STNS: Chapter 568 (Patreon)

Silence met Wu Jian’s roar of challenge. Nearly all those in the stands had fallen onto their backs, bellies bared in complete submission. The elite guards who were responsible for protecting the Khan were similarly on the ground with the stomachs displayed to him. Töri Qiang, who had not seen his transformation until this moment, had done the same. The only ones who were not completely submitting to him were the eleven still conscious Fangs of Khan.

“What… an incredible aura,” Baatar Erden muttered. He was down on one knee, his body shaking as he struggled against the pressure crashing down on him like a tidal wave.

“He’s got… the blood of… our progenitor!” gasped Baatar Batuul, sweat pouring down his body in thick rivulets that stained the colosseum floor.

“But he’s human! He’s just a human!” Baatar Altan shouted, as though that would help him keep his sanity under the pressure of Wu Jian’s power.

“Are none of you going to attack?” asked Wu Jian calmly. Everyone froze. He nodded. “Very well. Then I’ll go first. Don’t blame me for not being polite.”

Wu Jian used the power of his enhanced body to charge straight into Baatar Orghun, slamming the rangy tiger into the ground with enough force to leave a crater. An attack like that wouldn’t normally do much. They were cultivators and magical beasts. Their bodies were strong. However, Wu Jian roared right in the man’s face, unleashing a shockwave of power that rattled his bones and discombobulated his nervous system. As Baatar Orghun lay twitching on the ground, Wu Jian moved on.

The others had finally realized how serious this man was and quickly gathered their wits. They were still under the influence of Baihu’s blood. Feeling the blood of their ancestor flowing through this man made them sluggish. Every part of their bodies screamed to lay down and submit to their new ruler, but these twelve were full of pride and refused to bow down to someone they didn’t know just like that.

“IRON CLAW!”

Baatar Batuul screamed as he let his Qi flow through him. His hands shifted to look more like tiger paws, but the color also changed, becoming the same dull gray as iron. He swung his claws at Wu Jian, but a portal opened in front of him, and his claws went through the portal and slammed into Baatar Altan, who was several paces away and getting ready to roar. Getting hit by the surprise attack caused Baatar Altan to lose his concentration.

“What the--”

Baatar Batuul was also stunned, and the brief moment he allowed his shock to show, Wu Jian was already there. He threw a punch. Baatar Batuul raised his arms instinctively to block, but the attack never landed on his face. Instead, he felt a sharp pain in his left kneecap as his leg bent at an angle it was not supposed to. He was so shocked that, as he went down, he was unable to guard against Wu Jian’s foot, which slammed into his face with the force of a storm. He flew backward, striking the wall blowing straight through it. The colosseum shook as some of its support disintegrated under the assault.

“He’s… so strong!” Baatar Kharuun muttered in shock.

“We need to work together!” shouted Baatar Ganbaatar. “Follow my lead!”

His muscles rippled like rolling thunderclouds as he dashed forward so fast the ground beneath him split open. He reached Wu Jian in record time. Yet as he swung his claws through the young man, he immediately knew something was wrong when he felt no resistance. Before his instincts even had time to warn him that something was wrong, Wu Jian appeared above him, his body twisting to generate torque.

“Eat this!!!”

With a roar, Wu Jian slammed his heel into the back of Baatar Ganbaatar’s neck. The results were instantaneous. The man was slammed face first into the ground, which erupted with rocks and dust. Cracks spread across the ground all around him. When the dust settled, those who were still conscious and able to watch, saw Baatar Ganbaatar laying in a twisted heap, his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

The battle hadn’t even been going on for ten minutes, and Wu Jian had already dealt with four of the Twelve Fangs of Khan. The remaining eight were breathing heavily as they fought their instincts. Wu Jian’s aura, which embodied their progenitor, kept them from using their full potential.

They seemed to realize they couldn’t beat him on their own, so they closed in on all sides. Four of them went in for melee combat, but four of them hung back. It was a smart move. A lot of people thought overwhelming one opponent with numbers would ensure victory, but all it really did was make maneuvering hard for everybody involved.

“Behemoth Toss!!!”

Baatar Erden slammed his hands into the ground and pulled several massive stones from the earth, which he hurled at Wu Jian. Each stone was randomly teleported away from him. Wu Jian would have teleported them on top of his enemies, but they were coming in so fast and there were so many that all he could do was create portals at random.

“Stonehide Guard!”

Baatar Temur hardened his skin with Qi and waded into Wu Jian’s guard. Several punches struck his body, and he grunted each time, but he weathered the powerful attacks.

“Phantom Dash!”

As Wu Jian was distracted by Baatar Temur, Baatar Borchu put on a burst of speed that made him appear in Wu Jian’s blind spot.

“Whirlwind Talons!”

Like a cyclone, Baatar Borchu launched a series of claw strikes so rapid they were almost invisible, save the distortions they caused as they rent the air. His attacks were blocked by spatial portals that opened up. Each one took his claw attacks somewhere random but close to Wu Jian’s body. None of the attacks hit anyone, but they forced Baatar Chuluun and Baatar Tomor back, lest they be hit by their ally.

“Crag Fist!!!”

Baatar Temur, however, weathered the cyclone of strikes just as he had Wu Jian’s. He corked his fist back, then threw a punch that made the air shatter. Wu Jian was so busy putting up portals to block Baatar Borchu that he could not do the same for Baatar Temur’s attack. The strike hit him square in the chest. Whatever sounds he might have made were lost to the screaming wind as he was launched backward.

