Meijing Bingying and Qilong Hu stood rooted to the ground. Their mouths were hanging dry, and their faces turned paler than the snow created by the Domain of Dreams. The spiritual pressure being released by Shin, or to be precise, the Shard of the Azure Dragon, was immense. Even for the two prodigies, their chests began to feel tight, and their knees unconsciously bent down.
'Right… In all the times I faced him, Shin has never used the shard…' Meijing Bingying watched the young man who showcased every single one of his abilities. Bingying had only fought Shin in a true sparring match once, back when she first arrived in the Himmel Empire. However, since then, she had been training Shin in cultivation and using ice in battle. Though Bingying knew of every single ability that Shin had, being on the receiving end of everything in Shin's arsenal was a first for the young maiden.
Still, a match was a match. The Spectral Reaver Blade flung out of its scabbard, creating a crescent moon arc in the process. Frosty particles dripped down from the woman's blade and feet, completely changing the landscape of the arena around her. The concrete floor had transformed into a glacial iceberg, all while the phantom of the Enigmatic Narwhal circled around Bingying.
Taking notes from Shin, Bingying cast her spiritual body enhancement, and the breathtaking drill horn of the narwhal was transferred over to the beauty's forehead. And then, when all her preparations were done, the Pearl in the East pointed her blade at Shin, slamming the phantom of her Spirit straight onto the floor. Blue particles were hurled in all directions, and the temperature around her dropped drastically. Ice pillars and sharpened spears appeared all around the Bingying, making her seem more and more powerful by the second.
Qilong Hu watched Shin and Bingying unleash their domains with great interest. Looks like they were going all out from the start. "I guess it's my turn then..."
The Luminary's biceps bulged out as serpentine scales filled every corner of his tanned skin. At the same time, the Spiritual Manifestation of the Seven-Headed Hydra appeared right behind him. The sky darkened, and weighty raindrops started to fall. The beads of water first dropped like average rain. However, in just one second, Qilong Hu twisted his wrists, and the water swirled around, like a tempest ready to rip down any sailors in its path.
Three domains. One illusory, one glacial, one chaotic. Believe it or not, domains weren't standard spiritual abilities, and it was rare for a Spirit Spectre to possess one. Yet, the audience was feasted with a sight of three domains!
If one went just by looks, Qilong Hu's massive five-metre-tall Spiritual Manifestation was the most intimidating. Its tail that slapped on the ground, creating enormous marks wasn't a sight for the faint-hearted. Not to mention, he had his domain in full effect. Truly, the Luminary had lived up to his title as the Lantis Republic's strongest Spirit Spectre.
Meijing Bingying's domain was terrifying, as well. Anything that dared to enter that winter land would be frozen in a split second. Her Spectral Reaver Blade was also feeling bloodthirsty. Moving around like a serpent, the sword released tremendous amounts of ethereal mist, further decreasing the surroundings to sub-zero temperatures.
'What monsters...' The spectators all thought to themselves. At the corner, Kanari and Longyu Hai both had nails in their teeth, particularly the young girl who had lived on this earth for less than ten years. Her knees were shaky, and every molecule in her body was screaming for her to run. And Longyu Hai was well-protected by the barrier of the arena! She couldn't imagine what it'll be like to stand in the middle of the maelstrom of elements.
"Ready..." Longyu Dao looked at the three individuals and raised his dominant hand. Being the referee, he couldn't stop and marvel at every single ability that they unleash. Now that their preparations were complete, it was time to fight. "GO!!!"
BOOM!!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!!
The moment Longyu Dao dropped his hand, the entire amphitheatre shook. People were swept off their feet, and young children cried in fear. However, no matter what happened, none of them left their eyes off the three young geniuses. Shin was the first to strike. Dense mana thunderbolts emerged from the Shard of the Azure Dragon and combined itself with a rapidly spinning water sphere.
Rapidly spinning beads of mana-infused water droplets sprung straight at the two Luminaries. After learning how to partially ignite the shard, Shin's lack of offensive force had now been solved. The created water abilities that he had were now as deadly as any other Spirit Spectre's spiritual abilities.
Bingying was the first one to react. Ice walls were created in an instant, blocking the meteor shower's line of sight. Shin carefully observed how once one ice wall was destroyed, another rapidly took its place. Ice was hard to create. Not only were the Ice-Element far rarer than the Water-Element, but it was much more difficult to manipulate its solid-state as well. It was a testament to Bingying's ability that she could create ice with that much ease. Shin was capable of slowing the molecules of water down to generate ice. However, there was no way that he could compare with a bona fide Ice-Elemental master such as Bingying.
Qilong Hu was no slouch either. His Tempest Domain swept away the heavy-hitting raindrops that were powered by the shard and the Spiritual Manifestation of the Seven-Headed Hydra continued to dominate his immediate vicinity. Looks like the first attack of the Prince of Water had failed terribly.
'Next is this!!!' Shin screamed out inwardly as he leapt into the air. The water weapons that he created all charged violently at the pair on the ground, all while he swung his Spear of Aiglos around.
'You're underestimating me, Shin!' Bingying scoffed and waved her hand once. A hundred icy spikes revealed themselves from the blue particles surrounding the Pearl in the East and soon transformed into deadly ice spears. Who was the one that taught Shin how to create ice spears? It was Bingying herself, and Shin was trying to use her own ability against her? Laughing would be an understatement…
The weapons were masterfully countered by both Meijing Bingying and Qilong Hu as their domains did most of the work. Of course, they could have anticipated that all of their movements were part of Shin's master plan...
