Chapter 97 Water Shadow Mosquito, Another Fierce Battle!

["Buzz..."]

[Ripples suddenly surged through the hazy grey Void Realm surrounding the stone platform.]

[A cold aura diffused from the void, shattering the original tranquility.]

["Has the trial begun?"]

[You immediately stop practicing, your entire body tensing up.]

[Circulating the "Surging Waves" escape technique, the eighteen Water Splitting Talismans on your body's surface instantly light up.]

[You merge yourself into the surrounding water vapor, concealing your form and aura, your eyes warily fixed on the void.]

[A moment later.]

[Three small, completely transparent creatures emerge from the void.]

[They are condensed from pure water elements, their forms resembling mosquitoes.]

[Their wings flap without making a sound; only a faint water ripple can be seen passing by.]

[Relevant information immediately enters your mind, along with the clear condition: Survive!]

[Water Shadow Mosquitoes!]

[This is a trial creature specifically designed to target users of escape techniques.]

[They have no physical form, are extremely fast, and excel at hiding in water vapor, relying on sensing fluctuations in spiritual rhyme to launch attacks.]

[Their mouthparts can pierce through water shields to suck the spiritual rhyme from the practitioner.]

[While a single one isn't strong, they are extremely difficult to deal with when appearing in swarms.]

["Good, I'll use you to test my blade!"]

[After the Water Shadow Mosquitoes appear, they immediately fly toward the direction where you are hidden.]

[Their speed is incredibly fast. Even though you have activated concealment, they can still capture that slight fluctuation of spiritual rhyme through instinct.]

[Just as the first Water Shadow Mosquito gets within three feet of you.]

[You move.]

[With a thought, the Water Splitting Talismans on your body operate rapidly, and your form dodges to the side like flowing water.]

[At the same time, you press your palms together, fingertips facing each other.]

["Wave-Piercing Blade!"]

[A drop of water compressed to the extreme forms at your fingertips and shoots out instantly.]

["Whoosh—"]

[The Wave-Piercing Blade carries a faint sound of breaking air, accurately striking the core of the Water Shadow Mosquito.]

["Pop."]

[The transparent Water Shadow Mosquito instantly explodes, turning into countless fine threads of water that merge into the surrounding vapor and vanish.]

[An instant kill! Clean and efficient!]

[Joy flares in your heart. Just as you are about to press the advantage, the other two Water Shadow Mosquitoes launch a surprise attack.]

[One from the left and one from the right, they strike toward your back simultaneously, their mouthparts glinting with cold water light.]

["Trying to ambush me?"]

[Relying on your keen perception, you detect the danger in advance.]

["Surging Waves" · Shattering Wave Flash!]

[You instantly dismantle the Water Splitting Talismans on your body and rapidly reorganize them.]

[Your body shifts ten meters away like a teleportation, evading the lethal strike of the two Water Shadow Mosquitoes.]

[At the same time.]

[You condense two more Wave-Piercing Blades while in motion.]

["Go!"]

[Aided by the momentum of your movement, the Wave-Piercing Blades turn into two streaks of light, tracing graceful arcs in the air.]

["Puff! Puff!"]

[Two soft sounds. The cores of the remaining two Water Shadow Mosquitoes are accurately pierced, exploding into water mist.]

["Whew..."]

[Having dealt with the first wave of enemies, you do not let down your guard.]

[However, this is merely the beginning.]

[The tremors in the void do not stop; instead, they become increasingly violent.]

["Buzz buzz buzz—"]

[This time, it's not just a few, but a whole swarm!]

[Dense water ripples appear around the stone platform as a full thirty-six Water Shadow Mosquitoes emerge simultaneously!]

[They are no longer scattered soldiers but have formed a "water curtain," pressing down overwhelmingly.]

[They have blocked all your space for evasion.]

["Suppression by numbers?"]

[Your gaze narrows. If this were an ordinary Origin Opening Realm practitioner in this place devoid of Origin Qi.]

[Facing such an all-encompassing encirclement, they would surely die.]

[But you possess the Profound Water Spirit Body, and your speed of recovering strength far exceeds that of ordinary people!]

["Since I can't dodge, I'll kill my way out!"]

[You no longer maintain extreme concealment but instead fully activate the Profound Water Spirit Body within you.]

[Your clasped hands constantly shift their aim, as if playing a deathly movement in the void.]

["Multiple · Wave-Piercing Blade!"]

[Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—!]

[Dozens of deep blue streaks of light burst from your fingertips, meeting the mosquito swarm like a storm of pear blossom needles.]

[Although the power of a single shot has decreased, the rate of fire is extremely fast.]

["Puff puff puff..."]

[Gorgeous flowers of water mist explode in the air.]

[However, under this high-frequency continuous fire, a slight flaw eventually appears in your control over the new technique.]

["Buzz!"]

[A cunning Water Shadow Mosquito seizes the moment when your old strength is spent and new strength has yet to arise.]

[With an extreme maneuver, it dodges a Wave-Piercing Blade that had slightly deviated from its trajectory.]

[Like a ghost, it instantly breaks through the fire net and closes in on your throat!]

[The distance is less than a foot!]

[There is no time to condense water elements again.]

[That sharp mouthpart is already close at hand, as if it will pierce your artery in the next second.]

[However.]

[There is not a trace of panic on your face; instead, a cold smile curls the corner of your mouth.]

