As a direct descendant of an Invincible Realm expert, Liu Xiuwei learned all his martial arts directly from his father, Liu Tianqing.
For anyone who wanted to achieve something in martial arts, it was like an invaluable treasure.
Being the most populous country in Zhongzhou State, their country had a population of 1.5 billion people. However, how many Invincible Realm experts were there out of all these people?
There were only four of them!
In the entire Zhongzhou State, there were only four Invincible Realm experts. Of course, if you count the late Liu Tianqing, there would be five of them. Nevertheless, how many martial art practitioners were there in Zhongzhou State? There were about millions, even billions of them. Few of them had the opportunity to be trained by an Invincible Realm expert. In that case, Liu Xiuwei was definitely lucky.
He was not gifted and his talents could even be considered as a somewhat mediocre. However, being the son of Liu Tianqing, he became an expert at peak Fire-flaming Realm standard. He might even enter the Thunder-shocking Realm during his lifetime. Of course, this was all because his father had helped him built a solid foundation.
It was also due to the fact that he had a father who took good care of him that Liu Xiuwei held a good position even among experts at the peak of the Fire-flaming Realm.
However, that did not mean that Liu Xiuwei did not know the weaknesses of his family’s martial arts.
His old man, Liu Tianqing spent less than 10 years to enter the Invincible Realm. The unique skills of the Liu family were both aggressive and strong defensively. That being said, their family skills had a conspicuous and undeniable shortcoming.
It was the speed; it was too slow.
Even though the martial arts of the Liu family were strong offensively and defensively, its practitioners would become very passive in front of dexterous enemies.
The shortcoming existed before Liu Tianqing died. From that time, people knew that the Liu family needed a dexterous skill to make up for the weakness.
However, so many years had passed. Still, the Liu family had not found a technique that would solve their problem. Thus, the shortcoming still existed.
Nevertheless, even though everyone knew about the shortcomings of their martial arts, still no one could harm the Liu family. That meant the weakness existed, but it was not too serious.
In the entire Dark World, apart from the famous body movements, there were few other body movements that matched the martial arts of the Liu family.
At first, Liu Xiuwei did not take Li Tianlan seriously at all. At the finishing point of the maneuver, there were two big screens, and one could see most parts of the maze through the screens. At that time, the faculty of the Sky Academy was watching both the freshmen and the seniors through the screens.
At first, Liu Xiuwei was watching them as well.
However, when Li Tianlan had broken more than five walls, his figure appeared on the big screen, resulting in the entire faculty noticing this freshman. Moreover, when he broke more than 20 walls, some of them were sure that he was carrying the Wind and Thunder Veins.
That being said, Liu Xiuwei still took Li Tianlan lightly. Even though Li Tianlan had broken walls aggressively, even if he bore the Wind Vein, what was the point if he did not have dexterous body movements?
Liu Xiuwei had observed Li Tianlan break walls and fight enemies. He was sure that Li Tianlan was a martial art practitioner with overwhelming force. There was no other way.
Li Tianlan’s actions in the maze were entirely the same as he had predicted.
How did he completely change after entering the woods?
Seeing the countless flight of icy stairs in front of him, Liu Xiuwei felt trapped emotionally, so much so that he felt he would be coughing out blood soon.
There were so many leaves from the trees that they blocked the view above the combatants. Li Tianlan moved with great agility, continually shifting positions on each flight of stairs while finding the most comfortable angle for attack. Liu Xiuwei could not even notice any sign of him putting in any effort; he would step out with ease and cover dozens of meters, appearing before another flight of stairs. It was as if the steps had become an extension of his body, and he could go anywhere he pleased.
Liu Xiuwei started to feel desperate.
He knew that, in order to watch every student, the academy had set many cameras at different places in the maze. Moreover, they even placed a near-ground satellite above the forest.
However, being blocked by the old trees, everything he went through during the following time period would not be recorded.
Was he trying to conceal the fact that he could use this technique?
What on earth was that technique anyway?
Even though Liu Xiuwei had been in the Zhongzhou State Special Warfare System for a decade, he had not seen the body movement before. This body movement could form icy stairs in the air and enabled people to move freely within a range. It should be a top unique skill even in the entire Dark World. However, he hadn’t even heard of it before.
Liu Xiuwei’s heart sank, but he managed to keep his voice calm. Although he was worried, he was still an expert at the Peak of the Fire-flaming Realm. He would not be defeated so easily by an Ice-condensing Realm expert. “What is this body movement?” he asked.
“I’ll tell you before you die.”
