Chapter 266: Celestial Tower of Ultimate Martial Arts, Xue Wan: If we weren't siblings... (4K)

Chapter 266: Celestial Tower of Ultimate Martial Arts, Xue Wan: If we weren't siblings... (4K)



At the Zhi Ge Base, in the courtyard of a villa.

Xue Jing was slowly performing a set of rather peculiar martial arts moves.

No, it was less like martial arts and more like a 'fitness routine'. Every move was designed to exercise every inch of the body, making it extremely challenging, but otherwise not much different from a regular workout.

As he practiced, Ning Fengwan and the young maid, Yun Qin, followed his movements, joining in the exercise behind him.

This set of moves was based on the Shaking Armor Skill of the Dragon Concealment Stream, which he had modified in just a few minutes to help those without a martial arts foundation loosen up their muscles and joints.

After all, Ning Fengwan had the 'Snake Slayer Vanguard' and the 'Unconquered Lion Heart', and she was fine with the divine power of Bastet permeating her body, giving her a strong physique. But Yun Qin had no foundation at all, and he had to teach her slowly.

Anyway, the main purpose was to get Ning Fengwan out of her slump and incidentally gain some teaching experience, not to make her a powerful martial artist. Xue Jing was in no hurry.

"Brother Xue!"

A voice called out from the doorway, and then Ning Yuantai walked into the courtyard.

Upon entering, he paused, noticing Ning Fengwan's presence.

This was the first time he had seen Ning Fengwan in her human form. He had never seen her before, but he quickly realized that the beautiful woman with cat ears on her head and a platinum tail ring on her cat tail was the same person who usually perched on Brother Xue's shoulder.

Understanding that this was most likely Xue's wife, Ning Yuantai, he immediately averted his gaze, not daring to look further.

"Yuantai, come over here," Xue Jing said, continuing his movements without pause.

"Join me in the exercise, it's good for your body."

He thought to himself that having one more person might increase his teaching experience a little.

Ning Yuantai scratched his head. Although he wanted to say that this exercise was useless for their new martial arts... he never dared to refuse Xue Jing's requests, so he immediately joined in the practice.

As he followed along, he said, "Brother Xue, something happened at the Skyreach Center."

Xue Jing performed a move similar to a Taijiquan embrace, calmly asking, "What happened?"

Ning Yuantai mimicked his movements, replying softly, "To be precise, something happened at Xu Corporation... The alarm was so loud that it could be heard throughout the hundreds of floors."

"Although I don't know the specifics... I heard that Xu Mu De has forcefully sealed off the entire Skyreach Center, not allowing anyone to enter or exit."

"Oh?" Xue Jing's eyes flickered with curiosity. "Can he really seal off the entire Skyreach Center? Don't the people on other floors have any objections? And what about the local governments in the Inner Ring?"

Ning Yuantai followed Xue Jing's movements, feeling like an old grandpa practicing Taiji in the park... Suppressing this strange feeling, he said, "He spent a huge sum of money to hire several major security companies, deploying countless security forces to surround the Skyreach Center. Every hour that passes, the expenses are astronomical for ordinary people."

"Also... it seems Xu Corporation's influence is indeed significant. Several super-giant companies with their headquarters in the Skyreach Center are letting him have his way, and the local governments of Yuan City, Star City, and Jade City have yet to make a move."

Xue Jing casually asked, "Isn't the Skyreach Center quite important? Why aren't the local governments doing anything?"

Ning Yuantai shook his head, "Symbolically, it is indeed important... but in reality, it's not that crucial."

"After the loss of 'Eternal Night', the Skyreach Center's original significance as the 'Pillar of the Sun' has vanished. It's basically certain that it will never be activated again."

"The Skyreach Center in the Fifth Urban Circle is neither as politically significant as the 'Cang Ting' in the First Urban Circle nor as functionally unique as the 'Celestial Tower of Ultimate Martial Arts' in the Seventh Urban Circle."

"Its actual use is merely that of a tall, expensive building... The local governments are naturally considering whether it's worth the risk of a direct confrontation with Xu Corporation to resolve this matter."

Xue Jing's expression cleared, "I see."

As he spoke, he seemed uninvolved, as if he were merely listening to an interesting piece of gossip.

But in his mind, he was deep in thought.

He was aware that Xu Mu De had lost the Primordial Wind, and there might be some repercussions, but he never imagined the scale of the fallout would be this massive.

It had escalated to the point of sealing off the entire Skyreach Center.

For a Divine Relic with a sequence ranking that had just entered the top 100, and only one-ninth of it at that, was it really necessary to create such a fuss?

Moreover, when he stole the Primordial Wind, he hadn't shown any flaws, leaving no trace of his actions.

It seemed as if the Primordial Wind had simply vanished on its own.

