Chapter 228 - Lian vs. Long Tian (1/2)

”Hei! How do you feel?” Hei's comrades asked together, rushing towards him as soon as he returned to the section dedicated to fighters.

”He is fine. The injuries aren't life-threatening. The most serious problem is his severe state of dehydration. Haruno, can you make some soup quickly? Hei needs to drink lots of fluids.” Lilian informed everyone.

'Big Brother!' Ye and Xing yelled, diving into their big brother's c.h.e.s.t to make sure he was actually okay.

”I'm fine, really. It is as Lilian says. You don't have to worry.” Hei got ready to reassure his companions before turning to Lian, who was watching him silently. ”Lian, don't be worried. Everything will be fine. Now, you should focus on the battle in front of you. Don't let your guard down even for a moment, and give your all. Whatever happens, we will be here waiting for you.”

”The next fight will see the Imperial Prince Long Tian vs. Lian. I ask the two fighters to go on stage.” Song Yazhu's voice rang through the stadium, calling for the next two fighters.

”Go,” Hei said to Lian as he nodded toward her to let her know that he trusted her.

”Alright. I go and come back.” Lian answered and reciprocated Hei's nod. She then exited the fighters section while receiving encouragement from her comrades.

”How's Hei?” Long Tian asked as he too began to make his way toward the stage.

”Hei is fine. He has no serious injuries. With a little rest, he will recover completely.” Lian answered briefly.

”Good. It's better this way.” Long Tian said nothing more, and together they took the stage in silence.

”Let the fight begin!” Song Yazhu gave the go-ahead soon after.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The instant the fight was kicked off, the ribbons wrapped around Lian's body were released. The two silvery-white silk ribbons revealed themselves to the audience and moved at full speed towards Long Tian.

Boom!

One of the ribbons crashed like a whip to the floor where Long Tian had been before. The Imperial Prince was unimpressed by the sight of the ribbons and dodged the attack while pulling out his two hooked swords at the same time. His actions were so fluid that it seemed to be all one movement.

Boom!

The second ribbon went on the attack soon after the first, taking advantage of the fact that Long Tian was still moving.

The timing between attacks was nothing short of perfect. But that still wasn't enough to worry Long Tian.

”Repel.”

Pointing one of his swords at the approaching ribbon, Long Tian activated his familiar repulsion technique. In doing so, the ribbon appeared to be pushed back by an invisible hand, thus losing the opportunity to hit Long Tian.

But just as Long Tian wasn't impressed by the sight of the ribbons, Lian was also not upset that her attack was repulsed. Both were now familiar with the other's attack patterns. After all, they had witnessed each other's matches, not to mention the various incidents that had occurred over the course of the year.

To put it simply, they both knew their opponent wasn't someone to take it easy on. The problem was how accurate their analysis of the opponent's strength and what their opponent kept hidden as a secret card.

The instant the second ribbon was repelled, Lian quickly redirected the first one so she could attack while Long Tian was still engaged in his repulsion technique. It all happened so quickly as if she had planned it from the start.

When Long Tian saw the first ribbon return to the attack, he smiled. Then, in a moment, he canceled the repulsion effect on the second ribbon so he could dodge the first.

'He doesn't need to repel the attack for meters and meters. Just pushing it away by a little is more than enough to dodge and prepare his next move. By doing so, Long Tian can also retain more spirit power and minimize waste.' Lian thought as her opponent dodged the first ribbon.

Seeing this, Lian also called the second ribbon to attack. A strange chase followed, where Lian would attack with her ribbons, paying particular attention to their timing. Each of her attacks was insidious because they always aimed at moments when Long Tian was engaged in action so as not to give him breath and reduce his chances of dodging or blocking.

'The timing of her attacks is exceptional. Maneuvering two weapons like that at the same time and with such mastery requires incredible concentration and analysis. Yet from her unperturbed gaze, it seems as easy as breathing.' analyzed Long Tian as he thought about how to get out of this passive situation.

However, it wasn't Long Tian but Lian who made the next move. In fact, the young woman directed her ribbons while Long Tian was moving so that they attacked at the same time. So far, she had alternated her attacks perfectly, but she was attacking two different points from two different directions this time.

”Earth Law, Double Repulsion.”

Peng!

Long Tian spread his arms sideways, directing the tips of his swords towards the two approaching ribbons. Immediately, the two ribbons seemed to collide with something hard and were thrown back.

Long Tian wasn't done yet, however: now that both ribbons had been rejected in unison, he had a limited window of time to carry out his counterattack.

Whoosh!

Long Tian shot forward at full speed towards Lian without worrying about the movement of the ribbons behind him. Thanks to the repulsion technique, he had gained precious seconds, which were enough to bring down his attack.

”Wood Law, Flower Petals.”

Lian waved her hand, and a handful of petals was thrown at Long Tian. These petals weren't ordinary flower petals but were created with the spirit power of Lian through the Wood Law. Therefore, although they appeared light as they floated in the wind, they were heavy as rocks, not to mention their impact damage.

”Intent of the Double Swords.”

Long Tian concentrated the spirit power in his two hooked swords, and with a series of cuts, he easily ripped apart the handful of petals in front of him. Such a move was nothing more than a vain attempt for Lian to buy time. Or so the public believed.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Lian let go of the ends of her ribbons attached to her arms. These, along with the two extremities that usually went on the attack, focused their attacks on Long Tian using a pincer tactic.

Seeing this, the audience was amazed. From the way things had gone, it felt like everything had been planned from the start to create that scene. After all, Long Tian was under attack from four different directions. As strong as his repulsion was, the maximum he had repelled was two attacks together.

”Multiple Repulsion.”

Long Tian halted his advance and pointed one sword in front of him while the other was pointed at his back. When he did this, the four ribbons stopped once again and were thrown backward, leaving the audience in disbelief that they didn't believe Long Tian could fend off four targets at a time.