Archfiend

Chapter 42: Battle Royale (7)

 “My god…” A middle-stage Qi Condensation cultivator was unable to restrain his emotions as he stood up. Subsequently, there was a second. The crowd seemed to receive some sort of directive. One after another, all of them silently stood up, their eyes completely gathered on the blank stele!

How many years had it been?

This stone stele had towered loftily here without a single person able to shake it. To the extent that none could even make it shimmer! But now, someone had finally caused it to sway! At this instant, after Xu Yangyi had utilised Solution Eighty-Nine, Sunnihilator’s stone stele, a once-in-a-century cultivation talent, had moved!

“Shadowslay…” Firecloud’s gaze carried a trace of obsession as he looked at Sunnihilator’s stone stele. He turned his head soon after, looking at his counterpart with a sword-like sharpness. “What price do you want? For you to consent to allow me to have him?”

“None at all.” Concealed within Shadowslay’s eyes was a deep wisp of burning heat. “I shall take this seedling in as my own disciple. Firecloud… from now on, how about you don’t put forward your ridiculous mine?”

The duo said nothing. 

None would’ve expected that Chu Zhaonan, who they were optimistically gungho about before, would surprisingly reach such a desperate stage in his struggle with Xu Yangyi. None had anticipated that Xu Yangyi was actually capable of shaking Sunnihilator’s stone stele! Granted that this matter reached a Dao Master’s ears, they would have someone come to accept him as a disciple!

However, neither Chu Zhaonan nor Xu Yangyi paid attention to the steles. Instead, they cautiously measured each other. 

“That move just now… How many times can you still use it?” Chu Zhaonan grinned and licked his lips with a thirst for blood. “You’re a tough one… Really strong… You give me a straight feeling like those geniuses you can only read about in books…”

“You’re very strong. Solution Eighty-Nine added with Life Sacrification… but…” His gaze flashed, and he raised his gun once again. “I’ll be the one to win this time!”

Xu Yangyi cracked his knuckles. “I can’t use it a lot, but it’s enough to beat you.” Before his voice even subsided, he suddenly waved his right hand, and a meter-long white qi-blade extended. Even Chu Zhaonan who was ten meters away could hear the whimpering sound of the air tearing apart!

“Severing Dragon Typhoon!” In Xu Yangyi’s pupils, only a resplendent light-blade was reflected within! Following this light blade’s strike, a semi-circular trench over a meter deep was cut into the ground by crashing spiritual force!

Bang! Bang! Two loud booms rang out, and the ground became covered in spider web-like fractures. Chu Zhaonan jumped back again. The proceeding burst of charging force sent him twenty-odd meters back in retreat. 

Xu Yangyi couldn’t allow Chu Zhaonan to fire his gun again! A cold edge flitted across his eyes. He had forcibly resisted his opponent’s first bullet because he had no other method. The striking range had been too great; he simply couldn’t dodge. 

The integration between the body arts and gun arts of Gun Kata perfectly embodied the advantage of firearms. To take a man’s severed head at a thousand paces away was a liberating transformation in precision and striking range. Xu Yangyi didn’t wish to taste a second shot.

“Activate!” With a roar, Xu Yangyi’s right hand congealed a tremendous tiger claw, and his snarl shook the entire arena. “Ninety-Two… Subduing Tiger!”

Wielding a scarlet claw no less than two meters in size, Xu Yangyi exerted his full strength as he slammed down at the ground. A web of cracks appeared beneath his fist, and countless limestone shards were unexpectedly torn asunder afterwards! All of them flew towards Chu Zhaonan’s direction! Swift in chain and many in number, claw after claw carved out a hole that was five meters in radius in front of him! Simultaneously, his body bent like a supple serpent and flew straight up! 

“Ninety-Three… Flying Star!”

Flying Star was the only acceleration-type move after the ninetieth solution. In a flash, his charging speed suddenly increased by one fold! He quickly surpassed the speed of the stones he had flung out, his feet trampling atop the stone tiles. With every step, he drew support from his stomping force to boost his speed by another level again! 

He could NOT allow his opponent a chance to fire his gun again! Yet even if there was an opportunity, it wouldn’t be like the first time when he was completely prepared! At that time, Chu Zhaonan had transformed into a terrifying and cold-blooded marksman, firing his most fatal bullet from the most beautiful vantage.

