Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Ten candidates stood in ten directions on the vast battlefield. The rules of the game this time were that anyone that anyone deemed unqualified to stay was free to be challenged and eliminated. Any of the ten candidates were given permission to freely take the stage, but someone was bound to be eliminated.
Who would be first?
Huang Jiuge scanned the scene while remaining standing where he was, tall and proud.
Xu Que remained silent with both hands behind him.
Bai Ze simply closed his eyes, as if the upcoming fights had nothing to do with him as no one was deemed daring enough to challenge him until the very end. He also thought most standing there unworthy for him do the dirty work himself. As such, he simply intended to let the other candidates fight among themselves until one man was left standing.
Zhuge Xing also stood quietly in his place. All who stood where they were seemed to have very high opinions of themselves, and no one deemed themselves to be inferior to the others. As such, unlike prior battles, no one was in any hurry to make a move against anyone.
Ye Futian scanned the battlefield for a while and smirked. He made his move, being the first one to walk out, attracting the eyes of many. It seemed to many that Ye Futian knew well of his predicament—that he stood no chance of coming out as the top of the ten candidates left. As such, he chose to come up and challenge someone.
Everyone watching was curious as to who Ye Futian would pick to be his first opponent. The audience tracked where he turned his eyes, and the result was a startling one for many, so much so that the audience looked funny. Many thought he would have chosen to challenge Huang from Frost Road or Phoenix from Decay Road. Yet, the one he set his eyes on was none other than the only candidate left from the Zhuge family—Zhuge Xing.
Zhuge Xing returned Ye Futian’s gaze, a cold look on his face. He was the one to be challenged first, which meant that Ye Futian deemed him to be the most unworthy among the ten left on the battlefield.
“What are you looking at, just get out here already.” Seeing that Zhuge Xing had clearly not understood what he meant with his look, Ye Futian had no choice but to open his mouth.
Cold shimmers appeared in Zhuge Xing’s eyes. He walked out with a tinge of purplish lightning sparkling in his eyes before replying, “You have guts.”
“Guts?” Ye Futian looked puzzled. So Zhuge Xing thinks I’m challenging him because I have guts? He sure has a very high opinion of himself.
“You said quite a while ago that I don’t belong on this battlefield. But as my luck would have it, I’m still here.” Ye Futian smiled and continued, “Of the other nine remaining, you are the trashiest, and so here I am and here you are.”
Crash! Threads of lightning sparks lit up as Zhuge Xing became infuriated. Ye Futian might have seemed to be cracking a self-deprecating joke, but he was actually insulting Zhuge Xing. However, was Zhuge Xing really weak? Among the members of the Zhuge family in the Noble Plane, Zhuge Xing was definitely the most talented.
Purplish lights crackled in the huge battlefield, seeming to be sparks drawn from the heavens. As the sparks and crackling noises went on, terrifying storms whipped up across the battlefield. The lightning had gotten so intense that even the skies took on a different hue as if the battlefield had turned into a world made of lightning. Purplish streaks of lightning lashed out at Ye Futian. While the attacks were shot down, sparks coursed through Ye Futian’s body nonetheless, which gradually turned into unbearable pressure permeating the battlefield.
“You will taste the true power of the Zhuge family,” Zhuge Xing said.
Crack, boom… Loud noises were heard across the field as multiple streaks of lightning lashed out from the heavens, shining light on the ground. A stout silhouette appeared behind Zhuge Xing as the streaks of devastating lightning continued to rain on the ground. The silhouette was tens of meters tall, a figure to be looked up upon like a god of thunder.
That was a true Kui, a beast of lightning and thunder. Its enormous body spoke of regal might. One War Drum of Lightning after another appeared before the enormous bull-like creature as the lightning storm turned increasingly intense.
The image was a terrifying one, and it was the ability of Zhuge Xing’s Life Spirit. The Kui was the sacred beast of lightning and was known in the legends to be the stead of the god of thunder. The beast was described to possess the power to command lightning storms, and even its eyes were filled with the sheen of lightning. One look on its eyes was more than enough to tell the horrifyingly sizeable magnitude of lightning will housed within, as if one was being struck by lightning.
Many shuddered at the devastating scene in the battlefield. Though Ye Futian was incredibly powerful, they were thinking that he probably had made the wrong choice in challenging Zhuge Xing.
Zhuge Xing was nothing like Zhuge Ling or Zhuge Ping from before, as they were deemed to be completely different levels in terms of combat prowess. Zhuge Xing even had one more Life Spirit than both of them.
“Take your time and taste it,” Zhuge Xing yelled. The Kui beat on the War Drum of Lightning as soon as he finished. Countless streaks of lightning strikes rained down on the battlefield in an instant, all lashing out at Ye Futian. What was more terrifying was the resulting noise, which seemed to be powerful enough to rupture Ye Futian’s eardrums. Ye Futian felt powerful waves of lightning will directly assault his mind through his ears.
Boom! Ye Futian shuddered for a bit and his ears rang. His feet jumped backward without him realizing it. The defenses around him that he had set up prior were all shattered by the lightning. Streaks coursed throughout his body, rendering him increasingly numb all over.
One strike packed the power to assault both the body and the mind. Zhuge Xing’s reputation as the proud son of the Zhuge family did not come from nothing. Many deemed him to be one of the top five candidates, powerful enough to fight for a spot in the top three.
The Kui howled and the War Drums of Lightning were heard. Rumbling noises reverberated throughout the heavens and blinding lightning flashes filled the air. Ye Futian grunted as he felt his mind about to be shattered. He feet stuck to the ground and kept going back. The star-powered defenses that he had put up around him prior were easily shattered and were of no match to the sheer devastating power of lightning.
