AGM 383 - Ferocious Grand Battle
Si Qiong’s soul attacks definitely didn’t lose out to any of Grand Xia’s nine ultimate arts. Yuanfu Realm cultivators had no definitive way to sense their souls, let alone defend against such an attack. Being able to unleash soul attacks made Si Qiong too terrifying to fight against.
However, the earlier strike by the black-robed figure also made the spectators stunned—during his abrupt attack, it was as though even his presence had completely vanished for a second. That sudden surprise strike had made Si Qiong break out in a cold sweat.
Even though Chen Wang and Si Qiong had won their respective battles, it was a narrow victory. They were unable to achieve complete suppression of their opponents—which showed that they may be stronger, but if they had let themselves underestimate their opponents for even just a bit, they definitely would have been defeated. A weaker opponent didn’t necessarily mean they were incapable of claiming your life.
Si Qiong departed the platform. The next battle would be Shi Potian vs Qin Wentian.
For this matter, could the powerful Shi Potian be able to defeat Qin Wentian?
For his exchange, Shi Potian from the Shi Clan had chosen the Stellar Transposition Art, complementing it with his domineering Golden Dragon Battle Art, as well as the overwhelming power hidden in his bloodline.
Shi Potian was ranked #3 in the last ranking battle. What methods would he use to defeat an opponent that was labeled a dark horse?
And the dark horse in front of him wasn’t an ordinary one. Since the commencement of the ranking battle, Qin Wentian had stolen the thunder from all other contenders. First, he’d made the spectators take particular note of him when he acquired first place in the battle of the drum echoes.
Following which, he slayed Duan Qingshan.
And next, he’d donned the platinum robes. With each step, his actions and achievements rocked the hearts of the crowd.
The crowd only truly recognized him when he displayed his brilliance while in the formation world; being pursued by Chen Wang, yet managing to injure him instead; stepping out of the cave, to overwhelmingly decimate Yang Fan and his collaborators; and then ultimately scaring off Yao Jun with a single sentence.
At that point of time, the crowd were already speculating that Qin Wentian had the potential to be among the top ten rankers.
And after that, he’d held Mo Qingcheng’s hand in front of the arena platform, proclaiming to the entire world their true relationship.
And following this shocking revelation, he’d once again accomplished another feat—defeating Emperor Azure within ten breaths of time.
With each successive accomplishment, he’d caused the spectators to be taken aback by his performance. He’d continued his victorious momentum, and now he had reached the point of contending for one of the top three positions, by battling against Shi Potian.
Without a doubt, this was the strongest opponent that Qin Wentian would face in the Heavenly Fate Rankings battle. Back then in the formation world, he could still choose to hide away in that cave during his confrontation with Chen Wang. But now on the arena platform, there was no escape.
Shi Potian and Qin Wentian both stood on the stage, facing each other.
Would this dark horse, Qin Wentian, finally reach the end of his limitations?
A golden suit of armor, in the shape of a dragon, covered Shi Potian’s body as the ancient primordial blood within him began to surge. He advanced forward, and in that moment, Shi Potian resembled a dragon-shaped, ancient demonic beast, wielding a long spear for a weapon.
The Golden Dragon Battle Art was one of the nine ultimate arts of Grand Xia. Shi Potian had been cultivating it since a long time ago, which helped sharpen his combat prowess immensely.
As he walked over to Qin Wentian, everyone felt as though Qin Wentian was about to square off against an ancient demonic dragon.
Scaly demonic armor enveloped Qin Wentian’s body. Similarly, towering amounts of demonic qi gushed forth from him as his bloodline seethed and surged in response. His palms were filled with limitless strength.
Behind his back, a pair of demonic wings appeared and began to flap furiously The movement created an intense bout of demonic wind, gusting violently throughout the arena platform.
“BOOOM!”
Shi Potian took a step forwards as his silhouette disappeared from sight. Stellar Transposition! The next instant, he reappeared right in front of Qin Wentian as the golden spear in his hands stabbed out with ferocious speed, aiming to pierce right through Qin Wentian’s brain. The furious strike brought to mind a dragon’s attack, with a speed as fast as lightning. Essentially, Qin Wentian was left with no time to react.
It was at that moment, in the centre of Qin Wentian’s brows, his third eye opened and a harsh and powerful ray of light burst forth at the instant the golden spear stabbed towards him. He had totally anticipated Shi Potian’s movements.
