Chapter 379 376- Battle At The Southern Border: Shi Lei Vs Mu Fan (2)
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Mu Fan seemed to be a madman as he wielded his sheathed saber against Shi Lei.
He was truly showing what it meant to advance forwards with the slightest of thought to retreat.
To give Shi Lei credit where it was due, he had managed to block all of Mu Fan’s ferocious attacks.
But as time went on, Shi lei realize despite him blocking all of Mu Fan’s attacks he was the one at a disadvantage.
Shi Lei gripped his saber.
“Don’t look down on me!!”
Shi Lei bellowed out and angrily slashed with his saber down.
Mu Fan seeing this had his eyes flickered with a cold light.
Clank!
Shi Lei watched in dumbfoundment as his saber was easily deflected above his head.
He was now wide open as he look at Mu Fan following up with another attack. A stinging sensation appeared between his forehead as Mu Fan’s blade stabbed forward.
‘Damn it.’
Shi Lei had wanted to use this attack to regain the advantage, but he broke his blade arts most fundamental rules.
“Know when to retreat and know when to attack.”
But because he forcefully tried to regain the advantage by attacking when he shouldn't have, Shi Lei instead fell into a deeper disadvantageous position.
“Keuk!”
Shi Lei jerked his head to the side and Mu Fan’s blade slashed passed his check drawing blood as well as almost severing his left ear.
Shi Lei move to counterattack but Mu Fan had already retrieved his saber and attacked again. H wasn’t planning on giving Shi Lei any chance to attack.
‘Damn it!’
Shi Lei cursed for the second time, and he withdrew his attack to block Mu Fan's sheathed saber.
And thus Shi Lei returned only being able to block, but this time he was being forced to retreat nonstop.
“What did you say? One should know when to retreat and when to attack? It looks like you're forgetting your own words.”
Shi Lei gritted his teeth.
“Bastard, don’t get cocky!”
Shi Lei’s aura exploded to a new level and with a dark expression, Water Qi gathered from his dantian onto his saber’s edge making it sharper than before.
A feeling like he was going to be sliced in two washed over Mu Fan, and all his instincts were telling him to dodge this attack.
But who was Mu Fan? In the face of Shi Lei’s dangerous attack, Mu Fan was grinning with excitement.
“This is what I’m talking about!!”
Mu Fan said as he crazily charged head-first into Shi Lei’s attack. The Blade Intent around Mu Fan rose to a higher level as well and he slashed out to meet Shi Lei’s attack.
BOOOOM!!
A loud explosion echoed out, and it was so deafening it sounded like an artillery cannon that had just been fired in an enclosed space.
The shockwave of this clash was even powerful enough to blow apart the stage.
This match-up was by far the most intense out of all the previous matches.
The audience in the battle arena looked at the stage that was filled with dust with bated breaths, wondering who won that exchange.
“L-Look!”
One audience member yelled s he pointed at a figure being blasted out of the dust and rubble.
It was Shi Lei.
His figure was disheveled and several bloody cuts were visible on his body.
As he landed on the ground on one knee and steadied himself with his saber, Shi Lei then cough out a mouth full of blood.
But he was given no time to recover, as a crazed Mu Fan charged out of the dust and rubble after him.
Mu Fan’s figure was even worse off than Shi Lei's as there was a gruesome slash going across his chest.
A few people in the crowd gasp as they could see Mu Fan’s bones from that cut.
“How is that person still alive?! And he’s even still attacking Shi Lei?!”
Everyone seeing Mu Fan’s appearance thought he was crazy willing to continue battling in that condition.
Jun who was down below frowned a bit and mumbled.
“This idiot.”
Jun’s body then tense up and he was ready to step in and stop Mu Fan.
On the stage, Shi Lei saw Mu Fan charging toward him and he couldn’t help but blurt out.
“What are you? Some kind of battle-hungry Sea Beast in human form?”
While grinning, Mu Fan leaped up and slashed down with his sheathed saber.
