Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 156 - Profound Artifact

Once Bai Yu’s sword aura had formed, he swung his sword down, creating a burst of explosion in the air through compressed air.

“What a powerful sword technique!” The students near the arena rose to their feet, not daring to blink for fear of missing a moment of this high-level battle.

A heatwave, akin to a sweeping tidal wave, was generated by the rapid explosion. This was Bai Yu’s strongest attack. He didn’t hold back, and his true essence formed into a prison, trapping Liu Wuxie.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as cracks began to appear around the arena. The blue slabs on the ground exploded under the heatwave.

Liu Wuxie, positioned at the edge of the arena, seemed on the brink of being consumed by the ensuing explosion. The moment Bai Yu swung his sword out, Bai Qiong loosened up his clenched fists with a smile. He believed that no one could survive under this blade strike unless they were in the second level of the Spirit Cleansing Realm.

“That’s too powerful! I can’t even see the fight!” The nearby students rubbed their eyes. The arena was enveloped in black clouds with a sword aura manifesting into a mountain. A mighty sword aura ripped a corner of the arena, exploding beside Liu Wuxie.

“What is that brat doing?! Why isn’t he retaliating?” The crowd was perplexed, watching the approaching sword aura while Liu Wuxie remained motionless. When the sword aura got close, Liu Wuxie looked like he would be devoured by it the next moment.

No one knew what Liu Wuxie was doing, but they didn’t dare to blink their eyes.

“Liu Wuxie, die!” Bai Yu emerged from the black cloud, his sword aimed at Liu Wuxie’s neck. He let out a malicious laugh as he covered the ten-meter distance in an instant.

As the sword approached Liu Wuxie, the biting chill released by the sword tore apart a corner of Liu Wuxie’s clothes. Suddenly, Liu Wuxie smiled, “Someone like you wants to kill me?”

Liu Wuxie raised his blade, and no one could see how carefully he attacked. This was because Liu Wuxie’s blade technique had reached a deep and unfathomable height, making it impossible to follow the trajectory of his blade. The surrounding sword aura ripped apart when he swung his blade out.

“This...” The students close to the arena were shocked that they couldn’t speak. After all, Liu Wuxie resolved Bai Yu’s attack so easily.

“Blade intent! That’s blade intent!” A stifling blade intent tore through the heavens, shredding all incoming attacks. But the fact that Liu Wuxie had comprehended blade intent at such a young age shocked everyone. After all, seeing such a genius in alchemy and martial path right before their eyes greatly impacted their hearts. They couldn’t accept the fact that Liu Wuxie was so powerful.

Bai Yu was so terrified that his face transformed. It was already too late for him to change his move as he could sense himself locked on by a terrifying blade intent. It felt as though there was a blade right above his head and would fall at any moment.

The black clouds dissipated as the rumbling noise in the arena subsided. Liu Wuxie’s blade technique blew the clouds away like a storm.

“Don’t kill me!” Bai Yu was terrified. His sword dropped to the ground as he lost his will to fight. But in the next second, a blade drew a beautiful arc, and his head flew to the sky with blood splashing in the air.

The sight was so shocking that everyone forgot to breathe as they stared at the arena.

Liu Wuxie had already exited the arena, leaving behind Bai Yu’s headless body still standing in the arena while his head flew to the edge of the arena. All he did was use one attack to kill someone with a cultivation in the first level of the Spirit Cleansing Realm.

“What a powerful blade technique!” Three breaths later, everyone came to their senses and took a deep breath. Everyone’s gazes changed when they looked at Liu Wuxie with both respect and fear.

Xu Lingxue also had a hint of joy flashing across her eyes. It turned out that Liu Wuxie wasn’t garbage but was stronger than everyone.

“Liu Wuxie, hold it right there!” A roar interrupted Liu Wuxie. Liu Wuxie had barely left the arena and was heading towards Advanced Class Seven when he heard someone call out to him. Turning around, he saw a figure soaring from the area designated for Profound Grade students and landing in another arena.

“Xue Pinzhi, you’ve finally appeared!” Liu Wuxie hadn’t forgotten the numerous times Xue Pinzhi had tried to make things difficult for him during the assessment. At last, an opportunity presented itself as Xue Pinzhi stepped forward just before Liu Wuxie officially issued a challenge to the Xue Clan.

“Liu Wuxie, I’ve long harbored the desire to end you, and you’ve wished the same for me. Let us resolve this today!” Both of them were well aware of their mutual desire for the other’s demise. This time, no one mocked Liu Wuxie because the fact that Liu Wuxie could kill someone in the first level of the Spirit Cleansing Realm was enough to win their respect.

“Great!” Liu Wuxie said indifferently. There was no overflow of murderous intent from him. He was eerily calm as he walked towards the arena.

Bai Qiong had already carried Bai Yu’s corpse off the arena. But before he left the arena, his eyes were red, wishing that he could charge into the arena and kill Liu Wuxie. But Xue Pinzhi was ahead of him, and he couldn’t possibly chase Xue Pinzhi off the arena.

When Liu Wuxie and Xue Pinzhi went on the stage, their murderous intent grew stronger as a longsword appeared in Xue Pinzhi’s hand.

