Chapter 488: Who Shall Contend for the Crown?

On the edge of the deep pit in the arena, more than twenty 'Li Fei' stood at specific points, the Earth-element evil Qi and terrestrial energy on their bodies beginning to link up.

Li Fei was indeed planning to form an array again!

However, at this moment, his true body was engaged in combat with Gan Juecheng and could not easily divide his attention, so the speed of forming the array was very slow.

Inside the deep pit, Li Fei held his blade with both hands and swept it horizontally; the two-meter-long giant blade tore through the air, slashing toward Gan Juecheng with a sharp, whistling sound.

Gan Juecheng took the initiative to meet it, his sword striking the middle section of the giant blade first to preemptively block Li Fei's force.

The blade of the longsword in his hand bent slightly, and he followed the momentum to retreat backward before changing the angle to thrust forward again.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The longsword thrust five times in an instant, each time at a different position; the Long Sky Leaning Cloud Force transformed into soft yet tough ropes, adhering to the surface of the giant blade and constantly altering its trajectory.

After the five strikes, the giant blade slashed past the left side of Gan Juecheng's body.

Gan Juecheng stepped forward and thrust his sword straight at Li Fei's head!

Li Fei did not dodge or evade; he rotated his wrists, and the Diamond Force on the blade changed from a state of high-speed cutting to high-frequency vibration, simultaneously spiraling in different directions to constantly collide and rub against the Long Sky Leaning Cloud Force attached to it.

Over a dozen forces shifted and clashed rapidly on the giant blade, and the tension and restraint borne by the giant blade decreased somewhat.

Li Fei seized this gap to once again channel the Diamond Force: Dragon-Elephant, relying on terrifying explosive power to forcibly change the trajectory of the giant blade in his hands, shifting from a vertical slash to a horizontal sweep, intending to cut Gan Juecheng in half at the waist!

All of this seemed complex, but in reality, it happened in an instant; the sword light in Gan Juecheng's hand had already broken through Li Fei's protective Diamond Force and pierced Li Fei's skin, but in the next instant, he retracted his sword to defend, blocking the incoming horizontal sweep of the giant blade.

Bang!

Gan Juecheng was repelled by a massive, overwhelming force, ultimately leaving only a sword mark on Li Fei's forehead.

The clash between the two appeared to be broad and sweeping, but in reality, it was a contest of minute details.

If one could restrict Gan Juecheng merely by having great strength and a heavy weapon, then they would be greatly underestimating this peerless prodigy of the Profound Heaven Sect.

Li Fei had not fallen too far behind in the contest of force, which allowed him to recover the situation by relying on his superior strength.

He had not been practicing the blade for long, and from beginning to end, he had used the Armor-Piercing Style that Hao Yi had taught him at the very end, shaking Gan Juecheng's force restraints time and time again.

The more they fought, the more exhausted Gan Juecheng felt.

While Li Fei was fighting him, the speed at which his force changed could keep up with his own, and he could still divide his attention to control those clones above to set up an array.

Just how strong was this power of intent?

Whose cultivation realm was actually higher?

It was simply too unreasonable!

Seeing that those clones above were about to complete the array, Gan Juecheng suddenly changed his 'conservative' fighting style.

He charged toward Li Fei's giant blade again, his sword repeatedly tapping the side of the blade to alter its trajectory.

Just as before, the giant blade slashed past the side of his body; he stepped forward and thrust straight at Li Fei's face, while Li Fei also changed his vertical slash into a horizontal sweep.

But this time, Gan Juecheng did not retract his sword to defend, appearing to want to 'trade life for life' with Li Fei!

Li Fei likewise did not change his move, lowering his head to actively collide with the incoming sword tip using his hardest skull.

Bang—

Force exploded, and Li Fei retreated, his head broken and bleeding!

A deep wound was also slashed into the left side of Gan Juecheng's waist, but it was healing rapidly.

His force was stronger than Li Fei's, ensuring that every time they traded injury for injury, Li Fei would definitely be hurt worse than him, and he possessed core-level extraordinary healing abilities, while Li Fei did not.

Plus, Li Fei had also condensed so many clones, consuming a massive amount of Qi and blood.

