Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 389 - Yin-Yang Union

A voice came from behind Liu Wuxie. Anyone who had made it into the top sixteen was formidable, and the stronger they were, the more arrogant they seemed.

Without a word, Liu Wuxie and his opponent headed to the nearest arena, while the other participants dispersed to their respective battlegrounds.

There was another unexpected sight: Shao Wendong, Chen Lin, and the other geniuses from the six peaks deliberately avoided facing each other.

"This must be rigged! It's cheating!" protested Chen Lin's opponent, raising objections and suggesting that the sect had arranged the matchups. After so many rounds, it seemed improbable that the top contenders wouldn't face each other naturally.

While the audience might anticipate a thrilling final between Shao Wendong and Chen Lin, leaving the suspense till the end, other contestants secretly hoped they would eliminate each other, providing opportunities for themselves to advance.

However, there was no evidence of an arrangement during the draw because the participants drew the number plates with no interference. This was just a protest, which everyone understood.

“My name is Nie Xing. Junior Brother Liu, please guide me!” Liu Wuxie’s opponent had cultivation in the third-level Heavenly Dipper Realm. Aside from a hint of arrogance on his face, there was no hostility from him. After all, everyone had no personal grudges after coming this far and were purely competing for the championship.

"Please," replied Liu Wuxie politely. As they prepared for their match, Nie Xing pulled out a brush, a rare and unconventional weapon compared to the swords commonly used by other disciples.

However, the brush had multiple advantages, such as thrusting like a sword or swinging like a spear. It could also be used as a whip, making it a versatile weapon.

“Junior brother, be careful. My Yin-Yang Judgement Brush is no weaker than the Divine Spirit Sword,” Nie Xing reminded. He was confident in securing a victory with his cultivation in the third-level Heavenly Dipper Realm.

“Thanks for the reminder!” Liu Wuxie appreciated the warning. Revealing one’s trump cards to the opponent made this an honorable duel.

The martial techniques Liu Wuxie practiced didn’t come from the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, and it was useless even if he told Nie Xing. He was still exploring with the Primordial Astral Fist, and the Fatality Blade Art couldn’t be easily used.

In legends, the Judgement Brush was divided into Yin and Yang. The Yang Judgement Brush could control life and death, while the Yin Judgement Brush could control all Yin spirits in heaven and earth.

Yin and Yang could also represent many things. For example, heaven was Yang, and earth was Yin. The right was Yang, and the left was Yin.

Nie Xing held a brush in his right hand, and his left hand was empty. Since he said he practiced the Yin-Yang Judgement Brush, where was the other brush?

The brush sliced through the air and appeared at Liu Wuxie’s left flank with incredible speed. It was truly powerful, especially when used by someone in the third-level Heavenly Dipper Realm. This was on a whole new level compared to Duan Hong.

Liu Wuxie dodged sideways, and the brush missed him. But ripples were left behind in the path of the brush, spreading out like cotton fluff.

Nie Xing lifted his feet from the ground after his missed attack, swiftly executing several strikes with his right hand akin to a dragonfly skimming over water, each strike creating ripples through the air.

Liu Wuxie didn’t dare to be careless because the Yin-Yang Judgement Brush was extraordinary. It didn’t have an overwhelming aura, but it was extremely tough.

Nie Xing's attacks flowed seamlessly into the next, relentless and continuous. He remained calm and unhurried, each strike as smooth as flowing water.

"Care to guess how long Liu Wuxie can hold out against Nie Xing?" The spectators started discussing, speculating on the number of moves Liu Wuxie could withstand before being defeated.

Even now, many were still struggling to accept that Liu Wuxie had made it into the top sixteen.

“Thirty moves!” Someone answered, believing Liu Wuxie would last no more than thirty moves against Nie Xing.

"Don't underestimate him!" Liu Wuxie's supporters retorted, showing confidence in his abilities to win the fight.

"Winning relying on his movement technique?" A mocking voice interjected from the Terrain Summit Peak, spoken by a disciple who had been close to Duan Hong. Since Duan Hong's death, animosity toward Liu Wuxie had grown among the disciples of the Terrain Summit Peak.

“Senior Brother Nie’s Yin-Yang Judgement Brush has a total of 180 moves, with the most powerful move being the Yin-Yang Union, which is invincible.” The majority of the people supported Nie Xing.

No one doubted Liu Wuxie’s strength, as his feat of killing someone in the second-level Heavenly Dipper Realm was already enough to make him famous.

Each time the brush moved, stars would appear in the sky and converge. It was like a dense net, shrinking and trapping Liu Wuxie within.

“An excellent martial technique!” Liu Wuxie couldn’t help praising because Nie Xing’s Yin-Yang Judgement Brush was much stronger than Duan Hong’s Divine Spirit Sword. It was no wonder Nie Xing warned him before their match.

The brush’s movements focused on thrusting, swinging, and stabbing, all of which Nie Xing perfectly executed.

“Junior brother’s movement technique isn’t bad either!” Nie Xing increased his speed to match Liu Wuxie’s speed. The two chased after each other, and two blurs could be seen flashing around in the arena.

It was hard to determine the winner at this rate. By far, Liu Wuxie hadn’t used Ghost Eye, and he found several flaws in the Yin-Yang Judgement Brush with his powerful talent. But he was still waiting because defeating Nie Xing in a few moves would significantly affect his confidence.

“Senior brother, be careful now!” Liu Wuxie warned and leaped into the sky like a celestial crane. When he raised his right fist, dense astral energy poured into his fist, which descended like a powerful storm, knocking Nie Xing’s brush as his fist continued to descend.

