Chapter 2479 - 365 - 374

Chapter 365: The Magnificent Princess

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Although Lan Qingyue was in her early thirties, she had sacrificed everything for her cultivation and remained single. As one of the most beautiful women in the world, she was as famous for breaking men's hearts as well as being a powerful cultivator.

It must be Zambrotta's defeat that had evoked her interest in Einherjar Wannabe. As Zambrotta's old rival, Lan Qinyue was well aware of the difficulty in cultivating to the ultimate power of the Thunder Drum. Zambrotta had tried his entire life and still failed to uncover the secret. However, Einherjar Wannabe had done it in just one go.

And, he was only a seventeen years old boy? Impossible!

His seasoned drum beat was a tell-tale sign that he was a battle-hardened warrior instead of a fledgling as he claimed.

Truth be told, Lan Qinyue was more interested in the music than learning the fighter's tactics, and neither was she interested in winning the fight—she simply wanted to get acquainted with this mysterious fighter.

Even as the tournament was about to enter its most exciting stage, the event at the PA system was able to garner a significant amount of attention. Everyone couldn't stop imagining what would happen if Einherjar Wannabe had partaken in this year's tournament.

Wang Tong accepted the challenge on behalf of Mr. Wannabe as he lamented over the inconvenience of being so famous. Einherjar Wannabe's display of power had silenced all doubts that used to surround him, especially after his battle with the thunder Drum Zambrotta.

While Wang Tong was having fun at the tournament, Mr. Wannabe was getting increasing bored, and he complained about lack of opponent to Wang Tong incessantly. As soon as he learned that someone had challenged him, he pleaded Wang Tong to accept the challenge right away without even knowing who the challenger was. Wang Tong was more than happy to arrange the fight, as at least Mr. Wannabe would finally stop complaining for a while this way.

Wang Tong's next opponent was a mysterious Kaedeian called Athena. Heidi had brought eight of her personal guards to the tournament, and Athena was one of the two personal guards that had made it into the final 32.

The first fight of the final 32 playoffs started with the battle section six, between Heidi and Yao Bai from the Templar's court. Although the Templar's court was well known for their powerful warriors, Yao Bai's opponent was the formidable number one seeded fighter of the Kaedians. Therefore, no one was certain who the winner would be.

The match started in a crowded arena. At this stage of the tournament, every match was bound to be a splendid display of power. The audiences were able to watch fighters that they otherwise would never able to see in real-life.

The Kaedeian princess was dressed in a blue over-all, yet the slightly baggy dress did not hide her soft curves. At the other side of the stage, Yao Bai stood with a lance strapped to his back, the fire of battle burning in his eyes.

"Please." Representing the Templar's Court, Yao Bai tried his to be as courteous as he could in front of a noble lady.

As soon as the two fighters finished bowing to each other, Heidi attacked immediately with her sword-like weapon. These swords were unique to the Kaedeians, and were called the Cinquedeas. It was shaped like a sword, with numerous unique motifs carved into its body. Since the Kaedeian race was isolated from the Human race until a few hundred years ago, they had developed their unique weapons that were suited to their own culture.

The Phantom Dash!

Heidi had eliminated many opponents with this signature Kaedeian technique. So far, none of her opponents had been able to see through her elusive footwork.

In a blink of an eye, Heidi was right in front of her opponent, and before the rest of her illusions had disappeared, her chinquedea whizzed at the young Templar. However, Yao Bai was well prepared, and had already charged up his soul energy. With a loud "vroom," the young Templar thrust his lance and blocked the incoming blade.

With a loud clank, Heidi's first attack had been countered, and the impact staggered her, pushing her a few feet back.

"My lady, I am a Templar. So, perhaps you could try a little bit harder?" Yao Bai asked courteously as he plastered a smile on his face.

Heidi cracked a smile, which unintentionally subverted the minds of all the males in the arena. Even her opponent had to hold back his urge to kneel under her feet. After gathering himself, the young Templar slowly cranked up his soul energy, and with a forceful twist of his wrist, the lance vibrated, sending out waves of energy.

"Take this!" Yao Bai shouted as he plunged the lance into his opponent.

Infused with energy, the lance turned into a silver dragon it darted towards its prey.

The lance gave off such a bright aura that it lightened up the whole arena. Heidi's movement was elusive and swift, casting a flickering shadow on the wall against the bright light.

It was a no-brainer that the Kaedeian princess was one hell of a fighter. However, no one knew exactly how powerful she was. In addition to her power, another aspect that made her stand out among the Magnificent Five was her exquisite beauty. So far, Yao Bai was the toughest opponent she had encountered during this tournament.

Since the beginning of the match, Yao Bai appeared to have gained the initiative. The four inner court disciples didn't disappoint the audience, as all of them had fought ferociously during their matches. If Wu Gang didn't encounter a member of the great houses, he would have entered the final 32 with his brothers.

Among the four inner court disciples, Yao Bai was the most aggressive, largely due to the characteristics of his weapon, the lance.

Lance was the weapon of kings, and the king of all lances was the Deva Lance from House of Dower.

That being said, the lance techniques passed down from the Templars were no less powerful than that of the Dower; they were just less well-known.

Faced with Yao Bai's overbearing attacks, Heidi was not able to gain any advantage during the fight. Although Heidi's dream-like movements had tricked many opponents before Yao Bai, the young Templar was not affected by them. As an inner court disciple, Yao Bai had undergone rigorous training to counter illusions. Therefore, he was able to strike true in every single strike.

That being said, despite the fact that Yao Bai was able to control the flow of the battle, Heidi was able to stand her ground firmly, and counter her opponent's belligerent attacks with ease.

While dancing around the deadly lance, Heidi seemed to be observing her opponent rather than fighting.

After observing her opponent for a while, Heidi slid the thin sword along the handle of the lance and tapped at the tip of the lance effortlessly. With an almost inaudible din, the lance was stopped cold in its track. Heidi's seemingly unintentional strike was powerful enough to halt the heavy lance there and then.

Yao Bai reminded himself to be more prudent, as Heidi's "gentle" tap on the lance tip had revealed that she had only used a fraction of her real power so far.

Holding the lance with both hands, Yao Bai started to twist and turn it until it had become a whirlwind in his hands, and then charged at his opponent. The tip of the lance danced left and right, hard for anyone to tell where it would land.

CLANK!

Heidi met the attack with her blade, and her strike hit home as it interrupted the young Templar's attack combo. Even as the young Templar was trying to figure out what had happened, Heidi's blade slid up against the lance towards Yao Bai's hand like a serpent slithering up a tree.

The follow-up attack caught the young Templar off guard. He had no time to think, although he was puzzled as to how Heidi had moved so close to him so fast.

Instinct told Yao Bai that his opponent was very deadly, and he could not let her gain the upper hand under any circumstances. The young Templar suddenly shouted as his soul energy soared up to four hundred and sixty. The sudden outburst of energy agitated the lance as it started to tremble with the movement of energy in the air. Somehow, Yao Bai felt that he could no longer reach the highest energy output no matter how hard he had tried, as if his opponent could even counter his energy flow.

Princess Heidi studied her opponent carefully for a few seconds and then heaved a sigh of disappointment.

The young Templar shouted three more times, pumping his soul energy throughout his body. With a twist of the lance, Yao Bai charged out at his opponent.

So powerful was the attack that the lance seemed to have sucked away all the air around it, forming an area of low pressure at its tip. In a blink of an eye, the sharp tip pierced through the swirl of low pressure and whizzed towards Heidi at lightning speed.

Holding the blade in one hand, the Kaedeian princess disappeared like a phantom. Half a second later, she reappeared right in front of the charging young Templar and stopped his motion cold with a blade against his neck.

Yao Bai found it hard to come to terms with his defeat, as he had noticed no illusions, neither did he sense any flow of soul energy.

"The winner is —PRINCESS HEIDI!"

Chapter 366: Undead Ghost?

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

It was an unbelievable victory. Although Heidi was a powerful fighter, so was her opponent. Her finishing move was so effortless, it was as if Yao Bai was an entry level no-account.

Yao Bai plodded into the resting room with his head lowered. It was evident that the defeat had taken the wind out of his sail. It would be lesser of a catastrophe if his opponent didn't finish him off so easily. He could feel that the Kaedeian princess had possessed some special ability that was able to lower his max energy output. It was a technique that he had never heard of in the Templar's court.

Despite their valiant efforts, two of the four Templars were already out of the game.

This year's tournament was also a significant event for the Templars, since it had been a while since the so-called birthplace of all tactics had shown any real power to the world. Therefore, Yao Bai and Wu Gang's easy defeat was unacceptable.

Meanwhile, breaking news came from the PA system: the DREAM had confirmed an error in the system, and corrected Einherjar Wannabe's age to more than two hundred years old.

It was Einherjar Wannabe's fans who had first discovered this technical slip-up. This was the first time this mysterious fighter's profile had ever been changed, but the change was too significant to overlook.

