Chapter 170: Absorption Ability
The seventh sword hovered in the air.
It seemed to be monitoring his every move.
His gamble had to be based on the premise that Fang Yun had no energy left to defend himself.
Only then, by striking quickly, could he possibly win this ranking battle in the Elder’s judgment.
Fang Yun had erased his last chance.
Zhou Hongchang had considered the slight possibility of losing his ranking battle against Fang Yun.
But he never imagined a loss like this. At this moment, he felt his defeat was utterly without suspense.
CRACK, CRACK. The outermost defensive barrier was already covered in fractures. The next moment, it shattered completely.
Zhou Hongchang knew he had no chance of winning anymore.
’But even if I lose, I should at least last a little longer.’
’What is this!?’
Zhou Hongchang’s heart jumped. The moment his barrier shattered, the top-grade Magical Artifact in his hand had absorbed some of his Spiritual Power.
He quickly realized that this Spiritual Power was actually being absorbed by Fang Yun’s sixth pale yellow Long Sword.
In that instant, the power of the pale yellow Long Sword seemed to strengthen even further.
The six swords converged, their combined offensive power even stronger than before!
His second defensive barrier shattered instantly, scattering a golden glow across the sky.
He had lost...
The moment his second barrier broke, a surge of pure Spiritual Power enveloped his body. Such pure Spiritual Power was impossible for a Qi Refining Stage Cultivator to possess—the Elder had made his move.
The Elder’s intervention meant he had lost. Nothing he did would matter now.
Feng Tianrui, who had intervened, gave Fang Yun a surprised look.
Even if he hadn’t acted just now, Fang Yun’s seemingly unstoppable attack wouldn’t have harmed his opponent in the slightest.
’Such powerful control.’
Even with a Seven-Aperture Exquisite Body, achieving this would require a great deal of practice, and very precise practice at that.
Fang Yun was Xiong Xingfeng’s disciple.
Feng Tianrui knew that besides being a master of Artifact Refining, Xiong Xingfeng himself was also very strong in Magical Combat. Fang Yun must have received Xiong Xingfeng’s guidance in this area as well.
Zhou Hongchang’s loss was not unjust.
As Feng Tianrui released his spell, the seven Flying Swords returned to Fang Yun’s Storage Pouch one by one.
The result of the ranking battle was decided.
The crowd below the stage was silent at first. Many disciples were stunned. This ranking battle was completely different from what they had imagined. Fang Yun hadn’t just won; he had won decisively and cleanly.
Even Bai Qinying’s reaction was a beat too slow.
’If I had presided over this ranking battle just now, I might not have been able to stop Fang Yun’s final assault.’
’I’m not presiding, just watching. It’s normal to have this kind of reaction.’
Bai Qinying comforted herself inwardly.
’If I were the one presiding, I wouldn’t be watching this ranking battle with my current mindset.’
However, she had to admit that if she were to preside over Magical Combat now, it would be best if the combatants weren’t too powerful.
For the time being, ranking battles between the top ten on the Inner Sect Ranking were not suitable for her to preside over.
"Senior Brother Fang is amazing! I told you Senior Brother Fang would win!"
"Senior Brother Fang is the best!"
Facing the number one on the Inner Sect Ranking, a Half-Step Foundation Establishment opponent, some of Fang Yun’s supporters among the Outer Sect disciples had still believed his chances of winning this ranking battle were fifty-fifty.
After the ranking battle ended, they were also the quickest among the disciples below the stage to react.
After all, the result was within their expectations; it was just that the battle ended a little faster than they thought.
As the voices erupted, more and more disciples began to react.
Some disciples closed their gaping mouths, their wide eyes returning to normal.
"It’s over already?"
"I haven’t had my fill yet! I originally thought it would end with Junior Brother Fang running out of Spiritual Power."
"Senior Brother Zhou lost just like that... Why do I feel so strange about it?"
"Look at Senior Brother Zhou. You can tell he accepts his defeat completely. If you want to know what just happened, go and face Junior Brother Fang’s attacks for yourself. But, Junior Sister, I think you’d be doing well to even make Junior Brother Fang use three Long Swords."
As the voices from the crowd grew louder...
...stronger cheers erupted from behind.
"Sword Immortal! Sword Immortal!"
"Today, Senior Brother Fang is showing us that his all-out offense far surpasses his defense! Look, even Senior Brother Zhou, number one on the Inner Sect Ranking, couldn’t withstand it."
"Exactly! It was so frustrating before, always making Senior Brother Fang defend in Magical Combat spars."
"Hey, all you who were calling him ’Turtle Immortal,’ what do you have to say for yourselves today?"
"I’m talking to you! Say something!"
Today was a victory for the "Sword Immortal" faction. These Outer Sect disciples who supported Fang Yun finally had a chance to hold their heads high in front of the "Turtle Immortal" faction.
Naturally, they had to gloat a little.
"Junior Brother Yang, from the look of it, you’re not surprised by the result at all?"
Wu Junxin looked at Yang Yingjie beside him and noticed that he seemed to think this was exactly how the ranking battle should have ended.
"I’m not surprised. Senior Brother Wu, you’d know if you had used a Magical Artifact Refined by Junior Brother Fang."
Fang Yun could now even Refine Upper-Grade Magical Artifacts that suppressed Demon Power. Creating a matching set of Magical Artifacts must be simple for him. His Seven-Aperture Exquisite Body allowed him to easily control multiple Upper-Grade Magical Artifacts in battle. One could only imagine the power that would ultimately create.
This style of combat had no other weakness besides its high consumption of Spiritual Power.
Based on his own situation, Yang Yingjie could deduce many conclusions. Therefore, the swift end to this ranking battle was truly within his expectations.
"Junior Brother Fang’s Artifact Refining skill has improved a lot," Wu Junxin replied.
He also had an Upper-Grade Magical Artifact Refined by Fang Yun, but it was one Fang Yun had made last year.
He was not far from the peak of the Qi Refining Tenth Layer now. An Upper-Grade Magical Artifact Refined by Fang Yun was no longer what he was after; he was pursuing top-grade Magical Artifacts.
According to his understanding, Fang Yun had never Refined a top-grade Magical Artifact; he had succeeded in Refining a Spiritual Artifact on his very first try.
However, this was even more in line with Fang Yun’s level of Artifact Refining skill.
"I think Junior Brother Fang’s Artifact Refining skill improves greatly every month."
Yang Yingjie added, glancing at Song Qiaoqiao before continuing.
"Senior Brother Wu, look. Senior Sister Song is the same as me."
Hearing this, Wu Junxin also noticed Song Qiaoqiao. Indeed, just like Yang Yingjie, she wasn’t surprised by Fang Yun’s swift victory.
But given Song Qiaoqiao’s background, she had no need for Upper-Grade Magical Artifacts Refined by Fang Yun. She possessed multiple versatile, top-grade Magical Artifacts herself.
"Junior Brother Fang already told me," Song Qiaoqiao said, resolving the confusion in their hearts.
Regarding this ranking battle...
When Fang Yun had invited her, she had asked him how confident he was. Could he win?
Fang Yun had told her there was a good chance he could win with ease.
And now, here was that easy victory, a battle ended in a flash.
Song Qiaoqiao had believed Fang Yun’s words.
That was why she appeared relatively calm about Fang Yun winning the ranking battle.
"So that’s how it is." Wu Junxin nodded in understanding.
He figured Fang Yun had probably even told Song Qiaoqiao his strategy.