Bai Yunru was never one to make small talk when engaged in battle. The moment he drew Pale Emotions from his sheath, a cold aura spread out from him and clashed against Afanzo's Flood Dragon Aura. He lost by a fair bit, but fear was an emotion a Bai Clan member never had to deal with often. The moment his blade left the sheath, his heart hardened. Without holding anything back, his entire Saint Realm Aura burst from within, dyeing the entire surrounding pale blue light.
The non-saints felt the urge to kneel before his mighty presence worm into their thoughts. Bai Yunru didn't let his aura move about, using techniques taught to him, he condensed every ounce of it to the tip of the blade. The heavy presence and urge to kneel in the weak cultivators disappeared.
In a flash of blue light, Bai Yunru disappeared from his spot, sword in hand. His first attack came from the void, threatening to lob off Afanzo's head. Afanzo didn't expect to be attacked shortly after bursting with the combat prowess of a Peak Human Immortal. In the last second, he craned his head to the side, narrowly dodging a fatal strike. Afanzo saw the blue of the thin blade and recalled the blade that struck down eighty-four Saint Realm Experts in a second. His opponent wasn't simple. With his right hand, he spun his spear, ripping apart the wind, and slammed the shaft of his spear to the side.
Bai Yunru's eyes dilated. He drew his blade back and turned it downwards.
Clang!
His sword struck cleanly against the shaft of Afanzo's spear. Large amounts of force erupted from the point of contact, pushing him more than a few steps back. He looked down at the hand holding the hilt of Pale Emotons tightly and saw it shiver and tremble.
Shock coursed through him.
He knew that Afanzo had become increasingly stronger over the past few seconds, but this. He couldn't even exchange a single physical blow with the man. Earlier he was confident in beating Afanzo within twenty moves.
Once he bloated his strength to the absolute Peak of the Human Immortal Realm, he estimated a hundred moves. After All, he was much stronger than the last time he fought against a Midstage and two Early Stage Human Immortals. But this… He couldn't estimate the length of it all and worse he saw his himself losing. Was this his limit?
"You are much weaker than expected," Afanzo remarked, "Call your friends to help you. My battle prowess isn't something a single you can manage."
Bai Yunru only smiled. He spread his arm to the left and blue light wrapped around the edge of Pale Emotions. Within his Mindscape, large amounts of Frigid Qi seeped towards the Mindscape Barrier.
An image of a gigantic black lotus flower took shape within his mind, and with the aid of his Frigid Qi, it came to life in the real world.
Bai Yunru's core cultivation technique was known as the Chaos Black Ice Scripture, an ancient technique that originated from the tenth Chaos Cycle. It started as a simple Ice Technique but grew to its current heights and fame after countless years of growth and expansion. It currently reigned as the undisputed sixth strongest Ice-Based Cultivation Manual below the God Realm. The Technique begged one question. What was Ice? What was Cold? The Answer? Total Cessation of the transfer of energy from one system to the next.
"Chaos Black Ice, First Form - Frozen Lotus!"
Bai Yunru whispered to the Heavens. At that moment, Frigid Qi swept through his meridians according to the Chaos Black Scripture, and leaped out of his fingertips, into the blade, connecting with the heavens above. A black lotus flower bloomed at the tip of his sword. Frigid Cold that pierced through the skin, pierced through the bone, to freeze the marrows slithered from the lotus. Bai Yunru swung his blade at a speed only those of his combat had the qualifications to see. A bright black aura swept from the sword's blade, cutting through pitiful concepts such as wind and air resistance with utmost ease.
Afanzo's left arm bulged, and the spear in his hand took on a golden sheen. He didn't dare take on the attack casually and summoned his qi from his Mindscape. He too was a water-based cultivator. The Pearl within his heart thrummed and poured some of its golden essences into his water qi.
"Leaping Peng: Frozen Waters!" He shouted loud and clear for the heartless Heavens to hear his words of summoning.
Whirlpools of water gushed out the tip of his spear and clashed against Bai Yunru's black slash. As he did, Bai Yunru flicked his right hand, and one petal tore away from the lotus flower. He dragged his finger backward, and the leaf shot outwards, winding around Afanzo at blinding speeds. Afanzo was occupied with defending against the black slash to notice the hidden attack.
Bai Yunru used the cover of the attacks to tear away more lotus leaves and throw them in different directions. Since true ice was the lack of energy, the lotus leaves remained undetectable to energy-based detection techniques and required other techniques to detect them.
Afanzo's body bulged.
He let out a large roar.
Gold intertwined with the blue of his water, strengthening the attack by a factor of ten. With that, the black slash lost the heated exchange of qi and evaporated in an instant.
Afanzo didn't have enough time to celebrate when a lotus leaf struck his back. He felt no force, only absolute coldness. The ice slowly spread from his back towards his other body parts. He experienced no pain, only discomfort. Before the ice could spread further, he summoned the gold strands floating within his water qi to combat the frigid qi infiltrating his body. The battle of qi was quick. The Gold strands of essence from the pearl ate away Bai Yunru's Frigid Qi with ease.
Bai Yunru frowned when he felt the frigid qi from the petal disappear in an instant. But that didn't keep him from dashing into Afanzo's personal space, aiming a sword strike at his knees. Afanzo spun his spear and quickly deflected the blow aiming to slice a leg in half.
Clang!
The shockwave didn't push Bai Yunru back a few steps like last time. He was prepared for it this time, and slid his sword back into attacking position, using the large amounts of force from their clash. Afanzo's spear was too far to defend against the slash to his neck, so he brought his arm guard, blocking the quick slash to his neck, while slamming a kick against Bai Yunru. The kick struck Bai Yunru in the stomach. His eyes bulged, forcing out an ugly cough as his body shuttled backward.
Afanzo smirked, holding his spear with two hands and swinging. Qi spilled into the spear, forming a thick line of water that wormed around it. A single step and he was in front of Bai Yunru, spear thrusting forth with unimaginable power that sunk the entire ground around them two inches deeper with its presence alone!
Off on the side, Long Wei constructed a small pavilion using Void Qi. It was simple and still needed much work, but casually constructing something using qi was a skill only few could master. He sat on the throne he formed with Jinwu Xiaodan at the side fanning him with a giant golden feather. In Long Wei's hand was a steaming cup of hot tea. He had a bitter expression as he sipped the tea, years of drinking tea made by a God skewed his taste buds. The tea made by Jinwu Xiaodan tasted awful.
"How long do you think Bai Yunru will last?" he asked.
Tang Pengfei, Kun Hui, Feng Li, and the rest of the Saint Realm Experts sat in neat rows of chairs created by Long Wei in the pavilion. Each of them had a cup of tea in their hands under Long Wei's orders. He said something along the lines of having fun while it lasted.
Some of them failed to understand the casualness of it all. Clearly, a being countless times stronger than some of them was battling a renowned genius outside. If he lost they were next. Then Why The Fuck Were They Drinking Tea instead of aiding him in battle and ending it quickly?
"I say foughty exchanges max. The Golden Qi being used has extraordinary origins, with enough perception, one can feel its ancient origins," Tang Pengfei sipped tea with a nonchalant expression on his face.
Don't Entertain Him!
The same thought appeared in everyone's minds once they heard Tang Pengfei's answer.