My Clones Can Cultivate

Chapter 112

The wave of qi from Shi Tian spread outward and shot straight toward the world qi gathered around Li Feng. The moment they made contact, his qi... or rather, his mutated qi.... severed the streams of energy connecting Li Feng to the surrounding world qi.

The instant he did that, Li Feng’s momentum slowed to a crawl. Shi Tian immediately understood that his deduction had been correct: the world qi was indeed being harnessed by Li Feng through the State of Flow, but at the same time, the State of Flow also depended on that world qi to sustain itself.

After all, Li Feng’s own energy reserves weren’t even enough to maintain such a state for a single second. That was why the moment his connection to the world qi was cut off, Li Feng returned to what he had been before.

Shi Tian seemed to vanish, and then, in the next instant, he was already standing beside Li Feng with one hand resting casually upon his shoulder. "State of Flow or not..." His voice remained detached, filled with nothing but disgust. "...you are still like the others. A pathetic weakling."

The moment those words left his mouth, several crimson lines suddenly appeared across Li Feng’s body, and blood immediately began dripping from the countless cuts. But Shi Tian wasn’t finished; he lightly tapped Li Feng’s shoulder, and then... Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Shi Tian calmly landed back on the ground.

His detached gaze still carried that unmistakable expression of disgust as he looked at Li Feng, who had collapsed onto one knee, blood trickling down his body. Yet those cuts weren’t the only injuries he had suffered... far from it.

Dark bruises had already spread all over his body, as though he had been struck repeatedly by an enormous hammer. Had his body not been reinforced by qi, forget merely collapsing, his bones would’ve been shattered by that attack; and yet, he hadn’t even seen Shi Tian move.

Li Feng looked at Shi Tian, who simply stood there waiting for him to rise again. *How?* The question burned fiercely within Li Feng’s mind.

"How can he cut my connection to the world’s qi?" It was the severing of that connection that had weakened his State of Flow; it was also the reason he had suffered so many injuries without even seeing how his opponent had attacked.

He looked toward Shi Tian, but the latter showed no intention of explaining anything, nor did he have any reason to. Seeing that detached gaze, that gaze filled with open disgust, made Li Feng feel as though he had already been judged by a superior being, and that being’s verdict was that he was weak.

The fear Li Feng had forced deep into his heart before challenging this man slowly resurfaced once more; this time, it was even stronger. Just thinking about continuing this battle sent chills running down his spine.

As his mind teetered on the edge of dread, Li Feng suddenly clenched his fist and slammed it into the ground. A small crack spread across the stage beneath him as he gritted his teeth. "No. I can’t be this pathetic."

If he didn’t even have the courage to look this man in the eyes, then how was he ever supposed to defeat him? If he backed down now, then Shi Tian’s verdict of him being nothing more than a pathetic weakling would become the undeniable truth.

Li Feng let out a slow breath, then he gradually stood back up, picking up his sword once more. His body still ached from the merciless beating he had received moments ago; waves of pain continued to ravage every part of him.

Yet with a hardened gaze, he buried all that pain deep within himself. His mind slowly became clear once more; the fear and pain that had threatened to overwhelm him moments ago were quietly pushed aside, and his thoughts became as still as a calm lake.

Then, he stepped into the State of Flow once again. Had his mental energy already been exhausted, he would’ve collapsed the instant he tried, but fortunately, it wasn’t. Because of that, he estimated he could maintain the State of Flow for perhaps another ten minutes before reaching his absolute limit.

Which meant within those ten minutes, no matter what, he had to find a way to bring Shi Tian down.

Shi Tian, seeing Li Feng’s resolved gaze as he held his black sword high and once again stepped into the State of Flow, couldn’t help but feel slightly agitated. The State of Flow was undoubtedly a great and powerful state... no, those words underestimated it.

It was a flawless state, but in the hands of someone like Li Feng, it had become something that could only be described as weak. "He is not worthy of stepping into that state," Shi Tian thought, his disgust for Li Feng rising even higher. He slowly closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, his grey eyes reflected a gleam of malice, although it was difficult for anyone to notice. "I told you that it doesn’t matter whether you are in that state or not. Before me... you are still nothing."