Despite taking a powerful blow, Wu Jian twisted his body and landed on his feet. He skid across the colosseum floor--right into Baatar Chuluun.

“THUNDER CLAWS!!!”

Baatar Chuluun’s claws crackled with lightning as he swung. Wu Jian twisted his body aside and let the attacks glide past him. They struck the ground and exploded with lightning. Gritting his teeth, Wu Jian touched Baatar Chuluun.

“Warp.”

And the man disappeared. That was how it seemed to everyone else. Screams from above soon caused them all to look up to see none other than Baatar Chuluun falling from the sky. He screamed as his arms and legs flailed. Despite his cultivation level, it appeared he hadn’t mastered flying. Perhaps it was because he was a tiger. The sky was not their domain.

Baatar Borchu dashed forward to rescue their comrade while Baatar Batuul came at Wu Jian with a series of swift, powerful kicks. The man was strong. Each kick rent the air. Pressure threatened to push Wu Jian back, but he stood his ground and met the man’s kicks with his fists. It was a contest of pure strength. Their strikes caused miniature shockwaves to burst the air around them.

“Ashen Steps.”

While Wu Jian engaged in combat, Baatar Khasar snuck in behind him. He moved unseen. Even his allies couldn’t detect him while he was hiding like this.

“Silent Fang.”

Silent Fang was his signature strike. It was a killing claw strike that killed without warning. Most of his enemies were killed before they even realized it.

However--

“Black Hole.”

A portal opened up before him, and instead of tearing through Wu Jian’s throat, his claw tore through Baatar Batuul’s left leg. The man’s legs were powerful and durable like iron. However, Baatar Khasar’s attacks were designed specifically to tear through the tough hide of his enemies. The man’s leg was… not severed, but so thoroughly torn apart that it would take months to heal.

As shock rippled through the group, Wu Jian attacked Baatar Batuul with a double-palm thrust. A shockwave erupted as the palms impacted the man’s chest. The force of his blow was so strong that Baatar Batuul was thrown backward. A cat could normally land on their feet. Tigers were the same as cats, but the attack had also knocked Baatar Batuul unconscious instantly.  The sudden blow to his diaphragm had made him lose both his ability to breathe and disrupted his Qi.

Turning, Wu Jian attempted to grab Baatar Khasar, but he was blocked when Baatar Erden hurled a boulder at him. He backpedaled and Baatar Kharuun came in, howling like a craven beast.

“Blood Frenzy… huh,” Wu Jian muttered.

Blood Frenzy was Baatar Kharuun’s special technique, which allowed him to grow stronger the more injured he became, but this technique also came at the cost of him losing his sanity. While the technique was active, he became a berserker. The only way to defeat him was to strike him down with a single blow.

“Sorry. I don’t have time to deal with you.”

He touched the man and teleported him right into Baatar Erden. The man had still been hurling boulders at him, but he was forced to stop when Baatar Kharuun attacked him instead of Wu Jian.

“What are you doing, fool?! I’m not your enemy!!!”

No matter what he said, Baatar Kharuun continued to attack him. While in his frenzied state, he was unable to differentiate friend from foe. That was the weakness to his technique.

Two of the remaining eight were out of the way. However, Baatar Chuluun and Baatar Borchu were now back in the fight. Despite outnumbering Wu Jian, the remaining six kept their distance, wary.

“What’s wrong… not going to attack…?” Wu Jian asked, breathing heavily.

“Look, he’s weakening! Now is our chance to attack!” Baatar Tomor exclaimed.

He came at Wu Jian with an endless series of relentless slashes. Wu Jian was forced to move backward, where Baatar Borchu waited for him.

“Warp.”

Wu Jian suddenly disappeared, reappeared behind Baatar Borchu, and slammed a fist infused with the Dao of Space against his head. It was a powerful strike, though it lacked the flashy force of his previous attacks. The Dao of Space flowed into Baatar Borchu and caused the man to lose consciousness.

“Ashen Steps.”

“Phantom Slash.”

Wu Jian could not celebrate beating another foe. Someone appeared in his blindspot. He sensed them, but he was too slow to react. Blood spurted from a wound that opened on his torso. It was, fortunately, not a deep wound. His hide in his transformed state was strong, durable, and it protected him from slashing attacks. The fact that his skin could be torn like this was a testament to his foe’s power.

Wu Jian was still in the game despite the wound. He threw out his hand, warping just his hand to where he sensed Baatar Khasar trying to make his escape. The man had no time to react. Wu Jian gripped his throat like a vice and squeezed. His hands were strong, and his attack quickly crushed the man’s windpipe. He made sure Baatar Khasar would live, but every second he breathed would be a struggle, weakening him over time.

Baatar Erden had defeated Baatar Kharuun, but not without injury. He was bleeding from multiple places and his left eye was swollen shut. Despite that, he still looked ready to fight, and he regrouped with the others as they attacked.

Baatar Temur came in once more. Wu Jian realized he was acting as a shield for the others, absorbing attacks Wu Jian unleashed to protect the others so they could fight him. Despite realizing this, he was unable to stop. The moment he tried to divert his attacks, Baatar Temur was launching blows into his side. Each one struck like a hammer. Even his durable body would not be able to withstand too many of those.

“You’ve done well, but trying to take all twelve of us on was foolish,” someone said from behind him. Wu Jian only had a brief moment to comprehend the words before a roar that rattled his insides echoed all around him.