Chapter 345
by fanqienovelChapter 345: Unhurt Against All Opponents? Mu Lin is Human, Not a God!
This attack didn’t involve any fancy techniques from Blood Cherry—she simply unleashed raw power and explosive speed.
But complexity doesn’t always mean superiority; sometimes simplicity reigns supreme.
Martial arts lore claims nothing withstands absolute speed, and brute force can overpower ten techniques.
Yan Yunyu now demonstrated pure strength and speed, making this straightforward approach terrifyingly effective.
Black Sword’s pupils contracted. Blood Cherry’s blinding speed and the reach of her blade left him no room to dodge—he could only block.
He raised his sword, and—
“Boom!”
A thunderous crash echoed as Blood Cherry’s strike launched him hundreds of meters backward.
Midair, he vomited blood. His sword-holding arms turned numb and throbbed like shattered bones.
“Impossible… How did Mu Lin make her this strong in three days?!”
The battered Black Sword reeled in disbelief.
To his senses, Blood Cherry’s cultivation barely reached the peak of Refining the Evil, with faint traces of Condensing Essence.
Yet her Dragon-blooded transformation catapulted her power and speed beyond Condensing Essence, straight into combining Essence and Evil.
Even among northern cultivators who started early, few eighteen-year-olds reached such heights.
Black Sword, unfortunately, wasn’t one of them.
“Cough…”
Before he could dwell on Blood Cherry’s superlative burst of power, she closed in—
“Boom!”
Cloaked in blood-red lightning, she charged like a runaway locomotive, her thirteen-meter Slaughtering Blade swinging downward with mountain-splitting force.
“Crash!”
The overhead strike hammered Black Sword into the arena floor.
“Bang!”
The impact cratered the solid platform. Black Sword lay crumpled in the pit, barely conscious.
Yet northern aristocrats thrived on grit. Instead of surrendering, his severe injuries ignited desperation.
“Black Sword, release… Deathly Spirit!”
Roaring, his death aura coalesced into a black energy-wreathed half-body spirit.
Through the eyes attached to Blood Cherry and his grasp of curse techniques, Mu Lin made a startling discovery:
The Deathly Spirit’s strength directly correlated with Black Sword’s injuries—the closer to death, the more powerful it became.
“Was it possible that being half-dead unleashed power, while nearing death triggered total eruption? Such forbidden power actually exists?”
The black sword’s ability left Mu Lin speechless, yet he admitted it was a sneaky tactic.
Who’d expect an enemy to grow more dangerous as they approached death?
Since Mu Lin hadn’t warned her, Blood Cherry remained oblivious.
“Pointless. With Mu Lin’s bestowed power, I’m strong now!”
“Boom!”
After muttering, the Dragon-blooded Blood Cherry transformed into blood-red lightning again, hurtling toward the black sword.
“Victory!”
Blood Cherry’s descending slash seemed unstoppable—divine punishment incarnate. Meanwhile, the black sword could barely stand, thrilling the southern aristocrats.
The northern aristocrats also cheered.
Others didn’t know, but these northerners understood the Deathly Spirit’s lethality.
Nearer to death meant greater strength. Even against stronger foes, the black sword could counterattack if they were unprepared.
Blood Cherry was precisely such an unprepared opponent.
The next scene boosted their confidence further.
Facing Blood Cherry’s third strike, the black sword didn’t defend with the Deathly Spirit. Instead, he commanded the half-formed spirit to charge at Yan Yunyu—trading injury for injury, blood for blood.
True to the Deathly Spirit’s nature, “Boom!” When the host faced death, the aura of death around the spirit condensed into black flames.
Those flames, filled with Death Energy, made Blood Cherry shudder. Yet she didn’t retreat as hoped. Her long knife kept slashing downward.
“Whoosh!”
Neither side yielded. The black-flamed long sword and blood-red lightning blade crossed paths—then struck their targets instantly.
“Boom!”
Undefended, the black sword’s fragile body couldn’t withstand the Dragon-blooded’s might. His form and spirit vanished under the blood-red blade.
Mu Lin gaped.
“Are they insane? This is just a match! They’re risking mutual destruction?”
The black sword’s audacity stunned him. He’d never expected such refusal to retreat.
This ferocity explained why the southern talents kept losing. Southern cultivators treated it as a competition.
Their northern rivals fought with life-and-death resolve. Different mindsets, different results.
As Mu Lin pondered, the black sword’s dark-flamed blade sliced into Blood Cherry.
“Riiip…”
At first, that sword failed to breach Blood Cherry’s defenses.
Unlike Yan Yunyu, Blood Cherry did not select blood evil, Seven Stars calamity, or Mars evil to boost her offensive power.
She chose the Central Earth Evil, same as Mu Lin.
This Unchanging characteristic hardened her defenses, stabilized her genes, and strengthened her foundation.
After merging with the Crimson Holy Grail to gain transformation abilities, Blood Cherry faced hidden risks.
As a human, frequent shifts into demonic creatures risked genetic corruption and collapse.
