Chapter 224 - Leon vs. Long Tian

"The winner is Feng Chen."

Song Yazhu declared the end of the fight. As expected, Feng Chen was the winner. Yet, the opposition shown by He Fen had amazed everyone. A young man who had previously been a complete nobody had managed to advance to the quarter-finals of a first-class tournament.

Not only had he beaten strong opponents with an impressive background, but he had also managed to put Feng Chen in trouble enough to make him use the Phoenix Breath, one of the most powerful techniques in possession of the Feng Family. This alone was an amazing result.

“Your flames are still too little intense. But there is indeed a possibility that the Bifang Bird could fly at the same altitude as the Phoenix. I hope that day will happen as soon as possible." Feng Chen whispered to He Fen.

Although the latter was unconscious, Feng Chen wanted to compliment him for the way he had fought. Meanwhile, the Academy's supporting martial artists took the unconscious He Fen away to medicate him.

Those who lost were treated directly by the Academy staff to ensure the martial artist's complete recovery. After all, serious or even fatal injuries were a real risk: a simple spirit soldier was unable to heal such wounds alone and in a short time. And that was to Hei's advantage.

Mia, Lilian, Mareo, and Haruno were currently busy healing Hei. His injuries required the intervention of all four of them if they were to get him back in the optimal fighting condition the next day. Therefore, they wouldn’t have had the opportunity to deal with Feng Chen as well. Either way, they trusted the Academy staff and knew He Fen was in good hands.

“And now the last match of the day. To take the field will be the Imperial Prince Long Tian and Leon."

Song Yazhu called out the names of the next two fighters. This match would also be the last of the tournament's quarter-finals and decreed the four semi-finalists' last.

Long Tian and Leon answered Song Yazhu's call. There was no chatter between them as they approached the fighting stage. Both were full of determination and could see the desire for victory in the opponent's eyes.

"Let the fight begin!" Song Yazhu started the fight.

Peng!

The two fighters instantly activated their spirit power and dashed forward as they summoned their weapons. Leon's greatsword then fell from top to bottom, taking advantage of the size advantage. Still, Long Tian's hooked swords, however thin they looked when compared to such a greatsword, didn’t move at all. Instead, they took full impact and stopped the greatsword in midair.

'As I thought. Although they appear thin, they are heavy. Is it because of the material they were made of or because of a technique?' Leon analyzed as he tried to push his greatsword down.

"Repel."

Long Tian used his repulsion technique, thrusting Leon's sword upward. Then he tried a thrust using his right hook sword.

Stab!

The hook sword moved quickly forward, but Leon deftly dodged to the side. Even though he had Spirit Metal armor weighing him down, he had trained hard to learn how to fight without it being an obstacle to his movements. Of course, in that state, he couldn’t hope to match martial artists like Hei in speed who possessed swift movement techniques or quick attack fighting styles. However, there was to be said that with the defense provided by the spirit armor, he had to worry much less about being hit.

'My armor gives me an extra layer of protection. But even it has a limit. As far as I can, I must avoid the blows.'

Slash!

Leon made his greatsword descend again. Once again, the hook swords blocked his attack without a hint of vacillation.

"Repel."

Leon's greatsword was raised high again as Long Tian tried another thrust. This time, however, the speed of the thrust was faster than before. Fortunately, Leon was already ready.

"Sky Fist."

Peng!

Leon's left fist filled with spirit power as he advanced. The armor and sword collided halfway, making a loud clang.

'It feels like I hit a mountain wall ... If it weren't for my armor, even a normal hit like this could do me damage.'

"Double Repulsion."

As Long Tian said this, Leon felt something pull his fist outward. Simultaneously, he felt his greatsword being pulled back so that he couldn’t lower it forward.

Bam!

Long Tian gave a heavy kick to the pit of his stomach, hitting the metal armor. This made Leon take several steps back, but he remained standing. However, although he hadn't taken any damage, he felt the power of that kick that took his breath away for a second.

“Your armor is as strong as I thought it would be. Surely there is to congratulate the blacksmith for creating such a piece. Nonetheless, in the end, it remains just an armor. The engraved formations are what make it special. I have to confess that Lian's skill as an array maker amazes me." Long Tian said with a smile. He was sincerely impressed by that masterful work of union between blacksmithing and arrays.

