C.2090: To Strike Quickly

Hearing Yue Feng, Zhao Hai couldn’t help but smile faintly as he said, “Elder, as you know, I’m a Dark Mage back in the lower realms. Poison is one of the fields we Dark Mages specialize in. This includes corpse poison. I noticed that corpse poison might be cured by an antidote that I have. I was hoping that it would work. I didn’t think that it’s extremely effective.”

Hearing Zhao Hai, Elder Yue Feng’s eyes couldn’t help but shine. However, he didn’t immediately ask Zhao Hai to hand the antidote over. Instead, he looked at Li Fei and said, “How long until Li Fei wakes up?”

Zhao Hai thought and said, “He should be up in about an hour. He’ll be fully restored in a day. Naturally, the wound on his shoulder would still need to be healed.”

Yue Feng nodded, “Alright, I’ll leave two people behind to watch over Li Fei. As for the rest, they can go watch the competition.” Those around them immediately complied and then left the residence.

The group returned to Topfire Mountain. By this point, the fifth round of the competition was finished. The sixth round was about to begin. Fortunately, Zhao Hai’s name has yet to be drawn.

But just as Zhao Hai arrived at the venue, his name was called. This time, his opponent wasn’t an acquaintance. Nevertheless, they weren’t easy to deal with. Zhao Hai’s enemy this time was one of the stars of the competition, Top Purity Sect’s Chen Rufeng.

Top Purity Sect was one of the Great Sects in the Righteous Faction. Its relationship with the Tyrant Blade Sect could be said to be ordinary. However, the Tyrant Blade Sect has a particularly good relationship with the Purity Origin Sect which had a complicated relationship with the Top Purity Sect. Therefore, at the very least, the two sects didn’t have any conflicts of interest.

Zhao Hai looked across the stage at his opponent. Chen Rufeng wore a scholar’s attire while carrying a sword on his back. The sword was unadorned, it looked ordinary.

Chen Rufeng was also an unremarkable individual. He wasn’t charming, but he had a temperament that wasn’t unpleasant to be with.

His face didn’t show any arrogance, but one couldn’t help but lower their head when facing him. He had a temperate smile on his face and his eyes were as gentle as still water.

At the same time, Chen Rufeng was looking at Zhao Hai with surprise. This was because Zhao Hai’s temperament was the same as him. Although Zhao Hai was wearing warrior clothing, he didn’t give off a rude feeling. On the contrary, Zhao Hai’s aura was heroic. Zhao Hai also had a gentle smile on his face that made people feel good.

It can be said that although the two had slightly different temperaments, both gave favorable impressions to everyone around them.

Seeing these two people on the stage, those watching their fight couldn’t help but stare. Now that they were faced against each other, their temperament made them special.

Zhao Hai opened his mouth first. He cupped his fist as he smiled and said, “Tyrant Blade Sect’s Zhao Hai has seen Senior Brother Chen. I’ve seen Senior Brother’s previous battles. To be honest, you’re one of the few people I don’t want to face. Unfortunately, we drew each other. I can only ask Senior Brother to show mercy.”

Chen Rufeng also cupped his fist as he said, “Junior Zhao Hai is too polite. I also saw your battles. I admire your blade techniques. I’ll be the one asking Junior Brother for mercy.”

Zhao Hai chuckled and said, “We shouldn’t be too polite to each other here. Otherwise, everyone will scold us. Senior Brother Chen, please.” After saying that, Zhao Hai pulled out his own blade and pointed it at Chen Rufeng.

Chen Rufeng also smiled as he pulled his own sword out. As soon as Chen Rufeng held his sword, Zhao Hai immediately felt something change. Chen Rufeng’s sword was like autumn water but gave the feeling of being sharp and collected. It was a good sword.

Zhao Hai’s eyes slightly narrowed, then he waved his blade and rushed towards Chen Rufeng.

The smile on Chen Rufeng’s face also disappeared as he concentrated on Zhao Hai. Seeing this display, the cultivators below the arena exclaimed. This was because in Zhao Hai’s previous fights, he had never attacked like this. At the same time, Chen Rufeng always had a smile on his face during his previous battles, and yet his smile disappeared. When they saw this, everyone understood that the two weren’t using their full strength before. Now, they were beginning to treat their battle seriously.

Once the two fought against each other, the people in the audience couldn’t help but be surprised. This was because the two had truly placed their full strength into display. Chen Rufeng’s sword technique was quick and rapid. The moment he waved his sword, one could only see the sheen left behind. Many people in the audience were unable to see the sword.

On the other hand, once Zhao Hai’s blade was unleashed, the blade completely disappeared. The only thing that remained was a golden light. The golden light hid the form of the blade due to its intensity.

It can be said that the battle was the most spectacular fight in the competition yet. The two sides strove for more and more speed. As they sped up, the stage was beginning to be flooded with sword and blade light. The sound of weapons clashing became akin to raindrops.

Astonishing! The speed achieved by the two combatants was too astonishing. Most importantly, the two were boasting their endurance. The audience thought that the battle would end quickly. However, the fight went on for ten minutes without a clear winner being seen.

Everyone felt breathless as they spectated the battle. The fight was too intense. Nobody had time to breathe.

All of a sudden, the audience felt that their brains had shut down. The golden light on the stage disappeared as Zhao Hai’s hand seemed to slow down. His blade moved as though it had the weight of a mountain.

Seeing Zhao Hai’s blade, everyone was stunned at the contrast between extreme speed and extreme slowness. But it was Zhao Hai’s opponent who was most affected by this.