In that case, the Xu Corporation would likely assume that the Primordial Wind had triggered its transference ability.

Or was it that, even knowing it was highly likely the Divine Relic had transferred itself, they still couldn't accept it and had to seal off the Skyreach Center completely, investigating every possible lead?

If that was the case, then what Xu Mude was doing might be quite significant... at least to him personally.

'Adam... Divinity Factor...'

Sch Jing thought back to the article he had seen in that laboratory filled with 'Xu Mude', in the hands of that young man.

'It must be related to these... I need to ask Youqing A Dream about it in detail.'

Sch Jing thought to himself.

"Jing A, how much longer do you need to practice?"

Fengwan Ning's crisp, girlish voice rang out.

"Is this practice really effective? I feel like you're tricking me."

She looked at Sch Jing, her eyes filled with doubt.

Although she was initially confused by Sch Jing's 'you've gained weight' PUA comment, she was now gradually catching on.

It seemed that things were not as they seemed.

As someone bound to the Cat Tail Ring and gradually merging with the power of the Cat Goddess Bastet, all she needed to do was to be with Sch Jing... and she would continuously receive the strengthening of Bastet's divine power.

Although it was unclear whether Bastet's divine power had the effect of maintaining one's figure, a body enhanced by divine power should, probably, maybe, possibly, and most likely would not easily gain much fat from simply eating, drinking, and sleeping.

However, despite not openly admitting it, she valued Sch Jing's opinion too much. Merely sensing that he seemed to be implying that she was getting fat, she immediately panicked, and with just a few words, she was led by the nose.

"Of course it's effective. Look at Yun Qin."

Sch Jing raised his eyebrows and pointed at the little maid.

The little girl was panting, drenched in sweat as if she had just been in the rain, her eyes unfocused as if she had lost consciousness, and her body was instinctively following Sch Jing's movements in the practice.

She muttered incoherently, "Master... Yun Qin can't take it anymore... really, I can't take it anymore..."

Ning Yuan Tai's eyes flashed, and he nonchalantly acted as if he hadn't heard anything.

But in his mind, he thought, 'Brother Sch is playing a big game...'

Sch Jing cleared his throat and said, "Look, she's already sweated off at least two pounds. I can't even imagine how much weight she'll lose after practicing for ten days or half a month."

As he spoke, he patted Ning Yuan Tai's shoulder, "Right, Yuan Tai?"

Ning Yuan Tai froze for a moment, then instinctively nodded along with Sch Jing's words, "Yes... yes, I suppose."

Sch Jing waved his hand, "Just follow my lead, it'll definitely work."

Fengwan Ning was still skeptical, but she didn't say anything further.

...

Time passed quickly, and another day went by.

The U19 Finals Championship match was to be held that day.

Early in the morning, Sch Jing received a video call from his sister, Sch Wan.

After Sch Jing answered the call, Sch Wan's face, which resembled his own, immediately appeared on the phone screen.

She seemed to be lying on the bed, her chin resting on a pillow, wearing a set of pajamas, her hair slightly disheveled, and looking as if she had just woken up.

"My silly brother, why didn't you turn on the camera!"

Sch Wan hadn't even finished her opening line when she immediately frowned, expressing her dissatisfaction with Sch Jing for not turning on the camera.

"Do you know how many days it's been since I last saw you? Now you won't even let me see you on video, are you even human!"

She looked heartbroken, sitting up from her lying position, and the camera angle changed from just her face to showing her entire upper body.

Her messy pajamas had a button undone in the wrong position, creating a gap in the middle, revealing a hint of a beautiful, snow-white curve.

Sch Jing smiled and turned on the camera, revealing his ordinary-looking Charm Art Lv10, and said helplessly, "It's just a problem with my phone settings... what do you want?"

"You have a match today, and I'm worried you might be nervous, so I wanted to comfort you."

Sch Wan changed her position, lying back down on the pillow, holding the phone up with both hands, facing herself.

Her long, straight black hair spread out on the bed in a fan shape, exuding beauty.

Sch Jing smiled and said, "Do you really think I might get nervous?"

Sch Wan pouted, "Not necessarily... I don't know what's going on online, but they're hyping this match up a lot, even bringing in national pride."

"Many well-known accounts on blogs are saying strange things... they're saying that you represent the face of Zhuxia, and if you lose to Yuga Ling Lu, it'll be a national disgrace."

Sch Jing nonchalantly replied, "Oh? Is that so?"

Sch Wan brought the phone closer to herself and said with a pout, "Why are you so calm?"

"Please, be a little nervous so I can comfort you. You're always so good at everything, leaving me with no sense of accomplishment as your sister!"

As Sch Wan spoke, she felt a bit dejected for no apparent reason.

