Chapter 643: 3rd Drive vs. Circular Force (3 in 1)
Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
Humm~~~
The terrifying Soul Powers coming from the 2 smashed crazily against each other, draining each other’s power before spiralling about, forming a tornado that dug at the ground. Upon commencement, the duel had already turned into hand to hand combat!
Every soldier present in the stadium was completely focused on the fight. To these soldiers, displaying their Soul Sea was to threaten their opponents. However, with the level of control those 2 freaks had, this was just a small matter.
As a faint smirk surfaced, Mo Wen turned his body to the side, allowing the incoming power to gush forwards. Using his right hand as a counterweight, he turned slightly around, while his hidden toe tip flew forwards. Seeing this, w.a.n.g Zhong raised his eyebrows. After losing his balance, he had immediately pulled his right hand backwards. Soul Power proceeded to gush out crazily from his left palm that was gripping onto Mo Wen’s left fist. Turning his fingers into a vice, he locked down opponent’s axis of rotation, while completely releasing his strength from his punch, causing the earth-shattering fist intent to instantly disappear without a trace. At the same time, he twisted his body to the left, bending his head back.
Mo Wen’s kick swiped past w.a.n.g Zhong’s jaw, missing it by a hairline. However, before his kick could go all the way, it turned around, before sweeping back down.
w.a.n.g Zhong raised his right hand to block.
BANG!
Yet another air wave rippled out, followed by a deafening explosion. The ma.s.sive rebounding force and the loss of their centre of gravity sent the 2 blasting away from each other.
The connected left palm and right fist formed a bridge between the 2, with the rebounding force pulling their arms straight. Soul Power gushed out from their linked arms, opposing the rebounding force, causing them to be pulled towards each other, before rus.h.i.+ng forwards once again.
A feeling of satisfaction appeared in w.a.n.g Zhong and Mo Wen’s eyes, something that they had never felt before. Being in such close proximity, and having no s.p.a.ce to continue their attacks, both of them made a completely subconscious reaction, choosing to execute the same move of slamming their knees forward.
BANG!
A terrifying sound rang out once again, as the escaping air started to spin in the opposite direction. It was as if this wasn’t a collision between 2 humans; it was more like 2 streaking meteors smas.h.i.+ng into one another! Their knees were smashed away at the same time, and so were their legs. However, while this happened, both of them sent their other hand launching out in the form of a fierce punch.
BOOM!
Both of them had absolutely no intention of retreating from this close-ranged brawl. Mo Wen’s right hand and w.a.n.g Zhong’s left hand had already locked together with a 5-finger hold. Neither wanted their opponent to escape from their attack range!
Bang~ Bang bang bang bang~
Fist against fist, leg against leg, kick against kick. Lightning-quick attacks, inch-close combat, a near-berserk offence, as well as fighting style akin to a raved madman, filled everyone with shock and astonishment. These 2 truly were in a cla.s.s of their own. If anyone were to swap places with either of them, that person would have already been beaten to a pulp! These 2 were on a completely different level from everyone else.
Everyone could see the tug-of-war between the two of them. However, despite them remaining on the same location trading attacks and blocks, no one could get a clear look at their actions. The limits of a human’s reflexes, the Soul Power redistribution during offence and defence, the speed of attacks, as well as the adjustment of power behind the attacks. Their actions had completely broken all the rules that everyone else adhered to. This was so striking that it made people feel as though the cultivation of the other soldiers were entirely insufficient. These 2 people had long broken through the limits that defined a Casted Soul Stage soldier!
Without talking about people’s eyes, even the high-speed cameras used for the live broadcast capture were only able to see continuous flashes of light coming from where the two of them were located. Their fists had transformed into streaks of light, while their legs and feet had transformed into bolts of lightning! They were launching countless meteor-like strikes at each other, rumbling as they shot towards the other party.
This was just a simple exchange of fist-based offence and defence, with kicks mixed within. With such a close distance between them, fancy moves and feints were useless. Furthermore, with the pride and antic.i.p.ation both fighters had for each other, they knew the other party would definitely not resort to low blows. Their understanding and tacit agreement made sure that no one would interfere with their fight, just like how a beggar would never know what an emperor was having for his breakfast.
