Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
The two lazy people were as sloppy as they were since the beginning. With no battle intent seen on their faces, the odd duo immediately attracted the attention of tens of thousands of eyes.
Xue Tian’s smile was also filled with laziness. With his katana still in its scabbard, he gently rubbed the corner of his nose with an up and down motion and turned to look at Qin Fen, “Old Qin, are you interested in placing a bet? How long will it take for me to beat him?”
Qin Fen looks stunned. Xue Tian was the most unpredictable among these recruits. If someone else was to be put against Brooks, it would be easier to estimate. But only Xue Tian’s ability was unpredictable; how good or bad was he?
“Old Qin, I bet that I will end this battle with three strokes.” Xue Tian raised his three fingers high above the head with a weird smile on his face, making others unable to guess whether he was joking or bluffing.
Qin Fen’s eyes beamed with surprise. Brooks was not a weak contestant in this tournament. He was truly at the pinnacle among the seven-star martial artist and may advance into eight-star at any time. Even if Qin Fen were to fight Brooks himself, if Brooks placed effort into prolonging the battle, he still wouldn’t be a character that could be taken down with a stroke.
Three strokes? Qin Fen looked at Xue Tian from the head to toe again. This feat required a minimum ability of eight-star martial artist and extreme control!
“Three strokes?”
Brooks’s usual drowsy yet handsome face showed a proud smile this time. Even if Qin Fen personally came to fight him, he would not dare to say that he could take him down within three strokes.
A series of icy mechanical yet emotionless voice from the loudspeakers slowly sounded. “Brooks from the American region please come up to the stage…”
The sound echoed in the sky of the stadium. Brooks turned back and pulled a saber from the waist of an American recruit near him. Both his feet stomped the ground and his body was like a projectile shot by a high-pressure spring. After a few ascents and descents, he jumped to the center of the battlefield.
The saber in his hand lightly swung behind him. The bright sword reflected the sunlight directly on Xue Tian’s pair of eyes. He stood proudly at the center of the battlefield and gave people a feeling that the person and the sword were one entity!
In martial arts, there was a saying known as the human and the sword becomes one, human and the blade becomes one, as well as human and the spear becomes one.
At this moment, Brooks’ performance reminded people of the words often spoken by martial artists who used their weapons frequently.
The audience was stunned by the fact that Brooks was also a martial artist that used weapons! Upon looking at Brook’s smooth hands with no weapon grip bruises and looking like a pianist’s hands, everyone always assumed that he was a bare-handed fighting expert who does not use weapons.
It wasn’t until Brooks held the weapon in his hands that people knew they were wrong! He was a saber user! The saber in the hand was connected with him through blood and veins at this very moment! This saber was his main blade and it definitely was not borrowed from others in the spur of the moment.
At this moment, the eyes of the audience gradually glowed with excitement.
A truly successful swordsman was not determined by being identified as a swordsman at a glance. The real swordsman should be good at hiding his identity and only when he was using a blade would he be a swordsman.
More people began to look up at the replay in the projection screen. From the start of the Brooks’ entry, he made several ejections on the ground surface. Each shot looked like it dealt a huge impact, but as seen from the playback, the ground he stepped had no signs of being damaged.
“He did not disappoint as one of the Twin Stars of the American Recruits!”
“Yeah! Look at his amazing aura, there is no damage to the places he had stepped on at all. It seems that he had achieved a separate control of both his potential and strength.”
“Unfortunately, he has not achieved the strength of an eight-star, or else Qin Fen might not be qualified to be the current number one recruit.”
“Keke, even if Qin Fen was Brooks’ opponent now, it doesn’t mean that he would definitely win against Brooks.”
“That is indeed true. Brooks is already at the pinnacle of seven-stars. If he was against Qin Fen, he may suddenly break through the pressure from the other side. If so, Qin Fen might be in trouble.”
The three commentators with their neverending commentary had made audience members who were unaware of Brook’s tyrannical strength clear about how powerful he was.
At the same time, many viewers also looked curiously at Xue Tian. Did Xue Tian know about how strong Brooks actually was, to the extent where no other seven-star could challenge him anymore, so he had placed bets on himself losing? Not that because he wanted to lose, but because he knew that winning was not an option?
Bai Sheng looked at Brooks with eyes filled with a bit of appreciation. This young recruit had improved again! And the improvement speed was very fast. He was only window-paper thin apart from being an eight-star. With a little push, this window paper would immediately be torn.
Advancement to eight-star? Bai Sheng smiled confidently. For Brooks to enter the eight-stars in the next moment would not be a surprising thing.
Brooks has the qualification to compete with Qin Fen as the champion! Bai Sheng was convinced of this.
