Quadruple split.

Chapter 2725 The power of belief

As countless eerie blue fireflies emerged from all directions, a net of ghostly energy had quietly taken shape without anyone noticing. It consisted of a total of eighty-one chains formed from ghostly flames, which converged and tightened around Yune the moment they were successfully materialized, determined to bind him within.

Recalling the recent "Debate on Guilt," Gu Xiaole used this move to trap the Bagua sorcerer who had unleashed his trump card sword qi formation, preventing the latter from releasing a second move until his defeat.

At this moment, Gu Xiaole is even more unfathomable than before. The strength of this move, [Ghost Skill: Wabi-sabi: Death Binding Killing Formation], has naturally increased as well. After all, the previous mastermind was the Servants who were in a daze and out of their minds during the competition. But this time, with [Possession and Fusion], the Servants who were precisely threatened by the main body are more focused on providing power, and have reached a kind of power cooperation with Gu Xiaole that is similar to that of Anthony Dabs.

Moreover, due to possessing both [Sheng Hun Ji] and [Hei Chu · Zhan Shi Lue Jue], 'Great Onmyoji Gu Xiao Le' has now reached her peak individual strength. Although she is still somewhat inferior to 'Gu Xiao Le' who truly possesses the Epic rank outside the game, even so, she has few rivals in the half-Epic range.

It's no exaggeration to say that although the high-risk act of "possession and fusion" with a Samurai Spirit has serious side effects, which in extreme cases may be even worse than Mo Tan's "Reverse Scale: Full Release," to the point that the system doesn't include this part of the strength in the "Individual Combat Power Ranking" which differs from the actual situation, if we only consider this moment and this situation, Gu Xiaole has clearly become the number one person below those three epics in terms of individual combat power. Even the Awakening Dragon with the Four Saints and the Twin Leaves in the Infinite Circuit are slightly inferior to her.

But Yune is neither Awakening Dragon nor Twin Leaves, nor is he the gossip sorcerer who was almost instantly killed by Samurai Shodown back then. So even though Gu Xiaole is much stronger than during the "Debate on Inquiry," he still finds it difficult to gain the upper hand against this man who has almost honed himself into a sharp sword.

As an ordinary person with no talent, only ambition and will, Yune Yi knew very well that if he didn't even believe in himself, then he really couldn't do anything.

So although Yune was not an idealist, after the old man who was convinced that he could become a sword saint passed away, he always tried to believe in his own power and his sword.

Even when faced with dire circumstances, they still believe they can turn the tide.

Even when all hope seems lost, one should still believe that a brighter future awaits.

Somewhat naive, and somewhat foolish.

But there is no way.

It wasn't that Yoni didn't want to be a smart man, but if he wanted to achieve something on the path he had chosen, then he had to become a fool.

To maintain composure, elegance, and grace while simultaneously reducing enemy ships to ashes with a few words is the privilege of geniuses and monsters.

Yone Yi was neither a genius nor a monster.

From a certain perspective, at least compared to the two things mentioned above, he is just an ordinary person.

But if he himself admits that he is just an ordinary person, then there is no room for maneuver.

Jadeka Diesel can be self-deprecating;

Luke Tefero could also underestimate himself;

Even Xinglong and Shuangye can belittle themselves;

But Yune couldn't do that. Not only could he not, he also had to firmly believe that he was strong, that he could become even stronger, that the sword in his hand would surely respond to him, and that it sounded almost ridiculous—

【Sword Draws, Invincible】!
His eyes lost their luster in an instant, and his body was almost entirely controlled by the image of the invincible genius in his imagination. Like a puppet, the swordsman slowly took half a step and unleashed an invincible sword strike.

In the next instant, accompanied by countless ring-shaped sword streams that suddenly spread out and overlapped, a total of eighty-one Ghost Binding Ropes were repelled one by one in an instant, like a blooming flower. None of them could get close enough to Yune to 'one sword' away.

"It really is flawless."

Narrowing his deep blue eyes, Gu Xiaole licked his lips. His black and white hunting robes gradually faded, eventually turning into the same deep blue and scarlet colors as the girl's pupils and the shrine maiden's outfit. He murmured softly, "This familiar fighting style... who do you think you are right now? Your ideal self?"

