novelVictory or Defeat in One Move
| ← Ch.0586 | Ch.0588 → |
"Xiao Chen, shall we decide victory or defeat with one move?" Duanmu Qing asked softly.
Xiao Chen did not reject her suggestion. He nodded and said, "Make your move, then!"
"Ice Fury!"
Duanmu Qing's fine black hair turned completely white as she took out her best move. Frost coated her slender sword as a sharp state of ice pulsated on the blade. Her state of ice looked like it would engulf the world and freeze the sea.
"Ka ca!"
Xiao Chen drew his saber and used a thirty-percent-comprehended saber intent. A solid-looking crystalline saber Qi surged out from the blade.
After cutting the state of ice in half, the might of the saber Qi did not diminish. It continued on to break Duanmu Qing's protective Essence shield and leave a shallow wound on her body.
Duanmu Qing knew that Xiao Chen had gone easy on her. At the same time, she felt astonishment at his strength. At the end, during the crucial moment, he was still able to control his saber Qi as he pleased.
As of now, the difference between Xiao Chen and Duanmu Qing could no longer be described as a mere gap.
Xiao Chen sheathed his saber. After some thought, he said, "Your state of ice seems to have somewhat taken form, so it looks mightier. However, its power is actually dispersed. You are not Liu Xiaoyun; without sufficient support, this sort of display can not withstand a single blow from an expert.
"You would be better off turning your state of ice into cold wind and infusing it into your Sword Technique. While its aura would be weaker, it is denser."
When Duanmu Qing heard this, she went into deep thought. She seemed to figure out something while musing. After a while, she said, "Many thanks."
Victory and defeat was already decided. Duanmu Qing's jade pendant could not help but fire out a golden light into Xiao Chen's jade pendant.
Immediately, Xiao Chen clearly felt that his golden dragon became stronger. Furthermore, it felt very happy.
Sima Lingxuan appeared in the next match. Before his strong self-confidence, his opponent did not even dare to look him in the eye. After he went up the Wind Cloud Platform, he immediately admitted defeat.
Seeing the golden line enter his jade pendant, Sima Lingxuan's lips curled up as he shook his head slightly. He said, "How boring."
The competition carried on in a methodical fashion. As per the precedents, when ordinary participants met with the scions of the eight Noble Clans, or with young giants like Xuanyuan Zhantian, they would choose to concede the match. Otherwise, they would ask to decide victory with one move, so they could understand the gap between them and these giants.
Given this, the competition proceeded at a decent pace. They finished the first round after two hours. By sunset, they already finished twelve rounds. Xiao Chen had won all twelve of his matches, not suffering any defeat.
The little golden dragon in Xiao Chen's jade pendant was not only bright, it did not show any signs of dimness. Furthermore, it seemed significantly larger, occupying the entire jade pendant. It looked like it would be able to break out of the jade pendant with one more victory.
As for Murong Chong's little golden dragon, it was far from comparable to Xiao Chen's. Out of the twelve matches, Murong Chong won only five of them. Not only did his golden dragon not grow, it shrank slightly and became dimmer.
Murong Chong secretly cast a glance at the golden dragon in Xiao Chen's jade pendant and felt somewhat dejected. It was truly frustrating. If Xiao Chen did not exist, his results would not look as bad as they did now; they would be sufficient to shake the entire Heavenly Saber Pavilion.
However, when compared to Xiao Chen, the gap immediately became clear. Murong Chong's golden dragon did not even look like a dragon; it could not even compare to an earthworm. Murong Chong felt very depressed. When he returned, he would be embarrassed to speak of his results.
"Roar!"
Just at this moment, a crisp 'crack' resounded and there was a dragon roar. After Wang Quan defeated his opponent, the jade pendant at his waist shattered. With a golden flash, a five-clawed dragon about seventeen meters long circled above his head.
"It broke! After winning thirteen consecutive victories, the golden dragon finally broke free. The moment it came out, it was already seventeen meters long. It looks like his Luck was originally pretty good from the start. When the golden dragons of ordinary participants break free, they would be only about ten meters long."
"That is natural. Wang Quan was ranked sixth in the previous Five Nation Youth Competition. How can the Luck of ordinary cultivators be compared to his?"
"Ka ca! Ka ca!"
After Wang Quan's golden dragon broke out, the golden dragons of the top ten of the previous Five Nation Youth Competition and of a few others started breaking out as well.
"How awesome! Qian Wen's golden dragon is also seventeen meters."
"Gong Yangyu's golden dragon is somewhat weaker. It is only fifteen meters, about two meters stronger than Liu Xiaoyun's."
"However, if you want to talk about strength, Bai Qi's golden dragon is more powerful. It is twenty meters long. As the second ranked of the previous Five Nation Youth Competition, his Luck is indeed extraordinary."
When Bai Qi finished his match, a twenty-meter-long golden dragon appeared above him, standing out in the crowd. It overwhelmed all the other golden dragons circling in the air.
"Next match, Sima Lingxuan versus Gao Wei!"
After the referee's voice sounded out, Sima Lingxuan's figure flickered a few times before arriving at the Wind Cloud Platform.
"It is likely that Sima Lingxuan's golden dragon will break out after this match. I wonder how long his golden dragon will be? Will it be able to surpass Bai Qi's?"
"It will definitely surpass Bai Qi's. It is just a matter of how much. One meter, or two?
The crowd was filled with anticipation. They really wanted to see the length of this man's golden dragon—this man who overflowed with self-confidence and gained the top seeded spot in two Five Nation Youth Competitions.
The participant called Gao Wei was a disciple of a Great Jin Nation sect. Although it was not one of the ten great sects, they had plenty of resources. They controlled more than ten Spirit Veins.
