My Clones Can Cultivate

Chapter 101

Li Xie was sent flying through the air at tremendous speed, crashing heavily onto the ground before rolling across the battle stage several times until he finally came to a stop. He lay there motionless, and the crowd that had been watching the battle was stunned once again.

They had all seen that, at the very last moment before Li Xie was struck, he had seemingly cornered Shi Lan; it had almost looked as though he was about to wound him, and such an injury would have greatly deteriorated Shi Lan’s mobility and battle efficiency. If that had happened, then perhaps it would only have been a matter of time before Li Xie secured the victory.

But what happened next was simply too shocking... and a little too fast for the ordinary spectators to fully understand... even the cultivators among the audience were somewhat confused. After all, at that final moment of Li Xie’s attack, why had his sword suddenly slowed down?

That was the question many of the leaders were wondering as well. Li Xie should have been able to pierce Shi Lan’s throat with the speed and momentum behind that strike, yet at the final instant, he slowed down.

Only Li San and those from the Li Clan truly understood why Li Xie had done that: he simply couldn’t help it. He couldn’t willingly inflict a wound that might potentially be fatal enough to take another person’s life, although that would never have happened.

After all, Elder Ting was present, and not only was he a Golden Core cultivator, he was also a top-notch physician. Even if Shi Lan’s throat had truly been pierced, Elder Ting would have been more than capable of saving his life.

But Li Xie didn’t know that, and because of that, he instinctively held back at the final moment. That tiny hesitation caused him to receive another devastating blow that made all his internal organs twist together in unbearable agony.

Shi Lan looked annoyed... no, he looked even more annoyed than before. This weakling had almost landed a hit on him, and to Shi Lan, that alone was both disgusting and irritating.

Sure, he had already strengthened his body to the limit by reinforcing it with qi, and even if Li Xie’s sword had connected, it most likely wouldn’t have pierced through his body, but it certainly would have caused him a great deal of pain.

What puzzled him more was why Li Xie had slowed down during those final fleeting moments before the strike landed. Scared of hurting me? Such a fool. If someone wasn’t prepared to hurt others, then why walk the path of cultivation?

After all, the road of cultivation wasn’t a peaceful journey toward immortality; it was a long, cruel, and exhausting road filled with countless dangers. Those with foolishly kind hearts were always the first to die.

Li Xie’s body, which had remained motionless for several moments, slowly began to rise once more. He struggled to stand on his own two feet, his stomach churning violently, twisting and tightening as though something alive was devouring him from the inside.

Of course, nothing was actually eating him; it was simply the aftermath of the qi-powered punch he had taken. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth as he groaned painfully for a while, and only after several moments did the agonizing pain finally begin to settle.

With great effort, he forced himself back onto his feet once again, coughed up another mouthful of blood, grabbed his sword, and raised it once more. His gaze locked firmly onto Shi Lan. Shi Lan’s expression twitched.

"Really... you still want to continue?" Li Xie smiled weakly before replying, "I understand your barrier well enough now. If I can break through it and land a fatal strike... surely I would be able to win."

Shi Lan’s twitching expression slowly disappeared; instead, his eyes darkened considerably as a cold, unfriendly smile slowly appeared on his face. "Is that so? Then let’s see you try." The moment those words fell, he exploded forward.

This guy had become far more of a nuisance than Shi Lan had anticipated. At first, he hadn’t intended to cripple him, but if that was truly what Li Xie wanted, then Shi Lan would gladly break every bone in his body before crippling him completely. He was done being lenient.

Li Xie heightened his senses to their absolute limit. The moment he saw Shi Lan close the distance, he stepped forward, switched the way he held his sword, and gripped it as though he intended to deliver a heavy swing.

With smooth footwork, he crossed the gap between them in an instant before slashing toward Shi Lan’s chest at a completely unexpected angle. And yet, Li Xie knew for certain that Shi Lan was going to dodge, and he did.

Shi Lan twisted his body midair before driving his fist directly toward Li Xie’s head. Li Xie immediately released his sword, spun around, caught the hilt once more with his teeth, and used it to intercept the incoming punch.

Shi Lan’s fist collided heavily with the blade. A violent tremor surged through Li Xie’s entire body before he was blasted backward through the air; fortunately, he quickly rolled midair and landed firmly on both feet. Everyone was stunned.

Something had clearly begun to change; they were no longer simply watching Li Xie being beaten around the arena. The fact that he had begun reacting fast enough to Shi Lan’s attacks spoke volumes about how much the battle had shifted.

Without any doubt, Li Xie was a true genius; he was gradually managing to predict his opponent’s movements and react quickly enough to slow down Shi Lan’s attacks.