This was the purest of brawls, with its sole purpose being to see who was faster, and who was stronger!
On the stage, streaking lights formed by fists and legs grew faster and faster, as their moves continued to rise in speed, as though there was no limit. Now, they moved so quickly that the streaking fist and leg shades had disappeared from sight! Instead, they were replaced by countless explosions of light and air.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
A succession of explosions rang out, reverberating across the stadium. At this moment, no more voices were coming from the laymen in the audience, while countless people in the partic.i.p.ant viewing gallery were holding their breaths. Despite being experts, and having a viewing angle that lorded over the other spectators, only Vladimir, Carolyn, and a handful of other people were barely able to keep up with the movements of those 2!
The qualitative change in Soul Power had drastically increased w.a.n.g Zhong and Mo Wen’s fleshly bodies by a ma.s.sive degree, causing each and every action to leap to the next realm. It was difficult to imagine what kind of burden their bodies needed to endure, in order to move at such speeds. However, the most frightening aspect that was they were actually able to endure it! Furthermore, they appeared to be completely unhindered! Were they really still at the Casted Soul Stage?
It was somewhat understandable with Mo Wen, as he possessed the 5 Elements Const.i.tution. However, what about w.a.n.g Zhong?
Truthfully speaking, just this alone was more than sufficient to crush the spirits of a considerable portion of the Heroic Soul Stage soldiers out there.
Many of the CHF partic.i.p.ants were stupefied by what they saw. Being people that had walked right up to the doors of the Heroic Soul Stage, they had invested much more time, and seen much more things than others. It was due to these experiences that they were feeling much more shocked than other people. In fact, their minds were now utterly blank!
Whoosh…
All of a sudden, an unblocked fist shade rushed out from the centre of the intense fight. The power of this fist intent blasted out, smas.h.i.+ng against the ground.
BANG!!!
A ma.s.sive bang rang out.
In that instant, the granite floor shattered!
Countless rock chips shot in all directions as a ½ metre deep pit appeared. Crack crack crack crack… the ground started to rapidly crack apart!
In an instant, everyone present here felt as though the entire stadium had been given a fierce shake. Regardless of those in the stadium or watching via Skylink, all of them were stunned by what had happened.
What the h.e.l.l was this?
Due to the 2 fighters meeting each other’s attacks head-on, the power unleashed by their fists and legs were basically nullified completely by the other. This caused many people to only pay attention to their “speed”. However, this unblocked punch had shattered the ground apart, causing people to finally realize exactly what kind of a brawl the 2 were undergoing!
It wasn’t due to their powerful strength. Instead, these 2 freaks were still able to control their strength to completely nullify their opponent’s attacks. Furthermore, they were able to lock their strength within their attacking range! This kind of contest, this kind of madness, caused the absolute majority of the experts present… to feel like finding a corner to draw circles in shame.
What the h.e.l.l was this CHF final! Could the 2 on stage please consider other people’s feelings???
The partic.i.p.ant viewing gallery had long turned into a sea of dumbfounded expressions floating in absolute silence, with the only sound that could be heard being the unconscious gulping of saliva. Even Carolyn and Vladimir, whose expressions did not change after watching the earth-shattering spectacle before them, could not help but feel slightly embarra.s.sed of themselves, while also feeling incomparable yearning and envy for the 2 duking it out on stage. This was a tacit agreement between w.a.n.g Zhong and Mo Wen. Both of them had recognized each other’s strength. Furthermore, both of them had treated each other as an important springboard that would propel them into the Heroic Soul Stage.
Their exchange had already exceeded this entire CHF. In fact, Carolyn and a handful of others, who could appreciate the situation currently present on stage, were feeling an even greater pressure than before. In the past, all of them were at the same realm. However, if they were to encounter an opponent like the 2 of them, how would they flee, or even surpa.s.s them?
As various kinds of emotional sighs rang out from the viewing gallery, the series of explosive bangs did stop for even ½ a second. Waves of air continued to expand outwards, while explosions continued to flash and blossom. There wasn’t a single exaggerated move present within the simple attacks they were using in this extremely close-ranged brawl. Although the time they had to react to each other’s attacks was extremely short, both of them knew that the other party possessed the most powerful ability for this aspect: the Heart’s Eye.
