A Consequence of Opposing the Heroine’s Halo (GL) - Chapter 28

In an instant, Ma Shi seemed to have activated a “cheat code” on the arena. His aura surged explosively, and the spiritual energy surrounding him began to riot. With a heavy stomp on the ground, he lunged immediately toward Bai Tong.

Ma Shi was as fast as a lightning bolt. Below the stage, Liu Sanye cried out, “Watch out!” In a blur of movement, Bai Tong gracefully flickered behind Ma Shi, but at that exact moment, Ma Shi’s strike smashed into the spot where she had just been, creating a deep crater.

Sand and stone flew everywhere on the arena, and a thick veil of dust obscured the eyes of the onlookers. Everyone could clearly feel that Ma Shi’s strength and speed were several times greater than before.

Someone whispered, “Is Ma Shi going Berserk?”

“Berserking,” simply put, is the maximum intake and use of Heaven and Earth’s spiritual energy within an extremely short period. Because the rapidly absorbed qi has not yet been circulated and transformed into one’s own spiritual power, the energy at this stage is incredibly violent. The more resilient one’s spiritual veins are, the better they can endure the internal riot of natural qi, allowing them to possess power that far exceeds their actual realm for a short time.

Of course, the consequences of doing this are extremely severe. If the spiritual veins are of poor quality or if too much qi is introduced at once, the result ranges from ruined veins and an inability to cultivate further, to a total body explosion leaving no corpse behind. Unless in a state of extreme danger, most cultivators avoid this move.

Thus, when Ma Shi went Berserk, the crowd was shocked. “Is Ma Shi crazy?!”

Among them, Guan Rong was the most agitated. She said furiously, “What is that idiot doing! To deal with a little brat, he actually went Berserk!” Guan Rong gripped her long whip, her body trembling with rage.

Liu Sanye wasn’t angry; instead, her heart was in her throat. At this moment, she wished so much that Bai Tong wouldn’t be so stubborn—wished she would just forfeit. But that was almost impossible! This duel was something that hadn’t happened in the book; Bai Tong was indeed supposed to fight Ma Shi, but not now—not until a year later. This fight had been moved up by a whole year, filling it with variables. Whether she would win or lose was an unknown. The protagonist wouldn’t die, but a heavy injury was almost a certainty, and all these changes were caused by her.

If she hadn’t gotten sick, none of this would have happened. It was all because of her! Liu Sanye bit her lip, her brow furrowed tightly. She had to use her “wooden head” to think of a foolproof plan; she couldn’t let Bai Tong get seriously hurt because of her.

After dodging Ma Shi’s first strike, Bai Tong knew that constant evasion was not a viable long-term strategy. She gripped the Jade Frost Sword hovering beside her and charged forward, hoping to win through speed. Bai Tong was fast, but she was no match for a Berserk Ma Shi.

The Jade Frost Sword pierced into Ma Shi’s shoulder blade, but he didn’t even flinch. He seized this opportunity to grab Bai Tong’s wrist, gripped her waist with his other hand, lifted her high into the air, and slammed her down with all his might.

BOOM—

With a world-shaking explosion, Bai Tong’s entire body was buried deep into a stone pit. The massive momentum forced her to slide ten meters across the ground. The friction against the stone left her back a bloody mess.

Yet Bai Tong acted as if she felt nothing. She scrambled up quickly, using her prediction to activate the Dust-Spirit Sword Manual and set a trap, waiting for Ma Shi’s next offensive.

Sure enough, after heavily injuring Bai Tong, Ma Shi charged over with his great blade. In the next instant, a flurry of water droplets like sharp arrows pierced the ground—and Ma Shi’s body. However, Ma Shi’s flesh and blood seemed harder than the stone floor; the rain-arrows had no effect on him, merely bouncing off and dripping into the cracks in the rock.

Bai Tong was bloodless. In a split second, Ma Shi swung his purple-gold blade toward her chest with a sweeping blow. Bai Tong summoned the Jade Frost Sword to block it.

Under the power of that strike, the sword vibrated three times, and Bai Tong was knocked back seven or eight steps. She felt as if her internal organs had been displaced, and a sharp pain twisted in her chest. Blood flowed continuously from her mouth, making her dazed and blurred.

The fierce battle continued, but it was almost entirely one-sided. Ma Shi’s strikes grew more ruthless, and Bai Tong’s injuries grew more severe.

Seeing Bai Tong in such a pitiful state, the crowd’s opinion shifted. They began to point fingers and criticize Ma Shi for bullying the small, though they only dared to whisper. The martial field was eerily quiet, save for Liu Sanye, who was screaming herself hoarse below the stage: “Bai Tong, forfeit! Just forfeit!”

She screamed again and again, but Bai Tong seemed not to hear. She fought more bravely as the battle progressed; her blood-soaked, unyielding silhouette looked exactly like the little girl in Loushan Village who refused to hide when the other children threw stones at her.

Who would have thought that after all this time, she was still so stubborn.

Liu Sanye’s heart would ache for ages just seeing Bai Tong’s hands or feet get scraped—but this bastard had turned her into this! Liu Sanye would never forgive him! Having no other option, she decided to go for broke.

It’s just Berserking! She was a Top-tier Heavenly Spiritual Root—the strongest root according to the book’s settings. She refused to believe she couldn’t out-Berserk this guy! Furthermore, the ultimate move of the Wood-Devouring Sacred Scroll was exactly Berserking.

