Chapter 213 (I): Champion

Up in the stands, someone mumbled, "Is... Is that an illusion?!"

What they were seeing was too much to take in, too unreal. What were they watching?

Yuanshi Tianzun, pulling off Zhao Chenghuang's signature move...

"It's real. Don't you see the Taiyi Sect people all frozen stiff? Even Elder Zhao shot up out of his seat," the companion beside him answered, sounding like he too was in a dream.

"How did Yuanshi Tianzun even do that...?"

"No idea. But one thing's for sure, no matter who wins this fight, Yuanshi Tianzun's name is about to blow up. He'll be catapulted into the top bracket of the Transcendent tier. He'll eclipse everyone his own age, Zhao Chenghuang included."

A prodigy at clearing dungeons, and unbeatable in a fight on top of it. Yuanshi Tianzun would become the Fu Qingyang of the Transcendent tier. Once the tournament wrapped up, the evil organizations would have to rewrite their rankings and slot Yuanshi Tianzun in at the very top.

***

Malice and savagery flickered in Zhao Chenghuang's black eye sockets, like a wronged soul clawing its way up out of hell.

"No. No, impossible!" he roared. "How can you possibly know this move? You shouldn't be able to pull off this move!"

Time and again he'd gone into the dungeons, gone through the baptism of the Power of the Dark Moon, honed it, learned its temper, coaxed it, and mastered it. He'd stalled his progress at the Transcendent tier a whole year before he finally got this technique down to perfection. Yet some rookie who'd been a Nocturnal Specter less than three months could wield it, just like that? What did that make him? What did that make all of them?

The Taiyi Sect's Nocturnal Specters were chewing on that same question, Sun Miaomiao included. Even she had gone quiet. They accepted that Zhao Chenghuang could perform Origin Overdrive. The man had a Sovereign-tier great-grandfather teaching him. He'd put in the work, and even spent an extra year at the Transcendent tier. For him, an achievement like that was only right and proper.

But Yuanshi Tianzun, a rookie, kept showing more and more cards. His exceptional cunning, his plethora of items, and finally, the overwhelming power of Origin Overdrive. This kid had left the realm of genius behind. He was a freak.

As fellow Nocturnal Specters, the sense of defeat weighed heavily on them.

That was the real reason Elder Zhao and the others had lost their composure as well. At the Transcendent tier, Origin Overdrive was a trump card, but to the Sovereigns, it was a trifling little trick, barely worth the name. What shook them was that Yuanshi Tianzun, this person, should turn out to be so freakishly gifted by heaven.

Elder Hongying and the rest shot Elder Sun a complicated look, and Elder Sun himself was speechless. For the first time in his life, a thought surfaced in Elder Sun's head. Perhaps I really have gone soft in the skull!

Down in the ring, Zhang Yuanqing breathed out a thick plume of the Power of the Dark Moon and spoke, his voice a low rasp. "Is it really that hard? I watched you use this the other day, then went home and gave it a try. It's pretty simple, actually. I got it on the first go."

True or not, the line made Zhao Chenghuang's face twitch fiercely. He sank his weight down, the muscles in his legs and around his core bunching up, coiling, ready to spring.

Seeing it, Zhang Yuanqing brought the blade level across his chest and brushed his fingertips down the flat of it. Only then did he notice that the edge had picked up several notches.

Zhang Yuanqing felt the ridges catch under his fingertips, clear-eyed about exactly how strong he was. If this were the Bloodthirsty Blade, it'd have snapped ages ago. There's no way in hell I could have won this whole fight without that set of armor.

The muscles in Zhao Chenghuang's legs rippled explosively, pushing off against the ground, kicking up the sand around him in a slow, rising haze. In a flash, he hurtled forward in a blur, the sudden disturbance scattering the floating dust backwards. At the same instant, Zhang Yuanqing whipped his blade back and flew forward to meet him.

Two dark streaks raced toward each other. Just before impact, Zhang Yuanqing stamped down hard and swung the long blade.

The air seemed to split open in a shrill scream.

Zhao Chenghuang did not halt his momentum or veer away. He dropped into a sudden half-crouch, letting the swinging edge pass through empty air. As he ducked under the strike, his knees snapped straight, and he rode the momentum right into Yuanshi Tianzun's chest, his claws digging for his opponent's heart.

