Chapter 46 Son of the City Lord (1/2)
”Argh!” Lu Tianzi could not help but groan in misery as flames burst out from the shallow wound on his back.
Lu Tianzi hurriedly retreated, deliberately slamming his burning back into the wall of the cave.
The searing pain ceaselessly assaulted his mind as he gritted his teeth, trying his best to endure the agony of being burnt alive.
Thankfully, the flames did not last for long.
But the moment Lu Tianzi looked up again, Hu Shenwei was already slashing down towards him once more!
Lu Tianzi's eyes widened in shock.
Hu Shenwei's swordplay was too fast!
He kicked off from the wall, borrowing the sudden boost to dodge to the side.
Rolling off the floor into a defensive high kneeling stance, Lu Tianzi raised both his weapons in a cross before him as he eyed his opponent cautiously.
”Is this all you are capable of?” Hu Shenwei grinned sinisterly as he halted his attacks momentarily. ”I admit that you are strong for your cultivation realm. However, by challenging me, an Essence Condensation realm martial artist, you are getting way over your head!”
Pu-!
Lu Tianzi spat on the floor in disdain, ”Even if I did not do this, would you let me off?”
”In that case, I definitely would have let you live. After all, you are still a beloved member of my human race,” Hu Shenwei let out the amiable smile that he always wore.
”Like father, like son. You are just like Hu Yuanbo, living a life of lies and deceit!” Lu Tianzi stood back up to face him.
”Hu Yuanbo?” Hu Shenwei's eyebrow twitched in displeasure. ”You are just a lowly Essence Building realm martial artist. Who gave you the right to refer to the City Lord by his name?”
Lu Tianzi snorted coldly.
”Do I even need anyone's permission to speak of Hu Yuanbo's name? So what if he is still the Lord of Ivory Rock City? That is just a position that he built upon his lies! In any case, he won't be able to sit his position for long. After I get rid of you, he will be the next in line!”
Hearing that, Hu Shenwei broke out into an uproarious laughter.
”Take down the City Lord? With just you? What lofty dreams!” Hu Shenwei mocked sarcastically. ”All right, enough of this nonsense. After killing you, I would still have to worry about those demons who are after us, so just stay put and die obediently. The result will be the same even if you struggle anyway. It is all a matter of time!”
Hu Shenwei did not wait for a reply from Lu Tianzi, immediately charging towards him after saying his share.
At this moment, Lu Tianzi's level of concentration reached its peak.
He knew that both in terms of swordplay and control of Spiritual Essence, he was inferior to Hu Shenwei. If the battle dragged on at the rate it was going, then the injuries on him would only continue to accumulate, resulting in his eventual defeat.
Since that was so, in order to come out victorious, he would have to rely on the areas that he had the advantage in and take Hu Shenwei by surprise.
But the problem with relying on the element of surprise meant that he would only have one chance to do so.
If he screwed up this one chance, then Hu Shenwei would definitely be on guard from then on.
Should that happen, defeating Hu Shenwei would then become much more difficult than before!
Steeling his resolve, Lu Tianzi decisively slashed out with his sword, intending to match Hu Shenwei's sword in a head on clash!
”Blocking my sword with yours yet again? And you are supposed to be an unprecedented combat genius?” Hu Shenwei sneered in contempt. ”Looks like I have grossly overestimated you. You are just an insect who doesn't learn!”
Bang-!
Hu Shenwei frowned subconsciously as his sword hand was pushed away from that collision. As expected, the force behind Lu Tianzi's attack was truly stronger than his, and he was once again the one being pushed back from a head on clash.
However, so what of it?
Even though he was pushed back, the flames from his blade continued surging forward, threatening to engulf Lu Tianzi whole!
Yet at this time, Lu Tianzi did not choose to retreat.
With a loud roar, Lu Tianzi charged forward instead, directly bursting through the surging flames towards Hu Shenwei!
After bursting through the flames, Lu Tianzi's other hand immediately struck!
