Archfiend Chapter 41

Chapter 41: Battle Royale (Six)

In the darkness of the forest, the wind rustles the grass. The general draws his bow at night. As the sky brightens, his arrow, with a fletching of white plumage, sinks into stone.

"Swish!" At this instant, spiritual energy that could bring fear to an initial-stage Qi Condensation cultivator suddenly erupted from the barrel of Chu Zhaonan's gun! Over the course of two seconds, myriad interweavings of spiritual energy flew out from the front of the gun barrel to condense into a tremendous arrow!

Afterwards, not waiting on anyone to react, the arrow brought with it a sharp whistling that could lacerate all things, frantically rushing towards Xu Yangyi! At this twinkling second, of the remaining ninety stone steles, twenty of them suddenly shattered!

They had shattered in a fleeting moment! There was simply no traces of cracks that covered them! This was a representative that the spiritual strength Chu Zhaonan had erupted with at this instant exceeded that of over twenty previous champions!

"HAH!" A snarl shook Xu Yangyi's chest as it thundered its way out. The rubble surrounding him was suddenly sent rushing away as if it had been blasted away by the blast of a formless spirit wave! 

"Solution Ninety… Life Sacrification!"

"He… wants to forcibly match this move?" A vigorous edge erupted in the eyes of a Qi Condensation cultivator: "Does he think he can take on this burden?"

"Not necessarily so." A fellow Daoist at his side fixed his gaze rigidly on the arena stage: "Life Sacrification can rouse the innate potential within one's body and temporarily make one forget about the pain. However, the consumption is equivalently tremendous, nearly capable of drawing dry a normal cultivator's sea of essence in a single breath. But, it has another function, which for the time being is considered a hidden effect."

"Life Sacrification can strength the quality of other solutions from the Hundred Solutions. This is probably the sole move in the last ten solutions that can continued to be used long term…" Firecloud looked at the arena stage, and walls of spiritual energy clearly emerged on the four sides of the scene taking place. He said thoughtfully: "You aren't an impulsive person. Let me take a look… what you want to do in the end…"

The empty shadow of an arrow no less than three meters in size carried a mournful wail, bringing with it a fierce wind that could skewer all things! Facing towards the ground, it sped along forward!

"Swoooosh!" The sleeves of Xu Yangyi's camouflage clothing fluttered back, yet not a sliver of alarm was seen on his face, only an unmatched calm!

"Solution Ninety-Seven… Tortoise Burdens!"

"Bang!" The camouflage clothing on his upper body shred apart with a rumble, transforming into tatters of fragmented cloth and exposing his well-trained, powerful flesh. On his chest, his veins twisted to converge into the image of a qilin. 

"Boom!" In the next second, the tremendous arrow firmly nailed into the ground! A shock wave visible to the naked eye suddenly surged up from the ground! Dust flew upwards and a circular spirit wave in earthy yellow in color soared on the ground. The faces over a thousand initial-stage Qi Condensation cultivators changed in harmony!

This was the power of a divine ability! This was the might of a true cultivator!

Scars that extended several meters deep spread out like a spider web on the ground! The force of a single blow was surprisingly this great!

"Buzz…" At this time, the stone steles that were enduring disintegrated into rubble. On the arena floor, dust rose into the air, and in the sky above, countless white rays scattered. This was scene that many, many cultivators who had begun cultivation firmly engraved at the bottom of their hearts.

"What's going on?" Luo Sanfeng was tensely looking at the present scene. It was beyond his expectations that Chu Zhaonan's strike would be this terrifying! If he had been swapped in, he would've absolutely been unable to receive. 

However, what about the man that had defeated himself? Would he be able to receive it?

Countless eyes were on the center of the arena stage. As the smoke cleared, they looked on in astonishment at Xu Yangyi who actually had his arms crossed out in front of him and was protecting his vitals, still standing there as before!

From hair to toe, there was nearly no place left intact. Bloody scars covered his bare upper body, somewhat deep that bone could already be seen! Drenched in blood, the life fluid followed down his body and trickled. His chest was rapidly heaving up and down, however...

He was still standing! He had not fallen!

"This is it?" Faintly gasping for breath, Xu Yangyi set down both of his arms and spat out a mouthful of blood. He used his hand to wipe away at his mouth, his eyes looking at Chu Zhaonan who had already fallen: "There's nothing else?"

"Fuck me!" Gao Ye shouted loudly and lowered his arms. He said it clearly, no, everyone had seen it clearly. The wounds on Xu Yangyi's body appeared frightening, but none of them were on his vitals! Not a single place of his vitals had been injured! He had forcibly resisted this blow!

Gao Ye firmly clenched both of his hands and his eyeballs saucered. He didn't dare to believe that with the same combination of Life Sacrification and Tortoise Burdens that the other had managed to resist, devoid of heavy injuries. Yet he… had not been able to fight on against Chu Zhaonan who nad not even used a divine ability!" 

"This is impossible!" Chu Zhaonan's complexion changed for the first time, looking at Xu Yangyi in shock. The other had sustained wounds. They weren't heavy, but by no means were they light! However… this strike was one he used that was capable killing off the other's eruption of spiritual strength!

"If that's all you are, then you still cannot defeat me." Xu Yangyi sucked in deeply. Each bone ached terribly, but every blood vessel and every single cell was boiling! It was the exercise of his full power that he had been separated from for a long time now. One that was capable of making every man, body and mind, flare up upon meeting their match!

It was the long separation of the display of his full might.

In his chest, his heart raged and the blood in his veins billowed over and over. Each of his cells craved for an equal battle!

"Puh…" Xu Yangyi spat on the ground and raised his fist towards the sky. His face covered in blood, he revealed his first smile: "Chu, you have reached me." 

