"It's too soon to use it!"
Leng Wuchang sighed, "As far as I know, the kid is quite an expert in arrays. The longer the sealed space's activation is put off, the better, as it would catch him off guard. But…"
"But Qingtian can't hold on till then." Huangpu Tianyuan smiled, "Sir Leng, does the punk have any chance of coming out of the array now that it's activated?"
Leng Wuchang shook his head, "Even as an array grandmaster, his odds are slim at best."
"It's fine then. You're just worried that with enough time he'd see through the array. Since his chances are mostly nonexistent, what's there to be afraid of?" Huangpu Tianyuan said.
"No, when I move, I make sure to rob even the most minute chance of victory from my enemy. It goes double for increasingly dangerous opponents." Leng Wuchang's eyes held a savage glint.
Huangpu Tianyuan laughed mirthless. [A clash between schemers is far crueler than any cultivator's fight…]
Microcosmic Orbit Array!
Zhuo Fan noticed the 365 Profound Heaven experts around him holding their hands in prayer and sitting down where the core of the array was. This was the 6th grade sealing array, Microcosmic Orbit Array!
Its only function was to seal off space. Set up according to the heavenly directions, a miniature world was formed, trapping anyone within.
Entering it, one would find himself in another world. The only way to escape was by employing dominating might to crush the heaven and earth of this miniature world. Anything less and it could keep even a Radiant Stage expert sealed inside for as long as the controller wished, no matter how much the victim raved.
With space sealed up, Zhuo Fan's Shift was under lock and key. It was the first time since the start of his battle with Huangpu Qingtian that he felt danger.
This battle was now inevitable and only one outcome was viable, winning or dying. All other choices were now moot…
"Huangpu Qingtian!"
Zhuo Fan's malice was directed at the snickering man. His fists clenched and purple lightning flashed as he charged.
Huangpu Qingtian did the same. Confident now that his plan was successful in sealing Shift. His eyes glinted sinisterly, meeting his enemy head on.
The two were at a stalemate again, but Huangpu Qingtian felt at ease. The earlier lashing had been miserable, robbing him of any chance to fight back. But now that he could display his overbearing might, he was filled with utter joy.
The two clashed for two hundred more rounds, with Huangpu Qingtian becoming increasingly bolder and Zhuo Fan finding himself strained.
The audience was stunned. [Weren't they equals? Why is Huangpu Qingtian holding out strong after all this time yet Zhuo Fan looks to be reaching his limit?]
[Was Huangpu Qingtian holding back from the start?]
Worry wormed into their hearts. Xie Tianshang sighed, "Huangpu Qingtian is dreadful to hold back even against Zhuo Fan. "
But then a laughter resounded.
"Ha-ha-ha, he hadn't. Zhuo Fan is the one who used too much stamina and had long surpassed his limit."
All eyes turned to Fang Qiubai, "Don't you see? The purple lightning has dimmed and his body is starting to give. He must've been relying on the purple lightning to raise his power when clashing with Huangpu Qingtian. But the toll exceeds the limit his body can bear. That strange art of his allowed him to fight back, but now that it is sealed by that array, he is on the ropes.
"He may seem to be meeting Huangpu Qingtian at every blow, but he's spent. The outcome is a foregone conclusion by now." Fang Qiubai sighed in regret.
Being pointed out, the others looked closer and noticed how Zhuo Fan was growing frantic. Wounds riddled his body and his blood was being added to the soaked mud. He couldn't take much more punishment or his body would break.
While Huangpu Qingtian was getting more and more savage, his power was unbreakable.
[Soaring Demonic Dragon has no chance against Heaven-shaking Dragon Lord. This is providence!]
Everyone shook their heads, yet the one on the receiving end didn't seem to care. Zhuo Fan still met Huangpu Qingtian head on, driven by the thought of killing his enemy even at the cost of his own life. His effort had earned him the audience's respect.
It looked like a typical case of fighting against impossible odds, but everyone took it as the eulogy of a tragic hero…
Regent Estate snickered at Zhuo Fan's plight. Xie Tianshang held his sword, filled with battle lust. He was itching to fight alongside Zhuo Fan.