Without talking about ordinary fanciful moves, even Napier Mo’s ultimate a.s.sa.s.sin move, the Shadow Dance, would encounter its nemesis in the form of Mo Wen’s Heart’s Eye. It wasn’t to say that the Shadow Dance would become useless; however, it would only be at most half as effective before a soldier with the Heart’s Eye.
Returning to one’s natural state; this was what w.a.n.g Zhong and Mo Wen were duking it out for. They strongly valued the tight control they had over the change in their speed, the intricate use of Soul Power in attacks, the toughness of their fleshly body against such powerful attacks, as well as power generation. Only when one had accomplishments in all those aspects would they be able to display any combat move with ease.
With both of them possessing the Heart’s Eye, both of them were naturally all too aware about the other’s superior aspects.
Bang bang bang bang bang~~~
Both of their acc.u.mulated Soul Powers were exceedingly stable. Despite the consumption from the brawl, both of them were able to match each other’s Soul Power perfectly. Anyone who was able to promote their Soul Power to the Heroic Soul Stage would face a struggle in maintaining this state. In a fight like this with such a high rate of energy consumption, there was a possibility that they would be forced out from this state. Therefore, they would need to make sure nothing went wrong with all of the aspects required to maintain this state.
This was Mo Wen’s test for w.a.n.g Zhong. He wanted to see if w.a.n.g Zhong truly possessed the qualifications to stand up to him, or if he was just a decorative piece that was worthless on the inside. However, this was also w.a.n.g Zhong’s time to retaliate.
The increasing speed and power behind their blows caused the defences erected by both sides to become increasingly difficult and hasty. Furthermore, it was getting more and more difficult for them to perfectly control and adjust the strength of their blows to match the other party. This resulted in unblocked punches and kicks to swinging out rampantly on the stage, causing the entire stadium to hum and rumble, as more and more cracks appeared on the stage.
Finally, the left and right hand that had been locked up all this while were forcefully pulled apart by the surging power coming from both sides, appearing just like a ligament that had been forcefully snapped apart.
Bang!
A ma.s.sive surge of power, coming from one of the simple collisions of attacks among the hundreds of thousands of punches and kicks sent both figures shooting back like cannonb.a.l.l.s.
Tap tap!
Crack crack crack…
As both of them landed simultaneously on the ground, the resulting bang shook the entire stadium, while the stage split open just like shattered ice. However, upon landing, a greater explosion of power burst forth from the 2, as the distance between each other had finally reached the ideal range for the use of combat techniques!
At this instant, electricity seemed to blossom from w.a.n.g Zhong’s eyes. Circulating his Soul power, the visible silvery Soul Power layer around his body s.h.i.+vered, before jagged like ripples appeared on its surface.
Across him, Mo Wen had actually come to the same exact decision, as jagged ripples formed on his Soul Power, an indication of some kind of hidden power being generated.
2nd Drive!
Fist smashed into fist.
Both fists travelled at the same speed, as well as the same amount of Soul Power. Yet the Soul Power usage was different, resulting in a completely different power that burst forth from their fists. There was no sound, nor the usual airwaves from a collision of power. Instead, what seemed like a halo formed from warped s.p.a.ce appeared around the 2 colliding fists, before rapidly expanding out like 360-degree blade arc!
HUM~~~
The stadium’s defensive barrier immediately sparkled with an intense brilliance, as though it had suffered an absolutely frightening attack. This fight had already reached the level of Heroic Soul Stage combat. Only at this moment did the sound of frightening collision come blasting out.
BANG…
The expanding halo distorted the rippled soundwave, causing people to hear a heavy, yet m.u.f.fled bang, which also came with a vibrating note.
The audience had their mouths open wide, while their brains were utterly incapable to process what had happened. Before they could regain their senses, the 2 figures in the air had already crossed each other after their collision.
However, before they could completely swap places, both of them immediately sent a blow out with a twist of their body. The jagged, rippling Soul Power blazes around their fists surged out, smas.h.i.+ng together in an instant.
