Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The battlefield turned silent all of a sudden. All four remaining candidates were coincidentally in four different corners. Xu Que was resting, and both Huang Jiuge and Bai Ze did not bother making a move in a hurry. Everyone seemed to be waiting for someone else to make a move.
Huang Jiuge was in no hurry as he had already fought. Bai Ze had yet to fight anyone. Is he trying to enter the final round like this? He wants his way all cleared before fighting someone? If Bai Ze gets to stay arrogant like this, then what am I?
Bai Ze was also waiting, but he was not waiting for Huang Jiuge; he was waiting for Ye Futian. He eyed Ye Futian with a sarcastic look. He wanted to see how long Ye Futian would take to challenge him.
Will he avoid fighting me and choose to fight Huang Jiuge or Xu Que instead? Bai Ze was in no hurry. Having come this far, he needed only to win one or two fights to be ranked number one in this round. He had enough patience to wait until then. Ye Futian had, of course, been aware of Bai Ze’s gaze, that gaze filled with provocation and condescension, which seemed to ask Ye Futian, what are you waiting for?
Those eyes were filled with extreme arrogance. As the second son of White Cloud City, a descendant of a figure ranked fourth on Barren Sky Ranking, Bai Ze was practically born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His background was formidable, his talents extraordinary, and everything seemed to be within his grasp so long as he bothered reaching for it. It was perhaps due to the fact that he had never suffered a loss of any kind, and there were few among his peers who were able to match his prowess in any way. As such, he was arrogant, and he knew nothing about the word ‘respect’. That was why he dared to invite Hua Jieyu right in front Futian. If it had not been for his second sister being around, Bai Ze might have been even blunt with his use of words. Maybe Ye Futian was little more than a footnote in Bai Ze’s eyes, and it was only natural that Bai Ze not care about Ye Futian’s feelings. The more arrogant one was, the greater the fall.
The battlefield was filled with an eerie silence.
“What is he waiting for?” Many cast their gaze at Ye Futian. They never bothered looking at Bai Ze or Huang Jiuge, as if the one who should challenge someone was Ye Futian and no one else.
No one knew what Ye Futian was waiting for.
Yu Sheng remained on the battlefield. His eyes were calm. While no one had any idea what he was thinking about, it was obvious he was not worried. He wanted to clear the path for Ye Futian, leaving only Bai Ze behind to fight his friend, yet Xu Que’s prowess meant that he had no means of attacking. Even so, he remained firm in his belief his friend would still be able to accomplish what he failed to.
“Any idea what he is up to?” In the direction of the Holy Zhi Palace, Zhuge Canyang asked Zhuge Mingyue.
“Who do you mean by ‘he’?” Zhuge Mingyue replied with a question.
“Ye Futian, of course,” Zhuge Canyang answered. Isn’t that obvious?
“Why Ye Futian instead of Bai Ze or Huang Jiuge?” Zhuge Mingyue turned to eye Zhuge Canyang.
Zhuge Canyang was dumbfounded for a brief moment, yet he knew what Zhuge Mingyue meant by that. Everyone had the opinion that Ye Futian should be the one to challenge someone and that it was only natural for him to do so. It was as if Ye Futian should make his move, picking an opponent that he was able to handle, lose, get eliminated, and then make way for the others.
Zhuge Mingyue looked at the battlefield with a slight smirk on her face. “Are you saying that the others are right to be pretentious, but not my little brother?”
“…” Zhuge Canyang was rendered speechless, before smiling and saying, “Touché.” If Ye Futian had heard their conversation, he would have commended his elder sister for being the one who understood him.
The eerie silence continued and many began to look impatient. That was the first time something like this happened since the battles began. Many wondered if it was because the candidates were trying to overwhelm each other through their personal bearings alone, given how it was the clash of the titans.
It was Xu Que, who was still resting at the moment, that opened his eyes. A flicker of a sharp, killing sword will appear in his eyes. He scanned the battlefield before him and set his eyes on Ye Futian.
“This is boring.” Xu Que shook his head smiling, before walking into the battlefield and saying, “It seems like I’m the most boring person in the room. Very well, I’ll make a move. You there, get up.”
Ye Futian was aware of Xu Que’s gaze and knew that Xu Que was challenging him. He stepped out onto the battlefield. Countless eyes turned to look at them both, wondering if things were about to start again.
That guy sure knows how to keep people waiting.
A gust of killing sword aura encased Ye Futian, yet he lifted his head as if he was judging Xu Que, before smiling and saying, “You should have been eliminated in the last round.”
