Chapter 84: Devouring World
Xu Min was excited. Although he already possessed a lot of attacks, this one was especially amazing. If it were coupled with the devouring ability of his sword, then he would be capable of absorbing much more than just the energy of another person. Even their life force and their soul would become easy prey to Xu Min.
Xu Min sat down and started thinking about this new attack, Devouring World. What it did was to make the Qi of one's body spin so fast that it would create a whirlwind. This whirlwind was so strong that experts at the same level as Xu Min would be incapable of resisting it. Even if they tried, they would slowly be drawn towards the person in the middle, the person who had started it.
This whirlwind would not only draw in humans, but it would also draw in all the energy of the heavens and the earth around him, making it rush to his body and get absorbed at a rapid speed. This was the true meaning of the words Devouring World.
The attack was made to control opponents, making them unable to control their own bodies and at the same time making them incapable of casting attacks while the person who launched the attack could restore their own energy. For Xu Min, the purpose of the attack was different. He needed to be able to make the opponents come towards him so that he could attack them. Forcing internal experts to come to his side was the same as instantly defeating them. An internal expert needed the distance to cast their attacks while remaining safe.
Xu Min was in no rush for the next trial to begin. Instead, he started practicing the attack Devouring World. It was not difficult for him to perfect since the attack was very similar to the devouring sword in his hand.
Quickly, a week had gone by. Although Xu Min's overall strength had not increased, his combat ability was far more frightening than it had been before.
Standing up and stretching his body, Xu Min had a small smile on his lips as he said with a distinct, clear voice, "Start the next trial!"
The moment he uttered his decision, a blurry figure appeared in front of him. This blurry figure soon took the shape of a beautiful woman with transparent wings on her back. She was a peerless beauty with an alluring body. Her body was only hidden behind a small dress which was tightly wrapping around her waist and butt, making even the usually casual Xu Min look on with astonishment.
"What are you looking at, you filthy human?" A haughty voice exclaimed. The beautiful woman in front of him turned out to be incredibly arrogant and not very friendly at all.
"It's not my fault you are wearing clothes like that," Xu Min said, frowning, "even if I don't want to look, how can I avoid it?"
"You little!" The fairy called out in anger. Her hands instantly created wind blades made from her understanding of the nature elements alongside her internal Qi. The wind blades were incredibly swift and sharp, and if they touched him, Xu Min would be cut in half. However, he was casually looking at the advancing blades before he avoided them with the least movements necessary.
"You dare avoid my attack?!" the fairy was angry. She stomped the ground hard. Her petite and beautiful face was flushed red from anger; her hands kept summoning one wind blade after another as she moved forward towards Xu Min.
"No one in thousands of years has avoided my attack. Nonetheless, you will die by my hand!" the fairy kept yelling. Even so, the only attack she used was the wind blades. Though they were dangerous, as long as Xu Min could avoid them, he was in no danger.
"Grandma, tell me, are the Wind Blades all you know how to do?" he asked with another frown on his face. He felt that by attacking this beautiful woman, he was taking advantage of her if she truly knew no other attacks. On the other hand, though, he had no intention of allowing the woman to defeat him as that meant death.
"Who is your grandma?!" The woman said, feeling insulted. However, it was already impossible for her to become angrier than she already was, thus Xu Min did not mind riling her up.
"I will start attacking," Xu Min warned. Moments after, he unleashed his newly perfected ability the Devouring World, making it impossible for the fairy to stand still and throw her wind blades at Xu Min; instead, she was constantly propelled towards the younger man who was waiting for her, sword in hand.
"Don't hate me for this," Xu Min said with a wry smile on his face. His sword slashed downwards, but just as he was about to cut the woman, she too managed to avoid the slash.
"Don't be too excited yet, brat," the fairy laughed as she used all of her power to retreat while under the effect of Devouring World. It was impossible for her to cast her abilities as she could not stand still, but she could use it to avoid the attacks Xu Min threw at her by using her internal energy.
"I fail to believe a kid like you who has to hold up both this suction force while fighting me will be able to sustain it for long!" She said. Looking at this beautiful fairy, it was clear that she was no longer filled with anger but instead excitement.
