Chapter 697 691: Perfect Control

Seeing Old Eighth's panicked expression, a slight smile touched Shen Haoran's lips. Draining life force was an ability of the Wood Spirit Cyan Profound. After its Refinement, Shen Haoran was able to apply this Power Blessing to his Infinite Sword Control. Such a sudden attack would undoubtedly have an unexpected effect.

"You can dodge one sword, but what about another?" Shen Haoran sneered. A purple-black vortex reappeared behind him, and in the next moment, two flashes of Sword Light erupted, flying toward Old Eighth.

At the sight of this, Old Eighth snorted coldly. A bloody light flashed in his hand, and a heavy hammer materialized from thin air. He knew there was something wrong with that purple-black Sword Light and that he couldn't touch it, so he opted to intercept it with his weapon!

CLANG! CLANG! With two rings of striking steel, Old Eighth's hammer easily shattered Shen Haoran's two purple-black Sword Lights into nothingness. The hammer was a Top Grade Spiritual Artifact. Shen Haoran's Sword Light didn't have immense Attack Power, but the aura it carried was bizarre. Using the hammer to counter Shen Haoran's Infinite Sword Control was Old Eighth's best option!

Shen Haoran remained expressionless as he watched his two Sword Lights get easily shattered. The purple-black vortexes behind him split, turning from two into four, four into eight, and eight into sixteen. In the blink of an eye, the space behind Shen Haoran was filled with these purple-black vortexes. One after another, purple-black longswords glinting with a cold light began to emerge from them.

"What kind of Martial Skill is that? It's so damn cool!" the crowd in the stands couldn't help but exclaim, watching the longswords that glinted with cold light behind Shen Haoran.

"Tch. What good is 'cool' if it has no Attack Power? With one swing of his hammer, Old Eighth can make sure those Sword Lights don't even touch the hem of his robes. That Leng Feng is just wasting his Spiritual Power!" one of the Martial Artists scoffed at Shen Haoran.

Hearing that Martial Artist's words, the people nearby nodded in agreement. The very essence of combat was to inflict the greatest damage for the smallest cost, not to show off flashy but impractical Martial Skills. A large-scale Martial Skill like Shen Haoran's would consume an immense amount of Spiritual Power, which was a huge taboo in battle!

Shen Haoran watched Old Eighth from a distance, his face an emotionless mask. 'Infinite Sword Control does consume a terrifying amount of Spiritual Power, which is why I don't use it often. However, ever since completing the Refinement of the Wood Spirit Cyan Profound, my recovery rate has increased exponentially. The Spiritual Power consumed by Infinite Sword Control isn't even as fast as the recovery provided by the Wood Spirit Cyan Profound. In my opinion, this cost is utterly negligible.'

The corners of Shen Haoran's mouth suddenly lifted. Then, the innumerable purple-black vortexes behind him erupted in a brilliant light. Countless longswords, trailing purple-black streams of light, shot toward Old Eighth like a rainstorm.

Facing the incoming storm of Sword Light, Old Eighth roared. He swung his heavy hammer in an impenetrable blur. Every purple-black Sword Light that touched the hammer was instantly shattered. The countless Sword Lights couldn't get an inch near him.

"Is this all you've got? Hmph, did you skip breakfast this morning? You're not even strong enough to scratch an itch!" Old Eighth laughed, swinging his heavy hammer, his mocking tone completely unconcealed. But Shen Haoran was not the least bit shaken by Old Eighth's taunts. The dark vortexes behind him flashed continuously, sending an unceasing stream of purple-black Sword Light flying toward Old Eighth.

"Is this Leng Feng an idiot? He knows his attacks aren't working, so why is he still wasting Spiritual Power?"

"Must be a battle-newbie. He doesn't even know this much. How dare he challenge a Golden Martial Artist? Isn't he just asking for trouble?"

"Sigh. I thought he was some kind of genius, but he's just an idiot!" the crowd lamented, watching Shen Haoran continue his assault without pause.

'Hmph, just an arrogant brat after all. Trying to defeat me with a Martial Skill that has zero Attack Power? He's dreaming! Go on then, let's see how long you can keep this up!' Old Eighth sneered to himself when he saw that Shen Haoran had no intention of stopping.

Shen Haoran paid no mind to the crowd's jeers. He watched Old Eighth continuously swinging his hammer, an enigmatic smile playing on his lips. Behind him, a few of the purple-black vortexes slowly shifted to an earthy yellow. Two earth-yellow Sword Lights shot out, hidden among the other purple-black ones, speeding toward Old Eighth.

"Hm?" As a Sword Light struck his hammer, Old Eighth suddenly felt its weight increase dramatically, almost making him lose his grip. However, the sensation vanished in an instant, and he didn't realize anything was amiss.

A moment later, the sensation returned. But once again, it was fleeting, leaving Old Eighth a little confused.

'An illusion?' Old Eighth's brow furrowed. Before he could react, the weight of his hammer intensified again. This time, he nearly lost his grip and sent it flying.

"This..." Old Eighth looked up and saw that, at some point, the purple-black Sword Lights had turned earth-yellow. Every time one of the earth-yellow longswords struck his hammer, its weight would suddenly increase to the point he could barely hold it. The realization shocked him to his core.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! The sounds of metal clashing rang out continuously. As Sword Light and hammer met, bright sparks flew in all directions. By now, Old Eighth's forehead was beaded with sweat. The hammer in his hands had become as heavy as a mountain, impossible for him to wield properly, and the speed of his swings slowed to a crawl.

Just then, the sky full of earth-yellow longswords abruptly changed color, transforming into jet-black Flaming Longswords. The speed of these black Flaming Longswords was appalling; the crowd couldn't even see their trajectories. They could only feel a searing heat flash before their eyes, followed immediately by a series of agonizing screams from Old Eighth!

A few moments later, the sky full of Sword Light dissipated. Shen Haoran still stood in his original spot, his expression indifferent and showing no trace of exhaustion, as if nothing had just occurred. A short distance away, Old Eighth lay on the ground, engulfed in black flames. No matter how he struggled, he couldn't put them out. The black flames could even burn away Spiritual Power.

Shen Haoran watched the struggling Old Eighth, a satisfied smile on his face. 'Perfect control over Infinite Sword Control combined with three Heaven and Earth Spirits... I finally did it. First, I used the Wood Spirit Cyan Profound's life force-draining ability to force him to draw his weapon. Then, I used the Earth Spirit Profound Nether's gravity manipulation to make that weapon as heavy as a mountain. Finally, I used the explosive power and terrifying flames of the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian to deliver the finishing blow.' The abilities of the three Heaven and Earth Spirits had been perfectly applied. Shen Haoran had turned the entire fight into his personal performance, elevating combat to an art form!