“Xue Tian from the East Asian Region please…”
Xue Tian put the katana on his shoulders and did not use any movement technique. Like taking a stroll, he walked leisurely towards the center of the battlefield. He stood in front of Brooks slackly and he continued to stretch his lazy waist.
Many viewers laughed. The two recruits were considered to be well known as lazy recruits in the tournament. If both of them were competing with being lazy, then Xue Tian would have won.
It’s a pity that today’s two sides are not competing with their laziness, but with real fists!
Many people began to suspect that Xue Tian might throw his weapon away and surrender at the very first moment the tournament bell rang.
After all, since entering the top sixteen, Xue Tian did something incomprehensible, where he publicly exposed his finishing move.
“Lead broadcast, please focus on Qin Fen. Recruit Qin Fen, as the lead in the current recruit tournament, what do you think? How big is Xue Tian’s winning chance?”
…
Qin Fen shook his head and did not answer. Brooks was already at the peak of the seven-stars and it may not be surprising for him to advance into the eight-stars with this battle.
“Keke, since you have no comments, then let’s look at the upcoming tournament then.”
“I hope that no one will be killed as swords have no eyes.”
“Yes, that’s right! As you may see, the blade in Brooks’ hand is definitely a good blade.”
Xue Tian looked at Brooks and the blade in his hand. It’s a three-foot-long, two-inch-wide Damascus with cloud patterns on it.
One glance at the long blade was sufficient to give a person a suffocating feeling to hide.
First-class blade! First-class individual.
Brooks was born in the military. In his lazy temperament, he emitted a contradictory aura of hard work as a militant.
Brooks before he entered the battlefield and when he was outside the battlefield were two different concepts.
At this moment, there was no sign of fatigue in his body. The battle intent hidden in the body was dispersed through the skin, through the bones, and through the saber!
Brooks also stared at Xue Tian’s katana. The most terrible thing about this kind of blade was the moment it was drawn! As long as he doesn’t draw out the sword, it would always be a poisonous snake hidden in the dark that anyone should be cautious about.
The bell of the game suddenly sounded at this moment.
Brooks’s upper body pressed forward and his neat military uniform immediately was erupted by the true energy. The eruption made squeaking sound with the friction of his high-speed movement.
In an instant, he took the first step and wiped away the twenty meters distance between the two men! Close to using teleportation, he appeared in front of Xue Tian, showing the glorious side that the peak of the seven-star martial artist should have.
The body is pressed downwards again! The blade was drawn and a backhand appeared from the bottom!
The blade left a long silver arc in the air.
Qin Fen’s lips opened slightly. The speed was fast! The distance of twenty meters was covered in only two steps, but in many people’s eyes, it was just one step instead of two.
These two steps, although not comparable to the brutal outburst from the mammoth-like power of Qin Fen, wasn’t a strength that anyone in the seven-star ranking should underestimate.
The most horrifying thing was Brooks’s state of mind. The very instant the battle began, he seemed to become the war-mad Ashura in the malevolent state. His immense pressure suddenly rose sharply and the power ignited was enough to kill the fish-scaled gorilla that Qin Fen once killed.
“The sacred magic swordplay, Shura breaking path? Oh? Also combined with the Australian swordplay, the artistry of sword drawing? Oh? There is also the large sword swordplay from the Spring and Autumn swordplay?”
Xue Tian’s eyes were brimming with shock. The godly state that Brook’s hand, body, and legs displayed in that instant showed swordplay that infused three different swordplays.
Learning from others and combining the strength and advantages from it to create swordplay that suited you the most. This is the same as Qin Fen’s Martial Emperor Dragon Fists, which belonged to a new homemade martial art!
Bai Sheng’s eyes were even more shocked. Brook’s swordsmanship wouldn’t be considered as a great achievement but among the seven-star martial artists, this skill was already top-notch. Furthermore, it was his homemade skill. He was a young person with unlimited potential in his future.
With a single slash, Brook’s spirit had reached an unprecedented state. The blade had yet to touch the target, but he already felt the horrific look of defeat that Xue Tian had with this one slash.
Yang Lie’s eyes suddenly contracted like a needle tip and were brimming with a little bit of admiration. This was the origin of Brooks’s nickname.
Sky Splitter! Brook’s swordplay was the origin of his nickname.
Sky Splitter! Brooks believed that as long as the strength of his true energy strength was enough, sooner or later, this slash would really be able to split the skies!
The battle just began and the strongest finishing move was used! This battle was not a joke. Two martial artists with similar strengths would not tolerate any melodramatic events such as the use of thirty percent force first, and then fifty percent. If they realize that they can’t win then increased to seventy percent, ninety percent, then a hundred percent.
Those who conserved their strength were either lying in the hospital or stayed in the grave forever.
