Chilian Daynight also did not recognize Liu Shaoqiu, but since he had reached this stage, Liu Shaoqiu was definitely an expert from Astral-2. He would not be a simple opponent.
Even as Liu Shaoqiu faced Chilian Daynight, his eyes swept upwards towards the peak above them. He then gripped his sword hilt and swept out with the rusty blade once before gently sheathing his sword once more. He turned and slowly walked out of the arena.
Many were dumbfounded by his actions. What was that? Was this guy an idiot? Had he just admitted defeat after randomly moving around? Although, it was not that embarrassing to admit defeat against a Daynight clan member.
But then, right as everyone was wondering what had just happened, Chilian Daynight’s body split in half, and he vanished from the Lifeseek Realm.
Everyone fell silent and stared, aghast, at the scene; Chilian Daynight had just died.
At this moment, neither the spectating Astral Combat Academy students nor the countless people staring at their screens across the universe could believe what had just happened. How had Chilian Daynight died? His death had been too sudden and without warning. Had his opponent killed him?
On the highest peak, all ten student leaders had grave expressions. They could understand that sword sweep even if the others couldn’t. It had transcended space and attacked without a trace, but it had still been extremely precise. It had not damaged the space in the slightest, but this slice had still easily dispatched Chilian Daynight.
Lu Yin frowned. It was a very formidable sword technique.
“This is the first sword of the Thirteen Swords,” Liu Xiaoyun said with an agonized yet also envious and dissatisfied tone. The Thirteen Swords technique was the Sword Sect’s most powerful inherited sword technique, but she was not qualified to receive it. It was akin to being a thirsty wanderer in a desert and then seeing an oasis in front of them. However, they were unable to take even a single step forward. This level of desperation was unimaginable to the average person. It was also the same reason why she had joined the Astral Combat Academy and stepped away from the Sword Sect; it was in anticipation of, one day, defeating Liu Shaoqiu and proving that the Thirteen Swords was not that extraordinary.
However, even after all these years, when Liu Xiaoyun saw the Thirteen Swords once more, she instantly realized that she could not let go of her desire for it. Her longing for Liu Shaoqiu’s power only grew the more he displayed it. And yet, she was not qualified to bear such power.
Lu Yin’s eyes flashed when he noticed that Liu Xiaoyun’s right hand was tightly gripping her sword hilt. He wanted to face the Thirteen Swords technique himself, and he even wondered if he could learn it himself. Logically, it should be impossible, as the Sword Sect was no weaker than the Daynight clan. It had already been extremely difficult for him to learn just a few of the Daynight clan’s standard battle techniques, let alone this peak Thirteen Swords inherited technique.
No matter how confused the audience was, the tournament still had to go on. There was no need for the arena to repair itself this time, as it had not been damaged whatsoever.
The next match was Bonny Phoenix against Qu Feng, the humble looking person who had defeated Darkvoid. No one could even understand his attacking approach.
In the first Flowzone, the Sword Sect members were not even watching the screen, as they were completely confident that Liu Shaoqiu would definitely sweep through the tournament and take first place.
In that dusky land, the beautiful girl clapped. “How powerful! Grandma, he’s my fiancé! So powerful!”
She deferentially replied, “Yes, his battle technique is called Thirteen Swords. What you just saw was only the first sword.”
The girl became happy. “Really? I hope that I’ll be able to see all Thirteen Swords.”
The old woman forced a smile onto her face. Even the person who had joined the Ten Arbiters had not comprehended all Thirteen Swords. It was unknown how many Liu Shaoqiu had comprehended so far, but it would be at least dozens of years before anyone could see the complete version of the Thirteen Swords, unless it was demonstrated by the previous generation’s sect master of the Sword Sect.
The battle between Qu Feng and Bonny Phoenix again left many at a loss. Qu Feng’s attack style was too strange, and he won the battle by incessantly scattering ink around the battlefield. Bonny Phoenix was still a fallen Undying Bird, but he had died even more miserably than Hart Phoenix. At least Hart had released his golden Undying Bird.
Bonny was sullen, but he simply had no way to fight back against Qu Feng.
Lu Yin was shocked. “What a strange attack. It seems to be rather similar to Han Chong’s.”
