NOVEL NEXT Chapter 448: Tan Daojis Thirty-six Stratagems
"Mount Hua really has no people. They actually even sent out an Earthly Star to fight."
"Isn't this clearly sending her to her death?"
Seeing Lu Xiujing was to battle the Nine Elders Of Sui's Heavenly Changxu Star "Minor War Department Senior Official," everyone was flabbergasted. Their Realms truly were the difference between clouds and mud; one was in Heaven, the other on earth.
Unless she was that kind of extremely talented Earthly Star, she had no hope of victory against a Heavenly Star, especially when a martial general like the Minor War Department Senior Official was an extremely uncertain matter. Although Tuwan Xu was not a first-rate Star Name, any way it was put, she was still one of the Sui Ye Star Kingdom's Nine Elders. She absolutely could not be looked down upon.
Tuwan Xu landed on the Ascending Heaven's Summit. The girl was furious as a Buddha, more formidable than imagined. She was clad in Buddhist golden armor covered in incantations. Her appearance was young, about seventeen or eighteen years old, but she had seventy to eighty years of experience.
"Highest Clarity Sect Master. Earthly Star. This Five Moons Mount Hua is nothing special to actually still have Earthly Stars around." Tuwan Xu jeered. The girl felt this to be a waste of her time.
Lu Xiujing stood ramrod straight, neat and orderly, her appearance delicate and pretty. Green armor covered her slender build. She was like a lotus between clear jade, beautiful and elegant. Although she was only Earthly Star, she nevertheless gave off the feeling of unrelenting confidence.
"Your Servant is incapable. Please teach me, Little Sister." Lu Xiujing smiled. Like a spring breeze brushing past one's face, she exuded a warm presence.
Tuwan Xu was displeased, a sneer in her eyes.
The sound of her punch was like thunder, her qi exploding.
Lu Xiujing opened her palms and deftly dodged, avoiding the punch-shadows. Then, she promptly countered with her own frightening punch. Seeing this attack, "Minor War Department Senior Official" Tuwan Xu was even more derisive. Some no name spiritual power Earthly Star entered close range against her, a Heavenly Star. This truly was suicide.
Against Lu Xiujing's fist, Tuwan Xu did not dodge. She stuck close and advanced, her arms spread wide. Like a fierce bear, her arms suddenly moved to wrap around Lu Xiujing as if to bear hug. Star Energy radiated from her arms, and like tens of thousands of chains, bound Lu Xiujing's arm joints. Then, she would crush them to smithereens.
Tuwan Xu's Innate Skill was "Strength Of The Bear." Her close combat grapples and joint locks would execute smoothly, and this was one of her specialties. She was swifter beyond imagination. Once the enemy was in her hold, they would be crushed, for her strength was extremely formidable.
When she trained back at her Star Field, Tuwan Xu once snapped the neck of a wild rhinoceros Demon Beast.
Lu Xiujing's expression did not change. Nevertheless, a Star Crest flashed on her forehead as she activated her Star Crest. She neither dodged nor sidestepped, was neither rushed nor slow in throwing a punch. Tuwan Xu instantly seized Lu Xiujing's arms.
The girl was delighted. Her target was locked by her body, and she was like a bird in cage, impossible to break free unless your strength was greater than hers. Among the Nine Elders Of Sui, only the Single Character Star Names like Shi Wansui were able to free themselves. Earthly Stars need not be mentioned at all.
Minor War Department Senior Official turned and used all her strength to bring Lu Xiujing closer into her hug, but a peculiar scene happened. Just as Tuwan Xu was about to crush Lu Xiujing's bones, she suddenly noticed she seemed to be holding a soft bundle of cotton that lacked any substance. Lu Xiujing seemed to have shed her skin and unbelievably vanished from under her lock.
This kind of sensation was like a golden cicada breaking free of its shell.
"How is this possible." Tuwan Xu was astonished.
Lu Xiujing appeared behind her and threw a punch.
Tuwan Xu was too late to block. Sent flying directly by the blow, she soared through the air, releasing a series of bone-snapping noises.
"What?"
The surrounding voices were dumbstruck.
No one imagined that Lu Xiujing could actually send Heavenly Changxu Star Tuwan Xu flying with a single punch.
Tuwan Xu rose, slamming her fist into the ground. Her armor was already dented. The woman was in disbelief.
"Qian, be a bit more serious. Do not cost the Tyrant face." Yang Su sneered. The Sui Ye Star Kingdom's tyrant was already furrowing her brow.
"Little Sister, please teach me." Lu Xiujing's tone was unyielding.
