章 237: Dishonourable Victory
It was an overwhelming suppressive force that instantly forced him to his knees!
Yet even as he was subjected to this heavy suppression, Gan Luozhi still could not fully comprehend what was going on.
This was obviously the Terra Seal Formation – a battle formation that sought to weaken the enemy by sealing off various aspects of their abilities.
However, battle formations were supposed to be executed as a group!
Was it really possible to do it with clones? Or were there people secretly helping Zhao Yunxiao from the side?
Gan Luozhi could not be faulted for thinking that way.
Apart from him, there were many among the crowd who started spreading their spiritual sense to scan the surroundings, wanting to find out if anyone was helping Zhao Yunxiao in secret.
On the other hand, Hua Sheng could not help but nod in approval.
This was an extremely rare move. In fact, executing a battle formation with clones was something that the majority of outer disciples had never even considered possible.
However, this was not something unheard of.
In fact, it was a topic that had always been the subject of research and experiments, even at the highest levels.
After all, battle formations provide a significant boost to overall combat strength. So, if a cultivator was able to do that all by himself, the results were definitely not something to be scoffed at!
On top of that, doing this alone could directly circumvent the difficulty of spiritual synchronisation. Clones were controlled with a single individual in the first place, so synchronising with your own clones would naturally be much easier than synchronising with other individuals.
Unfortunately, there was a huge flaw with this combat style that no one had a good answer for, even till date.
Executing a battle formation was something that demanded absolute concentration, requiring one to constantly adapt to every little change in the battle conditions. At the same time, controlling one's clones also required a similar amount of mental strain.
This dual source of mental strain created an extremely tall hurdle that few could overcome, where only those with an incredible mental fortitude could even begin to attempt doing so. Should the cultivator's mental strength reach its limit while trying to do this, the battle formation could easily end up failing, bringing about an energy backlash to every single clone and the true body.
In addition, clones were usually much weaker and more fragile. This meant that if the cultivator failed to protect any of the clones involved in executing the battle formation, this battle formation could also end up failing.
An energy backlash was not a joke, and that was more so the case when executing a complex technique like a battle formation.
It could completely kill off a cultivator's ability to continue fighting, or if serious enough, result in severe injuries that could be irreversible or even lead to death!
Because of the risks involved, even cultivators with a much higher cultivation level would not attempt something like that unless they had absolutely no other choice.
Hua Sheng did not know if Zhao Yunxiao was aware of the risks involved. But if he knew and still decided to go for it, then his gamble was truly paying off right now.
Under the suppression of the Terra Seal Formation, not only had Gan Luozhi been forced to his knees, but he also had to summon every last bit of his energy just to prevent himself from falling flat onto the ground!
Zhao Yunxiao's eyes flashed with a cold light, and a dagger flew out towards Gan Luozhi.
Pierce-!
Blood spurted out from Gan Luozhi's thigh as the dagger directly buried itself in his thigh.
"Argh!" Gan Luozhi's attempt to suppress his groan ended in vain.
Audible gasps came from the crowd, followed by loud discussions that were a mix of excitement, worry, and intrigue.
Gan Luozhi did not even attempt to put up a defence against the flying dagger?
It would appear that he simply did not have any excess strength left in him while resisting the effect of this Terra Seal Formation. This meant that as long as Zhao Yunxiao could keep up the battle formation, Gan Luozhi would be nothing more than a sitting duck!
Zhao Yunxiao understood that as well.
But the duel was not over just.
No matter what he had to do, he had to ensure that he claimed this victory. This was the only way to send a message not only to Gan Luozhi, but to everyone watching right now.
He did not care who the other party's backing was. If someone dared to mess with his companions, then he would do everything in his power to retaliate accordingly!
Pierce-!
"Argh!" Gan Luozhi gritted his teeth as another dagger pierced his thigh.
His entire body was trembling – a result of both the physical strain and the agony that he was feeling right now.
And his injuries actually only made up a small portion of the agony that he was feeling. On the contrary, the main reason was actually sheer frustration and embarrassment.
He finally understood the real reason why Zhao Yunxiao had been throwing out those explosive daggers repeatedly since the very beginning. It was all to condition him to see it as a simple attack on its own.
And the moment Gan Luozhi let his guard down by just a little, Zhao Yunxiao directly pulled a fast one on him, using the explosions to camouflage this crazy move.
How despicable!
Is he really going to lose this duel? To a trick like this?
He refuses to accept that!
At this moment, Gan Luozhi deeply regretted not going all out from the start. He believed that if he had taken this seriously right from the get-go, there was absolutely no question that he would have been the one standing over his opponent right now!
"The next dagger might just hit somewhere a lot more important. Are you still not going to admit defeat?" Zhao Yunxiao asked.
His words drew meaningful smiles and surprised coughs from the crowd, though there were also some who felt offended.
"End the fight already! You resorted to trickery like this to win, and you still have the cheek to shame your opponent?"
"A warrior can be killed, but not humiliated! That's going too far!"
"This is just torture! How can you bear to be so cruel to your fellow sect member?"
"What are you so proud of? This battle formation nonsense only works as a surprise trick in a duel. If this is a real fight, you would have lost for sure!"
"Senior Martial Brother Gan was just giving you a chance earlier. How can you take advantage of his kindness like this? Despicable!"
"Even if you win today, it will be nothing but a dishonourable victory resulting from trickery! What's the point in that?"
People in the crowd started to openly voice their complaints, their voices getting louder and louder, to the point where some even began to shout towards the stage.
