Chapter 18

In a severely injured state, Zhuge Xiang did not even take a blood-replenishing pill to treat his wounds; instead, he seized the time to gather his energy and launched the Blood Thunder Slash. Although skills that require energy gathering during battles, especially in duels, are not very practical, the offensive power of such skills is undoubtedly outstanding.

In just two breaths, with Ji Wuxue's decisiveness, Zhuge Xiang could not have successfully gathered his energy, falling just short. As the saying goes, a small mistake can lead to a big error. However, at this critical moment, the function of the Frost Headband turned the impossible into the possible...

The effect of the Frost Headband activated, and Ji Wuxue's speed visibly decreased by 20%. Although to most people, Ji Wuxue's speed was still very fast, a few talented disciples like Lu Yuling clearly felt the impact on Ji Wuxue's speed.

At this critical moment, why did Ji Wuxue's speed decrease? Many talented disciples' eyes narrowed. Was Ji Wuxue intentionally holding back? Clearly, that was impossible; otherwise, the sword that pierced through Zhuge Xiang's chest would not have been so ruthless. The result was clear: Zhuge Xiang had a means that others could not understand, which affected Ji Wuxue's speed.

"Indeed, he still has a trump card," Lu Yuling's eyes flashed with a strange light, and he had a look of "I knew it."

Although severely injured, seeing Ji Wuxue's speed decrease and the Blood Thunder Slash already launched, Lu Yuling knew the outcome was decided. Zhuge Xiang's rise was unstoppable, and he would become famous in one battle...

The Blood Thunder Slash, carrying a rolling wave of blade intent, pressed down on Ji Wuxue like a mountain. Ji Wuxue's speed, affected and reduced by 20%, while Zhuge Xiang, with the Bloodlust Technique increasing his speed by 50% and the magical artifact boots further boosting it by 30%, had nearly double the speed. Under these conditions, combined with the Blood Thunder Slash's terrifying offensive power, Ji Wuxue, under Zhuge Xiang's burst, was like a rabbit facing a fully enraged lion.

The Blood Thunder Slash, with the sound of wind and thunder, infused with a crimson aura, made the ghost faces on the Blood Refining Blade appear sinister. One by one, the ghost faces, either fierce, painful, or mad, condensed on the Blood Refining Blade...

Ji Wuxue was greatly shocked, clearly stunned by Zhuge Xiang's blade. From the start of the competition to now, Zhuge Xiang had never used the Blood Thunder Slash. He also did not expect that Zhuge Xiang had not only mastered the Bloodlust Technique to a high level but had also additionally trained the Blood Thunder Slash, the strongest offensive skill.

Although he hastily used his sword to block Zhuge Xiang's attack, how could the Blood Thunder Slash, which gathered all of Zhuge Xiang's resolve and was a last-ditch effort, be so easily blocked?

The black longsword, although also a one-star magical artifact, could not withstand Zhuge Xiang's Blood Thunder Slash. It let out a mournful cry, and a deep and long blade mark appeared on the black sword. Like a bamboo breaking, Zhuge Xiang's blade fiercely slashed Ji Wuxue's chest.

Although the black longsword blocked it, the impact of the Blood Thunder Slash made Ji Wuxue scream in pain, and he was directly slashed away. The sound of crisp bones breaking echoed, clearly indicating that several ribs on his chest were broken by Zhuge Xiang. A mouthful of fresh blood spewed out, and as Ji Wuxue flew backward, he drew a tragic parabola in the air...

His internal organs were shaken, and several ribs were broken. Ji Wuxue, lying on the ground, clearly had no more fighting power. Without waiting for Zhuge Xiang to deliver a fatal blow, Ji Wuxue, enduring his injuries, hurriedly called out, "I surrender!"

Whoosh!!

The crimson Blood Refining Blade stopped in front of Ji Wuxue's forehead, not cutting down. In the Asura Sect, duels are always fought to the death. Zhuge Xiang, who had almost died under Ji Wuxue's sword, naturally would not hold back. However, since Ji Wuxue had already surrendered, there was no need for Zhuge Xiang to deliver a fatal blow.

Looking at the Blood Refining Blade stopped in front of his forehead, feeling the fierce and sinister blade aura, Ji Wuxue's heart trembled. He was also relieved that he had decisively surrendered; otherwise, he would have been decapitated.

Putting away his Blood Refining Blade on his back, Zhuge Xiang canceled the Bloodlust Technique, and a wave of weakness washed over him. Zhuge Xiang turned and left, appreciating Ji Wuxue's decisiveness.

Although this battle seemed extremely dangerous and dramatic, from the last time they tested each other with one move and then the three-move agreement, the time spent with the Bloodlust Technique activated was only about seven or eight breaths.

Although the aftereffects of the Bloodlust Technique made Zhuge Xiang feel weak, he would recover about 70-80% of his combat ability after a short rest.

The duel ended, and the host came on stage, announcing Zhuge Xiang's victory. The staff quickly carried Ji Wuxue away to treat his injuries. Although defeated, the sharp sword techniques Ji Wuxue displayed lived up to his reputation as a genius, and the Asura Sect naturally valued such geniuses.

