Chapter 449 - [Red Dust]!
Two figures could be seen entangled in the sky and colliding rapidly.
A dazzling sword ray flashed across the sky from time to time like a shooting star. The blossoming rays were at times like sprinkling raindrops, falling over the deserted mountain outside the city and leaving seemingly bottomless holes.
Han Li’s azure wings, Flowing Wind Wings, were light green in color and very nimble.
Ai Hui felt the pressure.
His Starry Gem Swordwings were powerful and heavy, but were not made for such small scale and close quarters combat. Plus he had been unable to repair the damage from before due to the lack of ingredients.
Basically, the Starry Gem Swordwings were no long able to keep up with Ai Hui’s abilities.
Han Li’s Flowing Wind Wings were light and fast. They left a long and beautiful trail of faint, green mist in the air. The wings gave Han Li a speed and agility advantage. Without wasting it he cruised around Ai Hui without stopping. Amid the continuous and diverse moments of the sword moves. the faint green sword ray whizzed toward Ai Hui from a crafty angle.
Ai Hui was very calm. The Wintry Jade Blade was exceptionally nimble and its moves came naturally as Ai Hui blocked Han Li’s attack.
Six palm-sized moon blades circled around Ai Hui efficaciously. In Ai Hui’s hands, [Six Moons] was strangely hard to fathom.
[Six Moons] emerged from one of the three moves, [Crescent Moon], from the sword pills. but it was much more complex and exquisite.
Han Li was highly guarded against [Six Moons] as he had almost been injured by one of the sword blades. Frightened, Han Li quickly pulled away and did not dare to follow so closely.
He had never seen such a peculiar sword technique. Contrasting his alertness, he felt more excitement.
What other weird moves would he have?
Stimulated, Han Li decided to pressure Ai Hui even more. Silver rays lit up around his body to form a closed wheel. The eye-piercing rays were like silver spikes.
The spiked silver wheel was like a meter dial on a clock. Han Li extended his arm to form a straight line with his sword. His body was the axis, while his sword and arm were the clock hands that agilely spun around.
The sword swept past each silver spike, producing a clanging sword chime and brightening the body of the sword ray.
A crisp sword chime sounded incessantly.
Ai Hui sensed changes happening behind him as an extremely sharp sword consciousness firmly locked his body down. An intense sense of danger enveloped his body. His figure rose suddenly as he charged toward the sky.
With a light swoosh Han Li waved the silver-clad sword in his hand.
A silver light flashed past.
A sharp sky-shattering sound rang without any warning, as if a nail had been hammered into Ai Hui’s forehead. The Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp from Ai Hui’s sky palace brightened dramatically, and the ache vanished instantly.
Ai Hui jolted. He knew that he was unable to rely on his azure wings to break away from Han Li’s attack.
Slightly, but rapidly trembling, he made a loud cry as he thrusted the [Wintry Jade Blade] in the opposite direction.
Pieces of tiny sword rays sprayed out from the tip of the sword and a.s.sembled into a fragmented sword ray before facing the silver light head on.
[Fragmented Sword]!
The silver light collided with the fragmented sword ray.
Closing in, Han Li’s expression changed. The fear and trepidation he felt made him aware of the extreme danger he was in. Suddenly, he forcefully flapped his [Flowing Wind Wings], practically diving perpendicularly downward.
Boom!
A dazzling light ray blossomed on the top of his head as the copious elemental energy storm smashed into Han Li’s back like a heavy hammer.
As if receiving a push from behind, Han Li’s speed increased.
Already prepared, Ai Hui bent his knees slightly to gain momentum and shot about 30 meters up like a rocket.
Boom, boom, boom!
The sound of rolling thunder rang loudly before dispersing.
Fear and shock could be seen in faces of the observing elementalists. The battle intensity, especially its tempo, had far exceeded their imagination and many things were occurring beyond what the naked eye could see. The previous tangle, resistance, and probing could be described with one word–"fast." Things happened as fast as lightning, and it was too much for the eyes to take in. The tension was suffocating, as depicted in swordplay books.
The powerful explosion and impactful collision shook them to the core.
When the light ray blossomed, it was as if there was an additional sun in the sky. The fluctuating waves forming ripples in midair.
Those above the protective mist layer had a grim expression on their faces.
Venerable Volcano muttered to himself, "This kid is improving very quickly."
It had been less than two years since the porridge feast. He clearly remembered the ability level that Ai Hui had possessed during that time. The Ai Hui before him now was like a whole different person.
How did he achieve this?
Venerable Volcano found it hard to believe. Ai Hui was not gifted and, while training the [Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp] technique could improve one’s const.i.tution to a certain extent, it should not turn one into a genius.
Swordsmen were a type of elementalists as well, so there was not a fundamental difference in the elemental energy that they trained with. Affinity with elemental energy was the determining factor when it came to an elementalist’s progress.
This point alone meant that Han Li was much stronger than Ai Hui.
Yet Ai Hui actually had the upper hand!
Both shared the limelight in the previous probing and entanglement, but in this direct collision, Ai Hui was at an advantage.
In the sky, Ai Hui’s body was extended like a legendary roc. On the ground, Han Li’s face was ashen. He had underestimated the force of the collision between the sword rays.
Yang Xiaodong’s face was grave. Ai Hui’s abilities were greater than he had expected. Earlier, elemental energy suffocation had occurred around both of them, but their speed in changing position was simply too quick.
