The shuttle in the second dimension

　"As expected, I underestimated you, Ikki. ∑MagazineMushi∑"

　Relying on his physical advantage over Ikki, Lin Xuan pushed Ikki away.

　"I didn't doubt that you could learn my [Ba Jin], but I didn't expect you to master this technique so quickly. You are truly a genius."

　"No, compared to me, you are more like a genius for being able to create such a force-generating technique." After learning the force-generating technique called [Ba Jin], Yihui discovered that this technique was not as complicated as he had imagined, but it was extremely useful. It made up for his lack of strength and prevented him from being like before, which would put a great burden on his hands every time he took Lin Xuan's blow.

　"Thank you for the compliment." Lin Xuan continued to put pressure on Ikki while waving the [Mie] in his hand. Although Ikki made up for his weakness in strength by learning the [Ba Jin] from him, Lin Xuan was still able to suppress him. This could be seen from the increasing number of knife wounds on Ikki's body after dozens of collisions.

　Some of those knife wounds were left by [Destroy], while others were left by the wind blades created by Lin Xuan's sword swings. Due to the different direction of attack, Lin Xuan's sword swings were not as sharp as the sword swung by [Bi Yi], and could not leave a vacuum fault in the place where the slash passed. But even so, the wind pressure generated by his sword swings should not be underestimated, as can be seen from the knife marks around Lin Xuan that spread across the entire venue. And if this was not contained by the staff protecting the audience, the scattered wind pressure would definitely cut many of the surrounding spectators into pieces.

　"Teacher Xijing, what exactly happened? Contestant Lin Xuan and Contestant Kurotate were just fighting hand-to-hand. How did those marks on the field come about?" Lin Xuan and Ikki's slashing speeds were extremely fast, and ordinary people simply couldn't keep up with that speed, so the announcer couldn't understand the battle on the field.

　"Because they swung their swords too fast, you didn't feel it, especially that guy Lin Xuan. The airflow created when he swung his sword formed extremely aggressive wind pressures. It was those wind pressures that turned the field into what it is now. If someone accidentally stepped into the field now, he would probably be torn into pieces by those scattered wind pressures in an instant. Brother Black Iron is in danger~~~~Also, there is not much left in a minute." Looking at the one-sided situation on the field, Xijing Ningyin was worried about Yihui.

　Just as Xijing Ningyin said, Kurogane Ikki is in danger. Half of the time of [One Sword Shura] has passed. If Ikki waits until the time of [One Sword Shura] is completely over, he will almost be doomed to failure.

　But Ikki Kurogane was not at all anxious about this, because he knew that there was no point in being anxious. Instead of wasting time on being anxious, he might as well think about how to create a chance to turn defeat into victory in the remaining time. Although the chance was slim, he did not want to give up just like that.

　The next moment, Yihui changed his pace and rushed towards Lin Xuan with a desperate attitude.

　But Lin Xuan ignored Ikki who was rushing towards him, and instead swung his sword above himself.

　"Do you think this little trick will work now, Ikki?" Lin Xuan grinned at Ikki who appeared above him, while Ikki, who had been rushing towards Lin Xuan, turned into a shadow and disappeared.

　"puff--"

　Scarlet blood kept flowing out of Ikki's mouth, and not only that, blood was flowing out to varying degrees from all over his body.

　"Ikki, you miscalculated." Whispering, Lin Xuan did not miss this opportunity. He swung the [Destruction] in his hand hard and directly threw Black Iron Ikki out.

　After falling heavily to the ground, Ikki Kurogane struggled to get up from the ground, with a lot of horror left in his eyes.

　Just now, Ikki had used his [Secret Sword - Mirage Wolf] to create an illusion and attack head-on, while his true form leaped into the air and used [Secret Sword - Poisonous Moth Blade] on Lin Xuan, hoping to injure him and create an opening for himself. However, Ikki didn't intend to fight. Not only did Lin Xuan instantly see through the illusion created by [Mirage Wolf] and discover his true location, but after Ikki used [Poisonous Moth Blade] on him, he completely returned the special vibration caused by [Poisonous Moth Blade] to him, thus making Ikki suffer the consequences.

