Hanyuan sat in a deep meditative posture, his breathing synchronized with the faint hum of the arena's arrays. Qin Yu settled onto the bench beside him, his azure robes still damp from the residual mist of his previous encounter.
"Who do you think will walk away with that pill this time?" Qin Yu asked, his eyes scanning the remaining high tier disciples.
Hanyuan opened one eye, his obsidian gaze pensive. "Based on what I've seen... it's likely either Feng Yue or you, Brother Yu."
"Me?" Qin Yu's eyebrows shot toward hanyuan in shock. "What about you? You've been tearing through the brackets like a wolf!"
Hanyuan chuckled, a low, dry sound. "I saw that sword strike Feng Yue used earlier,that 'Flowing Tide.' Its weight is immense. I honestly don't think my current Qi can block it for long. But hey," he gave his friend a playful nudge, "if you win and consume that Core Building Pill, make sure you don't forget me once you've ascended to the Inner Sect."
Qin Yu laughed nervously, but before he could reply, the referee's voice boomed across the plateau. Qin Yu's name was called, and he hurried toward the first stage. Hanyuan closed his eyes again.
Ten minutes passed in a heartbeat.
"Next match: Bai Hanyuan versus Feng Yue. Arena 1!"
Hanyuan stood up, exhaling a breath of freezing vapor. He adjusted the Cold Cloud Spear, feeling the weight of the spear. He ascended the stage, where the blue eyed Feng Yue was already waiting. Her blue hair flowed like water in the wind, and her expression was one of absolute, serene confidence. To her, this was likely just a necessary step toward the final duel.
"Begin!" the referee shouted.
Sou!
Hanyuan didn't wait to be pushed back. He activated the Azure Cloud Footwork, his body becoming a flickering light of white and violet. He appeared before her in an instant.
Hiss! Hiss!
The Cold Cloud Spear thrusted out twice, so fast the air screamed. The weapon moved like a coiling serpent seeking a gap in her armor. Feng Yue's sword cleared its sheath with a chime. She didn't move her feet; she simply parried the strikes with microscopic wrist movements, then transitioned into a heavy downward slash.
Hanyuan's eyes narrowed. He planted his back foot firmly into the stone, his muscles corded like steel cables. He poured every ounce of his physical strength into a sweeping counter.
"Silver Crescent Horizon!"
A violent wave of crystalline ice Qi erupted from the blue shaft, colliding with her blade.
BOOM!
The impact was thunderous. Hanyuan felt a numbing shock travel up his arms, his wrists groaning under the feedback. He was forced back five steps, his boots leaving white footprint marks on the stone. Feng Yue, by contrast, merely swayed, taking a single step back to stabilize herself.
She frowned, realizing Hanyuan's physical power was far beyond a normal 8th layer cultivator. "You are tenacious," she admitted coldly. She raised her sword, the water Qi around her beginning to roar like a distant ocean. "Flowing Tide!"
A massive, physical wave of blue energy materialized behind her and crashed forward, covering the entire width of the arena. It carried the crushing weight of a thousand tons of water.
Hanyuan breathed out, his mind entering a state of perfect stillness. He didn't dodge. He lowered his center of gravity and focused every drop of his spirit into the tip of his spear.
Hiss!
"Star-Point Piercer!"
He thrusted straight into the heart of the oncoming tsunami.
BOOM!
The collision sent violent shockwaves ripping across the arena. The heavy water Qi fought to crush Hanyuan's spear, while his focused Spear fought to pierce the wave. Hanyuan's teeth ground together, his arms trembling so violently he thought they would shatter. The pressure was immense,a Peak 9th-layer technique pushing against his body.
Then, at the absolute peak of the struggle, something gave way.
CRACK!
The sound didn't come from the stage. it came from within Hanyuan's own chest.
The wall of the 8th Layer, which had been weakened by nine months of tempering and training, finally crumbled. A vast, powerful surge of vitality erupted from his Dantian, flooded his parched meridians, and solidified into a dense, shimmering ocean of Qi.
High on the balcony, Elder Su slammed his hands onto the railing, his eyes bulging. "He did it! He broke through to the 9th Layer of Qi Refining... right in the middle of a life or death exchange!"
"Interesting," the short, muscular Elder grunted, his eyes narrowing.
Elder Qi didn't speak. He simply stroked his goatee, a wide, triumphant grin stretching across his face.
The blue wave of the Flowing Tide finally subsided, turning into a harmless mist as its energy was exhausted. When the air cleared, Hanyuan was still standing. He was perfectly fine, his eyes glowing with a sharp brilliance, and his aura pressed down on the others.
He had caught up.
"My turn," Hanyuan whispered, the Cold Cloud Spear sparking with sudden, jagged arcs of lightning.
