CHAPTER 143: COMPLETELY OVERWHELMED

Chapter 143: Completely Overwhelmed

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The very thought of it was absurd, and even she couldn’t help but wonder if she was mistaken. But then, thinking back on the fact that in the past two months he had made enormous progress, both in cultivation and, apparently, even in the mastery of his elements, she realized:

If he had given her a cultivation technique of such high level that helped her manage her two problematic elements, then why couldn’t he have a technique just as powerful, if not more so, in his own hands to train his elements?

At this point, she was certain that he must also have a technique of the same rank as the one he had given her, perhaps even stronger.

Hard to believe, yet so many other things associated with him, though seemingly impossible, had indeed been true.

So why shouldn’t this be?

The crowd continued discussing Zhu Rong’s decision to cultivate more than one element, but none of this seemed to matter to him.

He looked toward Li Duoji and gave a challenging smile as he said,

"Reaching the Golden Core stage at your age is truly admirable, and even your spear techniques aren’t bad at all. But that doesn’t matter. If you have nothing else to show, then as far as I’m concerned, you can step down from the arena," said Zhu Rong, standing there with the swirling fire spear in his hand, held by him without feeling any pain or burn.

Hearing his words, a hint of anger appeared in Li Duoji’s eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a scornful laugh as he said,

"To think you were so foolish... you sure like to talk big,

but they’re just empty words to me" he said, immediately dashing toward the other side at an even higher speed.

The sprint was so powerful that the ground beneath him cracked as he launched himself toward his opponent.

In less than a second, he appeared right in front of Zhu Rong and, without hesitation, thrust the spear straight toward his chest.

Seeing this, many widened their eyes, some because they had completely lost sight of Li Duoji, others because they had managed to locate him only to only to see him about to strike.

The sight made the referee frown, ready to intervene, but just as he was about to step forward, he saw Zhu Rong’s actions and froze in place, watching him react without worrying about stepping in.

And indeed, he was not alone.

Li Duoji’s attack, charged with the force of a fourth stage cultivatore, was difficult to follow, and likely even harder to withstand.

The students were certain that a single strike of that attack would be enough to end them instantly.

Even some instructors had to admit they weren’t sure they could fully withstand an attack of that kind without suffering serious injuries.

But all of them widened their eyes as they saw Zhu Rong move, not to dodge the attack with his usual high speed, as before, but to counterattack.

With a fluid motion, Zhu Rong twisted his body, and just as the other side was about to strike him, he tilted the spear, its tip aimed straight at Li Duoji’s face.

Normally, such a move would have been risky to execute.

Many would have preferred to take a small injury while retreating instead of counterattacking the opponent in that position. But Zhu Rong didn’t hesitate.

And for some reason, seeing the fluidity of his seemingly simple but precise movements, everyone couldn’t help but remain in awe as they watched the tip of his fire spear reach Li Duoji’s face in an instant, before Li Duoji’s spear tip could reach him.

’S*ht’

Li Duoji suddenly felt a strong sense of danger and, without hesitation, leapt to the side, not caring about striking his opponent.

Just as he had initially closed in on Zhu Rong at high speed, he now retreated, but unfortunately for him, Zhu Rong had other plans.

"Hey, where do you think you’re going?" The moment he was ten meters away from the other side, that voice echoed behind him. And as soon as he heard it, the sense of danger surged again.

Without hesitation, he turned, and with extremely skilled and fast movements, raised his spear, stopping the attack aimed at his shoulder.

Ding!

Even though one of the weapons was made of condensed Qi, the impact produced a sharp metallic sound.

But he had no time to think about that, because his opponent wasn’t done yet.

Zhu Rong, as if unconcerned about the other side, kept attacking, one strike, then another, and another.

In less than two seconds, he had launched multiple attacks at the other side, who tried to block them all but was overwhelmed so violently that he was forced several steps back.

He tried to find an opening to retreat and counterattack, but had no chance.

Just as he was growing frustrated and preparing to counterattack, a heavy strike hit his weapon, the vibration so strong it stiffened his arms for a moment

"Sht-"

He was about to curse when, at that very moment, a sharp pain shot through his right shoulder, and before he could even register it, the force of the attack slammed him backward.

The arena was vast, large enough to fight across its entire area without ever approaching the edge. Yet with that single strike, Li Duoji was instantly flung at high speed toward the edge of the arena.

Though shaken by the powerful attack, he endured the pain and planted his feet firmly on the ground, leaving a trail of destroyed arena surface stretching several meters before stopping, just a meter from the edge.

As soon as he stopped, his legs gave out, and he fell to his knees, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

Seeing this scene, silence fell over the arena as everyone, with stunned expressions, watched as Li Duoji was completely overwhelmed by his opponent, now on his knees, spitting blood.

Not long ago, they had said that even though Zhu Rong was strong, he would have lost, but in less than a minute, they were witnessing something completely opposite unfold right before their eyes.