Chapter 81: Head‑On Clash! [Double]

"La!"

Qian Dai had long been unable to wait, constantly swaying the flower sword in Ge Bai's embrace; upon hearing the order to strike, she immediately teleported, appearing in the high sky and taking an advantageous position.

Although the ice armor covering his body was already cracked, the ice armor warrior looked battered; even upon close comparison, this charge's speed was much slower than before.

But once moving, the ice armor warrior still carried an aura.

Da Liu stared fixedly at the ice armor warrior, not releasing a wind blade, silently gathering power, preparing to unleash his strongest storm willow blade hammer.

10 meters, 8 meters, 5 meters, 3 meters.

Li Yaxin furrowed her brows; this charge went too smoothly.

She suddenly saw that the Thousand Generations Spring Gladiolus in Ge Bai's embrace had vanished, and she understood.

"Kaibing, watch your surroundings."

At this moment, the ice armor warrior had already reached the attack position, body planted, lowered, eyes slightly closed, spirit power circulating.

He also wasn't preparing any fancy moves, intending to unleash his strongest strike with the ice blade sword.

At this moment Qian Dai was still looking for an opportunity, not having teleported Da Liu away; Da Liu remained in place, gathering power.

According to Ge Bai's original plan, winning this match would not be difficult.

As long as Qian Dai seized the opportunity, teleporting Da Liu to the ice armor warrior's attack blind spot, a single storm willow blade hammer would end it.

Seeing the ice armor warrior also plant himself and gather power, Ge Bai's heart sank; it was over.

Sure enough, Da Liu's voice came over, devoid of any tone, very calm.

"Bai Bai, Qian Dai."

Although Da Liu only called out the names, everyone understood his meaning.

He did not want Qian Dai to help with teleportation; he wanted to receive this final blow himself.

With his own strongest close-combat strike, he would receive the final blow of the opponent who had dominated the match.

Qian Dai felt somewhat anxious, yet made no sound, facing Ge Bai, waiting to see his intention.

Xiaolanhua couldn't quite understand why the situation that could be easily won suddenly changed with Da Liu's reversal.

Ge Bai understood.

In repeated face-to-face clashes, the ice armor warrior earned Da Liu's respect; he genuinely liked this opponent.

Therefore, for this final strike, Da Liu wanted to take it, to win or lose swiftly and cleanly.

She didn't care about winning or losing; it was just a tournament qualifier, and she only worried that Da Liu might suffer serious injury.

Since Da Liu had made such a request, what else could be said besides satisfying him?

That Taohua Shuimu Overlord's healing arts should also be pretty strong, right?

"Good." Ge Bai transmitted his voice to Da Liu and Qian Dai.

Qian Dai pursed her lips, also not returning to Ge Bai's side, merely floating in midair, looking down over the entire arena.

She was uneasy; if Da Liu were to suffer a big loss in the end, she definitely wouldn't just stand by and watch.

Da Liu, hearing Ge Bai's agreement, also felt relieved, wholeheartedly focusing on the ice armor warrior who was likewise gathering power.

At this moment, it seemed as if the entire venue had fallen silent.

The ice armor warrior suddenly opened his eyes; ice-attribute spirit power flowed along the blade, making the entire ice sword look as if it had just been scooped from a ten-thousand-year cold pool.

Gripping the ice blade sword with both hands, he gave a slight turn; the ice armor warrior exerted his whole body, swinging the ice blade sword in a wide arc.

On Da Liu's side, the momentum was in no way inferior; several clusters of willow silk ran from the branches to the tips, each strand entwined with spirit-light, gathering together, the wind seeming to tear everything apart.

Boom.

The ice blade sword collided with the storm willow blade hammer.

Willow silk began to condense frost from the tips; the ice blade sword was torn open by the storm.

In the stalemate, neither retreated half a step.

The ice armor warrior stepped back with his right leg, adding force to his arms.

Da Liu's roots and stems entwined, making his stance more stable.

The ice blade sword trembled; the willow blade hammer formed from condensed willow silk was also covered in ice crystals.

Da Liu felt he was nearly at his limit, while the ice blade sword continued to increase force.

This couldn't continue; he mobilized the last trace of spirit power in his body into the willow blade hammer.

Directing his spirit sense, he actively unfurled the myriad willow silk strands woven into the willow blade hammer.

The storm willow blade hammer that had been facing the ice blade sword instantly exploded, each willow silk strand possessing great toughness.

The ice armor warrior took the full force of this blow head-on.

Pop.

The ice blade sword, which could no longer hold up, shattered completely.

The ice armor warrior was blown away once more by the exploding willow silk.

In the stands, originally silent and still, everyone held their breath, watching this final blow on the field.

Seeing the ice armor warrior blown away again, the entire venue instantly erupted in sound from all directions.

"No way! Can you just go head‑on?"

"As long as the ice armor warrior isn't countered by flying or long‑range pets, even in the Supermundane Realm he's a competitor who can fight above his rank."

