62: Chapter 62 Martial Arts Tournament (Part 2)

The semifinals.

The opponent was the Shadow Sect.

The Shadow Sect, the second ally of Long Aotian, was a guild known for assassinations and sneak attacks.

Most of their members were assassins and thieves, skilled in stealth, poison, and traps.

In the Jianghu, the reputation of the Shadow Sect wasn't great—not because they were weak, but because they fought so deviously, using any dirty trick they could come up with.

I stood in the Arena, watching the ten people walk out from the opposite side, and one word came to mind—steady.

Why steady? Because I was prepared.

After the fight with the Iron Blood Alliance last time, I had gone back and brewed potions all night.

I had brewed twenty bottles of purification potion in one go, specifically for dispelling negative status effects.

I had also replenished a batch of swift wind potion.

Additionally, I had prepared a few bottles of iron wall potion, just in case.

"Everyone take a purification potion." Before the match started, I distributed the potions to my teammates. "The Shadow Sect excels at using poison and traps; this stuff can detoxify."

Zhao Tiezhu took the potion, looked at it, and asked in surprise, "Ergou, where did you get this potion?"

"I brewed it myself," I said nonchalantly.

"You can brew potions?!"

"Cut the crap, drink it quickly, the match is about to start."

The system broadcast sounded—

[Ding! Martial Arts Tournament Guild Team Semifinals, Dawn Guild VS Shadow Sect, the match begins!]

As soon as the match started, the Shadow Sect displayed their devious fighting style.

Of the ten people, four turned invisible as soon as they entered the Arena.

The remaining six didn't fight us head-on either, but instead retreated while throwing things—smoke bombs!

Clouds of black smoke exploded in the Arena, and the entire field instantly became blurry and unclear.

The people in the spectator stands couldn't see the situation on the field and could only watch through the system's big screen.

"This is too damn cheap!" Zhao Tiezhu cursed.

But before he could finish cursing, red light suddenly lit up on the ground—traps!

A mage in our team named Xiao Lizi stepped on a trap, his feet tightened, and he was entangled by a chain.

Immediately after, a black shadow flashed out from the smoke, and a dagger stabbed straight into his back.

[Xiao Lizi has received fatal damage and has been killed!]

"Damn!" I widened my eyes.

Before I could react, another teammate hit a trap.

This time it was a poison mist trap; a cloud of green toxic gas sprayed out, shrouding three of us.

Our HP started dropping like crazy, and our skill casting speed slowed down—we were hit with a slow debuff.

"purification potion! Drink it fast!" I roared.

I was the first to pull out a bottle of purification potion and downed it.

A cool sensation spread from my throat throughout my body, and the effect of the poison mist disappeared instantly.

But the other two teammates were a step too slow; before they could drink the potion, the Shadow Sect assassins had already struck.

Two black shadows darted out from the smoke simultaneously, and two daggers stabbed out at the same time.

[Two Dawn Guild members have been killed!]

In just thirty seconds, we had lost three people.

The spectator stands were in an uproar.

"The Shadow Sect's fighting style is too devious!"

"Is the Dawn Guild finished?"

"This is so unfair, smoke bombs plus traps, how are they supposed to fight this?"

The situation was critical.

Ye Liuli finally made her move.

She hovered in mid-air, her staff emitting a dazzling blue-white light.

A terrifying chill spread outwards from her as the center—

"Icebound World!"

Boom!

The temperature of the entire Arena plummeted, and a thick layer of frost instantly formed on the ground.

The smoke was frozen, the traps were iced over, and even those invisible assassins were frozen into revealing their true forms—their bodies were covered in ice crystals, and their movement speed was significantly reduced.

"Nice!" I couldn't help but shout.

Ye Liuli's crowd control move completely ruined the Shadow Sect's tactics.

But the Shadow Sect's sect leader, "Shadow Lord," was no pushover.

He was a level 25 assassin with immense strength.

I saw him form hand seals, and a dense power of shadows erupted from his body, forcibly breaking free from the binding of the ice.

"Hmph, mere parlor tricks!" Shadow Lord sneered, then shouted to his subordinates, "All units, Shadow Kill Formation!"

The remaining seven assassins simultaneously erupted with shadow power, and seven black shadows darted rapidly across the icy surface, pouncing towards us.

Ye Liuli's Icebound World had consumed a large amount of mana, and she couldn't cast large-scale spells again for the time being.

Our front line had also been mostly depleted by the previous fighting.

It was time for me to enter the fray.

I pulled out a bottle of swift wind potion and downed it.

A scorching sensation surged from my dantian and flowed through my entire body.

My speed instantly increased by more than double.

"Come on!"

Sky Breaker!

My figure turned into an afterimage, and I rushed directly into the group of assassins.

