The Fierce Beast crawled away from Xue Wei until it reached the formation wall and could get no farther. As it felt the Mind Infestation reach out for its mind, it had the choice to struggle, but instead it instantly allowed Xue Wei to access its mind.
Xue Wei went through the beast's memories. It had been in a beast horde roused by a Primordial Beast and had been severely injured but not killed.
When the fight had ended, they had taken it prisoner and kept it in a cage until it was healed, after which it had fought against other experts in the Genius Camp.
This beast had an average level of intelligence, but it had no reason to fear Xue Wei – it was as if there was a deeply ingrained instinct within it that told it that Xue Wei was someone that should not be touched.
Xue Wei sighed. His more calm side could sense the suffering the beast had gone through time and time again while being captive. Thus, he decided to put it out of its misery.
"Fierce Beasts do not have a dantian that they can self-destruct similarly to the humans. Instead, they have a beast core." Xue Wei thought for a moment.
"It seems that beast cores are very different from dantians, and much more sturdy. No wonder that they are being used as a treasured material in almost everything in our everyday lives."
"But to execute this beast... I wonder how to do it," Xue Wei pondered. He then controlled the beast's body and compelled the creature to slice its own throat with its claws, but nothing happened. The throat was protected by thick skin, and although the claws were sharp, they were not sharp enough.
Xue Wei could feel the onset of a headache from using his energy too much. Although the beast did not fight back, the mental connection itself still consumed his spiritual energy.
Withdrawing from the mind of the beast, Xue Wei launched the Forbidden Rush movement technique and appeared right in front of the beast that was still dazed.
The beast, in a frenzied panic, tried to retreat, but it already had its back against the wall of the formation, so it was incapable of getting further away.
Shattering Mountain Palm!
The palm descended on top of the beast, but instead of avoiding it, the beast rushed towards the palm, not protecting itself with Qi or anything.
It twisted in the air and revealed a small patch of soft skin that was located just at the side of the temple.
The Shattering Mountain Palm landed right on this location. Xue Wei could not help but wonder why exactly this beast was so eager to accept death.
Blood sprayed from the mouth of the beast and tears of blood fell from its eyes.
The beast kept staring at Xue Wei. Even in death, there was no ferocious or hateful expression in its eyes, just reverence, and wonder.
Xue Wei instantly sat down. He then understood that it was impossible for him to restore his spiritual energy as soon as he wished, since it slowly restored itself and that it would require time.
"I won't be able to rely on spiritual energy in the future," Xue Wei commented to himself as he stood up again once the five minutes had passed.
"Perhaps I was too rash. I want to fight as many opponents as possible, but this tag team is wearing me down. My Qi is untouched, but my spiritual energy is already running low."
"On the other hand, the experts I am up against now are all much stronger than the ones I faced before. Although I have a strong soul, their souls are likely as strong if not stronger. Relying on the Mind Infestation will not be easy."
"I have yet to use the Seed of Mirage, and the opponents I face have not seen my fights, so they don't know of my abilities. I guess it is time to try strength against strength!"
Having said this, a new figure appeared on the stage. This time, it was a human, but this human seemed very cautious as he lifted a single sword in his hand. He did not charge at Xue Wei. Instead, he took a stance that allowed for him to both advance and defend at the same time.
Xue Wei praised the criminal, but it was not enough against him. "Time to test that mirage out," he mumbled as he conjured a seed of mirage which he tossed onto the stage.
No one seemed to understand what this ball of Qi was. And although his opponent observed both Xue Wei and the seed, the former was not advancing.
Xue Wei was not in a hurry either. He just stood there, casually looking at the deserter while waiting for his seed to sprout.
As it did, it took the shape of a second Xue Wei. It even wore clothes identical to Xue Wei's red robes, and its hair was tied with a red ribbon and had a hair pin similar to the one Xue Wei was wearing.
The hair of the two fluttered in the wind that easily bypassed the formation, and they moved at the same time. Their speed was the same, and they seemed to try a pincer attack against the deserter.
Since their timing had to be completely in sync, Xue Wei needed to be slower than he usually was, but both he and the clone simultaneously used the Forbidden Rush technique. Although they were slower than Xue Wei's peak, they were fast enough to make the heart of the deserter clench in fear.
He was capable of avoiding one of the two attacks, but he had no faith in avoiding both. "The copy might not be able to attack," the deserter mumbled, "but which one is the copy?"
It was simply impossible to tell now, as the two had moved at a speed much faster than expected. When they arrived, the deserter went with his gut feeling and jumped backward, away from the real Xue Wei, which revealed an opening for the copy to unleash a Kick of Forgotten Kings in his direction.
