Chapter 288: This Time, I Was Not In Prime Condition

This time, I will not let down my guard.

Purple light shot out of all three of Qi Shaoxuan’s eyes. They stared straight at Shen Tian.

At which, Shen Tian’s dazzling good looks nearly blinded him.

The Divine Firmament Saint’s good looks still make me feel so abashed!

But good looks won’t get you anywhere here. Power is king on the platform. I will not lose to you again!

Qi Shaoxuan stood there, ready to battle. He infused his power into his Black Dragon Armor and Heaven’s Halberd and gradually approached Shen Tian.

This time, he was very cautious. He would not charge in recklessly like before.

He just has that super large Golden Core, Rainbow Divine Light, and that strange jade-green vine, right?

As long as I am more careful, your little tricks will never be able to harm me!

At that moment, Qi Shaoxuan and Shen Tian were just 10 feet apart.

The vague flash of lightning could be seen in the sky. The air seemed to solidify.

If a weaker cultivator was standing between those two now, they might instantly dissipate from the intense pressure.

“You, come on!”

Qi Shaoxuan pointed his Heaven’s Halberd at Shen Tian. His Purple Mansion Heavenly Eye shone with divine light as it scanned all 360 degrees of the surroundings. No corner was left unturned. He was extremely wary.

The bullet screen surrounding the platform went wild again.

“It’s starting again! The battle between the Purple Mansion Saint and Divine Firmament Saint!”

“Experience is the mother of all wisdom. The Purple Mansion Saint was too impulsive just now. That was why he suffered a sneak attack by the projection.”

“This time, the Purple Mansion Saint’s Pure Heavenly Eye will be kept on alert the whole time. He won’t make that kind of simple mistake again. It will be a good show.”

“Let’s bet 100 Spirit Stones. This time, the Purple Mansion Saint will definitely be able to defeat the Divine Firmament Saint’s projection. After all, he is Eastern Wilderness’ most powerful prodigy!”

“Not necessarily! Don’t forget that the Divine Firmament Saint’s reputation is not at all inferior to the Purple Mansion Saint’s. The two of them are on par!”

“Zi Shujing here. Let’s be real. As long as Senior Brother doesn’t make a mistake, he will definitely thrash the Divine Firmament Saint.”

“Fang Chang here. I am laughing my socks off. If our Saint goes all out, he can beat Qi Shaoxuan with just one hand!”

“If we were talking about a battle between the Purple Mansion Saint and the real Divine Firmament Saint, I really can’t say who will win. But this is just the projection of the Divine Firmament Saint. The power level might be the same, but the projection’s battle intellect might be below that of the Purple Mansion Saint!”

“But don’t forget that in the previous round, the same ‘brainless’ projection used a battle trick to beat the Purple Mansion Saint.”

“You are going too far. Must you keep bringing up the fact that the brainless projection tricked the Purple Mansion Saint?”

“That’s right! You are always harping on other people’s mistakes! You are speaking as if the Purple Mansion Saint is brainless.”

“Say no to online bullying!”

“Say no to online bullying+1!”

“Say no to online bullying+2!”

…

Looking at the comments on the bullet screen, the veins on Qi Shaoxuan’s forehead throbbed.

Talking about it again!

I was tricked just that once by the projection!

Those heartless spectators. Why do they keep harping on it?

Do they really think that just because their comments are anonymous, I won’t be able to get to them?

Well, there really wasn’t anything much he could do.

After all, the God of War Pagoda was not on the Purple Mansion Sacred Ground. Qi Shaoxuan didn’t have the authority to check the identities of those commenters.

Damn, it’s all that evil projection’s fault!

Qi Shaoxuan glared at Shen Tian with all three eyes. The angry fire in his heart raged, but he did not charge forward like before. He knew very well that if he acted recklessly and lost to this projection again, his own reputation would be destroyed.

After all, being tricked by a brainless projection twice would be utterly humiliating.

I will not move until the enemy moves. I must find your loophole!