This time, w.a.n.g Zhong’s action appeared to be a tad bit slower. Although they were about 5 inches away, he had only managed to send his fist out one inch before their fists collided. With both of them moving at the same speed and unleas.h.i.+ng the same amount of power, w.a.n.g Zhong’s attack wasn’t able to reach its peak before it connected. This could be simply explained with the laws of physics. Although this was an exceedingly minute difference, Mo Wen had gained an advantage.
BANG!
Yet another ma.s.sive bang rang out as a sonic boom exploded out. The half-heartbeat slower punch had broken the equilibrium between the 2, immediately causing w.a.n.g Zhong to fall into a disadvantage in power. Once again, they exchanged blows. Relying on the weaker rebounding power from the collision, Mo Wen had already managed to make a faster half turn. Sweeping his leg out like a whip, his 2nd attack took the lead and headed towards w.a.n.g Zhong!
A single slower step had led to all steps becoming slower.
The mere sliver of difference in timing had given Mo Wen the opportunity to gain a complete advantage in offence. At this moment, w.a.n.g Zhong was no longer able to unleash a kick of his own to nullify Mo Wen’s. The only thing he could do was to raise his hands to just in time to erect a guard.
Bang!
The terrifying leg force swept out, sending w.a.n.g Zhong flying out like a kicked soccer ball, shooting across the ground. However, before he could land on the ground, the figure of Mo Wen in the air had already rushed forward. Shooting out, he instantly caught up to w.a.n.g Zhong, before sending his right leg smas.h.i.+ng down like a guillotine!
w.a.n.g Zhong had lost his centre of gravity, losing the initiative in the fight.
However, all of a sudden, a flash of brilliance erupted from w.a.n.g Zhong’s eyes.
The 3rd fist!
The 2 figures in the air smashed against each other like bolts of lightning.
A heavy fist against a whipping leg!
While both of their attacks had 2nd Drive imbued in them, the strength unleashed by a kick would be greater than a punch. However, at this instant, w.a.n.g Zhong’s jagged Soul Power ripples seemed to undergo a mysterious transformation; what appeared to be a whirlpool, which had been acc.u.mulating strength for a very long time, blasting out in a flas.h.!.+ Something akin to a dispersed-type 2nd Drive had formed in the blink of an eye!
A ma.s.sive power burst out from w.a.n.g Zhong’s punch, compounding into layers, appearing as though there were no limits to its construction.
BANG!
The resulting impact instantly blasted Mo Wen backwards. Shooting out at a high speed, he smashed into the defensive barrier a dozen of metres away, causing a fierce sparkle to flash from the defensive barrier.
Rumble boom…
The defensive barrier cried and wailed as the stadium shook. The people in the stadium were absolutely dumbstruck. After claiming the lead in the first collision, Mo Wen should have possessed a suppressive advantage in momentum. Furthermore, Mo Wen had an advantage in both the angle and power of his attack. Nevertheless, the outcome had exceeded everyone’s expectations.
“Adding a Soul Power spiral into the fundamentals of the 2nd Drive, acc.u.mulating this power step by step, before unleas.h.i.+ng such an astonis.h.i.+ng punch. It can be called the 3rd Drive!” Long Mei’er could not help sigh in admiration. Even legendary soldiers like her could not help but feel somewhat emotional after seeing the techniques the 2 on stage had employed, as they had yet to reach the same realm as those 2 when they were at that age.
Not every Heroic Soul Stage soldier had made their name when they were in the Casted Soul or Heroic Soul Stage. In fact, this was more often than not, as every single person had different levels of fortune at differing Soul Stages, though it would generally increase at higher realms. This was why everyone would pay an exceeding amount of regard to a soldier’s fame. Generally speaking, if the soldier was strong before they ignited their Heroic Soul, they definitely wouldn’t be weak after advancing to the next realm. However, that did not mean that those who were weak in the beginning would remain weak even after advancing. There were times where the power unleashed from a human’s soul would be transformed in a miraculous fas.h.i.+on. Naturally, this was something gifted by the heavens. Cultivation was still the main factor that humans could control. After all, luck was something no one could force.