"……do not know."

The taciturn swordsman shook his head, took another step forward, and unleashed his second, unparalleled sword strike.

A silent flash of light disappeared in an instant, and the chasm, which almost exceeded the limits of a level three arena, stretched from in front of Yune all the way to Gu Xiaole's feet, as if reminding her that time was running out.

It's clear that while Gu Xiaole's current strength is unparalleled among players, it's still insufficient to pose a threat to Yune, who has endured countless fierce battles. The long wait just now was the maximum leniency the latter had given to the girl wielding unpredictable power.

In other words, from now on, Youne will no longer give Gu Xiaole any more time.

"Did you position yourself as the stronger party from the very beginning?"

Gu Xiaole raised her eyebrows slightly, glanced down at the warning ditch at her feet, and chuckled, "Uncle, you really are arrogant."

Yune remained silent, but silently unleashed his third sword strike. Unlike the previous one, this strike was already locked in place before it was even thrown, thanks to the pressure of his sword that filled the entire arena. His only goal was to kill the enemy who stood in his way on the spot!

I've given you enough patience. If there's nothing more to say, let's not waste each other's time anymore.

This is the meaning of Yune's third sword, clear and self-evident.

Gu Xiaole clearly had no intention of disappointing her opponent. After all, she was willing to take the huge risk of possessing and merging with the spirit of the servant. If Yune could be bound by just the opening move, it would be too disappointing.

Thus, the overly lengthy trial abruptly ended.

At the same time, even without the unanimous warning from several artifact spirits, Mo Tan, realizing what was about to happen, immediately focused his mind and widened his eyes—

【Unique Barrier - Reverse God's Hundred Curses Water-Slaying Soul-Exterminating Array】

The next instant, without warning, Mo Tan suddenly realized that all he could see was darkness. At the same time, Ji Xiaoge and Ya Ya each grabbed his arms, while a crackling sound came from Jadka's direction, which sounded like a fireball being summoned for illumination.

Through subtle temperature changes, Mo Tan confirmed that Jadka had indeed successfully released the fireball, but in his eyes, all he could see was still darkness.

'Heh, it's obvious the arena's barrier isn't holding up.'

In his mind, the staff spirit's somewhat gloating laughter suddenly echoed, as it chuckled and exclaimed, "Although that girl hasn't broken through yet, after merging with that ominous ghost, judging solely from her power level, she has already exceeded the arena's capacity."

"The same goes for the other side." After the demon wielding the wild katana disappeared, Kenpo immediately reverted to his previous indifferent and detached demeanor and added a brief and concise sentence.

'Don't overthink it, the managers here aren't stupid.'

The keen sword spirit immediately noticed the change in Mo Tan's emotions and promptly reminded him, "You don't actually think that high-level observer with wings on his back and extraordinary abilities hasn't noticed yet, do you?"

【…】

Mo Tan didn't say anything, but simply nodded silently.

'Now's a great opportunity, Brother Mo, why don't you try to see through this... Ah, too late.'

Just as Sha Po was halfway through his sentence and the arena audience began to stir, Mo Tan felt a blur before his eyes and then saw Ji Xiaoge and Ya Ya hanging on his left and right sides, and Jadka standing with his hands behind his back, a fireball floating in front of him.

As for the arena below the stands, a semi-circular black barrier occupying at least 80% of its space has been added, blocking the view of most people.

'Oh no, I can't take it anymore.'

Sha Po sighed and said with regret, "Just now, when you were in that enigmatic barrier, you could barely try to sense it, but now that there are two barriers in between, there's no way."

Is there no other way? You can't see inside either?

Mo Tan paused for a moment, and asked himself in surprise.

Haha, I'm hardly a qualified reference.

Although he didn't directly answer Mo Tan's question, Sha Po's tactful and considerate words still indirectly proved that the so-called 'mystery barrier' in front of him was not enough to obscure his vision.

'Kid, let me give you a piece of advice...'

