Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 254: Chapter 254. Intentionally Wanting to Lose?

”I am still no match for big brother,” Xin Wuming said with a melancholy face.

”If you are, then I don’t deserve to be your big brother,” Amon returned. ”However, it is not easy for me to defeat you. I used to be able to defeat you in minutes. Now, I needed almost an hour, and I already went all out. This shows that you have improved greatly compared to before.”

That wasn’t true, though. Amon might have gone all out if it was fair fighting, but he hadn’t used his poison. He did wonder once if Xin Wuming’s undying body could heal itself from his poison. He didn’t try to find out.

”It all thanks to brother’s guidance,” Xin Wuming said.

”You are ready now. It’s time to repeat the duel,” Amon said.

Xin Wuming clenched his fists. Amon had done a lot to help him improve. Even though the purpose of doing that was so Amon could recruit another person, he was not jealous. He was sincere in his gratitude. He swore he would not disappoint his big brother.

*

The two went to the practice building, where Yang Li frequented most of the time. They found her in no time because the Vicious faction had people there who let Amon know Yang Li’s whereabouts.

Yang Li glanced at the two when they approached. She returned to her practice without saying anything.

”Care for another duel?” Amon asked.

Yang Li turned back to Amon and asked, ”With him again? Not interested.”

”The same condition applies. If you beat him, I will duel you,” Amon said. ”Also, the two of you can duel in the arena.”

Yang Li gave Amon a hard stare. ”Are you serious?” She asked. ”You do know my element affinity, don’t you?”

”Then our duel is confirmed, isn’t it?” Amon asked in return.

”Very well. Make your reservation and let me know the time.”

”I already did. The time is today. Let’s go there now,” Amon stated.

”All right,” Yang Li said. She started walking. Throughout the conversation, she never glanced at Xin Wuming.

Xin Wuming watched the woman walking away with mixed feelings. A good portion of those feelings was anger. He was angry Yang Li didn’t consider him worth noticing. Her response was as if her victory was assured.

”Make her see how wrong she is, but do not let your emotions get the better of you. Remain calm,” Amon said. He then followed Yang Li toward the exit.

Xin Wuming took a deep breath before following those two.

*

At the arena, they went into a small arena where a Vicious member had booked beforehand. The small arena was located at the edge of the arena building, where people rarely ventured. The fight this time was also never announced or hyped like the duel between Xin Wuming and Gao Dou, so no one was in that small arena aside from them.

Even though it was a small arena, there was still a referee because the match was booked beforehand. The referee was to make sure the fight didn’t get overboard. The referee overseeing this match was a Beginning Mystic Stage cultivator.

Before Yang Li went up the stage, Amon asked her, ”There is no rule in the arena, but how about we agree to a no-weapon rule?”

Yang Li frowned. This rule benefitted her. She was a poor student with no clan and no backing. Her weapon was an old claw weapon she salvaged from the wilderness, and it was only a low-tier engraved weapon. She knew Xin Wuming was unlike her. The vicious faction was now famous in the academy. The members received many benefits. A high-ranking member like Xin Wuming surely possessed a much better weapon than her.

Firstly, Amon proposed she fight Xin Wuming in the arena, which allowed her to use arcane arts. Secondly, he proposed a no-weapon rule. Both proposals removed Xin Wuming’s advantage. She wondered if Amon intentionally wanted Xin Wuming to lose to her.

She almost rejected Amon’s proposal out of pride but then remembered she didn’t care about Xin Wuming. The one she wanted to fight was Amon. If these rules let her win the fight faster so she could fight Amon, why not?

She agreed to Amon’s proposal.

Amon took a seat next to the arena as Xin Wuming and Yang Li went up to the stage. The two duelists stood opposite one another. Xin Wuming was staring at Yang Li, but Yang Li was instead gazing in Amon’s direction. The anger from getting underestimated returned, but Amon’s words resounded inside his mind. This let him calm himself.

”Are you two ready?” The referee asked.

”Ready,” Xin Wuming responded.

Yang Li nodded in reply.

The referee lifted his hand before bringing it down. ”Begin!” He exclaimed.

The two lunged at each other. Xin Wuming used finger-poke, while Yang Li used claw. The finger and claw collided. The two combatants recoiled from the impact. Xin Wuming took one step back, while Yang Li took three.

It was almost four years since their last duel. They both had vastly improved. They were both at the Beginning Transformation Stage. However, from the clash just now, it was apparent that Xin Wuming was stronger.

The higher the cultivation stage was, the wider the scope within a stage. Two combatants at the peak strength stage might not show much difference in power, even if one had just entered the peak strength stage and the other was on the verge of ascending to the transformation stage. On the other hand, two cultivators at the Beginning Transformation Stage might show a clear difference in power.

Thanks to the resources provided by the Vicious faction, Xin Wuming’s Beginning Transformation Stage had improved rapidly. He was roughly near mid-progression to his Beginning Transformation Stage. As for Yang Li, she was still in the early progression.

Yang Li was discontent with this revelation. During their last duel, she knew Xin Wuming was around the same progression as her. She also knew Xin Wuming handled most management in the Vicious faction. This meant he divided his time between managing the faction, cultivating, and training. As for her, she cultivated and trained all the time. Even if she didn’t have the resources Xin Wuming did, her improvement shouldn’t be that far off from him. Yet, the reality was not so.

Yang Li didn’t like a long bout. Her discontent made her want to end this duel even faster, so she stopped wasting time. Her two arms ignited with flames. Burning Hand was the most common arcane art used by fire-element practitioners. It was a free art provided by the academy. Although it was only a low-tier practitioner arcane art, Yang Li had learned it to the grandmaster level. The flames that wrapped around her arms were like raging infernos.

She was one of the few who had managed to master her art to the grandmaster level. Her S-level fire affinity helped in this regard, making her learn and improve fire-element arts much easier compared to other students. Her affinity also augmented the power of her fire art tremendously. Instead of two arms, it was more like she had two giant fireballs for arms. The heat she exuded could even be felt by Amon, who sat outside the stage.

She lunged again with fire-enveloped arms. This time, Xin Wuming took a retreating approach. As he retreated, long metal swords formed out of his two hands.

At the Master level, Xin Wuming’s Iron Finger could produce metal swords from both hands rapidly. Under Amon’s guidance, he practiced using this feature to turn the arcane art into a ranged attack. He used the sword in one hand to break the sword in the other hand and sent the broken sword flying forward before rapidly producing another sword and repeating the process.

Yang Li saw the multiple metal swords flying toward her. She wasn’t daunted by them. Her flaming claws danced before her. The flying swords were easily deflected. As the swords bounced off her hands, they were also melted by the raging flames around her hands.

She performed a powerful leap and avoided the remaining flying swords. Her leap brought her above Xin Wuming, where she did a diving assault. Her flaming claws went through Xin Wuming’s afterimage and slammed into the floor.

Without a pause, she did a radial sweep. The flames that followed her sweep burst all around her, creating an impressive fiery ring. Yet, the flames failed to touch Xin Wuming, who was already away using the Hundred Misleading Steps.

Xin Wuming was about to counter by throwing his metal swords, but he saw Yang Li’s cheeks enlarged like balloons. She opened her mouth. A torrent of raging flames poured out and washed over Xin Wuming.

This was another fire element art she had learned, Fire Breath. It was a mid-tier practitioner arcane art that allowed her to strike mid-range enemies. Most movement arts were useless against this art since it hit a wide area. Thanks to her S-level fire affinity, Fire Breath hit an even wider area and reached a longer range.

Xin Wuming hadn’t put enough distance. He couldn’t do anything to avoid the flames.