Chapter 217: Chapter 217: Duel with Su Zhi’er
"Wild Style!"
Seeing that the Wild Style can’t break the defense, Gu Zhihang changes his move and demonstrates the ultimate move of the Twin Absolute Palace’s secret studies, the Streamlight Fourteen Styles - the Wild Style.
In an instant, the sword and knife Qi was swirling like a mud-rock flow and howling like a tornado, aiming directionless at Wang Zuying. Circles of ripples exploded on the surface of the Qi shield, spreading and quickly covering Wang Zuying’s figure.
"Heavenly Sea Curtain, Counterflow."
In the continuous sound of impacts, Wang Zuying’s clear voice rang out. Something astonishing happened; it seemed as if the sword and knife Qi was influenced by some power, gathered together, and finally turned into a cluster of sharp arrows reflecting towards Gu Zhihang.
Clang!
Gu Zhihang retreated twenty steps with a changed complexion.
"Such a powerful defensive technique, it can even turn defense into offense."
"A bit like using a small effort to deflect a heavy blow, but obviously on a higher level."
Not to mention the talents of this year’s competition, even the talents from the last competition had serious expressions. The Heavenly Sea Curtain was clearly a defensive killing move newly created by Wang Zuying. With Gu Zhihang’s probe, it became clear how difficult it was.
"Hahaha, if you were so easily defeated, it would be rather dull. Good, you are worthy of my deadly move."
After a moment of stunned silence, Gu Zhihang burst into laughter, his expression full of wildness.
"Bring it on."
Wang Zuying was also laughing.
Clang! Clang!
Gu Zhihang’s sword and knife were clashing together, spreading an invisible melody all around.
He practiced the Way of the Sword and Knife which wasn’t pure in the single Sword or Knife ways, but when combined, the destructive power that was displayed wasn’t weaker than the Sword or Knife fighters.
In recent years, Gu Zhihang had even comprehended 30% of the Streamlight intent from the Streamlight Fourteen Styles, with the killing move he was about to use, he felt confident that no one, except the four Heaven Kings, could stand against him.
"Streamlight Break!"
With a loud shout, the sword and knife in Gu Zhihang’s hands were covered by a layer of dazzling internal power, and soon even his body disappeared in the light and shadow, leaving only a stream of light filled with the taste of destruction.
Whoosh, Boom!
The stream of light fiercely stabbed the Qi shield, breaking layer after layer. Amid the shouts, just as the Heavenly Sea Curtain was about to be shattered, Wang Zuying, calm and unruffled, accounted a terrifyingly majestic power.
"What, Qi Absorption Eightfold, she is also at the eighth level of Qi Absorption. She has been hiding it."
The crowd was yelling.
The shattered light shield, like a drought receiving sweet rain, received a stronger internal power nourishment. Suddenly it hugged together and formed a yellow Qi gate that was stronger than before.
The yellow Qi gate contracted and expanded. During contraction, Gu Zhihang’s advancing speed increased. When it expanded, it generated a repulsive force that was completely different from before. The clash of these forces, suddenly blew up like a steel plate.
With a bang.
A torrent of internal power gushed out in all directions, shaking the entire arena. Fortunately, a piece of glass-like hard board bounced up all around, offsetting the shock wave of the two of them.
"Pfft!"
A person flew out vomiting blood, the sword and knife dropping to the ground. It was Gu Zhihang.
"Wang Zuying wins."
The referee immediately stood up to declare the verdict, and at the same time, a safety-in-charge expert flew up and immediately took the dispirited Gu Zhihang down for treatment, to avoid affecting the next round of competition.
For the Heroes Tournament, the martial world of Qingxue State had pooled their efforts. Plenty of top-notch healing medicines were prepared. Combined with Gu Zhihang’s minor injuries, he should recover in time.
Even so, the lord of Twin Absolute Palace looked worried on the sidelines.
Gu Zhihang losing to Wang Zuying was something he had not expected. In his opinion, only a handful of people in this year’s competition could obstruct his protege. Now it seemed that such an idea was overly naive.
However, it also proved from another aspect how fierce the competition was this time.
"I hope he won’t be affected in the next rounds and lose games he shouldn’t."
The lord of the Twin Absolute Palace sighed.
The others, however, were buzzing with discussions, and the entire Hero Peak was filled with noisy waves.
Previously, Wang Zuying was considered the weakest of the nine seed players. No one thought so now. With her eighth level of Qi Absorption, Wang Zuying’s strength was not weaker than any of the others, excluding the four Heaven Kings.
Especially her defensive killing move, it was good for both attack and defense, making people hard to guard against.
After the seventh round of competition, previous winners began to suffer defeats. As the competition progressed, inevitably they would encounter a strong opponent they couldn’t defeat.
Of course, for the true talents, unless they were in a tightly contested match, dealing with others was quite easy, and they all achieved seven consecutive wins.
The eighth round.
Shi Xiaole ran into Pan Yue again.
"I concede."
Pan Yue gritted his teeth.
He was the first person to concede in this ranking competition, but if he didn’t admit defeat, what could he do? The two had already fought once, and fighting again was pointless. The most important thing was that he saw no hope of winning against Shi Xiaole.
The ninth round.
Another heavyweight battle happened, second only to the one between Wang Zuying and Gu Zhihang.
The battling parties turned out to be Su Zhi’er, the genius of the Floating Rain Pavilion from the nine seed players, and who was ranked eleventh in the last edition, and Shi Xiaole.
"Su Zhi’er is at the eightfold Qi Absorption, with her talent, her strength shouldn’t be weaker than Wang Zuying’s, Shi Xiaole is going to lose."
"Don’t be so arbitrary, I feel that Shi Xiaole still has some reserves."
