Chapter Ninety-Five: I Am Still Standing

The war drum had already sounded, and the two men erupted their presence to the limit, their auras colliding and refusing to mingle. In the center of the ring, pale violet spiritual energy and blue inner force interwove like jagged teeth. This was only the second contest, before the weapons had even properly crossed. No, the battle had already begun.

The air above the platform crackled sharply, the explosive snap of compressed energy.

Zhou Yi moved, because he had lost the first exchange of spiritual energy. No weapons had yet met, and the score stood at one win apiece.

When Mingchuan Youzhi saw Zhou Yi charge, his expression turned grave. He reached into his robes, and two throwing stars flew from his hand. The moment they left him, his outline began to fade; from the very start, he had hidden his form.

Zhou Yi did not pause. Dis the Fire struck straight at his right side, but only a brush of wind touched his face, and the blade cut through empty air. His ears twitched, and his body suddenly rose three meters, turning upside down in midair as he drove Dis the Fire toward a corner of the ring.

After Mingchuan Youzhi vanished from sight, Zhou Yi could no longer see him, but their auras had long since locked onto each other. Unless Mingchuan Youzhi could seal away his killing intent and inner force completely, leaving not the slightest trace, concealment techniques were useless before one who had already transcended tribulation.

Two more throwing stars came flying. Zhou Yi, still in the air, halted for an instant and lashed out with Dis the Fire, sending one throwing star flying back toward Mingchuan Youzhi.

After landing, Zhou Yi reached up and plucked the throwing star from between his teeth, then listened intently. With a precise flick of his hand, he sent the star toward the path Mingchuan Youzhi had to take.

The moment the star left his hand, Zhou Yi did not stop moving. He sealed off Mingchuan Youzhi’s retreat, forcing him to reveal himself.

In their first exchange, Mingchuan Youzhi’s concealment technique had been broken, and he had fallen into the disadvantage.

Once again, the two stood on opposite sides of the platform, their expressions eerily alike, brows furrowed, eyes fixed on one another with solemn intensity.

Fight. Fight again.

The wooden boards beneath Zhou Yi shattered into splinters as he shot forward.

Mingchuan Youzhi drew his samurai sword in a reverse grip and held it across his chest. The blade had barely left the scabbard when a ringing note rose, a clear metallic hum as Dis the Fire struck the sword’s body. The two weapons touched only briefly before separating, both resonating with that vibrating sound.

They each retreated five steps. In this clash of blade and sword, Zhou Yi had fallen slightly behind.

Watching the two of them locked in fierce combat, everyone’s hearts hung in the air. Mu Chen and Baozi unconsciously clenched their fists, their knuckles whitening from the force. No one spoke. Even the townspeople staring on felt a tightness in their chests before suddenly remembering they had not breathed for nearly two minutes.

Mingchuan Youzhi spat out the “Soldier” seal of the Nine Syllable Mantra. His hands formed the Immovable Wisdom King seal, all his inner force gathering at the hand sign before surging forward through the syllable “Soldier.”

“Let me show you what the true Taoist Nine Syllable Mantra looks like.”

At the same instant, Zhou Yi pressed together the fingers of both hands, turned his wrists inward, locked the ring fingers against the little fingers, rotated both middle fingers upward, and thrust out his joined fingers.

The seal he formed was the Great Vajra Mudra. The moment it took shape, he also intoned “Soldier.”

Seal and mantra combined, and all his spiritual energy gathered instantly between the fingers of both hands before being driven outward with a reversal of the wrists. Wind rose, and the entire ring collapsed at once, wooden shards flying in all directions.

Yuan Tingyu and Mingchuan Kageshita immediately used their own energy to block the flying splinters, sparing everyone from injury. But the common folk had no one to protect them. Seeing the debris rushing in, they cried out in terror.

“Merciful Buddha.”

At the critical moment, Xuhua arrived in front of the townspeople and released his own spiritual energy, forming a barrier before them. Only then were the innocent spared from the disaster.

