Chapter 533 - A Hundred Combat Artists Storming Eternal Archipelago

Both the inner and outer districts in East Sea City had descended into uneasy clamor. Whether it was handsome gentlemen in tailored suits or noble ladies in lace gloves, or the newsboys in the streets and the coachmen steering their carriages, both the city's residents and visitors from afar had halted to gaze at the sky.

Fright lingered on their faces. Some gaped, while others wore startled looks and argued hotly with acquaintances.

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Was that an earthquake? That tremor just now felt violent..."

"It could have been... But it ended so fast. Only four or five jolts..."

"Did you see that light in the north? It was brighter than the sun!"

"I did! Could a meteor have fallen?"

"Possibly!"

Whoosh...

Suddenly, gusts of fierce wind swept over East Sea City. The wind rolled in from the north in waves. Gravel was dragged from the heights, along with broken branches and leaves. For a moment, debris rained down like hail. Passers-by were left in disarray, shrieking as they ducked under roofs.

Someone looked up and noticed heavy clouds racing as though an unseen hand were shoving them. They quickly swept past the city and hurtled away. Their migration dimmed the sunlight for a few seconds before brightness returned. The sky quickly turned a washed-clear blue.

"What strange weather..." The crowd murmured, attributing the anomaly to nature's power.

Ordinary folk in East Sea City thought so, yet the spectators at the exchange tournament knew the truth. The booming gale, the quaking ground, and the cascading stones and branches were all man-made, born of the immense might wrought through Covert Martial Arts!

It was the fist technique master of the Golem Sect from the Hongli Empire's Covert Martial Arts community!

There was also another mysterious extreme combat artist who had appeared abruptly.

In fact, events an hour ago had unfolded beyond the expectations of both the Hongli Empire and the United States of Yana martial circles. The empire had not imagined that the two top combat artists it invited would fail to last a single bout against Whale King Arlington and be swiftly crushed!

They had not only lost face but became mere stepping stones. Their defeat had crowned Arlington as the undisputed number one across both nations. Yet Arlington had occupied that throne for less than a minute before the tables turned. A hidden lineage, the Golem Sect, suddenly appeared within the empire's Covert Martial Arts world.

Arlington had then invited that fist technique master to spar. The pair soon clashed head-on, words giving way to blows. Just moments earlier, Arlington had seemed invincible, yet he had quickly fallen behind.

First, Cassius of the Golem Sect had felled Arlington with fifteen punches. Arlington then went all out, unleashing the East-Pole Whale King Fist, driving his Qi and Will to their limits in an unstoppable charge!

However, he was struck down again, grievously injured.

On the other hand, Cassius remained unscathed, displaying clear superiority. Whale King Arlington was no match for him! Thus, the title of number one martial artist across the two great nations passed naturally to Cassius.

The spectators' minds had yet to move beyond shock when another master suddenly sprang forth at Arlington's side! He was clearly of extreme combat artist caliber. His aura seemed fiercer than Arlington's and he apparently intended to whisk Arlington away at once. Phoenix-like wings sprang from his back, and he had streaked through the sky.

Cassius of the Golem Sect had given chase. The two figures had continued to fight as they sped off. They vanished from the exchange tournament spectators' sight in no time.

Of course, the specific battle had gone unseen. However, everyone could judge the combat's ferocity by circumstantial signs. Top combat artists who climbed a nearby peak saw a mountain smashed apart. A vast part of the forest was ruined and violent tremors rumbled like an earthquake.

Then, a dreadful black column of light shot skyward. It blasted the heavy clouds apart, raising gales like a magnitude eight typhoon. All who saw the beam felt instinctive dread. It was humanity's innate rejection of calamity.

Yet, the upheaval came and passed swiftly. Within moments, the battle had become eerily silent. Only then did the tournament's crowd recover, excitedly debating the winding battle and its almost legendary final duel. They also felt fortunate that Cassius and the mysterious fighter had shifted the battlefield. Had they fought here, the audience might have suffered.

A fist technique master fighting all out had no time to mind bystanders. A stray punch could well have smashed into any of the sects' camps. It might have wiped out an entire nation's elite forces.

The original battlefield was now a desolate mess. Most of the exchange contingent stayed in a hollow behind a low hill; only a few combat-artist-level experts dared watch from the crest.

Some top combat artists, feeling confident in their prowess, withstood the gale and shockwaves from the masters atop the peak. Their hearts were deeply shaken.

There was a large commotion across the martial sects, especially among lower disciples.

"This is the extreme combat artist tier! The stage closest to Holy Fist! Practitioners at this level are wholly beyond human... Their strength rivals natural disasters! Every punch and kick carries enormous might, making them the deadliest fighting machines. They are practically characters from a legend..."

"Perhaps the figures of legend were merely Covert Martial Arts Practitioners who had reached profound realms! A story spreads through word of mouth, warps, and becomes a myth over the ages..."

While some sighed in awe, dark horse talents like the "Eastern Three Stars" or "Northern Three Elites” brimmed with ambition. Some had shone at this exchange, drawing acclaim and admiration like stars around the moon.

"Can we reach that realm one day? Strength that overturns mountains with a gesture—that is truly desirable!"

"Yes! We surely can! My goal, my dream, is to step into that realm one day! To glimpse the legendary Holy Fist realm. If I could only see it—just once—I would die without regret..."