Tuwan Qian curled her fists. An enormous aggression erupted, and the entire Ascending Heaven's Summit seemed to be set aflame and detonated. A set of brown boxing gloves appeared on her hands, and the posture of her fingers was like the claws of a ferocious beast's, sharper than a blade. The gloves were accompanied by six floating stars. Astonishingly, this was her Destined Star Weapon, "Green Mist Fangs."1
"I will tear you apart!!" Tuwan Qian's jeers had turned into rage.
The girl had hardly finished speaking when she lunged at Lu Xiujing.
Lu Xiujing continued to use her own agile techniques to evade, but a claw descended upon her. Her Star Energy was scarcely able to defend against it. Lu Xiujing's expression slightly changed while Tuwan Xu grinned as if she had tasted blood, displaying savage power. Her hands were like claws, dazzling as they rampaged.
Gust after gust of green wind endlessly flit by, sharper than any weapon.
Lu Xiujing flipped her hand, revealing a seal. This was the Star Weapon, "Highest Purity Clear Mind Seal." Spirit-light glowed on the seal, covering her entire body. The attacks of Tuwan Xu's sharp "Green Mist Fangs" immediately were stopped by the Highest Purity Clear Mind Seal.
Tuwan Jian's attacks became increasingly frantic, and Lu Xiujing was forced into a continuous retreat, already nearing the edge of the Ascending Heaven's Summit. In a competition, falling off the platform was considered a loss. However, Tuwan Xu did not want to defeat such this arrogant opponent in such a manner. She wanted to humiliate her, to savagely disgrace her opponent, to make her realize the terror of the Minor War Department Senior Official was.
Tuwan Xu suddenly used another bear hug. The green wind of the "Green Mist Fangs" instantly became thousands of blood-colored lights that ground against Lu Xiujing.
Yellow Rank.
Boiling Blood!!
The Highest Purity Clear Mind's spirit-light immediately dimmed. Lu Xiujing's expression turned grim. Her body techniques were like a swimming dragon, but she was still caught by the Yellow Rank Boiling Blood. As if slashed by thousands of claws, she was instantly covered in lacerations. Blood drenched her, a horrendous appearance.
Lu Xiujing furrowed her brow and groaned, feeling a heart-rending pain.
"Can't take this lesson? Then my Dark Rank Crushing Bone will be unforgettable…" Tuwan Xu cackled. She closed the distance and unleashed her Green Mist Fangs upon Lu Xiujing.
Seeing Tuwan Xu finally suppress her opponent and leave her a ragged figure, Yang Guang's expression finally warmed up somewhat.
The Sui Ye Star Kingdom's Star Generals were stone-faced. They merely waited for Lu Xiujing to be cut to pieces.
"What do we do, Chen Mo, Lu Xiujing will die at this rate." Sun Yingmeng felt panic. She was a bit unable to bear watching this scene.
Li Xiao's knuckles turned white, her veins and muscles bulging.
Chen Mo looked at Lu Xiujing's fighting stance and patted Sun Yingmeng's hand, to make her not nervous.
"Would it be better to let her concede first?" Zhao Yunchen said. He also felt the disparity between the two was honestly too great. An Earthly Star and a Heavenly Star were completely different classes.
They turned to Ancestor Chen Tuan.
The girl was expressionless and unperturbed.
"Don't worry, Senior Sister Xiujing doesn't appear to be so simple." Chen Mo stared for awhile, then he slightly smiled.
"Could it be there is something else?" Jiang Kui nervously asked. She was unable to see what the difference was.
Chen Mo noticed that although Tuwan Xu's attacks were very wild, oppressive as they were quick, and out of hand, Lu Xiujing's expression was nevertheless very strange. Her figure was mixed in with the claw-shadows of the Green Mist Fangs, yet she was without major injury.
Chen Mo currently had ample experience fighting Star Generals, and after he obtained the Five Emperors Seal, he had also reached an unprecedented level. With a glance, he could see that Lu Xiujing was still holding back.
To face a Heavenly Star's attacks while still holding back, she clearly was very confident.
After a barrage of attacks, all of a sudden, as he had anticipated, Lu Xiujing discarded the Highest Purity Clear Mind Seal and clawed out a weapon. That weapon was wrapped in a black fog.
This fog was named "Fog of the Black Curtain" and was similar to the "Wind Divine Barrier" on Chen Mo's Northern Dipper; it was classified as a type of magic that concealed the form of a weapon. However, the "Fog of the Black Curtain" did not have a Five Elements alignment. On the contrary, engulfing the weapon's attacks in fog also left the user unable to see, lowering the accuracy of their attacks. Only those warriors with absolute faith in themselves would forge it.