　Facing Ikki who had just climbed up, how could Lin Xuan miss this opportunity? He directly crossed the distance between them, and the [Destruction] in his hand instantly turned into seven sword lights and fell towards Ikki.

　"Ouch!!" Lin Xuan chose the perfect time to attack. Out of the seven sword lights, Yihui barely blocked two, and the remaining five left deep wounds on his body that could be seen to the bone. One of the sword lights even slashed across Yihui's entire upper body. If Yihui had not retreated a little in an emergency, he would probably have been split in half by Lin Xuan.

　"Let's end it like this, Ikki." Lin Xuan said calmly, taking a step back. The next moment, his eyes began to unfocus and become dull. Normally, such a dull or lifeless look shouldn't appear on Lin Xuan during a fight, as it would undoubtedly give his opponent an opportunity to kill him, but that's exactly what happened to him.

　On the other hand, when Yihui saw Lin Xuan's distracted and lifeless eyes, he not only did not see any hope, but instead saw endless despair. He could feel that the other party was even more dangerous, so dangerous that his brain kept issuing orders for him to escape.

　'Is this really the only way to go?!' As despair overtook most of Ikki's consciousness, this thought flashed through his mind.

　'But--'

　"I'm so unwilling to lose. I don't want to lose here."

　"I won't give up." Ikki whispered, and the fire of unyielding fire ignited in his eyes.

　"I can't accept this!!!"

　Along with Ikki's unwilling roar, Ikki's strong will was transformed into magic power, giving the pale flames on his body that were about to go out new fuel, and continued to burn brightly.

　At this time, Ikki assumed the stance of Iai Slash, pushing the sword with his right hand holding the handle and pulling the sword with his left hand holding the blade. Ikki wanted to imitate the sword and the scabbard pressing on the blade, so as to accumulate stronger thrust and launch his strongest slash.

　At this moment, time seemed to be infinitely stretched.

　Ikki's slash slashed towards Lin Xuan in an infinitely stretched moment. It was so fast, so fast that even his shadow couldn't catch up. This shouldn't have happened, but at that moment, Ikki achieved this impossible thing with his own will. As a human, he completed the ultimate form of the concept of "slash."

　Its name is——【The Secret Sword of the End——Chasing Shadow】

Chapter 186: Semi-finals End

　I had a bad cold a few days ago, and I was weak, had a headache, and a sore throat, so I couldn't update. I'm just feeling better today, so I'm sorry.

　-

　[The Ultimate Secret Sword - Chasing Shadow] is the final form of the concept of [Slash], but the final form of the concept of [Slash] is more than just [Chasing Shadow].

　In that infinitely stretched time, a pitch-black slash moved at a speed no less than that of [Chasing Shadow], its target directly aimed at [Chasing Shadow].

　In an instant, the time that seemed to be infinitely stretched disappeared, and immediately afterwards, two slashes representing the final form of [Slash] collided with each other.

　puff--

　Scarlet blood continued to pour out of Yihui's mouth, and his face turned pale due to excessive blood loss. The final burst of energy drained Yihui of almost all his strength. Not only that, but Lin Xuan's final slash had directly injured him. He was now struggling to even stand, and his whole body was swaying, as if he would collapse at any moment.

　"I still lost——" Ikki said regretfully. In the end, he couldn't withstand the damage caused by the broken spiritual equipment. He fell backwards (hx) and lost the last remaining consciousness.

　On the other side, Lin Xuan no longer had a dull and lifeless look in his eyes.

　Looking at Yi Hui lying unconscious on the ground, Lin Xuan touched his chest thoughtfully. There was a flat wound there that was constantly oozing scarlet and hot blood, soaking the surrounding clothes.

　"You almost succeeded, Ikki."

　Just now, as Lin Xuan and Ikki's slashes collided, Lin Xuan's powerful strike shattered Ikki's [Yin Iron]. But at this critical moment, Ikki let go of the broken blade. The blade flew outward, aiming directly for Lin Xuan's heart. If Lin Xuan hadn't jerked his body sideways at the last moment, Lin's heart would have been pierced by the broken [Yin Iron].

