1090 Push to the Limit
He Shiyi felt humiliated. He had gone through all this trouble, almost ruining his future by fusing with that artifact to acquire the strength of 60% Grand Dao Source or 8-Fold Battle Realm, but he was still manhandled like a child. A wave of intense anger rushed into his mind, but he immediately cast a spell to calm down and cool his head.
With a cool mind, he knew what his first step was:
[Battle Art Boost: Physique]
[Azure Dragon Strength]
After this short encounter, He Shiyi knew how powerful the opponent's flesh was, so he used these two techniques to give him a much-needed boost. Meanwhile, Wang Wei secretly used his Order-Disorder Dao to change the rules around him secretly; he added the stipulation that no one should intervene in this battle.
His purpose was to ensure Emperor Jia did not sneak attack him; at the very least, this technique would make it easier for him to detect any upcoming intruders.
He Shiyi activated his [Awakening], dawning his gold-silver armor and summoning his halberd. However, the armor was slightly different since the last time, with drawings of the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Black Tortoise - in other words, the Four Symbols. Simultaneously, Wang Wei's ten fate palaces hung above the heavens.
[Split Primordial Chaos]
He chose a more aggressive approach to this fight and went on the offensive; he used an updated technique based on his battle with Xu Shi. The halberd, with its immense power, dropped on Wang Wei, and he used one finger to block it.
"Impossible!"
"Do you know the probability of a technique failing for someone of your level t? It's infinitesimally small. However, for someone who can control probability, the number doesn't matter, does it?"
Boom!
Wang Wei punched him in the face, sending him flying and breaking a few bones in the process. He raised his hand to manifest a string attached to He Shiyi's neck, and he pulled him toward him, punching him a few times.
[Dragon of Auspiciousness]
The dragon image on He Shiyi's lit up for a few seconds, and the aura of Luck/Auspiciousness Dao emanated from his body, allowing him to cancel his opponent's technique.
[Battle Cry]
He Shiyi roared, and his voice contained a primal rage with the power to awaken a power deep within everyone's soul. His aura drastically increased, and he rushed forward with his [Threading On Infinity Step] technique; his speed reached countless times beyond infinity, and he thrust his halberd like a spear.
Wang Wei used his right hand like a spear and clashed directly with the weapon. His Yin-Yang Dao removed the majority of force or power behind this attack, thus pushing He Shiyi's weapon away as his hand headed directly for his chest.
A bright flame came out of He Shiyi's armor to delay Wang Wei's hand before he used a parry technique with his left hand. Wang Wei felt his own strength was redirected at him, and he secretly praised the subtleties of this battle technique. Sadly for He Shiyi, he was beyond a master at controlling force or strength.
Boom!
He Shiyi's left exploded, but he suddenly inhaled and absorbed all the blood and qi; his aura again increased.
'Some kind of self-sacrifice technique to boost strength?' analyzed Wang Wei.
[Roar of the War God]
He Shiyi opened his mouth to roar, releasing a potent sonic skill that could shatter hundreds of Heaven Will Worlds.
[Roar of Fate]
Wang Wei returned the fate and also roared, and the result was He Shiyi's body exploding into a blood mist. Sadly, a flame appeared in the distance, and he appeared perfectly intact.
'His Dao is no longer Battle, but a combination with the Four Symbols.'
[Four Symbol Arrays]
The phantom of the four creatures appeared behind He Shiyi in a circular shape before fusing with him.
[Four Cardinal Exchange Strike]
As the halberd approached, Wang Wei found his senses becoming chaotic: north became east, the south became west, up became sideways, and so on; in a moment, he became someone with the worst sense of direction and spatial coordination. More importantly, this change did not only affect his normal senses, but his divine sense and any Sensing Techniques would be the same.
Swish!
Wang Wei calmly evaded this technique. So, how did he do it? Did he use Yin-Yang to revert his lost senses, use luck to evade, or maybe use his ancestors' evading technique? No, he simply adapted to this abysmal sense in less than a nanosecond due to his absolute control over his body; in other words, it became normal for him.