"Does the storm willow blade hammer have a second form?"

"This weeping willow has long‑range wind blades and wind‑weave net domains, and close‑range willow whips and storm willow blade hammers—it's practically an artillery turret!"

……

Xiaolajiao sprang up from his seat, his body leaning on the seat in front, leaning forward to get a better look.

Storm willow blade hammer—she had seen it before, but didn't recall there being this final exploding second‑stage damage! Getting hit point‑blank by the blast, who could withstand it? It's almost like being slammed at close range with dozens of full‑force willow whips.

Even her family's Vajra can't gain any advantage against it, let alone a newly ascended Bingkai Wushi at the first level of the Transcendent Realm.

"Cousin, this Weeping Willow is terrifying, I can't beat her."

Fang Miaowen, who clearly saw this strike, still clung to the big white bear's paw, huddled in her seat, and spoke timidly.

Xiaolajiao rolled her eyes, turned back and glanced at her cousin.

"Knowing you can't win, why don't you hurry up and train more?!"

Fang Miaowen swore she had definitely seen the blazing fighting spirit in her cousin's eyes, and quickly shrank her neck.

The Spirit Plant Master named Ge Bai, she can't beat her, and her own cousin is even more unbeatable.

She prayed in her heart, hoping desperately not to be picked up by her cousin whose fighting spirit had been stirred and used as a sandbag.

Xiao Yan Jing's eyes kept rolling, looking for a chance to slip away first. —On the arena.

The Bingkai Wushi that was knocked flying lay motionless on the ground.

"Kaibing!"

Li Yaxin could no longer worry about that, and rushed straight to the Bingkai Wushi's side.

Seeing him tightly shut his eyes, the armor on his chest shattered, leaving almost nothing, many cracks deep enough to see bone, and the bleeding at the wound wouldn't stop.

Not only external wounds, the Bingkai Wushi's mouth corners still had icy-blue blood, showing the internal injuries were also severe.

This pained Li Yaxin greatly; she prepared to call a healer, but still unwilling to admit defeat, she abruptly lifted her head to look at Da Liu.

She didn't believe Da Liu could be that comfortable; maybe it would end in a draw.

On Da Liu's side, the condition was indeed very poor.

Originally dense willow threads, after a fierce battle, were broken all over the ground, basically none intact, and the wounds on the branches oozed deep green liquid. Although the trunk wasn't directly cut, large patches of ice had condensed on it.

The whole tree looked wretched and gray, its roots unstable, shaking as if about to fall.

Ge Bai stared at Li Yaxin, walked steadily to Da Liu's side, one hand supporting Da Liu's trunk, holding Da Liu upright.

"Well done, Da Liu."

She softly encouraged Da Liu with a sentence, but her gaze never left Li Yaxin.

"A draw? Dream on."

"Let alone Qian Dai hasn't even made a move."

"Even just looking at the Bingkai Wushi and Da Liu, one lying down and one standing, it's impossible to accept this draw."

The referee also entered the field at this time, silent, as if waiting for someone to speak.

Qian Dai also shifted, blocking in front of Da Liu.

Li Yaxin bit her lip, clenched her right fist, unwilling, no matter how you look at it, she's unwilling.

"Cough cough."

The Bingkai Wushi lying on the ground suddenly gave a light cough and spat out another mouthful of blood.

"Surrender! Healer!"

Seeing her own pet indeed couldn't hold on, Li Yaxin also panicked and shouted her surrender.

No need for active judgment; the referee also saved a lot of trouble, directly waving to call the healers onto the field.

Lika stepped in her small heels, pattering along with several healers as they rushed into the field, her steps very steady.

The Taohua Shuimu floated beside her; as soon as it entered the field, without any turning, it drifted straight toward Da Liu.

It seems Da Liu and the Flower Gelatin got along quite well just now.

Indeed worthy of being an overlord-level healing pet, in the deep pink glow, Da Liu's shattered willow threads rapidly grew and recovered, and the frostbite on the trunk vanished at a visible speed.

When the deep pink glow treatment was halfway done, the Flower Gelatin thoughtfully added another light pink glow; the first glow treated the injuries, while this second glow restored spiritual power.

What appeared to be a bald willow tree suddenly sprang back to life on the field.

The effect is truly great.

Ge Bai watched, eyes full of longing, wondering when Xiao Tao's fruit could have such an effect.

On the other side, there were three or four pets administering healing techniques around the Bingkai Wushi.

But it's unknown whether this is due to the injuries or the healing technique.

The Bingkai Wushi's recovery effect looks far inferior to Da Liu's.

Over there, the Bingkai Wushi still lay on the ground with eyes closed, while Da Liu had already transformed back into its mini form, hopping and jumping onto Ge Bai.

"Whoosh."

After the Taohua Shuimu finished healing Da Liu and retracted its healing glow, it had been happily drifting toward Da Liu, planning to play with the willow threads a bit longer, when it saw Da Liu running toward Ge Bai.