Although Li Xie was still being completely overpowered whenever the two exchanged blows, the fact that he could even hold his own for brief moments already showed just how talented he truly was.

He had earned their respect. That was the thought running through the minds of many cultivators watching the match.

A small chuckle escaped Elder Ting as he watched Li Xie’s outstanding performance. Despite the obvious gap between the two, the experienced expert was more than certain that young Li Xie possessed greater talent than Shi Lan.

His calculations and his reaction speed were both astonishing. He was even capable of borrowing the force behind Shi Lan’s attacks to minimize the damage he suffered as much as possible.

Perhaps he might actually be able to win after all. Elder Ting entertained the thought for only a brief moment before shaking his head.

No, he couldn’t. After all, the kid was already approaching his limit. No matter how calm or determined he appeared, his body was gradually breaking under the relentless assault he had endured.

Most cultivators at the Qi Gathering Realm would have long since fallen unconscious if they had suffered even half the injuries Li Xie had received; yet, the boy continued standing. That alone was worthy of admiration.

Finally, the referee spoke. "This is amazing! It seems the Anomaly Brother of the Li Clan is finally showing us why he bears that title!

This is the first time I’ve ever witnessed a Seventh Stage Qi Gathering cultivator holding his own against an Eighth Stage Qi Refining expert. This is truly astonishing!" The referee couldn’t hide the excitement in his voice.

Truthfully, he hadn’t bothered commenting much earlier; he had already assumed the match would be completely one-sided, believing Shi Lan would claim an effortless victory. Because of that, he hadn’t felt the need to actively comment, but now, even he was getting excited.

The crowd erupted into cheers. Many of them might not understand cultivation in detail, but they knew one thing for certain: a Qi Refining cultivator was vastly stronger than someone at the Qi Gathering Realm.

The mere fact that Li Xie was still holding his own was enough to excite the audience, especially those already supporting him. "Go, Xie! You can do this! Keep fighting!" Countless voices echoed throughout the arena as people cheered and clapped, trying their best to encourage him.

Shi Lan looked toward the roaring crowd, his expression turning increasingly ugly. There was no doubt what the spectators must now be thinking of him.

The fact that Li Xie had lasted more than three minutes against him had undoubtedly painted him as weak, and that, Shi Lan hated. He was powerful; no one had the right to look down on him, especially not someone as weak as Li Xie.

His dark eyes locked firmly onto Li Xie, who had already assumed a defensive stance. Without wasting another second, Shi Lan charged. His figure remained visible for only an instant before seemingly vanishing altogether.

Li Xie immediately sensed danger behind him. Without hesitation, he spun around and slashed toward the place where he sensed the incoming attack, but instead of meeting empty air, a metallic fist caught his wrist firmly in place.

Before Li Xie could react, Shi Lan yanked him forward. Then, a devastating blow smashed directly into one of his arms. Crack! His arm bent at a horrifying, unnatural angle.

The sickening sound of bone breaking echoed throughout the arena as unbearable pain surged violently through Li Xie’s nervous system. He couldn’t help but cry out in agony. The crowd, who had been cheering only moments earlier, suddenly fell silent.

Their hearts pounded as they stared at the horrifying scene unfolding before them. Shi Lan had completely broken Li Xie’s arm, twisting it into an impossible angle as the continuous sounds of cracking bones rang through the arena.

The sword slipped from Li Xie’s grasp and clattered loudly onto the ground, but Shi Lan wasn’t finished. He grabbed Li Xie by the head, abruptly cutting off his painful cries, and then, with terrifying force, he smashed Li Xie’s head directly into the battle stage.

The sturdy stage groaned and shook as cracks started to spread around them. Li Xie coughed out a mouthful of blood before he started breathing heavily, but Shi Lan was still not done with him; instead, he grabbed him by the leg, his dark eyes gleaming coldly.

"Weakling like yourself really think that you can win against me?" he scoffed.

Before Li Xie could even react, Shi Lan smashed him into the ground once, then twice, then three times... again and again... all the way to ten times before finally tossing him to the side like a discarded doll.

The entire arena fell silent. Everyone had only one thought running through their minds: is Li Xie even still alive? The referee remained silent as he looked at Li Xie’s unmoving figure.

He is still alive, he could sense that much, but he seems to have been completely knocked unconscious. He was just about to declare Shi Lan the winner when shocked murmurs suddenly spread throughout the audience.

"Oh my... Look! He isn’t knocked out! He is getting back up!"

Shi Lan turned to confirm what they were saying. Of course, they had to be lying; him getting back up after everything was totally impossible.

