章 86: Exploding Palm, Dance of the Flowers and Black Cloud Sun
As soon as Chu Erlong produced her pseudo-domain, a large black cloud formed around her instantly. The only reason she used it was because it was the fastest and most efficient protection she could muster to stop Cleaving Meteor from hurting her.
The Black Cloud Sun flickered with black light. It was large enough to cover her entirely but was still kept within a short radius of her person.
Mua Lin's attack rammed into the cloud, a yellow trail following the cleaving motion.
Chu Erlong's face was pale, due to the Shinsoo she had to consume for her pseudo-domain barrier but it didn't stop her from smiling sincerely.
As soon as the Star-Sword Canon's first form had touched the ethereal cloud, its yellow light turned black, the dark gleam running along the light trail. In a short enough time, the black light had devoured all the yellow, consuming Mua Lin's energy with it.
Chu Erlong refrained from spitting a mouthful of blood, focused on her technique.
Black Cloud Sun was a bit similar to Sei Shian's Exploding Palm in the sense that she was burning her Shinsoo with that technique. And by seamlessly mixing her own with the Shinsoo from incoming attacks, the latter was consumed as well, rendering the attack ineffective.
But unlike Sei Shian, whose technique consumed energy whenever he deliberately chose to, Chu Erlong's Black Cloud Sun consumed her energy for as long as she maintained her domain.
What it meant was that whether she was attacked or not, her Shinsoo levels were dwindling at a quick pace.
She had had no choice in using her pseudo-domain, now all Chu Erlong could hope for was for Mua Lin to keep attacking uselessly and drain her own dantian as well.
Seeing her attack be completely nullified by Black Cloud Sun, Mua Lin took a split second to assess her situation.
With her divine sense, the girl in the pink dress probed the young man who was still somewhere behind her. She had seen and felt a really large and intense explosion when Chu Erlong's previous attack had hit him but she needed to know if he was coming after them or not.
Unfortunately for him, Sei Shian was in no position of doing so.
Burning Moon's black spikes had shot straight for him upon release, forcing him to detonate his arms in protection. What he had not anticipated was that rather than simply piercing him and causing physical damage, the black spikes had suddenly coiled around his limbs.
Burning Moon, as the name implied, was burning his limbs slowly but devastatingly. Because he didn't know how long the technique would last, Sei Shian hadn't wanted to use his Shinsoo to shield himself and stop the burning.
Instead, as Mua Lin and Chu Erlong were fighting on the other side of the arena, he was concentrating on gathering Shinsoo in every arm and leg of his, to detonate and take down Burning Moon with a bang.
Sei Shian was literally a bomb that risked exploding at any time. Mua Lin was not willing to attack him, seeing as he was stuck in place and the feeling in her leg still instinctively holding her from getting closer and getting caught in an explosion again.
"Chu Erlong is stuck in place too, but there has to be a limit to what her Black Cloud Sun can take," she thought to herself.
"Both my adversaries are forced to remain immobile. It's a pity I can't target you both, but Sei Shian doesn't have to worry for now. You, Chu Erlong, on the other hand, you will have the chance to taste my favorite technique. It usually takes too long to use in combat, so thank you for incapacitating the both of you."
As she was speaking to Chu Erlong's silhouette inside the flickering black cloud, Mua Lin was clearly circulating her Shinsoo. In fact, the cycles her energy was following inside her body were so intense and violent that even the other fighters watching from their corners could feel the flow of energy being distorted.
Whatever Mua Lin's 'favorite technique' may be, it was bound to be powerful.
In the Star-Sword Pavilion's corner, Sui Lin was watching silently, surely having mixed feelings. It wasn't a month ago when she had battled Mua Lin and she herself had been surprised by the strength that such a petite girl could release.
The might of Sunlight Petals from her Dance of the Flowers technique was still fresh in her mind. Somehow the technique she was now using was very reminiscent of that, but a bit different.
Mua Lin's fighting stance was changing with each cycle of Shinsoo. Like a dance, her steps moved in a bizarre fashion and Despairing Blossom twirled in the air. The body of the blade had grown thorns, and a bud-like bubble was blooming at its tip.
