King of Creation Chapter 1717 - 1702: Breaking the Tiger Soul

"Second brother!"

The First Deputy Hall Master, Ba’erlong, cried out in alarm upon witnessing Ba’erhu’s right arm being severed.

A wave of gasps and sharp intakes of breath, like a roaring tide, swept through the room!

Among the one hundred and fifty thousand priests observing from the Barbarian Spirit Hall, it was widely believed that Ye Zhen, the Left Chief Priest, faced a virtually insurmountable strength disparity and was destined to lose.

Even the remaining ten percent of spectators mostly assumed Ye Zhen possessed some hidden trump card or a means of self-preservation, thus avoiding a complete humiliation.

However, no one had anticipated Ye Zhen not only winning but doing so with such swift and overwhelming decisiveness.

Consequently, the collective sharp inhales from tens of thousands of priests were far from an exaggeration.

Even Princess Changle showed a flicker of surprise, clearly taken aback by Ye Zhen's rapid and conclusive victory.

The reason for this unexpected outcome was attributed to the two Acquired Spirit Treasures Ye Zhen wielded.

One of these treasures, the Thunder Light Whip, possessed the ability to unleash Evil Punishing Divine Thunder, an artifact of a caliber almost matching high-grade postnatal spiritual treasures.

Nevertheless, its power paled in comparison to Ye Zhen’s Purple Spirit Immortal Sword.

While the Evil Punishing Divine Thunder from the Thunder Light Whip could inflict severe injury upon Ba’erhu, it was no match for the extraordinary might of the Purple Spirit Immortal Sword.

Ba’erhu was a master of the Arrow Path, excelling not only in ranged engagements but also formidable in close-quarters combat.

His formidable great bow, when employed in melee, proved exceptionally deadly.

Crafted from exceptionally robust material, the great bow boasted the resilience of a high-grade Suppressing Device. Under normal circumstances, Ba’erhu’s great bow could withstand multiple onslaughts from the Purple Spirit Immortal Sword.

Had this been the case, he would not have suffered the amputation of his arm from merely a single sword strike.

However, the Purple Spirit residing within the Purple Spirit Immortal Sword represented an unparalleled anomaly.

Its mastery of the sword Dao was profoundly enigmatic.

As long as Ye Zhen held the Purple Spirit Immortal Sword, a torrent of intricate and mysterious sword Dao techniques flooded his mind.

He could effortlessly execute deadly sword Dao maneuvers.

With the Purple Spirit integrated into the Purple Spirit Immortal Sword, it appeared as a fusion of a supreme weapon and an elite swordsman!

A seemingly casual swing initially manifested the illusory, causing Ba’erhu’s Spirit Arrow to disintegrate, and then, at the pivotal moment, solidified into reality, delivering a devastating blow with a solitary sword.

In truth, according to Purple Spirit’s assessment, this particular sword technique was slower by three fractions because Ye Zhen, as the wielder, was the primary controlling entity, as opposed to Purple Spirit executing it directly.

Had Ye Zhen allowed Purple Spirit to take direct control earlier, it was plausible that the preceding strike might have decapitated Ba’erhu.

While Ba’erlong’s surprise echoed and the assembled priests gasped in astonishment, the contest within the Martial Arts Arena raged on.

The resplendent purple light emanating from Ye Zhen’s Purple Spirit Immortal Sword, having severed Ba’erhu’s right arm and a portion of his shoulder, flashed once more, this time aimed at Ba’erhu’s waist.

Ba’erhu indeed possessed a ferocious spirit befitting the Second Deputy Hall Master of the Barbarian Spirit Hall; his practical combat experience was exceptionally deep.

Enduring the searing agony from his severed right shoulder, he recognized the dire turn of events.

Compounding his predicament, his right hand had been gripping his bow, and with the amputation of his arm, the great bow tumbled from his grasp onto the ground.

Without immediate counter-measures, his life might have been extinguished right then and there.

In a flash, his eyes turned crimson, resembling those of a ferocious tiger. He violently turned his head and expelled a blast of Spirit Light towards the spurt of blood and mist erupting from his right shoulder.

Utilizing his remaining left hand, he swiftly executed over a dozen distinct and intricate hand seals in mere moments.

