Qian Ye stepped forward, placing himself at the forefront facing Julio, a half-step ahead of Zhao Jiandu and Li Kuanglan.
“Qian Ye, step back.” Zhao Jiandu swung his Azure Sky Blade, emitting a meter-long cyan light that solidified into a tangible form, blocking Qian Ye.
Qian Ye raised his hand, gently pressing against the edge of the Azure Sky Blade. “This is my most suitable position in battle.”
If Qian Ye’s level were not too far behind, and if his opponent were not Julio, he would be correct. Among the three, Qian Ye’s body defense was far stronger than Zhao Jiandu’s or Li Kuanglan’s. Combined with the characteristics of his Ocean Domain and the heavy sword Dongyue, he was the most suitable person to face the enemy head-on. But now, no one believed he could withstand a full attack from Julio.
Zhao Jiandu’s hand on the Azure Sky Blade remained motionless, the cyan light flickering. He said in a deep voice, “Step back.”
Li Kuanglan raised an eyebrow and said to Qian Ye, “I have no more Mirror Water Revive for you, young man. Be careful; this time, if you die, you stay dead.”
Qian Ye nodded, saying, “I know.” He slowly raised Dongyue, the Tai Xuan Battle Decision beginning to circulate within him. In a few breaths, a faint sound like thunderous waves could be heard.
Julio clapped lightly, praising, “Not bad, talented and brave. I almost feel reluctant to kill you so quickly.”
Qian Ye said calmly, “I’m afraid you won’t be able to kill me.”
Julio removed his glove, saying, “Is that so? I’m quite worried as well.”
At that moment, purple flames suddenly burst around Zhao Jiandu, eight pillars of fire swirling tightly around him. A shadow of Julio appeared to his right, his right hand forming a claw. It touched the purple flames and slowly withdrew, then twisted and dissipated, revealing it to be merely an illusion. Julio remained standing where he was, as if he had never moved.
Li Kuanglan, standing to Zhao Jiandu’s right, paled slightly. He had not noticed Julio’s attack at all. If the attack had been aimed at him, he would not have been able to handle it as calmly as Zhao Jiandu.
“Playing tricks!” Li Kuanglan snorted coldly, and the Cold Moon Cage flew out, a dot of azure light shooting towards Julio’s forehead. His sword strike was swift and clean, with no special technique evident, but in his sword art, the smaller the sound, the greater the power.
Julio simply raised his right hand, blocking it in front of him as if to shield himself from Li Kuanglan’s sword qi. As the azure light struck, Julio’s right hand turned transparent and then vanished. The azure sword qi seemed to lose its target, circling Julio several times before striking the nearby wall, instantly turning the sturdy stone into a deep blue ice.
Julio’s right hand reappeared, as if nothing had happened.
Li Kuanglan’s expression changed again. This time, he finally understood. Julio was not using any secret technique but rather, through an incredible skill, he had channeled and redirected Li Kuanglan’s sword qi. This sounded simple, but in reality, trying to redirect the Cold Moon Cage’s sword qi required both strength and perfect technique. Any mistake would be suicidal.
Yet, Julio did it effortlessly, as if shaking off a drop of water.
Throughout all this, only Qian Ye remained motionless. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to move, but he couldn’t. A thread of blood qi from Julio always targeted him, ready to pierce his heart at any sign of weakness. Qian Ye felt a strange sensation, as if Julio was concentrating most of his attention on him, making him even more cautious.
Under such immense pressure, beads of sweat soon formed on Qian Ye’s forehead. It was odd; among the three, Qian Ye was clearly the weakest. There was no reason for Julio to focus on him unless he knew about the Primordial Gun. However, since Qian Ye had not revealed any secrets even in front of high-ranking commanders like the Duke of Yōkoku, he did not believe Julio could discern them.
Julio also gazed at Qian Ye, but his eyes revealed nothing.
The stalemate lasted only a moment. Suddenly, eight pillars of fire appeared around Julio, changing from purple to green. The primal force within a hundred meters became sluggish, making it difficult for everyone to move their primal forces, which then relaxed momentarily.
This was Zhao Jiandu’s Eight Directions Seal, and he controlled it so precisely that it did not affect Qian Ye or Li Kuanglan within its range! When Li Kuanglan noticed the stagnant primal force returning to normal, he let out a breath, understanding the significance.
Most domains do not distinguish between friend and foe, so the higher the level of the combatants, the harder it is to make up for the gap in strength with numbers. Only those above the level of a general can control their domain to minimize the impact on allies. Zhao Jiandu could do this at level twelve, justifying his status as the top young genius in the empire.
With the Eight Directions Seal activated, the mysterious aura around Julio diminished, and his movements became easier to track. Li Kuanglan rushed forward, the Cold Moon Cage fluctuating in brightness, but no longer emitting freezing air. He focused all its power on the blade, maximizing his speed, and slashed at Julio like a storm.
Finally, Qian Ye moved. He took a deep breath, raised Dongyue, and brought it down without any flourish! The sword fell toward where Julio stood, regardless of whether he dodged. With pure focus, Qian Ye poured all his strength into the strike.
