But he was ultimately a step too late. As Shi Qingyun knocked the silver spear aside, he had already begun his next move.
He immediately closed in, switching the black sword in his left hand from a forward grip to a reverse grip in an instant.
The black blade lightly brushed the descending silver spear, sending trails of sparks flying from the sword and shaft.
Holding his sword in reverse, he twisted and swept the black blade viciously before him, tracing a black semicircle.
The black semicircle instantly cleaved through the air ahead, slashing toward Shi Yi with tremendous force.
The fierce wind whipped the strands of hair beside Shi Yi's ears into a wild dance.
Feeling the cold menace rushing toward his face, he had no time to consider anything else and hurriedly reacted.
Too late to withdraw the silver spear that was already descending toward the ground, he swiftly raised his left arm to shield himself.
The silver-white bracer on his arm seemed to sense his peril. Streaks of silver radiance instantly flared from it to meet Shi Qingyun's black sword.
The black and white lights collided with a resounding crash.
Bang! Crack!
The bracer, shining with sacred light, shattered instantly. Its fragments became speeding blades that cut across Shi Yi's cheek.
Without divine power reinforcing it, the silver bracer broke apart the moment it collided with the black sword.
Tremendous force traveled into Shi Yi's arm, while the power carried by the black sword shredded the sleeve covering his left arm.
Yet the shattered silver bracer had ultimately blocked Shi Qingyun's strike.
Even so, that ferocious force sent Shi Yi flying.
As he slid backward through the air, Shi Yi swiftly pulled his hand back and brought the silver spear before him. Gripping its lower shaft with both hands, he drove it down hard.
The spearhead struck the Dao Platform, instantly scattering sparks.
Screee!
The piercing scrape of the spearhead against the ground echoed across the entire Dao Platform.
Shi Yi quickly steadied himself. Across from him, Shi Qingyun adjusted his stance after delivering that strike rather than recklessly pressing the attack.
He drew back the white sword, whose cracks were still spreading, and twirled it beside him.
At the same time, streams of runes surged from his arm into the white sword in his hand. In an instant, the cracks across its surface rapidly healed.
Following through, he swept the white sword outward. The golden light shimmering over it instantly became a ribbon of white that struck the ground, its force whipping up a wave of air around him.
He held the white sword behind his back, while the black sword hung down along his arm, its tip resting against the ground.
He readied himself for battle.
Looking up, he saw Shi Yi's torn sleeve and exposed arm.
Although the hand behind his back trembled slightly, his tone remained unchanged.
Still wearing that same careless expression, he casually glanced at Shi Yi's rune-filled Double Pupils.
"Stop embarrassing yourself with these little probing tricks."
"Double Pupils? Fine eyes. Why not give them to me?"
As he finished speaking,
Clang!
With that ringing sound, he slowly raised the black sword from the ground and pointed it at Shi Yi, his voice growing colder.
Shi Yi ignored Shi Qingyun's words. Lifting the spear's butt, he swept the silver weapon in a circle beside him.
Wherever its tip passed, cold light flashed fiercely.
Holding the silver spear in his right hand with its tip pointing upward, he slammed its butt into the ground. A bang sent waves of air surging outward.
Rather than immediately answering Shi Qingyun, he raised his left hand and examined his exposed, powerfully muscled arm.
Then he touched the small wound on his cheek, brought his hand before his eyes, and rubbed the vivid, glaring blood between his fingers.
From the corner of his eye, he saw the broken scraps still fluttering down through the air.
Covering his face with his left hand, he tipped his head back and began to laugh.
His laughter gradually grew louder, until it seemed to fill the entire space.
A powerful aura also burst from his body, madly pressing down on everything around him.
Ring after ring of air surged outward from beneath his feet, while within the formation overhead,
runes flickered with surrounding radiance. The cocoon of light on the altar also seemed to have been provoked, ravenously swallowing the surrounding energy like a whale.
The void behind Shi Yi suddenly twisted, as though something were about to tear its way out and appear there.
Beneath his palm, runes flashed within his eyes. Had strange rune brands not been imprisoning his Double Pupils,
the Order Divine Chains within them would already have surged out.
Shi Qingyun tightened his grip on his swords. He sensed danger spreading through Shi Yi's body.
Brothers, thank you for your support.
Chapter 63: Chaos Unfolds, Double Pupils Emerge
Shi Yi's laughter gradually subsided, and his hand slowly slid down from his face.
As his final finger slipped away, it revealed his Double Pupils, glittering with runes.
