Clash!
Fling!
Clash!
Clash!
A dance of swords was the way of combat.
The battle between Gu Xuanming and Bai Zhenyu was underway!
To the onlookers, they appeared to be nothing more than blurry humans dashing around the area, sparks flying with each clash of their weapons.
Each step they took was enough to leave small dents in the arena floor, kicking up dust and wind.
But to Jiang Haontia and the elders, it looked as if they were moving at moderate speed.
They could sense the intent behind each action and its direction.
A true feat of how much stronger they were and just how much superior they were to everyone else at the current moment.
Gu Xuanming continued looking at his feet, and Bai Zhenyu kept tabs on how he moved in attempting to match that pace.
He understood more than anyone that footing was the most important thing in the battle.
You could swing your sword as well as you want; without footing, you might as well just die.
Maybe not in this controlled battle, but in the real world, that was a simple fact.
Gu Xuanming took a deep breath, gaining greater control over his muscles.
He had also been augmenting his muscles, making them sturdier, allowing him to parry.
This allowed him to remain on the defensive side of the battle, whereas Bai Zhenyu was being far more aggressive with his strikes.
Each attack carried the wind with it, strong enough to leave minor cuts with each swing!
‘He’s certainly strong, but reckless.’
“Severing Mountain Silver Fall!” Bai Zhenyu shouted.
His blade was lifted into the air, and Qiang Qi was fed into it from his body.
He would then reinforce and empower the weapon, swinging it down as if cutting a mountain in half!
Gu Xuanming had recognized the attack as a late basic martial art technique.
Thankfully, he had also learned the technique, so he knew its weakness.
It was a single-action attack.
You could only swing downwards.
Any diversion would result in immense whiplash to your body, harming you more than you could have your target.
Gu Xuanming sidestepped the attack, using his elbow to strike Bai Zhenyu in the face.
He couldn’t kill him, of course, no matter how easy it was to end his life at that moment.
He wasn’t a master of his sword, only proficient in techniques.
Even he didn’t trust himself that much to hold back well enough.
After all, he was still doing some experimentation with his muscles.
Slash!
Gu Xuanming cut Bai Zhenyu’s knee.
“Kik!
Damn you!” Bai Zhenyu leaped back, but Gu Xuanming had already caught him.
He was not going to let him catch his breath.
It was his turn to be on the offensive!
Clang!
Clang!
The hitting of metal and iron was loud, and sparks were flashing!
Bai Zhenyu was struggling to keep his footing!
Gu Xuanming continued to push, forcing Bai Zhenyu to constantly check his back.
Multiple times, he almost tripped over himself, trying to regain his footing, but each strike felt like getting pushed by a boulder!
No, maybe a spirit beast!
“Gah!” Bai Zhenyu began to fall, nearly hitting his back on the floor when he made a quick recovery!
He twisted his body and got right up in one swift motion!
He gritted his teeth, a little sweat dropping onto the arena.
They collected themselves, thinking about their course of action.
‘I haven’t used a single technique yet.’ Gu Xuanming thought.
‘It’s time I start using them.
But unlike Bai Zhenyu, I will achieve enlightenment and reach the next constellation!’
Bai Zhenyu, on the other hand, was sweating quite a bit.
He had exerted a lot of energy, wanting to deal with Gu Xuanming as fast as possible.
He had complete confidence in his power, but that confidence wavered.
‘How can I beat him?
I heard he was training under Qing Yuru, and she is very skilled in defensive styles.’ Bai Zhenyu thought.
‘I assumed he didn’t master it well, but I guess I was wrong.’
After they thought of their next course of action, the world seemed to cut out for both of them.
Nothing existed except the arena and each other.
They were now fully focused on the battle itself.
No longer were they trying to fulfill the main purpose of this tournament, which was to impress the inner elders.
No.
Now they wanted to beat the other to ensure their skill was superior.
Gu Xuanming would have never thought of such things, but when he came to his own conclusion about martial arts, he knew that if he wanted to reach his freedom, he needed to prove his martial arts were superior to his enemy.
Only by doing that would he gain victory and inch closer to freedom!
