Chapter 447: Blade
Ling Que was in a very bad mood, as without his cheerleading squad, he felt out of sorts. And now, just when he started moving up the waterfall, two people had joined together to attack him. He had already seen Lu Yin defeat two experts on his own through the screen, but he, Ling Que, hadn’t done so yet. Didn’t this insinuate that he was inferior to Lu Yin? He was in a bad mood as soon as this thought occurred to him.
He sent out a Que's Mighty Slash, directly slicing off one expert’s arm and causing fresh blood to scatter across the Skyfall Cascade.
The Lingling clan’s innate gift was indeed terrifying. Que's Mighty Slash had been formed from the combination of ten different innate gifts. Even here on the Skyfall Cascades, where space was sealed and suppressed, Que's Mighty Slash was able to shuttle through the void with Ling Que’s innate gift, which was the reason why he had been able to defeat his opponent in an instant.
The other attacker felt his hair stand on end, and the countless legends about the Lingling clan flitted through his mind as he subconsciously distanced himself from Ling Que.
Ling Que sneered and looked up, only to see the cheerleaders now rooting for Mu Rong. His mood plummeted yet again as his Que's Mighty Slash flickered and vanished. His opponent’s back instantly went cold, and he fled from the waterfall, but he was still too slow by half a step. A giant wound appeared across his waist, and he was nearly split in half. He made up his mind and immediately charged towards the shore, forfeiting from the selections.
Ling Que’s ruthlessness had defeated two experts in an instant, causing many to be stunned.
In comparison, Lu Yin had defeated his opponents one at a time while Ling Que had turned the tables, despite being outnumbered. In the eyes of many, he was much stronger than Lu Yin.
Mu Rong’s battle with Lan Yu also attracted some attention, but their fight was not very intense. Mu Rong seemed to be on the defensive side, and he did not seem very intent on defeating Lan Yu.
Lan Yu did not hold back with his attacks, but he just could not beat Mu Rong. He was an Explorer and the brother of an Arbiter; however, he could not take down a Limiteer! The current situation made him feel like a failure.
“If you don’t want to hit back, then why did you participate in this competition to become the Sea King’s son-in-law? Wouldn’t it be better to withdraw?” Lan Yu shouted at Mu Rong.
Mu Rong calmly spun the wooden flute in his hand around. “If you can defeat me, then bring it on.”
Lan Yu’s eyes widened. He took a deep breath and bent both of his legs as he released a ferocious howl. Four-lined battle force appeared and wrapped around him in multiple layers as it reinforced the toughness of his physical body. He then raised both hands. “Thirty Stacks Shockwave Palm.”
Under the Sea King’s Dome’s audience’s shocked gazes, Lan Yu displayed the same attack as Lu Yin: Thirty Stacks. He then slammed his palm towards Mu Rong.
Back when the Divine Fist was still in the Astral Combat Academy, his record amount of stacks had been Thirty Stacks. Additionally, Lu Yin had only been termed an unequaled Limiteer because he had matched that record. Lan Yu had to boost his physical attributes with his battle force and even become an Explorer before he could use this attack, but he had nonetheless still managed to do it. The strength of Thirty Stacks was not something that could be easily withstood by an average person, as Lu Yin had relied on one Thirty Stacks powered attack to defeat Yan Feng and Bazeer’s united strength.
Though Mu Rong’s expression remained serene, his eyes revealed a hint of shock when he was confronted with Thirty Stacks. Even he would find it difficult to win if he was directly struck by this attack.
The wooden flute shot out and spun around, causing a gentle wind to twist above Lan Yu’s palm. Lan Yu’s attack was blocked by Mu Rong’s wooden flute and was even dragged away, causing the Thirty Stacks to directly land on the shore, where it blasted out a large crater. Lan Yu lost his balance and was almost thrown off the Skyfall Cascade when Mu Rong redirected the attack.
Countless onlookers fell silent, as Lan Yu had been completely suppressed.
The Starfall Sea’s Grayweed Continent’s younger generation top expert, Lan Yu, had been suppressed just like that. Sure enough, Mu Rong was just as the Ten Arbiters Council had declared: an unrivalled Limiteer.
Even Thirty Stacks could not deal with him, and Lan Yu’s failure hinted at a similar outcome for Lu Yin, as Lu Yin’s strength was also at about Thirty Stacks.
