Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 288 - Kick

Chapter 288 - Kick

Liu Wuxie wasn't in a hurry to pick his number plate. He queued up at the end, waiting patiently. When he finally reached into the box, he pulled out a plate. Each plate had an engraved number, and drawing the same number as another participant meant they were opponents.

Just as Liu Wuxie prepared to depart, a chilling voice pierced the air. It was a threat, a promise of impending danger, from a third-level True Core Realm cultivator of the Azure Lion Empire.

“I’m waiting!” Liu Wuxie replied without any expression on his face.

In the final ranking, there was no restriction, and one would die if defeated.

After taking a number plate, everyone returned to their regions. There were ten arenas in total, enough to accommodate twenty combatants simultaneously.

The first round matched up participants with numbers one through ten. The second round paired numbers eleven through twenty, and so on.

After glancing at the number plate in his hand, Liu Wuxie saw he was number five hundred and ninety. Realizing he was in the last round, he moved to the back, waiting for everyone else to finish.

Twenty representatives stood on the ten arenas and started their fight. Everyone drew their weapons, even if they ran into those from the same nation. After all, there was only one opportunity to enter the cultivation world, and no one wanted to miss it.

The battles were intense, with people rolling down the stage or being severely injured by their opponents. No one was in the Quasi-True Core Realm; everyone was in the True Core Realm. Even so, being in the True Core Realm wasn’t a direct ticket to the cultivation world.

The first round ended quickly, and the high-grade nations deserved their reputations. Their representatives swept through their opponents with no effort.

Only a few representatives of the low-grade nations remained because many of them had either given up or died. Hence, this gradually developed into a battle mainly between the intermediate-grade nations and high-grade nations.

One battle followed by another without time to rest.

However, Liu Wuxie was an exception. He joined the final ranking as someone from a low-grade nation. He spent most of his time cultivating and did not care about the battles on the stage.

After dozens of rounds, it was finally Liu Wuxie’s turn to take the stage. By then, it was already the next afternoon.

After more than a half day of fighting, out of the one thousand and two hundred people, only half remained, with the other half losing their qualification to enter the cultivation world.

Liu Wuxie swayed as he landed on the tenth arena, still not knowing who his opponent was.

When he stood on the stage, a terrifying aura descended and landed ten meters away from Liu Wuxie. This was a cultivator in the second level of the True Core Realm.

“Brat, hand over the dragon bone, and I’ll spare your life!” the man roared at Liu Wuxie the moment he went on the stage.

It was genuinely laughable that someone was still after Liu Wuxie’s dragon bone after he had killed so many people the previous day, including three cultivators in the second level of the True Core Realm.

Many people gathered around the arena. Even those who were eliminated weren’t hurrying to leave and stayed around.

“It’s Jin Gongyu. He might be in the second level of the True Core Realm, but his strength is close to the third level. I witnessed him sending someone in the third level flying when competing for the dragon auras and killing five in the second level.” Exclamations came from the surroundings, and it was no wonder Jin Gongyu was arrogant.

“I’ve also heard of him before. He might be from an intermediate-grade nation, but he was nurtured from a young age, and his talent isn’t inferior to those from the high-grade nations.” Various discussions filled the surroundings, entering Liu Wuxie’s ears.

Jin Gongyu felt proud after hearing the surrounding discussions, and a hint of disdain flashed in his eyes.

“Make your move!” Liu Wuxie didn’t want to waste time walking, urging the other party to start the fight. He heard too many meaningless words and wanted to end the battle quickly and rest for the next round.

“You’re courting death!” It felt unpleasant being ignored, making Jin Gongyu furious. A colossal axe appeared in his hand, and he chopped it down. He created an even more terrifying shockwave compared to Wang Sichen’s group of three, and it was no wonder he dared to say such arrogant words.

The experts from the various empires gathered over to watch.

With explosions from the rapid air compression, Jin Gongyu’s axe felt like it could split the sky and swept towards Liu Wuxie. It looked as though Liu Wuxie would be swept away in the next moment, which proved how extraordinary Jin Gongyu was.

Jin Gongyu’s chop created a vacuum passage, causing Liu Wuxie’s hairband to explode from the impact.

Liu Wuxie raised the Heretic Blade, his eyes fixed on Jin Gongyu’s every movement. He felt like a lone wolf eyeing his prey.

With a loud explosion produced by the axe, it was already descending on Liu Wuxie’s head, and it would be too late if Liu Wuxie still didn’t make his move.

“You can die now!” Jin Gongyu roared and leaped three meters into the sky.

“A trash like you wants to kill me?” Liu Wuxie sneered. His figure blurred, and he vanished. Shortly after, a powerful blade ray flashed, and blood splattered.

Liu Wuxie’s body gradually reappeared behind Jin Gongyu, and everyone saw this scene with disbelief.

“H-How is this possible?” Jin Gongyu maintained his attacking posture and descended from the sky with his shoulders drooping. Blood sprayed from his mouth and dripped on the ground.

