Zither Emperor Volume 3 Chapter 20.1

Chapter 20 – Summon, Zi (I)
Hehe. Zi appears!
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The match continued. Against everyone’s expectations, the third competitor of the Heavy Cavalry division for this battle was unexpectedly General Nesta.
His right hand held the cavalryman spear and tilted it down towards the floor, imitating the posture of Buddha lightly grabbing a rice straw. Nesta didn’t resemble the previous two competitors who’d immediately launched attacks against Ye Yin Zhu. Pressing forward for twenty steps, he and his Maginot Iron Dragon slowly walked up to Ye Yin Zhu. As steady as a mountain, Nesta currently exuded an imposing aura. His gaze was serene, but this calmness brimmed with an inexhaustible battlelust. His every movement was very steady, without even a trace of a flaw.
“Ye Yin Zhu, your strength has my respect.” As Nesta coldly spoke, the Maginot Iron Dragon stopped thirty meters away from Ye Yin Zhu.
Ye Yin Zhu smiled tranquilly, firmly grasping the Moon and Tides’ Clear Brilliance Zither that had appeared once more. He’d already felt, since the beginning of the fight, that he would be facing his most challenging battle in the entirety of the Freshman Competition here. On the surface, Nesta was not as dangerous when compared to Rolande’s Green Dragon, but Yin Zhu’s instincts said otherwise. This Heavy Cavalryman before him was one of the strongest students he had ever seen and was currently his most pressuring opponent.
“Out of respect for your power, I don’t want my companions to tire you anymore. Let us make this a fair battle. If you defeat me, you defeat the entire Heavy Cavalry division. Since it appears that you are the plenipotentiary of the Divine Music division, I will also represent my division.” The calmness in Nesta’s eyes was gradually ignited. He slowly lifted his cavalryman spear from the ground.
Ye Yin Zhu looked at him with some amazement. “Won’t you be very disadvantaged this way?”
Nesta smiled calmly and said, “If I need others to help me tire you out in order to be able to defeat you, then that kind of victory, as far as I’m concerned, has no meaning. My goal is to continuously improve my strength. This can only be accomplished by constantly challenging stronger people. Come, make me acknowledge your magic-martial arts combination.”
Ye Yin Zhu smiled. He pressed his right hand against his chest and conducted the standard mage etiquette towards Nesta. This lofty opponent had also won his respect and affection.
“Sha——” Nesta exhaled with a shout. His left hand was poised beneath his chest, pressing down against the Maginot Iron Dragon. As the Maginot Iron Dragon’s body dropped down, Nesta’s five-meter lance shot out towards Ye Yin Zhu like lightning. With an immense battlelust and tremendous vigor, he finally transcended past the bottleneck of the Yellow Rank.
Faint green dou qi wove downwards from the tip of the lance to the butt. The Maginot Iron Dragon’s powerful momentum allowed Nesta to approach Ye Yin Zhu instantly. When his lance thrust out, however, the sharp tip was still approximately three meters away from Ye Yin Zhu. Did he make a mistake? No, of course not.
Green dou qi finished condensing, coating the sharp tip of the spear in some type of substance. In the blink of an eye, it extended the spear tip by a little over three meters, surpassing the distance to touch Ye Yin Zhu’s chest. The sharp tip exuded a suffocating feeling, leaving no doubt as to its destructive power.
“Battle Edge?” While spectating the battle from within the rostrum, Ferguson couldn’t help uttering those words of amazement.
Dean Tie Bi of the Heavy Cavalry division calmly said, “To be able to use Green Rank dou qi to successfully execute Battle Edge, from what I’ve seen, Nesta is the first to do so. If all goes well, within 10 years, he will become a Gold Star Dragon Cavalry Commander. Within 20 years, he will become the youngest Violet Star Dragon Cavalry Commander in history. Perhaps his aptitude can’t compare with the two boys of the Violet Clan, but no one else can compare with his dedication to improving his strength.”