With the fresh surge of the 9th Layer of Qi Refining stabilizing in his meridians, Hanyuan didn't give Feng Yue a moment to recover from her surprise. He surged forward, his boots kicking up stone dust as he closed the distance.
"Returning Ice Arc!"
Hanyuan reached back into his foundation, using the Glacial Spear Art to provide the necessary variety in his assault. The blue shaft swept out in a wide, lethal arc. Feng Yue brought her longsword up, catching the strike, but Hanyuan's wrist snapped with a violent, practiced flick. The spear didn't rebound, it changed direction mid air, the tip snaking around her guard like a living thing.
Squelch!
A small, clean wound opened on Feng Yue's right shoulder. She glided back, touching the blood on her robe.
"Hm? Not bad," she noted, her voice carrying a trace of genuine praise. She didn't let the injury dampen her focus, instead, her eyes sharpened. She slashed out, her blade trailing a wake of high pressure water.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Spear and sword met in a series of high speed exchanges. To the lower ranked disciples watching from the stands, the two combatants were nothing more than a blur of blue and silver light, punctuated by the sparks of their colliding Qi.
Now is the time, Hanyuan thought, his obsidian eyes flashing violet. He gripped the Cold Cloud Spear with both hands, the runes along the shaft pulsing with an aggressive ozone scent.
He initiated the first strike of the Nine Thunderbolt Spear Manual.
"1st Thrust!"
A single arc of purple lightning danced upon the spear tip as it lunged forward. Feng Yue twisted her body, dodging the strike by a hair's breadth. But Hanyuan didn't stop. The momentum was already building.
"2nd Thrust!"
The spear came at her again instantly, the violet lightning intensifying, crackling with a high pitched hum.
This is dangerous... I need to go all out, Feng Yue realized. She grounded her stance, her water Qi swirling in a violent vortex around her blade. "Tide Breaker!"
A heavy sword slash made of concentrated water Qi roared toward Hanyuan.
"3rd Thrust!" Hanyuan countered.
BOOM!
The spear tip collided with the water blade. The impact sent a shudder through Hanyuan's entire frame. He was forced back four steps, his boots slided across the stone. A jagged line appeared on his waist where the residual edge of her slash had torn through his robes and skin.
He ignored the pain.
"4th Thrust!"
He lunged again, the momentum of the previous three strikes blending into the fourth. Feng Yue parried the strike, but as her sword met the spear, her eyes widened. Her wrist gave a sudden, uncontrollable tremble from the cumulative force of his lightning.
They traded three more lightning fast moves. On the 7th Thrust, Hanyuan's spear became a streak of violet light. Feng Yue attempted a defensive spiral, but the speed was too great. The spear punched through her guard, piercing a small hole in her left shoulder.
"Endless Water Stream!" Feng Yue cried out, her serene mask finally shattering into a look of fierce desperation.
She slashed her sword dozens of times in a heartbeat, creating an enormous, overwhelming wave of sword-shadows that aimed to drown Hanyuan entirely.
Hanyuan felt the Qi in his Dantian scream. His meridians throbbed with a burning heat.
"8th Thrust!"
Purple lightning erupted from his body like a miniature storm. The Cold Cloud Spear became a pillar of electrical fury as he thrusted forward with every remaining drop of his spirit and blood.
BOOM!
The collision was so violent that the reinforced stone tiles of Arena 1 shattered and flew into the air. A massive dust cloud enveloped the stage.
As the shockwave subsided, Hanyuan was launched five meters through the air. He hit the stone hard and slided, coming to a stop as a heap of white and crimson. He tried to push himself up, but his arms buckled. His meridians were on the verge of collapse, his chest was full of internal bruising, and he coughed out a heavy spray of blood. He was too weak to even lift his head.
On the other side of the cratered stage, Feng Yue was on her knees. Blood flowed steadily from her mouth, and a terrifying, deep wound was carved across her chest where the lightning had finally breached her defense. She looked like a broken doll, but through sheer force of will, she used her sword as a crutch.
She shook violently, her legs struggling to hold her weight, but finally, she stood up,shaky, battered, but upright.
"Feng Yue wins!" the referee announced, his voice filled with shock.
Two healing disciples rushed onto the stage to tend to Hanyuan. He lay on the cold stone, staring up at the clouds drifting over the Cloud-Jade Isle. Despite the crushing pain and the darkness creeping into the edges of his vision, a satisfied smile touched his bloody lips.
He had lost, but he had stood toe to toe with the Peak of the 9th Layer. He had forced a genius to her knees and ascended to her rank in the fire of battle.
"That was... a good fight," Hanyuan chuckled lightly, before finally surrendering to the exhaustion as the stretcher lifted him away.