This granted Xing Chen the opportunity to regulate his breath as well! It was time to unleash the final trump card! Moon Shadow Arc Level Four! Activate! The relentless assault left Nia breathless and his energy in disarray! Just as he was about to retreat, how could Nicco, having finally earned a chance to counterattack, allow it? His body, which had been forced back slightly, suddenly flickered, and he surged forward! The Azure Sky Cleaver was raised high above his head for a top-level downward chop, slashing down with ferocious power! This poised move perfectly utilized the momentum generated by the accelerating charge, and the two-handed sword grip fully exploited the coordination of the waist and hips! The combination of these factors instantly amplified the power of this single strike! At this moment, Nia's energy was disordered, and his center of gravity could not be immediately adjusted; he was utterly unable to withstand the descending, furious slash! He could only retreat desperately! But even so, it was a step too late! The azure sword edge instantly bore down upon his head! Another fraction of an inch, and Nia would have been sliced in two on the spot! Nia felt a chill permeate his entire body.
Although he had never feared death, the moment of its arrival sent his spirit trembling and a wave of coldness through him! "Stop." But precisely at that moment, a booming shout echoed! A streak of purple lightning flashed into existence from thin air! It was Xing Chen, arriving just in time for the critical juncture! Xing Chen, at full speed, was impossible to clearly discern; the only thing one could capture was that peculiar flash of purple light! That was the residual phantom image left clinging to the air! Simultaneous with the appearance of the afterimage, a crimson sword sliced diagonally across, thrusting towards Nicco’s vital left flank!! This elusive, phantom-like sword struck precisely at the only weakness exposed during Nicco’s furious assault! With no choice, Nicco had to withdraw his sword to defend! The Azure Sky Cleaver, which had been chopping down, smoothly transitioned into a horizontal sweep halfway through the motion! It was a defense mounted in the blink of an eye, turning offense to defense! "Clang..." Sparks flew, and afterimages scattered! They dissolved into fluttering snowflakes, rising to blanket the somber, enclosed space in an illusory haze.
The purple afterimage shot into the high altitude the instant it jarred loose! It seemed entirely weightless! Yet, the hands gripping Nicco’s sword felt a violent, aching tremor! What incredible speed! Nicco’s usually placid expression changed drastically! In terms of sheer speed, few in the world could outpace the Phoenix Knight! Yet, that one strike almost cost Nicco his life by the sword! Xing Chen’s cover finally allowed Nia to fully withdraw.
That terrifying speed, in no way inferior to the Phoenix Knight’s, invigorated Nia’s spirit, for only such velocity offered their side any hope of victory.
No one was foolish enough to clash head-on with the Phoenix Knight in terms of raw power! And Xing Chen's bizarre mid-air leap—both Nia and Nicco understood clearly—meant that the uncanny sword technique was sure to follow! The fight against Jin Niu, the duel video—it was no longer a secret at Wolong Manor! Although Xing Chen ultimately lost to Jin Niu, it remained the most incredible cross-level challenge ever witnessed at Wolong Manor! Without a hero’s aid, and equipped with nothing more than the absolute worst knock-off gear, Xing Chen had still nearly defeated both Wei Peng, a Gold Warrior, and Old Niu.
This demonstrated the astonishing power of that sword style.
A single move shattered Nicco’s offensive completely! And that terrifying aura enveloped him, pinning him down! Helpless, Nicco had to abandon his pursuit of Nia! Nia instantly felt the pressure ease, his body lightened, and his spirit soared! He then threw back his head and roared to the sky! Blazing Flames Ignite! Activate! His battle aura flooded his arms and flowed into his sword before being swung out.
His intense fighting will instantly surged to its absolute peak state.
In an instant, the weather shifted, sword qi surged, sweeping like a violent gale and torrential rain.
Xing Chen, suspended in mid-air, was ethereal, like the phantom of the moon, leaving no trace! Nia, rooted on the ground, was like a raging wind, vast as the ocean, his imposing momentum swelling, making him appear even more fierce and tyrannical.