After all, Gan Luozhi had his fair share of supporters as well, most of whom wanting to ride on his connection to Hua Sheng. These people could not bear to just stand and watch as Gan Luozhi suffered in such a disgraceful manner.
Not just that, but part of the complaints also came from those who had suffered from his antics in the past and felt bitter about their previous interactions after seeing Zhao Yunxiao dare to stand up for himself.
Once a community grew large enough, there were bound to be people like this.
If they could not get something good, they would not feel good about others getting it as well. If they had been treated unfairly, they similarly needed others to suffer from the same unfair treatment.
Otherwise, they would not feel balanced in their hearts!
"Silence!" Hua Sheng shouted, and everyone shut up immediately.
Lost in their wave of emotions, they had momentarily forgotten that Hua Sheng was the judge for the duel!
If Hua Sheng did not say a word, what right did they have to do so?
Otherwise, wouldn't they be effectively criticising Hua Sheng's judgement regarding the fairness of the duel?
Zhao Yunxiao had not bothered with the complaints from the start. But when he heard Hua Sheng shut them up, a faint smile still crept up on his face.
As expected, Hua Sheng was impartial in his judgement. Or at the very least, he was forced to be impartial with this many people watching.
With that, Zhao Yunxiao turned his attention back towards Gan Luozhi.
He could see the indignance on Gan Luozhi's face, with eyes that were about to tear up from sheer frustration.
It was not like Zhao Yunxiao could not relate to Gan Luozhi's feelings.
If their roles were reversed, Zhao Yunxiao would probably be feeling just as indignant.
No, that was not quite right either. Gan Luozhi should probably be feeling worse because of his reputation in the sect and his higher cultivation level. On top of that, Gan Luozhi probably felt that he should not have lost at all. After all, executing a battle formation with clones was not exactly the most traditional move.
Some might even say that it was a cowardly move that avoided actual confrontation despite it being a duel.
But who cares about what others think?
The moment Hua Sheng dismissed all these complaints as the judge, every opinion they had immediately ceased to hold any water!
As for the complaints about not ending the fight quickly, it was not like Zhao Yunxiao did not want to do so, but he simply dared not rush into it!
The only ways to obtain victory were to either incapacitate or knock his opponent out of the stage, and he would have to use powerful explosives on Gan Luozhi to accomplish either in a safe manner.
But with Gan Luozhi's suppressed state, who knew what kind of injuries a powerful explosion like that could cause?
Zhao Yunxiao wanted to secure a clear win and send a message to everyone, but he did not want to cripple Gan Luozhi!
If he were to do something like that, his reputation in the sect would plummet into the abyss!
Alternatively, he could either use poison to knock Gan Luozhi out, or walk up to physically throw him out of the stage.
Unfortunately for him, using poison on a fellow sect member had always been an unspoken taboo due to its potentially lasting effects. As for walking up to physically throw Gan Luozhi out of the stage, it was also too risky an option.
It was not uncommon for people to summon forth unexpected bursts of strength when it truly mattered.
While the Terra Seal Formation seemed to be completely holding Gan Luozhi down and preventing him from doing anything right now, who knew if he would be able to momentarily overcome this in a last-ditch effort?
If that were to happen when Zhao Yunxiao was in close proximity, the tides could turn in an instant!
Because of that, Zhao Yunxiao chose to take the safest route – to wear Gan Luozhi down either until he surrendered, or until Hua Sheng decided to declare his victory.
Though from the looks of it, Gan Luozhi surrendering was nothing but a pipe dream. Not only was he far from falling into despair, the rage in his eyes was actually growing more intense by the second!
As for Hua Sheng... Zhao Yunxiao sneaked a peek at the judge, only to be detected instantly.
Nevertheless, Hua Sheng did not show any signs of disapproval despite meeting Zhao Yunxiao's gaze. Instead, he merely let out a helpless sigh before beginning to slowly make his way up the stage.
Seeing this, everyone immediately understood what was going on.
The fight was over.
"No, I refuse!" Gan Luozhi gnashed his teeth and drove his dantian to the limit.
He summoned forth every last bit of his essence energy at once, resisting the overwhelming pressure to get to his feet.
But how could Zhao Yunxiao ever give him a chance to do so?
Whoosh-!
A dagger flew through the air, though the trajectory was slightly different from before.
Unlike the earlier daggers, which were aimed at Gan Luozhi's thigh, this one was aimed at Gan Luozhi's glabella.
If it hits, this could potentially mark the end of Gan Luozhi's life!
The crowd was caught by surprise as they witnessed this sudden change in attitude. Some widened their eyes, some frowned, some sneered, while some felt the impulse to curse and swear.
As for the person in question, Gan Luozhi focused all his strength into his right arm, desperately raising his Flowing Water Sword to guard against the dagger.
Clank-!
An uncomfortable silence fell upon the entire Snow Moon Arena, which allowed everyone to hear clearly as the dagger fell harmlessly to the ground.
However, it was not Gan Luozhi who had successfully defended against it. Despite his struggle, he had still failed to raise his sword in time.
Instead, it was Hua Sheng who had rushed forward and swatted the dagger to the ground at the very last moment, effectively saving Gan Luozhi from impending death.
Zhao Yunxiao had expected as much. Or rather, this was the result that he was aiming for by throwing out that dagger.
He knew that since Hua Sheng was already making his way up the stage, he would definitely be able to intervene in time.
But along with the intervention of the judge, it would also mark the end of the fight.
Regardless of whether it was a dishonourable victory that resulted from the trickery, the fact was that Zhao Yunxiao was the victor of this duel!
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