Not far away, Feng Shang smiled before saying, “Qu Feng and Han Chong are both from the Innerverse’s Erudite Flowzone. That Flowzone has a unique heritage in that they pass down the previous generation’s scholars’ calligraphy methods. Thus, their attack methods are very often different from the other Flowzones.”
“No wonder,” Lu Yin remarked in an understanding tone.
These two consecutive matches had puzzled many, but the next revitalized their excitement once more. One of the fighters was Cang Shi from Chaosgod Mountain. He had defeated Tiankong Daynight and used the Daynight clan as a stepping stone to spread his fame throughout the universe.
His opponent was Xia Ye from Astral-5; the Dao of Heaven’s Machine Domain’s Area Master.
An Area Master was supposed to be second in strength only to a Realm Master, but this Astral Combat Tournament was unique in that half of the Area Masters had already been eliminated. Conversely, it was the freaks like Cang Shi who had only recently joined the Astral Combat Academy who made people feel apprehensive, as no one knew how strong these newcomers really were.
Xia Ye’s performance in Astral-5 had not been too eye-catching, and he was just an average Area Master. Otherwise, he would not have just ruled over a place like the Machine Domain. To most students, that area didn’t hold much value and was basically treated like an abandoned factory. Thus, not many audience members held high hopes for Xia Ye, as they estimated him to be no stronger than Tiankong Daynight.
However, Lu Yin viewed him seriously. This was because Xia Ye had the same primeval surname as Xia Luo. If this person went all out, Lu Yin was certain that his display would be so terrifying that it would cause others to doubt their eyes.
Cang Shi was of the same view as Lu Yin and waited for his opponent to attack.
Xia Ye did not remain polite and charged towards Cang Shi with a fist. Many were disappointed by his attack, as it was not as strong as Tiankong Daynight’s, which in their mind meant that his overall strength was definitely not comparable either.
Cang Shi remained calm and dodged several times before suddenly attacking himself. His body swayed as if he were trying to disrupt Xia Ye’s attacking rhythm. Xia Ye did not do anything unexpected, and was grabbed by Cang Shi. His body was then smashed into the ground.
Many students sighed as they thought that Xia Ye had been defeated too quickly, seeing it as a pity.
But then Cang Shi jumped out of the deep pit and looked at his own fist. His expression was strange, and he seemed to be slightly lost and not as confident in himself as when he previously defeated Tiankong Daynight. He looked back into the deep pit with an odd expression.
Xia Ye’s body had not vanished, as he had not died yet. He slowly stood up, rubbed his abdomen, and commented, “You’re indeed worthy of being a disciple of Chaosgod Mountain. Your attack’s super strong.”
Cang Shi stared at Xia Ye strangely and spoke for the first time. “You… Your heartbeat’s not right.”
Xia Ye simply smiled strangely. “Don’t worry about it. It’s just a personal habit.”
Cang Shi squinted and clenched his right fist. He then unexpectedly took the initiative to attack. His fist directly landed on Xia Ye’s chest, right over his heart, and sent him flying. Xia Ye’s back parted the air like an arrowhead, and he landed heavily against the side of the peak. He had been struck with such force that his body continued moving even after colliding against the peak, piercing straight through the mountain before finally crashing onto the ground.
Countless people watching from their screens sharply breathed in, as this attack was too vicious. If Arikar and the others’ attacks had been eye-dazzling, then Cang Shi’s attack was nothing more than overwhelming strength. This was not the same as Grandini’s overbearing strength, but more like a sharp explosion of strength.
Everyone thought that Xia Ye was dead, but once again, he calmly stood up and walked back to the center of the plains. He rubbed his chest, causing his heart rate to suddenly speed up. At soon as Cang Shi noticed this, his expression changed as he made a blocking motion with both arms. The Xia Ye in front of him had not vanished yet, but another Xia Ye had appeared in front of him. This was a phantom image created from an extreme speed that was too fast to track with the eyes, but not fast enough to penetrate the void.
Thump!
A dull sound filled the air as the shock waves from Xia Ye’s attack rippled out from the impact and tore the ground apart. Cang Shi was sent flying in a similar manner to Xia Ye and crashed into the ground. Xia Ye leapt up before his body plummeted downwards, causing the fissures in the ground to expand once again. Bang after explosive bang filled the crowds’ ears while it felt like the entire arena plains was about to be flipped on its head.