"Thank you. But its toughness isn't the only thing it has. Offensive Array, Continuous Emission, activate!" Leon activated one of the arrays engraved on his armor.

‘According to Lian's analysis, Long Tian can manipulate the spirit power in the air to attract or repel the targets he selects. To prevent him from doing this, I should use a technique to disturb or destroy the external environment's spirit power. Alternatively, I should emit an amount of spirit power capable of overcoming the attractive or repulsive force.

Unfortunately, I don't have such a technique, but luckily Lian doesn't have a match to fight today, and she could work all night on the array. So now, let's see how effective the new array is.’

Offensive Array, Continuous Emission. It was the name of the new array installed by Lian in Leon's armor. More than a new array per se, it was a modification of the previous model she had created. As a co-creator, it wasn’t wrong to regard Leon's armor as her own creation. Therefore, also taking advantage of the fact that she had no matches to play, she made her best to help Leon.

Leon charged forward with his greatsword raised. This time, instead of a slash, he tried a horizontal cut as Long Tian had easily countered it in the previous two fights.

"Repel."

Long Tian pointed his right sword at the approaching greatsword. This time he had decided not to use both swords to defend himself. Instead, he would block with only a single sword so as to counterattack immediately.

"Advance!" Leon yelled as he heard his greatsword stop.

As if responding to his cry, his armor lit up, revealing a series of engravings that were previously invisible. Then his spirit power flared up as if it had been set on fire and covered the greatsword. As a result, the weapon gained even more power and advanced.

Rip!

There was a sharp crack as if something had been torn. The sword's blade overpowered the force that was repelling it, thus managing to move forward.

Bam!

The greatsword unexpectedly overcame Long Tian's technique, striking the latter in the flank. The Imperial Prince was made to fly for several meters as he slammed violently several times against the combat stage floor.

At that view, all the spectators were speechless. Long Tian, ​​one of the Imperial Princes and Candidate Emperor, was hit like that. Previously, Long Tian had dominated his matches using the techniques of repulsion and attraction. The conviction was formed in the spectators' collective imagination that these two techniques couldn’t be hindered except by someone on a level equal to that of the Imperial Prince.

Yet, exactly as in the previous battle, a martial artist, who was basically a nobody until the tournament began, had done something impossible: to put one of the Best Generation into trouble.

Clang! Clang!

Seeing his opponent on the ground, Leon wasted no time: he had to strike while the iron was still hot. So he ran at full speed to Long Tian with the greatsword in his hands.

“Yellow Dragon Bloodline, activate! Earth Law, Embrace of Mother Earth."

Still lying on the ground, Long Tian raised his left hand to Leon. Then he closed his fingers, forming a fist. At that moment, Leon felt as if the air itself had become solid and was squeezing him from all sides.

Cough!

Leon spat blood from inside the armor. Despite the double protection he had, Long Tian's technique had hurt him. Luckily it was a minor injury. At the same time, the overwhelming sensation he felt was fading. His array was still active, and his spirit power was being released to counter the force that was crushing him.

'Shit. What kind of pressure can he exert?' Leon swore as he gritted his teeth. He couldn't believe the overwhelming pressure Long Tian could exert. This move was locking him in place: if it weren't for the array Lian had prepared, he wouldn't even have had a chance to move.

"Forward! Come on!" Leon said through gritted teeth. Even though he felt like he was climbing a mountain in a blizzard with every step, he was inexorably approaching Long Tian. Also, as the seconds went by, Leon's movement speed was increasing.

"Intent of the Greatsword, Diving Sky Slash!"

By taking advantage of Long Tian's motionlessness due to his technique, Leon concentrated his spirit power in his greatsword. The massive weapon vibrated intensely before releasing a blade of spirit power that spread towards Long Tian.

"Intent of the Hook Swords, Devianting Cut!"

Long Tian canceled the technique he was using. Leon felt the pressure on him drop drastically, but he still needed a few seconds to recover. Meanwhile, Long Tian raised his swords and brought them down, placing them in front of him as they intersected each other, forming an x.

