Akata was some distance away from Fang Zuwa which caused people to be at a loss for why he struck out so far away. Fang Zuwa wasn’t considering the matter as he rushed in for the kill. He flashed an incantation gesture and was getting ready to unleash it when all of a sudden a powerful force caused him to abruptly stop in place and threw him back. Blood sprayed from his mouth as he was forced back 20 meters. His eyes were still cold and he was still building killing intent but he was secretly shocked.

Exclamations and shouts immediately surfaced from the crowd.

“What was that? Did Akata unleash some type of daoist magic?”

“But I didn’t feel any cultivation base ripples coming from it.”

“That blow was not a type of daoist magic or any type of magic for that matter. It came directly from his body strength.”

The voice of the person who spoke this echoed out throughout the crowd, instantly silencing them. When the disciples heard the voice they all turned around and greeted the person with a bow and clasped hands. That was because the person that just spoke was a venerated figure in the sect. It was none other than Second Elder.

She continued to speak on.

“Raise your heads disciples and learn what cultivating the body can bring you. I’ll even let you in on a little something.” She started to speak with a chuckle as she continued on. “Body cultivation is actually very important. Most of you hold it in contempt along with the people who practice it. But did you know that First Elder is a body cultivator?”

When Second Elder finished speaking her sentence a figure suddenly materialised right beside her. It was none other than her twin brother, Third Elder. He then spoke out as to add on to what Second Elder had just said.

“None of you know the extent of First Elder’s strength, so I’ll even tell you secret. Second Elder and I, even when working together, can’t beat First Elder even when he doesn’t use magic.” Even though Third Elder was a proud guy, when he talked of his defeat by the hands of First Elder, he held nothing but admiration and praise in his mind, body, and spirit.

All the disciples were greatly astonished by what they just heard. It must be known that in this era, not even including them, even bigger sects and clans would hold body cultivation in contempt. It was seen as too hard to train in and the techniques available now weren’t on the level where it could compete with magic. But to hear that Second AND Third Elder lose to First Elder who can just use his body to fight and beat them, caused the disciples minds to rethink many things. Some even made the choice to start cultivating their body as soon as his spar was over. And the one’s who were already cultivating the body had the sense that they would instantly become more popular in the coming days.

It was then that Second Elder spoke out again. “For now focus on this fight,I’m sure that it will leave you surprised and may even help you with your cultivation.” When she finished speaking, she, along with Third Elder, looked at the arena where Akata and Fang Zuwa were battling.

Fang Zuwa was pushed back by the blast that came from Akata’s fist and after falling back twenty meters he finally steadied himself. Now he was truly enraged. He didn’t hold his killing intent back as he allowed for it to burst forth. His hands flashed an incantation as he bellowed out, “Corrosive Will!” This time though he didn’t aim for Akata but instead at himself.

Fang Zuwa’s aura instantly burst forth causing the pressure in the area to increase threefold. But it didn’t stop there as it kept on increasing with each passing moment. Akata felt the intense pressure radiating from Fang Zuwa but he did not step back.

Corrosive Will wasn’t just an ability to take away the fighting will of an opponent, it was used to absorb the fighting will also. A person who cultivated Corrosive Will will have a strand of the ability always in their body, and when they used it on someone else that strand along with the other strand in the opponent will resonate and transfer the fighting will. But to actually use the fighting will was a different story. Doing so will result in the loss of sanity as you take in someone else's will. This is why people didn’t normally use it unless it was a last result. But Fang Zuwa was using it now.

Fang Zuwa didn’t stop as he shot forward while his energy was still increasing. Akata shot for him too as he wanted to clash. They spanned the distance of twenty meters in an instant. Fang Zuwa flashed an incantation sign as he unleashed another magic ability. “I’ll end you! Flashing Steps!” Fang Zuwa started to glow with a blinding light as his speed increased exponentially. He was upon Akata instantly and he let out a sweeping kick towards him.

Akata, as soon as Fang Zuwa appeared in front of him, was surprised but didn’t back up a single step. Instead he used his own speed skill Shadowfeet as his feet turned into a shadow and he burst with speed and let out a kick of his own.

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Fang Zuwa’s face was filled with madness as he noticed Akata’s sudden burst in speed and that he was also attacking. He knew he wasn’t a match for Akata in terms of body cultivation so he wanted to get the upperhand by using a surprise method. When he saw Akata attack on his own he became even more enraged and flashed another incantation gesture. “I will not be defeated by you! I’ve spent years trying to perfect this daoist magic and now that I have I want to rise to the top now. So I can’t lose anymore! Be prepared. Will Eruption!”

If Corrosive Will is a technique that is used to gather fighting will in order to weaken the foe and transfer it between the caster and opponent, then Will Eruption is a technique that causes that gathered fighting will to explode out throughout the body and strengthen the caster. It causes everything in the body to wash over with fighting will and increase in strength exponentially. But in turn the caster will lose all sanity.

Fang Zuwa’s energy sky-rocketed as he pushed forward and still sent his kick towards Akata. The two hadn’t stopped moving for a moment since they started charging towards each other. Soon they were in front of the other. Since the time it took for Fang Zuwa to stop being pushed back from Akata’s blast  and charge towards Akata a breath and a half had passed.

Boom!