Battle Edge—dou qi evolution release. Generally speaking, this skill could only be used when dou qi had been cultivated to Cyan Rank or higher. A strong warrior could rely on Battle Edge to inflict damage to an enemy up to around three meters away. Dou qi enhanced strength, while Battle Edge covered wide distances. Battle Edge required an extremely high amount of dou qi as a requirement in order for the dou qi to be compressed greatly. Without a strong foundation and perfect dou qi control, it was impossible to use Battle Edge. Moreover, Nesta used Primary Level Green Rank dou qi to unexpectedly create Battle Edge. This in itself was already an odd event.
Gasps filled the spectator seat as the battle on the training field continued. Soon, the lightning-quick Battle Edge had already reached its destination. Ye Yin Zhu had yet to execute a sonic boom, immediately extending his Divine Celestial Protection instead. All of a sudden, the milky white radiance and the faint green Battle Edge collided in the air.
The spherical milky white light flickered as the Battle Edge’s piercing blow was diffused momentarily, the ear-piercing screech causing everyone to wince. The impact behind Nesta’s Battle Edge was rapidly weakening, while the physical lance shaft travelled increasingly closer to the Divine Celestial Protection .
Ye Yin Zhu knew he couldn’t retreat. Nesta was entirely different from his previous two opponents. If he withdrew, he would have no opportunity to counterattack. Nesta would follow through with his damn attack and destroy him. Therefore, he couldn’t retreat and would instead exploit the Divine Celestial Protection’s cushioning. His left foot stepped forward at once, his right fist striking directly out. It unexpectedly headed straight towards the spear tip.
Could it be that Ye Yin Zhu wanted to use the same tactics as last time? No, of course not. Identical tactics used successively in such a short time was absolutely courting death. This time, he was genuinely confronting his opponent’s dou qi.
Yellow and green, these two colors of dou qi, shrouded his fist and Nesta’s spear tip respectively as they collided. For a split second, space seemed to have frozen.
As a matter of fact, Ye Yin Zhu’s fist and Nesta’s lance didn’t really collide with each other; the collision was between their dou qi. Yellow and green dou qi in close proximity to one another led to mutual compression. The two differently colored rays of light compressed one another, causing them to unexpectedly distort space.
Ye Yin Zhu stood tall on the ground, Nesta stood aloof and remote on his dragon. At this time, upon judging the weight and size of both Nesta and his dragon, they evidently held an unconditional advantage. Ye Yin Zhu couldn’t be regarded as robust at all; in front of them, he really was insignificant. This small body, however, relied on the power of his fist. At this moment, the forceful block against Nesta’s attack actually prevented that huge Maginot Iron Dragon from taking a single step forward. Ye Yin Zhu’s legs were like stakes in the ground, not retreating in the slightest.
Level 2 Yellow Rank Bamboo Dou Qi was equivalent to Intermediate Level Green Rank dou qi. In terms of dou qi, Ye Yin Zhu was indeed stronger than Nesta. Since the disparity between their dou qis wasn’t large, if Ye Yin Zhu were to only rely on his Dou Qi, he definitely could not defend against Nesta’s attack. In order to defend against it, he’d utilized his strength. His body responded by bursting forth with physical power.
As Nesta’s spear stabbed down, Ye Yin Zhu’s heart rang with a voice saying, ‘Don’t retreat.’ It was as if his Pride told him not to retreat. A warmth circulated through his body once more until his fist genuinely struck out, blocking Nesta’s attack. Ye Yin Zhu realized that his power had unexpectedly grown to a terrifying degree.
Boom——
The pair had concentrated all of their strength into a dou qi confrontation. At last, a tremendous concussion burst out. The loud explosion unexpectedly caused Nesta and his Maginot Iron Dragon to draw back ten steps before standing firm once more.
Ye Yin Zhu didn’t fall back, the mantra that repeated within his heart prevented him from recoiling. The defensive shield that the Divine Celestial Protection emitted had already transformed into a speck of white light and disappeared, however, as Ye Yin Zhu’s complexion appeared somewhat pale.
The entire audience was absolutely silent. Everyone held their breaths as they watched this world-shaking, decisive battle.
His eyes once more flashed with a purple haze. Ye Yin Zhu sat down on the spot, taking the Moon and Tides’ Clear Brilliance Zither out—which he had been carrying— so it rested evenly atop his knees.