He had already broken him. Yet when he turned, even he was taken aback by what he saw. Li Xie, covered in bruises and drenched in his own blood, was standing once more. What is he... an undead? Looking into Li Xie’s eyes, Shi Lan couldn’t help but be slightly stunned.

To stand back on his feet after all that beating... this guy truly possessed terrifying willpower. At the Li clan pavilion, Yuexin and the others were starting to panic. "Brother, stop... you’ve done enough!" Jie shouted, looking deeply worried now.

Li Xie took one shaky step forward. "I’m... not done yet," he said before taking another step. "I can’t lose before I at least land a hit. I might not win, but I have to at least make you know that you are not invincible." He grabbed his sword with his left hand.

His right hand was still a broken mess, and no matter how unbreakable he looked right now, his consciousness was wavering, teetering on the edge of collapse. He needed to make his move now. Holding his sword in a throwing stance, he looked at Shi Lan with his one working eye; the other eye had swollen beyond recognition.

A small, exhausted smile spread across his face as he channeled waves of qi into the sword. Then he threw it straight toward Shi Lan’s face. The blade shot forward at terrifying speed, faster than most projectiles; within seconds, it was already right in front of Shi Lan’s eyes.

Shi Lan dodged at the very last moment, but his expression changed. How... how was he able to judge the one place where my qi barrier isn’t covering? He couldn’t help but be stunned once again.

Before he could think about it any further, however, his instincts screamed at him. Something was wrong. Li Xie took a single step and vanished.

The next second, he appeared right in front of Shi Lan using the Flash Step. Shi Lan’s eyes widened. How did he... Li Xie gathered almost all the remaining qi within his qi beads and channeled everything into his left fist.

Then he punched with everything he had.

BANG!

A loud explosion echoed throughout the arena as Shi Lan’s head snapped backward. He staggered several steps before finally coming to a stop, one hand resting on his knee as he felt something all too familiar... pain.

Soon, blood started dripping from the corner of his mouth. Shi Lan stared blankly. He... he had actually been hurt. Hurt by this weakling. He slowly raised his head and looked toward Li Xie. Li Xie was smiling... smiling as though he had already won.

Li Xie turned toward his brother and the others and gave them a small, pain-filled smile. "I... tried my best." Those were the only words he managed to say before a metallic fist smashed violently into his face.

BOOM! Another sickening sound of bones breaking rang through the arena. Li Xie was blasted across the stage before crashing heavily into one of the sturdy stone pillars nearby. His body slid slowly to the ground. This time, he didn’t get back up.

Shi Lan’s gaze was that of someone utterly furious; he felt like rushing over and really killing that bastard, but the referee’s announcement of the winner made him pause. He must not act impulsively, or else he would lose.

After remaining stunned for a long while, the crowd slowly began to clap. It wasn’t nearly as thunderous as before, but it carried a different meaning... it was respect. Respect for Li Xie, who had refused to stay down despite facing an opponent far beyond his realm.

Shi Lan left the stage without another word. Soon, someone from the Guan clan stepped onto the arena next.

It was a girl with waist-length brown hair tied into three ponytails so they wouldn’t hinder her movements. She was dressed in elegant girlish clothing, the sides cut almost to her thighs, revealing her fair legs.

Yet despite her beautiful appearance, the aura surrounding her was no less dangerous than Shi Lan’s. She was none other than Guan Xiu, the one said to be the most beautiful girl in the Guan clan. She was not only beautiful, she was just as deadly as she was beautiful.

Her gaze carried an almost otherworldly charm as she looked toward the Li clan with a faint smile. "Should I take the pretty boy?" she mused softly before turning her gaze toward Yuexin. "Or should I face the legendary Battle Princess of the Li clan... or maybe I should finish Shi Lan’s work and take down the other anomaly brother."

After thinking for a while, she finally came to a decision. She slowly raised her hand and pointed directly at Li Jie. "You... I challenge you. Come onto the stage."

Hearing her words caused Li Feng’s expression to darken almost immediately as he clenched his fists tightly. It was exactly as he feared; there was no doubt about it now.

The Li clan were being targeted... they were being deliberately targeted by the other two great clans.

Meanwhile, back inside the Beast Forest, Li Yu, who was now back inside his original body that had completely recovered and returned to its absolute peak condition, couldn’t help but grin. He even felt slightly stronger than before.

Coming so close to death once again... not as close as the previous time, but still... it had tempered him. He couldn’t help but marvel at just how incredible Primal Qi truly was; with it, he had been restored back to his absolute peak condition.

Now that everything had been settled, he was finally ready to leave. After all, the tournament must already be close to starting. "Yosh... time to leave."