Chapter 316 - The Final Battle
At the sight of the fire crackling within Tang Wulin’s eyes, Gu Yue stopped right in her tracks. That confidence made her not want to interfere in his battle against Xu Yucheng.
Taking on the four-ringed Xu Yucheng in a one-on-one match was exactly what Tang Wulin wanted to do.
There was no doubt that out of the entire first grade, Xu Yucheng was second to only Wu Siduo. His tactical prowess might not match Luo Guixing’s, but his individual strength was far higher.
Wu Zhangkong had always drilled into them that only by facing truly powerful opponents would they grow to their full potential.
To Tang Wulin, Xu Yucheng was a towering challenge, but one he desperately yearned for.
Gu Yue turned around, her eyes drifting to the seated Wu Siduo. She sat down and closed her eyes. She wanted the both of them to duel in their best conditions.
The instant Tang Wulin and Gu Yue resolved themselves, the scent of the battlefield changed. The two had chosen their opponents for the final battle. Defeat was of no consequence to them, so long as they could grow from combat.
A faint golden aura spread around Xie Xie, and in a flash, a figure of the same bright color shot out of his body, dashing toward one of the gray opponents. Clearly, he would be fighting both of them by himself.
Further off, Xu Xiaoyan brandished her staff high in the air, her mouth moving as she mumbled some chants. Yet she did not unleash a soul skill. Instead, she closed her eyes, the reasons for her actions anyone’s guess.
The gray youth on the left became more tangible as he summoned his martial soul, a pair of dark-silver sais. Their sharp points were excellent for stabbing and the prongs enabled them to catch any weapon.
He crossed his sais together. The meeting of metal resulted in a burst of energy, which combined into a gray halo launching toward Xie Xie.
He isn’t an agility-type, but a control-type! Xie Xie instantly realized.
The two were about to clash. Inches before collision, Xie Xie’s figure flickered like a ghost, and he appeared outside of the halo’s range. At the same time, he unleashed a Light Dragon Blade that reached his opponent's neck in the blink of an eye!
He had used the secret art of the Tang Sect, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to evade!
On the other front of battle, Xie Xie’s clones were similarly flickering all over the battlefield with Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. There was nothing their opponent could do to stop their approach in face of such an attack.
Xie Xie had engraved Elder Cai’s criticisms into his heart after the entrance exam. Using both of his third soul skills, he could produce six clones for six targets. However, he couldn’t perfectly control all of them, his cultivation and spiritual power too lacking to do so.
Her criticisms had forced him to wonder whether six clones of that caliber were anything special.
After pondering this question, he experimented with his skills and discovered that his current limit was fully controlling two clones. Especially if he chose to have both clones use Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. By limiting himself to two clones, he could freely use the secret art by splitting his mind into two parts, which also benefited his spiritual power growth.
This was his first attempt at putting his theories into practice. Xie Xie had summoned two clones,splitting his mind in two. He had ignored every other soul skill in his arsenal, choosing to focus on Light Dragon Blade instead, in order to bring out the true potential of Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. Aiming for the best possible result was not on his list. Rather, avoiding mistakes was. He would use these two powerful opponents to temper himself.
The pair of quick gray youths turned out to be control-type soul masters. They had assumed that delaying an agility-type soul master who used clones would be easy. But reality wasn’t as forgiving. Not only did their opponent’s speed surpassed their expectations, he also possessed a bizarre footwork that was impossible to trace. It wasn’t long until they were backed into a corner.
Xu Yucheng stood his ground, watching Tang Wulin approach him. His pale face revealed nothing, no emotions of any sort. A deathly cold aura lingered around him as ripples of black air clung to his scythe.
Bluesilver grass gathered and danced in a frenzied swarm around Tang Wulin with each step he took. Tensed around his arm, Goldlight fixed its dazzling golden eyes on Xu Yucheng.
After countless mutations, Goldlight looked nothing like it did originally. Its entire body was covered in glistening golden scales, a spark of intelligence dancing in its eyes.
A mere ten meters from Xu Yucheng, Tang Wulin burst into action. Bluesilver grass pounced like snakes upon Xu Yucheng, striking from all directions. Strength swelled in Tang Wulin’s legs as he accelerated, dashing toward his target.
Narrowing his eyes, Xu Yucheng slashed with his scythe, sending a black wave at the incoming swarm of grass.
As if alive, the grass zigzagged in the air, swooping toward the ground beneath the black wave.
The wave soon reached Tang Wulin. Listening closely, a hum could be heard in the air.
Tang Wulin didn’t try to dodge. Instead, golden light flashed as he his right hand turned into a claw and he thrust it at the wave, tearing it to shreds. He leaped at Xu Yucheng.
The bluesilver grass broke into a frenzy, shooting out to shackle Xu Yucheng, courtesy of Tang Wulin’s Bind ability.
Xu Yucheng finally made his move. He shot up like a bolt of lightning, his scythe painting a shadow in the sky as darkness trailed from his body.
The grass reaching for the heavens were cut down one after another. Then, the darkness receded and shot toward Tang Wulin.
He was pressured from all sides. Tang Wulin was fully aware of his fate should he receive a direct attack from the powerful Demon Scythe. However, retreat was not an option. After observing Xu Yucheng’s previous battle, he understood that his adversary’s battle style centered on suppressing his opponents with brute force and cutting off all routes of escape.
So, Tang Wulin could not retreat. His only choice was to advance. With a grunt, his two purple soul rings dimmed for the appearance of a golden one.
A dragon’s roar pierced the forest, resplendent golden light flooding out of his body. His claw and scales bled a brilliant gold, even seeming to empower Goldlight.
Tang Wulin used Golden Dragon Body!
He swung both his arms out, the full power of his blood essence erupting. In that instant, a bright aura clung to his form and he shined like a miniature sun, his radiance blinding. The black light distorted when it came in contact with the gold, deflected to the side at Tang Wulin’s command. It was another Tang Sect secret art—Controlling Crane, Capturing Dragon!
In a flash, purple light blossomed in his eyes.
The darkness swathed Xu Yucheng in mid air and his movements turned sluggish. His third soul ring went dark, his soul skill interrupted.
A strand of bluesilver grass under Tang Wulin bled gold. It coiled like a spring, then ejected Tang Wulin into the air. He pierced through the darkness like an arrow of light.
Blades of darkness sliced him as he flew through the air, planting several wounds and gashes over his body, but they were all superficial in the face of Golden Dragon Body.
Not a second later, Tang Wulin reached Xu Yucheng.