Li Tianlan’s figure shifted from stair to stair. His voice also came from different directions, broken and colder than ice.
“You think you can take my life?”
Liu Xiuwei sneered and did not move at all. “Come on, I want to see how you do it.”
“If you wish.”
Li Tianlan replied. As his voice reached his intended recipient, so did the silver head of his spear.
Aggressive power exploded!
Flames erupted from both of Liu Xiuwei’s hands. He reached out to grab his opponent’s weapon, but retracted them back upon touching the tip of the spear, which was still vibrating strongly. Li Tianlan had already appeared behind his back, even though the energy field before him had not dissipated yet, and he stabbed at Liu Xiuwei with his spear again.
“Mediocre tricks!”
Liu Xiuwei now had shrouded himself in flames. He decided to release all his power to destroy all the icy stairs. If he could do that, there was nothing for Li Tianlan to leverage on to get close to him.
“Give me your body movement and weapons, and I shall spare you this time.”
Flames around Liu Xiuwei rippled in the air. His voice sounded cold and solemn.
Even though he called it a trick, deep down, the more he saw how the body movement of his opponent worked, the more he envied it. His eyes turned red with desire; this was exactly the skill the Liu family desired.
“You want it?”
Li Tianlan sneered. “Come and get it!”
“Swish!”
Again, the silver spear swooshed and shot to the back of Liu Xiuwei menacingly.
Li Tianlan’s attack suddenly became very aggressive.
The heavy Human Emperor swooshed and made loud noises in the air. The icy stairs around Liu Xiuwei broke and reformed, and Li Tianlan shifted in different directions.
He stabbed, swept, chopped, and poked.
Liu Xiuwei was surrounded by Li Tianlan and his silver spear. There was a fierce energy pervading the air around him.
Li Tianlan drew nearer and launched another flurry of attacks.
His spear shot forth like a dragon!
Li Tianlan was filled with an unprecedented focus and insane will, and every time the Human Emperor swung his spear, an unbridled killing intent and will to fight was released.
He wanted to destroy everything, to tear everything apart!
“Snap!”
The icy stair in front of Liu Xiuwei cracked and was chopped like a piece of tofu. The silver spear head shot to his chest.
Liu Xiuwei withdrew.
A rain of sword thrusts and leaves shrouded him.
The silver spear was raining down upon his head again at the same time when the flames erupted again.
It was fast, condensed, smooth, and aggressive.
At that time, with every move, Li Tianlan felt as if he was unstoppable. He speared and released the power of Wind and Thunder Veins. Even Liu Xiuwei had to withdraw.
Liu Xiuwei retreated time and time again.
Li Tianlan was acting faster and faster, Liu Xiuwei did not have a chance to fight back.
He could only continue taking steps back.
And remain on the defensive.
The flames in Liu Xiuwei’s hands grew more intense, and his bony figure retreated silently till it was between two trees.
Li Tianlan looked determined. Without hesitation, he darted forward and slashed at his opponent with his long spear.
“Go to hell!”
Liu Xiuwei roared, the flames in his hands rising even higher. In the blink of an eye, a machete made out of flames appeared in his hand.
Liu Xiuwei took a step forward and reached Li Tianlan’s in an instant. He then slashed savagely at his opponent.
Long weapons would be useless in melee combat. Most of the time, when Li Tianlan slashed, it was the body of his spear that fell on Liu Xiuwei’s head. However, with the machete, Liu Xiuwei could chop his enemy into two pieces right away.
Li Tianlan cocked an eyebrow, held the spear with both hands, and raised it above his head.
“Crack…”
The silver spear was too long and was stuck between two trees.
At this time, Liu Xiuwei chopped the silver spear with his flame machete with a move that was silent but destructive.
Liu Xiuwei struck again with the unexpended momentum from his previous strike, this time round with an upward swing. Since his opponent’s silver spear had been stuck in the tree, how could that arrogant kid block his strike? With his bare hands?
In Liu Xiuwei’s mind, he was picturing Li Tianlan’s arm being chopped off.
The mental image soon turned out to be real. A harsh scream was heard, blood was spurting out, and an arm shot to the sky before falling to the ground.
However, it was not Li Tianlan’s arm. It was Liu Xiuwei’s attacking arm.
At the critical moment during their exchange of blows, Li Tianlan did not defend. He had learnt how to defend when practicing his kung fu, but it was in his bones to attack to his last breath; it had already become second nature to him.
