Chapter 1189: Chapter 1187: Life and Death Grand Transference_1
"I must be seeing things, right?"
It was impossible for the crowd not to be shocked by this outcome.
Among the Ten Prides, setting aside Xuanyuan Di and Qi Muchu, the most prominent were Liu Ruofei and Ding Yufang. No matter how one ranked them, Thousand Real Person had always been extremely low-key.
Yet unexpectedly, without any fanfare, he had mastered a peerless divine skill that minimized damage, continuously depleted his opponent’s strength, and seized victory with a final strike.
Indeed, within the Ten Prides, not a single person was simple.
"Gathering injuries?"
Shi Xiaole’s eyes sparkled slightly.
Thousand Real Person’s technique differed from the Life and Death Martial Way; the principle of which was transformation, fundamentally eliminating injuries. In contrast, he created a space within his body to store injuries and eventually expelled them all at once.
In the long run, the Life and Death Martial Way was more useful because it turned death into life, not only eradicating injuries but also replenishing Vigorous Air, naturally giving an unbeatable edge from birth.
Unfortunately, the realm of the Life and Death Martial Way was still too low. If he could reach the peak of perfection, no, even just the late stage, Shi Xiaole was confident he could exhaust all present.
But for now, his efficiency in transforming injuries was inferior to that of Thousand Real Person.
In the following few rounds, there were no heavyweight matches, and the fights were somewhat ’mundane.’ Most of the outer ring experts started cultivating on their own.
At this point, everyone had a clear idea of who the favorites were and who were merely making up the numbers; instead of watching some inconsequential clashes, it was better to seize the time for cultivation. Otherwise, when the Battle of Fate was over, they might not even have the chance to cultivate.
The seventeenth round.
Ding Yufang encountered the Forbidden Martial Emperor who ranked eighteenth in the last Battle of Fate and ultimately triumphed, which further elevated the evaluation of the Ten Prides.
The eighteenth round.
Fan Shengnan went up against Lu Caili.
This was also the first real head-to-head confrontation among the Ten Prides.
"God Severing Slash!"
Fan Shengnan grasped her blades with both arms, cleaving the void into two halves. The blade Qi mixed with the power of chaos surged wildly towards Lu Caili, who was trapped in the prison.
"Plucking Clouds and Grabbing the Sun!"
With a delicate hand reaching out, the sky suddenly darkened. In front of Lu Caili, a red sun hidden behind the clouds appeared. As Lu Caili made a light grab, the red sun shattered, and its location coincided perfectly with where Fan Shengnan stood.
Pfft!
Fan Shengnan spat out blood, her abdomen a blur. But Lu Caili was in an even worse state, directly penetrated by the blade light and the force of chaos, turning into a bloody figure.
Not everyone could easily find a flaw in the void like Shi Xiaole. In fact, for the vast majority, the "God Severing Slash" was a move that simply could not be taken; to be hit meant death.
In this battle, Fan Shengnan won convincingly, and the Ten Prides officially began to be fully ranked.
"Lu Caili lost due to a slightly lower martial realm; otherwise, the outcome of who would win or lose would still be uncertain."
"That’s how it is when peers compete; even a small difference is unacceptable."
Also in the eighteenth round.
Thousand Real Person faced the Sun and Moon Emperor, who ranked sixth in the previous event. If Thousand Real Person could win, it meant he was strong enough to be grouped in the second echelon along with the White Cloud Emperor and others.
The duel was extremely intense.
"Sun and Moon Tactics!"
Red and blue blade lights intersected, exploding a purple mushroom cloud at the center, blasting Thousand Real Person with head wounds and blood.
But many noticed that he was enveloped in a swirling air current on the outside of his body, which actually gathered all the dead air produced by his injuries into a certain place within his body and expelled it.
Boom boom boom...
Facing Thousand Real Person, who just wouldn’t die no matter what, the Sun and Moon Emperor was defeated in frustration.
