Lord of the Desert

Chapter 524 Unparalleled in the World
“Hong Fan, you can’t imagine that I know your intentions better than your body does.”

Yi She grinned and drew his sword, his Bright Heart cleaving the opponent's left arm, shattering the crystallized armor plate.

The gap in close combat was too great to be bridged, so Hong Fan immediately changed tactics.

He stomped forward, sending out a barrage of rubble like cannon fire, and then quickly unleashed fiery orbs with both hands, filling half of the arena with smoke and dust.

However, the opponent reads the nerve impulses even before the move is made, so the opponent is completely unharmed.

"It's no use, my combat power has already exceeded the limit of my innate strength!"

Yi She moved in a Z-shape, leaving a second slash on Hong Fan's left arm.

Using "Boundless" beyond one's level is not without its costs.

After several shifts between stillness and movement, Yi She's breathing became increasingly labored, and the corners of his mouth were already bright red, indicating that he was under tremendous physical strain.

But the combat power gained from this switch is absolute.

Before the sand curtain could be pierced, Yi She leisurely approached and struck the same spot for the third time, completely breaking through the armor.

"The Sand World, the Blazing Fire Scripture, the Spirit of No Thought—they are nothing more than this."

Immersed in the illusion brought about by the Abyss, he felt that all martial arts skills in the world were laughable and all strategies were futile.

Hong Fan felt a sharp pain in his left arm and retreated with his hands behind his back.

Yi She did not pursue, but instead held the knife in both hands and formed a hand seal with his ten fingers.

"Lightning-induced rupture".

Without a sound or a sign, all that could be seen was the sudden twisting of the sand armor on Hong Fan's left arm, which had not yet been repaired, with blood seeping from beneath it.

The blood-red color was mixed with gold.

The Thunder-Induced Tear and Shatter technique, ranked as the first-grade technique, is a deadly move in the "Void Thunder Strike Scripture" used to evade surface defenses. Its principle is to repeatedly contact the target to make it carry positive and negative charges, and then construct an orthogonal strong electromagnetic field to tear it apart from the air.

Zhong Lianyun's face was gloomy.

She had been defeated by this tactic last time, and this time, after arriving in the capital, she made a special trip to write down her experiences in detail and submit them to the Hong family.

"The outcome is clear."

Chu Jiange loosened his grip on the sword hilt, which he had been holding for a long time.

"This defeat is not due to a lack of skill. With the power of destiny stars, martial arts, and dragon blood, even without Hong Fan using sand puppets, I am no match for him."

Rain in front of the building sighed deeply.

"To achieve such a level with the Five Elements of Innate Power is truly remarkable, but Yi She's divine weapon is even more superior..."

The ranking of the three lists has never taken weapons into account, so theoretically, Wuxiangling, Guangmingxin, and even the result of this battle cannot be used as the basis for the ranking of the prodigies. However, no matter how objective Jietianji's ranking is, it is still just a ranking. For the people of the world, actual combat is always more important than theory.

On the other side, everyone in Jinhai remained silent.

They may not be able to see the battle clearly, but at least they can see who is bleeding.

Why didn't Hong Beom use artillery fire?

Bai Jiaci was completely bewildered.

"And then there's the Vulcan technique, a top-grade killing technique that can even break through military formations. Yi She definitely can't withstand it!"

"It's not that we don't need to use it, it's that it's pointless."

Shi Yuanwei replied.

"The Quicksand Blade, the Desolate Sand Realm, the sniper rifle, and the cannon are all top-tier killing techniques, enough to be fatal to those with innate abilities. The problem is that they can't hit them. Yi She can now read Hong Fan's movements, which is equivalent to knowing even the aiming point. Combined with his speed, which is far beyond that of others at the same level, how can he possibly hit him?"

"Young Master Qu, does Yi She have no flaws?"

Bai Jiaci was still unconvinced and looked at Qu Luoyi.

