"What a shame!"
At the sight, many others also felt sorry for Fang Qianyuan.
Fang Qianyuan had performed more than admirably, but Ye Tianming not only had a solid foundation without a single opening, he also possessed powerful spirit creatures and inscribed talismans. Defeating an opponent like him was no easy feat.
At the very least, Fang Qianyuan still lacked a few years of accumulated experience.
"It looks like Tianming is still our Training Institute's greatest genius after all."
"They've both used up a lot of spirit essence and stamina. It's time to settle the outcome, but the closer they get to that point, the worse things look for Junior Brother Fang. He's badly wounded. How could he possibly break through his opponent's defenses?"
"He's going to lose this match..."
Everyone began discussing it.
On the arena, Fang Qianyuan stared at Ye Tianming, a sense of defeat welling up within him.
He had just unleashed a hundred and twenty percent of his strength, even resorting to a spirit essence stimulation technique similar to Shadow Step to concentrate all the spirit essence in his body into a single claw. Yet in the end, he had still failed.
But his resolve was firm, and that sense of defeat soon vanished like smoke in the wind.
"This is the Moonlight Garment, a supreme-grade inscribed talisman ranked among the ten greatest defensive inscribed talismans of the human rank realm. Combined with the power of the moon spirit from my primary spirit creature, it produces an effect similar to an earth rank Spirit Tamer shaping vital energy into a spirit garment. It rivals divine weapons and precious armor..."
"This isn't merely an inscribed talisman. It's also a cultivation method, an entire system. Only by combining several conditions can this enhancement be achieved. With it, you can't defeat me. In fact, if I used it throughout the entire match, you wouldn't even be able to hurt me!"
For reasons unknown, Ye Tianming did not seize the opportunity to attack, but offered an explanation instead.
"Not necessarily. If I can't break that lousy turtle shell of yours in one strike, I'll just hit it a few more times." Fang Qianyuan pulled his arm out of the stone slab and clenched his fist as he spoke.
Ye Tianming snorted coldly. "You don't know what's good for you!"
"Then say I don't know what's good for me. But how will I know unless I try?"
As Fang Qianyuan spoke, he raised his arm. His dense spirit essence gathered once more, forming long, sharp claws.
He activated Shadow Step again, shooting forward like lightning to close in on Ye Tianming and slash at him.
Ye Tianming retaliated, and soon the two were locked in fierce combat once more.
Both moved incredibly fast. Even after watching for some time, the disciples could see nothing but a string of afterimages. Only those whose strength had reached six or seven turns or higher could distinguish their movements through exceptional perception.
Even so, the longer they watched, the more astonished they became.
"They're absolute monsters. Both of them are far too strong!"
"Each is more of a monster than the other..."
"Isn't Junior Brother Fang wounded? How can he keep going for so long? Won't repeatedly activating Shadow Step exhaust him and make him collapse?"
"And Junior Brother Ye can keep up using nothing but basic footwork..."
Their unbroken string of victories over so many of the Training Institute's disciples was enough to prove that their strength stood at the pinnacle of Cang Mountain Academy.
Everything they displayed at this moment was worthy of that standing.
But after another stretch of fierce combat, Ye Tianming still held the upper hand.
His white robes fluttered as he dodged again and again. Fang Qianyuan could barely hit him anymore, and on the occasional occasion when Fang Qianyuan caught an opening that left him unable to evade, he could activate the Moonlight Garment to block.
Combined with his primary wolf spirit, this inscribed talisman actually possessed an automatic activation property. Once the claw gang Fang Qianyuan condensed reached a certain strength and approached Ye Tianming's body, it triggered a response.
Yet if the claw gang he condensed was too weak, it could not hurt Ye Tianming at all.
Besides his powerful Moonlight Garment, Ye Tianming had no weaknesses in any other aspect. He even took advantage of the gaps between attacks to leave several more wounds on Fang Qianyuan.
Finally, he covertly turned his palm, and another Crescent Slash swept past, opening an even larger wound on Fang Qianyuan's body.
Fang Qianyuan's clothes were already in tatters. Seeing this, he simply grabbed them and tore them away, baring his upper body with an angry roar.
His body was covered in claw marks, along with the wound left by the latest Crescent Slash.
"This is brutal. He's wounded far too badly..."
"Is this really all right?"
Everyone sucked in a breath at the sight.
So many wounds hurt just to look at. Fortunately, Spirit Tamers possessed extraordinary power. A mere mortal would surely have died or been crippled.
But even if he could receive treatment afterward, that would come later. Injuries like these were undoubtedly a severe disadvantage in combat.
"Wait..."
Suddenly, someone cried out, pointing at Fang Qianyuan. "Why does he only have one wound from Crescent Slash?"
"That's right. Didn't he take two Crescent Slashes?"
"And those claw marks look terrifying, but they don't actually seem that deep?"
"How is that possible? He's lost so much blood..."
"Are those bloodstains rather than claw marks? No, that's not right. If they aren't claw marks, why would he bleed for no reason?"
An experienced senior brother finally revealed the answer. "Stop guessing wildly. His wounds are healing, or he's using his muscles to clamp them shut. Naturally, that makes them less obvious."
Only then did everyone understand.
Indeed, wounds could heal or be pulled tightly closed, while bloodstains would remain unless wiped away...
"But he hasn't received any treatment. How could he..."
"Could he... could he have a terrifying physique capable of rapid self-healing?"
"Now this is really... getting interesting!"
Everyone had noticed it, and Ye Tianming naturally could not overlook it. After watching silently for a while, he reached the same conclusion.
"Your body can actually heal itself during combat..."
On the dais, the elders exchanged looks.
"What a lad. So he had this talent as well! It seems their earlier exchanges were nothing more than stretching their muscles. Neither had truly gotten serious. Defeating the other won't be so easy for either of them."
"There's still more fighting to come. Plenty more."
"Hmph!" Ye Tianming's brows drew together coldly. "It looks like I'll have to use that move! Fang Qianyuan, you forced my hand. Be careful now. Don't die..."
As he spoke, his spirit essence surged, all of it gathering into his right palm.
"Mountain-Breaking Gang!"
An icy, murderous aura rose as he channeled his power.
Mountain-Breaking Gang was a finishing move more powerful than an ordinary Claw Strike, achieved by gathering spirit essence and releasing it in an instantaneous burst.
The strike Fang Qianyuan had driven into the ground earlier already bore some resemblance to this move, but what Ye Tianming used was a genuine Secret Art passed down by worthy predecessors. Its power was greater and more concentrated.
Just as he had said, if this strike landed squarely, it could kill.
Without hesitation, Ye Tianming thrust his palm forward, viciously clawing toward Fang Qianyuan's waist and abdomen.
Sensing the terrifying aura coming from his hand, Fang Qianyuan felt no fear. Instead, his excitement grew.
He's actually concentrated his spirit essence? Can he still use that move now?
In the flash of a spark, he advanced rather than retreated, meeting Ye Tianming's attack with a forceful counterattack of his own.
Squelch!
Amid the crowd's cries of alarm, Ye Tianming's palm pierced Fang Qianyuan's body like a spear.
At the same time, a wolf claw shrouded in azure light pierced the barrier and seized Ye Tianming's shoulder.
Both figures lunged forward and crossed past each other, tearing away great chunks of each other's flesh in an instant and scattering blood across the entire arena!