Chapter 83 - Immobile Movement, Canvas Domain and Stone Golem (1/2)
Sui Lin's paintbrush danced elegantly in the air, a circular character appearing from nowhere.
The golden painting sunk into the ground, encompassing Rai Linxi in its middle. The rocky surface rumbled. It had only taken a split second since Sui Lin's arrival but her technique has already drawn a large hole, part of the arena collapsing onto Rai Linxi.
”W-What?! How can it be happening?” Rai Linxi was using all of her energy to protect herself from the rocks falling into the hole around her.
Sui Lin's technique had trapped her underground, all the while remaining outside of her range of effect.
”There must have been a reason why you waited approximately one hundred steps away from Daoju Kai before using your Lost Guardian Vines. It seems I was right. Your range is large but only to this extent. As long as I remain further than a hundred steps your vines won't matter.”
Sui Lin's cold voice shook Rai Linxi to the core, ”She was able to deduce this much by only seeing it once?!”
But most of all, Rai Linxi was shaken by the fact that her divine sense had suddenly lost contact with Shinsoo Sinkers, the technique that was currently restraining Daoju Kai.
An almost inhuman roar resounded from above the hole in the arena.
”My Character Formation has cut your Shinsoo link with your technique. I advise you to forfeit, Rai Linxi, because Daoju Kai seems pissed, quite frankly.”
Rai Linxi's heart was beating faster and faster with every second.
”You wench, these thorns really hurt... Wait until I-”
”I forfeit!!” Rai Linxi shouted so loudly that every spectator could hear us even without relying on their divine sense.
Sui Lin let out the mildest smile on her usually expressionless face. Her plan had worked.
”Now that it's only the two of us, I really want to know how strong the Beast really is. Too bad you're already injured but there's nothing to be done about that. Come at me, Daoju Kai.”
On the sideline, the recovering Xiao Yue was red with anger. The veins on her temples seemed to be about to burst, to the point that Mei Yunei asked her if she needed treatment.
”That paintbrush-wielding wench... She could have used Rai Linxi's restraints on Daoju Kai to put an end to him but instead she just wants to fight him at full power. What if she loses?! That would mean an unnecessary loss for us.”
”Heh,” Mua Lin stepped into the conversation, ”You don't have to worry, Devil Maiden. Sui Lin knows what she is doing. Daoju Kai is already too injured to beat her, what is wrong with wanting to have fun?”
Everybody knew that Daoju Kai was already on the verge of collapsing. There was virtually no chance of him beating Sui Lin but they were still in the middle of a team fight.
What bothered Xiao Yue wasn't only the slightest possibility of Sui Lin losing. Besides Daoju Kai, maybe only Shin Sumi as Bai Fulong had enough Shinsoo resources to take on multiple strong fighters. As strong as Sui Lin was, now that Rai Linxi had surrendered, the Cloud-Formation Pavilion was free to send another fighter.
”If my calculations are correct, their next fighter is Fu Xue... Sui Lin will need all the energy she has against her.”
Next to Xiao Yue, Bai Fulong slowly nodded. Shin Sumi's eyes were fixated on the middle of the arena, but her mind only thought of Fu Xue.
Daoju Kai would soon be unable to continue. With him gone, all three Pavilions would have already used their strongest cards, their number one disciples. Xiao Yue, Jun Qian and the Beast.
Now only their trump cards remained. Depending on the situation and who they were up against, the Star-Sword Pavilion counted on Mua Lin or Bai Fulong. For the Cloud-Formation team, Fu Xue or Chu Erlong could both step up to the plate.
As for the Light-Breaker Pavilion, Shin Sumi didn't know enough about them yet to formulate a guess.
In the middle of the arena, Daoju Kai g.r.o.a.n.e.d. An ice spike has just barely missed his c.h.e.s.t. Probing his own dantian with his divine sense, he knew he was about to launch his last attack.
His eyes were burning with all of his will to fight and yet, his fangs were peeking out of curled lips. Despite the situation and his clear disadvantage, Daoju Kai was smiling.
