“The blade covers fifty percent, the manipulation of Qi is seventy percent, and it combines to such a powerful force…” Feng Bujue commented, “Looks like… the previous me does not even have the qualification to meet you in a match.”
As he spoke, he activated the Body Enhancement Spell and used Geppo to pick up speed. His body turned to real to fake as he lunged at Passing Rain. Passing Rain’s gaze shifted, and the killing instinct chilled her mind. Holy Seal spun upward, and whirling slashes cut like wind. Feng Bujue was not forced back. He countered it with Kankyaku and kicked out an arc of dark energy.
With a cling, the two slashes collided in midair. The energy exploded and the energy wave blasted all over. Feng Bujue, who was in the air, was affected more greatly. He was forced back for quite a distance. After that collision, he was forced into the defensive.
“That’s not all,” Passing Rain said and maneuvered the blade again. The blade auras layered upon themselves like waves. Passing Rain was swift with her moves. The single blade appeared to have multiple into a wall of blades.
“This is to be expected…” Feng Bujue said lazily. He used Geppo to stabilize himself and kicked out more than ten Kankyaku to meet the blade auras that rushed at him. By then, the fire alarm at the ceiling had stopped, but the humidity around them was still high. The attacks from both exploded in the air, creating a haze of mist, a rare spectacle during a deadly battle.
This is not good… She is much better than I expected, Feng Bujue thought to himself. Even though on the surface, he presented a front that said, ‘I am unbeatable’, but in reality, he knew that… the strength and speed that he gained after transformation was only three times his usual stats. This state of improvement was not so different from the effect of the Body Enhancement Spell, but Descent of War Demon came with the buff of tripling his Life Points and causing his Stamina Points and Sorcery Points to go bottomless. So, he could use skills that had no cooldown like Geppo and Kankyaku as often as he wanted. Other than that, if he activated Body Enhancement Spell, the buff would add onto his current buff, so his power level would be six times his previous state. But even so, he found himself to be matching Passing Rain in her ability only.
Because of… Soul’s Eye.
First, we shall discuss Feng Bujue. His Soul’s Eyes was a continuous ‘instantaneous simulation’. This power looks similar to Kenbunshoku Haki, but they are actually completely different things.
Instantaneous simulation was not a prediction of the enemy’s hostile intention but after the attack had occurred, the simulation would calculate the most effective solution based on all the factors and carry it out perfectly and accurately.
There was a fatal problem to this skill and that was ‘prediction’ and ‘simulation’ required data. Be it attacking or being attacked, the Soul’s Eyes’ calculation was based on ‘information’. For example, to avoid a bullet, you had to know the speed of the bullet and its trajectory. You have to know the concept of speed and straight lines, or else the simulation would be wrong and thus the solution would be wrong as well.
Using Brother Jue and Shiva’s battle as an example, he could win easily because when his Soul’s Eye awakened, he had battled for a long time with Shiva, so he was familiar with Shiva’s physical ability, skills, and the firing speed of his Sorcery Weapon. He had a conceptual understanding of all that. And the more accurate his understanding of the situation, the more perfect the solution he could come up with.
Another example was Little Red Riding Hood, whom he had met in the experimental zone. Even though Feng Bujue hadn’t faced her in battle, he had a basic concept of the battle in his mind. For example, “Her punch is faster than a bullet and her slap can turn me into a pancake”. With that as a basis, he could use Soul’s Eye to simulate that if ‘he charged toward her’, the only possible ending was—’Death, Death, Death, Death, Death’, millions of ways to die.
That was basically how Brother Jue’s Soul’s Eye worked. Now, we shall discuss Passing Rain’s.
Her Soul’s Eye was ‘Extreme Efficiency’ and it was used when she needed it. The power normally laid latent and would have left a record on her stats. Therefore, it would not be calculated into her combat stat and was the reason why Passing Rain was on the top twenty combat stat ranking. But when she used Soul’s Eye, the effect was exceptional. When a player entered extreme efficiency mode, all the deficiencies in her movements would be corrected and the exhaustion would be lowered to the minimum.
