Instant Twelve Slashes, Defeating Feng Xiaotian

The moment Feng Xiaotian broke through, the pressure Shui Wuchen faced abruptly increased.

"Did he break through?"

Facing the surging pressure, Shui Wuchen's gaze narrowed slightly. Although Feng Xiaotian had changed the form of his previous Self-Created Soul Skill, his new Self-Created Soul Skill still possessed the ability to stack its power.

Previously, Shui Wuchen could easily suppress the twenty-four consecutive slashes, but after Feng Xiaotian's breakthrough, Shui Wuchen discovered that even his Ice Blade: Instant Nine Slashes was struggling to suppress the semicircular Cyan Scars unleashed by his opponent.

The most direct manifestation of this was that Shui Wuchen's advancing steps came to a halt.

Shui Wuchen's hand still moved like a flowing shadow, and the nine blade lights around him still blocked the Cyan Scars from all directions, but the atmosphere on the field had undergone a drastic change.

If Shui Wuchen had previously been a traveler strolling through the rain beneath an umbrella, then now he was like a fisherman in a small boat, struggling to hold on amid raging winds and towering waves.

Though he was safe for the moment, he could be swallowed by the furious sea at any time.

"Mm~"

Seeing this, a trace of anxiety flashed through Articuno's eyes in the sky. Clearly, she believed Shui Wuchen's situation had become somewhat dangerous, and she even considered stepping in to help.

"Articuno, don't interfere!"

However, at that moment, Shui Wuchen's voice suddenly rang in Articuno's mind.

After hearing Shui Wuchen's voice, Articuno also breathed a sigh of relief and gave up the thought of helping him.

Because she knew that Shui Wuchen never acted without reason. Since he had told her not to intervene, he must have been completely confident.

After reassuring Articuno, Shui Wuchen refocused all his attention on dealing with Feng Xiaotian's new Gale Wolf Thirty-Six Consecutive Slashes.

In truth, Shui Wuchen's current predicament could be resolved instantly if he let Articuno act. As the owner of an external beast martial soul, more than half of his combat strength lay with Articuno. For him to clash head-on with Feng Xiaotian like this was not truly fair.

But Shui Wuchen did not care. Now that he had finally encountered someone who could contend with his true body and place him under pressure, he naturally wanted to fully enjoy this rare battle. Why should he let Articuno break that balance?

Amid the endless encirclement of semicircular Cyan Scars, nine dazzling Ice Blue blade lights continuously appeared. Like a small boat upon the sea, they drifted with the wind yet were never crushed.

Time slowly passed amid this stalemate.

One minute...

Two minutes...

Three minutes...

Perhaps because he had Shui Wuchen as a sparring partner, or perhaps because he wanted to defeat Shui Wuchen, Feng Xiaotian improved rapidly. In just a few minutes, he refined and revised the Gale Wolf Thirty-Six Consecutive Slashes he had only just broken through to.

The semicircular Cyan Scars became increasingly solid, faster, and more unpredictable in angle, while the force they stacked grew rapidly stronger.

All of this made Shui Wuchen's defense more difficult and pushed him into an even more perilous situation.

"Bing'er, your brother's situation doesn't look too good!"

Seeing this, Xuewu turned to Shui Bing'er with concern.

Shui Yueruo also patted Shui Bing'er on the shoulder and sighed. "Ah~ Wuchen is already very strong. It's just a pity that Feng Xiaotian is even stronger. In the end, Wuchen is still too young. If Wuchen had another year, Feng Xiaotian definitely wouldn't be his match."

Yet in the face of everyone's consolation, Shui Bing'er merely smiled. Still watching Shui Wuchen on the stage, she said, "I believe in my brother. He'll win."

Her tone was filled with confidence when she said this.

That confidence came from more than ten years spent with Shui Wuchen, from every time Shui Bing'er had thought something impossible only for Shui Wuchen to accomplish it.

"Besides..."

Shui Bing'er glanced up at Articuno soaring through the sky and thought, Articuno hasn't even made a move yet.

In the VIP stands.

"It seems Feng Xiaotian has the upper hand in this match after all."

Xue Ye had also recovered from his shock and turned to Ning Fengzhi beside him.

Ning Fengzhi smiled as well. "Feng Xiaotian is slightly stronger, but Shui Wuchen is not weak either. Even many peak Soul Emperors may not be a match for the two of them."

Suddenly, Xue Ye looked at Salas with a faintly amused smile. "Bishop Salas, I wonder whether anyone from this year's Spirit Hall Academy can match the two of them?"

At those words, Salas's face immediately darkened. Then, pretending not to hear, he ignored Xue Ye's question.

At this moment, Salas truly felt fortunate. Thankfully, Xie Yue and Hu Liena possessed a Martial Soul Fusion Skill and had once defeated a level sixty-eight Spirit Hall instructor. Otherwise, faced with opponents like Shui Wuchen and Feng Xiaotian, he truly did not know how they could fight.

Only Sword Douluo Chen Xin remained silent, his eyes still fixed unblinkingly upon the battlefield below.

Is Shui Wuchen going to lose? No, he's going to win!

The moment this thought arose in Sword Douluo Chen Xin's mind, twelve blade lights—more condensed, more concise, and even more beautiful—appeared around Shui Wuchen, who had been submerged beneath the semicircular Cyan Scars.

After holding on for nearly five minutes, Shui Wuchen had finally used Feng Xiaotian's pressure to break through as well, successfully advancing Ice Blade to the level of Instant Twelve Slashes.

After Shui Wuchen's breakthrough, the situation on the field reversed in an instant. The surrounding semicircular Cyan Scars could no longer pose any threat to him.

Braving Feng Xiaotian's attacks, Shui Wuchen strode forward. With a flap of the Ice Wings behind his back, his body transformed into an icy streak of light and instantly passed through the green tornado Feng Xiaotian had become.

The next moment, the green tornado vanished, and Feng Xiaotian's figure retreated as he stared at Shui Wuchen in shock.

The Ice Blue longsword in Shui Wuchen's hand dissipated. Turning to look at Feng Xiaotian, he said, "You lost!"

As he spoke, Articuno shrank to the size of a sparrow and landed on Shui Wuchen's shoulder.

Feng Xiaotian touched his neck. When he felt the bead of blood that had already frozen into frost, he could not help but smile bitterly. "Yes, I lost!"

However, despite losing, Feng Xiaotian was not the slightest bit dejected. Instead, he felt that today's defeat had been worthwhile.

This battle with Shui Wuchen had allowed his Self-Created Soul Skill to break through and reach the level of thirty-six consecutive slashes. He had even improved and perfected it considerably.

This had saved him at least over a year of time, and its effect on his cultivation was immeasurable.

Compared to victory, Feng Xiaotian now valued his own progress more. Moreover, judging from the battle just now, there was still a vast gap between his combat strength and Shui Wuchen's.

Although Shui Wuchen had seemed to be forced into a desperate situation, he had never called for Articuno's help. He had probably only used half his strength.

Under such circumstances, even if he had defeated Shui Wuchen, what would there have been to be proud of?