Just like when she faced Sui Lin, Mua Lin's sword was turning into a metal flower, as beautiful as it was deadly.
Chu Erlong was silent, ready for action but still waiting patiently. She had utter confidence in her Black Cloud Sun, as long as she could keep releasing it. Now it was simply a matter of how long and intense Mua Lin's attack would be.
"Dance of the Flowers, Rainbow Thorns!"
Metal thorns flew off of Despairing Blossom with each swing of Mua Lin's arms. With a simple wave, it was like a dozen tiny flying swords with highly condensed Shinsoo, all sent towards a single enemy, Chu Erlong.
Contrarily to Sunlight Petals, the other technique from Mua Lin's Dance of the Flowers, which was a large burst of Shinsoo, Rainbow Thorns could be stopped at any time. As she kept attacking, the demand in Shinsoo on her part increased and the rate at which the thorns flew out accelerated.
Sunlight Petals was ultimately stronger, but Rainbow Thorns was perfect for the situation.
Concentrating on maintaining her barrier in place, Chu Erlong could not attack and was forced in a defensive position.
For almost half of a sixty second cycle, all three fighters in the Arena were stuck in place. Sei Shian still had yet to get rid of Burning Moon and the two girls were locked by each other.
Would Chu Erlong's pseudo-domain crack before Mua Lin stopped her neverending barrage of flying thorns?
Angered and powerless, Chu Erlong was draining her Shinsoo levels at a pace that could only be described as fast.
"How deep does her reserve go?! I don't have enough strength remaining to use Peerless Skies anymore and I can't take on Rainbow Thorns without Black Cloud Sun!"
Despite her many attempts at calculating her options, only one remained thus far.
With a snap of her fingers, Chu Erlong cut the link between her divine sense and Burning Moon. The dark spikes tangling Sei Shian instantly dissolved into the air, suddenly releasing him from his trapped fate.
Suddenly free, Sei Shian roared at the top of his lungs.
He was enraged. He had been trapped so easily by Chu Erlong's discrete attack that his shame had gone through the roof. And most of all, he had remained trapped for almost a minute, which was insanely long for a fight between cultivators, and not even once had his opponents tried to attack him.
They had simply disregarded him and turned on each other.
What lack of respect was that?!
Of course Sei Shian didn't have the same insights as Mua Lin, whose actions made complete sense from a strategic stand-point, nevertheless his anger was real.
Having accumulated Shinsoo for a long time despite the heavy burns inflicted on him, Sei Shian lept towards Mua Lin, intent on releasing all of his pent-up anger on the first target in his way.
After the impressive roar coming from the young man, Mua Lin had understood what had happened. Chu Erlong was still hidden behind her domain and her attack had seemingly done nothing to it, each thorn she sent having been burned by black light.
It wasn't really true, as the walls of Black Cloud Sun fluctuated more intensely than before, showing that it was on the verge of collapsing, but it escaped Mua Lin's vision.
Sei Shian was coming behind her, so Mua Lin stopped her Dance of Flowers and turned around, Despairing Blossom now looking like a normal blade again, not as pretty but still deadly.
All four of Sei Shian's limbs were full to the brim with dangerous unstable Shinsoo, ready to burst as soon as he gave the command. Faint Shinsoo wisps were already leaking from the skin of his hands, burning as soon as they left his body and making him look like he was made of fire.
"If he touches me even once, this is going to be the worst fireworks ever. One hit and I'm dead" Mua Lin understood how potent Sei Shian's technique could become.
She also knew the assembly of over thirty Elders, five Pavilion Masters and the Patriarch would not let somebody die during the Cross Branch Arena, but she wasn't willing to try her luck.
"Cleaving Meteor!"
Giving it her all, Mua Lin opted for a middle ranged attack. Letting Sei Shian get close to her was not a good idea.
The yellow sword tip flashed forwards, cutting the air in two and for a split second, Mua Lin thought she had definitely stopped Sei Shian.