“A profound artifact!” When the longsword appeared, it drew an exclamation from the surroundings. Although Xue Pinzhi was in the Spirit Cleansing Realm, only those in the high levels of the Spirit Cleansing Realm were qualified to forge profound artifacts. Alternatively, Xue Pinzhi might have used his academy credits to request the sword’s forging.

Liu Wuxie frowned at this sight. He had encountered spiritual weapons before, but this was his first time fighting someone with a profound artifact. His blade lacked quality and would shatter if it clashed with a profound artifact.

Having wielded his blade for several months, Liu Wuxie had developed an attachment to it. His victory over Bai Yu had initially frightened Xue Pinzhi. However, borrowing a profound artifact from Xue Rui had emboldened him. The artifact’s inherent pressure boosted Xue Pinzhi’s confidence, making him believe he stood a good chance against Liu Wuxie’s formidable martial techniques, regardless of their power.

“This profound artifact is borrowed, right?” Liu Wuxie knew that Xue Pinzhi was only a branch descendant of the Xue Clan, and he couldn\'t afford a profound artifact.

Xue Pinzhi’s face turned red after being exposed. But he had experienced Liu Wuxie’s verbal attacks before and didn’t want to waste time arguing with him. When he raised the longsword in his hand, it caused a faint ripple in the air. He said, “Hmph! So what if it’s borrowed? I can still kill you with it!”

As anticipated, the profound artifact could amplify the true essence tenfold compared to a spiritual artifact. Given the same circumstances, Xue Pinzhi would remain unbeaten with the profound artifact in his possession. His cultivation level was higher than Bai Yu’s, placing him at the second level of the Spirit Cleansing Realm. Many speculated that Liu Wuxie might not be able to withstand even a few of his moves.

A biting chill swept through the arena, making their clothes flutter from the wind. But this time, Liu Wuxie didn’t draw his sword.

“Come at me then!” Liu Wuxie said, intending to face Xue Pinzhi’s sword bare-handed.

“Draw your weapon. I don’t kill an unarmed person,” Xue Pinzhi retorted with a smirk. The sword in his hand flickered with the surrounding air, exploding as he held onto it.

“I don’t need a weapon to kill someone like you!” Liu Wuxie shook his head. Weapons weren’t necessarily required when it came to killing someone. Even a petal or leaf could be used to kill someone.

“Since that’s the case, I’ll fulfill your death wish!” Xue Pinzhi felt that the odds were on his side as he shot forward, swinging his sword down, producing a terrifying shockwave that swept out in the form of a storm.

The profound artifact released an overwhelming aura, enveloping the entire arena in sword aura and giving Liu Wuxie no way to evade. He had sealed off all of Liu Wuxie’s retreat paths. Without a weapon to defend himself, it wouldn’t be easy for him to defeat Xue Pinzhi.

Xu Lingxue frowned anxiously.

“Junior Sister Xu, are you worried about him? If necessary, I can help resolve their grievance,” Xiao Yanlong said with a smile.

Xu Lingxue recollected her gaze and looked at Xiao Yuanlong. “Thank you for your goodwill, but I understand him well. He won’t let anyone interfere in his affairs.”

Based on her understanding of Liu Wuxie, she knew she would only infuriate him by intervening. More importantly, she didn’t want to get too close to Xiao Yanlong.

Liu Wuxie was a prideful person. The thought of his wife seeking another man’s help would be more devastating to him than death. Since their wedding, Liu Wuxie had transformed and was no longer the weakling he once was.

“It seems I was overly worried. Given Brother Liu’s capabilities, dealing with this kind of garbage shouldn’t be an issue for him,” Xiao Yanlong remarked, a sharp glint in his eyes.

As the impending battle drew closer, the students of Advanced Class Seven craned their necks, eager to get a good view of the action.

“Don’t even bother! That brat is as good as dead!” The students of Advanced Class Six taunted. They were ready to seize back their territory and cripple the students of Advanced Class Seven the moment Liu Wuxie fell.

“Just wait and watch. You all will know how strong Big Brother Liu is in a moment,” Song Ling said as he bit into a chicken thigh, covering his lips in grease.

Even though he hadn’t personally witnessed Liu Wuxie’s victories over Wan Rongzhe and Tian Qisha, he had heard about them from others. Even someone in the ninth-level Spirit Cleansing Realm couldn’t be Liu Wuxie’s opponent, not to mention a piece of garbage like Xue Pinzhi.

“Carry on boasting!” The students of Advanced Class Six dismissed Song Ling’s words and refocused their attention on the arena.

Sword aura formed into runes that scattered out like spider webs. A profound artifact was different as the power would greatly increase after being empowered with true essence.

“Liu Wuxie, accept your death!” Xue Pinzhi roared and dove down. The profound artifact in his hand carved out a vacuum tunnel, with sword rays cascading towards Liu Wuxie. Sword auras rained down like a shower of swords, sizzling as they hit the ground.

“You’re too weak. You can’t even bring out one-tenth of the profound artifact’s power!” Liu Wuxie executed the Seven Dipper Steps and disappeared, raising his right fist and aiming at Xue Pinzhi’s neck.