It had been a few minutes since the fight between Damian, and Cedric began. The audience was absorbed in the fight. The people among the crowd who practiced the skills used by Damian and Cedric were gaining insights into the technique. This fight would prove beneficial to them.
Cedric extended his hand upward toward a branch bearing fruit and made a ripping motion. The fruit fell from the branch and landed on his hand. He then put it in his mouth. After chewing it a few times, he swallowed. His Qi swelled. The muscles in his body bulged. Those deep green eyes glowed in a mix of white and green shades. A haze exuded from Cedric’s pores, later condensing around his body. Forming a type of energy armor with patterns of a tree and a white flame.
Cedric’s body was not the only thing undergoing changes in the arena. The illusory tree behind him seemed to become more tangible. More alive. Cedric brandished his staff and moved. A small shock wave erupted on the spot he stood a few moments ago.
As Damian saw Cedric eat the fruit, he thought: ‘So you used the buff aspect of your ‘Guardian of the Ancient Verdant Forest’. You want to show the young ones that your technique it’s not only for defense. Very good, bring it on.’
Both of them had sparred before. They were quite close to each other, so they knew the techniques of one another. Damian put both his swords in and crossed position. Cedric’s staff slammed against the convergence point of the swords. The strength behind the staff pushed Damian a step back.
As their weapons continued to clash, Damian with a small smile on his face said: “It seems you broke through to the master achievement, congratulations!”
Cedric responded with a confident smile: “Indeed. Today I will force you to use your copper sword.”
Damian retorted back with a smug smile: “We will see”
Damian put more force in his swords and pushed Cedric back. Then Damian conjured thousands of swords. A tangible pressure assailed the arena. Even outside the barrier, people felt a primal fear.
Cedric summoned thousands of roots and branches, ready to defend or attack.
In a flash, both moved, forming blurs as they did so.
Most of the people in the audience could not follow Damian and Cedric’s moves. They could only see the distorted space created by the aftershocks of the clashes. As they fought, thousands of roots and branches clashed against thousands of green jade swords. Branches and roots were severed by the hundreds, yet an even greater number of them took their place. Dozens of swords struggling to break free, parried, or trapped swords.
The battle left the platform in shambles. Damian had connected several hits on Cedric, however, either a branch or the armor protecting his body impeded his sword. Cedric, on the other hand, had yet to connect a hit. He knew Damian had an incredible dexterity. He could see no opening in Damian’s guard, and when he did so, Damian countered and, more times than not, connected with a hit. Fortunately, he had his armor of the guardian. He enjoyed fighting against Damian, but the fight had gone on for long enough. It was time to go all out on a last attack.
Cedric retreated and made all the branches and roots continue to assault Damian, except the ones that bore fruit. He made a hand gesture and the branches that guarded fruits intertwined around Cedric, forming a cocoon. Inside the cocoon, all the fruits fused into one fruit that exuded pressure, unlike anything this arena had ever seen. Cedric punctured the fruit with his staff. The juice of the fruit slide on the staff, penetrating into it.
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Damian saw the cocoon but didn’t know what it did. In the times they had sparred, Cedric had never used this. Most likely it was a new movement that came from reaching the master achievement. He pondered what the cocoon did as he opened a path through the forest of branches and roots. When Damian felt it. He felt the sheer pressure inside the cocoon. It was nothing to scoff at. If it hit him, he would suffer severe injuries. Damian put more force on his move and slashed a few hundred branches and roots. He then summoned seven pink lotuses encasing himself. The Branches and roots tried to pierce through the lotuses but to no avail.
On the Violet Sky Balcony, Jack and James positioned themselves to intervene. This attack from Cedric was terrifying. It was on par with their copper sword.
In the cocoon. The staff had finished absorbing the fruit. Now the staff had become a celestial spear. The spear was made of wood, yet it would not pale against any metal. The material of the temporary spear was “Celestial Oak Monarch”.
As Cedric took the spear, he could feel an intense pain. He was not yet worthy in the eyes of the spear. He steeled his will and endured. Cedric planted himself on the ground, took a stance, and trowed the spear.
This all takes time to describe, but it all happened in less than ten breaths of time.
The spear pierced through the air. Making a thunderous sound and leaving havoc on its path. All the branches and roots on the path of the spear got pulverized. Cedric was swift to create a new cocoon with the tree branches.
The spear was about to collide with the pink lotuses. However, before it could do so, a sword made of copper broke from the inside of the defensive pink lotuses.
Damian had thrown his copper sword against the incoming spear. When the lotuses broke, he moved at lightning speed away from the zone of collision. As he escaped, Damian conjured again his seven pink lotuses, creating a cocoon around himself.
As fast as Damian was. He was still quite close to the zone of the collision, between the copper sword and the wooden spear. When both weapons collided, a massive shock wave erupted sending, sending ripples through the barrier. Several Golden Core cultivators could see the barrier would break and move to reinforce it. After all, if the barrier broke, the might of the shock wave would hurt if not kill them. The barrier continued to shake and quake for several minutes until it calmed down.
Debris obstructed the vision inside the arena. Members of both the Violet Sky clan and the Lambert Clan were anxious on their balconies. Ready to move at a moment’s notice.
When the debris cleared. A hundred-meter-wide, fifty-meter-deep crater appeared in the center of the arena.
The audience could see a worn-down cocoon made of wood resting against the barrier. Inside it, Cedric came out. He had clear signs of exhaustion. Most likely, defending against the explosion had depleted his Qi. He had small brushes and cuts on his body, but nothing serious.
On the other side of the arena. Damian stood still in his encasement of five pink lotuses. His breath was ragged, but otherwise fine.
Both Damian and Cedric gave a martial bow to one another. Cedric’s smile showed he was proud. He at last forced Damian to use his copper sword. Damian gazed at Cedric. His gaze told Cedric he had overdone it.
They both left the arena with the respective clans, where they got an earful for getting carried away. This was only an exhibition match, after all.
The audience, on the other hand, was in a complete uproar. The woman in the vermilion dress came to the arena. She then said:” You have witnessed the might and skill of the strongest cultivators of our city. You will remember this day for years to come. Now we will repair the arena and will continue after we rebuild the platforms.”
Soon, several cultivators came to fill the crater with dirt and compress it in order to reform the ground. The workers cast the pieces of moon marble to the side after retrieving them. After a great infusion of Qi into the marble to reform, they could remake five smaller platforms. It was on those platforms that the battles of the young ones would take place.