Dongyue landed silently, most of the blade embedding itself into the hard ground as if the rock were as soft as tofu. As expected, the strike missed, but instead of flickering and reappearing as before, Julio took two steps back, avoiding Dongyue’s edge.
Since the battle began, this was the first time Julio had retreated. Surprised, he looked at Qian Ye with a mix of appreciation and regret.
Seeing Julio retreat, Zhao Jiandu and Li Kuanglan grew invigorated, intensifying their attacks.
Zhao Jiandu suddenly retreated, but the coverage of the Eight Directions Seal did not change. He moved to the edge of the outer corridor, raising the Azure Sky Rifle, aiming at Julio from a distance.
Julio’s expression shifted slightly, his brow twitching. His figure flashed several times, but his brow continued to twitch, the needle-like sensation persisting. Julio recognized the feeling of being locked onto, but what surprised him was that no matter how he evaded or what secret techniques he used, he could not escape. This made him think of a term: certain hit.
A certain hit was a rare ability, with its probability inversely proportional to its power. The terrifying aspect of a certain hit was that the stronger the user, the greater its power.
Julio recognized Zhao Jiandu’s famous Azure Sky Rifle. Regardless of the bullet, he did not want to take a direct hit. However, facing such a powerful ability, it was almost impossible to avoid a direct hit.
Of course, a certain hit was not truly unbreakable. If Julio maintained high-speed movement, he could create a small deviation in Zhao Jiandu’s lock, avoiding vital points. However, maintaining such high-speed movement within the Eight Directions Seal would greatly drain his blood qi, and even as a powerful marquis, he could not sustain it for long.
The best way to deal with the Azure Sky Rifle was to rush in for close combat, but with Li Kuanglan and Qian Ye nearby, Julio did not have that opportunity.
Li Kuanglan pushed his speed to the limit, circling Julio, the Cold Moon Cage leaving trails of blue light, wrapping around Julio like ribbons. Qian Ye’s attacks were grand and powerful, each swing of Dongyue forcing Julio to move. Once Julio moved, he left a trace, but standing still made him even harder to predict.
Thus, Qian Ye, Zhao Jiandu, and Li Kuanglan, through either containment, strong attacks, or seizing opportunities, cooperated seamlessly. For a time, they matched Julio blow for blow, neither side gaining the upper hand.
Neither Qian Ye nor Li Kuanglan used their domains, partly due to the primal force conflict, and partly because Zhao Jiandu’s Eight Directions Seal provided the greatest restriction on Julio. Given Julio’s incredible speed and superior fighting skills, without any restrictions, the three might not have lasted long. Therefore, although Zhao Jiandu did not directly engage, he maintained the domain, consuming no less energy than Qian Ye and Li Kuanglan.
However, everyone knew this situation was temporary. As time passed, more imperial forces would arrive. If Julio did not break through, he would inevitably be defeated. Yet, Julio remained calm, showing no signs of tension or urgency, as if time was not on the empire’s side.
Qian Ye grew more puzzled as the battle continued, but he dared not let his guard down. Though Julio seemed to be defending, if he found an opening, his counterattack would be terrifying. Even Li Kuanglan, the highest-ranked among them, was four levels below Julio. Any mistake could mean a fatal blow, even if it came from a weakened Julio.
After a while, Julio, seemingly frustrated by the Eight Directions Seal, let out a low growl. Blood qi suddenly filled the air within a hundred meters, intertwining with Zhao Jiandu’s cyan qi.
In the clash of the two domains, the cyan qi initially had the upper hand, but the quantity of blood qi overwhelmed it. After a brief struggle, the cyan qi weakened, and the Eight Directions Seal began to falter.
Qian Ye shouted, and the Ocean Vortex instantly formed, covering the entire area with a fierce and overwhelming force, dispersing both the Eight Directions Seal and Julio’s Blood Domain. After shattering the two domains, the Ocean Vortex dissipated, leaving Qian Ye pale. The over-class domain battle was exhausting for him.
As the three domains disappeared, an icy blue frost covered the area, slowing Julio down. Seizing the moment, Li Kuanglan used his domain to restrict Julio again, timing it perfectly.
In the instant Julio slowed, Zhao Jiandu finally fired.
The Azure Sky Rifle roared, and the bullet, tracing a cyan path, reached Julio’s chest almost as soon as it left the barrel!
Even with his quick reflexes, Julio could not evade, and could only barely move his vital point. He grunted, blood spurting from his shoulder, indicating he was injured.
After the shot, Zhao Jiandu’s breath labored, but he raised the Azure Sky Rifle again, aiming at Julio’s blood core.
The battle once again reached a stalemate.
Suddenly, everyone noticed the gunfire outside the castle had become sporadic, with the roar of heavy firepower nearly gone. Distantly, the rapid approach of imperial soldiers could be heard.
Suddenly, the entire wall and door behind Julio collapsed inward, revealing the empty top hall. The floor showed deep cracks extending into the depths, and the walls were riddled with web-like fissures, indicating the building was on the verge of collapse.
In the distant wilderness of the Evernight, a small figure stood. She was a girl who seemed not yet fully grown, surrounded by the bodies of over a hundred imperial soldiers, including several generals and even a major general.
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