"Master..."
Luo Zijiao clenched his fists.
Each fight made him acutely aware that the era of new replacing old had arrived. While the older generation had exhausted their potential and made no further progress, the new generation was quickly catching up, with a few even achieving early surpassals.
He was the future of Water and Fire Dao Manor, the disciple whom his master had the greatest hopes for. The shame of his master’s defeat would be washed away by him!
"Too strong. Unless you kill him in one shot or your absolute strength is significantly higher, it’s impossible to defeat him."
"It looks like now, aside from Xuanyuan Di and Qi Muchu, perhaps Thousand Real Person is actually the strongest among the Ten Prides."
After successive victories over Tianya Martial Emperor and Sun and Moon Emperor, Thousand Real Person’s momentum reached its peak, surpassing peers such as Liu Ruofei, Shi Xiaole, and Ding Yufang, becoming a favorite to contend for the top twenty positions in this battle.
The nineteenth round.
The Phoenix Eye Goddess of the Ten Prides faced off against Luo Zijiao.
The Phoenix Eye Goddess fought decisively, her gaze as powerful as a rainbow, weaving through the sky above the Battle of Fate platform. Unfortunately, due to a lower martial realm, she was defeated by Luo Zijiao.
The twentieth round.
Another eye-catching duel unfolded.
Thousand Real Person against Shi Xiaole.
"Thousand Real Person is a hot favorite for the top twenty, and Shi Xiaole has previously shown formidable strength, yet to suffer a defeat, but he might find this match difficult."
"In terms of fundamental strength, Shi Xiaole is a bit stronger; unfortunately, even Sun and Moon Emperor couldn’t outlast Thousand Real Person, let alone him."
Many felt sorry for Shi Xiaole.
Coming up against an opponent who could not be killed or worn down was indeed a very frustrating situation.
Within the eight-kilometer diameter of the inner ring of the Battle of Fate platform, Thousand Real Person and Shi Xiaole stood a kilometer apart.
"You’re strong, unfortunately, you’ve met me, and your winning streak ends here," Thousand Real Person said coldly.
"Maybe not."
Thousand Real Person raised an eyebrow, "I hope you have a trump card to match those words, and you’re not just boasting. Otherwise, I’ll be very disappointed. Thousand Chains Hand!"
Without further ado, Thousand Real Person drew circles with his hands. Two black light circles appeared out of thin air, colliding like bubbles, intersecting, and giving birth to more circles, big and small, one within the other, endlessly.
Shi Xiaole realized he was locked by countless black light rings. Any attempt to disrupt the balance of the black light circles would immediately backfire, catching him in the ensuing explosion.
With his Wind Sword Way enhanced, of course, Shi Xiaole could break this move with sheer strength, but that would be too demeaning—Thousand Real Person was not worthy of such a response.
Drawing the Cleansing Evil sword, he directed a chilly sword light straight towards the upper right space.
"Overestimating yourself."
Thousand Real Person sneered.
After "Thousand Chains Hand" was used, even he, the caster, didn’t know where its weaknesses lay. Shi Xiaole’s attempt to counter with skill seemed laughable; wasn’t that the epitome of overestimation?
Pop! In an instant, all the black light circles vanished. Shi Xiaole stepped forward, swinging the Cleansing Evil sword, executing "Returning Sword" towards his opponent.
"What?"
Thousand Real Person was shocked, hastily drawing an inner circle in front of him. The bluish sword light slashed onto it and, pausing for just a thousandth of a second, cut in again, forcing Thousand Real Person to retreat continuously as blood seeped from his arms.
In the blood, streaks of Sword Qi shot out, hitting the stage of Fate, then recoiling into the sky with a sharp whooshing sound.
"Impossible, Divine Sword Control!"
Cries of shock merged into one cacophony, unable to be stopped.
