To ensure no mistakes, Su Ming had Su Jian go first. He even prepared for a war of attrition, as they had only agreed to one-on-one duels, not that they couldn't fight in succession.
Su Jian said nothing more. His figure flashed as he charged directly at Di Yi Ye. However, when he was still 3-4 meters away, Qi flowed through his entire body. He thrust his spear diagonally into the ground. The earth trembled, and then several Earth Spikes shot towards Di Yi Ye, leaving him no room to dodge.
Clearly, although Su Jian was only in the Late Initial Awakening stage, he had awakened an Earth Element Ability. He could integrate Earth Attribute Qi into the ground to control earth and stone, condensing them into Earth Spikes. Of course, this was just one of his methods; he had various other related techniques.
The Earth Spikes shot over, leaving Di Yi Ye no room to dodge. However, he was not flustered. His body turned, and a spear appeared in his hand. The black spear, like a black dragon, weaved and twisted. Wherever the incredibly heavy spear body passed, it easily shattered the Earth Spikes.
There was no sign of Qi Flow around the spear. It was obvious Di Yi Ye was not mobilizing his Qi, but merely using his powerful Physique to wield the spear. The powerful spear could easily shatter the Earth Spikes. He then continued his charge, like a tiger descending a mountain, straight towards Su Jian.
A flicker of panic flashed in his eyes. Su Jian hastily retreated. As he retreated, he let out a loud shout, and Qi Flow merged into the ground along his spear. The ground in front of Di Yi Ye rapidly softened, becoming like Quicksand. If one were to fall in, coupled with the suppression of Earth Attribute Qi, it would not be easy to break free.
That was not all. A strange energy flowed in front of Su Jian, and then the ground bulged, quickly forming an Earth Wall about a Zhang Xu high between him and Di Yi Ye.
Su Jian's idea was straightforward. If the Quicksand couldn't trap Di Yi Ye, then this Earth Wall could buy him some time, allowing him to unleash more attacks.
Su Jian was confident that his subsequent attacks would definitely inflict some injuries on Di Yi Ye, or at the very least, cause him greater consumption.
Cultivators who awakened Earth Attribute Abilities were best at defense, and also best at Battles of Attrition. This was why Su Ming had Su Jian go first.
As if he had long known about the Quicksand trap, after dodging the Earth Spike attack, Di Yi Ye circulated Qi Flow beneath his feet. With a leap, he easily crossed the trap. While in mid-air, he twisted his body, and his spear flew out, piercing fiercely into the Earth Wall like a black spirit snake, embedding itself over a meter deep.
Under the immense impact, cracks appeared on the Earth Wall. However, Di Yi Ye clearly had no intention of breaking it. He lightly tapped his toes on the spear shaft.
The hard yet flexible spear shaft dipped in an arc and then rebounded. Using the rebound force, Di Yi Ye easily crossed the Earth Wall. While still in the air, a dragon's roar sound echoed. The Tang Heng Saber was already unsheathed. With Qi Flow circulating, a sword qi slashed towards Su Jian, who was retreating.
The sword qi was sharp, faintly carrying Righteous Qi. It easily pierced through the Earth-Stone Armor that Su Jian had hastily condensed on his body's surface using Earth Attribute Qi Flow.
His chest felt heavy, followed by intense pain. Su Jian saw a wound less than half an inch deep on his chest, from which blood flowed profusely. It was evident he was injured by Di Yi Ye's attack.
Although a wound less than half an inch deep was not much for Su Jian's relatively strong Physique, he knew very well that this was because Di Yi Ye had held back. He had witnessed the terrifying Power of the formidable Righteous Sword Qi before.
"I concede."
Su Jian was straightforward. He directly admitted defeat and retreated back into the ranks.
The entire battle lasted less than 10 seconds, leaving the onlookers stunned, including Di Er Meng. However, her face was quickly replaced by joy.
With Su Jian retreating, another person immediately rushed forward. It was the cultivator wielding the Bronze Great Club. The club was raised high and brought down from the sky without mercy, carrying the momentum of Mount Tai Crushing Down.
He retreated rapidly, because Di Yi Ye knew that against the powerful, heavy attack of the great club, his Tang Saber held no advantage.
Soon, Di Yi Ye retreated to the Earth Wall. Due to the force of his previous step, the Earth Wall finally collapsed. Just before his spear landed, it coincidentally fell into Di Yi Ye's hand.
Stopping his movement, Di Yi Ye advanced instead of retreating, thrusting his spear directly at the person's chest. The extremely sharp spear tip, even without Qi enhancement, could likely easily pierce that person's Heart. After all, that person had not awakened an Earth Element Ability, nor had he undergone Gene Awakening to possess a powerful Physique.
That person naturally knew this and hastily swung his great club to block. A clash of metal and stone rang out. The vibrating great club made the person's hands go numb, followed by a sharp pain. The person's tiger's mouth was already bleeding profusely, and his trembling body began to become somewhat immobile.
Seeing this, Su Ming and the others were horrified, and even more so, disbelieving.
Although Su Tong had not awakened any abilities or undergone Gene Awakening, with his tall stature and the hundreds of pounds of force from the Bronze Great Club, he was injured in just one collision. Meanwhile, Di Yi Ye on the other side was completely unharmed, which was astonishing.
As mentioned before, among those of the same rank, even cultivators who had undergone Gene Awakening were not as physically strong as Di Yi Ye. Moreover, Su Tong had not awakened, so his Physique was naturally far inferior.
This was still when Di Yi Ye had not used the Golden Light Spell. Otherwise, Su Tong's injuries would have been even more severe from this blow.
Of course, this single strike was not enough to decide the outcome. Taking advantage of Su Tong's trembling retreat, Di Yi Ye pressed forward, his spear like a maggot on bone, thrusting directly at Su Tong's chest.
Su Tong had no time to dodge. The spear tip stopped less than half an inch from his chest. Knowing that Di Yi Ye had held back, he decisively chose to concede.
The moment Su Tong conceded, Su Lie, standing beside the cultivator with the mouse-like mustache, unhesitatingly made his move. A cold gleam flashed from his hand, and two Flying Daggers shot out, directly piercing towards Di Yi Ye's chest and head. Saber Aura emanated from them, clearly infused with pure Qi.
Su Lie was not a Mind Master like Di Er Meng; rather, he was skilled in hidden weapons.
Qi Flow merged into the Flying Daggers, along with the force of the throw, making their speed extremely fast. At close range, they were difficult to dodge. The extremely sharp blades, coupled with the Qi enhancement, made them even more formidable, capable of easily piercing Di Yi Ye, who had not used the Golden Light Spell.
Of course, the moment the cold light flashed, Di Yi Ye reacted. He brandished his spear, and with two 'ding ding' sounds, the Flying Daggers were easily deflected.
The sneak attack failed. Su Lie's expression remained unchanged. He clapped his wrist, and three Sleeve Arrows shot out. The azure light flowing from the arrowheads indicated they were poisoned, and extremely potent poison at that.
His brow furrowed slightly, and Di Yi Ye's expression turned grim. He lowered his body and dodged the Sleeve Arrows. As he bent down, he threw the Combat Daggers from his leg guards. Their speed was even faster, far exceeding the Flying Daggers.
During their previous conflict, Su Lie and the others had not had the chance to see Di Yi Ye use the Combat Daggers. In their minds, even if they weren't mere decorations, their power wouldn't be great. They never expected them to be used as hidden weapons. Caught off guard, Su Lie was hit in the calf. The muscle was torn by the sharp edges, and blood flowed uncontrollably.
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