The moment he finished speaking, he flashed forward. Li Feng sensed him and immediately struck with his sword, yet he missed. The next instant, a pain unlike anything he had ever experienced assaulted him.

He instinctively reached for his right ear... it was gone. He touched his left ear; it too was gone. Blood dripped endlessly onto the ground. Turning his head, he saw both of his severed ears dangling from Shi Tian’s grip as though they were nothing more than worthless trash.

Shi Tian casually tossed them aside before looking back at Li Feng. "I have idled around for far too long... for a weakling like yourself to start believing you are something." With that, he moved again. Li Feng saw him; he reacted; he slashed once more; yet once again, his body was too slow.

Shi Tian’s punch connected firmly with Li Feng’s chin. The impact launched him high into the air as violent waves of wind qi surged upward; several crimson lines instantly appeared across Li Feng’s body and face.

It had only been a single punch, yet it looked as though he had been sliced dozens of times. It was all because of Shi Tian’s qi mutation; his qi had gained the attribute of the wind element, and his mastery over his elemental qi wasn’t something Shi Yuan could even dream of approaching.

Li Feng managed to regain his footing as he landed once again. Blood continued to drip from his wounds, yet he refused to let the pain assaulting his nerves shake his concentration. Instead, he stared at Shi Tian with caution filling his expression.

"This guy... He is too strong." His senses, enhanced by the State of Flow, were still capable of perceiving Shi Tian’s movements, but despite all the boosts his body had received, his reaction speed simply couldn’t keep up.

He wasn’t about to giv... He hadn’t even completed the thought when he suddenly felt a hand press against his chest. "I want to see just how much pain you can endure."

That beautiful voice whispered beside his ear. The next moment, a pain unlike anything Li Feng had ever experienced since the day he was born erupted throughout his body.

Every fiber of his internal organs felt as though it were being pierced over and over again by countless needles. His insides were shredded apart at an unbelievably fast speed; his mouth burst open as torrents of blood poured out.

He collapsed onto one knee. The State of Flow disappeared. He had been beaten out of that legendary state with a single attack. It was a shocking sight, but Li Feng didn’t even have the luxury to be shocked. He was drowning in unbearable pain.

His entire body trembled violently as agonized groans escaped his lips. Shi Tian stood before him and gave a slight nod. "Your tolerance for pain is commendable. It is on the same level as Shi Lan." He gently placed a hand upon Li Feng’s head.

"Now... Let’s see how much longer you can endure." The instant those words fell, another overwhelming wave of pain descended upon Li Feng’s body.

The stabbing sensation assaulted him once again, only this time, it came with such overwhelming force that it literally crushed him. Crack! Crack! Crack! Several cracking sounds echoed throughout the arena. Li Feng’s tortured screams spread across the battlefield as the entire arena trembled. His bones shattered.

Blood poured from his eyes, his nose, his ears, and even from countless pores across his body. Yet the pain on the outside wasn’t the true torment. The real agony was what ravaged his insides; his internal organs twisted and churned violently, and his very mind felt as though it were being stretched to its breaking point beneath the endless torture.

Li Feng’s cries of torment echoed throughout the arena, sending chills down everyone’s spine; they could only imagine just what kind of horrifying pain he had been subjected to.

Their gazes shifted from Li Feng to Shi Tian, who stood looming above him with a calm, detached expression. It was almost as if he was enjoying this... and maybe he truly was. At this moment, everyone present finally understood why he had been called the Devil of the Shi Clan.

It wasn’t merely because of his strength; it was because of his cruel nature. Li Yuexin abruptly stood up, her gaze turning icy as she prepared to rush onto the stage and break the rules.

But before she could move, the calm voice of the clan lord reached her ears: "Don’t." If Li Yuexin interfered now, she would immediately be disqualified. Everyone present could already tell that Li Feng was finished.

The winner of this match was undoubtedly Shi Tian; he had crushed Li Feng with overwhelming ease, even while Li Feng was in the legendary State of Flow. "He is a monster." That single thought filled the minds of every remaining candidate who had witnessed Shi Tian effortlessly destroy someone as powerful as Li Feng.

Haoran couldn’t help but feel his body tremble. He had always heard people say that he was on Shi Tian’s level, and he had believed it himself, but after watching Shi Tian reduce someone as terrifying as Li Feng into his current miserable state, he no longer believed those words.

