Chapter 1203: Chapter 1201: Sky-shocking Sword
The arena within the Fate Platform, with a diameter of eight thousand kilometers, held two young figures standing a kilometer apart.
Both possessed an air of striking handsomeness and grace, yet Qi Muchu carried an effortless charm about him, and even with a spear in his grasp, he could not conceal the innate elegance in his bones.
In comparison, Shi Xiaole, with a long sword hanging at his waist, stood casually, embodying a manner that couldn’t be simply described as unrestrained or ethereal. To onlookers, he was like a swordsman stepping out from a painting, crossing the threshold between reality and fantasy, exuding an otherworldly allure that was almost unbelievable.
"Brother Shi, you might not believe this, but from the first time I saw you, I knew you wouldn’t be easy to deal with,"
Qi Muchu said with a smile.
"You too,"
Shi Xiaole replied.
The pair ceased speaking, their gazes locking on each other. It seemed as if strong currents of electricity surged through the void between them.
"Endless Sea of Fire!"
The shadow of the spear launched forward, carrying Qi Muchu towards Shi Xiaole. Mid-flight, his right arm vibrated continuously, and numerous spear shadows fused into a vast sea of fire that bore down on Shi Xiaole.
"Heart Thunder One Sword!"
The Cleansing Evil Sword drawn from its sheath, its surface swirling with cyan patterns. With a flick of Shi Xiaole’s finger, the sword shot out at high speed, piercing through the sea of fire.
Even having anticipated his opponent’s strength, Qi Muchu was caught off guard by the actual exchange.
Stepping back with his left foot and slightly tilting his body, Qi Muchu, with the strength of his waist, knocked the Cleansing Evil Sword away. Not giving Shi Xiaole a chance to perform the second "Heart Thunder One Sword," his spear twisted rapidly, its tyrannical energy creating sparks as it grated through the void.
"Wildfire Spreads Uncontrollably!"
Shi Xiaole inwardly praised the move.
If it had been any other unparalleled expert, no matter how swift their techniques, they couldn’t outpace his Sword Controlling Skill. But Qi Muchu was able to accurately gauge the force of the Cleansing Evil Sword and utilize it, making his innate talent highly superior to most people in the world.
Hiss, hiss, hiss...
The sparks exploded one after another, creating ripples that could obliterate even the Forbidden Martial Emperor. Upon nearing Shi Xiaole, however, they were instantly cleaved by an icy and inviolable sword intent.
In that moment, Shi Xiaole raised his power to the limit and struck with a "Breaking Extreme Sword," effortlessly extinguishing the myriad sparks.
"Dual Fire Origins!"
Submerged under the cyan sword light, Qi Muchu sensed immense danger.
Yet astonishingly, he abandoned his ultimate finishing move. His spear swept upwards, and the broken spear force surged violently from all around, colliding with the cyan sword light.
"What, a follow-up move?"
"Well done, First Young Master, well done, Qi Muchu!"
Expressions of awe and admiration resounded throughout. With this spear technique, Qi Muchu had utterly convinced the present experts, inducing even older generations to concede their inferiority.
Follow-up moves, distinct from rapid successive attacks that rely on robust Vigorous Air and recovery speed, demand in addition a profound understanding of the techniques, as well as an extraordinary mastery of timing.
"Muchu’s combat skills have reached an inhuman level, probably no less than Shi Xiaole,"
the White Cloud Emperor of the Hundred Battles Tower mused.
Who knew that behind the young man’s seemingly carefree appearance laid a determination and willpower that surged forth the moment he resolved to accomplish something.
Just because of a casual remark he had once made, this young man devoted himself to intensely honing his techniques until he left him far behind, until there were no rivals left under the heavens.
The White Cloud Emperor deeply understood that Qi Muchu, inspired upon witnessing Shi Xiaole’s skills and eager with the excitement of the hunt, yearned to challenge him in this regard.
"Brother Shi, do you dare?"
Qi Muchu roared, his question abrupt and unexpected.
"There is nothing I wouldn’t dare,"
Shi Xiaole’s tranquil eyes shone with compelling brilliance. With a gentle shake of his wrist, the Cleansing Evil Sword sounded a wave of calls and clangs like a mountain collapse or tsunami, stirring the sword Qi around him.
It was also a follow-up move!
"This..."
The crowd was speechless with shock, beholding two great young masters clashing together, releasing hundreds to thousands of moves in an instant, each more stupefying than the last. The realms that seemed unattainable to them appeared effortlessly achievable by these two, as if they were mere child’s play.
Within the inner circle of the Fate Platform, sometimes there rolled a sea of sword waves, at other times a dense weave of spear shadows, and occasionally intermingling, annihilating each other...
To the spectators, even the residual energy unleashed by the fierce battle between these two prodigious youths seemed to have its own sentience, constantly seeking, creating vulnerabilities in the other, seeking to defeat the opponent with a single strike.
"I have never felt such exhilaration, Brother Shi. You’ve made me realize the thrill of battle."
The spear, not known for speed, was wielded faster and faster by Qi Muchu, with undiminished momentum. It was unimaginable how powerful his attacks were at that moment, like a furious storm that guaranteed death to anyone who approached.
This so-called First Young Master, declared to have the utmost talent under the heavens, was unleashing even deeper potential due to Shi Xiaole’s stimulation, with both his combat skills and strength mounting!
"Hahaha..."
Several masters from the Hundred Battles Tower laughed heartily.
The endless spear shadows abruptly converged, and Qi Muchu unleashed a lightning-fast thrust.
Clang!
Shi Xiaole parried with his sword.