He did not believe Li Fei could hold out longer than him!

Regarding Gan Juecheng's sudden change in fighting style, Li Fei's eyes remained calm, and he very coolly traded injury for injury with his opponent time after time.

It was true that condensing clones consumed a large amount of Qi and blood, but this Qi and blood was not his own; it was drawn from the 'Blood Spring'.

Using the Myriad Blood Bead to absorb damage was easy to expose as a flaw, as the details of damage absorption for every type of hard-body martial art were different, and there was no hard-body martial art in this world that could directly transfer away 99% of damage. But mobilizing the blood souls within the 'Blood Spring' to transform into Qi and blood, and thereby condensing them into clones, meant there was no need to worry about being seen as problematic, as this was entirely a hidden change within the body.

Therefore, although Li Fei had already condensed over a hundred clones, his true body's Qi and blood had not been consumed by even a single bit!

Fighting until now, Gan Juecheng suddenly wanted to trade blood with him, and he was very happy to trade with his opponent using several times the 'blood volume'.

Just like that, the two continuously traded injury for injury:

The bones in Li Fei's left arm were broken in multiple places, forcing him to switch to holding the blade with one hand.

Gan Juecheng's right shoulder was pierced through, and his use of the sword was no longer agile.

Li Fei's left shoulder was injured, and Gan Juecheng's right abdomen was injured.

The injuries of the two were becoming increasingly severe, and their combat effectiveness was continuously declining.

It was understandable that Gan Juecheng could persist, given his core-level extraordinary healing ability.

But that Li Fei had not fallen even now was very puzzling:

"How could his vitality be so strong?"

"Could this be the reason he dared to consume so many elixirs?"

"This physique is even more powerful than many of the 'Strange People' from the West!"

"..."

The martial arts masters present all revealed expressions of astonishment.

If it weren't for the fact that Li Fei did not possess that aura like a strange beast, they would have suspected that Li Fei was not from the Eastern Continent, but possessed the bloodline of the 'Strange People' from the West!

"I once saw a type of constitution called the 'Nine Yang Body' in an ancient text; it is said that those who possess this constitution are born with Qi and blood far exceeding ordinary people, and their vitality is comparable to strange beasts!"

"I also saw one called the 'Rising Dragon Body' in an ancient text; their Qi and blood are like a dragon, and their vitality is over ten times that of an ordinary person, becoming even more formidable after becoming a martial artist!"

"..."

Many people present began to discuss the issue of Li Fei's constitution.

They felt they had found the reason why this peerless prodigy had become the 'First in History'.

Just as Li Fei had thought, there was no need for him to explain anything specifically; naturally, there would be people to fill in the blanks for him.

At a certain moment, the twenty-plus clones surrounding the edge of the deep pit completed the array.

Wisps of pitch-black aura transformed into chains, flying out from their bodies and heading toward the deep pit below.

Rakshasa Earth-Binding Array!

This was an array formation that could be set up with a minimum of twenty-four people and a maximum of thirty-six.

This type of array utilized terrestrial energy and evil Qi to bind an opponent.

When the twenty-plus pitch-black chains flew out, a powerful terrestrial energy also surged from the soil within the deep pit below, transforming into a powerful suction force that firmly anchored Gan Juecheng in place!

At the same time, Li Fei also slashed vertically with his blade, forcing Gan Juecheng's movement.

Gan Juecheng was bathed in blood, and despite the chains binding his body, the longsword in his hand flew from his grasp, transforming into a brilliant star that thrust toward Li Fei!

This was his final burst of power.

At this moment, Li Fei was distracted by controlling the Rakshasa Earth-Binding Array and was too late to dodge or parry.

He had been waiting for the great array to be completed, and Gan Juecheng had also been waiting for this moment.

This was Li Fei's strongest moment, but it was also his weakest!

The sword light struck Li Fei's chest directly; he only slightly shifted his body, preventing the sword from piercing his heart, and then his body was instantly penetrated, with a section of the sword tip emerging from his back!

He was knocked backward by the massive force, crashing into the soil and sinking deep into it.

