Chapter 551 – Su Zhizhan VS Helian Ba
Su Zhizhan had defeated Bai Jie; this conclusion was not unexpected in the least. He had cleanly defeated Bai Jie without stretching the fight out, and he clearly managed to preserve most of his profound strength. He stood in the middle of the arena and looked at the east wing seats. Without waiting for a representative to come forth, he raised his sword, pointed it directly at someone who was sitting among the Helian Clan, and said in a clear and haughty voice, “Helian Ba, do you dare to come out for a match?!”
This was the first time since this contest had begun that someone had directly challenged an opponent. And the one whom Su Zhizhan challenged was actually the other person who was also termed as the strongest of Twelve Families’ young generation, Helian Ba!
Su Zhizhan was extremely clear that in this contest, the side he represented was undoubtedly going to suffer a crushing defeat. And in order to get back some of their pride, the best method was to defeat the one who was vying with him for dominance at the top, Helian Ba, and clearly stake his claim on the title of number one!
Under the expectant gazes of all who were present and being challenged by a rival who was equal to him in both fame and ability, it was only natural for Helian Ba to rise to the occasion. Because even if he did not want to, he would have to or else the whole world would think that he was scared of Su Zhizhan. He stood up without a hint of hesitation, flew to the spot in front of Su Zhizhan and graced him with a cold smile, “Su Zhizhan, it looks like you want to bring this contest to a swift conclusion so you can scram back to your seat with your tail between your legs. If that’s the case, I definitely will not disappoint you.”
“The one who’s going to scram is you.” Su Zhizhan interjected coldly.
“Haha!” Helian Ba grinned from ear to ear, “The only thing that’s impressive are your words, you pitiful loser. Ah, to think that you are actually as famous as me, Helian Ba. Woe is me. Hm, you have just fought a match with Bai Jie so you have definitely exerted yourself, even if it is just a little bit. Tsk, tsk, don’t worry, I, Helian Ba, will not take advantage of you in any way. I will give you fifteen minutes to recover because I do not want anyone to doubt my victory over you! Because there can only be one true… number one.”
“There is no need.” Su Zhizhan’s gaze grew cold and he gave a contemptuous bark, “Equals? Perhaps I could still accept that in the past, but right now, you are not worthy! To compare me, Su Zhizhan, to an ungrateful and traitorous mongrel like you, it’s simply the greatest form of humiliation! Why would I need any rest to beat down a mere lackey like you?!”
Su Xiangnan had always been upright and principled. Even though his son was filled with arrogance, he had inherited his father’s traits completely in this point: He was filled with an extreme revulsion and disgust at the betrayal of the seven great Families and the various Duke Palaces.
Helian Ba’s face instantly grew dark, and he said, “I had originally wanted to give you some leeway, but you asked for it!”
“Hmph!” Su Zhizhan gave a cold snort and couldn’t be bothered to speak any further. He tightened the grip on his sword and slowly advanced forward with a gaze as cold as ice. His body began to emit a strong sword force as squalls of wind started to quickly circulate around him. With every step he took, the howling winds increasingly raged, as his sword force grew more and more boundless. After he had taken ten steps, countless of sword shadows danced amidst the great storm.
“This is the Su Family’s ‘Stellar Wind Sword Domain’.” Yun Qinghong explained to Yun Che, “It is the final form of the Su Family’s ‘Divine Wind Sword Domain’, it combines strong winds with sword force and its killing power is extremely strong. Once the weak are pulled into this domain, they will be broken into tiny pieces. If Su Zhizhan is going to display his Stellar Wind Sword Domain right off the bat, it means that he has resolved to go all out.”
With a roar of thunder, a jet-black sword had appeared in Helian Ba’s hand. Lightning crackled all over the black blade as a domain of jet-black lightning began to slowly radiate forth from his body. But before this domain could fully form, a gust of wind hissed in his face and Su Zhizhan dashed forward, quick as a flash of lightning. Both swords clashed in the air as both domains also instantly collided together and intersected.
Bang, bang, boom, boom, boom!!
In the blink of an eye, both people had already exchanged tens of blows. Su Zhizhan’s sword strokes filled the air and it looked like an entire galaxy of stars was falling to the earth, while Helian Ba’s black sword thrashed about like a raging flood dragon. The two powerful domains tore at each other like a pair of mad beasts, struggling to tear and devour the other. The match between Su Zhizhan and Helian Ba had quickly reached the boiling point.
