Chapter 297 – Between Cloud and Mud … … … All the other sects’ elders looked at Mugu Buyu, puzzled. Just where did this little kid come from? According to the information they received, during the Seven Profound Valleys’ Total Faction Martial Meeting, Lin Ming had been ranked first, and Jiang Baoyun was most likely second. As for this fellow who looked like a dried up mummy, he was third. The Seven Profound Valleys’ third ranked disciple had come out to challenge White Peak Sect’s chief disciple, Zhang Shaoshan? White Peak Sect’s elder grunted. Although his White Peak Sect was ranked tenth out of the 18 third-grade sects, they still weren’t much different from the Seven Profound Valleys – their strength was about the same. But now, the Seven Profound Valleys’ third ranked disciple had actually come out to challenge their chief disciple, this was just looking down on them too much. It had to be known that the Seven Profound Valleys’ Jiang Baoyun had come to White Peak Sect last year to challenge them, but had been defeated by Zhang Shaoshan! Not just that, but the talent list that Divine Phoenix Island drew up had caused the White Peak Sect elder to fume with self-righteous anger. There were 27 earth-step talents, and 17 of those spots had been taken by the six top third-grade sects, which included Peacock Mountain. He couldn’t say anything about that, but of those 10 measly leftover sports, two of them had been dominated by the Seven Profound Valleys, leaving only eight spots left over for 12 sects to share. White Peak Sect actually hadn’t even been given a spot! Zhang Shaoshan had only been listed as a possible earth-step candidate. Divine Phoenix Island had only come to watch this Seven Profound Valleys’ Total Faction Martial Meeting, thus they made this sort of arbitrary judgment; how could the White Peak Sect elder be satisfied with this? ‘Shaoshan has made a great deal of progress this year, and he also has two ultimate finishing moves. These are things that Divine Phoenix Island and the Seven Profound Valleys have no idea of. Now, I will let you have a look at just how strong my White Peak Sect’s chief disciple is!’ As the White Peak Sect elder thought this, he maintained his calm and indifferent composure. He unhurriedly picked up a bowl of wine, watching the match on the martial stage from the corners of his eyes. He had a very confident appearance, as if he didn’t worry about Zhang Shaoshan’s competition. On the martial stage, Mugu Buyu had summoned his Scarlet Gold Tortoise puppet and the Great Alligator puppet. As for the spider puppet, that was missing – it probably hadn’t been repaired yet. Zhang Shao crossed his arms across his chest, coldly looking at Mugu Buyu. As a top master, he naturally had to have the style and verve of an apex master. Letting his opponent make adequate preparations was one of the most essential aspects of showing off one’s skill as an apex master. “Are you finally ready? Make your move. I’ll let you have three moves. With three moves, I shall see whether or not you can force my sword!” Zhang Shaoshan mockingly said. “Jejejeje, little baby boy, I think you are already stupid to the point of being more idiotic than my puppets.” Mugu Buyu gave a shrieking cry, and his skeleton creaked as two large flesh ridges appeared behind him, constantly moving. Zhang Shaoshan’s complexion changed, just what was this thing? Pah! Pah! With two light sounds, those fleshy lumps on Mugu Buyu’s back turned into a pair of arms. As Zhang Shaoshan saw this, his eyes went perfectly round. This mummy fellow actually had arms on his back? Was this fellow… a human? “You can die now!” Mugu Buyu weirdly cried out, shrinking into the Scarlet Gold Tortoise. Then, four weapons popped out, extending from the holes in the Scarlet Gold Tortoise. At the same time, the Evil Fire God flourished a sword of burning fire, chopping down at Zhang Shaoshan! Flames billowed, the overwhelming heat wave covered the sky and turned the tiles into lava. Zhang Shaoshan’s expression completely changed; this was a terrifying level of heat! Ka! A sword split apart the arena floor. Zhang Shaoshan awkwardly dodged the blade, however, the raging fire that was supported by nine Hollow Flame Essences was too fierce. The waves of fire directly melted away Zhang Shaoshan’s true essence protection, lighting his clothes on fire and burning off his eyebrows. “How is this possible!?” Clang! The treasure sword left its sheath, all of Zhang Shaoshan’s previously boastful demeanor was gone. With sword in hand, he hadn’t even had time to put out the fire when Mugu Buyu had already rushed ahead! “You really think I can’t do anything!?” Zhang Shaoshan’s lips panned up in a cruel smile. As a swordsman, his greatest advantage was naturally his attack power. Currently, his heart was raging with anger. Because he was too careless a moment ago, Mugu Buyu’s move had actually caused his to panic, embarrassing him. His clothes had been burned by a nobody, this was simply an unforgivable insult! “White Peak 13 Swords!” Zhang Shaoshan gave a loud cry, directly using his greatest master move, wanting to defeat Mugu Buyu in one stroke and recover the face he lost. However, he didn’t expect that facing his fierce attack, Mugu Buyu would not only not dodge, but rush straight towards his sword! Bang! With a deafening explosion, Zhang Shaoshan’s sword had pierced through Mugu Buyu’s pure golden shell. At that same time, Mugu Buyu’s four weapons cut towards Zhang Shaoshan! “You want to perish together? You think you can?” As a swordsman, Zhang Shaoshan was naturally more agile than Mugu Buyu. After he pulled back his sword, he used the force of the recoil to rapidly retreat, escaping from Mugu Buyu’s attack. A single blade had solved his opponent while he perfectly dodged the opponent’s final dying counter attack. With this, Zhang Shaoshan’s face was glowing with content; he had finally recovered his face. However, in a split-second, his happy face froze. He suddenly felt as if his body was being pulled down by an invisible force, as if his body was made from lead! This was the special ability of the Great Alligator Puppet – Devouring! “What is this?” Zhang Shaoshan was