Qi Shaoxuan put on a full defense and slowly walked toward Shen Tian’s projection. His every action was extremely guarded.

Unexpectedly, Shen Tian didn’t use his spirit fog technique or his Divine Devouring Vine. He just gazed at Qi Shaoxuan and gradually spread open his magnificent wings.

The wings were gold in color, with feathers that continuously faded into a divine light. It was like a God of War had descended on earth.

He was majestic, resplendent, and regal!

Even Qi Shaoxuan, who claimed to be the top dog in the entire Eastern Wilderness, now felt somewhat inferior to this version of Shen Tian.

Yes. So what if you are taller than him? He could fly!

“I hate people looking down on me. Get lost!”

Qi Shaoxuan snorted. The purple light of his third eye glowed even brighter. A dazzling purple beam suddenly shot out.

This was the Purple Mansion Heavenly Eye attack technique, as recorded in the Purple Mansion Imperial Sutra, Purple Eye Beam of Destruction.

It was rumored that when cultivated to the highest levels, it could destroy everything, annihilate everything.

Of course, no one knew if it was an exaggeration.

Nonetheless, the Purple Eye Beam of Destruction’s power was indeed not your usual power. The fabrics of space were twisted and torn apart the moment that purple light sliced through the air.

Its speed was also astounding. It seemed to everyone that Qi Shaoxuan’s eye had just started glowing brighter when the beam was already reaching Shen Tian in the next second.

This attack was nearly at the Nascent Soul level. Even a peak Nascent Soul cultivator would be hit if faced with such a sudden attack.

And going by the powerful force of that beam, he would probably die instantly the moment he was hit.

Was this the Purple Mansion Saint’s true hidden killing move?

Even under the joint attack of Fang Chang and Zhang Yunxi, Qi Shaoxuan had not executed this move. However, he was now using it against Shen Tian’s projection.

It looked like the Divine Firmament Saint was really giving him immense pressure!

Boom!

The Purple Eye Beam of Destruction penetrated Shen Tian’s projection via his brow area before striking the wall behind him.

A loud boom and the entire platform shook vigorously.

Did the Divine Firmament Saint get killed?

Everyone was staring at Shen Tian’s projection in a daze. For a moment, they all found it very difficult to believe it.

After all, that was the Divine Firmament Saint!

But it was not long before someone felt that something was not quite right. This was because Shen Tian’s projection was gradually fading away.

It was not the fading effect from a loss of power. But… an afterimage!

Yes. The Purple Eye Beam of Destruction had not pierced through Shen Tian’s projection. It had pierced through the afterimage left by Shen Tian’s projection.

His speed was just too fast. He had already ducked long before the Purple Eye Beam of Destruction could reach him. He was completely unharmed by that beam.

“So fast!”

All three of Qi Shaoxuan’s eyes widened. His Pure Heavenly Eye could barely keep up with Shen Tian’s speed.

None of the spectators could see Shen Tian clearly anymore. All anyone could see were streaks of golden afterimages flashing here and there.

Boom!

Qi Shaoxuan raised his Heaven’s Halberd.

A dazzling fire erupted on the halberd, like a miniature sun.

A sword had struck the halberd with lightning speed. If Qi Shaoxuan had not blocked it in time, that sword would have sliced his head in half.

“I have to admit that your speed is very fast. A pity that you can’t rely on just speed to beat me. It’s far from enough!”

Qi Shaoxuan snorted before sweeping his halberd in front of him.

However, the moment his halberd swished across the air, Shen Tian had already retreated and was launching a fierce attack from another angle.

Clang!

Boom!

Clang!

Boom!

Qi Shaoxuan looked very grim.

Shen Tian’s speed was really too fast. He could not keep up at all.

After Shen Tian’s first attack, an intense flurry of consecutive attacks rained down on Qi Shaoxuan.

Every single move was fast to the extreme. Qi Shaoxuan was completely occupied with defending and had no chance to counterattack at all.

After all, his Heaven’s Halberd was a heavy weapon and was best for mid-range attacks. It was not good for such close-range battles.

