Chapter 80: Exhilarating Battle【Two-in-One】

Li Yaxin couldn't help feeling relieved; fortunately the opponent's main force was a weeping willow, and even if it had a space-system spirit plant as support, she didn't believe its mobility could be outstanding anywhere.

As long as we get close, it's easy to handle.

Da Liu had already prepared for close-quarters combat; most of the opponents in the previous matches were skilled at long-range attacks, and in fact Da Liu hadn't been fighting very smoothly.

You should know, our Da Liu is also a "violent willow".

Seeing Da Liu eager to try, Ge Bai didn't intend to disturb his enthusiasm; wanting to feel the sensation of a fist-to-fist clash, he just went ahead.

"Da Liu, fight with confidence, Qian Dai has your back."

Ge Bai thought for a moment, then added another sentence.

"If Qian Dai teleports, don't be willful; prepare the Storm Flow Blade Hammer, and after flashing, aim for a decisive strike."

"Good!"

Hearing Ge Bai say that, Da Liu was overjoyed; he knew he could fight this battle to his heart's content.

Just as Ge Bai and Da Liu finished saying those two sentences, the Bingkai Wushi had already rushed up close to Da Liu.

The well-prepared Da Liu infused his spirit power into each willow filament.

His willow whip was nearly maxed out at the Proficiency stage, only one step away from entering the Ultimate stage.

The willow filaments infused with spirit power now possess astonishing strength, not at all inferior to the Bingkai Wushi's ice-blade sword.

Upon entering the attack range, the Bingkai Wushi swiftly drew his blade, kept moving, and with one hand held the sword to slash forward diagonally.

The piercing sword intent carried a chill, drawing a sound of tearing air. This sword intent was not only an extension of the ice-blade sword skill, but also the culmination of the Bingkai Wushi's long martial training.

Being able to unleash sword intent shows he indeed has some talent in martial arts.

In the stands, seeing this sword intent, Xiaolajiao sat up a bit straighter; having practiced the Diamond Fist for many years, she had only recently grasped fist intent.

Xiaolajiao knew Ge Bai was a steady type, but up to now Ge Bai hadn't let Qian Dai teleport Da Liu away; that must mean he was preparing to let Da Liu engage the Bingkai Wushi in close combat.

Her guess was spot on, and Xiaolajiao couldn't help breaking into a sweat for Da Liu.

As the sword intent came at him, Da Liu did not show weakness.

Two willow whips lashed out in an X shape with full force; although they didn't look as grand as the sword intent, a closer look revealed faint afterimages of the whip tips.

With a ding.

The sword intent was firmly blocked by the willow whip; trembling, the sword intent dissipated, Da Liu didn't retreat half a step, and the two willow filaments that had swung showed only faint minor scars, the damage being slight.

"Armor!"

The Bingkai Wushi let out a low grunt. He obviously hadn't expected Da Liu to block his sword intent so easily, showing that the opponent's close-combat attack power was also not bad.

Li Yaxin saw Da Liu block the Bingkai Wushi's sword intent, and she also frowned slightly.

In previous matches, everyone only noticed the weeping willow's wind blades and wind-weave domain, these long-range attacks; even the one-hit decisive Storm Flow Blade Hammer was just a fleeting flash.

Da Liu's willow whip looked too ordinary, attracting no attention or discussion.

Or rather, before now, no one had thought Da Liu's willow whip could contend with the ice-blade sword of a Supernatural Realm Bingkai Wushi.

After all, in the previous match Da Liu had used his willow whip against the mechanical rat only a few times; even if he repelled the mechanical rat with the whip, it could be understood as the mechanical rat not excelling in defense.

"Kaibing, steady a bit."

Beast Master Li Yaxin keenly sensed that the Bingkai Wushi's condition was a bit off, overly excited and aggressive, and couldn't help speaking up to remind him.

Even after hearing the Beast Master's reminder, the Bingkai Wushi still seemed a bit anxious, unable to suppress his inner fury.

He changed his stance, gripping the sword with both hands, and infused his spirit power into the ice-blade sword.

His legs slightly bent, his body slightly lowered, assuming a charging posture; he took a leaping step and slashed his blade sideways toward Da Liu's densely packed willow filaments.

Obviously, the Bingkai Wushi intended to bull through Da Liu's nearly ground-hugging thick willow filaments, charge straight at the tree's trunk, and decide the match with a single strike.

How could Da Liu let him have his way? He immediately redirected his spirit power distribution, pouring a large amount of spirit power into the willow filaments that the Bingkai Wushi was charging into.

Pa, pa, pa……

One willow whip strike after another lashed mercilessly onto the Bingkai Wushi's body.

Although Da Liu's willow filaments are dense, he can easily manipulate each filament—either to interfere with vision, transform into a whip, or simply create an attack opening at the last second; the filaments do not hinder each other but instead assist one another, making them exceptionally flexible.

According to the Bingkai Wushi's expectation, the willow whip's swing upon approach would always be affected; he could rely on his decently defensive ice armor to brute-force through, saving his strongest charged strike for Da Liu's trunk.

