Chapter 230, That’s a Stand Attack!

Translator: Tamon

 

The crowd felt the ground shake, then all went hazy.

 

Turning back to the two on the stage, their places were changed. Ai Changyuan stood behind Wang Qi, grinning like a winner. As for Wang Qi, he took two hurried steps back. His sleeve was ruined and ears got damaged.

 

[What just happened?]

 

They all looked blankly.

 

How did Ai Changyuan attack? And when? Why did no one see it? Just what was going on out there?

 

The crowd of freshmen was taken by a sudden chill and shivered.

 

[This is a true gap in power!]

 

The last move was enough to finish off dozens of Qi Refining cultivators.

 

“Wha…”

 

“No way…”

 

The freshmen weren’t the only ones perturbed. A certain ten thousand-year-old re-, Great Ascension cultivator felt the same dread.

 

A dread born out of experience.

 

He had spent his past days peeking at the freshmen’s fights with his spiritual sense so he could turn his ancient arts into modern ones when he finally got a body. The Immortal Alliance’s people turned a blind eye to his actions.

 

No Qi Refining refreshment could ever match his spiritual sense as it spread wider and wider. But just now, it twisted.

 

He knew what that was.

 

The power of cosmic light.

 

It was even more arcane than that Universe’s Void, and only peak cultivators bore within this mighty cosmic light. Only a Unity Integration back in the day could even hope to grasp it.

 

While Ai Changyuan’s cosmic light affected a foot around himself and only lasted a fraction, not enough to affect the other’s time perception, a cosmic light was a cosmic light!

 

[Are today’s cultivators that monstrous?]

 

The same skill thought to be divine back in his day, ten thousand years back, was now reduced to a mere Qi Refining cultivator’s trick?

 

[Madness…]

 

“Madness…” Wang Qi was in agreement on that.

 

He was this close to losing back there.

 

Nevertheless, his eyes lit up, like a child getting a fresh new toy to play with. Even his words betrayed his joy. “Nice one!”

 

Ai Changyuan’s bright smile cracked. With his pride and self-confidence so high, he despised anyone seeing him as nothing more than a ‘nuveau immortal’ relying on his ancestors’ legacy to reach this level. Hence Wang Qi’s praise was akin to being spat in the face.

 

Wang Qi was clueless of his grave transgression. “By converging the gravity’s force and unleashing it around you, the space warped and formed an empty universe…wait. Your strength isn’t enough to seal the entire curved surface. And due to all that power focused in one area, the part of your gravity collapse when I touched it did so without releasing tidal forces.” He pointed at his bleeding ear. “If it were the normal Universal Pull, I’d have a stroke and die. Then again, the normal Universal Pull has no way of coming in contact with me—to use mighty gravity to trigger a cosmic light expansion and affect time perception; only a genius could come up with it!”

 

Ai Changyuan’s heart skipped. “To see through its nature, you’re really extraordinary. If I give you any more time, you’ll soon come up with something equally dangerous. A shame you already lost. Cosmic light expansion is no illusion, but using time itself to trick you. Relying on time perception will never get you to figure out its rhythm.”

 

Wang Qi raised his blade in a striking stance. “Never planned to.”

 

“Why?”

 

Wang Qi smiled, “Didn’t I tell you? Your eyes deceive you, your ears deceive you, your thoughts deceives you—and now time perception as well—but math remains ever true.”

 

“Nice reply!” Ai Changyuan shouted and extended his arms, ready to draw circles again.

 

Wang Qi’s left flicked, sending three lights at Ai Changyuan from within.

 

[He even has secret weapons?]

 

Those who had seen Wang Qi’s fights, and especially his friends, all gasped. [He was pulling his punches all this time?]

 

The three lights entered the twisted area of space, and Ai Changyuan halted his spinning, shocked as he crushed the scraps of paper in his hands.

 

Wang Qi was just as shocked. But he was quick to react while the other didn’t finish drawing all the gravity, slashing away. Ai Changyuan shed the baffled expression as he resumed grasping control over the gravity field and directing the blade’s energy away.

 

The crowd looked on in bafflement. Why would Wang Qi toss the three papers like secret weapons? Why would the other stop for some pieces of paper?

 

Bernoulli Xiaoya was the quickest to react. “It’s the same tactic from six months ago—ha-ha, but Ai Changyuan is no easy target. Wang Qi, to think you’re so foolish.”

 

By watching the paper’s movement, one could determine the gravitational field’s parameters, the tactic Wang Qi used that proved crucial in defeating Ai Changyuan in the martial examination back in December.

 

But Ai Changyuan was backed by Newton’s apple, grasping and manipulating the celestial body’s gravity nearly on par with a Foundation Establishment’s control. What’s more, his palm art used gravity fields to make the situation even more complex to unravel through math.

 

Wang Qi looked down. He jumped back, keeping his distance from the warping ball of light. As he fled, he took out a bamboo tube from his sleeve and repeated his trick of throwing three pieces of paper. Thanks to his inner strength powering them, the papers tore through the tube and flew at Ai Changyuan’s sphere.

 

Wu Shiqin asked, puzzled, “What is it this time?”

 

Mao Zimiao lit up. “The bamboo has brine—it’s an experiment, nya!”

 

The now soaked papers in brine weren’t like the dry ones. Wang Qi had long since determined both paper types’ mass, proving an effective proxy in determining the gravity field’s true shape.

 

To everyone’s shock, Ai Changyuan stopped once more. It might’ve been but a fraction of a second, but that stumped and goony expression Ai Changyuan had as he crushed the three brine-soaked papers didn’t escape Wang Qi’s sight.

 

“Eh? Now why did he stop twice?” Wang Qi’s foot was quick in getting him out of Ai Changyuan’s second attack’s range. The same hazy view was before him, with Ai Changyuan flashing before him.

 

Looking at the reappeared Ai Changyuan, Wang Qi was struck by inspiration. “Dude, I say, is your expression meant to look down on me?”

 

Ai Changyuan smiled. “Heh, was I too obvious?”

 

[Heh your rear! Shit, here I was thinking it was Revolving Heaven from a certain popular manga combined with a charge attack…and yet… and yet… there’s no line of sight in this space. It’s actually Cream’s skill from another manga!](Tamon: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure reference.)

 

[This is a Stand attack!]