Chapter 147: Close Combat Divine Skill

Snow fell ceaselessly at Tianxuan Gate, year-round.

Above the void, atop Heiluo Cliff, stood a girl with purple wings, wreathed in thunder and lightning, as if a deity had descended. Opposite her was an ordinary-looking young man, armed with only a single sword.

Xu Xiaoshou patted "Cangku," turned his head, and smiled. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure!" she retorted, her voice filled with stubbornness.

"Young people are so impulsive..." Xu Xiaoshou shook his head and said lightly, "Your parents will be sad about your decision."

Luo Leilei was speechless. Her eyes instantly turned dangerous.

"How do you want to fight?" Xu Xiaoshou asked nonchalantly. He had just completed his advancement and was in a phase of uncertainty about his own strength; having such an opponent was quite good. If it were just one of the newly advanced top thirty-three like Yuan Tou, it certainly wouldn't be enough of a challenge. This girl was different. A Saint Slave... she was formidable!

"Hand-to-hand combat, sword fighting, or spellcasting?" Xu Xiaoshou offered generously. "You choose." His current combat styles encompassed these three. Geniuses, as he recalled, often excelled in both magic and martial arts. Since he mastered all three—swordsmanship, physical combat, and spellcasting—wouldn't he be even more powerful?

"Hmph, I'm going to take you down!" Luo Leilei snorted. She brought her four fingers together, forming a triangle that framed Xu Xiaoshou, who was not far away. Her physical strength had proven ineffective, so she naturally wouldn't engage in close combat. And since she didn't know swordsmanship, she could only choose long-range engagement.

As soon as the seal was formed, Xu Xiaoshou sensed danger. He looked up to see the sky covered in dark clouds, with silver lightning snaking wildly. "Are you forcing a tribulation on me?"

Xu Xiaoshou wasn't foolish enough to stand there and get struck by lightning. He shot up, directly piercing through the cloud layer. A tingling sensation washed over him, but it was very slight, still within controllable limits. "Haha, your lightning, could it possibly strike from below?"

Luo Leilei was stunned by his audacious move, taking a moment to collect herself. "Heh, you actually guessed correctly!"

*Sizzle—*

Electricity crackled, and purple lightning, like a massive python, soared into the sky, rushing towards Xu Xiaoshou. However, Xu Xiaoshou was prepared this time. He knew his speed wouldn't be enough to evade the lightning... but his physical strength was immense! He tossed "Cangku" to the side and dodged, immediately diverting the lightning away.

*Boom!*

The thunderous roar near his ears almost shattered his eardrums. Xu Xiaoshou could only pray "Cangku" was unharmed. He clenched his fist, focusing on the massive cloud layer below. "Inferno of Heavenly Blight!"

The spiritual energy within him plummeted drastically, yet the void rapidly heated up. The serene spiritual energy of the world, normally as leisurely as an old man, suddenly surged as if forcibly energized, evaporating into misty threads that ascended like flames. The clouds below, under this single action, were instantly evaporated into nothingness.

With the cloud cover gone, their eyes met from afar, and Xu Xiaoshou could see the astonishment in Luo Leilei's beautiful eyes. The next second, pain flickered in her pupils.

*Whoosh!*

"Inferno of Heavenly Blight: A Gaze Through Millennia!" Xu Xiaoshou chuckled. The invisible Inferno of Heavenly Flames instantly latched onto Luo Leilei! His spiritual techniques were truly unforgiving to enemies; almost all of them were instant cast!

"What in the world is this?" Luo Leilei was now experiencing the torment Shao Yi had endured that night. Her first instinct was to block with spiritual energy, but this thing could even burn spiritual energy!

However, Xu Xiaoshou was no longer the Xu Xiaoshou of that night. He had entered the Yuan Court Realm, and even though it was only the initial stage, the quality and quantity of his spiritual energy were far more terrifying than before. As a man who had possessed spiritual energy through acquired cultivation, the transformation of his innate Qi Sea and the Golden Dragon Illumination of his Dantian were monstrous advancements for him. "Full of Vitality" didn't even need to be upgraded. Under this single gaze, the continuously consumed spiritual energy barely showed any change, leaving him free of further worries.

