Chapter 435: The Momentum of Defeat
Wang Tuo had learned from Li Yuan’s match and wanted to focus his efforts on defense.
Wu Chen was strutting on about counting the match as a loss if any of the three sects could hold out for longer than ten moves. Although Wang Tuo intensely despised Wu Chen’s arrogance, given Li Yuan’s previous example, Wang Tuo didn’t dare take things lightly and decided to first make it past ten moves.
When he saw Wang Tuo’s posture, a trace of contempt filled Wu Chen’s eyes. He grasped at his waist and pulled out a whip.
This whip was a good ten meters long and sent a hum through the air when Wu Chen shook it slightly. It was as if he held a green, legendary water dragon in his hand. It seemed to come alive with Wu Chen’s infusion of spirit qi and gave off a vitality that was as doughty as a dragon and lively as a tiger.
“Will cowering in your shell take you past ten moves?” Wu Chen smiled coldly and stepped forward, the long whip drawing out a beautiful arc through the air.
The whip whistled through the air and churned up countless air currents, sending rocks and dust flying and closing off all space.
Wang Tuo had wanted to close in on Wu Chen with a pincer movement with his contract beast, but he couldn’t see any openings as Wu Chen brandished his whip.
The attacks of a long whip were very difficult to defend against.
Especially as its attack range was quite large. It would be a nightmare to a defender once the attacker started exerting himself.
Wang Tuo was absolutely suffering unspeakably at the moment.
He’d thought that Wu Chen would continue using the mysterious gloves and had planned on employing a defensive strategy. He hadn’t thought that Wu Chen would have so many tricks up his sleeve and took out a long whip instead.
The whip continuously narrowed the space he could move in as it cracked down. Spirit power formed into shadows of the whip as each image partitioned the air further.
Wang Tuo could only feel that his range of movement was becoming more and more constricted. He knew that his downfall would be the same as Li Yuan and he wouldn’t make it past even one move.
He whistled and exchanged some messages with his contract beast. Wang Tuo suddenly howled lowly the contract beast actually drilled into the ground, vanishing without a trace.
Wang Tuo shifted his hand and brought out a treasured blade with a tiger’s head at the hilt.
The blade danced furiously as beams of light spurted forward, sweeping away all of the afterimages of the whip in an attempt to widen Wang Tuo’s range of movement.
As his blade carved the way, he knew that his attack wouldn’t threaten Wu Chen at all. However, there was hope in him gaining a bit of space of himself.
As long as the contract beast could leverage Wang Tuo’s aura to distract Wu Chen, then Wang Tuo would have a chance after all.
Wu Chen smiled coldly as his ears suddenly twitched, as if he’d caught something.
His gaze suddenly grew frosty as a sliver of a smile appeared on his lips. He shook the whip and suddenly stabbed it into the ground as hard and as durable as metal.
The whip seemed to be alive as it sank into the ground with ample spirit power.
In the next instant, Wu Chen’s arm shook once, with he flinging it viciously upwards after that. The long whip broke free from the earth like one pulling out a daikon root and bringing out chunks of earth as well, hauling the contract beast out of the ground
The long whip was wrapped tightly around the contract beast like it’d trussed up a chicken.
The contract beast was whining and growling, fear and panic in its eyes as it kept crying out for Wang Tuo to save it.
Wang Tuo and the contract beast had stuck together and helped each other through difficulties. They were as close as brothers. And now that he saw the contract beast being tied up, Wang Tuo was enormously shocked and didn’t care for his own safety at all as he rushed up crazily, raising a blade to chop down at Wu Chen’s face.
“Hmph, one couldn’t do anything to me and neither can two!”
Wu Chen’s tone was grave as a layer of golden radiance suddenly washed over his arm. The radiance instantaneously reached the whip and flashed, a tremendous explosion sounding afterwards.
Wham bam!!
The contract beast’s body immediately broke apart into pieces like a chunk of tofu being crushed, flinging blood and flesh into the air.