The spear retreated a fraction, too slight to be perceptible, and then it lunged again with even greater speed and power, the time it took to gather force negligible. This was the Dual Sword Unity.
Moreover, only a very few could discern that Qi Muchu’s control over Dual Spear Unity was superior even to Liu Ruofei’s Dual Sword Unity, not at all inferior to Shi Xiaole.
Thud!
The spear struck the body of the sword, emitting a muffled boom like a drum roll, casting transparent waves layer by layer, shaking the Fate Platform.
Qi Muchu’s right arm froze, his spear slipping from his hand, but this time the magnitude was even smaller than the last, as a violent yet refined force accumulated within it, bursting open patches of blood on Qi Muchu’s right arm.
A flash of white light!
For an instant, the brilliance of the spear outshone everything in the world.
Triple Unity!
Swish swish swish.
Many experts from Nineteen Peaks were so shocked they reflexively stood up, their cries stuck in their throats, unable to be voiced. Even their minds stopped working, captivated by the splendor of that spear.
If Dual Strike Unity represents the highest technique, then Triple Unity surpasses the highest. It should be known that wielding the Spirit Integration Spear with Dual Strike Unity is not absolutely equivalent.
Before, Qi Muchu had reached forty percent mastery with the Spirit Integration Spear, and now it was still the same, but on a technical level, he was a cut above Shi Xiaole.
If Qi Muchu’s Spirit Integration Spear were to reach fifty percent mastery, maybe when using this spear, his arm wouldn’t recoil with injury.
No sooner had the splendor of the spear shone, than another sword light, even faster, streaked across the void. It was so fast that it was obscured by the spear light, but anyone who saw it was stricken with an instinctive terror.
Clang!
The air was charged with an aura of slaughter.
The spear, once unstoppable, now not only ceased advancing but was forced back. Qi Muchu’s feet dragged across the ground, sparking two trails of fire before he finally regained his footing, his face turning red as he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
In contrast, Shi Xiaole also retreated dozens of meters, but except for his slightly pale complexion, he was unharmed.
Only then did the masters from Nineteen Peaks fully stand up. Seeing this scene, they were so astonished they were rendered speechless.
Triple Sword Unity!
In this magnificent battle of technique, the one who still gained the upper hand was Shi Xiaole, the invincible Shi Xiaole! Even though Qi Muchu broke through during the fight.
At this moment, many experts from Hundred Battles Tower truly began to fear — fear for the talent of one man.
"Shi Xiaole, I admit defeat in this contest, but I still have one spear move left, and if you cannot receive it, the final victor will only be me," Qi Muchu said.
Qi Muchu wiped the blood from his mouth, his aura becoming concealed.
Only then did people recall that Qi Muchu’s ultimate move was so far the strongest seen. Based on previous comparisons, even if Shi Xiaole gave it his all, he would still be slightly inferior.
"Go ahead and use it."
Shi Xiaole remained calm. This calmness, for the first time in his life, exerted an immense pressure on Qi Muchu. He could tell that Shi Xiaole wasn’t feigning it, but that it stemmed from an innate confidence.
How could such a person exist in the world?
Even someone as strong as Qi Muchu felt a tinge of disheartenment and defeat. Forcing himself to suppress unnecessary thoughts, he harmonized his mind and spirit, raising his power to the limit. He lifted his spear swiftly and thrust directly.
Fierce power converged into one, endowing the spear with terrifying velocity, exceeding even Liu Ruofei’s Breaking Extreme Killing Sword.
At the same time, the spear was vibrating at a high frequency, and under the clashes of power, a supernova-like apocalyptic flame formed at its tip. Even from tens of thousands of meters away, it stung the eyes of onlookers.
Heavenly Fire Melting World!
This was the embodiment of Qi Muchu’s talent, the strongest killing move of this Fate battle, rushing toward Shi Xiaole.
Meanwhile.
Unbeknownst to all, an enormous green Sword Qi pervaded half the Fate Platform, staining it with a shocking hue as white sword lights interweaved within. People faintly discerned four distinct types of sword moves: one fast, one slow, one offensive, one defensive.
As the crimson apocalyptic flame surged towards Shi Xiaole, it was time for the fusion of the four sword moves.
Crackle and sizzle...
The green Sword Qi was as fragile as paper, easily pierced through by the apocalyptic flame.
"Sky-shocking Sword!"
The Cleansing Evil Sword was raised high, Shi Xiaole’s eyes cold and devoid of emotion.
With his powerful mental focus, anything within his sight slowed down, the paths created by the fusion of the four sword moves perfectly aligning with the positioning of the Cleansing Evil Sword. Shi Xiaole swung down with force.
This sword was like the first light of creation, its azure brilliance surpassing heaven and earth, with nothing capable of standing in its way. Under this sword, the only thing to do was to close one’s eyes and await death.
Whoosh!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The apocalyptic flame was cleanly bisected by the sword light, and amid their friction, a world-shaking terror erupted. The aftershocks spread out, pushing the Array System’s light curtain outward by more than thirty meters. Even the sparks that landed on it formed bulges several meters high.
When the apocalyptic flame was extinguished, the sword light also dwindled to just ten percent of its strength, but it remained terrifyingly sharp as it swept by Qi Muchu.
Spurt...
The Sword Qi annihilated half of Qi Muchu’s body.
The duel between the two young powerhouses had come to an end. This battle further established the elegance of the "First Young Master," living up to his reputation.
And Shi Xiaole, who had defeated the "First Young Master," would henceforth not only be known as the number one sword talent, but also the premier talent of his time.
