Chapter 4805 — A Fall Short of Success

Naturally, no one here was rooting for Wei Zhao. They simply wanted to see Leng Rufeng make his move, to witness just how terrifyingly formidable this cold-faced Blade God's strength truly was—that and nothing more.

"Heh heh, the fellow named Leng has finally come to his senses. There's a rare killing intent about him today—looks like he means to go all out against Wei Zhao. About time!" Ren Zhongyuan said with a smug laugh as he watched.

"Hardly surprising. Leng Rufeng was never the mild-tempered sort. After being toyed with by Wei Zhao yesterday, it would be stranger still if he didn't get serious. If he let Wei Zhao make a fool of him again like he did at the end yesterday, where would he hide his face?" Yi Xiaotian wore the expression of a man who had foreseen it all.

"Quite right, quite right—let the killing begin. I've been waiting impatiently." A dark, unnameable venom showed on Ren Zhongyuan's face. These past two days his father, Ren Tiansuo, had been working to dissolve the five-element killing aura from his body, and each session brought him inhuman agony, nearly tormenting him to the brink of collapse. He hated Wei Zhao to the very marrow, and longed to see the wretch torn limb from limb.

By now the two on the arena had once more taken up their stances. Leng Rufeng opened with Ice and Snow Domain the moment he stepped up, a colossal ice blade gripped in his hand. Wei Zhao, without a word, entered the Super-Limit State—what choice did he have? Without it, he would have no chance at all.

It had to be said: even under the severe suppression of Ice and Snow Domain, the speed displayed by the Super-Limit Butterfly Microstep remained extraordinary. Its darting, weaving turns were especially agile, and Wei Zhao actually evaded Leng Rufeng's opening slash—just barely, but without harm.

Leng Rufeng cast Wei Zhao another look of surprise. It seemed the fellow's injuries were not merely healed; even his true qi had returned to its peak. How on earth had he managed that?

After all, even for him, yesterday's battle—though not especially taxing—was not the sort of expenditure that could be fully replenished overnight. Some loss was inevitable.

This was a problem nearly every cultivator had to face. The fighting was exhilarating enough, but recovering was a long, drawn-out process. Leng Rufeng's rate of recovery was already considered swift. Yesterday's battle had cost him roughly thirty percent of his true qi, and a night's rest had restored about twenty percent. In other words, the true qi in his body now stood at only ninety percent of his peak.

Of course, never mind ninety percent—given the vast gulf in strength between them, even if he had only thirty percent left, Leng Rufeng could still crush Wei Zhao utterly. It would make no difference to the outcome whatsoever.

Yet facing this vigorous, vital Wei Zhao, Leng Rufeng instinctively felt a measure of wariness—though he immediately told himself he was making a fuss over nothing. Yesterday's battle had laid the fellow's strength bare before him. However many tricks he might produce, in the end he could never bridge that enormous chasm of power.

To actually feel apprehension toward this thing? Leng Rufeng could not help but laugh at himself. Having spent so long in the Profound-rank waters, he had truly grown jumpy, imagining this place to be as thick with masters as that other place. How absurd.

From a distance, Wei Zhao saw Leng Rufeng suddenly laughing for no apparent reason, and his heart gave a faint start. What was this man playing at?

But he did not dwell on it. Since his opponent was distracted, this was a rare opening and a rare chance. Without hesitation, Wei Zhao closed the distance to Leng Rufeng. The gap in strength was already vast; if he kept to pure defense, he would truly have no chance at all. He had to seize this opportunity and attack with everything he had—attack in place of defense!

A blue arc of lightning flashed out of thin air, running along the giant ice blade to strike directly at Leng Rufeng. After a whole night of recovery and reflection, this was the best opening move Wei Zhao could devise—he did not seek to wound, only to numb.

If this arc of lightning could induce even a moment's paralysis, it would create the chance for the follow-up assault to come. Only in this way could he wrest out a sliver of hope for victory.

Sure enough, Leng Rufeng fell into paralysis just as he had yesterday, his movements visibly slowing and stiffening. At the same moment, Wei Zhao flickered to his side and unleashed his strongest five-element killing aura, a dragon's roar accompanying the strike!

Leng Rufeng's heart lurched, and he was driven staggering back two full steps. The crowd below erupted in gasps at the sight—it seemed this Western Isle consort might actually turn the tables after all!

But they soon realized they had gotten ahead of themselves. After being forced back two steps, Leng Rufeng forcibly shook off the paralysis and struck out, cleaving the five-element killing aura—so close at hand—cleanly in two. Wei Zhao was blasted away by the aftershock of the blade.

So close, and yet it all came to nothing! Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Wei Zhao cursed his luck inwardly—then looked up and saw that Leng Rufeng, too, had blood at the corner of his mouth, and in an instant he understood what had happened.

The man's injury had not come from his five-element killing aura. To break free of the paralysis, he had bitten through his own tongue; the searing pain had jarred him out of the numbed state. To devise such a counter in the space of an instant—this Leng Rufeng was truly a formidable foe.

Once more the arena fell into a brief standoff. Leng Rufeng was reassessing his opponent, while Wei Zhao pondered his next move.

Lightning to open, then the strongest five-element killing aura—that was the simplest and most effective power combination he could think of. Unfortunately, such a tactic could catch an opponent off guard once, but a second time in a row it would lose its effect. He would have to think of something else.

Before Leng Rufeng could strike, Wei Zhao abruptly activated the Super-Limit Butterfly Microstep once more, again opening with the power of lightning. It was a move that never failed: even one as strong as Leng Rufeng could not mount an effective response in time, and could only endure it by sheer force of cultivation, while suppressing its paralyzing effect to the barest minimum.

Unavoidable speed and tyrannical, unmatched lethality—those two advantages were precisely why lightning martial techniques struck terror into the hearts of all cultivators. For the same reason, any lightning-attribute cultivator was all but invincible among peers. It was only that such cultivators were exceedingly rare in this world; most people might go their whole lives without ever encountering one.

The Wei Zhao of today, however, could at best be counted a half-baked lightning cultivator—all speed and no lethality. Otherwise, with his strength, he truly might have been able to give Leng Rufeng a proper run for his money.

Feeling that familiar lightning paralysis once more, Leng Rufeng's brows knitted slightly. Though he had begun to grow accustomed to the sensation and the numbing effect was growing weaker each time, being subjected to this again and again by Wei Zhao still stoked no small amount of irritation in him.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A dense, rapid series of impacts rang out as Wei Zhao's legs became a blur of fire, hammering blow after blow into his opponent's body—the Raging Inferno Thousandfold Kick paired with the Super-Limit Butterfly Microstep. The crowd below could no longer track Wei Zhao's position at all; they could see only a blurred shadow flitting around Leng Rufeng. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian () to vote