Wang Tuo’s momentum had been exceedingly fast. He was caught up in the gory rain and ended up drenched in the bloody remnants of his contract beast.
There was even a strand of intestines hanging off his neck.
His eyes almost split apart with their pain amidst this blood and gore. Wang Tuo almost fainted away.
The contract beast that had followed him for some many years had been made into meat paste with one move and had been flung all over him!
Wang Tuo had been in the world for so long and dominated the four sects—when had he ever come off this worse for the wear in a match?
He ground his teeth and almost sank into insanity, bellowing like a tiger’s roar, “I will fight to the end with you!”
Wang Tuo waved his treasured blade as his momentum was like a mad tiger’s, charging his opponent with an air of laying his life out on the line. The blade flashed and sliced down with devastatingly frosty qi, cutting down at Wu Chen’s neck.
However, without the contract beast’s cover, Wang Tuo was like a fierce beast with no claws. He posed no threat at all and was even slightly less than Li Yuan.
Wu Chen stepped out lightly like he was taking a stroll in his backyard. He leaned backwards, out of the way of Wang Tuo’s blow. He then lifted his foot and stomped it directly onto Wang Tuo’s buttocks.
Wang Tuo’s body shot high into the air like a rubber ball.
Forefather Ninelion could no longer bear to watch as his body wavered in his quick dash upwards. He reached out with a hand and grabbed Wang Tuo.
It was a good thing that although this kick had been fierce, it hadn’t been fatal. However, it was still enough to confine Wang Tuo to bed for several months.
Ninelion had a fiery temper. He glared fiercely at this overweeningly proud young man with his head held high. “So vicious at such a young age?”
Wu Chen smirked contemptuously. “It wasn’t that I’m vicious, but that they’re too trashy. Do I show mercy to even trash?”
He then completely ignored forefather Ninelion and looked in the direction of the Flowing Wind Sect. “Who else?”
The head elder on the Flowing Wind Sect who’d been readying to take the field completely lost her will to fight after seeing Li Yuan and Wang Tuo’s defeat.
She knew that it would be just self humiliation if she stepped forward as there was no chance of winning at all. With a soft sigh, the elder moved soundlessly behind Venerated Icemist. It was apparent she wasn’t going to fight.
The scene sank into awkwardness in that moment again. No one had the guts amongst the three great sects to answer the call. This made the forefathers both infuriated and resigned.
Wu Chen was so dominating that almost no one in the ninth level spirit realm could fight him. Whoever did so was asking to be humiliated and even courting death.
“Forefather, only I can take the field now that things had come to this.”
Precious Tree Sect head Xie Tianshu smiled ruefully. He knew that it’d be unrealistic for him to look to others to make a move instead of himself.
A gray-clad man behind Wu Chen sneered when Xie Tianshu stepped forward and jumped out himself. “Wu Chen, you can go rest now.”
There were two stars embroidered on the newcomer’s chest. His position was obviously higher than Wu Chen’s.
Wu Chen chuckled when he saw the other’s move. “Brother Gu, you couldn’t hold back anymore huh? That’s just as well, this trash is yours!”
Xie Tianshu was of the peak of the spirit realm, as was the two star gray-clad man. They were the ones who should face off, logically speaking.
“Sky Sect second rank inspector envoy Gu Xiong. Challenger, report your name! I do not hit nameless pawns.” This gray-clad man was tall and stocky with firm muscles. Although he wasn’t as childish or biting with his tone as Wu Chen, his words were still filled with pride.
“Envoy Gu, this person is Xie Tianshu, the head of the Precious Tree Sect.”
Spiritual Master Zixu on the Purple Sun Sect side seemed to offer a reminder in a fawning manner.