To resist Liu Xiuwei’s chop, Li Tianlan drew back the Human Emperor stuck in the trees. In an instant, the two-meter-long Human Emperor shrank and became a metal stick less than 20 centimeters long.
Li Tianlan held the metal stick with both hands and jerked. At that moment, sword rays shot forth.
The metal stick split into two, and two sharp sword tips shot from inside the stick. Instantly, a terrible sword intent had been unleashed.
The sword intent seemed to have been concealed for a long time because now it was sharp and aggressive in an overwhelming way.
In less than a second, the two trees were torn to shreds, their thick trunks slashed into pieces. With the remaining power of his previous hit, Li Tianlan stopped Liu Xiuwei’s flame machete and cut off one of his arms.
Li Tianlan looked cold. He held the two swords. Bright sword lights exploded in the forest, and horrifying Sword Energy rose like endless tides!
At the same time.
At the finishing point of the maneuver, the eastern side of the forest.
The entire faculty, including Zhuang Huayang, was watching the two screens in front of them. However, nearly every one of them was watching the second one.
The first screen was divided into many sections, showing the freshmen’s situation in the maze, including battle scenes.
The second screen had only one section left. The screen was supposed to show the entire forest.
On the screen, leaves were flying and sword lights were bursting. The sword lights cut open the curtain of leaves, and then, more leaves flooded in.
They could hear Liu Xiuwei screaming through the screen. Their blood all curled.
Blocked by leaves, no one really saw the actual battle scene. However, everyone stared, trying to see something from the flashing sword lights.
On the battlefield, all the trees were swaying. Wherever screams were heard, sword lights flashed. Then, trees were crushed by seemingly uncontrollable Sword Energy. Trees fell and vanished one by one, while the sword lights were growing more aggressive.
No one saw the real fight, but everyone had been picturing a blood-curdling scene. Judging by the noise and the pictures on the screen, they could tell how badly damaged the leaf-covered battlefield was.
It would be too conservative to call it messy.
“Headmaster, I’ll take a look.”
In the deafening silence, Gu Yunxia who was sitting behind Zhuang Huayang suddenly rose up, determined.
“Sit down.”
Zhuang Huayang did not even turn his head when he said that.
“But…”
Gu Yunxia looked sullen. Liu Xiuwei was one of her hatchet men in the Sky Academy, and the Liu family was also an important outside force of their Kunlun City. Now that Liu Xiuwei was in danger, she would certainly lend a helping hand to him.
“Headmaster, Liu Xiuwei director is a respected and capable teacher in the Sky Academy. Now, he’s in a bad position. If we don’t help him, what will the other faculty think?”
Gu Yunxia faltered before she said that. However, in the end, she still decided to threaten Zhuang Huayang with the entire faculty.
“What will they think?”
Zhuang Huayang smiled ambiguously in reply. “Then when director Liu Xiuwei attacked the freshman, what do you think will other freshmen think? When director Liu Xiuwei chased after the freshman into the forest, why didn’t you do something? When a deputy director attacked and threatened a freshman to protect his own relative, why didn’t you do something? Now you’re talking about other people’s opinions?”
“Yunxia, you’re taking sides. Remember, you’re the director of teaching in the Sky Academy, not a protector of some deputy director! Go back!”
Gu Yunxia’s face changed. She gritted her teeth and sat down, pale.
After Zhuang Huayang said that, if she insisted on saving Liu Xiuwei, she would be against Zhuang Huayang.
She took a deep breath and stared at the second screen. There were both killing intent and doubt in her eyes.
Why did Liu Xiuwei lose?
What was happening under the leaves?
How did Liu Xiuwei as well?
Liu Xiuwei was asking the same question in his heart. At present, he could only dodge Li Tianlan’s two swords; he could hardly defend himself.
Before now, he never imagined that Li Tianlan could be so horrifying. With such sword intent, he actually used a spear. It was really nasty.
Li Tianlan’s had unique body movements, strange weapons, and drastic killing intent. Those all led to Liu Xiuwei’s failure. However, it was useless for him to think about that now.
The pain from his broken arm took him. He was bleeding and feeling a little dizzy. Pain and fatigue took control of his body, making him hard to focus on the enemy. Even, the flames that used to surround him were dying down.
He lost.
Liu Xiuwei knew clearly that this time, he lost. Moreover, from today, he might be the laughing stock of the entire Sky Academy.
It was all because of the freshman in front of him!
Great hatred rose from his body. Liu Xiuwei nearly forgot the pain and fatigue.
He was still dodging the sword lights. However, he looked more determined now.
What kind of young man was he?
