Chapter 169, No Longer at an Advantage

Translator: Tamon

 

After one exchange, Wang Qi was put on the spot.

 

Hu Jianghao was a cut above in magical arts, but also in martial arts. Compared to most cultivators on the same level who only got familiar with weapons, he went a step further.

 

Wang Qi was in the air as the whip circled to pin him down while the other six weapons surrounded him.

 

It didn’t phase Wang Qi at all. He was as still as a clear lake. He flexed his waist and slipped out of the whip’s reach.

 

[The hell? Soft Bone Art? No, his body didn’t change at all.]

 

Hu Jianghao was looking bleak as his clones struck faster.

 

Wang Qi twisted left and right in mid-air as Hu Jianghao’s attacks flew over Wang Qi’s body, and yet there was not a scratch on him as he landed.

 

[What’s going on?] Hu Jianghao was wide-eyed, and disregarded the danger as he spoke with his main body, “What art was that?”

 

“One Not One.” Wang Qi pushed the ground with one hand, while he used the other to swing the blade behind. Like mercury, the sword wave blocked Hu Jianghao’s attack.

 

One Not One, in Earth’s terms, was 1=0.(9).

 

The equation was absurd, but Earth’s modern math’s most crucial discovery was limit.

 

One Not One implemented in magical arts translated as hard to hit. Unless Hu Jianghao landed a true and solid blow, any and all non finishers would slip right over Wang Qi’s skin.

 

The only proven way to break it was through sheer absolute power.

 

The move included spacial changes, a powerful magical art only learned in the Myriad Arts Sect at the Foundation Establishment Realm. But Wang Qi built a fractal in his soul while also combining it with Heavenly Position Axis through the countless cycles he went through as he cultivated. This brought about this art.

 

It was all tied to his incredible math skills, of course. If any other cultivator built a fractal in their soul, that didn’t mean they could pull off such an abstruse magical art without knowledge of limits.

 

Hu Jianghao was good with his numbers and had a concept of what was happening, but he wouldn’t give up anytime soon. Wang Qi was strong, making him try even harder to beat.

 

With Hu Jianghao’s howl, the six other him no longer covered for the real one and attacked.

 

The seven weapon users interlocked their attacks to make any escape impossible. The Heavenly Light Transmutation-made weapons turned quantity into quality as they left afterimages in pursuit of Wang Qi.

 

Wang Qi relied on the bizarre Shifting Step, undetermined and peculiar, to wave through the attacks. He was a dingy amidst a raging storm, always swaying but never capsizing.

 

[Against any storm, I’m at ease.]

 

Hu Jianghao’s response was simple.

 

More and more power.

 

Faster and faster strikes.

 

[My math isn’t as good as yours. I can’t break your Shifting Heavens Formula, but as long as I have enough speed and power, I’ll cover all exits.]

 

It was a dumb tactic, but one that worked even against Elusory Movement, a cut above Shifting Step.

 

Wang Qi was finding himself with less and less leeway to dodge and his eyes closed more and more as his movements became smaller.

 

Giving up?

 

No.

 

Wang Qi’s sight grew distant, so much so it would suck in anyone who gazed into his eyes.

 

Divine Hexagram Computation and Book of Geometry worked together, a sign he was using all his computing power.

 

Hu Jianghao was too absorbed in attacking to notice. Off the arena, many of the onlookers drawn by the fight cried out, “Look! H-he’s fighting with his eyes closed!”

 

Wang Qi was never one to take a beating. He had been dodging all this time while using all his calculating power to figure out the trick to Hu Jianghao’s skills and formation.

 

He didn’t recognize the tactics and arts Hu Jianghao used, but outside of cultivation, he had analyzed countless ancient sword arts from Zhen Chanzi and the Immortal Institute’s library.

 

Unless it was something truly advanced like Myriad Arts Sect’s arts that incorporated multi-dimensional movements or fractal dimensions, or like that Ethereal Cloud Sword based on quantum physics, anything under the sun was ripe for Wang Qi to unravel.

 

One art to break them all!

 

Then he struck.

 

A streak of sword wave appeared in the formation. Compared to Hu Jianghao’s flashy formation, this light was faint, albeit smooth and firm, even focused into a single point.

 

The blade slashed at Hu Jianghao’s main body. His heart seized and used Immortal Institute’s standard longsword to block out of reflex.

 

With a clang, it broke in two.

 

Hu Jianghao was shocked to the core. He knew that Grand Ripple Enigma was outrageous, but he had never thought it would be to this degree! Cultivators on the same level would break at first contact. His Heavenly Light Transmutation couldn’t keep up.

 

However, this was far from over. It was the start of Wang Qi’s counterattack.

 

Wang Qi’s blade waves were unleashed, with each one firm and stable, like a flowing water. However, their path was relentless and undeniable.

 

White Marsh True Array Divider. If one art broke them all, then this one broke all formations and arrays.

 

As Wang Qi unleashed his skill, Hu Jianghao knew he lost.

 

Any Myriad Arts Sect cultivator that glimpsed his skills would soon calculate countless solutions to break them.

 

He didn’t want to give up!

 

If he failed here and now, what right did he have to get his classmates to follow him?

 

Hu Jianghao jumped back, leaving his six look-alikes to charge.

 

Hotter than fire, and sharper than the wind, the light was brilliant as it advanced.

 

“Oh no! He’s planning on going down together!” A sharp Argent Apex disciple cried out Hu Jianghao’s plan. This drew countless eyes over.

 

But all they saw was a blinding flash of yellow and red.

 

Hu Jianghao detonated the Solar Flare clones!