But after failing to block two whips, the Bingkai Wushi had to abandon that fantasy.

The willow whip was too dense and its attack power too strong; he could only raise his blade and chop.

Li Yaxin watched from behind, shaking her head; she never approved of the Bingkai Wushi's reckless charge, and now he was clearly getting carried away.

The whip strikes landing on the Bingkai Wushi grew heavier with each hit.

While the Bingkai Wushi struggled to parry, he seized the opportunity to inch forward step by step.

Yes, that forward speed and distance could only be described as "inching".

One step, just moving forward a single step would suffice.

The Bingkai Wushi, struggling to lift his head amidst the willow whips, if he could get just one step closer, he could deliver his strongest ice-blade strike to the trunk of this weeping willow.

Yet that single step's distance seemed like a heavenly chasm to him.

Da Liu also knew that letting the Bingkai Wushi advance further would spell trouble for him.

At this moment Da Liu became ever more frenzied, sparing no spirit power and ignoring his injuries, whipping his willow whips one after another with vigorous vigor.

Ge Bai watched Da Liu's willow whip's momentum and couldn't help clicking his tongue.

He quietly opened the Spirit Plant Cultivation Compendium.

Willow Whip - Proficiency (927/1000)

+2. +5. +3. +6. +9……

At this moment, Da Liu's willow whip was definitely not gaining just a single proficiency point per strike.

Pa! The Bingkai Wushi, who had been able to stand firm and resist in place, was knocked back a step by a willow whip strike.

Da Liu, who had swung that willow whip, was also taken aback.

It seems the Willow Whip's attack power suddenly surged; that strike just now obviously carried a wind-system spirit power fluctuation.

Striking the Ice-Armored Warrior, besides physical damage, it also left a tearing wound from a small wind blade, and one could feel the wind-system spirit power eroding the ice armor.

Ge Bai, who had been staring at the Spirit Plant Cultivation Atlas, immediately understood what was happening.

Willow Whip - Ultimate Skill (7/10000)

Ultimate Skill stage! Da Liu's Willow Whip skill just broke through to the Ultimate Skill stage like that.

You know, not to mention supermundane realm spirit beasts, even a hegemon-level spirit beast capable of cultivating an Ultimate Skill stage technique deserves praise for being well-trained.

Da Liu is currently only at Mortal Spirit Realm level 5. Oh, no, wrong, it's level 6 of Mortal Spirit Realm.

The forging of the origin skill has a clear reciprocal effect on the Spirit Plant Master's spirit power advancement.

This match hasn't ended yet, but Da Liu's gains are already considerable.

On the field, besides Ge Bai, only the Ice-Armored Warrior truly understands the power of that Willow Whip strike. His heart sank; if every Willow Whip strike from now on is this strong, he probably won't be able to advance even half a step.

Thinking of this, the increasingly vexed Ice-Armored Warrior increased his spirit power input, continuing to swing his blade and chop.

Only then did he realize he had rushed in too deep; ahead, beside, and behind him, Willow Whips could strike at any moment.

Unable to advance or retreat, he felt like a trapped beast that had charged into a cage.

And Da Liu wove that cage ever more tightly with each Willow Whip strike.

"Kaibing, Circular Martial Slash."

Li Yaoxin seeing her spirit beast in trouble, immediately shouted a reminder.

The Circular Martial Slash she mentioned is not the Ice-Armored Warrior's skill, but a range-type martial technique; however, it is indeed the best way to resolve the Ice-Armored Warrior's current predicament.

Hearing the Beast Master's command, the Ice-Armored Warrior also came to his senses, gritting through the pain, he bent his knees into a horse stance, drew his blade from the left, blade edge horizontal, preparing to slash rightward.

Da Liu keenly noticed the opponent's aura shift; this opening move, though the spirit power fluctuation wasn't strong, the aura was astonishing.

Da Liu, originally rooted in the soil of time, quickly and cautiously stepped back one step.

The willow threads surrounding the Ice-Armored Warrior also accordingly shifted backward a distance.

Just as Da Liu finished doing all that, he saw the Ice-Armored Warrior sweep his blade out, his body rotating on his right leg as a pivot, the ice-blade tracing an arc, carving out a clear space around himself.

The willow threads cut by the Circular Martial Slash snapped with a sound and scattered outside the circle.

If Da Liu had not stepped back just now, this strike's damage to the willow threads would certainly be much greater than it is now.

Da Liu had no time to use spirit power to repair the broken willow threads; after the Ice-Armored Warrior unleashed the Circular Martial Slash, his follow-up skill connection was not smooth, revealing an obvious flaw.

Da Liu, who had been looking for an opportunity, quickly seized this flaw and smashed the prepared Storm Willow Blade Hammer toward the Ice-Armored Warrior.

"Bang!"

This match's first Storm Willow Blade Hammer.

The Ice-Armored Warrior, dazed from being struck by one Willow Whip after another, never expected that Da Liu still had the energy to prepare such a big move.