The Domain of Dreams moved farther and farther away from the other two domains, giving him ample space to dominate the skies. The sun was up, blazing down its heat with all its glory. But the two Luminaries could see that fiery ball at all. All they could see was a celestial patch of milky white dots, as billions of snow and rain particles dripped down from the heavens.
"His domain… It grew quite big…" Longyu Tian thought out loud. It wasn't particularly weird for domains to become stronger. The odd thing was, Shin hasn't promoted or improved his cultivation in the slightest. The aura he was giving out was still that of a Rank 40 Spirit Spectre, albeit a supremely odd one. There was only one thing that changed during that morning, and that was the bout he had were he absorbed Jingyu Taiyi's Mind-Element…
'Wait… Does that mean he can learn my Time-Element as well?' Longyu Tian pondered, as her eyes sparkled with a revelation. Shin's proficiency over the Ice-Element could be explained rationally since the Ice-Element was a mutant variation of the Water one. However, what about the Mind-Element? There was next to no correlation there!
'I'll have to test it out after he finishes the Trial...' Longyu Tian wasn't even considering the possibility of Shin not taking the Trial of the Celestial Dragon. With public opinion on their side, the Saint of Time was going to bring Shin to the Celestial River and forcibly baptise him if need be.
Shin pivoted his waist, propelling his streamlined body straight into the air. The Domain of Dreams continued to fill the apex of the stadium, all while the two Luminaries watched.
'Hmph!' Bingying scoffed at the young man's grandiose display. Thinking that he could rule the skies right in front of the Spirit Spectre that taught him how to fly? Bingying took it as an insult. Thousands of dreamy blue particles dashed into the skies, hoping to freeze and bring the young man down. The icy power continued to fly upwards at breakneck speeds, and Shin could only hope to defend using his Aegis Bubble. Alas, before the attack landed, blue particles were viciously ripped apart by the tempest that was being raised right by her side.
"Senior Hu! What are you doing?" Bingying screamed, turning around to look at the muscular man who had both his hands raised.
"I'm sorry, I thought that I would attack him as well..." Qilong Hu apologised. However, just as their two domains connect, a violent explosion destroyed the western side of Bingying's icy field. Who was the culprit? It wasn't Shin who was supposed to be her opponent, but the never-ending hurricane that the Seven-Headed Hydra created.
Bingying was livid. She cried once again, "Senior Hu!"
"I-I can't help it!!!"
Overhead, when Shin saw the confusion in the pair's interactions. 'I knew it!' He resisted the urge to throw his fist up in celebration. Asking to fight the two Luminaries wasn't an arrogant decision that he made, but a calculated one. Shin knew how Meijing Bingying abilities worked. After all, she was his mentor for a good four years. Also, Shin had witnessed Qilong Hu fight once before, back during the Summit.
Both Meijing Bingying and Qilong Hu were dominant Spirit Spectres. In most one-on-one bouts, they would knock out their opponent with relative ease. Their crowd control, targeted one-on-one, martial arts… Almost everything about their abilities screamed dominance. However, that meant that they had one fatal flaw…
'I knew it! Their abilities cancel each other out!!!' Shin cheered.
No matter how much Shin thought highly of himself, there was no way that he could beat those two behemoths without putting his life on the line. He calculated and calculated throughout the years. Fortunately, he found a suitable answer to his problems. What if Shin fought the two Luminaries at the same time? They weren't trained to fight together, and neither were their spiritual abilities compatible. One was solid ice, the other, a ravaging tempest. How could they possibly take on Shin, who had all his abilities refined drastically over the years?
'First is you!!!'
Taking advantage of this golden opportunity, Shin bent his right fingers into the claw and summoned the Shard of the Azure Dragon forward. The siren's wail continued to deafen the ears of those surrounding the arena, as Shin pumped more and more mana into the radiant nail. The Luminaries instantly felt like an entire ocean had fallen upon their shoulders. Both their knees went weak, and their fists began to clench. Shin wasn't going to partially ignite the Shard as he did the last time… He was going to fully ignite it.
"Crap! Get down!!!" Qilong Hu warned Meijing Bingying. However, there was no need for him to be that concerned over the Pearl in the East. Already scurrying away, Bingying created hundreds of ice barrier and dug herself a hole in the ground like a mole. She didn't stop there. A thick armour of frost enveloped the young woman, bringing her defence to its absolute peak. Bingying was present when Shin first ignited the shard. She was also there when Shin ignited it to destroy the Payirci. If there were anyone in the world that feared the Shard, it would be Bingying.
Alas, Qilong Hu was not that fortunate. Shin's target from the beginning had always been the powerful man who could create that dreadful Spiritual Manifestation of the Seven-Headed Hydra. Before he could adequately prepare his defences, Shin's fully ignited Shard, which possessed enough damage to wreck through a Paradise Heart of the Payirci, landed just a few metres away from the poor young man.
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!
There was no second chance for Qilong Hu. Half the arena blew up entirely, and the debris that flew out made the stadium look like an asteroid belt. If not for the barrier created by the top engineers of the Lantis Republic, perhaps the entire audience would have been blown apart as well.
Qilong Hu was sent flying. His domain ripped apart, the phantom of the Seven-Headed Hydra had been torn to shreds and most importantly, just like Jingyu Taiyi before him, the young man lost all consciousness, blacking out almost immediately.
Meijing Bingying crept out of her hole, the icy armour that was protecting her had all but dissipated. The damage to her body was light due to all of the protections she possessed; still, the Pearl in the East felt a little concussed.
Then, Bingying saw the unmoving body of Qilong Hu. Many regarded him as the strongest Luminary in the Lantis Republic. The mountain that couldn't be moved. However… On this day, that title had been relinquished. There was a new top dog in town.
'A fully serious Shin… I never thought that it would be so terrifying...'
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