Chapter 1173: Chapter 923 The Strongest Acting Performance
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Boom!
The two Cosmic Stone Greatswords collided, and the energy that burst forth swept through everything around, instantly vanishing everything within a radius of a hundred meters, including metallic structures. Similarly, the Array used for monitoring had also completely disappeared.
Although the visuals were lost, in the moment right before, the terrifying energy fluctuations that erupted even caused Elma and Zulal’s hearts to palpitate! They knew Long Yi was strong, and they also understood that Ascenders were strong. But just how strong they were had never been quantified. However, at that moment, the energy unleashed during their clash was so immense that even from such a distant position, beyond the obstructions of numerous buildings, it still caused them palpitations. How terrifyingly powerful was this?
At this time, Long Yi began his strenuous performance. Since both were essentially Long Yi himself, this sort of combat akin to fighting with oneself made it very easy to arrange a highly exciting script. Two figures, two Cosmic Stone Greatswords, constantly thundering. Abandoning all magic, they poured Fighting Aura and Mana into their Greatswords for a pure contest of slashing. What was being compared now was not only the strength of Mana and Fighting Aura but also the sophistication of their swordsmanship!
Long Yi and the Ascender sparred all the way, and although countless monitoring Arrays were destroyed along their path, there were always more Arrays put into use. Elma and Zulal, perched atop the Ancient Mage Tower, watched the sparring with breathless anxiety. Astonishing reserves of Mana and Fighting Aura, dazzling swordsmanship, and the terrifying energy released with every clash—this was the entirety of the battle.
"If it were me, I couldn’t even hold on for a minute," Zulal said.
"..." Elma didn’t say anything. He had just completed his Dragon Blood Reincarnation; he could instinctively feel his strength, but the power of Dragon Blood had not fully merged yet—he wasn’t strong enough! But he instinctively felt, even if he became stronger, he couldn’t possibly reach this level!
Explosions from the sparring continued unabated; the vibrations kept coming from the surroundings. The battle between Long Yi and the Ascender wasn’t just confined to one location; they were constantly changing positions, which brought tremendous disaster to the Ancient Mage Tower. However, from the monitors’ perspective, the Ascender seemed to be suppressing Long Yi to some degree!
"I am your teacher, Long Yi! The things I taught you are nowhere near my full strength! You delude yourself thinking you can defeat me!"
Long Yi burst into laughter, "I know you are strong, but your biggest weakness, I fear, is that you cannot maintain this strength forever, can you! My teacher?"
The Ascender immediately furrowed his brows, and Elma, who had been monitoring the fight, grew extremely anxious, because they both knew very well that although the Ascender was strong, his power was limited by Hayden’s restrictions. He couldn’t maintain such a battle for too long! And the battle’s consumption was astonishingly high, perhaps even shortening the duration.
At this moment, Elma hoped, by triggering traps set inside the Ancient Mage Tower, to transport Long Yi out again. But first, these traps weren’t present everywhere; secondly, Long Yi was always maintaining high-speed movement, and unless he was confined first, the trap’s activation time would undoubtedly allow Long Yi to escape. Most importantly, a failed trap activation was a minor issue, but if the Ascender was accidentally transported out, that would be a huge problem. The traps ultimately would send someone into a nearby star, and although Long Yi had escaped multiple times, it didn’t mean the Ascender could too!
"Damn! The Ascender is running out of strength!"
Zulal exclaimed with alarm.
Upon closer examination, Elma indeed saw that the red glow above the Ascender’s head was gradually dimming!
In this instant, Elma’s first thought was to abandon ship and flee. The top portion of the Ancient Mage Tower could separate from the main body; he could have the Ascender come here through a secret Teleportation Array, then have the top detached and teleported away from this place. But that would mean giving up on his greatest foundation!
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Elma glanced at Zulal, who also knew about this. Zulal himself looked very troubled at this moment. Running away was easy, but once the decision was made to almost hand over the entire Ancient Mage Tower to Long Yi, there would be no turning back!
Long Yi had seen Elma’s behavior all along through the magic hidden inside Elma’s body, which was exactly as he had anticipated.
As his body became younger, Elma was no longer as mature and steady as he had been before.
Most sentient beings are the same; when young, they tend to be very impulsive or indecisive when making decisions. Most of the time, this isn’t due to knowledge or social experience, but simply youth. The differences in hormone levels can affect one’s thinking, which even many people on Earth didn’t know about, let alone in this world.
Long Yi had specifically turned Elma into a youth in order to influence certain minor details.
The wisdom that came with Elma’s Dragon Transformation, combined with his own subtle influence, was all prepared to make Elma trust him completely and utterly!
Now, another factor had to be added: the adoration of powerhouses.
Every creature venerates the strong; within a pack of wolves, it meant absolute obedience to the alpha, whereas among humans, it signified authority.
One needs authority, but it wouldn’t do for the battery to run out suddenly during a battle!
"My teacher, you’re almost at your limit. But as I said before, I will not harm you. I only need you to step aside here. All this is merely a personal grudge between me and Elma," Long Yi suddenly said.
"Do you think this is all my strength?" the Ascender retorted.
