Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Chapter 256 - Hard-Fought Battle

By now a majority of the ordinary disciples were gone as did a few of the elite disciples. Now it was four against six with Ming Yue's group ahead by two people.

The body cultivator from before took on the strike with little issue and scanned the arena before locking onto her. He rubbed his neck, finding a bit of blood on the wound her attack created. His face showed a bit of surprise before it lit up in realization.

"It must be her that did this. If she is capable of this, it would've been better if I had chased her earlier."

Thinking this, he leaped forward, ready with his fists to strike as he aimed for Ming Yue.

"Embrace of the Demonic Sun"

"Fist of the Raging Sun"

He punched out before pulling his fist back creating an emptiness in the air that seemed to pull everything in, including Ming Yue who could not seem to escape it. Then she saw the fist-shaped fire coming for her, ready to smash her into the arena floor and leave her burnt up.

"Blasting Gale!"

She pointed her hand forward and a wind lance formed above her shoulder. It flew forth, clashing with the fist of fire before erupting into a burst of air that ripped the fist apart. Then she jumped forward and held her weapon high. As it met the fists of her opponent, he spoke to her.

"I did not think you would go for direct combat but that will be your mistake."

As he spoke, another voice spoke followed after, cold and emotionless, causing a chill on his back.

"No, it would be your mistake for being unable to watch your surroundings."

The body cultivator swung his fist back and turned to find who was behind him. His forearm was swift as it hit someone's body but they weren't thrown back like he had expected.

Ming Yue looked finding Yin Zhu with his two daggers pierced into the enemy's arm, preventing it from smashing him though he was thrown back. He pulled them out and quickly melted into the shadows on the floors.

"We will take turns grabbing his attention and attacking when the chance arises."

Right next to her, his voice whispered into her ears, a softspoken but dead tone. She didn't bother turning around and instead made her move, sending off another Blasting Gale that forced the opponent back several steps.

He grit his teeth, grappling the tip of this lance with his bare hands.

"Mountain Crushing Vice!"

*Heart Energy gathered in his palms as he crushed the lance between his palms. Upon its destruction, the lance erupted with a blast of air that nearly lifted him off of his feet.

"Heartshade Strike."

Still off balance, the body cultivator felt a sharp pain in his chest and looked down to find Yin Zhu's two knifes being pulled out by shadowy hands. It left two holes that were an inch deep but it was not enough to piercing his knife.

He grabbed at Yin Zhu's hands only for Ming Yue attack with Phantasmal Wind. Disappearing, she aimed for the same spot her Whistle Wind had cut and opened the wound even further.

"Agh!" he yelped in pain, feeling fresh blood flowing down his neck.

In these several exchanges, he could not catch them and suffered wound after wound. They were simply too quick for him, who had focused on his endurance and strength. But he could no longer endure this anymore.

"Get off of me!"

He yelled out, causing shockwave just from his voice and pushing the two away. He then took on a stance and brought his hands together. Heart Energy gathered together, a red and fiery aura coated his body and becoming a shield.

"Origin of the Fiery Sun"

He then walked forward and both Yin Zhu and Ming Yue began attacking but they could not penetrate this aura of his. What made it worse was getting close to him as the power he weighed on their bodies and slowed them down. Then Ming Yue slipped up, an opportunity the body cultivator waited for. She attacked only to retreat a second too late as he grabbed her by the wrist.

"You are a good opponent, I should not have let you go earlier and this time I won't."

He readied his fist to strike as one hit was all it took to take her out. Yin Zhu attacked but the fiery aura was barely affected by his attacks.

Just as the body cultivator punched, Ming Yue retaliated with another Blasting Gale, throwing it directly at his fist and stopping it in its path. He pushed back but in the end, they were at a stalemate. Yi Zhu tried once more to break the fiery aura but found no luck. Instead, he vanished perhaps abandoning her.

"It seems he has given up", the body cultivater noted and it spurred him to push the lance back.

WIth the help of the Eternal Heart Ring, Ming Yue was able to maintain and fortify the lance.

Ming Yue did not blame Yin Zhu for leaving. This body cultivator was simply too difficult to take on. She wasn't sure how long she would last but she conintued to endure.

That is until a spear shot through the sky and pierced the nigh inpenetrable aura. Wenqin Yan followed, landing by the spear before swatting the opponent away with it. The body cultivator who had endure countless of attacks found himself thrown out of the arena and grinding into the soil. Because of Wenqin Yan's attack, he lost control of his fist and was thrown off by the Blasting Gale. The combined force of both strikes had knocked him unconscious.

"It looks like we won."

Yin Zhu reappeared and the three looked around, finding that they were the only ones left. Furthermore, they were the last group to finish.

From the crowds, everyone was both excited and a little disappointed. Ming Yue's clash was very close and they wanted to see the conclusion. For it to be resolved with the Inheritor was a little bit dissatisfying.

Nevertheless, there were plenty of battles to watch on this day.

MIng Yue left the arena and noticed the marking on her body glow and heal all of her energy.

"Are you okay? That was really close!"

Wenqin Yan looked at her with concern. She nodded and assured him that she was fine.

"I suppose, but that body cultivator is a special case. If I remember correctly, he managed to take on multiple Ivory Asura Puppets" he said.

The others chimed in.

"He is quite the dark horse, I think his name was Xing Juren."

"If I remember correctly, he was on track to becoming an Inheritor, skipping past the Elite rank."

"If we encounter him again, we will have to deal with him first."

At the end of this battle, everyone began discussing with one another. This fight had given them much to think about with each other, quickly thinking of methods to synergize and improve their teamwork. This was especially so for the veterans of the group, who had participated in previous tournaments.

There was much to discuss and even more to brainstorm, strategies and ways to utilize everyone's abilities. In group battles, teamwork is everything. After all, Yin Zhu must have realized that fighting Xing Juren was a lost cause and instead help Wenqin Yan fight the other Inheritor as he was the only one who could help. At the end, those two finished off everyone else and then moved to help Ming Yue.

She listened in and watched the next rotations to which the sixth and final rotation came. Now it was Anqing's turn to fight and unfortunately, it ended quite quickly being one of the first to finish.

As for the result, her group had lost though it was quite close.. Furthermore, the battle had certainly made her stand out especially with the poison.