Zhang Yuanqing had missed, and there was no time to retract the blade. He hopped back a step, scrambling, and drove his left fist down.

Fist met palm with a blast of explosive force, and the Power of the Dark Moon burst out as a shockwave that tore across the whole field. A shiver ran through the crowd as the diffused Yin energy blew over them, as though winter had suddenly fallen.

Zhang Yuanqing's fist went numb as an unfathomable force shot up his arm and into his shoulder. He staggered backward as though he'd been struck by someone twice his size. The gap in their experience was evident. Zhao Chenghuang's stamina was no longer at its peak, but he was still almost 90% of the way through Level 3, while Zhang Yuanqing had only just crossed the threshold into Level 3.

Zhao Chenghuang seized the opportunity to attack his weaker foe, slamming fist after fist into Zhang Yuanqing's chest, splitting the metallic blue-black skin, driving him back step by step, every footfall gouging a deep pit in the sand beneath.

It's no good. The gap in power is too wide. My wellspring of the Power of the Dark Moon isn't as deep, and I can't match the guy.

Zhang Yuanqing's footwork came apart, and he barely held on under the lightning-quick barrage. Fortunately for him, his hand-to-hand combat skills had improved greatly. Without Guan Ya's training, Zhao Chenghuang would've swept him away in that one exchange, and he'd have at least suffered a severe wound.

Just as Zhao Chenghuang created some distance so that he could pin Yuanshi Tianzun down for good, he felt two sharp blows to his back. The force caused him to stagger a few steps forward as a scalding pain flared across his shoulder blades.

Seeing its master taking a beating, the Red Dancing Shoes had come to the rescue. Their attacks couldn't kill Zhao Chenghuang or wound him badly, but they could still deal real damage. At the very least, the pain they inflicted could distract him, and the fact that these shoes were unstoppable and indestructible made them the perfect backup.

Whew, nice work. Zhang Yuanqing steadied his feet, planting his soles into the sand to anchor himself, then thrust his blade at the stumbling Zhao Chenghuang.

Zhao Chenghuang's eyes narrowed. The blade was right in his face, and there was no dodging it, so he didn't, instead snatching the little clay figurine out of his inventory.

The dim gray barrier went up with a hum, catching the incoming thrust.

Zhang Yuanqing looked as though he'd seen it coming. Without so much as a change in expression, he slid a step to Zhao Chenghuang's side, using his momentum to bring the blade around.

He meant to break Zhao Chenghuang's defensive item. As things stood, the fact that his opponent had an impenetrable shield that nothing could cut through would surely turn things in his favor.

Zhang Yuanqing circled him, his narrow-mouthed blade chopping, hacking, stabbing, and slicing, carving sheet after sheet of sandy light motes off the dim gray barrier. The Red Dancing Shoes did their part as well, and everywhere they struck, they created ripples of light that spread out across the barrier like rings of water.

In Origin Overdrive, his speed and strength were through the roof, and the war blade's edge was extremely sharp. The dim gray barrier shuddered violently under the flurry of attacks, on the brink of collapse.

Zhang Yuanqing stepped back, his soles sinking deep into the sand. He pushed into the ground, leg muscles tightening, power surging up through his core, his waist, and his back and into his right arm. His forearm muscles bulged and his face twisted with effort as he brought the blade down, putting everything he had behind this final strike.

Bang!

With a noise like a balloon popping, the dim gray barrier finally gave way, breaking apart and sending up a small gust that threw up a cloud of yellow sand. The little clay figurine in Zhao Chenghuang's hand cracked.

The narrow-mouthed blade shuddered and wouldn't stop, the terrible recoil kicking the edge of the blade upward and threatening to send the sword flying out of his grip altogether as the webbing of Zhang Yuanqing's hands split open once again.

Zhao Chenghuang, who'd been slowed down by the item and forced to take hits, moved.

The instant the clay figurine cracked, the instant the recoil nearly tore the blade from Zhang Yuanqing's hand, he moved as though he'd been waiting for that moment all along. He ignored the Red Dancing Shoes' attacks as his ghostly claw stabbed outward like a phantom, punching clean through Yuanshi Tianzun's chest.

Cold water fountained out. His claw had gone cleanly through his opponent's chest, and the Water Ghost's passive had nullified his attack.

