Star Odyssey

Chapter 324: Formidable

Liu Shaoqiu’s eyes changed as he slashed out with his sword. With a bang, a torrential amount of sword qi inundated the battlefield, creating multiple minute spatial cracks that then scattered like raindrops.

Liu Shaoqiu was astonished, as a casual finger strike from Yun had actually stopped his attack from proceeding.

Yun was also stunned. “Not bad. Again.” She tapped out once more, but this time, she used two fingers. An even sharper blade of energy composed of wind sliced through the air at Liu Shaoqiu. No explanation was required, as the wind blade shredded the void as it sped towards Liu Shaoqiu.

Countless watched on, dumbfounded. Just Yun’s finger alone could execute an attack that could rival the Thirteen Swords! How could such a terrifying battle technique exist?

Liu Shaoqiu did not dare to be careless here, and he seriously swung his sword as vast amounts of sword qi shot out from the void to collide against the wind blade. Suddenly, just like the previous battle, the entire battlefield was reduced to a state of ruin. Liu Shaoqiu’s Second Sword offset the wind blade, but he was still at a disadvantage.

When had the Thirteen Swords ever been suppressed to such an extent?

Countless disciples of the Sword Sect were confused by what they were seeing. They were fully aware of just how powerful the formidable Thirteen Swords were, but its first two swords had been easily dissolved by this person, and one could even say suppressed. How had this woman from the Technocracy managed to do such a thing?

Even the Sword Sect’s leader frowned. This shouldn’t be possible, as this woman had not even displayed any overly powerful battle techniques. How was she suppressing the sword qi of the Thirteen Swords?

The disdain in Yun’s eyes only grew stronger. “You’re already at the Second Sword? Hurry up, I want to see the complete version of your so-called Thirteen Swords.”

Lu Yin was astonished by what he had just witnessed. He personally understood the might of the Thirteen Swords very well. What was this woman relying on to block Liu Shaoqiu’s attacks? The energy emitted from her fingertip was not some powerful battle technique, or was it just that he could not see through her battle technique? He suddenly thought of the possibility of a secret technique; could this be an example of those absolute techniques?

At that moment, within the battlefield, Yun raised her entire hand. A soaring energy ripped through the sky and caused the very ground to tremble as the boundless force suppressed the entire battlefield, overwhelming even the students outside the barriers.

It was Yun’s first time revealing her horrifying strength. Her previous battle with Han Chong had not shown the crowd her true strength outright, and only now were they able to clearly observe it.

“My strength is not something that can be understood by you people. I’ll give you one last chance to display all the remaining sword forms. Otherwise, you can go and die,” Yun arrogantly declared.

Liu Shaoqiu did not become angry upon hearing her words. Within the Human Domain, he stood among the top Limiteers of the younger generation, but he had never been arrogant. His opponent was similarly one of the strongest from one of the other star domains, so he was not at all taken aback by this scene. All that was left was to see if his Fourth Sword could truly suppress all others.

Against those from the Technocracy, Liu Shaoqiu decided to skip the Third Sword, as a spiritual attack would not be very useful against them. Thus, the Fourth Sword was next to appear.

The energy undulation created by Yun’s single palm became even more terrifying and extreme as it nearly pierced through the sky.

Liu Shaoqiu stood tall and raised his sword. The star energy that had originally covered his body suddenly dissipated as he closed both of his eyes.

Yun snorted coldly. “Time to die.” She then pressed down with a single hand, and the entire battlefield seemed to be suppressed, affecting the audience to the point where they could not even breathe. Even the mentors’ barrier isolating the battlefield started to warp, demonstrating the raw power of Yun’s palm. But at that moment, Liu Shaoqiu opened his eyes, and a formless energy swept across, forming a sweeping gale. Many looked up at the incomparably large blade that had suddenly appeared. This was a forcefield, which meant that Liu Shaoqiu was now the second powerhouse in the Tournament of the Strongest to reveal that he had comprehended a forcefield.

That single palm collided against the massive sword, and the impact caused the void to explode. The earth and sky pulled back as an impossibly large spatial crack appeared in the center of the battlefield; it looked like a river of stars had appeared, dividing the two regions.

