The sun beat down relentlessly upon the open field, casting its harsh rays upon the competitors gathered for the tournament match. The servants of the Twin Dragon Estate filled the stands, eagerly anticipating the showdown that was about to begin.
" Hey trash, how did you build a body like that ?" Ye Mo asked as Lü Bu remained stoic towards his one armed opponent.
Yue Fei paced back and forth, observing their every move with hawk-like precision.
" Begin !"
As the match commenced, Ye Mo lunged forward, attempting to land the first blow.
Lü Bu deftly parried the attack, countering with a swift strike of his own. The two combatants exchanged a series of rapid-fire blows, their movements a blur to the onlookers.
Lü Bu could see the fatigue beginning to set in on Ye Mo's face and decided to taunt him. "You look tired," Lü Bu jeered. "Why don't you give up?"
Ye Mo's eyes flashed with anger at the remark, but he refused to be distracted. "Shut up, you trash bastard," he snapped back, redoubling his efforts and pushing his opponent back with a powerful thrust of his practice spear which Lü Bu effortlessly countered.
As the match wore on, Ye Mo's fatigue started to show, and he made a critical error, leaving an opening in his defense.
Lü Bu seized the opportunity and landed a decisive strike, forcing Ye Mo to his knees. "Match!" Xu Wen'an, declared, signaling the end of the bout. The crowd erupted in cheers and applause, while Ye Mo gritted his teeth in frustration.
As he struggled to regain his composure, Ye Mo's thoughts turned to revenge. But before he could act on his impulses, a stern voice cut through the air. "Move." The simple command, uttered by Yue Fei, made Ye Mo freeze in fear. Recognizing the authority behind the order, he swallowed his pride and hurried away.
.....
I rolled my eyes at Ye Mo's cowardice, then pulled out a wooden saber from the rack nearby.
"You look different, Dongyi," I called out, addressing the reincarnator who had taken Xie Dongyi's body.
"Did you get a new haircut?" My voice carried a hint of sarcasm, but it was enough to catch Lü Bu's attention.
Lü Bu narrowed his eyes at the mention of Xie Dongyi's name, his grip on his spear tightening. He seemed to be contemplating the situation, trying to gauge the meaning behind my words.
The air was thick with tension as Lü Bu and I faced each other, both of us poised and ready to do battle. The sound of the children's labored breathing filled the air, punctuated by the occasional cries of pain as Yue Fei continued to correct their stances with his unyielding discipline.
Lü Bu and I circled each other warily, each searching for an opening. Lü Bu's spear was held at the ready, the sun glinting off the Armguards and making it almost impossible to look directly at him.
Our eyes locked, and it was as if we were the only two people in the world, everything else fading into the background.
Without warning, one of my eyes shifted from its usual purple hue to a vibrant magenta. The sudden change seemed to catch Lü Bu off guard, and he blinked a few times in confusion, then shook his head as if trying to clear it.
"What sorcery is this?" he muttered, eyeing me warily.
.....
"Start!" Xu Wen'an exclaimed as Lü Bu took the initiative to attack. He spun his spear around before jumping up and thrusting his spear forward with his red-haired opponent blocking the attack with the body of the blade.
I clenched my palms around the practice sword when I felt myself being pushed into the air. Seeing the flow of spiritual Qi from my reincarnated opponent with my Eye of Insight, I grinned as my feet touched the ground before I pushed myself forward while I channeled spiritual Qi through my wrists, increasing the weight exponentially via the Armguards.
"Thunder Hummingbird Technique: First Circle."
As I brought down my saber in a powerful downward slash, my right foot crashed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. Lü Bu's eyes widened as his instincts as a cultivator who had endured countless wars took over.
"Divine Beast Art: Rising Dragon!"
With a nimble twist on the heel of his feet, Lü Bu executed a swift upward thrust with his spear, as our attacks clashed. The force of his strike was immense, sending a shockwave through the ground and causing the earth beneath us to crack and shatter.