greatly surprised. He didn’t have time to think as he heard the sounds of howling flames coming from his side. He turned his head to look, the Evil Fire God was already cutting down on him! Damn! As his body felt like it was stuck in quicksand, Zhang Shaoshan had no chance of evading. He cut out with his sword, meeting this strike head-on! Bang! Flame exploded, and his sword move was broken, true essence waves rushing out. Zhang Shaoshan was a swordsman, so his defense was never very good. Before, the Evil Fire God’s strike had almost shattered the martial stage’s protective array formation, so how could he defend against it? Pu! As the power of fire entered his body, Zhang Shaoshan was just like a broken kite as he flew backwards, his organs injured and his blood churning in reverse. He wanted to spit out blood, but he forcefully swallowed it back down, causing his injuries to worsen. In dealing with some nobody, Zhang Shaoshan would rather aggravate his injuries than lose face by vomiting blood. “I was too careless. This fellow was really hard to deal with. However, he has already been struck by my White Peak 13 Swords – he’s done for.” White Peak 13 Swords was Zhang Shaoshan’s strongest sword skill, he had never missed. Though he had been a bit embarrassed, for better or for worse, he had used a sword to defeat his enemy, so in the end he hadn’t lost too much face. But, just as Zhang Shaoshan thought he had already won, he suddenly heard the sound of wind whistling beneath him. He looked down and saw four hands carrying four different weapons, and a giant golden turtle coming straight towards him. That shining golden shell didn’t even have a single scratch. “How… how is this possible!?” Zhang Shaoshan’s eyes widened like eggs. In the air, there was no leverage for him to move, and he had been seriously wounded. His true essence was chaotic, and he couldn’t use another powerful sword skill again. Like this, he was just a target to be aimed at. In the next moment, there was a muffled ‘peng’ sound, as Mug Buyu raised his sickle and smashed down on Zhang Shaoshan in midair, just like a ball! Bang! Zhang Shaoshan smashed against the floor just like a broken sack of rice, half of his body stuck in the tiles. The other sects’ core disciples and elders were dumbfounded by this. How did this happen? Although no one believed that Zhang Shaoshan was some once-in-a-lifetime talent, he was still the chief disciple of White Peak Sect. Yet he had been defeated by a nobody, and in such a miserable manner. From start to end, Mugu Buyu had only used five moves. The Evil Fire God puppet’s attack power was too abnormally strong. Zhang Shaoshan could not dodge it, and a single blow sent his sword flying away. As for that golden shell around Mugu Buyu, that was even stranger. It had actually been able to withstand the White Peak 13 Swords without a single scratch! This was just too terrifying! What the other sects’ elders didn’t know was that Mugu Buyu’s Scarlet Gold Tortoise had managed to continuously withstand two strikes from Lin Ming’s Purple Flood Dragon Divine Thunder, one of which was even mixed with the Evil Fire God’s flame, creating a massive thunderflame explosion. Even then, it had only been slightly cracked. In terms of defensive power, Mugu Buyu was the number one ranked among the entire younger generation of the Seven Profound Valleys, Lin Ming could not hold a candle to him. A True Essence Force Field was a type of power of Law that was even above the Concept of Wind, and was one of the two ultimate legacy secret techniques of the Puppet Faction. Its reputation was well-earned. Seeing Mugu Buyu’s full combat potential, Jiang Baoyun let out a breath of cold air. ‘His main body has near-absolute defense, and the Evil Fire God has irresistible attack power. Also, that alligator puppet has a devouring ability that can contain movements, causing any attack to be undodgeable. This multi-dimensional attack system from Mugu Buyu can almost be called perfect. Unfortunately, his opponent was Lin Ming, and all of this became useless. If I encountered him, I do not have absolute assurance that I could defeat him.’ In a sense, Mugu Buyu’s ability to restrain an opponent’s speed was able to suppress Jiang Baoyun. As for Lin Ming, his abnormal attack power was able to overwhelm the defense of Mugu Buyu. Therefore Lin Ming had been able to relatively easily defeat Mugu Buyu, and yet engage in an extended battle with Jiang Baoyun. The Seven Profound Valleys deacons hurried on stage to lift up the unconscious Zhang Shaoshan and carry him down. The other sect elders and geniuses hadn’t responded to the fight a moment ago. They were all individuals with outstanding eyesight. Naturally, they were able to see what the terrifying aspects of Mugu Buyu were. Absolute defense, absolute attack! How could one break this near-perfect attack system? Speed? Useless! Although Mugu Buyu was slow, he still had that strange alligator puppet that was able to restrain an opponent’s speed. If an opponent couldn’t display their speed, they could only wait to be struck. Attack? Useless! Even the White Peak Sect’s White Peak 13 Swords was useless. It hadn’t even managed to leave a mark on that golden shell! Defense? Useless! Although Zhang Shaoshan had poor defensive power, his sword technique was absolutely amazing. He had used his sword skills to defend against the Evil Fire God’s attack, but was still defeated afterwards! Who could be Mugu Buyu’s match in the same level? Such a powerful Mugu Buyu was a nameless nobody? And he was only ranked third in the Seven Profound Valleys? But, they all clearly remembered the words that Mugu Buyu had spoken to Zhang Shaoshan before the match. “Let me play with you. If you can defeat me, then you might be able to take a few moves from this little boy’s hand.” That so-called boy, was naturally Lin Ming! “If you can defeat me…” “Might be able…” “To take a few moves…” What Mugu Buyu’s words implied was that someone stronger than him would only be able to take a few moves from Lin Ming! And yet, that Zhang Shaoshan was defeated by Mugu Buyu in five moves. In comparison to Lin Ming, that was simply the difference between cloud and mud!