Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
A commotion broke out among the spectators outside the arena.
“Am I seeing it right? He actually has the guts to get into the arena?”
“Ha! We have slighted his courage. It is said that Zhao Tianyin has been plotting to kill him for more than just a few days and revealed his intentions during the assessment at the Holy Altar. Despite this, does this guy still dare to get in there and face him?”
“Why listen to the rumors? Just look at Zhao Tianyin’s face and you’ll know,” someone ridiculed.
They looked over and saw that Zhao Tianyin’s eyes were blazing with murderous desire. A creepy, sinister smile was on his lips.
Even as spectators, they could feel chills crawling down their spines merely from looking at his expression.
“How daring must this foreigner be to get in there? His courage is remarkable!”
“Humph! Courage is only courage if you know your real capabilities. People like him, who go into the fray recklessly without real advantages, are just foolhardy.”
“That’s what I think too. He either covets the Saint Lady’s beauty so it makes him lose his mind, or the Saint Lady Temple has promised him some benefits that he couldn’t turn down, thus the eagerness.”
In the eyes of wizards, Zhao Tianyin was the greatest elite sorcerer of the younger generation, and he deserved the title in every way.
No one of the same generation could ever surpass him, not even the Saint Lady, who was slightly weaker than Zhao Tianyin.
Zhao Tianyin stared at Su Yu. His lips curled into a smile, and his contempt was obvious. “Even if you lose, you shouldn’t be ashamed, because you did have the courage to face me!”
He had the reputation of being the greatest among his peers, and Su Yu was a total nobody compared to him. For Zhao Tianyin, this was neither a haughty nor a conceited remark.
At least the people who were present did not find Zhao Tianyin’s words inappropriate.
Su Yu’s face was expressionless, as though he did not hear his opponent. He turned to the elder in the linen robe. “Shall we begin?”
The elder nodded. “Yes, you may.”
Feeling ignored, Zhao Tianyin breathed loudly through his nostrils. “You think you can behave impudently just because you have the thunderbolt mark? Humph! Even if I don’t kill you, I’ll make you suffer until you lose your will to live!”
“Soul-devouring Spell of a Hundred Ghosts!” Zhao Tianyin did not need to weave signs. As as he opened his mouth, the sorcery energy within him surged out naturally, coalescing into spells.
As they witnessed the scene, all the spectators gasped in horror.
“The highest level of wizardry, the Realm of Heart Signs!” They marveled.
The Saint Lady Temple Mistress had a solemn look in her eyes, hints of shock and dread appearing on her face despite her efforts to keep it expressionless.
The Wang Clan Master was also fascinated. Beneath his calm demeanor, he was excessively shocked.
Only the Saint Temple Master was smiling with an expression of gladness and superiority.
“The Realm of Heart Signs! The Saint has somehow attained such an incredible level!” The candidates who had forfeited their rights of competition were glad that they had chosen to give up as they watched the proceedings with shock and terror.
Amidst the crowd, Wang Qingchen stood quietly, clearly shaken. His pupils had constricted to the size of pinpricks, and his breathing was chaotic. He was utterly flabbergasted by the Saint’s stroke.
For a long moment, the look on his face kept changing until he finally let out a bitter, vulnerable sigh. “I’m not as great as him!”
In the past, he had missed the Saint’s position by a hair’s breadth, so Wang Qingchen trained in silence for several decades, thinking that he had closed the gap between the Saint and himself.
Unbeknownst to him, the disparity between them had increased instead!
The so-called Heart Signs method involved the ability to weave signs with one’s heart, without having to use one’s hands.
In the release of spells, weaving signs was a crucial phase. The speed of spell release and the power unleashed from it were all related to the speed of weaving signs.
The faster signs were weaved, the shorter the time of spell release would be. The power unleashed would be stronger as well.
In normal circumstances, wizards who trained to Level Three still mostly used their hands to weave signs. It was just that compared to ordinary wizards, they could do so at a faster pace.
Only a minority of wizards could weave signs using only one hand.
For instance, the Saint Lady could perform wizardry with great ease using only one of her hands.
Weaving signs with one hand was the sign of a top-notch level in wizardry.