As I dodged Lü Bu's next attack using my Eye of Insight, I countered with the "Seven Star Saber Art: Foutte Nebula," swirling around him gracefully like a cosmic dance. Lü Bu, however, quickly adjusted his stance to "Nemean Roar," effectively deflecting my slashes and creating an opening for his counterstrike.
Our fierce battle continued as we exchanged a rapid succession of powerful blows. The earth beneath us ruptured, and debris flew in every direction.
Lü Bu unleashed the mighty "Divine Beast Art: Leviathan's Surge," an undulating series of thrusts and slashes that seemed to come from all directions. I responded with the "Hummingbird Sword Style: Winged Fury," a flurry of lightning-fast slashes aimed to overwhelm him. The clash of our techniques sent shockwaves through the air, toppling nearby trees and cracking the ground beneath our feet.
As the intensity of the battle grew, I sensed an opportunity to gain the upper hand. I feigned vulnerability with "Nectar Thief," hoping to trick Lü Bu into dropping his guard. However, he saw through my deception and quickly responded with "Chimera's Menace," a confusing feint that left me momentarily exposed. Seizing the opportunity, Lü Bu unleashed a devastating "Thunderbird's Cry." I barely managed to defend myself, employing the strategic "Seven Star Saber Art: Tempo" to disrupt his rhythm.
Despite my best efforts, the relentless pace of the battle took its toll on both of us. Sweat dripped down our brows, our breaths coming in ragged gasps. Yet neither of us showed any signs of yielding. Lü Bu launched a series of powerful "Dragon's Tail Sweeps," causing me to dodge and weave with the "Hummingbird Sword Style: Nectar Dance." Our weapons met again and again, the resulting sparks illuminating the dark battlefield.
As the battle raged on, we found ourselves back at the starting point, both holding broken weapons. Lü Bu noted the length difference between the broken weapons as he began to attack his red-haired opponent who effortlessly dodged each attack while defending with his broken saber. The two fought as if they were in an intricate dance, but Lü Bu's attack did little to nothing to his opponent who moved as if he knew Lü Bu's attack before it was even executed.
I depended on my Eye of Insight to defend, but my reincarnated opponent figured out that his normal attacks wouldn't work. Lü Bu spun his broken spear above his head, twisted on his heel, and turned to spin as he built up his momentum.
"Divine Art: Rising Dragon."
I clenched my teeth as I saw the tidal flow of spiritual Qi on my opponent's spear. Clenching my teeth, I jumped back as my opponent performed an upward slash. Thankfully, his spear was broken, or I would have had my upper body slashed in two.
"Seven Star Saber Art: Crescent Moon."
Pushing on my feet, I turned my jump into a front flip as I tried to land my feet into his weapon as I performed a vertical slash toward my opponent's chest.
( ~ Thud ~ )
Suddenly, I realized that my weapon was also broken as it hit the ground with my attack completely missing.
"Match!"
Xu Wen'an exclaimed, drawing my attention back to the present. I looked down to see that I had overestimated the length of my opponent's broken weapon, as the reincarnated man pointed the broken end of his spear toward my neck.
I could see a glint of respect in my opponent's eyes, which I completely understood. I was a low-grade spiritual root nobody, while he was some big name since he could use the reincarnation crystal. During our fight, I could effortlessly read through his attacks using my Eye of Insight, which he didn't know I possessed, making me seem like a fighting genius in his eyes.
As a voice called out in my head, I tried to block it out.
[Damnit, you idiot, why didn't you think about your weapon being broken? Idiot, you could have used the soil to make up a shield before attacking... you could have.]
Taking a deep breath, I tried to block out the voice in my head.
"Oi, it's not rest time, you trash. Get to a horse stance!"
Yue Fei screamed at me as I closed my eyes before taking a deep breath to stop myself from fisting this man's ass to death.
"Oh, do you want to say something?" Yue Fei asked as I clenched my hands and answered.
"No, Sir, I was just catching my breath."
"That's what I thought." Yue Fei said as he turned to leave. I gazed upon the instructor's back, my curiosity piqued by his unusual spiritual roots.
With my Eye of Insight, I could see brightly colored pathways across Yue Fei's body. These spiritual roots were brighter than most and only rivaled those of the reincarnators. I had seen almost everyone's spiritual roots with my Eye of Insight, which allowed me to perceive spiritual Qi in the form of colors.