There was only one chance to win and countless chances to fail. No one would use stupid strategies such as thirty percent strength and let the opponent win in a swoop.
Unless your strength overpowered the other party by a lot, then it would be a different story.
Interesting! The corners of Xue Tian’s lips suddenly lifted upwards. Brooks reached the peak mental state, and he instinctively felt a chill as if he was thrown to the South Pole with no clothes!
Cold! The icy cold chill instantly broke the empty realm that Brooks never had! Bai Sheng’s eyes flashed with a trace of pity, if he can maintain even a very small moment of this state, Brooks may complete the advancement into being an eight-star martial artist.
In the face of Brooks’s arrogant sky splitter slash, Xue Tian did not dodge. A black katana scabbard suddenly sparked, followed by a black light and rotating cracks, like a Black Dragon emerged from the water and brought black water with it, and struck Brooks’s sky splitter slash.
Qiang!
A high decibel of piercing metal collision pierced through the air and was amplified by the loudspeaker through the microphone transmission which caused tinnitus in the ears of the audience. The blood in their chest seemed to be vibrated by the resonance sound made by the clashing weapons filled with killing intent.
Brooks’s wrist felt a numbing sore from the vibration. Xue Tian struck at the position where the Sky Splitter Slash was most vulnerable!
Any swordplay always had a vulnerable opening! This is a fact known by any swordsman. However, those with good swordsmanship would have hidden this opening! Even if anyone had discovered the opening, it would be still hard to strike the opening.
The better the swordplay, the smaller the opening would be!
Brooks was confident that the opening of the Sky Splitter Slash was not only hidden but also very small. In order to prevent being discovered, a great adjustment in speed was made to the Sky Splitter Slash. He was confident that even if others were to find out about the opening, they could only detect it and not really be able to strike it.
With regards to this, Brooks’ master, an American swordplay grandmaster Mike Li Zezhen said that was would be close to impossible for a seven-star martial artist to strike this opening. Even for eight-star martial artists to strike the opening would be very tough.
However, today at this moment, Brooks was surprised to find that Xue Tian, who was in front of him and had the strength of seven-star, had struck the opening perfectly.
With his arms still reeling with numbness, Brook immediately retreated. For his Sky Splitter Slash to hide its vulnerable opening and to be not struck by the opponent after the discovery of the opening, he naturally had to sacrifice something.
Mike Li Zezhen once said that if the Sky Splitter Slash was broken by the outside force, then the user of the Sky Splitter Slash would be in danger!
“This is my Thousand Swords Break Mountains and River!”
Xue Tian followed Brooks like a shadow, and at the same time, he released a deep roar. The katana in his hand broke out in a storm of light and shadow entering a state prepared for battle.
The retreated Brooks’ eyes flashed a hint of excitement, there is indeed a flaw after the Sky Splitter Slash was struck at its vulnerable point! But as a martial artist, if you don’t make up for the shortcomings of your finishing move, what kind of martial artists would you be? This move was originally intended as a surprise in the event Qin Fen broke through the Sky Splitter Slash. He did not expect…
The rapidly retreating ankles suddenly twisted in different directions. Like a tilting doll, Brooks’ body moved in a high-speed movement that seemed to split his body into several Brooks. Every afterimage seemed to be so real. The Damascus knife in his hand was drawn and with a blade that seemed like it was electrocuted and rapidly vibrating, he passed through Thousand Swords Break Mountains and River and dashed towards Xue Tian’s eyes.
Yang Lie suddenly grabbed both the handle on his seat and the plastic handle was instantly deformed and crushed. This is it! It was rumored that Brooks once mentioned before, but never used the second stage of the Sky Splitter swordplay, the Sky Piercing Slash! He actually completed it!
The Sky Piercing slash was very different from the first stage Sky Splitter Slash. This stage was like a slippery mudfish with many interchangeable odd angles and able to slip in any gaps on sight.
Xue Tian’s eyes were not shocked but instead pleased, the hundreds of blades image from the Thousand Swords Break Mountains and River swordplay, like being attracted by a huge magnet, all the blade’s light shrunk back into the katana.
The ever-changing blades transformed into a black beam, like a meteor falling to the ground, completely covering the mudfish in the mud. The wet swamp was instantly turned into dry land with the high-temperature evaporation. The Sky Piercing slash that was like a mudfish was completely exposed!
With no strange and changing angle, losing the pervasive gap, the mudfish was no longer lethal.
Brooks had his heart tightened and wanted to dodge but could not do so at all. He wanted to draw his blade but he was too late and once again the Damascus in his hand was struck at the vulnerable opening.
The tyrannical impact force was equal to a high-voltage current that drilled into his arm, directly impacted his five fingers! The foot retreated quickly, but he saw a black light falling from the top of his head.