Unlike Tai Bu, Sui Lin didn't have the speed to match Daoju Kai, instead relying on her Character Formation immobilization techniques and her Ice Scythe for offense.
”My form is unbreachable. The Beast can't even approach me, this will be over soon” she thought.
Facing her, Daoju Kai was very calm. ”Sui Lin... What a beautiful and perfectly fitting name.”
”Iron Claw of the Beast!” Daoju Kai leaped forward. His hands glowed with a dark light in front of his body. Like a sheath around his fingers, his last drops of Shinsoo extended, pushing his claws to their limits as he propelled himself towards Sui Lin.
Raising an eyebrow, Sui Lin held her ice-coated paintbrush horizontally and let out a wave of ice spikes.
The Iron Claws tore through the ice like cloth, sending a myriad of multicolored shards flying in the air.
Instantly raising her level of seriousness, Sui Lin took a defensive stance and spat a drop of blood onto her weapon.
”My ice spikes did nothing?!” she was starting to wonder if she had badly underestimated Daoju Kai. ”Cold Star Ice Wh-”
She was about to launch one of her strongest techniques, the one that had triumphed over Mua Lin, when Daoju Kai smiled and instantly sped up in mid-air.
”Wh-What?” the crowd was speechless, ”Impossible?!”
Only the Light-Breaker Pavilion disciples had mixed feelings, ”Daoju Kai has already reached this level...? He can use the Immobile Movement Dilatation?!”
By sending Shinsoo impulses through their muscles, Light-Breaker cultivators reached a level where their body surpassed the limits of what was normally possible. Even while in the third step of the Liquid Realm, his body was temporarily comparable to that of a fifth step Liquid Realm cultivator.
By using his Immobile Movement Dilatation, Daoju Kai had managed to get close to Sui Lin, to the point where her technique was f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y interrupted before she had the chance to complete her incantation.
Even though it all happened in the blink of an eye, time seemed to slow down for Daoju Kai as he landed in front of Sui Lin. The latter's paintbrush separated the two.
Daoju Kai's limbs were shaking, drained as he was. Shocked by the fact that he managed to approach her while being in such a sorry state, Sui Lin didn't even react offensively. Instead she just stood there, firmly holding her weapon between them.
THUD
Daoju Kai smiled as his knees gave out. He fell to the ground but his eyes never left Sui Lin's.
”I wanted to see you from up close. Your eyes are... so clear.”
Daoju Kai had spoken in a voice so low that only she could hear. She inhaled sharply, completely unable to react in any way.
The Beast lapsed into unconsciousness, his body finally at its limits.
Sui Lin remained silent, her expression completely closed off. She was thinking over and over, ”what is that strange technique? I couldn't react at all, I'm lucky he didn't use it earlier in the fight...”
Had Xiao Yue been there listening to her thoughts, she would surely have laughed to the point of crying and rolling on the ground. A technique?! What technique? Wasn't that just passion?
Master Furnace's two disciples, Lei Shon and Kang Yumei quickly and discretely took care of Daoju Kai, escorting him out of the Underground Arena for treatment. His life wasn't in danger anymore but he needed to receive medical care as soon as possible. Any extended period of time could drastically impact his cultivation and talent, as well as impede his recovery.
F.o.r.c.i.b.l.y shaking her thoughts and heart flutters away, Sui Lin concentrated back to the arena in the middle of which she stood.
Fortunately, Daoju Kai had stopped her from using Cold Star Ice Whistle before she even started gathering the required energy. Had she used her sure-kill technique, she would have been almost as drained as he was at the end.
”It's not time to be idle yet. Without looking at her I can already tell from the Shinsoo fluctuations who is coming to greet me.”
Sui Lin of course referred to the disciple sent by the Cloud-Formation Pavilion. Her strange little confrontation with Daoju Kai after she had made Rai Linxi forfeit seemed to have lasted a couple minutes in her heart but in reality it had been short enough so that Fu Xue was almost upon her.