Chapter 161: Cooked
Chapter 161
(Bonus chap thanks to lykana)
Back to the present... Guan Haoran stood rigid, his stance firm and his posture straight. With him using the Behemoth Stand, there was nothing that could move him from where he was standing. But that didn’t solve his problem.
The amount of force he was suffering from was actually only ten percent due to the fact that the remaining ninety percent was being dispersed into the earth. All of this was still due to the Behemoth Stand.
The skill was surely mind-numbing and heaven-defying. It would make one question... If Sky Grade techniques were already this terrifying, then how much more terrifying would Heaven Grade techniques be? And then... What about Supreme Grade?
The thought alone was enough to terrify any normal cultivator. Finding a Supreme Grade combat art, even if it was at the lowest grade, which was the Bronze Grade, could turn the life of any cultivator around for the better. And one shouldn’t even begin to talk about Sacred Grade techniques.
Those ones were beyond rare. In fact, there were only a handful of them in the entire world.
If just a single form, the very first form of the Behemoth Battle Art, was capable of doing this, then one would wonder just what kind of power it could grant if all five forms were mastered.
And actually... There was no idea how many forms it truly had. Only half of it was with the Guan Clan, while the other half... No one had any idea where it was.
And if one already thought that the Behemoth Battle Art was astonishing in its feats, then they would be even more astonished when they realized that there were two steps to the Behemoth Stand.
While the form itself seemed more like a defensive move, and sure, it was... But not only that. It also had the other step, which, while it couldn’t exactly be called offensive, could surely be used to deal damage. Real, critical damage to one’s opponent.
After suddenly being halted mid-assault, losing one’s momentum was a crucial disadvantage. And to be faced with a terrifying attack while being completely halted... Now that could turn out to be more than deadly.
Guan Haoran made up his mind. Even though the technique was deadly, and he had been warned by the elder that he shouldn’t use it if he didn’t intend to kill, he really couldn’t hold back anymore. If he continued to hold back, there was a very high chance that he would lose.
And that... Was not allowed. With that thought, he made his decision and used the second step of the first form. His right leg retreated, and he stomped forward with his left leg, directly toward the direction where Liyu was coming from.
Liyu, who was rushing toward Guan Haoran, suddenly stopped right in his tracks as a massive force slammed down on him hard.
It felt as if a massive giant foot had stepped on him, and his movement was completely halted. Guan Haoran, though, didn’t even look at his face. He didn’t give him any moment to recover. He immediately used his next move.
"Second Form..."
"Behemoth Punch!"
As he called that out, he punched outward, and the winds howled. Every hair on Liyu’s body stood on end as his instincts screamed one word... One word only. *Danger.*
"I’m in danger." Liyu realized... But it seemed to have been too late. The next second, a massive boom reverberated through the arena, as if the sky itself had been split open by a thunderclap...
The sound did reach the ears of the audience, but it seemed to have been greatly reduced, and the impact of that attack that, without any question, they were supposed to feel for certain, especially those who were sitting close to where Liyu had been standing, didn’t arrive.
It took a moment for the people to realize why that was happening. They turned their faces toward the stage, and there it was... A transparent barrier had been created by the ref to halt the impact of Guan Haoran’s attack from reaching the audience.
Because sincerely, if even only the aftermath of the original attack were to reach the audience, who were mostly low-level cultivators and mundane people, they would surely suffer injuries, and some might even be knocked unconscious.
There was a bigger and third possibility as well, but the ref didn’t want to even think about it. As the ref on watch, he couldn’t let that happen. So he reacted fast and used his qi to erupt a barrier that countered and nullified the aftermath and aftershock of Guan Haoran’s attack.
The ref turned his gaze to the barrier he had made. Due to the urgency of the situation, he hadn’t been able to make it as sturdy as he would have liked, and he saw that it was already developing small cracks across its surface. His brows furrowed deeply as he realized something.
*Wait... Just how much destructive force is behind that kid’s attack?* The ref thought, shock evident across his face. Of course, one could say that he had created the barrier in a hurry, and because of how thin the barrier had been, that was why it had cracks running across its entire surface.
But that still wasn’t the point. The ref was far stronger than Haoran, being at the peak of the Bronze Core Realm, and right now... Right now, he was starting to feel apprehensive about the large kid.
That single attack, without any shred of exaggeration, could kill even a mid or maybe even late-stage Foundation Realm cultivator. That was enough to cement the kid as a freak. And whatever that battle art he had used was... It was even more terrifying.
The ref was still amidst his thoughts when he realized one crucial detail. That attack had a target. And that target must have been hit, since the ref had seen him earlier, and he seemed to have been halted and trapped.
If that attack had truly hit him... The ref’s eyes widened as he turned to look for Liyu. Or probably... The boy’s corpse would be the only thing left. Still, his eyes searched through the battle stage, and after a while, he saw him.
And he... Was alive. The ref’s eyes twitched slightly. *How the hell did he survive that?* The ref wondered, but didn’t think much about it. After all, the kid was also a freak. Maybe an even bigger freak than Haoran himself.
