My Clones Can Cultivate

Chapter 135

Liyu looked at the big guy who would be his next victim with an amused smile plastered across his face. The guy was about three heads taller than Liyu, as Liyu’s entire height only reached the man’s chest area.

And yet, despite the fact that the guy surpassed him in both height and size, his body teeming with massive layers upon layers of muscles, Liyu wasn’t moved in the slightest. Instead, he simply waited for the guy to make a move.

He genuinely hoped this guy would be different from Shi Lan and the Twin Fiends that he had already crushed. After all, he was at the peak of the ninth stage, just a step away from stepping into the peak stage himself.

Combined with the dominating aura surrounding him, Liyu was hoping that the guy wouldn’t fall so quickly. Still, he wasn’t going to attack the big guy first. After all, he wanted to see what the guy could do. With that thought, he stood calmly, looking at the giant while waiting for him to make a move.

After a while of silently staring at each other, the big guy finally made his move. He slowly raised a single hand and pointed it at Liyu. Liyu raised an eyebrow, waiting for whatever attack the guy was planning to unleash.

But nothing shot forward. Instead, the large man calmly spoke, "Kneel."

The moment those words left his mouth, and before Liyu could even register what the man had said, a tremendous force slammed down upon him from above, as if an invisible gargantuan hand had descended from the heavens and pressed directly onto his body.

The force came so suddenly that Liyu was unable to resist it in time. His knee smashed into the stage with full force. Bang! A loud explosion echoed in every direction as the impact spread outward.

A spiderweb of cracks appeared at the point where his knee struck the stage, while pain shot through his nerves. Liyu’s expression changed. What... what the hell is that? He thought, his calm gaze finally giving way to genuine surprise.

The entire crowd, however, was even more shocked than Liyu himself. After all... Liyu had been forced onto one knee with nothing more than a single word from the giant of the Shi Clan. It seemed this battle wouldn’t end the same way all of Liyu’s previous battles had.

Those who had bet on Shi Mo instantly became excited, believing they had finally made the right choice. Meanwhile, those who had bet on Liyu began growing anxious.

After all, being forced onto one knee at the very beginning of the battle was not a good sign. In fact... it looked more like a sign that Liyu was destined to lose this battle.

At the seat of the leaders, Elder Ting’s eyes shone brightly, "A Qi mutation... and not just an ordinary Qi mutation... but a rare one."

His eyes gleamed as he was genuinely taken aback once again. The Night Region truly had no shortage of geniuses. Not only were the talents of the Guan Clan impressive, but the geniuses of the Shi Clan surpassed even them.

Shi Yuan possessed the Fire Mutation. And now he was witnessing another candidate from the Shi Clan wielding an even rarer Qi mutation... Gravity Qi. It was an exceptionally rare Qi derived from Earth Qi and possessed unbelievable potential.

After all, anyone who wielded it could use it in countless ways during battle. They could manipulate the gravity of their surroundings to such an extent that they could crush opponents to their knees... or even flatten them completely against the ground.

And that wasn’t its only application. The user could also reduce the gravity around themselves, making their movements faster, their precision sharper, and their attacks even more accurate.

They could even increase the gravity surrounding their opponent, making every movement slower, every attack heavier, and every action far more predictable. There were countless ways Gravity Qi could be utilised.

There was a reason it was regarded as one of the rarest, most unique, and even one of the most powerful Qi types in the world. To think that someone from the Shi Clan possessed it... Elder Ting couldn’t hide the amazement in his eyes. If the kid loses... I’ll recruit him as well.

This place was teeming with youngsters who possessed nearly limitless potential. After all, if the kid could one day reach the Core Realm and condense a Gravity Core... his power compared to cultivators of the same realm wouldn’t even be worth comparing.

Elder Ting’s eyes shone as he turned his attention back toward Liyu, who was still kneeling on the ground. He wanted to see how the boy would turn this situation around.

After all, fighting against someone capable of manipulating the very gravity around you was an enormous headache. Elder Ting himself could testify to that. Still... weirdly enough... he didn’t believe the kid was finished yet. Liyu’s eyes told him everything.

Even after being forced onto one knee, apart from the brief flash of surprise within them, his gaze remained just as calm as before. It was almost as though... this wasn’t enough.

A faint smile slowly appeared on Elder Ting’s face, "I have a feeling... this is truly going to be a match worth watching." With that thought, he focused even more intently on the battle. He intended to watch it until the very end.

Meanwhile, back on the stage... Shi Mo’s gaze remained unreadable as he looked at Liyu, who was staring back at him with a hint of surprise. Even he was a little taken aback that Liyu wasn’t groaning in pain. After all, he had increased the gravity around him fivefold.