This statement made Elma, who was already prepared to run away, focus his attention back on the surveillance screen immediately.
"Could it be!" Long Yi exclaimed in surprise, looking at the Ascender.
"Actually, I didn’t want to remove Hayden’s seal so early because it would be detrimental to his growth. But since I’m facing you, if I continue to use less than ten percent of my strength against you, that would probably be an insult to myself, considering your power comes from me!"
With that, the Ascender let the Cosmic Stone Greatsword in his hand slowly dissipate. But terrifyingly dense runes emerged all around his body! Mana piled up, bringing a terrifying roar!
"Alright, since you’ve said so, I can no longer limit my own strength, right?" Long Yi took the Cosmic Stone Greatsword in both hands, a terrifying light spewing out from the sword, its blade piercing straight through the Ancient Mage Tower, creating a massive thorough wound that actually reached the outer cosmos!
"Come and try my strongest strike!" Long Yi roared.
As he said this, Long Yi himself wanted to laugh. Who really tells their enemy during battle that this is their strongest strike? What if the strike fails to succeed? Would you still continue to fight?
But now, this sentence wasn’t for himself but for those who were watching the battle unfold. Upon hearing these words, they would naturally assume this was indeed his strongest strike!
A huge sword light tore through one side of the Ancient Mage Tower, colliding heavily with the Ascender, and all surveillance was momentarily rendered ineffective. The entire Ancient Mage Tower was swept by an inexplicable energy surge, making those of insufficient strength feel dizzy and disoriented in an instant!
For the sake of the realism of this performance, Long Yi had really put in substantial effort. He had injected an astonishing amount of Mana in order to create a magical explosion of heart-stopping proportions!
What happened! What happened!
Both Elma and Zulal were thinking the same thing in their hearts.
"Crazy Demons nearby! Hurry over!" Elma ordered.
Soon, a Crazy Demon arrived at the scene. This Crazy Demon had actually always been nearby, and he too was affected by the recent explosion. At this moment, he had barely regained his head and was sharing the scene through his vision with Elma and the others.
At this time, in Long Yi’s hand, the Cosmic Stone Greatsword was held by the Ascender, its tip pointing directly at Long Yi’s chest. And Long Yi stood there, full of indignation yet helpless.
"You’ve lost, Long Yi," the Ascender said.
"It was just a slight oversight on my part," Long Yi said.
"No matter your reasons, you’ve lost," the Ascender said.
"Yes, you are absolutely right, my teacher," Long Yi finally said, lowering his head in resignation.
The next moment, however, the Cosmic Stone Greatsword was thrust into the ground at Long Yi’s feet. Long Yi, surprised, looked up at the Ascender.
"Just as you have always said that you would not hurt me, this time I will not hurt you either. But if there is another time, trust me, my student, the power I gave you to achieve greatness, I can also take away," the Ascender said icily.
Long Yi pulled out the Cosmic Stone Greatsword in front of him, looked at the Ascender, suddenly smiled, and said, "Please trust me as well, my teacher, next time you will not be able to beat me."
Having said that, Long Yi flew up, escaping through the large gash made by the Cosmic Stone Greatsword, out into the vast universe. He looked at the enormous Ancient Mage Tower, then shook his head, turned, and vanished behind an asteroid.
"Activate the Teleportation Array immediately!" Elma loudly ordered, and in the blink of an eye, the gigantic Ancient Mage Tower disappeared without a trace.
At this point, Long Yi naturally couldn’t truly leave; as soon as he had reached the back of the asteroid, he had already cast another teleportation spell, returning him to Solis’s secret chamber. This move was executed without anyone being the wiser, save for Solis.
When the Ancient Mage Tower reappeared at a new location, Elma immediately rushed to the battlefield and found a very weakened Hayden amidst the wreckage.
"How is the Ascender, sir?" Elma asked anxiously.
"Our ancestor has exhausted a tremendous amount of energy, he might need a long period of rest," Hayden said.
"Ah, as long as sir is alright, that’s what matters," Elma sighed with relief.
"Yes, the great ancestor is just too exhausted," Hayden nodded in agreement.
"Still, the Ascender is such a compassionate person, letting Long Yi go just like that. It could have been a great opportunity," Zulal said. Such a chance to almost kill Long Yi came once in a century, he and Elma hadn’t expected that the Ascender would let Long Yi go.
"It’s actually not like that..." Hayden shook his head saying: "After taking Long Yi’s strongest blow head-on, the great ancestor was already at his limit. At that point, even if Long Yi didn’t defend at all, the great ancestor had no certainty of killing him. Taking advantage of Long Yi’s momentary shock, the great ancestor let him go. It was a decision made out of necessity."
Only then did Elma and Zulal understand; so that was the situation! They had been puzzled as the dialogue between the Ascender and Long Yi had seemed contradictory, but they couldn’t comprehend why the Ascender would let Long Yi go. Now, hearing Hayden explain, everything suddenly made sense.
"It’s alright, there will be plenty of opportunities to kill Long Yi. The urgent matter at hand is to help the Ascender recover as soon as possible," Elma said with a smile.
After all, Elma was still waiting for the Ascender’s help to perfect this body that had undergone the Dragon Blood Reincarnation. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)