"Over two hundred years old? OMG... How is that possible?"

Mere seconds after the change had been discovered, the news had quickly become viral. Everyone was talking about it, and everyone wanted to confirm the details with DREAM.

Cameron was bombarded with questions that he had no answers to. "Telus, haven't you finished your investigation?" Cameron shouted.

"Boss, you got tele—"

"F*ck off! I don't have answers!"

"This.. is from the higher up."

Cameron took a deep breath and took over the phone. The workers watched as Cameron's overwrought expressed slowly relaxed, and then turned into a smile.

"Yes, boss, I will make sure of it."

After the phone conversation, Cameron announced, "Reply to all of the media with all that we know."

"Boss, don't you think it will—"

"Just do it!" Cameron cut one of his worker short.

In a few minutes, the DREAM official website announced that they would online stream the review of Einherjar Wannabe's profile. Even the DREAM employees were shocked by the data, much less the public. Never had there been so much excitement among the online community.

"What will the review tell us?"

"A system error, or was Einherjar Wannabe, an immortal?"

It was common sense that humans cannot live for more than two hundred years, since so far, human technology was not able to replace the aging gene yet.

Somehow, Cameron wished that all this was just a system error. But, what if it was not? Cameron found it hard even to fathom the implications of their findings.

An employee walked to Cameron, trembling uncontrollably as he said, "There are over.. ten billion people watching the review online."

This unprecedentedly amounted to viewers even a councilor election was not able to garner. There had been more than one hundred media outlets that were live streaming the event. Although the review was a very tedious process, and not a lot of viewers actually understood what the technicians were doing, people rushed to their TV to watch the event anyways.

Meanwhile, on the Moon, many people had abandoned the tournament to watch the live stream as well.

After checking and double checking, DREAM had concluded that there was nothing wrong with the system record. The system had used two hundred years as the upper limit of players' age. However, Einherjar Wannabe's age was well beyond that.

"How is that even possible?"

A young fledgling turned out to be a ten thousand years old egg; this turn of events was too dramatic.

There was no doubt that a two hundred years old warrior would be as deadly as an Einherjar, and Einherjar Wannabe's performance seemed to have confirmed that. However, the immaturity and inexperience in his previous fights were also obvious. As he progressed through more fights, he seemed to be slowly recovering his power and experience.

When he had defeated Zambrotta, he was ready to challenge anyone in the world.

Wang Tong had received the news as well, but he was not surprised by Mr. Wannabe's age.

"Mr. Wannabe, exactly how old are you?" Wang Tong glanced at Mr. Wannabe, who was busy watching Tv.

"How would I know? Like I have the time to count!"

Although the soul essence would never perish, Mr. Wannabe was trapped inside the crystal. Otherwise, his form would allow him to travel between worlds with ease.

Mr. Wannabe threw Wang Tong a sidelong glance and said, "I need to straighten my soul essence to achieve my freedom, and therefore, I will have to fight anyone, even that wench."

Wang Tong shook his head and replied, "That...wench... is more powerful than most men in the world."

"Bah! A woman should know her place. Fighting is only for the men!"

Wang Tong shook his head. Clearly, the old ghost still clung to his two hundred years old values.

Wang Tong decided to take a break before his fight against the Kaedeian Athena. Ever since he learned that he was about to fight the Kaedeian, a strange feeling had been nagging him constantly, as if something terrible was about to happen during the fight.

After a few rounds of cultivation, Wang Tong had calmed his mind and was ready for the fight.

Cheers and shouts filled the arena. Some were cheering for the future of the S-Club, and some were cheering for the beautiful Kaedeian warrior. Athena's features were so exquisite that they made the Kaedeian girl seem to be straight out of a painting.

Athena was already used the man-gaze of her audiences. She was not here for her personal glory, but to fulfill the prophecy, to find out the man that was promised by the prophet.

So far, the most likely candidate was one of the four heirs of the great houses. However, to avoid oversight, the Kaedeians were ordered to test every fighter that they encountered.

Wang Tong wanted to finish the fight as fast as possible, so he charged at his opponent right away. Even as Wang Tong was still a few paces away from his opponent, he released a burst of soul energy that increased his speed tenfold. Already, Athena knew that her opponent was not an Average Joe. Kaedeians were extremely sensitive to soul energy, and she could tell right away that Wang Tong's power was above her.

Without much time to think, Athena cranked up her soul energy and met the incoming attack with her blade.

One corner of Wang Tong's lips curved at the sight of his opponent's reaction. While continuing the attack, he changed the tempo of his charge. The sudden change in the flow of the battle threw the Kaedeian off her balance. Before the Kaedeian was able to gather herself, she saw a fist coming at her —it was too late to block.

Voomp!

The impact sent Athena's body and her sword flying. However, she quickly pulled herself up and stared at Wang Tong. She could not believe her eyes, but her heart was telling her that she had found what she was looking for.

Chapter 367: Ice Mastery

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Athena took a deep breath. To make sure that her feelings did not cheat her, she would have to test the boy's real power. So, she released the full capacity of her soul energy and let it soar to over four hundred and fifty. This was the largest amount of soul energy the audiences had ever seen ever since the beginning of the tournament.

Athena carefully channeled her GN force into the sword and charged at Wang Tong. Wang Tong didn't hurry to defend himself. Instead, he measured the flow of energy carefully and confirmed that the Kaedeian's soul energy was slowly invading his sea of consciousness. The intrusion was pervasive, yet hard to detect. Although Wang Tong was not sure what technique the Kaedeian had used, he fought back the intrusion by repelling it out of his system. Already, Athena's charging speed seemed to have slowed down, and Wang Tong saw an opportunity to strike.

As the Kaedeian blade whizzed across the air, Wang Tong grabbed firmly onto the blade handle with one hand, while two fingers of the other hand found the Kaedeian's neck and rested against it like a tip of a dagger.

"You have lost" Wang Tong announced coldly.

Wang Tong had seen through the trick that the Kaedeian had used against many opponents before him. Although the invasion of the sea of consciousness had been very effective, it was useless against Wang Tong.

Athena held back her excitement as she conceded her defeat. She bowed to Wang Tong almost reverentially, a gesture that caught Wang Tong off guard.

The match ended in a matter of minutes, and it took the audiences a few seconds to take in what had just happened.

"The winner is—Wang Tong!"

Wang Tong's every victory marked another significant step in Ayrlarng's history. Even a draw would be a great achievement for Wang Tong, much less winning so easily.

Zhang Mi, the journalist, had also been following Wang Tong's every step. She noted that ever since Wang Tong had entered the playoffs, he had defeated his opponents with decisive advantages.

"Was that because his opponents were too weak? Not likely" Zhang Mi wrote in her report. "Not only were all the remaining fighters renowned warriors, but it was also very unlikely that the Kaedeians would send a weak fighter to the tournament."

Meanwhile, on the stage, Wang Tong flushed under the fiery gaze of Athena, and wondered if it was the Kaedeian's custom to stare so longingly at their opponent after the match.

The cameraman also gave a portrait shot of Athena's face. The young girl did not look like she was upset by her defeat, as her eyes burned with a luster of desire and anticipation.

"His opponent is too weak! Nevertheless, this kid does worth his salt." Wu Xin announced.

"Mom! He is the best!" Ma Xiaoru claimed.

Wu Xin cracked a smile. She agreed that Wang Tong had done a very good job getting this far into the tournament. However, his next opponent was Li Ruoer, and Wu Xin was convinced that he would finally taste defeat.

"I want to see him."

"I knew you would say that. I suggest not. His next opponent is Li Ruoer. You don't want to distract him preparing for his next fight, do you?"

"Wang Tong will win, I am sure of it. He is not afraid of the Tactics of the Enchantress."

"Hehe, how would you know that?"

"I had sparred with him before using tactics of the Enchantress. It was useless against him."

Wu Xin padded her daughter's head and said, "You silly girl, do you really think House of Li would teach you the real Tactics of the Enchantress?"

"But—"

"But, you still felt that you are more powerful than most of your classmates?" Wu Xin helped her daughter finish her words.

Ma Xiaoru nodded. Not only could she feel the power inside her, but her soul energy had also reached over two hundred.

"The key of the tactics of the Enchantress was its cultivation method. House of Li must have reserved the most saline component of the cultivation out of your training, so that you would never reach your full potential. Can't blame them though, as we don't share all of our technology with them either. " Wu Xin said and then heaved a sigh.

Ma Xiaoru knew that any actions of House of Ma and Li would affect the intricate balance of power of the world. Striking a balance among major households was essential for maintaining a harmonious and peaceful confederation, especial when the Zergs were still lurking at their doorstep. Due to its unique situation, House of Ma had become the pivotal point where the unity of the confederation rested upon. Whenever House of Li showed singes of weakening, House of Ma would help them re-exert its former influence. On the other hand, if House of Li grew too powerful, House of Ma would need to adopt other necessary means to counter the Li's clout.

