Fast! So fast!
This sword attack, rushing towards him, was impossibly swift.
So fast it defied belief!
Even Vasili, who had only just registered the imminent danger, didn't have time to reset his mindset to caution and seriousness before the brilliant light of the Sword of Victory descended.
Clang!
Fortunately, Vasili had intended to strike down Lin Ran directly, so his twin blades were positioned in front of him, preventing him from being impaled by Lin Ran once more.
However, the force behind Lin Ran's sword was astonishingly great, especially since it caught Vasili completely off guard.
With this single blow, Vasili was slammed into the ground, halting his charging momentum.
Thud!
As Vasili's legs landed on the ground from mid-air, a thicker cloud of dust billowed up. The impact even made his knees tremble, almost forcing him to his knees.
Only then did Vasili react, his face etched with horror.
What kind of power was this for a human to possess?!
After all, Lin Ran had changed direction mid-air when he lunged at him.
This meant that Lin Ran had no solid footing to support his body and generate power.
This sword strike relied solely on his physical strength, or rather, the power generated by his wrists.
Yet, even with this, he was pinned to the ground with one sword against two blades…
He, who excelled in close-quarters combat, understood the immense value of such a feat.
Of course, what he didn't know was that Lin Ran, proficient in the Navy's Rokushiki, could flexibly change direction and generate power in mid-air through Sky Walk.
Furthermore, his mastery of Finger Gun allowed him to exert force in various peculiar stances, concentrating his power with exquisite precision.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to completely subdue Luo Qingyan in every exchange, causing her to softly beg for mercy.
"Haaa!"
Driven by immense fear, Vasili's fighting spirit flared with renewed intensity. Gripping his twin blades, he lunged forward.
Sharp, piercing energy erupted from the blades of both his swords.
However…
Lin Ran held two swords, and he had only used one so far!
At this moment, Lin Ran swung his other sword, the Sword of Curses, forward.
This time, however, Lin Ran did not opt for the same slashing motion.
In his view, if you were wielding dual weapons, constantly using them in the same direction was a waste of offensive potential!
Therefore, Lin Ran's second sword strike was a thrust.
Swish!
Vasili's gaze and attention were entirely captivated by the brilliant radiance of Lin Ran's Sword of Victory, which descended from above like a force cleaving mountains and rivers. He completely failed to notice this swift, agile, and unremarkable Sword of Curses.
Boom!
Hiss!
Two sounds, one large and one small, followed in quick succession. The smoke in front of them dissipated significantly with the ensuing clash.
The former sound was, naturally, the impact of Lin Ran's Sword of Victory.
The Sword of Victory, after being charged, unleashed a sword aura nearly twenty meters long.
It faced Vasili's twin blades without any fear, its sharpness even more pronounced.
Furthermore, with Lin Ran attacking and Vasili defending, this disparity was further amplified.
The other Sword of Curses, which Vasili had overlooked, once again pierced his body mercilessly, adding another cursed wound to his flesh.
The sudden, intense collision and the chilling wounds that pierced him caused Vasili to cry out in agony.
But in his current predicament, unable to free his hands, he could only desperately urge the Ice-Fire Divine Phoenix behind him to act.
Although the Ice-Fire Divine Phoenix was already weary, its master was clearly in a life-threatening crisis, compelling it to exert its full power to aid his escape.
Clang!
Amidst the soaring phoenix cry, the gradually fading phantom of the Ice-Fire Divine Phoenix suddenly solidified considerably.
The dissipating ice and fire energy swiftly and decisively enveloped Vasili's sides, forming a dual-elemental shield for him.
Simultaneously, Vasili himself recovered from the aftershock of the consecutive blows. He pushed off the ground with his toes, breaking free from the Sword of Curses, and retreated rapidly, creating a temporary distance from Lin Ran.
Yet, even after achieving this, the intense sense of danger in his mind had not dissipated; instead, it grew more terrifying and potent!
This…
Under Vasili's uncertain gaze, Lin Ran instantly vanished from his position.
Again?!
Was it behind him this time as well?!
Without the luxury of careful thought, Vasili quickly swung his right blade backward, attempting to block Lin Ran's potential attack.
However, to his great misfortune, Lin Ran appeared directly in front of his face this time.
Whoosh!
The Sword of Victory, already raised high, descended with unstoppable might, striking his shield and his left blade.
Vasili was no Lin Ran. He couldn't exert his full strength from such an awkward, contorted posture with his hands in a staggered position and his body twisted. He was once again swept away by Lin Ran.
Crack!
The dual-elemental shield, constructed by the Ice-Fire Divine Phoenix, immediately shattered, breaking into fragments and starlight.
Lin Ran's surging sword energy didn't stop there; it continued to surge forward, forcefully pushing Vasili back dozens of meters with his blade still held.
Ghost Shadow Flash!
And at this critical moment, when Vasili was exhausted and unstable, Lin Ran directly unleashed a skill attached to the Sword of Curses.
Squelch!!!
Accompanied by blood splattering into the air, Lin Ran's previous position in front of Vasili underwent a drastic change. Somehow, he had teleported tens of meters behind Vasili.
In other words, in that instant, Lin Ran's displacement exceeded a hundred meters!
And coincidentally, Vasili, positioned between Lin Ran's starting and ending points, seemed to have taken the brunt of two sword strikes during this process.
His chest now bore a cross-shaped scar from Lin Ran's attack.
One, a dark and chilling cursed wound with a faint bloody sheen, slashed from the upper left to the lower right;
The other, gleaming brightly and filled with the righteous energy of a divine blade punishing evil, cut from the upper right to the lower left.
The next moment, the blood gushing from his chest dyed Vasili's entire body red.
"Ugh!"
After spitting out another mouthful of blood, Vasili staggered and turned, his eyes fixed menacingly on Lin Ran's retreating back.
As the smoke cleared, the spectators and remaining contestants outside the arena could finally see the situation within the arena.