A terrifying nebula formed in the arena, and its power was stronger than when Liu Wuxie had faced Duan Hong. This shocked Nie Xing, fear flashing across his face because this power had far exceeded his expectations.

The nebula exploded like a giant star, causing an explosion similar to Arena 1. If Nie Xing couldn’t respond in time, he would be dead unless Liu Wuxie pulled back his punch.

“What a powerful punch! It’s much stronger than before!” Countless people stood up and were captivated by Liu Wuxie’s punch.

Elder Tian Xing’s eyes locked onto Liu Wuxie because he had never seen this fist technique before. He couldn’t comprehend how someone from the mundane world possessed such a powerful fist technique.

There weren’t many fist techniques in the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, and he practically knew all of them.

Nie Xing’s facial expression became grim, and another brush appeared on his left hand.

“Yin-Yang Union—Heaven and Earth Reversal!” The two brushes manifested into two dragons, roaring furiously and charging at the sky, shattering the power of Liu Wuxie’s punch.

After deflecting Liu Wuxie’s punch, Nie Xing seamlessly transitioned, launching attacks from both sides with swift precision.

Liu Wuxie wasn't surprised that his punch was deflected; it was all within his expectations. He had only used forty percent of his true essence, withholding his full strength. If he had gone all out, Nie Xing would be dead.

Facing the attacks from the two brushes, a smile rose on Liu Wuxie’s lips. He split into three afterimages and vanished.

His hands formed seals resembling chains that took the shape of a triangle, causing the brushes to lose accuracy and stab in another direction.

“Not good!” Nie Xing was horrified to see how Liu Wuxie controlled the laws of heaven and earth. It felt as though he had lost connection with the two brushes, and he quickly retreated.

Liu Wuxie took seven steps and appeared behind Nie Xing, gently striking out with his palm. Everything happened so fast that the audience couldn’t keep up with his speed.

“Junior brother, show mercy!” Nie Xing pleaded. He knew he would die if Liu Wuxie’s palm struck him.

The force behind Liu Wuxie’s palm vanished, and it only felt like a breeze blowing past Nie Xing. But Nie Xing’s back was drenched in cold sweat because if he hadn’t pleaded at the last moment, he would’ve been severely injured even if he managed to block the palm.

With no expression, Liu Wuxie gently landed on the side of the arena.

“Thank you, junior brother, for sparing my life!” Nie Xing was drenched in cold sweat and quickly stored his brushes before cupping his fists together. He still lingered in fear, recalling the palm strike from a moment ago.

“You’re strong, and I only won because of luck!” Liu Wuxie told the truth because Nie Xing would easily make it into the top ten if he faced someone else.

He was unlucky when he ran into a monstrous genius like Liu Wuxie, who saw through the flaws in his Yin-Yang Judgement Brush.

“I’m still too weak compared to you, junior brother!” Nie Xing was disheartened and left the arena in despair. Failing to make it into the top ten greatly impacted him.

“He won?” Many still couldn’t accept that Liu Wuxie made it into the top ten, breaking the sect’s records.

Bai Lin and Liu Wuxie’s supporters stood up and cheered in excitement. Jian Xing’er smiled and looked relieved.

On the contrary, the Terrain Summit Peak and Profound Inscription Peak fell silent. Liu Wuxie’s repeated striking performances were like a series of resounding slaps on their faces, leaving them with a bitter taste.

When Liu Wuxie returned to the resting area, fights were still ongoing. The fights only concluded in the late morning, with eight people advancing smoothly.

The eight were Liu Wuxie, Shao Wendong, Chen Lin, Dong Yan, Zhao Yi, He Fan, Wen Haoran, and Luo Mingyang.

The Heavenly Trigram Peak and Earth Force Peak had two representatives, while the others only had one.

The quarterfinals were next, and the battles were expected to become even more intense. Thus, no one spoke and focused on recovering their true essence when they returned to their resting area.

When Wen Haoran looked at Liu Wuxie, there was a hint of graveness in his eyes.

“It’s finally time!” The previous rounds were exciting, but the audiences still weren’t satisfied.

“The next lottery will determine your rankings. Are you all prepared?” Elder Tian Xing’s gaze swept through the remaining eight, releasing the pressure that made the participants feel like a massive boulder on their shoulders.

“We’re ready!” The eight responded in unison.

“Good, let us start with the drawing process!” It wasn’t a lottery box this time but bamboo slips in a bamboo tube. Those who drew the same number would face each other, and the deacons would deliver the bamboo slips to them so they didn’t have to step forward to draw.

Liu Wuxie was the fifth to draw, and he casually drew one from the bamboo tube. The tube was sealed with a spiritual array, and Liu Wuxie’s divine sense couldn’t penetrate, no matter how he tried.

Looking at the bamboo slip in his hand, Liu Wuxie noticed the number 'Four' engraved on it. It wasn't exactly an auspicious number. [1]

The eight participants looked at their numbers before exchanging a look, trying to find their opponent.

“I’m number one!” Wen Haoran raised his bamboo slip, and He Lan stepped forward reluctantly.

“I’m number two!” Zhao Yi raised his bamboo slip, and his opponent was Shao Wendong. It was inevitable because the odds of running into strong opponents were higher now in the quarterfinals.

Chen Lin’s opponent was Dong Yan, while Liu Wuxie’s opponent was Luo Mingyang.

The eight participants selected four arenas and stepped onto them without exchanging words. Victory would secure a place in the semifinals, bringing the championship within reach.

“He's lucky to have drawn the weakest opponent," several spectators grumbled, doubting Luo Mingyang's ability to challenge Liu Wuxie.

1. The pronunciation of four in Chinese is similar to that of die. ☜