Chapter 174 - 168: Without Hesitation
KABOOOM!!!
Sword Intent erupted, a forest of Wind Blades materialized, and a Sea of Fire churned.
The two clashed head-on, their battle as momentous as a planetary collision. As they exchanged blows, they steadily descended the Celestial Ladder to fight with fewer restrictions.
They had started above the seven-thousandth step, then dropped to the six-thousandth, and were now battling near the five-thousandth.
Their descent down the Celestial Ladder lessened the crushing pressure, freeing them from its restraints. Their attacks grew bolder and flowed with seamless grace, unleashing one violent wave of energy after another in every direction.
The other disciples still struggling on these steps inevitably witnessed the battle. They all fell back, watching the two combatants with a mixture of shock and awe, not daring to interfere.
"Who... who are they? They’re terrifying! It looks like they came down from even higher up. Are these the true prodigies?"
Someone muttered to themselves, their expression grim with horror as a sense of inadequacy washed over them.
"I recognize one of them. Isn’t that Huang Suyu, the number one from Sword Control Peak? And the other... is that the disciple from Beast Taming Peak who shot past us earlier?"
"Are they both only at Foundation Establishment? Can a Foundation Establishment Cultivator really be this powerful?"
The group of disciples retreated further and further. Having recognized the two, they only dared to watch from a great distance, terrified of being caught in the crossfire.
As Yu Changsheng and Huang Suyu fought their way down the steps, Gu Zhen and the others at the front of the pack stopped trying to ascend. Instead, they kept their distance, descending along with the pair to keep watching.
Gu Zhen’s expression was grave. He suddenly felt an immense pressure.
He knew that if he had to face the attacks they were unleashing, he would struggle immensely to defend himself.
Miao Wenlun, on the other hand, was tense. He stared intently at the two fighters, a hint of frustration in his eyes.
’It’s no use,’ he thought. ’They’re moving too fast. Even I can barely follow their movements.’
As the long-time number one disciple of the Beast Taming Peak’s Outer Sect, Miao Wenlun felt a sense of loss. He didn’t know when it started, but it felt as if Yu Changsheng had stolen all his glory.
But Yu Changsheng couldn’t spare a thought for any of that. This was nothing like his fight with Miao Wenlun. For both him and Huang Suyu, this was a battle to the death. Their techniques were grand and sweeping, utterly ruthless. There was no holding back.
Popping a few more elixirs into his mouth to continuously restore his Spiritual Power, Yu Changsheng dodged one of Huang Suyu’s strikes, panting slightly.
On these lower steps, the ambient pressure had almost no effect on them, but the toll on their energy was still immense.
Huang Suyu was in better shape. As a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, his reserves of Magical Power far surpassed Yu Changsheng’s. Yu Changsheng could only rely on a continuous supply of elixirs to keep from running dry.
’I don’t know what kind of fortunate opportunity Huang Suyu came across,’ Yu Changsheng thought, ’but his Cultivation is definitely not that of someone who just reached Foundation Establishment. He’s already at the Peak of Early-Stage Foundation Establishment, not far from the Middle Stage.’
Yu Changsheng’s eyes flickered as he came to a conclusion. If Huang Suyu had only just entered Foundation Establishment, he wouldn’t be this difficult to handle. Judging by the depth of his Magical Power, he had to be at least at the Foundation Establishment Third Layer.
To have reached such a level in so short a time could only mean that Huang Suyu had his own fortuitous encounters.
But what he found most troublesome was the man’s Minor Sword Intent!
But while Yu Changsheng was lost in thought, Huang Suyu’s assault didn’t cease. Gripping the Dragon’s Roar with both hands, he unleashed a fierce slash that knocked back the attacking Red Refining Snake. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he retreated.
"You have too few techniques," Huang Suyu called out, "and you lack any truly devastating attacks!"
Huang Suyu’s gaze was electric. Yu Changsheng had been his equal since the fight began, but now, he had finally identified his opponent’s weakness.
Yu Changsheng’s brow furrowed. Compared to Huang Suyu, his time as a cultivator was still short. His mastery of Magic truly couldn’t compare, as he had spent most of his time simply raising his Cultivation level.
As for his Thousand Thoughts Slash, which targeted Divine Sense, he didn’t dare use it too often, lest his Divine Sense weaken and leave him vulnerable to a counterattack.
A Beast Master’s strength lay in Beast Taming; the master themself was inherently the weak point.
’Huang Suyu is clever, too,’ he realized. ’He’s avoided getting into a direct confrontation with my three Spirit Beasts. Every single one of his strikes has been aimed at me. He even ignores their attacks at times. If I weren’t different from a typical Beast Master, I would have been cut down by his sword long ago.’
Huang Suyu laughed loudly and threw his head back. Biting the tip of his tongue, he sprayed a mouthful of blood onto the Dragon’s Roar Sword. The blade trembled and erupted in a bloody light, radiating an indescribably sinister aura.
"Dragon’s Roar... Bloodthirsty!"
As he spoke, his right hand formed an incantation seal. Instantly, the Dragon’s Roar Sword turned completely crimson. With his lifeblood churning, the sword in his hand transformed into a streak of bloody light and shot toward the heavens.
Looking closely, one could see that within the bloody light was the Dragon’s Roar, magnified countless times and colored a ghastly red!
The heavens trembled as if dragons were taking flight. A vast, blood-red curtain seemed to fall over the world, dyeing half the sky crimson.
Within this crimson sky, a colossal sword tip materialized. It was hundreds of feet wide, and as it descended, it revealed an even more massive blade.
The body of the sword was covered in countless sigils, with a magnificent Blood Dragon coiled around it. The dragon was terrifying to behold, and it opened its cavernous maw toward Yu Changsheng below, baring its fangs.
The moment the sword appeared, the clouds roiled violently. As its power washed over the area, the bloody light surrounding the blade began to spin with a deafening roar, forming a massive vortex.
From a distance, the sight was terrifyingly breathtaking. The clouds and mist churned, and Yu Changsheng’s figure seemed like a tiny boat about to capsize, an ant vainly trying to challenge the might of the heavens.
Unleashing this attack clearly came at a price for Huang Suyu. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, and his aura weakened considerably. Yet, the killing intent in his eyes didn’t diminish in the slightest. Wiping the blood from his lips, Huang Suyu brought both hands slashing down toward Yu Changsheng!
"Sword, fall!"
A terrifying power erupted from within, converging at the greatsword’s tip. In a heart-stopping moment, the massive blood-red sword plummeted vertically, screaming down toward Yu Changsheng!
It was so fast it arrived in an instant. Yu Changsheng wanted to retreat, but the sword’s area of effect was so vast that there was simply no escape.
A sense of crisis screamed through Yu Changsheng’s mind. Every cell in his body shrieked in alarm, his hair stood on end, and a chill spread from the crown of his head to the tips of his toes. The overwhelming feeling of peril crashed through his consciousness like bolts of Celestial Thunder.
"SKREEE!!!"
The Golden-Winged Eagle realized Yu Changsheng was in grave danger. It let out an anxious cry and, without a shred of hesitation, spread its wings and flew up to shield him.
The Red Refining Snake whipped its tail. Ignoring all else, it coiled its serpentine body into the thickest possible shield, resolutely placing itself between Yu Changsheng and Huang Suyu.
The Colorful Star Deer stamped its hoof, and an endless sea of trees rose up, forming layer upon layer of thick barriers to envelop Yu Changsheng.
At this moment, even in the face of mortal danger, even if it meant their utter destruction, Yu Changsheng’s three Spirit Pets still fearlessly shielded him.