"If it were me, I could only endure it, and if I could endure until I reached a desperate situation, then I would have a chance."

Qu Luoyi licked his itchy fangs, wishing he could personally join the fray.

However, the people of Liangzhou understood the subtext of these words—the practitioners of the "Asura Battle Scripture" become stronger the more they are injured, and reach the limit of their combat power in desperate situations—Qu Luoyi felt that he had no chance of winning under normal circumstances.

"Is it possible..."

Bai Jiaci gritted his teeth.

As the only top-ranked genius in Liangzhou in recent years, Little Dou Di is an invincible figure among his peers in Xijing.

“That’s right. I’m far from being a match for Yi She right now. Or even if we disregard the Bright Heart, my chances of winning against him are not high.”

The speaker didn't care at all.

The listener turned pale.

On the eighth peak, the scorching heat of hell boiled and swirled, but nothing was gained.

"I still have 30% of my true essence left."

Yi She had just dismantled the sand puppet once again, even more easily than before.

“Hong Fan, your energy expenditure is much greater than mine. Even as a Star Lord with the help of your upper dantian, you should be exhausted by now.”

His tone was cheerful, deriving pleasure from absolute suppression.

"Yes."

Hong Fan nodded calmly.

He did not condense any more sand golems, and even gave up on repairing the damage to the sand armor.

"Is this an admission of defeat?"

Yi She mocked, but the lightning in his heart was spurred to a greater intensity—merely striking to this extent was not enough for him to vent.

"The ability of Wujian was beyond my expectations."

Hong Fan's tone was full of admiration.

"After I obtained the dragon blood, I was so confident that my combat strength was balanced and perfect and that I no longer had any weaknesses. Therefore, whenever I encountered an opponent, I always wanted to win in their area of ​​expertise."

This statement was arrogant, but the leaders present, including Gu, Qu, Lou, and Chu, all nodded unconsciously.

True energy, speed, strength, defense, ranged and area-of-effect damage, etc...

Judging from any dimension, Hong Fan is first-rate, a true all-rounder with no weaknesses.

"The Void Thunder Scripture is known for its speed and destructive power, so I originally wanted to defeat you in close combat, but now I have to admit that I can't."

Hong Fan smiled wryly.

"Yi She, I have no other choice in this battle but to resort to any means necessary."

The words were carried away by the wind, but a few seconds later they spread throughout the Seven Peaks.

The tens of thousands of people listened in solemn silence and erupted in a clamor.

They all thought they had misheard.

Hong Fan's words clearly implied that he had been holding back all along.

"Are you having a fit of hysteria?" Yi She laughed angrily.

"You're not planning to use the Sand Wing, are you? The challenge stated beforehand that our battle will only take place in the arena!"

He felt inexplicably panicked, and the dried blood under his lips had spread to the tip of his chin.

"I remember."

Hong Fan said calmly, "The Seven-Step Cage is unleashed at full power, melting the ground within a ten-meter radius and preventing anyone from getting close."

In the intense heat, he fired bullets and mounted gun barrels.

Qu Luoyi pursed her lips when she saw this.

"You think you can hit me?!"

At this very moment, YiShe can still read the opponent's QRS wave group—orderly, calm, and as usual.

"This move is called Broadsword."

Hong Fan gave a cold and aloof introduction.

The bullet leaves the barrel with an initial velocity of 900 meters per second.

It was fast, but it didn't even catch Yi She, who had dodged in advance.

【That's it? 】

He watched as the warhead approached with a sonic boom, while the mindless spirit attached to the warhead also "watched" him.

The vertical distance is two meters, and the broadsword explodes at close range.

In the state of infinity, Yi She's dynamic vision is extremely strong, even able to see countless crystal clear and sharp fragments shooting out faster than a shock wave, slowly spreading into an umbrella-shaped striking surface.

A chilling aura of death brushed against my face.

His hair stood on end, and for the first time, he hated his own body's dullness.

