Translator: Lonelytree Editor: Millman97
At the same time, inside the log-in lobby of another VIP player.
“Oh? This is… the power from the ancient forces?” Phantom Dawn watched the livefeed of the match on-screen with interest. “No wonder even Brother Zen pays attention to this Feng Bujue. He does stand out from the rest.” His fists tightened involuntarily, and a smile appeared on his face. “This guy… is quite interesting.”
…
Back on the coliseum, Xu Huai Shang was still surrounded by a halo of golden aura but the black cloud around Feng Bujue was more palpable. At that moment… The souls of the swordsmen faced the demon of war. The earth was rocking with anticipation.
“Then I shall not hold back anymore,” Feng Bujue whispered to himself as he lunged forward to attack. Xu Huai Shang raised her sword in offense and prepared to face the enemy. The new battle had begun and both parties started with the most dangerous skill that they had. Xu Huai Shang used both swords and the swords seemed to dissolve into millions of pieces. In that one second, the blade coagulated into 8 sharp knives that aimed at Feng Bujue. This skill was like a shotgun shot made using a blade. It was very effective against an enemy who came at her from the front, this was the skill Hassō Happa. But Feng Bujue did not care much for it…
Brother Jue now was a player of level 39; he was physically strong, and his fighting mastery had reached Level B. The speed that such a player could reach under the double buff of Descent of the War Demon and Body Enhancement Spell… was not something a normal player could imagine any more. In his eyes, he could see each stroke of the sword from Xu Huai Shang’s grasp. The front, the back, the lightness, the heaviness, the slowness, the quickness… nothing escaped his eyes. And he could evade them as easily as pie…
This feels different from the last time I used this skill, Feng Bujue observed to himself. This time… it has pushed me to a new level.
He seemed to have understood something.
So, this can only mean that… when I activate the Descent of the War Demon, the stronger I am physically, the greater the increase in power level I will gain from the skill…
At that moment, Brother Jue was able to observe the situation around him like that of an anomaly. As he trained his focus, he could see the data-state of the material around him.
So, this is how they did it… this is the true nature of the energy within this world? Humph… This appears like something that I can control directly.
As that thought crossed his mind, he reached his hand forward. The next second, he felt a ball of black energy in his hand and it turned from immaterial presence to a physical existence. It turned into a black energy beam that could cause serious harm on his opponent. Feng Bujue manipulated the energy beam like how Xu Huai Shang controlled the sword of light, but the former had a greater mastery of this trick.
Seeing this, Xu Huai Shang was shocked beyond belief. She quickly unleashed three more skills, Kattotsu Suigetsutō, Yagyū Shingan Tō, Zetsu Suigetsutō, coming at Feng Bujue in three distinct directions. Top, mid, and bottom.
This time her slashes were greenish-blue in color and all three skills were powerful and enveloping, harsh and cutting. At the same time, they shielded her perfectly from the front. However, Feng Bujue’s actual speed had far exceeded her expectation…
“Humph… You’re so slow it appears like you’re not even moving.” Suddenly there was a laugh. Brother Jue had already teleported behind Xu Huai Shang. The black energy blade that he held, he waved, and it stuck right into his opponent’s blade. A burst of blood exploded on Xu Huai Shang’s chest; it deepened the color of sakura on her white outfit.
“Cough…” Xu Huai Shang spat out blood. Instantly, her face was scrunched up in pain and cold sweat covered her face. This wound pierced through her heart so naturally, the pain that she was experiencing was immense. When her fans saw this, their hearts were wrenching in pain, but Xu Huai Shang could still hold on. She had not given up. Under the condition of Soul Advent, her Life Points were limitless. This effect was more powerful than the 300 percent Life Points that Feng Bujue gained from Descent of the War Demon. To put it simply… as long as her physical body was not cut into pieces until she could not carry on anymore, she would not die. Therefore, Xu Huai Shang had not given up. She would not surrender. She still had fight in her.
“This is my chance!” Ignoring the pain that radiated through her body, she gritted her teeth and turned around. She made use of the fact that the blade of her opponent was stuck in her body and turned that into her advantage. The sword in her hand suddenly took on the color purple and exploded in energy as she slashed forward.
Noticing this, Feng Bujue quickly retreated. He covered his arm with the black energy and raised it to block.
Bang!
The two energies collided with each other. The energy around Brother Jue’s arm and the aura around Xu Huai Shang’s sword disappeared. At that moment, Feng Bujue was rendered defenseless. Naturally, Xu Huai Shang would not give up on such a perfect opportunity. She held the two swords and continued to assault. The blue sword slashed diagonally while the purple sword pierced forward. After these two strikes, she leaned her body forward and swung her arms in a circular arc to slice at her opponent.
