Chapter 54: Xiao Han

Before Xiao Wu could even heave a slight sigh of relief, a playful voice rang out by his ear, "Kid, you must stay alert!"

Xiao Wu's expression turned to shock, and he quickly mobilized the Dou Qi within his body, letting out a low shout,

"Thorn Forest." Because the time was too tight, this was only a Mysterious Tier low-level Dou Technique; Xiao Wu merely hoped to be able to block Xiao Han for a moment.

Countless icy thorns suddenly erupted around Xiao Wu's body, spreading out in all directions.

"Boom—"

A loud bang echoed, and Xiao Wu was sent flying directly, his body slamming heavily into the wall of the Martial Arts Arena.

Xiao Han's figure appeared, the layer of ice covering his body gradually melting.

"Not bad, to be able to react and defend in time."

After evaluating him, Xiao Han was quite satisfied in his heart; after all, the method he had just used to appear instantly beside Xiao Wu did not belong to the scope of an Emperor.

Even so, Xiao Han did not let Xiao Wu off with his words,

"But... this is not enough."

"Then... please, Teacher, appraise this move!"

Xiao Wu was not angry; he simply climbed up from the ground in silence, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and said calmly.

"Oh? Continue." Xiao Han raised the corner of his eye, feeling somewhat pleasantly surprised.

Xiao Wu did not speak again, but a pair of wings appeared on his back.

"Dou Qi Transformation Wings?" Xiao Han's tone was somewhat dissatisfied,

"Kid, are you trying to fob me off?"

Ignoring him, Xiao Wu just stayed quietly in place to regulate his breath.

Subsequently, with a flap of his wings, he soared into the air, not waiting for Xiao Han to make a move.

A cold shout: "Ice Wing Thousand Ride Strike."

Those icy wings, extremely dazzling under the sunlight, instantly disintegrated while simultaneously re-condensing.

The fragmented pieces turned into the sharpest blades; each fragment could easily pierce through the body of a Dou Ling, and such a quantity was enough to make many Emperor-level experts flustered.

Under Xiao Wu's control, they shot explosively toward Xiao Han's position.

"A bit interesting." Xiao Han curled his lips; to think he could combine a Dou Technique with Dou Qi Transformation Wings. However, relying on just this to deal with him was still not enough.

Afterwards, he also utilized Dou Qi to form wings, simultaneously condensing a Frost Armor on his body, and streaked across the sky like a blue stream of light, instantly breaking through that curtain of ice.

"It's not over yet!"

Xiao Wu seemed to have anticipated this; he formed seals again, and the vast curtain of ice from before gathered into tiny crystals in the next instant, repeating this process to form seven enormous ice-blue swords.

"Ice Meteor Sword Array, rise!"

"A sword array?" Xiao Han was even more surprised now; this was one move with two forms!

"Seal, suppress, fall!"

The seven swords were not on a single plane but remained within a specific space, seemingly intentional, perfectly sealing off all of Xiao Han's room for evasion.

Furthermore, countless threads of Dou Qi connected these seven giant swords, and they began to gradually contract; it was clear that he intended to trap Xiao Han to death bit by bit in the center of the array.

"Uh..." Xiao Han felt a bit annoyed; he had underestimated his opponent this time!

It seemed that if he didn't use some real skill, his disciple would be hard to manage.

Immediately, he let out a low shout, "Frost Mirror Image," and suddenly, Xiao Han's entire person seemed to split into two.

"Ice Mirror Condensation."

An incomparably large ice mirror instantly appeared outside the sword array, reflecting Xiao Han's figure; at the same time, in a symmetrical position, an identical figure also gradually appeared.

"Goodbye!" Xiao Han sneered and vanished instantly, and then, that mirror image greeted Xiao Wu as if it had come to life.

"Hello there!" After that, it flapped its wings and charged directly at him.

However, Xiao Wu was not panicked by this at all, and even seemed to pay it no mind.

