Chapter 12: Ending the Battle in Three Moves with the Power of the Stars
The blue flying sword unleashed a shockwave before immediately pursuing Leo with a thrust. However, after Leo rolled to his feet, he no longer glanced back at the flying sword and instead charged straight at Wu Chi's physical body.
This caused the formation of the flying sword to become disordered; the initial momentum dissipated, and Wu Chi hurriedly wanted to summon it back for defense.
Following the earlier ferocious strikes from Leo's Ink Blade Technique, Wu Chi now believed that Leo was a practitioner well-versed in blade techniques, and if he got too close, he might not be able to withstand it with just his physical strength.
Nevertheless, Wu Chi was a Golden Core level cultivator; aside from his magical artifacts, he also had his own divine abilities and spiritual energy reserves.
As Leo approached, Wu Chi's palms filled with dark energy, his right hand instantly turning pitch black as he slowly pushed it toward Leo.
"Devouring Dark Palm! This is the ultimate technique of Master Wu Yuan!"
The audience gasped in horror, not expecting a Golden Core cultivator to be forced to use a technique from his master against a Qi Refinement stage practitioner.
"Though it's said to defeat the opponent in three moves, this Wu Chi is too bullying to use his master's secret technique on a Qi Refinement cultivator..."
"Yeah, there are several levels of difference between Qi Refinement and Golden Core."
"Wu Chi is so impatient; truly living up to his reputation as an incompetent yet arrogant disciple!"
At a distance, Master Wu Yuan, although concealed in his robe, radiated furious resentment.
"Master, please don't be angry; my junior brother just wants to resolve the battle quickly..." Anya spoke urgently, trying to comfort him.
But the situation on the stage was far from what she described.
As Wu Chi unleashed the Devouring Dark Palm, Leo had no way to avoid it and had to pour all his true energy into his fist to meet the blow head-on. Within him, the eight strands of true essence slowly spiraled around, suddenly pulsating like awakening serpents.
Leo felt a violent eruption of true energy surge through him, like a volcano erupting into his arms! As Wu Chi's Devouring Dark Palm came rushing toward him, Leo tightened his grip on the power of the stars and launched an audacious counterattack against Wu Chi's dark palm!
( Boom—)
Leo was knocked back, rolling on the ground before standing up. Though his breath became somewhat chaotic, his expression remained unchanged. On the contrary, Wu Chi appeared pale, raising his right hand in disbelief.
His hand was dislocated! It hung limply from the end of his forearm.
( Wow—)
The spectators erupted with intense reactions—some were shocked, some cheered, and others murmured in disbelief.
"What is happening? I can't understand this at all! How could he dislocate Wu Chi's arm?!" A Spirit Gathering level practitioner looked at his own fist, feeling uncertain about life.
"Is this really a Qi Refinement level practitioner? What was that punch just now?!"
"That punch definitely had the power of a Golden Core! What divine ability was that?"
"I don't know; I've never seen anything like it!"
Elder Xuanji's expression turned to one of shock as he sat up. He had decided that if Wu Chi intended to seriously injure Leo, he would rather offend Master Wu Yuan than stand idly by!
"Yay! Brother is amazing!"
Reina couldn't fully grasp the battle's complexity but realized that Leo was at an advantage, cheerfully raising her little fist in excitement.
On the side of Master Wu Yuan, Anya fell silent, unable to articulate a single word...
Wu Chi slowly raised his head, his eyes mixed with shock, anger, and a hint of fear!
"How dare you hurt me! My master and senior sister won't allow you to leave the Hermit Valley alive!"
He hissed with a twisted expression as the first flying sword finally returned to his side.
Leo dusted himself off and smirked disdainfully, "Is that so? What does that have to do with you now?"
"I won't even let you leave this arena alive."
"Arrogant!"
Wu Chi was thoroughly enraged, and with an angry shout, green light surged from his mouth as another flying sword shot from his mouth, growing into a long sword in the wind!
He summoned forth his origin sword!
This was the last resort of a swordsman!