The kick connected with the waist of the deserter, and the deserter shot out like a kite with a broken string.
Although the copy had used a profound ability, it was after all a copy, and the attack contained at most twenty percent of Xue Wei's strength.
Although the deserter had been kicked far away, he had sustained no serious injuries, and no bones had been broken despite the throbbing pain in his waist.
His eyes were vigilant, but a look of surprise and relief flooded his eyes. Xue Wei, on the other hand, narrowed his.
Xue Wei understood that his copy did not have the strength that he himself wielded, but he had hoped for a bit more damage than what had happened.
But fortunately, the copy did not hesitate, it continued to pursue the deserter. Although the deserter did not fear the damage done by this copy, he feared getting entangled with it, and that Xue Wei would arrive while he was occupied.
Xue Wei did not waste his time observing the deserter and the copy struggle, no longer trying to hide his speed. When he vanished all of a sudden, the deserter's eyes filled with despair and unwillingness.
Rushing down to the copy and the young man, Xue Wei did not hesitate for even a moment. On the way, an Azure Light Finger sliced down through the air, causing the hairs on the back of the deserter's neck to tremble. He threw himself to the side, once more receiving an attack from the copy to borrow from the impact and create some distance between himself and Xue Wei and his clone.
"Delay, I got to delay. He is only a first layer Earth Warrior, a whole layer beneath me. I will be able to get rid of him if I just hold on!"
Xue Wei was easily capable of guessing the thoughts of this person, and his eyes shone dangerously.
"I won't die," he said casually as he came to a standstill in the middle of the stage, just looking at the deserter who was also trying to be as far away from Xue Wei as possible.
Xue Wei did not do anything. He just stood still. Shortly after, a seed of mirage sprouted. The third seed of mirage also appeared, alongside a fourth and a fifth.
These Seed of Mirage copies were the weakest versions Xue Wei could make, all four of them with equal strength, but together with Xue Wei and the first clone they posed a serious threat to the deserter.
Xue Wei had spent a lot of Qi to create these four additional seeds of mirages, but there was no time limit to the duration of these mirages. He could dismiss them, and they were capable of getting destroyed by damage.
They could also vanish after using too much of their Qi, and every attack they performed drained the Qi they were made of, but for now they were all of great use to Xue Wei. He did not expect them to finish the battle for him, but their numbers alone were enough to cause problems for the deserter. Moments after, all of them launched the Forbidden Rush movement technique.
Forbidden Rush did not use much Qi, as it relied on the wind and one's comprehension of wind, but it still required some. The clones could use Xue Wei's abilities, and their comprehension was equal to Xue Wei's as they were connected to him through the mind. However, at the same time, they did not have the strength to push their speed to Xue Wei's level.
Still, to a single second layer Earth Warrior, it was impossible to see the movements of the original Xue Wei, but he could just slightly glimpse the copies. Even then, seeing five of them rushing towards him, he felt worried and sick.
One attack numbed him, but if he was hit by five of them at the same time there was no telling as to how injured he would be.
He backed up as far as he could until a sense of crisis emerged in his heart. Just as he tried to escape, a palm descended through the air.
Shattering Mountain Palm!
Xue Wei, far from showing alarm on his face, brandished a cruel smile as he shifted his weight, almost imperceptibly, and redirected his palm through the air.
The deserter was hit squarely in the back and staggered forward, the hit having sent him off balance.
Not missing the chance, Xue Wei's body merged with the wind as he vanished from behind the deserter and appeared right in front of him.
He then drilled his fist into the pit of the deserter's stomach, after which he delivered a follow-up blow to his back as he was doubling over.
After the Shattering Mountain Palm, Xue Wei delivered a series of blows. Although they did not contain any martial arts technique, they had strength far superior to a one layer Earth Warrior. And when these attacks landed on the deserter's body, he felt as if a carriage had slammed directly into him.
His eyes rolled to the back of his head. he was not dead, but he had lost consciousness.
Everyone in the arena kept quiet. They were witnessing true life-and-death battles, and it was natural for one party to die, but when knocked unconscious the opponent was often left alive.
Xue Wei, however, had not been treating his enemies in any good way. All of them had experienced a sinister and grim end. When Xue Wei looked at the unconscious deserter, there were no feelings of remorse, no feelings of guilt, and no feelings of pity in his expressions.
All the people in the audience watched with bated breath as they waited for Xue Wei to decide what he was going to do with this unconscious person in front of him.