However, there was a benefit to the Fog of the Black Curtain, and that was it was capable of obscuring the opponent's vision.
The Wind Divine Barrier was able to extend attack range, making its killing intent even harder to grasp. The Fog of the Black Curtain could disrupt the enemy's judgement.
This weapon draped in black fog seemed to be a polearm. Once Lu Xiujing took it into her hand's she became a different person. Her Star Energy was stimulated, her energy spiked, and her weapon intercepted the Green Mist Fangs.
Lumps of killing intent bundled in the black fog stopped the Green Mist Fangs' attacks.
Tuwan Xu was unwilling to use her Dark Rank to kill Lu Xiujing. That was because this Mount Hua martial arts competition was a once in a thousand years event. The deeper an impression she could leave for the people here at this competition, the more brilliant an entry she could leave behind in the historical record, the greater her feat.
If it was said that she, a Heavenly Star martial general, used a Dark Rank to kill an Earthly Star, even her victory would be unsightly.
Tuwan Xu was extremely resentful.
Lu Xiujing was apparently aware of this point. A crafty grin crept onto the corner of her lips as she hefted her polearm. Seizing this chance, she immediately soared into an assault. The black fog lingered, concealing even her body techniques in darkness.
Tuwan Xu was a bit hesitant.
Lu Xiujing, however, had nothing to be afraid of.
"What?" Tuwan Xu's expression changed, and the Green Mist Fangs retracted.
The fang-like green wind wrapped around Lu Xiujing's attack, but this seemed to be like grabbing a breeze. Instantly, Lu Xiujing and her attack vanished from her grasp. By the time Tuwan Xu regained her senses, Lu Xiujing's weapon had already pierced through her shoulder.
Blood spurted from the wound like a pillar.
"Impossible, impossible." Tuwan Xu was unable to restrain her anger. She could no longer consider her own face – there was nothing more shameful than an Earthly Star injuring her. Even if she won, she could still possibly receive the Tyrant's punishment.
"I will tear you apart, tear you apart, tear you apart. I will tear you apart in the most ruthless way possible!!" Before the pain subsided, Tuwan Xu roared and immediately used Earth Rank.
"Weep Of Bloody Grief."
Tuwan Xu practically used the "Green Mist Fangs" to seize Lu Xiujing in the blink of an eye. The sharp fangs stabbed into the girl's body, and a green hurricane erupted. It was like an enormous meat grinding machine had swallowed Lu Xiujing.
The powerful storm shot straight into the sky, punching an enormous hole in the heavens. The green storm unleashed formidable Star Energy. If not for an already set-up array in the Ascending Heaven's Summit, this Earth Rank would be sufficient to tear this mountain apart.
Countless pieces of blood and meat instantly flew out of the green storm. Apparently, even Lu Xiujing's bones and flesh were ground to pieces, staining the storm the color of blood, a scene most ghastly.
All the spectators' hearts chilled. They only felt cold air creep over their whole bodies.
To be able to disintegrate an Earthly Star General, how cruel was this.
The bloody storm scattered, and countless droplets of blood rained down onto the ground and soaked the earth. Lu Xiujing was already gone without a trace.
Tuwan Xu was very pleased to see everyone was shocked by her masterpiece. When she used her Earth Rank, her opponent had no other defensive measures. Unless she was that kind of extremely talented Star General, no Earthly Star could survive intact.
The Minor War Department Senior Official was about to turned to Su Mian for the match result, but suddenly, she sensed something was not right.
The blood on the ground rapidly gathered to form a silhouette. In a shocking surprise, Lu Xiujing unbelievably emerged from the blood.
"What?" Tuwan Xu was scared out of her wits.
"How can you be unscathed…What is that weapon…" Tuwan Xu suddenly took note of Lu Xiujing's weapon.
Having endured the power of Tuwan Xu's Earth Rank Weep Of Bloody Grief, the Fog of the Black Curtain was already torn to expose this weapon's shape. It was a very odd polearm, like open scissors, full of erratically twisting barbs, like a weapon forged from thistles and thorns. It brimmed with the brilliance of military tactics, monstrous to the extreme.
This weapon's master nevertheless shocked two people.
Chen Mo and Su Mian murmured at the same time.
"Thirty-six Stratagems: Dark Cloud Shears!!"2
"‘Soldier Of Crafty Ways' Tan Daoji!"3
- 青嵐獠牙 ↩
- 三十六計·暗雲翦 ↩
- 詭道兵者’檀道濟 ↩