”Die!” Lu Tianzi yelled as the sabre in his left hand slashed towards Hu Shenwei!
”You madman!” Hu Shenwei cursed in shock.
As the one who executed the combat skill, Hu Shenwei understood even better than Lu Tianzi that those were no ordinary flames.
The temperature of the flames had reached an extremely high degree, able to even refine pills and melt down treasures. If a person were to be burnt by such a flame, the pain and damage received was unimaginable!
Having been struck by it twice before, there was no way that Lu Tianzi did not know how fearsome these flames were.
Yet he still chose to dive right into the flames?
Knowing that he could not win with normal means, did this Lu Tianzi intend to take him down even at the cost of his own life?
Commendable effort, but that was not good enough!
Hu Shenwei's sword hand had originally been struck aside from the first clash, seemingly leaving him wide open. However, by gritting his teeth and straining every single muscle on his body, Hu Shenwei was actually able to forcibly pull his sword back in front of him to face his opponent!
Lu Tianzi had closed in considerably after the first clash, but Hu Shenwei miraculously found enough space to slash out with his sword once again, finding Lu Tianzi's sabre as it was slashing down!
Bang-!
Hu Shenwei's sword was once again struck aside, but the flames from his sword surged forth towards Lu Tianzi just like how it did before.
Surely this was enough?
But no, it was not.
”Hu Shenwei!” Lu Tianzi roared as he charged out of the wave of flames once again, rushing straight towards his opponent!
”You crazy suicidal bastard! Are you in such a hurry to die?!” Hu Shenwei roared in anger, biting down hard as he once again pulled his sword back to face Lu Tianzi.
Having to forcibly pull his sword back again and again would definitely result in internal injuries, no matter how slight they were. These internal injuries would in turn cause a temporary drop in his combat capabilities which would take him time to recover from.
With the threat of the demons looming behind, Hu Shenwei was naturally unwilling to subject himself to such a state. But Lu Tianzi was simply too persistent, even managing to endure the burning of the flames as he focused solely on offence!
Lu Tianzi's persistence, coupled with his inhuman strength, was actually forcing Hu Shenwei to the edge.
Hu Shenwei had already strained himself greatly with the previous clash, but that did not mean he would simply give up and leave himself open to another frontal attack.
”Let's see you endure this!” Hu Shenwei shouted in rage.
Slashing out with his sword, Hu Shenwei channelled all of his Spiritual Essence into activating his combat skill.
At that instant, the flames on his sword seemed to have exploded into a raging inferno, growing extremely resplendent as it transformed the night of the cave into day. Following the trail of the sword, it was like a dazzling sword of light was slashing towards Lu Tianzi.
If this sword managed to hit Lu Tianzi, there was likely that his body would be vaporised immediately!
But at this time, facing such a terrifying attack from Hu Shenwei, Lu Tianzi actually completely let go of both the sword and sabre in his hands!
With each of the two earlier clashes, Lu Tianzi had slowly closed the gap between them. Right now, the two of them stood barely a metre apart, the closest since the start of the fight.
Every inch on Lu Tianzi's body seemed to be screaming in pain from having been directly exposed to Hu Shenwei's flames. Any ordinary Essence Building realm martial artist would have already succumbed to the agony, losing consciousness or perhaps even dying from the severe injury.
However, Lu Tianzi had a far tougher body than his peers, powered by a strong will for revenge.
Gritting his teeth, he endured the extreme agony that he was going through at the moment, and directly punched out towards Hu Shenwei's right arm!
At such close proximity, slashing with a weapon was actually far slower than striking with one's fists. That was especially so since Hu Shenwei had to forcibly recover from a broken stance.
Hu Shenwei's eyes widened in horror upon seeing Lu Tianzi's strike!
With his powerful perception as an Essence Condensation realm martial artist, how could he not tell what would happen next?
The moment Lu Tianzi punched out with his fist, Hu Shenwei had already deduced that there was no way he could make it in time.