Somewhat dejected, it gazed at Ge Bai and Da Liu over there.

Lika first glanced at the Bingkai Wushi's side, judged that she didn't need to go help, and then walked over to the Flower Gelatin's side.

She pinched the jellyfish's head, held onto one of its tentacles, and walked lightly toward Ge Bai, the two of them returning together to the waiting area.

Da Liu had no time to attend to the Flower Gelatin right now, being wrapped around Ge Bai, chattering excitedly.

"Bai Bai! Am I not super awesome!"

"Did you see my Willow Whip? Was it so tight that not even wind could get through?!"

"And there's also the Storm Willow Blade Hammer! The final Willow Blade Hammer explosion was so cool, right?!"

While Da Liu chattered the first two sentences, Ge Bai hadn't doused his enthusiasm, smiling and going along with him.

After all, in this match, Da Liu really did fight very well.

But when mentioning the explosion of the Storm Willow Blade Hammer, Ge Bai couldn't smile anymore.

"Da Liu, let me tell you, this move inflicts a thousand damage on the enemy while costing eight hundred on oneself."

She instantly put on a stern face, pulled the mini Da Liu that had been perched on her shoulder chattering into her ear down, placed both hands in front of her, and brought it to eye level.

She solemnly told him, "From now on, you are not allowed to use it!"

"Ah?!" Da Liu, upon hearing, immediately got ready to complain.

With such a strong move, not letting him use it—how would that work? It's just a minor injury; Da Liu can bear it!

On this matter, Ge Bai's attitude was especially firm.

"You've healed your scar and forgotten the pain! Just a few minutes ago you looked awful after the fight, and you already forgot! Are you a goldfish? Seven‑second memory?"

Ge Bai held Da Liu, speaking as she walked, her voice loud and not avoiding anyone.

A curly‑haired male student nearby happened to hear Ge Bai scolding Da Liu, couldn't help but glance sideways, looking at them with a constipated expression.

Ge Bai glanced at the male student, found it strange, but felt that setting Da Liu's mindset straight was important, so she didn't pay much attention, didn't stop her steps, and kept walking forward.

The curly‑haired boy saw Ge Bai ignore him, so he didn't dare say more.

He silently took out a red little goldfish from his pocket and gently stroked it.

The little goldfish puffed angrily, blowing bubbles. Though she had just been in the beast master's pocket, she heard it clearly! Someone's slandering goldfish intelligence again—she's definitely not just a seven‑second memory!

She's smart.

"Carp fry, don't be angry; she's ignorant, we won't stoop to her level."

"Glug glug, glug."

The little goldfish lifted her head, staring in the direction Ge Bai left, gurgling to signal her beast master to follow; though she hadn't seen Ge Bai's appearance, she must remember it well, so next time on the arena she can thrash Ge Bai's pet beast.

"All right, all right, we're about to go on stage."

The curly‑haired boy, not wanting trouble, did his best to soothe his petty little goldfish.

His carp fry isn't just a seven‑second memory; it can hold a grudge too.

Ge Bai had no idea that her offhand remark would earn a grudge from a little goldfish.

She really just said it casually; if she knew the goldfish was angry, she would certainly apologize sincerely.

For now, Ge Bai was still painstakingly educating Da Liu—after all, her own troublemaker wasn't exactly low‑maintenance either.

"This is an arena match! If Huajiao is on‑site administering healing arts, you can be lively right after the fight."

"What if there's no Huajiao?"

"Liu Gu!"

Da Liu muttered softly, "Isn't there still Xiao Tao? I clearly remember that Peach Demon fruit can heal wounds, so Xiao Tao should be able to as well."

"Xiao Tao? Spirit‑Restoring Peach? Can it heal injuries? I'll summon Xiao Tao now—ask her if she has healing abilities!"

Seeing Da Liu still wanting to talk back, Ge Bai couldn't help but flare up—this brat loves violent output so much.

But she didn't actually summon Xiao Tao from the Spirit Awareness Space.

One, the waiting area is crowded with many eyes; if the Gold Powder Peach emitted a strange fragrance or phenomenon, it'd be hard to explain. Two, if Xiao Tao did that, Da Liu would only get more fired up.

After shouting that, Ge Bai could only try to walk back her words.

"Even if Xiao Tao someday gains healing abilities, what's her spirit‑power level? Mortal Spirit Realm! Huajiao is already in the Hegemon Realm!"

"Then, when Xiao Tao can match Huajiao's healing standard, I'll agree to your daily use of the exploding stage of the Storm Willow Blade Hammer."

Lika and Huajiao had been following beside them all along; hearing Ge Bai lecture Da Liu, they couldn't help covering their mouths and laughing.

"I really had wanted Qian Dai to help Da Liu win this round, but as I wrote, I felt we should confront it head‑on."

I originally really wanted Qian Dai to help Da Liu win this round, but as I wrote, I felt I should confront it head-on.