Due to his sect, Gao Wei did not lack in resources. Furthermore, he had outstanding talent and grew up in the Great Jin Nation, which was rich in Spiritual Energy. Thus, he managed to get into the top one hundred rather easily.
However, when Gao Wei heard that his opponent was Sima Lingxuan, he immediately became dejected. He walked over to the Wind Cloud Platform very unwillingly.
When going against the other scions of the Noble Clans, even if Gao Wei knew that he could not defeat them, he would choose to decide things in one move. He would try to see if he could comprehend something from that move. However, when facing Sima Lingxuan, he could only admit defeat. This was because Sima Lingxuan's strong self-confidence had already fused completely with his aura.
When exchanging glances with Sima Lingxuan, those with weak wills would immediately feel inferior. Under such circumstances, they would not even be able to bring out half their strength. How could they even speak of exchanging moves? That was simply a joke.
"I admit defeat!"
Like the crowd anticipated, Sima Lingxuan's thirteenth opponent chose to admit defeat immediately, like the others who came before him. They did not even have the courage to exchange one move.
Following Gao Wei's admission of defeat, a golden beam of light came out from the jade pendant at his waist. Then, that beam of light immediately entered Sima Lingxuan's jade pendant.
"Ka ca!"
The sound of a jade pendant breaking rang out. A dazzling golden light flickered and a twenty-seven-meter-long five-clawed golden dragon circled around Sima Lingxuan's head, brandishing claws and fangs. Then, it recklessly soared into the air.
The twenty-seven-meter-long golden dragon immediately suppressed Bai Qi's twenty-meter-long golden dragon. It stood out from the swarm of golden dragons, looking very tyrannical.
"Sima Lingxuan truly lives up to his name. No wonder he is so strong. With such strong Luck, he is undefeatable."
"It is seven meters longer than Bai Qi's golden dragon. He has a suppressive advantage. Although Luck does not represent a person's strength, it is a considerable factor."
"Ha ha! This is just the start. Only when the ranking matches end can we be sure of their Luck."
"That is true. I wonder if Sima Lingxuan's golden dragon can reach thirty meters? That is a number that represents the peak. He would be able to truly reach the apex."
[Note: The measurement used here is zhang (丈). One zhang is 3. 3 meters. So in this case, thirty meters is nine zhang. That is why they said it is the peak, nine is the largest numeral. ]
When Sima Lingxuan's jade pendant broke and the golden dragon representing his Luck emerged, it immediately shocked the crowd, stunning them.
When Xiao Chen looked at Sima Lingxuan's golden dragon, a shocked look flashed in his eyes as well. He thought to himself, I wonder how much Luck I have?
However, when Xiao Chen thought about it, he did not expect it to be as much as Sima Lingxuan's. At best, it would be of the same level as Wang Quan's and the others'. It would be slightly inferior to Bai Qi's.
After all, Xiao Chen had not been in this world that long. If he had not managed to climb to the eighth floor of the Ancient Desolate Tower, his Luck would be less than Wang Quan's and the others'.
However, Xiao Chen did not worry too much. This was just the start. As long as he kept winning, his Luck would slowly increase and his opponent's Luck would decrease.
By seizing the Luck of others to strengthen themselves, the strong would become stronger and the weak, weaker.
When Chu Chaoyun saw Sima Lingxuan's Luck flying overhead, a trace of undeniable desire flashed in his eyes. He muttered to himself, "The Luck of the Wind Cloud Arena is indeed strong.
"It is even stronger than the Luck of my Tianwu Royal Clan. However, after this great competition, that is where your Luck will end."
As the matches of the thirteenth round continued, the participants ranked highly in the previous Five Nation Youth Competition managed to consecutively defeat their thirteenth opponent. The jade pendants at their waists shattered and turned into golden dragons soaring into the air.
"Next match, Nangong Ziyue versus Li Tianhua!"
Nangong Ziyue was ranked eighth in the previous Five Nation Youth Competition. Li Tianhua was the scion of the eight Noble Clans' Li Clan, he was ranked fifth in the previous Five Nation Youth Competition.
Finally, in the thirteenth round, a match of the giants appeared on the Wind Cloud Platform. This was a match between the scions of the eight Noble Clans. It instantly attracted a lot of attention.
Li Tianhua used a spear and practiced the Coiling Dragon Spear Technique. It was famous for its oppressive might and was a peak Superior Grade Earth Ranked Martial Technique.
Like the flood dragon, the horned dragon, the earth dragon, and fire dragon, the coiling dragon was also a high-ranked Spirit Beast with the bloodline of dragons.
The coiling dragon was one of the nobler species and contained a large amount of true dragon's blood. It had lost its ability to soar into the nine heavens and frequently stayed on land.
However, the amount of power the coiling dragon could display on land was not inferior to that of a true dragon. It could easily shatter mountains and split the earth. People often called it a true dragon of the earth.
Xiao Chen had seen Li Tianhua's moves before. When the two of them went up to the Wind Cloud Platform, he could guess the outcome of the match. Nangong Ziyue was not Li Tianhua's equal. The state that Li Tianhua comprehended was, coincidentally, the nemesis of the state of mountain and water.
In cases where opponents had similar cultivation levels, one could win only by techniques and tricks when their states were countered.
The match proceeded as Xiao Chen had expected.
Li Tianhua held the spear and used the might of a coiling dragon. As his spear moved, it looked like a coiling dragon moving about; its aura was overwhelming. While on the ground, it always succeeded in suppressing Nangong Ziyue's Immortal Mountains and Rivers Fist.
Occasionally, the tall mountains would be smashed into pieces, and the rivers would surge and splash up. This made it very hard to gather the might of the state of mountains and waters.
As a result, Nangong Ziyue's Fist Technique weakened, losing a certain tyranny in its aura.
| ← Ch. 0586 | Ch. 0588 → |