Triopals
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Chapter 9
🕑 Added 2024-10-15 03:09:27 +0000 UTCNathan regained his senses, having just been the victim of a surprise attack. He moved slowly around the arena, wary of Qingfeng. The blood on his cheek had stopped flowing, beginning to heal.
The small girl seemed carefree, mimicking her opponent's movements. Qingfeng shook her head to some unknown rhythm. Suddenly, she leapt up, drew her bow, and nocked an arrow aimed at Nathan.
He immediately dropped low, ready to sprint when the arrow left the string. But Qingfeng merely landed, as graceful as the wind. Smiling at Nathan, she danced about with her bow and arrows.
Despite running at full capacity, Nathan's mind couldn't find a viable approach to Qingfeng. The arrow's speed was too fast to react to. She was also adept at moving to choose positions, minimizing her close-combat weakness. He figured that even Xander or Keira would struggle against Qingfeng. The only person he could think of who might overpower her currently was Zahra.
Experimenting a bit, he repeated his old attack pattern. This time he used both legs to generate force. Simultaneously, mana drained from his body as when using the One-inch punch. He glided across the arena like lightning, greatly reducing his approach time.
But Qingfeng had already nocked an arrow when he began gathering power. In an instant, she loosed a shot. Prepared in advance, Nathan raised the back of his hand with its iron glove outward. With [Better Vision] and [Martial Art Mastery], he predicted the trajectory from his opponent's bow positioning. A metallic 'clang' rang out as his hand was flung backward, causing him to lose balance as his body's momentum still carried him toward Qingfeng.
She glided forward, both feet leaving the ground, legs spinning to kick at his head. With an unimaginable effort, Nathan adjusted his center of gravity, arching his back. The tip of her foot grazed past his nose, missing by a hair's breadth. He landed on his back. Meanwhile, her feet touched down with two soft thumps, once again creating distance between them.
He sprang up, examining his hand. The recent shot had numbed his arm, and at the point of impact, the iron layer had dented. Inside, his entire hand screamed in protest. Shaking it to forget the throbbing pain, he refocused on his opponent.
Currently, his only strategy was to wear down his opponent in terms of both stamina, as with Roran, and ammunition. Two arrows had been fired, so ten remained.
Qingfeng seemed to deliver an invisible slap to Nathan's face by walking to the arrow embedded in the ground earlier, pulling it out, blowing on the arrowhead, and replacing it in her quiver.
Alright, so eleven arrows then, he thought glumly.
Making a mental note to destroy the bow and arrows, Nathan lowered himself again, continuing his strategy. His cheek had stopped stinging, evidence that he could tank a few arrows to his body without too serious an issue.
Thus, the battle fell into a chase. The pursuer got shot. The pursued smiled brightly.
Nathan employed his strategy to the fullest. Each time Qingfeng fired an arrow, he either blocked with his gloves or used his body. Of course, he tried to direct the arrows to graze less dangerous areas like his back, forearms, shoulders, or buttocks. [Butthurt] really helped reduce the pain considerably. But having his pants torn to expose his backside wasn't exactly a pleasant experience.
He was still trying to avoid arrows shooting straight into his body. The force of the arrows was large enough to penetrate, but his newly enhanced body might not allow it. And that brought disadvantages. If an arrow shot through his shoulder, he could break off the arrowhead on the other side, so the jagged edges wouldn't cause deep bleeding when pulling out the shaft. But now his skin and bones felt more solid, causing arrows to get stuck between muscles and flesh. Trying to pull them out would not only be excruciatingly painful but also cause more severe trauma. [Titan's Descendant] would help him, but from his experience fighting Roran, the skill still needed time. Qingfeng certainly wouldn't allow that time. So, after a period of chase, he had only managed to break two arrowheads. Qingfeng still had six arrows in her quiver, two arrows in positions on the arena floor, and one shot flying outside. Clearly, the girl was managing her resources very well.
Though he hadn't suffered any fatal wounds, blood flowing from six or seven places on his body made it hard for Nathan to concentrate. Movements requiring heavy use of leg muscles were hindered as waves of pain transmitted to his brain. His initial speed was no longer guaranteed.