“Fuck!” Chu Zhaonan’s eyes reddened. His gun’s recoil force had just weakened, but his opponent’s increase in speed was uninterrupted! 

“Heartseeker!” Without retreating, he surged into a terrifying grass-green whirlwind once more in the air, and a horde of flame tongues jetted out at nearly the same time! The deathly flower of fire enveloped the entire stage!

“It’s this move…” Below the arena stage, Gao Ye perked up like wrapped sticky-rice, his reddened eyes fixed on the stage above. It was with this move that Chu Zhaonan had surmounted all difficulties throughout his conquest! How many had fallen beneath the gunslinger’s hands? Now, upon Chu Zhaonan running across a man of equal ruthlessness, would his opponent be able to resist?

Bang! Bang! Bang! The sound of bullets drilling into flesh was heard, and a horde of bullets crashed down without distinction! On the four qi walls, countless ripples appeared in a twinkling. It was the rain of countless bullets. 

A scarlet tiger claw emerged again. This time, it didn’t shatter the ground, but directly tore apart several stones, raising them up and turning them into a stone shield! Rubble flew about as the shield in Xu Yangyi’s hand kept on shrinking, and the distance between him and his opponent continued to narrow! However, the path behind him had already become dyed in blood! 

From top to bottom, his entire body was aching with burning pain, yet Xu Yangyi didn’t stop his plan by any means. If he stopped, then perhaps he wouldn’t have another opportunity to get close again! If such a long-distance sniper was allowed the opportunity slip by, there was a possibility that there wouldn’t be another chance to attack.

“Damn…” Xu Yangyi gritted his teeth. A single bullet wouldn’t be able to break through his defense, but now there were thousands upon thousands of bullets. In a twist of great misfortune, his left thigh continued to be struck by five bullets on the same wound, blood already gushing like a spring.

In the audience stands, Chu Tianyi’s hand, which was originally over his ring, presently lowered once more. The item he possessed couldn’t be used so easily. From where he was, he could already clearly see Xu Yangyi’s current situation.

His right pectoral, left thigh, and right arm—the results of the first strike of spirit bullets—had finally been completely shredded by Heartseeker! There wasn’t one place on Xu Yangyi’s body left unscathed. Merely, Chu Tianyi extremely disliked Xu Yangyi’s eyes.

Amidst coolness, there was a determination akin to the most seasoned hunter, not abandoning his desires in the slightest even under the grimmest circumstances.

Chu Tianyi ultimately discovered something. He couldn’t find an opportunity to use his hard-obtained Immortal Intoxication! He wasn’t a warrior, he was a commanding officer. He had completely grasped the macroscope of war on the battlefield, but in the microscope of individual confrontations… With the attention that Xu Yangyi had presently drawn, even if he disposed of the latter, the matter would definitely end up pointless. But if he didn’t take action… 

His eyes landed on the qi walls in deep worry. Victory or defeat… He dared not make certain judgement! As long as Xu Yangyi’s eyes didn’t lose their coolness and didn’t abandon resolve, Xu Yangyi would still have the opportunity to win...

Even he could see that this person was very strong, extremely strong! Even in his heart, he held a sliver of unwilling acceptance that perhaps in comparison to the true genius he believed his grandson to be, Xu Yangyi was still stronger! A concentrated dose of Immortal Intoxication was capable of shrouding a range of thirty meters. If he took action now, Chu Zhaonan would be enveloped as well.

It would be for the best for this forbidden item not to be used. He wouldn’t make a move until the final juncture. Presently… the final moment was before his eyes, yet he couldn’t find an opportunity to use it. 

Boom! At this time, a heavy sound was heard from the qi walls. Consequently, a heavy echo continued to ring out seven more times!

“Rapid Shadows… He can actually even use Rapid Shadows! How much frickin’ qi does he have in his qi sea?!” Luo Sanfeng slammed his fist on the side of the audience stands, crushing the stone and looking at the present scene with wide eyes. 

“No… No way!” Not even waiting for Luo Sanfeng to finish shouting, a champion at his side nearly yelled, “That can’t be used for attack! It’s for increasing speed! There’s only less than five meters left between them!”