That kind of increase was not something anyone could easily come to terms with. With the amount of force Liyu’s knees had struck the ground, they should have fractured, maybe even shattered under the pressure. Yet he didn’t seem to be in pain.

He wasn’t even panicking. Instead, he merely looked... surprised. That was all. Shi Mo’s expression didn’t change. He didn’t lose his composure either. After all, this was only the opening salvo. He calmly began walking towards Liyu, who was still kneeling on the ground, and looked down upon him.

When he spoke, his tone sounded rather young. Well, he was still young, just huge. His voice was that of a teenager, not threatening at all. "Give up... You can’t win." "You won’t be able to land a single hit on me."

"Look at you. You can’t even stand on your own two feet, and this is me holding back." "I don’t like wasting unnecessary time." "Give up." Shi Mo repeated with the same stern, unreadable gaze.

What he was actually thinking, however, was completely different from what he showed on the outside. After all, he wasn’t only planning to crush Liyu’s pride by making him surrender.

No... after that, he would make sure to shatter every bone in his body just as Liyu had done to Shi Lan. He was going to crush his body... but only after he shattered his pride. Shi Mo’s face returned to its neutral expression.

He had originally thought this battle would be somewhat difficult, but seeing that Liyu couldn’t even stand under the fivefold increase in gravity, he believed the battle was already over. After all... Shi Mo still had plenty more cards to play.

The surprise on Liyu’s face slowly disappeared before a dark smile spread across his lips. "And tell me... what are you going to do if I don’t admit defeat?" he asked with his signature crazy grin returning to his face.

Shi Mo replied with a dark look, "Then I will make you admit defeat... by force." The moment he finished speaking, he threw a powerful punch straight towards Liyu’s skull.

The punch shot forward, and the force surrounding it was enough to make the air curl inward beneath the immense pressure. This should be more than enough to show him his place, Shi Mo thought as he launched the punch.

At the very last moment before the punch smashed into Liyu’s grinning face, however... Liyu’s hand shot forward and grabbed hold of the incoming fist. Bang! A loud explosion echoed from the point of impact.

Yet Liyu’s hand didn’t so much as twitch as he firmly held Shi Mo’s punch with his open palm. Then, slowly... he yanked Shi Mo’s arm to the side, revealing his own grinning face. "And aren’t you a fool, dude?"

"How would you even think this would be enough to take me out?" A dark chuckle escaped his lips as he slowly rose to his feet. "You are overestimating yourself... too much."

The moment those words fell... Bang! Liyu punched forward. Shi Mo reacted quickly enough, raising his own palm to meet the attack head-on. Another loud explosion echoed through the arena. Liyu raised an eyebrow, looking slightly surprised, "Well... you are quite fast."

The next instant, Liyu twisted with astonishing speed, yanking himself away from Shi Mo before delivering a spinning kick aimed directly at his face. Shi Mo reacted... too fast. He crossed both arms before his face.

Bang! The impact forced him backwards several feet as a short burst of pain shot through both of his arms. His expression slowly changed as he looked towards Liyu, who had landed lightly on his feet.

The grin on Liyu’s face hadn’t faded. Instead, his eyes gleamed brightly, almost as if he had finally found a new game to play after growing bored of the previous one.

Shi Mo’s eyes flashed. It is as I thought... He can’t be beaten so easily.

It seems the fivefold increase in gravity had no lasting effect on him at all. Then... why did he collapse to his knees? Shi Mo frowned.

Then something suddenly struck him. His eyes widened ever so slightly. No... he was definitely affected the moment I increased the gravity around him. But then... Could he have... adapted? And at such speed as well? This Liyu... is dangerous.

A feeling tells me I need to stop holding back if I want to defeat him. Shi Mo slowly relaxed his hands by his sides. He had made up his mind. It was time to fight seriously. He bent his body slightly.

Whoosh! Liyu barely managed to register Shi Mo’s movement before he felt a terrifying force slam directly into his face without the slightest bit of restraint. Bang! He was lifted completely off his feet and blasted backwards at blinding speed as if he had been fired from a cannon.

He is fast... and super strong... Liyu thought as pain spread across his skull. This must be because of whatever he used earlier. What exactly is it? He was still wondering when... Bang! Another terrifying force slammed into his chest.

"Falling Star!" Shi Mo called out as he shot downward like a meteor, crashing directly into Liyu. BOOM!! The two smashed violently into the battle stage with a thunderous explosion. Bang! Bang! The arena floor caved inward where Liyu’s body made contact.

Pain unlike anything Liyu had felt in quite a while ravaged his entire body.

