieces of flesh that were splattered all over the ground. Blood dripped out of his closed hand, down his arm and onto the ground, mixing with the existing puddle of blood.
Nobody could speak, not even the Elders. They were all dumbfounded. Did James go crazy?
They thought James had just been saying some words out of anger. They didn't think James was actually serious about ripping out Maynard's tongue.
And as for Harry's friends, Shaun and Slade and the others, they felt their souls leaving their body. They didn't care for Maynard, but they did for James. With this action, the enmity between him and Ivory Fist Clan became irreconcilable. Was James trying to get himself killed?
Everyone from the Ivory Fist Clan almost exploded in anger, but especially the Elder on the stage. He would have used his power to prevent James from ripping out Maynard's tongue earlier, but that was considered interfering with the duel. By just using verbal threats, it was just barely within the rules. But now, he realized he should have stopped James, rules be damned. His Young Master just lost his tongue!
"James! You – you – DIE!"
The Elder screamed, pulling out a long spear and charging forwards. Due to everybody's shock, none of the other Elders could stop him before he attacked.
His Young Master was beaten into such a disgraceful state, and moreover, James showed complete disregard to him. To him, it was a massive humiliation. Since when had he, a grand Elder at the peak of the Qi Absorption Realm, ever been disregarded by a lowly Body Tempering disciple?
In that moment, he didn't care about the Swan Sea Sect's rules. Even if he were whipped or killed, none of that mattered in the moment. All he wanted was revenge.
And seeing the charging Elder, Harry stood up and let out a derisive, mocking laugh. It took the Elder mere seconds to arrive before Harry. His long ivory-tipped spear was like an unstoppable lance, about to pierce through Harry's body like knife through butter.
Right before the spear was about to take his life, Harry kicked Maynard's battered body up into the air, and grabbed it like a shield. With a cold smile, he leapt in to receive the attack.
The Elder's expression hastily changed. Panic filled his face as he snapped out of his anger. He hurriedly retracted his strength and tried to withdraw his attack. But it was too late.
For the second time, Harry timed his move perfectly. Too early, and the Elder would stop in his tracks. Too late, and he would die. Get it just right, and –
Puff!
That raging spear stabbed through Maynard stomach, and exited out his back. His eyes opened wide in surprise and betrayal, and he let out another loud scream. The spear tore a massive hole through his body, wide enough for one to stick their arm through. And it didn't stop.
Even though the Elder tried to take back his strength, there wasn't enough time. That spear also stabbed into Harry, and also entering through his stomach, but because Maynard took the brunt of the impact, it didn't enter too deep. Harry hissed in pain, but endured it.
He raised his head, and gave the horrified Elder a bloody grin.
The next moment, all the Elders appeared on stage, exerting their might. With their overlapping pressures, everyone was frozen still in a standoff. There were four from the Ivory Fist Clan, but well over 10 other Elders on stage, making them unable to interfere further.
Harry saw Elder Eustace restrain Elder Miles, though it wasn't actually necessary. He didn't make any attempt to resist, just staring at what he did in horror.
"Elder Miles, are you insane? How dare you attack an Outer Disciple?" Elder Eustace demanded.
But he wasn't listening… his Young Master… Maynard Hatton, the Patriarch's son… his spear stabbed through Maynard!
'No, no, this couldn't be happening! It was James – right, it was James' fault for using Maynard as a shield!'
His anger vanished immediately, replaced by terror. Part of him thought he was dreaming. But the other part knew his life was over. When the Patriarch found out what he did to his son… when the Patriarch found out…. Ironically, he had just been threatening James with the name of the Ivory Fist Clan. Now, it was him that the Ivory Fist Clan would kill first.
Now that the Elders were here, Harry disabled the Nameless Technique. The sudden loss of power exhausted him, and he collapsed onto the stage. He felt like he had just woken up from a horrible dream.
His eyes took in the scene in front of him. A dozen Elders were on the stage, some staring at Maynard, some staring at him, some facing each other. Maynard lay in a pool of his own blood, and the entire Swan Sea Sect was look at him in fright and terror.
'What… what the fuck did I just do?' he looked down at his bloodstained hands. The memory of the last few minutes slowly surfaced in his mind.
What had he just done?