The profound strength of both contestants also began to swiftly rise as they engaged in fierce combat, gradually rising to peak levels after they had finished their initial probing strikes. As wind howled and thunder roared, the match had already gone through hundreds of rounds as both Su Zhizhan and Helian Ba were locked together in a crazy and frenetic battle, but neither could overpower the other. Their domains kept shrinking and expanding crazily at the same time while the sword energy, wild gales and galloping lightning had even extended beyond the arena. If it wasn’t for the powerful families and Duke Palaces who used their profound strength to form a barrier around the arena, the entire great hall would have been swallowed up by the mass of sword energy, wind and lightning.
“How… How powerful, are they really a part of the… young generation?” A few of the youths who were visiting Demon Imperial City for the first time had long become stunned into insensibility. Being able to qualify to attend this Hundred Year Reign Ceremony, naturally meant they were the best of the best within their own territories. But the fight before them completely and utterly demolished any arrogance or self-confidence they had possessed before. Even though they had always known Demon Imperial City possessed the highest level of profound strength within the entire Illusory Demon Realm, they had never dreamed that the difference was actually this huge.
These two were clearly around the same age as the rest of them, but when they all compared their own ability to the two, it was literally the difference between heaven and earth! Even their most respected and admired seniors did not nearly possess this kind of strength.
“This is the true strength of the Twelve Guardian Families.” An old practitioner said as he sighed deeply in admiration.
“Within the Guardian Families, becoming an Overlord before thirty is the bare minimum standard. From where we come from, to be able to have a Monarch is something that will garner the admiration of everyone around us and is worthy of one thousand years of glory. But in the Twelve Guardian Families, a Monarch is merely one of the qualifications required to be an Elder. Especially the Yun Family of one hundred years ago… Just counting the high level Monarchs who were at least at at the seventh level of the Sovereign Profound Realm, there were already a whole eleven people!”
At these words, all these youths were simply struck dumb and no one uttered a single word for a long time.
Su Zhizhan’s sword was as fast as flowing light and the howling wind sword beams fell like torrential rain. In comparison, Helian Ba’s sword was slower, but it was extremely strong and ferocious; every stroke of Helian Ba’s sword was enough to shatter several sword beams that Su Zhizhan shot out.
Su Zhizhan’s face had been calm and frozen from start to finish, but Helian Ba’s face became more and more twisted, because the Su Zhizhan that was before him was practically a madman; every move and every stroke he made seemed to be directed at a bitter enemy who owed him a huge debt of blood. Ninety percent of his profound energy was focused on offense and only ten percent was to used for defense. Under this kind of reckless and life-endangering fighting style, even though none of the combatants had suffered serious injuries, as they were caught in the midst of the criss-crossing and devastating Stellar Wind Sword Domain and Exploding Lightning Domain, Su Zhizhan’s body had already been charred black, while sword winds carved more than one hundred bloody wounds into Helian Ba’s body, turning his breastplate into a beehive since long ago.
Boom!!!
After a heavy attack, both combatants’ domains collapsed simultaneously. Su Zhizhan and Helian Ba shot out like two cannonballs, then landed in two separate corners of the arena. Helian Ba landed on the ground, his profound energy leaking, as the hundred wounds on his body immediately started gushed blood, dying his clothes and most of his body red. Even though they were all small wounds, such a large amount of blood was enough to cause him to go berserk. He gritted his teeth, stretched out his hands to viciously tear off the clothes on his body, and roared, “Su Zhizhan… Are you really looking for a quick death?!”
Similarly, Su Zhizhan’s body was covered with wounds. While both of them had battled fiercely in the intermingled wind and lightning domains, it was only after they had separated that the audience noticed their wound covered bodies, and realized that the two were not engaged in a fierce battle… it would be better termed as a bitter struggle! Even though neither of the two had suffered any serious injuries, their crazy fight had struck fear into the hearts of the audience.
Su Zhizhan didn’t seem like he was in a competition, it looked as if he was putting his life on the line.
Because this was a fight he definitely could not lose.
“Why? Are you scared of death?” Su Zhizhan asked as he coldly laughed.
Frankly speaking, Helian Ba was indeed a little bit scared because any sensible person would be scared of a maniac who was putting his life on the line. His face became dark and sinister, as his heart became patient no longer. He roared in a low voice, “Since you want to die… let me fulfill your heart’s desire!”