The blade of spirit power smashed against the hooked swords. Then, incredibly, the blade was cut into exact halves that slid to the sides of Long Tian. Despite the power behind Leon's move, Long Tian had dissolved the threat in a seemingly simple way. Yet, it was based on an advanced application of his repulsion technique.

"Rotating Cut!"

Leon had reckoned that Long Tian could undo his technique. Certainly, he didn’t expect such simplicity of execution from Long Tian, ​​but he had already prepared for the eventuality.

So, he ran to Long Tian, taking advantage of the fact that the latter was busy defending himself. This time, however, he didn’t immediately attempt to hit him with his greatsword. Instead, from about five feet away, Leon began to spin around like a top. A spray of spirit power poured from his elbows to increase the spinning motion as he activated another array in the lower armor whose purpose was to stabilize his body as he moved.

In doing so, the sword's destructive power reached the peak of power that Leon could exert, superior to the technique he had used before. It was obvious that he wanted to corner Long Tian and not give him a chance to breathe.

"Intent of the Hook Swords, Earth Law, Immovable Mountain!"

As before, Long Tian crossed swords in front of him. However, instead of using his repulsion ability, he instead used a technique similar to the crushing technique used on Leon previously: this time, the target was none other than himself.

PENG!

The unstoppable force represented by the greatsword met the immovable object represented by Long Tian. The greatsword crashed into the hooked swords. It was amazing to see how such thin blades could withstand a force confrontation with that large greatsword. Yet, in Leon's eyes, those thin swords were like a mountain.

Long Tian took the full impact but didn’t retreat an inch. On the contrary, even his arms remained where they were as if Leon's attack was something trifling as if it posed no danger. But this didn’t correspond to reality at all.

'What a monstrous power. If it weren't for having fixed my body in the position I am in, I would have been thrown off without a doubt.' thought Long Tian with amazement drawn on his face. However, his keen eyes had allowed him to sense the danger behind that attack immediately. As a result, he spared no effort in using one of his advanced defense techniques.

"Offensive Array, Total Emission!"

Seeing his attack being blocked like this nearly caused Leon to fall into despair. His timing had been perfect, and Long Tian had no way to avoid the attack. The size of his weapon and his build should have given him the advantage in a confrontation of strength, yet Long Tian had casually blocked his every move.

Nonetheless, Leon was unwilling to give up. He deactivated the safety lock Lian had installed on the array. That way, he could generate even more power. The problem, however, was that the consumption of his spirit power would increase by several times. It was like adding oil to a candle that was already burning with great intensity. Also, the increased outflow of spirit power would strain Leon's body enormously.

'If I use Total Emission for too long, my body won't hold up. However, right now, it is my only hope for winning. Long Tian's defense is monstrous: I don't think I can break it with my other techniques.'

'Did his power increase again? It is amazing. I doubt it will continue like this for a long time, though.'

Long Tian began inexorably to be pushed back. Slowly he felt his arms tremble with the force of impact they had to bear. His technique, foolproof as it might appear, wasn’t something he could use without worry.

'Even if I am the user of the technique, if I remain under the crushing effect for a long time, my body would be affected as well. But I can't undo it now. If I did, I would definitely be blown away. Not only that, the power of Leon's technique would be enough to cause me some damage, although not enough to knock me out.'

Without hesitation, Long Tian emitted more spirit power than before, without concern about the consumption. By doing so, his body became heavier, and the mountain that was being pushed back resumed its immovable state.

"Break through!" Leon yelled as he began to bleed from his ears and the corners of his mouth. His complexion had turned pale white, but no one could see him as he was inside the armor.

However, despite his best efforts, Long Tian remained there: firm and immovable.

One wanted to advance at all costs, while the other didn’t want to retreat for anything in the world. Eventually, however, the challenge between the unstoppable force and the immovable object ended. The winner of this challenge turned out to be the immovable object.

"Shit," Leon swore as he lost consciousness and fell to the ground with a thud.

As soon as he fell, Long Tian immediately deactivated the technique he was using. And after that, he let out a breath of fatigue.

‘If I knew that he could produce such a power, I wouldn’t have taken him head-on with so few preparations. It seems I made some miscalculations.’ Long Tian thought to himself while smiling, amused.