Before the first assassin could react, my sword was already at his neck.

[Critical hit! Killed Shadow Sect assassin!]

I didn't pause; I activated Sky Breaker again, flashing behind the second assassin.

Moon Slash!

A silvery-white sword energy swept out, instantly taking out two assassins.

[Double kill!]

The third assassin tried to turn invisible and run, but under the influence of the swift wind potion, I was much faster than him.

I lunged forward, caught up, and pierced his chest with one sword strike.

[Triple kill!]

The whole Arena was in an uproar.

"Chen Ergou! Chen Ergou! Chen Ergou!"

People in the spectator stands started shouting my name, the sound getting louder and louder, finally merging into one.

"That street vendor is too fierce!"

"Triple kill! He took out three assassins by himself!"

"What exactly is this guy's background?"

I felt so good inside, but I kept my face calm.

After all, I'm a person who does big things; I can't get carried away by a small achievement.

But just when I thought the situation had turned around, Shadow Lord moved.

He stood in the center of the Arena, raised his hands to the sky, and the shadow power on his body surged out crazily.

The entire Arena darkened, as if the sun had been blocked out.

"Forbidden Technique—Shadow Clone!"

Boom!

Shadow Lord's body instantly split; one became two, two became four, four became eight... finally, there were over a dozen identical Shadow Lords!

Over a dozen clones pounced towards us simultaneously, each exuding the terrifying aura of a level 25.

"This is a forbidden technique?!" Zhao Tiezhu's face turned pale with fear.

The spectator stands were also in chaos.

"Shadow Clone? Isn't that a move that only exists in novels?"

"The Shadow Sect leader actually knows a forbidden technique!"

"The Dawn Guild is finished!"

Over a dozen clones attacked simultaneously, launching a fierce assault on our remaining members.

Ye Liuli stood at the very front, using Ice Shield to protect the teammates behind her.

But there were too many clones, and her ice shields shattered one after another.

"Guild Leader!" I roared, wanting to rush over to help.

But three clones blocked my path, three daggers stabbed at me simultaneously, and I had to retreat to dodge.

Just then, one clone broke through Ye Liuli's defense and stabbed her shoulder with a dagger.

Ye Liuli muffled a groan, and her HP dropped by one-third instantly.

But she gritted her teeth and didn't retreat, still standing in front of her teammates.

I saw the wound on her shoulder, saw her gritted lips, and saw that unyielding light in her eyes.

A burst of rage surged up from the bottom of my heart.

How dare you hurt her?!

My mind went blank, leaving only pure anger.

Just then, a system notification suddenly rang in my mind—

[Ding! Detected intense emotional fluctuation from the host, temporarily unlocked skill—Sword Saints Three Styles: World Annihilation (Incomplete Version)!]

[Warning: This skill is an incomplete version; using it will cause damage to your meridians, please use with caution!]

I couldn't care about that much.

I gripped the sword in my hand tight, and the true qi in my body began to circulate crazily.

An unprecedented power surged from my dantian, flowed through my meridians, and gathered on the sword blade.

The sword blade began to glow.

First silver-white, then it turned golden, and finally it turned into a scorching white I had never seen before—as if the light of the sun was compressed onto a single sword.

"World Annihilation—"

I gave a low roar and slashed out with the sword.

A scorching white sword energy exploded from the tip of the sword, turning into a huge dragon of light that swept across the entire Arena.

Rumble—!

All the shadow clones were like paper in front of the dragon of light, instantly torn apart and dissipated.

Shadow Lord's main body's protective shadow was also broken in one hit, and he was blasted away, crashing heavily onto the edge of the Arena.

[Shadow Lord has been defeated!]

[Dawn Guild wins!]

The whole Arena was silent.

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.

Then, a tsunami-like roar of cheers erupted.

"Chen Ergou!!!"

"What was that sword strike?! Too fierce!"

"Sword Saints Three Styles? World Annihilation? What kind of skill is this?"

"The Dawn Guild has advanced to the finals!"

But I could no longer hear any of this.

After slashing out that sword, I felt all my strength drained away.

My legs went weak, and I knelt directly on the ground.

The meridians in my body hurt like they were being burned by fire, my true qi was rampaging, and every breath felt like swallowing razor blades.

"Ergou!" Ye Liuli didn't care about her own injuries, hurried to my side, and supported me.

"I'm fine... just a bit tired." I barely squeezed out a smile.

But I knew my meridians were damaged.

In the short term, I might not be able to use my full strength again.

Ye Liuli looked at me, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes.

She didn't speak, just silently fed me a bottle of high-level recovery potion.

I leaned on her shoulder and closed my eyes.

The finals, Dragon God Temple.

Long Aotian.

Bring it on.