I Shall Steal The Heavens

I was mistaken.

"Hah!"

Wu Xing threw out a hand and a stream of fire erupted. My eyes widened when I saw the ranged attack surging toward me and I twisted my feet in reflex to change the trajectory of my retreat. The stream of flames roared past, almost scalding my cheek and arm.

"Phew!"

Realizing there was nowhere I could truly be safe within the arena, I decided to close in and instead capitalize on what I believed to be my advantage in close combat. Using Jin, I dodged another burst of flames and closed in, swinging around for a roundhouse kick.

Bam!

Wu Xing parried the blow with both his arms, then followed up with a counterattack that threw me off my feet and sent me staggering away. I ducked his next punch and retaliated with a kick, but he jabbed his elbow down to block my foot and then threw a hook with his other arm. I dodged that one by dropping to the ground, then swung my leg out to knock him off his feet, but he jumped back before throwing his right arm down to hurl a fireball at me.

Boom!

I managed to deflect that one by freezing the s.p.a.ce around me. A thick fog materialized as ice clashed against fire, the temperatures wildly swinging from one extreme end to another. I then stumbled out of the fog, coughing.

"Hmph."

"?!"

Wu Xing was unfazed, and he threw a blazing punch that ripped through most of the fog, almost catching me in the face. I took a step back, just narrowly moving to a position just out of his reach, and then responded with a kick to his chest.

"Kuh!"

The leg was longer than the arm, and thus he was within my kicking reach even though I was out of his punching reach. The kick caught him by surprise and he staggered back. However, as my counterattack was hasty, it didn"t seem to do much damage.

"You!"

I dropped to the ground when my opponent swung his arm forward, blasting the s.p.a.ce above my scalp and hair with a torrent of flames. I tried to sweep my opponent off his legs, but this time he was prepared, shifting his feet to block my kick.

Wu Xing then slammed his foot down, hoping to stomp on me, but I managed to roll away. Hopping to my feet, I lashed out with a reflexive kick to lengthen the distance between us. Wu Xing, however, realized my intention and swiftly switched tactics, throwing out a hand to bath me in flames. I cursed as I was blasted backward, my body smoldering from the heat.

"Oh, you survived that?"

Sneering, Wu Xing closed in while I was still trying to get up. I immediately froze his next burst of flames, conjuring a wall of ice. Wu Xing remained undaunted, and he smashed through the wall of ice with a lightning fist that resembled Qi Fu Ren when he was live.

"Metal element now?"

My eyes widened and I hastily threw up my arms to block Wu Xing"s punch in reflex. His fist struck my crossed arms and a vicious current of electricity instantly coursed through my body, electrocuting me.

"Argh!"

"Just get knocked out already!"

Spinning about, Wu Xing threw another lightning punch that I managed to block, but just barely. This time, I gathered my inner qi to form a defense against the invasive lightning, but even then the punch still did a fair amount of damage to me.

My body fuming, I used Tui to widen the distance between us. Wu Xing switched back to fire, throwing a fireball from long range, but I managed to freeze that projectile before it hit me.

"Huff…"

Breathing heavily, I wiped the blood from my mouth. That lightning punch didn"t just electrocute me, it also delivered quite a bit of internal damage. Nothing debilitating, though. As long as I could recover my breath, I was still ready to go.

"Always freezing my fire, huh? How about this, then?"

Scowling, Wu Xing threw another punch, but this time plants erupted in place of the flames. I ducked a whip from a particularly vicious vine, then used my footwork techniques to escape a sudden growth of a th.o.r.n.y thicket. Wooden branches coiled before lashing out violently, vines tried to ensnare me, and razor-sharp leaves tried to cut me.

I had to continue moving, using consecutive footwork to dodge the wild, rampant growth of trees. Wu Xing was certainly displaying his mastery of the five elements here, using wood element now. Cursing, I froze an encroaching thicket of th.o.r.n.y plants and foliage with ice, but the rest of the wood seemed to absorb the moisture and grow more uncontrollably.

This guy…!

He was strong…much stronger than any opponent I had ever faced. His skills surpa.s.sed even Wu Hei Gui…no wonder Wu Hei Gui lost to him.

However, it wasn"t as if I was completely helpless before him.

Gathering qi into my hands, I executed Ghost Shadow Sword. Shadowy, icy blades materialized around me and cut the plants apart. With a yell, I dashed forward with Jin, carving a path through the thicket of brutal plants with multiple shadowy swords, and headed straight for the gloating, unmoving Wu Xing.

I realized I could end this if I knocked out the controller.

"Oh? That"s a technique I haven"t seen before."