Zhaonan's pupils suddenly needled. At this moment, he and the Xuyangyi of moments ago were the same; he sensed a bone-piercing menace like that of countless needles! Without nearly thinking, he flipped backwards and suddenly snarled: "Rising Cloud!"

Both of his hands had originally been holding onto only a single gun, but they abruptly transformed into two, facing towards the ground and unleashing a raid of fire with maximum power. 

"Boom!" Rubble flew scattered into the air, and this volley of fire seemed to give rise to a tremendous recoiling force, bringing him to the rear in urgent retreat! However, not even waiting for him to settle, an incomparably frenzied aura like that of a tyrannosaurus rex had already charged right before him!

What speed!

Before he could even complete this thought, his shoulder blade was subsequently struck by what seemed to be hammer. A mouthful of blood he was simply unable to restrain came spurting out! Not delaying for him to react, a fist met his stomach. This fist sent him directly flying back a couple meters, leaving a path of blood in the air!

In the next second, his right shoulder, left shoulder, right leg… The human-shaped hammer did not give him time to consider as it bombarded his body without pause!

"This is…" At this instant, Lilac, Lotus, and Vulture stood up in unison. It wasn't limited to only them; all of the people familiar with the Hundred Solutions looked on in astonishment at the scene on stage.

The shadow of man, hard to capture with the naked eye, shuttled back and forth at the side of Chu Zhaonan's body. Chu Zhaonan seemed to be nailed to the spot, essentially unable to move a single step!

"H-how is this possible!" Gao Ye, Luo Sanfeng, and the other rank ones all cried out in alarm. It couldn't be anything else because they were very familiar with this move. Familiar to the degree that they had seen their instructors demonstrate it many times, but it was a technique they were fundamentally incapable of producing! 

Rapid Shadows, Solution Eighty-Nine!

"Yes… That's right…" It wasn't until several seconds later did Luo Sanfeng take a long dejected sigh: "We can learn any of the solutions, but to be capable of utilizing Solution Ninety: Life Sacrification is already remarkable. How could a person like him possibly be incapable of using a solution in the eighties?"

"Swish…" Xu Yangyi's figure finally revealed itself. At the same time, Chu Zhaonan spat out a great mouthful of blood, yet the instant he was about to fall to the ground, he shot towards the ground and staggeredly firmly onto his feet. 

The scene was a stretch of silence.

"Huu… Huu…" Chu Zhaonan's chest heaved up and down like a bellows. The present him was even more wretched than Xu Yangyi. With bloodied eyes, he clearly looked at everything and a mad will to fight erupted out of his heart without the least restraint!

Behind Xu Yangyi, there was a gorge.

It was a half-meter deep trench, like a human-shaped tyrannosaurus rex had violently charged forward with a momentum that could not be denied. Even Chu Zhaonan could imagine the horrific impact strength of Xu Yangyi charging at that time. 

"Superb strength… I was still underestimating you.." He grit his teeth rigidly and the blood flowing from his hand pervaded his gun. The blue light of the gun became even more dazzling, and the complexion of his face became even paler.

"Crack… Crack…" At this time, a distinct shattering noise entered everyone's ears. Each and every face was shocked. It wasn't that the sound of crumbling stone steles had gone unheard, but the one this time… was especially great!

"That's Ji Feng's!" Shadowslay's gaze suddenly sharpened, looking incredulously at the stone stele. With a bang, the armrest of his magnificent throne transformed into rubble in an instant.

"Ji Feng?!" Firecloud heard what was said and nearly stood up, yet he restrained himself, not daring to believe what he was witnessing. 

A stone stele written with the characters "Ji Feng" was covered in cracks. Amidst the pair's stunned expression, it transformed into motes of white light and died away with the wind. It wasn't bounded to only this stone stele… This time, a whole thirty-two stone steles were shaking! It was as if thirty-two mountain peaks were crying synchronously! The shattering sound was heard all throughout the arena!

"Crack… Crack… Crack!" Shadowslay's dry and rough Adam's apple bobbed up and down and he stood up for the first time. He extended his hand and grabbed a mote of floating light to himself, his expression extremely complicated as he looked through the motes of light that filled the sky at the blood-soaked Xu Yangyi. 

"Ji Feng was the last champion of your four southern provinces…" Firecloud couldn't help but to gasp coldly: "A disciple under Daomaster Ancientpine… Heavens Law's branch master of Jiangzhu Province… This…"  

The flesh of Shadowslay's face twitched somewhat faintly, his voice like sawing timber: "Zhang Lanchun… The champion of Beisan Province… Late-stage Foundation Establishment… vice commander of CSIB's Demonslayer Guard…"

Each and every one of these names were ones they knew, ones that were familiar to the ear. Before their eyes, these names vanished into light. They had never expected that here, in Nantong Province, so many stone steles would surprisingly be shatter in a single go!

"Hum…" Now, the noise of all the crumbling came to a halt. However, there was a soft sound that seemed resonate within the entire air, abruptly spreading out. At the juncture this sound was heard, an elderly fellow suddenly raised his head, looking towards the tallest stone stele: "T-t-this, don't tell me…"

"Impossible!" A woman fanning her sweet self immediately put a close to the swaying of her hand. Her eyes were filled disbelief as she looked over.

"Haa…" Firecloud and Shadowslay felt the air around their bodies turn cold at the same time. In the next second, it transformed into unparalleled roiling heat, and they looked towards a place straightaway.  

Lilac's, Lotus's, Vulture's, even Chu Tianyi's, and as well as everyone else's gazes were completely situated on a single location!

A blank stele!

It was tallest stone stele without any name. The stone stele specifically constructed for Sunnihilator… had moved!

It was without any cracks whatsoever and was still smooth like a mirror. However… 

It had swayed three times!

A clear shaking of three times!

Chapter end