A loud explosion occurred, creating a vortex of plasma that engulfed the whole arena with its bright light and force. The explosion was so powerful that it carved up the ground several meters around the epicenter. Even Leo found himself pushed away by the impact.
"Shit!"
All gas and smoke covering the arena was blown away by the explosion while a few spectators who got too close were also pushed away in great distance.
'Why am I getting targeted?! He should've fought Shui instead.' He complained in his mind while straightening his body.
Without spending any more seconds, he ran away from the spectator seat. He made eye contact with Shui who cut down his opponent in a swift manner before jumping into the stage below as well. He was protecting Peng Li-Yue pretty well.
"Shui!" Leo shouted from below, "Switch."
"Roger!"
And just as Shui jumped down to switch places with Leo, a sudden gust of wind sent the vortex of plasma scatter into pieces like mist in the wind. Leo looked back and saw the Wandering Sword Saint was standing in where he was before with a burned robe and damage on his skin. However, he was pretty much alive and kicking.
'Crazy motherfucker! He only got injured slightly from a photon bomb? What is his body made of?!' Leo shouted in his mind.
"Don't run from me, coward!" A rage of Qi could be felt from the man who spoke in a sharp tone while his eyes gleamed in anger. He looked like he was about to murder Leo right here and now. "You have interesting things. Come and fight me again."
"No." Leo answered in a clear voice as he passed by Shui, "Fight him instead."
With a speed faster than sound, Shui ran toward Xiao Ah Tian with a feral grin. His sword was slashing through the air, creating a trail of light behind him as he approached his opponent.
"Swirling Vortex Art!"
At that moment, a spinning black dragon came out of his sword as he slashed it into the air, creating a vortex that formed by swirling winds, and headed toward Xiao Ah Tian. It was just a visual effect created using a projection in his bodysuit, but worked very well to make his opponents hesitate.
Unfortunately for him, his attack was ineffective as Xiao Ah Tian moved his hand. White dragon met with the black one in midair and swallowed it whole before disappearing into thin air. Metal clashing could be heard when he exchanged strikes with Xiao Ah Tian.
"Whirlwind Sword!"
"Rock Dragon Art!"
Two swords clashed again and again, producing sparks with every impact and causing a wave of winds to push everything in their surroundings away.
"Hahaha, you're good enough. Fine, I will take you as an opponent!"
"You're not bad yourself." Shui commented back.
Their hands were a blur as they exchanged hits after hits while attacking and defending at the same time. It was truly a high-level battle that showed no sign of ending soon.
As Leo looked at them with shock in his eyes, he noticed the people inside the arena had started to leave. Even Tang Yao and Tang Soso had left the arena guarded by Anya.
'Good' He thought, arriving beside Peng Li-Yue who looked dumbfounded as she watched the clash between Shui and Wandering Sword Saint.
"Who is... he?" She asked in a dumbfounded tone.
"Wandering Sword Saint." Leo answered indifferently.
"I know who he is! What I mean is who is he?! The person you ordered to be my representative." She raised her voice, her eyes fixated on Shui who fought fiercely with Xiao Ah Tian.
"My subordinate."
"Argh, you! If you want to keep it a secret, fine!" The girl shouted loudly much to Leo's confusion.
He answered honestly. Why was she mad?
'It's not important.' He shook his head. 'That's how martial artists fight, huh?'
Shockwaves that could destroy any building shook the earth below them every time they exchanged hits.
All of it happened just because they swung their sword at each other, sending the power of the Sword Saint's Qi flying around.
Shui only used Nanites inside his body, as he couldn't use Qi. He could imitate Qi slash if he used his Nanites skillfully, but his specialty was body enhancement. He didn't need a fancy technique. All his strikes sent wind pressure that was strong enough to damage the surrounding terrain.
'What is happening?' Peng Li-Yue thought while watching Shui fighting. 'Is this reality? That arrogant person is fighting against 8 Stars Martial Artist on an even ground!'
"Peng Li-Yue, we must go now." Leo said, snapping her out of her thoughts. "We will use this chance to kill Tang Jiuyang and annule the agreement between you and him. Rest assured, you will live and become free after this is done."
Hearing him mention Tang Jiuyang, she stared at Leo in surprise. Kill? She just wanted to be free.
"Let's go." He urged her and moved away from the scene with her, leaving Shui alone to fight against Xiao Ah Tian.
"A-Alright." She nodded her head.
Seeing that she finally agreed, Leo relaxed a bit as he continued to lead her away from the arena while vigilantly observing their surroundings. He could track Tang Jiuyang easily. Shui had planted a tracking device in the middle of the commotion earlier.
'Let's take this dagger.' He thought, grabbing the dagger from one of the corpses from the Nokrim people.
He exited through the gate followed by Peng Li-Yue. Based on his smart lenses, Leo found Tang Jiuyang in one of the safe houses. He seemed to be running away already as well as planned his route from here. However, if they hurried up...
'We will catch up to him when he reaches his safe house.' He thought.
"Hold on tight." Leo suddenly said and approached Peng Li-Yue. He grabbed her slender waist before increasing Nanites' ability that enhanced his muscles. The power of Nanites flooded his body, making him run faster than a car.
"W-Wa- Aah!" The unexpected change made her scream and clung on him desperately.
He jumped on the roof and kept running on it without stopping once. They moved very fast and arrived at where Tang Jiuyang was hiding with his bodyguard.
"Stay here." Leo said and pushed her behind a house after seeing a bunch of martial artists wearing Tang Clan's robes.
"Are you sure?" She asked softly. Her face turned red from embarrassment as she straightened her clothes while glaring at Leo.
"Yes. I am not as good as Anya in this kind of thing, but I am better than most. Just hide here. We'll solve this problem." Leo turned toward the direction where Tang Jiuyang and his men were located. He gripped the dagger tightly and spoke again. "It won't take long."