Chapter 386: Wind and Thunder
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
Lee Xin"s eyes glinted as he realized what a great opportunity it was. Should he defeat Li s.h.i.+ming, he would be able to push the fame of House Lee to a new height.
Facing his hawkish opponent, Li s.h.i.+ming appeared calm. He had seen many powerful fighters, and therefore, he was unruffled by Lee Xin"s threatening stare.
Li s.h.i.+ming had come to terms with the fact that his life revolved around being challenged, and had already gotten used to it.
As for Lee Xin, he was one of the strongest fighters his family had ever produced, and was determined to add his family name to the list of great houses. On the Moon, the Lee family had already exerted a significant influence.
The two fighters bowed to each other; since they were both trained by their Einherjar Fathers and shared equal talent, this fight was bound to be an uphill battle for both of them.
Unlike a fight between two ordinary fighters, this fight meant a great deal, not only to the two fighters, but also to their family.
The audience-seat was packed; no one wanted to pa.s.s up the opportunity to watch and learn from the two level six fighters. This kind of learning was especially useful to other level six fighters, since they were on the same level.
Ma Xiaoru and Li Ruoer also attended the match, seated in the VIP section. Although Li Ruoer had since learned that House Ma had officially acknowledged w.a.n.g Tong and Ma Xiaoru"s relations.h.i.+p, she didn"t mind it. Ever since her defeat, she had decided to distance herself from her troubles for a while to recuperate.
Plus, Li Ruoer was moved by the way Ma Xiaoru treated her. Reflecting on her previous wrongdoings against Ma Xiaoru and w.a.n.g Tong, Li Ruoer felt only regret and bitterness. If she lost her best friend Ma Xiaoru, she would have lost everything.
"Xiaoru. you are so lucky." Li Ruoer blurted. Her words seemed to have come out of nowhere, as everyone else was on the edge of their seats waiting for the fight to start.
Ma Xiaoru knew that Li Ruoer was disappointed after being defeated by w.a.n.g Tong. She wagered that in Li Ruoer"s eyes, w.a.n.g Tong had practically stolen the victory from her. However, Ma Xiaoru was surprised to find out that Li Ruoer didn"t hold any grudge against w.a.n.g Tong, especially considering her high self-esteem.
"Ruoer, I am sure you will get what you are looking for soon. I noticed that Lie Jian seemed to have taken an interest in you."
Hearing the name, Li Ruoer furrowed her brow and said, "He is so annoying! I have never seen anyone so full of himself. Eh? Does w.a.n.g Tong know Michaux? Look, they are talking to each other."
w.a.n.g Tong and Michaux sat in the front row of the reserved section, chatting with each other. The audiences around them gossiped as to why the no-account w.a.n.g Tong would suddenly become friends with the young master. Even Karl and his friends were astonished by their friends.h.i.+p.
w.a.n.g Tong and Michaux didn"t mind the murmurs around them.
"What do you think of this fight, Brother w.a.n.g?"
"I think Li s.h.i.+ming will have an edge during the battle."
"Both House Li and the Dower knew the way of the divine path, and had worked hard to uncover its secret. However, neither of them had scratched even the surface. That being said, despite a large amount of information we gained about the divine path, the Divine Master Sect is still far from unearthing its true power by a long chalk. What do you think we have done wrong? " Michaux asked.
"Brother Odin, what do you think is the difference between focusing solely on soul energy versus focusing solely on physical strength?" w.a.n.g Tong replied with a question and then cracked a smile.
"What is the meaning of soul essence?" Michaux decided to get straight to the point.
"It"s hard to describe in words. I can show it to you later when we fight." w.a.n.g Tong announced.
Michaux was surprised by w.a.n.g Tong"s candid answer. "Brother w.a.n.g, why do you trust me so much?"
w.a.n.g Tong smiled faintly and said, "It"s for my own sake." And then, the two looked at each other with a knowing smile.
The match finally started with thunders cheers. On the stage, both fighters stood still while charging up their soul energies. So far, both fighter"s sol readings were very similar.