Many were dumbfounded, as no one had imagined that the seemingly gentle Xia Ye would fight in such an explosive manner. His attacks looked even more terrifying than Grandini’s, since at least both Lulu and Grandini’s battle intent had been blatantly revealed.
Cang Shi retaliated with an angry roar as his fists collided with Xia Ye’s. The resulting shock waves travelled through the arena and even instantly killed a fair number of the observing students. The peak overlooking the field was also torn apart by the air waves. Despite the destructive clash, the two figures rose from beneath the surface of the ground and into the sky. They collided again in midair, both tearing through the void.
The disciples of Chaosgod Mountain all had perverse reaction times and could effectively evade most battle techniques. For example, Tiankong Daynight’s attacks had been completely ineffective against Cang Shi. However, Xia Ye did not attack straightforwardly, or rather, it would be more accurate to say that his attacks factored in Cang Shi’s evasive movements. Thus, Xia Ye’s attacks sealed off all avenues of escape, forcing Cang Shi to directly clash against him.
“For the Chaosgod Mountain disciple to be forced to fight with his body, this Xia Ye is very strong. Kuang Wang, your Astral-5 has hidden its talents well,” Nightqueen Yanqing commented with a sneer.
Kuang Wang’s face remained solemn, as he had been completely unaware of Xia Ye’s strength since the two of them had never crossed paths. But it was evident from this battle that Xia Ye had a rather tough body as well as a great deal of battle experience. At the very least, Kuang Wang himself was not confident in beating a Chaosgod Mountain disciple in a physical confrontation.
There was another loud boom as Cang Shi’s body turned purple. This time, the resulting shock waves swept out all directions and nearly caused the void to collapsed.
“Four lines… That’s four-lined battle force!” someone cried out in astonishment.
The first powerhouse with four-lined battle force had appeared in this Astral Combat Tournament.
After Cang Shi revealed his battle force, Xia Ye’s entire body was thrown underground, once again suppressed like how he had been at the start of the battle.
Cang Shi’s eyes were as malevolent as ever. Chaosgod Mountain was one of the top organizations among the dark powers, and his attacks never showed any mercy. He lifted his right fist as purple battle force condensed on it before slamming his fist down. This fist filled with battle force truly did topple the arena plains, and the entirety of the violence was centered on Xia Ye’s point of impact. The entire arena field was flipped over as the strength of the purple battle force passed through the ground and swept out in all directions along the deep fissures in the ground.
At this point, an unseen force descended and separated the battle ground from the observing students so that they would not be affected.
Many of them panicked, knowing they would die as soon as the four-lined battle force touched them.
The ground had a faint purple sheen to it because of the four-lined battle force that had just coursed through it.
Cang Shi did not seem satisfied and punched down with his fist again, but this time, it was caught by a hand. The two hands met, and another shock wave swept out from underground, tearing everything in its path to shreds due to the reinforcement of the battle force. Even the nearby peak overlooking the fields where the student leaders were seated started to tremble.
Xia Ye reappeared, and his body was similarly shrouded with four-lined battle force. The two battle forces clashed and caused the void to boil as hairline cracks extended outwards, centered around the two in the middle of the maelstrom of chaos. Countless people viewing this scene were dumbfounded.
Before their screens, numerous spectators were shocked by what they were seeing. Those who understood battle force knew that four-lined battle force usually only ever appeared on Explorers with extremely few Limiteers able to grasp it. Yet two such Limiteers had appeared today, and when the two’s battle force collided, even the void could not withstand it. This was an absolutely terrifying scene that even a normal Explorer wouldn’t be able to interfere in if they wished.
These two possessed a strength on par to an Explorers’!
Cang Shi stared at Xia Ye’s looming gaze and felt that something was amiss even though he had his four-lined battle force surrounding his body. He instinctively tried to distance himself from Xia Yu.
Xia Ye slowly released a breath, and his heart rate changed once more. This time, it returned to a normal rate that Cang Shi could hear. From the very start, he had felt that this person’s heart rate was abnormal. Right now, it had returned to a normal rate, but a moment later, an intense pain spread out from the fist that Xia Ye had gripped earlier.
