Chapter 198: Get on the Ring!

God of Illusions

Ultimately, the defeat of Duan Tianya and Luo Han arrived. Moreover, it was at a form they had initially rejected: surrender. They got off the ring while the excitement of the public square reached a boiling point. Hu Xian’er’s name was being chanted again and again, and the people who gambled on Hu Xian’er being the champion were already starting to calculate the money they would win after this.

For many of them, it was only a matter a time before Hu Xian’er became the champion. Nobody believed that Zhao Ziyun had any chances against Hu Xian’er. And apart from Zhao Ziyun, everyone in the tournament couldn’t even come close to threatening Hu Xian’er’s prospect of winning.

“Next, class 56 may select their challengers.” Luo Xi’s announcement reverberated throughout the public square through the speaker, immediately causing the crowd to stop clamoring. Her act of interrupting the chant of Hu Xian’er’s name did not signify that she was dissatisfied with Hu Xian’er. On the contrary, after Hu Xian’er defeated Luo Han, she was now looking at Hu Xian’er approvingly.

Luo Xi had never expected that after her announcement, Hu Xian’er would slowly walk to class 56’s direction and said, “Get on the ring. Nobody else can do anything to me.”

She was issuing a challenge!

This sudden challenge intensified the crowd’s excitement and placed Zhao Ziyun in a dilemma. It would be a loss of face if he declined, yet it might not bode well for him if he did get onto the ring. 

While he was hesitating, the crowd started chanting. “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

The sound waves assaulted Zhao Ziyun like waves of a tsunami. What Bai Xiaofei mentioned before turned out to be right: the spectators would never be afraid of escalations! Ultimately, Zhao Ziyun made his choice due to the massive pressure. To be precise, it was the only choice he had in this situation.

He took a deep breath, calmed his mind, and put a smile on his face before leisurely walking up the ring. No matter what, he was going to face someone on the first place of the Blossom Ranking. It wouldn’t do for him to show her an unsightly face.

“Goddess, I am one of your fans. Do have mercy on me when we fight later.” Zhao Ziyun was behaving in a completely opposite manner of his usual decisive self. Under the pressure subjected on him by Hu Xian’er, he started behaving in a slightly rascally fashion instead. Unfortunately for him, this change might be somewhat effective against other opponents, but not Hu Xian’er.

After all, Hu Xian’er was a person who regularly hung out with the most shameless and rascally person of all, Bai Xiaofei. If she could be so easily influenced by this little trick of Zhao Ziyun, there would no longer be any point in Bai Xiaofei’s existence.

“I advise you to use your full power immediately. If you hesitate, defeat might come before you have a chance to unleash your strength,” Hu Xian’er said then immediately transformed.

Her figure turned slender and tall, causing Zhao Ziyun to gulp when he saw her form. This was an instinctive reaction on his part. Few men could remain calm when facing Hu Xian’er.

Nevertheless, the match was still going on. Therefore, Zhao Ziyun suppressed his instinctive desire and summoned all his puppets. Shattermoon Spear, Quakemountain Armor, and a pair of gloves that he had never revealed appeared.

Zhao Ziyun could not afford to hide anything with Hu Xian’er as his opponent. Luo Xi’s countdown ended, and Zhao Ziyun focused all his power on a single spot. As for Hu Xian’er, she once again displayed the unprecedented speed of hers, dashing everywhere like a phantom.

“Quakemountain!”

Zhao Ziyun was incapable of keeping up with Hu Xian’er’s speed. However, he was still able to sense her approach. With the Quakemountain ability, he created a shockwave that stopped Hu Xian’er’s advance and sent her flying backward. Zhao Ziyun grabbed onto this rare opening to stab forth with his spear.

This attack looked simple, but it was stabbed out with all of Zhao Ziyun’s strength. Everyone there was of the opinion that Hu Xian’er would not be able to dodge this attack. And that was precisely what Hu Xian’er did: dodging the attack using an inconceivable method.

While flying backward through the air, she twisted her body, and with her origin energy wrapped around her body, she stepped on the tip of Zhao Ziyun’s spear before perfectly somersaulting and landing on the ground.

As for Zhao Ziyun’s spear, it was redirected towards the ground. Cracks appeared on the ground as the spear landed with a loud rumbling sound. Once again, Zhao Ziyun stamped his feet on the ground to charge at Hu Xian’er.

In a fight, an opening was not something that would always appear. Zhao Ziyun was not able to use the Quakemountain ability without limits. Therefore, he had to grab onto this opening. Unfortunately for him, the moment Hu Xian’er landed on the ground, all her openings vanished.

She bent her body and dodged the spear sweeping towards her. Then, she charged Zhao Ziyun at a speed faster than Zhao Ziyun’s charge.

Even as Zhao Ziyun was being charged, his spear was still sweeping towards the side due to inertia. And thus, an opening for Hu Xian’er appeared. Everyone believed that Zhao Ziyun would use Quakemountain again to defend himself, but he did something else entirely.

“Gravity Quagmire!”

A violet radiance erupted from his gloves as a gravitational force appeared and started pulling Hu Xian’er to greatly reduce her speed. At the same time, Zhao Ziyun clenched his right palm tightly to force the latter half of his spear to stop moving. This caused the tip of his spear that was still sweeping to the side to curve at an angle.

“Dragon’s Tail!” With a shout, he forced his spear to turn back at a high speed by making use of his strength and the force of inertia.

“Fox Dodge!”

Aware that she could not dodge the attack, Hu Xian’er used her third ability. Her body instantly vanished and reappeared up in the air. Once again, Zhao Ziyun’s attack missed. This time, he could not even reuse the Dragon’s Tail to readjust his attack even if he wanted to, as Hu Xian’er was nowhere near him now.

Up in the air, Hu Xian’er’s claws started glowing as she clawed at Zhao Ziyun.

“Quakemountain!” Left with no choice, Zhao Ziyun displayed this shameless defensive ability again. 

The shock wave bounced Hu Xian’er back up into the air. With this new opening, Zhao Ziyun regained control over his spear and raised it. Under everyone’s gaze, the spear started transforming.

In the blink of an eye, a black hole appeared in place of the tip of the spear, and a beam shot out of the hole.

Rifle...rifle puppet?

Everyone was astonished by this sight. All along, Zhao Ziyun had been giving off an impression of a melee combatant that fought with forceful attacks. Nobody had expected that his spear would actually transform into a rifle.

Naturally, everyone but Hu Xian’er could stay in shock. Regardless of how powerful a puppet master was, if the puppet master wanted to move midair without any flight abilities, the puppet master would need a leverage. For example, Hu Xian’er’s earlier somersault used Zhao Ziyun’s spear as leverage for her to move midair. This time, there was no leverage available for her.

Heavy rifle puppets were known for their prowess. Therefore, Hu Xian’er was forced to reveal her final ability: a violet shield. 

Zhao Ziyun’s attack clashed with the shield. No explosion whatsoever appeared. Rather, the two attacks seemed to have neutralized each other as they vanished at the same time.

After surviving the attack, Hu Xian’er landed on the ground. Once again, they were in a face off, staring at one another.

“I’m quite good, right?” Zhao Ziyun said with a smile as he brandished his spear. The excitement of the spectators grew, as this fight seemed to have become more interesting.

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