As Hua Ying's raised long sword was about to stab Zhang Ergou's thigh, Zhang Ergou suddenly transformed agilely before his move was complete, his body brushing past the sword.
"Hmph, trying to trick me!"
Staring at Hua Ying, Zhang Ergou's gaze grew colder. This kid was incredibly sinister. That sword strike earlier was clearly aimed at his lower body. If he hadn't dodged in time, he would have been crippled!
Before, he might have held back against Hua Ying, but now Zhang Ergou was thoroughly enraged.
"Die!"
He kicked fiercely at Hua Ying, but Hua Ying, who had already reacted, wasn't hit and rolled away.
Seeing Zhang Ergou lunge again, Hua Ying stood up, enduring the intense pain. Facing Zhang Ergou now, Hua Ying had lost all his initial arrogance and swagger, replaced by shock and anger. In such a short time, less than a year, he had cultivated desperately, believing he had far surpassed Zhang Ergou. But reality had slapped him hard. Zhang Ergou's cultivation was indeed slightly lower than his, but his combat ability far exceeded his imagination.
Hua Ying dared not be careless. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stared intently at Zhang Ergou. His hands, however, didn't stop. A space around Hua Ying began to distort.
"What's he doing?"
Hua Ying's movements became faster and faster, the space seeming to shift around him. Zhang Ergou frowned, closely observing Hua Ying's actions. His intuition told him this was no simple matter. He wouldn't just wait to be defeated. Zhang Ergou thrust his spear, but the Ghost Spear Tian Wen was blocked by something inexplicable. Zhang Ergou didn't believe it and thrust forward again, only to encounter the same resistance.
Seeing this, Zhang Ergou's expression turned grim. The defensive power of this spell Hua Ying was casting was already so formidable in its early stages. Its power when fully formed would undoubtedly be immense. He had to find a way to stop the spell from forming, or counter it with a similar technique.
In the blink of an eye, a huge vortex had formed in front of Hua Ying. The vortex spun faster and faster, drawing in some of the surrounding spiritual energy.
"Die, brat!" Hua Ying's face twisted into a cruel smile. He could already see Zhang Ergou being blasted into shreds. As soon as he spoke, Hua Ying pushed his hands forward, and a formidable energy vortex rushed towards Zhang Ergou.
The piercing wind whipped Zhang Ergou's hair and made his robes flutter. Zhang Ergou was shocked. He hadn't expected Hua Ying to unleash such a powerful spell so quickly. Indeed, the gap between Golden Core cultivators and Foundation Establishment cultivators was significant. A Foundation Establishment cultivator would have long lost the ability to fight back after enduring Zhang Ergou's beating earlier. But Hua Ying, a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, seemed unaffected and unleashed such a devastating attack.
Facing the energy vortex head-on, Zhang Ergou's face stung from the wind.
"Break!" Zhang Ergou certainly wouldn't wait to die. He held his spear in one hand and manipulated spiritual fire with the other. The spiritual fire transformed into a massive fireball. It flew towards the energy vortex. Just as the two were about to collide, a deafening explosion erupted. Zhang Ergou and Hua Ying, at the center of the explosion, were the first to be affected. Hua Ying was sent flying three to four zhang by the shockwave before landing. Zhang Ergou fared no better, also being thrown back over three zhang. He fell onto the stage. If the presiding elder hadn't intervened in time to block the shockwave, the disciples in the stands would have been harmed. This showed just how violent the explosion was.
"Whoa, what kind of grudge do these two have? That's too intense!" The spectators' eyes were all drawn to the fight, no one bothering to watch the ongoing battles in the Foundation Establishment arena. This was by far the most intense match since the sect competition began.
"That Hua Ying kid was hiding something. He didn't use this move when he fought me last time. It seems that Zhang Ergou from the Misty Sect must have really offended him."
"Yeah, I'm seeing Hua Ying use this spell for the first time too. Its power is beyond expectation."
"If we took a hit from that, we'd be stripped raw even if we didn't die. I wonder how that Zhang Ergou from the Misty Sect is doing."
"He's definitely toast. That kid was too arrogant to treat Hua Ying like that earlier, knowing Hua Ying is notoriously ruthless."
On the Flowing Sea Sect's side, disciples of similar strength to Hua Ying were all stunned. Hua Ying's move had greatly shocked them. Unlike the Flowing Sea Sect's reaction, the disciples of the Misty Sect were much calmer. It was as if they weren't concerned about Zhang Ergou's fate, as if Zhang Ergou wasn't a disciple of the Misty Sect. This puzzled the disciples of the Flowing Sea Sect and other smaller sects. What's wrong with the Misty Sect people? Didn't they see their own disciple being thrown back? What surprised them further was that the Misty Sect disciples remained indifferent in the stands, not even discussing the clash.
"Cough cough!"
As the dust settled, a cough was heard.
"It's Hua Ying. As expected, when fighting desperately, the advantage in cultivation cannot be ignored." Hua Ying's appearance had completely changed. He looked utterly miserable, with no part of his body intact. Several pieces of flesh had even been blown off, but seeing Zhang Ergou still motionless in the distance, Hua Ying smiled.
"Hmph, brat, didn't expect this, did you? I was planning to use this move in the final battle. You should be proud to have forced me to use it. Cough cough!" Hua Ying spoke as if to Zhang Ergou, but his voice was so low that only he could hear it. Standing up, Hua Ying slowly made his way towards the center of the stage. That move had drained all the spiritual energy in his body, and even walking was an effort. However, since Zhang Ergou had been defeated and couldn't move, he wasn't overly worried and slowly walked towards the center of the stage.
Zhang Ergou remained prone on the ground, unmoving, as if truly knocked unconscious and his life uncertain after the blast.
"Hahaha!" Hua Ying burst into laughter, his mouth stretching open and pulling at his wounds, nearly making him cry out in pain. "Elder, can you announce now that I've advanced to the next round?" Walking to the center of the stage, Hua Ying turned his gaze to the presiding elder who was waiting for the good news.
"Naturally!" As the presiding elder spoke, a ghostly figure suddenly darted towards Hua Ying, who was awaiting the good news.
"Be careful!" A cry of alarm rose from the Flowing Sea Sect's spectator stands. But it was too late. Hua Ying felt as if he had been hit by a fierce beast, and then his consciousness faded.
"Elder, you can announce it now!" After hurling Hua Ying's body off the stage, Zhang Ergou said with a full voice, showing no signs of injury.