Between the sharp sword lights, Liu Xiuwei seemed to see a genius rise and get on Peak of all realms.
Kill him!
If Li Tianlan did not die, the entire Liu family would be doomed in the future.
He decided that he would strike one last time, even if he became the laughing stock of the Sky Academy, even if he would spent a lot of time recovering, even if he fell to the Ice-condensing Realm, as long as he could kill Li Tianlan, it was worth it.
Sword lights danced.
Liu Xiuwei’s surrounding flames became higher.
The flames made the forest look like it was in a fire.
Liu Xiuwei’s pupils widened suddenly. He looked at Li Tianlan and spat venom-like words. “Go to hell, bastard!”
He roared, and high flames condensed and became a nearly physical machete in his hand.
“Die!”
Liu Xiuwei thundered and chopped hard.
It was another unique technique of the Liu family.
Six Harmonies Chop!
Among all the Liu Tianqing’s martial art movements, Six Harmonies Chop was the greatest style. Numerous enemies had been defeated by the movement.
The flames burned bright.
The machete chopped hard.
The chop nearly besieged Li Tianlan in all directions.
He could not hide?
Li Tianlan looked up. The flame-condensed machete and the smile of Death were reflected in his eyes.
The closer the machete got, the closer the Death was.
His eyes squinted and lifted his two swords. Suddenly, he strode forward and took a small step to the left.
His movements were weird but were as fast as a meteor.
He took a few steps in all directions.
In every different direction, Li Tianlan took a different step. In an instant, he left countless footprints around Liu Xiuwei.
At that moment, Li Tianlan was still moving. However, Liu Xiuwei could not determine which direction Li Tianlan was moving in. Was he moving forward or backward, or was he moving to the left, or the right?
“This is…”
Liu Xiuwei’s pupils narrowed and suddenly he realized what the body movement was. At that moment, he hated Li Tianlan even more.
It was 10 years ago in Zhongzhou State; a Martial Arts genius entered the Invincible Realm. However, after only two months, the genius challenged one of the then greatest experts, Liu Tianqing who was in the Invincible Realm.
They battled at the Mount Taibai peak. Liu Tianqing, who had been in the Invincible Realm for years, fought the genu from day to dusk. In the end, Liu Tianqing lost and died. He did not make it out of Mount Taibai.
The body movement the genius used became one of the top unique skills in Dark World.
Liu Tianqing was defeated by the unique body movement, and the shortcoming of the Liu family Martial Arts became known to the world.
Now, the famous body movement was right in front him, deployed by the freshman in front of him!
His flame machete was still crackling and burning.
Li Tianlan’s body was constantly shifting. At that time, Liu Xiuwei could not know whether Li Tianlan was still taking steps.
How could he lock the target if he could not see or feel the enemy?
“Boom!”
He finally chopped but missed the target. The machete fell at a place two meters away from Li Tianlan. Then, a dozen trees burn brightly around them.
However, Li Tianlan moved again. He showed in front of Liu Xiuwei, sword against Liu Xiuwei’s throat.
“Hel…”
Liu Xiuwei was about to call for help, but Li Tianlan stopped him. Li Tianlan wore a cold face that belonged to an arrogant and indifferent winner. He ordered calmly. “Kneel down!”
“How did you…”
“I said kneel down!”
Liu Xiuwei finally came to his sense. He looked at Li Tianlan and burst out laughing. “You want me to kneel down? You wish! How dare you! What if I don’t? You cut off Sky Academy deputy director’s one arm. You’ve done something immoral. Who can protect you now?”
There was a type of people: When you tried to be reasonable with him, he talked about strength, but when you beat him, he actually started to talk about morals.
Li Tianlan laughed and his eyes squinted. “Well, now you’re the deputy director of the Sky Academy. Weren’t you Liu Dongchao’s uncle just now?”
“Bastard! I’ve always been the deputy director of the Sky Academy, and I’ll be forever. And you, you’ll be dispelled from the academy…”
“Swish!”
Li Tianlan stabbed and sliced through Liu Xiuwei’s throat.
The blade sliced through and blood was dripping.
It was fast and quick.
Liu Xiuwei’s eyes widened. There were regrets and disbelief.
“You… you kill…”
“You’re merely Liu Dongchao’s uncle, why can’t I kill you?”
Li Tianlan looked at Liu Xiuwei in the eye, his tone calm.
“Bang!”
Liu Xiuwei’s body fell to the ground, his eyes wide. He was still staring in the direction of Li Tianlan.
He had died with a grievance!
