## AST 1686 - Battle, Five versus five

“Who among you makes decisions? I have something I wish to say.” The man in the lead spoke. His voice was extremely low but clear.

The Sunset Palace Mistress pushed Qing Shui lightly from behind, indicating that he should take a step forward. She wanted Qing Shui to step out on his own, and this also told the opponents that Qing Shui could make decisions.

Qing Shui helplessly smiled at their opponents, “There’s even a challenge letter issued already. I wonder if there’s anything else you need to say?”

“I hope that the battle this time around won’t implicate the innocent no matter who wins. I wonder what you think about this?” That man in the lead stared at Qing Shui as he spoke.

Upon hearing these words, Qing Shui knew that their opponents didn’t have complete confidence in their victory. To put it better, this man was more cautious. Qing Shui didn’t let down his guard, and after contemplating for a moment, he nodded, “That’s only natural.”

In fact, it was common for the winners to be king while the losers were vilified. No matter the agreement before the battle, once a party was defeated, even if the victorious side didn’t annihilate their opponents completely, they would also enforce some severe conditions.

In front of everyone as witnesses, making an open agreement might prove to be of some use. Because both the strengths of the Sunset Sea King Palace and Eastern Peak Dragonwolf Palace were the strongest here, no one else would dare to say anything.

“Okay, let us begin then!”

After speaking, the man instantly rushed up into the air. At the same time, the experts around him also lunged out. What surprised Qing Shui was that the opposing leader only mobilized five experts.

Qing Shui also sent out a total of five people. In this case, the number of experts were equal. Qing Shui was as calm as water, matching the strategy of his opponent. This was a kind of psychological battle.

Both parties stood in the air staring at each other; the battle would erupt at any instant.

Qing Shui activated the Phoenix Battle Intent, Battle God Halo, Heavenly Talisman and his other powers. It was only obvious when he used the Heavenly Talisman. When he activated the other augmentation effects, they weren’t too obvious.

Qing Shui took out his Golden Battle Halberd. He didn’t use the Diamond Staff as he could use its effect just by placing the staff in the Violet Jade Immortal Realm. At this moment, his opponent also took out his weapon.

Time flowed by. Qing Shui stared at the five opponents. They were using something that resembled a cross between sharp claws and swords, with the sharp point curled up in a hook.

Wuwu…

Suddenly, a low-sounding roar resounded, akin to a wolf and also a tiger.

Dragonwolf Cry!

Qing Shui knitted his brows.This was how the Dragonwolf Race raised their strength and morale. Although it wasn’t that heaven-defying, it was still a special technique.

Qing Shui shook his head slightly before his silhouette flashed, as he punched out with his right hand.

BOOM!

Right now, any casual strike by Qing Shui had the power to split apart mountains and rivers. The third palace master didn’t dare to casually block his attack. With a wave of his hand, the third palace master manifested a wall made of stone to defend against it.

Dragonwolves were proficient in the control of both the water and earth elements. Even with their powerful physiques, in addition to the water at the bottom of the sea, he still had no way to prevent his origin qi from exploding due to the impact.

The battle erupted. Muyun Qingge, the Sunset Palace Mistress, Old Jin and Old Mo all rushed out at the same instant. The one who struck first possessed the advantage and at the same time, their opponents also rushed over. However, their opponents were moving forward in extremely weird looking positions.

Dragonwolf Position!

Qing Shui already saw through it. The way these positions worked was something akin to a formation. This probably was a kind of inheritance power. Qing Shui’s eyes flickered with a hint of resolution as he smashed the Golden Battle Halberd in his hand towards the third palace master.

Paragon Strike!

Qing Shui was gambling. He wanted to see if he could kill his opponent. This was his ultimate killing technique and this was the first time it was unleashed so early in a battle.

Bang!

At the instant they exchanged blows, Qing Shui could see that his opponent’s face was filled with panic, but that panic still had not reached the level of true terror. At the moment of contact, Qing Shui felt that a vast majority of power had dissipated away.

Flower substituting wood!

The third palace master used his own killing technique. Everyday, he could only use a single instance of this skill ‘Flower substituting wood.’ He neutralised that ultimate killing strike from Qing Shui, so it was naturally an immensely powerful battle technique.

This ending was somewhat within Qing Shui’s expectations, but it also wasn’t. He did expect that this Paragon Strike might not be effective, but he didn’t expect that the power of his strike would be neutralized to such a large extent.

Nine Stances of the Ancient Divine Battle Technique!

The golden battle halberd in Qing Shui’s hand slanted at an angle and smashed once again towards the third palace master. At this moment, his comrades also found their respective opponents.

Qing Shui fought while he surveyed the commotion in the surroundings. The third palace master’s strength was the greatest among those who came today. However, when the two other old men fought together, their overall strength even exceeded the third palace master. Right now, the two old men were fighting against Muyun Qingge and the Sunset Palace Mistress.

The mutual understanding of the two women wasn’t simple either. Although it wouldn’t be easy for them to gain victory, they also wouldn’t be easily defeated.

Old Jin and Old Mo fought the other two remaining opponents. Their opponents didn’t look very conspicuous, but their defences were as stable as a mountain. Qing Shui discovered that the two opponents were struck by Old Jin and Old Mo’s attacks several times, but there was no effect at all. Simultaneously, although their attacks hit Old Jin several times, they couldn’t injure him either.

Old Jin was from the Diamond Immortal Turtle Race so he had an innately insanely high defence. Although Old Mo’s defense wasn’t as crazily high as Old Jin’s, as a black-scaled merman, his physique was among the strongest of the aquatic race. Hence, when these four fought together, it wouldn’t be so easy to determine who would be the victors.

The other battles would require quite some time before any party could gain victory. This should be the case if no unexpected things happened.

Hence, the crucial point would be the battle between Qing Shui and the third palace master. Whoever was victorious in this fight would be able to join the other battles, winning them all one by one.

Qing Shui’s Golden Battle Halberd stabbed out like a golden dragon, aiming for his opponent. At the same time, a golden beam of light suddenly shot out with extreme speed.

Golden Sword!

Dragonwolf Shield!

BANG!

A thunderous ear-splitting sound echoed out. Qing Shui discovered that this third palace master of the Dragonwolf Palace wasn’t simple at all. Although Qing Shui didn’t use Emperor’s Qi or the Art of Pursuing, he was still really surprised that this opponent could neutralize so many of his attacks.

Bloodthirsty Demonic Vines!

The Dragonwolf race were all proficient in dual elements of earth and water. Earth counters Water, and these two contradictory elements actually appeared in a single species. Despite the contradictory attributes, the Dragonwolf Race could easily fuse them. As Qing Shui fought, he gradually discovered that the physique of the Dragonwolf Race was of the Earth attribute.

Wood counters Earth!

Qing Shui’s demonic vines were absolutely terrifying. In addition to the countering effect, the third palace master’s legs went soft the moment he saw the vines and he hurriedly evaded as he cut a sorry figure.