116 Chapter 115: Breakthrough (1/2)

We both collided in another clash that smashed a crater into the ground. Despite the destruction beneath and all around us, we continued to pummel each other with everything we had. Zhu Jiao didn't slow down, throwing a barrage of ferocious punches that almost tore the swords out of my hands. Firmly tightening my grip on them, I countered with ripostes after parrying and intercepting his gauntleted fists in hopes of delivering a fatal blow.

Blood splattered the air, minor cuts scratched across Zhu Jiao's body as I penetrated his defenses over and over again. in return, while Zhu Jiao was unable to hit me as many times as I struck him, the few blows that landed dealt severe damage, rattling my internal organs against my skeleton and causing me to spew blood. even so, I firmly held my ground and continued to trade blows with him, ducking under his fists as best as I could and using my footwork to confuse him. Faster and faster, both my footwork and sword strikes increased rapidly in speed as my body finally emerged from its dormant state after such a heated warmup.

Unfortunately, the same could be said for Zhu Jiao. As the battle progressed, his movements were becoming sharper, more precise and stronger.

”Ugh…!”

I fell back, faltering a little after a particularly powerful punch from Zhu Jiao knocked me off balance. Zhu Jiao pressed in, capitalizing on my slip to punch through my gut, but my figure vanished, turning into nothing more than a shadow. Reappearing behind Zhu Jiao, I brought my sword down with as much force as I could, but his Sacrer Armor held strong.

Boom!

Even so, my meteoric strike cleaved through the dense field of yang qi and opened up a huge wound on his back, sending blood spraying into the air. Despite wincing in pain, Zhu Jiao counterattacked without a pause, forcing me to parry his backhanded strike with both my swords. Even though I avoided a potentially fatal hit, I was sent hurtling across the arena. Landing on the ground, I continued to skid backward until I finally managed to dig my heels in. My shoes glowed red-hot from the friction, but I couldn't afford to pay attention to their current state.

Zhu Jiao was already bearing down on me.

I parried his punch by crossing both my swords above me, but the impact caused my legs to buckle. At least my body could withstand the tremendous force. The immense impact shattered the ground beneath my knees and toes, throwing up debris and rocks that disintegrated as they came into contact with Zhu Jiao's golden qi and my black aura.

”Huff…”

Pressing my knees and feet against the ground, I surged upward as I channeled more qi into my counterattack and successfully drove Zhu Jiao away. The relatively big guy hopped a few steps before regaining his balance.

However, just like Zhu Jiao, I wasn't the type to give him the chance to recover either. Springing from the broken ground, I dashed forward and reappeared right in front of him, swinging both swords down before he could recover his footing.

”!!”

Zhu Jiao parried both swords with both his arms, only for me to unleash a Black Dragon Blast at pointblank range. A two-headed dragon made entirely from destructive black qi uncoiled rapidly from my blades and detonated against Zhu Jiao's sturdy body with such force that even I was thrown several meters back.

”Whoa…”

Flipping myself over so that I would land on my feet, I skidded backward for another few meters, unable to halt my momentum. Looking up, I watched the raging inferno in hopes of catching sight of Zhu Jiao's figure within.

”Not bad…not bad at all.”

Zhu Jiao strolled out of the conflagration, his body still shrouded in shadow momentarily. My eyes widened when more of his figure came into view, especially a gleam from what seemed like a golden breastplate that now covered his chest.

”You're the first person, other than Bai Ning Xue, to have pushed me to this extent.”

”…!”

I couldn't help but take a step back when Zhu Jiao finally came into full view.

Unlike before, Zhu Jiao was no longer just wearing gauntlets. Instead, he was clad in a full-body armor that shone brightly admist the dark flames that burned ominously behind him. Other than the minimal portion of his face, he was completely covered in golden armor bearing the sacred symbol of the Golden Kirin. Protected from head to toe by armor, he appeared to be impervious to any physical or qi attack.

”Hmm…”

He lifted an arm and studied it, then gave the rest of his body an once-over. Then he looked up at and smiled.

”Thanks to you pushing me beyond my limits, it seems that I was able to further advance my technique and finally master it. This is the true form and application of the Golden Kirin Sacred Beast technique when used to upgrade the Golden Kirin Sacred Armor technique.”

He glanced down at his armor, his smile turning wry for a moment.

”It's a pity that I was only able to fully master the application of the Golden Kirin Sacred Beast technique to the Golden Kirin Sacred Armor and not the other techniques, but still, I'm grateful to you. Without you as my opponent, I would never have been able to take this first step and make such a breakthrough.”

”You've got to be kidding me…”

I groaned and shook my head in disbelief.

”Why?! Why, Heavens?! Why are you resorting to such clichés?!”

”Clichés?” Zhu Jiao frowned at me, bewildered. ”What the hell are you talking about?”