It’s too late…
Brooks closed his eyes. The biting cold aura from the katana emitted a chilling pain on his forehead. When he opened his eyes, he saw with a twist of Xue Tian’s wrist, the katana returned to the scabbard.
The thunderstorm has turned into a clear sky again in a blink of an eye.
Brooks stared at Xue Tian, who turned away and wanted to leave. He asked, “You knew that I was baiting the enemy?”
Xue Tian stood still and looked at him strangely, “Of course. Such a forced performance, anyone could see through it.”
When Brooks heard this, it was more painful than being beaten with a heavy hammer on the chest. His finishing skill had already been seen through.
“That…” Brooks asked unwillingly, “What was the name of your swordplay? Is it your ultimate finishing skill?”
“That? It’s nothing, I named it Thousand Returning Blades, Sky Rejecting Slash.” Xue Tian placed katana on his shoulder, “The ultimate finishing skill? Are you kidding?”
“Furious Beheader… It’s so strong…”
Brooks looked at the back of Xue Tian while he walked away, and his monologue transmitted through the microphone into everyone’s ears.
Yang Lie’s face is full of bitter smiles. Furious Beheader? Which part of Xue Tian is furious? How could Xue Tian who is full of smiles called the Furious Beheader? The Xue Tian now is not furious at all, he is just katana user Xue Tian, not Furious Beheader Xue Tian!
Brooks lost? Bai Sheng was more surprised than anyone else. What is happening to this current generation of young people? Yesterday everyone saw the monster like Qin Fen, and today everyone saw the genius Xue Tian!
That’s right! Genius! Bai Sheng stared at Xue Tian with a strong blink of an eye. This young man was different from Qin Fen! When it comes to martial art talents, he was far better than Qin Fen. Of course, talent was not everything. Martial art senses are also very important for the understanding of martial arts.
But… Bai Sheng slowly closed his eyes. This young man Xue Tian’s talent could perhaps be placed first in the entire federation! Even Sacred Martial Hall had never seen such a talented person! Even the martial artists who held the title of the beast also had never seen this before!
The huge stadium was immersed in unprecedented silence, and even the commentators forgot to provide commentary. People couldn’t believe that Sky Splitter Brooks, who was against the same seven-star Xue Tian actually lost and had lost so quickly.
In the blink of an eye, the battle is over. Even the eight-star Qin Fen, would not be able to defeat Brooks with a timespan of a yawn.
This can no longer be described as a bitter defeat, but a complete defeat!
Bai Sheng opened his eyes again and looked at the back of Xue Tian. His tone was full of affirmation, “He… still has plenty of strength left…”
“Recruit Xue Tian from East Asian military region wins…”
The referees finally remembered their duties and quickly announced the victory and defeat of both sides.
Brooks didn’t notice that his forehead skin was sliced by the aura from the blade, and bright red blood ran down his forehead, while he just stood at the same place as he looked at Xue Tian.
“Hehe…” Brooks’s mouth showed a bitter smile. “I always thought that it would be us that will challenge Qin Fen. It turns out… hehe… people who were qualified to fight with Qin Fen have always existed. Xue Tian… Furious Beheader, Xue Tian…”
“Xue Tian, Furious Beheader, Xue Tian…” Caesar’s eyes locked on Xue Tian. It was expected that the last person to compete in the finals would be Sky Splitter Brooks. It was unexpected for a dark horse to appear, no! It should be a black dragon!
“Xue Tian…” Yang Lie slowly released the crushed plastic handle in his palms, “This time, I must personally duel with you! And experience your Furious Beheader!”
Xue Tian was as lazy as before, and sat on the seat beside Qin Fen with his buttocks, his hands slapped on his arms, shoulders, and thighs non-stop, “Exhausting, exhausting.”
Qin Fen had his eyes closed and his mind was full of replay from the battle. He didn’t want to watch the slow-motion playback on the big screen as those playbacks could only be viewed from the side. Only when you close your eyes and immerse yourself in your own world could you experience the most authentic feeling.
“Sigh,” Xue Tian looked at Qin Fen’s serious expression, once again showed a weak smile and shook his head repeatedly, “You are really a martial art enthusiast. If I were to study like you, I would have gone crazy already.”
Other young masters closed their eyes one by one. The shock was just too big. Although this kind of closed eyes immersion into their own world simulation was not a hundred percent accurate, at least it could be felt.
In just a few seconds, a few young masters had cold sweat breaking on their foreheads. When they open their eyes and look at Xue Tian again, it was like they were looking at a monster.
Qin Fen slowly opened his eyes. He did not look at Xue Tian. There was no sadness or joy on his face. No one knew if he won against Xue Tian in his own world, or like the others, had acknowledged how terrifying Xue Tian could be.