The two kicked each other but neither of them were pushed back by the exchange. They didn’t stop there as they then unleashed another kick, then a punch, and even started kneeing and elbowing each other.

Bang! Bang! Boom!

Each clash caused the air to vibrate and booms to ring out. In an instant they exchanged more than twenty moves. They were completely even when it came to body strength.

Seeing that they were even caused both of them to increase in fury. Fang Zuwa having already lost his sanity became even more enraged and ferocious. Akata was lost in his desire to fight and he rotated his red rune even faster.

Sometimes they would push off of each other but then immediately rush back to clash. Other times they would hold a clash but then separate and begin fighting once more. Blood oozed out of their mouths as they fought on. Their robes were ripped and their hair was disheveled. Although their appearances looked miserable, their eyes showed with a desire to fight.

As  they were fighting Akata mused to himself. “It seems that he has lost his sanity. His moves are becoming repetitive and his power isn’t increasing at a fast rate anymore. It looks like he has just about reached his limit.” Akata’s eyes slowly stopped growing with the will to fight as he jumped back from Fang Zuwa. Fang Zuwa, although he lost his sanity, didn’t chase after him. After gaining some distance Akata took the moment to speak.

“Seeing as you didn’t chase after me it seems as if either your technique is wearing off or your body has reached its limit and you can gain some control of your consciousness. Either way you won’t be able to keep this up. But since you have been an excellent opponent and have brought me many realizations I shall show you my true power.” Akata’s red eyes then started to mix with a hint of gold.

Second Elder who was still there noticed what Akata was about to do. She then slightly smiled and waved her hand towards the arena Akata and Fang Zuwa was on. Instantly a barrier was set up to block the sight from the surrounding disciples. The disciples were surprised and looked at Second Elder as if questioning her actions but they didn’t dare voice them. Third Elder didn’t look bothered as he could still see through the barrier.

“Akata thought that Fang Zuwa was worthy of seeing his true power after fighting him. So to be able to see his power you must face Akata with your own strength and let him unleash it. Until then just keep guessing at what it could be.” Third Elder was the one who spoke this and his voice was calm. On the other hand his eyes were glowing with passion and eagerness, although none of the disciples could see it, only Second Elder beside him noticed it.

The disciples seeing the actions of Second Elder and hearing the words of Third Elder came to two realizations. One was that Akata was now a strong figure in the sect. The other was that he was being protected by the sect. The disciples were cultivators after all and therefore could come up with ideas towards this.

“It must have been when that meteor came down.”

“Akata was the last one to leave during that event, what could have happened?”

“Whatever happened, the sect is protecting him now so he must be important.”

The disciples discussed things in low tones and came up with these conjectures. After discussing they looked towards the barrier. Although they couldn’t see through it, they were just waiting to see what was going to happen when it was released.

Akata and Fang Zuwa faced each other but neither of them made any advancements to the other. Fang Zuwa’s eyes were still cold and his killing intent was still there. By now however his consciousness was now back by half. Akata looked at Fang Zuwa with his red and gold eyes and a blank face.

“Since you are my first opponent and also have brought me to new realizations regarding my combat I’ll let you witness my true power.” Akata consciously rotated his golden rune in his soul region and lifted a finger and pointed it into the air. Slowly the ground began to crack and crumble as pieces of earth began to rise up. They gathered in the air above Akata’s finger and clustered into a ball of rock. The rock was golden and it kept increasing in size. After a breath's worth of time it was the size of a fingernail and the pressure radiating out from it caused the air to start cracking. Akata and the ball of rock was glowing with a golden light and exuded unbelievable pressure.

Fang Zuwa, in his half sane mind, looked on with disbelief and his eyes went wide. He started panting and thinking of ways to face this power. But as his mind rushed through ideas he sunk to his knees and laughed bitterly.

The pressure and power from that fingernail size of golden rock caused his mind to become clear and he regained all of his consciousness. He looked on at the rock and muttered to himself, “There’s no way I can beat that. This kind of power looks insignificant yet it makes me want to bow down to it just from its presence. Just what kind of power is this?”

Akata could hear Fang Zuwa muttering to himself and shook his head. He then caused the golden rock to descend towards his finger where he tapped it and caused it to disperse. The golden rune stopped rotating in his soul region but Akata kept the golden light from dispersing. He wanted the appearance of a transcendent being. He didn’t answer Fang Zuwa’s question but instead asked his own. “Do you… think you can beat me?”

Fang Zuwa didn’t look flustered or humiliated from Akata’s question in the least. Seeing Akata’s figure with his red and gold eyes staring at him, and the golden light shining off of him, he shook his head and smiled calmly. “I admit defeat.”

The surrounding disciples couldn’t see what was going on but they could feel the sudden immense pressure coming from the arena. They could also hear Akata and Fang Zuwa speaking to each other. Second Elder wanted for this to happen for two reasons. One was for the disciples to hear Fang Zuwa admit defeat on his own. And two was because she wanted the pressure to be able to expand out so it wouldn’t crush Akata within the barrier.

When Akata released his ability and Fang Zuwa admitted defeat Second Elder released the barrier. The remaining pressure inside the barrier instantly rushed out towards the disciples causing some of them to stumble backwards and even some to have blood ooze out of their mouths. They didn’t though because they were focused on the Akata who was standing proud glowing with golden light, and Fang Zuwa who was kneeling on the ground.