Absolute Death Game

The Sword Qi finally coalesced completely, and as Liu Xing pointed with his longsword, a seemingly substantial crimson Sword Qi burst forth with his sword swing, trailing a dazzling tail.

Mystic Skill: Rainbow Piercing The Sun!

This was the first time Xiao Buli had seen Liu Xing use this move; he guessed it was probably a newly learned Mystic Skill, and it certainly looked very domineering. Chu Yunyu raised his sword to block, took a solid hit, and was blasted five or six meters away by the enormous impact. His entire being seemed to have been engulfed by the crimson Sword Qi.

But just as he was about to be knocked out of the circle, a golden light suddenly burst forth from him, instantly scattering the nearly spent Piercing Sun Sword Qi. With the disappearance of the crimson Sword Qi, Chu Yunyu reappeared before everyone's eyes. His wooden sword was completely shattered, but golden Sword Qi still burst from his hands, forming the shape of a sword.

"My God, it's the Art of the Sword Heart!" shouted an NPC bystander in mock surprise, and Xiao Buli's heart stirred. (The Sword Heart? Isn't that the secret technique the Sword God mentioned he would teach He Suoju? Could it be that Chu Yunyu has some connection with the Sword God?)

"I lost," Liu Xing typed resignedly upon seeing his ultimate move neutralized without continuing his attack.

Chu Yunyu nodded in acknowledgment, giving a courteous bow, "Thank you for letting me win." His graciousness was quite evident.

Since the challenge was lost, Liu Xing didn't stay long and left the Swordplay Field. As he stepped out of the circle, he happened upon Xiao Buli.

"Eh, are you here to challenge as well? A high-ranking Swordsman?"

"Swordsmanship Master," Xiao Buli corrects.

"Heh, for real? That fierce? You're really planning to pursue the Swordman Profession?" Liu Xing asked, while checking Xiao Buli's profile, noticing he somehow had two Souls of Mystic Arts attached. This took him by surprise as well.

It wouldn't be out of the ordinary for a close-combat oriented profession to have two Souls of Mystic Arts, but for Xiao Buli's Mage Profession, it was rather baffling.

"Are you really set on the jack-of-all-trades path? You do realize that this method of training tends to weaken as you go further, right?"

Xiao Buli gave a wry smile. He obviously understood this point. In the beginning, achieving 1+1 greater than 2 was possible, but as the levels increase and the layers of strength evolve, the disadvantages of a hybrid profession would gradually become apparent. At any given time, only one skill could be used; it was impossible to cast spells while simultaneously swinging a sword.

This led to the issue of being versatile yet mastering none—this wasn't evident when following a large group, but once going solo, the drawback became glaring.

However, he had no choice, as the pathway of his profession's advancement remained unclear. On one hand, he hoped to advance to a Mage Profession, but on the other hand, the required Taoist Heart LV5 for the Immortal Skill Master seemed an eternity away, appearing unlikely within the month, leaving his goals seemingly confined to the Sword Control Master and the Cursed Swordsman.

Now, even Sword Control Master seemed out of reach, despite reaching Tai Chi Sword Skills LV10 not being an issue. However, Chu Yunyu's combat strength was formidable, achieving the title of Swordsmanship Grandmaster seemed exceedingly difficult. Even Liu Xing had not succeeded thus far, not to mention himself.

It looked like the most likely promotion he could achieve would be as a Cursed Swordsman. However, he wondered about the power of Curse Sword Unity and how it would manifest.

But for now, these concerns were secondary; whether Sword Control Master or Cursed Swordsman, he first needed to obtain the title of Swordsmanship Master. With this in mind, Xiao Buli spoke briefly with Liu Xing and then stepped forward in the arena to submit his application for advancing his Swordsman status.

After paying the silver coin, the challenge began. As he already possessed the title of high-ranking Swordsman, Xiao Buli could directly challenge for the title of Swordsmanship Master.

His opponent was still Ye Feng, who had been among the spectators earlier. He stood across from Xiao Buli, sword in hand, with a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, "You're back so soon? Did you learn some new moves?"

Xiao Buli taunted, "Won't you know once we start the match?"

Ye Feng: "Heh, trying to provoke me? Seems you've learned to strategize. But all of it is in vain before absolute strength." With that, he abruptly raised his wooden sword.

This competition had few onlookers; aside from Liu Xing, only Wu Tao and Bai Yunfei paid much attention.

Xiao Buli activated his Gale Sword Skills. He had no intention of revealing all his cards right from the start and decided to probe with the Gale Sword Skills first while also trying to bide some time.

He activated Flying on Grass, and Xiao Buli moved about while testing his opponent's reactions. Ye Feng, however, was methodically closing in on Xiao Buli, unleashing fierce attacks now and then, giving no chance for Xiao Buli to capitalize on.

After three failed attempts at probing, and nearly getting hit, Xiao Buli inwardly admitted it was still no good.

Xiao Buli thought to himself, deciding not to attack anymore but instead kept moving around. After two or three minutes of this, Ye Feng suddenly stopped.

Ye Feng: "Thinking of stalling until the end of an incense stick? Hehe, looks like I need to make a move." With that, a gust of wind arose from beneath his feet, as if he also used some light body skill, and his speed suddenly increased. He then charged straight at Xiao Buli.

