Chapter 222: Thousand Winds Execution

Chapter 221

Liyu’s gaze slowly changed on the stage as a bad feeling rose within him, and whatever move Shi Tian was trying to pull off, it was bound to be nothing good since there was simply no way it could be anything else.

The amount of Wind Qi Shi Tian was gathering was staggering, and the overwhelming surge of Wind Qi surrounding his body had already reached a level where merely standing nearby could make someone stagger and collapse to their knees.

The wind howled around Shi Tian, twisting violently through the air and wrapping around his figure like countless invisible serpents while the sheer pressure radiating from him made the atmosphere itself feel heavier, as though the entire space was being slowly compressed by the terrifying amount of energy he was gathering.

Liyu narrowed his eyes because something was seriously wrong; he had already experienced Shi Tian’s defensive technique, and that alone had nearly killed him, but now this guy was preparing another move while gathering an even more terrifying amount of Wind Qi.

Liyu had no intention of standing around to find out exactly what that move would do to him, knowing he needed more strength, and if his current strength wasn’t enough, then he would simply have to bring out more. There was still one clone he hadn’t used... one last card... so Liyu immediately made his decision.

"Call... Lazy Rayden."

The moment the command left his mind, he waited. A second passed, then another, then another, and Liyu’s expression slowly became strange.

"Calling..."

The system’s notification appeared in his mind a few moments passed before... Ding! Call rejected. Liyu’s eyes twitched violently.

"What the hell?"

He couldn’t help but curse under his breath.

Meanwhile, deep within the Beast Forest, Lazy Rayden was peacefully resting on a thick tree branch with his back comfortably against the trunk, his legs hanging lazily from the branch while his half-lidded eyes stared at the bright moon hanging high in the night sky.

He had finally managed to find a peaceful place, a quiet place, a place where nobody was bothering him, a place where he could sleep, and more importantly, a place where he could continue doing absolutely nothing.

For Lazy Rayden, this was practically paradise, but unfortunately, that peace had just been disturbed. His eyes slowly opened as irritation flashed through them; he had been awakened from his slumber just when he was beginning to enjoy it, and if he had to guess who was responsible for something like this, there was only one possible answer.

"The original..."

Lazy Rayden’s expression darkened.

"That guy sure is troublesome."

He let out a tired sigh before closing his eyes again.

"Always dragging me to work."

His tone was filled with pure dissatisfaction.

"I’m doing nothing. No more work today."

He said it with the absolute conviction of someone making an oath, tilting his head slightly while continuing to stare at the bright moon. He had already done enough... he had fought, he had cultivated, he had survived, and he had even gone through that ridiculous duel in the Beast Forest... so now he wanted nothing more than to sleep, wondering if that really was too much to ask.

Lazy Rayden tried to sense where Dead Eye Rayden had gone, realizing after a brief moment that the other reflection had disappeared, which meant he immediately understood what had happened. Probably the doing of the original, since they had been called to perform some task, and now the original apparently thought that he, Lazy Rayden, would also obediently answer the call and allow himself to be dragged into another troublesome situation. There was absolutely no way that was happening.

"No."

Lazy Rayden shook his head.

"Absolutely not."

Almost at the exact moment he made that decision, he felt it: a strange pull suddenly wrapped around his body. The sensation was faint at first, then it grew stronger, as if some invisible force had reached through the distance between them and was attempting to drag his existence away from the Beast Forest. Lazy Rayden opened one eye, immediately telling what it was because the original was calling him again.

"Hah..."

Lazy Rayden sighed.

How persistent.

The pull became stronger, but Lazy Rayden remained completely unconcerned, resisting the force with barely any effort and breaking the connection so the strange pull disappeared. Lazy Rayden’s expression relaxed, closing his eyes again only for another pull to come a few seconds later. Lazy Rayden broke it, another came and he broke that one too, and again and again and again. Every time the original attempted to call him, Lazy Rayden simply rejected it because he wasn’t going... not today, not now, not while he had finally found a comfortable branch beneath a beautiful moonlit sky.

"I just want to enjoy some good sleep..."

Lazy Rayden complained quietly.

"Is that really too much to ask for?"

He turned slightly, finding an even more comfortable position against the tree.

"I’m not doing anything today."

With that declaration, Lazy Rayden closed his eyes and went back to sleep with no intention of being bothered, because that was all he wanted: peace, sleep, and absolutely no work.

Meanwhile, back on the battle stage, Liyu’s eyes couldn’t stop twitching as his expression became increasingly ugly while he stared at the system notifications appearing inside his mind that only he could see, since even King Rayden and Dead Eye Rayden, who were sitting beside him within the black space, couldn’t view the messages themselves. One after another, they appeared: Ding! Calling back Lazy Rayden... Call rejected. Liyu’s face darkened, another notification appeared... Ding! Calling back Lazy Rayden... Call rejected... and his eyelid twitched.

Then another calling back Lazy Rayden and call rejected, and another, until it was more than obvious at this point that the skill wasn’t failing because someone was deliberately rejecting it, and that someone was Lazy Rayden. Liyu’s teeth clenched.