Chen Rufeng could feel that although Zhao Hai’s blade was slow, it actually blocked all of his offensive routes. He had the feeling that he couldn’t evade. Most importantly, Zhao Hai’s blade carried a momentum that could crush him!

Chen Rufeng was stuck about what to do. The sword in his hand also slowed down. The experts in the audience saw this and couldn’t help but sigh. They knew that Chen Rufeng had lost. He had fallen to Zhao Hai’s rhythm and would be led by his nose. In this situation, he could no longer defeat Zhao Hai.

Sure enough, as soon as Chen Rufeng slowed down, he began to be disadvantaged. In just five strokes, Zhao Hai’s blade broke through Chen Rufeng’s defenses, winning him the fight.

Chen Rufeng returned to his calm demeanor. Although he was disappointed by his loss, he wasn’t bitter about it. He received his sword and cupped his fist towards Zhao Hai, “Junior Brother Zhao’s methods are truly terrifying. I am inferior. I hope we can share notes once more in the future.”

Zhao Hai also received his blade. He smiled towards Chen Rufeng and said, “To be honest, I was having a tough time dealing with Senior Brother’s fast sword. If it weren’t for my trick at the end, I wouldn’t have won this soon.”

Chen Rufeng replied, “Junior Brother doesn’t have to put gold on my face. My master once told me that I need to take control over my fast sword, otherwise I would suffer. Now I understand. Junior Brother, let’s share a cup of wine when we meet again.” Then he cupped his fist towards Zhao Hai once more before leaving the stage.

Looking at Chen Rufeng’s appearance, Zhao Hai smiled faintly and left the stage. The battle has ended. But this battle also allowed people to understand Zhao Hai’s talent and strength. Chen Rufeng was famous in the True Spirit Realm. His fame was even bigger than Zhao Hai. But in the end, he was defeated by Zhao Hai’s blade.

Although the True Spirit Realm knew that Zhao Hai fought against a Teleportation Stage expert on his own, those who were present saw that Zhao Hai had a small advantage in terms of artifacts and beasts. In fact, Zhao Hai didn’t fight Lu Shen head on. Moreover, with the fact that Zhao Hai was an ascender, people merely thought that he had plenty of aces in his hand. They thought that his personal strength wasn’t much.

This changed after the battle with Chen Rufeng. Being a genius from the Top Purity Sect, it can be said that he was one of the peak experts of his generation in the True Spirit Realm. According to the estimates of various powers, even if Chen Rufeng weren’t the top expert, he could be placed in the top one hundred. This meant that Chen Rufeng’s strength was recognized by all the major sects.

By this time, nobody suspected Zhao Hai’s strength. Zhao Hai defeated Chen Rufeng’s sword using his own blade in front of everyone. If there were people who still doubted Zhao Hai’s strength, then they were blind.

The battle between Zhao Hai and Chen Rufeng attracted the most attention of all arenas. When their battle was over, the other battles were also done. This meant that the next round began immediately. This gave Zhao Hai no time to take a rest.

Zhao Hai’s opponent in the next round was interesting. It was no other than Hu Jilong. Everyone knows that Hu Jilong defeated Li Fei with his throwing knife. They also know that Hu Jilong used poison on his knife. So as soon as they saw Hu Jilong on the stage, they couldn’t help but boo. This was rare. Cultivators actually booed a person like a mortal. Naturally, Hu Jilong’s face was ugly upon hearing this reaction.

Zhao Hai looked at Hu Jilong who was on the stage. To be honest, he has no dislike towards Hu Jilong. He felt that Hu Jilong was arrogant, but Zhao Hai was already used to such characters. Hu Jilong’s provocations couldn’t even raise his brows.

The reason he bickered with Hu Jilong in the past was completely for Li Fei and the others to see. The Tyrant Blade Sect had always been domineering. If Zhao Hai doesn’t reinforce this ideal, then Li Fei and the others wouldn’t listen to him. But in reality, Zhao Hai doesn’t care much about Hu Jilong. He also saw Hu Jilong fight before. Although Hu Jilong was strong, he was still far from being Zhao Hai’s opponent.

However, Zhao Hai was still a bit dissatisfied with Hu Jilong. This was because Hu Jilong was too proud for his own good, to the point of arrogance. If it weren’t for him being arrogant, nobody would have been convinced that he almost killed Li Fei with the poison he used on the throwing knife. For such a person, Zhao Hai had a faint sense of disgust.

Hu Jilong wasn’t conscious of this. He looked at Zhao Hai with hatred. It was as if Zhao Hai was the reason he was being booed on the stage. Seeing this, Zhao Hai couldn’t help but be speechless. He couldn’t understand how such a person was able to cultivate to his current level. It was rare for such a brainless person to reach a high level.

Zhao Hai looked at Hu Jilong and said, “You attacked Li Fei with a knife, I’ll return it to you twice. However, I won’t take your life. Not today anyway.”

Hearing Zhao Hai, Hu Jilong coldly snorted and said, “You want to deal with me with a throwing knife? Hahaha. Too funny. Let’s see how you use throwing knives to defeat me. I’m standing here. Come.”

Zhao Hai couldn’t help but laugh, “Alright, just stand there. Let’s see if I can hit you.” After saying that, Zhao Hai waved his hand. Then a shelf appeared beside him. The audience couldn’t help but rub their eyes when they saw this. They couldn’t understand what happened. How could someone take out a shelf during a battle? Moreover, what was inside those shelves. Are those throwing knives? If it was throwing knives, how many are there? A thousand, ten thousand? Was this a circus show, or a battle?

There was no mistake, Zhao Hai took out a shelf that was densely packed with throwing knives. Nobody could count how many there were. People couldn’t understand what happened, but Hu Jilong did. His face became completely dark.