A powerful suppression descended upon the audience members. It was formless, but also completely overwhelming, and it caused quite a few students to spit out blood and fall to the ground in pain.

Even Lu Yin’s breathing grew sluggish when he looked up at the skies, flabbergasted at the scene before him. He could feel the terrifying might of this collision in his bones, and Liu Shaoqiu’s technique lived up to the reputation of the Fourth Sword. Fortunately, Lu Yin had correctly estimated Liu Shaoqiu’s ability during their match in the Astral Combat Tournament, or else Lu Yin would have been defeated by this Fourth Sword. This was something that not even five-lined battle force could withstand.

But Yun was even more horrifying. Her single palm strike was enough to rival the Fourth Sword, which confused many, including the Sword Sect’s leader. This girl’s attack was so formidable and powerful; it felt as if it had a natural suppressive effect.

On the battlefield, Yun grew excited. “How interesting! Your Thirteen Swords is not bad at all, but it’s a pity that you’ve reached your limits.” The shadow of a mountain appeared above where the Fourth Sword and Yun’s palm collided. At that same moment, the Lifeseek Realm trembled  once again, though no one noticed it.

This mountain was majestic and imposing, and its peak could not be seen, similar to Han Chong’s landscape painting. This mountain was a bit more monotonous than the painting, but even still, the Fourth Sword collapsed when this illusory mountain appeared, the materialized star energy that made up Liu Shaoqiu’s sword crumbling away as the sword disappeared. After that, his body also crumbled apart, and he vanished from the Lifeseek Realm.

The shockwaves reverberated high up into the sky, and then visible lines of star energy came sprinkling back down like rain, almost as if they were in the Rain Observatory.

“The second match of the second round. Victor: Yun.”

Everyone was still dumbfounded with shock. Liu Shaoqiu had lost once again. He had even learned the Fourth Sword this time, but he had still been defeated in the Tournament of the Strongest. It was not that he was weak, but rather that his opponent was just too powerful.

Yun was arrogant, but she was in a position to look down on all others, just like a queen.

Starsibyl was solemn, and her eyes flickered continuously. Sure enough, Yun was not within the scope of her divinations either.

Tian Hou had put his black gowns on once again and was staring closely at Yun with a hint of apprehension.

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. Sure enough, he had to improve his own strength. This Yun could not be understood; she had even crushed the Fourth Sword.

Although Liu Shaoqiu had lost this battle, he should have no regrets this time since he had unleashed his most powerful attack. This defeat was even more thorough than his loss to Lu Yin.

However, the Sword Sect was fired up. They did not know why Liu Shaoqiu had lost, nor what that palm had relied on to crush the Fourth Sword. Even their leader could not understand this matter.

In the depths of the universe, atop a lonely cliff on an inverted planet, a white, long sword was stabbed into the ground. Underground was a space-exploring astral beast howling in grief while suffering from being suppressed. Above the white sword was a screen that was displaying the Tournament of the Strongest.

“Hahahaha, the Thirteen Swords have been suppressed! To think that your Sword Sect would have such a day as well! Hahahaha, Arbiter Liu, your Thirteen Swords isn’t invincible…” The astral beast laughed maniacally even as it was suppressed by the white sword while the entire planet fell apart. This beast had the strength of a Hunter.

Beside the white blade stood a young female with long, black hair and large glasses. She stared at the screen, entranced, while her left hand pressed down on the sword’s hilt. A blinding light streaked out as the blade was unsheathed and instantly resheathed, slicing the Hunter realm astral beast to pieces.

There were only two competitors left to battle in the second round of the tournament: Starsibyl and Zi Jun.

When faced with Starsibyl, Zi Jun’s originally indifferent expression became much more solemn. The Cosmic Sea experts looked down upon the Innerverse and Outerverse since the two regions did not have anyplace that could match the danger of the Cosmic Sea aside from the border warfront. However, no matter how much Zi Jun looked down on others, she did not dare to underestimate Starsibyl. This woman was famed for her power throughout the universe, and her combat abilities were completely mysterious.

