Chapter 479: The Championship Battle! (2/2)

Where they had been inches from one another at the start of the fight, the blast had separated them by hundreds of meters. They glared at one another, their eyes full of… admiration.

Lan Jue’s arms traced another arc, but this time instead of summoning a ball a beam of light descended from above. It coalesced in his grip, becoming a sword ten meters long. His aura shifted, becoming more regal. He then threw himself at his foe.

Jun Yongye watched as the black-and-white sword came crashing down from overhead.

The Blademaster’s right hand snapped out, and another blade of light was summoned on his palm. The vicious intention of that oncoming attack made his robes flap dramatically. He spun again in a similar motion to before. This time, though, when his sword thrust out it met directly with the tip of Lan Jue’s.

“Ting!” At the moment of impact, a blast of power was released from around him. The aura that propelled it was earth-shaking. Once more, that deep-blue shielding appeared around the White Blademaster, extending now to imbue his sword as well. It changed from white, to the same cobalt blue.

Lan Jue’s weapon was swallowed up by the blade of light. He switched his trajectory in the air, stepping out to strafe and lashing out with his right fist.

The Seven-Star Strike of Taiji! One of the Nine Taiji Strikes!

The true essence of the Taiji Domain was the most important aspect of stabilizing one’s powers. Lan Jue’s comprehension was put on display when the entire fields reacted to the strike. All of the arena became a stark world of black and white, and the floor was indelibly marked with the image of yin and yang on the floor. A flickering orb of lightning was right in the middle. The whole place was immersed in the essence of Taiji.

“Boom!” The yin-yang sword crackled and fractured into a bolt of lightning. Jun Yongye’s sword acted like a lightning rod and took the full brunt of it. The ensuing blast forced the Blademaster back nine steps before he could recover.

Zeus rolled his arms again, once more summoning the yin-yang sword. Its reemergence was a tide of majesty that swept across the whole arena. This one was different from before. Where the first sword was borne of calm and quiet, this one was almost overbearing. It was slower, but its path was marked with a wake of black and blue that ejected like solar flares. The enormous yin-yang symbol emblazoned on the arena floor started to rotate.

The ring was now a self-contained world of blue. Jun Yongye found himself immersed in it, and it felt like fighting against an undertow. He had no more time, there was only attack.

He rose on to the tip of one foot and thrust forward. His body and blade moved in perfect in unison, as a single unit, then melded into one. The cobalt blade hung suspended, alive, and from its tip was fired an array of deadly wisps. It rolled like a sea of a hundred thousand swords, sweeping past Lan Jue’s electric world.

The pull of Lan Jue’s sword-aura sent Jun Yongye’s attack scattering in all directions. Once again, he was relying on the duality inherent in the yin-yang powers to defuse the attack. Every deadly sharp wave ultimately was swallowed up in black and white.

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The Pharmacist watched from the VIP platform. Her hands were fists, and she muttered darkly to no one in particular. “Convergence style, ‘where all rivers meet the sea’… little brother, prepare yourself!”

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Lan Jue and Jun Yongye met on the field, their swords whistling through the air toward each other. At the moment of impact, the yin-yang sword warped and imploded into a vortex that threatened to swallow Jun Yongye whole.

But, in that moment, the blue light surrounding the living sword flared like a supernova. Though it should have been impossible, Jun Yongye was untouched and unmoving in the air. Then, it swept horizontally toward Lan Jue.

The wave of energy released from the motion was sharp enough to split the sky. Lan Jue’s almost impervious yin-yang powers were chopped right in half. Again there was an ear-splitting explosion as all of that power was released. The whole ring was lost in a sea of black and white lightning.

Lan Jue was stunned. He hadn’t guessed Jun Yongye would have this ability. His blade could make the sky collapse! More startling, Lan Jue felt the world around him grow fainter. The peeling rolls of thunder sounded far away, muffled as though his head were underwater. It became dark. The whole ring melted away in the darkness until even he was swallowed up.

Don’t get rattled! Lan Jue inwardly chastised. In situations like this, it was only the calm who saw opportunity.