Chapter 47: Before the First Wave Subsides

　　It was suddenly struck by the feeling that it was facing two enemies rather than one.

　　The two black shadows rushed toward it from both sides at extremely uncomfortable angles.

　　The abrupt change caught the Fire Kirin Beast completely off guard, and it didn’t know whether it should tend to one side or the other.

　　The sudden turn of events threw a wrench in its instinctive responses, thereby resulting in a split second of stunned inactivity.

　　However, a split second was often all that was needed to decide a battle.

　　Whoosh!

　　All of a sudden, the shadow on the left accelerated in its approach!

　　Whoosh!

　　Purple claw projections flashed past.

　　“Howl!”

　　An intense burst of pain shot through the left side of its face, and the field of vision in the Fire Kirin Beast’s left eye turned entirely red, before descending into inky-blackness.

　　Its massive body spasmed in pain and its front hooves came crashing down heavily, one of which barely missed the shadow on the left. Meanwhile, the shadow on the right was struck by the other hoof, and it dissipated into a cloud of black smoke.

　　The volume in the spectator stands instantly rose a few octaves following that clash.

　　The Nameless Warrior had never used that attack in the past, but as soon as he unleashed that battle technique, he was able to severely wound the Fire Kirin Beast.

　　Some of the more knowledgeable and experienced spectators could tell that the Nameless Warrior didn’t possess a high level of mastery in either of those battle techniques. However, none of them were of the opinion that that was the extent of his power. In their eyes, even the Fire Kirin Beast wasn’t enough to force the Nameless Warrior to unleash his full power!

　　However, contrary to their beliefs, that was indeed the limit to Qi Ying’s abilities.

　　The Fire Kirin Beast’s defenses were extremely powerful, but its eyes were quite vulnerable. As such, he had unleashed his Flowing Shadow Strike at the expense of a vast amount of True Energy, in order to injure the beast’s left eye and significantly hamper its field of vision.

　　Lu Zuo’s mouth gaped open slightly, as a stunned look appeared on his face. “He really managed to master the Flowing Shadow Strike… He materialized an afterimage as well, which means that he has reached the elementary level.”

　　In his eyes, conjuring up afterimages was much more difficult than mastering the movement techniques.

　　Qi Ying was able to master the Flowing Shadow Strike in such a short span of time, and could even use it in battle. His performance had gone well beyond his expectations.

　　Simply being able to use a battle technique, and being able to use it in battle were two completely different concepts. An analogy could be drawn, like a man climbing a ladder. Under normal circumstances, that would be a simple task, but if he were being chased by a bear, the simple act of scaling a ladder would suddenly become countless times more arduous. Furthermore, in a battle against a Fire Kirin Beast, life or death could be decided in a split second. Under such tense circumstances, it was very difficult to perfectly utilize his True Energy.

　　An approving smile appeared on Lu You’s face.

　　…

　　Qi Ying continued to constantly change locations to evade the oncoming fireballs, as well as to distract the half-blind Fire Kirin Beast. Following the injury inflicted upon its left eye, the beast had gone completely off the boil, and its attacks had become extremely violent and powerful, but also completely haphazardous. That played right into Qi Ying’s hands as he could hide in the Fire Kirin Beast’s blind spot to its left. If it wanted to attack him, then it would have to expend several times more energy compared to when it had vision on its left side.

　　The more ferocious its attacks became, the larger the holes in its defenses would become.

　　To exacerbate the issue even further, the Fire Kirin Beast’s eyes were like those of a horse in that they were located on the sides of its head. Under normal circumstances, that would give it a wider field of vision, but following the loss of vision in its left eye, it had developed a massive blind spot, which made it extremely frustrated.

　　Qi Ying was biding his time and searching for an opportunity to strike.

　　Finally, that opportunity arose. The Fire Kirin Beast reared its head violently in a frantic attack, completely shifting its center of gravity and exposing the left part of its underside.

　　There was only one patch of the Fire Kirin Beast’s body that wasn’t covered in scales, and that was a triangular section of its underside. That area of its body comprised of soft skin and flesh in order to better facilitate mating and reproduction.