Xu Yangyi wouldn’t give Chu Zhaonan a ghost of an opportunity. Following Flying Star’s increase in speed, he used Innersight without the slightest hesitation. In his qi sea… he still had enough for three moves! Within three moves, there would be a decisive winner! 

Chu Zhaonan was twenty-odd meters apart from him. As long as he gave his opponent an opportunity, he would be the loser! Three moves and twenty meters. The time of life or death was swiftly approaching. 

Speed. What he needed now was speed. Of the martial arts in the world, there were none that couldn’t be broken through with sheer speed. He held absolute faith that as long as he stuck close, his counterpart couldn’t be his match.

First move, Rapid Shadows. 

The Rapid Shadows this time wasn’t directed towards himself. The stone tiles he had flung out before weren’t just simply to block his opponent’s line of sight, but to also speed up through Flying Star. The batch of stones he had already tossed behind at this moment formed a large stone that he stomped on seven times in a row! Drawing on this connecting force, his speed soared again! 

Chu Zhaonan’s complexion changed. He was fully aware of his opponent’s thought process. He also understood that now was the time of mortal combat. Xu Yangyi couldn’t allow him another opportunity to take off! 

In a flash, all that remained was five meters. The killing intent in Xu Yangyi’s eyes was palpable, and Chu Zhaonan seemed to have looked upon a beast king charging him. As long as hesitation existed, the stage below would be torn apart into rubble!

The final four meters!

The second move… In his heart, Xu Yangyi mouthed it silently to himself, and all muscles swelled sharply. His chest veins warped again and the surface flushed red.

Life Sacrification!

“He can still use Life Sacrification?!” Luo Sanfeng’s eyeballs almost popped out. He could only use the move once. He hadn’t expected that now that both sides had thrown caution to the wind, Xu Yangyi would actually use Life Sacrification a second time!

The next move would determine the victor...

Many people wordlessly stood up. They hadn’t anticipated that the decisive battle between two initial-stage Qi Condensation cultivators would surprisingly be so bitter. They could’ve compared pointers and taken care not to over do things, but these two desired victory. Easing up was simply impossible! This battle had already transcended the scope of initial-stage Qi Condensation!

Three meters!

Both of Chu Zhaonan’s arms violently trembled, and a decisive look was revealed in his eyes. As he tightly gritted his teeth, his originally handsome appearance had unexpectedly become somewhat savage in this moment. The two guns in his hands roared, and all his spiritual force freely rushed forth from both pistols!

Chu Tianyi stood up, his heart like burning fire. He wanted to act, but couldn’t find an opportunity! He wasn’t a warrior, so he was unable to catch sight of a golden opportunity within these fleeting moments!

Two meters!

“Severing Dragon Typhoon!” Xu Yangyi raised his head towards the heavens and roared. White qi encased both of his hands and shot out like the light-edges of a mecha samurai, forming dual qi blades that were two meters in length! With a courageously advancing might, he slashed at Chu Zhaonan with all of his spiritual force! [1]

Under Life Sacrification, the spiritual force within his body was frantically dissipating. If this strike was unsuccessful, then he would die righteously! 

Swish! At his sides, a pair of meter-deep scars were carved out by his spirit blades! It was like the knell of a death god and a charging martyr. Mingled together, it was a terrifying death. Xu Yangyi chopped through the wind and broke past waves, clearing all that was before him!

One meter!

Already, the two terrifying qi blades were reflected in Chu Zhaonan’s pupils. Under the additional support of Life Sacrification, they weren’t simple light-edges, but a pair of unvarnished sharp swords.

Chu Zhaonan’s hair blew against his face as if a tsunami-like might of seeking victory was being directed at him. It waveringly fluttered back due to Xu Yangyi, who was radiating all his bodily spiritual force. His tattered-to-rags camouflage outfit made a whipping noise. 

Firecloud tightened his grip on his arm rest. Shadowslay straightened out his figure.

Over ten thousand gazes converged on stage. The exchange of masters was as fleeting and ephemeral as the blink of an eye. Life or death spelled the spark of a flint. This decisive battle which had lasted for half an hour was on the verge of welcoming the final curtain call!

Who would be the last one standing?

Zero meters!

1. Mecha samurai here might actually be another anime reference, but I am unsure. The characters 机甲武士 do mean Mecha samurai, but also refers to an old 90s anime based on robot samurais.