At the same time, the twenty-plus clones standing at the edge of the deep pit all leaped into the pit, smashing toward the bound Gan Juecheng.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

One clone after another detonated themselves!

After a series of explosions, the deep pit became even deeper.

When the dust settled, Li Fei was seen standing beside the fallen Gan Juecheng with a longsword stuck in his chest, the tip protruding from his back.

He grabbed the hilt with his left hand and, with a muffled grunt, pulled the longsword directly out of his body!

The blood-stained blade pointed downward, aimed at Gan Juecheng, who was already too severely injured to move.

"..."

This bloody and power-filled scene stunned many people present.

It made people feel incredibly shocked!

Li Fei could not only secretly use the blood souls within the 'Blood Spring' to transform into Qi and blood to create clones, but he could also secretly extract the blood souls within the 'Blood Spring' and directly convert them into his own vitality.

Just now, when trading injury for injury with Gan Juecheng, Li Fei had been continuously extracting blood souls from the 'Blood Spring', keeping his own vitality in a very 'vigorous' state.

Gan Juecheng could not perceive it, but Qi Zhou, as a Grandmaster, saw it clearly.

Therefore, when that chest-piercing sword thrust came, no one moved to stop it.

Qi Zhou knew Li Fei could not die, so naturally, he would not call a halt to this match.

And Gan Juecheng, who had already been severely wounded and whose injuries had worsened further after trading injury for injury, finally lost his combat effectiveness completely after enduring the self-detonation of over twenty clones.

"Li Fei of Wuan University, wins!"

The referee on the sidelines announced the result loudly.

After a moment of silence, thunderous applause erupted at the scene.

On the main viewing platform, Qi Zhou was also applauding.

He turned his head to glance at the grim-faced True Person Xuanchen, his smile becoming even more radiant.

Before the match, no one had expected that it would be Li Fei who entered the finals.

Li Fei jumped out of the deep pit and walked toward the outside of the arena with a calm expression.

Even though he was bathed in blood and had dozens of wounds all over his body—over a dozen of which were piercing wounds—along with multiple severe fractures.

Yet he still appeared incomparably powerful, his vitality still vigorous, as if he would never fall!

Fighting until now, the number of blood souls remaining in the Myriad Blood Bead was 203, and 272 blood souls had been consumed from the 'Blood Spring', leaving 316 remaining.

Taking the elixir consumed over 50 Blood Souls, and creating the clone consumed over 100 Blood Souls, so the number of Blood Souls consumed by the injuries was over 300.

In reality, Gan Gan Jicheng did not directly inflict that much damage on Li Fei, but blood loss, internal organ damage, muscle damage, broken bones, and other such injuries would continuously deplete the Blood Souls.

Li Fei had once envisioned a very extreme scenario:

If he did not use the Myriad Blood Bead to bear the damage and instead relied on his powerful vitality to endure it, it was possible that even if he were cut in half at the waist, decapitated, or even had his heart blasted apart, he would still not die for quite some time!

It was just that the number of Blood Souls would continuously decrease until they were all exhausted, and only then would he truly die.

The current situation was very similar; he could completely continue fighting Gan Gan Jicheng until this body was thoroughly "wrecked" and unable to move a muscle, yet his vitality would remain vigorous!

This was also what he intentionally wanted to show the world: the terrifying talent unique to the "First in History"!

Gan Gan Jicheng was carried off the field by others.

With injuries like his, even if the Shangqing Sect had all sorts of miraculous healing elixirs and even if a True Person of the current age performed healing techniques for him.

It was absolutely impossible for him to participate in the upcoming battle for third and fourth place in a complete state.

"This is medicine for healing."

After changing into a new set of clothes, Li Fei returned to the spectator stand.

Qin Zhen handed him a package of medicine.

"Thank you."

Li Fei took the package.

"Do you not need to go heal your injuries?"

Qin Zhen looked at him with a strange expression.

Li Fei shook his head: "No rush, let's finish watching the next match first."

Next was Ming Qi versus Ning Tang Chuan; Ming Qi had mastered the "White Pure Water Vajra Method," and Li Fei did not want to miss it.

