Chapter 213: The Sharp Edge of the Axe

Chapter 213: The Sharp Edge of the Axe

In the light projection, hundreds of spectators in the tournament arena watched with bated breath as Hamon and Jin Huguo, both wielding battle swords, engaged in a frenzied and brutal close-quarters fight.

The battle sword, known as the 'boldest of all weapons', was renowned for its sheer brutality and ferocity in close combat, a stark contrast to the graceful and elegant long spear and long sword.

Especially at this moment, with both combatants being Fifth Rank Experts, they fought like battle gods, their violent and artistic clashes stirring up the spectators' bloodlust.

"Jin Huguo is at a disadvantage."

"Senior Brother Jin is in trouble." The Kunlun Martial University students watched with intense anxiety, silently praying.

Even though Li Yuan had demonstrated Fifth Rank strength and was virtually invincible in the Seventh Star Realm Battlefield, most Kunlun Martial University students still subconsciously believed that Jin Huguo was stronger and held the greatest hope for their university in this Virtual Battle.

"Hamon is so strong. Is he the first genius of Flagstar Nation?"

"Hold on, Jin Huguo!" Millions of spectators from Xia Country also stared intently, anticipating a miracle.

In a sense, this was a battle for honor.

In this global tournament, each participant represented not only themselves but also their school and nation.

Everyone wished for their country's martial arts genius to dominate the battlefield.

"Hamon is so powerful, yet he hasn't been able to defeat this Xia Country participant after such a long time?"

"Is this Jin Huguo so strong?" Countless spectators from Flagstar Nation and Europa were deeply invested in the fight.

Hamon's fame in Flagstar Nation and Europa was immense, and many students idolized him.

The fact that Jin Huguo could hold his own against Hamon for so long had exceeded many people's expectations.

Suddenly—

"Hamon is going to win!" A Flagstar Nation spectator's eyes lit up, and they shouted loudly.

"Senior Brother Jin is in danger!"

"Jin Huguo, be careful!" The million spectators from Xia Country gasped in shock, their tension reaching its peak.

...

In the First Starfield Battlefield, amidst the vast and misty mountain ranges—

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!" Hamon unleashed a terrifying series of blade techniques, entering a state of Heaven-Earth Unity. Each strike seemed divinely aided, possessing immense power and completely overwhelming Jin Huguo.

As Jin Huguo's arm went numb and blood started seeping from his grip, he was about to be overwhelmed—

"Die together!" Jin Huguo roared, and with a boom, he charged forward, meeting the oncoming blade head-on. His battle sword thrust forward.

It seemed like a fight to the death.

"You die!" Hamon's face twisted in ferocity. With his taller stature and larger, heavier battle sword, he showed no sign of yielding.

The blade moved like lightning.

"Pfft!" Jin Huguo barely dodged, and a blade slashed viciously, instantly cleaving his shoulder. An arm flew off, spraying blood.

But as his arm was brutally severed—

Whoosh! Jin Huguo's battle sword slipped from his hand like lightning, shooting forward like a hidden weapon.

At such close range, Hamon had nowhere to escape.

"Pfft!" The terrifying blade sliced along the seams of Hamon's battle armor and plunged into his abdomen, spraying blood everywhere.

"Boom!"

Another blade flashed like lightning, tearing through the air, tearing through Jin Huguo's body, killing him instantly.

"Huff!"

Hamon took a deep breath, looking down at his wound. The blade had pierced his vital organs, and blood gushed out as he felt his life force rapidly ebbing away.

He glanced at Jin Huguo's body, now torn into pieces.

"Jin." Hamon's expression turned solemn. "I underestimated you."

"Your strength has indeed become terrifying."

"If we meet again, I will not underestimate you." Hamon silently vowed.

The Star Realm Battlefield was a completely realistic simulation.

Therefore, once injured, there was no quick recovery.

Especially with Hamon's injuries, continuing would mean certain death.

Not to mention that Hamon was only Level 15 in body quality; even an Essence Warrior would die without treatment.

Within a few dozen seconds—

A massive Level 16 Starfield Creature rushed towards Hamon, roaring.

Even though Hamon was heavily injured, with his remaining strength, he should have been able to dodge easily.

However, Hamon allowed the Starfield Creature to charge, and he died instantly.

Being killed by a Starfield Creature meant that the base points and Starfield points were retained, and the total score remained unchanged.

At this point—

In the First Starfield Battlefield, Hamon's total score remained in the lead, far ahead of the second-place participant.

Jin Huguo's total score had dropped to sixth place, but with less than an hour left in the Mixed Combat Round, it wasn't difficult for him to finish within the top 100 with his remaining points.

...

This battle deeply shocked millions of spectators. No one had expected the fight to be so brutal.

Jin Huguo was killed first.

Hamon, too, was severely injured by Jin Huguo's last-ditch counterattack and ultimately allowed himself to be killed by a Starfield Creature.

