Chapter 308: A Ferocious Battle
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
People usually chose to believe what they saw with their eyes, not what they heard with their ears.
As compared to Zhu Yi, whom everyone had placed on the pedestal, Xiao Budian attracted much less attention.
In the previous assassination incident, even though Song Qingyuan and company were present, they were hardly aware of what was happening. Regarding Xiao Budian’s true powers, most people at the Spiritual Conference of Huanghai knew little.
But owing to the impressive performance by the disciples of the Celestial Sect of Wonders, naturally people looked more favourably upon Xiao Budian.
As a result, they felt that the opponent he got this round was slightly underwhelming.
Mu Jihai from the Heaven Lake Sect was Xiao Budian’s opponent in the second round. However, most people felt that, had Xiao Budian’s opponent been Song Qingyuan, this match would have been more exciting to watch.
All these discussions naturally fell on Mu Jihai’s ears and he was extremely unhappy. To make matters worse, the Heaven Lake Sect paid more attention to Song Qingyuan instead of himself. Of course, it was not because they wanted to ingratiate themselves with Song Qingyuan, but because his opponent was Du Kun from the Royal House of the Northern Tribes.
Du Kun’s position in the Royal House of the Northern Tribes was comparable to Song Qingyuan’s position in the Heaven Lake Sect. They were in their prime and were among the best Aurous Core cultivators of their generation. Their talent and potential were top-notch, and were both well regarded to be the successors of their respective sects.
The difference, however, lay in the fact that Song Qingyuan was perhaps indisputably the best in his sect and that no one could come close to him. On the other hand, as the Royal House of the Northern Tribes had different branches, apart from Du Kun, there was still Sang Luohe who garnered equal attention. However, it must be noted that Du Kun and Sang Luohe were like two parallel lines, and no conflict would occur between them.
The battle between Song Qingyuan and Du Kun, if slightly exaggerated, was tantamount to a future battle between the Royal House of the Northern Tribes and the Heaven Lake Sect.
If there were no accidents or unforeseen circumstances, these two individuals were destined to be leaders in their respective fields in the future.
In light of the significance of the battle, many sects and tribes, other than the Heaven Lake Sect and the Royal House of the Northern Tribes, were brimming with interest. In fact, many people even felt that it was a pity that the battle between the two of them had to come so early.
Even if not in the final round, they felt that both of them should at least meet each other in the last four. Only then would the battle be of greater significance and excitement.
To the spectators, this pair was regarded as the monumental battle of the second round of the Aurous Core Stage battle, to the extent that the battles between Xiao Budian and Mu Jihai, and Jiao Juncheng and Zhao Yan from the Sword of Radiance Sect were neglected by many.
Tuntun looked at Xiao Budian sinisterly, and said mockingly, "How does it feel like to be neglected?"
Xiao Budian shrugged indifferently, "This is only temporary. It only takes one battle to impress the spectators thoroughly."
Lin Feng heard this, and transmitted a message to him telepathically to remind him of something.
Xiao Budian was taken aback. He thought about it for a while and smiled, "Alright, this sounds interesting!"
He moved towards Lin Feng, and said with a wide grin, "Master, if you do gain anything from it, I want a share of it too!"
Lin Feng laughed and flicked Xiao Budian on his head, "Don’t worry, the good things will go to you."
Xiao Budian was momentarily overjoyed. He laughed, "Thank you, Master. You just wait and see! I promise to deliver impeccably."
On the other side, Shi Xingyun was teasing Jiao Juncheng, "What is it? Are you disappointed with the draw?"
Jiao Juncheng smiled nonchalantly, "If I have to be truthful, I am fairly tempted to challenge Zhu Yi. Whether it’s now or later, it does not matter. Even if we don’t meet each other, that will be fine too."
"I will wait for him in the final round, and I hope to be able to meet him then? Of course, that’s predicated on the assumption that he manages to enter the final round."
Jiao Juncheng peered at Shi Xingyun, "You should be thinking of yourself. Sang Luohe won’t be an easy opponent. The Royal House of the Northern Tribes is quite well-versed in the study of the Soul. Apart from the Purple Clouds Sect cultivators, any other people who have to be up against Sang Luohe won’t have an easy time."
Shi Xingyun smiled and said, "I will definitely give it my best."
She looked towards the center of the battleground. There, the first pair of contenders – Zhu Yi and Huo Ming – were already making their way to the Hidden Dragon Teapot.
"Huo Ming has made improvement again. This battle must be a tough one."
Jiao Juncheng raised his eyebrow and turned to look at Shi Xingyun. He asked with a tone of seriousness, "Is there something you know that we don’t?"
Shi Xingyun nodded gently, "Based on my knowledge, the Huo Family’s most notable All-powerful Merciless Killing Technique is the Asura Doomsday Blade. It can annihilate all beings, and is in the same league as the Immemorial God Slayer Sect’s Heaven Defying Sword of Fatality."
"As long as they have passed the Foundation Establishment Stage, any direct disciples from the Huo Family can cultivate the Asura Doomsday Blade. However, the level of mastery of this technique depends greatly on the individual’s talent and intelligence. Oftentimes, one’s understanding of the Asura Doomsday Blade does not correlate with the cultivation stage one is in."
Jiao Juncheng nodded, "I have heard about this before."
Shi Xingyun’s gaze rested on Huo Ming, "The Heaven Lake Sect’s Burning Ice Technique and Song of the Volcano can only be cultivated when an individual has reached a certain stage. If one is in a lower stage than that is required, the cultivation must fail. The likes of Dao Yuting are exceptions, and are rarely indicative of anything."