As a Top-tier Heavenly Spiritual Root, the resilience of her spiritual veins was so strong that she could maximize the power of a Berserk state. For an early-stage Qi Refining cultivator to fight a late-stage one was not impossible.

Thinking of this, Liu Sanye also entered a Berserk state. It was much easier than she imagined. Just like the day she drew qi into her body, once she opened her spiritual veins, she didn’t even need to guide it—the Heaven and Earth wood spiritual qi spontaneously swarmed into her body.

In the blink of an eye, the evenly spread qi gathered into a river, flowing through her body like a whirlpool. Because of the Wood-Devouring Sacred Scroll, she absorbed external qi frantically, with no sign of stopping.

The commotion caused by her absorption was so large that it once again alarmed the high-level leaders of the Hegui Sect. However, they weren’t as surprised as the first time; only the Lord of Green Wood Peak had a darkened face: Dammit, another portion of my peak’s qi has run off! When will this end!

Under the boost of the external qi, Liu Sanye’s strength climbed steadily, catching Xun Qiu’s attention. Xun Qiu clapped her hands, saying it was “interesting.”

By the time her strength stabilized at the late stage of Qi Refining, Liu Sanye’s face was covered in fine cold sweat. She felt as if her body were being pricked by countless tiny silver needles. Just as Xun Qiu had said, she had to endure immense pain.

Liu Sanye hadn’t even reached a full Berserk state yet, and her strength had already reached the late stage of Qi Refining. It was hard to imagine how many levels a total Berserk state of a Top-tier Heavenly Spiritual Root would jump.

Berserking cannot be sustained for long, or the body will fail. Furthermore, after using it, she would need to rest for at least a month. Liu Sanye didn’t dare dally; she grabbed her Hundred-Flower Umbrella and leaped onto the arena. She shielded Bai Tong behind her, staring coldly at Ma Shi.

Ma Shi’s eyes were red, looking like a demonic cultivator. “What do you think you’re doing? Do you want to disrupt the order of the arena?!”

With her newfound strength, Liu Sanye’s confidence was bolstered. She crossed her arms and replied, “Elder Xun said that if we find the person on the stage to be a ‘small fry,’ those below have the right to blast them off. Blasting you off the stage shouldn’t count as disrupting order.”

Her words and tone were incredibly arrogant. The crowd below was shocked—she actually dared to call Ma Shi “small fry”? This kid really didn’t know her own weight.

The people below laughed—laughed wildly. One even proclaimed, “If you can blast Ma Shi off the stage, I’ll call you ‘Father’!”

“Hahahaha…”

“Hahaha…”

Laughter and mockery rose from all sides. Liu Sanye ignored them. She turned to pick up the blood-covered Bai Tong. With her temporary late-stage cultivation, she could easily lift the thin girl. She was careful to avoid the scrapes on Bai Tong’s back.

Despite her severe injuries, Bai Tong struggled to grip Liu Sanye’s hand. She asked with a frown, “What are you doing?”

Liu Sanye felt heartbroken looking at the scarred body. She gave a bitter smile. “I’m taking you to a safe place to lie down.”

Bai Tong weakly clutched her hand. “No, I still have to compete.”

Liu Sanye’s smile was stiff. “Don’t worry, I won’t let you forfeit. You’re too tired; rest for a bit. I’ll win it back for you.”

Bai Tong wouldn’t agree, shaking her head. “You can’t beat him.”

Liu Sanye feigned anger. “Hey! How can you not trust me? I’m very powerful, okay!” With that, she ignored Bai Tong’s protests, placed her in a safe spot, and returned to the center of the arena.

She looked at Ma Shi provocatively, pointing the tip of her umbrella at him. Her voice carried unrestrained rage: “Small fry, bring it on.”

As a “cannon fodder” villain, Ma Shi was incredibly petty. Seeing Liu Sanye’s provocation, he grew hateful and decided to kill Liu Sanye first before finishing off Bai Tong.

He swung his great blade at her without a word, but his expectations were shattered. Liu Sanye was now at the late stage of Qi Refining, her violent qi having nowhere to go. She didn’t even dodge; she simply slapped the long-blade away with a single palm strike.

Ma Shi didn’t even have time to react before the blade flew from his hand and hit the ground with a loud CLANG.

Along with that “clang,” the minds of the audience also went CLANG.

What’s the situation? That little girl slapped Ma Shi’s blade away? I must be seeing things.

Everyone rubbed their eyes, but the reality remained the same! The brat had actually slapped Ma Shi’s blade away. The crowd was dumbfounded!

Taking advantage of their shock, Liu Sanye beckoned the lonely blade on the ground into her hand. She frowned and said, “Just now, you used this blade to make Bai Tong spit blood.”

Vengeful as she was, she wanted to use the same move to cut Ma Shi, but realizing she didn’t know how to use a blade, she gave up the idea. She hurled the blade off the arena. Because of her strength, the blade flew incredibly far—so far that no one could see where it landed.

Seeing the blade fly so far, Liu Sanye was startled, but also incredibly smug. Her confidence soared even higher.

Only after the blade disappeared did Ma Shi snap out of his daze. He stared at her fiercely. “You actually dared to throw my blade!”

Liu Sanye replied with a cold sneer, “I’m not just going to throw your blade; I’m going to knock your teeth out!”