"Hey, Sys..."

His voice was low, very low, carrying the kind of low that promised violence as he called upon the system through gritted teeth.

"Tell me what the hell is happening here."

His eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Why isn’t the Call skill working on that lazy bastard reflection of mine?"

There was a brief silence before the system calmly replied.

"Host, I understand your frustration."

Liyu’s expression twitched.

"But I want you to understand something. The effectiveness of your skills on your reflections is determined by the level of authority you possess over them."

Liyu listened.

"As we discussed before, your authority over your reflections is determined by the difference between your own Life Rank and Stage and their respective existence rank."

Liyu’s expression slowly became serious.

"As you know, Lazy Rayden is currently at the peak of Rank S, while you are only at the Mid Rank."

The system paused briefly.

"That represents two whole high-stage differences between the two of you."

Liyu’s face darkened even further.

"And although your authority over him has increased, especially after the duel you had in the Beast Forest, your authority is still not high enough to make your skills work on him absolutely."

Liyu finally understood, though his teeth remained clenched.

"So..."

He narrowed his eyes.

"You’re telling me that bastard is the one cancelling the call?"

"Yes, Host."

The system answered without hesitation.

"That is correct."

Liyu’s expression became increasingly unpleasant.

"If that’s the case, then why aren’t the other two clones able to cancel their calls?"

The answer came almost immediately.

"Because you and the other two reflections currently share the same Rank and Stage. Therefore, your control over them is absolute."

Liyu fell silent for a moment before nodding slowly.

"Oh..."

His tone was calm, far too calm.

"I understand."

King Rayden and Dead Eye Rayden, both observing the exchange from within the black space, could practically feel the dark aura gathering around the original while Liyu’s face remained composed, though the murderous intent hidden beneath that calm expression was becoming increasingly obvious.

"That bastard..."

His eyes twitched.

"Lazy Rayden..."

He slowly clenched his fist.

"I’m going to beat the shit out of him after this match."

There was genuine fury in his voice now.

"My own reflection... abandoning me when I’m in danger. How cruel."

For perhaps the first time, Liyu truly felt betrayed not by an enemy, an opponent, or some random stranger, but by his own reflection, and worse...that bastard wasn’t even sorry, probably sleeping peacefully beneath the moonlight right now. Liyu could already imagine it: Lazy Rayden comfortably lying against a tree, sleeping like an innocent man while his original was currently standing on a battlefield facing a monster capable of killing him, which made Liyu’s forehead twitch.

"Just wait..."

His gaze slowly shifted back toward Shi Tian as the terrifying surge of Wind Qi around Shi Tian continued to rise, causing Liyu’s expression to become serious once more.

"After I survive this... I’m dealing with that bastard."

For now, however, he had a far more immediate problem: Shi Tian. The system passed along some new information explaining that the Call skill was not simply a matter of summoning Lazy Rayden from wherever he happened to be, but rather a pull...an invisible force attempting to drag Lazy Rayden toward Liyu across the distance separating them, meaning the closer Liyu was to Lazy Rayden, the stronger that pull would become.

If Liyu were close enough, the pull would reach a level where Lazy Rayden would no longer possess the ability to counter it and forcibly reject the call, which meant Lazy Rayden could only reject him because the distance between them was currently too great, combined with the enormous difference in their ranks. Crazy bastard. Liyu was genuinely pissed off at his lazy reflection and had never imagined his own reflection would abandon him in the middle of a death match, but he didn’t have the privilege of remaining angry for long because in the very next second, every hair on his body stood on end as a deep and overwhelming feeling of danger suddenly descended upon him.

It was so intense that Liyu’s entire body instinctively tensed, his sharpened gaze immediately snapping upward to lock onto the figure standing high above him. Shi Tian. The man was floating in the air, holding his sword firmly while his expression remained as calm and emotionless as ever, and for several moments nothing happened until Shi Tian slowly opened his eyes.

The instant his eyes opened, the Wind Qi raging around his body seemed to tighten, or rather, it didn’t merely tighten... it solidified. The countless strands of Wind Qi violently swirling around him suddenly became denser, sharper, and more terrifying, as though the very wind itself had transformed into something tangible with the sole purpose of killing.

The air trembled, and the very space around Shi Tian began to shake from the sheer force of the attack he had yet to unleash. Liyu’s expression became extremely serious because his instincts were screaming at him that his time was running out far too quickly, prompting him to immediately begin creating as many lightning barriers as possible while simultaneously firing attacks toward Shi Tian.

Lightning surged violently from his body as one barrier after another manifested around him, forming layers of protection while countless streaks of green lightning shot toward the figure floating above, refusing to simply wait for Shi Tian to finish preparing whatever terrifying attack he was gathering that would give the man exactly what he wanted.