As these hand seals coalesced with the blood spray propelled by the Spirit Light, the gushing blood from Ba’erhu’s shoulder abruptly morphed into a ferocious blood-red tiger!

Roar!

With a guttural roar, the blood tiger dramatically expanded to a colossal size, exceeding ten meters across, and swiftly launched itself towards the Purple Spirit Immortal Sword!

Its cavernous maw opened wide, unleashing a barrage of nearly a hundred blood arrows directly at Ye Zhen.

Almost concurrently with the blood tiger expelling the blood arrows, Ba’erhu’s complexion turned ashen, stark white.

Nonetheless, Ba’erhu's desperate, near-suicidal maneuver succeeded in buying him a crucial moment in time.

Undeniably, Ba’erhu stood no chance against the Purple Spirit Immortal Sword, let alone the monstrous blood tiger.

However, Ye Zhen detected an intensely noxious and malevolent Evil Qi emanating from both the blood tiger and the accompanying blood arrows.

This oppressive Evil Qi possessed the capacity to significantly corrupt the spiritual essence of treasured artifacts.

Ye Zhen hesitated to gamble with the Purple Spirit Immortal Sword's essence.

The Sword Light rapidly withdrew, and from his fingertips, several clusters of Heavenly Thunder Fire erupted, instantly reducing the blood tiger and blood arrows to mere ash.

The Sword Light of the Purple Spirit Immortal Sword then unfurled and once again slashed towards Ba’erhu.

This particular sword strike from Ye Zhen lacked any ostentatious techniques; it was a straightforward, unadorned stab, and its speed was not as blistering as before.

This was how the sword's movement appeared to onlookers.

However, to Ba’erhu, the intended target, the sword strike felt utterly terrifying.

The Sword Light, which seemed slow yet was deceptively swift, gave Ba’erhu the sensation of being unable to evade it.

Regardless of the body skill techniques Ba’erhu employed, he found himself incapable of dodging this strike, leaving him no recourse but to face it directly.

Consequently, the brief interval Ba’erhu gained by employing the Blood Tiger Curse Technique wasn't solely for stemming his bleeding with Spiritual Power, but also to retrieve his Tiger Soul Giant Bow into his right hand.

In the subsequent moment, Ba’erhu let out a furious roar, his Tiger Soul Giant Bow now in hand, and a fierce, peerless Killing Qi radiated outwards.

The massive bow in his grip was swung towards Ye Zhen's Purple Spirit Immortal Sword like a blade capable of cleaving mountains, utterly devoid of finesse!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Every collision between sword and bow unleashed a colossal shockwave of spiritual power, sending undulations across the guardian light screen of the martial arts arena like ripples on water.

Ba’erhu's formidable might was on full display at that juncture.

Even with the loss of an arm, wielding the bow as a blade with his remaining hand, he managed to parry Ye Zhen's six sword strikes without yielding!

No matter how arcane Ye Zhen's sword light was, it was systematically nullified.

In fact, he even seemed to possess a slight upper hand.

Each thrust or jab with the bow's handle compelled Ye Zhen to step back, be it half a step or even several steps.

It was an unavoidable circumstance; Ba’erhu's cultivation realm was undeniable. Were it not for the innate, almost instinctual mysterious sword techniques empowered by the Purple Spirit, Ye Zhen would have been forced to retreat even further.

Nevertheless, Ye Zhen let out a shout of exhilaration!

This was not born from the thrill of combat.

Instead, it stemmed from the profound joy of advancing along the Dao of the sword, progressing daily at an astonishing pace.

While the sword maneuvers had been mystifying previously, they were entirely guided by the Purple Spirit's divine sense and sword intent. Due to the disparity in sword Dao understanding, even with the Purple Spirit's tutelage, the potency of Ye Zhen's executed sword moves remained somewhat lacking.

But during these intense exchanges with Ba’erhu, despite each alteration in move being directed by the Purple Spirit's divine sense and sword intent.

The constant immersion in actual combat allowed Ye Zhen to achieve a true grasp of every sword move's transformation, as imparted by the Purple Spirit.

Aspects that were once opaque became instantly lucid.

