Chapter 297 - You're Not Worthy
Regardless of whether this attack could kill Liu Wuxie, the sheer skill and prowess it demonstrated was stunning. Judging from the aura alone, it was clear that Xiao Wenlai had surpassed Liu Wuxie in martial arts mastery.
However, this was a battle, and victory depended not on aura but on the ability to defeat the opponent. There was no doubt that Xiao Wenlai’s strength was extraordinary. Even against an opponent with equal cultivation, few could gain any advantage over him.
While performing Ghost Eye, Liu Wuxie was fixed on every change in Xiao Wenlai’s movement, including all the lightning serpents in the air. No movement could escape Liu Wuxie’s eyes.
“As expected of the Azure Lion Empire’s geniuses. Senior Brother Xiao is really strong!” Discussions came from the crowd, and everyone felt that Liu Wuxie would die in this battle.
“Don’t be so sure about that. Mu Hongyang isn’t weak, but Liu Wuxie still defeated him.” Through the four battles, everyone’s impression of Liu Wuxie had changed.
Liu Wuxie was in a dire situation because Xiao Wenlai’s sword would kill him if this continued. He was trapped in an ocean of lightning, which made his situation challenging.
Just when everyone felt that Liu Wuxie would die, the situation changed. Liu Wuxie ignored the lightning, weaving his way through the lightning serpents. Sparks flew around as lightning made contact with Liu Wuxie.
“What’s going on? He’s ignoring the lightning?” Everyone from the Azure Lion Empire was dumbfounded because the Thunder Berserk Sword could summon lightning from the nine heavens.
Losing lightning suppression would significantly reduce Xiao Wenlai’s strength. This made everyone panic, especially Xiao Wenlai, who had a hint of fear in his eyes.
“The lightning you summoned is too weak!” Liu Wuxie mocked. When the lightning fell onto him, it was devoured by the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron and merged into the world in his dantian.
Whenever he took a step, the surrounding lightning would weaken, and this scene shocked everyone.
“How is this possible?! How did you break my Nine Heavenly Thunder?” Xiao Wenlai roared hysterically and brandished the Thunder Berserk Sword, unleashing numerous thunderbolts, each as thick as a barrel.
There were hundreds of thunderbolts; one could imagine the consequences if they hit a single person. The victim probably wouldn’t even leave a corpse behind.
“Hmph. You call this Nine Heavenly Thunder?” Liu Wuxie mocked in disdain. Changing the direction of the Heretic Blade, he roared, “Second Fatality Form!”
The surrounding thunderbolts exploded into fireworks. Liu Wuxie’s blade tore through the Nine Heavenly Thunder and went straight towards Xiao Wenlai’s neck.
Xiao Wenlai's heart sank as he watched the thunderbolts being torn apart. He retreated as he realized he couldn’t mount an effective counterattack.
“Not good! Senior Brother Xiao is in danger!” The hearts of everyone from the Azure Lion Empire tightened. Xiao Wenlai was their last hope, and no one could face Liu Wuxie if Xiao Wenlai lost.
Whenever Xiao Wenlai stepped back, the lighting in the arena would weaken, while Liu Wuxie’s blade intent locked onto him firmly.
“Get lost!” Liu Wuxie swept the Heretic Blade, creating a shockwave that scraped off the arena's layers and sent Xiao Wenlai flying away.
Hundreds of stone fragments hit Xiao Wenlai, and he fell from the arena in the same manner as Jia Fengmao, with his face towards the ground.
Luckily, his true essence protected his dantian at this critical moment. The dantian was a cultivator's most precious location, and any damage to it would sever their path of cultivation.
According to him, an hour was enough for him to exhaust all of Liu Wuxie’s true essence. Since he could not make it into the top three, he might as well do Ye Feng a favor. The Nine Frost Astral Sword was a sword technique containing both offense and defense, and Ji Xinghe’s action was a little too shameless.
“Ji Xinghe, don’t you feel ashamed to use a defensive sword technique to fight? This isn’t fitting of your status!” Many smaller nations’ prodigies mocked. This was because Ji Xinghe’s actions drew many people’s dissatisfaction.
When Ji Xinghe went on stage, he had already stated his intentions. Thus, he naturally ignored the surrounding mockery. His sword technique had a tight-sealed defense, and it wouldn’t be easy for Liu Wuxie to penetrate through his defenses.
If he could drag for an hour and obtain a draw, it was the best outcome for Ji Xinghe instead of getting a draw.
However, Liu Wuxie naturally wouldn’t give him a chance.
"Do you think I can't get to you just because you're hiding in a turtle shell?" Liu Wuxie roared.
Hearing Ji Xinghe being called a turtle instantly sparked laughter from those around.
Liu Wuxie executed the Ghost Eye and easily detected the flaw in Ji Xinghe’s Nine Frost Astral Sword: his speed. As long as Liu Wuxie’s speed reached a certain height, he could tear through Ji Xinghe’s defenses.
Aside from the ten envoys, Liu Wuxie was confident that no one could surpass him in speed. Raising the Heretic Blade to the sky, he shot upward like an afterimage and charged toward Ji Xinghe.
This sudden scene caught Ji Xinghe off guard, and Liu Wuxie was no different from putting his life on the line to fight.
Ji Xinghe increased the speed of his swordsmanship as Nine Frost Astrals descended and formed multiple curtains in the sky to block Liu Wuxie’s path.
He resorted to defending, planning to hold his ground firmly and not clash with Liu Wuxie head-on. He knew that Liu Wuxie’s strength wasn’t any weaker than someone in the fourth level of the True Core Realm, and he would only lose if he chose to fight head-on.
“A garbage like you wants to stop me?” Liu Wuxie’s voice was filled with mockery, infuriating Ji Xinghe. However, there was nothing the latter could do.
This was a psychological attack, and Ji Xinghe knew Liu Wuxie was trying to provoke him. As a result, Ji Xinghe didn’t fall for it and continued to drag the battle.
As afterimages began to increase, ten-odd Liu Wuxies appeared. This phenomenon occurred after pushing the speed to the limit, and it was a cloning technique of the Nine Heavenly Crane Dance. This was relying on divine power to create afterimages similar to himself.
Upon reaching a higher level, the afterimages could also possess high lethality. Judging from the present performance, the afterimages could only be used to fool others, making Ji Xinghe lose his sense of judgment.
After clashing for ten-odd moves, Ji Xinghe mistakenly took an afterimage for Liu Wuxie. As a result, he nearly lost his life because of Liu Wuxie’s sneak attack.
“What speed! He has already surpassed those in the fourth level of the True Core Realm!” Envious voices came from the surroundings because Liu Wuxie had given them a display of extreme speed.
“I wonder what his dantian is made of to hold so much true essence,” Ji Xinghe thought, as utilizing his movement technique required a strong reservoir of true essence.
Cold sweat began to roll down Ji Xinghe’s forehead. He had already used the strongest move in the Nine Frost Astral Sword, but he couldn’t trap Liu Wuxie. This was a bad sign, and he instantly realized the danger.
“Ji Xinghe, it’s time to end this!” Liu Wuxie had been waiting. He waited for Ji Xinghe to perform the entire Nine Frost Astral Sword and found thirty-odd flaws, each capable of defeating Ji Xinghe.