[You were indeed honing the newly acquired secret technique of the ability side.]

[But that doesn't mean you are a weak mage who is helpless once approached.]

["Seeking death."]

[You do not use the weapon at your waist, but simply use your fingers like a blade, lightly slicing through the void.]

[The Origin Qi that had been silent in your Dantian for a long time vibrates slightly.]

[You expend only a sliver of Origin Qi, transforming it into a piercing saber light.]

["Clang—"]

["Splat!"]

[The Water Shadow Mosquito that thought it had succeeded instantly freezes in place.]

[Immediately following, it is ground to pieces by this overbearing and sharp blue Origin Qi, completely dissipating into nothingness.]

["Don't forget, this is my true profession."]

[You withdraw your finger, your gaze becoming cold once more.]

[After this little interlude, your control over the rhythm of "Wave-Piercing Blade" becomes even more steady.]

[While using the "Surging Waves" movement technique to weave through the gaps in the remaining mosquito swarm, you methodically finish the battle.]

[Ten breaths later.]

[The remaining thirty-five Water Shadow Mosquitoes are slaughtered by you!]

["Huff... huff..."]

[You are panting slightly; the continuous high-intensity outburst has consumed a lot of your physical strength.]

[Just then.]

[A majestic and sharp screech echoes from the depths of the void.]

[A sense of pressure far exceeding before descends.]

[The water mist that had originally dissipated does not fall to the ground; instead, it is summoned by something and re-condenses in the air.]

[This time, what appears are no longer ordinary grunts.]

[Nine "Elite Water Shadow Mosquitoes," deep blue and a size larger, form a circular guard around the center.]

[In the center, a "Water Shadow Mosquito King" about the size of a fist with wings shimmering with purple light gazes at you coldly.]

[The Mosquito King emits a faint buzz.]

[The nine elite guards immediately disperse, forming a tight defensive circle that firmly blocks the Mosquito King behind them.]

[At the same time, the Mosquito King's abdomen pulses, releasing ripples visible to the naked eye.]

["Zzz zzz zzz..."]

[You instantly feel the eighteen Water Splitting Talismans on your body begin to suffer violent interference, and several runes even crumble directly!]

[The effect of the "Surging Waves" escape technique is forcibly suppressed by fifty percent, and your legs feel as heavy as if they were filled with lead.]

["There's even an interference type? And it has meat shields for protection?"]

[Several elite guards take the opportunity to strike as blue light, their speed more than double that of a normal Water Shadow Mosquito!]

[In your haste, you activate the Water Splitting Talismans to form a "Water Splitting Guard," a faint layer of water shield enveloping your arm.]

["Bang!"]

[This strike carries immense force; the shield is instantly covered in cracks, and you are knocked back several steps.]

["I can't fight head-on. If that Mosquito King doesn't die, the interference won't stop, and my physical strength will be exhausted!"]

[Your gaze is fixed on the heavily protected Mosquito King.]

[Any linear attack path would be blocked by the bodies of those elite guards.]

["Since a straight line won't work..."]

[You take a deep breath as a risky move from the advanced chapter of "Surging Waves" comes to mind.]

[You suddenly dash to the left, condensing an extremely brilliant Wave-Piercing Blade in your hand, making a gesture as if to force an attack on the left defensive line.]

[The Mosquito King immediately commands three elite guards to block the left side.]

["Now!"]

["Surging Waves" · Phantom Wave Image!]

[Your form suddenly becomes blurred mid-sprint, leaving behind a "Flowers in the Mirror, Moon on the Water Phantom" condensed from water mist.]

[But your true body, hidden by the water vapor, slides into the right blind spot at an incredible angle!]

[The Mosquito King's interference ripples are still locked onto the fake body.]

[By the time it finally realizes its original target was just a mass of water vapor, it is too late.]

[Five feet... three feet...]

[You have already appeared inside the defensive circle, facing the Mosquito King directly!]

["Die!"]

[Disregarding the consumption of physical strength, you frantically drive your ability, injecting water elements into your fingertips.]

[This strike is no longer an ordinary high-pressure water jet, but an "Ice Blue Needle" compressed to a near-solid state!]

["Wave-Piercing Blade!"]

["Boom—"]

[A sonic boom like a thunderclap resounds across the stone platform.]

[The Mosquito King's proud interference ripples are like thin paper before the absolute piercing power.]

[Its body doesn't even have time to make a dodging motion before it is instantly blasted into a cloud of purple water mist.]

[With the death of the Mosquito King, the nine elite guards are like puppets with their strings cut.]

[Their bodies instantly collapse, turning into water mist and dissipating.]

[The entire stone platform returns to silence.]

["Buzz—"]

[The water ripple runes on the surface of the stone platform all light up, and the blue light converges into a pillar of light that envelops the entire platform.]

[A warm current surges into your body, rapidly replenishing the spiritual rhyme you consumed.]

["The second stage of the trial has been passed."]

[That grand voice rings out again, with a hint of approval in its tone.]

[You let out a long sigh of relief, feeling the even more condensed Xuan Shui Spiritual Rhyme and the heavenly river water lotus Origin within you.]

[This battle has given you a qualitative leap in your understanding of the coordination between "Surging Waves" and "Wave-Piercing Blade."]

["Is this the improvement brought by actual combat?"]

[You clench your fist, the Battle Intent in your eyes growing even stronger.]

["Next level!"]