Returning to the Mysterious Era
Chapter 523 - Playing Dead? Its Victory For Martial Arts (2)

Chapter 523 - Playing Dead? It's Victory For Martial Arts (2)

"Too light, far too light. Your fists hit like feathers..." Arlington shook his head, seemingly a little disappointed. "Is this all you have at full force? Especially you, boy. Your fists are soft. That old Victor hits harder than you... Heh‑heh‑heh...

The mocking chuckle enraged Jed, yet awe blossomed within him. That punch had been a killing move by Jed in his explosive state. Together with Victor's attack, the impact would have slain any top-tier combat artist who dropped his guard.

Yet it had vanished like mud into the sea when it hit Whale King Arlington. It felt like striking an immovable boulder.

"Jed, let's try again! Look at his feet! Arlington channeled most of the force into the earth. He's not invincible by himself. We just need power so great he can't channel it away..."

As Victor inhaled sharply, a fierce wind blew. He arched backward like a taut bowstring, spine stretched to the limit. A silvery glow flared across Victor's upper body. His arm was wound back, prepared to swing like a keen crescent moon slicing through the air.

"Moon Secret Technique!"

Zing!

His hand‑blade chopped down with a momentum that seemed to cleave the earth.

"Good! Old man, you still pack a punch! Hahahaha..." Whale King Arlington roared with laughter, thrusting one palm upward as though he was hoisting the sky. The air pressure tens of meters around him instantly lightened!

Boom!!!

Hand and palm collided like a dynamite blast had gone off. Golden and blue Qi clashed, scattering sparks that blasted pits so deep pits that they could bury two or three people each.

"Now!" Blazing Light Fist Victor suddenly shouted to Jed.

Jed had seized the rare opening. Arlington's chest was now wide open as he received Victor’s blow. Four stars on Jed's chest lit up as he stamped the earth and shot forth like a cannonball.

Black muscles ripped his top apart, peeling away his clothes. His palms gleamed purple as he spread both arms, each vein writhing like worms and branching like roots.

Ten fingers clasped into a tight fist!

"Four Stars As One! Wind, Fire, Thunder, Evil!"

Jed took a step forward and threw a punch. A huge black fist slammed straight into Arlington's chest.

"Fall!!!" Black light flickered in Jed's eyes as he growled viciously.

Yet in that slow‑motion instant, Arlington, still trading fists with Victor, turned suddenly to stare at the murderous Jed now inches away. A contemptuous grin tinged with mockery slowly bloomed over his face.

Boom!

The turbulent, vast Qi within him burst free, sending tangible shockwaves blasting from every pore. The air churned wildly, wailing as a howling gale swept out. Everything within a hundred meters turned into a deep blue ocean. A massive blue whale appeared inside the current, blocking the sun and casting a vast black shadow.

The whale dove like a mountain collapsing, smashing Jed brutally into the earth.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A succession of explosions rocked the grassland, making it quake and sway.

Before the spectators' stunned eyes, Seven Evil Stars Jed vanished as he was driven deep into the ground. Meanwhile, Blazing Light Fist Victor flew backward fiercely, skipping across the ground like a stone over water. After bouncing a dozen times he finally crashed into a low hillside and stopped.

"Hahahaha!" Whale King Arlington stood surrounded by blue Qi, a great blue whale gliding beside him in mid‑air. He laughed tyrannically. "So this is all the Hongli Empire's Covert Martial Arts community amounts to!"

"Let me end this farce and crush your unrealistic hope! You dare block me without at least a fist technique grandmaster? Daydreamers!!!" Whale King Arlington leapt skyward.

Unrestrained, he released the terrifying presence of an extreme combat artist, free‑falling and transforming into a kingly blue whale.

Swish!

Buried below, Jed shattered one Fate Realm, staunching his wounds while restoring half his strength. Blood‑shot eyes flared as he burst from the pit only to see darkness overhead.

The giant whale descended again!

Boom!!

Ding! Another Fate Realm shattered.

"Die! Even with ten lives you will meet the same fate..." Arlington's deep voice rose like a grand orchestra, issuing Jed's final sentence.

He dove again into the pit, where explosions boomed in succession. Hundred meter long cracks snaked outward across the ground.

Bang! Swish!

A strong yet battered body flew out. He crashed to the ground, studded wristbands snapping. The seven star bulges on his chest were now blood‑filled holes. Blood gushed from the holes, draining the last of his life force.

His Qi had been extinguished... Seven Evil Stars Jed was dead!

Thud!

A blue figure burst madly from the pit. He dove like a meteor, target clear. It was the weathered elder who had just risen, Blazing Light Fist Victor.

Swoosh!

Arlington appeared before him in a blink, his fist shattering the air. He drove it straight at Victor's old wrinkled face.

Swish!

The power‑laden fist halted suddenly one centimeter from Victor's nose. The gust flipped the elder's cheeks, revealing yellowed broken teeth as spittle sprayed.

"Scared to death? How dull, truly dull... This is why I said dying old men shouldn't participate in life‑and‑death duels. Such bad luck..." Arlington slowly withdrew his fist, seeing Victor still standing like a statue.

His urge for contest waned sharply as he turned and strolled toward the United States of Yana camp, leaving only his domineering black shadow.

For a moment, silence reigned. Only seconds later did a Star Ring Fist combat artist rush from Hongli's ranks. Grief written across his face, he carried Victor back to Star Ring Fist's small sector among the crowd.

"Teacher! Teacher! I shouldn't have let you fight! It's all my fault... Oh, teacher!" The sect master of Star Ring Fist wept.

An instructor for one day, but a father for life. Blazing Light Fist Victor had helped him often. Yet now, at such an age, he had been slain in the arena...

The sect master clutched Victor, weeping bitterly. Maybe he squeezed too hard, for Victor's body twitched. Then an aged hand pinched the sect master's shirt and tugged.

He reacted instantly, ceasing his sobs as he stared down at his teacher with wide eyes. His teacher’s eyelids cracked open a slit.

"Teacher, you—"

"Brat! Don't speak! Pretend I'm dead. Don't reveal anything to the others; we'll talk after the tournament ends and we return to the sect..." Victor whispered, then stiffened and stopped breathing.

He returned entirely to a death‑like torpor. This was a Secret Technique that Victor had devised in his old age. He could drastically reduce his breath, heartbeat, and metabolism to prolong life. Cultivated to the extreme, it allowed one to feign death!

It turned a person into a corpse for a brief moment, and it was almost impossible to tell the difference. Judging from moments ago, it had fooled even Arlington.

The efficacy of Victor's creation was thus evident.

Playing dead? No, this was victory for his martial arts!!!