"Even if he does, it certainly won’t be much. With a flying skill comparable to Bai Zhanmei’s and a peerless knife skill, these qualities already match his status as a Qi Absorption sevenfold genius. Even if he has some kind of powerful trick left, could it be stronger than Gu Zhihang?"
"That’s true."
Previously, Shi Xiaole had certainly impressed many with his display of strength, but fear arises when comparisons are drawn.
No one believes that Shi Xiaole’s talents can outshine Gu Zhihang’s by much. However, Gu Zhihang, with eight levels of Qi Absorption, lost to Wang Zuying, whose strength may not necessarily surpass Su Zhi’er’s. Hence, few held high hopes for Shi Xiaole.
"Let’s see how cocky you can be now."
Pan Yue scoffed, relieved.
"The one who should lose will still lose. As long as Young Master Shi retains his power and does not get injured, he may still secure a high ranking."
Meng Qi muttered to himself.
Even his most loyal supporter did not believe that Shi Xiaole could win. Hence, he felt at peace, as long as Shi Xiaole did not get injured.
Not just him, the others from both the Golden Phoenix Tower and the Huajian Sect also shared this belief.
"This brat better be beaten to death."
Some, like the members of the Iron Bone Sect, harbored malicious intentions.
Of course, these were merely fleeting thoughts. In the history of the contest, no fatalities had ever occurred. Not only were the head and deputy judges unfathomable, even the nine judges at the Spiritual-Passage Realm could prevent such tragedies from happening.
"The wise choice would be to admit defeat, although it’s a rather cowardly choice."
In the ring, Su Zhi’er, clad in pink and with waist-length black hair, giggled sweetly, causing many young men to swoon.
Names can be mispronounced, but titles are never misrepresented.
Granted the title of Floating Rain Fairy, Su Zhi’er was undoubtedly a great beauty, with countless admirers in the Martial World. Hence, many men were watching Shi Xiaole, hoping he would know better after her declaration.
However, these men were destined to be disappointed.
"Why should I admit defeat?"
Shi Xiaole retorted.
"You seem quite confident in yourself."
Surprised, Su Zhi’er stifled her laughter and grew cautious.
She didn’t believe Shi Xiaole to be a fool who sought public attention to no avail. Furthermore, his calm demeanor didn’t seem feigned. Could it be that he possessed a trump card capable of upsetting her?
"Be careful."
With a charming yell, Su Zhi’er launched the first attack. Her graceful figure hovered in the air. At the same time, her sleeve, accompanied by formidable internal power, swiftly rolled towards Shi Xiaole.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Using the rebounding force, Shi Xiaole immediately dodged.
With a faint smile, Su Zhi’er flicked her wrist. The flying sleeve split into two, then four, and eventually sixteen flying sleeves appeared, each taking on a more complex angle of attack.
"The Pink Sleeve Array, this kid’s about to have a hard time."
Bali Wen, one of the top nine contenders, smirked. Many, including himself, dared not underestimate the Floating Rain Fairy’s Pink Sleeve Array. Once trapped within, it would require ten times the effort to escape.
Those in the know threw Shi Xiaole sympathetic glances.
"I’m quite interested to learn."
Although he had never seen it before, Shi Xiaole could tell from the path of the internal power carried by the sleeves that this formation was not simple, so he struggled to suppress his urge to break out of the Pink Sleeve Array.
"You’re not running?"
Shocked, Su Zhi’er couldn’t help but grow angry. Who did he think he was, a Heaven King, daring to belittle her unique skill?
"Pink Sleeve Yin-Yang Strike."
With arched brows, Su Zhi’er released waves of internal power. The sixteen pink sleeves overlapped and interwove, forming cutting lines of condensed internal power that launched a lethal assault on Shi Xiaole from above and below.
Clang! Clang! Clang...!
Unsheathing his blade, Shi Xiaole swung relentlessly, each strike releasing a shower of sparks that surrounded him.
How peculiar was Su Zhi’er’s Pink Sleeve Array. It seemed to have only sixteen pink sleeves, but when the cutting lines of internal power collided, they produced new cutting lines. The new lines influenced the old, and in the end, even Su Zhi’er, the initiator, could not calculate the number of waves of attack.
He seemed to be inviting humiliation in the eyes of many.
But gradually, the expressions of those who had wanted to see a good show changed.
They discovered that, incredibly, the Pink Sleeve Array was disintegrating amidst Shi Xiaole’s rapid blade work and could no longer form effective attacks.
Bam!
The cutting lines of internal power imploded. Su Zhi’er lost control and had to retract the sixteen flying sleeves and stood there, dumbstruck.
Her astonishment outdid that of the others.
While outsiders only saw Shi Xiaole disrupting the Pink Sleeve Array, they did not know that he not only broke it but also used the cutting lines of internal power to affect her. If she had not withdrawn in time, she feared she might have been at a disadvantage.
"How did you manage that?"
She couldn’t help but ask.
"Your movements and changes in internal power seem unpredictable, but they actually follow a pattern. I just need to find the key points and disrupt them."
"Shi Xiaole replied.
In the eyes of others, Su Zhi’er’s Pink Sleeve Array might seem powerful. But, in his eyes, he could spot many flaws. Of course, spotting gaps and exploiting them are two different things.
In fact, without harnessing thirty percent of the Wind Intent Realm, allowing his sword movements to replicate flying, he wouldn’t have been confident about countering her attack merely with his skill.
"You truly are an eye-opener. I admit I underestimated you, but you can rest assured, I won’t be holding back from now on."
Shi Xiaole’s explanation not only didn’t reassured Su Zhi’er, but it made her even more alert. Fortunately, the Pink Sleeve Array was just one of her many unique skills. It wasn’t even the strongest. She was curious to see what kind of ’surprise’ he could give her next.