Chu Qingcheng and Luo Yunchang had been crying all this time, their hearts gripped by pain. [Zhuo Fan's mind is drowned in thoughts of revenge, fighting savagely with total disregard for his own safety…]
After another hundred clashes, the lightning scattered from Zhuo Fan's body. Huangpu Qingtian availed himself of the enemy's rare moment of weakness and let out a dragon roar as he smashed an empowered fist into Zhuo Fan's face.
"Imperial Tyrant Body Art!"
Boom!
After an ear splitting explosion, Zhuo Fan was knocked into the ground for the first time. He spat blood as the earth splintered over a thousand meters.
You Yushan's side was bewildered. Zhuo Fan had taken those punches before, but this time he actually spat blood, like he had suffered a major wound. [Why now and not earlier?]
Huangpu Qingtian was the only one who understood, stepping on the powerless Zhuo Fan's chest as he mocked, "Humph, prick, where's all your power gone to now? Don't you have a bag full of tricks? What's wrong, take them out! He-he-he, you think I couldn't tell that the purple lightning was giving you power while eating you from the inside? You did this to yourself, not me. You never were my match!"
Huangpu Qingtian pressed harder and Zhuo Fan spat blood and gore, yet no sound escaped his clenched teeth.
Luo Yunchang and the women cried in pain, while the rest sighed how the Soaring Demonic Dragon was on his deathbed…
With his cunning, Huangpu Qingtian would never be his match in a one on one fight based on how many tricks he had.
A darn shame he lost his mind and now had fallen for Huangpu Qingtian's ploy.
Zhuo Fan needed but days and he'd surpass Huangpu Qingtian many times over. But that ship had sailed, and so too would his life…
Huangpu Qingtian squinted at Zhuo Fan's puny attempts, deriding him, "A pity, really. With your talent, if you had fought for any longer, the true king might have been another. But you moron, lost yourself over a dumb girl. This proves that you are unfit to be king! The only true king in this world is me, Huangpu Qingtian!"
He punctuated with a stomp on Zhuo Fan's head as he roared his victory speech, "Since you are so consumed by love, I'll send you off to join that dumb girl. You wanted revenge? Humph, you won't have it even in your next life. For that wretched girl's death to drag you down like this, made killing her all the more sweeter, ha-ha-ha… "
Hu~
Huangpu Qingtian's cackle jarred the ears of everyone. He raised his leg, ready to burst Zhuo Fan's head, as people's hearts seized and they looked down. The women's tears ran in streams.
But then, a flicker of lightning stopped Huangpu Qingtian's raised leg.
Huangpu Qingtian was in shock, finding his leg gripped in an iron vise, with purple lightning streaking over it stronger than ever.
Heart seized, Huangpu Qingtian realized that he couldn't stomp no matter how much he tried.
"Huangpu Qingtian, you will never kill me." The grim and eerie voice sounded like it came from hell. Under Huangpu Qingtian's shock, the grip flung him into the air.
He couldn't do anything to fight it. When he picked himself up, what he saw froze him.
"How does he still have so much power?" Huangpu Qingtian watched the dazzling lighting and gulped.
The others were dumbstruck.
In the middle of the lightning storm, Zhuo Fan rose to his feet, his eyes bursting with bloodlust. Although soaked in blood himself and riddled with wounds, the boundless might exploding from him hammered into the hearts of all onlookers.
Huangpu Qingtian turned grave. [Just how much power is this punk hiding?]
Zhuo Fan's eyes were dead cold, uncaring of all the wounds all over his body.
His hatred for Huangpu Qingtian was on full display. It was so thick that even the audience beyond the National Elemental Stone could feel the chill in their bones.
"Huangpu Qingtian, I will send you to hell even if I have to drag you down with me!"
Zhuo Fan gnashed his teeth, his face twisted, "Divine Eye of the Void, Limit Release!"
An even stronger purple lightning burst from his body. Zhuo Fan had unleashed all the purple lightning he absorbed back in Lightning Canyon…