Sensing Nathan's hesitation and weakness, Qing knelt down, legs spread wide, bow parallel to the ground. She placed two arrows on either side of her grip hand. One arrow was released. Unlike before, this time it flew in an arc, aiming for her opponent's heart.
Unable to think, only following instinct and habit, he jumped to one side. At his landing spot was a second arrow. The difference from the first arrow was that Qingfeng had used her special skill, infusing mana into her hand to increase the arrow's force, while distributing energy to her legs to avoid being affected by recoil.
As before, he raised his glove to block, but the arrow didn't bounce off. Instead, it drilled into the glove like a drill bit. Before he could process this information, a cracking sound rang out, followed by his cry of pain. The arrow had pierced through his right hand, lodging into his shoulder.
Blood pooled at Nathan's feet, his gray uniform soaked in a deep red. He used his left hand to clutch his right. The right side of his body sagged with injuries. He stared fiercely at his opponent, fearing Qingfeng wouldn't stop.
Indeed, facing him was a petite girl with a deadly smile and a metallic tip reflecting sunlight. In a flash, the arrow left the bow, flying straight towards him.
Still numb, knowing using his remaining glove would be useless, he ducked and rolled. But his action seemed predicted, as the arrow followed a strange trajectory, curving down instead of straight, its destination still his heart. Without time to think, he swung up his leg. Another scream echoed across the arena. The arrow had pierced through his calf, barely stopping before it could pierce his chest.
The spectators in the stands all winced in sympathy.
"Terrifying! Can a bow be used like this too?"
"Do you know what Qingfeng's Phase is? 9.4! The girl has already touched her Mana Aspect for Tier 2."
"Now that you mention it, it seems to be wind attribute, right? The way those arrows change direction is too bizarre."
The inner sect elders also applauded in approval.
"What a lovely and talented girl," the female elder Esme spoke up.
"Bow combined with wind, truly a perfect match," another chimed in.
"If she makes it to the top 4, I'm willing to take her as my personal disciple," a portly elder announced.
The others didn't compete, as that elder also possessed the wind attribute.
Nathan, the victim of these techniques, didn't understand anything. His knowledge of mana aspects at Tier 2 was very limited. After all, before this moment, he had spent all his time working to earn points to buy the 'Initial Advancing Pill'. He had no energy left to research Tier 2 knowledge. Nevertheless, he guessed that Qingfeng was using mana to influence her bow in a limited way from his sparse knowledge. If it were truly Tier 2, she wouldn't even need to use a quiver; just using mana to shoot would be enough to shatter Nathan. Mana in the form of techniques entering the body would cause far more damage than physical attacks.
"Do you surrender?" Marcus asked, floating above.
The presiding elder always observed the matches in all four areas. He could always see or predict whether the techniques the disciples unleashed were fatal or not. At the moment the arrow changed direction, he had considered intervening, but the Phase 2.6 disciple's reaction of raising his leg made him pause. The determination before his eyes also truly made him more interested.
Nathan decisively snapped off the arrow's sharp tip, then pulled the shaft completely out of his leg.
Everyone who saw his ruthlessness was surprised.
"Is he really going to continue?" someone spoke up.
As if to answer that question, Nathan stood up, blood pouring from both ends of the hole in his calf. The second arrow was still lodged in his right shoulder. The pain radiating from it had subsided, and blood had stopped flowing.
Eyes fixed intently on Qingfeng's innocent pupils, he reached up to pull out the remaining arrow from his body. Gritting his teeth to endure, not a single cry escaped.
Seeing her opponent's grim smile, Qingfeng lowered the corners of her mouth. She hadn't expected her enemy to be so tenacious and frightening. That unyielding demeanor truly made her serious. While Nathan was struggling with his wounds, she had retrieved the two arrows that were still functional on the field. With six arrows left to utilize, she attacked.
In the moment when the arrows were removed, Nathan had exchanged his system points to upgrade [Martial Art Mastery], the only skill that could still use points when [Titan's Descendant] had no option for the next level.
