358: Chapter 358 Defeating Zhao Yan and Crushing Ning Caihe

"Air can even be used like this?"

Zhao Yan was in disbelief.

"Of course it can," Xu Ruyu smiled. "All things can be weapons, and air is no exception.

The Qi Induction and Micro-Movement Art you Cultivate is meant to teach you how to perceive and manipulate the power of the air.

Right now, you're only using the thermal energy in the air to enhance your punch's force; you haven't learned true manipulation techniques yet."

Zhao Yan felt an itch in his heart to know more, but now was not the time to ask.

He grew increasingly frustrated as the fight went on; he clearly felt his power surging, yet he couldn't even touch the corner of Xu Ruyu's clothes!

Finally, with a roar, he brought his fists together, concentrated all his strength, and unleashed his strongest strike!

"Blazing Collapse of the Mountain!"

A massive fist of flame, like a volcanic eruption, blasted toward Xu Ruyu!

The power of this punch was enough to level a small hill!

Everywhere the flaming fist passed, a deep trench was plowed into the ground!

Xu Ruyu's eyes narrowed, and he finally stopped dodging.

He formed a hand seal, and a visible, high-speed rotating vortex suddenly manifested before him!

That vortex was condensed from air, spinning frantically and emitting a sharp, whistling howl!

At the center of the vortex was a pitch-black void, as if it could devour everything!

The moment the flaming fist struck the vortex—

"BOOM!!!"

Amidst an earth-shattering explosion, the flaming fist was forcibly torn apart, shredded, and scattered into countless tiny sparks by the vortex, splashing in all directions!

And those splashing sparks were flung away by the centrifugal force at the edge of the vortex, unable to harm Xu Ruyu in the slightest!

When the aftershocks of the explosion dissipated, Xu Ruyu remained standing in his original spot, motionless.

The air vortex in front of him also slowly faded away.

Zhao Yan was drenched in sweat, gasping for breath as he looked at Xu Ruyu, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"I... I lost."

He gave a bitter smile and plopped down on the ground.

He had reached a Breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Stage and his strength had skyrocketed; he thought he could reclaim his dignity, but he was still easily crushed by Xu Ruyu.

The spectating Disciples were completely dumbfounded—a powerful Cultivator of the Nascent Soul Stage, striking with full force, actually couldn't defeat someone at the Qi Refinement Stage? How... how was this possible?

Before they could even snap out of it, a sharp sword light had already thrust toward Xu Ruyu!

It was Ning Caihe!

He had been waiting for an opportunity, waiting for that exact moment after Xu Ruyu's clash with Zhao Yan!

At this moment, Xu Ruyu had just blocked Zhao Yan's strongest strike; his old strength was spent, and his new strength had yet to rise!

This sword strike was so fast its trajectory was almost invisible!

The sword light was like a bolt of lightning, reaching Xu Ruyu in an instant! At the tip of the blade, an incomparably sharp Sword Intent was concentrated, as if it could pierce through anything!

The spectating Disciples didn't even have time to cry out in alarm; they could only watch helplessly as that sword thrust toward Xu Ruyu!

However—

"Clang!"

The sound of metal clashing rang out, crisp and loud!

Xu Ruyu's right index and middle fingers had actually caught the tip of Ning Caihe's sword!

Ning Caihe's pupils shrank violently!

This sword strike of his had integrated the kinetic energy acceleration characteristics of the Qi Induction and Micro-Movement Art, making the sword speed nearly twice as fast as before!

Even a Cultivator at the Mid-Nascent Soul Stage might not have been able to dodge it!

Much less catching it with two fingers!

Yet Xu Ruyu had done exactly that!

"Your sword has indeed become much faster," Xu Ruyu said with a smile. "But you overlooked one point—no matter how fast a sword is, it moves through the air.

As long as I can perceive the fluctuations in the air, I can predict your sword's path.

The moment you struck, I knew exactly where you were aiming."

He gave the blade a light flick with his finger!

"Clang!"

Ning Caihe's longsword flew out of his hand, flipped several times in the air, and stabbed into the ground thirty feet away, the blade still vibrating incessantly and emitting a humming sound.

Ning Caihe stared blankly at his hand, then at the sword that had been flicked away, speechless for a long time.

He had lost.

He had lost even more thoroughly than last time.

Last time he could at least complete a strike; this time, even his sword was flicked away.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but not a single word came out.

In the end, he simply walked silently to his sword, pulled it up, and sheathed it.

Then he gave Xu Ruyu a deep bow.

The angle of that bow was deeper than any he had ever given before.

Xu Ruyu nodded slightly in response.

Just then—

A bone-chilling cold surged in from all directions!

Leng Ningshuang had made her move!

She didn't attack directly like Zhao Yan and Ning Caihe; instead, she perfectly combined the Qi Induction and Micro-Movement Art with her own Mystic Ice Heavenly Maiden Art, drawing upon the moisture of the entire battlefield!

In the night sky, countless tiny ice crystals began to condense, becoming more numerous and dense until they finally formed an all-encompassing ice crystal storm!

Every shard of ice was as sharp as a blade, spinning and dancing in the freezing wind, closing in on Xu Ruyu from all sides!

This was a wide-range area attack! There was nowhere to hide, and nowhere to run!

"Senior Sister Leng's Ice-based cultivation technique is so powerful!"

"This is way more formidable than before!"

"Now the Sect Master is in trouble!"

The Disciples exclaimed one after another, retreating for fear of being caught in the ice crystals.

Yet Xu Ruyu still stood in his original spot, unmoving.

He simply closed his eyes and took a deep breath—

Then, he suddenly exhaled with a shout!

"Break!"

An invisible ripple spread out from his body in all directions!

Wherever that ripple passed, those sharp ice crystals shattered, melted, and dissipated as if they had slammed into an invisible wall!