Baili Xiao cultivated the Holy Sky Codex, a technique left behind by Grand Empress Hongtian. As a sacred light shimmered on the sword in her hand, strands of purifying brilliance descended from the heavens, enveloping her entire body.
A sharp glint flashed in her eyes. Dressed in flowing white, she emanated an awe-inspiring aura that surged endlessly.
She stepped back half a pace with her right leg, slightly bent her right arm, and charged straight toward Xu Zimo.
Her long sword sliced through the air, leaving behind visible white streaks as a piercing sword cry echoed across the skies.
Xu Zimo chuckled lightly. He unsheathed Shadow Tyrant, and blazing flames engulfed the curved blade. The air around the sword distorted with heat, giving off waves of white smoke.
Blade and sword collided, sparks burst in every direction as a chilling killing intent filled the space between them.
With another grin, Xu Zimo slashed forward with a burst of flame. Baili Xiao was forced back three to four steps.
Her eyes narrowed. Sacred light converged around her sword, transforming into the shape of a white cloud.
Clouds swirling and drifting, it felt as though the very laws of creation dwelled within.
She slashed fiercely. The cloud dispersed like drifting time, and she softly murmured, “Cloud Shatter.”
As the glowing sword light shattered before him, Xu Zimo gave a small laugh.
He lifted Shadow Tyrant. A subtle but commanding force spread from his body. With a low growl, he declared,
“Nineteen Forms of Dao-Seeking. Third Form: Hundred Battles, Never Broken.”
The broken clouds sparkled with divine radiance as they clashed with his blade. Yet Xu Zimo stood still, unmoved, calmly watching Baili Xiao.
“Sky Rend!” Her eyes focused sharply. She raised her sword again, and the sacred aura shifted. The air around her rippled and split.
Every space her sword passed through cracked and shattered.
“Nineteen Forms of Dao-Seeking. Fourth Form: Rising Against the Current.”
As though a celestial river poured from beyond the heavens, Xu Zimo’s blade surged upward against the current. The sword aura that could rend space itself had no effect, it simply parted around his strike.
Baili Xiao shouted again. In that moment, everything went black.
Within the darkness, a single glimmer of dawn approached, swift as lightning, appearing in front of Xu Zimo in just a breath.
“Nineteen Forms of Dao-Seeking Fifth Form: Windstorm Rises!”
A storm of wind howled across the arena. Seeds sprouted, broke through the earth, shattered the darkness, it was a tempest in which all things were but drifting leaves.
Baili Xiao flashed, a gust of wind underfoot. She was suddenly behind Xu Zimo.
She raised her sword overhead. A full moon rose behind her, casting down vast radiance. With overwhelming momentum, the moonlight crashed toward Xu Zimo.
“Nineteen Forms of Dao-Seeking Sixth Form: Blade of Slaughter.”
Without turning his head, Xu Zimo slashed. A surge of blood energy swept forth. The crimson blade pierced the moon.
“Boring,” Xu Zimo muttered, shaking his head.
He then unleashed Nineteen Forms of Dao-Seeking, Seventh Form: Draconic Storm.
The storm kicked up a massive dust cloud. A dragon’s roar shook heaven and earth.
Baili Xiao cried out. Her face changed. Her sacred light surged, and she darted away at incredible speed.
But the dust storm condensed into the form of a massive dragon. With a roar, it lunged straight toward her.
The storm crashed into her back. She let out a grunt as she was flung heavily to the ground.
She quickly stood up, her expression solemn as she stared at Xu Zimo.
“Use whatever tricks you’ve got left,” Xu Zimo smiled. “What about your Soaring Immortal Physique? Why aren’t you using it?”
With a cold snort, Baili Xiao’s body suddenly flashed with white light.
It was a dazzling brilliance that seemed to outshine all things. The light surged into the sky, painting the entire heavens in pure white.
A shadow, as though crossing nine heavens and ten earths, broke through space and time, descending to merge with Baili Xiao.
An unimaginably powerful aura coiled around her.
Her long hair turned snow white. Her skin, her pupils, everything became white.
She stood like an ice sculpture. And when she opened her eyes, those eyes, cold and sharp, sent a chill through everyone watching.
She lifted her right hand slowly. The motion looked ordinary, so slow it seemed anyone could dodge it.
But on the opposite side, Xu Zimo’s shoulder suddenly jerked back as though struck. He staggered two or three steps.
The crowd was stunned.
“So this is the speed of the Soaring Immortal Physique,” someone murmured. “Ranked seventh among the Hundred Battle Physiques, no wonder.”
“Senior Brother Xu is strong, but he still can’t match Senior Sister Baili,” a disciple said, regretfully.
The cheers from below thundered in unison, roaring like a crashing wave.
Xu Zimo closed his eyes. Spiritforce surged around him.
Time and space twisted and fractured. Chaotic currents swirled about him.
As he radiated a faint blue glow, the shattered space around him began to heal.
A meter around him, the space fully restored, glowing faintly with that same blue light.
Xu Zimo opened his eyes. A blue gleam flickered within.
“Nineteen Forms of Dao-Seeking. Eighth Form: Deepblue World,” he whispered.
This technique had been inspired by him carefully observing the destruction of a minor hidden realm in his previous life. He created it afterward.
In this life, he had gone further, creating a True Fate World of his own. His understanding of worlds, space-time and their control had grown even deeper.
Baili Xiao snorted coldly and attacked again.
She was fast, so fast that she seemed to vanish.
To ordinary eyes, she had disappeared completely from the arena.
A crisp sound rang out.
Her blade had been blocked by Shadow Tyrant.
Everyone looked up to see that Baili Xiao was already behind Xu Zimo.
But what shocked them most, he blocked it.
Her expression shifted. She stabbed again.
This time, the sword appeared beside Xu Zimo.
Another clash. Sparks flew from the blade and knife. Xu Zimo remained calm.
“It’s useless,” he said. “In my Deepblue World, I am the ruler.”
Baili Xiao retreated a few steps. Her white clothes fluttered in the wind. With her snow-white hair, she stared deeply at Xu Zimo.
She hadn't expected that her greatest strength, speed, would be completely neutralized.
“If that’s all you’ve got,” Xu Zimo smiled, “then it’s my turn.”
Within his Deepblue World, he controlled both space and time. No matter how fast Baili Xiao moved, she couldn’t escape his gaze.