Previously, he felt no need to raise this skill to level two because the knowledge at level one hadn't been fully consumed. But upon seeing Qingfeng's bizarre striking method, he couldn't help but proceed.
A flood of new knowledge poured into his head. The headache wasn't as intense as a month ago, but it was enough to make him dizzy. Yet it didn't prevent his body from acting. With a stretch of his hand, using the tip of his left index finger to push towards Qingfeng's wrist, her close-range attack was immediately broken. The arrow pinched between her fingers missed Nathan's neck by inches. Not only that, but the mana operating in her hand also became chaotic.
He used his healthy left leg to push his body forward, simultaneously adjusting his center of gravity and energy, forcefully bumping Qingfeng backwards.
She shook her wrist in shock. The absolutely precise attacking motion had surprised her. But even more frightening was that her mana was in disarray as she tried to guide it back. Disbelieving, she continued to launch close-range attacks. This time, using another arrow pinched between her remaining fingers.
Two sharp tips lunged at Nathan. The headache gradually subsiding, he calmly evaded, using the method of using softness to overcome hardness. The more powerful the attacks coming at him, the easier it was for him to exploit the openings. His wounds hadn't healed, but his movements were still graceful, sometimes tilting his body, sometimes counterattacking precisely to avoid creating any further disadvantages for himself. At level one, [Martial Art Mastery] didn't help him sense changes in his opponent or the surrounding environment. But now, not only could he see his opponent's movements more clearly than before, he could also sense the changes in the ambient air around them. As if the flow of ambient mana was a signal. He just had to decode it, thereby decoding what his opponent was planning to do.
Qingfeng wasn't finished. When she realized her opponent was being drawn into her rhythm, she used a technique she had developed herself. She carefully dropped an arrow in mid-air, then curled her finger and flicked hard at the tail. The arrow at close range flew so fast it couldn't be registered.
Regardless of whether his eyes could register it or not, regardless of that speed surpassing even [Better Vision], Nathan wasn't hit because he had already dodged when Qingfeng gathered power for her fingers. The ambient mana was extremely turbulent right at the position of the knuckle and tendon of her middle finger. Not knowing what card the girl would play, he had prioritized sidestepping to be safe.
Surprised by her opponent's reaction ability, Qingfeng revealed a moment of bewilderment, enough space for one of Nathan's One-inch punches.
The punch, enhanced by three skills [Amplifying Strike], [Flowing Strikes], and [Titan's Descendant], landed squarely on Qingfeng's stomach, sending her flying across the arena, landing on the ground coughing up blood. Having to keep track of the number of strikes to stack skills on top of each other amidst the headache truly made Nathan want to pass out right there, but he stood firm.
The audience jumped from their seats to cheer. They had truly thought Nathan would lose after taking those two arrows into his body. It was unexpected that he could still counterattack. A truly spectacular thing when compared to the other fights. No one was crazy enough like that Nathan guy.
"A good seed indeed," Alaric rarely praised, commenting once.
"When he stood up, something had changed," another elder observed. "Before, he didn't have the ability to guard against the storm of attacks using mana and wind attributes. But after that..."
"...After that, he completely caught his opponent off guard," another elder finished the analysis.
"What a strange disciple! But Yao Qingfeng is still the better seed."
Though they said such nice words, the inner sect elders all shared an expression that they weren't keen on Nathan.
Coughing a few more times, Qingfeng stood up, her internal organs feeling jumbled inside her body. Fortunately, she had learned how to reinforce mana through exchanges with Roran to increase her defense when truly attacked. Nathan's recent punch was no different from when Roran used full force. Truly frightening that a Phase 2.6 could do this much. Joking around like this was enough; it was time for her to show her opponent how big a disadvantage the difference in cultivation level was.
While Nathan was trying to regain his composure from the headache of leveling up his technique, she pulled down her hair tie. Only now did people realize the hair tie was made of braided strands. She took out the arrows and tied one end of the string to the arrow tails, the other end attached to her fingers. Upon closer inspection, people could see the calluses on her hands as well as huge scars hidden under the archer's gloves. She stood up, her face hardening, no longer wearing a smile. Her glossy black hair fluttered in the wind.
