Chapter 199 - Blade vs. Blade

"You're done!" Mafeng Rong shouted while showing a triumphant smile. His victory was now certain.

The reason for his confidence was because the attack before had not only caused a substantial injury to his opponent. No, the most dangerous aspect of his attack was the poison attached to the blade of his dagger. This poison, potentiated by the activation of the Giant Hornet's Bloodline, had penetrated William's flesh and, in a short time, would flood his circulatory system, expanding throughout his body.

In ancient texts, it was said that the Divine Beast Giant Hornet possessed a powerful poison, capable of creating the necrosis of the flesh where it struck. It also increased the perception of the enemy's pain, making him unable to move correctly. Lastly, if it were to spread through the body reaching the organs, it could have caused their collapse, including the heart.

Obviously, Mafeng Rong or the other members of the Mafeng Family didn't have such a brutal poison, or rather the power of their poison was related to their knowledge of the Poison Law. However, since they possessed the Giant Hornet's Bloodline, when their bloodline was active, they could use some features of the Giant Hornet's poison.

Therefore, all Mafeng Rong had to do now was waiting - waiting for his poison to spread to the organs of his opponent. At that point, even if William didn't want to surrender, Song Yazhu would declare him the winner.

'Even if you're one of the imperial guards, you're only a guard in the end. The only reason you got this far is because of your relationship with Long Tian. But now the time has come for you to face reality and leave room for the real protagonists.' Mafeng Rong thought as he waited for his victory to arrive.

However, unexpectedly, William didn't seem to be in the throes of pain at all. No, the young imperial guard had stood up now. He was feeling due to the shoulder injury, but other than that, he didn't seem to be as distressed as Mafeng Rong thought he would be.

"What?!" Mafeng Rong couldn't believe his eyes. "No, it's not possible. Even if I hit you once, my family's specialty is to concentrate as much poison as possible to wipe out the enemy in one move. Although it isn't enough to kill you instantly, you should be affected. "

Listening to Mafeng Rong's words, William looked up from his wound to look at him. "Before I proceed, I want to ask you - did you forget what my Elemental Law is?"

A simple question, but it changed everything.

Suddenly Mafeng Rong realized the mistake he had made. He had been so absorbed in his plan and confidence in his poison that he had neglected the enemy's abilities. In his eyes, regardless of how strong William was or what techniques he possessed, the fight would end once his poison was injected. But this didn't happen.

"The Blood Law! You are manipulating your blood to stem the circulation of the poison. How is it possible? How do you get control like that when you don't even have a bloodline?!" Mafeng Rong couldn't believe what he was seeing. He could have accepted it if William had been another bloodline user, but this wasn't the case. Did that mean that, on equal terms, he was inferior to this imperial guard regarding the understanding of their respective Elemental Laws?

"I am the imperial guard of Imperial Prince Long Tian. To protect him and make his dream come true, it is only natural that the four of us have this ability. Otherwise, we won't be able to walk by his side. Either way, it's time to finish it." William replied as he extended a hand.

Yes, in the same way that Mafeng Rong left a lethal trap in his attack, William did too. To be precise, instead of being poison, it was his blood.

"Blood Branching!" William said aloud, activating the technique he had kept hidden. Suddenly, the blood content that had secretly crept into Mafeng Rong's body exploded 360°, thinning as if it were tree branches.

Cough!

Mafeng Rong started coughing blood as his body was devastated from the inside. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop the advance of that foreign blood that was tearing his body apart. During his life, Mafeng Rong had never found himself in such a situation. Even against other users of the Poison Law, he would always find a way to strike first. It was the first time he had fought something foreign in his body; as a result, he didn't have the experience and lucidity necessary to actively manipulate his spirit power and block the advance of blood.

Whoosh!

William then moved from his position. In a few moments, he found himself right in front of Mafeng Rong; the blades of his Katar daggers were a few millimeters away from his opponent's throat.

"The clash is over. The winner is William!" Song Yazhu announced. Had it been a fatal fight, William certainly wouldn't have stopped his blades. In that precarious state he was in, Mafeng Rong would not have survived.

William then moved his hand, and the blood inside Mafeng Rong's body came out to return to settle in the Katar daggers of the young imperial guard. With Song Yazhu's awarding his victory, there was no reason to further infer on his opponent.

William thus left the stage under a shower of applause to return to where the other fighters were while Mafeng Rong was promptly medicated. As Song Yazhu said at the beginning of the clash, the strength of the imperial guards shouldn't be underestimated at all. Even without a bloodline, they were able to make up for this disadvantage with their skill and hard work.