Gong Peiyao looked on speechlessly. Ai Hui was amazing!
s.h.i.+ Xueman did not appear very surprised. She had fought the scarletfire flying foxes alongside Ai Hui and was aware of his abilities. No one noticed that s.h.i.+ Xueman’s eyes were exceptionally bright, with a trace of joy evident.
Ai Hui had improved once again…
Similarly, no one noticed Lou Lan, who was standing behind the crowd. The flickering, red glow in his eyes was everchanging. The sand core within his body was operating at an alarming speed.
Han Li raised his head and reflexively looked toward the sky.
He stood at the bottom of a conical pit that had a diameter of over 10 meters. The pit was formed from the impact of his landing.
The zeal in his eyes burned with increasing ferocity. The moon blades were strangely unpredictable, and although the sword ray that seemed to be a.s.sembled from fragments had stopped transforming, its power was astonis.h.i.+ng, yet he did not know why.
The styles of the two moves were completely different.
While they were far away from each other, Han Li’s line of sight collided with Ai Hui’s.
Ai Hui looked him in the eye before swooping down.
Han Li jolted, his fighting spirit intensifying. Show me whatever powerful moves you’ve got!
Diving down at a rapid speed, Ai Hui constantly altered the oblique angle in which his Wintry Jade Blade slashed. Red flowing flames blossomed from the sword tip.
The whizzing of the wind was deafening, but Ai Hui wasn’t the least bit affected. He was thoroughly focused as his Wintry Jade Blade transitioned through unimaginable angles.
The red flowing flames rose up like a muslin curtain.
The momentum of his dive was terrifying.
Han Li, who was still on the ground, had no intention of dodging. In fact, his legs were stuck firmly in the ground since he had no intention of leaving his spot. A high spirited smile appeared at the corner of his lips, revealing his desire to battle.
[Red Muslin]!
Han Li had seen this move before. He had no idea what Ai Hui called it, but he named it [Red Muslin].
This move had appeared in Ai Hui’s mirage bean pod clip. It was precisely this move of his that razed the Sha family’s courtyard to the ground. Others might be more interested in the legend of The Lightning Blade, but Han Li, who was determined to become a swordsman, placed all his attention on this move.
He pondered over it for a long time. Ai Hui had displayed a deep foundation when executing this move.
At that time, he had thought about how he would defend against the [Red Muslin].
Han Li placed his sword by his side, his palms clasped the hilt, and his was face solemn. Light rays appeared under his feet, circling unceasingly like a light whirlpool.
If Han Li was known as "a genius who could possibly become the second ever master swordsman," how could he not possess a killer move of his own?
Swords of light surfaced and rose from the light whirlpool underneath his feet.
The booming and rumbling of thunder filled the sky, causing the air to vibrate.
An astonis.h.i.+ng amount of pressure closed in on everyone, as if it was about to shatter the ground into pieces.
Was this merely due to the [Red Muslin]?
Behind the flowing flames, an intimidatingly bright ray emerged in Ai Hui’s eyes. The ray was a very controlled, sharp, and cold one.
No one noticed that the six moon blades had started circling.
Minute traces of bright light surfaced in the sky from the fluttering brilliance of the moon blades.
They looked as if they could break at anytime as they wound around the red muslin. The raised and dispersed red muslin was drawn in bit by bit.
When completely coiled around the muslin, the light traces turned the red muslin into an enormous red flowing flame sword.
The six moon blades stuck closely to the sword’s surface, spinning rapidly. The silver light ray chaotically roamed between them, giving the sword a silver layer of electric web.
The whizzing sound vanished all of a sudden, and this enormous flowing flame sword became silent.
Han Li had not expected Ai Hui to be this sly.
This was not the [Red Muslin]!
The latest changes in the red muslin emitted a dense killing intent. It felt as if he was in a world of deathly stillness as sounds disappeared. He felt as if his elemental energy had become significantly more sluggish.
Elemental energy suffocation!
Han Li quivered. Elemental energy suffocation was not a big deal, but an elemental energy suffocation that was able to affect the operation of his elemental energy was not ordinary.
This new [Red Muslin] seemed extraordinarily mighty!
Yet, he was no weakling himself. Han Li narrowed his eyes and bit his tongue, causing a mouthful of fresh blood to spurt onto the sword before him.
The light ray on the sword body brightened drastically as the light whirlpool beneath his feet resumed operating. The suspended light swords had been like a forest. They now moved swiftly like a shoal of fish circling and crisscrossing around him.
Then, the light whirlpool started to change. Some swords dimmed, while others brightened. It was as if they were playing tag and frolicking, or as if their changes were unfolding naturally.
An enormous Yin Yang fish swam unceasingly beneath Han Li’s feet as the surrounding light swords circled nonstop. The sword formation was dense.
He looked ecstatic.
Ai Hui’s [Yin Yang’s Sword Formation] had impacted him tremendously. He had been on the verge of a breakthrough for the longest time, but seemed to be separated by a layer as thin as window paper. It was not until he felt the huge pressure that Ai Hui inflicted on him that he achieved enlightenment.
Come on!
He looked toward the sky, his battle l.u.s.t overflowing!
Ai Hui, who was in the sky, saw the [Yin Yang Fish Sword Formation] on the ground with his keen, cold, and calm eyes.
With his long fingers clasping the sword hilt, he thrusted it downward with a gentle movement.
[Red Dust] landed noiselessly.