Wu Xing seemed more amused than alarm. Throwing a hand upward, he conjured a wall of flames to thwart my progress, but I merely froze it. Smashing through the glacial wall, I swung my ice shadow swords down on him.

"Kuh!"

Realizing that he could no longer afford to underestimate me, Wu Xing stomped on the ground. A wall of earth erupted from the floor this time, partially to block my attack, and partially as a form of offense. A few spiky rocks surged toward me, seeking to impale me.

"Uwaaaaah!"

Bellowing, I swung my ice shadow swords, seeking to either obliterate the ice wall or freeze it, but to my amazement the st.u.r.dy surface held strong. I did manage to shatter the rock spikes that were thrusting toward me, but after much effort and at the cost of several of my ice shadow swords. Heaving, I jumped back to get out of the spiky rocks" range.

Five elements principle…earth counters water.

That must be why my ice attacks – which was primarily based off the element of water – were not as effective against Wu Xing"s earth barrier. Clicking my tongue, I decided to find a way around it. Making use of my footwork, I dodged the remaining spiky rocks and circled around to exploit an opening.

Fortunately, while earth was strong, st.u.r.dy and unyielding, it was also c.u.mbersome and slow. Unlike the fast, brutal and aggressive attacks of fire, or the flexible, nimble wood, earth relied on overwhelming power to compensate for its lack of speed and agility. Even so, I was certain there was an area of vulnerability.

I just needed to find it.

"Hah!" Wu Xing cried out, his voice m.u.f.fled. The next moment, I saw a torrent of flames erupt toward me.

As I suspected, Wu Xing had to lower part of his defenses to execute an attack of a different element, otherwise the contrasting qi would clash against each other. Seizing the opportunity, I advanced and closed in on his position, hurling an icy shadow sword through the opening. Wu Xing"s eyes widened and he quickly threw up a clod of earth to plug the gap in his defenses, which caused my sword to shatter upon impact.

Twirling in midair, I kicked the stream of flames and immediately froze it. Sliding down on the frozen path I had just forged for myself, I ran a few meters before jumping up – just as a row of spiky rocks obliterated the ice bridge – and threw myself forward. Flipping in midair and weaving through a dozen rocky spikes trying to impale me, I landed right on top of the almost dome-shaped barrier of earth that Wu Xing had created to protect himself.

Seismic Step.

BOOM!

"Ugh!"

Within the earth barrier, Wu Xing felt a shockwave hit him like a truck, pinning him down to the ground and crushing him. A spurt of blood erupted from his mouth as he squirmed underneath the overwhelming pressure, his body almost ripped apart by the powerful strike.

Fortunately for him, his earth barrer had absorbed most of the blow, so he only sustained "minimal" damage. Far from being incapacitated, he slowly climbed back to his feet, wiping the blood from his mouth and glaring at me.

"You…"

I replied with a kick. Wu Xing dodged and then retaliated with a Lightning Punch, sure that his flaming attacks no longer had much of an effect. His eyes narrowed when he realized that he couldn"t afford to underestimate me.

"Were you hiding your true strength all this while? I"ve never heard of anyone outside of the Four or Five Star Const.i.tution cultivators being able to break through my defenses! Just who the h.e.l.l are you? Aren"t you supposed to be a One Star Const.i.tution cultivator?"

"That"s the problem with you guys. You place too much stock and value in all these arbitrary measurement systems and view people according to talent, ranks, stages, levels or whatever. But something like a human"s potential can never be captured by anything as mundane as numbers…they can never be quantified properly!"

With a yell, I executed another kick that forced Wu Xing to back off. Gritting his teeth, he threw his arm forward.

"What bulls.h.i.t…don"t underestimate me!"

This time, he unleashed a forceful torrent of water that would have pierced a hole through me, had I not dodged it in time. Wu Xing then followed up with punches and kicks that swirled with ma.s.sive waves of water, threatening to flood the room and sweep me away in their irresistible currents, washing everything away.

"You"re the one who is underestimating me."

Instead of going with the flow, I stomped on the ground and executed my Heaven and Earth Yuan Yin Frost technique, freezing the entire training room in one go. The waters and currents all turned into ice, frozen in place and unmoving.

"Have you forgotten who you are facing?"

"You…!"

Evidently he had. Wu Xing backed off, his face pale. I didn"t care, smashing through the ice to kick him in the chest. Realizing that he was cornered, Wu Xing decided to confront this attack head-on. With a determined roar, he surged forward, lightning crackling around his fist as he met my kick. Our strikes and qi collided in a ma.s.sive explosion that obliterated the ice all around us, sending the glacial crystals raining down around us like snow.