And he could still perfectly seize the opening after the Circular Martial Slash.

Unexpectedly, the Ice-Armored Warrior dazedly blocked the hammer with his left chest armor, his body flying backward and crashing heavily to the ground, the ice armor on his chest shattering.

Starting from the chest, a web-like spread of cracks covered the Ice-Armored Warrior's entire body.

Fortunately, the Ice-Armored Warrior's bodily structure differs from humans; his spirit power core is at the dantian, so he has no so-called heart.

Otherwise, this strike could have directly sent him away.

Even so, he felt awful, and upon falling he spat out a mouthful of ice-blue blood.

"Kaibing!"

Li Yaoxin seeing this, anxiously shouted.

Clenching both fists, her right hand slightly raised, she intended to signal the referee to forfeit.

While she was hesitating, the Ice-Armored Warrior lying on the ground gripped his ice-blade, mobilized his spirit power, and activated the Ice-Snow Domain.

In this match, the Ice-Armored Warrior, who mainly relies on martial techniques for attack, actually does not consume much spirit power.

Originally, the normal use of the Ice-Snow Domain is for the Ice-Armored Warrior to activate it after formally engaging the enemy, then unleash skills and martial techniques within the domain to suppress the opponent.

When has the Ice-Armored Warrior ever felt so stifled, turning a perfectly good high-level domain skill into a mere blood-replenishing recovery skill?

So that other Ice-Armored Warriors would know, they could definitely laugh him to death.

But this fight has progressed to this point, and there's really no time to worry about that.

Seeing the Ice-Armored Warrior painfully climb up within the Ice-Snow Domain, supporting himself with his blade to stand in place, the ice armor on his body gradually recovered.

Li Yaoxin, preparing to forfeit, pressed down her right hand, forcefully suppressing the worry in her heart.

Not yet defeated.

The Ice-Armored Warrior can still fight another round; this time he won't leave any opening for the opponent.

Although the Ice-Armored Warrior is badly wounded, Da Liu's condition on this side is certainly not good either.

Unlike the ice-armored warrior who mainly relies on martial techniques, every wind blade and willow whip of Da Liu, including the final Storm Willow Blade Hammer, all require spirit power input.

For the Spirit Realm, spirit power reserves are inherently inferior compared to the Transcendent Realm.

So far in this fight, the ice-armored warrior may have saved a third of his spirit power, enough to sustain another round of attack.

But Da Liu's spirit power has truly run dry.

Summon Xiao Tao?

Ge Bai is hesitating.

According to the arena competition rules, one cannot use spirit power recovery, life restoration potions, or elixirs on the field.

This is understandable; if such a prohibitive rule were not in place, when encountering wealthy and influential alliance-coin players, if they can't win a round they'd take drugs and fight another round—where would fairness be? In such a situation, not only would the competitors curse, but the audience would also smash the venue.

However, there is one situation that is not prohibited: using healing-type pets to employ healing and recovery skills on the field.

Especially in battles where Spirit Plant Masters and Beast Masters are the units, there is no limit on the number of pets; as long as the pets are well cultivated, when 2-vs-1 or even 3-vs-1 is allowed, the frequency of appearance of healing-type support pets becomes very high.

That is because the preliminary-round contestants' overall skill level is not high, and healing-type pets are difficult to cultivate, so currently there is no situation where everyone has a healing pet.

You don't even need to go to the interstellar arena tournament; once the schedule reaches the provincial level, unless it's that kind of specialist who only competes in team events, the top-ranked individual competitors basically each have a healing pet.

Although a single Spirit-Restoring Peach could easily resolve Da Liu's current predicament, Ge Bai still isn't very keen on summoning Xiao Tao.

Before the special recruitment of Jinggang No. 1 High School, she probably wouldn't have another chance to contract a spirit plant.

Right now, her Da Liu and Chiyo are being analyzed thoroughly; Xiao Tao, it's better to keep her hidden for now, waiting until she can be used as a cheat more effectively.

But Da Liu had struggled to reach this point; seeing him struggle and then fall defeated, Ge Bai also couldn't bear it.

"Da Liu, is your spiritual power still enough for a full-force Storm Willow Blade Strike?"

After thinking, Ge Bai softly asked Da Liu.

"Enough."

Da Liu replied, his voice somewhat weak; he also had many shattered willow threads, though they didn't hurt the main trunk, it could be considered a serious vital injury.

"Barely enough."

Da Liu added himself, feeling a bit unwilling, but right now he is indeed nearing his limit.

The ice-armored warrior launched another charge; he had no confidence he could stop him.

Or if he tried to block the ice-blade sword with his trunk head-on, he'd only end up worse than the ice-armored warrior currently is.

Sensing Da Liu's weakness and dejection, Ge Bai stepped forward and gently stroked his trunk.

"Don't be discouraged, you've done very well! The opponent is extremely strong, our Da Liu is great."

This is indeed Ge Bai's true thought.

That Da Liu could fight a Transcendent Realm close-combat expert to this point, she really hadn't expected it.

"Next, rely on your partner a bit."