Chapter 81 - The Second Day
The incoming whip did not catch Shi Mu unprepared, as Re Che had thought. To his surprise, the whip missed its target, who ducked aside, as if he had foreseen his opponent’s movements. Shi Mu made a counterblow, producing ten cuts in one breath, sending ten blade shadows roaring toward Ruan Che’s left shoulder. The lanky youth’s countenance changed, but only for a short moment, before he rapidly flicked his whip to call it back. The wriggling black snake soon answered to its owner, coming back to form a black net in front of Ruan Che’s chest, shielding his body behind it.
Shi Mu responded to the ‘loyal snake servant’ with a sneer, not slowing his knife one bit. The next moment, an ear-deafening boom echoed throughout the plaza, and the audience saw the ten blade shadows crash against the whip net before they disappeared. Shi Mu’s eyes glared, his hands shook the knife, instilling real Qi into his weapon, which, in turn, droned faintly while trembling and emitting white light.
“Ha!” Shi Mu let out a loud shout, wielding his knife with both hands, and launched a powerful thrust. The steel knife caught light and glared, then, before one could make out its trace, eleven blade shadows plummeted toward Ruan Che.
The junior judge, with sunk cheeks on the ring, felt his blood chill, his eyes seeking Ruan Che’s anxiously. “Eleven cuts in one breath! This bastard is really hiding his actual strength! No wonder brother Su was defeated by him!” He cursed silently.
Simultaneously, Ruan Che turned pale with fright, overwhelmed by Shi Mu’s successive attacks and the ever increasing momentum. He could only wield his black whip desperately, trying to resist the blows, but, with Shi Mu’s attacks being flawless, he could find no weak points to strike back. This realization filled him with fear.
The black net was finally broken, with the whip snapping into small pieces, its handle left in Ruan Che’s hand, like a dead fish unable to flop anymore. Before Ruan Che was able to recover from the shock, his was dazzled by another blow of eleven blade shadows, cascading down to his head, his body was in imminent danger of being cut into halves.
Right then, a tall figure flashed to Ruan Che’s aid, forestalling the tragic end that was to take place in the very next moment. He was none other than the junior judge with sunk cheeks, who had been watching the match closely the entire time. He waved his sleeve casually, and a silver short spear appeared, from nowhere, in his hand, clashing with Shi Mu’s knife. The spear shook violently as it met the knife, accompanied by an invisible air wave, charged with enormous energy. In an instant the eleven knife shadows were all mercilessly crushed.
Shi Mu’s face drained of color as he received great shock from being crushed so easily. A terrible force crept onto his hand through his own knife, almost knocking him over. He felt his stomach upturned, his muscles screeching in pain. But he did not allow himself another minute to panic over this sudden attack. He supported his body with full strength, steadying it after it was pushed back half a step.
“You proud thing, if you ever overlook our sect’s rules and try to kill, my spear will bring you to justice!” The judge took back his spear with a turn of his palm, and though he spat the bold words, which made him feel quite proud of himself, his eyes showed a trace of uneasiness, incongruous with his previous bluster. As a matter of fact, he had harbored a secret grudge against Shi Mu ever since the latter defeated his friend White Su, who should have entered the top ten rank. Now that a chance was in his hand to vent the anger, he did not hesitate to strike with full force. But the result was contrary to his expectation. Shi Mu took the blow without getting wounded in the process. This was very humiliating to an Advanced Houtian Warrior, like himself!
“Your humble servant has overdone this match, and he begs for senior’s forgiveness.” Shi Mu changed countenance and hurriedly took back his steel knife, apologizing with clasped hands.
Luo Yunji threw Shi Mu a cold glance, and, without a word, walked to the other side of the ring. Under the watchful eyes of the audience, this was as far as he could go. Ruan Che took a meaningful look at Shi Mu, flung his whip handle on the ground, and walked off the ring with a stern face.
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