Chapter 589: Bai Qi versus Nangong Ziyue
In a situation where everyone was under the same constraints, losing a match or two before the crucial matches meant that the other four n.o.ble Clan scions had lost their qualifications to compete for the top eight.
Due to the intentional arrangement of the organizer, the eight giants did not meet each other in advance. This built up the crowd’s antic.i.p.ation as they waited for a battle of the giants.
As the compet.i.tion proceeded, the picture of the strong becoming stronger and the weak, weaker became more obvious.
The golden dragon above a strong partic.i.p.ant like Sima Lingxuan already reached twenty-nine meters. His golden dragon was just a meter short of thirty meters, when he would obtain all the Luck of the four Dragon Veins.
As for the weaker cultivators like Murong Chong, they had very little Luck in the first place. However, not only did their golden dragons fail to break out of their jade pendants, their Luck was seized by others.
The little golden dragons in their jade pendants no longer had any radiance, no different from an earthworm.
The Five Nation Youth Compet.i.tion was a gathering of all the geniuses in the entire world. Who was a true dragon and who was a false dragon would be revealed here.
This place did not care about background or backing, no matter how proud one was or where they came from. It only cared about the weapon in one’s hand.
Whoever was stronger would obtain more Luck. The weak would have their Luck plundered by others; even the scions of the eight n.o.ble Clans were no exception.
“Match forty-nine: Bai Qi versus Nangong Ziyue!”
At this moment, the sun was setting. It looked like the sky would turn dark soon. Today’s matches would probably come to an end after the match following this one.
From the start, Nangong Ziyue had only lost twice. The first loss was during the elimination rounds to Yue Chenxi. The second was during the ranking matches, to another n.o.ble Clan scion, Li Tianhua.
However, the two matches Nangong Ziyue lost were not one-sided battles. Furthermore, her opponents were extraordinary cultivators. Although she had lost two matches, no one underestimated her strength. In fact, the crowd felt that she still have a chance to enter the top ten.
The golden dragon above her head was twenty meters long, just slightly smaller than those of the current top eight.
“Xiu!”
Bai Qi leaped out from the spectator stand and landed on the Wind Cloud Platform. The golden dragon circling above him descended together with him, remaining above his head.
Bai Qi’s golden dragon was at least twenty-three meters long. It bared its fangs and claws as it glared ferociously at Nangong Ziyue’s golden dragon. Under the suppression of the larger dragon’s aura, Nangong Ziyue’s golden dragon seemed to shrink back in fear, not daring to act wantonly.
On seeing this scene, Bai Qi smiled gently and said in a pleasant tone, “Nangong Ziyue, you are not a match for me. It is best that you admit defeat now and preserve your strength to deal with the next match.”
Nangong Ziyue frowned slightly and replied, “We will know if I am truly not a match for you after we fight. Li Tianhua can defeat me only because his state counters mine. Could it be that you consider me someone you can defeat easily?”
Bai Qi showed neither joy nor rage on his face. He said calmly, “In that case, make your move. As for Li Tianhua, I have never seen him as an opponent.”
“Splash…!”
Suddenly, the sound of flowing water rang out. The state of mountains and waters burst forth. A river flowed in the middle of a mountain range.
Nangong Ziyue stood on the flowing water, moving as the water flowed without moving her legs. However, the group of mountains behind her seemed to move as well. Her exquisite figure gave off a mild charm. She expressed the mountains and waters in her heart as she quickly moved towards Bai Qi in that strange manner.
At the start of the Five Nation Youth Compet.i.tion, Nangong Ziyue could not execute this technique in a natural manner yet. She could only let it erupt during crucial moments.
However, after several big fights, she managed to accustom herself to this technique. If she met Yue Chenxi again, the result of the match would be hard to predict. This was also the reason why she dared to challenge Bai Qi.
“Bang!”
When the calm Nangong Ziyue arrived before Bai Qi, she suddenly punched, releasing the momentum of the mountains and waters that had been brewing in her heart explosively.
A fist wind kicked up turbulence, shaking s.p.a.ce. The might of this ordinary punch unexpectedly had half the power of Nangong Ziyue’s trump card.
Bai Qi looked somewhat stunned. He had not expected Nangong Ziyue to improve so much in such a short time.
If he continued to hide his strength, he would have to put in a lot of effort to defeat his opponent.
That is fine. I’ve already gotten this far. It is time to use the Four Season Saber Technique. Now, Nangong Ziyue merits my using that.
After Bai Qi made up his mind, he slowly placed his right hand on his saber and faced this punch that could shake s.p.a.ce. Then, he started circulating his energies in the method for the Four Season Saber Technique’s first move.
“Splash…!”
Something strange happened. Splas.h.i.+ng sounds of a river came from behind Bai Qi as well when he drew his saber. The power of the Cycle of Seasons poured out. Suddenly, the distance between Nangong Ziyue and Bai Qi elongated infinitely.
Regardless of how fast Nangong Ziyue was, she could not catch up to Bai Qi. The punch that could topple mountains always remained one meter away from him. The fist wind caused his clothes and hair to flap endlessly.
“Xiu!”
When the saber was completely drawn, the power of the Cycle of Seasons exploded out. Bai Qi instantly moved far away from Nangong Ziyue.
It was not Bai Qi retreating but the power of the Cycle of Seasons. The sudden distance caused the momentum of the mountains and waters that Nangong Ziyue had been brewing for so long to collapse. Thus, this punch broke on its own without any extra effort needed.
“Long Lasting Spring Water, Growing Warm Then Cold!”