Gu Xuanming made the first move, his step unleashing a shockwave that blew Bai Zhenyu’s air back.
Like a quick blur, he had arrived behind Bai Zhenyu!
He had long cared about being safe!
He only cared about winning!
After all, he could just muster it up to be an accident.
Bai Zhenyu could tell exactly what his intentions were.
The bloodlust; such dark, uncanny, disgusting bloodlust.
Only a demonic beast would ooze out such an aura!
Realizing this, Bai Zhenyu had dodged the attack!
He then fixed his wrist, swinging behind him, but Gu Xuanming had leaped back.
As he leaped back, he threw his kunai at Bai Zhenyu, holding the end.
Bai Zhenyu had just barely caught it within his vision, immediately parrying the kunai.
This left him wide open for another attack; after all, the kunai was attached to a chain, something Bai Zhenyu realized too late.
He failed to move in time, getting caught by the chain as it wrapped around his wrist, pulling the arm with the weapon down!
“You damn—!” Bai Zhenyu was immediately cut off as his vision was filled with Gu Xuanming’s foot, getting kicked straight in the nose!
“Gaaah!” He immediately fell back, but Gu Xuanming pulled him back with his chain, swinging down his sword to cut off his arm!
‘Is he trying to—!?’ Bai Zhenyu reinforced his arm with Qiang Qi, focusing the largest amount of energy into the arm Gu Xuanming aimed at.
Thanks to his quick thinking, he only suffered a minor cut.
Bai Zhenyu gripped the handle of his sword, leaping in Gu Xuanming’s direction and swinging his weapon!
He would not allow himself to be humiliated like this!
[Mountain Technique, Horizontal Wind]
He fed Qiang Qi into his weapon, swinging his weapon horizontally this time.
However, Gu Xuanming used a technique of his own…
[Righteous Sword, Clean Flash]
Gu Xuanming had moved like light itself.
The first thing that came was a flash, then the next moment, the heavy swing of a blade.
The ringing of such a swing came after, filling their ears.
Both fell silent in this dark world before the color red filled Bai Zhenyu’s vision. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Drip.
Drip.
Two drops of red echoed across the silent battlefield.
“Cough!
Cough!”
Bai Zhenyu’s gaze slowly shifted to his chest as he trembled; he was cut!
The injury was far worse than anything he had suffered before.
This attack was fatal if not treated!
But…
“Grrh!
I’m not backing down!
Not now!” Bai Zhenyu shouted.
He was not going to allow himself to be defeated in one attack!
[Righteous Sword, Clean Flash]
Bai Zhenyu used the same attack, but unfortunately, his wound had weakened his body.
He could not use the full might of this piercing attack, dropping to his knees.
He coughed violently, trying to stand back up, but he was too weak.
The determination in his eyes didn’t match his state, inviting a look of pity from Gu Xuanming.
No.
Not pity, but nothing at all.
There was no feeling behind such cold eyes.
Why would he spare such feelings for a random person anyway?
There was no need.
“Enough!”
A sharp voice cut through their little world, returning them to reality.
It was Jiang Haotia, his hand raised as he officially declared the end of the match.
“Bai Zhenyu, you have lost.
Gu Xuanming is the winner!”
Bai Zhenyu’s eyes widened!
“What!
No!
I can still—”
“Silence!
You will die without treatment.
Doctors, take him away.”
A few doctors standing by had woken up the area stage, bringing Bai Zhenyu with them.
He felt powerful against their grip.
He wanted to pull away, wanting to fight, but he couldn’t.
No, rather he wouldn’t.
It wouldn’t matter if he pulled away; he still officially lost.
He gritted his teeth, feeling his chest tighten.
His pride had been wounded; his so-called work ethic was shattered, but he had been awakened.
Gu Xuanming, on the other hand, felt nothing.
He wanted to achieve enlightenment, yet he failed.
‘I failed.’
‘I couldn’t obtain it, the second constellation.’
After a few seconds of staring at his hand, he walked off the arena.
After a few minutes, Jiang Haotia declared the next battle…
“Next fight, Zhao Cangsheng vs Sima Tiancheng!”