I grasp my broken left hand, there are slight tendons torn at my biceps.
Xie Mo's facial colour changed. He dissipates the sword Qi before I can detonate it and glare at me.
"Who was it?! Was it Yi Jian who taught you?! Who was the one using my techniques!" Xie Mo clicks his tongue.
"What is he saying?"
The spectators gossip about what he said.
I readjust my body and grip my sword tightly.
"Not going to speak? I will beat it out of you then!"
Xie Mo dives at me. I materialize many sword Qi and throw every one of them.
Xie Mo twirls his body and clashes all sword qi, dissipating it.
However, I am already behind him and have gathered Qi at the tip of my sword.
!!!
*BOOOOM!!!!*
The tip touches Xie Mo's back and he was sprung sliding across the arena.
"Ack! Fuck..." Xie Mo wipes the blood off his mouth as he heals his internal injury with Qi Circulation. "I have to go serious huh. Be honoured!"
Xie Mo sweeps his hand and numerous blue swords appear in the sky.
?!
The swords fly in my direction, absorbing my Sword Qis. I cut all of them before contact and dissipate them.
A blinding yellow light appears in the sky.
Xie Mo is temporary floating and used that commotion to summon a translucent mountain of energy.
That's...Mountain Deity!
The mountain drops down on me and I quickly summon as many swords as I can. Pointing at the mountain, the swords crash into one single spot to result in splitting the clump of Qi, setting off fireworks in the sky.
I jump back and avoid all the remnants of Qi falling.
Xie Mo lands back in the arena and stares at me.
His Qi is a lot more profound than mine. Not to mention, his control of techniques is far too superior.
...
That does not mean I cannot win. I need to find the perfect chance to execute the fourth and fifth stages of Sword of Reign.
Xie Mo clench his fist and lift it.
His sword jumps out of his hand and plunges itself towards me.
!!?
I deflect the sword away but it quickly readjusts its trajectory, attacking in a star pattern from 5 sides. In addition, the longer it gets, the faster the sword becomes and the harder it hits.
Taking a deep breath, I familiarise myself with the pattern and deflect every single attack.
Xie Mo takes that chance and slams the ground. The ground below me exerts out and I was thrown into the sky.
Xie Mo jumps at me and attempts to punch me.
Now!
I swing Azrim and hundreds of little daggers appear in the sky.
?!!!!!
All of them rain onto Xie Mo and force him back onto the arena. Yet the barrage did not stop, I constantly rain daggers after daggers of Qi onto his body, and some manage to pierce his skin.
"Ack! Bastard!!" He exclaims.
Xie Mo grits his teeth and shouts. The shockwave disperses every Qi around him and sends a powerful signal to people near.
I integrate the third stage and the fourth stage to send two different weapons to Xie Mo.
"How do you have that much mental resistance?! To control this much Qi..." Says Xie Mo.
I am starting to lose vision. It felt like I haven't slept for days. However, my experience as an observation spy kept my sanity and consciousness intact.
Xie Mo grips his sword and decides to charge in. His sword lights up and with one swing, created large crescent energy that dissipates all of the swords in front of him.
"ARGH!!" He screams when three of my swords hurt him, one through the leg and two slashing his back.
The numbers were overwhelming Xie Mo even when he tries to defend against all of it.
Amidst the chaos of weapons, I jump in and attempt to decapitate Xie Mo. Xie Mo blocks it and we both try to overpower the other.
*ching ching*
Sparks spew as a result of the conflicting blades. Several daggers clash into Xie Mo's back.
"Fuck!! Argh!"
He kicks me away and swings his sword around.
Huff huff...
Huh...
Why are there two Xie Mo? The background has become blurred, what am I even doing...
Shit... My head hurts. I need to end this quick.
"Enough!" Xie Mo shouts as he rises into the sky.
His injured body is full of cuts and slashes. It is impressive he is still alive.
The cloud overhead clears up as golden light passes through. A large palm appears from the sky and proceeds towards me as if God wants to kill me.
Now!
I plunge Azrim into the ground and raise my hand. Large red Qi gathers above me and a giant sword arises.
!!!!!
"N-No! That can't be! The fifth stage of Sword of Reign. Only people in the Nascent Soul realm can utilize that stage, you can't use it!"
The sword cuts through the palm like paper and dissipates it, striking Xie Mo who drops back onto the floor from the backlash of his technique. He spits blood on the floor as he grasps his chest.
"You are in the Nascent Soul realm?! No... I cannot die here..." Says Xie Mo.
I'm not but I won't deny that misunderstanding, the upgrade of the skill allowed me to bypass the cultivation restriction.
"Enough! Cease that at once!!" Several people shout.
All of Xie Mo's companions jump in and attempt to block the sword. Even two elders step in and place up arrays and barriers.
The sword destroys the barrier and arrays before crashing into the group of people with Xie Mo.
*BOOOOOOOOMM!!!!!*
"ARGHH!!"
"GRAAAAA!!"
People near the attack were flung away and most of them collide with the mountains behind the auditorium mountain.
!!!!!
I spit out a pool of blood onto the floor as I lose the strength in my leg.
Fuck...
Is this the backlash of a powerful attack that exceeds what my body can handle?
...
Chief Lin goes into the arena and helps me up. Xie Mo is unconscious, embedded into the rocky wall.
When the smoke clears up, half of the arena was blown apart with no signs of being able to be repaired.
Chief Lin carries me to Xu Lou who then places a pill into my mouth. The pill dissolves and mixes with my body to subside the pain.
"Pant...pant... I...need some rest..." I say to Xu Lou.
Xu Lou nods. "Don't worry."
For the first time, I became too vulnerable that I have to leave my life in the hands of another person...
----------------
...
This tingling cold feeling on my skin and the fresh icy breeze.
I...
I open my eyes and see a red wooden ceiling.
Beside my bed is an open window that shows the scenery of tall widespread mountains and flows of rivers into waterfalls. Some plantations survived on the mountain and they enhanced the peaceful energy this atmosphere emits.
Where am I?
My body is patched up with bandages of herbs that smell minty with a mix of rosemary.
The door swings open as a young girl walks in with a towel and a bucket of water.
!!
"Young master!" She exclaims.
Chaotic footsteps are heard when she says that. Li Ruo, Mu Kai, and Zhu Li show up.
"You are awake!" Li Ruo exclaims as she hugs me.
"How long was I out?" I ask.
"Not too long, two days. You overloaded your body and almost lost your life, don't do that ever again until you've become stronger." Says Mu Kai.
"Sure."
...
The young girl bows to Mu Kai when he nods at her and left.
"You are at Hanzhen, one of the floating islands above Tianwu. People who inhabit the island can amount to 5. In short, we are in a highly exclusive area for the rich and strong." Says Zhu Li as if he read my mind.
I raise my brow. "That makes no sense. Why am I here?"
"Because I treated your wounds, why else would you be here." A voice says from the door.
!
Nobody detected his presence.
An old man dressed in a white robe with long white hair and beard smiles at me.
Mu Kai and Zhu Li bowed to him. "Thank you very much for your help."
"Hoho, it's not much. It's my honour to treat the 'sword deity'." The old man says.
"What?"
"People started calling you the sword deity after seeing your fantastic performance. I am fascinated too. Many think you are a master from the upper realms who disguised his body as a crippled one but you are indeed crippled, I checked up on it myself."
...
"Oh my! My apologies for my rude behaviour, I am Li Shao, the imperial doctor of Tianwu."