Although Li Zhedao was a martial arts genius, he was a political amateur. Therefore, House of Ma had often come to House of Li's aid due to Li Zhedao's constant missteps in the political realm. However, things had changed ever since Li Shiming had risen to power. Not only was he capable, but he was also dangerously ambitious. It was impossible to expect him to be content with the status quo. If the power of House of Li were not being kept in check, Li Shiming's ambition would disrupt the world's balance and bring chaos to the world.

With House of Ma's help, Li Zhedao was managing to claw House of Li out of the rock bottom, and there was no doubt that his powerful son would not only recover House of Li to its full glory, but he would also seek to exert even more influence in the confederation. The responsibility of keeping the Li's ambitions in check weighed heavily on House of Ma. Wu Xin knew that with the marriage between her daughter and Li Shiming, the struggle to maintain balance would become even more difficult, if not outright impossible.

Looking at the infatuated expression on Ma Xiaoru's face, Wu Xin remembered her teenage years and the foolish thing she had done.

In the second section, a much-anticipated battle had started. It was the match between the heir of the Gong-son Family and the most popular fighter on the earth—Li Shiming.

The two had already exchanged a few rounds of attacks, and Li Shiming had tasted the power of his soul mastery opponent. Gong-son Wuce had started the fight with waves of aggressive attacks, while Li Shiming was able to hold his ground, carrying out the fight prudently.

"Li Shiming, draw your sword! You won't be able to defend yourself if you don't!" Gong-son Wuce shouted.

Gong-son Wuce was one of the most renowned warriors on the Moon before Patroclus had announced his completion of the Tactics of Vayu.

"Please." Li Shiming gestured the Ivantian to carry on the fight, but without any intention of using the Sword of Vayu.

Gong-son Wuce had not only reached the pinnacle of a level five warrior's power, but he also had the soul mastery at his disposal. Defeating any one of the heirs of the Great Houses would be a confidence boost for the Ivantian, and ready him for the next goal—Einherjar.

Li Shiming had wanted to finish the fight quickly. However, the unique power of his opponent had piqued his interest, and he wanted to wait and see what kind of coup de grace the Ivantian had up his sleeve.

Gong-son Wuce tilted the sword upright while charging up his soul energy. In a blink of an eye, he showered the audience with magic.

"Scales of the Ice Dragon"

A sphere made out of floating symbols appeared in front of the Ivantian, as thousands of sharp icicles shot out from the ball towards Li Shiming.

Li Shiming's brows furrowed. He was prepared for the sudden burst of aggression as he countered the icy attack with punches, shredding the icicles into tiny pieces.

However, even as the icicles fell to the ground, Li Shiming felt an intense bitter-coldness coming at him. He suddenly realized why his opponent had suggested him to use his weapon to block the attack, because the icicles were only the first wave of attack.

Energy waves thrust about around Gong-son Wuce, tousling his long dark hair. With a sweep of the blade, another wall of floating text and symbols appeared.

"Rage of the Ice Dragon!" The Ivantian shouted out the name of his coup de grace, as an ice dragon suddenly emerged from the wall.

"Is that an illusion?"

Guan Dongyang had already proven to everyone that mastery was not an illusion. Gong-son Wuce had repeated the same trick, except for this time, it was an ice dragon instead of a fire drake.

Li Shiming was caught off guard, and had lost the time to evade the attack, so he was forced to turn on his soul energy shield. The ice dragon opened its mouth trying to swallow Li Shiming whole, as it lunged onto the energy shield.

"Bang!"

It was such a terrible strike that the entire arena trembled on impact.

Gong-son Wuce looked toward the direction of the impact, but all he could see was dust and smoke. When the dust and smoke finally settled, he watched as an ice sculpture appeared in front of him—Li Shiming was frozen in his place.

Layers upon layers of ice caked over the body of Li Shiming, and the weight of the ice itself would be able to crush ordinary people into pulp. Gong-son Wuce had finally proven to the world the power of mastery, and opened everyone's eyes to a new dimension of cultivation.

Gong-son Wuce waited patiently. Ten seconds later, if Li Shiming were not able to get out of the ice, he would have won the battle.

This was the first time Gong-son Wuce had used his coup de grace, and he was exceedingly satisfied with the results.

Chapter 368: Vayu Unsheathed

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

The House of Li had been feeding on the leftovers of Li Feng's achievement for too long, and it was time for a new order.

Ten seconds had passed, and the battled had ended.

"Brother Gong-son, why are you in such a hurry? Let me enjoy your power for a bit longer."

With a wave of loud cracking noise, the ice shattered and revealed Li Shiming, who was unharmed. A few strands of loose hair were hanging over his forehead.

"It was a powerful attack! I can tell that the mastery has improved significantly over the years. I should congratulate you on that!"

Seeing that Li Shiming was unharmed by his coup de grace, Gong-son Wuce's face suddenly paled. He had never fought anyone who used the tactics of Vayu before, and his experience so far had confirmed that all the rumors about its power were true.

"Brother Gong-son, is there anything else up your sleeve? I am eager to learn more about the power of mastery."

"Hehe, I am impressed by the Tactics of Vayu as well. You can count that previous attack as a warm-up. Now comes the real deal."

"Enlighten me, please." Li Shiming gestured the Ivantian to proceed. However this time, his tone was much more humble than it was earlier. He wagered that without the protection of the tactics of Vayu, that ice dragon strike would have gravely wounded him.

Gong-son Wuce threw the blade into the air and the steel blade somehow magically floated above his head. Although many other fighters had done it, a floating sword was rather useless in a real battle. However, as everyone had suspected, the Ivantian didn't do this just for show.

Standing below the blade, Gong-son Wuce shifted through a dozen hand signs, and the flying sword started to tremble violently. The air around the sword also moved about wildly, whizzing against the sharp edges. In a blink, the blade was covered by frost, and then the frost turned into crystal clear ice.

Li Shiming knew that this sword was more than just an ordinary sword coated with a layer of ice. It was infused with GN force with the cold elemental attribute. Li Shiming was not unfamiliar with GN force attributes, since the Tactics of Vayu had a unique attribute as well.

Gong-son didn't give Li Shiming much time to admire his techniques, as he commanded the blade to whiz through the air at Li Shiming. The lightning speed of the sword suggested that the bond between Gong-son and his blade was no ordinary soul energy connection.

"Zing!"

The icy blade traveled though Li Shiming's body as if it went through thin air—An illusion?

It was not an illusion. Li Shiming simply evaded the attack with an incredible speed that was faster than what naked eyes could see. People had forgotten that the Tactics of Vayu was once crowned the fastest tactics.

Gong-son Wuce didn't give up as he commanded the blade to follow its target. With all the concentration he could muster, the Ivantian could barely keep up with Li Shiming.

Suddenly, Li Shiming turned around and charged at Gong-son Wuce like a phantom. Gong-son Wuce had anticipated this surprise attack, and with a wave of a hand, a row of solid ice materialized in front of him. Carried by his momentum, Li Shiming was not able to stop. But, instead of ramming into the wall, he ran up along the ice.

It took Li Shiming only a fraction of a second to adjust his movement, and a deadly ice blade was only inches away from him already. Even as Li Shiming hurried to outrun the ice blade, Gong-son Wuce fed another wave of GN force into the weapon, increasing its speed.

So far, no one other than Gong-son Wuce had been able to force Li Shiming into such a tight corner.

"Zing...Bamm!"

The ice blade racked open and was shattered into thousands of fragment. The blade that took Gong-son Wuce three years to perfect had been reduced into a pile of frosty dust on the ground.

Despite feeling pity for the loss of a powerful weapon, Gong-son Wuce was not surprised at all.

Finally, Li Shiming had unsheathed the legendary weapon, the sword of Vayu.

Holding the slender sword, Li Shiming landed gracefully back to the ground "Brother Gong-son, as you wished, I have drawn my sword. Don't disappoint me."

Standing confidently on the stage, Li Shiming seemed to have transformed into an entirely different person. He was no longer the heir of House of Li, but rather seemed like the heir of the entire world.

Sensing the sudden surge of power in his opponent, Gong-son Wuce was as excited as he was afraid. He figured that it would worth it even if he were defeated by the legendary blade of Vayu.

The Ivantian crossed his hands and started to chant. Two ice blades appeared from behind his shoulders out of nowhere. In a blink, the two blades whizzed at Li Shiming with incredible speed.

Li Shiming raised "Vayu" to block the attack. However, as soon as the sword came into contact with the ice blades, another two spherical energy balls erupted.

"Ice Seal!"

The ice GN force suddenly gushed towards Li Shiming, but the latter was prepared. Li Shiming twisted Yayu over with an intense force. The legendary weapon sent out a sharp energy wave that cut open the air like gutting a fish belly.

"Zing!"