As for wizards who did not need to use their hands to weave signs at all, only a couple of Sect Masters managed to accomplish that in all the years of the wizard tribe’s history.
Clearly, it was quite outstanding that the Saint could attain the Realm of Heart Signs!
Su Yu’s heart fluttered a little. He had learned about the history of the Wizard Tribe, and certainly had some knowledge regarding sign-weaving.
He knew what the Realm of Heart Signs meant!
It meant that no matter how ordinary the spell itself was, it could unleash a power several times stronger than it normally would if it were cast using the Realm of Heart Signs!
Worse still, the Soul-devouring Spell of a Hundred Ghosts was not just an ordinary spell. It was a form of wizardry passed down by the Wizard Ancestor personally, and it had been held in the hands of the Saint Temple all along.
Even the Saint Lady would have to fight against the power of this style with all her might, let alone Wang Qingchen.
As he noticed the approaching danger, a flute revolved in Su Yu’s hand and he instilled it with divine energy to activate it. When he played it, a celestial melody floated through the air.
As the melody sounded, it had a strong suppressing effect on the sorcery energy.
The barriers of the arena formed by the sorcery energy became disorderly and chaotic under the roiling of the celestial melody.
The Saint Lady Temple Mistress had personally reinforced the barriers, and their sturdiness was meant to match ordinary Level Three wizards.
“What kind of artifact is that? Why does it have such a strong curbing effect on the sorcery energy?”
“Indeed, it doesn’t look like an artifact of the wizard tribe!”
Due to the insulation of the sorcery energy, the people outside could not perceive the divine energy released by Su Yu. Hence, despite their bafflement, no one suspected that Su Yu actually wasn’t a wizard.
Where the heavenly melody passed, the waves of Zhao Tianyin’s Soul-devouring Spell of a Hundred Ghosts crumbled bit by bit. When it reached Su Yu, its force had become very tenuous.
With a light flick of his sleeve, Su Yu dissipated it easily.
Not having defeated Su Yu with a single easy blow as he had expected, Zhao Tianyin was slightly surprised. “Eh? I never saw this coming. Seems like you really are something, huh? But you are nothing compared to me!”
Zhao Tianyin’s face turned cold and stern as he yelled, “Sky-flipping Three Strokes!”
Upon hearing that, everyone gasped in astonishment!
The Saint Lady Temple Mistress was shaken. Aghast, she exclaimed, “He has learned the Sky-flipping Three Strokes? It’s impossible! This was his weakest technique back when he trained. In the ten years that have passed, he could at most have acquired the basics.”
The Wang Clan Master was equally stunned. “This young man has changed an awful lot in just ten years, hasn’t he? His strength of before was a mere pale shadow compared to what he is showing now!”
They marveled at the change in Zhao Tianyin’s abilities, while the rest of the wizards were stunned by the power of this style.
“Ha! The legendary Sky-flipping Style, the strongest wizardry passed down by the Wizard Ancestor! It was an evolution from the Heaven-splitting Yin Yang Style.”
“It touches the Supreme Laws that we can’t see, killing enemies with the Power of Law,” remarked a weathered old man.
“I never thought I would live to see the re-emergence of the Sky-flipping Style. This is the kind of top-grade wizardry that only the former Sect Masters could succeed in acquiring!”
“No doubt Zhao Tianyin is the best candidate for the Sect Master. Even before succeeding to the position, he has acquired abilities that far outshine the former Sect Masters.”
In comparison, the Saint Lady, Wang Qingchen, and others who were once considered great talents seemed completely incompetent now.
The Saint Lady bit her lower lip. She was stunned and at the same time slightly reluctant to accept her inferiority.
Wang Qingchen had turned pallid, his final bit of pride pulverized by the Sky-flipping Style. There was no way he could possibly withstand the stroke even if he used all his might.
“Take my blow!” Zhao Tianyin growled coldly. “Sky-flipping First Stroke, the Stroke of Gods’ Doom!”
Boom!
Once it was unleashed, the world shook and the air rumbled, tearing down the sorcery energy used to seal the arena.
The Saint Lady Temple Mistress stood up abruptly, instilling sorcery energy into the barrier to stabilize it.
The elder in the linen robe was flabbergasted. In a deep voice, he bellowed, “Everyone, take a step back just in case. Stay away from the arena!”