Take Vladimir’s Ice Dominion and Carolyn’s Heart Swords as examples; things like that, along with other matters like Grai’s status as a Blood Race member, as well as the forced realm-raising silver-coloured Soul Power displayed by w.a.n.g Zhong and Mo Wen, were enough to make Long Mei’er acknowledge them. However, it was still insufficient for her to move her emotionally. However, w.a.n.g Zhong’s latest move had indeed garnered her admiration. The 2nd Drive would reach its limits in the Heroic Soul Stage, so no one would waste their strength and effort to create higher-level techniques based off of this. It was just too difficult and torturous to a.n.a.lyze and learn such a combat technique! Simply speaking, it was just like a starving man halfway to the edge of death having to care about world peace. Yet, w.a.n.g Zhong had done it!
Other than Long Mei’er, there were many other experts, as well as the observers from the various great aristocratic families, who were nodding their heads in admiration. The basis of the 2nd Drive was to endure the force of an incoming attack, before returning it back. This was the compounding of one’s strength with their opponent’s strength.
Simply speaking, one would be able to push a one-fold increase in the might of a 2nd Drive from the upper limit of how much power their body was able to produce. That was basically due to the extreme usage of one’s strength. At the very least, this was the case within the Casted and Heroic Soul Stages. Only by understanding the underlying theory of the 2nd Drive, being able to endure that amount of power with one’s body, as well as having sufficient training, would one be able to execute this move.
However, w.a.n.g Zhong’s 3rd Drive was built on the fundamentals of the 2nd Drive, with the addition of an inner spiral present within his Soul Power. When this inner spiral was formed, it would be compressed like a spring. At the critical moment, it would fuse together with the eruption of the 2nd Drive, transforming it into 3 layers of strength!
Although it sounded extremely simple in theory, it obviously would be a ma.s.sive test for his fleshly body. Furthermore, the burden his Soul Sea would need to bear was even more frightening! The compression of the Soul Power spiral was controlled through his Soul Sea, and that was an extremely dangerous thing to do. However, w.a.n.g Zhong was able to completely ignore these points!
At this moment, Mo Wen had finally landed on the ground. Nevertheless, the ma.s.sive force and resulting momentum still continued to push him back, causing him to rapidly make 17 to 18 back rolls as he was unable to stabilize his body. The rapid speed of his rotations caused everyone to feeling their heads turning dizzy.
In a split second, the superior position had changed hands, with w.a.n.g Zhong going on the offensive.
Pa!
Mo Wen slammed his left foot, forcibly stopping his body’s rotation. However, just as the spinning view of heaven and earth came to a stop, w.a.n.g Zhong’s punch had already appeared before him. Under the illumination of his Soul Power, the pot-sized fist rapidly grew larger. Anyone who had done 17 to 18 rolls would definitely feel giddy, with their vision spinning around. However, Mo Wen never once used his eyes in this fight.
While he was rolling backwards, he had already used his Heart’s Eye to observe every single move w.a.n.g Zhong was making, therefore, the sudden advance and incoming fist were as conspicuous as day to Mo Wen.
Just when he stopped rolling back, he rapidly extended his left hand forwards and right hand backwards. In the next instant, a white light blossomed out, as a circular halo of light formed around him. Just like the softness of nature and the toughness of the earth, his entire body started to sway.
Mo School — Circular Force!
A circular air current formed around Mo Wen’s body, turning into a 2-metre wide cylinder. Immediately, w.a.n.g Zhong suddenly felt that his punch had entered what seemed like an extremely sticky barrier of quicksand, causing his rumbling punch to turn sluggish and slow down.
This was followed up by a backhanded palm that came chopping over, knocking w.a.n.g Zhong’s fist from its current path. Just like a lever, it gently, yet stably pushed the incoming fist away, causing it to slip past Mo Wen’s face.
Bang!
The fist intent shot out, causing an ear-piercing explosion to ring out in an empty location. As this happened, the cotton-like palm headed straight towards w.a.n.g Zhong’s chest.
This palm push appeared in slow compared to the speeds the 2 had displayed earlier. However, at this instant, half of w.a.n.g Zhong’s body had already sunk into the zone of Mo Wen’s Circular Force. Just like falling into quicksand, his movements were obstructed by the rolling currents present around Mo Wen.
There was no way he could evade.
Exhaling fiercely, w.a.n.g Zhong immediately converged his Soul Power before his chest.
Bang!
