Chapter 195 - Sand User
"Well, what an interesting matching," commented Hu Luoyang amused. The other members of the skybox nodded in agreement.
Hei was a martial artist highly regarded by the Imperial Prince himself. Although he came from the Forgotten Ocean, he had been able to join a Royal War Academy and enter the main phase of the tournament. It was already an incredible feat for someone without a background and who came from such a remote place, devoid of the presence of high-rank martial artists.
Chong Hai, on the other hand, was a descendant of the Spirit Emperor Chong Zemin. Although the Chong Family descended to a normal bloodline family, the mere fact that they were descendants of that character made the Chong Family worthy of being treated with respect even by the Eight Big Families and the Imperial Family. After all, if it wasn't for Chong Zemin, no one could have seen what had happened in the Final Battle between humans, demons, and divine beasts.
"Let the fight begin," Song Yazhu proclaimed.
"Hei, right? I have nothing against you, but I have my reasons for winning. So get ready- "Chong Hai said when Hei suddenly sprang forward to his position.
"Snake Fist."
Hei's left fist went in the direction of his opponent. Chong Hai avoided quickly, although his posture was broken because he was caught off guard. However, Hei's assault wasn't yet over.
"Snake Fist."
Hei's right fist moved with lightning speed against Chong Hai. Once again, the young man from the Chong Family dodged with disordered movements as he tried to regain his balance. But Hei wouldn't have allowed it easily. He was bombarding Chong Hai with a series of Snake Fist's blows, one after the other, cornering his opponent.
"Not bad. He immediately attacked the instant the start was declared. On this side, it is superior to most of the younger generation who lose the initiative for unnecessary chatter. Unfortunately, my son Hu Jie is also sometimes guilty of that mistake." Hu Luoyang commented, praising Hei's initiative and speed of reaction.
"I apologize for my nephew's behavior. He's just excited about this event." an old man with a thick white beard answered. This old man was a Spirit Emperor and one of the elders of the Chong Family. In the hierarchy of the Spirit Emperors, he was in the medium-high positions.
"He is still young; such mistakes can be forgiven. The important thing is to correct them before it's too late." the principal replied with an amused tone. But his eyes hadn't left the stage for even an instant.
Hei's assault of blows was continuing. Fortunately, Chong Hai had recovered his posture and managed to draw his sword. Thanks to his weapon, he was parrying every blow, and, with each parade, he responded with a sword slash. The problem was that Hei's movements were too fluid. No matter where he directed his sword, Hei would always find ways to dodge the attack by bending his body at absurd angles. And even in the few cases where Hei didn't have enough time to dodge, it would be enough for him to parry using the sharp nails he had on his hands.
'Shit. How is he doing it? His nails are hard as metal. They can repel the blade of my sword without breaking. Is he a Metal Law user?' Chong Hai wondered as the expression on his face got ugly.
'His sword skills are good, as is his balance. Although I took him by surprise, it didn't take him long to recover and fight back. Let's see how it goes if I increase the pace.' Hei thought to himself while his eyes were fixed on his opponent. He barely blinked as if he had turned into a lurking predator.
"Snake Fist, Leg Mode."
After moving Chong Hai's weapon with the claws of his left hand, Hei kicked very fast against the enemy's stomach in front.
Ripple! Cough!
Hei's spirit power broke the boot that protected the foot, revealing the sharpened nails like claws of his foot. Combining the power generated by the kick and the penetrating power of Beast Claws, Hei hit his enemy, making him cough slightly.
Chong Hai was moved back by half a meter, while his layer of spirit power became slightly weaker. The damage had been absorbed, but he had suffered the blow. Meanwhile, Hei continued in his charge, continuing to kick and punch.