”Are you serious? Do you really not know?” then again, Zhu Jiao didn't read as much as I did, so I supposed it only make sense. ”Haven't you watched enough anime or read enough wuxia/xianxia novels to recognize a bullshit plot device when you see one? This deus ex machina? The whole protagonist suddenly makes a breakthrough in his martial arts when fighting and losing? Didn't Xiao Yan pull this bullshit off in Battle Through the Heavens? Li Fu Chen, who claimed that combat experience was necessary in Eternal Reverence? How about Luo Zheng from Apotheosis, who randomly sits down in the middle of a duel to cultivate and make a breakthrough? Hell, even Chen Chang Sheng from Ze Tian Ji – which is one of the better wuxia/xianxia novels out there – is guilty of this bullshit trope. What is it with protagonists and deus ex machina breakthroughs in their martial arts when they are in the middle of a fucking battle!?”

”Dude, you need to chill. Those are only stories.”

”YET IT'S HAPPENING IN REALITY, RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY EYES?!” I yelled. ”Isn't this too bloody unfair!?”

Zhu Jiao shrugged. Since he was benefiting from this bullshit plot device, he had no complaints. I groaned and buried my face in my palms (while still holding my swords, so that was probably not a good idea).

”What is it with protagonists pulling out breakthroughs in cultivation and power levels out of their asses in the middle of a fucking battle!?”

”Um…sorry?” Zhu Jiao shrugged again, sounding not at all apologetic. He then smiled. ”Sorry, but I'm shameless enough to make use of this 'unfair' advantage. Especially against you. I hope you won't hold it against me.”

”!!”

Zhu Jiao almost disappeared before reappearing in front of me. Even when clad in full-body armor that looked extremely heavy and thick, his speed seemed to have increased tremendously. It made no sense, but then xianxia never made sense in the first place. There were a few hundred laws of physics broken whenever someone engaged in that fantasy world.

”Ugh…!”

I ducked under Zhu Jiao's first punch, bending my back backward and narrowly avoiding getting my face smashed in. Using my footwork, I managed to widen the distance between us, but Zhu Jiao refused to be shaken off my tail. Just when I thought I was safe, he was suddenly in front of me again, swinging his fist in.

”Argh!”

As one would expect, the power behind his attack had multiplied exponentially. Even though I succeeded in crossing my swords and parrying his armored gauntlet in time, I still felt like I was hit by a truck. Blood spurted from my mouth as I was hurled across the air and slammed into the wall behind me. Coughing, I slid down helplessly, almost unable to stand.

Fuck! That single blow almost knocked me out!

Gritting my teeth, I rose shakily to my feet, defiant to the last despite this implausible turn of events unique only to protagonists.

”WHY?! GODAMMIT!” I raged as I tried to recoup what remained of my qi for one last, desperate retaliation. ”Pulling bullshit powerups from your ass and resorting to deus ex machina plot devices…are you really that desperate for your protagonist to win?!”

”That's enough yelling, dude,” Zhu Jiao told me as he delivered another punch that literally blew a hole through the wall behind me. It was fortunate that I ducked on reflex, or the hole would have been me instead.

Granted, it wasn't that Zhu Jiao intended to kill me. He wasn't holding back because he knew that I would be able to dodge his punch or successfully block it.

”Ugh…”

I realized that he was right. As much as I hated to admit it, whining about the fact after it occurred was useless and only annoyed both the spectators, my opponent and the existences beyond the fourth wall. Either I pull off a similarly dirty move (which was obviously unrealistic and impossible) or I started thinking of a strategy to deal with this bullshit but predictable turn of event.

This was partially my fault, after all. I should have seen this coming. Despite claiming to have read so many martial arts novels and being aware of all the tropes, clichés and formula they used, I was stupid not to have anticipated this. To be fair, I had just gone through almost thirty battles without encountering such a blatant deus ex machina, so obviously I had let my guard down and the thought had never crossed my mind.

I was stupid for forgetting that Zhu Jiao was the typical protagonist of a standard, cliché, formulaic wuxia/xianxia novel found all over the Internet. What was I expecting? A fair fight? Come on, there was a reason why people called the protagonists of wuxia/xianxia novels and light novels ”cheats.” They possessed almost every unfair advantage the writer could throw at them.

Well, too late to whine about that. Is there still a way for me to win?

Despite the nonsense occurring in reality, I was still determined to win this and overcome all this protagonist power bullshit and slap the author in the face. I was going to defy fate and steal from the Heavens.

You wanted to help your fucking protagonist cheat and win? Fine then. I'll defy you. I'll slap your laughing face and overturn the ending you have planned for this story. I would love to see you lose your smug expression when I smashed your protagonist to bits despite your blatant biasness toward him. I'll overturn this stupid fate and steal the role of protagonist from the ”real” protagonist.

”UWAAAAH!”