Ye Futian naturally found Yu Sheng to be stronger than Xu Que, even if it was Yu Sheng who ended up losing. He nonetheless persisted in his belief, simply because the one Xu Que, the one they called ‘the heir of the God-slaying Sword’, fought was Yu Sheng. If Yu Sheng was to go all out, it would have been hard to tell who would end up dead.
“The fact remains that I won and he lost. He was indeed powerful, but too bad I was his natural counter. Can’t you comprehend that?” Xu Que’s clear voice sounded rather lazy.
Ye Futian nodded. He admitted that much.
“You’re right, but you seem to not get it yourself. The one that you shouldn’t have challenged is me,” Ye Futian said in a flighty tone.
A tinge of puzzlement was seen in Xu Que’s lazy eyes. The one I shouldn’t have challenged? You are really a pompous one indeed.
The audience outside the battlefield all looked funny. Just what is that guy thinking? He actually went boasting around someone like Xu Que?
“So you meant that you were able to counter my abilities?” Xu Que smiled.
“You’ll see soon enough,” Ye Futian answered.
“Interesting fellow, you are,” Xu Que smiled and said. Ye Futian was the first person he met who was able to keep such an air around him.
Xu Que took only one light step out, and the battlefield was soon covered in killing intent. Endless killing sword will gathered around him. His sword was a killing sword, and it was only natural for him to select his techniques based on the one he intended to kill. Yu Sheng had explosive power but was relatively weak in the speed of his movements. Ye Futian was different, and Xu Que decided that the best course of action was simply to go for the kill right away.
Endless killing sword aura gathered before Xu Que. He spun the aura with only one hand, his other hand tucked behind him. He looked incredibly dashing as he did so. A fearsome vortex appeared and a sword emerged, a killing sword imbued with the might of the terrifying storm.
“Go.” Xu Que slapped out with his palm. Immense killing intent followed the sword’s movements, cutting the air between them. The sword zipped about in the air, aiming for Ye Futian. Light of celestial bodies shone around Ye Futian. The heavens and the earth turned into a world of stars. Empowered by the holy will, the celestial bodies grew to look even more real and powerful.
Ye Futian levitated in the midst of the celestial bodies, then became clad in the shadow of the Roc, looking incredibly dazzling.
Shoop… The sword hit its intended target, and the starry defenses crumbled in an instant. Endless sword aura flowed about and descended into the starry world. The seemingly invincible sword cleaved through its obstacles like a hot knife through butter, tearing everything in its path apart. Meteors exploded and crumbled as the sword went past, and nothing seemed to be able to stop the sword’s advance.
Coldness followed as the stars and meteors were no more. The sword turned into a killing beam headed for Ye Futian. Thunderous light emerged from under Ye Futian’s feet, and with a flap of the Roc’s wings, he vanished from where he stood. Rumbling noises were heard, and the sword continued its course, disappearing from that space and heading for the edge of the battlefield. Mighty ones from the Holy Zhi Palace interfered and snuffed the sword out. The flowing sword will was blocked by the stars and the meteors, as well as the coldness, dissipating without a trace in the starry world.
Xu Que did not continue attacking. He turned to look at Ye Futian. The starry world was a manifestation of Ye Futian’s will and it turned autonomous. It packed incredible defensive capacity, and no conventional attacks were able to cut through the starry world and get near Ye Futian. It was also impossible for immensely powerful killing moves to attack in large areas, as Ye Futian would have simply evaded such attacks. The only way to truly get to Ye Futian was to do it up close and personal.
A sword appeared in Xu Que’s hand, a construct materialized using killing sword will. Fearsome storms whipped about around the sword. It was a sword meant to break spells, a weapon capable of cutting through all spells and kill the one conjuring the spells.
Xu Que’s body vanished from where he stood. Grey mirages flickered around Ye Futian and an incredibly terrifying killing sword will flowed in the air, making their way to Ye Futian. Ye Futian activated Freedom Meditation, and the flow of all auras in the air became crystal clear to him. Moonlight shone in the starry world and spells of coldness covered the space they occupied, slowing down the flow of all Spiritual Qi around them. The meteor storm that circled around Ye Futian became encased in frost. The place seemed to have turned into a space responding to his will absolutely, preventing the sharp killing sword will from getting anywhere near him.
A streak of mirages circled about him. A sword was seen cleaving the defenses of the starry world, and everything the anti-spell blade touched was soon turned to dust. To Xu Que, the place seemed to be entirely defenseless.