To less careful eyes, they might have seemed trivial blows, yet it wasn't so. Each move by Hei contained an incredible speed of execution and movement, making it difficult even to block the attacks, let alone dodge them altogether. Furthermore, each hit was given in an intricate sequence that affected every single part of Chong Hai's body and not just a specific area. It, therefore, required a high reaction rate to keep up with every attack. But incredibly, Chong Hai was succeeding. Even though he was in a passive position, he was keeping up with Hei's pace.
'I won't go anywhere if I continue like this. He is slowly beginning to understand my rhythm. I have to change gear again.'
At that point, Hei stopped moving. His raging assault subsided, leaving Chong Hai astonished. Until now, the young man from the Chong Family had remained on the defensive with barely a chance to fight back. From the point of view of the fight's course, it was undoubtedly a favorable situation for Hei since he had absolute control over the combat rhythm. Why did he renounce such an advantage?
Chong Hai didn't think about it. He didn't care what Hei was thinking or why he stopped attacking. Only one thing mattered, and it was that, at least as far as close combat was concerned, his opponent was superior to him. If so, then he would fight by keeping his distance and using the Elemental Laws.
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"Snake Run."
Hei's torso leaned forward as his body zigzagged ahead. Rather than running, it gave the impression of crawling on the ground at high speed. The movements of the arms and legs were difficult to analyze only with the eyes. But undoubtedly he was inexorably moving towards his opponent.
"You won't take me by surprise twice in a row. Earth Law, Sand Wave. "Chong Hai shouted while condensing his spirit power on his weapon. The sword took on a yellowish sand color as sand particles gathered around the blade.
Slash!
With a movement of the sword, Chong Hai directed a wave of sand against Hei, who was approaching his position. If close combat were Hei's strong point, Chong Hai would certainly not have allowed Hei to regain that advantage.
"Spider Run, Two-Legged Mode."
Hei changed posture in the blink of an eye. His body straightened up, and his advance stopped. The bare toes made contact with the stage, supporting the weight of the whole body. After that, Hei released his technique and projected himself to his right side, dodging Chong Hai's attack without problems.
Unfortunately, however, the young sand user hadn't finished his assault. It was now his turn to attack relentlessly, making it difficult for the opponent even to catch his breath.
Slash!
Chong Hai waved his sword again and again. With each stroke of the sword, it would follow a wave of sand, directed against Hei, who was being forced to dodge left and right to avoid being hit.
"Spider Run, Four Legged Mode."
Seeing that the sand was getting faster and faster, Hei resorted to his faster speed technique. His arms touched the ground, and he started running on stage using all his four limbs. Seeing this, viewers became stunned.
"Hey, is it really a speed technique? It is the first time that I see such movements."
"Yeah, they don't look human at all. How does he manage to move that way? "
The people in the stands were commenting on the oddities in Hei's techniques. Even the guests of the grandstand were surprised. The speed techniques shown by Hei were all first class, comparable to those possessed by the main families of the empire. Not only that, the expert eyes of the various assisting Spirit Emperors and Spirit Kings had noticed how hard Hei's nails actually were. They didn't know if the young man was a user of the Metal Law. If he had been so, it was incredible how he managed to empower something like the nails of the hands. But if he hadn't been, it would have been even more amazing.
"Shit. Let's not joke." Chong Hai gritted his teeth in anger. None of his attacks were reaching the target. For a young genius like him, it was something inconceivable. He started to slash right and left without stopping. He had decided by now - even if he were to consume his spirit power and reveal all his cards, he wouldn't have spared himself. Inside he felt that if he didn't do so, he would risk losing.
'An opening. Finally.' Hei thought as he left Spider Run and returned to the Snake Run's stance.
Although Chong Hai's previous attacks were less impetuous, they were also more precise and organized. If Hei had attacked at the time, his enemy would have had time to think about a counteroffensive. Now, however, since he was slashing unceasingly, Chong Hai would have a shorter reaction time. If his spirit power were concentrated in throwing waves of sand, he wouldn't have the opportunity to use other techniques. It meant that as long as Hei dodged the waves of sand, he would have a chance to land a blow.