Here it comes, Xiao Buli's pupils shrank rapidly, and he hurriedly activated his Tai Chi Sword Skills, spinning in place. The next moment, Ye Feng charged fiercely.

A sword slashed at him, devoid of any flourish, just sheer speed.

The wooden sword in Xiao Buli's hand seemed to swing extremely slowly, but it managed to meet the attack first, blocking Ye Feng's wooden sword. As the swords clashed, he smoothly twisted his wrist, diverting Ye Feng's sword to the side and revealing an opening.

An "E" icon suddenly flashed on Xiao Buli's screen—there was even a QTE system. Although it was his first encounter with it, he reacted quickly and pressed the E key. On the screen, his character counterattacked with a backhand slash on Ye Feng, immediately reducing 5 drops of health.

Eh! Ye Feng was momentarily stunned, retreated a few steps, and charged again. Xiao Buli still invoked his Tai Chi Sword Skills, deflecting the attack to the side. This time, a "T" appeared, and Xiao Buli pressed it quickly, striking with his sword. This time, he managed to hit Ye Feng's arm, and a number six appeared, indicating further damage.

Ye Feng retreated again, but Xiao Buli did not pursue. The greatest downfall of Tai Chi Sword Skills was its slowness—not only was the attack speed slow, but it also wasn't easy to move while executing the swordplay, as one had to retract their moves to interrupt the skill's release, making it highly inflexible. It was, therefore, a sword style with more than enough defense but insufficient offense.

Such swordplay wouldn't be of much use in a dungeon crawl, but in a duel, it was just right for stalling time.

Ye Feng made a few more probes, but each time his attacks got deflected and opened himself up for more hits. Although the loss of health was minimal, going on like this would be disadvantageous.

He became somewhat panicked and resorted to a straight Sword Qi Slash.

Sword Qi couldn't be deflected, so Xiao Buli quickly performed an Emergency Dodge to avoid it! As the second wave of Sword Qi approached, he executed a Leaping from Dry Land, evading again.

When the third wave of Sword Qi came, his two light body skills were on cooldown. He had no choice but to channel his Internal Energy and raise his sword to meet the attack.

With a loud bang, he blocked the Sword Qi. Although he succeeded in blocking it, the residual force still caused him to lose 9 drops of health. If he encountered a few more such attacks, there was an actual risk of getting kited to death. However, upon glancing at Ye Feng's below-the-name Inner Strength Bar, Xiao Buli immediately smiled.

The three waves of Sword Qi had consumed a third of Ye Feng's internal power value; it appeared that using Sword Qi Slash also had a considerable energy cost.

Seeing that the Sword Qi had no effect, Ye Feng refrained from using it again. He circled Xiao Buli twice, deliberately revealing flaws to incite an attack, but Xiao Buli's mental fortitude was excellent; he remained unmoved. After all, if he could just stall for ten minutes—in-game time equivalent to the burning of an incense stick—he would successfully complete the challenge. Discover exclusive tales at empire

There was no need to take risks. While keeping an eye on Ye Feng, he glanced at the incense burner beside him; the incense stick had already burnt halfway down. It seemed that Ye Feng could sense Xiao Buli's gaze beyond the screen and turned to look at the incense burner himself, his face immediately betraying his impatience.

Apparently angered, Ye Feng coldly said, "Are you forcing me to use my trump card? Then as you wish. But I warn you, I might not be able to control myself this time."

While speaking, Ye Feng suddenly adopted a stance Xiao Buli was very familiar with, the same one that had defeated him last time.

(Ultimate Skills: Straight Lightning Slash!) The name of the move instantly flashed through his mind. (This time, the opponent is likely not going to hold back, but it doesn't matter. A saint won't be beaten by the same move twice.) Even in the midst of urgency, he didn't forget to humor himself. As Ye Feng began his move, Xiao Buli also unleashed the powerful skill he'd been preparing.

'Mystic Skill: Infinite Manifestation!'

His character suddenly stood in place with a stance of holding the sword with both hands, the tip angled diagonally. The screen surrounding his character went pitch black in an instant, with faint stars dotting the background, as if standing proud amidst the cosmos.

Suddenly a streak of lightning flashed in the darkness—that was Ye Feng's wooden sword, transforming into a Straight Lightning Slash, heading straight for his forehead. The lightning seemed unstoppable, piercing through Xiao Buli's body without leaving a mark.

However, Ye Feng was left in a stiff state due to the miss, in that moment, he couldn't protect himself and desperately turned around, trying to regain his balance before the fatal blow.

Xiao Buli suddenly noticed a new skill had appeared in his Skill Bar, and the Soul of Mystic Arts that had been used reappeared, albeit with a fainter color, as if it might vanish at any moment.

The name of the skill was in gold: 'Mystic Skill: Straight Lightning Slash.'

Without a moment's hesitation, he clicked on it. The next moment, his wooden sword turned into a Straight Lightning Slash, aiming straight for Ye Feng's forehead.

Whether it was an illusion or not, facing the oncoming sword light, Ye Feng's face seemed to flash with a trace of fear, a trace of despair...

PS: There will be a three-chapter release tomorrow. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)