The energy wave traveled too fast for Gong-son Wuce to react, and carved a large wound on the Ivantian's body, sending him stumbling back for a dozen meters.

"Try harder, Brother Gong-son, or you won't be able to try at all."

Although the ice attribute was unique in its own ways, it was not enough to overcome Li Shiming and "Vayu."

Gong-son Wuce rubbed his chest where he was hit, and the wound was frozen over immediately. He licked the frozen blood off his finger; the taste of iron in his mouth, combined with the excitement of fighting someone so powerful, pushed him closer towards a trance.

So far, Gong-son Wuce had only released a fraction of his mastery power. Since he saw Li Shiming had used his legendary sword, he figured that he should no longer hold back his power either.

Gong-son Wuce ripped open his shirt, pumped his fists together, and shouted like an animal; his soul energy surged exponentially. An icy flower with its petals forming the pattern of a snowflake bloomed underneath the Ivantian's feet. The flower quickly transformed from a two-dimensional drawing into a three-dimensional ice statue. All the while, Gong-son Wuce's soul energy had reached four hundred and eighty-three; he was infinitesimally close to level six.

The icy GN force quickly surrounded the entire arena, and the Ivantian had already turned into a white soldier with a pair of glinting silvery eyes.

"Ice Tsunami!" Gong-son Wuce shouted and waved his hand. Suddenly, Li Shiming felt an immensely powerful force coming down on him from above.

Li Shiming didn't try to evade the attack—he knew it was useless. Instead, he blocked the attack with his blade.

"Komm!"

A deafening blare erupted from the impact; for a while, no one could hear anything. With an upward cut, "Vayu" had sliced open the energy that was boring down on Li Shiming, and he immediately plunged the blade towards his opponent without any hesitation.

"Clank!"

Gong-son Wuce's ice shield was shattered, and the impact sent the Ivantian backward until he hit the energy barrier.

The white frost on the ground contrasted the darkest shade of the crimson blood. Li Shiming walked slowly toward his opponent. "You have done well—mastery has done well. But, it's still not enough."

Li Shiming extended an arm to the Ivantian, who had already collapsed on the ground, struggling to get up.

Gong-son Wuce had met many opponents, but no one was as polite as Li Shiming.

"The winner is —LI SHIMING!"

Although Gong-son Wuce was defeated, he had proven the effectiveness of mastery to the world by forcing Li Shiming to use his legendary sword. This fight had no doubt increased the mastery's popularity among young people, especially those who dared to experiment new methods.

Meanwhile, in the first section, Patroclus was fighting his opponent—the Kaedeian Samuel.

They had been exchanging a few rounds of attacks, and Samuel had already felt pressure to stand her ground.

The beautiful Kaedeian gritted her teeth—it was time to test her limit.

Samuel charged again at Patroclus with abandon, but she failed to protect her vulnerable spots. Sensing his opponent's mistake, Patroclus smiled and punched at the Kaedeian girl's belly. The punch hit square and finished the fight then and there.

In the fifth section, an attractive looking young girl called Qin Yue, who was the heir of the "Soul Devour" sect—named after their weapon/instrument, the soul-devouring harp— was about to fight against Michaux Odin.

"Young master, please allow me to play a song for us." The girl asked slowly.

"Please, indulge me." The young master answered politely.

The peaceful and amicable scene made the audience think that the two were flirting with each other instead of fighting.

Chapter 369: The Top Sixteen List

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Michaux didn't seem wanting to attack either. There were many ways of fighting a battle with sound waves, and both Michaux and Qin Yue had decided not to go with a physical method.

Qin Yue was a quiet and elegant-looking girl. She slowly plugged the harp and made a few notes. The attack of the soul-devouring harp was pervasive; the victim wouldn't even realize he or she was under attack.

Michaux stood quietly and listened attentively, as if he were enjoying the music. The music was indeed soul touching; slowly, Michaux could feel that he was getting younger, and in a few seconds, he had to become a kid that he used to be. In front of Michaux stood a haughty figure. The man patted Michaux's head and asked, "Child, would you like to be the new divine master?"

Michaux nodded, and then, just like that, he had become the young divine master; it was as simple as that.

Since then, he had learned that this man's name was Divine Path, and he had followed him so closely that Divine Path had become all that he cared for in his life.

"But, who exactly are you?"

"What do I want?"

"Why do I follow you?"

One question bade another, and Michaux could answer none of them. To follow the Divine Path, he had forsaken kinship and friendship, and forgot about love and hate. Even after he had finally grasped the Divine Path, then what? The answer was simple: emptiness…boundless emptiness.

Michaux was not alone in his feeling, as Qin Yue's music had driven the emotions of all audiences up and down.

Qin Yue was not here to fight but to return a favor to the Divine Sect for her master. The former divine master had enlightened Qin Lanyue, and the enlightenment had helped her make the breakthrough in her cultivation. Although Odin was a genius in cultivation, he knew practically nothing about living a normal life. Qin Lanyue reckoned that his nativity in real life would ultimately hinder his cultivation, and therefore she had sent Qin Yue to enlighten him.

Michaux Odin felt lost in his blind pursuit of the Divine Path, and he also felt something more primal pushing him from the inside. Michaux had kept a celibate life voluntarily, since the Sect had never banned the cardinal knowledge. Right then, Michaux felt the burning of an unnamed desire for the first time while looking at the beautiful girl in front of him.

The harp also drew all the audiences deeper into their memories, memories filled with grievance, craze, and bliss.

Unlike the thunder drum, the soul-devouring harp's attack was much more personal, as it was tied directly to one's memories, the building blocks of the soul.

If the instrument practice could be counted as one type of cultivation, the music would be the tactics. When the instrumentalist finally reached the deepest layer of his or her soul using music, it was considered the equivalent of a cultivator having reached the Divine Path.

Michaux's face changed through a series of expressions, and perhaps it was the first time he had ever felt so many feelings and emotions bundled all together, toiling inside him.

After a while, Michaux slowly opened his eyes, and the music stopped as well.

"Much appreciated! " Michaux's voice held the edge of a calm that threatened to explode. No one knew what the music had done to the young master.

Qin Yue put away the harp and bowed. "You are more than welcome. My master wanted me to tell you that be prepared for the path you have embarked, for it is a lonely one. "

Michaux cracked a smile and replied, "At least I have loneliness accompanying me."

Qin Yue was slightly shocked by the answer she got. She hesitated for half a second and then turned to the referee. "I concede my defeat."

If one understood the two's fight, they would perfectly understand the outcome. Otherwise, the fight and the result would be outright preposterous. Although many people came to the tournament to seek glory, not everyone was here with that same goal.

"The winner is —Michaux Odin!"

In the third section, Li Ruoer used "Rosy" and defeated Lei Long, while in the fourth section, Lie Jian sent Mo Xie home with only one single punch.

In the seventh section, Li Xin, the thunder blade, had defeated a strong opponent, Youla.

In the eighth section, Zhang Buyu took the victory with ease.

The outcomes of the fights suggested that the Magnificent Five still dominated the landscape of METAL combat.

There were, however, a few non-great house fighters remaining in the fight. Based on his insane attack power, Ye Kai had defeated a member of the House of Zhang, Zhang Fan. Wang Ben, on the other hand, had also risen to power and finished off many powerful foes, such as Tevez, a mastery cultivator from the Dark Moon.

Turbolix, the heir of the Wind Cloud Kick, had defeated a house member of the Ma. This was not much of surprise, since the Wind Cloud Kick was already a renowned technique in the Confederation.

Gradisca, the heir of the Ninjutsu Mastery, had defeated Victor.

There had been a couple of dark horses this year as well. One of the dark horses was Zader from the Andromeda Galaxy, and the other was Wang Tong, who had defeated the Kaedeian, Athena.

However, everyone was convinced that the two dark horses would soon end their journey in the Tournament, because Zader's next opponent was Patroclus, while Wang tong was going to fight Li Ruoer.

Soon, the top sixteen list was published.

Patroclus vs. Zader

Li Shiming vs. Gradisca

Li Ruoer vs. Wang Tong

Lie Jian vs. Wang Ben

Michaux Odin vs. Ye Kai

Heidi vs. Trubolix

Li Xin vs. Wu Ma

Zhang Buyu vs. Allen

By then, the tournament finally had arrived at the most exciting phase.

Wang Tong's success in making his way into the top sixteen had been a huge accomplishment for Ayrlarng. He had quickly gained a large popularity among the masses, since they felt he was more approachable than members of the great houses. Everyone hoped that Wang tong could continue his winning streak.

Wang Tong's biggest fan was the owner of the Dream Cafe near Ayrlarng's campus. Despite the boom of his business, thanks to his connection with Wang Tong, the owner had always reserved the terminal number five for his lucky charm.

Wang Tong and Zader had become the only two fighters who did not have a prominent background. Compared to Wang Tong, there was even lesser information available about Zader due to his far-away homeland.