At this moment, he was filled with humiliation and fury, having repeatedly suffered defeats in this duel without winning a single blow. Although Leo appeared somewhat flustered and had shattered his knife, as he had said, the opponent was merely a Qi Refinement cultivator while he himself was a Golden Core cultivator!
In this comparison, not being able to defeat Leo was a huge disgrace!
Thinking of his indifferent master and his senior sister, renowned as a prodigy, he gritted his silver teeth, wishing to tear Leo to shreds!
Only one move remained, and he had to win!
"Ten Directions Killing Sword!"
Two blue flying swords shot into the sky, their tips facing each other as they began to spin. At the same time, phantoms gradually condensed around them, quickly forming eight flying swords that joined the original two, creating a sword ring.
The sword ring flew above Leo's head, resembling a massive halo of light, yet it contained infinite killing intent.
As the eight flying swords completed their formation, the ring began to spin slowly, the sword tips lowering to point directly at Leo!
Leo looked up at them without evading, for he understood that it would be futile.
This was a sword array that had already locked onto him; aside from withstanding it or potentially striking down Wu Chi in an instant, there was no means of escape.
Below, Master Wu Yuan sighed; even Anya, who had consistently defended Wu Chi, wore an expression of vexation.
Wu Chi was going to kill a Qi Refinement level cultivator and still resorted to the "Ten Directions Killing Sword Array," which was truly embarrassing!
In this fight, whether Leo lived or died, Wu Chi had already lost.
Other cultivators shouted angrily at Wu Chi for his shamelessness in using such a lethal move.
"He said to last three moves to win, but did Wu Chi want to kill this guy?!"
"Yeah, a Golden Core attacking a Qi Refinement level practitioner, and he's using such desperate measures, what a disgrace!"
"This is nothing short of a humiliation to us Golden Core cultivators!"
Seeing the Ten Directions Killing Sword prepared for attack, Elder Xuanji stood up, ready to intervene and save Leo.
But it wasn't time yet; the Ten Directions Killing Sword hadn't launched, and the battle hadn't reached its ultimate conclusion.
If he intervened now, it would appear biased, and the arena wouldn't allow him in.
"I can only hope Leo can endure one round against this move… and preserve his life…" he thought.
As long as Leo survives, the automatic forfeit due to severe injury would allow him to step forward and save him!
But looking at Leo standing motionless, calm and composed, he felt a glimmer of hope…
Could it be that Leo would surprise everyone again?
The sword ring finally stopped spinning, the ten flying swords pointed toward Leo, their tips shimmering with sharp, frosty light, their ring exuding vast spiritual energy.
Wu Chi's face twisted in fury as he locked his gaze on Leo, revealing a cruel smile.
He raised both hands high, bringing them down sharply: "Die for me!"
The sword ring exploded outward, the ten flying swords launched simultaneously at varying speeds, forming an unavoidably continuous assault, all imbued with endless killing intent rushing toward Leo!
Leo, however, remained unperturbed, opening his arms wide as the mysterious, ancient power of the stars began to gather in his palms.
**Starry Disarray!**
( Vroom—)
Two small stars, as black as night but emanating a circle of white light, appeared in Leo's hands!
As these two stars emerged, Leo felt like he was submerged in a sea of stars; countless starry phantoms filled his surroundings, and the two stars began to leap and spin among them.
With his Qi Refinement at the eighth level, to be able to condense two stars was already a great satisfaction for Leo. In his previous life, he could make this entire sea of stars consist of real spiritual manifestations.
And the effect of Starry Disarray manifested in that moment.
The continuously stabbing flying swords seemed to have lost their target, no longer aiming at Leo but rushing towards the two stars instead. Yet those two stars kept jumping amid the starry sea surrounding Leo, causing the flying swords to strike nothing but air.
Maintaining the starry sea, Leo confidently walked toward Wu Chi.
The blades stabbed down one by one, yet all of them merely grazed Leo's body, causing him not a single scratch.
Surrounded by brilliant starry phantoms, the sword ring above followed him, and the flying swords aiming at his body seemed to be protecting him. He strode toward Wu Chi as if he were a god!