The crowd subconsciously substituted Lan Yu for Lu Yin, and after doing so, they did not hold much hope for the battle between Lu Yin and Mu Rong. Most people felt that Lu Yin would suffer a similar fate.
“Mu Rong, Mu Rong, I love you! Mu Rong, Mu Rong, you’re the best!”
“Mu Rong, Mu Rong, I love you! Mu Rong, Mu Rong, you’re the best!”
…
A burst of noise broke through the silence, startling the crowd on the shore. They stared, dumbfounded, at the squad of cheerleaders that had caught up to the participants.
Mu Rong calmly turned around, acting as if he had not seen anything.
From behind the cheerleaders, Big Pao also encouragingly shouted, “Shout! Shout and emotionally overwhelm him! Boost his ego!”
Lulu rolled her eyes. “That’s useless. This Mu Rong is different from Ling Que, and he won’t be flattered no matter how much you cheer for him.”
“Brother Lu is in danger. This person is very powerful.” Coco was worried.
Big Pao felt helpless. “Junior, don’t blame Senior! I’ve already done my best.”
The scene of Mu Rong defeating Lan Yu had been seen by both Ling Que and Lu Yin. They both had solemn faces, as Mu Rong had not revealed his true strength during his battle with Lan Yu. He was rather unfathomable.
Lan Yu had been suppressed, but he had not been thrown off of the Skyfall Cascade yet. He panted heavily as he stood up. Then, he stared on as Mu Rong calmly walked towards the peak. He felt helpless, and he turned to the side. “Lan Dao, join me.”
In the distance, Lan Dao was fighting against an Explorer. When he heard Lan Yu speak to him, his long blade flipped around and calmly sliced through the air, causing the void to distort to the extreme. The light reflected off the blade and streaked past the Explorer’s head to directly slash at Mu Rong.
The light from the blade shot past the Skyfall Cascade and went on to flatten an area of the void. The aftershock tore across the shore and swept towards Mu Rong beneath many shocked gazes.
Mu Rong paused and turned around. This time, his expression was serious, and it was even more solemn than when he had faced Lan Yu’s attack. His wooden flute spun around his fingertips, and he ferociously waved it the moment the light started approaching him. It was redirected through unknown means, forced to slam into the Skyfall Cascade, and slice it apart. Under many stunned looks, for an unknown distance along the waterfall, an entire stretch of water had been sliced in half by this slash.
This scene caused many to fall into a daze, including Hai Dashao and Starsibyl. They had not expected the person following Lan Yu to be this strong, to the extent where he even surpassed Lan Yu.
At that moment, Lu Yin felt a deep shock from the depths of his heart. This was his first time seeing Lan Dao, and him actually seeing Lan Dao’s face for the first time was the source of his shock. His eyes sparkled as he thought, Who’s Lan Dao? That’s clearly Zhang Dingtian!
The elegance of the blade was breathtaking, and it had also attracted Lu Yin’s attention. It was only then that he had discovered that the person behind Lan Yu was none other than Zhang Dingtian.
Back then, Zhang Dingtian, Bai Xue, Xu San, and Seruzen had all gone missing at the same time. Lu Yin had sent people to look for them, but they had all seemingly disappeared without a trace. However, Lu Yin just happened to encounter one of the missing people here in the Starfall Sea.
Why was Zhang Dingtian at the Starfall Sea? He was also following Lan Yu, and his current strength was rather terrifying. Even Mu Rong had to take that blade seriously, and he was someone who could be considered to have surpassed countless others in his generation; he stood at the very peak. Zhang Dingtian was just a Limiteer, but based just on his blade, he could match up against Ling Que, Mu Rong, and Ye Xingchen.
This was simply unimaginable to Lu Yin, and he wondered what exactly Zhang Dingtian had experienced after he went missing.
On Earth, in the initial period after the apocalypse, Zhang Dingtian had been the strongest person on Earth, and he had possessed the strength of a Realmbreaker. He had guarded the capital of China by himself, and only a few of the elite trialtakers from the Great Yu Empire had been able to rival him. He had been nothing more than a native—a true native—and Lu Yin knew that Zhang Dingtian was particularly gifted in the way of the blade. His future strength would not be weak, but Lu Yin had never thought that Zhang Dingtian would become this powerful already.