"Zeng!"
At that moment, the two combatants unsheathed their blades simultaneously.
"Clank!"
As soon as the two blades collided, Lee Xin pulled the Thunder Blade back and channeled GN force into the longsword. The Tactics of the Thunder Blade was an aggression-focused tactic, with an emphasis on controlling the GN force. When fully released, the power of the Thunder Blade would be overwhelming to fighters of any level. Lee Xin took the initiative and attacked first. An explosion of GN force erupted as the Thunder Blade knocked the Vayu to the side, and its tip thrust squarely at the chest of Li s.h.i.+ming.
Li s.h.i.+ming had been trying to prevent his opponent from gaining the initiative, but he had clearly failed. So now, he was forced into a defensive position.
Lee Xin"s strike technique was taught by his Einherjar Father, called the "One-hundred-and-eight Cuts of the Thunder Blade." It had been Lee Xin"s father, Lee Moshan"s infamous coup de grace.
Although Lee Xin was confident in his ability, he was not so dumb to underestimate Li s.h.i.+ming"s power. He figured that instead of defending against Li s.h.i.+ming"s powerful attack, he might as well unleash the coup de grace from the beginning and keep the pressure on Li s.h.i.+ming. After all, one of the most important factors in winning the battles against a high-level fighter was to gain the initiative.
Li s.h.i.+ming"s face twitched as he was visibly unnerved by the turn of the tide. He channeled more GN force into Vayu and lashed it out, trying to stop the Thunder Blade"s aggressive attack. However, the Thunder Blade did not change its course after the impact; Lee Xin seemed much more determined in winning the fight than Li s.h.i.+ming.
Already standing at the top of a mountain, Li s.h.i.+ming lacked the drive to climb even higher compared to other fighters, who were still on their way to the top.
The Blade Aura shot out from the s.h.i.+mmering Thunder Blade, threatening to kill. The Thunder Blade had always been shrouded in mystery. Rumors had it that Einherjar Li Moshan had spent half of his life looking for this legendary weapon. It was not only able to withstand the immense power of the tactics of the Thunder Blade, but it would also be able to absorb power from naturally occurring thunders.
"Li s.h.i.+ming is b.a.l.l.sy as h.e.l.l. Did he want to challenge to the power of the Thunder Blade?" Ye Kai commented.
Ye Kai had been looking forward to this fight ever since he was defeated by Michaux. Plus, swordplay was also up in his ally—one more reason to not miss the fight.
"s.h.i.+ming might appear to be one the defensive side, but he has a knack for gaining insights on his opponents. When Templar Elders" were commenting on this year"s contestants, they all agreed that Li s.h.i.+ming was one of the most powerful fighters." Yao Bai nodded. He wagered that Li s.h.i.+ming should be able to turn the tide when the timing was right. However, he conceded that Li s.h.i.+ming"s act of holding back his power at the beginning was a very risky, move since his family reputation was at stake.
However, no one knew for certain what Li s.h.i.+ming was thinking, and what trick he had hidden up his sleeve,
Even on the defense side, Li s.h.i.+ming"s moves were still graceful as ever. On the other hand, Lee Xin"s strikes were aggressive and vicious. As Lee Xin increased the intensity of his attacks, his GN power started to take on the lightning attribute, which further increased its damage output.
Lee Xin had gained the control of the flow of the battle, and he did not intend to hand it over freely to his opponent. So, he doubled down on the attack and quickly reached level six soul energy.
After witnessing the ascension into level six of previous fighters, the audiences were not surprised by Lee Xin"s advancement.
As soon as Lee Xin advanced to level six, a blaring thunder appeared above the two fighters, and the Thunder Blade"s strike suddenly increased its vigor drastically.
By then, w.a.n.g Tong, Michaux, and Patroclus had realized the unique power of the Tactics of the Thunder Blade. Not only was the Tactics of the Thunder Blade a deadly sword technique; it was also able to absorb power in the lightning. This unique ability, coupled with a level six soul energy, would make the cultivator as deadly as any Einherjar in the world.