"Brat, I have not fought seriously for thousands of years! Who knows why only weak lions have entered here. However, now that you are here, it is about time for me to be entertained!" the fairy said. Suddenly, her wings flapped on her back, and she ascended into the air.
The suction force was not much weaker in the air than it was on the ground, but the wings on the back of this fairy were incredibly strong. She finally managed to steady herself, generating more wind blades to shoot at Xu Min.
Seeing that his Devouring World had absolutely no effect, Xu Min did not keep it up. Instead, he smiled as he retreated to the corner of the platform. With a flicker of his hand, a bow appeared in his palm.
This bow was the one he had used before, but there was a great change in how he used the bow now compared to how he did it before. Although he was somewhat proficient at using it previously, he had been unable to proficiently draw out the bow’s fullest potential. Nonetheless, he had taken a few days this time to familiarize himself with the bow, evidently becoming much better at using it.
Condensing his Qi into a Qi arrow, he notched it onto the bowstring before shooting it at the fairy, who looked at him with shock in her eyes.
"You, you, you, you..." she stuttered, "You are a human! How can you use an elf's Spirit Bow?!" She was outraged. This was an ability only elves could do similar to the fairies’ ability to combine the natural elements with internal energy. To see a human who was suddenly using this ability, how could she not be shocked?
"It's nothing," Xu Min said with a small laughter, "I was just lucky enough to encounter an elf who taught it to me."
"No elf can teach it to a human!" The fairy continued. She landed on the ground and once more stomped her feet in anger. "I cannot fight elves because they were the ones who came to our rescue in the great war against humanity and demons. Tell me, you little brat, are you an elf or a human? Are you perhaps a mixture of the two?"
Looking at this fairy, Xu Min was surprised. He had not expected that this haughty and beautiful woman would say such a thing. He understood that if he lied now and said that he was an elf, she would forfeit the match. This thought only crossed his mind for a moment before he shook his head, "I really am a human," he said honestly. "I am a human who happens to have had some good luck. Please don't look at me as the race of your saviors but as one of the creatures that caused you trouble. I wish to fight grandma at her best."
This time, the fairy was not insulted about hearing the word grandma. Instead, she laughed. "Silly human, you were honest when you could have passed the trial. Fine, I will show you the might of a fairy! Be ready to experience the pain of nature!"
As she spoke, a wind started appearing behind her, making her beautiful long hair flutter. The wind kept picking up in strength before it became more and more threatening. "You asked me if I can only do Wind Blades," the fairy suddenly commented, "and the truth is that I can do more than wind blades. I have only one other attack, and this attack will require all of my energy."
"If you can survive this attack, then you will be able to win this trial. If you win this trial, you will become much stronger. My soul looks forward to seeing whether or not you are the one who will let me enter the cycle of reincarnation or if you will become my new younger brother here in the Blood Pagoda!"
Xu Min understood now that it was serious. With vigilance, he looked at the strong wind which was right in front of him. Soon, the wind took the shape of a large and astonishing wind blade. Xu Min could not help but smirk; the grandma fairy had said that she only knew two attacks, but was this not also a wind blade? Just an oversized one at that.
Seeing Xu Min's expression, the fairy's face turned slightly sour. She did not focus on Xu Min any longer; instead, her entire being focused on the massive wind blade.
This blade was as wide as the entire platform. It was clear that the moment it was unleashed, the attack would sweep down and wound anyone in its path.
"I put all my faith in my sword," Xu Min mumbled to himself as he held his sword in both hands. His legs slightly spread apart, and his eyes serious. This was a question about whether or not he would survive. Even though he placed all his hopes on his sword, he could not help but feel that it was risky. Still, he had no other option. As the wind blade was released, he raised the sword, took a deep breath, and got ready to absorb the elemental Qi released by the fairy.
The sword started humming. The Qi released through the air was absorbed cleanly. Suddenly, the sword and the wind blade collided and a massive boom sounded out, the entire room trembling. Xu Min felt blood rising in his throat, but he forced it down again before he grit his teeth and put all of his weight behind the sword, facing the onslaught of energy barreling against him. He felt as though his entire body was being pounded. At the same time, he also felt the strength of the energy entering his body through the sword. It was clearly a different kind of energy than the one he was used to absorbing. Even so, his body did not resist it as it swallowed it all whole.