Ji Po let out a short nasal sound and said coldly, "Don't try to compete with us. Even if you can't remember who you were before, our experience and knowledge are far superior to yours, so you'd better not be delusional or overestimate yourself."

"What Ji Po means is that you still have a lot of room to grow. There's no need to belittle yourself, and don't discourage yourself because you think you're less insightful or have a higher level of understanding than us. As long as you hone your skills step by step, one day you'll be able to do what we can do."

Fanpo said this lightly, which earned him a series of furious curses from Jipo.

Thank you everyone.

Mo Tan replied seriously, and then... began to stare blankly at the dark space.

There was nothing he could do but stand there in a daze. After all, as Sha Po had said, even if he could barely sense it just now, the inherent barrier that had been compressed and fixed within a specific range was beyond his ability to perceive.

Of course, Mo Tan's 'dazedness' was not the kind of 'dazedness' in the conventional sense, because after a brief period of confusion, the artifact spirits in his mind, who had been working for him for the past few days and knew just how powerful they were, began to break down the seemingly mild but actually deadly 'exchange of blows' for him.

Sword Soul is mainly responsible for dismantling Yune's sword techniques, Staff Soul is mainly responsible for blindly imagining Gu Xiaole's methods, Fan Soul occasionally adds a few words to Staff Soul based on experience, Kill Soul is grinning foolishly, Halberd Soul is angry, Knife Soul and Spear Soul are talking about Yune's magnanimity and temperament, Axe Soul is muttering something, probably studying the furnace in [Akatsuki].

In addition, Ji Xiaoge and Ya Ya were having a heated discussion about whether the darkness just now was due to Sister Xiao Le's divine power...

Even Mo Tan couldn't help but stagger, almost losing his composure and fainting in this extremely noisy environment.

In contrast to Mo Tan, Yune was the first to be incorporated into Gu Xiaole's inherent barrier.

Unlike Mo Tan, who nearly fainted from receiving too much information, he lost all his senses.

Or to put it more precisely—the moment Gu Xiaole's inherent barrier unfolded, he was stripped of all his senses.

Thus, Yone lost his sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.

This is a situation that most people can hardly even imagine, and once fully immersed in it, they will feel extreme fear. In fact, it can indeed be described as a desperate situation.

Without special training, it is almost impossible for someone to remain calm in such a situation. The dominant theme is that they would collapse from despair in a short period of time and then turn to self-destruction.

In fact, completely depriving a person of their five senses, while not extremely difficult, is definitely harder than killing them outright. In other words, in most cases, almost no one would do this in combat, because unless one hates the other person intensely, it is much easier to kill or defeat them directly.

As for Mo Tan, more than half a year ago, he had the opportunity to experience the exhilarating sensation of having his five senses stripped away. That was when Yi Dong had just comprehended the secret technique of the medium, "Double Ghosts Knocking on the Door".

When her consciousness was locked into that 'gate of hell,' Mo Tan successively lost her hearing, taste, touch, sight, and smell on that road.

Although the skill didn't cause Mo Tan much trouble in the end, that was only because the person in question was Mo Tan and happened to be in a state of 'chaotic neutrality'. Even so, Mo Tan later admitted that if the path hadn't gradually stripped away the five senses, but instead caused him to lose all five senses from the start, he would have had a very high probability of losing the match.

The consequences of falling into such a desperate situation without any preparation are unimaginable and don't even need to be described.

This is naturally thanks to Gu Xiaole's inherent barrier—the [Rebellious God's Hundred Curses Water-Slaying Soul-Exterminating Array].

Although I wasn't mature enough when facing the morning glory before, and could only generate all sorts of illusions to disturb people's minds in this special ghostly realm, there was still a glaring 'fake' character in front of this inherent barrier at that time.

However, now that Gu Xiaole has completely subdued Samurai Spirits, he has finally fully unleashed the inherent barrier originating from his own destiny. This opening act, powerful enough to drive anyone mad, will inflict the following damage on Yune:

zero.

【Sword Draws, Invincible】

Without any hesitation, Yune Yi, who had lost his five senses, raised his longsword and gently swung it down.

Chapter 2716: The End