"Power of the Stars!" Elder Xuanji's face displayed an indescribable shock, "Could it be that he is a descendant of the ancient Daxia?!"
Anya was equally shocked beyond belief. She was still a beginner and had never heard of this technique, but she could tell that it contained a supreme mysterious spatial power, capable of disrupting the targets of the Ten Directions Killing Sword's attacks!
Truly, the perfect nemesis for sword cultivators!
Not only Xuanji and Anya, but now even the Taoist self-taught practitioners gathered at the Hermit Valley to watch were all dumbfounded, staring at Leo as if he were some kind of divine being.
Everyone fell silent, but the profound silence emphasized the shocking impact Leo created, ringing in everyone's ears! Waves of shock surged through the hearts of the people—was he truly just a Qi Refinement level cultivator…
Or did he have a background stronger than even Master Wu Yuan?!
Only Reina jumped in excitement, her big eyes sparkling like stars, looking at Leo with devoted admiration, "Brother is so cool!"
As Leo approached, Wu Chi couldn't help but take a step back, only to remember his master and senior sister watching from below, so he steadied himself.
"Who... who are you?"
His voice trembled slightly; to possess the ability to wield spatial powers that hadn't appeared in Zhongzhou for thousands of years, Leo's backstory had to be extraordinary.
Even he felt he might have misjudged Leo.
A sense of fear welled up from the depths of his heart, crawling toward the soles of his feet.
But Leo ignored him and continued advancing.
"I'm giving you a chance; surrender to me, and I'll let you go!" Wu Chi said in a low voice, not wanting the audience to hear.
Leo turned a deaf ear, closing the distance further.
"Don't force me! What other spells do you have?! I could crush you with just my spiritual energy!"
Leo remained unafraid; after they exchanged blows earlier with his fist against Wu Chi's Devouring Dark Palm, he knew that the gap between him and Wu Chi wasn't insurmountable. The eight strands of colorful true essence suddenly pulsated in a vital area, awakening like a dragon to provide immense explosive power.
Clearly, the situation in this duel had become evident, and the Absolute Cloud Dueling Array was firmly in his grasp. However, now Leo wanted more.
Since Wu Chi was the beloved younger brother of Anya, defeating Wu Chi would surely cause her distress, right?
As long as Anya was unhappy, Leo would be satisfied!
He wanted one final clash with Wu Chi to completely shatter his face and pride!
"Good, good, good!"
As Leo advanced, Wu Chi repeated "good" three times, finally realizing that Leo was intent on fighting him to the end.
One of them would inevitably not leave the arena standing!
The eight flying swords of the Ten Directions Killing Sword had already been fired, leaving only one magical artifact flying sword and one origin sword. These two were originally the two most powerful attacks, but Wu Chi had given up, recalling them back.
**[Duel Ended, Winner: Leo]**
A line of big characters appeared on the arena.
"It's over! This brother won!" some audience members cheered.
"Why did Wu Chi withdraw his attacks… wait!"
Some people noticed something was off in the arena and exclaimed.
"Why is this brother still closing in on Wu Chi? Isn't it over?!"
The duel had officially ended, yet the confrontational atmosphere between the two still hadn't dissipated!
They continued to glare at each other, readying for the next attack!
"What are they doing?! Are they going to fight again?!" someone yelped.
"It looks like it's not Wu Chi who wants to attack; it's that brother who won't let him go!"
"Oh my god, a Qi Refinement level practitioner is chasing after a Golden Core practitioner! He's really lost it!"
Even Elder Xuanji was momentarily dumbfounded.
Upon realizing that Leo had taken the initiative to close in, he refrained from intervening, anxiously watching.
The crowd became fervent again, eagerly gazing at the scene in the arena!
Wu Chi recalled his magical artifact flying sword behind him, while he positioned the origin sword in front of himself.
Leo was now close enough, and Wu Chi intended to use the origin sword, which he had fortified with his own blood and flesh, to smash Leo to pieces!