　Was it a coincidence that Ikki let go of the broken sword? Was he exhausted and unable to hold the hilt? No, it was all Ikki's plan. Of course, Ikki hadn't expected Lin Xuan to sever his spiritual armor. However, as his spiritual armor [Yin Iron] was severed, Ikki lamented his failure, and an idea flashed through his mind: simply loosen the hilt, allowing the Yin Iron to fly out and pierce Lin Xuan's heart.

　Hui's idea was a brilliant one. Whether it was the energy he'd accumulated from gripping the blade before casting [Shadow Chaser] or the energy accumulated when it collided with Lin Xuan's slash, it allowed him to accumulate even more AP power. This energy gave the broken blade, which Yihui had released, enough force to pierce Lin Xuan's heart. Although Yihui's idea ultimately failed to materialize, his sudden inspiration caused Lin Xuan to suffer his worst injury of the tournament, nearly leading to his downfall.

　After stopping the bleeding from the wound on his chest, Lin Xuan turned his head slightly and looked at the bright red in the audience, raising the corners of his mouth provocatively.

　After staring at the red figure in the audience for a while from a not-so-close distance, Lin Xuan turned and left, ignoring the announcer's praise of his strength and the audience's cheers, and just left the arena.

　As he left the arena, Lin Xuan's smile curled even higher. Although the match had only lasted a minute, Ikki had given him many surprises, from learning his [Ba Jin] after just two brief encounters to delivering a fatal blow after his spiritual armor had been severed. This made Lin Xuan even more excited to see what kind of surprises Stella, possessing the highest magical power and the most talented swordsman, would bring him tomorrow.

　After walking for about two minutes, Lin Xuan left the contestant area and came to a more secluded place in the venue. However, someone arrived here earlier than him.

　"After watching the match just now, does Uncle Kurogane have anything to say?" The one who arrived here earlier than Lin Xuan was none other than the father of Ouma, Ikki and Shushiku - Kurogane Takeshi.

　"Did you call me here specifically for this matter?" Instead of answering Lin Xuan's question, Heitie Yan asked Lin Xuan back.

　"Not entirely, but the most important reason is this." Before Heitie Yan could reply, Lin Xuan continued, "Although you have been forcing Ikki in various ways, you still have feelings for him, don't you? You have been doing your best to consider him while not violating any rules, right?"

　"..." Heitieyan neither denied nor acknowledged Lin Xuan's words, but remained silent.

　"You should be aware of this now. Ikki is already a demon."

　"Well, I was shocked when I heard the news, and I heard that it was with your help." The calm words made it hard to believe that Heitie Yan would be shocked.

　"My help is secondary. The most important thing is that he has that potential. Although theoretically, any sword cutter can enter the realm of demons, how many people can truly enter that realm? Facts have proven that your son does not lack the talent of a sword cutter, but his talent is a little special."

　"what do you want to say in the end?"

　"I hope you can have a good talk with Ikki, uncle. After all, you are father and son, right?"

　"——I understand. I will consider it." After a moment of silence, You Heitie Yan finally agreed.

　"Then let's talk about another thing." As he said that, Lin Xuan changed his previous humble look and looked at Hei Tieyan with a serious face.

　"Tomorrow, the Seven Star Sword Dance Festival will end, and I will be leaving this country soon. I hope my uncle and Prime Minister Yueya can make a decision as soon as possible, whether to cooperate with the Alliance or with me."

　When discussing official business, Heitie Yan also changed his previous silent appearance and looked at Lin Xuan with sharp eyes. "I understand. We will reach a conclusion as soon as possible."

　"Okay, since uncle has said so, I won't say anything more. I'll take my leave first, uncle." After saying that, Lin Xuan turned around and left, but when Lin Xuan turned around and left, Heitie Yan suddenly said to Lin Xuan.

　"Thank you."

　Heitieyan's sudden thanks stunned Lin Xuan for a moment, but he recovered in an instant.

