Chapter 1943 - Retaliation

Liu Wuxie's evasive maneuvers gave the Cloudbreaker Warship another opportunity to accelerate. Soon, only twenty meters separated the two vessels, close enough for their occupants to see one another's faces.

The Twin-Winged Battle Chariot shot away at a forty-five-degree angle, carrying Liu Wuxie beyond the warship's reach. Fury burned within him, but he suppressed it. Until he secured the Asura Blade fragment, he could not afford to retaliate.

His clashes with the Nanmen and Mou Clans had followed the same principle. Every blow he struck had been in retaliation; he had never initiated a confrontation.

"So he managed to escape," a cold voice remarked from inside the Cloudbreaker Warship. Its occupants had intended to unleash a third volley the moment they drew close enough.

With the warship beyond his ability to outpace, Liu Wuxie could only widen the distance by breaking sideways.

The Divine Rainbow Road offered ample room. Nothing compelled him to remain at its center.

Behind him, lightning suddenly struck an approaching divine steed. The blast punched a water-vat-sized hole through its hull and sent it plunging out of the sky. Its occupants scrambled outside, but neither their repairs nor their attempts to break its fall succeeded. In the end, they could only store the vessel in an interspatial ring and abandon the tournament.

"They're reaching the thunderclouds!" the spectators exclaimed.

A dense wall of thunderclouds filled the path ahead, with lightning twisting through its depths like serpents. Bolts struck hundreds of meters beyond the clouds, turning the passage into a daunting ordeal.

The Cloudbreaker Warship slowed down, and Liu Wuxie did the same. Throughout the field, divine steeds crept forward cautiously beneath the threat of lightning.

Each successive stretch of the course brought harsher obstacles, and the number of contestants steadily dwindled.

The Sky Soaring Steed, Guardian Wings, Hundred Blossom War Chariot, Astral Light Ripper, Skybreaker Wasp, and the remaining divine steeds soon closed the distance. Only the Qilin War Chariot continued at its unchanged, measured pace, sheltering a procession of smaller vessels behind it.

Another bolt illuminated the clouds. Even far below, the spectators felt the suffocating weight of its power.

"Why does that lightning have a red hue?" someone asked.

"You're looking at Crimson Demon Lightning, not ordinary lightning. One bolt could kill even an Origin Immortal," a Golden Immortal explained.

Crimson Demon Lightning seldom appeared, and nature did not produce it. Divine Steed Manor had drawn lightning down and compressed it tenfold to create these bolts.

Thunderclouds blocked the path ahead along the Divine Rainbow Road. Weaker divine steeds stopped at a safe distance while their occupants weighed the risk. Their odds of crossing safely were no better than fifty-fifty, and failure would cost them their vessels.

Each divine steed represented an enormous investment, and the smaller forces could scarcely afford to lose one.

Dozens chose to withdraw, descending to the ground to watch the remainder of the tournament.

A low hum resonated from the Cloudbreaker Warship. Golden light spread over its hull and gathered into a barrier capable of absorbing part of an incoming attack.

Other divine steeds raised comparable defenses. Some occupants reinforced their vessels further by attaching defensive talismans.

"That brat's luck is about to run out. His chariot has weak defenses and no enclosed hull. Even the shock waves from the lightning could send him plummeting out of the sky," someone commented.

Surrounded by fully enclosed divine steeds, Liu Wuxie's Twin-Winged Battle Chariot looked conspicuously exposed.

"The Hundred Blossom War Chariot is entering!" people exclaimed.

The Hundred Blossom War Chariot took the initiative and entered the thunderclouds, gradually disappearing from view. Lightning struck its hull, but the impact produced nothing more than a shower of sparks.

Close on its heels, the Guardian Wings crossed into the clouds.

Although the thunderclouds hid the vessels from view, those watching from the ground could still follow their progress.

Liu Wuxie formed hand seals, drawing the Twin-Winged Battle Chariot's wings around it into a protective ball. He then guided it into the clouds, crouching deep inside as he prepared to endure the Crimson Demon Lightning.

Lightning crashed against the chariot. Azure smoke curled from its surface, and the entire construct shuddered as though it might break apart.

"Lightning runes, activate!"

Within that shelter, Liu Wuxie worked ceaselessly. Lightning runes took shape under his hands, drawing in the bolts and converting their power into energy that gathered across the chariot's surface.

The Cloudbreaker Warship remained close by. Liu Wuxie gradually steered toward it.

"I believe I owe you the same courtesy. You ambushed me twice, so let’s see how you fare against this lightning," Liu Wuxie murmured, a cold smirk touching his lips. He never sought trouble, but he wouldn't let an attack go unanswered.

At full power, the Cloudbreaker Warship forced its way through the thunderclouds. None of its operators recognized the danger approaching them.

The Nanmen Clan had already lost its chance of victory. Among the remaining contenders, the Cloudbreaker Warship and the Qilin War Chariot now held the strongest prospects.

"That brat is approaching the Cloudbreaker Warship! What is he up to?" someone exclaimed, spotting the Twin-Winged Battle Chariot's gradual advance.

"He certainly remembers a grudge. The Nanmen Clan attacked him twice, and he put a hole in their vessel. Is that what he's planning now?"