Again, we shall use an example, the easiest being a marathon… Why could marathon runners stand after running 10,000 miles while a normal person couldn’t climb up from the ground? Other than physical conditions like muscle strength, lung capacity, and weight, the most important factor was the method of running. The same distance, using the same action, tempo, and correct breathing method, one would save more stamina compared to a normal person who ran the same distance.
Take for another example… breaking bricks. Similarly, one used an arm, bone, and flesh wrapped in skin. Why some could break a brick with a smash, but you could only break your bones? It was the same philosophy at work. After strenuous training, muscle memory would become part of one’s instinct and the reaction time would improve. When speed, strength, and technique… exploded in that one same moment, it could achieve an effect a normal person couldn’t. Extreme efficiency enabled one to stay in this condition whenever it was used.
When said Soul’s Eye was activated, Passing Rain could reach her maximum potential. The same blade slash, she could make it move faster, stronger, and use fewer Stamina Points. Of course, such an overpowered skill had its weakness too. Even though this type of Soul’s Eye would not exhaust any calculable points in-game, but the user’s own mental strength would suffer. Once one lost focus, the effect wouldn’t be maintained.
Comparing Brother Jue’s and Passing Rain’s Soul’s Eye, one would notice clearly that Passing Rain’s Soul Eye could greatly improve a player’s ability. She was like a bullet that couldn’t be avoided. As long as she was powerful enough, no matter how Feng Bujue calculated or simulated, he could not close the difference in the gap that was on the data level.
However, there was an element was that factored in earlier, and that was Descent of War Demon. The effect of this skill was more than the ones listed on the skill description. Feng Bujue noticed that, after demonization, he was in a different ‘state’.
There was a statement that was said jokingly. ‘Having the identity of a eunuch but worrying about the affairs of the emperor’. That was the state Feng Bujue was in. He had reached the state of the best fighter in the world, but his physical body was in the state of a second-rate disciple. He could see the secret and reasoning behind Passing Rain’s strength, but he could not match her and overpower her with his current physical condition.
However, this was a match of high caliber. In the space of a breath, Feng Bujue came up with a plan and decided to go for the win. Indeed, three minutes were more than enough. The mutual medium-distance slash was a test of power from both sides. The real match would be decided in three moves.
Inside the ball of dark energy, a red flower bloomed. Feng Bujue activated Body Enhancement Spell, with Geppo, he burst forward intending to kill. This speed and presence were not something that Passing Rain could stop with her blade aura. Seeing that, Passing Rain calmed herself. She maintained her stance, she took on a defensive state, slanting her blade, defending while finding a chance to counter. With one step, Feng Bujue borrowed the pull of gravity, holding several poker cards in both of his hands. Golden glints showered the sky. The cards all aimed for the fatal spots, and one cut could end Passing Rain’s life.
Passing Rain scoffed and her blade blossomed like a lotus. She cut down the cards and as they came into contact. The battlefield rang with metal clanks.
Feng Bujue used that opportunity to take one more step forward to enter the close space around Passing Rain. In that moment, they were the closest they had ever been. They knew each other’s ultimate and knew what the other was going to do.
Flying Dragon Fist was Feng Bujue’s ultimate. With the buff from Descent of War Demon and Body Enhancement Spell, it was undeniably his ultimate, a normal boss would not have a chance to survive this blow.
And Passing Rain’s ultimate was naturally a blade style—The Hail After Seven Suns.
Both used their best skill and pushed their skill, status, and Soul’s Eye into their best condition. The punch and blade weaved in the air, breaking and clashing. In this moment that seemed to freeze, the expression of the two was filled with smiles.
These two that couldn’t be considered normal in real life seemed to find a kindred spirit in one another in that moment. A strange communicative method that only they could understand… and they were enjoying themselves.
Several seconds later, the skill ended…
The fist and blade stopped; the match had been decided.
Finally, only a person stood at the top of the shelf and the other had already dissolved in a pool of white light.
“Current quest completed; all main quest completed. You have completed this scenario, auto-teleportation in 180 seconds.”
Hearing that, Feng Bujue gave a long sigh. He lowered his head at his hands that were muddied with blood, there were fresh cuts and some bones that were poking out. “Hmm… If I was not in a demonized state, her blade skill would definitely have stopped my skill in its tracks…”