<nullb><nulli>Thwoom—!!
Lucas dodged another strike from Arnold as his longsword hit the ground, shattering the concrete.
The robust young man flexed his incredibly huge muscles and instantly lifted up his sword.
In one fluid motion, Arnold took a firm step forward and unleashed a perfect downward slash.
<nullb><nulli>Swoosh—!!
However, the blade of his sword managed to cut nothing but air as Lucas slithered under his arm and circled around him.
Before Arnold could even understand what had happened, Lucas had used his blurring speed to position himself behind the robust young man.
Not giving Arnold a chance to catch a breath or turn around, Lucas swung his jian at the back of his knee.
<nullb><nulli>Thann—!!
However, suddenly, Arnold’s body was enveloped in a thick layer of shimmering azure mana.
As soon as Lucas’ blade hit the back of Arnold’s knee, it rebounded and a loud metallic humm rang through the air.
A jolt of pain coursed down Lucas’ arms as he felt like his blade had struck a wall of steel instead of a man of flesh.
Naturally, Lucas staggered back in shock before Arnold turned around and kicked him in the chest.
<nullb><nulli>Thwack—!!
The force of the kick from that monstrous man sent Lucas sliding back a few meters before he came to a stop, swayed a little, and fell The force of the kick from that monstrous man sent Lucas sliding back a few meters before he came to a stop, swayed a little, and fell to one knee.
“What the fuck?!” Lucas widened his eyes in utter shock. That attack of his should be strong enough to pulverize a boulder! Yet it couldn’t cut through Arnold’s flesh?!
Lucas looked up and saw Arnold walking toward him with a wide grin on his face, his body still emitting a bright azure hue.
“I’ve been honing my martial aura since I was fifteen, you fucker! You really think you can break through my defense with your pathetic attacks?!”
Upon reaching in front of Lucas, Arnold lifted his longsword over his head.
Instantly, ethereal plum blossoms emitting a bright pinkish glow bloomed on the edge of his sword.
Pink petals swirled around his blade as Arnold brought his sword down on the silver-haired boy in front of him.
Lucas, still kneeling, hoisted his blade up and intercepted the downward slash that aimed to split his skull open. 𝒩𝒪𝑽𝗅xt.𝗇𝓔t
<nullb><nulli>Thwaaam—!!
Lucas did manage to block the attack, but crevices on the concrete ground appeared beneath him from the crushing intensity of that attack.
Pressing down on Lucas with his blade, Arnold grinned and yelled: “This is where you belong, Morningstar! On your knees!”
The strength he possessed was overwhelming. In all his experience, Lucas had only come against one opponent who was as strong as Arnold.
And that was Kai.
Yes, this robust young man matched Kai in raw strength.
But that was all. He neither had Kai’s cunning nor his sharp battle intellect. All he had going for him was his explosive strength.
And force without guidance falls under its own weight.
Gritting his teeth, Lucas slightly tilted his sword and pushed away Arnold’s blade by using his own pressure against him.
Without any delay, Lucas sprang up to his legs and hopped back a couple of meters to safety.
However, Arnold had no intention of giving him a moment of respite. Within a heartbeat, he shot forward at Lucas like an arrow.
He had his sword pulled back behind him, poised for a perfect horizontal slash, his blade leaving behind a trail of faint pink light.
Lucas took a deep breath and quickly raised his sword skyward. He activated one of his sword arts as azure mana began to swirl around the blade of his jian.
In the blink of an eye, the azure light enveloping Lucas’ jian began to change, now emitting a gentle pink radiance.
Anticipation was palpable in the air as the very world itself seemed to have frozen in time.
The people in the crowd held their breath in rapt excitement, their gazes glued to the unfolding spectacle in the dueling ground before them.
Both swordsmen had fully deployed their respective weapon arts. Both of them were all set to unleash their techniques with surgical precision.
Lucas was prepared to unleash a devastating downward slash, while Arnold was charging at him to carry out a decisive horizontal strike.
One warrior firmly held his ground while the other rushed toward his opponent to carry out his final attack.
The warrior whose timing, technique, and execution proved to be a little more perfect would emerge victorious from this clash.
…And that’s exactly why Arnold was destined to lose this confrontation.
