Chapter 495 - 487: Fierce Battle

What a familiar sight! This was the same Wind Reversal Technique Shan Tianyu had used in the dining hall to break Chu Aoqing's Thousand Leaves Falling! Having seen it only once, and with the power of his Broken Ring, Mu Chen actually dared to clash head-on with an Earth Tier Battle Skill unleashed by a Venerable Realm Third Ring expert!

But! To everyone's astonishment, the Wind Blade Vortex didn't even last a single exchange against Mu Chen's Red-Blue Storm before being utterly annihilated! The power of a Fusion Attribute was terrifying! After destroying the Wind Blade Vortex, the Red-Blue Storm assimilated the vortex's residual Primordial Power, growing even larger. It then rushed violently toward Shan Tianyu, carrying a howling gale of hot and cold air!!

"Damn it! How dare a mere Eighth-Ring Martial Emperor act so arrogantly! Wind Spirit Skill! Wind Barrier!"

Shan Tianyu let out a low shout as he traced several patterns in the air with the Fei Green Gentleman Sword in his hand. Waves of Primordial Power instantly converged from his body to his wrist, and in the next moment, a massive green barrier materialized out of thin air! With a swing of his sword blade, the green barrier shot forward to meet the hurricane generated by Mu Chen's Fusion Attribute.

In an instant, the two attacks collided with a thunderous BOOM! Ice Breath Demonic Flame erupted, splashing in all directions. The Wind Barrier Shan Tianyu had unleashed was actually being pushed back slowly, as if it were outmatched!

'Shan Tianyu's Wind Spirit Battle Skill is actually losing ground!'

The students below watched in utter disbelief. Their eyes stung, but they forced themselves not to blink. An Eighth-Ring Martial Emperor wasn't just holding his own against a Three-Ring Martial Venerable—he was actually gaining the upper hand. 'Is this for real?!'

"Hmph! Wind Spirit Skill! Agility!"

Seeing Mu Chen's ice-flame hurricane about to reach him, Shan Tianyu remained unfazed. With a flick of his wrist and a flash of his sword blade, he rapidly poured countless streams of Wind Attribute Elemental Power into the barrier, causing it to spin rapidly in the opposite direction.

Its rotational speed completely suppressed Mu Chen's, and the Ice Breath Demonic Flame hurricane abruptly dissipated, revealing Mu Chen still spinning inside! Within the span of a single minute, the Wind Reversal counter had been used twice, and both times it had been a resounding success!

When Shan Tianyu saw Mu Chen's figure appear, he immediately abandoned the long-range combat advantage of a Venerable. With a few quick steps and a faint ripple of Space Power, his figure flickered and vanished from the spot.

When he reappeared, he was already in front of Mu Chen. With a slash of his sword, a long, narrow beam of Wind Attribute Sword Qi chopped down at his head! At that moment, however, Mu Chen hadn't even regained his balance!

'It's over! That Eighth-Ring Martial Emperor must have forgotten that Venerables have mastered Space Power. With the advantage of Space Transfer, how could a Martial Emperor possibly fight a Martial Venerable!'

Indeed, the student who said this was far from the only one who thought so. Unfortunately for them, their conclusion would be completely overturned in the very next moment!

CRACKLE!

Violet-gold Thunder Light suddenly burst from Mu Chen's body, transforming into countless tiny electric serpents that shot out in all directions. With a single thought, a flash of lightning enveloped his body and he vanished on the spot, leaving only a solid Thunder Phantom behind to receive Shan Tianyu's Wind Slash.

"!!?" Shan Tianyu stared blankly at the phantom before him, his face a mask of utter shock!

'It's that move again!' His heart pounded. This wasn't the first time he had seen Mu Chen use it. As the one in the middle of the fight, his perception of it was far more direct than anyone watching with their naked eye! 'A Step Technique! A Step Technique that allows for instant movement! There's no fluctuation of Primordial Power, no ripple of Space Power. It's like the wind, rain, and lightning in nature—silent, appearing and disappearing at will!'

"Did that kid just use Space Transfer?!" someone below suddenly exclaimed.

"No! That wasn't Space Transfer! I didn't sense any spatial fluctuations!" a more perceptive observer noted.

"It's impossible to explain. We'll have to see it a few more times to understand! In any case, one thing is certain now: that Eighth-Ring Martial Emperor's disadvantage has completely vanished."

"Furious Thunder Force, Instant Body!"

WHOOSH!

A smirk touched the corner of his lips. The Dual Swords in Mu Chen's hands erupted with a dazzling Thunder Light. With purple lightning flowing beneath his feet, he crossed several thousand meters in a single whoosh and appeared right in front of Shan Tianyu.

"Flash Thunder Slash!"

CRACKLE!!

The power of ice and fire enveloped the thunderously powerful Red-Refined Blue Wings as they closed in. The sword blades grew larger and larger in Shan Tianyu's eyes. What terrified him was that this slash, despite its overwhelming momentum, made no sound as it cut through the air!

'I can only rely on my eyes!'

It was the only countermeasure Shan Tianyu could think of. But just as he tried to clearly see the trajectory of the swords, lightning flashed and thunder roared. A blinding white bolt of lightning completely blocked his vision, plunging him into a moment of blindness.

In the eyes of the crowd, the sky suddenly flashed white. By the time their vision returned, Shan Tianyu's body was plummeting from the sky like a meteor. He crashed onto the spacious, empty ground with a thunderous BOOM, sending sand and stone flying and leaving a massive, deep crater in his wake!

Cough!!

With a violent cough, Shan Tianyu looked up at Mu Chen in the sky, his face a picture of disbelief. A feeling of utter inability to accept the current situation washed over him completely!