Unfortunately, the young man completely disregarded the strike, detonating his left hand, the force of his explosion overpowering Cleaving Meteor's momentum.
The blast was so strong that Mua Lin was forced backwards a step even though Sei Shian was still quite far away. Lifting her sleeve over her eyes, a wave of air hotter than Hell itself washed over her.
She had been wrong about Cleaving Meteor stopping Sei Shian, but she was certainly right about the fireworks and the aftermath of being hit directly by him.
"Tch. I have condensed so much Shinsoo that I couldn't control the power output of my Exploding Palm," Sei Shian realized. Without his knowledge, he had gone above his usual limit," It doesn't matter, I still have one hand and two feet to explode them both to smithereens."
Sei Shian immediately jumped into action again, not willing to let Mua Lin breathe free for a second.
As strong as his explosions were, Mua Lin's sword techniques were still absolutely deadly, should they hit properly.
Sei Shian first used the fist he already exploded to attack. Because Mua Lin was not expecting it, her defense was thrown out of rhythm. She scrambled to put her weapon up.
It was this moment Sei Shian stopped his fist and turned on his heel. Instead of punching straight out, he kicked below Despairing Blossom, taking Mua Lin by surprise.
His diversion was the simplest he could have used and yet in the speed of the moment there was nothing Mua Lin could do.
Her hip took the exploding heel directly. The noise made by the blast of the explosion turned into a painful ringing in her ears, drowning out even the sound of her hip-bone breaking.
The side of her robe had started burning to shreds and was only extinguished by her flying away at high speed, limp and unconscious. Her leg was badly burnt and hung at a strange angle from the rest of her body.
"That's one down" Sei Shian calmly stated, slowly bringing his kicking leg back to the ground and turning to Chu Erlong's Black Cloud Sun.
"Mua Lin was the second to last fighter for the Star-Sword Pavilion. I don't know much about that Bai Fulong guy, but Mua Lin was the number two of their ranking for the longest time. There is no way he is stronger so I should first focus on Chu Erlong."
Sei Shian's plan made complete sense. From his understanding, Chu Erlong still posed the biggest threat. Especially considering her bothersome protective barrier, which even Mua Lin's Dance of the Flowers had not broken through.
"Two large explosions left, and probably a few normal ones" Sei Shian probed his energy levels before running straight towards Chu Erlong.
Despite forcing himself to remain calm, Sei Shian definitely had a grudge against Chu Erlong he didn't have against Mua Lin. It was the girl from the Cloud-Formation Pavilion who had badly hurt him and trapped him within Burning Moon.
Or maybe he should thank her for forcing him to condense his most powerful set of explosions. She had brought about her own downfall.
"Tch. Sei Shian, do you think I'm like you and have only one trick that I use over and over?"
Chu Erlong was definitely not giving up now. Unfortunately for her, she couldn't sustain her protective pseudo-domain for any longer. The energy consumption of Black Cloud Sun was too high.
She had to defeat Sei Shian another way. Now that Mua Lin was out for good, the end of the Cross Branch Arena was in sight. All that remained was beating Sei Shian and then have her revenge against Shin Sumi as Bai Fulong.
Shin Sumi was currently leaving the Star-Sword Pavilion's corner, getting closer to the center of the arena at medium speed. In her hand, Sky Deception had just appeared.
Even as her eyes focused on Bai Fulong in the distance, Chu Erlong prepared her attack against Sei Shian.
The young man was about to thrust his fist when the dark cloudy barrier disappeared, revealing Chu Erlong crouching on the ground.
"Cloud Arts second form: King's Tomb!"
Because Black Cloud Sun obscured the inside of the barrier, Chu Erlong had used the last instants of her domain to unleash the second technique of the Cloud-Formation Pavilion.
Her timing wasn't exactly perfect. She had hoped that King's Tomb's hiding properties would spring up before her presence was revealed. However it didn't matter that much.
Sei Shian was already in range. He couldn't evade the deadly condensed spikes springing up under his feet.
His only option was to confront the attack with an attack of his own.