It was impossible for Yuanfu Realm cultivators to truly achieve teleportation. However, Stellar Transposition managed to emulate a similar effect; a huge quantity of Astral Energy is collected and then attributed to an explosive magnification in speed. The end result gave people the impression that instant teleportation had occurred. But if one were to face off against a true expert, that expert would be able to anticipate the trajectory of the user’s Stellar Transposition and react accordingly. Naturally, the Stellar Transposition’s power still ultimately depended on the user’s proficiency, as well as the user’s method of combat.
With his third eye, Qin Wentian was effortlessly able to perceive all sorts of fluctuations in the space around him—there was nothing that could hide from his sight. This was also the reason why he had been able to stab his finger right into Emperor Azure’s heart during their earlier battle.
“Bzzz!”
As his wings fluttered, a raging wind kicked up. Qin Wentian’s silhouette turned into a series of after-images, as the golden-colored, dragon-shaped spear pierced at the space he’d been standing at just moments ago.
Shi Potian’s expression faltered as he stared at Qin Wentian’s demonic wings. Such a speedy short-movement technique didn’t lose out that much in terms of explosive movements when compared to the Stellar Transposition.
“Peng!” Shi Potian stepped forwards once again as he vanished completely. This time around, he reappeared at Qin Wentian’s side, thrusting his spear with even more power. With a single stab, the space cracked as spatial fissures were created. Yet for all its power, it still couldn’t hit Qin Wentian!
“How can this be?!”
The spectators saw Qin Wentian leisurely hovering on the platform, while staring at Shi Potian. He was completely unfazed by his attacks.
“Can he see through the trajectory of Stellar Transposition? How is he able to?” The spectators finally concluded that Qin Wentian’s perception was beyond what anyone could have predicted, he was able to sense the fluctuation in space and therefore ‘see’ the trajectory of Stellar Transposition.
Evidently, Shi Potian had also realized this; he didn’t continue using Stellar Transposition. Then, since speed had failed, he would use strength instead. He advanced towards Qin Wentian, the aura gushing from him growing increasingly stronger with every step he took.
The demonic qi exuding from Qin Wentian climbed rapidly, as though reaching the Heavens. His arms turned into the arms of a Kirin, thick and muscular, and his claws glistened with a terrifying sheen.
“PENG…” Shi Potian’s golden dragon spear unleashed another attack. This time around, he attacked directly without bothering with any tricks. The golden light of the spear penetrated through all things, and it only needed an instant to explode Qin Wentian’s head. The attack of that spear was akin to that of a true dragon, shooting out with the speed and ferocity of a comet.
“How powerful. Shi Potian’s strength borders on the unbelievable.”
Indeed, Shi Potian excelled in strength—his attacks were incomparably tyrannical.
Yet Qin Wentian proceeded to slam forth with his arm as well. The violent kirin claws and the illusory shadow of the demonic dragon collided, resulting in an explosive impact.
Booming sounds rang out as Qin Wentian was forced backwards. His Mandate of Force and Mandate of Demons had already reached the second level, yet in terms of a showdown based on strength, he still lost out by the slightest of margins to Shi Potian.
Shi Potian had comprehended the Mandate of Demons, Mandate of Gold and Mandate of Great Earth. All three of his Mandates had reached the Advanced Boundary of the second level while Qin Wentian’s still remained at the Initial Boundary.
Hence in terms of pure strength, Shi Potian surpassed him and even exceeded Chen Wang.
And precisely because of his overwhelming strength, Shi Potian was at heart, a firm favourite of many a spectator when it came to obtaining the position of first ranker.
Qin Wentian’s arms trembled violently, jarred from the impact. In the collision this time around, he’d felt several kinds of Mandates infused inside Shi Potian’s attack, and the power within was so domineering that his bones had almost been crushed into a powder. If he hadn’t already reached the third stage of the Fiend Transformation Art, he would definitely have been injured by this.
On the topic of strength, Shi Potian was truly terrifying. Yet Qin Wentian discovered that Shi Potian had a weakness—his speed and agility was abysmal.
The real reason why Shi Potian chose the Stellar Transposition to cultivate in was because he wanted to make up for his deficiency in speed. If it was truly a battle among equals for those at the pinnacle of Yuanfu, how could his opponent be slow?
“Swish!” A massive wind kicked up as the gigantic demonic wings of Qin Wentian flapped furiously.
Demonic qi gushed out as gradually, the silhouette of a demonic beast appeared. Qin Wentian’s body was enveloped in a demonic light, as the outlines of a giant, golden roc took form.