“I don’t see that I am wrong. Do you really think you’re qualified enough to stay?” Zhuge Xing asked coldly. Lightning gathered madly in the sky right above his head, which seemed to be driven by a shadow of the Kui. The Kui gradually took a more tangible form and the lightning strikes encased Ye Futian, as if to lock him where he stood. A freakish lightning storm began to coalesce right above Ye Futian’s head.
It was the Thunderbolt Bombing spell.
Horrifying lightning storms right above Ye Futian lashed out an incredibly devastating streak of lightning right on top of Ye Futian’s head. The attack that seemed like a bolt of massive lightning brought from the heavens was the most powerful lightning spell that the Zhuge family had in their arsenal. It was capable of being used by someone with impeccable Spiritual Energy control and precise training. The incredibly demanding attack packed equally incredible damage potential.
A loud boom was heard as the inescapable spell rained down directly on top of Ye Futian’s starlight clad around him. Cracks appeared one after another, with even his body of stars shattering. His defenses were torn apart right there and then. The bolt of lightning hit him squarely from above. The spell rendered Ye Futian numb all over, and his knees bent in response. He was numbed almost to the point of paralysis; a testament of the lightning spell’s power.
“Wha…” Eyes were set on Ye Futian, and all who watched were wondering if he was able to withstand such power. They looked at Ye Futian, who was hanging his head low, and wondered if he was able to continue fighting.
Zhuge Xing was indeed more terrifying than Yan Jiu.
More streaks of lightning continued to rain down on their target, without giving Ye Futian pause for even a breather. The attacks seemed to be determined to turn him to dust right where he stood.
Boom. Ye Futian’s body became surrounded by dazzling sacred light. The light of the stars melded with it and protected him. That layer of defense did not shatter from the lightning.
“Was that all you got?” a voice said, and many saw Ye Futian raising his head and standing straight up once again. Many shuddered at the sight, as such a devastating attack seemingly failed to even injure him.
Just how impossibly tough can a body of flesh and blood be?
A world of stars began appearing in the world of lightning. The sun, the moon, and the stars all hung up high in the air. A dazzling beam of sunlight, gentle beam of moonlight, and the swirling dots of starlight made the place looked like some kind of rare celestial phenomenon.
Zhuge Xing looked slightly troubled. He actually came out unscathed from an attack like that?
The Roc appeared in a flash of dazzling golden light and went on to cling onto Ye Futian. The scene itself was something Ye Futian accomplished by casting talents of four different attributes. All of that coupled with the elemental prowess demonstrated in prior battles made it very clear to everyone that he was a Full Attribute Mandate Sorcerer.
Streaks of lightning continued to rain on top of him, but Ye Futian vanished from where he stood with a flash. The bolts of lightning missed their target with a loud boom. Ye Futian’s body was seen hovering in the air a moment later, his gaze locked onto Zhuge Xing.
“My turn.” The celestial bodies fell as soon as he finished. Heaven and earth seemed to be swallowed by an inferno soon after. An incredibly huge furnace appeared around Zhuge Xing, one that seemed capable of cooking everything on earth in it. The intentions of the furnace were clear—kill Zhuge Xing where he stood.
Zhuge Xing extended his palm and said coldly, “Chains of Thunder God.” Thousands of chains of lightning lashed about with full intentions of shattering the furnace around him. However, as the furnace itself was a construct made of fire, the lightning chains were unable to destroy it. The chains went on to coil around Ye Futian, pressing on the air around him and went about tearing his defenses bit by bit. However, Ye Futian seemed unshaken in the slightest.
As moonlight poured down, Zhuge Xing felt intense cold heading for him. Fires of intense yang and waters of intense yin worked against each other, catching Zhuge Xing in between, making him feel extremely miserable. What was worse was that both powers came to form the power of the furnace trapping him within. The product of yin and yang encased Zhuge Xing securely.
Zhuge Xing looked tremendously troubled. He basked himself in lightning, conjuring a huge shadow of lightning for protection. Lightning bolts lashed out at the same time in attempts to destroy the furnace. However, given how the furnace was a construct of fires of intense yang and waters of intense yin, the power of lightning proved useless against it.
Zhuge Xing flashed in an attempt to escape the space occupied by the furnace, but countless meteors fell around him in a crazed manner, blocking his way out. The Kui roared as if to shatter the space it occupied. The beast that commanded storms seemed to be one with Zhuge Xing, as he raised his fist to wreck everything around it. Lightning flashed about in the air and meteors continued falling about madly.
An immensely long rod of stars lashed out in the midst of the mess. Ye Futian was seen descending from above, striking like he was about to break the heavens. Zhuge Xing responded by letting out an intense roar and sending the Kui to charge at him.
“Get out of my way,” a loud voice boomed. The Kui trembled and Zhuge Xing’s body was forced back into the furnace. His body continued to be covered by fire and ice, causing him extreme misery. The light of that Life Spirit in the sky shone on him. As both powers continued to grow in magnitude, his lightning defenses struggled to keep up.
The powers of fire and ice seeped into his body, making Zhuge Xing feel the searing heat and chilling cold attacking his bones. He turned pale before uttering, “Cease fighting.”
“Cease fighting. What is that suppose to mean?” Ye Futian looked at him with cold expressions as the heat and cold continued to assault Zhuge Xing. Chilling, cracking sounds were heard as Zhuge Xing’s skin seemed like it was about to break into pieces. Zhuge Xing then yelled in rage, “I surrender.”