Sure enough, just as "Xiao Han" rushed halfway, he suddenly dissipated under the sky.

Immediately, the figure of Xiao Han, wearing a wry smile, appeared within the great array.

"It seems someone told you about this move of mine!"

Frost Mirror Image was indeed a very powerful move, successfully creating a clone nearly identical to the original body through the refraction of light, even capable of perfectly simulating his aura.

The two figures could exchange their positions in an instant, creating a situation of outnumbering the opponent at special moments.

But it had a fatal weakness: the mirror image and the original body had to be in the same space.

Since Xiao Han's original body was separated by the sword array, he could not achieve a position exchange, and naturally, the mirror image could not attack.

Very few people knew the weakness of this move, and Xiao Han did not use it often. But clearly, Xiao Han had been leaked by someone.

"Teacher, this move of yours really can't compare to the Wind Lightning Pavilion's Three Thousand Lightning Illusory Body."

Perhaps thinking he had victory in his grasp, Xiao Wu also spoke up.

Xiao Han could not refute this; this move was something he had created by imitating the Three Thousand Lightning Illusory Body in the first place.

He had taken some shortcuts along the way, so naturally, it couldn't compare; after all, one had to give some face to their sect-guarding Dou Technique, right?

However...

"Kid," Xiao Han's smile made Xiao Wu feel a dangerous aura,

"You haven't won yet! Let me, your teacher, teach you how a Dou Technique is actually used..."

"Thorn Forest."

"Hmm?" Isn't this just a Mysterious Tier Dou Technique? Xiao Wu was a bit puzzled; he did not believe this low-tier Dou Technique could break through his sword array.

Could it be that there was some other change?

But then, Xiao Wu's expression turned grave.

The appearance of these thorns seemed to be quite different from his own!

Overall, Xiao Wu's was merely a dead object, while Xiao Han's carried a trace of life's aura.

Countless thorny long whips lashed out, then instantly twisted and locked together, gradually resisting the erosion of the sword formation; countless branches shattered, only to constantly regenerate.

"Thorn Strangling."

It was as if it were a Magic Beast grown from thorns, attacking the seven great frost swords in an instant.

"Boom—"

With a loud crash, Xiao Wu was astonished to discover that he could no longer control the sword formation to continue contracting.

The connection between him and the sword formation seemed to have been severed.

"Break!"

With a soft utterance, the sword formation suddenly disintegrated, while Xiao Han stood upon the branches of those icy thorns.

Looking at the somewhat dazed Xiao Wu, he gave a faint chuckle, "Kid, whatever other moves you have, bring them all out!"

Hearing this, Xiao Wu, who had been somewhat distracted by his own sword formation being easily destroyed by a Mysterious Tier Dou Technique, immediately snapped back to his senses.

Then, gritting his teeth fiercely, he began to utilize his final trump card; the cold aura on his body began to spread, turning the steam around him into ice shards.

"Ice Extreme Divine Crystal."

Feeling the dangerous aura of the shuttle-shaped Ice Crystal in Xiao Wu's hand, Xiao Han's expression also turned solemn.

"Is this your Life-bound Ice Crystal?"

Nodding, Xiao Wu then said, "Please..."

Before he could finish, Xiao Han moved to his side in an instant and struck out with an angry punch, knocking Xiao Wu unconscious.

He was still muttering curses, "You brat, you're trying to risk your life with me!"

The Life-bound Ice Crystal of the "Ice Sealing Art" is not something to be used casually; although its power is immense, the consequences are also very severe.

Once the Ice Crystal shatters, one will suffer a backlash from the Cultivation Method; the light result is a regression in cultivation, while the heavy result is damage to one's foundation.

This was the reason Xiao Han was so angry; just for a sparring match like this, he almost gambled away his future—isn't that stupid?

"Did I not mention the consequences?" Xiao Han was a bit angry, and then...

"Eh? It seems I really didn't mention it..."

This was awkward, and he felt a lingering fear; fortunately, he hadn't used it all this time!