None of them were surprised that Han Shuo had defeated Batúk. After all, Batúk's strength wasn't even at Ralph's level. It was reasonable that Batúk would lose.
However, they could not believe Batúk when he said that he had not even seen Han Shuo attack. It didn't sound logical!
Under Laurel's suspicious gaze, Batúk said angrily, "I am reporting the fact as it is. I did not see him attack at all!"
"Then how exactly were you defeated?" asked Laurel.
"From the beginning of the battle, I felt like I was trapped in a prison cell. A very corrosive energy and a frigid energy attacked me at the same time. I had no choice but to use defensive barriers. When I had almost exhausted my divine energy, I finally felt that I was no longer imprisoned. That was when Bryan appeared and restrained me," Batúk explained dejectedly.
Laurel was astonished. He exchanged glances with the other two Great Patriarchs, who were listening to their conversation, and they fell silent.
While the few were discussing, Aobashi had arrived at the arena.
Han Shuo, who had been resting, suddenly opened his eyes and stood up. "Hello!" Aobashi greeted Han Shuo with a smile. He seemed less comfortable than usual.
Han Shuo had only witnessed Aobashi's strength once before. He also knew that their strength was second only to Wallace's in the City of Shadows. Although Han Shuo was confident that he could defeat Aobashi, he had a very good friendship with her. Because of this, Han Shuo did not know if he should attack Aobashi with his full strength.
Unlike Han Shuo, Aobashi was not worried. She walked towards Han Shuo with a wide grin on her face. After glancing at Han Shuo with her bright eyes, she said in her endearing voice, "I have not found out until today. You have kept your secret well hidden. It turns out that you are so powerful that you can defeat Ralph and Batúk without much effort. It seemed that I had to go all out in this duel!"
"Mercy, Elder Sister Aobashi! Please don't be too hard on me," Han Shuo replied humbly.
"Sorry, but I can't afford to do that, or I might end up losing very badly! Hehe, Bryan, just use your full strength and show me your true power! Don't be a chicken like Erebus," Aobashi said loudly. Suddenly, she began to accelerate towards Han Shuo like a ghost.
A violent gust of wind suddenly appeared in the arena, kicking up sand and stones. Several strong and rapidly swirling winds converged around Aobashi before wrapping her tightly in the centre. The wind elements from far and near began to converge wildly on the centre of the superstorm, forming an impregnable barrier around her.
Once a Wind Energy Cultivator had learned to form a Domain of Divinity, they could direct the Wind Element to wrap around them to form a shield. They could also use it to increase their movement speed. Aobashi had just shown great mastery of her Domain of Divinity. Filling the space around her with the element of wind, she formed a colossal tornado around herself.
The apocalyptic tornado uprooted every towering tree she flew past. An entire forest of massive trees became part of the tornado. Nothing was left on the ground, except the earth and a few swaying trees with energy towers hidden inside.
The tornado whistled louder and grew stronger. After sucking in countless trees, stones, sand and everything on the ground, the tornado turned greyish and seemed to have grown by an order of magnitude. The gigantic whirling destroyer laid waste to everything in its path as it headed towards Han Shuo.
In the presence of such a terrifying and devastating mega-tornado, Han Shuo had no need to use the Banner of Hallucination in this battle. The massive tornado had kicked up more than enough sand and dust around the arena. Those gathered around the sand table could not see through the turbulent, dust-filled atmosphere.
Han Shuo remained motionless, standing as still as a mountain. He was waiting for Aobashi to accumulate her wind energy to the peak before he attacked, so that she would be more accepting of her defeat.
When the tornado had accumulated energy to its peak and began to engulf him, Han Shuo finally made a move. The Cauldron Spirit's energy poured into his body. In an instant, an enormous amount of energy filled every one of his organs and bones. Han Shuo felt not only immense pain, but also immense power.
Instead of drawing the seventeen flying swords, Han Shuo used the Demon Slayer Edge. It shot out of his body like a dark thunderbolt. The light and dark Demonslayer Edge glowed with an enchanting red radiance as Demonic Yuan poured into it. Shafts of red radiance began to unfold like the blooming of a flower.
The blood-red aura began to spin rapidly, transforming into a huge ball of light. It shot towards the tornado like a wrecking ball.
The Ten Thousand Cuts of Blood spread out as soon as they touched the tornado. It shot through the barriers of crushed stone and wood as if there were nothing there, piercing deep into the centre of the tornado, straight at Aobashi.
Aobashi was clearly shocked when she saw that the barrier made of objects gathered by the tornado had no effect. She hastily slowed down the speed of the tornado to divert more wind elements into her shield. The wind energy shield, which formed a spherical layer of absolute nothingness around Aobashi, protected her from the red swarm of destructive sword radiance.
Han Shuo watched as the speed of the tornado abruptly slowed and used the very short window to attack. Like an energised crystal cannon, he launched himself into the tornado.