With a determined roar, I surged forward and met the charging Zhu Jiao in the middle of the arena. Zhu Jiao swung his armored fist at me and I dodged under him before slashing him. However, my blade merely scratched his golden, gleaming armor and left little more than a shallow mark. Stomping his foot on the ground and pivoting himself to face me, Zhu Jiao swung his other hand to punch me, but I read the flow of his movements and dodged that.

The only recourse I had was to read and master the flow of his movements. Liu, with a combination of my Heaven and Earth senses. I had to calculate Zhu Jiao's attacks with everything I had, predict his movements, his next step, his next move, and his next attack, integrate myself with his breathing methods and combat style, and learn his pattern of attacks. Only then would I be able to overcome him and evade every single strike he threw at me.

”!”

I jumped away as he kicked at me, his leg now armored in metallic boots. He stomped it back on the ground, carving a small crater into it. I gulped as I retreated. If I got hit by that, I would definitely suffer heavy injuries.

”Ugh…”

I glared at Zhu Jiao and took a deep breath. I wanted to win so badly that I had broken my self-imposed taboo and used Heavenly Flow and Earthly Steps. No more holding back. Bai Ning Xue was right. I was going to regret it if I restrained myself and refused to use Heavenly Flow and Earthly Steps. And I had faith that Zhu Jiao would survive everything I threw at him, just as he believed I could withstand his attacks.

As it was, he was attacking me with all his might. Even though each strike could potentially kill me, he didn't worry about that. He knew I would find a way to survive.

I'm going to give him the same respect.

Gritting my teeth, I dashed forward and struck him, my blades bouncing off his armor ineffectually. Zhu Jiao retaliated with a swing of his arms, and I ducked under them before trying to pierce through a weak spot. Relying on my Heaven and Earth sense, I detected the portions where the concentrations of qi were the weakest and struck with uncanny precision.

Or tried to, but unfortunately I wasn't a Mary Sue protagonist with impeccable aim. My thrusts were a little off, and as if sensing the danger intuitively, Zhu Jiao quickly batted my swords away and forced me back with well-taken punches.

The guy was definitely not pulling his punches.

”!!”

I spun away and narrowly avoided Zhu Jiao's fist, then used Tui to widen the distance between us.

Undeterred, Zhu Jiao threw out a punch that did not physically connect, but instead unleashed a broad beam of destructive golden qi.

”Golden Kirin Holy Blast!”

I narrowly avoided the blast, flipping my body in midair and landed almost clumsily. Stumbling for a second, I righted myself just in time to catch sight of Zhu Jiao's next move.

Instead of aiming a punch at me or dashing forward to close in, he was rearing his fist upward and plunging it into the ground. With that single punch, he shattered the concrete and sent all the rubble flying upward from the sheer force.

”?!”

I frowned as I intuitively retreated, unsure of what he was trying to do. Behind the shower of debris and half-obscured from view, Zhu Jiao smirked.

”Golden Kirin Holy Blast isn't the only ranged attack I have, you know!”

”No, I don't know,” I muttered sarcastically, sure that I would be seeing his other ranged attack any time now.

Zhu Jiao reared back and began delivering a barrage of punches. At first, I was wondering if he was going to lanch some sort of Gatling blast attack, firing off a pseudo machine gun hail of golden beams, but he surprised me by punching the debris that were floating in the air around him.

That wasn't all.

”!!!”

The rubble were all fired in my direction, traveling at incredible supersonic speeds, with sonic booms crashing in their wake. They turned red-hot from the friction, but even as they crumbled from being abraded by the atmosphere, they were traveling at such velocities that even a single hit would prove to be fatal.

After all force equaled mass times acceleration. And their acceleration was terrifying.

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes. As I predicted, the debris were flying at me at velocities too fast for my eyes to follow. I wouldn't be able to see them coming.

On the other hand, if I relied on my Heaven and Earth sense, I could better detect their trajectories and predict their movements. Without any time to waste, I began to move, slipping into the very essence of Heavenly Flow and Earthly Steps.

Water does not go through the rocks through sheer force. Water gently goes around the rocks. Counter hard with soft. Don't meet your enemies head-on, especially if they have superior strength. Be pliable. Be flexible. Go along with the flow of your opponents. Flow like water.

”!!”

Zhu Jiao's eyes widened when he noticed what I was trying to accomplish. I was slowly but surely evading every single debris and rubble that he was flinging in my way. Using the minimal of movements, I subtly shifted and gently weaved through the storm of rocks, avoiding direct hits.

Even so, my evasion wasn't perfect. I wasn't a Mary Sue protagonist who could suddenly master perfectly a new technique or skill in the middle of a battle. I was bound to make mistakes. They were very little errors, but mistakes nonetheless. Sometimes I miscalculated my movements or misjudged the trajectories of the debris and ended up being grazed by the lethal rocks. Blood dripped from the grazes and scratches as I braved the hail of rubble and gradually closed the distance between us.

Be like water…

”No.”

My eyes widened when I heard Master's voice. No, Master was dead. How could he…?