The metallic clang of countless swords being deflected by Gu Yuan's Autumn Water echoed through the arena.
Yang Tiankui hovered mid-air, an array of gleaming swords floating around him. Seeing his sword dragon blocked by Gu Yuan, he let out a cold snort. With a gesture, hundreds of swords from behind him flew out, their metal scraping against each other before transforming into a single, door-plank-like greatsword, three meters in length.
He formed a phantom grip, his body dissolving into a streak of sword light, charging directly at Gu Yuan.
Gu Yuan, witnessing this, saw a void appear behind his blood qi giant. With a flash, he vanished within the giant's form, reappearing outside. His hands began to gather blood qi, crackling with strands of electricity. Two spears, forged from blood qi and lightning, materialized in his grasp.
His arm muscles bulged, tendons protruding, as he hurled the spears with immense force. They tore through the air, becoming two meteors streaking towards Yang Tiankui.
Rumble!
The immense power imbued the spears with unparalleled kinetic energy, instantly breaking the sound barrier and unleashing a deafening sonic boom that reverberated throughout the venue.
Yang Tiankui's eyes flashed with sword light. His greatsword met the incoming projectiles, two swift slashes severing the streaking lights. The immense energy contained within the spears detonated instantly.
Boom!
Amidst an eruption of blood qi, Yang Tiankui transformed into a sword light, charging at Gu Yuan. Gu Yuan clapped his hands together, the blood qi behind him coalescing rapidly. It formed a pair of colossal hands, manifesting the Vermilion Bird Divine Monarch Seal. A surge of crimson flame, laced with blood fire, ignited once more.
These two fiery hands, blazing with intense flames, slammed down towards Yang Tiankui, who was hurtling towards Gu Yuan at breakneck speed.
Yang Tiankui's gaze flickered. The sharp sword qi swirling around him seemed to dim considerably in an instant. His speed, imperceptibly, dropped significantly, just enough to be caught by Gu Yuan's blood qi hands.
Boom!
A thunderous roar erupted. Gu Yuan's eyes were cold. He released his grip on the blood qi hands, and a figure plummeted to the ground.
Gu Yuan flickered and returned to the arena floor. He watched Yang Tiankui clutching his chest. Yang Tiankui struggled to rise but failed after numerous attempts, clearly appearing to be severely injured.
A flicker of confusion crossed Gu Yuan's mind. He sensed something was amiss but paid it no mind, calmly watching as the referee counted Yang Tiankui out, declaring Gu Yuan the victor.
Upon receiving the result, Gu Yuan casually waved his hand. All the blood qi remaining on the stage that hadn't dissipated returned to his grasp, slowly condensing into a sphere. A surge of lightning and fire appeared in his palm, refining the blood qi back to a state similar to when it left his body.
The blood qi now resembled a blood-red bead. He squeezed his palm, absorbing the pure blood qi contained within, and then turned to return to his seat, not sparing Yang Tiankui a single glance.
As he was being carried away on a stretcher, Yang Tiankui watched Gu Yuan's retreating back, a faint smile curving his lips in a place no one could see.
Gu Yuan returned to his seat, his lingering confusion unyielding. He frowned, replaying the battle in his mind, sensing a profound strangeness about it.
Without dwelling on it, Gu Yuan closed his eyes and began to regulate his condition.
After the other matches concluded, Gu Yuan bid farewell to the four of them and returned directly to his dormitory.
Back in his dorm, Gu Yuan recalled the peculiar feeling of the final exchange during the match. He now understood: at the very last moment, as the blood qi hands were about to strike Yang Tiankui, the sword qi surrounding Yang Tiankui's body had suddenly become incredibly fragile, a stark contrast to their earlier clashes.
Gu Yuan's blood qi originated from his internal vital essence, essentially an extension of his own limbs, so such a perception would not be mistaken.
His brow furrowed as he pondered Yang Tiankui's motive. How could someone who had reincarnated from a powerful being surrender so easily? That was the pride of a true powerhouse.
There had to be something, or some condition, that made him deliberately lose at the last moment.
A cold glint flashed in Gu Yuan's eyes as he turned to gaze at the towering arena in the distance, faint cheers still audible.
Yang Tiankui, Yang Tiankui, what kind of being have you reincarnated from, and what was the purpose of deliberately losing this match?
Gu Yuan's questions about Yang Tiankui deepened, his curiosity piqued. The urge to personally unravel Yang Tiankui's enigma grew stronger.
Returning to the present, Gu Yuan resumed his daily routine of converting particles. This cultivation technique would only be considered near completion once he had converted all the particles in his body.
Outside the martial arts league arena, Yang Tiankui bid farewell to the teachers from Tianxia University with a smile. As he boarded the special vehicle outside the city, he watched the receding arena, the image of Gu Yuan's formidable blood qi echoing in his mind, his eyes hardening with growing coldness.
Leaving Xiajing, Yang Tiankui no longer concealed himself. After confirming his direction, he transformed into a streak of sword light, his emitted aura no less potent than that of a Qi Sea realm expert.
After three hours of high-speed flight, he arrived at a mountain range roughly in the central region of Tianxia. He carefully concealed his aura and presence, then plunged into the boundless expanse of the forest.
Another three hours of travel brought him to a rather inconspicuous small mountain within this mountain range.
His hands moved in a series of complex gestures, unleashing a burst of true qi. He struck the void before the mountain, and an opening, exuding an aura of infinite sharpness, materialized. A hint of a smile appeared on Yang Tiankui's face.
He flashed into the opening, disappearing from sight. Moments later, the cave mouth vanished.
The forest returned to its original quietude.
ps: Dear readers, today I had eight hours of online classes, leaving me utterly dizzy. On top of that, I spent over an hour in the afternoon removing the character Chu Ling from an earlier section.
After my online classes ended at six in the evening, I immediately rushed to the driving school and practiced for another hour. I'm truly exhausted. I will resume normal updates tomorrow. For today, please allow me to rest. Thank you, dear readers.