After looking at the final sixteen list, Hu Yangxuan lamented about the intensity of competition that was going to be there.

The final sixteen matches started without given the fighters any time for a rest after their recent fights. The first match was between Patroclus and Zader, the perfect human versus the mysterious fighter from the land far away.

The huge arena was already packed with audience, including the rows that were reserved for combatants. It would be a precious opportunity for many fighters to watch a fight between two of the most powerful fighters in the world so closely. The famous audiences included the Li brother-sister pair, Lie Jian, and Michaux. Wang Tong was also sitting among these renowned fighters.

Patroclus walked to the stage. Like all of his previous fights, he didn't bring his lance with him.

Zader looked rather pedestrian; medium height, medium built, prudent and calm. Zader's weapon was a short pike, which was about a meter in length.

The match started with a tsunami of cheers. Zader attacked first, as he lunged the short pike towards Patroclus with an incredible speed. His Zerg-like movement looked very much like that of Cao Yi.

Patroclus waited until the pike was only an inch away from him, then swept his hand and diverted the attack effortlessly. Meanwhile, he took a step closer to his attacker and punched with the other hand.

The punch hit square and forced Zader stumbling meters back until he lost his balance and fell to the ground.

Chapter 370: Mutation?

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Even without using the Deva Lance, Patroclus was already invincible among his peers. Everyone knew that if there were any chance of gaining an edge on Patroclus, it lied with the initiative of the fight, since any odds would be lost once Patroclus started his attack.

To everyone's surprise, Zader managed to pull himself up from the ground with ease, as if nothing had happened to him. All of Patroclus's previous opponents were defeated after receiving one strike.

Although he couldn't put the finger on it, Patroclus had felt something was off in Zader's power compared to all the other opponents he had encountered so far. Perhaps, Patroclus thought, it was because he was from a distant galaxy.

With such great distance, even the same tactics might be taught very differently. Therefore, Patroclus wagered that Zader had used a tactic that was unique to the Andromeda Galaxy.

Zader stretched his body after he gathered himself. Eyes glinting, he growled and then dove towards his opponent with his short pike.

"Balls, how did he get this far into the tournament?"

"No kidding! I bet he is weaker than most A-Class Academy students."

Zader's attack does not follow any set patterns; it was direct and powerful. He had won all of his previous fights not with technique bu,t with overbearing brute force. His fighting style seemed to suggest that Zader was in an extremely fit physical condition.

As the short pike became a whirlwind in Zader's hand, he attacked with abandon, without paying any consideration to defense. From the crazed attacks, the audiences could tell that Zader was determined to poke at least one hole on Patroclus, even though he was deemed to lose the game.

"Why is he in such a hurry? Being able to poke Patroclus once won't give him the victory he wants." Hu Yangxuan shook his head. Hu Yangxuan had just recently got the doctor's permission to get out of the bed, and he had come to the arena to watch the fight that he simply could not miss. After all, there was a huge difference in watching the fight live versus watching it on TV.

"Komm!"

Patroclus's strike hit home again and forced Zader to stumble a few meters back. Patroclus didn't follow up with more attacks. Instead, he paused and stared at his opponent. "What are you looking for?" He asked.

Zader picked himself up quickly. Despite his deft movement, he was injured, as his blood spattered on the ground.

To everyone's surprise, his blood was green.

Could it be that the people who lived in the Andromeda Galaxy had green blood? Of course not! Even Kaedeian's blood was red, just like that of every other human sub-races.

Despite the strange development, no one paid much attention to it during the heat of the battle. Zader could have born with a mutated gene, and the mutation was not unheard of anyways.

Zader pressed a hand on the wound. Even from a distance, Patroclus could discern an unnatural undulation under Zader's skin. When Zader removed his hand, the wound had been completely healed. Zader licked his lips with an abnormally slender and long tongue, as the cold light flickered in his eyes.

"INSTRUCTION—obtain gene of the top fighters!"

Zader had already collected ample gene samples. Compare to the human gene pool on Norton, the tournament hosted a feast of various human genes. After a few days, Zader had obtained more human genes than he would on Norton for an entire year. By then, he only needed one more component to finish his mission—the gene of the strongest fighters.

After receiving a couple blows from Patroclus, Zader knew that his final prey was standing right in front of him.

"Git the jineee! The JINE! JINNNEEE!"

Zader's words became a deep, beast-like growling.

"What the hell is he mumbling?"

"God knows! It was the first time he even talked."

"Yeah, I don't recall him ever said anything before. His voice is creepy."

"No Kidding!"

Despite the audiences' mean comments, it was hard to deny that the fighter from Andromeda had an alien and eerie vibe. As Wang Tong watched the foreign fighter, an idea suddenly occurred to him: Could Zader be a Zerg in disguise as a human?

Although even Wang Tong didn't think that it was likely, the consequence of such an event would be catastrophic.

"What's up?" Hu Yangxuan asked Wang Tong curiously.

"Nah, nothing. I had a brain fart."

"I don't think Zader could win this match. Patroclus is too powerful for him." Hu Yangxuan said.

Wang Tong nodded; Patroclus was one of the toughest fighters he had ever seen, and the promise of fighting against him filled Wang Tong with anticipation.

On the battlefield, Zader retaliated with more ferocious attacks. What puzzled Patroclus the most was that Zader didn't seem to want to defeat him. Instead, he simply wanted to stab him with his pike.

Patroclus danced around the short pike, evading the blow effortlessly. He locked his eyes with Zader's; he was certain that there was something hidden underneath that pair of nearly lifeless eyes.

"Komm!"

Zader's attack missed its target as it landed heavily on the ground and caused an explosion, showering its vicinity with rocks and concrete blocks. Zader didn't mind the deadly projectiles falling around him. He immediately threw himself at Patroclus, pointing the pike squarely at the Ivantian's heart.

Patroclus ducked down and evaded the attack, followed by a chin-kick that sent Zader flying into the air.

Miao Xiu knew the weight of the kick from his first-hand experience. He was convinced that Zader was done for after having received such mighty blow. Due to Patroclus's overwhelming power, none of his classmates were willingly spar with him.

As soon as Zader received a blow, a gush of green blood spilled out from his mouth. Before he hit the ground, Zader screamed with the most inhumane voice, and suddenly, a pair of wings forced their ways out of Zader's skin on his back.

Everyone was shocked by this terrifying scene.

The audiences looked again to make sure their eyes didn't deceive them. They watched as Zader hovered in the air with a pair of grotesque bat-wings. Zader's face contorted, as if he was perversely enjoying the pain in his body. His bones started to grow larger, stretching his skin until it came apart at some places.

Finally, the organizing committee had realized the gravity of this development. They had previously received reports that all the Andromeda fighters had disappeared after their match, but the committee didn't bother to investigate, since the Andromedians were a very discrete lot.

"Human, Dieee!"

Zader shouted as he swooped down on Patroclus. All the METAL fighters found his GN force very unfamiliar; it did not come from his sea of consciousness, but it was directly from his physical body.

"What kind of a monster is that?"

The wings had lent Zader speed and agility as he showered Patroclus with thrusts and pokes.

All the while, no one in the arena knew what was going on.

Wang Tong's heart sank at the sight of the human-zerg hybrid. He had heard from Ma Sa about the infiltration of Zergs into the human society while masquerading as a human. However, he was surprised that the Confederation didn't do anything to stop it.

"Shit...Is he after Patroclus's gene?"

Although Wang Tong was not sure why the Zergs needed human genes, he was certain that humans could not allow the Zergs to succeed.

Although Wang Tong was confident that Patroclus should be able to defeat Zader, it would be a disaster should the Zergs get their hands on even a single drop of Patroclus's blood.

Li Shiming's face paled as he realized that Zader was actually a Zerg. He lamented that years of peace had made humans forget about their imminent danger, and allowed the Zergs to evolve to such advanced state.

Despite the fear and anxiousness among the audiences, Patroclus remained calm.

"Do you want my blood? Come get it!"

Chapter 371: Test Subject

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Patroclus's comments seemed to have aggravated Zader and driven him deeper into rage The lesser reason left in him, the more savage he became. By then, Zader had turned into a level six warrior, and his power was still increasing by the second.

Despite the belligerent attacks, Zader was not able to gain a decisive edge over Patroclus. Patroclus, on the other hand, didn't rush to attack. Instead, he studied his opponent patiently.

"Are you the best your race could offer? Pathetic! " Patroclus cracked a smile, his eyes full of contempt. "Looks like you guys are falling behind humans after all."

Patroclus' words were broadcasted all over the Confederation, and it significantly boosted the confidence of all Human soldiers.

Patroclus was right. The reality was that the Zerg had started to favor human genes during their evolution; nothing spoke of their fear towards the humans louder than that.

Zader attacked Patroclus with abandon. But this time, the Ivantian prince didn't evade the attack.

"Komm!"

A GN force infused lance suddenly appeared in Patroclus's hand, and with one single thrust, it impaled the unwitting Zader.

