"Naturally not," all five Zhao Yunxiaos started speaking in unison. "Senior Martial Brother Gan is all powerful. How can anything I do ever work against you?"
Gan Luozhi felt the corner of his lips twitch as the rage within him reached a whole new level, especially when he noticed the suppressed chuckles that were coming from the crowd.
Let's see just how long you can stay this cheeky!
He was not flustered from seeing Zhao Yunxiao's Earthen Clone Technique. After all, cloning techniques were quite popular among cultivators. Apart from the Earthen Clone Technique, there were also other techniques that had a similar effect.
But just because it was popular, that did not mean it would be effective.
Most cloning techniques shared the same flaws.
Firstly, clones were usually significantly weaker than the original user, which meant that they were not as threatening. Secondly, there were usually subtle differences in their movements, which made it possible to identify the true body as long as one paid close attention in combat.
Thirdly, cloning techniques were quite taxing on both mental capacity and essence energy, making it a huge investment for something that might not yield a proportionate amount of benefits. Lastly, since the clones had to be directly controlled by the user, it also meant that they would stop moving altogether once the true body was too occupied to continue doing so!
Because of all these limitations, it became a common belief that cloning techniques were more suited for information gathering than actual combat.
And this difference was further amplified in the case of a direct duel, as it was definitely much easier to discern the true body from the clones when you only had one opponent to worry about!
In comparison, fighting with a pet beast would have been superior in almost every aspect.
Therefore, what Gan Luozhi was feeling right now was more of frustration than fear, seeing this as nothing but a mere delaying tactic by Zhao Yunxiao.
As he was thinking that, all five Zhao Yunxiaos started advancing towards him.
This time, they were not just allowing the wind to push them forward, but actively approaching on their own accord.
Despite his rage and irritation, Gan Luozhi did not get careless. He swept his spiritual sense across the five, carefully observing their every move.
Just which one was the true body?
...He truly could not tell!
These clones all bore the exact same appearance and moved in the exact same manner!
Still, Gan Luozhi remained calm.
If he could not identify the true body, he would just have to force the true body to reveal himself!
The howling of winds could be heard once more as the mini tornado reformed upon his Flowing Water Sword.
"Come!" Gan Luozhi roared while slashing out in a wide horizontal arc.
[Heavenly Wind Slash]
Just like before, the mini tornado escaped the imaginary confines of the sword and swept out in all directions.
Zhao Yunxiao might think he had him surrounded, but that meant little when he could just respond with a technique that could cover almost the entire stage at once!
The five Zhao Yunxiaos narrowed their eyes simultaneously.
[Unyielding Stone Bind]
Ten chains of earth and stone broke through the surface of the ground, wrapping around a single Zhao Yunxiao to form some sort of dome-shaped earthen fortress.
Bang-!
The ferocious winds slammed against the earthen dome, tearing chunks of it off like an invisible beast. Huge cracks appeared all around the dome, but it remained standing.
Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the other four Zhao Yunxiaos. Without the cover of something like the earthen dome, they were defenceless against the powerful gales, which knocked them straight out of the stage!
Thud-! Thud-! Thud-! Thud-!
The four Zhao Yunxiaos stopped moving the moment they touched the ground, instantly crumbling into earthen chunks.
However, Gan Luozhi paid no attention to them. Instead, he shot forward immediately, slashing out towards the earthen dome.
"As if this will work!" Gan Luozhi's Flowing Water Sword sliced right through the already-crumbling earthen dome.
Slash-!
Not only did his treasure blade slice through the earthen dome, but it also reached Zhao Yunxiao who was hiding within.
The tip of the blade cut through Zhao Yunxiao's clothes like paper, creating a deep horizontal gash across his chest.
Zhao Yunxiao tried to punch Gan Luozhi in what seemed like a last-ditch attempt to take his opponent down with him, but his body crumbled into earthen chunks before his fist could connect.
It was another clone!
Rumble-!
From behind Gan Luozhi, Zhao Yunxiao leapt up from within the ground and immediately threw a dagger towards him, aiming for his open back.
"Fat hope. I saw through your plan from the very start!" Gan Luozhi harrumphed.
At the same time, he threw open his red cloth, allowing the defensive treasure to form a red wall behind him.
Rumble-!
Another four Zhao Yunxiaos leapt out of the ground in the other four directions, each throwing a dagger towards Gan Luozhi.
Gan Luozhi widened his eyes in surprise.
Just how many clones are there?!
In fact, he was not the only one who was caught by surprise.
Everyone knew that Zhao Yunxiao was only at the Intermediate Essence Gathering realm. To create these many clones at once, it would appear that Zhao Yunxiao was really going all in on this exchange, not hesitating to deplete all his essence energy in one go!
What a reckless gamble!