"Ding, defeated Ji Wuxue of the third level of the Qi Cultivation Realm, gained 150 experience points, and obtained the Blocking Blade."

With Ji Wuxue's surrender, the system prompt arrived as expected. 150 experience points? This was quite satisfactory for Zhuge Xiang.

Initially, a fox equivalent to the third level of the Qi Cultivation Realm gave 130 experience points. Although Zhuge Xiang was only at the first level of the Qi Cultivation Realm at that time, killing a monster two levels higher, he had Lu Yuling's help. This time, he defeated the opponent alone, so it was normal for the experience points to be a bit more.

Walking down from the duel platform, Zhuge Xiang looked down at a black dagger in his palm, about five inches long, entirely black, not quite metal, and made of unknown material. Its streamlined shape gave it an unusual beauty, and it felt very comfortable in his hand.

Blocking Blade (Three-star Magical Artifact): Attack 2-5, Unique Active: Can block any single-target attack from a Qi Refinement Stage cultivator, cooldown time 1 day.

Seeing the three-star magical artifact, Zhuge Xiang drew a sharp breath. The one-star magical artifacts, the Blood Refining Blade and the Frost Headband, were already so powerful. A three-star magical artifact? Wasn't this making him invincible?

However, seeing the attack power was only a few pitiful points, Zhuge Xiang felt disappointed. But when he saw the active effect of the Blocking Blade, he became excited again.

Can block any single-target attack from a Qi Refinement Stage cultivator? This effect was truly formidable. The Qi Refinement Stage is not just the Qi Cultivation Realm; it also includes the Body Tempering Stage, the Meridian Unblocking Stage, and even the Reversion Stage. Blocking any single-target attack? Although it did not increase Zhuge Xiang's combat ability, the Blocking Blade greatly increased his survival ability.

If not for the long cooldown time and the limitation to only blocking single-target attacks, this Blocking Blade would be at least a four or five-star quality.

Although it did not significantly increase his combat ability, the Blocking Blade was worthy of its three-star quality. Suddenly obtaining such a three-star magical artifact, Zhuge Xiang was very pleased.

Walking down from the platform, Niu Geng and Lu Yuling both expressed their congratulations on Zhuge Xiang's victory. As he walked past, the disciples below the duel platform automatically parted, making way for him. This showed that the battle with Ji Wuxue had made the disciples fully recognize the strength of this dark horse, the respect for the strong.

The crowd automatically parted to make way for him, a treatment Zhuge Xiang had never imagined before. He could not deny that he very much enjoyed this feeling. Why did he come to the Asura Sect? The goal was clear: to become a top person.

Sitting in a relatively remote but visible place to all the duel platforms, Zhuge Xiang moved his energy to begin treating his injuries and the weakness. The sword that pierced through Ji Wuxue's chest, although severely injuring Zhuge Xiang, only cost him about 40 health points. The Blood Thunder Slash, with the Blood Refining Blade's 10% blood-sucking effect, had already restored some of his health points.

Zhuge Xiang did not rush to use the blood-replenishing pill; it was a critical item for saving lives. He casually applied some wound medicine to stop the bleeding and waited for his next duel.

Although he was injured and the aftereffects of the Bloodlust Technique reduced his overall attributes by 15%, after defeating Ji Wuxue on the duel platform, there was no disciple who could pose a threat to Zhuge Xiang. In the remaining two or three rounds of duels, these disciples had become his targets for blood-sucking to recover his injuries.

Encountering Ji Wuxue earlier was beneficial for Zhuge Xiang in every way. Activating the Bloodlust Technique earlier gave him enough time to recover from the weakness, and his injuries could be healed using the Blood Refining Blade's blood-sucking effect.

Otherwise, if he had encountered Ji Wuxue in the final duel, in the top 32, the weakness from the Bloodlust Technique would have been a significant impact on Zhuge Xiang, and the blood-replenishing pill would have been wasted. Indeed, a blood-replenishing pill that could restore 100 health points would be wasted if used when he had lost only 30 health points...

In the subsequent duels, indeed, no one could pose a significant threat to Zhuge Xiang. The Blood Refining Blade, the Frost Headband, and the reputation from the previous battle made the three disciples he encountered, all at the second level of the Qi Cultivation Realm, suffer severe injuries and fall into a coma. The three disciples were almost chopped to death by Zhuge Xiang, and their health points, which were over 100, were reduced to just a few.

However, the effect was significant. The three disciples, whose combined health points were around 300, allowed Zhuge Xiang to recover almost all of his 30 lost health points with the 10% blood-sucking attribute. The injury from the sword through his chest was almost fully healed, leaving only a scar if the clothes were pulled aside.

With no major risks, Zhuge Xiang successfully advanced to the top 32, and the first-place winners from other duel platforms also gradually appeared...

Including Lu Yuling, the Asura Sect's earliest batch of disciples who had comprehended Qi five months ago, were all strong opponents for Zhuge Xiang. At the top 32, there were no weak opponents.

However, Zhuge Xiang was even more excited. Strong opponents meant high experience points. If he could continue to sweep through, he believed he would soon advance to the third level of the Qi Cultivation Realm. At that time, his confidence in winning first place would be even greater.