Roran outside the arena saw that motion and could only smile resignedly.
"She's gotten serious now."
Zeryn nearby heard and shook himself.
"What? She wasn't serious until now?"
The big guy heard someone respond to him and was surprised. Looking again at Zeryn's red uniform for inner sect disciples, he stood up to salute as to a superior.
Zeryn just waved it off, continuing to ask.
"So? Does the little mushroom have other tricks?"
"Yes, senior brother," Roran answered, "those strings of Qingfeng's tied to the arrows are the premise for her own ultimate technique, Arrow Dance."
Zeryn stroked his chin in thought. That brief description was enough for him to grasp somewhat what the girl was planning to do. The question was whether Nathan could handle it.
Nathan regained his clarity on the battlefield, everything before his eyes shifting from blurry to sharp, even Qingfeng seeming to gain a few extra lines despite just standing there. He could sense the mana condensing, the resonance like a wave enveloping his opponent. It had changed completely from just a minute ago. Not only instinct, but the knowledge from his skill was also sounding alarms incessantly.
Qingfeng took a deep breath, stabilizing the chaos and wounds in her body. She needed to end this fight faster, as she felt the internal injury wasn't good, only being suppressed by mana. Completely different from the beginning when she only attacked from afar, now she wanted to dominate close range.
Undaunted, Nathan accepted the challenge his opponent threw at him. Though he didn't understand why she chose to fight at close range, he had no other choice as he couldn't attack from afar. Bow tucked behind her back, Qingfeng used lightning-fast strikes at him. She only used basic techniques, but the speed, decisiveness, and fluidity were impeccable.
When Nathan wanted to counterattack, Qingfeng immediately executed her ultimate technique. She continued to take her bow and drop it in mid-air, then used her finger to flick it away. The opponent was forced to dodge. Taking advantage of that, from the side, she quickly did the same thing again, all aimed at vital spots. Unable to not choose to avoid, the male disciple facing her was forced to retreat. But retreating meant falling into the ambush she had already set. With a strong swinging motion of both hands behind her back, two arrows that had been shot before were jerked back hard. With the little mana that could be projected outward through the string, she meticulously controlled the energy, causing the two arrows to shoot back by inertia.
Though surprised, because he never took his eyes off his opponent, Nathan still managed to dodge with a jump into the air. But predictions could only go so far; he couldn't anticipate the further plans in his opponent's mind.
With a spin, Qingfeng made the two strings with bow and arrows rotate in an arc like a whip.
This action achieved the desired result as the arrowhead sliced across her opponent's chest, creating another burst of blood.
Nathan landed in a daze. The versatility in Qingfeng's techniques left him in awe. She was an entirely different opponent from those before, where actions telegraphing what would happen were either subtly concealed or too fast to react to even if known. The previous wounds were healing rapidly, but new ones kept coming, causing his body to be stressed out.
Not allowing her opponent time to catch his breath, Qingfeng charged again. She used a third arrow that had been connected to a string beforehand. All three missed again. Amazed yet frustrated by Nathan's superior reaction ability, she didn't stop. With the ability to retrieve her arrows at any time, she attacked like a whirlwind from all angles. She moved around her opponent, using the arrows to whip Nathan bloody.
He was very glad to have made it this far. Having the ability to keep up with the speed of higher Phases made him feel he had achieved his greatest accomplishment. Just a month ago, knowing a punch was coming, yet his disobedient body couldn't run when Elen struck. Now, he could keep up, only to discover there were truly terrifying people. And admirable ones. Standing in the middle of this merciless rain of arrows, he devoted his mind to contemplation while his body continuously adapted, dodged, and predicted. He smiled, as the pressure from before had disappeared. His new pressure was people like Qingfeng, like Xander. And he was ready to accept it.
Qingfeng, on the other hand, was horrified by her opponent. Her Arrow Dance had increased to its limit with five arrows. Her dance tore through the wind, fierce, adorned by droplets of blood in the air. But the result of falling into intoxicated collapse before such a dance cruelly did not occur. Her opponent still stood, still lucid enough to shift an ankle slightly to avoid cutting tendons, move a wrist or neck to avoid cutting into arteries. Though still wounded, he was always alert, never shaken. Especially those eyes, eyes that seemed to have never blinked since she attacked, they frightened her, as if everything about her was exposed.