Gu Xiong gaze was arrogant as his well built body gave him the advantage of one in a superior position surveying all that before him. He sized up Xie Tianshu and laughed coldly, “Do the so-called sects have this little bit of foundation to them? The sect head himself has to take the field? Heh heh, you call yourselves a sect? What an insult to the name! If you come to your senses, you should joint he Purple Light Division earlier rather than later. Otherwise, the fact that you dare call yourself a sect is the greatest blasphemy of all, worthy of death!”
The sect head of the Precious Tree Sect was one in which all the attentions and fortunes of the sect were focused on. He wasn’t someone that the vice sect head could measure up to.
The sect head’s strength, cultivation level, and equipment were all at the apex of the sect.
Xie Tianshu was unassuming before he made a move, but soared to the top of the skies when he finally did. The light from his sword dancing was filled with spirit power, as if a spirit snake on the prowl, attacking with uncanny moves.
Gu Xiong was firmly rooted in his posture and faced Xie Tianshu with empty hands.
He punched out with his fists and could actually block Xie Tianshu’s fierce sword qi by that alone.
Xie Tianshu’s heart was calm. He knew that he was shouldering an important mission that he’d never held before. It had to do with the life and death of the sect! Therefore, his every stroke was filled with the all of his comprehension of the dao of swords in his life.
He actually let go of all pressure in that moment and began to slowly deploy all the meanings behind the sword that he had yet to comprehend.
Xie Tianshu’s sword technique was named the “Tender Rain Sword”. It was as gentle as the spring winds and rain, as if all things on earth were coming back to life, as if spring revisiting the world, as if a drizzle of light rain.
When the meaning behind the stroke was finished, the battle situation became embroiled in the conception of gentle rains drifting through the air.
The sword qi was as if strands of silk, permeating every bit of the air with countless numbers of thin rain drops.
Gu Xiong was at a disadvantage because he’d been empty handed to behind with, having given first mover advantage to Xie Tianshi. Gu Xiong was actually forced backwards in the face of Xie Tianshu’s display of uncommon skill. The former actually had to defend passively.
“Gu Xiong, can it be that this little bit of meaning behind the sword is enough to make you lose the guts and courage of a cultivator?” Blue-clad Zuo Lan was exceedingly put out by what he saw and roared lowly.
Gu Xiong’s body trembled as he seemed to attain some sort of inspiration, some kind of clarity from Zuo Lan’s words.
Pfft pfft pfft pfft pfft!
Gu Xiong shook as several strokes in a row connected with him, drenching him in his own blood.
“Good!”
The Precious Tree Sect erupted in a hubbub and cheered when they saw Gu Xiong harmed by the sword qi.
Zuo Lan however, revealed a mocking smile. He knew his methods of provocation had worked.
Gu Xiong reached out with his tongue and licked off the blood that had sprayed onto his face, his expression becoming even more of a grimace.
“Is the power behind the sword qi of a so-called sect head this mediocre?” A broadsword with a rather ridiculous design appeared in Gu Xiong’s hand.
When he gripped the sword, Gu Xiong’s presence suddenly increased multiple times. He was like a violent beast awakening from slumber as man and blade became one, his form as if a demon god from ancient times and his aura dominating.
“Eat my blade!”
Gu Xiong leered, raising his hands up high and brandishing the sword over his head. He seemed to have gathered all the forces in the galaxies for this stroke as he cleaved through the air, like a bright wheel of sun ripping through the dark of the night and forcing down a beam of light. Xie Tianshu’s carefully nurtured atmosphere was completely shattered by this stroke.
Blades collided with each other as the dominating presence of the sword qi actually increased by three, four times and hurtled towards Xie Tianshu.
Xie Tianshu’s chest felt muffled as the sword qi invaded his body.
He spat out fresh blood and fell down backwards.
Gu Xiong had been locked in by Xie Tianshu’s sword qi a moment ago, but a mysterious power seemed to have awakened in him in the next. The momentum of his blade formed spontaneously as it crashed forcefully and suppressed the meaning behind Xie Tianshu’s sword. Gu Xiong broke apart Xie Tianshu’s defenses and wounded him!