Shi Mo landed calmly, looking at Liyu who was lying inside the crater with the same calm expression on his face, "I guess I don’t need to go too far. He is not worth it."

He looked at Liyu, whose eyes were closed. The latter seemed to have passed out. Shi Mo then turned his gaze toward the referee, his eyes conveying a simple message.

Announce the result. The referee stepped onto the stage to confirm Liyu’s condition. The young man seems to have totally collapsed and fainted from the attack, the referee thought.

He had bet on Liyu, and honestly, he hadn’t expected the kid to lose so quickly. After all, Liyu had accomplished some truly terrifying feats in his previous matches. And now... he was defeated. It felt rather unreal.

Then again, maybe not. The one Liyu was facing was someone capable of controlling the gravity around both himself and his opponent. That alone was an absolute nightmare for anyone to fight against.

Thinking about it now... maybe this was simply the sensible and logical outcome. With that thought, the referee prepared to announce Liyu as the loser and the giant of the Shi Clan as the winner. He slowly raised his hand... ready to declare the result.

But then... the corner of his eye caught something. He froze. Wait... is the kid smiling? He quickly turned his gaze back toward Liyu to confirm. And behold... he wasn’t seeing things. Liyu... was indeed smiling.

Not only that... it was a genuine smile, as if someone had just handed him the greatest birthday gift imaginable instead of smashing him into a crater. The referee’s eyes twitched violently.

Before he could even process what was happening, Liyu’s smile slowly stretched into a wide grin. His eyes suddenly shot open. He looked up at the blazing sun in the sky before opening his mouth, "Damn... that was fun." The referee’s other eye twitched as well.

He stared at Liyu as if the young man had suddenly grown two heads. What...? How can someone call that fun? This kid definitely has a few screws loose... Without another word, the referee quietly vanished from the stage.

The crowd was still wondering why the referee hadn’t declared the winner when... they gasped. Liyu... was rising. He calmly climbed out of the deep crater he had been slammed into.

He dusted off his clothes casually, smiling all the while, as though he had merely slipped and fallen instead of being smashed into the stage with several tons of force. Shi Mo’s gaze twitched. He looked at the smiling Liyu.

"Wait... is it just me, or did all of the Shi giant’s attacks have no effect on Liyu?" someone from the crowd shouted in absolute disbelief. His voice instantly drew everyone’s attention. "You are right..." "He isn’t hurt at all!" "How?"

Another person screamed in shock. "I swear, if I were the one slammed by that attack, I doubt my remains would even be recognizable!" The crowd collectively gasped as they finally realized the truth. Liyu... was completely unblemished.

Not a single scratch. Not a single bruise. He looked as calm as he had been before the battle even started. The same arrogant confidence. The same relaxed smile. It was as though he had never entered a battle to begin with. It was totally unbelievable.

And it wasn’t just the ordinary spectators who were shocked. The entire arena... cultivators... non-cultivators... the candidates... the clan leaders... not a single person escaped the overwhelming shock.

Shi Mo, however, was the most shocked of them all. His gaze trembled. During those last two attacks... he had increased the gravity around both his fist and his kick by tenfold.

An attack of that level could crush a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator upon impact. And yet... Liyu hadn’t even suffered a single scratch. How...? Shi Mo stood there, completely speechless. His eyes remained fixed on the smiling Liyu. Liyu simply grinned.

"Come on." "Give me more." He started walking forward. "Let’s have more fun, dude." "So strike me again with those attacks of yours." "They give a pretty nice massage."

For the third time in a single day... the eyes of the entire arena twitched in perfect unison. Did... did Liyu just call an earth-shattering attack... one capable of splintering boulders... crushing raw metal... and flattening ordinary cultivators... nothing more than a massage?

How? Just... how? Everyone’s minds spun wildly. Some even wondered whether they had misheard him. Others questioned if they were slowly losing their sanity. Liyu soon stopped right in front of Shi Mo once again.

A warm smile rested on his face. "Come on, dude." "Another one." Shi Mo’s gaze darkened, "As you wish." The moment those words left his mouth, he threw another Gravi-Punch.

The gravity surrounding his fist instantly increased tenfold. The terrifying force compressed the air itself as the punch shot toward Liyu’s face with enough power to make anyone’s skull cave in.

Bam! BANNNNNGGGG!! A deafening explosion echoed throughout the arena as Shi Mo’s fist connected cleanly with Liyu’s face. Shi Mo’s eyes twitched even harder. The reason... was simple. Liyu... was still standing there.

His smile slowly faded into a slight frown. "Is that all you’ve got?" "I told you..." "That’s weak." "It barely tickles me," he said.