In a sense, both sides could be considered equally devastated.

"Harmon, he almost lost to that Xia Guo person."

"That Xia Guo person was inconspicuous before, yet he possesses such terrifying strength. Xia Guo also has Yin Man, Dantai Feng, Li Yuan, and Zhu Tong... Heaven! Can Harmon break through their encirclement and emerge victorious in the end?" The spectators from Flagstar Nation and Europa felt a sense of unease.

Such ferocity from a single Jin Huguo, what about the other experts from Xia Guo?

"Jin Huguo was so close. He nearly had a chance to kill Harmon."

"It is quite a pity." Most of the spectators from Xia Guo felt regret, but the majority remained rational.

Before the match, most people felt that Harmon should be stronger.

The fact that Jin Huguo could fight Harmon to this extent had exceeded most people's expectations.

...

In a higher-level observation space.

"Jin Huguo lost," Li Yang sighed.

"There's no other way. In the predictions, Harmon was expected to be a contender for the top spot. Jin Huguo managed to severely injure Harmon, forcing him to withdraw from the competition, which is already an impressive feat."

"Hmm."

Li Yang nodded and continued watching the light screen, "Let's see how Li Yuan performs. Most likely, he and Hoffman will have a battle."

"That's likely. The system will subtly guide them." Xu Yuan said, "In the mixed combat round, these Fifth Stage Intermediate experts will often seek each other out for a showdown."

The two, having been deans for decades, were well aware of some of the hidden rules in the Virtual Battle.

What was the purpose of the Global University Martial Arts Tournament? Firstly, it was to fairly select the top experts, which was why those Fifth Stage Intermediate experts weren't directly promoted to the Final Round.

This was a rule established by Dong Fang Ji.

Whenever there were huge rewards involved, there was a possibility of backdoor dealings if direct promotions were allowed.

The purpose of the public tournament was to minimize unfairness as much as possible.

It was like the college entrance examination; unless one had the special permission of a Star Sovereign, everyone had to take the exam to enter various levels of Martial Arts University.

Secondly, it was to temper and have the top geniuses compete against each other.

When geniuses clashed, it wasn't just a stimulation for them but also a spiritual baptism for the ordinary spectators.

...

As time passed, the battlefield area began to shrink further.

The diameter decreased from 50 kilometers to 30 kilometers.

The remaining participants, many of them, collided with each other in motion, initiating another round of large-scale combat.

When the time reached 11:25 PM, at the observation platform belonging to Starlight University.

Whoosh! A figure in a fiery red robe appeared out of thin air.

"Yueyue Jie."

A crisp voice sounded from the side, it was Wu Dongdong, who couldn't help but say, "Your luck is terrible. You just encountered Yin Man, otherwise, you would have had a good chance of breaking into the top hundred."

The fiery red figure was Lin Lanyue, and she had also participated in the tournament along with Wu Dongdong.

Before the tournament, Lin Lanyue had even communicated with Li Yuan twice.

"It doesn't make much difference." Lin Lanyue said indifferently, "With my Fourth Stage Advanced Technique, even if I had good luck, I would barely break into the top hundred... In the elimination round, I'm destined to be eliminated."

"Hmm." Wu Dongdong nodded lightly.

In the mixed combat round, luck played a role... But in the selection of 10 finalists from 990 participants, each person had to go through at least eight rounds of intense battles, leaving little room for luck.

"How are the others doing?" Lin Lanyue asked with a smile.

"I know who you want to see." Wu Dongdong smiled, "Your brother was eliminated faster than me. As for Li Yuan... His strength is even more terrifying than during the Ten Schools New Student War, he might not be weaker than Dantai Feng."

"Fifth Stage Intermediate?" Lin Lanyue's eyes lit up slightly.

In the battlefield, she could only see Li Yuan's score soaring on the leaderboard, but she couldn't witness his Heaven-Earth Unity.

Before, when she had communicated with Li Yuan multiple times, she wasn't aware that he had achieved Heaven-Earth Unity.

"Wow, Jie, look! Dantai Feng, he encountered Nieveski from Ros Country!" Wu Dongdong pointed excitedly at the rapidly expanding light screen above the tournament space.

"The two are about to fight." Wu Dongdong was thrilled, "I wonder if Dantai Feng can win."

"Dantai Feng? Nieveski?" Lin Lanyue couldn't help but look up.

...

At this moment, it wasn't just Wu Dongdong and Lin Lanyue.

Almost all the spectators in the tournament space couldn't help but turn their attention to the rapidly expanding light screen.

And to the two experts who had already engaged in an intense confrontation.

Dantai Feng, the Preliminary Round King, Xia Guo's extraordinary First-Year Student genius, even with Li Yuan's rise, his position remained unshaken, and most people still believed Dantai Feng was more powerful.

After all, the title of Preliminary Round King was too prestigious.

...

In the previous battle, Dantai Feng had once defeated Li Yuan.