Everyone had seen him breach the Skybreaker Wasp's hull. Nevertheless, the idea of a mere Spirit Immortal daring to mount an attack himself still strained their belief.

Someone had noticed that bolts near Liu Wuxie had vanished as though an invisible force had swallowed them. "Wait! Where's the lightning around him? It's disappearing!"

Crimson Demon Lightning continued hammering every other divine steed, leaving the Twin-Winged Battle Chariot's unusual condition all the more conspicuous.

While the spectators struggled to understand what they were seeing, Liu Wuxie directed every trace of absorbed lightning energy into his chariot's mounted spear.

"Cloud-Piercing Pike, I will leave the rest to you," he murmured.

The Cloud-Piercing Pike shared the mysterious crossbow's forging method, allowing mental energy to guide it.

As soon as the Twin-Winged Battle Chariot came within twenty meters of the Cloudbreaker Warship, the pike launched.

Until that instant, no contestant had attacked another inside the thunderclouds. All had observed an unspoken truce, leaving their quarrels until they reached safety.

"We're in trouble!"

A violent shudder ran through the Cloudbreaker Warship as its occupants sensed the danger bearing down on them. Divine Will Gate's elder erupted with murderous intent, enraged that Liu Wuxie had dared to strike.

"You must be eager to die!" an elder snapped.

Several elders operated the warship, and three of them were Golden Immortals. Murderous intent now poured from everyone.

"Raise our strongest defenses!" the oldest elder commanded. With the attack already so close, evasion was impossible.

The sword wings and Cloud-Piercing Pike comprised nearly the entire arsenal of the Twin-Winged Battle Chariot. Compared with the other divine steeds, it possessed few offensive options.

The nearby contestants were equally astonished by Liu Wuxie's audacity.

"That young man has courage," said the Heavenly Rift Pavilion's elder, nodding approvingly.

Liu Wuxie had seized the first opportunity to retaliate against the Divine Will Gate. Clearly, he had no intention of letting a grudge remain unsettled overnight.

"He's signing his own death warrant. Does he honestly expect that attack to damage the Cloudbreaker Warship?"

The Nanmen Clan watched from aboard the Skybreaker Wasp. They attributed the damage to their vessel entirely to their own carelessness. Had they brought their full strength to bear from the beginning, they were certain Liu Wuxie would never have struck them.

The Qilin War Chariot had also ventured into the thunderclouds. Several elders of Divine Steed Manor sat together inside, watching the unfolding scene in disbelief.

"This is no longer proceeding as we anticipated," the strongest elder said, producing a Communication Talisman. The identity of the person he contacted remained unknown.

Liu Wuxie's unforeseen participation had disrupted Divine Steed Manor's plans. The storm vortex should have eliminated a third of the contestants, including the Cloudbreaker Warship. Instead, Liu Wuxie had demonstrated a means of escape, enabling the others to imitate him.

Like a thunderbolt, the Cloud-Piercing Pike ripped through dozens of meters in an instant. Along with the stored lightning, it carried Liu Wuxie's mental energy.

Cracks raced over the Cloudbreaker Warship's protective barrier, and then it burst. Liu Wuxie had accomplished exactly what he intended. His target had always been the warship's defences, never the vessel itself.

Lightning immediately descended upon the exposed hull. Meanwhile, the Cloud-Piercing Pike returned to the Twin-Winged Battle Chariot and slotted back into its mount.

Concealed within the chariot, Liu Wuxie kept his expression hidden.

Under the unceasing barrage, damage spread across the Cloudbreaker Warship almost immediately. It lurched and swayed, teetering on the brink of falling from the sky.

"Damn him!" Divine Will Gate's elders and disciples roared. None could readily accept that a mere Spirit Immortal had inflicted such a devastating setback.

"I'll rip him to pieces!" a Divine Immortal snarled, his fists clenched tight. He yearned to get his hands on Liu Wuxie and tear him limb from limb.

Leaving the warship, however, would forfeit their place in the tournament. They refused to pay that price.

For now, they restrained themselves, convinced that Liu Wuxie couldn't escape. After they returned to the ground, they would have more than enough opportunities to make him suffer.

With so many enemies waiting for him, what hope could a mere Spirit Immortal have of staying alive?

Liu Wuxie had already worked out how to escape. Divine Will Gate and the Nanmen Clan didn't concern him. His real uncertainty lay with Divine Steed Manor and whether it would relinquish the Asura Blade fragment.

He had forged the Asura Blade in his previous life, leaving a remnant of his will within it that no one else could awaken. Once he obtained the fragment, he could call upon that will to suppress everyone present and leave with ease.

Such an escape would demand a heavy price. Awakening the will inside the fragment would come dangerously close to exposing his identity.

Having struck the Cloudbreaker Warship, Liu Wuxie swiftly pulled away and headed toward the edge of the thunderclouds.

The warship kept spinning helplessly while its elders and disciples scrambled to repair the damage. Eventually, they sealed the cracks, but full restoration was beyond their means. With its speed drastically reduced, the Divine Will Gate had lost any chance of claiming first place, just like the Nanmen Clan had before it.