The massive tornado, several hundred metres high and tens of metres thick, which had been assembled using Aobashi's divine energy and her Domain of Divinity, instantly engulfed Han Shuo. The fierce wind, carrying shards of stone and splintered wood, ruthlessly crushed him to the ground. It even forced Han Shuo to spin around uncontrollably.
Han Shuo's Omen Invincible Body did not automatically deploy when he faced the attack, as the basic defensive power of his demonic body was enough to handle it. Han Shuo was unharmed by the harsh abrasion and blunt force. He even allowed his body to spin with the wind, carefully manoeuvring himself closer and closer to Aobashi who was at the centre of the mega-storm.
Although the crushed rocks and splintered wood were not as sharp as swords or spears, they still possessed an astonishing amount of power after being accelerated to extreme speeds by the tornado. Even if one was able to withstand the attack, one would at least suffer some cuts and bruises. Han Shuo, however, was completely unharmed. Aobashi's astonishment was even greater when she discovered that this was due to the element of wind that was all around her.
While Aobashi was stunned and confused, Han Shuo approached her by flying with the wind. Then, at some point, the wind barrier created by the divine energy of the wind and the element of wind stopped Han Shuo's path. Han Shuo was once again prevented from approaching.
With a single thought, the seventeen flying swords whistled out of his body. The indestructible Seventeen Flying Swords carried intense corrosive and frigid energies, making them an excellent weapon against any kind of shield or barrier. Under the control of Han Shuo's mind, the seventeen flying swords focused their attacks on a single point on the shield.
The wind energy shield spun rapidly with the tornado. However, Han Shuo was able to keep track of that single point with maddening precision and accuracy. No matter how or where the shield spun, the seventeen flying swords would always manage to hit the same point. That single point on the shield was bombarded with ferocious impact, terrifying corrosiveness, and frigid energy.
Thanks to his absurdly good eyesight, the seventeen flying swords only needed three waves of attacks to make a hole in Aobashi's wind energy shield. Han Shuo suddenly appeared beside Aobashi the moment the wind shield cracked. He grinned and said, "Gotcha ya!"
Aobashi was stunned for a nanosecond. Before she could react, she discovered that she was trapped in a bizarre space that had suddenly formed inside her wind shield. She also discovered that the moment she fell into the strange space, she lost her connection to the wind element in the environment and could no longer operate her wind shield, which had a tiny crack.
If a god with a lower power than Han Shuo fell into the Ceaseless Pain formed by his seventeen flying swords, the only thing they could do was to have an endurance battle with Han Shuo. However, Han Shuo would have a huge advantage in the fight as the seventeen flying swords had corrosive and frigid properties. In addition, Han Shuo had the Cauldron Spirit, which could provide him with an endless stream of energy. Therefore, they had virtually no chance of winning an endurance fight against Han Shuo!
And Aobashi was no exception!
At the centre of the Soaring Cloud Mountain Range, the spectators gathered around the sand table could not see the hated mist. But the spectators soon discovered that the vision they received was even worse than before. The tornado created by Aobashi alone took up about a tenth of the arena. And as the dust, sand, and earth were blown everywhere by the tornado, the entire arena was shrouded in a brown-grey atmosphere. They couldn't see a thing.
"I wonder what's really happening in the arena," Erebus seemed worried. He did not know who he hoped would win the duel. One was his best friend, the other the woman he loved. He was torn between supporting one or the other.
"This match is longer than the previous ones. It seems that Bryan is having some trouble defeating Aobashi!" remarked Rugersey, who was very upset. "Although we can see that the ongoing battle is very fierce, it's such a shame that we can't see what's happening in the arena. Sigh, even now we have no idea what elemental or edictal energy Bryan is using".
"I think Bryan will win this duel and Aobashi will have to hand over the title of the strongest chief of the Divine Guards to him," Batúk remarked. Although he felt very grumpy, he had no choice but to admit that Han Shuo was unfathomably powerful. He was most wary of enemies whose strength he could not gauge. Although Aobashi was powerful, Batúk could see Aobashi when he fought her, and he had a rough idea of her strength. Against Han Shuo, however, Batúk felt like he was fighting a disembodied monster. It was much more terrifying for him to fight something he could not see.
"Carmelita, who are you rooting for?" Wallace asked suddenly.
Carmelita stared blankly for a moment and began to think seriously. She replied, "I'm not sure. Sister Aobashi has been very good to me, but so has Bryan. Hmm, Sister Aobashi has sat on that position for many years. Perhaps it's time for a change. If that happens, it will make the City of Shadows more refreshing!"
Wallace's mind was between laughter and tears after he heard Carmelita's response. He thought, This foolish girl, if only she knew all the troubles and disputes that the youngster's rise will stir up. Sigh, being a City Lord is not easy at all…
Soon, the tornado started slowing down. The crushed rocks and trees started returning to the earth. Dust gradually settled and the arena slowly became visible again. Han Shuo wasn't pointing his Demonslayer Edge at Aobashi but the unruffled smile on his face could clearly be seen through the sand table. Aobashi, meanwhile, looked dejected.
It was clear to all the spectators that Han Shuo was yet again victorious!