As his voice fell, Helian Ba gripped his sword in both hands. The black sword immediately buzzed as lightning began to revolve around it. In an instant, the space surrounding the black sword suddenly began to distort, and even Helian Ba himself was caught in this fiercely distorted space, as the ghastly ripples of distorted space surged in every direction.
The aura emitted by this sword caused the complexion of every person within the great hall to faintly change.
“Su Zhizhan, did you really think that you had the right to be called the strongest along with me?!” Helian Ba’s body had also distorted as space rippled all around him. An oppressive aura which seemed to overturn the heavens engulfed the arena and the great hall; even the surrounding sources of light seemed to go dim. He didn’t release his lightning domain; only a mild halo of lightning covered the body of his sword, but the deafening sound of thunder which seemed to come out from nowhere rang through the entire great hall, “The heavens have bestowed upon our Nine-headed Demon Snake Clan a strong profound lighting and a rock-solid body that you humans can never compare with! And under this sword, you are only fit to bend your head and kneel!!”
“Scram!!”
Helian Ba’s voice exploded as he leaped high into the air. In midair, his body shimmered and the image of huge snake suddenly materialized. The huge snake had nine heads and all nine heads howled at the sky. Then, the mouths of all the heads opened wide, as they rushed down to bite Su Zhizhan at the same time. In the next instant, these nine snake heads suddenly disappeared, and morphed into nine Helian Ba’s that simultaneously slashed their swords towards Su Zhizhan.
“Netherworld Lightning Emperor Slash!! Helian Ba could actually use this move, and to top it all off, it is the complete Netherworld Lightning Emperor Slash!” The Yan Family’s Patriarch Yan Zijing stood up abruptly as he said in an alarmed voice, “This was not an attack that can be executed at the sixth level of the Tyrant Profound Realm, Su Zhizhan is in real danger now…”
He turned his head to look at Su Xiangnan, but he discovered that he was still seated in his seat. While the look on his face was grave, it seemed to not be anxious.
As a boundless aura descended from above, everyone the great hall felt a deep feeling of suffocation. Those who had a comparatively weaker profound strength paled, as they felt like their chest was about to crack open… If the effect that this attack had on the audience who were on the fringes of the battlefield was already this horrifying, the power that this sword held was simply unfathomable.
Su Zhizhan raised his head and looked at the nine swiftly descending figures with apathetic eyes. The Stellar Wind Sword Domain soundlessly rose up, then swiftly spread out.
“What the heck is Su Zhizhan doing?! Shouldn’t he be preparing to either defend or dodge? What is he opening that Stellar Wind Sword Domain for?!”
Su Zhizhan turned a deaf ear to all of the yelling around him. Right when the Stellar Wind Sword Domain had made contact with Helian Ba’s descending figure and was promptly torn asunder by his black sword, both of Su Zhizhan’s eyes emitted a cold flash of light. The sword in his hand abruptly flew out of his hand, floated in front of him, and then began to spin at a great speed. A huge vortex of wind swiftly formed as the sword continued to spin rapidly, growing bigger and bigger…
“Divine… Wind… Sword!!”
These three words were slowly and deliberately spoken by Su Zhizhan in a deep and low voice. Just when Helian Ba’s black sword was only five meters away from the top of his head, both his hands abruptly pushed forward. The longsword brought the huge vortex of wind along with it as it suddenly flew out… and it aimed directly for one of the nine figures that Helian Ba had manifested.
“What?!” Helian Ba’s heart leaped in fear. The nine figures he had manifested were naturally not all real because even though his original body was that of a Nine-headed Demon Snake, with his original body having nine heads, it definitely did not mean that he could manifest nine bodies. And of these nine images, only one was real; the other eight were just there to disrupt his opponents senses and state of mind.
Yet Su Zhizhan’s sword was flying in the direction of his real body!
“Ah, that’s how it is. He used the Stellar Wind Sword Domain to probe which was one of the images was Helian Ba’s true body.” Yun Che said in understanding, “This sword domain is very different from normal domains. Not only does it need the support of profound energy, it also needs the infusion of strong sword intent, and from the feedback he obtained when all nine Helian Ba’s made contact with the sword intent infused within this sword domain, Su Zhizhan instantly figured out which one was the true body.”