　"You're welcome."

Chapter 187

　"You're a few minutes later than I expected. What were you doing? Did something go wrong with your body when you came out?" Wu Zi frowned slightly and asked with a hint of worry as she watched Lin Xuan walk out of the venue.

　"Don't worry. Although my health isn't very good, it's not that serious. As my attending physician, shouldn't you be clear about this? You're just too concerned."

　"Then what were you doing? Did you go to see that (hx) lover~~~~" Putting his hand on the wound on Lin Xuan's chest, Wu Zi treated Lin Xuan while looking at Lin Xuan with ill intentions, as if Lin Xuan's answer was not to his liking and he would make him suffer.

　"I just went to discuss some business with someone." Lin Xuan explained, reaching out and holding Wu Zi's small hand on his chest.

　"Is it about the Liberation Corps again?" Wu Zi asked with some displeasure, seemingly dissatisfied with Lin Xuan's answer. Although she had accepted that Lin Xuan was a member of the Liberation Corps, Wu Zi still had a bad impression of that terrorist organization.

　"No, although it is related to the Liberation Corps, it is not the official business of the Liberation Corps."

　"It's not the best, let's go." Wu Zi said, pulling his hand back from Lin Xuan's.

　"Yeah." After responding with a sound (hx), Lin Xuan and Wu Zi left the venue.

　-

　dorm room

　After returning to the dormitory, Lin Xuan lay down obediently and accepted Wu Zi's treatment on his body.

　This had become his habit over the past few days. Unlike treatments in a regeneration chamber, Wu Zi's treatments were more meticulous, and she could easily resolve injuries that the regeneration chamber couldn't. Lin Xuan's current injuries happened to be something the regeneration chamber couldn't resolve, otherwise his body wouldn't be in its current state.

　"Wu Zi, after the game tomorrow, I will probably disappear for a few days." Lin Xuan said while lying on the bed (hx) and receiving Wu Zi's treatment.

　"Huh!?" Wu Zi stopped what he was doing, reached out and pulled Lin Xuan's cheek, staring at him unhappily.

　"Is it because I've been too indulgent to you these past few times, that you, my little brother, have developed the mentality that you can do whatever you want~~~~"

　"No, I need to find a quiet place to calm myself down. "

　"What do you want to do now?" Although she still wanted to continue pulling Lin Xuan's cheek, after hearing Lin Xuan's inarticulate words, Wu Zi finally let go of her hand reluctantly.

　"It means exactly what it says. Find a place where I can completely calm down. I want to adjust myself to the best condition." Lin Xuan said seriously, propping himself up and sitting up.

　"Go challenge the one who stands at the summit of the sword."

　"You mean - [Bi Yi] Edwards!?" Wu Zi took a deep breath and looked at Lin Xuan with wide eyes. Although she didn't like fighting and didn't know much about fighting, this did not prevent Wu Zi from knowing the existence of [Bi Yi]. After all, she was so famous.

　"Well, that's her."

　"Why do you suddenly want to challenge her?"

　"It wasn't sudden. A few years ago, I challenged her several times, but I was always badly beaten. At that time, I made up my mind to defeat her. But the most important thing was the uncontrollable desire in my heart, the desire to fight."

　"Desire to fight!?" Staring blankly at Lin Xuan, Wu Zi couldn't connect the Lin Xuan, who looked like a boy next door, with the battle maniac who had an uncontrollable desire to fight.

　"What? Are you surprised?" Lin Xuan was not surprised by Wu Zi's surprised look. In fact, if you only looked at his usual performance, there was no way to tell that he was eager to fight.

　"Although it's not obvious, I do crave battle. Whenever I encounter an opponent who's as strong as or stronger than me, my normally dormant desire to fight stirs."

　"That is to say, it usually disguises itself as a herbivore, and when it finds prey, it transforms into a carnivore, right?" Poking Lin Xuan's nose with the tip of the pen, Wu Zi said playfully.

　"Why does your explanation sound a bit weird?" Lin Xuan complained with a slight curl of his lips.