Shi Lei raised his saber and block the blow but the ground beneath him cracked, creating web-like fissures.
“H-How can you still display so much strength?”
Shi Lei stuttered out.
When as assessed Mu Fan’s strength in that clash, he realized it was slightly stronger than before.
‘Is he getting stronger the more he battles?’
Shi Lei thought, but he had no time to ponder for long as Mu Fan was gearing up for another attack.
“Crazy bastard!”
Shi Lei didn’t retreat and slashed out to meet Mu Fan’s attack. However, Mu Fan’s hand suddenly twisted and his attack was made from an absurd angle.
“Ugh!”
Shi Lei groan as he was forced to retreat.
Once again he had fallen into Mu Fan’s rhythm where he was forced to constantly retreat under his barrage of attacks.
“Let me pose a question to you!”
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“If you retreat in a battle destroying your own momentum to build to counterattack!!”
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“What would you do if your opponent doesn’t give you a chance to counterattack!! Would you just continue retreating?!!”
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“ANSWER ME!!!”
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As Mu Fan barked at Shi Lei, sparks from their blades meeting filled the entire stage.
Shi Lei was forced to retreat constantly until he was at the edge of the stage.
With half of his foot barely on the stage, Shi Lei watched as Mu Fan coldly swung down to knock him off.
Shi Lei's eyes turned bloodshot, and something within him seemed to snap. Shi Lei was like a rat that was back into a corner.
All thoughts of retreating completely left his mind and he swung his saber to meet Mu Fan’s attack.
BANG!!
Their sabers clashed, but instead of Shi Lei being forced off the stage, his body seem to be rooted in place. His saber was knocked back by Mu Fan's attack but he didn’t hesitate to attack once again.
But his second act was strange.
It seems to take the momentum from the first to increase its strength, effectively multiplying its power by several folds.
“AHHHHHH!!!”
Shi Lei let out a thunderous bellow as it felt like an explosion had occurred in his mind.
All of sudden his comprehension of the Ravaging Void Sea jump to the Perfection Stage from the Greater Mastery Stage, and his aura skyrocketed as a result.
DANG!
Mu Fan was knocked back by Shi Lei. He tried to resist with his strength, but it seemed significantly weaker than Shi Lei’s own now that his comprehension of the Ravaging Void Sea had reached the Perfection Stage.
Mu Fan dug his saber into the ground to stop himself from retreating. Feeling his stomach churn, Mu Fan raised a hand to cover his mouth as he cough out a mouthful of blood.
With a newly profound aura flowing around himself, Shi Lei looked down at his hands at a loss for words.
“I…broke through?”
Shi Lei asked aloud as he couldn’t believe he had reached the Perfection Stage.
“About time.”
Hearing that, Shi Lei looked up at Mu Fan and asked.
“What do you mean, you intend for this to happen?”
Mu Fan slowly got up ignoring his aching body. He then looked at Shi Lei and said seriously.
“That blade technique of yours isn’t bad, using the Sea movements' basic fundamentals it’s able to give the saber unique movements. But you’ve been using it in a trashy manner. You’ve been treating the saber like a sword, knowing when to retreat and when to attack? Bullshit! That’s not the essence of that Blade Technique, you only need to attack-attack-attack. Like the waves of the Sea, each attack should be explosive in nature, but at the same time, every attack should build on top of the previous one. It’s about momentum, got it? Instead of attack and retreat, attack and attack so momentum can build up to make the next attack more explosive.”
As Shi Lei listen to Mu Fan explain the essence of his Blade Technique he stood there mouth agape completely stump for words.
Soon a complicated expression overcame his face before he cupped his fist and bowed.
“Brother Mu Fan, thank you for your guidance. And I… I apologize for my behavior previously.”
Mu Fan waved his hand dismissively and said.
“Whatever, now get ready, we’re continuing.”
Hearing that Shi Lei blinked.
“Continuing?”