Being a Saint since the age of myth

"Now this is a bit of a problem!" Wuxin felt a headache coming on.

Hidden in the shadows, his opponent could attack or defend at will, putting him in an unbeatable position.

Although he still had Demonic Blue Flames, a skill that used his opponent's Cosmo as fuel and could break through almost any technique, the shadows on the ground were not formed from his opponent's Cosmo. They were real, existing things that Demonic Blue Flames could not destroy.

For the moment, he could think of no way to counter these shadows, and the battle entered a temporary stalemate.

In the stands, the many Saints marveled at the sight.

"Number Two's techniques really are strange. Even if I faced him, I probably wouldn't be able to find a way to deal with them right away!"

"Same here. I couldn't handle them at all!"

Not only the ordinary Saints but even the Gold Saints in the stands frowned.

"Hey, do any of you have an idea how to counter this?" Manigoldo turned around and asked the Gold Saints behind him with a mischievous grin.

He could not find a counter for the moment either, but that did not stop him from using the question to test his fellow Gold Saints.

After all, he could hardly be the only one with a headache, could he?

Chapter 42: Waiting to counterattack

Aries Shion said confidently, "Once he leaves the shadows again, I can cover the ground with Crystal Wall and leave him nowhere to run!"

Crystal Wall possessed extremely powerful defensive and reflective capabilities. As long as it cut off his opponent's access to the shadows, the problem would naturally resolve itself.

"Good idea, but only you can use it!" Manigoldo shrugged.

Although he acknowledged Shion's solution, he did not quite approve of it.

After all, not everyone could use Crystal Wall.

Taurus Hasgard thought for a moment before adding, "I don't have a way to counter the shadows."

"But we can seize the instant he leaves the shadows to attack and defeat him before he has a chance to hide in them again."

"That's a good approach!" Capricorn El Cid nodded.

Like Taurus, he specialized only in physical techniques. He was equally helpless against shadows that ignored physical attacks and could only wait to settle the battle the instant his opponent attacked.

Not only El Cid but the other Gold Saints also agreed.

Taurus's idea was straightforward, and everyone could use it.

Ultimately, the purpose of countering the shadows was still to defeat the enemy. If they could not counter the shadows, they could only wait for an opportunity to defeat him once he left them.

In the arena, after a brief moment of thought, Wuxin reached the same conclusion as Taurus.

"Since I can't counter his shadows, I'll wait for an opening and defeat him after he leaves them!"

Wuxin then gathered his thoughts, focused on every shadow on the ground, and secretly built up his power, ready to settle the battle the instant his opponent emerged.

Meanwhile, Number Two, hidden in the shadows, was equally troubled.

The protection of the shadows left Wuxin helpless against him, but that protection could not bring him victory.

In the end, he still had to defeat Wuxin. He could not hide in the shadows forever.

However, there was a large gap in their strength, and a head-on clash would be unwise.

At that thought, an idea came to him.

After nearly three minutes of stalemate, just as even the spectators in the stands were growing impatient, something finally changed in the arena.

A figure suddenly shot out of the shadow behind Wuxin, launching a surprise attack at his back.

Already on guard, Wuxin naturally would not fall for it so easily. He immediately turned and punched, striking second but landing first, squarely on his opponent's chest.

Number Two's speed was only around 150,000 times the speed of sound, while his own approached 300,000 times the speed of sound, nearly twice as fast.

Thus, even with the advantage of a surprise attack, Wuxin could still strike second and subdue him first.

That was his advantage in speed and reactions.

However, just as his fist struck Number Two, his opponent's body suddenly dissolved into a black shadow and fell back to the ground.

A clone? A diversion?

Wuxin immediately saw through his opponent's plan.

He was using a clone as bait to attack from behind, drawing Wuxin's attention to his back while choosing another direction to attack from himself.

It had to be said that Number Two's tactic was extremely clever.

An ordinary person would certainly have been unable to cover both sides and been caught off guard.

But Wuxin already had a plan.

Immediately afterward, another Number Two rushed out of a nearby shadow and lunged at his flank.