The ref wasn’t the only one shocked by Liyu surviving. Haoran himself was shocked as well as he stared at Liyu as if he were looking at an entirely new person.
"How did you survive that?"
Liyu, who was bent over as if he had just completed several kilometers of a marathon, looked at Guan Haoran with eyes that seemed to say... *Damn bastard.* The guy nearly killed him just now.
Maybe with Liyu’s physicality, he wouldn’t have died, but surely, if he had been hit by that attack, he wouldn’t have been able to fight anymore. Heck, he would be lucky to still be conscious.
No... He would be lucky to still be alive. Because sincerely, for once in quite a while, that was the first time Liyu had felt his life was threatened. And that was all from nothing but one of Guan Haoran’s single punches.
Liyu looked at Haoran, who had changed his stance once more. The left leg was taking a step lightly backward while the right leg stomped harder at the front. Haoran’s hands formed a guard in front of him. His legs... That must be how he managed to halt my movement earlier.
"How did you survive that?" Haoran asked once again, his tone curious.
Liyu’s gaze twitched as he looked at him as if he wanted to kill him before asking his own question. "No, let me ask you this instead... Why the hell do you want to kill me?
I thought the rule that no killing is allowed on the battle stage was clear enough," Liyu asked as he glared at the guy.
Haoran gave a sheepish smile before replying. "You left me with no other choice," he said, shrugging.
"’No choice,’ you said? That is why you want to kill me, you bastard," Liyu cursed in a low tone before shaking his head as he heaved a sigh of relief within his chest.
Sincerely, that had been close. If he hadn’t used Momentum to vibrate his body tremendously, which seemed to break away the force that had been crashing hard on him, he really doubted that he would have been able to take whatever attack that had been thrown at him earlier.
Still, he needed to find out the weak spot in Guan Haoran’s defense, and only after that would he strike. With that plan, Liyu moved once more. There were only twelve minutes left for the duration of Momentum, and he intended to make good use of every second of it.
Without answering the stupid question Haoran was asking, Liyu flashed forward, and then the rapid bang, bang, bang sounds from before started once again as Liyu struck him all across his body over and over again.
The ache quickly returned to Guan Haoran’s body as he endured Liyu’s endless barrage of attacks that seemed to be landing on him every single second without respite. The ache quickly became slight pain that roamed around his body, and his eyes twitched slightly.
*Once more.* Guan Haoran thought, and then he retreated his right leg and stomped forward with his left toward the direction he sensed Liyu’s presence. Without wasting another second, he used the Behemoth Punch again.
A loud bang echoed, great just like before. Once again, Liyu was barely able to evade it. Since he had predicted that this would happen, using Momentum, he halted and then vibrated his body. Still, he broke free.
When he did, there was only a mini-second before the attack reached him, but he was more than prepared. His body flashed away at the last moment, and another thunderclap-like sound shook the Ray Arena.
The barrier that the ref had made trembled greatly before sparks and cracks started to form alongside its surface. They spread many times this time, to the point that it seemed to be on the edge of collapsing even. But it didn’t crack. Not yet.
After he saw that his attack had been dodged yet once again, Guan Haoran switched his leg positions once more, and the very next second, Liyu’s attacks started to land over and over again all over his entire body, making him feel slightly sore.
He gritted his teeth and endured. And then, when the opportunity presented itself once more, Haoran did the same thing and struck with the Behemoth Punch once more.
A loud, terrifying bang echoed outward with a thunderous boom once again, and the barrier shattered. Although the next moment, another one replaced it before any damage could be caused.
The ref heaved a sigh and realized that Liyu had survived that third one as well. He didn’t know why. He couldn’t quite put his hand on why the kid was still resisting. If any of those attacks hit him, he might lose his life. Shouldn’t he just give up and keep his life? Why keep risking it like this?
Meanwhile, the bang, bang, bang sound from Liyu continued as he attacked Haoran, who stood rigid and seemed to be totally unmoving like a mountain. Liyu’s eyes sparkled darkly. *I can see it now. It is his legs. And the way to break his defense is during the moment of the switch-up between his legs.*
Liyu focused, and after some minutes had passed, he saw it. Haoran was exchanging his legs again. Liyu’s gaze flashed as he burst forward. He had taken a detour, and with the speed he was moving at, he was certain he would be able to make the hit before the left leg slammed hard into the ground.
The moment that was done, the win would be his for certain. A small smile touched the side of Liyu’s face as he quickly rushed forward. There were only a few meters left, and the win would be his.
It was at this crucial juncture that Liyu’s luck seemed to run out.
*Ding.*
*Momentum has been deactivated. Time duration has been reached. Wait for 30 minutes to be able to use it once more.*
Liyu’s eyes shook as he cursed loudly in his head. *What the hell?!*
At the same time, he felt his speed vanish. He was slow. No, not really slow, but compared to before, yes, he was super slow. *I can’t reach him on time anymore.* Liyu’s gaze trembled as he realized one thing. He was cooked.
At the same time, Guan Haoran’s leg hit the ground, and the pressure descended. He was so... so cooked.
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🎁 BONUS Chapter — THANKS TO LYKANA!
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Your gentle author, Ultra