25: Chapter 25: A martial art created by integrating the martial arts of various schools?

Every strike directly targeted their vitals, forcing them to defend.

Wanwan watched from the side, her eyes sparkling with brilliance.

The young girl's strength was far beyond her expectations.

She hadn't expected her to be so outstanding.

“What a satisfying fight! These Jianghu scum deserve a good lesson!”

Good heavens!

With that shout, Wanwan instantly branded the people of Jinyang Martial Arts Hall as Jianghu scum.

The five Elders were so enraged they nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Though they were now indulged in pleasure, they truly hadn't committed any deeds that harmed the Jianghu.

Yet now, they were being labeled with such a reputation.

The onlookers, however, felt there was nothing wrong with those words.

Many even nodded in agreement repeatedly.

After all, they had just had their fill of the drama.

If the Jinyang Martial Arts Hall couldn't produce evidence to clear themselves of vile acts like drugging and kidnapping, then the matter would be considered a fact.

Song Jinyang naturally understood this point as well. Looking at the five Elders being suppressed by Li Hanyi alone, he spoke in a cold voice:

“If you lose, you know the consequences!”

His tone was as cold as ice.

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the five men changed instantly.

They exchanged a glance and let out a low shout almost simultaneously.

A thick surge of blood-colored Qi suddenly erupted around their bodies.

The Aura of the five men surged violently.

The resulting air currents forced even Li Hanyi to take a few steps back to avoid them.

Even the surrounding crowd was forced back several dozen feet.

“I didn't expect them to still have a trump card hidden!”

Needless to say, these five must have utilized some sort of secret technique.

Seeing this, Song Jinyang finally revealed a satisfied expression.

The Blood Burning Secret Art was something he had obtained while roaming the Jianghu in his youth; by burning one's own blood and Qi, one could push their strength to its Peak in a short time.

Even if heavily injured, one could ignore the pain and fight with full strength.

This secret method could be considered a top-tier life-risking technique in the Jianghu.

Although the side effects were significant—not only causing physical weakness but also potentially depleting one's blood and Qi, or even endangering one's life—

Song Jinyang didn't care at all.

After the five men performed the Blood Burning Secret Art, the intensity of their Aura made the surrounding crowd feel alarmed.

Among those who could step into the Zizai Realm back then, who wasn't a Genius?

Though their bodies had been hollowed out by wine and women,

the power they erupted with at this moment still drew everyone's attention.

Li Hanyi's expression became solemn.

She gripped the hilt of the Cheng Ying Sword tightly with her right hand, assuming a sword-drawing stance.

“Use the Sea-Absorbing Sacred Heart Curse!”

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang in her ear.

Li Hanyi was slightly startled; it was Master's voice.

The Sea-Absorbing Sacred Heart Curse could absorb and assimilate others' Internal Energy for one's own use; when Cultivated to a profound level, it could even absorb others' blood Qi and Lifespan.

As the five men performed the Blood Burning Secret Art, the blood Qi within their bodies surged, and their confidence grew immensely.

But they didn't dare to delay.

Every moment they waited, the blood Qi in their bodies would be consumed further.

The five men let out a roar and lunged at Li Hanyi together.

The blood Qi burning on their bodies seemed to coalesce, transforming into a hideous ghostly shadow.

The weapons in their hands were wreathed in violent internal breath, as if they wanted to kill Li Hanyi with a single blow.

...

“No matter how you look at it, these five don't seem like people of the Righteous Path!”

Someone in the crowd sighed in a low voice.

The move they were using clearly didn't look like Righteous Path martial arts, but rather like Evil Path methods.

Although martial arts themselves have no distinction between good and evil, people of the Righteous Path generally avoid such techniques that look so sinister at a glance.

Evil as it was, though,

the crowd could see its power clearly.

These five old men, who looked like sickly weaklings, had actually nearly doubled their Aura with this move.

Just as everyone was worrying for Li Hanyi, she suddenly released the sword hilt, and a flash of blue light appeared on her right palm as Internal Energy surfaced.

“Does she have a secret technique too?”

While the crowd was speculating, the blue light in Li Hanyi's palm suddenly transformed into five thin lines, shooting out rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, they hit the five lunging old men.

The five men's bodies jerked to a halt, their offensive coming to an abrupt end.

They each stood frozen in place, a look of horror appearing in their eyes.

The blood Qi in their bodies was rapidly dissipating.

The crowd was completely bewildered, not knowing what had happened.

Song Jinyang, the Martial Arts Hall Master, changed his expression slightly, sensing something was wrong.

He saw that the blue Internal Energy Li Hanyi released seemed to have controlled the five men.

But what kind of skill was this?

Taking this opportunity, he intended to strike.

Just as he touched the hilt of his blade and was about to draw it, his body suddenly stiffened.

It was as if a terrifying Sword Qi was coming straight at him from above Li Hanyi's head.

If he made even the slightest move to draw his blade, it would likely be a path to death.

Song Jinyang looked up with panicked eyes, only to see a long sword shimmering with blue light, appearing faintly as it suspended in mid-air.

He swallowed hard and quietly released his grip on the jinyang saber.

That illusory sword shadow then quietly dissipated.

This confrontation, which lasted only a moment, did not attract the attention of others.

Even if someone had occasionally seen that sword shadow, they only thought their eyes were playing tricks on them.

By now, Li Hanyi had completely withdrawn the Internal Energy of the Sea-Absorbing Sacred Heart Curse.

Boom!

The Aura on her body suddenly erupted.

Su Rui frowned and struck out a bolt of True Qi from a distance, suppressing the surging Internal Energy within her body.

