Chapter 31
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Chapter 31: Victory or Defeat
Although Zhang Yao was surprised, he remained calm and showed a confident expression.
Whoosh—
Boom!
Three gusts of wind rushed forward. Zhang Yao, unfazed, raised his hands and instantly formed a fire pillar that was half his height.
The wind attacks struck the fire pillar, and after a brief shake, the flames burned even more fiercely.
"Hahahaha!"
Zhang Yao laughed, "Young brother Yang, I admit your Wind technique is quite impressive, but do you understand that wind fuels fire? The outcome of this duel was actually decided from the very beginning."
Zhang Tianqi also showed a smug expression upon seeing this, but when he looked at Yang Guanfeng, he noticed that he was conversing with another child from the Yang Family.
Yang Guanfeng’s expression remained calm, showing no concern that Yang Lingrui would lose.
"Ha, pretending to be calm won’t help. If you lose and refuse to accept it, I’ll make sure you suffer!" Zhang Tianqi thought to himself.
"Linghu, if it were you, what would you do?"
Yang Guanfeng slightly tilted his head to ask.
"Elder, if I saw the opponent using Fire technique, I would approach as quickly as possible, even at the cost of injury to take them down quickly," Yang Linghu quietly replied.
"Mm, that’s a good plan, but what if it were not a contest but an encounter in the wild?"
"In the wild?"
Yang Linghu paused for a moment, then his eyes sparkled with cleverness.
"Then, of course, I would run first, using my speed to create distance and hide, waiting for the opponent to let their guard down before launching a surprise attack!"
"Hehe, exactly. When out and about, you need to think on your feet."
After saying this, the two turned their attention back to the arena.
At this point, an odd scene unfolded between the two individuals in combat.
Zhang Yao controlled the fire pillar, while Yang Lingrui seemed to have lost his mind, continuously attacking it with gusts of wind.
The fire pillar, which was originally half his height, was now taller than him.
"Is that kid from the Yang Family out of his mind? He knows he’s just handing Zhang Yao an advantage, and yet he’s hitting it like crazy," Zhang Chen said with a confused expression. But when he looked at Zhang Tianqi, he was shocked to see the Master frowning at that moment.
"Hmm?"
He suddenly felt something was off. Upon closer inspection of Zhang Yao, he found that he was already sweating profusely.
As Yang Lingrui kept attacking, the fire pillar grew more intense, and it was getting close to ten feet tall!
"This!"
Zhang Chen finally realized, the young cultivator from the Yang Family intended to "suffocate" Zhang Yao with the fire pillar!
That fire pillar did have the ability to absorb techniques, especially against Wind techniques, not only absorbing but also growing stronger.
But Zhang Yao only had the second level of Gathering Qi, and right now the size of the fire pillar had already exceeded his control limits.
“Damn it!”
In the arena, Zhang Yao gritted his teeth, desperately trying to stabilize the fire pillar.
He cursed under his breath, feeling confused.
“Does this kid have unlimited spiritual power? What gives him the upper hand?”
If it had been a normal battle, he would have been confident in gaining the advantage, but that would have taken time.
Thinking he could scare the opponent off, he summoned the fire pillar, believing he had a sure win, only to find himself in a difficult situation.
Because of the excessive expansion, the fire pillar was nearly out of control. Whether it burst or he forcibly withdrew it, both options would leave him severely injured.
Right now, his only hope was to pray that Yang Lingrui would exhaust his spiritual power first.
However, when he looked at the opponent, the howling wind was indeed not as fierce as at the beginning, but there was still a long way to go before Yang Lingrui would be drained of power.
Looking at himself, his muscles trembled, and his consciousness was becoming a bit hazy.
At this moment, in the eyes of the spectators, Zhang Yao’s defeat was only a matter of time, while he himself was unwilling to give up and continued to hold on.
Zhang Tianqi frowned deeply, his expression quite grim. He had thought this mineral would be easy to seize, but unexpectedly, it had turned into such a situation.
