Chapter 803: Battle Begins
"Compared to playing with spinning, I admit defeat to no one. Zhu Rong, brother, stop using these trifling tactics. Let's get serious, otherwise, if you end up defeated in the arena, I'm afraid you won't accept it." Zhu Bufan, standing on the Fire Lotus, was looking at Zhu Rong with an indifferent gaze, and his Purple Cloud Sword was buzzing, as if cheering.
"Hmph! I hope you won't regret it! Originally I was just playing, but if you provoke me, things might get ugly!" Seeing Zhu Bufan's superior attitude, Zhu Rong became furious, flipped the Summoning Flame Banner in his hand, and suddenly, flames entwined around it again.
"True Fire Technique? True Dragon Refining Fire!"
After the flames on the Summoning Flame Banner transformed into the shape of a fire dragon, it roared loudly and rushed straight towards Zhu Bufan, the scorching wave of heat made everyone around the arena feel a surge of intense heat, and Huo Ling's expression turned ugly upon seeing the fire dragon summoned by Zhu Rong.
"Don't worry, if it were six months ago, that fool would definitely be badly beaten to near death by this Zhu Rong, but now, Zhu Rong is no match for that fool. If that fool were to compete with you now, there would be no suspense; you'd be defeated." Seeing Huo Ling worried, Emperor Yan, whom Huo Ling had pulled into his arms by the shoulders and taken as a temporary 'guardian' at Zhu Bufan's request before the duel, pouted and spoke. Emperor Yan knew that Zhu Bufan had asked Huo Ling to be his temporary 'guardian' to avoid causing trouble.
"Is what you said true?" Although Huo Ling guessed that Zhu Bufan's cultivation must have improved within half a year, he couldn't imagine that Zhu Bufan could become as strong as Emperor Yan had described.
"Of course, when has my word ever been wrong? However, this Zhu Rong is using ordinary True Fire, completely suppressed by the Blood Spirit Poison Fire, so there's not even a bit of suspense. If he were using Samadhi or Five-flavor True Fire, I wouldn't dare to guarantee anything. With ordinary True Fire, he's doomed!" After saying this, Emperor Yan proudly raised his head.
"Moreover, girl, do you think everyone has your kind of opportunity and talent to master two types of mystical waters? You possess Heavy Water and Light Water and use them freely to beat people senseless. But that Zhu Rong, he probably needs to focus all his mind just to control True Fire, let alone other flames. So, saying you fall short of his majesty, I don't agree. In a different environment, you wouldn't lose much to him!"
"Girl, who are you calling girl?" Influenced by Zhu Bufan, Huo Ling no longer feared Emperor Yan and merely treated him like a mischievous young girl. So, hearing Emperor Yan call herself a girl, Huo Ling gently tapped on Emperor Yan's head and then refocused her attention back to the arena.
At that moment, the arena had turned into a blazing inferno, where the Blood Spirit Poison Fire and True Fire devoured and entangled each other. The fire dragon summoned by Zhu Rong swam like a living creature in the sea of fire, continuously lunging at Zhu Bufan.
"Want to play with dragons? I'll play along! Devouring Demon Heavenly Dragon Break? Myriad Dragons Shock!"
The space rippled and formed a ferocious dragon head, and then, as Zhu Bufan punched out with his left fist, the dragon head formed from the ripple roared and charged straight towards the fire dragon.
'Boom!!'
A loud explosive sound erupted as Zhu Bufan's Devouring Demon Heavenly Dragon Break clashed with the fire dragon summoned by Zhu Rong, immediately erupting into a fierce explosion, and Zhu Rong was swinging the Summoning Flame Banner in his hand again, making the flames wrapped around him even hotter and fiercer.
"True Fire Technique? Golden Crow Chaotic Dance!"
The flames drifting beside Zhu Rong began to condense into flying birds the size of human heads. Once condensed into birds, the flaming birds shot towards Zhu Bufan like arrows, and the recently relieved Zhu Bufan, now in a weakened state, was suddenly hit by these flying flame birds.
'Boom, boom, boom, boom'
Continuous explosions crazily erupted. As soon as those flame birds touched Zhu Bufan's body, they exploded with forceful blasts, and within a short moment, Zhu Bufan was blasted into the sea of fire.
"Chenjiang Duanliu Break? Breaking Flow Formation!!"
With a furious shout, Zhu Bufan who had just endured a series of bombings abruptly raised his Purple Cloud Sword and slashed out a Breaking Flow Formation strike at Zhu Rong, a massive and heavy Sword Qi barreled straight down towards Zhu Rong.
"True Fire Technique? Borrowing Fire to Return Fire!!"
Just as the Breaking Flow Formation fell, Zhu Rong circled the Summoning Flame Banner in his hand, and then, a flame transformed into an egg shape, enveloping Zhu Rong's body. The moment the Sword Qi of the Breaking Flow Formation hit the flame shield, it suddenly rebounded back towards Zhu Bufan.
'Boom!!'