Spiritual energy and inner force had already met in the center of the arena. With a thunderous blast, the roar continued for two full seconds. By then, the Mount Mao ring had vanished without a trace, and even the blue bricks on the ground had been shattered.

Zhou Yi and Mingchuan Youzhi were both blasted backward. No one could count exactly how many steps they retreated; only when they finally stopped did both men spit out a mouthful of stagnant blood.

Standing their ground again, Mingchuan Youzhi once more recited the Nine Syllable Mantra. “The soldiers, fighters, and all formations stand before me.” With each syllable, his hands shifted through supporting mudras, and before he had even finished the incantation, his presence had more than doubled.

Zhou Yi narrowed his eyes slightly, and that stubbornness rose in him again. So you want to use the Nine Syllable Mantra? Then I will meet you with the Nine Syllable Mantra as well. He wanted to see whether the original Taoist Nine Syllable Mantra of China was stronger, or the mangled version that had been altered after reaching Japan.

Presence. Zhou Yi formed the Immovable Wisdom King seal, and one-tenth of the spiritual energy in his meridians instantly converged in his hands.

Soldier. He formed the Great Vajra Wheel seal, and the spiritual energy in his meridians was left at less than half.

Fight, Outer Lion Seal. One, Inner Lion Seal. All, Outer Binding Seal.

With five seals completed, the spiritual energy in Zhou Yi’s meridians was instantly drained dry, leaving not a trace.

If he forced the seals out now, defeat would be certain. Zhou Yi bit the tip of his tongue. Barrier, the Inner Binding Seal, was completed, and he immediately felt the thin spiritual energy in his blood being pulled away to nothing.

He bit harder, and the tip of his tongue split open. Matrix, the Wisdom Fist Seal was only halfway formed when he suddenly felt dizzy and disoriented, his mind growing hazy.

Front, the Sun Wheel Seal. Zhou Yi’s hair turned white in an instant, and wrinkles appeared upon a face that should have belonged to a man in his youth. He could no longer sustain the final syllable, “Formation.” If he forced the might of the seal, all he would gain was ruin.

Mingchuan Youzhi had already completed the Nine Syllable Mantra. His body was wrapped in blue inner force as he charged straight toward Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi’s Taoist Nine Syllable Mantra had reached only eight syllables. At this moment, he seemed like a violet sphere waiting to burst, and no one doubted the power of the two-meter-wide ball of spiritual energy.

Mingchuan Youzhi had already reached him. Zhou Yi let out a sharp cry, and the two met in midair.

The sound was like thunder detonating beside the ear. It was a clash of spiritual energy and inner force, a struggle between Chinese mystic arts and Japanese ninjutsu. Every blue brick on the ground turned to powder and flew outward in all directions.

Yuan Tingyu and the two elders behind him hurriedly joined forces with Xuhua to block the wildly rampaging energy. Mingchuan Kageshita and the unknown ninja also combined their strength to shield the ninjas behind them.

Those who moved were all experts who had already survived heavenly tribulation. They pinned the raging energy within the arena, leaving it nowhere to vent, until it burst apart in a sudden explosion.

Another deafening crash rang out, and all those who had rushed forward to contain the energy were forced back several steps, their faces flushed red.

Six tribulation-crossing experts had actually been injured at once. Fortunately, the unknown ninja had weaker cultivation; the violent energy broke through his side first, and the two rooms on the western side were instantly leveled.

When the smoke and dust cleared, Zhou Yi and Mingchuan Youzhi still stood in the arena, facing each other without moving.

Who had won, and who had lost? This question rose in everyone’s hearts, yet as long as neither man moved, the victor could not be determined.

Then both of them smiled. At the same time, they smiled.

Zhou Yi’s smile was bright, but blood soon began to pour from his nose and mouth, and it would not stop.

Seeing this, Mingchuan Youzhi burst into laughter. “I have won—” But before he could finish the last word, blood began to stream from all seven orifices, and he slowly toppled backward.

With a thud, Mingchuan Youzhi fell. Zhou Yi still remained standing.

“I am still standing...”