　　Whoosh!

　　Qi Ying sprang forth like a speeding arrow.

　　Purple claw projections materialized on his right hand before being hurled through the air!

　　Dark Falcon Illusionary Claw!

　　Whoosh!

　　The sound of skin and flesh being torn open erupted alongside a howl of agony. The Fire Kirin Beast’s head reared back as the blood gushed from the left side of its belly.

　　The spectators let loose cries of surprise upon seeing that. However, Qi Ying did not stop to show off; he somersaulted into the air and straddled the beast’s back, locking his arms tightly around its neck.

　　“Howl! Howl!”

　　The Fire Kirin Beast had been severely wounded, and was being ridden by its food. It had never been so enraged. However, it was powerless to do anything aside from thrashing about within the battle cage, trying to throw Qi Ying off its back.

　　Qi Ying’s arms were like steel pincers, clamping tightly around the Fire Kirin Beast’s neck and refusing to let go.

　　No matter how much it struggled and resisted, Qi Ying continued to sit firmly upon its back with his back arched, creating an unmovable base.

　　A short while later, the Fire Kirin Beast’s movements gradually became less violent and powerful, thereby indicating that it was running out of energy.

　　Qi Ying unwound his left arm from around its neck.

　　Straddling the beast while it thrashed about was actually even more energy-consuming than dodging its attacks, so he couldn’t stay on its back forever.

　　He clenched his left hand into a fist and began to thump the Fire Kirin Beast’s head.

　　Thud!

　　Thud!

　　The Fire Kirin Beast began to struggle with renewed vigor, and Qi Ying was almost thrown off as a result.

　　‘This stupid beast was feigning weakness!’

　　Qi Ying’s punch landed on thin air, and he gritted his teeth tightly as he held on for dear life with his right arm.

　　After stabilizing his body, he balled up his left hand again and aimed a vicious punch into the back of the Fire Kirin Beast’s head.

　　Thud!

　　A dull thump erupted.

　　The spectators began to erupt into cheers. They had just witnessed the purest type of battle, one in which the two fighters competed to see whose body was more durable, and who possessed superior strength! It was the most primordial type of battle, but it had completely ignited the blood in their veins.

　　Thud!Thud!

　　Qi Ying threw one punch after another, and his left shoulder was throbbing with pain from the recoil force. However, he knew that the Fire Kirin Beast was in even more pain than he was, and if things continued in that manner, it would definitely be the one to fall first.

　　Thud!

　　Finally, long after Qi Ying had lost count of how many punches he had thrown, the Fire Kirin Beast finally began to stumble around as if it were inebriated.

　　Qi Ying sprang up from the beast’s body, and before he landed on the ground, he whipped his leg through the air and struck its massive head. That kick was the final straw that crushed the beast’s back, and it finally fell after stumbling around for a moment longer.

　　Qi Ying stepped onto the Fire Kirin Beast’s body amid clouds of dust and debris, before turning toward the spectator stands outside the cage, announcing his victory with his actions.

　　The Fire Kirin Beast was far too precious and was probably worth over a million crystals. They were just like superstar warriors and could only be injured, not killed. Otherwise, it would incur massive losses to the Colosseum.

　　“He won!”

　　“That was spectacular! The Nameless Warrior finally used battle techniques today.”

　　“Next time, when the Nameless Warrior battles the Dark Golden Ape, he should show us his full power!”

　　Waves of cheers and applause erupted from the spectator stands. All of the people who had bet on Qi Ying flocked to the betting center with their chips, redeeming them for monetary prizes.

　　Qi Ying heaved a long sigh of relief. He had completed the mission assigned for that day, so Master Thirteen should reward him handsomely. That should be enough to support him in his cultivation for the near future.

　　He withdrew his foot and began to stride toward the waiting area.

　　Right at that moment.

　　“Argh!”

　　A scream suddenly erupted from the spectator stands.

　　Whoosh!

　　Two figures suddenly descended from the sky before pouncing onto the battle cage like a pair of massive birds. One of them drew a dazzling silver sword and slashed a massive gash in the battle cage. The two of them then descended and went inside.