Seeing Luo Leilei about to take defensive measures, he clenched his hand, and the Inferno of Heavenly Flames burning on her was directly compressed. With "Culinary Mastery" reaching the Innate level, he could now remotely control the heat. Luo Leilei was wracked with intense pain. She didn't possess an innate physical body, and had it not been for "Thunder God's Physique" blocking a large portion of the damage, she might have been incinerated. "How is this guy's spellcasting also so strong?"

Having few defensive spiritual techniques, Luo Leilei opted to fight fire with fire. She formed her hands into claws, thrust them into the void, and violently tore at it. "Sky-Sealing Thunder Prison!"

—A Grandmaster spiritual technique!

As far as the eye could see, within a hundred-zhang radius around Xu Xiaoshou, the void directly collapsed. Black lightning, like ancient trees come to life, interwove and struck down.

*Boom, boom, boom!*

Endless lightning engulfed the target. The sky resembled a dead sea, where only corpses could float. Luo Leilei gasped heavily; this attack clearly consumed a significant amount of energy. However, her pupils soon contracted, and her scalp tingled with shock. Within the "Sky-Sealing Thunder Prison," there was only... a bathtub?

What in the world? Where had Xu Xiaoshou gone?

Her spiritual sense swept out, and she suddenly looked up, only to see an extremely unstable orb of energy flying towards her from above. "Lesser Fireball Technique!"

The compressed, scorching energy was truly terrifying to behold. Luo Leilei instantly dodged. An explosion rang out, and the air blasted outwards. The falling snow in the world ceased, instantly evaporating into mist, and a mushroom cloud was clearly visible. Luo Leilei was sent flying. To her horror, another compressed fire seed was hurtling towards her in the direction she was sent flying. Further away, Xu Xiaoshou's hateful smiling face appeared, and he held three more compressed fire seeds in his hand!

"Hehe, no rush, take your time."

"Dodge this one, there's another; dodge that one, there are three more!"

The compressed fire seed rapidly approached her face. At the critical moment, Luo Leilei displayed astonishing reaction speed. "Purple Lightning Shadow!" Her body shimmered, transforming into a streak of golden lightning that brushed past the fire seed.

"Go-golden flash?" Xu Xiaoshou exclaimed in surprise. He deeply envied people who had a plethora of such incredibly cool spiritual techniques. It was a pity, his own talent seemed destined only for self-created spiritual techniques that looked ordinary, relying on raw power to shock others.

Just as he momentarily lost focus, Luo Leilei didn't choose to create distance with her extreme speed; instead, she closed in directly.

*Screeching—*

A melodious thunderous hum, like a lark's song, echoed in his ears. Xu Xiaoshou saw the lightning wreathed around the girl's hand, now right in front of his face... "Ch-Chidori?"

"Thunderstruck Wood!" Luo Leilei's ruthless claw attack stabbed forward, seemingly intending to pierce straight through Xu Xiaoshou. What if he had a Grandmaster body? This Grandmaster spiritual technique of hers could even be called the strongest single-target attack!

*Hiss!*

At the critical moment, Xu Xiaoshou took a sudden deep breath, directing it towards her face. This was a divine close-combat technique he had unexpectedly comprehended that day in the Lingcang Pavilion, when he failed to absorb Elder Sang's fire seed. Unlike the foul odor from that time, Xu Xiaoshou only smelled the girl's faint fragrance this time.

*Pfft!*

Luo Leilei was horrified by the chaotic surge of spiritual energy within her, utterly bewildered. The lightning wreathed around her hand instantly weakened, barely melting Xu Xiaoshou's clothes... Her claw didn't even pierce his skin, turning into a light press.

Xu Xiaoshou stared blankly down at her fair, jade-like hand pressed against his chest. "You touched me again?"

Luo Leilei reeled, her frustration unvented. Xu Xiaoshou had already gripped her fair wrist, pulled it up, leaving her chest wide open. Forming his fingers into a blade, Xu Xiaoshou mercilessly thrust forward, his finger-blade piercing through her chest!

*Thump!*

Luo Leilei's eyes widened, and a mouthful of blood splattered across his face.

Xu Xiaoshou let out a light breath, his gaze unfocused. This was his first battle since entering the Innate Realm. He had expected the "Saint Slave" at the Upper Spirit Stage to be somewhat stronger, but he had to admit... she was very weak!

"Remember, no matter how powerful your spiritual techniques are, don't try to engage me in close-quarters combat. There's no hope." Wiping the blood from his face, he looked at Luo Leilei's gradually fading expression and slowly said, "You lost."