Chap10: Fight

He burst through the roaring water, droplets sparkling like shattered glass as they caught the light of the Sunflare Edge emitting.

The demonic man froze midstep. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw a person coming out from there.

"A person?" The man's confusion was short-lived. His gaze shifted to something else entirely. His eyes glimmered with greed as he focused on the sword this unexpected person was holding. "A treasure!"

Silvan didn't care about the man's words. This was his chance.

Silvan fueled a considerable ounce of Qi into the Sunflare Edge. He lunged forward, his swing perfectly timed to strike the Wildwood's exposed chest.

The sword connected with the core, and the impact sent a massive shockwave through the air.

BOOM!

The core shattered, releasing a surge of pure Qi that blasted outward in a wave of green and gold light. Silvan staggered backward, barely able to maintain his footing as the energy engulfed him. His veins burned as the Qi rushed into his body, flooding his core and sending shockwaves through the environment originating from his core.

[You have slain Wildwood at the 7th stage of body tempering.]

[You have obtained 1500 Dungeon points]

[Progress initiated: 5th stage of body tempering (130/2500) → (1630/2500)]

"Yes!" Silvan uttered at the sensation of this sudden boost in his strength. His opponent was still stronger than him, but at least he had reduced the gap significantly. He spun, turning around on his heels while sending forth more Qi into the sword. He could feel it the essence was passing through more quickly than before. Silvan's eyes locked onto the demon man, whose shocked face was staring at him.

Silvan dashed toward him right away, holding his sword in his right hand while using his left hand to send forth strings of Qi, grabbing a considerable amount of rock.

The man's expression changed even more as his eyes widened. He gritted his teeth, and then from his body, an intense amount of Qi surged forth, white in color, as he prepared to defend himself from such an unexpected encounter with a person who had broken through so unexpectedly.

"How…?!" he muttered, his voice barely audible.

There was no time for pondering. His instincts screamed at him to defend. He raised his sword in a defensive stance, white Qi surging from his core and wrapping around the blade like a radiant shield. The energy extended outward, forming a shimmering barrier as he braced himself.

BOOM!

The slash collided with his sword, a wave of force erupting on impact. Sparks of red and white danced in the air as the man held his ground, his feet digging into the earth beneath him.

"Who are you?" the man shouted angrily. He was preparing to overturn Silvan using more Qi. But before he could, in that split moment, Silvan swung his hand, pulling the rock that was gripped by the strings.

Silvan didn't answer. His left hand subtly twitched, manipulating the Qi strings that were attached to a much larger rock he had prepared earlier. He tugged hard, pulling the boulder free from where it had been among the debris near the waterfall.

The massive rock hurtled through the air, carried by Silvan's Qi strings, straight toward the demonic man's right side.

CRASH!

The demonic man's eyes widened as he noticed the shadow of the rock too late. White Qi surged around him as he braced himself. The boulder slammed into him with a great impact.

"ARGH!" he roared. As he fell to the side, his Qi became more intense.

"You're insane!" he spat, struggling to rise. His red eyes burned with anger and disbelief as he glared at Silvan. "Using such crude tactics… You think brute force will save you?"

Silvan didn't reply. He could see the man was buying time and gathering Qi in his hands.

He funneled even more Qi into the Sunflare Edge, the blade glowing brighter than ever. This was his chance.

Silvan dashed forward, closing the distance with terrifying speed. The demonic man managed to stand, raising his sword just in time to intercept Silvan's next strike. Their blades collided with a thunderous BOOM, the energy rippling outward and causing the ground beneath them to crack further.

"Not bad," the man spoke. "But you're still just a pest of the righteous faction clown."

"You think this… is enough to challenge me?" the man sneered, stepping back and allowing his Qi to flare violently. "To think I'd have to use this technique on a no-name like you."

Silvan's heart pounded in his chest. He could feel the shift in energy and the way his Qi was moving within the nodes of his body.

The air itself seemed to warp and twist as red flames erupted from the demonic man's hands. His fingers, engulfed in crimson flames, radiated an intense heat, forming claws made of fire.

"Infernal Claw Arts: Crimson Devastation!" the man roared.

The demonic man slashed downward with his left, unarmed hand. Red arcs of slashes erupted from his fingers, hurtling toward Silvan.

Silvan didn't hesitate. He plunged the Sunflare Edge into the ground with all his might.

A surge of golden energy radiated from the blade as he fueled the sword with his Qi.

[Skill Activated: Sunflare Barrier. Qi Cost: 60]

A glowing barrier of yellow erupted from the ground, forming a circular dome around Silvan.

The slashes collided with the barrier with great force, causing shockwaves that sent debris flying in all directions.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The barrier held in place. The slashes did nothing to it, making Silvan sigh in relief but in that moment…

The demonic man narrowed his glowing red eyes. "A defensive technique? Clever… but it's only delaying your death."

He plunged his own sword into the ground.

"I'll show you what true destruction looks like!" he bellowed.

Raising both of his flaming, clawed hands, he slashed downward with terrifying speed. A barrage of crimson arcs erupted from his hands. The slashes hurtled toward Silvan's barrier with more force. Silvan could see these were far stronger than before.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The Sunflare Barrier absorbed the impact, glowing brighter as it resisted the onslaught. The dome shook, but it held in place.

He raised his arms again, this time with even greater force. Silvan cursed at the sight. "How much Qi does this fellow even have?!" But in the next second, he got his answer. As he focused, he realized this demonic cultivator was using his Qi but also drawing from the surroundings, powering up those slashes.

He unleashed another barrage of slashes, the arcs colliding with the barrier in rapid succession.

CRACK!

The barrier did more than Silvan had expected. But at this moment, he wished it could do more just buy him a few more seconds. But it finally started to crack. Using more Qi just to defend wasn't practical.

Another wave of attacks collided, and as Silvan expected, the barrier couldn't withstand anymore.

The Sunflare Barrier shattered into golden shards. Silvan had been waiting for this. He retreated.

The demonic man's lips curled into a smirk. "Is that all your so-called treasure can do? Pathetic—"

CRASH!

Before he could finish, two massive rocks hurtled toward him from opposite sides. Hidden among the debris, Silvan had pulled the boulders with his Qi strings, launching them with terrifying speed. They were much larger.

The demonic man's smirk vanished. His claws flared even more, forming shields around his hands. The boulders collided with the shields with a great impact, shattering into countless pieces.

BOOM! BOOM!

Smoke and dust erupted, momentarily clouding his vision.

Then, from the cloud of dust, a blazing ball of flame appeared, hurtling directly toward him.

"What?!" The demonic man cursed, raising his arms in a cross to shield himself, forming a barrier just in time to absorb the attack.

BOOM!

A few burn marks appeared on his body. He wasn't fast enough to cover everything.

Then he saw Silvan, both hands raised, Qi strings like thin silver threads in the air, spreading. The strings extended, holding the trees and the boulders nearby, pointing the Sunflare edge.

Silvan grinned.

He released the strings with a sharp motion. The trees snapped back, the tension in the strings launching the Sunflare Edge forward like a spinning arrow. The blade rotated with incredible speed, its edge glowed flame burst from its body while a barrier was forming around it.

The demonic man's eyes widened. He roared, crossing his arms in a desperate attempt to block. His flaming claws surged outward, forming a protective barrier of crimson fire.

The Sunflare Edge collided with his barrier with a loud explosion. The force of the impact sent shockwaves rippling through the air. The demonic cultivator regretted not using his sword

"Damn it!" he spat, pouring more Qi into his claws to fortify the barrier.

[ To be continued...]