White Mist was successful with his Trinity Beast Integration, but the instability of his transformation was still getting to him. Nevertheless, he was elated that the beast integration was successful. It may not be his first time integrating with tamed beasts, but it is undoubtedly his first time integrating with three tamed beasts at once.
"Good job pulling that off for the first time." Yun Zhe complimented as he slowly descended on the grand stage. He didn't bother rushing White Mist since he was still unstable. If he attacked him by surprise now, he'd lose right then and there without putting up a fraction of a fight.
Apparently, it was already keeping White Mist every bit of his consciousness to keep up with the Trinity Beast Integration. He tried too hard to put up a front, though, since he didn't want to make it too apparent that he was struggling.
Yun Zhe knew how hard it was to integrate with three tamed beasts for the first time. He actually commended White Mist for doing it on his first try. There was no doubt that he had the talent for beast taming, but he didn't have the right prior experience, and that's why the new generation left him behind.
Straining his lower back, White Mist crouched on all fours in preparation for his speedy attack. There were plenty of chances when Yun Zhe could've attacked him, but he didn't take any of that chances. In fact, this made White Mist a bit hesitant to attack Yun Zhe first since he had displayed such high-level sportsmanship. It was the semifinals, and he still had the gall to act like that.
Yun Zhe immediately noticed White Mist changing his stance, and he, too, braced himself for the impact. Underneath the helmet Yun Zhe was wearing, he was smiling from ear to ear. This was what he had been waiting for. The moment White Mist's attack connects, the commencement of the fight can finally happen.
A mysterious aura surrounded White Mist as he utilized the power of his legendary tamed beast Jurah. Yun Zhe couldn't pinpoint what White Mist was doing, but he could tell he was going to attack soon.
Jurah has psychic typing, which is why it's instrumental in offense and defense. Right now, though, White Mist decided to employ Jurah's skills purely for defense. This would give Death Metronome and the White Wolf freedom regarding offense.
Slowly, an invisible barrier enveloped White Mist while he continued crouching. No one could see nor detect the barrier since it was constructed out of thin air, thanks to Jura's psychic capabilities. Even Yun Zhe, who had been monitoring White Mist's slight gestures, couldn't tell what he was doing.
White Mist's plan worked better— much better than he had initially expected.
Meanwhile, the audience unanimously decided to stop holding their breaths since White Mist took too long with the suspense.
"Hah!" White Mist suddenly screamed as his hind legs dug to the ground before he sprung forward. His insane burst of speed created sonic booms, and a crater was left behind where he was standing a split second ago. In an instant, he cleared the distance between himself and Yun Zhe and lashed out both his arms in an x-scissor attack.
Yun Zhe was fast. In fact, even Satoshi was overwhelmed by his speed just by watching his fights. And yet, not only did White Mist catch up to him, but he also managed to attack him. And the attack connected!
A low grunt was heard coming from Yun Zhe as he brought his shield up to intercept the attack. That didn't stop him from flying backward in the air, though, since the attack was more explosive than he thought.
Then again, this was what Yun Zhe expected from the first attack. He suffered an attack, but not a single scratch or chink was found on his shield or his armor. The attack was powerful, sure, but it wasn't substantial enough to pierce through his armor.
Instead of being alarmed by the attack, Yun Zhe actually felt delighted by the turn of events. Now he can finally go all out, and White Mist can finally properly put up a good fight. He let his momentum carry him backward before he flew upward, unsheathing the Primordial Excalibur and slashing it toward White Mist.
"Triple slash!" Yun Zhe called out. There was no such thing as a triple-slash attack, but he figured it would look much nicer if he were to yell it as a signature move. After the first slash, Yun Zhe spun around and delivered another slash and then another. Three wind blades traveled through the air.
Just like White Mist, the wind blades also created sonic booms as they pierced through the air. White Mist sidestepped and somersaulted twice, barely avoiding the wind blades by the skin of the teeth.
"Primordial beam of death!" Yun Zhe screamed a second time, extending the Primordial Excalibur and pointing it at White Mist. A powerful crimson-colored beam then shot out of the tip of the greatsword, and it burst forth toward White Mist.
Utilizing the White Wolf's instincts this time, White Mist dug his 'hand claws' to the ground and charged forward, performing what seemed to be a screwdriver vault in midair. He increased in speed, and the beam singed the hair on his back as he spun. Once again, he dodged the attack by a hair's breadth before he planned a counterattack.
"Invisible wall." White Mist said to himself, prompting an invisible wall behind Yun Zhe using Jurah's psychic abilities. This way, White Mist cut off one of Yun Zhe's paths of escape, limiting him from going sidewards if he were to attempt to dodge the attack.
"Curse Beam!" White Mist continued, his hands transforming into long slender hands resembling a puppet's hands. This was one of Death Metronome's hidden skills, and White Mist had never used it before. After all, this was so powerful that it could instantly kill his opponent.
That's why, even when his title as a beast master was at stake during the fight against Jean Grey, he didn't use such an attack. The Bell Curse was already overpowered as it was, but the Curse Beam was even more so.
This was the first time Yun Zhe had heard of such an attack, and he wore a confused expression on his face while he observed White Mist's next move. As soon as his hands transformed into paper-like slender appendages, his hands then shifted into the shape of a cannon, and a beam shot out from it.
The beam was unlike any other. Even the audience could sense the sinister presence behind the black smoky beam that shot out from White Mist's hands. The black smoke gave it the illusion that it was a slow beam, but it was much faster compared to White Mist's supposed 'primordial beam of death'.
Yun Zhe was also a victim of the illusion, and he wasn't able to dodge the attack. In reality, he was even a step too late to detect such a powerful beam.
The steel ring behind him could manifest a dimensional portal and teleport him somewhere nearby in an instant, not to mention his great shield, which can block any attack without difficulty. Yun Zhe wasn't able to use both of these, and he received the full brunt of the Curse Beam.
"AND YUN ZHE'S HIT! FOR THE SECOND TIME, WHITE MIST CAUGHT UP TO YUN ZHE! UNBELIEVABLE!" The commentator shrieked at the microphone as his saliva flew out in multiple directions.
"He'll live through that." One random audience commented.
"Yeah, he's got full armor; there's no way such a beam could pierce through that."
"Yep, there's just no way. From the start, White Mist was already at a disadvantage. One attack or two wouldn't matter that much."
"You saw how Yun Zhe tanked those slashes a moment ago, right? This attack wouldn't pierce through, I'm sure of it."
"You're right. Still, White Mist's putting up a good fight. I want to cheer for him all the way."
"Me too."
"Me too."
As the audience debated whether the attack would pierce through Yun Zhe's armor or not, White Mist was already smiling to himself. The attack had gotten through, and Yun Zhe clearly underestimated it since he didn't bother putting up his shield or prompting a dimensional portal in front of the attack.
What White Mist didn't know was that Yun Zhe made a mistake in gauging the beam's distance, which is why he couldn't act. In other words, it was White Mist's lucky break.
The attack connected, and the beam hit Yun Zhe squarely in the chest. Still, the audience brushed it off, telling themselves that the attack wouldn't do any damage.
White Mist's smile grew wider. He was this close to chuckling.
And then... Yun Zhe started screaming. It wasn't just one's typical scream when one got hurt, it was a scream of agony, a scream of excruciating pain.
The audience gasped in utter disbelief.