Min-Su looked at the man in front of him and sighed in relief. At least, it wasn't Jin. He was pained since it meant Jin already died but he also glad since he wouldn't have to fight him. They knew only one of them would leave this place alive and, to be honest, Min-Su didn't want to fight a friend, a brother... It would have been mentally too hard. So, he was pained from the loss. But he was glad he wasn't the one who did it. It was shallow but it was the honest truth.
He took out a dozen daggers from his belt and waited for the barrier to break. He couldn't think too much on his feelings and grief. He needed to focus on the present first. He would erect a mighty tombstone for Jin once he returned home. But now, it was the moment to fight one last time.
He waited.
Then waited some more.
And finally, the barrier disappeared and he made his move. He threw all the daggers in different directions at the same time using his spiritual energy. According to his Grandmaster, the most important thing for a space practitioner was to set the territory.
That being said, while he made his move, his opponent did as well. He wouldn't have just remained there waiting to be killed after all. A blinding light was sent towards him in a straight line. Was it a beam? Min-Su did not have the time to think before he activated his ability to completely phase out. His entire self disappeared and the beam went forward through him. Under the incredulous gaze of the opponent, he reappeared at a different area with one of the daggers in hand.
Those daggers were refined from his bones. They were a part of him. They were the coordinates left in the real world for him to return to after phasing through the distortion.
While the opponent was still confused and looking elsewhere at his previous location was the best time to attack. He rushed forward. However, as he did, he felt something collide in his back then he saw his enemy grinning at him.
What happened? Had his technique been seen through?
Before he could think any further, he noticed some kind of weird crystal growing over him. He hurriedly threw his dagger at the opponent while phasing.
The opponent obviously dodged but he reappeared over there, closer to him, thanks to that dagger. With the handle in hand, he was ready to go for the stab. However, he found himself unable to move further. One quick glance and he noticed the crystal still cropping up on him. He clenched his teeth as he tried to phase out of it, leaving behind the skin parts already covered.
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As he rematerialized, he noticed that he had been unable to take any off. Worse still, it crept up further and he was now encased entirely within the crystal.
His opponent walked over while laughing madly. Did he think he won? Min-Su was still alive. As long as he was, he could still turn the tables! Now, though, he needed to figure out how to...
Before he could, he heard the man say: "Reduce!" and he felt everything around him grow. That's when he understood that he had been shrunk. The crystal shifted and became a marble in which he was stuck in. However, he was now freed from it in a way. It was no longer stuck to him.
He activated his distortion and escaped from this world. You couldn't seal something that didn't exist. Min-Su safely reappeared at a different spot where a dagger had been sent to. He rushed forward once more. Now that he knew that the strange artifact would never hold him, he didn't fear it. At the time, Dae-Jung was flabbergasted to see the little ant-like figure disappear from within the marble. He felt a fluctuation of energy from behind and hurriedly turned to find the bloodthirsty fucker rushing at him.
How?!
How did he break away from the seal?!
...
As it happened, many cheers were ringing in the grand hall while even louder wails and curses were heard.
...
Min-Su arrived in front of him in seconds, ready to strike. He threw the dagger and the man deflected it. He unsheathed a sword and slashed down, only to be parried by talismanic barriers created out of thin air from his opponent. Dae-Jung was the weakest but that didn't mean he was a weakling. He could have reached quite far even without the two treasures.
He mainly used talismans as his way to fight. They were consumable paper arrays to say it vulgarly. It was for many no more than a sub-occupation but like any other, if one reached a high enough level, it became much more.
Dae-Jung wasn't a strong fighter. He never was. And he realized it early on. He pushed himself to learn something else instead. That was the sub-occupation related to manufacturing talismans. And he was rather accomplished. Especially after signing up for becoming a champion. He was nurtured by masters of the trade hired by Cao Lei.
It wouldn't be enough to defeat the monster he faced though. But it was enough to get him some respite. He quickly took out four talismans and sent them in front of him. He made a hand sign before loudly screaming: "Four Legends Barrier!"
A gigantic barrier appeared and covered him. It had four faces and looked like a pyramid. On every face was the picture of a mythical beast: blue tortoise, white tiger, green dragon and red phoenix. It was his strongest barrier but judging from the slashes of his opponent, it wouldn't protect him for that long.
He used that time to deduce what happened. It was clear that his enemy used space. How, he wasn't sure yet but that could wait. What mattered was that he could escape the seal. What's more, he was obviously stronger than him.
If things continued like this, he would die. He couldn't win this battle alone...
...Alone?...