"Huff…huff…"

The intense lightning had vaporized the ice around him into steam, wreathing the kneeling Wu Xing in a protective electric aura. As for me, I was forced to back off a few steps, and was trying to regain my balance and breathing.

Both of us regarded each other warily, acknowledging the other"s strength grudgingly. Let down my guard, and I would be the one on the floor. Wu Xing realized the same went for him, and he wearily climbed to his feet.

"I was hoping to save this for the finals, but it will be pointless if I don"t make it to the round of sixteen."

I felt a p.r.i.c.kle on the back of my neck, a premonition. Wu Xing was going all out now, not holding anything back. His qi had thickened and increased. I tensed, expecting an attack, only to read the flow of qi currents around Wu Xing"s body and realized that he was executing his advancement technique, not an offensive one.

"Esoteric Five Elements Principle: the pinnacle of the universe."

As he said that, Wu Xing retrieved something from his pocket. It looked like a crest of some sort, or a metallic badge. No…it resembled a breastplate. For some reason, it also looked extremely familiar, as if I had seen something like it before.

"Huh?!"

It took me a while to recall, but I suddenly remembered that it resembled the object that Ba Yun used when I fought him all those years ago. That thing Wu Xing was holding was a Spirit Armament, a type of transformable…

"Five Elements Royal Armor."

The breastplate glowed and expanded, spiritual qi extending out from its interior and enveloping Wu Xing in a protective frame. Unlike the Spirit Armor belonging to Ba Yun, this particular Five Elements Royal Armor was not creepy at all, seeming to exude a potent presence of protective qi and even having an air of royalty and dignity to it.

Spirit weapons and armaments, after all, possessed "souls." They were almost like living things, and each one of them had their individual nature. If I were to describe the Five Elements Royal Armor, it would be princely, proud and dignified. It was completely different from the monstrous, definitely demonic spirit armor that Ba Yun used.

The golden glow that suffused Wu Xing then solidified and materialized in the form of a full-body armor that clad him from head to toe. Even his helm covered most of his head, with only his face being exposed. That was far from being a weak point, however. From my Heaven and Earth qi sense, I could detect a thick aura of qi protecting his seemingly exposed face.

This spirit armor…it was not to be underestimated.

Wu Xing flexed his arm, as if testing out his armor, and then he disappeared from sight.

"!!"

I barely managed to evade his next punch. Wu Xing"s armored gautlet struck the ground where I was standing on, that simple punch leaving a crater. Even as I dove to the side, I was peppered with broken debris.

What speed…what power! He"s on a completely different level from before!

"Huh…I thought I would be able to end this with this one strike. Looks like you"ve a few tricks up your sleeve as well."

Wu Xing turned toward me.

"?!"

Again, he had disappeared. The next thing I knew, he was right in front of me. I bent my back backward, just barely dodging his strike, but the shockwaves from his punch buffeted me, crushing me to the ground. I instinctively rolled away, avoiding his stomp. But his stomp was so powerful his armored boot actually broke the ground and caused an earthquake that hurled me off the ground and sent me flying a few meters away.

"Kuh…"

I managed to clumsily land on my feet and skidded a meter or so back. Raising my head, I saw Wu Xing disappear from the corner of my eye.

"!"

Boom!

Another crater was carved into the ground. At this rate, the training room would be destroyed. Before that, I probably would run out of place to run.

"You"re pretty good at running away."

Wu Xing raised his armored fist and turned to stare at me in comtempt, his lips curling up in a mocking sneer.

"Do you expect me to stand still and get hit by you?" I retorted, annoyed. What was it and my opponents thinking they were ent.i.tled a free shot?

To my surprise, Wu Xing shook his head. "Oh, no. of course not. Do your best to dodge. After all, just one strike from me and you"ll be half dead. It"s only natural that you want to avoid a direct hit from me. I would do the same if I were you."

My goodness. An opponent who was actually reasonable. I wanted to praise the heavens for allowing me to meet someone who actually made sense.

"However…hittng you is only a matter of time. All you need is one small mistake, a single slip-up, and the match will end." Wu Xing"s derisive smile spread further across his face. "In contrast, you have no way of attacking me."

As if to emphasize his point, he appeared in front of me but didn"t attack. I reacted on reflex – just as he predicted – and kicked him, but he merely stood there, completely unaffected. Instead, I was the one who recoiled and held my foot, grimacing at the pain.

This guy was tough. His Five Elements Royal Armor was st.u.r.dier than even…

…even Wu Hei Gui"s Black Tortoise Unbreakable Sh.e.l.l…

Not only that, Wu Xing had a far more impressive array of offensive techniques than my cla.s.smate. No wonder Wu Hei Gui lost his match against this guy.