'Monster,' thought He Shiyi with gritted teeth. Wang Wei waved two fingers and used the [Negative Freedom of Life] technique to kill his opponent. At this point in time, it can be said he's playing around as he used his Freedom Dao to do something his Life-Death Dao would be more efficient at accomplishing.
He Shiyi disintegrated - not from an atomic level - but from a conceptual level. Less than a second later, a black tortoise phantom materialized in the distance, and He Shiyi replaced it as it disappeared.
'According to the Four Symbols, the Phoenix is the symbol of rebirth, and the Black Tortoise represents endurance,' thought Wang Wei. 'Do I have to kill this bastard four times to push him to his limit?'
Despite how it looked, he has not been playing around; he's constantly on guard. To prepare for this fight, he has run countless scenarios, including the worst-case scenario in which Emperor Jia teamed up with Old Man Nether and released whatever Lovecraftian creature was in the Abyss Gap.
He Shiyi used another stat-boosting technique: [Rage of the White Tiger]. He could sense the dead gray spots all over his body, signaling that he could not bear much more power from the artifact, but he did not care; his mind was focused on one goal.
'67% Grand Dao Source, but his body is collapsing,' analyzed Wang Wei. 'Almost there.'
He Shiyi rushed forward and used a time-based attack. The Four Symbols symbolize the four seasons, and their rotation represents the passage of time. Huo Fenghuang once used a similar technique.
"Using a Time technique on a master of Time Dao? Now, I know your new technique influenced your mind and reduced your battle IQ," said Wang Wei, who ignored the time reversal of the halberd as his hand grabbed He Shiyi's head; he used his Life and Death Dao to absorb conceptual level life force from his body. He Shiyi immediately became a dried mummy before his body scattered like sand blown by the wind.
A Blue Dragon phantom materialized, followed by He Shiyi's body. However, he was not perfectly intact, as his left eye had turned gray like a statue or stone.
'The vitality of the Blue Dragon,' thought Wang Wei, using his understanding of the Four Symbols to analyze his opponent's technique. 'The last one should be the protection of White Tiger.'
He Shiyi immediately used another boost technique: [Black Tortoise Stamina]
Wang Wei went on the offensive after detecting that He Shiyi's strength had reached 68% Grand Dao Source, approaching the ceiling of the battle realm. So, he wants the remaining death to come as quickly as possible to see what will happen.
[Fate Prison]
He Shiyi found himself captured by a cage made of silver-gray strings. His instinct activated, and he wanted to use whatever means necessary. However, he suddenly felt that all his moves were predicted in this place.
No, not just his move, but everything about him was predicted or predetermined: his birth, parents, personality, experiences, memories, thoughts, choices, future, all possibilities - everything that constituted his existence was already determined. This fact almost destroyed his mind.
The providence, the inevitability, the lack of choice, freedom, and free will was too much and overwhelmed his mind. He could not move despite desperately wanting to. Then, he committed suicide by blowing up his soul and body.
Then, as Wang Wei predicted, the spirit of the White Tiger revived him one last time. Wang Wei did not hesitate to use his Destruction sub-dao to annihilate this new He Shiyi immediately. Although his strength was now technically on par with Wang Wei (69%), there were still some minor differences.
He Shiyi released a powerful shield with the colors red, blue, black, and white, resisting the palm of destruction for more than five seconds before it was broken and annihilated him.
Meanwhile, Wang Wei was on high alert, waiting for any signs or changes. If there were a time that Emperor Jia or anyone else would interfere, it would be now.
As he predicted, a new He Shiyi appeared before him despite already using all four lives of the Four Symbol Mirrors. His body, which had previously had his eyes and left arm turned gray, was in perfect shape, without an ounce of injury. More importantly, his aura was now peaceful and less volatile and aggressive.
Wang Wei squinted his eyes, "This is..."