Meanwhile, he had no chance at all to execute his many techniques and hand seals.

“Such a ferocious attack. Although it looks very awesome, it must be consuming a lot of energy.”

Qi Shaoxuan smirked as he blocked Shen Tian’s attacks. “I want to see how long you can sustain this kind of momentum.”

The projection didn’t answer Qi Shaoxuan. He just continued attacking wildly with his sword.

In the end, he seemed to feel that the sword was not violent enough. Thus, he just used his Purple Firmament Heaven Hammer to smash Qi Shaoxuan.

Golden divine light and lightning meshed together on the platform. For a moment there, Qi Shaoxuan was being forced back by Shen Tian’s vigorous attacks.

Even the purple aura around his armor had significantly darkened.

Meanwhile, the bullet screen around the platform was being refreshed rapidly.

“The God of War Pagoda is already giving him a second chance. But the Purple Mansion Saint still can’t make it!”

“The previous round’s excuse was that that brainless projection tricked him. But he is being directly suppressed in this round!”

“It looks like the Purple Mansion Saint is indeed not the Divine Firmament Saint’s match. I am not surprised. The Divine Firmament Saint’s battle prowess is indeed too strong.”

“Where is that Zi Shujing from the Purple Mansion Sacred Ground? Your Saint is losing. Aren’t you going to say something?”

“Thank you for asking about me. I am still at the God of War Pagoda and watching the fight on screen. Are you all dumb? Senior Brother Shaoxuan is clearly… keeping still because he wants to observe the situation first.

“The Divine Firmament Saint looks very forceful now, but this is just the final struggles of a dead man. He won’t remain smug for long.”

“He will be smashed the moment Senior Brother Shaoxuan begins his counterattack!”

…

Qi Shaoxuan was paying no heed to the bullet screen. He was focused entirely on Shen Tian.

Haha, Qi Shaoxuan admitted that Shen Tian’s speed was far greater than he expected.

This kind of attacking speed was beyond anyone of their level.

Nevertheless, battle prowess was not just about who was faster and more aggressive. Other angles had to be considered.

Under Shen Tian’s all-out attack, it looked like Qi Shaoxuan was being suppressed. But it was also a huge drain on Shen Tian’s powers.

It could be said that in this fierce exchange, Qi Shaoxuan had not expended even half of what Shen Tian had.

As long as he could maintain his current defenses and make Shen Tian continue to use up his energy, the final victor would definitely be Qi Shaoxuan!

You are just a brainless projection. You dare to compete against me with that level of intelligence?

What a joke!

Qi Shaoxuan took a deep breath. He focused all his attention on defending against Shen Tian’s attacks.

10 hammer strikes…

20 hammer strikes…

30 hammer strikes…

40 hammer strikes…

No, this can’t be right. This battle is not progressing as expected!

Qi Shaoxuan’s hands trembled intensely as he was forced backward step by step. He was nearly at the edge of the platform now.

His face turned indescribably grim. As the battle went on, he realized that he had made a fatal miscalculation.

He forgot to take into account that he had already expended a huge amount of energy when battling the Archer Zhu Ri, the Shadow Assassin Ying Lu, as well as the previous round with Shen Tian’s projection.

Even the paralyzing poison from the Divine Devouring Vine had also left its mark.

Thanks to the God of War Pagoda’s protective powers, Qi Shaoxuan hadn’t really died after losing the first time, but his current condition and recovery abilities were another matter.

As a result, Qi Shaoxuan’s energy levels were already at less than half his usual amount when fighting Shen Tian’s projection for the second time.

Under Shen Tian’s crazed attacks, Qi Shaoxuan had no time to recuperate.

If the battle continued in this manner, although Shen Tian’s projection was expending energy at a faster rate, Qi Shaoxuan’s tank would probably empty out first.

More importantly, Qi Shaoxuan’s mind was already on edge during this stressful battle.

The moment Qi Shaoxuan realized this fact, he was nearly at the end of his rope.

Meanwhile, Shen Tian’s ferocious attacks were still continuing!