Lan Yu was someone from the Grayweed Continent, and he was also the younger brother of the Divine Fist, Lan Si. Had Zhang Dingtian gone to the Grayweed Continent? How had he gotten there?
Zhang Dingtian’s eruption of strength caused many eyes in the audience to focus on the southwestern Skyfall Cascade. The person who was the most embarrassed was the participant who had been battling with Zhang Dingtian, and he felt his heart crumble. He knew that there was no way he could withstand that blade, and it seemed that this brat had not been paying any attention to him this entire time. Should he withdraw, or not? If he did forfeit, it would be humiliating, even if he didn’t, there was no way he could win. The question was which to choose.
However, Zhang Dingtian did not let his opponent suffer from his momentary dilemma for too long. Zhang Dingtian raised his blade again, and from his stance, it appeared that he was planning to unleash another slash just like the one from before.
His opponent moved straight towards the bank of the cascade, as he was not sure if this blade was aimed at him.
The water of the Skyfall Cascade roared down from the top of the mountain, and as Mu Rong faced Lan Yu and Zhang Dingtian alone, his eyes gleamed with eagerness for the first time.
There were six experts on this Skyfall Cascade, and one had already been frightened away by Zhang Dingtian. The other two had already passed the three who were battling and only had the goal of charging straight towards the top—they had not even attacked each other. Despite this, Mu Rong and the rest were not anxious since there was a sluice gate at the top. If their assumptions were correct, then it would not be easy to open that gate.
“Mu Rong, Mu Rong, I love you! Mu Rong, Mu Rong, you’re the best!”
“Mu Rong, Mu Rong, I love you! Mu Rong, Mu Rong, you’re the best!”
…
The hubbub of cheers continued, and the trio moved at the same time. Lan Yu used Thirty Stacks and slammed both of his palms towards Mu Rong while Zhang Dingtian slashed down with his blade. The edge of the sword flickered with a cold glint that seemed unstoppable. Mu Rong merely touched it slightly and immediately backed away. He could not deflect the combined attacks with his strength.
Lan Yu was excited, and he continued to slam out with his Overlaying Stacks, but Zhang Dingtian frowned and suddenly retracted his blade.
The abrupt change stumped Lan Yu. “What are you doing?”
Zhang Dingtian had a firm expression. “Two against one is unfair.”
Lan Yu grew anxious. “This is the selection for the Sea King’s son-in-law! It’s not a fair contest!”
Zhang Dingtian did not bother responding, and he lifted his blade and looked towards the top of the cascade. “I’ll take care of the others for you.” After speaking, he leaped up and charged towards the top of the waterfall.
Lan Yu almost cursed. If he did not already have some understanding of this person, then he would have assumed that Zhang Dingtian wanted to fight to become the Sea King’s son-in-law. Also, if they couldn’t even beat Mu Rong, then there would be no need to concern themselves with the others.
Mu Rong did not stop Zhang Dingtian. Although they had only interacted briefly, he already had a feel for Zhang Dingtian’s unyielding battle nature. This sort of person would not resort to cheap tricks.
Lu Yin’s lips curved upwards; Zhang Dingtian was still Zhang Dingtian, and that kind of spirit went along with his blade’s will. Perhaps this was the fundamental reason the denizens of Earth had grown so strong. Humans had spirit, and the Sandmaster had once said to him that the root of battle force was in one’s spirit. Zhang Dingtian’s spirit towards the path of the blade was incomparable, and it had led him as his power grew. His power came from his perseverance, and while some might think it was foolish, those people simply couldn’t understand him.
“Seventh Bro, hurry up and leave or it’ll be taken!” the monkey screamed.
Lu Yin withdrew his gaze from the screen. Zhang Dingtian had also come to the Sea King’s Dome, and Lu Yin wondered if they would end up fighting on these cascades. All of a sudden, he was excited about this selection.
Whether it was Mu Rong, Lu Yin, Qin Chen, or Ling Que, each one of them attracted great attention. There was only one Skyfall Cascade that had practically no spectators, which was the northern Skyfall Cascade.
However, there was only one person left on that particular Skyfall Cascade.
“Eh? That’s strange, why is there only one person left on the northern Skyfall Cascade?”
Many people reacted once this peculiarity was mentioned, and many looked over at that screen simultaneously. Sure enough, only one person was still moving up on that Skyfall Cascade, and he was moving at a leisurely pace since all of the other competitors were gone.