Chu Erlong was very calculating, her clever mind coming up with strategies as the situation progressed, whereas Sei Shian didn't like to bother with such tactics.
With a sadistic smile, Sei Shian jumped up and lifted his legs, simply kicking hard on the way down.
A large explosion engulfed him, dispersing most of the cloud spikes and sending a blast of burning hot air towards Chu Erlong.
She had called him a one trick pony, and Sei Shian sure had answered with his single trick.
Chu Erlong wasn't willing to believe that her attack had been thwarted just like that. She had never seen King's Tomb being so ineffective.
"Maybe I didn't have enough Shinsoo left and my attack wasn't perfectly executed" she instantly thought before correcting herself, "Could it be that Sei Shian's explosions can burn other people's Shinsoo as well and not simply his own?!"
The young man from the Light-Breaker Pavilion himself didn't know. He didn't need to know, his punches and kicks, the beautiful fire flowers blossoming from his unique technique, that was what he knew and loved.
Chu Erlong retreated two steps and clapped her hand together loudly.
A ring of fire sprang up out of thin air in front of her, centered on Sei Shian.
The ring quickly squeezed like a belt around Sei Shian's slim body. The technique wasn't really powerful and contained many flaws. Chu Erlong probably had picked it up from a scroll somewhere. But nevermind its origin, it was useful in a fight because it stalled Sei Shian for a moment and it didn't take any time to prepare.
Sei Shian's smile never wavered. He stopped his momentum as the fire belt approached and slapped his sides with his hands.
"Palm Reinforcement!"
Unbelievably, Sei Shian didn't produce any explosions this time. Instead he used the technique first demonstrated by Li Wei against Xiao Yue.
With his reinforced skin, the ring of fire simply didn't have enough power to do any damage to him.
"Don't look surprised, Chu Erlong, you're the one who said I only had one attack. Because I prefer the beauty of explosions doesn't mean I can't use other attacks. I'm from the Light-Breaker Pavilion, so of course I can use most of the basic techniques we learn there."
Sei Shian hadn't spoken out loud but his cunning smile and the light in his eyes conveyed his message perfectly.
Chu Erlong realized suddenly, as the ring of fire didn't stop her opponent for a single second, that Sei Shian was in fact a lot more complex than she had judged him to be.
He wasn't simply exploding everything he touched, he was also calculating the outcome of the fight a few moves in advance, as proven by his split-second decision to reinforce his body and keep more explosions up his sleeves for later.
"There's no escaping now, and your energy should be low enough" Sei Shian once more pressed Chu Erlong into a defensive stance.
Sei Shian was already lifting his fist, about to release a normal explosion, followed up by the massive Shinsoo burst from his other hand.
Chu Erlong's pupils suddenly dilated, not because of the upcoming exploding power, but because of a dark grey blur spinning its way towards them both.
Sky Deception had been thrown by Shin Sumi from right outside of the battling disciples' range of divine sense, making its way to them in the blink of an eye.
The moment the spinning sword entered Sei Shian's perception, the young man had no other choice but to turn and unleash his fist to try and block it.
Sky Deception's tough metal collided with Sei Shian's energy burst, Chu Erlong using this moment of freedom to get away from him and steady her energy levels.
Calling to her sword in much the same way she had learned to do with the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword, Shin Sumi lifted her left hand and caught the sword handle.
"Ah! You're finally there, the last guy before my Light-Breaker Pavilion wins the Cross Branch Arena!"
Sei Shian was taunting Bai Fulong, half in order to see how he would react and half because his confidence told him the newcomer wasn't as strong as Mua Lin.
Just like for any new fighter entering the arena, the crowd either cheered Bai Fulong or booed him, depending on which Pavilion they came from.
Only a few disciples here and there were completely silent. Would an observer have had the time to see exactly who was silent, they would have recognized all the quiet watchers to have been present the day Bai Fulong intervened against Mua Jin on the behalf of Sui Lin.
"I'm sorry but I don't think I'm going to lose here..." Shin Sumi quietly said, readying her stance and facing both Sei Shian and Chu Erlong.
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