Transforming into multiple different demonic forms further increased this danger.
By merging with the Central Earth Evil, its Unchanging nature anchored her genetic foundation.
Now this evil energy maintained her body’s Unchanging state. Even the black sword’s devastating Death Energy attacks couldn’t easily penetrate her defenses.
This stemmed from Blood Cherry possessing seven times more evil energy than typical geniuses – combining her Refined evil energy with that from her divine status.
Bigger meant stronger. More meant tougher.
Her colossal size granted overwhelming power, while massive evil energy reserves made her defenses impregnable.
This explained her confidence in ignoring incoming attacks.
Yet Blood Cherry hadn’t anticipated how Deathly Spirit’s power related to death itself.
The closer to death, the stronger Deathly Spirit became. Near-death let black sword fight above his tier. Actual death boosted Deathly Spirit’s power another level entirely.
"Shiiiing!"
Overflowing Death Energy ignited death flames around Deathly Spirit. The terrifying strike instantly destroyed Blood Cherry’s defenses and struck true.
"Crunch."
Neither Central Earth Evil, dragon scales, tough flesh, nor sturdy bones offered meaningful resistance.
The blade pierced everything, burying deep in Blood Cherry’s torso.
Only her transformed massive body prevented complete impalement – otherwise, she’d have been split in two.
Even so, her injuries proved catastrophic.
A meters-long gash reached internal organs. No one doubted this wound could kill instantly.
Mutual destruction? More like one dead, one maimed – this battle’s final result.
Watching Deathly Spirit fade and black sword vanish, Blood Cherry sighed: "Why go so far? This was a match, not a Killing. No need for life-risking tactics."
The dissipating Deathly Spirit smiled with relief.
"For me… this isn’t bad…"
Seeing black sword’s liberated expression, recalling his desperate tactics and eerie forbidden power, Mu Lin pieced things together.
"Forbidden power grants great strength, but torments like bone maggots. Endless suffering drives many northern aristocrats to self-destruction. They don’t fear death – they welcome it as relief from agony."
While Mu Lin pondered, the southern aristocrats watched with pained sighs.
“Here we go again! This is a match, not a war! Why do you always fight like crazed maniacs?”
“It’s not cowardice—dying in these pointless internal clashes isn’t worth it for us humans…”
“We’d lose even against equals! Who wouldn’t fall to these lunatics…”
If combatants were evenly matched yet fearful, Black Sword might’ve turned the tables earlier.
Had Blood Cherry retreated from that thrust, she’d have lost momentum to Black Sword’s counterattack.
Had Black Sword kept fighting cautiously without risking death, Blood Cherry couldn’t have prevailed against equal skill.
Yet Black Sword miscalculated—Blood Cherry arrogantly took the hit head-on, relying on her monstrous defense.
Though Black Sword did strike back immediately.
Southern aristocrats clucked tongues at Blood Cherry’s wounds.
“Pity. She’s strong, but that strike finished her…”
“Losing’s disastrous, winning’s painful—why I avoid fighting these madmen… Wait?!!”
“Hold on—what’s…”
…
Black Sword’s death darkened northern aristocrats’ moods.
But years of life-or-death battles hardened their acceptance.
Black Sword gambled first—blocking would’ve left him wounded but alive.
He bet… and lost. Northerners didn’t whine about revenge.
Like southerners, they assumed Blood Cherry was done.
Then came the arena’s unusual change.
“Hmm…”
Blood light flashed. Blood Cherry’s flesh squirmed alive, mending wounds visibly.
“Top-tier strength, speed, defense… and regeneration? She’s become a true powerful being.”
“Useless. Black Sword’s injuries can’t heal easily.”
Northern aristocrat Qing scoffed. Blood Cherry’s wounds promptly tore open again.
Death Energy rotted her regenerated flesh to ash—a sight making Southern Prodigies wince in familiar dread.
Dragon Clan, Tiger Tribe, Feather Tribe observers also frowned.
“Now I see why southerners keep losing,” someone muttered. “Northerners’ forbidden powers are too vicious.”
White Deer and Celestial Fox Tu Su from Demon Race declared:
“Mu Lin will lose. Even victories leave uncurable wounds—he’ll collapse after few fights.”
Nods spread through crowd. Southern aristocrats hadn’t invited Demon Race to spectate—if Mu Lin fell, they’d be next.
Northerners’ lethal tactics unsettled even demons.
Amid worried murmurs, a voice interrupted:
“Mu Lin can win. No injuries mean no cumulative damage.”
“Impossible!” White Deer retorted. “Northerners have forbidden power and experience. He’s human, not god!”
All turned to see speaker—Black Fierce Tiger, a Demon Race leader.
‘???’
‘Since when does steady Black King’s heir spout nonsense?’
While others hesitated, White Tiger Li Jingjing challenged:
“Black Tiger! Can YOU defeat northerners unscathed?”
“I cannot…”
“At least you’re not delusional…”
Her smirk died as he continued:
“…but Mu Lin might. Underestimate him at your peril—he’s stronger than any imagine!”
“?!!”