The frightening part wasn’t even the victory itself; Shi Tian hadn’t used a single combat art. He hadn’t even unsheathed the sword hanging at his waist. It was obvious that he hadn’t taken the battle seriously from beginning to end, and yet Li Feng had been completely defeated within only a few exchanges.

Haoran swallowed hard. "I don’t want to fight him...’ With tremendous effort, Li Yuexin slowly sat back down. She knew she couldn’t act on impulse; if she interfered and was disqualified for breaking the rules, then the Li Clan would lose immediately.

She was the last one left... No. There was still Li Yu, but no one knew where he was or why he still hadn’t arrived, so she couldn’t gamble everything on emotions. She slowly sat back down and clenched her fists tightly as her blue eyes locked onto Shi Tian with cold killing intent.

Shi Tian looked at the twitching Li Feng, who was now only a single step away from death. His expression remained as detached as ever as he slowly raised his hand once more. "Is he going to kill him now?"

Shi Lan thought in shock. If Shi Tian struck him with another one of those attacks, Li Feng would surely die. Shi Tian’s palm descended, but before it could touch Li Feng, another hand suddenly intercepted it, effortlessly dispersing the terrifying wind qi as though it were nothing.

The referee’s expression darkened. "No killing." Shi Tian merely looked at him blankly before calmly withdrawing his hand. Without saying another word, he turned around and began walking back toward his seat.

Li Feng would have died if the referee hadn’t stepped in, but to Shi Tian, it made no difference whether Li Feng lived or died. He had already achieved what he wanted; he had used Li Feng as an example... a warning for every remaining candidate.

Now none of them would dare challenge him; none of them were worthy of being his opponent. "Weaklings," he thought with visible disgust before continuing his walk. Soon he arrived back at his seat and calmly sat down before closing his eyes once more, as though he had merely finished something trivial instead of horrifying the entire arena.

The referee watched Shi Tian for a long moment; his instincts told him that the young man would become a great source of trouble if he ever grew even stronger. Still, there was nothing he could do; he couldn’t interfere in the affairs of the Night Region.

So he simply let it go before declaring Shi Tian the winner. The result was obvious. Li Feng was quickly carried away from the arena as several physicians rushed toward him, immediately beginning emergency treatment.

Out of every wounded participant in the tournament, his injuries were by far the most severe; he was barely breathing. Had treatment been delayed even slightly longer, he would already be dead.

Fortunately, the physicians immediately began doing everything they could to stabilize his condition. As Li Feng was carried away from the stage, Li Yuexin calmly walked onto it. Her blue eyes remained calm as she slowly bent down and picked up Li Feng’s black sword before placing it at her waist alongside her own.

She now wielded two swords. She turned her gaze toward the Shi Clan. Since the Shi Clan’s candidate was next, there was no need for the referee to call her first; she was already here. Li Xie had been defeated; Li Jie had been defeated; Li Feng had also been defeated.

Only she remained. Li Yu was nowhere to be found. Everything now rested upon her shoulders. Li Yuexin’s gaze gradually sharpened. She slowly inhaled before letting out a calm breath. Whoever wished to fight her should come onto the stage.

She had no intention of losing. For the sake of her comrades who had fought with everything they had, she would honor their efforts by defeating as many opponents as possible and securing a place among the final five.

Only then would she be able to obtain one of the five Golden Tokens. So far, only two out of the ten candidates had been eliminated. That meant if she wanted to earn one of the Golden Tokens, she would have to defeat four opponents by herself. It would be incredibly difficult, but she would do it.

She wouldn’t lose, no matter what. Li San’s eyes revealed a faint trace of worry as he looked toward Yuexin. She was the strongest remaining candidate, but she was also the last one left.

Thinking of the last person, he turned toward the entrance once again. The person he had been waiting for still hadn’t appeared. "Just where is that kid...?"

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Meanwhile, Li Yu finally arrived at the city of Ugrat. He stood in the middle of the road as his stomach rumbled loudly. He found himself debating whether to continue rushing toward the tournament or stop to fill his empty stomach first.

After a long internal struggle, food won. Li Yu let out a helpless sigh. He could only continue his journey after filling his stomach. With that thought in mind, he walked toward the very first restaurant that caught his eye.