This combo by Jubei Yagyu was designed specifically to break down the opponent’s defense and it was unique to the nito sword style that Jubei Yagyu was a master of. Its specialty was to use force to break down the defense and then use the technique to make use of the opening. When facing an opponent like Feng Bujue, small tricks were not going to work. With zero-time simulation at his side, there was no ‘trick’ that would work on Feng Bujue. Therefore, a mature and tested combo would be more efficient than a surprise attack.
Kiang kiang kiang!
Three sharp and consistent clangs later, Feng Bujue’s right chest, left shoulder and both ribs were stabbed by the sword. The wounds were gaping, and they cut down to the bone. However, the man’s expression did not change that much. It looked like he was not in any mortal danger.
Hmm… It is as I expected… from a data level, the so-called ‘injury’ is merely an anomalous set of coding. As long as you know how to work with them, you can use pure energy to correct and edit them…
Feng Bujue was deprived of the sensation of fear during battle. The opponent was unable to pressure him mentally during a match, so he was able to contemplate wisely and calmly even with the battle going on intensely around him.
Pure energy can be transmuted into many different kinds of data, so that means, with this feature, many functions are opened to me, he thought and decided to experiment with it. He used the black energy that surrounded him and used it to cover up the three wounds on his body. As a result, the blood that was falling out like waterfall suddenly stopped…
One’s skill… to put it in its most basic form is a set formula given by the system, can be used to help the player more effectively employ the energy that is latent within themselves. Feng Bujue formed this conclusion from this small experiment that honestly, he should not have done in that moment. But… this type of official complicated formula cannot be constructed using the simple human brain. Even though a Level F medic school skill will be far more effective than what I am doing now… if I have to come up with an analogy to explain this scenario further to the dear readers, then what I am doing is equal to making a three-point shot in basketball, while what the system can do is to invent the sport called ‘basketball’ within one second.
These thoughts and conclusion crossed Brother Jue’s mind within several seconds.
And in these several seconds, the black energy beam that pierced Xu Huai Shang’s body had already disappeared and the wound on her chest had recovered practically instantly. Then Xu Huai Shang raised her hands again to combine both of her swords into one. The weapon that she chose this time looked normal, but it was the quintessential Japanese blade and the presence that it carried was much stronger than any of the sword that she had used before. This sword… was Fugudoku.
By then, it had been 3 minutes since Xu Huai Shang activated the skill Soul Advent. And her opponent was definitely not the kind of enemy that she could cut down with two to three skills, so she had to push forward while she still had the advantage. There was no time for her to take a break.
“Senpū Retsu Zan!” she howled and lowered the center of her body and dashed forward.
“Humph…” Feng Bujue scoffed. He leaped backward into the air and used the backward bounce to empower his Rankyaku. “Rankyaku Hakurai!” This time the skill name that he shouted was more serious. And with his current power level, the damage that he could cause was not weaker than the standard of R2-Sharp Gale.
Xu Huai Shang did not mind the loss to her Life Points, so she ignored the kicks and continued to press forward. Using the slashes from her blade, she deflected the blows and continued to cut her way forward.
“You’re quite persistent, aren’t you… Then how about this! Rankyaku Lupus Fall!” Feng Bujue leaped several times and kicked with both of his legs. Four uniquely shaped cuts arced toward the air and lunged at their target like hungry jackals.
“Humph… you’re calling me persistent? You’re not so easy to take down yourself…” Xu Huai Shang cursed under her breath. Her cheek, waist, and the outside of her legs were soon injured by the cuts from Rankyaku. The kick in the middle hit her neck right in the neck. But this time, Xu Huai Shang did not stop. She had decided to go for the kill… She resisted the pain. Relying on her strength of will and tenacity, she finally cut her way to the space before Feng Bujue.
At that moment, the two could get a clear glimpse of each other, they were dangerously close. One was leaning forward with her body lowered and the other was somersaulting backward in the air. Xu Huai Shang was there to go for the kill, Feng Bujue was blazing in a dangerous aura.
A strike that would split the sky was used as the blade cut forward…
“Tenha Dankuu Retsu Zan.”
From Feng Bujue’s perspective, all he could see was the blinding light from the blade as the fatal blow came at him. An invisible force stilled him in the air so that he was unable to evade this hit that would have ended his life. At that crucial moment, the Death Poker shone brilliantly as the special effect of Shield was activated. Feng Bujue used the only defensive skill that he had and channeled all the energy that he had into the shield that was formed by the poker card to defend against the fatal cut.
The collision later, the light burst like a supernova…
Feng Bujue was the one who lost this battle. His shield was not strong enough to resist the sharpness and strength of Xu Huai Shang’s blade. His chest was slashed open by the blade. The wound burst open and blood squirted everywhere.