Swish! Swish! Swish!
People hastened to get back even before he issued his warning. The absolute, overwhelming power of the Sky-flipping Style made them so nervous that many were tempted to turn around and flee.
Even the Saint Lady and Wang Qingchen recoiled.
Although they kept a distance, their eyes did not leave the arena for a single second. Unblinking, they fixed their gazes on the arena, afraid of missing the display of legendary top-grade wizardry.
The Saint Lady’s heart was constricted, her crystal-like eyes filled with anguish.
Even the Saint Lady Temple Mistress lost her composure, showing a deep frown.
The attack was as powerful as the one unleashed by the World Annihilation Dragon. Would Su Yu be able to withstand it?
Su Yu had a somber look in his eyes. The might of the technique made his heart beat wildly as if he was facing the World Annihilation Dragon all over again.
He played the True Sky Flute of Heavenly Melody one more time, the boundless celestial music floating through the air.
However, it did not exterminate the sorcery energy as he had hoped, but was dispersed by the intangible waves instead!
Su Yu was horrified. He shuddered, and a surge of purplish black force was unleashed from his blood and flesh, forming a thin membrane about three inches from the surface of his body.
This was the magical effect of the fruit borne by the thousand-year-old Soul-stabilizing Wood. It had refined Su Yu’s body to a point of making him resistant to sorcery energy.
However, intuition told Su Yu that the dreadful magnificence of the Sky-flipping Technique had exceeded an ordinary Level Three attack.
An immense sense of danger swept over him. Gritting his teeth, Su Yu leaped into the air, belligerence surging around him, penetrating time and space.
“Heaven-stomping Stroke!”
All of a sudden, as if Su Yu had transformed into a majestic being that carried the world on his shoulders, he was filled entirely with undying, ever-lasting belligerence.
His body was like a sword, his will as tough as steel.
His body was imperishable, his will perpetual.
A belligerence that raised turbulence in the heavens and the earth erupted out of nowhere, sweeping across space.
Bang!
The breathtaking, awe-inspiring belligerence and the supreme, domineering wizardry collided at that moment!
With a thunderous boom, the barrier made of sorcery energy crumbled from the inside out, no longer able to withstand the waves of impulse generated from the collision of the two mighty forces.
The sorcery energy disintegrated in every direction. Like a massive deluge, it swept away every single thing it encountered on its way.
“Oh no! Run!” The face of the elder in the linen robe changed drastically as he screamed at the top of his lungs. The sorcery energy within him erupted, turning into a barrier and shielding him.
The Saint Lady Temple Mistress, the Saint Temple Master, the Wang Clan Master from Sheng City, and the Chu Clan Master from Fan City were all horrified beyond words. Swiftly, they flew to the sides of the elder, the five of them joining hands to raise the barrier with sorcery energy.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
They heard the tempestuous sounds of waves surging like an immense tide. It was so loud that they were turning deaf.
Having maneuvered their sorcery energy to its extreme, they managed to preserve the barrier, resisting the terrifying force that erupted within it.
It lasted for ten full breaths. Only then did the waves of impact from the collision weaken, gradually dying down.
They all wore expressions of deep terror and confusion.
“What was the matter with the undying belligerence? Why was it so extremely powerful?” The Chu Clan Master queried in a tremulous voice. As he recalled the belligerence that erupted out of nowhere, he felt a sense of mortal danger.
The Saint Temple Master was extremely shaken too. He questioned the Saint Lady Temple Mistress in a raised voice, “Who the hell is this person you found? That was no wizardry at all! That was a Divine Path!”
The eyes of the elder in the linen robe were glinting with agitation as he questioned coldly, squinting with suspicion, “Saint Lady Temple Mistress, you need to provide an explanation! Why would a man with a Divine Path hide within the Saint Lady Temple?”
The Saint Lady Temple Mistress offered a helpless smile. “Gentlemen, it is best to figure out a way to make the two of them stop. If they keep fighting, it is not just the Saint Lady Temple that is going to be destroyed, but a great half of the Saint Capital!”
Their gazes shifted to the arena. However, where were the two opponents?
They had flown up into the Void, caught up in a great battle in the sky.