Zader wiggled his body, trying to break free from the lance, in vain.

Suddenly, Zader's mouth opened up, and long tongue protruded out as it speared towards Patroclus. However, before the tongue was able to reach him, it bent over itself and pierced into Zader's face.

Zader finally thudded to the ground, still wiggling his body. No matter how hard he tried, he was not able to release himself from the lance that had skewered him like a piece of Zerg meat.

By then, the Tournament organizing committee had already arrived at the arena with security staff and a couple of Zerg specialists, who were eager to get their hands on fresh specimen.

The security squad had quickly transferred Zader into a clear tube, and the referee also announced Patroclus's victory.

Patroclus's performance was perfect; he had demonstrated that he was as powerful against Zergs as he would be against a human.

The audience showered the Ivantian with cheers and applause. Patroclus's victory over a Zerg had won the heart of all viewers. It was such a convenient public relation stunt that would make even Li Shiming feel jealous.

After the first match, Patroclus had secured his place in the final eight. Meanwhile, the military on the moon had started an investigation on not only the background of all fighters from the Andromeda Galaxy, but also the whereabouts of all the missing combatants.

Meanwhile, in the outer space, figures floated in the darkness while watching the events unfold on the moon.

"What a pity!"

"Although the host's power was increased after being taken control of, the intelligence was impeded by the hosting process. We need a better host!"

"The success rate was too low, I think the average host could at least pass as special units in our army."

"It has been over a hundred years… Our time is running out. We need to break through the space-seal as soon as possible!"

The dark figures slowly disappeared into the distant stars.

The Invading Zergs that the human had fought a few hundred years ago only constituted the tip of the iceberg compared to the bulk of the Zerg army, despite the fact it almost brought the human race to the verge of extinction. After the Blade Warrior created the space-seal, blocking the way of the Zerg's main army to the solar system, the invasion was halted.

After hundred years of the great war, the vanguard of the Zerg army had sustained huge casualties, and was forced to retreat, with the human military hot on its heels. After another hundred years of development, the humans had finally gained access to the GN power, and therefore, had earned a decisive advantage over the remaining Zerg force. After a few successful military campaigns, only a small amount of Zergs still hopelessly resisted the human. To seek salvation, this small group of Zergs started to evolve.

The strength of the Zergs was not in the individual, but the collective force of the horde. The remaining Zergs' new goal was not only to gain power from the human genes, but also break the space-seal and lead the horde to the solar system.

No one in the entire space was yet able to stop the horde.

Patroclus' performance had boosted the human's confidence in eventually winning the war against the Zergs. An hour after the first match, the second match was about to start. It was the fight between Li Shiming and Gladiolus from the Ninjutsu mastery.

Ninjutsu was an ancient technique from the far east. It focused on the training of the fighter's willpower. Due to its deadliness, it had become very popular in recent years. Thanks to the cruel training methods, all Ninjutsu warriors were extremely disciplined and deadly.

Li Shiming was well known for his chivalry. Everything he did and every word he said was aimed at exerting more influence. Yet, Li Shiming's opponent Gladiolus seemed calm and unafraid of the heir of House of Li.

As soon as the match started, Gladiolus unsheathed a long blade and charged at Li Shiming with a unique style of footsteps.

"Puf!"

A ball of smoke erupted in between the two fighters when Gladiolus was only a few feet away from Li Shiming. A shiny blade then pierced through the smoke and aimed squarely at LI Shiming's chest. Li Shiming blocked the attack calmly. The force of the impact reminded Li Shiming of his opponent's extraordinary power.

As the smoke dissipated, Gladiolus bombarded Li Shiming with his strikes. Such aggressive attacks had made defense irrelevant, since the opponent would be too busy evading to even think of attacking. Gladiolus's attack was already gaining frequency and vigor. Li Shiming estimated Gladiolus's power to be around the very top of level five.

Gladiolus's attack was direct, but powerful. However, Li Shiming didn't seem to want to use his sword 'Vayu'.

With the aggressive attacks, Gladiolus had controlled the flow of the battle, and the intensity of his attack was still increasing by the second. It was one of the characteristics of Ninjutsu to force oneself to the limit; every fight was a fight of life and death.

Bright blade aura spread out from every impact as Gladiolus chained his attacks, attempting to finish off Li Shiming.

Most fighters who were in Li Shiming's situation would focus on defense and wait for the aggressor to slip up. However, Li Shiming did not intend to play the waiting game.

In a blink of an eye, Li Shiming darted across the deadly blade aura and closed onto Gladiolus.

This sudden development surprised Gladiolus as he hesitated slightly. The slight hesitation was enough to interrupt the battle flow. He was forced to channel more energy to gather himself and initiate the attack again.

However, Li Shiming was not backing down. Instead, he inched even closer towards his opponent, despite the deadly blows around him. Gladiolus's power was not remotely close to that of Li Shiming. He was only good as a practice target for Li Shiming to ready himself for the fight in the finals.

During a confrontation of two equally powerful fighters, the pacing of the fight became a critical factor that would affect the outcome.

Some fighters such as Gladiolus would like to give all they had from the beginning. However, Li Shiming had taken his time, and slowly released his full power.

Without realizing that he was walking into Li Shiming's trap, Gladiolus was still convinced that he had the upper hand.

Chapter 372: Fret Not

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Gladiolus's aggression had utterly overwhelmed Li Shiming, as aggressive attacks showered the latter. Although it would be hard for anyone to hold his or her ground under such a gruesome assault, Gladiolus reminded himself to be careful and not to let the other gain an opportunity to overturn the situation.

Although Li Shiming held his ground with ease, eventually, Gladiolus had seen an opportunity to release his coup de grace.

"Kill!" Gladiolus suddenly shouted.

In a blink of an eye, rays of bright lights shot off from Gladiolus's blade as it slowed its pace. The blade seemed to be absorbing energy from its surroundings, and soon, it had built up a vast amount of energy that could destroy the entire arena.

As a large amount of energy poured out from the tip of the blade, Li Shiming stared at his opponent with awe. He slowly reached out his right hand towards the blade. Suddenly, a whirlwind appeared in Li Shiming's hand, and he hurled it towards the blade. The energy in the whirlwind was no less than that in the blade. Although Gladiolus's attack had used the divine level energy, Li Shiming's whirlwind attack had also demonstrated his immense real power.

The explosion rippled throughout the arena, and before the dust had settled, Gladiolus's blade slowly fell into Li Shiming's hand.

By then, the blade had been devoid of any energy, just like its owner, who was by then devoid of any will to fight.

Gladiolus stood up slowly. He realized that there was no point in continuing the match, since Li Shiming's power was way above his.

Gladiolus folded his hands and bowed to Li Shiming.

"The winner is LI SHIMING!"

By then, the audiences realized that it had been Li Shiming who had controlled the flow of the battle, despite him being on the defensive side. In addition to his immense power, the strict self-control Li Shiming had demonstrated had deeply impressed the audiences.

After the two rounds of matches, the first day of the final sixteen playoffs also came to an end. Everyone was engrossed in discussing the performance of Patroclus and Li Shiming. Also, the "Zerg incidence" had also been discussed widely over the internet.

The initial response from the Ivantian government regarding the incidence was that Zader had been a human. However, the Zerg had somehow taken control of his body and mind, using methods still unknown. The experts were working industriously to uncover the truth, and so far, they had concluded that the parasite inside Zader was dead, and it would not be able to seek another host.

Although the incident didn't create any immediate damages, its implications had deeply concerned the Confederation.

As for the remainder of the fighters from the Andromeda Galaxy, the Ivantian government had also discovered their whereabouts. However, since their cover had been blown, they all had committed suicide.

Ever since the incident, the confederation had picked up the slack and boosted the number of patrols inside their domain of control, especially inside and around the Andromeda Galaxy. The combatants were unaffected on their home planet, and therefore, they must have been attacked on their way to the moon. Although the confederation had substantial military capital, it was not enough to cover the vast and endless space. When the transport ship was attacked by the Zergs, it didn't even have time to send out a distress signal.

To the members of the council, the fate of a dozen human being was not their main concern. Their priority was to find out the culprit, and prevent such incidents in the future.

The investigators had confirmed that once a human was taken control by the Zerg, it could undergo physical changes, which could be detected using X-ray equipment.

In a very short time, all three major spaceports had purchased such equipment. Everyone lamented that in the age of genome modifications, the humans were forced to resort to primitive technologies such as X-ray.

Nonetheless, it had proven to be an effective method in preventing similar incidences.

Meanwhile in Ayrlarng, everyone was worried for Wang Tong, as he was about to face his toughest opponent, the Enchantress Li Ruoer.

Not only did Li Ruoer have the Tactics of the Enchantress at her disposal, but she also had the legendary sword, "Rosy." Although Li Ruoer was not invincible, as many METAL experts had pointed out that Li Ruoer's attacks lacked intensity and endurance, everyone at Ayrlarng agreed that Wang Tong's victory was only wishful thinking.