“I get it now…” At that moment, Feng Bujue was still laughing. He opened his mouth to say, “Before this condition ends, your Life Points are also bottomless, isn’t it… No wonder you can throw yourself forward into your attack with no regard for my attacks… Pfft…” A cough of blood interrupted what he wanted to say.
“It is too late for you to understand that now!” Xu Huai Shang calmed her breathing down. She gathered her strength and wished to end this match with her next skill, “Tenha Fuujin Zan!”
The condition of Soul Advent was indeed impossibly powerful. As long as the condition allowed it, and she was about to catch up with the breath, Xu Huai Shang could use as many ultimate as she wanted without worry about anything.
“In that case, I will just have to tear you down in half…” Feng Bujue said coldly. The energy around him gathered again and the black energy burst forth. In that instant, the sky darkened, and the clouds swallowed the sun. Feng Bujue’s entire body was wrapped up in the pool of black energy like a demon itself. He used his fists to fight against the blade. He did not retreat but pushed forward. Xu Huai Shang did not choose to relax at the last moment, she continued on with her ultimate.
But to everyone’s surprise, after the skill ended… Tenha Fuujin Zan was countered by Feng Bujue with his bare hands and the blade that was forged by light itself was snapped into pieces.
“How… is this possible…” Xu Huai Shang could not help herself from breathing out these famous last words that were common to manga characters who were about to die.
“Be it sword or hands, they are all just pure data,” Feng Bujue explained while he continued to fight. “The energy that transform your blade is the same thing in nature as the energy I have around my body… So naturally, the party with the more powerful data will be able to shatter the other party!”
As Xu Huai Shang’s weapon crumbled, the two’s battle entered a stage of street brawl. Instantly, the punches flew like wind, and palm strikes slithered around like dragons in the crest of endless layers of waves. The two stood there and fought. They punched and kicked, every hit landing on each other’s bodies.
…
“Your pervert! Watch where are you putting your hands!”
“How dare you lay your hand on my dear Shang Shang! Go to hell! Die! Die!’
“Xu Huai Shang, go!”
The heart of the millions of audiences had hiked up to their throat. They all heard the conversation between Feng Bujue and Xu Huai Shang, so they knew that the latter had activated some kind of extremely powerful skill that she was able to survive until so far.
“This… this is too much…” Even the commentator Hwa Xiong was stuttering. “The two players’ speed and strength are already far beyond the limitation of their level. They are fighting beyond some kind of limit. Even though the system still allows us to follow their movements, but our eyes are failing to catch up to their speed.”
Pan Feng added, “From the current situation, the two are in about the same boat. Even though Feng Bujue has somewhat of an upper hand, but we can still see that Xu Huai Shang is an expert at fighting skill. With her full on defense, Feng Bujue is unable to accurately deliver a fatal blow.”
“Brother Pan, I have a question,” Hwa Xiong said, “From the conversations between the two players, we found out that… Xu Huai Shang’s Life Points are now basically limitless. In her condition, can Feng Bujue still deliver a ‘fatal blow’?”
Pan Feng replied, “Naturally he can… Feng Bujue was not just saying an empty threat when he said he was going to ‘tear Xu Huai Shang player in half’, I believe he meant it quite literally.”
“You mean…” Hwa Xiong prompted his partner to continue.
“Even if one’s Life Points is limitless, but after you lose your head, you will be deemed dead by the system either way.” Pan Feng explained. “Other than that, if one’s spine is snapped into half, or the entire body is twisted or even amputated in the middle…”
Before the two commentators could finish, Xu Huai Shang’s fans were already in rabid mode.
“What! He dares to do something like that?!”
“Feng Bujue must die!”
“If he dares to do that to our dear Shang Shang, I will personally find you in real life and chop you in half!”
If not for the limitation of the system, this group of people would start cursing already.
…
Before I was hit by that Senpū Retsu Zan, I did not even know this… Feng Bujue thought to himself. In my current condition, the more intense the fight, the more powerful the transformation efficiency will be… After being hit by such a powerful skill, the demonic possession and black energy had a sudden increase…
His eyes moved to lock at Xu Huai Shang’s eyes. He saw tiredness but a glaze of determination and fire in the eyes that stared back at him.
“Even after losing your sword, you can fight until now… That is praiseworthy.” Feng Bujue said, “But… it is over now.” He said as he turned his palm around. The skills that he used changed like the cloud in the sky. Under the cover of the black energy, his hand clawed rapidly and savagely at his opponent’s neck.
Xu Huai Shang seemed to be waiting for this moment. Her steps suddenly wavered and her supple body bent slightly to the side. Then, she dissolved into an illusion and phased through Feng Bujue.
