Chapter 104: The True Dragon Soars into the Sky (Third Update)

Even if, in the face of fate, he could ultimately change nothing—so long as he possessed something now, he would do everything in his power to protect it.

This was a kind of understanding, a blend of responsibility and unburdened freedom. Few could truly reconcile the two, but the Ye Feng of this moment had done so.

At that instant, a phrase from his previous life suddenly surfaced in his mind: "I believe in fate! But I will not resign myself to it!"

Ye Feng's long blade swept toward Sou Wu like a crashing storm. Sou Wu, meanwhile, continued to retreat in great bounds, making no move to strike—as if he were studying the patterns of Ye Feng's attacks.

Watching this, Ye Feng laughed. "You want to play at speed with me? I'll make sure you die with rhythm!"

His steps abruptly quickened. The long blade, suffused with unmatched spiritual power, howled through the air with a piercing gale.

Ye Feng did not employ any spiritual technique in his assault. This opponent was not one to be finished off in a mere move or two, but his long blade was terrifyingly formidable nonetheless.

Every swing carried a heavy, crushing weight. Though Sou Wu managed to dodge each time, it grew increasingly difficult.

After several strikes, Ye Feng discovered that his mind's perception seemed able to grasp Sou Wu's patterns with ever greater clarity, easily exposing his weaknesses.

The reason he continued to press the opponent rather than launch a more ferocious attack was simply that he wanted to probe the enemy's depths a little further—after all, there was still the even more terrifying Sora present on the field.

His knowledge of them remained, to this very moment, at zero. Unless he was powerful enough to firmly suppress Sora, he could not afford to be too impetuous in his assault.

If Sou Wu showed no openings at all—or if even his openings were not something he feared being exploited—then Ye Feng would have no choice but to stake everything on a desperate struggle.

But Sou Wu was not that strong. In the next instant, Ye Feng suddenly accelerated, a lightning-fast slash arcing out.

Ye Feng's sudden burst of power caught Sou Wu completely off guard.

With no room to retreat, Sou Wu's spiritual energy surged violently. A long blade appeared in his hand from who knows where.

Boom...

Dense blue spiritual power converged. The long blade, like a surging water python, crashed into Ye Feng's incoming strike with immense spiritual pressure.

Many spectators found it puzzling: why did Sou Wu take such a risk, only now choosing to meet the attack head-on?

Only true experts could sense that Sou Wu had been observing the rhythm of Ye Feng's attacks all along. Only by keeping a calm mind could one grasp an opponent's patterns—especially while they were unleashing their power, when their techniques and attack trajectories were at their clearest.

In the distance, Xiao Ye and the others grew anxious. Though Ye Feng held the initiative on stage, if the enemy managed to uncover his true nature, he would be in danger.

Clearly, even Xiao Ye, who had stepped into the Spirit Emperor level, knew nothing of Ye Feng's mind-perception ability.

Ye Feng, however, bore no psychological burden at all. He was completely unafraid of being probed.

After exchanging one heavy blow with Ye Feng, Sou Wu once again created distance, still remaining on the defensive!

Dragon Slash!

Opportunities vanished in an instant—especially against an expert of Sou Wu's caliber. Since his mind was not wholly focused on the battle, Ye Feng could hardly be blamed for showing no mercy.

He seized the opening with perfect timing. After sweeping out a slash, he rapidly gathered spiritual power and immediately followed with a powerful technique, giving Sou Wu no chance to catch his breath.

The blade tip let out a dragon's roar, spiritual power pouring forth as though it meant to swallow Sou Wu whole in a single bite.

Clang!

A thunderous, earth-shaking impact—Dragon Slash was blocked.

Sou Wu's steps shifted slightly. A diagonal slash swept across from the side, its blade aura nearly six yards long, forcibly severing the momentum of Dragon Slash at its root. The surging spiritual power was shattered as well.

It was almost unimaginable that such a precise stroke came from a man who had seemingly been distracted, watching himself all along. His hand was steady—almost no one in the arena saw how Sou Wu had drawn his blade, or how, from that disadvantaged position, he had managed to withstand Ye Feng's ultimate technique.

But Ye Feng saw it. And he laughed. This style of fighting greatly resembled the warriors of a certain island nation in his previous life—cunning as a venomous snake, always striking at the last critical moment to deliver a fatal blow.

In an instant, his knowledge of the opponent skyrocketed from zero to absolute certainty. No more hidden shackles remained.

The figures parted, and Ye Feng's "Flood Dragon Stride" took swift steps. His long blade rained down in dense, relentless fury—a wild barrage against Sou Wu. You want to analyze? Fine. Then I'll attack fast—go ahead and analyze all you want!

Shwick...

A biting blade aura tore through the layered curtain of slashes, appearing right before Ye Feng's eyes.

Roar...

As if sensing it beforehand, Ye Feng simply took a step back, entirely exiting the opponent's attack range.

Like strolling through a courtyard, he fell back one step, then quickly stepped forward again, perfectly evading that ghostly slash.

Simple, direct, yet supremely efficient. Though the blade aura brushed past him, the impression it gave was that everything was under his control.

Swish...

Having barely dodged Sou Wu's attack, Ye Feng swung out another slash in the next instant—but struck only empty air. Sou Wu's figure flickered and vanished.

"Escape art?"

"That's right." Seeming somewhat curious as to how Ye Feng recognized the technique he employed, Sou Wu actively revealed himself in a corner of the martial stage, speaking aloud.

"Hahaha... A fine escape art indeed!" With a wild laugh, Ye Feng's figure blurred into motion. The long blade in his hand, wreathed in blazing golden flames, instantly pierced through Sou Wu's body—but in the next moment, that figure exploded into scattered nothingness.

It was an afterimage. The real Sou Wu had already concealed himself...

Boom!

The Heavenly King Art spun at full speed. In that moment, Ye Feng's eyes blazed brilliant gold!

Suddenly, a dazzling rain of light fell like countless stars descending from the heavens, sweeping toward Ye Feng. The sheer force of spiritual power sent a chill through every onlooker even without direct experience—it was a storm of blades formed by spiritual energy, its power not one whit inferior to Ye Feng's own attacks!

The long blade arched like a rainbow, resplendent and blinding. Ye Feng left a trail of afterimages in his wake as the blade let loose searing rays of light, shattering piece after piece of the blade rain.

He was beginning to genuinely admire Sou Wu now. His grasp of opportunity was exquisitely precise. Still, by intuition alone, Ye Feng had roughly located the man's position.

Suddenly, Ye Feng sensed something amiss. The blade rain surged at him even more densely—but when he swung a slash in response, he found the rain vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

"Illusion art?"

Shwick...

As if to confirm his words, hundreds of Sou Wu appeared around him at once, surrounding him completely. Without question, they were all phantoms—only one among them was the true Sou Wu.

Ye Feng had run into serious trouble. He dared not move a single inch. With hundreds of Sou Wu surrounding him, he had no chance to distinguish them one by one.

Eight Serpents' Lament...

All the hundreds of Sou Wu moved at once, long blades sweeping down in simple, direct strikes. The air was filled with the motions of Sou Wu's slashes, and for a time, Ye Feng could not tell which one was the real body.

Hundreds of blades descended upon Ye Feng simultaneously, terrifying spiritual power surging in torrents, the spectacle magnificent beyond measure—partly real, partly illusion.

Dragon Slash—True Dragon Ascends!

Ye Feng's disordered hair flew wildly, his pupils blazing like stars. Golden light burst from his entire body like a sun erupting.

Hmm...

In the next moment, a golden dragon tens of yards long soared into the sky.