"Let us, therefore, proceed with the next battle. The first fighter is Sean Fisher, a talented young man accepted during the second recruiting session. The second fighter is Xinya, another of the Imperial Prince Long Tian's imperial guards. "

At the announcement of Song Yazhu, the two fighters came forward. They both had a serious look on their faces as they walked down the open corridor that separated them from the fighting stage.

The previous clash revealed that Long Tian's imperial guards hadn't reached the tournament's main stage just by luck or by using the Imperial Prince's authority. Their strength was undoubtedly first-class. As for Sean Fisher, despite being part of the group of newcomers, he had shown with the facts that the gap with the old first-year students wasn't insurmountable. Indeed, his qualification was a clear sign of his abilities.

"Let the battle begin!" Song Yazhu started the fight.

At the start, given by Song Yazhu, Sean Fisher drew his weapon - a pair of twin swords that he held with both hands. The weapon used by Xinya also was a pair of swords, although they were Urumis, a particular type of flexible sword used in the Kalaripayattu Style.

"Intent of the Sword, Water Law, Burst of Aquatic Blades!"

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Without wasting a moment, Sean Fisher moved first. His spirit power was condensed in his pair of swords, which were shaken at high speed, sending slashes forward, cutting only the air in front of him. Yet with every blow that he threw, a blade of light would come out of the swords to head against his opponent.

Seeing this, Xinya's eyes lit up as he, too started waving his Urumi swords. "Intent of Urumi, Poison Law, Poisonous Cutting Dance!" His flexible swords began to move like whips creating thunder noises. It seemed as if he had awakened the storm itself.

The blades of light created by the Water Law collided against the Urumi's swords, creating a concert of rumbling noises and splinters of light. Like before, this clash also began with a demonstration of one's weapon skills. The two fighters, therefore, began this cutting blade dance that quickly caught the public's eye.

"Their sword skills are first rate. Swords attacks are being thrown relentlessly, and there is no sign of a drop in the intensity of their attacks." Leon said he was carefully watching the fight. Although he used a broadsword as a weapon, the basic fencing was attributable to that of a standard sword. Observing this exchange of sword strokes had aroused his fighting spirit.

"Yes. It isn't surprising that they call him the Slicer. He's even keeping up with Xinya, and we all know how strong he is." commented He Fen, who had heard of this new student.

"However, even if they are on par, for now, it won't last long. Xinya has a longer range thanks to the structure of his Urumi swords. In addition to that, Sean Fisher is using blades created with his spirit power. Its consumption is greater than Xinya's. If he doesn't come up with something, then he's bound to lose." Lang also added her analysis in the confrontation.

The three, having been part of the Hei group, had had the opportunity to spend some time in the company of the four imperial guards of Long Tian. Therefore, they knew well how strong these imperial guards were ano knew that they would be formidable opponents during the tournament. So they were watching these matches even more closely.

"If this Sean Fisher is called the Slicer, then Xinya is comparable to a Rain of Blades," said Hide, guard number 2, to respond to the comments of the three of them.

It was at that moment that it happened. Sean Fisher realized that his flurry of blades would never reach his opponent if he continued like this. His blades of spirit power were being destroyed one by one by those unusual flexible swords. No matter how much he created them, the covered range of the Urumi was simply too much larger than what he could do. He had to come up with something else, and he knew what to do.

'I admit. Your Urumis are powerful but have a critical weak point. I just need to take advantage of that, and I will get the opportunity to bring to an end the fight.' Sean Fisher thought as he sprinted forward.

'Are you moving forward? That he became impatient to see his attacks canceled in this way? Or did he understand that he couldn't continue like this and decided to change tactics?' Xinya slightly frowned when he saw the enemy moving forward but didn't get upset. Quickly, he waved his hands to direct the flexible blades of his Urumis against Sean Fisher. He wouldn't let his opponent even a single place where to escape.

"NOW! Water Law, Overwhelming Wave! "Sean Fisher shouted as the whip-like blades approached his position.

His swords generated two large water waves. Impregnated with an overwhelming force, they crashed into the flexible blades of the Urumi. This time, it was no longer about aquatic blades, thick just a few centimeters. Instead, the water waves were the thickness of a building pillar, making them difficult to cut with a single blow.

The flexible blades of the Urumi were therefore pushed out from where Sean Fisher was. The weak point of the Urumi was also what generated their strongest point - the flexibility and lightness of the blades. The Urumis were light, and that characteristic allowed them to move flexible and fast like a whip. But because they were light, they were also easily deflected if a heavy attribute attack were to be used. Therefore, this would have left the user of the Urumi defenseless for a brief moment. And it was precisely this brief moment what Sean Fisher was aiming for.