Ye Futian extended his hand, coalescing the light of the stars into a staff. He danced about as if he was practicing with his staff techniques. Every move seemed naturally ordered, and the power of his techniques grew increasingly intense. His body was soon covered in some kind of terrifying might.
“What is he doing?” Many eyed Ye Futian. Xu Que was just within an arm’s reach of Ye Futian, and he was able to launch a killing blow at Ye Futian at any moment. A fearsome killing sword will went straight for Ye Futian’s mind, filling the inside of his head with millions of killing intent, tearing everything apart and aiming to destroy his will. At the very same moment, Futian sensed impending danger looming about. He knew that Xu Que was about to make his move. Ye Futian’s body became tense, every fiber of his being rendered stiff. The endless killing aura filled every inch of his being, shocking him to the core of his being. However, Ye Futian continued to dance about with his staff as if nothing happened. Within his mind, he saw silhouettes circling around him trying to find a weak spot to exploit, yet he was able to see every move of that silhouette clearly.
Shoop! A very thin sound was heard as the anti-spell sword lashed out. All spells around were completely broken by Xu Que. The blade was lashed out at Ye Futian’s rear, going straight for his neck.
The sword fully intended to spill blood.
Lightning flickered and wings flapped. Ye Futian moved forward, drawing a near-perfect arc in the air, before turning around to strike with his staff. Xu Que’s sword was one able to break spells, yet the Nine Heavenly Attacks were not spells. An enormous shadow of his staff emerged within the starry world, cleaving through the heavens and going straight for Xu Que’s blade.
Xu Que looked troubled as he moved like flowing light, lashing out with his blade. He intended to evade the incoming attack, but the extreme will of cold and gravity severely limited his speed. Dazzling golden vines slithered about from his side to entangle him. Xu Que had no choice but to take the strike head-on. His sword was a killing sword and an anti-spell sword, silent but incredibly deadly. As such, the head-on damage potential of his blade was nowhere near formidable and definitely paled in comparison to Yan Jiu’s Heavenly Sword meant for head-on clashes. However, Xu Que was also an incredibly decisive person. He knew he had nowhere to run to, and as such, he forced his sword aura into his blade. The sword in his hand burst with intense killing light as it clashed with the starry staff.
A loud boom signified the crumbling of his sword, and the rush of terrifying power continued its course for Xu Que’s body. He retreated by maneuvering the force of the clash at the very moment of impact, and his body continued flying backward.
“Seal,” Ye Futian spat coldly. The stars and meteors circling sealed the space they occupied. His body turned into shimmering light like the Roc glittering in the air. The broken staff was once again made whole, and Ye Futian struck at his opponent again.
Xu Que struck with his palm, a sword embedded in it. The incoming constructs were quickly broken and his body continued to move forward. He had no intentions of staying any longer on the battlefield, and all he wanted at the moment was to be free from the starry world. However, Ye Futian’s speed was no slower than his. The Nine Heavenly Attacks descended from above. Xu Que pointed at the air with a roar of anger, and endless killing sword aura rushed at the staff like a torrent.
The giant staff cleaved right through the torrent of swords and continued striking its target. A loud boom was heard. Xu Que grunted as he was thrown down by the attack, spewing blood from his mouth. Golden lights shimmered as the Roc continued its course. Greater might seemed to have descended from the heavens to strike at everything below. Xu Que went pale before shouting, “I admit defeat.”
The staff halted. Ye Futian remained in the air as the light of the celestial bodies dissipated. Xu Que’s body hit the ground and blood was seen at the corner of his mouth as he lifted his head to look at Ye Futian.
Xu Que seemed to have grasped what Ye Futian meant with his words earlier. The one that he should not have challenged was indeed Ye Futian. Ye Futian had been able to capture Xu Que’s whereabouts and struck hard at his weaknesses. He continued hammering without pause once he got the better of his opponent until said opponent was defeated. Every move Xu Que made was perfectly countered in that fight of theirs.
“Xu Que has been defeated.” Countless eyes stared at the scene in astonishment. The battle before happened too quickly and those with lower levels in training were not even able to make out how Ye Futian won.
Eyes turned in Ye Futian’s direction. He managed to make it to top three with that one battle. Only two stood before Ye Futian after that battle; two who were probably the most powerful in the battles fought in the Holy Zhi Palace vicinity thus far—Huang Jiuge and Bai Ze!