Two distinctly different auras merged perfectly at this moment, coalescing into a terrifying killing intent that engulfed the heavens and earth, seizing the heart! If the fierce battle preceding this was merely a warm-up, then from this moment on, it was a true fight to the death! "Wildfire Rages!" Nia, whose momentum was pushed to its zenith, suddenly roared, and the Golden Sky Cleaver cleaved down like thunder! The golden crescent stirred up debris from the ground; fragments smashed toward Nicco like a violent storm! Xing Chen in the air intensified his radiance! Countless minute shards of light scattered and surged! Like an exploding sun, he paved the entire sky with a bizarre and splendid world of light! What followed was the world-destroying, terrifying killing intent, surging down wildly! The entire horizon seemed to be twisted into a hellish domain by the terrifying killing aura! At this moment, Nine Heavens Starfall—Xing Chen’s ultimate trump card—was finally unleashed! The intensity of his battle aura instantaneously ascended to eighty thousand! Starfall Nine Heavens Battle Aura: Eighty Thousand Wildfire Rages Battle Aura: Sixty Thousand The two masters had unleashed their ultimate offensive techniques at the exact same moment! From the sky and the ground, two astonishing streams of sword qi simultaneously lunged toward Nicco! Nicco was not surprised by this.
His original plan was to utilize his innate advantages in speed and strength to defeat them in the shortest possible time before they could boost their battle auras, but now, that favorable calculation had fallen through! The ensuing battle would inevitably become a fierce contest of pure strength based on Xing Chen's escalating aura.
Nevertheless, Nicco remained fully confident that victory would ultimately be his.
However, the combined strength of these two was formidable, forcing Nicco to proceed with caution! Blazing Flames Ignite, Activate! Battle Aura intensity rises to two hundred thousand! Scorching, domineering sword qi poured from the blade into the void, carving out two massive serpentine dragons that surged toward the heavens and the two beams of light rapidly approaching from the front! "Boom, boom..." Wildfire Rages and Starfall Nine Heavens, attacking Nicco’s sword qi from the sky and the ground respectively, were smashed to pieces by the two long dragon-like sword qi streams Nicco swept out simultaneously! Yet, at the very instant the sword qi fragmented, Nia and Xing Chen both pressed in! If the situation had devolved into a collision of sword qi, it would have been extremely disadvantageous for the pair! After all, in terms of sheer power, Nicco absolutely held an unshakeable advantage! Therefore, the only path to victory was close-quarters combat! Denying Nicco any chance to power up his aura! Within the curtain of light filling the sky, two afterimages suddenly lunged forward! After activating Blazing Flames Ignite, the power of Nia’s Sky Cleaver surged dramatically, becoming ferocious to the extreme.
Coupled with his reckless, chaotic onslaught, every strike was overwhelming, possessing the force to shatter stone tablets, and their speed was certainly not slow.
Yet, even so, under Nicco’s hands, he was only able to withstand six moves before being knocked back spitting blood! The gap in strength was too vast, and Nicco had also activated Blazing Flames Ignite, making it difficult for Nia to even find a chance to fight desperately! However, just as Nia was repelled! Several streams of rainbow light descended from mid-air, instantly enveloping Nicco’s surroundings, denying him the chance to capitalize and press the attack on Nia! This time, after Starfall Nine Heavens was broken, Xing Chen did not spring back into the high sky! Instead, he unfurled the Phoenix Wings and hovered in the air, circling and maneuvering.
After the initial activation of Starfall Nine Heavens, Xing Chen's battle aura energy stabilized at an intensity of eighty thousand points! This eighty-thousand-point battle aura energy was poured entirely into the nine Dragon Phantoms! This made his attacks even more bizarre and elusive, their speed becoming unbelievably fast! Each of the nine Dragon Phantoms was like a master swordsman! And their attacks had only two characteristics! One: Speed! Every impact, every flicker was almost untraceable, without discernible form, and without pattern! Two: Ferocity! The Dragon Phantoms' attacks were continuous, never considering defense with any strike, and each one charged forward with full force, aiming directly for Nicco’s vital points! It was the attitude of a desperate man who fears nothing! Facing the Dragon Phantoms’ completely illogical style of fighting, Nicco grew both anxious and angry, yet he was utterly helpless! Although Nicco’s strength far exceeded Xing Chen’s by more than twofold, and his speed was not significantly slower! He had absolutely no recourse against these nine indestructible, uncrushable little dragons! These nine little things were like nine reckless swordsmen, charging about like madmen, forcing him into a frantic defense! The Nine Dragons unleashed truly moved with the swiftness of a hurricane and the might of rushing thunder! This was the Dragon Phantom Whirlwind that Xing Chen had comprehended on the Snow Region Continent! In an instant, a tempest of wind howled around Nicco, and flashing streams of light erupted like countless arcs of lightning coiling around him, trapping him and preventing him from advancing or retreating! He was completely constrained! It was somewhat unexpected that the two sides, whose strengths were so vastly disparate, were now locked in an even stalemate!