Ye Zhen was confident that if this momentum continued, his prowess in the sword Dao could experience a substantial leap in a brief period.

One path traversing all others.

As his sword Dao improved, Ye Zhen's reactive vision and combat strength would undergo a complete metamorphosis.

With the same inherent strength, a greater degree of combat power could be unleashed.

However, it was only after the sixth strike that the disparity between the acquired spirit treasure and the high-grade suppressing artifact became apparent.

With each close-quarters collision, although Ba’erhu managed to force Ye Zhen back a step or half a step, each impact inflicted a crack upon Ba’erhu's colossal bow.

Even more chilling for Ba’erhu was the fact that each of Ye Zhen's seemingly disadvantageous strikes landed precisely on the existing fissure from the prior impact.

Following six strikes, Ba’erhu's Tiger Soul Giant Bow already bore a significant crack.

It was estimated that one or two more decisive blows would shatter his Tiger Soul Giant Bow.

Ba’erhu's heart felt as if it were on the verge of breaking.

The artifact spirit of the Tiger Soul Giant Bow had been nurtured from his youth, accompanying him through countless perilous battles, akin to his own limbs.

Should the Tiger Soul Giant Bow be destroyed, it would be tantamount to Ye Zhen severing another of his arms.

Yet, the predicament was that he had no viable alternative at that critical juncture.

Ba’erhu understood this with utter clarity.

If he ceased this intense close-quarters engagement, the very instant they separated would signal his demise.

He was essentially sacrificing his treasured artifact for the sake of survival.

But he comprehended even more acutely that once his Tiger Soul Giant Bow was broken, his own end would be imminent as well!

"Stop!"

First Deputy Hall Master Ba’erlong swiftly moved to the exterior of the guardian light screen, formed a hand seal, and then dashed into the martial arts arena.

In truth, Ba’erlong had already begun his sprint when Ba’erhu's right arm was severed.

Despite Ye Zhen and Ba’erhu having exchanged blows six times, mere moments had elapsed. Given the vastness of the arena, Ba’erlong had only just now arrived.

With a keen eye, Ba’erlong noticed the fracture on Ba’erhu’s massive bow and, understanding its implications, he hastily moved to intervene.

Ye Zhen’s frigid gaze swept over the rapidly approaching Ba’erlong. The Purple Spirit Immortal Sword in his grasp then flared with a brilliant sword light, executing an incredibly mystical arc towards Ba’erhu!

"Stop!"

Snap!

The splintering sound of the Tiger Soul Giant Bow and Ba’erlong’s distant cry erupted simultaneously.

Ba’erhu coughed out blood and retreated sharply, while Ba’erlong furiously berated Ye Zhen.

As the First Deputy Hall Master, Ba’erlong harbored intense animosity. He knew all too well how vital the Tiger Soul Giant Bow was to his brother, akin to another essential limb!

In this confrontation, Ye Zhen had severed two of his brother Ba’erhu’s crucial limbs – an unforgivable act!

"Ye Zhen, as a fellow member of this hall, how dare you unleash such a merciless blow!" A formidable mountain-splitting blade, radiating an immense aura, materialized in Ba’erlong’s hand.

As it appeared, an icy radiance emanated!

At that precise moment, an sudden gust of chilling wind swept through the arena, and Princess Changle’s figure materialized at its center, positioning herself between Ba’erlong and Ye Zhen.

Accompanying her were hundreds of spectral yin spirits, arrayed behind Princess Changle!

"Vice Master Ba, according to the laws of the Ancestor God Temple, your interruption of a martial sacrifice performance constitutes a grave offense!" Princess Changle stated with solemnity.

"Grave offense?"

"To the abyss with your grave offense!"

First Deputy Hall Master Ba’erlong unleashed a torrent of curses at Princess Changle, "This is outright murder disguised as a martial performance!"

"Just you wait, I am proceeding directly to the Main Priest Hall to lodge a complaint. Let’s see how you explain this!" Ba’erlong bellowed, pointing an accusing finger at Ye Zhen.

Leaving everyone in the Barbarian Spirit Hall utterly bewildered, Ba’erlong’s form blurred, and he indeed departed to voice his grievances!