Also, Li Ruoer also enjoyed a much wider fan base than Wang Tong. Apart from Ayrlarng, Bernabeu, and the S-Club, the remaining audiences supported Li Ruoer.

Even the S-Club members knew that the time to challenge the real power of their leader had come.

The Sky arena was packed with audiences who wanted to watch the third match in the final sixteen playoffs, and almost all of them were here to watch Li Ruoer, the de facto "Princess" of all earthlings.

Time could change a lot of things, but so far, the royal-like status of House of Li had not changed.

However, among the supporters of Li Ruoer, a group of audiences sat close to each other and cheered for Wang Tong. All of them wore a shirt with a big S printed on it. Many of Wang Tong's supporters were also contestants of the tournament.

Although ninety-nine percent of the audiences were supporters of Li Ruoer, as a previously unknown fighter, Wang Tong's success in the tournament had been impressive.

Regardless of the outcome, Team Earth would have already earned two of the eight seats in the final eight playoffs.

As a matter of fact, should Li Ruoer win the fight and enter the final eight, she could even tag team with her brother and further increase Team Earth's competitiveness in the final.

Although it was still too early to discusses the details of strategies in the final playoffs, earthlings would need to use any advantage they had, since no one, not even an Einherjar, could guarantee to prevail in a fight against other powerful fighters.

Wang Tong sat inside of the resting room, listening to the waves of cheers calmly. Karl stood behind him, and was rubbing his boss's shoulders, trying to relax him.

"Don't you fret, boss. Just think of it as a normal battle. I believe in you as much as I believed in the Blade Warrior!"

"Karl, can you please stop jittering? "Hu Yangxuan asked.

"Buzz off! It's my method of relaxing! We can finally teach those Great Houses some lessons!" Karl announced loudly in a shaky voice.

"Can you two be quiet? The more you talk, the more nervous we feel!" Zhou Sisi complained. Her face was overwrought, and hands were clenched into fists.

Wang Tong cracked a smile. "It's not as bad as you think."

"Haha, what did I tell you? Only you weaklings would feel nervous, not our boss!" Karl laughed and said. Everyone, except for Wang Tong were unnerved by Wang Tong's next opponent, but the person in question seemed to be very relaxed.

Apache stood quietly against the wall and then said slowly. "Don't waste your time worrying about him. He is not even afraid of death."

Wang Tong simply smiled. Truth be told, he really found it hard to be nervous about this fight.

Chapter 373: Rosy's Rage

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Wang Tong was well aware of Li Ruoer's power, and he knew that even if she had made a breakthrough in his cultivation, the Enchantress would not pose any threat to him. The only roadblock for Wang Tong was Patroclus and Li Shiming.

Although Michaux was also very powerful, he did not care about the outcome of the tournament as much as the other two rivals of Wang Tong.

Li Ruoer sat in the resting room by herself. She had been expecting this fight for a while, as she was eager to avenge her previous defeats.

The quietness in Li Ruoer's resting room contrasted the chatters in Wang Tong's. To be born in a Great House meant loneliness and responsibility. Friendship, like many other sentiments, had always been irrelevant in her life. However, since she had never experienced those sentiments, she never cared for them either.

As she walked out of the backstage, she was greeted by bright stage lights and deafening cheers.

Unlike his friends, Wang Tong was very calm as he sauntered to the stage. He marveled how much his life had changed, as he would never think that he would fight face to face on a stage with the heir of House of Li one day. 'Eat your heart out, Old Fart!'

According to everyone else, including Li Shiming, Li Ruoer already had the victory in the bag, Li Shiming knew her sister's power the best, and he was convinced that only Patroclus and he could defeat her.

As soon as Li Ruoer saw Wang Tong, she quickly forgot about her determination of defeating her opponent. Standing in front of the man who had known her from inside out, Li Ruoer faltered.

Ever since she had met Wang Tong, many things had happened between the two, and Li Ruoer had finally come to terms with her feelings toward Wang Tong—she was going to confront it directly.

Li Ruoer knew that today was the last chance she had to put an end to her infatuation. "Rosy" hummed quietly, and Li Ruoer smiled knowingly; today was the day.

The two locked their eyes; many words had been exchanged in that exchange of glance.

The game started!

"Wosh"—"Rosy" was unsheathed.

Audiences were shocked by the sight of "Rosy." They wondered why Li Ruoer would bother using her legendary sword on a no account.

Despite the murmurs among the audiences, Li Ruoer focused on the fight. As long as she could defeat Wang Tong in this fight, she would be able to escape the torment of her infatuation and make another breakthrough in her cultivation.

The thought of her responsibility as the heir of House of Li had lent her a newfound determination. Her expression became cold as ice as she made up her mind to do away with Wang Tong. No one would know anything about what happened between her and Wang Tong if he were dead.

Wang Tong immediately picked up the threat. However, instead of being concerned for his life, Wang Tong was more interested in seeing how much Li Ruoer had improved.

Li Ruoer attack, and a blade aura flew towards Wang Tong. Wang Tong dodged as the attack landed on the ground and exploded. Despite the deadliness of Li Ruoer's attack, her moves were beautiful and elegant.

Seeing that Li Ruoer had improved a lot, Wang Tong racked a smile and released the "Layered Fist of Tong."

"Komm!"

LI Ruoer met the attack head on, and the force in the impact had told them both that their opponent was much stronger than they were when they fought last time.

"Rosy" danced around Wang Tong, emitting rays of Blade Aura as Li Ruoer used the illusive footstep to beguile her opponent.

The two knew each other's power very well, and therefore, they gave all they had from the very beginning. Li Ruoer's excellent understanding of swordplay was hidden inside the details of her moves. Despite the smoothness of every twist and turn of her blade, it was as deadly as a poisonous viper.

No one expected Wang Tong to last long under such powerful attacks. Not only Li Ruoer's soul energy was at the top of level five, but she had also used the renowned Tactics of the Enchantress.

The two combatants had exchanged over a few hundred rounds of attacks, and the audiences observed every single exchange. Everyone was astonished to see that Wang Tong was able to stand his ground despite the aggressive and deadly attacks pouring on him.

Suddenly, Wang Tong shouted as he punched at Li Ruoer, and the latter turned her sword to block the incoming attack.

"Komm!"

Both fighters were pushed a few feet back by the explosion.

"You have improved a lot. However, you are still not going to defeat me." Wang Tong announced.

LI Ruoer's eyes glinted as she said, "Don't you dare underestimate me! You will pay for it!"

Wang Tong shrugged, "Sure, try me."

A knot of fire burned inside Li Ruoer; she had reminded herself to remain calm. However, Wang Tong's words had ignited her anger like a spark near a tank of gasoline.

"Rosy" started to tremble in Li Ruoer's hand as she pointed its tip directly at Wang Tong. She channeled GN force into the blade and then said, "I will show you the power of my sword."

Why was "Rosy" such a legendary weapon?

All legendary weapons, such as "Vayu", "Rosy", and "Deva Lance" had some essence of Einherjars' life force in them, a power that could not be explained using science.

As the energy in the sword poured out towards Wang Tong, he could sense that the sword seemed to have come alive under the Enchantress's summoning. The development suddenly piqued Wang Tong's interest.

As Wang Tong marveled at Rosy's power, he was surprised to notice that Li Ruoer had held back her power.

"Rosy's Rage!"

Li Ruoer's body flickered and suddenly emerged above Wang Tong. She hovered in the air using only her GN force. Rosy had to become a scintillating beam of light, as the rays of lights emitted from the center of the spot of brightness resembled the petals of a pink lotus flower.

The bright Blade Aura soon encircled Wang Tong and closed in on him at once.

Suddenly, Wang Tong found himself bombarded by blade aura attacks.

The ground trembled along with the waves of explosions. Before this fight, everyone thought that any fighter who was able to release blade aura could be counted as a powerful fighter. However, the terrible scene had shown the audiences the real power of blade aura.

As the dust settled, Li Ruoer landed back on the ground. Truth be told, she didn't want to use the legendary weapon. The reason she brought Rosy with her was more because of the family tradition than necessity.

Everyone's breath was caught in their throat as they worried about the safety of Wang Tong.

Wang Tong covered his head with both arms, while his body was surrounded by a layer of golden energy shield.

"It...hurts..." Wang Tong lamented as he licked a wound on his arms.

Unlike many other fighters, Wang Tong excelled in endurance and resilience, thanks to the gruesome training in the Crystal Space. It was common knowledge that being on the defensive side was much harder than on the offensive. Therefore, everyone was astonished to see that Wang Tong was unharmed without using a METAL suit.

Seeing the familiar golden shield surrounding Wang Tong, Li Ruoer's heart sank.

"It's my turn!" Wang Tong flexed his wrist and started the attack right away. He used the "Layered Fist of Tong" and charged at Li Ruoer.