There was no loud bang that rang out. Instead, a ma.s.sively destructive power that was hard to describe with words smashed into w.a.n.g Zhong.
Tap tap tap…
After backpedalling a few steps, w.a.n.g Zhong instantly stabilised himself. The Mo Family’s Circular Force had been renowned for a very long time. Being a core secret art of the Mo School, only an extremely small number of the Mo Family members were able to comprehend its mysteries.
His backpedalling figure suddenly turned blurry, before 2, then 3 figures took his place.
Doppelgangers!
3 w.a.n.g Zhongs split apart in the next instant. Just as they had formed, the 3 had already shot towards Mo Wen at the same time!
However, w.a.n.g Zhong seemed to have forgotten that this “blind” Mo Wen was still using his Heart’s Eye!
There 2 doppelgangers weren’t even able to serve as a feint against Mo Wen, who treated them as though they were air! At this moment, the circular force imbued palm had already been pushed out towards the real w.a.n.g Zhong.
In the blink of an eye, w.a.n.g Zhong’s fist was shoved away diagonally by the incoming arm. Indeed, this was the real w.a.n.g Zhong, as palm and hand made contact!
However, before Mo Wen’s shoving force could be transmitted, the feeling of contact instantly disappeared. A split second later, a feeling of danger came bearing down from Mo Wen’s back, penetrating through his clothes!
Dimensional Combat Technique — Reality Inversion!
In w.a.n.g Zhong’s hands, Gui Xinying’s combat technique was displayed with a higher level of perfection and mastery! The instantaneous swapping of positions had already exceeded human reflexes! There was utterly no way Mo Wen would be able to respond to it!
Hua…
The heavy fist smashed right into Mo Wen’s back. However, there was no heavy feedback that w.a.n.g Zhong had expected.
Instead, he felt as though his fist had landed into a slippery sandbag that was immune to any force! The power behind his fist had been diverted and slipped past Mo Wen’s back!
Full body Circular Force!
The power blasting out from the fist appeared just like a stone sinking down into the ocean, being instantly devoured by the Circular Force aura, increasing the density of the cylindrical air current by a notch. In fact, it had also caused it to grow in diameter!
Bending his body to the side and treating his left leg as an axis of rotation and his right as a drive, Mo Wen spun his entire body around like a top, before unleas.h.i.+ng his counter attack.
Pa! w.a.n.g Zhong’s wrist was grabbed by Mo Wen! However, the surrounding dimensional s.p.a.ce started to ripple, before w.a.n.g Zhong’s body disappeared once again. In the next instant, he had moved back alongside his 2 doppelgangers.
Mo Wen was long prepared for this. Appearing to be controlled by his will, the entire Circular Force aura started to solidify, while his left hand started to draw a spiral guard.
Whoos.h.!.+
This time, w.a.n.g Zhong was unable to attack before being forced to retreat. With his doppelgangers being unable to hide from his opponent’s Heart’s Eye, the overly focused movements and decrease in attack power made him incapable of piercing Mo Wen’s Circular Force defense.
Having escaped from the radius of the Circular Force, w.a.n.g Zhong gave a tap with his feet, sending his entire body shooting a dozen metres into the air. At the apex of his jump, his silvery Soul Power started to blossomed with flas.h.i.+ng radiance, while a silvery light burst out from his eyes.
With his upwards momentum completely used up, w.a.n.g Zhong turned his body, dropping headfirst towards the ground in a free-fall.
The additional output of Soul Power, coupled with the gravitational acceleration from his free-fall, as well as the acc.u.mulation of two 2nd Drive attacks.
Downward rush — 3rd Drive!
As he rushed downwards, the layer of jagged Soul Power surrounding w.a.n.g Zhong’s body caused sparks to appear as he shot through the air, causing him to appear just like a meteor that brought along a powerful and awe-inspiring sight!
Nevertheless, not a single sign of worry appeared on Mo Wen’s face. The thick red blindfold around his eyes blocked any change of expression he might have, leaving people to see a machine-like coldness displayed on the rest of his face.
With a gentle movement, he made a retracting gesture, causing the 3-4 meter wide, 5-6 meter tall Circular Force aura to shrink down to half of its size. As this happened, the rotating air currents solidified, causing the softly flowing air around him to turn dense and heavy.