Zhao Chenghuang wasn't the least surprised, as though he’d expected this exact result well in advance. He raked the clawed hand, which had been buried deep in the enemy's chest, hard to the side.

More water sprayed forth as he dragged his clawed hand from the left side of Yuanshi Tianzun's chest all the way to the right side, out through his right arm, and finally into the hilt of his opponent's blade.

The impact sent the narrow-mouthed blade flying, spinning dozens of meters away to bury itself in the wall below the stands.

This had been Zhao Chenghuang's real aim. When the Water Ghost passive activated, Yuanshi Tianzun could ignore physical attacks, but it also meant that he couldn't hold a weapon.

Yuanshi Tianzun had wanted his clay figurine gone, while he wanted his opponent's weapon gone.

One had lost his shield, the other, his weapon.

It was an even trade.

With his opponent's weapon knocked away, Zhao Chenghuang pressed in close and fast, giving Yuanshi Tianzun no window to retrieve the blade, all the while keeping an eye on the Yin corpses fighting off in the distance, ready to split his focus and seize control of his corpse's body the moment Yuanshi Tianzun tried to fetch the blade with his own.

Zhao Chenghuang raked a claw across Yuanshi Tianzun's chest, tearing four gouges in the flesh down to the bone in a spray of dark red blood. Zhang Yuanqing's face twitched with pain, and his own black claws ignited with flames as he counterattacked with a vicious strike of his own. His strength fell short of Zhao Chenghuang's, but he could amplify the damage with his fire abilities.

Gray smoke poured off Zhao Chenghuang's chest, and a muscle in his face twitched. His fists, feet and claws opened one deep wound after another on Yuanshi Tianzun's body, while Zhao Chenghuang suffered his own share of punches and claw strikes from his opponent, as well as the Red Dancing Shoes' relentless kicks.

Neither used items, nor did they bother with their Nocturnal Specter skills. The sand made Night Wandering pointless, and against a Nocturnal Specter, a spirit servant was just as pointless. They fought in the rawest way there was, with claws and fists for weapons, with the sole aim being to wreck the other's body and will.

Both of them were soaked in blood, ravaged from head to toe. The sand under their feet crusted over with frost, froze into hard dirt, then cracked apart again under the force of their battle.

The spectators who'd sat down for a breather were suddenly on their feet again, eyes glued to the field. The Fire Sages were thrilled, lost in a fight filled with violent beauty. They were honestly surprised that these two Nocturnal Specters, an assassin and summoner class, could throw down this well.

Yuanshi Tianzun and Zhao Chenghuang both are real talents. It's a shame neither became a Fire Sage, they thought with regret.

To the Walkers from the other classes, this was just a brawl, a hand-to-hand contest, a war of stamina. But to the Taiyi Sect's Nocturnal Specters, the core of it was a duel of the Power of the Dark Moon. Whoever's Power of the Dark Moon ran dry first would lose.

After activating Origin Overdrive, a Nocturnal Specter's self-healing abilities were at their peak. The moment the Power of the Dark Moon ran dry, their wounds would no longer heal as quickly, and defeat would only be a matter of time.

Zhao Chenghuang was more experienced than Yuanshi Tianzun, and his reserves of the Power of the Dark Moon were deeper. But those Red Dancing Shoes were truly infuriating.

A few minutes on, both men, completely spent, crashed together one final time. Zhang Yuanqing clawed at Zhao Chenghuang's throat, while Zhao Chenghuang's claws punched into Zhang Yuanqing's chest.

They broke apart, staggering. Zhao Chenghuang clamped a hand over his ruined throat, while Zhang Yuanqing dropped flat on his back, his vision going black.

Both of them had squeezed their Power of the Dark Moon reserves for all they were worth, racing against the clock to mend their wounds, but they were both dangerously low on stamina.

Zhang Yuanqing barely stopped the bleeding from his chest, before his Power of the Dark Moon ran out. His claws slowly retracted and his blue-black skin reverted to its normal color as the black, inky energy drained out of his eyes.

"Heh, heh heh..." Zhao Chenghuang started laughing.

His vocal cords had only just knit themselves back together, and his voice came out badly frayed. "Yuanshi Tianzun, you've lost..."

He had one last scrap of strength left. He lurched toward Yuanshi Tianzun.