"Meanwhile, in the Huo Family’s Asura Doomsday Blade, there are a few sword techniques that are not affected by the stage of cultivation. Instead, they depend solely on the individual’s understanding of the mantra. As such, a rather odd phenomenon will appear where some Nascent Soul Stage Elders are not able to master the techniques successfully, but where a few cultivators from the Aurous Core Stage are able to successfully cultivate."
"And one of the sword techniques is extremely vicious. It is so vicious that it is almost forbidden to learn for the Huo Family’s disciples who are already accustomed to arbitrary killing." Shi Xingyun averted her gaze, and said slowly, "Initially, among the Huo Family’s Aurous Core cultivators, only the untraceable Huo Big Brother successfully mastered that sword technique. But that does not seem to be the case now…"
Jiao Juncheng’s expression started to reveal some interest, "Now that you just mentioned it, I think I am able to recall it. I must admit, while it is cruel, it is a powerful mantra. Do you mean to say that Huo Ming has successfully mastered it?"
Shi Xingyun’s sight fell upon Zhu Yi. She spoke softly, "I cannot be sure. However, judging from Huo Ming’s present state, it resembles Huo Big Brother from three years ago."
Jiao Juncheng now also looked at Zhu Yi with a grin, "If that is indeed the case, I am now really excited to watch this match."
Lin Feng and company’s eyes also followed Zhu Yi’s entrance into the Hidden Dragon Teapot. Xiao Budian looked at Huo Ming with a slight frown, "Master, why do I feel like there is something amiss?"
"He is brewing his emotions," Lin Feng replied calmly, "Before this, he managed to overcome the bottleneck in his cultivation. Be it his mantra cultivation or his state of mind, he has improved tremendously and indubitably reached the peak of the Advanced Aurous Core Stage."
"However, in the face of Little Yi, he has only once chance. If he can seize it, the outcome may not be cast in stone. If he can’t seize it, he still is not Little Yi’s opponent."
At this point, Lin Feng’s eyes flashed, "I have heard before that the Huo Family’s Asura Doomsday Blade has a few killer moves that frighten even the devils and deities. If I am right about it, he intends to perform one of those moves."
"However, after all, he only just achieved his breakthrough, so his foundation is not strong yet. In order to successfully perform the mantra that he only just cultivated, he needs to brew his emotions, build up his intention to kill, raise his physical and mental states to their prime, even outdo his best – only then will he stand a chance of winning."
Xiao Budian contemplated, "And this move, like what Master just said, is his only chance?"
Lin Feng nodded. Yang Qing looked at Zhu Yi, "What do you think Second Senior Brother will do? Will he surprise attack Huo Ming while Huo Ming is preparing to attack him, or will he wait for him to issue his attacks before delivering a crippling blow?"
Lin Feng smiled, "Your Second Senior brother may be well versed in ancient scriptures, but that does not mean that he subscribes to those archaic and atavistic ideas. Giving in to his opponents is never his style."
Zhu Yi treats everything the same way: he is principled; he carries out what he has to perform unhesitatingly with swiftness.
True enough, as soon as he entered the Hidden Dragon Teapot, the first words he uttered was, "The moment we first met at Yuzhou City and you and Huo Chen attempted to provoke me and my brothers, this fight has become inevitable."
Once he finished the sentence, Zhu Yi unsheathed his sword and slashed mercilessly at Huo Ming.
Huo Ming looked at Zhu Yi coldly, and mustered a few words from his throat, "A pity that we are in the Hidden Dragon Teapot, otherwise, I would have beheaded you today."
As he said this, he unsheathed his long sword. His sword radiance transformed into pitch-blackness when he met Zhu Yi.
Zhu Yi wielded two sword techniques: the Heaven Sword and the Earth Sword, together they formed the Tai Hexagram Sword.
The Tai Hexagram was an auspicious one, and could suppress Huo Ming’s murderous intention, while annulling the vicious aura and inauspiciousness of the Asura Doomsday Blade.
Huo Ming witnessed this. His countenance was cold and expressionless. He suddenly let out a deafening roar while his body was wrapped in black fog.
Amidst the black fog, Huo Ming looked as though he were the God of Death from Hell, full of the determination to kill and destroy everything.
This aura was similar to that of Huo Chen previously, except that it was even crueler, even more bloodthirsty, even lonelier, and even more violent.
Huo Ming shouted loudly, and stomped his foot. He slashed his sword, creating black sword radiance. Then, he slashed again, and then again. The power of three consecutive Asura Doomsday Blade combined together was massive. Its unstoppable destructive power forcefully demolished Zhu Yi’s Tai Hexagram Sword Technique.
Huo Ming would not stop slashing vigorously. One after the other, he slashed violently. With a blink of an eye, he charged towards Zhu Yi speedily.
"Things have indeed changed," Zhu Yi’s eyebrows moved. Again, he wielded two sword techniques: the Vibrating Sword Technique and the Qian Sword Technique.
Combined together, they formed the Great Strength Hexagram. Thunder rumbled in the sky; its power was magnificent and boundless.
After using the Great Strength Way of the Sword, Zhu Yi did not stop attacking. The third and fourth sword techniques he used subsequently were similarly an amalgamation of the Vibrating Sword Technique and the Qian Sword Technique. But, this time, the order was reversed.
Zhu Yi’s two Ways of the Facile Blade were used at the same time, combining as one the Great Strength Way of the Sword and the Great Calamity Way of the Sword. With that he met Huo Ming’s vicious Asura Doomsday Blade.