As the audience watched in wonder and awe, Xuan slowly rose from the floor, blood trailing from hundreds of different cuts and wounds on his body. He looked like some kind of vengeful zombie from a horror game, but despite this, he was still handsome—beautiful, even.
But that was also precisely what bothered—and impressed—Li Shu the most.
"Incredible… do you not feel pain? My 'Poem of a Hundred Cuts' is a move meant to deliver great physical agony to whoever it's used on, to the point where it could be classified as a torture technique. And yet… here you stand, bloodied and injured, but smiling?"
At this, Xuan only laughed.
"Pain? Agony? Just by you?"
Wishful thinking. How much pain and suffering had Xuan endured in his previous life? From heavenly tribulations to poison, he'd been through it all—and his past enemies were certainly more powerful than this poet. This meager amount of pain was laughable when compared to what Xuan's former enemies were capable of.
And now that Li Shu's attack was over, it was Xuan's turn to act.
Slowly, he lifted his bloodied arms in front of him, and out from his wounds came gushing rivers of crimson blood. Instead of obeying gravity and flowing towards the floor, however, they suddenly shot out like thick twines, instantly wrapping themselves around Li Shu's arms and ankles.
"What—!"
Naturally, this was the work of Blood Conjure. The more blood there was present, the easier it was to use.
Eyes widening in surprise, Li Shu attempted to break free, but the coiled chains of blood held firm—and they would only grow stronger from there.
From each and every wound he'd inflicted on Xuan just now came shooting forward another blood vine that latched onto his body, gripping him tightly in place. Xuan especially focused on the poet's wrists, since if he locked those in place, Li Shu couldn't use his pen to counterattack very effectively. Before long, he was completely shut down, unable to budge even an inch.
"You dug your own grave," Xuan said, as one final blood vine grew from a wound directly in his chest—this one sharp and ready to kill. "Concede."
"Hah… to think my own attack would be what leads to my defeat…"
Li Shu chuckled softly as if mocking himself, and lowered his head.
"However…"
At that moment, he let his pen drop out of his hands, and fall to the floor. By the time Xuan realized what he was planning, it was already too late.
Blop.
Like a single drop of water, the pen beautifully landed tip-first against the arena platform—but what followed, was an immensely powerful reverberating ripple all around the point of impact.
"Ngh-!"
Instantly, Xuan was blown back for the second time this fight, taking his blood tendrils with him. He lost control of the conjured tentacles, causing them to turn back into harmless liquid-state blood, and was forced to once again stab his sword into the platform to prevent himself from being flung off the arena from the sheer power of the ripple.
"… But alas, you are not the only one with tricks up your sleeve."
"Heh… good, good," Xuan breathed. "More… give me more!"
This was what he wanted—he could feel the Qi in his body heating up. It was nearly time for a breakthrough; he just needed to push a bit further. And in order to do that…
'It's about time I try out 'that' move in practical combat, huh?'
With a dark snicker, Xuan slowly brought his hand up to his mouth, and took a mild sip of his own blood.
Instantly, his eyes widened, and newborn power coursed through his veins.
'Vampire… TRANSFORMATION!'
"That is…"
As Xuan transformed, Li Shu and the crowd's eyes all enlarged to the size of marbles.
The clothes Xuan had been wearing immediately disappeared, and his bare upper body was revealed underneath. His ripped muscles and lean figure was further amplified by the fire all around the arena, but that wasn't even the highlight of his appearance. The real thing to fear were the two small fangs that appeared in his upper teeth, as the wounds all over his body disappeared and he slowly licked his lips.
"Haha… this feels not bad, not bad at all," he remarked, looking down at his own hands. "Now then… why don't I test out my new physical capabilities?"
He shot a glance at Li Shu, who narrowed his eyes and began channeling his Qi.
"You are truly a strong opponent, fellow cultivator. But since this brother has used his final trump card, then this Li shall not hold back either. Prepare yourself—Harrowing Pen: Destruction!"
Saying this, he moved his pen to draw the character representing 'destroy' in the air, shooting out a beam of highly concentrated black Qi, and in that same instant—
"Show me… your true strength!"
—Xuan disappeared shortly before reappearing again in the air, sword ready to cleave. With a devilish smile, he met the powerful black ray of disintegration head-on, fearless and confident.
A blinding flash.
A deafening noise.
Then—the next thing the poet knew, he was on the ground, with Xuan on top of him and a shiny red sword stabbed into the platform right beside his face. His body was battered and he was breathing heavily, but the reality was, he was the victor.
In the end, Xuan in his vampire form was stronger.
"… I concede."
Li Shu said those words quietly. Upon hearing them, Xuan slowly got up from the floor, as all his wounds disappeared once more. His transformation, however, was going to run out soon, so it was a good thing that he ended the duel right here.
"Good fight, fellow cultivator. You have truly enlightened my eyes today," Li Shu continued, brushing off the dust off his clothes and standing up straight. "Might I ask for this brother's name?"
Xuan paused in his footsteps, before turning around slightly.
"You can call me Xuan."
"Brother Xuan… I see. To think there exists someone who does not care about pain or agony even though they can feel it… you are the first of the kind I've met."
At this, however, Xuan simply gave a soft chuckle.
"When you've experienced it enough, pain becomes less of a hindrance, and more of a motivation."
With that, he walked off the stage, right as a long list of System notifications popped up in front of him. Naturally, he dismissed them all, and carried on. He also felt that his body was ready for a breakthrough, but he suppressed it for the time being since right now was neither the time nor the place.
Still, he'd obtained what he came for—and the mission could be called a success.
<Floor Cleared!>
<Advance: 20 -> End>
<Obtained Health Restoration Pill x1.>
<Obtained Qi Restoration Pill x1.>
<Obtained 20,000 Spirit Crystals.>
<Obtained Sealed World Pearl x1.>
———
<Sword Duel Enlightenment>
<Sword Intent +2,000>
<Current Intent EXP needed for next level: 10,000/10,000>
<Sword Intent Level Up!>
<New Sword Intent Lvl: 2>
<You can now learn dedicated sword techniques that make use of Sword Qi.>
———
<Climb the Tower — Quest Complete!>
<Obtained 10,000 Credits.>
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