At the same time, the space behind Shi Yi twisted and shattered, revealing a massive, closed eye.
His left hand dropped to his side, and his gaze slowly settled on Shi Qingyun.
The moment his gaze landed on Shi Qingyun, the enormous eye behind him snapped open as well.
Within its chaos-colored socket, two pupils nested within each other. Amid that chaos, those two pupils were undying existences.
One eye bestowed life, the other death. The Double Pupils rose and sank ceaselessly within the chaos.
The enormous pupils slowly contracted, the power of order brewing within them, their lethal edge fully revealed.
Just as the terrifying attack contained within was about to erupt, chains appeared out of thin air before the Double Pupils.
Specks of blood-red light drifted from the golden chains, which held those eyes firmly within the boundless void.
Even so, the terrifying aura they released placed immense pressure on Shi Qingyun.
"So these are the Double Pupils? Truly terrifying."
An immense pressure emanating from those Double Pupils bore down on him, deepening his understanding of their might.
When those eyes turned toward him, he felt as though even his blood had congealed. The pressure they brought was anything but slight.
Shi Yi's voice, filled with murderous intent, reached his ears.
"For an ant like you, wounding me is already the glory of a lifetime."
"To die beneath these Double Pupils is my final gift to you!"
The moment his words fell, Shi Yi vanished like a phantom, his figure flickering several times through the air.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared before Shi Qingyun as though materializing from nothing, thrusting his spear at him.
The silver-white spear seemed to transform into a roaming dragon, charging straight for Shi Qingyun's face. Feeling its sharp edge cutting toward him,
he hurriedly drove the black sword in his left hand forward.
Ding!
Sword tip and spear tip collided in midair, meeting at a single point. As though by prior agreement, both men exerted their strength at once.
Slashing strikes, accompanied by the waves of air surging between them, crashed into the ground on either side with thunderous booms.
Shi Yi applied force and twisted the spear shaft, making its tip spin rapidly against the black sword.
In an instant, it shattered the black sword's tip. Shi Yi gripped the shaft tightly and drove it forward, sending the spearhead straight through the blade and on toward Shi Qingyun without losing momentum.
Beneath the sharp spearhead, the black sword shattered inch by inch. Fragments shot outward, spinning at high speed as they sliced across Shi Qingyun's cheek and drew beads of crimson.
Seeing the black sword shatter at the very first clash, he instantly drew the white sword from behind his back and held it across his chest.
Ding!
He had barely brought the white sword before him when the silver spear struck it, kindling tiny sparks.
Shi Qingyun's body was driven backward despite himself, and he hurriedly discarded the black sword in his left hand.
He gripped the white sword tightly with both hands, pouring densely packed runes into it.
The white sword instantly blazed with light. The runes flowing within it gave off a metallic sheen, and a searing aura rose from the blade.
A reddish-white flame appeared on Shi Qingyun's right arm, then spread in the next instant to the white sword, which looked as though it had been carved from mutton-fat white jade.
Exerting force with both hands, he knocked Shi Yi's attack aside, then sent a slash burning with white flame hurtling toward him.
Shi Yi planted his right foot forward, then brought the silver spear in his hand up to meet the reddish-white slash.
The spear tip touched the center of the slash, instantly splitting it into two halves that landed on either side of him.
Bending his knees slightly, he vanished from his spot once more and charged toward Shi Qingyun.
White sword in hand, Shi Qingyun charged to meet him as well.
Their figures collided repeatedly in midair. Spear and sword rang against each other, scattering sparks wherever they passed.
In Shi Yi's hands, the spear roared like a mighty beast, a silver dragon crying out across the sky. Every movement seemed to carry the might of heaven and earth.
In Shi Qingyun's hands, the white sword was like ten thousand falling stars. In an instant, its tip multiplied into countless points that struck the roaming silver dragon.
Their battle grew increasingly frenzied. Sky-shaking booms resounded across the Dao Platform, while waves of air piled atop one another and slammed against the surrounding formation.
Their hands never stopped moving either. Fists and legs collided, producing dull, heavy thuds.
The silver spear cleaved downward as though to tear open the vast sky. Refusing to yield, the white sword swept up across it. With a bang, the two swiftly sprang apart.
The Double Pupils in Shi Yi's eyes slowly rotated. In the next instant, he appeared beside Shi Qingyun, thrusting his spear as though to pierce the void. Shi Qingyun drew his sword across to block.
Clang!
The silver spear struck the white sword heavily. Shi Qingyun's hands sank, and his entire body was involuntarily driven several steps backward.
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