Sch Jing chuckled, "You'd better get used to it early on, because there will be many more times when you won't feel accomplished."

Sch Wan glared at him and huffed, "Can't you say something nice! If you won't let your sister comfort you, then you can comfort me!"

Sch Jing smiled, understanding that Sch Wan was overthinking things.

He spoke softly, "There's no need to think about unnecessary things.

"You're my sister... There's nothing closer than blood ties. We've been tightly connected since birth, no need for any cheesy methods to maintain our relationship."

"I won't leave you behind and walk further and further away. Rest assured."

Schmog's eyes widened slightly.

Then he moved the phone away and aimed the camera at the wall.

"What are you talking about, sister? I don't quite understand."

Schmog's voice carried a slight, barely noticeable tremor.

Sch Jing remained silent.

After a while, Sch Jing's face reappeared on the screen, looking normal with no signs of abnormality.

She sighed softly and said, "Blood ties... Jing A, sometimes I wonder if it would be better if we weren't siblings."

Sch Jing said with a look of disdain, "You must be thinking that if we weren't siblings, you'd have a chance, right? You're just a commoner."

Schmog glared at him, "Is that what I meant? You're the commoner! If it weren't for your good looks... Your face was carved from the mold of this pretty girl's face, you stole my genes! Otherwise, how could you have grown up like this?"

Sch Jing said, "I recorded what you just said. I'll send it to Mom to listen to..."

Schmog quickly begged for mercy, "No, please! I was wrong, Lord Sch Jing, Sir Sch Jing, please spare me this once, woof! Woof woof woof!"

...

"Ladies and gentlemen in the audience and viewers in the live stream, welcome to the U19 Unlimited Elite Fighting Championship Finals! I'm your commentator, Xingshou Tao!"

"...Finally, after nearly twenty days of fierce competition, the final two exceptional contestants have emerged, stepping onto the stage of our championship finals!"

"...This edition of U19 has produced countless contestants who brought unexpected surprises and many unforeseen situations. But without a doubt, it has been an exceptionally exciting tournament, worthy of being recorded in the annals of history!"

"...How will this legendary tournament conclude? Let's wait and see!"

As the commentator's voice continued, the Super Arena was already packed with over two hundred thousand spectators. Nearly every seat was taken, creating a dense crowd that seemed to go on forever.

Even the casual chatter and noise created a deafening roar.

In the contestant observation area, aside from the special cases of Zhou Yinglin and the participating contestants, Sch Jing and Yuga Ling Lu, nearly thirty other contestants were present without exception.

Furthermore, for the first time, they were all gathered together, rather than being divided into small groups of three or four familiar individuals.

"Well, what do you all think about this match?"

In the crowd, Wei Junwu spoke with a lighthearted tone.

"Are you asking who will win?"

Someone asked.

Another person with thick bandages around his neck spoke with a hoarse voice, "It's definitely Sch Jing who will win... There's no doubt about it, right?"

His name was Dai Zongnian, and he had been blown away by Sch Jing's Thunderous Heat Blade in the round of sixteen, making him one of the few people who had experienced Sch Jing's terror up close.

"Actually, it's not necessarily the case. Yuga Ling Lu has never gone all out since his debut, so we don't know his true limit. He might be unexpectedly strong."

"Moreover, his 'Divine General's Slash' is a top-tier ultimate technique that is universally acknowledged as uncounterable even if you know it's coming. Even that Schmog might have a hard time against this move."

The others also chimed in with their opinions.

"...Before he fought Zhou Yinglin, everyone thought the same way about Tianyi Wufeng, right? What happened then?"

Huang Lu, who had faced Sch Jing in the quarterfinals, spoke up.

These words silenced the previous speaker.

"Schmog is an existence beyond common sense... We can't judge him with our ordinary perspectives."

Song Nanxing slowly said.

"Try to raise your expectations as high as possible. He's the kind of person who always surprises others. Every time you think you understand him, he'll shatter your perception again."

Yin Muhu, whose muscles had recovered significantly, nodded in deep agreement, "That's absolutely true."

Wei Junwu spoke with disappointment, "Hey, you guys are so boring... Is this the time to discuss who will win?"

Someone asked, "Then what?"

Wei Junwu sighed.

"This is a match between Yuga Ling Lu and Old Sch Jing... Don't forget, at the beginning of the U19 tournament, what did Yuga Ling Lu say in his pre-tournament interview video?"

Everyone's faces stiffened, and their minds involuntarily recalled a sentence that was almost like a moan.

"Sch Jing's fist... is really comfortable..."

Wei Junwu waved his hands excitedly, "This Easterner must have designs on Old Sch Jing. This isn't an ordinary match; winning or losing isn't the key. Who knows what delightful things might happen..."

...

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end