The heavy Breaking Flow Formation fell, instantly sending Zhu Bufan flying, while Zhu Rong's hands did not stop moving. He flipped the Summoning Flame Banner, and firebirds began to form groups and gather behind Zhu Rong again.
"Not bad." As the dust settled, Zhu Bufan was seen kneeling on the ground of the arena, his clothes already destroyed, the long sword Emperor's Hatred emitting a weird aura placed in front of him against the wind, clearly having blocked the rebounded Breaking Flow Formation.
"That was a rebounding spell just now, then try and see if you can rebound my attack." Zhu Bufan, having executed Heavenly Freedom, moved like a ghost past the continuously incoming firebirds. When he got close enough to Zhu Rong, Emperor's Hatred in his hands suddenly slashed down.
"Hmph, it's useless, as long as Borrowing Fire to Return Fire still exists..." Before Zhu Rong could finish speaking, he noticed the fluctuation spread from Emperor's Hatred easily pierced through his Borrowing Fire to Return Fire, and to Zhu Rong's astonishment, struck him.
"What is this..." Just as confusion began to rise in Zhu Rong, a surge of brutality and hatred instantly overcame his heart. It seemed as if Zhu Rong saw a battlefield filled with countless vengeful spirits crying out to him, and the sudden change in his mental realm almost made him spit blood and collapse. It took him a moment to stabilize his spirit and realize that what he saw were merely illusions; there were no battlefields, nor vengeful spirits.
"What exactly is going on? What did you do?" The sudden appearance of illusions and the sudden impact on his mental state shocked Zhu Rong. With a fierce look and Killing Intent in his eyes, he stared at Zhu Bufan and demanded in a cold voice.
"What did I do? Didn't you feel it just now? Or do you think it wasn't clear? No matter, I'll let you continue to experience it." Finished speaking, Zhu Bufan's Emperor's Hatred repeatedly swept out transparent ripples, and although Zhu Rong tried to retreat, he couldn't avoid being covered by these ripples, immediately his eyes turned blood red.
When Zhu Rong was touched by the ripples swept out from Emperor's Hatred, he immediately fell into a bloody world. Countless vengeful spirits surged towards him from all directions, their chilly gazes and terrifying postures continuously tormented Zhu Rong's nerves. Despite telling himself that it was just an illusion, the utterly realistic scene made it impossible for Zhu Rong to convince himself it was merely a usual hallucination.
"Ah!! Get away from me!! Get away!! True Fire Technique? Fire Dance Bright Sun!!"
As Zhu Rong, enveloped by hatred and bloody illusions, shouted furiously, he wildly waved the Summoning Flame Banner in his hands. A towering wave of fire transformed into the shape of the Fire God's mount, a Fiery Flame Beast, and began to recklessly attack everything around, seemingly trying to obliterate everything nearby. Seeing Zhu Rong start an indiscriminate frenzied attack, Zhu Bufan stepped back a few steps on the Fire Lotus, and Emperor's Hatred also stopped its attack.
"Huff, huff"
After Emperor's Hatred stopped its attack, the illusions that entangled Zhu Rong also gradually dispersed. Once the illusions in front of him completely vanished, Zhu Rong, gasping heavily, kneeled on the ground, his eyes filled with terrifying Killing Intent, and said harshly to Zhu Bufan: "What exactly was that trick you just played? Why did I see such baffling scenes?"
"It was no trick, just an attack on your spirit." Hearing Zhu Rong's words, Zhu Bufan shook his head and said: "Direct attack on the spirit, looks like you haven't encountered it before, huh? Thought you were just playing around? Consider it a reference then."
"Such arrogance!" Zhu Bufan's arrogant demeanor once again ignited Zhu Rong's rage. At this moment, Zhu Rong's entire body was bathed in flames, and two iron-brand-like flame markings appeared on his chest and forehead respectively, a powerful aura violently bursting from him.
Affected by Zhu Rong, the Summoning Flame Banner also changed, the originally fabric-like banner had now turned into a burning flame state. At this moment, Zhu Rong looked like the Fire God himself, with an impressive aura.
"Regret it, having pushed me to this point, you have no way out now, True Fire Technique? Flame Dragon True Fire across all directions!!"
Eight True Fire Fire Dragons burst from Zhu Rong's body, encircling Zhu Bufan from eight directions, continuously circling him, then, the eight Flame Dragons spewed out massive flames, forming a Fiery Flame Circle trapping Zhu Bufan in the middle.
"Die!!"
With a furious shout, the eight Flame Dragons instantly charged towards Zhu Bufan, with such momentum, no one doubted that once hit by the eight Flame Dragons, Zhu Bufan would be reduced to fiery sparks scattered in the air, not even a single hair left in the world. Huo Ling, watching this Flame Dragon True Fire from below the stage, turned pale and couldn't help but tremble slightly.
"Evil Technique? Blood-colored Pan-Nie!" Facing the soaring eight Flame Dragons, Zhu Bufan's body gradually faded, and the blood-colored Sword Qi, in an instant, transformed into a blood-red Phoenix.