In particular, Starsibyl’s previous battle against Yar Patar from the Technocracy had made the mystery surrounding her even deeper. She seemed to be able to divine her opponent’s attacks and evade them before they even came out, which was a terrifying ability.

No one liked having their every move be predicted, and Zi Jun was no exception. Hence, she used her full strength the moment she stepped onto the battlefield, as her dark-green forcefield quickly swept across the entire field in an attempt to suppress Starsibyl. 

A forcefield was formed from the foundation of a domain, and it was an extension of the person’s spirit. It was also a physical manifestation that only appeared after one’s comprehensions into their domain reached a sufficient level. A powerhouse could use a personal forcefield to complement their battle skills and techniques, which increased their power rather significantly.

Zi Jun was the same, and she could even merge her innate gift into her forcefield. She leapt up and pressed down with her palm. “Jade Sieving Technique.”

The battlefield seemed to solidify and turn into indestructible jade that could not even be broken. Starsibyl was seemingly oppressed by this jade and could not dodge no matter how she tried. Divination could allow her to dodge many attacks, but not one that enveloped the entire battlefield and even sealed the void.

There was a loud explosion as the entire battlefield was crushed. Large spatial cracks snaked out of the void like pythons, causing the audience to tremble in fear. Zi Jun’s full-force explosive power shocked many, as this attack rivaled Yun’s single palm that had defeated Liu Shaoqiu’s Fourth Sword. The oppressiveness of this attack even caused a few students to vomit blood. 

This was the power of an expert from the Cosmic Sea.

But what about Starsibyl? Was she dead?

Outside the battlefield, Lu Yin’s gaze sharpened. Something wasn’t right. Starsibyl was not in her original spot! Lu Yin had even risked revolving the Cosmic Art to observe Starsibyl’s movements, and what he had seen was Starsybil’s body being pulverized, but only a phantom image had been hit and not her actual body. From the very start of the attack, Starsibyl had already left her original location. She had evaded the attack in advance and was standing high in the sky.

Lu Yin looked up, and at the same moment, Zi Jun’s entire body trembled as she suddenly raised her head only to see Starsibyl’s indifferent expression. “Astral Banishment.”

This battle technique rooted Zi Jun to the ground. Starsibyl’s palm then landed on Zi Jun and directly banished her from the Lifeseek Realm.

“Third match of the second round. Victor: Starsibyl.”

From these three battles, people had seen Tian Hou’s body, which was overwhelmingly frightening, Yun’s unbelievable power level, and Starsibyl’s strange abilities that caused everyone to tremble. Every battle of hers appeared to be relaxed, as if she could truly divine the future.

Since Zi Jun understood Starsibyl’s battle style, she had used her full force from the start, and her attack had targeted the entire battlefield and even sealed the void. However, Starsibyl had anticipated all that Zi Jun had done and had fled from the Cosmic Sea competitor’s attack range from the very start. It could only be said that Zi Jun’s moves had been completely predicted, resulting in a battle with no suspense and a great deal of injustice.

It wasn’t just Zi Jun; even the audience felt frustrated by this outcome. Lu Yin was the same, as he had no idea what he could do if he had to face off against Starsibyl in the next match. Attack early? Or wait to be attacked?

Tian Hou, Yun, and Starsibyl were all too powerful. Over the course of three battles, they had solidified their rankings in the Tournament of the Strongest, leaving Lu Yin as just a prop. Compared to them, his five-lined battle force was too weak, leaving Lu Yin in a similar situation to Grandini Mavis. Many thought that he would be crushed no matter who he was paired against in the next round.

On Zenyu Star, Huo Qingshan sighed, as Lu Yin was indeed amazingly powerful within the Limiteer realm, but he was still too weak when compared to those freaks.

Xueshan Auna’s gaze flickered as he looked at his screen and then at his gadget. The gadget was displaying Yan Feng’s wedding date with Jenny Auna.

On Earth, many just stared at the screens. This tournament consisted of battles that they could not even begin to understand. At the very least, they could tell that Lu Yin had snatched his top four position for free in this competition while the other three had easily crushed their opponents. No one spoke; this was an undeniable fact.