There was a limit to a human’s speed. But what if that human transformed into a roc? How terrifying would his speed be then?
Able to enjoy the attributes of a demon, while retaining one’s own comprehension over their respective Mandates—this was the true power of the Fiend Transformation Art!
Combining the perfect traits of humanity and demonkind into one.
The third stage of the Fiend Transformation Art—Demon Transformation.
Qin Wentian had transformed into a gigantic, golden roc.
“What a powerful art.” The hearts of the spectators pounded, they had seen with their own eyes how Qin Wentian transformed into a demon.
The defeated Emperor Azure could only stare on with a sharpness in his eyes. Qin Wentian had reached the third stage of the Fiend Transformation Art, far exceeding him—someone who was of the main bloodline of the Di Clan!
Gusts of wind billowed intensely, and Qin Wentian completely disappeared from sight before appearing in front of Shi Potian. This time, it was his turn to initiate the attack. The ringing echoes of ancient bells sounded, as the manifestation of a gigantic ancient bell appeared. At the same time, the claws of the golden roc extended, lunging straight for Shi Potian.
Shi Potian’s expression turned grim, and he immediately reacted with a swipe of his spear. Although his movement speed was atrociously slow, his attack speed was the total opposite. Yet in spite of this, his attack still couldn’t hit Qin Wentian. Qin Wentian’s silhouette flashed by, appearing behind him as the sounds of the ancient bells continued unabated, pulverizing his heart.
Shi Potian abandoned the golden spear in his hands, then instantly turned and blasted forth with a terrifying Heavenly Dragon Ancient Imprint. Draconic roars shook the void, yet the instant the attack ‘brushed’ against Qin Wentian, the great roc flashed again with greater speed, leaving countless after-images trailing behind it.
Too fast, too quick. Qin Wentian’s speed had broken the limits of humanity at the Yuanfu Realm. He wanted to use speed to defeat Shi Potian’s advantage in strength.
In the span of a few breaths, the two of them exchanged countless moves. On the arena platform, poor Shi Potian was encircled and surrounded by numerous gigantic rocs, all tearing at him with their claws, wings and beaks.
Shi Potian’s overwhelming strength was completely without an outlet through which it could be unleashed. Even after he used the Mandate of Great Earth, Gravity, he still wasn’t able to lower Qin Wentian’s speed. Qin Wentian’s Mandate of Force was too powerful, enough to counteract his Mandate of Great Earth.
Shi Potian could only use Stellar Transposition to break out of the encirclement, yet a mere instant later, he was once again on the receiving end of Qin Wentian’s ferocious attacks.
“This…” The spectators were completely speechless—Shi Potian had no chance to use his strength at all.
Shi Potian was extremely infuriated, as his heart continued pounding with increasing intensity. If this continued on, his heart would definitely pulverized. When that time came, only death awaited him.
With a wrathful howl, Shi Potian channelled his bloodline, as the illusory manifestation of an ancient, gigantic demonic beast appeared from Shi Potian’s body. His entire physique became stronger, with his stature also growing taller. The terrifying sound waves from his wrathful roars even had the power to shatter the ground surrounding him.
“Shi Potian’s bloodline is awakening.”
The hearts of the crowd pounded with excitement. As expected, all of these contenders had their own trump cards. At this moment, Shi Potian ignored all attacks and stretched out an impossibly gigantic arm, aiming to grab for Qin Wentian. Qin Wentian flashed past his reach yet again, appearing behind him and delivering a wing slash on Shi Potian’s back. Yet, now that the power of his bloodline had awakened, such an attack was no longer enough to break past his defenses. His demonic frame was as huge and heavy as a mountain, indestructible.
“Too late.” Qin Wentian’s voice issued out from the golden roc. The spectators stared in disbelief when they saw how Shi Potian was still frenziedly attacking his surroundings, his attacks hitting thin air while Qin Wentian quietly stood behind him, watching impassively.
“Shi Potian is trapped in an illusion?”
“Is this the reason why Emperor Azure missed that slash of his when he fought against Qin Wentian back then?”
Qin Wentian’s eyes widened in surprise as he studied the force in each of Shi Potian’s attack. Even now, he had still underestimated Shi Potian’s strength. But no matter, everything was going to come to an end.
Countless manifestations of giant rocs sprang out into being as a resplendent glow surrounded Qin Wentian. The runic outlines of the numerous rocs all fused together into one big monstrosity, and even enveloped Qin Wentian’s roc-form into it.
“Combat-type Divine Inscriptions?”
……..