Nathan counterattacked; he had finished analyzing the rhythm, the method of deploying this deadly technique. He moved between the fast-flying arrows as if taking a stroll, sometimes tilting slightly, sometimes stepping gently to one side, sometimes even using his finger to flick the side of an arrow. After a while, his eyes lit up.
The moment is here, he whispered.
To Qingfeng's surprise, Nathan raised his hand into the air, seemingly a futile action, but a moment later, he swiped to the side. All the dancing arrows stopped. The invisible strings were caught in his hand. Pulling hard, Qingfeng was unexpectedly yanked straight towards him.
"So that's why he endured attacks continuously," Roran marveled in admiration. "It's the first time someone has broken Qingfeng's technique, and in such a short time too."
Zeryn, however, was pensive, as if guessing everything wasn't over yet.
With no arrows left, Qingfeng threw her bow at Nathan as if seeking an opening. He leaned to one side, both hands forming fists aimed at her. Knowing her opponent's judgment ability surpassed even masters, she recklessly took the hit. Two punches to her chest and left shoulder left her dazed. But biting her lip hard, taking advantage of the break her opponent thought he had achieved, she used wind-attribute mana to propel herself forward. And that action wasn't hindered.
When the sound of wind brushing past made his clothes flutter, Nathan couldn't react in time. He was exhausted from attacking earlier. Thinking he would get a moment's rest, he had been careless. And carelessness had to be paid for. His opponent had reached her bow and pile of arrows.
So that was her purpose, he realized.
He recognized that Qingfeng was tired and that she also perceived his own speed was becoming sluggish; the seemingly effortless dodging actually involved very few intense movements, further highlighting this point. So her reckless action despite injury was truly a final gamble.
As he approached, Qingfeng spun on the ground. The motion was so beautiful he just wanted to admire it. With one hand severely injured, she used her foot to set the bow, her remaining hand drawing the string. Three arrows were nocked. Her perfect archery posture left everyone in admiration.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Three wind sounds rang out simultaneously. Blood sprayed between both people.
The audience all stood up at the spectacular action.
"What happened?"
That was the common question from everyone.
Zeryn was anxious for his friend.
"Qingfeng is still that vicious, huh," Roran shook his head in commentary.
The elders just smiled. Only the fat elder who initially wanted to take Qingfeng as his personal disciple clapped his hands loudly.
"Haha, the disciple I aim for is truly talented!"
Though they said such nice words, the other elders remained silent because they clearly understood the development on the field. Nathan still hadn't fallen.
He was choking and blood from the new hole connecting from his front mouth to his right cheek poured out like a waterfall. The other two arrows were lodged in both sides of his chest, which he had managed to adjust to avoid vital spots. But the arrow aimed straight at his head he couldn't avoid in time, so it had broken through his teeth, pierced through his palate, punctured his cheek, and flown away. He now looked like a blood-soaked demon standing looming ominously before the stunned Qingfeng.
"How did you..." she stammered.
He should have fallen by now; it was impossible for him to still be standing like that.
Nathan's cracked teeth forced out a smile. But that action only made him look more like a nightmare.
Not giving up, Qingfeng stabbed an arrow towards him. This time, Nathan raised his hand to block, regardless of it piercing through. Pain had become a companion.
He twisted his hand, breaking the stuck arrow. Then, flipping it over, he used his opponent's own arrowhead to strike. The sharp metal tip stopped a moment before piercing Qingfeng's brow. She had fainted from the internal injuries Nathan had inflicted earlier.
With a weary posture, he stepped back, head tilted upward. The wind blowing through the hole in his cheek brought the foul smell of blood enveloping him.
I won, but I'm so tired.
Elder Marcus still didn't understand anything, but when he heard Alaric's soft cough, he raised his hand to announce.
"The winner, Nathan Reed, one of the top 8."
