Chapter 279 - 236: The Thirteen Thieves’ Challenge, Is Tang Wen About to Lose Face?

Chapter 279: Chapter 236: The Thirteen Thieves’ Challenge, Is Tang Wen About to Lose Face?

He grabbed another set of Heavy Rock Armor for training and a Visualization Stone Slab, and loaded them onto his horse.

The streetlights were sparse, and not a soul was in sight.

「The entrance to the Gravity Chamber at the Black Water Sect Headquarters.」

The watcher was dozing off.

A gentle breeze seemed to pass by as Tang Wen slipped deep underground.

The watcher, completely unaware, shifted his position and fell into a deeper sleep.

The old man in the Armory next door was a Fifth-Grade Master, so it was fine for things to be a bit more relaxed here at the chamber.

The heavy Stone Gate slowly swung shut.

Tang Wen put on the Heavy Rock Armor. Under ten times the normal gravity, this Heavy Armor—meant for training Sixth-Grade Masters—felt like a mountain pressing down on him.

The long blade was just as heavy. He struggled to swing it, his movements becoming distorted.

He was like a weak, uncoordinated child just starting to learn Sword Skill, swaying back and forth, unable to even hold the blade steady.

He couldn’t hold the blade steady, and not just because it was heavy.

The main issue was the gauntlets of the Heavy Rock Armor. They were so thick that when he gripped the hilt, his fingertips couldn’t touch the base of his palm.

As a result, he couldn’t get a firm grip on the Heavy Blade. Compounded by the tenfold gravity, his Sword Practice was inevitably clumsy and crooked.

A fierce frontal chop, the Wind-Breaking Blade; a dropping, horizontal sweep to the waist...

CLANG!

The Wind-Breaking Blade Technique had a total of eight forms.

He had only reached the second form when the Heavy Blade fell to the ground.

Tang Wen tried to bend over, but he couldn’t; the blade on the ground was out of reach.

He had no choice but to kneel on one knee, awkwardly picking up the blade to continue his practice:

A fierce frontal chop, the Wind-Breaking Blade.

A dropping, horizontal sweep to the waist.

Following the wind to sweep away autumn leaves.

CLANG!

The blade fell again.

The clang of the dropped blade was always followed by the thud of him kneeling.

He would stand, then kneel; kneel, then stand again.

If you ignored the blade in his hands, it looked like he was just there to practice kneeling on one leg.

Once, twice, then three, then five repetitions...

Seven times he knelt, then eight, then a dozen...

A fierce frontal chop, the Wind-breaking Blade... protecting left and right with swiftness; shifting stance for a sudden thrust.

His knees ached from all the kneeling.

Finally, under these extremely harsh conditions, he completed a full run-through of the Wind-Breaking Blade.

[Wind-breaking Blade, Expert (3791→3800/6000)]

His Experience Points increased by 9.

Tang Wen nodded in satisfaction. ’This is the Experience Point gain for something at the Expert Level, after all.’

’Gaining 9 points in one go is practically divine speed.’

CLANG! THUD!

After half a day, his Sword Practice gradually became smoother.

The Armor was airtight, and he was drenched in sweat.

His body was exhausted, but his spirit remained vigorous. After taking off the Heavy Rock Armor, he picked up the Visualization Stone Slab lying nearby.

The Secret Technique recorded on it was—[Spiritual Whip].

A day passed in the blink of an eye.

When it was time to rest, he went to the area near the stone chamber where Elder Zhang lived.

Liang Yu had set up a tent there for him.

Tang Wen crawled inside and immediately fell asleep.

Free from the restraint of the gravity, his whole body felt light. A short ninety-minute nap restored eighty percent of his spiritual energy and physical stamina.

Before training again, he took out a Jade Bottle and poured two drops of Sixth Grade Blood Marrow into his mouth.

FWOOSH!

It felt as if flames were engulfing his entire body, and waves of searing pain washed over him.

It was Sixth Grade Blood Marrow, after all; his body could barely handle it.

Tang Wen remained in seclusion all day. All his needs—eating, changing clothes, even bathing and being scrubbed down—were attended to by Liang Yu, who would come in the dead of night.

「The days passed, one by one.」

The rumors about Tang Wen, both inside and outside the gang, grew more and more intense.

In the eyes of outsiders, Tang Wen hadn’t stepped out of the Jile Tower for a full half-month.

It seemed this so-called genius’s self-control was nothing special after all!

He might just become the next Zhao Zhe.

「Sixth Young Master’s Mansion.」

"The big boss fell, and I didn’t get a single scrap. I even opened a betting pool, but everyone’s bets were too spot-on, so I’ll probably lose money on that too. Is there any news from the Thirteen Thieves of the Desert Sea or Baihu Village?"

"Baihu Village hasn’t replied. The Thirteen Thieves are very tempted by our offer, but when they heard they’d have to enter the city and cause trouble for Tang Wen, they got scared."

A cold glint flashed in the Sixth Young Master’s eyes. "Up the stakes! Tell Boss Sha that if he agrees, I’ll personally grant him access to comprehend the Profound Technique of the Dark Divine Fist and give him a Spiritual Meditation Method."

"Yes, Young Master."

’Tang Wen’s momentum is too strong. I have to suppress it.’

The strong crave even greater strength. For a master without a proper lineage, the greatest chasm on their path to power is the lack of inherited Meditation and Fist Techniques.

The leader of the Thirteen Thieves of the Desert Sea had been stuck at the Peak Extraordinary level for a very long time.

His stagnation was entirely due to his lack of a Meditation Technique.

The Sixth Young Master’s offer was one he couldn’t possibly refuse.

「A few days later.」

Thirteen riders galloped in from the Southern Desert and arrived in Ganshan City.

After Boss Sha received what he was promised, he went to the Black Water Sect Headquarters and publicly confronted the Vice Gang Leader of the Black Water Gang, demanding to know why Tang Wen hadn’t come to the Southern Camp to incorporate them into his forces.

Was it because he looked down on them, or was he too afraid to come?

But whatever the reason, they had come this time to challenge Tang Wen. The match would be limited to ten moves.

No one believed their story, but the pretext was just plausible enough.

Tang Wen was already in the wrong for supposedly indulging in a sea of lust instead of attending to his duties.

Now that his supposed subordinates had come to challenge him, how could he possibly back down?

Tang Wen now held the unofficial title of the number one genius in the Outer City.

Countless people were hoping to see him fail.

The leader of the Thirteen Thieves of the Desert Sea was a top-tier Extraordinary, capable of fighting a Sixth-Grade Master.

And what could Tang Wen, a fledgling who had only just achieved Initial Entry into the Extraordinary, possibly do to stop him?