Even as the fist was only an inch away from Li Ruoer's face, she remained still. Seeing that Li Ruoer didn't counter his attack, Wang Tong was forced to halt his attack. However, almost simultaneously, Li Ruoer shifted her body back, so that to ordinary audience's eyes, it was as if she had evaded Wang Tong's attack. However, the suspicious interaction didn't escape the powerful fighters such as Lie Jian. Lie Jian was slightly annoyed by the development, although he was certain that Wang Tong had been charmed by Li Ruoer. Despite Li Ruoer's prestigious family background, her beauty, and power deeply attracted Lie Jian, and he was convinced that one day, he would able to ask Li Ruoer for her hand.

Wang Tong didn't stop his attack because of compassion for a defenseless woman—Li Ruoer was far from that. He stopped because he knew that Li Ruoer had just felt the real power in the Tactics of the Blade.

Unlike the energy that was intentionally released in an attack, Li Ruoer had felt a more powerful and purer presence of energy that was unintentionally emitted from Wang Tong while he executed the Tactics of the Blade.

Chapter 374: Silver Lining

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Not everyone was able to release the pure form of energy which Li Ruoer had just sensed. Wang Tong didn't do it on purpose. Instead, it was the soul energy of Rosy that had triggered it.

Seeing the perplexed expression on Li Ruoer's face, Wang Tong cracked a smile. He knew that this day would come sooner or later.

Despite Li Ruoer's efforts in gathering herself, her mind raced, and so did her heartbeat. The existence of such power had been a well-kept secret inside House of Li, since it was the loss of such power that had contributed to their decline.

"It's impossible! It must be an illusion." Li Ruoer told herself. Li Ruoer's heart sank, as the thought of Wang Tong's power unnerved her. But, she paused her train of thoughts; she still had to fight to the finish. As she cranked up her soul energy, she channeled her GN force into "Rosy."

Wang Tong watched as the Enchantress started her tactics. He was surprised to find out that the tactics of the Enchantress were not nearly as powerful as the Tactics of the Blade. He marveled at General Li Feng's foresight. If Li Feng had left the more powerful tactics to his offspring, House of Li would have already become the tyrant on the Earth.

Although it was common knowledge that all young generation fighters were level five or below, Li Ruoer's soul energy kept on increasing, and didn't seem to be slowing down.

The event host shrieked as he read out Li Ruoer's sol reading. "Four hundred and ninety! She is very close to advancing to level six!"

"Can she do it? Will she level up?"

"Komm!"

There and then, this year's first level six-fight fighter appeared on the stage. Some members of the audience stood up in shock, as they also realized how powerful the other final eight contestants were.

Li Ruoer had proven that even as a member of the Great Houses, she did not forget about her training, like other members of the Great Houses.

Seeing that Li Ruoer had leveled up, Lie Jian's eyes glinted as he became more determined in pursuing the Enchantress.

The audience poured waves after waves of cheers and applause for Li Ruoer. Some of them were convinced that Li Ruoer would become the first female Einherjar in hundreds of years.

Li Ruoer enjoyed the empowering cheers from the crowd; it made her feel that she belonged to this stage. She threw a sidelong glance at Wang Tong, and noticed that even he seemed to be impressed by her display of strength.

The development had unnerved Ma Xiaoru, and she started to worry about Wang Tong. Although she was happy for her close friend's advancement of cultivation, she also felt despair for her own condition. As an Enchantress, Ma Xiaoru knew that once Li Ruoer had advanced to level six, she would finally be able to release the full power of "Rosy."

Ma Xiaoru had never thought that Li Ruoer could make such leaps and bounds in her cultivation. All the while, a sense of inferiority rose inside her.

Wu Xin patted her daughter's head and said, "Don't worry! It is already an accomplishment for Wang Tong to come this far. If you really like him, you should like him for who he is, not because he is the champion."

Wu Xin had been a very stubborn girl, who always knew what she wanted. When she fell in love with Ma Dutian, she didn't do it because of the fame of House of Ma. Instead, it was love that connected the two even till this day. Ever since the two first started dating, Wu Xin had never changed her heart, despite the vicious rumors and doubts around her. It was Wu Xin's personality that had convinced her to not interfere with her daughter's affair. Plus, after days of observation, she had also started to like Wang Tong for his sense of responsibility and his incredible mettle.

Meanwhile, on the stage, Li Ruoer slowly pointed the tip of Rosy at Wang Tong, as if she wanted to pop the bubble that she saw Wang Tong had been living in.

Although Ma Xiaoru had always complained about problems in her cultivation with Li Ruoer, the latter felt that she was the luckiest girl in the world; she had the most caring parents in the world.

Unlike Ma Xiaoru's parents, Li Zhedao had never looked at his daughter in her eyes, because he felt Li Ruoer was too weak. Instead of seeing the people around him as family and friends, Li Zhedao categorized them as either the strong or the weak. Ma Xiaoru had no idea of the isolation and hopelessness Li Ruoer had endured ever since she was a kid. However, it was that very sense of loneliness and helplessness that had lent Li Ruoer the strength to train harder each day.

Li Ruoer was no more talented than Ma Xiaoru. She had become stronger simply because she was still in the gym training while Ma Xiaoru had already gone home, spending time wither her lovely family.

By then, no one thought that Wang Tong would win the fight, as there was no way that Wang Tong was able to defeat a level six fighter.

A cold silence fell inside of the Dream Café. Although the owner was not sure what was going on, the forlorn atmosphere told him that his Lucky Charm was doomed.

Wang Tong pumped his fists together with a smile, and then cranked up his soul energy. Truth be told, he was very impressed by Li Ruoer's improvement. He had never thought that a girl would be able to possess such endurance and talent. Through strict self-discipline and training, she had become a real fighter. Despite her other faults, Wang Tong acknowledged her as a worthy opponent.

Wang Tong's soul energy kept on increasing, and it reached four hundred and ninety quickly. Everyone's breath was caught in their throats as they watched Wang Tong getting closer to advancing to level six.

Karl grabbed onto Hu Yangxuan's arm in excitement. He could not believe his eyes. Hu Yangxuan was also shocked by the turn of events, so much so that he didn't even feel the pain in his arm under Karl's iron grip.

Zhou Sisi's eyes lit up with admiration and glee. She had gone through so much hardship together with Wang Tong that it was impossible for her to not fall for him.

"Kom!"

Wang Tong's soul energy finally reached level six.

There he was, this year's second level six fighter, and a previously no account from an A-Class Academy, standing on the stage and reaching out his arms to embrace the cheers.

Even as the heir of the House of Li, Li Ruoer's advancement was seen as impressive, much less that of Wang Tong.

Lie Jian's eyes lit up at the sight of Wang Tong's sol reading, as realization suddenly down on him that Wang Tong was the fighter he had been looking for.

Patroclus had been watching the fight quietly in his house. Seeing Wang Tong's advancement, he simply smiled faintly.

Li Shiming could no longer sit still and watch the fight. It was not Wang Tong's power, but something else that had deeply disturbed him.

Wu Xin was shocked by the turn of events too as she pondered the possibility of Ayrlarng unprecedentedly cranking out a level six fighter.

"I told you so, mom!" Ma Xiaoru said with pride, but she, too, was surprised. Although Ma Xiaoru knew that Wang Tong was a powerful fighter, she didn't think that he could reach level six so fast.

On the stage, the two fighters started the fight again.

As the two fighters advanced their soul level, so did the intensity of the fight. With Rosy in her hand, Li Ruoer looked just like the War Maiden, Valkyrie. She had to win this battle. Otherwise, she would never have a chance again.

"Kom! Kom!"

Wang Tong blocked the sword with both fists. So powerful was the legendary weapon that Wang Tong was not able to execute his "Layered Fist of Tong" whatsoever.

Wang Tong took a few steps back while Li Ruoer slowly landed on her feet. She had learned from her last encounter with Wang Tong, and used as little soul energy in her attack as possible. The majority of the damage in her attack was physical, coming from the legendary "Rosy."

Wang Tong felt a gust of wind as he saw Rosy turn into a beam of light. The beam of light was already sending rays of light made out of Blade Aura at him.

"Phoenix's Dance!"

The audiences watched as thousands of Blade-Aura rays flew towards Wang Tong from all directions, and worried if Wang Tong were able to fend off so many attacks at once.

"Kom!"

Wang Tong crossed his arms and shouted, then a giant ice shield suddenly appeared around him, blocking the Blade Aura.

Under the powerful attacks, the ice shield didn't last long. However, even as the ice shield cracked open, Wang Tong stormed out from his cover and punched at Li Ruoer.

Li Ruoer's face suddenly paled as she hurried back, hoping to cushion the blow. However, the fist had reached further than she had thought, as Wang Tong's strike hit home.

No one had expected such a turn of events. A student from Ayrlarng had not only reached level six, but also landed a solid blow on the heir of House of Li.