His opponent, Nieveski, hailed as Ros Country's rising "Strongest Expert" in this tournament, also possessed a terrifying level of strength. Recognized as Ros Country's number one genius, he was equally a Fifth Stage Expert.

This battle was a Fifth Stage showdown.

The two of them were respectively the first and second in the Tenth Star Realm Battlefield's leaderboard.

Such a confrontation, in terms of attention and anticipation, surpassed even the battle between Harmon and Jin Huguo.

...

On the Tenth Star Realm Battlefield, a vast icy plain.

"Dantai Feng." Nieveski held a battle axe, swinging it to strike, causing Dantai Feng to retreat repeatedly.

His hair was disheveled, and he stood over two meters tall, robust and sturdy. Though he was in his early twenties, he gave off the aura of a man in his thirties or forties.

"Nieveski, give me some face." Dantai Feng whispered angrily, "There are definitely hundreds of thousands of people watching our fight out there."

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Both exchanged blows like lightning, Dantai Feng's sword and shield working in tandem to block Nieveski's axe slashes.

The axe was too heavy.

The axe's swing was faster than the sword's parry!

Blocking was akin to a shield.

The axe's weakness was its slowness, but at this moment, Nieveski's axe was even faster than Dantai Feng's sword, naturally suppressing him completely.

"It's good that hundreds of thousands are watching, or even millions." Nieveski smiled, "If you can defeat me, your brilliance will shine."

"Show me your full strength and beat me."

"Otherwise, you'll lose." Nieveski remained calm.

"Damn it!"

"I'll go all out." A hint of madness flashed in Dantai Feng's eyes. He liked to show off in front of others, but deep down, he had a touch of madness.

Boom!

Dantai Feng suddenly unleashed his power, throwing away his shield. His body seemed to twist and distort, and his speed increased eerily as he charged towards Nieveski.

Whoosh! Whoosh! The sword's light surged like a tide, swift as lightning.

Clang!

Clang! Clang! A hint of solemnity flashed across Nieveski's face, and he quickly swung his battle axe, blocking like a massive shield.

But Dantai Feng, in his full-powered state, was completely focused on his sword, going completely mad.

"Faster! Faster! Even faster!" Dantai Feng muttered, his entire body filled with surging power.

His battle sword slashed fiercely.

Each strike was faster than the last.

The terrifying sword light almost engulfed Nieveski, nearly turning the tide of the battle.

At this moment, Dantai Feng felt his spirit reach a new peak.

"Die!" Nieveski roared, finally finding a flaw in Dantai Feng's sword technique. He blocked a strike with his axe and, in the same motion, flipped his axe.

A fierce vertical slash!

Whoosh!

This axe strike suddenly unleashed, causing Nieveski's entire body to surge with power, like a battle god splitting mountains and rivers, as he howled and slashed Dantai Feng, sending him flying.

Boom! Nieveski followed up with another strike, his body flashing as he closed the distance, and he slashed down with another fierce axe strike.

Clang!

Dantai Feng blocked with his sword, barely holding on, but his body was sent flying again.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Nine consecutive axe strikes, each collision terrifying.

Dantai Feng, who had thrown away his shield, could no longer withstand the onslaught.

With the final terrifying axe light, Nieveski slashed down.

"The Fifth Stage Intermediate is just the Intermediate stage!!"] Dantai Feng stared at the incoming axe, his heart roaring in anger.

Pfft~

The axe light slashed through!

Dantai Feng died, his blood staining the icy plain, and the entire plain returned to tranquility.

"He's really strong."

"I was thinking of saving my full power for the final stage, to face Yin Man or Harmon. I never expected a first-year student to force me to use the 'Thousand Axiom Strike' I've recently comprehended. Indeed, one should never underestimate anyone." Nieveski, a robust man, thought to herself.

After calming down, Nieveski continued walking across the icy plain.

...

Nieveski, when he unleashed his power, revealed a terrifying strength, causing countless spectators to tremble.

"Dantai Feng lost?"

"Nieveski is too strong."

"I feel like Nieveski is stronger than Yin Man, Li Yuan, and Harmon." Voices of discussion echoed in the tournament space.

Compared to Harmon and Jin Huguo's fierce battle.

In the battle between Dantai Feng and Nieveski, although Dantai Feng also unleashed incredible strength, his loss was inevitable. He lost in the face of Nieveski's relentless frontal assaults.

...

The Seventh Star Realm Battlefield.

"Jin Shixiong lost, and now Dantai Feng too?" Li Yuan looked at his smart ring display; although he couldn't see the specific battle situation.

He couldn't communicate with others either.

But through the leaderboard, seeing the drastic changes in Dantai Feng and Nieveski's points, he could judge the outcome.

"Hoffman, where are you?" Li Yuan walked through the mountain canyons, searching for his opponent's trail.

Along the way, any Star Realm creatures or participants he encountered would be chased down and swept away.

Li Yuan's points continued to rise.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end