There were only a handful of people in their generation who could truly rival Lucas’s pure mastery of technique.
Now, after enduring six relentless months of grueling training under Ifa Zenith, even the God of War himself couldn’t help but be impressed by Lucas’s unparalleled skills in weapon usage.
<nullb><nulli>Kwush—!!
As soon as they stepped into the striking range, both Lucas and Arnold unleashed their attacks at lightning speed.
A whirlwind of plum blossom petals appeared around Arnold’s longsword as he swung it forward in an arc.
Meanwhile, Lucas whipped his sword down as a crimson line descended from the sky toward the ground. It felt as if he had sliced the world in half.
The crimson line clashed against the whirlwind of plum blossom petals and immediately dispersed it.
Lucas’ jian collided against Arnold’s longsword and instantly shattered it, inflicting a deep wound on the robust young man’s right shoulder after shattering his Martial Aura like a sledgehammer to a piece of glass.
<nullb><nulli>Thwoom—!!
Lucas brought his blade all the way down until it hit the concrete ground, instantly pulverizing it and sending a shockwave rolling forward.
The shockwave hit Arnold and sent him flying back like a marionette with broken strings.
As Arnold’s body ungracefully crashed on the concrete ground and came to an abrupt stop after rolling a few times, the crimson line splitting the world manifested into a colossal plum blossom tree that connected heaven and earth.
[24-Movement Plum Blossom Sword Art: Unending Spring]
The tree seemed to have been made from ethereal mana, emitting a bright pink hue as flower petals withered from its branches and flowed in the air, filling the entirety of the coliseum.
The whole crowd was mesmerized by the flawless technique of such a beautiful and enchanting technique.
Gradually, the glow extinguished and the ethereal plum blossom tree disseminated into a sea of crimson mana particles.
The referee, standing at the far end of the oval-shaped arena, was the first to snap out of the reverie and regain composure.
He cleared his throat with a dry cough and brought the microphone to his lips to declare the official outcome.
“Arnold Zenith is unable to continue the battle! Lucas Morningstar is the victor!”
Despite the fact that everyone here belonged to Mount Hua and thus served under the Zenith clan, the crowd erupted into a resounding chorus of cheers and applause.
After all, before being members of clans and sects, everyone here was a martial artist at heart. They liked seeing thrilling battles and strong champions above all else.
Finally, the referee made another announcement.
“Next up to fight is–”
However, before the official could finish speaking, a crisp and authoritative voice cut through the air.
“I refuse.”
Every eye present there turned to the young man who had just spoken.
It was a tall figure with gunmetal silver hair and matching eyes, standing at the entrance gate leading to the dueling ground.
Alfa Zenith.
It was the Prince of Mount Hua.
Even Lucas couldn’t help but hide his surprise. He couldn’t understand. Refuse? Refuse to what?
Surely this guy wasn’t having cold feet now after talking shit to him for the past half year or so, right?!
“What do you mean?!” Lucas yelled.
The Prince of Mount Hua shrugged, a look of pure uninterest fixed on his pale face. “I refuse to fight you.”
“Huh?!” Lucas arched his eyebrows. “The fuck do you mean?!”
“Exactly what I said,” Alfa lightly sighed. “Look at yourself. You’re exhausted. That last attack alone took a lot from you, didn’t it? Even if I were to defeat you now, it just wouldn’t mean anything since you’re not in your best state.”
…Is this guy for real?! He was the one who suggested this insane thirteen-against-one fight!
Now that Lucas had defeated all thirteen of his lackeys, he refused to fight!
What kind of bullfuckery is this?!
Sure, he wasn’t wrong about Lucas’ current state. His robe was burnt and torn at several places, several wounds could be seen on his body, and his chest was hurting from getting kicked by Arnold earlier.
His mana core was also almost depleted and his bones were hurting. However, he still had enough strength left in him to defeat the Prince of Mount Hua!
…Maybe.
The end of Lucas’ eyebrows twitched uncomfortably as he clenched his fist and yelled, “Just say that you’re scared to face me! Why make excuses? If you’re not, then just come down here and fight me! I swear to god, I won’t beat you like your lap dogs here!”
However, instead of answering Lucas’ beckoning provocations, Alfa Zenith calmly turned around and left.