Hei, therefore, moved within the waves of sand with indecipherable movements. His body seemed to be a liquid that slipped away from the clutches of the sand, gradually approaching his prey. By now, Hei had almost reached his destination.
Chong Hai, although he was caught in his rage, noticed his mistake and how he had let his emotions take over. Without even thinking about it, instead of attacking, he changed his technique, using a defensive technique. He knew he wouldn't be able to dodge and wasn't sure he could hit Hei since all his previous attacks had missed the target. Therefore, the only solution was to defend himself.
"Sand Shield."
"Snake Tail Blow."
Hei's hands came together as he crashed into the sand shield summoned by Chong Hai.
Crack!
The power behind Hei's blow destroyed the shield, but that wasn't the whole thing. His arms continued to advance and deliver a clean shot to Chong Hai. The young sand user flew several meters as he rolled fiercely against the stage.
Cough!
Chong Hai spitted blood as he opened his eyes again. He didn't believe it was possible, but Hei's blow, even without having activated his Elemental Law, had managed to break his defense. Not only that, but it also caused him so much damage that he was bleeding.
"Where is he? Where is he?" Chong Hai finally realized that he couldn't see Hei anywhere. Unconsciously he looked up to the sky and saw Hei diving towards him. If he had received such a blow, with the power shown before, it would probably have been the end for Chong Hai.
"Sand Wave."
Chong Hai created another wave of sand. This time, however, the target wasn't Hei but himself. He attacked himself to move his body and avoid a fatal blow. By doing so, he was able to avoid Hei's attack.
Hei slowed down his descent. As there was no target anymore, there was no point in continuing. He would merely hit the hard fighting stage. Instead, he stopped and looked carefully at Chong Hai. His opponent seemed to have decided to reveal all his cards.
"Desert Worm Bloodline, Activate! Earth Law, Sand Soldiers! "
When Chong Hai did this, the spectators looked at the creation of three sand figures in amazement. Sand armors covered each figure, and they had long spears of hard sand. These sand soldiers stood in front of Chong Hai with their weapons outstretched against Hei.
"So young and already capable of creating three sand soldiers?" Feng Qing complimented quite surprised.
It wasn't just him; everyone else in the skybox was amazed. Creating sand soldiers was the secret technique of the Chong Family. The then Spirit Emperor Chong Zemin was able to create an entire army of sand soldiers, and this ability had made him famous even if he was a historian martial artist. The fact that Chong Hai, who was only a Spirit Soldier, was capable of creating three sand soldiers was a remarkable achievement.
From the outside, it may have seemed a trivial technique of little importance, but those who had seen it with their own eyes or experienced it on their own flesh knew the danger behind this technique. Chong Hai's talent was undoubtedly first-class. Perhaps, there was even the possibility that in the future, it would reach the same level as the Spirit Emperor Chong Zemin, going so far as to create an entire army of sand soldiers. If this happened, the reputation of the Chong Family would raise and acquire the prestige that over the years, they had gradually lost.
Meanwhile, Hei remained imperturbable before the three sand soldiers. Instead, he merely let his spear out of his spirit ring. He was now at a numerical disadvantage, but the fact that his opponent had resorted to activating his bloodline meant that he was cornered. Furthermore, he had seen the Spirit Registration Sphere several times. As a result, he knew the movement patterns of the sand soldiers. If Chong Hai was following the technique used by Chong Zemin, then there was a strong probability that the movements of the soldiers themselves were also similar.
Nightmare Spider Bloodline, Activate. Poison Law, Poison Coating." Hei said as he revealed his bloodline and smeared his spear with poison. Against an opponent like Chong Hai and his three sand soldiers, it made no sense to continue hiding his bloodline and elemental law. In any case, he still had cards hidden in his sleeve. In these months he hadn't only improved only in cultivation, his techniques had also improved.