Now, it was a matter of whether Gan Luozhi could brave this assault. If he did, the fight would be as good as over!
Gan Luozhi shared the same thoughts as the crowd. But with daggers coming at him from all directions, he did not have the same luxury of time to slowly ponder over his next move.
Thankfully, he at least already had his back covered. So, that was one less dagger to worry about.
Gan Luozhi reacted quickly, desperately using the Flowing Water Sword to deflect the remaining four daggers.
Despite them being thrown in such a way that they should arrive at the exact same time, Gan Luozhi still managed to vary the contact timing a little by using the winds to his advantage.
However, these were not regular daggers.
Boom-!
The first dagger that he blocked ended up exploding in his face, creating a ball of fire that completely engulfed him.
Thankfully, Gan Luozhi had already expected this after having seen Zhao Yunxiao do the same thing earlier, so he had shrouded himself with a defensive layer of essence energy.
Boom-! Boom-! Boom-!
Gan Luozhi might be better known for his notorious behaviours, but it was not as though he had no ability to his name. Having hung around Hua Sheng for this long, it would be strange if he had not learnt a thing or two.
Despite being blinded by the flames and smoke that had appeared from the very first explosion, he managed to block the other three daggers.
Still, he was not completely unfazed by the assault.
With the successive explosions striking him at point black, Gan Luozhi could not help but stumble back a little.
And this alone caused the rage in his heart to rise to an unprecedented level.
He had intended for this duel to be a completely one-sided affair from start to finish.
Even though he did not suffer any serious injuries thanks to his defensive layer of essence energy, just the fact that he had been forced a few steps back might create the illusion that he was actually struggling against an opponent with a lower cultivation.
That was not something that he could accept!
Huu-!
Gan Luozhi let out a deep breath to calm himself down.
Regardless, he knew that the fight was already over.
To create this many clones would have taken a huge toll on Zhao Yunxiao's essence energy reserves. As a cultivator at the Intermediate Essence Gathering realm, just that alone should have forced him to push himself beyond his limit.
A bold gamble to end things all at once – a wise decision.
After all, if the fight were to drag on for long, Zhao Yunxiao would surely be the first to run out of essence energy.
This was the advantage of possessing a higher cultivation level.
Not only was he able to execute techniques that required greater energy consumption, but his energy reserve was also much larger, allowing him to fight for a longer duration as long as he kept pace.
Zhao Yunxiao must have thought about this and was worried about an extended fight, which was what led to him taking this gamble.
And it almost worked too.
In a way, it was only due to a huge mistake by Zhao Yunxiao that Gan Luozhi had come out relatively unscathed.
Had Zhao Yunxiao not used the explosive daggers earlier, Gan Luozhi might not have thought to shroud himself in a defensive layer of essence energy when blocking the daggers. If that were the case, getting hit by the resulting explosions might actually have caused some serious injuries.
Then again, perhaps it was to be expected of someone who had only just hit twenty years of age. This was the inexperience of youth!
And starting from now, this would be his show.
Now that Zhao Yunxiao's essence energy reserves had depleted, Gan Luozhi no longer had to worry about much. The only question was how he could best use Zhao Yunxiao as an example to send a clear warning message to everyone!
Fortunately for Gan Luozhi, he was still hidden within the cloud of smoke that had formed from the explosions. This prevented those in the crowd from noticing the cold light that flashed across his eyes.
Instead, the crowd turned their attention to something else.
"Wait a minute. What is he doing?!"
"Don't tell me...?"
"No way, is that really possible?"
Loud discussions coming from below the stage broke Gan Luozhi from his train of thoughts.
And when he swept his spiritual sense out to observe his surroundings, Gan Luozhi could not help but widen his eyes in shock.
With a single thought, winds swept across the stage and instantly dispersed the cloud of smoke from around him.
This cleared his vision, allowing him to visually confirm what he had sensed earlier.
Right now, the five Zhao Yunxiaos were standing still, facing him from five different directions. There was a strand of essence energy coming from each of them, spreading out to intertwine with one another.
At the same time, a globe of light had formed above Gan Luozhi, comprising light waves of five distinctly different colours.
A chill ran down Gan Luozhi's spine as he recognised this technique immediately.
How could he not?
Yet at the same time, he was also struck by confusion, unable to understand what was going on.
Shouldn't Zhao Yunxiao's essence energy reserves be depleted by now?
No, even if that was not that case, he still should not be facing this technique right now!
This is a duel! It simply does not make any sense!
"Physical Seal, Mental Seal, Elemental Seal, Vitality Seal, Temporal Seal, activate!"
The five Zhao Yunxiaos called out in unison, and a multi-layered suppressive force fell upon Gan Luozhi.
[Terra Seal Formation]