However, I wasn"t going to give up that easily. I delivered another Shadow Kick that sent pain ringing through my leg, but I nullified it with a burst of qi. Intead, I increased the amount of qi wreathing my leg and delivered a barrage of kicks that drove Wu Xing back.

"I"ve seen your match against Wu Hei Gui."

Unfortunately for me, Wu Xing wasn"t going to just stand there and take my kicks like Wu Hei Gui. He raised his hand to catch my leg. My instincts shrieked and I quickly withdrew my kick, causing Wu Xing to grab empty air. I also immediately retreated, and just in time too, as Wu Xing"s lightning-wreathed gauntlet scorched the s.p.a.ce where I had been standing on earlier, saturating the air with sparks and static electricity.

"I would be a fool if I allowed you the chance to break through the armor. Though I doubt you"ll be capable of it…but I"m not taking any chances. Plus that Seismic Step of yours…I"ll admit that it"s among the most powerful attacks I"ve ever seen."

"Why, thank you," I replied dryly as I kept my eye on him. My leg throbbed, despite the protective aura of qi swirling around it, and I realized I would break my own leg before I broke Wu Xing"s Five Elements Royal Armor. As expected, it wasn"t going to be easy to destroy a Spirit Armament of such divine quality.

This Five Elements Royal Armor was on a completely different level from the demonic spirit armor that Ba Yun wore. I wouldn"t be surprised if it had been forged by a master from the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. perhaps even by the Sect Leader Zi Shou De himself. The Kun Lun Sect was a major sect – one of the eight most powerful and biggest ones – and thus they had deep pockets and near infinite resources. Of course they wouldn"t spare any expense in purchasing the ultimate treasure spirit armament for the prodigy of their sect.

"Any more tricks?" Wu Xing asked casually as he reared his arm back. A torrent of flames erupted and seared through the air, toward my position. Even as I froze the fiery attack, I realized that it was more potent and stronger than before.

"Kuh…"

Enveloped by mist, I stepped back, only for Wu Xing to cleave the mist apart with a single fiery punch. Stepping to the side, I kicked him in the abdomen, only for my foot to bounce off the thickly plated armor. In return, Wu Xing slammed his elbow down on me, but I managed to pull my leg away in time before he could break my knee.

This guy…!

Gritting my teeth and lengthening the distance between us while warding off a combined blast of fire and lightning, I tried to think of an idea. At this rate, I had no way of attacking him…

I needed a weapon of my own…

"What about this?"

This time, a thicker growth of plants and trees materialized, the vines whipping out more viciously and faster than before. The branches unfurled and stretched toward me, and I found myself surrounded by a thicket of wood.

I wouldn"t be able to dodge in time!

No matter. I had my Ghost Shadow Sword. Unleashing all my qi into sharpened sword intent, I materialized them into shadowy blades and slashed at the incoming wood, attempting to slice them apart before they could engulf me.

"Eh?!"

Unfortunately, the wood was much thicker and stronger than before. Most likely Wu Xing"s powers had been amplified by his Five Elements Royal Armor. It was not unheard of. Most people use spirit weapons and spirit armaments to strengthen and enhance their base martial arts techniques. Even I did so.

Wu Xing"s wood attacks right now were incomparable to the ones before, when he didn"t use his armor. I was unable to cut the st.u.r.dy wood, vines and thorns with my Ghost Shadow Sword!

Krunch!

Within moments, I was trapped and crushed by a ball of wood, vines and thorns, which writhed and coiled tightly all around me.

"Hmph."

Wu Xing lowered his hand and regarded the squirming sphere of wood, his expression triumphant. Flames coated one gauntlet and lightning on the other. Leaving nothing to chance, he stepped forward to finish me off.

However, from the lack of movement – other than from his wood attacks – it seemed that I had been subdued.

"Looks like this match is over."

c.o.c.king his hand back and getting ready to deliver a blazing punch, Wu Xing smirked. He was obviously relishing his entry into the last sixteen.

"?!"

Then his eyes widened when he detected a surge of qi, and he stepped back in reflex.

Slice, slice, slice!

BOOM!

Within seconds, the sphere of wood was cut apart. A maelstrom of azure qi swirled from the inside, ravaging and disintegrating the dying wood and erasing them from existence.

Stepping out of the maelstrom, I swung down one of my swords to blow the angry currents of qi away.

"You…" Wu Xing spluttered when he caught sight of my dual swords. I merely shrugged before smirking at him.

"You"re not the only one with spirit armaments." Resting one of my swords on my shoulder, I tilted my head to the side. "Well then, shall we get started for real now?"