"Intent of the Sword, Slicer Blade!"

The spirit power of Sean Fisher completely condensed on his two swords. He even reduced his defensive layer of spirit power to increase his cutting power further. At the same time, he sprinted at full speed towards the defenseless Xinya.

'I can't hope to use the same tactic twice. I have to end this fight now, in one attack. '

Xinya watched Sean Fisher get closer and, incredibly, smiled at the moment. He let go of his two Urumi swords and spread his arms as if he were warmly welcoming the arrival of his opponent.

The audience was amazed by this. They couldn't understand the reason for such a gesture. However, it didn't take long for them to understand. In the next instant, fragments of light rose from the flexible blades of the Urumi. These fragments of light traveled at high speed and formed a cloud around Sean Fisher.

"Rain of Blades!" Xinya said aloud.

Peng! Peng! Peng!

The cloud of light fragments turned out to be a cloud of small and thin blades made up of spirit power. At Xinya's command, the cloud exploded, and the blades inside assaulted Sean Fisher, who was taken aback. Having reduced his defensive layer of spirit power to increase his attack power, his defense was weaker than ever. Under the assault of these blades, he had no escape and helplessly suffered the complete damage.

When the blades of light dissolved, only Sean Fisher's body remained on the ground. Although the blades were short and hadn't caused deep injuries, every single area of his body had been affected. A pool of blood was already beginning to form where he lay.

"The fight is over. The winner is Xinya. "Song Yazhu promptly announced the end of the battle. Although Sean Fisher's condition wasn't serious, he knew that this wouldn't change the situation. It would have been enough for Xinya to regain control of his Urumi and attack again to finish the fight.

Sean Fisher was then transported to be medicated while Xinya got off the stage after achieving an overwhelming victory. Not once had Sean Fisher landed a hit on him, and indeed the young man wasn't someone without talent. This once again demonstrated the strength of the imperial guards in the service of the Imperial Prince Long Tian.

"Let's proceed to the next battle which is also the last of Block A. After this fight, we will have a short pause and then resume with the battles of Block B. For the last clash of Block A, the first challenger is Bao Jong-Su, belonging to the Bao Family. The second challenger is He Fen, belonging to the He Family. "

When He Fen heard his name called, his body shivered for a moment. He was nervous about having to fight in front of so many people and didn't know if he would be able to demonstrate the strength he had gained in these months or if that strength was sufficient. And that was the thing that worried him most.

Even though he hadn't seen him in person, he unconsciously knew there was someone from his family who had come to see him. He knew that they had certainly not come because of an emotional bond with him but rather not to dishonor the family name by not even sending a representative. However, this didn't change the reality of the facts.

'If I perform well and get good results, I will get a better position in the family. At that point, I could start some negotiations to cancel my sister's wedding. I can't let her future be ruined.'

He Fen clenched his fists tightly as he took a long breath. The stakes were high, and he could not afford mistakes. He had to win, win at any cost.

Slap!

A big jolt suddenly aroused him. Turning his head, he saw Leon beside him. The latter had hit him behind the back with the palm.

"Don't overthink. Go outside and win. You can do it." Leon said to He Fen.

Leon perfectly understood how He Fen felt. He knew what it meant to be desperate and constantly looking for more power. Both weren't super-geniuses like the children of the Eight Big Families or the Imperial Family, yet both had their reasons for gaining more power and reaching the top. At first, they had almost given up, but the meeting with Hei and the others had changed their lives. Now they had a chance—a real opportunity to succeed in their intent.

Slap!

Another pat hit his back. Looking toward his side, he realized that this time it was Lang. The young woman said nothing, but she was giving him her own way of encouragement. Fenrir, beside her, nodded to emphasize that further.

Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!

Haruno, Mareo, Mia, and Lilian also joined and soon after them, Lian, Ye, and Xing as well. Now only Hei was missing.

"You trained hard. As long as you don't underestimate the enemy, you can win." Hei said before extending his right fist, lightly hitting He Fen's chest, where the heart was.

He Fen was moved by such a gesture from his companions. His worries vanished as a strong fighting spirit replaced them.

"I'll be back soon. I will win."

So He Fen separated from the others to go on stage. They were right. He trained hard and did everything he could to get stronger. Why should he have to doubt himself and be afraid? He would do his best and win, not only for himself but also for his companions who believed in him.