In the South Sea, there were no more than five swordsmen, including the Thousand Swords Emperor, who truly achieved Divine Sword Control. Add Liu Ruofei and at most there were five. But now, Shi Xiaole had achieved it too, causing everyone to be astounded.
If not for Divine Sword Control, how could he have seen Thousand Real Person’s flaw and made him suffer such a blow in their first exchange?
To touch the realm of Divine Sword Control, Shi Xiaole vaguely guessed one must first master the supreme technique of Dual Sword Unity, blending skill with the complete state of Heart Sword to have a chance of entering.
Of course, his Heart Sword was far from complete, but the power of 500 strands of Heart Sword already surpassed that of many swordsmen’s complete state, likely reaching the threshold. Whether his guess was correct, only heaven knew.
As the thought flickered, Shi Xiaole moved like the wind, not giving Thousand Real Person a chance to recover and thrust his sword at the opponent’s chest, faster than lightning.
The very move "Lightning Startling Swan."
Shick!
Blood mist sprayed.
Thousand Real Person was indeed resilient, but couldn’t withstand the speed of Shi Xiaole’s sword. A moment’s negligence and before he could even move the death energy, Cleansing Evil Sword pierced his left shoulder.
If he hadn’t dodged in time, that thrust would have hit his heart.
"Thousand Ingenious Steps!"
As one of the Ten Prides, after initial shock and rage, Thousand Real Person quickly withdrew, flickering to the rear while phantoms left in his original position were pierced by the sword light.
One retreated, the other advanced, but Sword Qi always locked onto Thousand Real Person, preventing him from using other martial arts. Otherwise, with a moment’s stagnation, Shi Xiaole’s sword speed could penetrate his heart.
"This..."
Onlookers were dumbstruck.
Everyone had said Thousand Real Person would wear down Shi Xiaole. None could have predicted the situation would turn out like this, nor that Shi Xiaole would break through Thousand Real Person’s Undefeated Golden Body.
"Damn you!"
Failing to shake off Shi Xiaole, Thousand Real Person grew angry and horrified. He had never been so pressured, left with barely any ability to retaliate.
According to this trend, if it came to a stalemate, he would be the first to exhaust his Vigorous Air. From the previous clash, it was clear Shi Xiaole’s Vigorous Air was exceptionally robust; otherwise, why would he suppress Fan Shengnan?
"Thousand Ingenious Blood-Annihilation Arrow!"
Face fierce, a surge of essence blood rose to his throat. Thousand Real Person spat it out, the blood arrow tearing heavy cracks in the void.
Clang!
Shi Xiaole blocked with his sword, numbing his arm from the blood arrow’s impact. He inwardly sighed. Worthy of one of the Ten Prides; anyone else might have been caught off guard by such a move, if not killed then crippled.
"Thousand Ingenious Great Killing Art, die!"
Seizing the opportunity, Thousand Real Person unleashed all his power, venting all his pent-up rage into this strike.
His hands pushed forward, and strands of arcane, unknowable light from all directions shot toward Shi Xiaole, as if fate itself was trying to destroy him, starting from the edges.
This was Thousand Real Person’s trump card, so mighty that even the White Cloud Emperor and others dared not underestimate it. Everyone thought Shi Xiaole had the upper hand, but didn’t expect a final twist.
"Old Ox’s Broken Cart."
Unperturbed, Shi Xiaole thrust out with his sword. That one thrust held back the destructive force of fate. Extending his left hand, he deftly tapped with two fingers, managing to walk out from the middle of it.
"You cannot defeat me. Life and Death Grand Transference!"
With some breathing space, a vortex of energy appeared around Thousand Real Person, who then burst into laughter.
He was greeted by a series of sword shadows, ninefold "Lightning Startling Swan" in succession.
Spurt!
Thousand Real Person’s throat was pierced through.
The "Life and Death Grand Transference" was indeed extraordinary, but when an attack is faster than what you can transfer, how can you defend?
Shi Xiaole won.