'What in the world is this Combat Skill? Don't tell me it's a Secret Technique?!'

He could find no other explanation; he simply couldn't comprehend how Mu Chen had such a bizarre attack method! Blinding his vision! It could be said that Shan Tianyu's repeated losses were all because he didn't understand Mu Chen. He didn't understand Mu Chen's fighting style, nor did he understand the Combat Techniques and Secret Methods Mu Chen possessed. Time and time again, he was caught completely off guard!

"This kid..." Hidden in the air, the Inner Mountain Fourth Elder, Master Ling, watched the scene below with a thousand expressions flitting across his face. His eyes flashing with astonishment, he asked in a low voice, "Dilaka, what's going on with this kid? The Combat Skill he just used was undoubtedly of the Thunder Attribute, and that violet-gold lightning seemed to be of extremely high purity. But wasn't he using the Ice and Fire Attributes before? What's the situation here? Is he using an attribute granted by a Secret Technique? But that can't be right. An attribute granted by a Secret Technique couldn't possibly be this strong. Besides, how could a Martial Artist who doesn't possess the attribute internally even cultivate such a restrictive Secret Technique?"

Zhu Jiuqian clicked his tongue in amazement from the side. "Dilaka, if I remember correctly, that Shan Qiuhen fellow only said he had three attributes: Ice, Fire, and Wood. So how did a Thunder Attribute just pop up out of nowhere?"

"What? He has three attributes? And one of them is the Wood Attribute? Are you fucking kidding me?!"

Master Ling was finally at a loss. He stared at Mu Chen below, his eyes flashing, a sense of unprecedented confusion filling his mind.

"Heh..." Dilaka gave a bitter laugh and shook his head. "Forget you guys, even I, his teacher, can't get used to it after being shocked by him time and time again. This kid seems to have an endless supply of trump cards; he just keeps pulling them out."

"During the Empire Grand Tournament, he used only a single Ice Attribute, honed to the absolute peak, to fight his way up from a Junior Low-level Empire all the way to the ranks of the High-class Empires. Old Dan and I both thought that was his limit. But who would have thought he would then use that black Fire Flame simultaneously with his Ice Attribute to defeat Long Xiaotian of the Flame Dragon Dynasty and win a ticket into Holy Tomb Mountain."

"And then, during the Inner Mountain assessment, the kid used an incredibly pure Wood Attribute Secret Technique to save countless people, winning over a hundred Martial Emperors in one fell swoop, who then led him out of the Mist Forest!"

"Three attributes... A Martial Artist like that shouldn't even be able to exist on the Extreme Martial Continent, and now a Thunder Attribute Elemental Power has popped up. I'm a little confused right now."

Hearing Dilaka's brief summary, Master Ling finally lost his composure. Staring with wide, bull-like eyes, he muttered, "What on earth did this guy eat growing up? A single Martial Artist with four Martial Artist Attributes? Holy crap! Would anyone even believe it? Damn it, one of these days I have to catch this little bastard and study him!"

"A Three-Attribute Martial Artist..." Chu Aoqing's alluring lips parted and closed, then parted and closed again. Even her expression grew inexplicably excited.

"A guy like this actually exists on the Extreme Martial Continent..."

"Two Rare Attributes and one opposing attribute!"

"He not only has them, but he can also use them freely!"

Countless students now wore the exact same expression: mouths agape, eyes wide and locked on Mu Chen. As if with one voice, they all thought, "Is he even human?!"

But whether they believed it or not, Mu Chen stood right there before them, an undeniable truth that required no explanation.

"So that's how it is... Heh heh..." Leaning on his sword with one hand, Shan Tianyu forced himself to endure the pain in his side as he used the sword hilt to push himself up from the crater. He straightened his hair and laughed. "I finally understand. For the rest of this fight, I won't give you a single opening! Secret Technique, Shadow Chaos Dance!"

Once again, the Shadow Chaos Dance appeared before Mu Chen. Four versions of Shan Tianyu, each holding his sword in one hand, stared indifferently at Mu Chen with varying expressions. With a flicker, all four figures executed Space Transfer at the same time. Identical spatial fluctuations appeared in four different directions simultaneously.

Seeing this, Mu Chen, who was still in the air, let out a cold snort. The Ice Extreme Demon Pupils within his black and blue eyes began to revolve rapidly. The first time he saw this Secret Technique, Mu Chen had already determined that it was a type of Illusion Technique! It was just an extremely advanced one, so much so that even his Ice Extreme Demon Pupils, which could see through all illusions, would have a hard time discerning the truth without being fully activated.

But as was said before, at this very moment, Mu Chen was no longer holding anything back! His 270-degree field of vision meant he didn't even need to turn his body. After a quick scan from side to side, countless violet-gold bolts of lightning spread out from his feet. His eyes narrowed, and locking onto one of the spatial fluctuations, he used an Instantaneous Step to cross the distance.

With a wave of Red Refinement, he sent out a Flame Sword slash. The space distorted, and a CLANG rang out as a burst of firelight erupted. Without even seeing Shan Tianyu's figure, the two had already exchanged a blow.

However, just as Mu Chen made contact, he was startled to find that the real Shan Tianyu's aura had abruptly vanished. At the same time, the other three figures appeared from behind, above, and below him simultaneously.

Hmph!

The surprise on his face vanished without a trace. Only now did Mu Chen truly understand the real purpose of the Shadow Chaos Dance. The four figures were exactly like the Power of thunder and lightning he himself released—they were all markers. As long as Shan Tianyu willed it, he could instantly swap positions with any one of them.

However, for Mu Chen, who possessed the Ice Extreme Demon Pupils, as long as the Secret Technique was a type of Illusion Technique, it was completely useless!