And the scene of him continuing to sit in the spectator stand to watch the match also left many people present stunned:

"He's simply a monster; no wonder he can be the First in History."

Staff members were rapidly using soil to fill in the pits on the arena, trying their best to restore the field.

This process lasted for over half an hour.

"Next match, Great Luo Sect's Ning Tang Chuan versus Mount Pudu Temple's Ming Qi!"

Today's second match finally began.

Li Fei had already entered the finals; who would be the one to compete with him for the championship?

Ming Qi and Ning Tang Chuan quickly walked into the arena.

Neither of them had any nonsense to say; once the referee announced the start of the match, they attacked almost simultaneously.

Just like in the previous match, Ming Qi directly used the Dragon-Subduing Vajra Force to condense a golden dragon over ten meters long in the air.

Ning Tang Chuan did not immediately charge up with his sword; instead, he pointed his sword toward the ground beneath his feet.

The soil beneath his feet vibrated, and then spring water gushed out.

This was water from an underground river.

A fierce wind howled, circling around Ning Tang Chuan.

Flames were generated upon his long sword.

Rumble, rumble, rumble—

A continuous, unending sound of thunder rang out!

Earth thunder, water thunder, wind thunder, and fire thunder—four different attributes of force appeared simultaneously, driving different attributes of thunder.

What Ning Tang Chuan cultivated was the 【Myriad Thunder Life-Command】, known as the pinnacle of thunder-attribute Dao foundations, and the force he practiced was the Myriad Heavens Thunder Force, which could evolve into different types of thunder!

The five implant attributes that composed the 【Myriad Thunder Life-Command】 Dao foundation were earth, water, wind, fire, and thunder.

Ning Tang Chuan had already incorporated the first four and developed four core-level extraordinary abilities.

At this moment, he simultaneously activated these four core-level extraordinary abilities, which were:

Earth-Hidden Thunder: Can convert earth energy into lightning.

Water-Hidden Thunder: Can extract lightning from water.

Wind-Hidden Thunder: Can extract lightning through wind power.

Fire-Hidden Thunder: Can extract lightning through flames.

These four core-level extraordinary abilities allowed Ning Tang Chuan to possess a continuous supply of lightning no matter where he was!

Real lightning combined with thunder-attribute force allowed Ning Tang Chuan to create a world of lightning:

Lightning fell continuously on the ground, silver snakes danced wildly in the water, thunder exploded in the wind, and electric light flickered within the flames.

Ning Tang Chuan brought out his strongest means right from the start!

This world of lightning took shape in the blink of an eye, and the golden dragon in the air had already descended from the sky, diving downward.

Dao Force—【Deep Sea Diving Dragon】!

Ning Tang Chuan's mind was not affected in the slightest; he controlled the lightning to tear the diving golden dragon to shreds!

Ming Qi pressed his palms together, his entire body shining with brilliant golden light; he stepped forward and actually took the initiative to step into Ning Tang Chuan's world of lightning.

Boom, boom, boom, boom—

Countless bolts of thunder struck Ming Qi continuously.

Dragon shadows circled his body, his golden body was dazzling, and Buddhist chants lingered; he remained unmoved, letting the lightning strike him continuously.

Dao Force—【White Pure Water Vajra Aspect】!

This move was similar to Li Fei's 【Red Sound Fire Vajra Aspect】, except Ming Qi chose to let the "Dharma Aspect" manifest externally and merge with his physical body.

This was not the end; a jade-green Vajra Dharma Aspect over ten meters tall appeared out of thin air, enveloping Ming Qi within it.

This was the 【Fixed Calamity Vajra Aspect】!

The "Fixed Calamity Vajra Method" was also one of the "Eight Vajra Sections," primarily cultivating the elimination of all karmic obstacles and disasters.

The 【Fixed Calamity Vajra Aspect】 could eliminate all negative states and resist all mental attacks!

Ming Qi perfectly combined the two Dao forces; for the next full quarter of an hour, he stood in place, letting Ning Tang Chuan attack while he simply kept his palms together and continuously chanted Buddhist scriptures.

From him, Li Fei saw what it meant to be indestructible like a Vajra!

(End of chapter)