CHAPTER 135: END OF THE BATTLE.

Chapter 135: End of the Battle

.

Boom!

The sound of a loud blast was the only thing the audience could recall as their vision was filled with a reddish orange sphere of energy, with arcs of lightning forming over it.

This was the result of the explosion caused by the collision of the two attacks, more precisely, what could be seen of it, since it was being contained within the dome shaped barrier placed around the arena.

The barrier was now completely filled from the inside, its outline clearly visible, but what left everyone stunned was that it was trembling nonstop, with visible cracks starting to form across its surface.

As soon as that happened, a student in the crowd instinctively thought of standing up and run away, just in case the barrier failed to contain the blast of energy.

But he didn’t need to, because in the next moment several formations on the barrier lit up, and the cracks that had just formed began to repair themselves right before their eyes.

As they did, other runes lit up, creating a new set of formations across the barrier, which started to glow more intensely.

At first, no one understood what this second layer of formations was for, but soon they realized.

As the runes grew brighter and brighter, the explosion inside the barrier seemed to calm down and shrink.

It was swirling violently, most likely due to the reaction of the wind element mixed with lightning and fire.

Since these two were naturally unstable, the result was utterly devastating.

While the formation was consuming the energy of the explosion, 2 figures slowly began to appear within it, becoming clearer after a few more seconds.

They were Li Duoji and Yao Jianbo, though the audience immediately noticed that the two seemed to have swapped positions within the explosion that was still present.

Everyone held their breath to see who had prevailed, but from the little they could see, it looked like both of them were still standing.

This led everyone to the same possibility:

Could it be that after all this, it had actually ended in a draw?

Even though such an outcome wouldn’t have been completely unexpected, they had to admit that after the performance the two had put on, it wasn’t an unacceptable result either.

Both had proven why they were considered the strongest of their year, and neither had let the audience down,

neither Yao Jianbo, who had shown himself capable of developing the Sword Aura and thus reaching the level of Sword Master at the initial stage...

Nor Li Duoji, who, with his cultivation already at the early stage of the fourth realm despite being only eighteen years old, had amazed everyone.

Needless to say, even though the battle had lasted just under fifty minutes, it had been filled with surprises and twists.

No one would have been disappointed no matter the outcome.

So no one dared complain, and all eyes remained glued to the arena, filled with anticipation, as the figures of the two finally became clearer.

It was obvious that neither of them was in the best condition.

Clothes torn in several places, cuts and burns all over their bodies, and weapons covered with visible cracks.

In fact, one of them was almost completely destroyed.

"Wait..."

As soon as this detail was noticed, everyone turned their attention toward one of the two figures and immediately saw that he had fainted,

Yes, fainted on his feet, with his sword still firmly gripped in his hand, but the blade broken.

As soon as this was noticed, the crowd erupted in surprise, immediately realizing what had happened.

Li Duoji had actually won.

The moment the storm of energy created by the clash of their powers calmed down, the instructors assigned to heal the students rushed onto the stage, heading toward the two.

Although they appeared to have only superficial wounds, everyone knew that wasn’t the case.

Both of them had likely suffered serious internal damage, especially Yao Jianbo, who had even lost consciousness, somehow still standing upright.

None of the instructors dared to underestimate their injuries, since they knew that if there was any serious damage and they didn’t act quickly, the future of these two could be at risk.

And considering that both were extremely talented individuals of the academy, losing even one would have been a huge loss.

"Student Li, please allow us to examine you." While some rushed toward Yao Jianbo, others headed toward Li Duoji. But as soon as they tried to approach, they were pushed away by him, saying he didn’t need any treatment.

Needless to say, this didn’t please the instructors, who tried to persuade him but failed.

In the end, he let one of them check his internal condition, and once it was confirmed there wasn’t much internal damage, certainly nothing too serious, everyone breathed a little easier.

And so, as everyone began leaving the arena and the repair teams took over, since much of the stage had been destroyed,

Li Duoji, on his way back to the waiting hall for the participants, couldn’t help but glance toward Zhu Rong, his eyes flashing with challenge.

He knew that Zhu Rong and Li Daniu would have to fight after him, and he could already tell that his cousin was far too weak to have any chance against his opponent.

It might not have seemed like it, but to him, this was the best outcome he could have hoped for, because what he wanted most was to personally crush Zhu Rong.

"Bastard, I’ll crush you so hard you’ll think twice before putting your hands on what rightfully belongs to me." His eyes gleamed with malice and defiance as he searched for the other’s frightened expression.

But...

’Hmm? Where the hell is that bastard?’

No matter how hard he searched, he couldn’t find him. Confused, he entered the waiting hall, and his eyes immediately landed on a corner.

There, he saw someone curled up in a meditative position.

At first glance, one might have thought he was cultivating, but with a single look Li Duoji could tell that person was actually sleeping.

Li Duoji: "..."

A vein popped on his forehead, and a rage boiled inside him, one that even his opponent from earlier hadn’t managed to provoke.

His hands trembled slightly, tempted to rush over and turn that nap into an eternal sleep.

’Calm down. There’ll be plenty of time to take care of him later’ he told himself, letting out a deep breath to steady his emotions.

In that moment, he felt someone approaching.

He didn’t even need to turn his head to know who it was.

"You still have the courage to show yourself," he said coldly, his voice low and sharp.