"Uncle, it seems Yao brother can’t hold on anymore…"
Zhang Chen stood beside him, worry written all over his face, but inside, he felt glee at Zhang Yao’s predicament.
“I told you not to let me go; you lost, right? You deserve it!”
Zhang Tianqi ignored him, instead casting a deep glance at Yang Guanfeng. He then moved swiftly to Zhang Yao’s side.
He reached out and grabbed the raging fire pillar as if extinguishing a small flame, dissipating it.
At the same time, Yang Guanfeng also descended into the arena, placing a hand on his shoulder, dispersing the gusts of wind around him.
"Father, I haven’t lost yet!"
Seeing this, Zhang Yao grew anxious and quickly spoke up.
But as soon as he opened his mouth, he was silenced by Zhang Tianqi.
“Shut up! Aren’t you embarrassed enough? If I hadn’t shown up just now, you would have been injured by your own technique!”
After being scolded, Zhang Yao deflated and dared not say another word.
“Brother Zhang, the outcome is already decided, and the ownership of this place is clear, so I won’t see you off any further.”
“Yang Master, I have learned much today from Zhang. Until we meet again.”
Saying this, Zhang Tianqi led his group away from the mineral site.
“Father… I’m sorry.”
On the way back to Sanglu Valley, Zhang Yao calmed down and apologized to his father.
Zhang Tianqi did not continue to blame him and replied, “This matter isn’t all your fault. I underestimated the Yang Family.”
“Underestimated? Father means that the Yang Family has some power?”
“It’s hard to say whether they have power, but their cultivation methods are definitely remarkable.”
Zhang Tianqi continued, “The matter of the minerals needs careful consideration. Once we open the cave in the valley and obtain the treasures and inheritance within, then we can deal with the Yang Family.”
“Yes, Father,” Zhang Yao nodded in agreement.
Zhang Chen walked beside them, silently nodding, but deep down, he always felt that if he were in Zhang Yao’s place today, he would definitely have won.
“The restrictions in that cave are incredibly strong. It’s been twenty years, and we still can’t get in. Who knows how much longer it will take? Should we just let the Yang Family take advantage of the minerals?”
“Clearly, our family is stronger. Why should we back down?”
“Uncle is really biased; he doesn’t treat me like one of his own, always making Zhang Yao the one to step forward.”
“If he doesn’t want me to take the lead, then I will find a way myself. We’ll just wait and see!”
He was still too young, viewing things too simply and only on the surface, not understanding Zhang Tianqi’s protection and nurturing of him.
Although he had outstanding talent, his character held him back.
In comparison, Yang Lingrui, who faced similar circumstances, was much stronger.
After the competition for the minerals concluded, three days later, the Yang Family’s mining team arrived at the site.
Most of this team consisted of outsiders from the southern bank. Ever since they heard about the various benefits on the northern bank, they had been eagerly hoping to secure positions. When news spread about the mining opportunity, they quickly signed up to go.
Yang Linghu was left here to guard the site, and he might need to stay for a while until the situation stabilized.
Having spent much time with Lingqing, he had grown considerably through his exposure.
Earlier, when Yang Guanfeng talked to him, he already understood the plans for the future.
The Yang Family was continuously expanding its influence, which was the perfect time to utilize people like him.
While Lingrui trained, and Lingqing managed the household, naturally, the external affairs would fall on him.
He had no complaints about this; in fact, he felt that this job was pretty good.
With his personality, it could be said that quiet meditation was the real tough job.
That evening, after inspecting the minerals, Yang Linghu returned to his residence and found Yang Guanfeng had arrived.
He was about to step forward to greet him but was stopped by Yang Guanfeng’s raised hand.
“No need for that. I just came to bring you something, and I’ll be leaving shortly. You’ve worked hard guarding the mine; get some rest soon.”
After Yang Guanfeng left, Yang Linghu looked at a small bottle placed on the table.
He stepped forward to open it, and as soon as he sensed the aura inside, he understood.
“Hahaha, that kid Lingrui, always so modest. It makes me, as his older brother, feel quite embarrassed.”