Shi Tian was clearly preparing an attack capable of ending Liyu’s life and winning the death match, which Liyu couldn’t allow, so he attacked again and again with lightning tearing through the air and explosive attacks rushing toward Shi Tian from multiple directions. Yet anything coming within several metres of Shi Tian was instantly shredded apart; it didn’t matter what attack it was, the moment it entered the terrifying range surrounding him, it was torn apart with such overwhelming power and violence that Liyu’s scalp went numb and all the hair on his back stood on end as a deep sense of foreboding emerged within his heart. This wasn’t merely danger... he was in an extremely deep and terrifying situation.

At the seat of the Li Clan, Li San’s gaze shook violently as he clearly sensed the power gathering around Shi Tian, and without any doubt, that power was more than enough to end Liyu, being far too much for Li San to even begin understanding how someone as young as Shi Tian could gather such an enormous amount of energy from the world around him and use his own Wind Qi to refine and transform it into something this deadly. Li San’s heart tightened because he needed to warn Liyu to forfeit immediately, otherwise he would die.

"Forfeit!"

The word echoed through Liyu’s mind in the voice of his uncle, Li San.

"Come on, lad! Give up already! Whatever technique or skill that kid wants to use is something you won’t be able to survive! Forfeit immediately!"

His voice carried genuine worry, no longer a matter of pride, winning, or losing, because Li San could sense just how terrifying Shi Tian’s gathering power was, knowing that if Liyu continued to fight against it head-on, he would most likely die. Yet Liyu didn’t raise his hand, didn’t signal forfeit, and didn’t even move to retreat, instead keeping his gaze complicated as he stared at Shi Tian who was now almost ready to unleash his attack. After a moment, Liyu slowly shook his head.

"No. I’ll survive this."

Li San hesitated, wanting to break into the battlefield and stop the death match himself, but knowing Elder Ting would never allow him to interfere, especially since this was a death match where interfering would bring unpayable consequences. So Li San could only continue urging Liyu to give up.

"Lad..."

After a while, he finally stopped, understanding that stubbornness was not going to disappear, leaving only one thing left for him to say.

"Be careful."

That was all he could offer while praying and hoping Liyu would somehow save himself from this one, because if he died... Li San’s fist clenched tightly at his side as his expression became grim... no, he wouldn’t die, Liyu wouldn’t die, and he should have some belief in the kid as well.

As the seconds continued to pass, the terror around Liyu’s heart tightened more and more like a cold vice clamping around his heart and slowly squeezing, while every instinct within him screamed danger, danger, danger as the warning inside his mind became increasingly intense. A few seconds later, Shi Tian’s eyes suddenly snapped open because he was ready to end this entire tournament with his first killing move, his cold gaze sweeping over Liyu before his emotionless voice rang across the battlefield.

"Wind Sovereign Art. Eighth Form... Thousands Wind Execution."

The instant those words fell, the world changed as the Wind Qi surrounding Shi Tian began to solidify into countless forms and shapes... swords, spears, arrows, blades, and countless other weapons formed from pure, condensed Wind Qi. They appeared one after another, then more and more, until the entire sky surrounding the battle stage was blanketed by thousands upon thousands of terrifying wind weapons floating in the air, each radiating an incomparably sharp aura while the space around them rippled violently.

Even the very air surrounding the weapons had become deadly, since coming into contact with the condensed Wind Qi from several metres away was already enough to shred an ordinary cultivator apart, and now there were thousands of deadly wind executions, all with only one target: Liyu. The conclusion of this death match couldn’t have been any clearer. Shi Tian raised his sword with cold eyes.

"Advance."

He brought his sword down.

BOOM!

In that instant, all the wind executions descended, thousands of terrifying attacks tearing through the sky at once to shred, crush, and erase everything in their path while the very air screamed beneath the force of the attack, the stage trembled violently, and the surrounding space warped beneath the overwhelming pressure.

Even the fortified arena seemed incapable of enduring the might of the attack, causing the referee’s expression to change immediately as he sensed the defensive array protecting the camps would no longer be enough because the attacks were too powerful and the aftershock alone was enough to cause severe injuries that could kill many people in the camps if reached directly.

The referee immediately activated the second layer of the array, causing a brilliant light to erupt from the defensive formation as a massive dome formed around the camps to envelop them completely, humming violently while absorbing and dispersing the terrifying aftershock coming from the battlefield. Only then did the people within the camps realize just how close they had been to suffering devastating injuries or death if exposed directly.

Back on the battlefield, Liyu’s pupils contracted as a bead of cold sweat trickled down his forehead while he looked up at the thousands of wind executions descending toward him, his mind screaming extreme danger. He immediately sent forward his lightning barriers... one, two, three, and then even more... forming layers upon layers of green lightning barriers manifested before him.

But before the descending wind executions even reached the first barrier, they shredded through the distance and tore the barrier apart instantly, making Liyu’s gaze shake as the warning inside his mind became overwhelming and roared that he was in deep, dire, unmatched danger with no room for hesitation, no room for mistakes, and no room for arrogance.

Woom! Boom!

The next second, the attack descended, thousands of Wind Executions coming crashing down at once and consuming everything in their path, leaving Liyu right at the center of it all.