“Oumagatoki?” Feng Bujue reacted swiftly, and a series of predictions instantly filled up his mind. “Since she is able to use Oumagatoki, then that can only mean that… She will also have access to all the skillset of Shiro Tokisada Amakusa…”
When that warning entered his mind, he had already turned around to face his adversary, but Xu Huai Shang was already waiting with her next move—Tenshou Fuu’ou Jin.
A circular black magical portal appeared under Feng Bujue’s right feet. A gravity-like energy bound him to the spot and rendered him unmovable. Xu Huai Shang raised her arms, and she was ready with the next big skill… A black blue energy ball rapidly formed in her hands and the chaotic energy was growing at a tremendous speed. Feng Bujue naturally knew about the danger of Kyoumei Jussatsu Jin. He did not have enough Life Points left to take on such a powerful skill. Therefore, he did something no one expected…
He raised his hand and with a golden shine, blood splashed into the air. Feng Bujue used death poker to cut off his own right leg…
The moment the leg was amputated, he used Geppo with his left leg, kicking himself backward.
Descent of the War Demon provided him with endless black energy, as long as he could support them mentally, he could use them as he wished. Therefore, while he flew backward, Feng Bujue had silently utilized the black energy to heal the wound on his broken leg and body. In an instant, his leg started to rejuvenate. The red blood cells, the bone, the muscles… like a plant from a scary movie, they started to twist around themselves as they regrew back into a normal leg.
Xu Huai Shang did not expect Feng Bujue to do something like this… After her sword was broken, she purposely hid the fact that she still had access to Shiro Tokisada Amakusa’s skills and led Feng Bujue into believing that he already had the win in the bag. She used her endless Life Points to hold on… To finally get to perfect chance to turn the situation around, but in the end, it was still broken by Brother Jue. The fact that this ultimate missed sent Xu Huai Shang into despair, because the time limit… was already over for Soul Advent… She had lost her only chance.
The beautiful figure collapsed like a fallen blossom to the ground. The end of the skill rendered her motionless. She laid in the middle of the coliseum facing up, her fate left in the hands of her opponent. Feng Bujue only needed to launch a Rankyaku at Xu Huai Shang and the match would be his. But…
Just as Brother Jue steadied himself, just as his broken leg had grown back up again, the time limit for Descent of the War Demon was also up…
Floating on the wind, he landed on his arse. And then… he too collapsed onto the ground.
…
In the market… there was another blanket of silence. The last time this happened, it was due to the collision from Flying Dragon Fist and Northern Sparrow Cross (Of course, if they had known what they were in for later in the match, they would not have been so shocked then). And the silence this time was due to confusion.
“What’s going on? Who won?”
“Neither of them morphed into a white light…”
“But neither of them are moving…”
Many questioning voices erupted among the crowd.
“Viewers, after the intense and fierce fight that the two players had shown us, both of them had crumpled to the ground!” Hwa Xiong shouted. “Who will be the one to first get up and claim victory?!”
Pan Feng also added in a particularly nervous tone, “Who will be the one that will deliver the final blow?”
…
Suddenly a small figure bounced happily back into the coliseum.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk…” Musashi used his wicked laugh to announce his arrival. He came to Feng Bujue’s side. “Boss, I’ve returned according to our promised time.”
“Hahaha… Ahahahahahahaha…” Feng Bujue started to laugh like a madman. While Xu Huai Shang sighed. She knew that it was over for her…
“How is this possible…” Her pretty face lit up with a bitter smile.
“At the start of the scenario, the order that I gave him was… for him to take a spin outside the coliseum for 20 minutes and come back just as the summoning time is about to run out.” Feng Bujue heard the sigh and replied with a laugh. “Of course, at the time I did not expect… things would turn out like this. At the time, I was merely thinking… since he is going to disappear anyway, why not show up one last time before he left. Even if his appearance might cause a bit of disturbance, it was better than nothing. It would have served me some use than having him disappear outside the coliseum.”
“Hah…” Xu Huai Shang also laughed. “Well, I have nothing to say… even for a skill that has no combat use, you have utilized it to its maximum potential…” She paused. “A seemingly insignificant detail became the key to this match… Humph… You’re good. I surrender.”
“Thank you.” Feng Bujue turned to tell Musashi, “Now go and give that lady a kick.”
“Okay.” Musashi nodded. He ran to Xu Huai Shang’s side and kicked lightly on her arm. As the last 1 percent of her Life Points depleted, Feng Bujue’s first match… ended with a victory.
After this extremely dangerous and exciting match, Brother Jue finally entered the final of the Tournament of the Best.
But… the real dangerous match up was just only beginning…