Wuxin forced himself to change his move, twisting at the waist to ram his shoulder into him, choosing an exchange that would injure them both.

Bang!

Number Two's fist landed on Wuxin's waist, but Wuxin also slammed hard into Number Two. His figure dissolved at once, becoming a shadow that fell back to the ground.

"Another clone? He really is cautious!" Wuxin marveled.

Just then, yet another Number Two rushed out of a nearby shadow.

This time, Wuxin could no longer change his move to respond.

The Number Two launching this surprise attack was also somewhat different from the previous ones.

As he burned his Cosmo, the shadows on the ground immediately flowed backward like water, gathering in his palm and materializing into a long black spear.

"Victory is mine!"

"Shadow Pierce!"

Laughing, he hurled the black spear in his hand.

"No, I'm the one who wins!"

Just as Number Two believed victory was his, Wuxin's confident voice reached his ears again.

Then, before his astonished eyes, Wuxin, unable to turn around in time, bent his fingers and pointed an index finger behind him.

"Sekishiki Meikai Ha!"

In an instant, three silver streams shot from Wuxin's fingertip toward Number Two, who had already left the shadows.

After deciding on his plan to wait and counterattack, Wuxin had secretly gathered his power, waiting only to confirm the location of his opponent's real body before unleashing Sekishiki to settle the battle.

He had never expected Number Two to be so cautious, using two clones in succession to bait him.

Fortunately, he had already prepared himself to endure several attacks, letting his opponent lower his guard, and would only strike after finally confirming the real body's location.

Otherwise, when his opponent baited him with the second clone, he might well have been unable to resist attacking.

Now that he had fully confirmed the location of Number Two's real body, there was naturally no need to hold back.

"No-!"

Number Two's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly tried to retreat into the shadows on the ground, but it was already too late.

With speed far beyond Number Two's, Wuxin once again struck second but subdued his enemy first. His Sekishiki moved faster, piercing Number Two's body first.

Then an ethereal soul could be seen being dragged out by the Sekishiki.

However, Wuxin did not fare well either. He likewise had no time to dodge the long black spear, which pierced straight through his abdomen and pinned him to the ground.

"Hiss-"

He sucked in a cold breath from the pain.

But it was all worth it. He had already seized Number Two's soul, completely cutting off any possibility of his retreating into the shadows.

"Looks like our junior brother won after all!"

Seeing the situation in the arena, Manigoldo gave a smug smile.

Once Sekishiki dragged out their soul, an ordinary person would have no chance of escape.

Cases like Tenma's were, after all, exceedingly rare miracles.

In the arena, Wuxin was equally confident. Once Number Two stopped struggling completely, this battle would truly be over.

Meanwhile, after struggling for a while, Number Two's resistance gradually weakened, but unwillingness remained on his face, and his gaze toward Wuxin grew increasingly venomous.

"Why?"

"Why you?"

"If it weren't for you, I would have been the winner this time!"

"You shouldn't have come here!"

He truly could not accept losing to a "newcomer" who had only recently joined Sanctuary, a "newcomer" who had not even spent a full month there.

Just because his opponent had a good teacher, a good senior brother, and good talent, in less than a year he had trampled beneath his feet the efforts they had made over years, even more than a decade. He truly could not accept it!

Like the final straw that broke the camel's back, the last shred of reason Number Two clung to was completely submerged, and he chose to embrace the other self he had always suppressed deep in his heart.

Chapter 43: Awakening the Malefic Star

"Something seems a little off!"

Looking at Number Two's soul bound by his power, Wuxin furrowed his brow.

He felt as though a powerful force was awakening from the depths of his opponent's soul.

Immediately afterward, Number Two, who had quieted down, suddenly began struggling again, with far greater force than before.

"Not good!"

Shocked, Wuxin hurriedly poured out his Cosmo to strengthen Sekishiki's binding effect.

However, the power that had suddenly awakened within Number Two's soul was far stronger than he had imagined. It instantly shattered his Sekishiki, then reunited with the physical body on the ground.

Moreover, as the soul and body reunited, an exceptionally pure aura of death emanated from Number Two's body.

"This... is this the aura of death from the Underworld?"