People like me who had low-grade spiritual roots had dull colors that were as dull as my ideas for my future, while someone like Chun Jiao had extremely bright colors like that of a fire. However, people like the reincarnated bastard had spiritual roots so bright that I almost thought I was looking at the sun for a second. In contrast, Yue Fei's spiritual roots were peculiar – there were chunks of his body that seemed to have no spiritual roots, as if they had been burned off.
Ignoring Yue Fei's unusual spiritual roots, I took a deep breath while maintaining my horse stance.
'I can see why Kunlan calls this place a cage,' I thought as I glanced up to the sky. To the normal eye, it seemed ordinary, but through my Eye of Insight, I could see the entire sky covered in a layer of spiritual Qi, like the walls of a cage.
Closing my eyes, I tried to read out passages from Alexander's journals in my head.
[In the words of Horace Mann:
"The living soul of man, once conscious of its power, cannot be quelled." But what is a soul? This is a question that science doesn't seem to explain. Some have tried to answer it through measurements like weight, while many perceive it as consciousness made of electrical signals in the brain. To science, a soul is a mystery, yet in this world, a soul is a symbol of status. Allegedly, the soul can be weaker or stronger. In this world, a soul is graded in four ranks based on the ability to absorb, perceive, and utilize Spiritual Qi. The four ranks include low grade, middle grade, high grade, and supreme grade. The stronger the spiritual root, the greater the status of a person, as they can cultivate at a much faster degree in a short period. Great, even in this world, I have to be born with a wooden spoon. If I meet God after this miserable life, I want to demand my perks for transmigrating. Why was I reborn with low-grade spiritual roots?]
As I pondered these questions, I wondered if Chun Jiao and the reincarnated bastard had supreme grade spiritual roots compared to my low-grade and Yue Fei's high-grade spiritual roots. Despite this apparent disadvantage, I couldn't help but feel motivated to push my limits and prove myself.
If being abandoned by my parents didn't stop me from striving to live a life of value, why would something like talent hold me back now? I understood that the most crucial factor for a cultivator was time.
So what if these individuals were more talented than me? I would work tirelessly and, with time, reach heights they could only gaze upon in awe as I ascended the mountain of cultivation.
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[ Author Note : Divine Beast Spear Style ]
Introducing the Divine Beast Spear Style, a spear-fighting technique that draws inspiration from the mythical attacks of divine beasts, such as dragons, phoenixes, and other legendary creatures. This style emphasizes power, range, and versatility, reflecting the awe-inspiring nature of the divine beasts themselves.
[ Named Techniques ]
Dragon's Tail Sweep: A powerful sweeping attack that mimics the lashing tail of a dragon. This technique is designed to knock opponents off their feet and create distance, providing the practitioner with an opportunity to follow up with additional attacks.
Phoenix Dive: A swift downward thrust that emulates the dive of a phoenix. This technique is particularly useful for striking from above or breaking through an opponent's defenses with sheer force and speed.
Leviathan's Surge: A fluid, wave-like series of thrusts and slashes that mimic the undulating movements of the mythical sea serpent, Leviathan. This technique is designed to overwhelm opponents with a relentless barrage of attacks from various angles.
Griffin's Wing: A spinning, evasive maneuver that imitates the powerful wings of a griffin taking flight. This technique allows the practitioner to dodge incoming attacks and swiftly reposition themselves for a counterstrike.
Chimera's Menace: A deceptive feint that draws inspiration from the chimera's multiple heads. This technique is intended to confuse opponents by disguising the true direction of the practitioner's next attack, leaving them vulnerable to a follow-up strike.
Thunderbird's Cry: An explosive thrust that emulates the thunderous roar of the legendary Thunderbird. This technique focuses the practitioner's energy into a single, powerful strike, capable of penetrating even the strongest defenses.
Nemean Roar: A defensive stance that mirrors the impenetrable hide of the Nemean Lion. This technique involves using the spear to deflect incoming attacks and create openings for powerful counterstrikes.