The surroundings fell into silence as everyone held their breaths. They were expecting to see an earth-shattering battle, but it ended in one move.

Over thirty dragon auras flew out from Jin Gongyu. Liu Wuxie collected them with a grasp before throwing them into the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, converting them into over thirty droplets pouring into the world in his dantian. This instantly added over thirty halos behind Liu Wuxie.

After refining the dragon auras, Liu Wuxie sheathed the Heretic Blade and walked down the stage as though his actions were insignificant.

Fan Zhen and everyone stood far away in anticipation. They swung their fists around excitedly when they saw Liu Wuxie’s victory.

The crowd made way for Liu Wuxie when he came down the stage. There was still another battle till the second round.

“He’s not simple!” The Glory Flame Empire’s representatives gathered and whispered among themselves, discussing how to kill Liu Wuxie. After all, they were so close to the dragon bone before Liu Wuxie had seized it out of nowhere. Just thinking about it was enough to make them grit their teeth.

Liu Wuxie returned to his spot and sat down to meditate, isolating himself from the outside world. Private battles weren’t allowed in the final ranking, and the envoys would kill anyone attacking other participants.

The last battle lasted for an hour. Everyone rested briefly before they proceeded to draw their number plates again.

Aside from those severely injured who couldn’t participate in the next round, about 570 people proceeded to the next round.

“Let’s begin the drawing for the next round!” Jiang Kaicheng collected all the number plates, picked out the number plates for the next round, and threw them into the box.

Fifteen minutes later, everyone held another number plate, and Liu Wuxie got the number twenty. This meant he would be up on the next round.

Everyone who could pass the first round was an elite, but they also had to factor in luck. If someone in the first level ran into someone in the third level of the True Core Realm, the outcome could be expected. But if one was lucky enough, they might run into opponents weaker than them. This practically became a stage for high-grade nations because the intermediate-grade nations were losing.

Three groups perished when the first round ended, and only seven people were promoted to the next round. The fight became increasingly intense, even if they were facing their fellow companions from the same dynasty.

When the second round arrived, Liu Wuxie went to the last stage. His opponent was already on the stage, flashing murderous intent in his eyes.

“This is such a coincidence. How did he run into someone from the Azure Lion Dynasty? Not to mention that’s the Maniac Butcher Wu Zheng!” Exclamations came from the crowd.

Liu Wuxie’s opponent was Wu Zheng from the Azure Lion Dynasty, who was nicknamed Maniac Butcher because he had taken countless lives.

When Wu Zheng went on the stage, he released his aura in the third-level True Core Realm, planning to intimidate Liu Wuxie.

“There’s a show to watch now. Everyone knew that Liu Wuxie had killed several representatives from the Azure Lion Empire!” Everyone wore a gloating expression on their faces.

Not only had Liu Wuxie obtained over eighty strands of dragon auras, but he had also acquired a dragon bone. This naturally sparked everyone's unhappiness because he hailed from a low-grade nation at the bottom, repeatedly embarrassing them.

That was especially the case for representatives from the Azure Lion Empire, and everyone was filled with hatred for Liu Wuxie. After all, Liu Wuxie had killed Wu Kang and seized the dragon bone from them.

“This is getting interesting now. Let’s see how he dies!” A chuckle came from the Black Chu Empire's party. Despite their desire to recruit Liu Wuxie, they were even more eager to see him meet his end.

Wu Zheng exploded with boundless murderous intent, and his eyes became bloodshot. He deserved his nickname, Maniac Butcher, and his murderous intent was incredibly dense.

“Liu Wuxie, hear that? As long as you’re willing to become a dog of our Azure Lion Empire, I will consider sparing your life!” Wu Zheng licked his lips with a sinister smile.

“Make your move!” That was Liu Wuxie’s only response, no matter who he faced. He didn't waste words; the outcome would be decided by the fight. With this round, he would be one step closer to the top hundred.

The faint sense of disregard made Wu Zheng furious, and he let out a crazed laugh. His robust figure shot forward like a meteorite, displaying a surprising speed that matched Liu Wuxie’s. Wu Zheng was in the third level, instantly putting Liu Wuxie in danger.

After losing his speed advantage, no one was optimistic about Liu Wuxie.

Liu Wuxie narrowed his eyes, a mocking smile rising on his lips. He merely stood his ground with his hands leaning forward, puzzling many spectators.

In the blink of an eye, Wu Zheng’s palms descended, leaving Liu Wuxie with no time to dodge. But just in the nick of time, Liu Wuxie raised one foot, kicking at Wu Zheng’s head. The move was so swift that it outpaced everyone’s thoughts. He looked like a celestial crane hunting for food, with the bottom of his foot heading straight for Wu Zheng.

Wu Zheng fell into a disadvantageous position just when he attacked. Liu Wuxie sealed off his attack and could only go into defense, rapidly retreating to evade this kick.