A river descended from the sky; the water looked very clear. Bai Qi raised his saber and hacked at Nangong Ziyue.
Using the state of spring water concealed in the Cycle of Seasons, a riverlike saber Qi quickly rushed at her, continuously alternating between cold and warm.
Nangong Ziyue, who was within the mountains and waters, felt a strong saber Qi with the power of the Cycle of Seasons. As it swept across, the pressure it gave off built up.
That saber Qi seemed gentle in one moment, then bone-chilling in the next. This made one hesitate and ponder, not knowing how to break this move.
No matter what trick is behind this, in the end, it is just a strand of saber Qi. Immortal Mountains and Rivers, break for me!
Since Nangong Ziyue could not figure out if the state behind the Saber Technique was ice or fire, she just immediately materialized the power of mountains and waters. One punch represented the mountains, the other the waters. The mountains and waters worked together and attacked with force.
“Bang!”
When the saber Qi got close, it seemed like the rivers flowed in reverse as the power of nature poured out.
Nangong Ziyue’s expression abruptly changed greatly. She wanted to use brute power to break the technique but was shocked to discover that the power in the saber Qi was much stronger than her Immortal Mountains and Rivers; there was no way for her to oppose it head-on.
When the state behind her punches broke, Nangong Ziyue vomited a mouthful of blood. The power of the saber Qi forced the rivers to flow in reverse and shattered the momentum of the mountains and rivers.
“Rumble…! Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Instantly, shock waves surged and the mountains trembled. Just the ripples of the power contained in the saber Qi were enough to destabilize Nangong Ziyue’s mysterious phenomenon of mountains and waters.
“This is the power of the Four Season Saber Technique? It’s very strong. Unexpectedly, just the first move was almost able to completely break Nangong Ziyue’s state of mountains and waters.”
“If she was not Nangong Ziyue, she would not able to endure this long. If other cultivators met with this attack, no matter what state it is, it would shatter instantly.”
“Earlier, Bai Qi managed to break Nangong Ziyue’s momentum with half a move. Just by drawing his saber, he shattered Nangong Ziyue’s attack. Given this, Bai Qi is stronger than Li Tianhua.”
“In this Five Nation Youth Compet.i.tion, he is the person with the greatest possibility of defeating Sima Lingxuan. The other n.o.ble Clan scions are not strong enough.”
Seeing that this astonis.h.i.+ng attack—the Four Season Saber Technique that the crowd had been awaiting for a long time—had finally been executed, everyone immediately became excited. Their faces flushed red and emotions surged.
“Are you still unwilling to admit defeat?” Bai Qi frowned slightly. Clearly, he was somewhat angry. His saber shook as he started to store up his saber intent. Then, he said, “Eighteen Heaven Breaking Saber Strikes! First strike! Second strike! Third Strike! Fourth Strike…!”
Bai Qi stood firmly in place without moving. Then, he executed another strong Martial Technique.
As the saber light danced around, a boundless light flashed everywhere. Because the saber Qi was extremely dense, it gave off a soft glow. A peak Small Perfection saber intent, together with the saber Qi, poured out on the mountains Nangong Ziyue materialized.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
With the support of saber intent, the might of the Eighteen Heaven Breaking Saber Strikes reached its peak. Every time Bai Qi attacked, a mountain would explode. After the eighteen strikes were over, all the mountains and waters were shattered.
The state of mountains and waters that Nangong Ziyue was proud of was thoroughly smashed by Bai Qi in an extremely cruel manner, leaving nothing behind.
The mountains disappeared and the waters vanished. Only that boundless saber light and the saber intent remained, buzzing nonstop, echoing everywhere.
As Bai Qi had said before, once the mountains and waters were shattered, a strong state was just a facade before absolute strength.
“Roar!”
When Nangong Ziyue was defeated, the golden dragon above her roared. Bai Qi’s golden dragon had bitten a one-meter chunk out of it. It became dimmer and less spirited.
On the other hand, the golden dragon above Bai Qi bared its fangs and claws, roaring without end. It looked very spirited and had a mighty aura. Now, it was twenty-seven meters long, almost catching up to Sima Lingxuan’s twenty-nine meters.
Xiao Chen went into deep thought as he recalled Bai Qi’s Four Season Saber Technique. The situation was different from what he had expected.
Originally, he thought that the Four Season Saber Technique that Bai Qi learned was like his, self-comprehended.
It looked like Xiao Chen had thought wrong. The path that Bai Qi had taken was like the path of the ancestor of the Bai Clan. It was likely that after Bai Shuihe had comprehended the Four Season Saber Technique, he pa.s.sed down his comprehension and expressions to his descendants.
Feeling more confident, Xiao Chen muttered to himself softly, “Naturally, it would be much easier to follow the path indicated by a predecessor. However, this Four Season Saber Technique is different from the other Martial Techniques. It does not have a fixed state; it is perfect for self-comprehension.”
Simply put, if Bai Qi only took the path Bai Shuihe had taken, then he would lose very badly to Xiao Chen if there was nothing unexpected.
Beside Xiao Chen, Liu Suifeng was actually stunned. He was also someone who studied the saber. He could feel the might of that Long Lasting Spring Water, Growing Warm Then Cold more clearly than the other cultivators.
He sighed and said, “What a strong Saber Technique. No wonder people say that the Four Season Saber Technique is the strongest Martial Technique under Heaven Ranked Saber Techniques. It indeed lives up to its reputation.”
The elders of the Heavenly Saber Pavilion all nodded to themselves as well. Even if they met with this Saber Technique, they would have no leeway and would only suffer a crus.h.i.+ng defeat.