In less than three milliseconds, more than thirty crystallized fragments traveling at several times the speed of sound hit the target; Yi She, who was moving at high speed, lost his balance and rolled to the ground.

First came disbelief, then unbearable shame and indignation.

Not just because of failure.

Furthermore, the presence of the broadsword meant that Hong Fan could have won at any time, but he chose to fight alongside him for the entire match.

Playing, teasing, or humiliating?

Still in front of her...

Yi She felt her brain churning like a slurry. She forced herself to stand up with the help of her knife, her ears filled with the screeching sound of bones rubbing against shrapnel inside her body.

Several streams of sand had climbed up his body along his legs, even seeping into his wounds.

"Yi She, you have lost."

Hong Fan removed his sand armor, his left arm hanging at his side, and white bone was visible through the laceration.

No, you're dreaming.

E-lux takes a step forward.

Hong Fan loosely clenched his right hand and unhesitatingly drove the sand and gravel to shave the wound, creating inhuman pain.

This move doesn't do much damage; it's only meant to force a surrender.

But Yi She was unmoved and, despite aggravating his injuries, forcibly unleashed his true essence, using rolling lightning to destroy the remote control of the sand world.

The heart of light fell to earth.

Yi She gritted his teeth and took one more step forward, finally collapsing in his own pool of blood.

"Hong Fan, where did you learn your killing techniques from?"

Until the scleral bleeding blurred his vision, until the endless waves of pain numbed his nerves, until he could no longer control even a single finger, he finally despaired.

"Did you see the reliefs on those seven mountain peaks?"

Hong Fan's gaze swept over the various martial saints.

Yi She trembled as she propped herself up on her elbows.

"Are you saying you can become a Martial Saint?"

He gritted his teeth and retorted sarcastically.

"That's not what I'm talking about."

Hong Fan gently shook his head.

"No matter how well you master the Void Thunder Scripture, you are merely following in the footsteps of your predecessors. Young Master Yi, you have the best resources and talent, why not look higher and think about what you can leave behind for this world?"

Upon hearing this, Yi She felt as if he had thrown a punch that missed its mark. He collapsed onto the blood-soaked white marble bricks, feeling ashamed for the first time in his life.

In the distance, the fervent shouts of hundreds of thousands of people had already erupted.

"Unparalleled in the world..."

"Unparalleled in the world!"

Hong Fan had never imagined such a scene.

Standing atop a perilous peak amidst the clouds, under the fervent gaze of tens of thousands, one hears the heavens and earth together calling out one's name.

Xi'an's friends were overjoyed.

Jin Haihong cried out in pain, tears streaming down his face.

Their faces were flushed and red.

But these sounds were clearly distant and empty.

[The top spot is merely the top of the third list.]

At this inappropriate moment, Hong Fan recalled Guan Qimai's words:
The competition among prodigies is nothing but a game, all about arena tactics; as for the rankings, they're just a gimmick to win over and manipulate talented individuals. If you care about that, then once your cultivation reaches the Six Harmonies of the Innate Realm, stop fighting. At that point, I'll just say a word to Shao Juezhi, and he'll put you at the top of the rankings…

"That's exactly right, that's all there is to it!"

Hong Fan smiled to himself, his robes fluttering in the wind, and bowed slightly to the crowd from afar.

The breeze from the rooftop is not as refreshing as the cool breeze from Taishan...

Under Yi She's bewildered gaze, the man showed no reluctance at reaching the summit and turned to begin his descent.

P.S.: I feel bad, so I write less; writing less makes me feel even worse.

A few days ago, I was so anxious that I could feel it in my body. The progress was stuck on the battle between Hong Fan and Yi She, and I couldn't make any progress. The inspiration that would have flowed naturally in the storyboard, action, moves, and sensory details had all left me, and I couldn't think of anything.

I've had anxiety disorder for eight years, and I'm still not an expert at dealing with it.

No matter what.

(End of this chapter)