It was merely a Breakthrough from the Mortal Realm into the Earth Realm.

Su Rui frowned slightly, then his brow smoothed out.

It seemed this Cultivation Technique wasn't suitable for everyone.

Although these internal energies would not conflict after being merged, Li Hanyi's Meridians ultimately had a limit to what they could withstand.

Because he had consumed a Peerless Grade Great Restoration Pill, his Meridians had been greatly widened and were exceptionally tough, allowing him to endure such rapid growth in Internal Energy.

Li Hanyi clearly did not have such a foundational Physique.

Fortunately, she still managed to successfully absorb a portion of the internal breath, and her cultivation successfully broke through.

This trip could be considered not in vain.

Sikong Qianluo opened her mouth slightly, her face full of surprise.

“Senior Sister Hanyi broke through again? Didn't she just have a Breakthrough not long ago?”

Hearing her words, the gazes of Mu Liangyue and the other two women all fell upon Su Rui simultaneously.

Needless to say, this must have been another special favor the teacher gave Li Hanyi in private.

They just didn't know what kind of Cultivation Technique he had taught her that could actually absorb others' Internal Energy for her own use.

If this technique didn't have major hidden dangers, wouldn't it be easy to train a Master of the Zizai Realm or even the Xiaoyao Realm?

If they could see it, the others present naturally saw it as well.

Everyone gasped, their gazes toward Li Hanyi filled with either fear or burning desire.

The five Martial Arts Hall Elders who had been knocked to the ground now looked as if they had aged dozens of years in an instant, appearing as if they might pass away at any moment.

“My cultivation, my Internal Energy!” the five men murmured in horror.

Song Jinyang's face was grim, and he suddenly raised a hand to point at Li Hanyi.

“Demonic Sect witch! How dare you use such an evil technique to plunder others' Internal Energy! No wonder you have such cultivation at such a young age; you must have stolen many people's Internal Energy!”

Song Jinyang's angry roar startled everyone present.

But at this time, the surroundings fell into a silence, and everyone's heads were buzzing.

How did things take another turn?

Li Hanyi did indeed use a method to absorb others' Internal Energy; could she really be a member of the Demonic Sect?

Was this challenge actually a conspiracy of the Demonic Sect?

There were also those who, despite their surprise, felt a deep interest in this Cultivation Technique.

This kind of technique could rapidly increase one's cultivation; if one could Master it, wouldn't they easily become a Master?

“What a joke! What I used is the Sea-Absorbing Sacred Heart Curse, a peerless skill created by my teacher by fusing a hundred Schools of martial arts. How can it be compared to those unorthodox methods of the Demonic Sect!”

A Cultivation Technique created by fusing a hundred Schools of martial arts?

Everyone was struck with awe.

What profound martial Dao attainments would that require!

Just merging various martial arts is already extremely difficult, let alone creating such a powerful technique; what kind of person was her teacher?

“Nonsense! Your teacher is clearly just a young—” Song Jinyang retorted subconsciously, but his words stopped abruptly as soon as they left his mouth.

By saying this, wasn't it equivalent to admitting that he had investigated this young girl?

And that would be equivalent to confirming the accusations Li Hanyi had made earlier.

But it was already too late.

Although he hadn't finished his sentence, everyone present understood the meaning.

This Song Jinyang clearly knew Li Hanyi's background like the back of his hand.

The implications were self-evident.

...

Thinking of this, the gazes the crowd cast toward Song Jinyang gradually became strange.

This Jinyang Martial Arts Hall Master had probably just confessed without being asked!

Just a moment ago, he acted as if he didn't know her at all.

But now he knows who her Master is?

“I only knew about your match from a few days ago!” Song Jinyang explained dryly.

But this explanation not only failed to clarify things but added more suspicion.

Some people who hadn't reacted at first immediately understood the clues after he said this.

Gazes of disgust and disdain fell upon Song Jinyang one after another.

He was so angry the corners of his eyes twitched, and he wished he could draw his blade and kill everyone present.

“Heh, weren't you acting all righteous just now? What, not so tough anymore?”

Right then, that voice that had previously berated them rang out again.

The speaker was none other than Wanwan.

The moment Li Hanyi performed the Sea-Absorbing Sacred Heart Curse, it had indeed given her a fright.

But she was from the Demonic Sect and had quite a bit of research into Demonic Path martial arts.

Although the skill Li Hanyi used was indeed very strange in its effects,

that Aura also carried a few traces of orthodox Daoist martial arts.

This made her think of the signature peerless skill of the Xiaoyao School within the Great Song—the Northern Dark Divine Skill.

As an overlord-level School in the Great Song, this technique of the Xiaoyao School had a similar effect.

When she first heard of it, she had even considered taking a trip to the Great Song to see if she could find an opportunity to get her hands on it.

She hadn't expected to come to Snow Moon City today and see a technique with such a similar effect.

Thinking of this, Wanwan suddenly spoke with a light laugh.

“Rather than saying this young lady used the Sea-Absorbing Sacred Heart Curse, it would be better to say your martial arts hall's Blood Burning Secret Art is more like a Demonic Path technique; that way of forcibly stimulating blood and Qi is used quite often over in the Demonic Sect.”

“Exactly, I've heard that the Nine Dragons Subduing Demon Array of the Nine Dragons Temple can also gather everyone's power into one person. Does that make it a Demonic Sect martial art too?”

At this time, another person chimed in, their tone clearly indicating they were well-traveled and knowledgeable.

Song Jinyang's face was grim, but he was momentarily at a loss for words, not knowing how to respond.