"I agree in principle, yet allow me a cold dose of reality. Let's first consider how to break into the combat artist realm, for not every core disciple of a great sect can cross that threshold. Not to mention, once you become a new combat artist, you need to become a veteran combat artist, then top-tier combat artist, and only afterward the extreme combat artist realm..."

"Remember, a veteran combat artist is enough to lead a great sect. A top-tier combat artist is rarer still, each renowned and numbering only a handful. Even a major sect like Star Ring Fist only has one top-tier combat artist—and he's in his eighties! One could say there's no successor for the next two generations..."

"As for extreme combat artists, the United States of Yana only had Arlington in recent years. In our Hongli Empire, we must look back twenty years to find the Southern Covert Martial Arts community's champion. Had the Golem Sect's fist technique master not appeared, the vast Hongli Empire would have had none at all..."

Elders and heads of every sect conversed among themselves as well. Their talk focused more on sect matters. They did not merely marvel at Cassius's strength. Glances from all directions settled on the Golem Sect camp as though it were a coveted prize. Some looks were open and ardent, while others were secretive. The most hidden came from the aged gaze of Star Ring Fist's Elder Victor, still feigning death.

A hint of gratitude shone in his eyes as he exhaled in relief. Victor had indeed survived by playing dead, but what about afterward?

If the truth of his survival were exposed, he would surely bear infamy and Star Ring Fist's prestige would suffer. Unless Victor spent the rest of his life as though he was already dead.

Though aged, he still had living to do! His strength had waned, but his Tortoise-Breath Secret Technique prolonged life. He still wished to guide his great-grandson to greatness. He valued his fourth-generation bloodline. Thus, concealing his survival would be hard. When it came out, Star Ring Fist and Victor would inevitably be denounced.

But now things were different. Cassius had beaten Arlington! He was of the Hongli Empire, representing its victory! Victory and defeat brought utterly different moods.

In defeat, people shifted blame; the pretending-dead Victor would have been saddled with it.

But amid victory? Much would be forgiven; minor improprieties would be smiled away, and no one would fixate on things so long as Victor fabricated a plausible excuse.

He might claim an old heart injury. He could say that his heart had briefly stopped after a high-intensity battle, which had created the illusion of death. That would pass easily enough, since elders deserved respect. The other sects would show Star Ring Fist some face and not dig deeper.

However, all of it hinged on the empire's triumph. Cassius of the Golem Sect had undeniably saved Victor's hide, perhaps even unwittingly.

Victor secretly felt gratitude. He cherished his old reputation, second only to life itself.

***

Rumble rumble...

A thunder-like roar rose on the horizon, waves of wind driving forward.

Everyone looked up to see a black meteor accelerating downward. In the blink of an eye, it blasted a pit into the ground, and a figure emerged.

Golden hair like a lion's mane fluttered wildly. Beneath it, cold sharp eyes with blue pupils glinted like the abyss. He had chiseled handsome features, with a trace of domineering aura.

He bore none of White Aster's former delicateness. Instead, he resembled a sword of judgment, brimming with murderous intent. Cassius's upper garments were in tatters, revealing a magnificent frame. He radiated an indescribable harmony of strength. Combined with skin the hue of pale stone, he might have been a sculptor's masterpiece. A work of art showcasing power and beauty.

Countless eyes converged on him in awe, envy, fervor, even twisted, warped adoration. It was just like the gaze of the Ghetto Four under Cassius. Cassius slowly turned, letting his gaze sweep the gathered martial sects.

People lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes. Even combat artists felt a fierce pressure. A tyrannical aura slammed down on their shoulders without mercy. The sense of menace, of strength, surpassed Whale King Arlington's!

Tap, tap, tap... tap, tap, tap...

Cassius strode toward the assembly. Midway, his eyes locked onto one spot. He vanished and reappeared among spectators of a small nation.

Bang!

A figure flew out. It traced a brief arc, limbs flailing. Cassius shot out of the crowd, overtaking the flying body. Then he kicked the combat artist clean in half!

Blood burst like a rainy mist. Cassius landed and caught the still-living upper half of the combat artist with his right hand. He raised it before him.

"You... what are you doing?!"

"Does being a fist technique master mean you can kill at will?!"

"You think as number one you can do whatever you like?"

Indignation flared among the small nation's camp. The United States of Yana stirred as well, deeming Cassius's strike too brutal.

"

Hahaha...

Right now, I truly can do as I please. As you said, the Covert Martial Arts world has no rival for me anymore..." Cassius laughed loudly, then turned to the man in his grip. "Granted I have power to act unbridled, but that doesn't mean I kill randomly. The name Gate Organization; you've all heard it, yes?"

He ripped away the man's right shoulder garment. It exposed a Devil's Eye. Cassius entertained an interesting notion. Just as he once joined the Northern Covert Martial Arts community to annihilate Black Rain Manor, he meant to ride his fresh victory over Arlington and his new supremacy to replicate that for the third time!

The Eternal Archipelago teemed with peril. There were the White Bone Ring Trees in its bone forest, plus Black Rain Manor's forces. The Gate Organization might also meddle like a stirring stick at any moment.

The situation there was highly complex and chaotic. So Cassius intended to cut the knot in twain, sweeping forward with overwhelming might!

Since so many combat artists were gathered, why not explore the ancient ruins with me? Let it be a joint operation of the martial world!

A hundred combat artists storming the Eternal Archipelago together—what a spectacle that would be!

Other powers would wet themselves at the mere thought...